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[BUG] Visualization of at least __, ~~ and * has changed after a recent update - notes look visually broken #3702

Description

@bcutter

Expected behaviour

After a update (it's been only few releases according to the memory of the update dialog some hours ago, I guess 2 to 4 updates at max), notes look the same as before in the editor.

Actual behaviour

Text files look very different as it seems like special characters for strikethrough ~~, underline __, asterisk * etc. seem to get interpreted different (way more aggressive or in a faulty way) than before causing notes to look visually very malformed/broken.

Steps to reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

  1. Use version xxx
  2. Update to 26.8.5 build 1371
  3. Check untouched notes and discover they are wrongly interpreted and visually broken

Screenshots

Image Image Image

Here line with #1 okay, once in that line a [*1] (* is the root cause) is used, all following lines are visually broken:

Image

Output from the debug section in the settings dialog

Expand

QOwnNotes Debug Information

General Info

Current Date: Tue Aug 18 12:40:42 2026
Version: 26.8.5
Build date: Aug 17 2026
Build number: 1371
Platform: windows (windows)
Operating System: Windows 11 Version 25H2
Build architecture: x86_64
Current architecture: x86_64
Release: GitHub Actions
Qt Version (build): 6.10.1
Qt Version (runtime): 6.10.1
Portable mode: no
Settings path / key: \HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\PBE\QOwnNotes
Settings override path: /HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/PBE/QOwnNotes.override
Settings loaded from override: 0
Application database path: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\PBE\QOwnNotes\QOwnNotes.sqlite
Application arguments: C:\PortableApps\QOwnNotes\QOwnNotes.exe, --after-update, C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Temp\QOwnNotes-xsmLYM-updater.bat
Qt Debug: no
System Botan: no
Libgit2: no
QLiteHtml: yes
Locale (system): de_DE
Locale (interface): empty
Primary screen resolution: 1995x1122
Screen resolution(s): 1995x1122, 1396x873, 1527x955
Icon theme: breeze-qownnotes
Notes in current note folder: 323
Calendar items: 659
Enabled scripts: 0
Database drivers: QIBASE, QSQLITE, QMIMER, QOCI, QODBC, QPSQL

Server Info

serverUrl: https://***redacted***
appIsValid: no
notesPathExists: empty
connectionErrorMessage: empty

Spellchecking

Enabled: false
Selected language: auto
Language codes: empty
Language names: empty
Application dictionaries path: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\PBE\QOwnNotes\dicts

Note folders

currentNoteFolderId: 1

Note folder Default ***redacted***

id: 1
isCurrent: yes
activeTagId: 0
localPath: C:\***redacted***\Notes
remotePath: Notes
cloudConnectionId: 1
isShowSubfolders: yes
isUseGit: no
allowDifferentNoteFileName: yes
activeNoteSubFolder name: Linux
database file: C:\***redacted***\Notes\notes.sqlite

Cloud connections

Cloud connection Default

id: 1
isCurrent: yes
serverUrl: https://***redacted***
username: ***redacted***
accountId: ***redacted***

Enabled scripts

Settings

AboutDialog/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
ActiveNoteHistoryItem (NoteHistoryItem): empty
ColorModes/ColorMode-dark/darkMode (QString): true
ColorModes/ColorMode-dark/darkModeColors (QString): true
ColorModes/ColorMode-dark/darkModeIconTheme (QString): true
ColorModes/ColorMode-dark/darkModeTrayIcon (QString): true
ColorModes/ColorMode-dark/editorColorSchemaKey (QString): EditorColorSchema-cdbf28fc-1ddc-4d13-bb21-6a4043316a2f
ColorModes/ColorMode-dark/internalIconTheme (QString): false
ColorModes/ColorMode-dark/name (QString): Dark
ColorModes/ColorMode-dark/systemIconTheme (QString): false
ColorModes/ColorMode-light/darkMode (QString): false
ColorModes/ColorMode-light/darkModeColors (QString): false
ColorModes/ColorMode-light/darkModeIconTheme (QString): false
ColorModes/ColorMode-light/darkModeTrayIcon (QString): false
ColorModes/ColorMode-light/editorColorSchemaKey (QString): EditorColorSchema-6033d61b-cb96-46d5-a3a8-20d5172017eb
ColorModes/ColorMode-light/internalIconTheme (QString): false
ColorModes/ColorMode-light/name (QString): System
ColorModes/ColorMode-light/systemIconTheme (QString): false
ColorModes/currentId (QString): ColorMode-light
ColorModes/ids (QStringList): ColorMode-light, ColorMode-dark
Debug/fakeOldVersionNumber (QString): false
Debug/fileLogging (QString): false
DistractionFreeMode/hideStatusBar (QString): false
DistractionFreeMode/openInFullScreen (QString): true
Editor/CurrentSchemaKey (QString): EditorColorSchema-6033d61b-cb96-46d5-a3a8-20d5172017eb
Editor/autoBracketClosing (QString): false
Editor/autoBracketRemoval (QString): true
Editor/centerCursor (QString): false
Editor/disableCursorBlinking (QString): false
Editor/editorWidthInDFMOnly (QString): true
Editor/hangingIndent (QString): false
Editor/headingFolding (QString): false
Editor/hideFormattingSyntax (QString): false
Editor/highlightCurrentLine (QString): true
Editor/indentSize (int): 4
Editor/markdownLspArguments (QStringList): empty
Editor/markdownLspCommand (QString): marksman
Editor/markdownLspEnabled (QString): false
Editor/markdownLspVerboseLogging (QString): false
Editor/removeTrailingSpaces (QString): false
Editor/showLineNumbers (QString): false
Editor/showMarkdownImagePreviews (QString): true
Editor/useTabIndent (QString): false
Editor/vimMode (QString): false
Editor/wikiLinkFileNameAutoSelect (QString): false
Editor/wikiLinkSupport (QString): false
FileDialog/LastPath (QString): C:/Users/%username%/Desktop
FileDialog/LastPath-SettingsExport (QString): C:/Users/%username%/Desktop
LastUpdateCheck (QDateTime): 2026-08-18T12:16:40.086
MainWindow/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
MainWindow/mainToolBar.iconSize (int): 23
MainWindow/menuBarGeometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
MainWindow/noteSubFolderTreeWidgetExpandState-1 (QStringList): ***redacted***, ***redacted***
MainWindow/noteTextEdit.code.font (QString): Courier New,12,-1,5,400,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,Regular
MainWindow/noteTextEdit.font (QString): Consolas,12,-1,5,400,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,Regular
MainWindow/noteTextView.code.font (QString): MS Shell Dlg 2,8.14286,-1,5,400,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1
MainWindow/noteTextView.font (QString): MS Shell Dlg 2,8.14286,-1,5,400,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1
MainWindow/noteTextView.ignoreCodeFontSize (QString): true
MainWindow/noteTextView.refreshDebounceTime (int): 600
MainWindow/noteTextView.rtl (QString): false
MainWindow/noteTextView.underline (QString): true
MainWindow/noteTextView.useEditorStyles (QString): true
MainWindow/noteTextView.useInternalExportStyling (QString): true
MainWindow/showNotesFromAllNoteSubFolders (QString): false
MessageBoxOverride/move-notes (int): 16384
MessageBoxOverride/readonly-mode-allow (int): 16384
MessageBoxOverride/show-note-in-file-manager (int): 16384
MessageBoxOverride/system-dark-mode (int): 16384
MessageBoxOverride/system-light-mode (int): 16384
MessageBoxOverride/update-and-restart (QString): 16384
MessageBoxOverride/windows-dark-mode (QString): 16384
MessageBoxOverride/windows-light-mode (int): 16384
NoteBookmark7 (NoteHistoryItem): empty
NoteDialog/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
NoteDiffDialog/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
NoteFolder-1/NoteTabNameList (QStringList): ***redacted***, ***redacted***, ***redacted***
NoteFolder-1/NoteTabStickinessList (QStringList): 0, 1, 2, 3
NoteFolder-1/NoteTabSubFolderPathDataList (QStringList):

***redacted***
***redacted***
***redacted***

NoteFolder-1/allowDifferentNoteFileName (bool): true
NoteFolder-2/NoteTabNameList: empty
NoteFolder-2/NoteTabStickinessList: empty
NoteFolder-2/NoteTabSubFolderPathDataList: empty
NoteFolder-2/allowDifferentNoteFileName (QString): true
NoteHistory-1 (QVariantList): <variant list with 144 item(s)>
NoteHistoryCurrentIndex-1 (int): 143
PiwikClientId (QString): <hidden>
ScriptRepositoryDialog/mainSplitterState (QByteArray): <binary data>
SearchEngineId (int): 2
SettingsDialog/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
SettingsDialog/mainSplitterState (QByteArray): <binary data>
SettingsExport/platform (QString): windows
ShareDialog/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
ShowSystemTray (QString): true
StartHidden (QString): false
TodoDialog/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
TodoDialog/mainSplitterState (QByteArray): <binary data>
TodoDialog/showCompletedItems (int): 0
TodoDialog/showDueTodayItemsOnly (int): 0
TodoDialog/todoItemTreeWidgetHeaderOrder/order (QStringList): 0, 1
TodoDialog/todoItemTreeWidgetHeaderOrder/widths (QStringList): 100, 254
TodoDialog/todoListSelectorSelectedItem (QString): +++ NEU +++
UpdateDialog/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
VersionDialog/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
WelcomeDialog/geometry (QByteArray): <binary data>
acceptAllExternalModifications (QString): false
ai/autocompleteEnabled (QString): false
ai/enabled (QString): false
ai/groq/apiKey (QString): <hidden>
ai/mcpServerEnabled (QString): false
ai/mcpServerPort (int): 22226
ai/mcpServerToken (QString): <hidden>
ai/openai/apiKey (QString): <hidden>
ai/responseTimeout (int): 15
allowEmptyNotes (QString): true
allowNoteEditing (bool): true
allowOnlyOneAppInstance (QString): true
appMetrics/disableAppHeartbeat (QString): true
appMetrics/disableTracking (QString): true
appMetrics/notificationShown (QString): true
autoReadOnlyMode (QString): false
autoReadOnlyModeTimeout (int): 30
automaticNoteFolderDatabaseClosing (QString): true
checkSpelling (bool): false
closeTodoListAfterSave (QString): false
cryptoKey (QString): <hidden>
currentLayout (QString): xxx
currentNoteFolderId (int): 1
cursorWidth (int): 1
darkMode (bool): false
darkModeColors (bool): false
darkModeIconTheme (bool): false
darkModeTrayIcon (bool): false
defaultNoteFileExtension (QString): md
demoNotesCreated (QString): true
disableAutomaticUpdateDialog (QString): false
disableSavedSearchesAutoCompletion (QString): false
dockWasInitializedOnce (QString): true
enableNoteChecksumChecks (QString): false
enableNoteTree (QString): false
enableReadOnlyMode (QString): true
enableSocketServer (QString): true
enableWebAppSupport (QString): false
externalEditorPath (QString): empty
fullyHighlightedBlockquotes (QString): false
gitCommitInterval (int): 30
gitExecutablePath (QString): empty
gitLogCommand (QString): empty
guiFirstRunInit (bool): true
harperBinaryPath (QString): harper-ls
harperCheckDelay (int): 1500
harperDialect (QString): American
harperEnabled (QString): false
harperEnabledLinters (QStringList): SpellCheck, SentenceCapitalization, RepeatedWords, LongSentences, AnA, UnclosedQuotes, CorrectNumberSuffix, Spaces, QuoteSpacing, NoFrenchSpaces, WrongApostrophe
harperTcpAddress (QString): 127.0.0.1
harperTcpPort (int): 4000
harperTransportMode (int): 0
hideIconsInMenus (QString): false
hideTabCloseButton (QString): false
ignoreAllExternalModifications (QString): false
ignoreAllExternalNoteFolderChanges (QString): false
ignoreNoteSubFolders (QString): ^\.
ignoredNoteFiles (QString): empty
imageScaleDown (QString): false
imageScaleDownMaximumHeight (int): 1024
imageScaleDownMaximumWidth (int): 1024
initialLayoutPresetIdentifier (QString): full
insertTimeFormat (QString): empty
interfaceFontSize (int): 12
interfaceLanguage (QString): empty
interfaceScalingFactor (int): 115
internalIconTheme (bool): false
itemHeight (int): 22
languageToolApiKey (QString): <hidden>
languageToolCheckDelay (int): 1500
languageToolEnabled (QString): false
languageToolEnabledCategories (QStringList): TYPOS, GRAMMAR, STYLE, REDUNDANCY, PUNCTUATION, TYPOGRAPHY
languageToolLanguage (QString): auto
languageToolServerUrl (QString): http://localhost:8081
layout-294f90f4-9884-437c-8f84-e234629d4df5/name (QString): MyDefault
layout-294f90f4-9884-437c-8f84-e234629d4df5/noteEditIsCentralWidget (QString): true
layout-294f90f4-9884-437c-8f84-e234629d4df5/noteSubFolderDockWidgetVisible (QString): true
layout-294f90f4-9884-437c-8f84-e234629d4df5/windowState (QByteArray): <binary data>
layout-447123c6-0462-4359-9e41-a4370e30fb48/name (QString): MyDefault_newest
layout-447123c6-0462-4359-9e41-a4370e30fb48/noteSubFolderDockWidgetVisible (QString): true
layout-447123c6-0462-4359-9e41-a4370e30fb48/windowState (QByteArray): <binary data>
layout-initial/name (QString): Vollständig
layout-initial/noteSubFolderDockWidgetVisible (QString): true
layout-initial/windowState (QByteArray): <binary data>
layouts (QStringList): initial, 294f90f4-9884-437c-8f84-e234629d4df5
legacyLinking (QString): false
localTrash/autoCleanupDays (int): 30
localTrash/autoCleanupEnabled (QString): true
localTrash/mode (int): 2
localTrash/supportEnabled (QString): true
markdownHighlightingEnabled (QString): true
maxNoteFileSize (int): 1048576
navigationPanelAutoSelect (QString): true
navigationPanelHideSearch (QString): false
networking/ignoreSSLErrors (QString): true
networking/proxyType (int): 2
newNoteAskHeadline (QString): false
noteEditIsCentralWidget (bool): true
noteFileExtensionList (QStringList): md, txt
noteListPreview (QString): false
noteSaveIntervalTime (int): 10
noteSearchPanelOpenCreatedNotesInNewTab (QString): false
noteSubfoldersPanelDisplayAsFullTree (QString): false
noteSubfoldersPanelHideSearch (QString): false
noteSubfoldersPanelOrder (int): 0
noteSubfoldersPanelShowFullPath (QString): false
noteSubfoldersPanelShowNotesRecursively (QString): false
noteSubfoldersPanelShowRootFolderName (QString): false
noteSubfoldersPanelSort (int): 0
noteSubfoldersPanelTabsUnsetAllNotesSelection (QString): false
notesPanelOrder (int): 0
notesPanelSort (int): 0
notesPath (QString): C:/***redacted***/Notes
notifyAllExternalModifications (QString): false
overrideInterfaceFontSize (QString): true
overrideInterfaceScalingFactor (QString): true
ownCloud/ignoreNonTodoCalendars (QString): true
ownCloud/supportEnabled (QString): true
ownCloud/todoCalendarBackend (int): 3
ownCloud/todoCalendarCalDAVPassword (QString): <hidden>
ownCloud/todoCalendarCalDAVServerUrl (QString): empty
ownCloud/todoCalendarCalDAVUsername (QString): empty
ownCloud/todoCalendarCloudConnectionId (int): 1
ownCloud/todoCalendarDisplayNameList (QStringList): empty
ownCloud/todoCalendarEnabledList (QStringList): empty
ownCloud/todoCalendarEnabledUrlList (QStringList): empty
ownCloud/todoCalendarUrlList (QStringList): empty
ownCloudInfo/appIsValid (bool): false
ownCloudInfo/connectionErrorMessage (QString): empty
ownCloudInfo/notesPathExistsText (QString): empty
ownCloudInfo/serverVersion (QString): empty
previousLayout (QString): initial
recentNoteFolders (QString): C:/***redacted***/Data_Notizen
restoreCursorPosition (QString): true
restoreLastNoteAtStartup (QString): true
restoreNoteTabs (QString): true
savedSearches/noteFolder-1 (QStringList):

***redacted***

showMatches (QString): true
showMenuBar (bool): true
showStatusBar (bool): true
showStatusBarNotePath (QString): true
showStatusBarRelativeNotePath (QString): false
skipVersion (QString): 25.7.0
startInReadOnlyMode (QString): false
systemIconTheme (bool): false
taggingShowNotesRecursively (QString): false
tagsPanelHideNoteCount (QString): false
tagsPanelHideSearch (QString): false
tagsPanelOrder (int): 0
tagsPanelSort (int): 0
todoCalendarSupport (QString): true
toolbar/1/items (QStringList): action_Reload_note_folder, , action_New_note, action_Find_note, action_Remove_note, action_Open_note_in_external_editor, actionShow_local_trash, actionAllow_note_editing, , action_Back_in_note_history, action_Forward_in_note_history, , action_Find_text_in_note, actionReplace_in_current_note, , actionShow_versions, actionShow_trash, actionShare_note, , actionShow_Todo_List
toolbar/1/name (QString): mainToolBar
toolbar/1/title (QString): Hauptsymbolleiste
toolbar/2/items (QStringList): actionFormat_text_bold, actionFormat_text_italic, actionStrike_out_text, actionInsert_code_block, actionInsert_block_quote
toolbar/2/name (QString): formattingToolbar
toolbar/2/title (QString): Formatierungs-Werkzeugleiste
toolbar/3/items (QStringList): actionInsert_text_link, actionInsert_image, actionInsert_current_time
toolbar/3/name (QString): insertingToolbar
toolbar/3/title (QString): Einfügen-Werkzeugleiste
toolbar/4/items (QStringList): action_Encrypt_note, actionEdit_encrypted_note, actionDecrypt_note
toolbar/4/name (QString): encryptionToolbar
toolbar/4/title (QString): Verschlüsselung-Werkzeugleiste
toolbar/5/items (QStringList): actionWorkspaceComboBox, actionStore_as_new_workspace, actionRemove_current_workspace, actionRename_current_workspace, actionSwitch_to_previous_workspace, actionUnlock_panels, , actionToggle_distraction_free_mode, action_Increase_note_text_size, action_Decrease_note_text_size, action_Reset_note_text_size
toolbar/5/name (QString): windowToolbar
toolbar/5/title (QString): Fenster-Werkzeugleiste
toolbar/6/items (QStringList): action_Quit
toolbar/6/name (QString): quitToolbar
toolbar/6/title (QString): Beenden - Symbolleiste
toolbar/size (int): 0
useNoteFolderButtons (QString): false
useSoftWrapInNoteEditor (QString): false
useUNIXNewline (QString): false
versionSplitterSizes (QByteArray): <binary data>
webAppClientService/connectionName (QString): qownnotes-***redacted***-***redacted***
webAppClientService/serverUrl (QString): wss://app.qownnotes.org
webAppClientService/token (QString): <hidden>
webSocketServerService/bookmarkSuggestionApiEnabled (QString): false
webSocketServerService/bookmarkSuggestionApiPort (int): 22224
webSocketServerService/bookmarkSuggestionApiToken (QString): <hidden>
webSocketServerService/bookmarksNoteName (QString): Bookmarks
webSocketServerService/bookmarksTag (QString): bookmarks
webSocketServerService/commandSnippetsNoteName (QString): Commands
webSocketServerService/commandSnippetsTag (QString): commands
webSocketServerService/port (int): 22222
webSocketServerService/token (QString): <hidden>

System environment

****: ::=::\
****: C:=C:\PortableApps\QOwnNotes
****: ExitCode=00000000
__COMPAT_LAYER: HighDpiAware
__PSLockDownPolicy: 0
ALLUSERSPROFILE: C:\ProgramData
APPDATA: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming
asl.log: Destination=file
chocolateyinstall: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\UniGetUI\Chocolatey
CommonProgramFiles: C:\Program Files\Common Files
CommonProgramFiles(x86): C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files
CommonProgramW6432: C:\Program Files\Common Files
COMPUTERNAME: ***redacted***
ComSpec: C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe
destination: C:\PortableApps\QOwnNotes
DriverData: C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\DriverData
EFC_16336_1262719628: 1
EFC_16336_1592913036: 1
EFC_16336_2283032206: 1
EFC_16336_2775293581: 1
EFC_16336_3789132940: 1
EFC_16336_4126798990: 1
FPS_BROWSER_APP_PROFILE_STRING: Internet Explorer
FPS_BROWSER_USER_PROFILE_STRING: Default
HOMEDRIVE: C:
HOMEPATH: \Users\%username%
IGCCSVC_DB: ***redacted***
LOCALAPPDATA: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local
LOGONSERVER: \\***redacted***
NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS: 20
OneDrive: C:\Users\%username%\OneDrive
OS: Windows_NT
Path: ***redacted***; %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps;
PATHEXT: .COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.MSC
POWERSHELL_DISTRIBUTION_CHANNEL: MSI:Windows 10 Pro
POWERSHELL_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT: 1
PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE: AMD64
PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER: Intel64 Family 6 Model 186 Stepping 2, GenuineIntel
PROCESSOR_LEVEL: 6
PROCESSOR_REVISION: ba02
ProgramData: C:\ProgramData
ProgramFiles: C:\Program Files
ProgramFiles(x86): C:\Program Files (x86)
ProgramW6432: C:\Program Files
PROMPT: $P$G
PSModulePath: C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\Modules;C:\WINDOWS\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules
PUBLIC: C:\Users\Public
qownnotesCommand: C:\PortableApps\QOwnNotes\QOwnNotes.exe --after-update C:\Users\***redacted***\AppData\Local\Temp\QOwnNotes-xsmLYM-updater.bat
QT_SCALE_FACTOR: 1.1
SESSIONNAME: Console
source: C:\Users\***redacted***\AppData\Local\Temp\QOwnNotes-xsmLYM.zip
SystemDrive: C:
SystemRoot: C:\WINDOWS
TEMP: C:\Users\***redacted***\AppData\Local\Temp
TMP: C:\Users\***redacted***\AppData\Local\Temp
unzipCommand: C:\Users\***redacted***\AppData\Local\Temp\QOwnNotes-xsmLYM-unzip.exe -o C:\Users\***redacted***\AppData\Local\Temp\QOwnNotes-xsmLYM.zip -d C:\PortableApps\QOwnNotes
unzipExecutable: C:\Users\***redacted***\AppData\Local\Temp\QOwnNotes-xsmLYM-unzip.exe
USERDOMAIN: ***redacted***
USERDOMAIN_ROAMINGPROFILE: ***redacted***
USERNAME: ***redacted***
USERPROFILE: C:\Users\***redacted***
windir: C:\WINDOWS
ZES_ENABLE_SYSMAN: 1

Relevant log output in the Log panel

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