Formatting Application Question Responses

ZoomGrants prioritizes the consistent readability of text responses on the review side (where the program administrators and application reviewers read submitted applications), so ZoomGrants text boxes will save unformatted text only (no formatted lists, bolds, italics, underlines, unique fonts or font sizes etc.).

However, for long-form responses to paragraph-style questions, it can be helpful to use some basic formatting to delineate different sections of the response, highlight specific points, or list certain information. There are other ways that applicants can add simple formatting to their longer answers:

  • ALL CAPS can create headers within the text.
  • Hyphens, letters, or numbers can be used to create lists.
  • Asterisks can *highlight* certain words.

Having trouble copying and pasting your text in your application?

Many word processors use invisible characters to help create the special formatting that you can see in the document on your screen. While they make a text file pretty on your computer, some of those characters don’t play nicely on the internet and can result in an issue with the saving of the pasted text in your application.

Here are some tips to avoid a last-minute pasting issue:

  1. If you’re copying content that you’ve already created, remove all of the formatting from the file before copying the text. (In Word, select all of the text then click Edit > Clear > Clear Formatting.)
  2. If you’re creating content to be copied later, avoid using auto-formatting, including bulleted or numbered lists.
  3. Don’t wait until the last minute to finish the online version of your application. If money is on the line, be sure that you’re giving yourself ample time to put your best effort into the application and submit early, even if you’ve submitted a similar application several times before. Each application deserves special consideration.

Still having trouble getting an answer to save? Read this help article: The Saving screen is still flashing – now what?