Services or capabilities described in Amazon Web Services documentation might vary by Region. To see the differences applicable to the China Regions, see Getting Started with Amazon Web Services in China (PDF).

Using Markdown in the Console

Some services in the Amazon Web Services Management Console, such as Amazon CloudWatch, support the use of Markdown in certain fields. This topic explains the types of Markdown formatting supported in the console.

Paragraphs, Line Spacing, and Horizontal Lines

Paragraphs are separated by a blank line. To make sure that the blank line between the paragraphs renders when it is converted to HTML, add a new line with a non-break space ( ) and then a blank line. Repeat this pair of lines to insert multiple blank lines one after the other, as in the following example:

 
     
 

To create a horizontal rule that separates the paragraphs, add a new line with three hyphens in a row: ---

Previous paragraph.
---
Next paragraph.

To create a text block with monospace type, add a line with three backticks (`). Enter the text to show in monospace type. Then, add another new line with three backticks. The following example shows text that will be formatted to monospace type when displayed:

```
This appears in a text box with a background shading.
The text is in monospace.
```

Headings

To create headings, use the pound sign (#). A single pound sign and a space indicate a top-level heading. Two pound signs create a second-level heading, and three pound signs create a third-level heading. The following examples show a top-level, second-level, and third-level heading:

 # Top-level heading

 ## Second-level heading

 ### Third-level heading

Text Formatting

To format text as italic, surround it with a single underscore ( _ ) or asterisk (*) on each side.

*This text appears in italics.*

To format text as bold, surround it with double underscores or double asterisks on each side.

**This text appears in bold.**

To format text as strikethrough, surround it with two tildes (~) on each side.

~~This text appears in strikethrough.~~

Links

To add a text hyperlink, enter the link text surrounded by square brackets ([ ]), followed by the full URL in parentheses (( )), as in the following example:

Choose [link_text](http://my.example.com).

Lists

To format lines as part of a bulleted list, add them on separate lines that start with with a single asterisk (*) and then a space, as in the following example:

Here is a bulleted list:
* Ant
* Bug
* Caterpillar

To format lines as part of a numbered list, add them on separate lines that start with with a number, a period (.), and a space, as in the following example:

Here is a numbered list:
1. Do the first step
2. Do the next step
3. Do the final step

Tables and Buttons (CloudWatch Dashboards)

CloudWatch dashboards text widgets support Markdown tables and buttons.

To create a table, separate columns using vertical bars (|) and rows using new lines. To make the first row a header row, insert a line between the header row and the first row of values. Then, add at least three hyphens (-) for each column in the table. Separate columns using vertical bars. The following example shows Markdown for a table with two columns, a header row, and two rows of data:

Table | Header
----|-----
Amazon Web Services | Amazon
1 | 2

The Markdown text in the previous example creates the following table:

In a CloudWatch dashboard text widget, you can also format a hyperlink to appear as a button. To create a button, use [button:Button text], followed by the full URL in parentheses(( )), as in the following example:

[button:Go to Amazon](http://my.example.com) 
[button:primary:This button stands out even more](http://my.example.com)