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layout page
title Editing and formatting
parent Using NHS Notify
nav_order 1
permalink /using-nhs-notify/editing-and-formatting
section Writing a message
published false

NHS Notify uses Markdown to format content for emails and letters.

You can see formatting instructions while you’re editing a template.

Formatting options

Email templates can include:

Letter templates can include:

Guidance

Bullet points

Use bullet points to help words or phrases stand out in your emails and letters.

You can either:

  • add the same bullet points to every message you send
  • add personalised bullet points each time you send a message

Copy this example to add bullet points:

{% include components/inset-text.html text='Introduce bullet points with a lead-in line ending with a colon:

- leave one empty line space after the lead-in line
- use an asterisk or a dash followed by a space to add an item
 ' %}

To create sub-items, add an indent of 2 spaces before the asterisk or dash.

How to add personalised bullet points

Copy this example to add a placeholder to your message template:

{% include components/inset-text.html text='Introduce bullet points with a lead-in line ending in a colon:

((bullet points))

Leave one empty line space before the next paragraph. To send the message, upload a list of recipient details.

Your spreadsheet should include one column for each bullet point. The column names must match the placeholder in the template.

NHS Notify will fill in the placeholder with your bullet points.' %}

There's more guidance about bullet points on GOV.UK.

Headings

Use a heading to tell recipients what your email or letter is about.

For emails, use subheadings to break up the rest of your content. Your first subheading must come after a heading.

For letters, use headings to break up the rest of your content.

Write all headings and subheadings in sentence case.

Use one hash symbol followed by a space for a heading in emails and letters, for example:

{% include components/inset-text.html text='# This is a heading' %}

Use 2 hash symbols followed by a space for a subheading in emails, for example:

{% include components/inset-text.html text='## This is a subheading' %}

Horizontal lines

Use a horizontal line to create separate sections in an email template.

To add a horizontal line between 2 paragraphs, use 3 dashes. Leave one empty line space after the first paragraph. For example:

{% include components/inset-text.html text='First paragraph

---

Second paragraph' %}

Numbered lists

Use numbered lists instead of bullet points to guide a user through a process, or when the order of the items in a list is relevant.

You do not need a lead-in line for a numbered list.

Copy this example to add numbered steps:

{% include components/inset-text.html text='
1. Leave one empty line space before starting your list.
2. Enter a number followed by a full stop and a space to add an item.
3. Start each item with a capital letter and end it with a full stop.
4. Leave one empty line space after the last item.' %}

To create sub-items, add an indent of 2 spaces before the number.

There’s more guidance about numbered lists in the GOV.UK Design System.

Page breaks

To insert a page break in a letter template, use 3 asterisks. For example:

{% include components/inset-text.html text='Content on page 1

***

Content on page 2' %}

Test test test