# TWikiShorthand Basics If you can enter text, you're ready for TWiki. With a few simple, intuitive [[TWikiShorthand]] rules, you'll be able to use plain text to create well-styled postings, instantly. Here's a fast-track guide to shorthand basics... * Separate each **paragraph** with a blank line. * To display a word or phrase in **bold type**, put it in asterisks: `*bold type*`. * To display a word or phrase in _italic_, put it in underscores: `_italic_`. * To display a word or phrase in **_bold italic_**, put it in _double_ underscores: `__bold italic__`. * To link to another Wiki topic, type the [[WikiWord]] for that topic. To link to a Wiki topic in another web, type the name of the web, and a dot, first: Test.%HOMETOPIC%. * If you enter a [[WikiWord]] for a topic that doesn't exist, it'll appear highlighted, with question mark at the end, prompting you (or someone else) to start off the new topic by clicking the **?** - [[NewTopic]] (click the **?**, but don't save, to preserve the example!). * When entering WikiName signatures - like, %USERNAME% - include the %MAINWEB% as a prefix, since all TWiki member pages are in the %MAINWEB% web: `Main.YourName`. * For an external link, type the full URL: `http://twiki.org`. * To prevent a WikiWord from becoming a link, type `` first, **<nop>NoLinkPlease**. * To indent with a bullet, enter `[space][space][space][asterisk][space]`. * Use multiples of 3 spaces to start **nested bullets**. * That's 3-6-9-... 1. Start items in a **numbered list** with `[space][space][space][1][space]`. 2. The "1" (or **any number**) will be replaced by the correct number, in order. * Start **counting spaces** for bullets from the beginning of a new line. * To include an image, type its URL. You also can Attach an image to the page and display it with text
=%ATTACHURL%/yourimagefilename.jpg=. * To display a word or phrase in `MONOSPACED TYPE`, put it in equal signs: =like this=.
Use ==two== for bold: **bold mono**. * Use **<pre>** to enclose code excerpts, filenames, and other unformatted text, with the opening and closing tags on their own separate lines: > 
> &lt;pre&gt;
> unformatted text!
> &lt;/pre&gt;
>
* Three (or more) consecutive **hyphens** expand into a horizontal rule: `---` ---- * See [[TWikiShorthand]] for the complete set of formatting rules.