# TWiki Shorthand, Quickly
If you can enter text, send an email, your ready for TWiki. Use some simple, intuitive TWiki shorthand, and you have even more control - instantly!
- 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.WebHome`.
- 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 **?** - [[FreshTopic]] (click the **?**, but don't save, to preserve the example!).
- When entering WikiName signatures - like, admin - include the Main as a prefix, since all TWiki member pages are in the Main 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**.
- Thats 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.
- Always start **counting** for bullets and such 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**
.
Surround code excerpts, filenames, and other
unformatted text with or
or the special TWiki use and
tags.
- Use three (or more) consecutive **hyphens** expands into a horizontal rule: `---`
----
- See [[TextFormattingRules]] for more....
-- [[MikeMannix]] - 14 Sep 2001