Rich text editors (RTE) let you format text with options like bold, italics, lists, links, and more, giving you more control over how your content looks. This article covers the common tools in rich text editors on Ancestry, though some options might not be available or may work differently depending on the feature and its editor.

Font style

Font styles help organize your document and make it easier to read. The title is usually the largest text, often added automatically or as a separate field. After the title, use these preset font styles (which can’t be changed) for headers and body text:

• Paragraph: Regular text. Normal font size and weight.
• Heading 1-6+: Heading 1 is the largest heading, and each subsequent heading (2, 3, 4, etc.) gets smaller.
• Preformatted: Fixed-width text.
  
  

Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are clickable text that takes you to other Ancestry pages or external websites, making it easy to access and share important information.

Adding hyperlinks

1. In the rich text editor, highlight existing text or place your cursor where you want to add a link.
2. Click the Link button.
3. Enter the URL (type or paste it).
4. Edit or enter the text for the clickable link.
5. Choose whether the link will open in the same or new window.
6. Click Save.
   
   

Opening hyperlinks

Click the hyperlinked text to open it. If the link doesn’t open, try right-clicking the text and selecting Open link.

Editing and removing hyperlinks

1. In the rich text editor, right-click the link you want to edit or remove.
2. Choose to edit or remove the link.
   • To edit the link or its text, Click Link, make changes, and click Save.
   • To remove the link, Click Remove link. The text will stay the same, but the link is removed.
     
     

Bold, Italics, Underline, Strikethrough

Apply or remove basic formatting (bold, italic, underline, strikethrough) to your text within the rich text editors on Ancestry. Simply highlight the text you want to change and click the button for the formatting tool you want to apply or remove.

• B: Bold.
• I: Italicize.
• U: Underline.
• S: Strikethrough.
  
  

Lists

Lists help organize information clearly and make it easier to read.  There are two types of lists: 

Bulleted lists: for when order doesn’t matter, like 

Family heirlooms:

• Jewelry
• Furniture
• Bibles

Numbered lists: for when order matters, like steps in your family history research, like

Research steps:

1. Found an index of John Doe’s birth certificate on Ancestry.
2. Requested a copy from the county clerk.
3. Uploaded an image of it to my family tree.
   
   

Creating a list

1. Place your cursor where you want the list.
2. Click the Bulleted or Numbered list button.
3. Type your first list item.
4. Press Enter to add another item to the list.
5. Press Tab to indent and create a sublist.
   • Sublists can have a different list style. Example: the main list is numbered, but this is bulleted.
   • To change a sublist style, highlight it and choose a different list type.
   • To move up a list level, press Enter once to add a new item, then Enter again.
6. To return to normal text, press Enter twice for each list level.

Undo and Redo

Undo and Redo help you quickly fix mistakes or restore changes. Use Undo to go back a step and Redo to go forward.

• Undo: Undo the last action. Click more times to undo more changes.
• Redo: Restore an action you last undid. This only works for actions you’ve undone.