# The editor

One file, two views. The Formatted view is a word processor whose document is plain markdown. Edit one paragraph and every other byte of the file stays as it was.

## Two views

| | |
| --- | --- |
| **Formatted** | WYSIWYG. Markdown syntax is hidden. |
| **Source** | The raw markdown. |
| **Switch** | `⌘R` |
| **Side by side** | The button at the right end of the toolbar opens the other view beside the first. |

Both are live and edit the same file.

## Reveal at the caret, or Pure

How markdown syntax behaves in the Formatted view. Chosen in the tour, changed in Settings > Appearance.

| Mode | Behaviour |
| --- | --- |
| **Reveal at the caret** (default) | Put the caret in a bold word and its `**` appear, editable like any character. Move away and they hide. |
| **Pure** | Syntax never shows. Headings change from the toolbar or `⌘1` to `⌘6`. `⌘B` at the end of a bold word leaves bold. Deleting the last character of a bold word removes its `**` with it. |

The mode changes what is drawn, never what is stored.

## Formatting toolbar

On by default (Settings > Appearance > Formatting toolbar). Buttons light up for what applies at the caret.

| Group | Contents |
| --- | --- |
| **Paragraph style** | Text, Heading 1 to 6 |
| **Text styles** | Bold, italic, strikethrough, code |
| **Lists** | Bulleted, numbered, task, quote |
| **Insert** | Link, image, Excalidraw drawing, code block, math block, divider, alert, table |

In a narrow pane the groups fold into a `...` menu. The Source view has no formatting groups. With Pure mode on, the toolbar is the only visible way to change a heading level or apply a style; typed syntax and the shortcuts still work.

## Keys worth knowing

| Key | Does |
| --- | --- |
| `↩` | Starts a paragraph. |
| `⇧↩` | Breaks a line inside a paragraph. |
| `⌥↑` `⌥↓` | Moves the block the caret is in: a paragraph, a list item, a whole list at its edge. |
| `⇥` `⇧⇥` | Indent and outdent a list item; next and previous table cell. |
| `⌘R` | Switches view. |
| `⌘S` | Saves a version. There is no Save. |

All shortcuts: [keyboard shortcuts](/docs/reference/keyboard-shortcuts).

## Selecting and copying

- A drag across a bold word grows, on release, to take the `**` on both sides. What you copy, cut or delete is what was highlighted.
- A heading's words pasted on an empty line give a heading at the same level; pasted mid-sentence, the words only.
- Half a bold word copies those characters (in Pure mode, as bold).
- Hidden syntax stays hidden while the mouse button is down.

Comments on the clipboard:

| Pasted into | Carries |
| --- | --- |
| Wymark | The comments on the selected text. |
| Another app | What you saw selected. Comments come along only if their markers were on screen in the Source view. |

To hand over a whole file with its comments: right-click it in the Files panel, **Copy As > Markdown with Comments**.

## Paste

| | |
| --- | --- |
| **`⌘V`** | From a web page, Word or a chat: bold, links, lists and tables are kept as markdown. From a code editor: the text is taken as the markdown it is. |
| **Paste as Incoming Change** (`⇧⌘V`) | Pastes the text as a change to review, not as your own typing. After an ordinary paste of outside text, Wymark offers to mark it as incoming. See [Changes from outside Wymark](/docs/guide/changes-from-outside). |

## Undo

| | |
| --- | --- |
| **One `⌘Z`** | A continuous run of typing or deleting. A pause, a change of direction, or a move between the front matter and the body starts a new run. |
| **Accept, reject, comment edits** | On the same stack, in order. |
| **Writes from outside Wymark** | Everything since you last touched the document is one step. |
| **After quitting** | The stack is gone. Restore a version instead. |

## Settings that change the view

| | |
| --- | --- |
| **Document font** | The system's sans or serif. Settings > Appearance > Document font. |
| **Check spelling** | The system spell checker, Formatted view only. Fenced code is not checked; inline code is. |
| **Text column width** | Drag the divider at the right edge of the editor. Remembered per pane. |
| **Outline tab** | Lists headings. Click to jump. Settings > Appearance > Outline depth sets how deep. |
| **Click below the last line** | Caret to the end of the document. Adds nothing. |

For literal `*`, `` ` `` or `#` characters that would otherwise format, use the Source view. See [escapes](/docs/reference/text#escapes).