Add markdown formatting hotkeys to the editor

Ctrl/Cmd+B/I/E wrap the selection in bold / italic / inline-code markers,
Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+X in strikethrough, and Ctrl/Cmd+K as a link (with the url
placeholder selected). Pressing the same key on already-wrapped text
removes the markers. Applied to the live selection via the TextEdit
cursor range, with the caret/selection restored around the edit.

Documented in the built-in cheatsheet and the README.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

README.md

@@ -75,7 +75,16 @@ Terminal=false
    it), and the **Contrast** slider to brighten dim editor text (0% = theme
    default; higher pushes the text toward white in dark mode / black in light
    mode). Text always wraps to the pane width, so there is no horizontal
-   scrolling.
+   scrolling. Inline markdown has keyboard shortcuts, applied to the current
+   selection (press again on wrapped text to remove the markers):
+
+   | Shortcut | Effect |
+   | --- | --- |
+   | `Ctrl/Cmd + B` | **bold** (`**…**`) |
+   | `Ctrl/Cmd + I` | *italic* (`*…*`) |
+   | `Ctrl/Cmd + E` | `inline code` |
+   | `Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + X` | ~~strikethrough~~ (`~~…~~`) |
+   | `Ctrl/Cmd + K` | link — `[selection](url)`, with `url` selected to replace |
 4. Set the **Chapter title** for the open file if you want to override the
    auto-derived one (the field shows the automatic title as a hint). Leaving it
    blank falls back to a `# Title:` line in the header, and if there is none, to

src/app.rs

@@ -1317,16 +1317,37 @@ impl App {
                     let job = build_editor_job(text, size, text_color, &ranges, wrap_width);
                     ui.fonts(|f| f.layout_job(job))
                 };
-                let resp = ui.add(
+                let output = egui::TextEdit::multiline(&mut self.buffer)
-                    egui::TextEdit::multiline(&mut self.buffer)
                     .code_editor()
                     .desired_width(f32::INFINITY)
                     .desired_rows(30)
-                        .layouter(&mut layouter),
+                    .layouter(&mut layouter)
-                );
+                    .show(ui);
-                if resp.changed() {
+                if output.response.changed() {
                     self.dirty = true;
                 }
+                // Markdown formatting hotkeys, applied to the current selection
+                // while the editor is focused (Ctrl/Cmd + B / I / E / K, and
+                // Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+X for strikethrough).
+                if output.response.has_focus() {
+                    if let Some(fmt) = ui.input_mut(detect_format_hotkey) {
+                        let sel = output
+                            .cursor_range
+                            .map(|cr| cr.as_sorted_char_range())
+                            .unwrap_or(0..0);
+                        let (new_text, new_sel) = apply_format(&self.buffer, sel, fmt);
+                        self.buffer = new_text;
+                        self.dirty = true;
+                        // Restore the caret/selection around the change.
+                        let mut state = output.state;
+                        state.cursor.set_char_range(Some(egui::text::CCursorRange::two(
+                            egui::text::CCursor::new(new_sel.start),
+                            egui::text::CCursor::new(new_sel.end),
+                        )));
+                        state.store(ui.ctx(), output.response.id);
+                        ui.ctx().request_repaint();
+                    }
+                }
             });
     }
 
@@ -1574,6 +1595,126 @@ fn lerp_color(a: egui::Color32, b: egui::Color32, t: f32) -> egui::Color32 {
     )
 }
 
+/// An inline markdown formatting action triggered by an editor hotkey.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Debug)]
+enum Fmt {
+    Bold,
+    Italic,
+    Code,
+    Strike,
+    Link,
+}
+
+impl Fmt {
+    /// The `(prefix, suffix)` markers wrapped around the selection.
+    fn markers(self) -> (&'static str, &'static str) {
+        match self {
+            Fmt::Bold => ("**", "**"),
+            Fmt::Italic => ("*", "*"),
+            Fmt::Code => ("`", "`"),
+            Fmt::Strike => ("~~", "~~"),
+            Fmt::Link => ("[", "](url)"),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Map a formatting hotkey (if pressed this frame) to its action, consuming the
+/// key event so nothing else reacts to it. Cmd+Shift+X is checked first because
+/// `consume_key` ignores an *extra* Shift, so a bare Cmd+X test would swallow it.
+fn detect_format_hotkey(input: &mut egui::InputState) -> Option<Fmt> {
+    use egui::{Key, Modifiers};
+    let cmd = Modifiers::COMMAND;
+    if input.consume_key(cmd | Modifiers::SHIFT, Key::X) {
+        return Some(Fmt::Strike);
+    }
+    if input.consume_key(cmd, Key::B) {
+        return Some(Fmt::Bold);
+    }
+    if input.consume_key(cmd, Key::I) {
+        return Some(Fmt::Italic);
+    }
+    if input.consume_key(cmd, Key::E) {
+        return Some(Fmt::Code);
+    }
+    if input.consume_key(cmd, Key::K) {
+        return Some(Fmt::Link);
+    }
+    None
+}
+
+/// Byte offset of the `char_idx`-th character in `s` (or `s.len()` if past the end).
+fn char_to_byte(s: &str, char_idx: usize) -> usize {
+    s.char_indices()
+        .nth(char_idx)
+        .map(|(b, _)| b)
+        .unwrap_or(s.len())
+}
+
+/// Apply an inline-format action to `text` given a selection in *character*
+/// indices, returning the new text and the new selection (also character indices).
+///
+/// Symmetric markers toggle: if the selection is already wrapped — markers just
+/// inside it, or immediately surrounding it — the markers are removed; otherwise
+/// they are added (an empty selection just drops the markers with the caret
+/// between them). A link wraps the selection as the link text and selects the
+/// `url` placeholder so it can be replaced.
+fn apply_format(
+    text: &str,
+    sel: std::ops::Range<usize>,
+    fmt: Fmt,
+) -> (String, std::ops::Range<usize>) {
+    let (prefix, suffix) = fmt.markers();
+    let start = sel.start.min(sel.end);
+    let end = sel.start.max(sel.end);
+    let b_start = char_to_byte(text, start);
+    let b_end = char_to_byte(text, end);
+    let selected = &text[b_start..b_end];
+    let plen = prefix.chars().count();
+    let slen = suffix.chars().count();
+
+    if fmt == Fmt::Link {
+        let new = format!(
+            "{}{}{}{}{}",
+            &text[..b_start], prefix, selected, suffix, &text[b_end..]
+        );
+        // The url placeholder sits after "](" (2 chars) inside the suffix.
+        let url_start = start + plen + selected.chars().count() + 2;
+        return (new, url_start..url_start + 3);
+    }
+
+    // Toggle: markers immediately inside the selection.
+    if selected.starts_with(prefix)
+        && selected.ends_with(suffix)
+        && selected.len() >= prefix.len() + suffix.len()
+    {
+        let inner = &selected[prefix.len()..selected.len() - suffix.len()];
+        let new = format!("{}{}{}", &text[..b_start], inner, &text[b_end..]);
+        return (new, start..(end - plen - slen));
+    }
+
+    // Toggle: markers immediately surrounding the selection.
+    if text[..b_start].ends_with(prefix) && text[b_end..].starts_with(suffix) {
+        let new = format!(
+            "{}{}{}",
+            &text[..b_start - prefix.len()],
+            selected,
+            &text[b_end + suffix.len()..]
+        );
+        return (new, (start - plen)..(end - plen));
+    }
+
+    // Wrap.
+    let new = format!(
+        "{}{}{}{}{}",
+        &text[..b_start], prefix, selected, suffix, &text[b_end..]
+    );
+    if start == end {
+        (new, (start + plen)..(start + plen))
+    } else {
+        (new, (start + plen)..(end + plen))
+    }
+}
+
 /// Very small markdown-ish preview (headings emphasised, everything else plain).
 fn render_preview(ui: &mut egui::Ui, markdown: &str) {
     use pulldown_cmark::{Event, HeadingLevel, Options, Parser, Tag, TagEnd};
@@ -1810,4 +1951,52 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(thousands(12_345), "12,345");
         assert_eq!(thousands(1_234_567), "1,234,567");
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn wraps_a_selection_in_bold_and_keeps_it_selected() {
+        let (text, sel) = apply_format("a word here", 2..6, Fmt::Bold);
+        assert_eq!(text, "a **word** here");
+        // The original "word" stays selected, shifted past the "**".
+        assert_eq!(&text[char_to_byte(&text, sel.start)..char_to_byte(&text, sel.end)], "word");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn empty_selection_inserts_markers_with_caret_between() {
+        let (text, sel) = apply_format("ab", 1..1, Fmt::Italic);
+        assert_eq!(text, "a**b");
+        // Caret lands between the two "*", i.e. char index 2.
+        assert_eq!(sel, 2..2);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn re_applying_bold_inside_selection_unwraps_it() {
+        // Selecting "**word**" and hitting bold again removes the markers.
+        let (text, sel) = apply_format("a **word** here", 2..10, Fmt::Bold);
+        assert_eq!(text, "a word here");
+        assert_eq!(&text[char_to_byte(&text, sel.start)..char_to_byte(&text, sel.end)], "word");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn bold_unwraps_when_markers_surround_the_selection() {
+        // Selecting just "word" inside **word** and hitting bold strips them.
+        let (text, sel) = apply_format("a **word** here", 4..8, Fmt::Bold);
+        assert_eq!(text, "a word here");
+        assert_eq!(&text[char_to_byte(&text, sel.start)..char_to_byte(&text, sel.end)], "word");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn link_wraps_selection_and_selects_the_url_placeholder() {
+        let (text, sel) = apply_format("see docs now", 4..8, Fmt::Link);
+        assert_eq!(text, "see [docs](url) now");
+        assert_eq!(&text[char_to_byte(&text, sel.start)..char_to_byte(&text, sel.end)], "url");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn format_respects_multibyte_char_offsets() {
+        // "café " is 5 chars but 6 bytes; selecting "word" (chars 5..9) must
+        // still land on the right bytes.
+        let (text, sel) = apply_format("café word", 5..9, Fmt::Code);
+        assert_eq!(text, "café `word`");
+        assert_eq!(&text[char_to_byte(&text, sel.start)..char_to_byte(&text, sel.end)], "word");
+    }
 }

src/help.rs

@@ -54,6 +54,24 @@ fn cheatsheet_body(ui: &mut egui::Ui) {
         ],
     );
 
+    section(ui, "Formatting hotkeys");
+    syntax(
+        ui,
+        "cs-keys",
+        &[
+            ("Ctrl/Cmd + B", "Bold the selection (**…**)."),
+            ("Ctrl/Cmd + I", "Italicise the selection (*…*)."),
+            ("Ctrl/Cmd + E", "Inline code (`…`)."),
+            ("Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + X", "Strikethrough (~~…~~)."),
+            ("Ctrl/Cmd + K", "Wrap as a link and select the url to replace."),
+        ],
+    );
+    note(
+        ui,
+        "Applied to the selected text (or the caret, for an empty selection). \
+         Pressing the same key on already-wrapped text removes the markers.",
+    );
+
     section(ui, "Paragraphs & breaks");
     syntax(
         ui,