---
title: Why My Rich Text Turns into Bullet Points or Bold/Italic?
description: Why My Rich Text Turns into Bullet Points or Bold/Italic?
---
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# Why My Rich Text Turns into Bullet Points or Bold/Italic?
## How to Prevent Unwanted Auto-Formatting in the Description Field
### **Introduction**
The description field in ServiceBox applies automatic formatting (such as bullet points or italics) when certain characters are typed at the beginning of a line. While this feature mimics the behavior of tools like Microsoft Word, it may cause unintended formatting changes in your content. This article outlines a simple workaround to avoid that.
### **Cause of Auto-Formatting:**
Characters such as hyphens (`-`), asterisks (`*`), and tildes (`~`) at the start of a line can trigger automatic formatting. For example:
- Typing `- Item 1` may auto-convert to a bullet point.
- Typing `*Text*` may result in italicized text.
### **Workaround: Insert a Leading Space**
To prevent ServiceBox from interpreting these characters as formatting triggers:
1. **Add a space** before the formatting character.
- Example: Instead of `- Item 1`, type `- Item 1`.
2. Repeat this for each line where formatting is not desired.
3. This ensures that the characters are treated as plain text and no formatting is applied.
4. Make sure the space and the character are both placed at the start of the line.
This approach gives you full control over how your text appears, preventing any automatic styling changes.
### **Need Help?**
If you have any questions or need support, please click the Help button in your ServiceBox account or email us at **support@getservicebox.com**.
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