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---
stage: Create
group: Source Code
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info: "To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments"
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type: reference
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description: "Autocomplete characters in Markdown fields."
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---
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# Autocomplete characters **(FREE)**
> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/36705) in GitLab 13.9: you can search using the full name in user autocomplete.
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The autocomplete characters provide a quick way of entering field values into
Markdown fields. When you start typing a word in a Markdown field with one of
the following characters, GitLab progressively autocompletes against a set of
matching values. The string matching is not case sensitive.
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| Character | Autocompletes | Relevant matches shown |
| :-------- | :------------ | :---- |
| `~` | Labels | 20 |
| `%` | Milestones | 5 |
| `@` | Users and groups | 10 |
| `#` | Issues | 5 |
| `!` | Merge requests | 5 |
| `&` | Epics | 5 |
| `$` | Snippets | 5 |
| `:` | Emoji | 5 |
| `/` | Quick Actions | 100 |
When you select an item from the list, the value is entered in the field.
The more characters you enter, the more precise the matches are.
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Autocomplete characters are useful when combined with [Quick Actions ](quick_actions.md ).
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## User autocomplete
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Assume your GitLab instance includes the following users:
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<!-- vale gitlab.Spelling = NO -->
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| Username | Name |
| :-------------- | :--- |
| alessandra | Rosy Grant |
| lawrence.white | Kelsey Kerluke |
| leanna | Rosemarie Rogahn |
| logan_gutkowski | Lee Wuckert |
| shelba | Josefine Haley |
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<!-- vale gitlab.Spelling = YES -->
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User autocompletion sorts by the users whose username or name start with your query first.
For example, typing `@lea` shows `leanna` first and typing `@ros` shows `Rosemarie Rogahn` and `Rosy Grant` first.
Any usernames or names that include your query are shown afterwards in the autocomplete menu.
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You can also search across the full name to find a user.
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To find `Rosy Grant` , even if their username is for example `alessandra` , you can type their full name without spaces like `@rosygrant` .
