How to Highlight Text in Notion?

Notion is a versatile and powerful note-taking and collaboration tool that continuously evolves to boost your productivity and organization. One useful feature is the ability to highlight text within your pages. Highlighting can help draw attention to important details, make key sections stand out, or simply add visual appeal to your notes. In this article, we explore current methods and best practices for highlighting text in Notion.

Using Highlight Formatting

Notion makes it simple to apply background colors directly to your selected text. Follow these steps:

1. Open Notion and navigate to the page or document where you want to add a highlight.
2. Select the text by clicking and dragging your mouse cursor over it.
3. Once selected, a small toolbar appears above or below the text. Click the Text Color button (often represented by an icon showing “A” with a color underline).
4. In the dropdown menu, choose one of the Background color options.
5. The selected text will now display with the chosen background color, while the text color itself remains unchanged.

For more details on adjusting background colors, refer to this guide on Background color.

Using Code Blocks as Highlighted Text

A creative alternative for emphasizing text is by using code blocks. Although code blocks are designed for code snippets, they can be repurposed to create a distinct highlighted effect. Here’s how:

1. Open your Notion page and select or enter the text you wish to emphasize.
2. Click the + button at the top left (or type /code and hit Enter) to open the block menu, then choose the Code block.
3. Paste or type your text into the code block.
4. To adjust the appearance, click the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner of the code block. If available, select options that allow you to change the block’s color theme.
5. Use the provided color options to customize the background (and text) colors if needed.

Keep in mind that while this method gives you more control over the color scheme, it uses a styling distinct from standard text blocks. It’s best used when you want the highlighted content to have a “code snippet” look.

Additional Tips and Best Practices

• Slash Commands: Notion supports various slash commands (for example, typing /color or /highlight) to quickly access text styling options. Stay updated, as Notion frequently introduces new shortcuts and command features.
• Sparingly Use Highlights: Overusing highlights can reduce readability. Use them only to emphasize information that truly matters.
• Combine Formatting Options: Enhance your highlights by layering formatting choices. For instance, pairing a background color with bold text or enclosing key information within callout blocks can further improve clarity and emphasis.

Conclusion

Highlighting text in Notion is a straightforward process that can be executed using the built-in text formatting options or by creatively utilizing code blocks. Whether you’re emphasizing important details, organizing content visually, or simply adding flair to your notes, Notion provides flexible methods to suit your workflow. Experiment with these features and combine them with other formatting options to create pages that are both attractive and easy to navigate.