Skip to main content

Formatting & blocks

This page lists every kind of formatting and every block in φ Poiesis. For each one, it says what it is for and how to add it.

A block is a piece of the page that is not plain text, such as a heading, a list, a quote or a table. Poiesis also has blocks for books and poems: verse, scene breaks, epigraphs and footnotes.

Format as you write​

There are four ways to format. Use the one you like.

  • The toolbar. Select some words and click a button in the toolbar that appears above them.
  • A shortcut. Select some words and press a shortcut such as ⌘B.
  • The slash menu. Type / on an empty line, then a word, for example /quote, /scene or /verse. Press Enter.
  • Markdown. Type the Markdown you already know. ## makes a heading and **word** makes a word bold.

The same commands are in the Format menu in the menu bar.

Words and phrases​

FormattingShortcutToolbarMarkdown
Bold⌘BBold**bold**
Italic⌘IItalic*italic*
Underline⌘UUnderline~underline~
StrikethroughFormat → StrikethroughMore tools › Strikethrough~~strike~~
Inline codeFormat → Inline CodeMore tools › Inline code`code`
HighlightHighlight & comment==highlight==
Link⌘⇧KLink[text](https://…)

To stop bold or italic. Finish the word and press the space bar twice. The first space is still formatted. The second space ends the formatting, so the next word is plain.

Links.

  • When you type or paste a web address, Poiesis makes it a link.
  • To change a link, select the linked words and choose Link again. Type a new address.
  • To remove a link, select the linked words, choose Link, and clear the field.
  • Links open in your browser. While you are editing, hold ⌘ and click the link.
  • To link to another document in your vault (the folder where Poiesis keeps your documents), use a wiki link. See Links & the graph.

Headings, lists and quotes​

BlockSlash commandShortcutMarkdown
Text (a plain paragraph)/text⌘⌥0
Heading 1/h1⌘⌥1#
Heading 2/h2⌘⌥2##
Heading 3/h3⌘⌥3### (#### and deeper too)
Bullet List/bullet⌘⇧8- or *
Ordered List/numbered⌘⇧71.
Task List/task or /checklist[] or - [ ] (- [x] starts it ticked)
Quote/quote⇧⌘B>
Divider/divider---
Code Block/code```
Table/table
Toggle/toggle
Math block/math

Headings. The headings make the document's outline, which you can see in the Info panel (⌘⇧I). A Table of contents block also lists them.

Alignment. Align Left, Align Center (⌘⇧E), Align Right (⌘⇧R) and Justify (⌘⇧J) are in the Format menu. They are also under More tools in the toolbar.

Lists. Press Tab to indent an item and ⇧Tab to outdent it. Backspace at the start of an item deletes it, or joins it to the line above, and the list stays whole: the numbers carry on and the bullets keep their level. Delete at the end of an item pulls the next one up.

Task lists. Each item has three states: todo, doing and done. Click the box to change an item to the next state. The slash menu offers task lists in Notes and on research pages. To have them in another mode, open Settings → Setup → Modes and turn on Checklists for that mode.

Tables. A new table has three columns and three rows, and the first row is a header. Drag the edge of a column to make it wider. Press Tab to go to the next cell.

When the cursor is in a table, a toolbar appears above it. It says which row and column you are in, for example Row 2 of 3 · Column 1 of 3. Its buttons:

  • Add a row above, Add a row below and Delete row.
  • Add a column to the left, Add a column to the right and Delete column.
  • Header row and Header column turn the header on or off.
  • Merge cells joins the cells you selected. Split cell splits a merged cell again.
  • Delete table removes the whole table.

A table always keeps at least one row and one column. To remove the last one, use Delete table.

Code blocks. Poiesis colours the code for the language it recognises. To choose the language yourself, type its name after the opening fence, for example ```python. Press Tab to indent and ⇧Tab to outdent. To change the indent, open Settings → Editor → Code and set Indent using (Spaces or Tabs) and Indent width.

Toggles: sections that fold away​

A toggle folds blocks away under a line you name. Use it for a spoiler, an aside, or notes to yourself inside a draft.

  1. Type /toggle and press Enter.
  2. Type the line that names the section (Name what’s folded here).
  3. Press Enter at the end of that line to write inside the section.
ToDo this
Fold or unfold the sectionClick the arrow, or press ⌘⌥↩.
Go into the sectionPress Enter at the end of the named line. A folded section opens.
Leave the sectionPress Enter on an empty last line, ⌘↩ anywhere in it, or ↓ at its end.
Skip a folded sectionPress ↓ on its named line.
Undo the togglePress Backspace in an empty named line. Its blocks go back into the page.

Folded text still counts in the word count, in search and in exports. When you print, the section prints in full. In read mode, the arrow folds and unfolds the section without changing the document.

Math​

Formulas are written in LaTeX and set by KaTeX.

  • A formula on its own line. Type /math and choose Math block. With the cursor in the block, its source opens above the formula, and the formula changes as you type. Press ⌘↩ or Esc to leave the block.
  • A formula inside a line. Type $$E = mc^2$$, or type /inline, choose Inline math and type the formula. Double-click an inline formula to change it.

If a formula can't be read, Poiesis says why instead of hiding it. When you print, formulas are set as real math. An export format that can't set math yet keeps a math block's LaTeX as text. Nothing in a formula can link to, load or run anything.

Blocks for books and poems​

The slash menu offers these blocks in the documents of Write: the chapters, poems and essays of a project, and pieces that are not in a project yet. A project is a book or other long work made of several documents. Verse is offered in every document except morning pages.

If a document already has one of these blocks, the block still shows when the document is somewhere else.

BlockWhat it's forInsert with
VerseThe lines of a poem. Poiesis keeps the lines as you write them, at the same margin as the rest of the text./verse or ⌥⌘V
Scene breakA centred ornament between scenes: Asterism ⁂, Stars * * *, Fleuron ❧ or Blank space. Point at it to choose another./scene
EpigraphA quotation at the start, with its source on a line below./epigraph
Pull-quoteA line in large type, for emphasis./pull-quote
Drop capA large first letter for the paragraph. Choose it again to remove it./drop
Table of contentsA list of the document's headings that updates by itself. Click a heading to go there./toc
FootnoteA numbered note./footnote
CitationA reference to a source, shown as author and year./citation
BibliographyA list of the sources you have cited./bibliography

To learn more:

Pictures, callouts and dates​

BlockWhat it's forInsert with
ImageA picture with a caption. Use its toolbar to place it left, centre, right or full width. Drag its edge to resize it. Poiesis copies the file into your vault./image, or ![alt](https://…)
CalloutA box for a side note: info, tip, warning or danger. Point at it to choose another kind./callout, or > [!tip]
DateToday's date, shown as a chip. The chip links the document to that day in the calendar./date
Date & timeThe same as Date, with the time./datetime
TimeThe time now, as plain text./time

Click a date chip to open that day in the calendar. Click the pencil beside the chip (Edit date & time) to change the date or the time.

The slash menu does not offer callouts, tables or code blocks in journal entries.

You can also add two things inside a line of text:

  • @-mentions. Type @ and choose a character. To make a new character from the name you typed, choose Create @name.
  • Wiki links. Type [[ and choose a document. See Links & the graph.

Writing in Markdown​

When you type Markdown, Poiesis changes it into formatting. The tables above show the Markdown for each kind of formatting.

Seeing the Markdown. Turn on Settings → Editor → Show Markdown. The markers (**, #, [ ]( )) then show faintly around the formatting in the line you are on. The markers are never part of your text.

Pasting Markdown. When you paste text copied from a Markdown editor or a notes app, Poiesis formats it. It formats headings, checklists, tables, quotes, callouts, code, links, pictures and footnotes. Footnotes can be written ^[the note], or [^1] with a [^1]: the note line.

Poiesis also understands the Markdown that other notes apps write:

  • ~text~ becomes underlined text.
  • ==🟢text== becomes a green highlight.
  • [[Note|shown text]] becomes a wiki link.
  • #tags become the document's tags.

To paste the text exactly as it is, without formatting, press ⇧⌘V.

A paste keeps only the blocks that the document offers. For example, a checklist pasted into a chapter becomes a normal list, and each item keeps its [ ].

Copying as Markdown. Open the command palette (⌘P) and choose Copy as Markdown. It copies the selection. If nothing is selected, it copies the whole document. You can also right-click a document in the list and choose Copy as Markdown.

See also​