How to Format Form Text with Bold, Italic and Links

Format form text in FormRobin with the toolbar that appears when you click into the form title, a question or a description: bold, italic, colors, links and more.

Text formatting is available on both plans, the Free Plan and the Individual Plan.

What can I format?

The formatting toolbar is available for:

  • Form title - the heading at the top of your form
  • Question text - the question or label of each question
  • Question description - the optional help text below a question (Statement and Image blocks have no description)

The toolbar appears above the text while you edit it in the form editor.

Available Formatting Options

The toolbar has eight buttons:

Button What it does
Bold Makes the selected text bold
Italic Makes the selected text italic
Underline Underlines the selected text
Strikethrough Strikes through the selected text
Text Color Colors the selected text
Background Color Highlights the selected text
Insert Link Turns the selected text into a link
Clear Formatting Removes all formatting from the whole text field

How do I apply formatting?

  1. Open your form in the form editor.
  2. Click into the form title, a question or a description.
  3. Select the text you want to format.
  4. Click a button in the toolbar above the text.
  5. Click Save (or press Ctrl/Cmd+S) to keep your changes.

Formatting toolbar appearing above question text field with all 8 buttons visible

Tip: You can combine formats, for example bold and italic on the same words.

Applying Bold, Italic, Underline and Strikethrough

  1. Select the text.
  2. Click Bold, Italic, Underline or Strikethrough.
  3. Click the same button again to remove that format.

A button is highlighted when its format is active at the cursor.

Example of question text with bold and italic formatting applied

Adding Text and Background Colors

  1. Select the text.
  2. Click Text Color or Background Color.
  3. Pick one of the 20 preset colors, or type a hex code (for example #FF5733) in Custom: and click Apply.

Color picker interface showing preset colors and custom color input

Custom colors you use appear under Recent Colors: (up to 10) while you keep editing.

Example of question text with red text color and yellow background highlighting

  1. Select the text you want to link.
  2. Click Insert Link.
  3. Type or paste the web address. If you leave out https://, FormRobin adds it for you.
  4. Press Enter or click Insert. Press Escape or click Cancel to stop.

Link insertion interface with URL input field and Insert/Cancel buttons

Editing a link: click inside the linked text, click Insert Link, change the address and press Enter.

Only web addresses (http or https) can be linked. Links open in a new browser tab for people filling in your form.

Clearing All Formatting

  1. Click into the text field.
  2. Click Clear Formatting.

All formatting in that field — bold, italic, colors and links — is removed, and the text stays as plain text.

Character Limits

  • Question text: up to 550 characters
  • Question description: up to 250 characters

Only the visible characters count; formatting does not use up your limit.

Best Practices for Text Formatting

  • Use bold sparingly - keep it for the words that matter
  • Check color contrast - light colors on a light background are hard to read
  • Do not rely on color alone - combine it with bold for colorblind readers
  • Write descriptive link text - "View our privacy policy", not "click here"
  • Be consistent - format similar text the same way throughout the form

Troubleshooting

The formatting toolbar doesn't appear

  • Make sure you are editing, not in Preview (click Exit preview).
  • Click directly into the form title, a question or a description (see Creating Your First Form Manually for the form editor).

Formatting isn't saved

  • Click Save (or press Ctrl/Cmd+S) and wait for Saved! before leaving the editor.
  • Links do not open while you edit. Open Preview or the live form to try the link.

I can't type any more characters

  • The question text (550 characters) or description (250 characters) is full. Shorten the text; formatting does not count toward the limit.

Still stuck? Contact support at support@formrobin.com with the form link and the question whose formatting is not working.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I format answer choices in multiple choice questions?

No. The toolbar is available for the form title, question text and question descriptions only.

Can I paste formatted text from Word or Google Docs?

Pasted text arrives as plain text. Use the toolbar to format it afterwards.

Can I change the font?

Not with the toolbar. Choose the font for the whole form under Styles (see Form Styling and Customization).

Does formatting work on every question type?

Question text can be formatted on every type. Descriptions can be formatted on every type except Statement and Image, which have no description. See Creating Your First Form Manually for adding questions.

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