1
Write
Type. Markdown is styled as you go —
# for a heading, **bold**, - for a bullet, - [ ] for a task — with the syntax kept visible but stepped back, so the file underneath stays plain text any other app can read. The Markdown page has the full list.Nothing needs saving. Glassine writes the file about half a second after you stop typing and every few seconds while you keep going; the small dot at the bottom-left tells you where things stand.2
Name nothing
A new document starts as “Untitled” and takes its file name from its first line as you write. Change the heading and watch the sidebar follow. If you rename a file yourself (⌘R), Glassine stops touching its name.
3
Hide the sidebar
⌘S hides it; ⌘S brings it back. (⌘\ does the same.) Chrome also steps back on its own while you type: the footer and the sidebar toggle fade to almost nothing on the first keystroke and return when the pointer moves.
4
See everything
⌘1 (or ⌘P) opens All Documents, a wall of cards with a rendered preview of each document. Arrow keys move between cards, Return opens one, Esc comes back. From the editor, Esc goes the other way: the page shrinks back into its card.
5
Search
⌘F searches titles, tags and the full text of every document. In All Documents the top result is selected as you type, so Return opens it. Esc clears the search.
6
Read it back
⌘↩ swaps the editor for Review: the document rendered as a finished page in one of five styles. ⌘↩ or Esc returns to the editor at about the same place.
7
Choose how it looks
View → Theme lists nine built-in themes; Dusk is the default. Settings (⌘,) has the type, the caret, the modes, and a theme editor with live preview.
8
Look at the shortcut sheet
⌘/ shows every shortcut on one translucent card. ⌘K opens a command bar that lists what makes sense wherever you are.
The two modes worth trying early
Typewriter scrolling (⌃⌘T) keeps the line you are writing at the same height on screen, so the page moves and your eyes do not. Focus mode (⌃⌘F) dims everything but the paragraph (or sentence) you are in. Markdown stays styled in the dim, just darker and less saturated. Scrolling lifts the dimming so you can read around; the next click or keystroke brings it back wherever the caret lands. Both are on by default on a fresh install, and both are on the modes page.Keeping it on top
⌘. (or View → Float on Top) makes the window float over every other app’s windows, and — if you use Stage Manager — stay on screen when you switch to another app’s set instead of being swept away with the rest of Glassine. A small pin appears in the footer while it floats; ⌘. again puts the window back among the others. The switch is remembered between launches.Where the files are
iCloud Drive/Glassine in Finder. Every document is a .md file, every folder a folder. Drop files in from Finder or another Mac and they show up in the sidebar within a few seconds. The files page covers saving, conflicts and moving the library somewhere else.