# How to Make Text Bold in Confluence (Ctrl+B, Toolbar & Markdown)

August 11, 2026 ·

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3 min read

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**Bold text** is one of the most common formatting actions in Confluence — for headings, callouts, and emphasis inside paragraphs. There are two ways to do it: the toolbar button / keyboard shortcut in the standard editor, and Markdown syntax inside [Enhanced Markdown for Confluence](/apps/enhanced-markdown-for-confluence.md). This guide covers both, plus the common "why isn't it working" cases.

What you'll learn

1. The standard editor method — B button or Ctrl+B / Cmd+B
2. The Markdown method — `**bold**` syntax
3. Bold vs italic vs strikethrough
4. Fixing bold that renders as literal asterisks

## Method 1: The toolbar button or keyboard shortcut (standard editor)[​](#method-1-the-toolbar-button-or-keyboard-shortcut-standard-editor "Direct link to Method 1: The toolbar button or keyboard shortcut (standard editor)")

The quickest way:

1. Select the text you want to bold.
2. Press **Ctrl+B** (Windows/Linux) or **Cmd+B** (Mac), **or** click the **B** button in the editor toolbar.

The selection is wrapped in bold immediately. Press Ctrl+B again to remove it.

This works everywhere in the standard editor: body text, table cells, and headings. The keyboard shortcut is the fastest option if you're already typing — select the word and hit Ctrl+B as you go.

## Method 2: Markdown `**bold**` syntax (Enhanced Markdown)[​](#method-2-markdown-bold-syntax-enhanced-markdown "Direct link to method-2-markdown-bold-syntax-enhanced-markdown")

If your team writes in Markdown (or you're pasting Markdown from elsewhere), bold is written as text wrapped in two asterisks with no spaces:

```
This is **bold** text.

This has *italic* and **bold**.
```

When you publish, Enhanced Markdown for Confluence renders `**bold**` as bold. The same applies inside table cells:

```
| **Header** | Plain |

|------------|-------|

| **Bold**   | Value |
```

> GitHub Flavored Markdown is supported, so `__bold__` (double underscore) also works.

## Bold, italic, and strikethrough — the difference[​](#bold-italic-and-strikethrough--the-difference "Direct link to Bold, italic, and strikethrough — the difference")

| Style         | Markdown     | Result     |
| ------------- | ------------ | ---------- |
| Bold          | `**text**`   | **text**   |
| Italic        | `*text*`     | *text*     |
| Bold+italic   | `***text***` | ***text*** |
| Strikethrough | `~~text~~`   | ~~text~~   |

In the standard editor, the toolbar shows **B** for bold, *I* for italic, and S for strikethrough — select text and click the button.

## Fixing "my bold text shows as \*\* asterisks \*\*"[​](#fixing-my-bold-text-shows-as--asterisks- "Direct link to Fixing \"my bold text shows as ** asterisks **\"")

The most common issue: you typed `**bold**` manually in the **standard** (rich text) editor. Confluence's rich text editor does not parse Markdown, so it shows the literal asterisk characters.

* If you're in the standard editor: select the text and press **Ctrl+B** instead of typing asterisks.
* If you want to type Markdown and see it formatted: install [Enhanced Markdown for Confluence](/apps/enhanced-markdown-for-confluence.md) and edit pages in Markdown mode.

## Related guides[​](#related-guides "Direct link to Related guides")

* [How to write Markdown in Confluence](/blog/faq-confluence-markdown-editor.md) — headings, lists, links, code
* [How to add a block quote in Confluence](/blog/block-quote-confluence.md) — quoted text and callouts
* [Confluence bold and formatting](/docs/Enhanced-Markdown-for-Confluence/usage.md) — the Enhanced Markdown macro's full formatting coverage

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**Tags:**

* [confluence](/blog/tags/confluence.md)
* [formatting](/blog/tags/formatting.md)
* [markdown](/blog/tags/markdown.md)
* [bold](/blog/tags/bold.md)
* [enhanced-markdown](/blog/tags/enhanced-markdown.md)
* [keyboard-shortcuts](/blog/tags/keyboard-shortcuts.md)