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Formatting Target Text in the Editor

Apply Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript, and Subscript to your target text directly in the Editor, for DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files.

Formatting Target Text in the Editor

When you're translating a DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX file, you can apply inline formatting directly to your target text in the wxrks Editor — no need to export the file first to bold a term, underline a heading, or superscript a footnote marker. The formatting toolbar supports Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript, and Subscript.

Prerequisites & Audience

  • Audience: Vendors and Project Managers who translate or edit target text directly in the Editor and need to preserve or apply inline formatting.

  • Formats supported: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript, and Subscript.

  • File types supported: DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX only. Other formats (HTML, JSON, XLIFF, and so on) don't carry a rich-text structure, so the formatting toolbar doesn't appear for them.

  • Required Permission: None beyond standard segment edit access — the toolbar follows the same editability rules as the rest of the target text field (it's hidden on locked or read-only segments).

Table of Contents

Overview & Key Concepts

Concept / Term

Description

Formatting toolbar

A small floating toolbar that appears above your text selection, with buttons for Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript, Subscript, and Clear Formatting.

Active format

A format currently applied to your selection — its button is shown highlighted in the toolbar.

Superscript / Subscript

Raises (X²) or lowers (X₂) the selected text relative to the surrounding line, the same way it renders in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

Mutually exclusive formats

Superscript and Subscript can't both be active on the same text at once. Applying one automatically turns the other off — no extra click needed.

Clear Formatting

Removes every format (Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript, and Subscript) from the selected text in one click.

ℹ️ Note: The formatting toolbar only appears for DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files. Other file formats don't support inline target formatting, since there's no rich-text structure in the original file to carry it.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Select Target Text

  1. Open a segment in the Editor (or the Review view) for a DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX file.

  2. Click into the target text field and select the text you want to format.

  3. A formatting toolbar appears automatically above your selection.

wxrks Editor with a word selected in a DOCX segment's target text field and the floating formatting toolbar above it, red-boxed: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript (X²), Subscript (X₂), and Clear formatting buttons.

Step 2: Apply a Format

Click a formatting button to apply it: B for Bold, I for Italic, U for Underline, S for Strikethrough, X² for Superscript, X₂ for Subscript. The button lights up to show the format is now active, and the formatted text renders immediately in the segment — for example, selecting the "2" in H2O and clicking X₂ renders it as H₂O, the same way it would look in the exported file.

Formatting toolbar with the Subscript button (X₂) highlighted as active and red-boxed, after applying Subscript to the selected target text, which now renders lowered in the segment.

To remove a single format, select the text again and click the same button — it toggles off. You can combine most formats freely on the same text (for example, Subscript together with Underline):

Formatting toolbar, red-boxed, with both Underline (U) and Subscript (X₂) highlighted as active on the same selected target text, which renders lowered and underlined.

ℹ️ Note: If your selection only partially overlaps a formatted range — for example, it starts in plain text and extends into text that's already Subscript — clicking a format button applies that format to the entire selection rather than removing it. Click again, with the same full selection, to remove it.

Step 3: Switch Between Superscript and Subscript

Superscript and Subscript share the same vertical position in the final file, so only one can apply to a given piece of text.

ℹ️ Note: Clicking Superscript while Subscript is active on the same selection turns Subscript off automatically and turns Superscript on — you don't need to click Subscript again to deselect it first. Formats on different properties, like Underline, stay active.

Formatting toolbar with Superscript (X²) active and red-boxed after clicking it on text that previously had Subscript applied; Subscript is no longer highlighted and Underline is still active.

Step 4: Clear All Formatting

To remove every format from the selection in one step, click Clear Formatting at the end of the toolbar. This also removes an active Superscript or Subscript.

Clear formatting button red-boxed at the end of the formatting toolbar, next to the active Subscript (X₂) and Underline buttons.

Important Behavior and Edge Cases

  • The toolbar only appears while you have an active text selection. It disappears as soon as you click elsewhere, start typing, or collapse your selection.

  • Superscript and Subscript combine freely with Bold, Italic, Underline, and Strikethrough, but not with each other.

  • If your selection is only partially formatted, clicking a format button applies it to the whole selection first; click again to remove it.

  • Formatting is preserved on export — Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Superscript, and Subscript applied in the Editor appear in the downloaded DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX file, using the same native formatting the source application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) would produce.

  • The toolbar doesn't appear on read-only segments or in source text fields — it only applies to editable target text.

Troubleshooting

Problem

Root Cause

Solution

The formatting toolbar doesn't appear when I select text.

The file type is not DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX, or the segment's target field isn't editable (locked, confirmed, or read-only).

Confirm the file type and that the segment is editable.

I clicked Subscript, but Superscript turned off on the same text.

Superscript and Subscript are mutually exclusive by design — a run can only carry one vertical alignment in the exported file.

This is expected. Reapply Superscript if that's the format you meant to keep.

My formatting disappeared after editing the text.

Selecting across a tag or special character can affect how the format wraps your text.

Re-select just the text you want to format and apply it again.

I can't tell if a format is applied.

The toolbar isn't currently visible for that text.

Click inside the formatted text and check the toolbar — the matching button appears highlighted.

Quick Reference

Action

How

Apply Bold / Italic / Underline / Strikethrough

Select target text → click the format button in the floating toolbar

Apply Superscript / Subscript

Select target text → click X² or X₂ in the floating toolbar

Switch from Superscript to Subscript (or back)

Select the text → click the other button; the first one turns off automatically

Remove a single format

Select the formatted text → click the same button again

Remove all formatting at once

Select text → click Clear Formatting

Toolbar not showing

Confirm the file type is DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX, and the segment is editable

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