Text editor

The text editor is used to design the description of a task: format text, create lists and headings, insert links, tables, images or emojis, and create tasks directly from selected text. This article explains where to find the formatting toolbar, what each button does and how tables work.

Opening the formatting toolbar

The formatting toolbar appears as soon as you click into the Description field of a task. From left to right it contains:

• Text styles: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strike through
• Color and format: Text color (letter A with an arrow)
• Lists and paragraph styles: Bulleted list, with the arrow Lists & Style next to it
• Link: Insert link
• More content: Insert (plus icon)
• AI: Write with AI (magic wand icon)
• On the far right: Task with an arrow, to create tasks from selected text

Hovering over a button shows its name in a tooltip.

When you select text, a small toolbar with bold, italic, underline, strike through and the AI magic wand also appears right next to the selection.

Formatting text

1. Select the text you want to format.
2. In the formatting toolbar, click Bold, Italic, Underline or Strike through.

Text color opens a menu with three entries:

• Text color: choose the font color from a color palette.
• Background: highlight text with a background color.
• Clear format: remove the formatting from the selected text.

Lists and headings

Clicking Bulleted list turns the current line into a bullet point. The arrow next to it (Lists & Style) opens more options:

• LISTS: Bulleted list, Numbered list, Check list, Reduce indentation, Increase indentation
• STYLE: Normal, Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3

Inserting links

Links can point to websites or to other objects in smenso, for example projects and tasks. Permissions are taken into account.

1. Select the text that should become the link.
2. In the formatting toolbar, click Insert link.
3. In the Paste link or search field, enter a web address or search for a project or task and select the result.
4. The field below contains the displayed text, pre-filled with the selected text.

Inserting more content

Insert (plus icon) adds more content at the cursor position:

• Table: a table in the size you choose, see Tables.
• Link: insert a link.
• Label/flavor: insert a label or flavor from the project master data, see Inserting labels and flavors.
• Image and Video: embed an image or video.
• Codeblock: the current line is displayed as a code block in a monospaced font.
• Emoji: insert an emoji from a picker with a search field.

Inserting labels and flavors

You can insert labels and flavors from the project master data into the description, for example the responsible department. The current value then appears directly in the text.

Prerequisite: labels or flavors have been added to the project's master data. Otherwise the picker shows that no flavors or labels were found.

1. Place the cursor where you want to insert the value.
2. Click Insert > Label/flavor.
3. Select a flavor or label from the list. Use the Search... field to filter the list.

A flavor appears in the text with its name and value, for example “Department: Marketing”. If the value later changes in the project master data, the description automatically shows the new value.

Tables

Inserting a table

1. Place the cursor where the table should go.
2. Click Insert > Table.
3. Choose the size in the grid, up to 8 columns and 8 rows. The selected size is shown below the grid, for example “Columns: 3, rows: 3”. You can also choose the size with the arrow keys and confirm with Enter.

The new table uses the full width of the text field, and all columns have the same width.

Working in a table

• Tab moves to the next cell, and at the end of a row to the first cell of the next row. Shift + Tab moves back.
• Tab in the last cell adds a new row at the bottom.
• Formatting several cells: select the cells with the mouse and choose, for example, Bold or Italic. The formatting applies to all selected cells.
• Column width: drag the line between two columns with the mouse. A column can be widened up to the edge of the text field at most.
• Below the table: clicking next to or below the table, or pressing the down arrow key in the last row, places the cursor in the line below the table.

Table menu

Right-clicking a cell opens the table menu:

• Insert right, Insert left: new column next to the cell. If the table already uses the full width, the other columns become narrower.
• Insert up, Insert down: new row above or below the cell.
• Delete columns, Delete rows: remove the column or row of the cell.
• First row as header: the first row becomes bold with a gray background. A check mark shows that the header row is active; clicking again turns it off.
• Alignment: align the text in the cell left, center or right.
• Colors: give the cell a background color.
• Delete table: remove the entire table.

Esc only closes the table menu; the task stays open. Outside of tables, a right-click shows the browser's normal menu.

Creating tasks from text

A piece of text, for example an agenda item, can be turned into a task directly.

1. Select the text.
2. On the right of the formatting toolbar, click the arrow next to Task.
3. Choose Create task or Create subtask.

The new task uses the selected text as its title; the text stays in the description. Without selected text, the button is grayed out.

Mentioning people and using AI

• Mentions: type @ and the beginning of a name to mention people or teams. More in the article @Mentions.
• AI: Write with AI opens the AI writing assistant, which writes, improves, translates or rephrases text. Details in the article AI Writing Assistant.
• Earlier versions: the clock icon next to Description shows earlier versions of the description, see Versioning of the task description field.

Related articles

• 🪄 AI Writing Assistant
• @Mentions
• Versioning of the task description field