> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.glassine.ink/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The first ten minutes

> The window, the sidebar, and the handful of keys that do most of the work.

There is one window. The sidebar on the left is the library; the glass on the right is the page. A welcome document is open on first launch, and you can start typing into it or press ⌘N for a fresh one.

<Steps>
  <Step title="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](/editor/markdown) 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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 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](/editor/focus-and-typewriter).

## 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](/library/files) covers saving, conflicts and moving the library somewhere else.