Less figuring out.
More writing.

01 / KEEP YOUR FILES

Pick up where you left off.

Coming from Typora or another Markdown editor? Try a copy of an existing draft first. Ordinary Markdown files do not need conversion to a proprietary format.

1. Keep a backup of the original draft and its image folder. Choose a representative .md file.
2. In Textend, choose File → Open External File…, or open a local folder. File → New Document starts a fresh draft.
3. Check headings, lists, images, equations, and extended syntax. Use View → Source Code Mode to inspect the original Markdown.
4. Save a copy and check an export. Once you are happy with it, continue with the rest of your writing.

02 / GIVE YOUR WORDS STRUCTURE

Familiar marks. Natural expression.

Writing view is for reading and editing. Source view reveals the Markdown. Both share the same content. Try these snippets in a new draft.

# A new field note

> Writing is a way of noticing.

- A first thought
- [ ] Still to do
- [x] Written down

| A | B |
| --- | --- |
| 1 | 2 |

```javascript
const idea = "Hello, Textend";
```

$E = mc^2$

$$
f(x) = \frac{x^3}{3}
$$

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  A[Idea] --> B[Draft]
```

[TOC]

## Observe

An idea with an aside.[^1]

[^1]: A little detail belongs here.

03 / BRING THE PICTURES ALONG

Keep your pictures close to your words.

Add pictures through the editor’s image controls or with a Markdown image reference. If a draft uses relative paths, keep the image folder in the same relative location when moving it.

my-draft.md
images/
  morning.png

![Morning light](images/morning.png)

The image menu offers size and source controls. Use the supported HTML image syntax when size information matters; converting to an ordinary Markdown image reference loses that size. If a picture is missing, check the file, path, and letter case.

04 / MAKE IT FEEL LIKE YOU

Theme, paper, artwork. Each has its place.

Open Settings → Appearance. Choose a light or dark interface and a theme, then choose paper and typography. You can combine them independently.

05 / FIND YOUR WAY THROUGH A LONG DRAFT

The whole picture. The sentence in front of you.

Use the library, folders, and search to organize writing. Navigate a document by its headings in the outline. Find and replace works on the current draft. Sentence focus emphasizes the current sentence; typewriter mode keeps the writing position near the middle of the window.

macOS on the left, Windows on the right. Find more shortcuts beside their commands in the app menus.

06 / LET YOUR WORDS TRAVEL

Keep the source. Choose the destination.

Save the Markdown with File → Save, then choose a format under File → Export. Pick a format based on how someone will use the finished work.

Open the export in the receiving tool and check it, especially equations, diagrams, images, footnotes, and tables of contents. Formats do not offer identical editing capabilities.

07 / A WAY BACK TO YOUR WORDS

Undo, history, recovery, and a backup.

After an accidental edit, try Undo first. Look in version history for earlier work. After an unexpected exit, use the recovery options offered by the app. Check Trash for a deleted document. Recovery and history do not replace an independent backup.

08 / ONLY WHEN YOU INVITE IT

Write first. AI can wait.

Add your service URL, model, and API key in Settings → AI Services. New AI writing tasks need Pro or an active trial. Select a passage, press ⌘K or Ctrl+K, and ask for a change. Review it in place before accepting.

Local-first describes documents and writing, not a promise that a third-party AI is offline. Requests may send a selection and relevant context. Cost, availability, and data processing depend on your chosen service. Keep API keys out of documents and public issue reports.

Before you have a draft, open Free discussion from the home screen or the speech-bubble button. Explore an idea, make an outline, or shape the conversation into a draft. You can also attach the current document or quote selected text. Results can become a new document, be inserted into the current draft, or be copied. Review proposed changes to existing text before applying them.