Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 11/12/2025, 6:40:10 PM
Added description
This document serves as a quick reference for new Substack users and can be used in training materials or
@file_pinax:metadata {title: "How to Use the Substack Editor", type: "Text", creator: "Substack", created: @date_2023, language: "en", subjects: ["Substack", "Editor Tutorial", "Formatting Options", "Block Quotes", "Headings", "Embedding Content"], description: "A tutorial on how to use the Substack editor, including formatting options, headings, and embedding content."}
@file_125962877_how_to_use_the_substack_editor:document {title: "How to Use the Substack Editor", year: @date_2023, format: "HTML", source_file: @file_pinax}
@substack_editor:software {description: "Web‑based rich‑text editor used by writers on the Substack platform to create, format, and publish posts."}
@substack_editor_tutorial:document {title: "How to Use the Substack Editor", year: @date_2023, created_from: @file_125962877_how_to_use_the_substack_editor}
@block_quotes:concept {definition: "A block‑level quotation style that visually separates quoted text from surrounding content."}
@bold:concept {definition: "Text styling that makes characters appear heavier to emphasize importance."}
@italic:concept {definition: "Text styling that slants characters to indicate emphasis or titles."}
@links:concept {definition: "Hypertext elements that connect a piece of text or media to a URL."}
@headings:concept {definition: "Hierarchical text elements (e.g., H1‑H6) used to structure a document."}
@embeddings:concept {definition: "In‑line inclusion of external media such as images, videos, or audio within a post."}
@image_embedding:concept {definition: "Embedding of an image file directly into the editor content."}
@tweet_embedding:concept {definition: "Embedding of a Twitter post by pasting its URL on a new line."}
@youtube_embedding:concept {definition: "Embedding of a YouTube video via its URL on a new line."}
@vimeo_embedding:concept {definition: "Embedding of a Vimeo video via its URL on a new line."}
@spotify_embedding:concept {definition: "Embedding of a Spotify album/track via its URL on a new line."}
@soundcloud_embedding:concept {definition: "Embedding of a SoundCloud track via its URL on a new line."}
@settings_button:ui_element {description: "Button in the Substack editor UI that opens post settings, located left of the Publish button."}
@publish_option:concept {types: ["Publish", "Publish & Send"], description: "Two publishing modes: Publish only to the web, or Publish and simultaneously send the post by email."}
@help_center:organization {description: "Substack’s support portal for user assistance."}
@support_contact:concept {description: "Form for submitting support requests to Substack."}
@file_125962877_how_to_use_the_substack_editor -> documents -> @substack_editor_tutorial
@substack_editor_tutorial -> teaches -> @substack_editor:software
@substack_editor_tutorial -> covers -> [@block_quotes, @bold, @italic, @links, @headings, @embeddings]
@substack_editor_tutorial -> demonstrates -> [@image_embedding, @tweet_embedding, @youtube_embedding, @vimeo_embedding, @spotify_embedding, @soundcloud_embedding]
@substack_editor_tutorial -> includes -> @settings_button:ui_element
@substack_editor_tutorial -> explains -> @publish_option:concept
@substack_editor_tutorial -> provides -> @help_center:organization {url: "https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us"}
@substack_editor_tutorial -> provides -> @support_contact:concept {url: "https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/requests/new"}<p>Hi! This is a draft post. Did you know that there are a bunch of nice formatting options in this editor? For example:</p><blockquote><p>Block quotes are a nice way to put a quote or excerpt from a source. They make it clear that it is a quote.</p></blockquote><p>Of course, you can also do <strong>bold, </strong><em>italic</em>, <a href="https://www.substack.com">links</a>,<strong> </strong>and all that good stuff.</p><h3>Headings and Embeddings</h3><p>You can have headings in posts. Just use the “Style”<em> </em>list in the toolbar. You can also embed different types of content. To add an image, just drag it in here or use the image selector tool in the toolbar.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2WtI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2WtI!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2WtI!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2WtI!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2WtI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":null,"width":null,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null,"belowTheFold":false,"topImage":true,"internalRedirect":null,"isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2WtI!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2WtI!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2WtI!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2WtI!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec21723-9bb2-4ea6-8fc2-09d17ba3bd1a_4032x3024 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>For a tweet, YouTube video, Vimeo video, Spotify track, or SoundCloud embed, just paste the relevant link on a new line (don’t grab the embed code; it won’t work).</p><div data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM" class="tweet" data-attrs="{"url":"https://twitter.com/hamishmckenzie/status/941694455853101056","full_text":"Twitter is an amazing tool and an awful place.","username":"hamishmckenzie","name":"Hamish McKenzie","date":"Fri Dec 15 15:40:28 +0000 2017","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":1,"like_count":5,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null,"belowTheFold":false}"><a class="tweet-link-top" href="https://twitter.com/hamishmckenzie/status/941694455853101056" target="_blank"><div class="tweet-header"><img class="tweet-header-avatar" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/hamishmckenzie.jpg" alt="Twitter avatar for @hamishmckenzie"><div class="tweet-header-text"><span class="tweet-author-name">Hamish McKenzie </span><span class="tweet-author-handle">@hamishmckenzie</span></div></div><div class="tweet-text">Twitter is an amazing tool and an awful place.</div></a><a class="tweet-link-bottom" href="https://twitter.com/hamishmckenzie/status/941694455853101056" target="_blank"><div class="tweet-footer"><span class="tweet-date">3:40 PM ∙ Dec 15, 2017</span><hr><div class="tweet-ufi"><span href="https://twitter.com/hamishmckenzie/status/941694455853101056/likes" class="likes"><span class="like-count">5</span>Likes</span><span href="https://twitter.com/hamishmckenzie/status/941694455853101056/retweets" class="retweets"><span class="rt-count">1</span>Retweet</span></div></div></a></div><div id="youtube2-ZoEUu1XHL7U" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{"videoId":"ZoEUu1XHL7U","startTime":null,"endTime":null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ZoEUu1XHL7U?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><div id="vimeo-288003645" class="vimeo-wrap" data-attrs="{"videoId":"288003645","videoKey":"","belowTheFold":true}" data-component-name="VimeoToDOM"><div class="vimeo-inner"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/288003645?autoplay=0" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" loading="lazy"></iframe></div></div><p></p><iframe class="spotify-wrap album" data-attrs="{"image":"https://i.scdn.co/image/4988546859334f9a5a3fa4acedc5aea275929026","title":"LOVE. FEAT. ZACARI.","subtitle":"Kendrick Lamar, Zacari","description":"","url":"https://open.spotify.com/album/4eLPsYPBmXABThSJ821sqY","belowTheFold":true,"noScroll":false}" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/4eLPsYPBmXABThSJ821sqY" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen="true" allow="encrypted-media" loading="lazy" data-component-name="Spotify2ToDOM"></iframe><div class="soundcloud-wrap" data-attrs="{"url":"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/522545169","title":"UBI, Automation & Society in the US: Andrew Yang & Azeem Azhar in Conversation by Exponential View","description":"Azeem Azhar speaks with Andrew Yang, entrepreneur and author, who is standing for President in the 2020 U.S. elections. At the heart of Andrew's platform is the \"freedom dividend\", a universal basic income of $1,000, payable to all Americans every month. Azeem and Andrew discuss core ideas behind Andrew's platform, why they are necessary, and how to get there. www.exponentialview.co","thumbnail_url":"http://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000431458485-eu1ioh-t500x500.jpg","author_name":"Exponential View","author_url":"https://soundcloud.com/exponentialview","targetUrl":""}" data-component-name="SoundcloudToDOM"><iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?auto_play=false&buying=false&liking=false&download=false&sharing=false&show_artwork=true&show_comments=false&show_playcount=false&show_user=true&hide_related=true&visual=false&start_track=0&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F522545169" frameborder="0" gesture="media" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div><p>To delete a post, click on the <strong>Settings</strong> button (just to the left of Publish), and scroll down and find the delete button. </p><h4>Publishing Changes</h4><p>You have two publishing options: </p><ol><li><p><strong>Publish</strong> – this publishes your post only to the web. </p></li><li><p><strong>Publish & Send</strong> – this publishes your post to the web and at the same time sends the post out by email. </p></li></ol><p>Note: Once you have sent an email out, the only way to send it again is to create an entirely new post. Any edits you make to a post that has already been published will only be reflected on the web. So, there’s no need to worry about accidentally spamming your subscribers with repeat emails. </p><p>Finally, if you import posts from some other site’s archives, you can backdate them so they are published in the correct order and associated with the correct publication dates. To do so, after you have published a post, go into that post’s Settings (just to the left of the Publish button) and select the desired date. </p><p>If you have any questions, you can check out our <a href="https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us">Help Center</a> or <a href="https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/requests/new">contact support</a>!</p><p></p><p></p>No children (leaf entity)