Getting started

This page takes you from a fresh install to your first saved note.

Open a folder

The first time you start Etonym, choose Open folder… and pick any folder. Etonym works with the files as they are: it converts nothing, and Git is optional.

The folder can be empty, or it can already hold Markdown files. It can also be part of a larger Git repository.

Next time, Etonym reopens the last folder and note. To move between folders, press Ctrl+Shift+O (Switch folder). Open another folder… in that list opens a new one.

The window

• Side panel on the left, with three tabs: Files, Search and Git. Show or hide it with Ctrl+\. At its bottom are the folder button (the folder list), the open folder icon (Open in File Explorer), the terminal icon (Open terminal) and Settings.
• Path line above the note: where the note is, plus buttons for Note history, Reading view and Text width. When other notes link to this one, a Backlinks button with their count appears too. The last button, Show outline, opens the outline of the note’s headings on the right.
• Formatting toolbar under the path line. You can hide it in Settings → Notes.
• Editor: the note itself.

Create a note

1. In the Files tab, choose Note (its tooltip says New note).
2. Type a name and press Enter. Etonym adds .md if you leave it out. Press Esc to cancel.

The note goes into the selected folder, or next to the selected file. With nothing selected, it goes to the top of the folder. Folder (tooltip New folder) creates a folder the same way.

Names cannot contain / \ : * ? " < > | or start with a dot. If a name is not allowed or already taken, the error shows right under the name field and goes away when you change the text.

Write

Type Markdown. Lines without the cursor hide their symbols and show the formatting. The line you are editing shows its Markdown, so you always see what is in the file. Etonym saves as you type; there is no save button.

See Editor for reading view, width, undo and saving, and Formatting for the toolbar and shortcuts.

Notes must be UTF-8 text. Etonym does not open other encodings.

Rename, move and delete

The buttons above the file tree are Note, Folder, Rename, Move and Collapse. Rename and Move act on the selected item, and Collapse folds every folder in the tree (command Collapse all folders). Right-click an item, or press Shift+F10, for these actions and more, including Delete. File commands such as Delete file are in the command palette too.

• Rename, or F2 on the item in the tree: type the new name and press Enter. A name that is not allowed, or already taken, shows an error right under the field. A name cannot contain / or \; use Move to change folders.
• Move: pick a folder from the list, or Top level. You can also drag an item onto a folder in the tree.
• Duplicate (right-click a file): makes a copy next to it, named Name 1.md, then Name 2.md, and opens it.
• Show in File Explorer (right-click): opens Explorer at the item. To open the whole folder, choose Open in File Explorer at the bottom of the side panel, or run Open folder in file manager from the command palette.
• Delete: asks Move “Draft.md” to the Recycle Bin? Choose Delete to move the note or folder to the Windows Recycle Bin, or Cancel.

Renaming and moving in Etonym update the links that point to the file. See Rename and move.

Find your way around

To	Press
Run any command by name (the command palette)	Ctrl+Shift+P
Open a note by name	Ctrl+O
Search the text of all notes	Ctrl+Shift+F
See every shortcut	Ctrl+/ or F1
Open settings	Ctrl+,

Git is optional

Etonym edits and saves notes without Git. To track versions and share the folder, Etonym uses the Git installed on your PC, version 2.27 or later.

• If Git is missing, the Git tab says so and offers Install Git.
• If the folder is not a Git repository, the Git tab offers Initialize repository and Clone…. Etonym never runs either unless you choose it.

To put a new folder on a server: Initialize repository, make a first commit, then Publish.

Next

• Let another tool write in the folder: Terminal, then Review changes.
• Commit and share: Git in Etonym, then Commit and push.