You can set some text in italic or in bold by writing it between stars or double stars.

*This sentence is in italic.* Not this one. **This one is in bold.**

would appear as

But you don't have to write the stars yourself, you can select some text and hit ctrlI or ctrlB.

A citation appears like this :

You can write the markdown yourself :

> this is a citation

Or you can select some text and hit ctrlQ.

If you want to set just one line in citation, you can put your cursor in the line before hitting ctrlQ without selecting the whole line.

When you paste an URL, it appears in the code as you'd expect :

If you want to give a specific label, as in

then you may use this Markdown syntax :

link : [How to do links](http://miaou.dystroy.org/help#Links)

If the URL of an image is the only thing you have in one line of your message, then the image is boxed. For example the message

http://dystroy.org/re7210/img/tartines-saint-jacques-850-02.jpg

is rendered as

If the image you want to display isn't available on internet but is on your computer, hit the Upload button. You'll then be presented a file selection dialog. The chosen image will be uploaded to imgur and inserted in your message.

On Chrome, you may also directly paste an image from the clipboard to the input area.

Code can be inlined in the text :

This is done using backtick quotes :

You can use `Array.apply(0,Array(N)).map(Math.random)` to generate an array of N random numbers.

You can also have whole blocks of code :

To do that, indent the whole block of code with four spaces or a tabulation :

Here's a fast replacement for jQuery's old `toggle` function :
$.fn.toggleFuncs = function() {
	var functions = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
	var _this = this.click(function(){
		var i = _this.data('func_count') || 0;
		functions[i%functions.length].call(_this);
		_this.data('func_count', i+1);
	});
}

You don't have to manually put the backtick quotes or the tabulations : you may also use ctrlK.

When you hit ctrlK just after having pasted some code, you don't have to select it, it will automatically apply to the pasted text.

When the cursor is in a block of code, a menu appears and let you choose the coding language, which will be used for syntactic coloration.

You can alert another user by typing an arobase followed by her username in a message, as in

Hello @dystroy !

If the user checked the "Be notified on ping" checkbox, she'll see a silent notification.

By hovering the name of a user in the list at the left, you reveal a ping button which inserts the related ping in the message area.

If you choose to type the name instead of using the button, it's autocompleted. Hit the tab and esc keys to navigate through proposals. Users having been seen recently in the room are listed first but you can also ping somebody who never came to the room, she will get an invitation to join it.

By hovering the message of another user, you reveal a reply button. Replying inserts a specific type of ping, including a link to that message.

But the easiest way to reply to a message is usually to select it with an arrow button while holding the ctrl key down.

Some links are automatically rendered in Miaou messages:

• links to wikipedia pages are rendered as abstracts with links
• links to many Stack Exchange sites (including Stack Overflow) are rendered in place
• links to YouTube videos are replaced with a player
• links to images

The special formatting of Miaou messages allow other features. Some of them are even introduced by plugins.

Some examples:

• tables (like the one you get if you type the !!stats rooms command)
• lists
• graphs

The best to discover them is usually to ask other users.

Most often, the effect of a shorctut is reversed by redoing it. Some actions like replying or editing can be cancelled with the esc key

There are 4 vote buttons :

Those buttons let you express an appreciation or ensure the visibility of important messages.

To edit one of your recent messages, simply hover it to reveal the edit button, change it, and then resubmit it. It will appear with theicon to everybody.

Instead of going for the button, you can also use the ↑ arrow key to edit your last message.

Messages marked withicon can be edited by anybody. Those messages are "white boards" and are created by starting a message with!!whiteboard

When you hover the name of a user in the left column of the window, you see a PM button. This button lets you enter a special room created for you and the other user and in which you can discuss privately.

You'll be able to get back to this room later, either by using the same PM button or by looking in the Dialog Rooms tab of Miaou's home page.

Those commands are used to notify connected users in all the rooms you're in (including the ones you watch) that you're leaving ("away from keyboard") or that you're back. You may add a few words.

Use !!pm @someotheruser to start discussing privately with another user.

adds to your message an abstract of the wikipedia.org page in the language of the room. For example :

!!wiki Albert Einstein

Note that you may also directly insert in a message a link to a wikipedia page (in the language of your choice).

You may launch a video chat with another connected user. Simply type

!!video @somebody

Note that both the command (video) and the user name (somebody) are autocompleted as you type (hit tab to navigate through proposals).

If you don't want to see or being seen, you may launch a simple audio chat using

!!audio @somebody

In both case, no plugin is needed in the browser, it also works on most mobile phones.

Some enterprise proxies block streaming. In that case you'll only see a black rectangle instead of the other chatter.