How to Embolden, Italicize, and Underline Email Text with iOS

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: October 9, 2022 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to bold, italicize, and/or underline text in the iPhone's Mail app.

1

Open the Mail app.

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It resembles a white envelope on a light-blue background. Doing so will open your Mail app's default inbox.

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2

Tap the "Compose" icon.

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This creates a new message.

3

Enter a recipient and a subject.

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Then, tap the "Subject" text box and type in the subject you want to use for your email.

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4

Enter your text.

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You can add formatting after you type your content.

5

Tap and hold a word.

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When you release your finger, a menu will expand. This menu has options for formatting the selected word.
- If you don't see a pop-up menu, tap the word once, then tap, hold, and release it again. The menu should appear.
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6

Tap "Select" on the menu.

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It's in the black pop-up menu. Doing so will select the entire word.
- If you want to apply formatting to all of the text in this area, tap instead Select All and skip the next step.

7

Adjust the selection.

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Tap and drag the blue dot to the right or left of the selection to extend it.

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8

Tap B I U in the menu.

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This brings up options to add bold, italic, and underlined text.

9

Select a format.

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In the pop-up menu, tap Bold , Italic , or Underline . This formats the selected text.
- You can apply any combination of these options to your selected text.
- If you want to undo your changes, tap the same button to remove the formatting.
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Tips

Other popular email apps, such as Gmail and Outlook, also support bolding, italics, and underlining. You can access these options by selecting text and using the B I U button.

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This method only works in apps that support rich text, like the Mail app.

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Warnings

You cannot bold, italicize, or underline text in iMessage.

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The B I U button won't always be in the same place. If you don't see it in the pop-up menu initially, tap the right-most triangle-shaped button to scroll to the next page of the menu and look for it there.

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