August 24, 2023, 9:04 am | Read time: 3 minutes
WhatsApp is constantly working to expand its range of features, both large and small. Now, the messenger is apparently introducing two new features that affect the classic text message.
WhatsApp initially broke through as a free SMS replacement. But for a long time now, the messenger has been able to do more than just send text messages: voice messages and images in HD quality, internet calls, and group voice chats are just the biggest features now included in the WhatsApp package. Now, the classic chat function is set to receive a bit of refinement with a new quoting feature. The second new feature, however, is aimed at a rather specific target group.
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New Quoting Feature in WhatsApp Chat
The existing options for formatting a text message only include italic, bold, strikethrough, and single-color font settings. How this works is explained by TECHBOOK in this WhatsApp article. Now, the WhatsApp chat is supposed to get another feature that allows parts of the message to be formatted as a quote. There is already a similar trick where you can mark an entire message and then reply to it. This immediately makes it clear which message you are referring to.
In the future, however, it should also be possible to format individual parts of a message as a quote, so misunderstandings can be avoided even better. Especially in dynamic group chats or with a long message containing multiple topics, this feature could prove useful.
Code Snippets and Shopping Lists
The second feature is likely to help software developers, programmers, and other users in the tech sector who regularly exchange code snippets. Until now, anyone who wanted to share their code or excerpts of it via WhatsApp had to send a rather confusing pile of information, which made reading and exchanging more difficult.
However, that should soon come to an end. With the “Code Block” feature, users can format lines of code and make them more readable. The blog WABetaInfo writes: “The ‘Code Block’ feature was developed to make sharing and reading lines of code on WhatsApp much more convenient.” And there’s also one last small improvement for those who usually have little to do with codes: text messages can soon also be structured in bullet point lists.
At the moment, these features are still being tested in WhatsApp Desktop Beta. Once WhatsApp officially rolls them out to all users, the desktop version of the messenger could move closer to classic office chat programs.