TextGarden Guide

What is TextGarden?

TextGarden is a writing tool that organizes your ideas in a tree structure displayed as horizontal columns. Unlike traditional outliners that show hierarchy vertically, TextGarden spreads your document across the screen from left to right, with each column representing a deeper level of detail.

This approach works well for writing where you want to see the big picture alongside the details: research papers, novels, screenplays, documentation, or any project where ideas nest within other ideas.

Attribution: TextGarden is inspired by Gingko Writer, a beautifully designed writing application. If you find this style of writing helpful, please consider supporting the original creators by subscribing to Gingko Writer.

Core Concepts

Cards

Everything in TextGarden is a card. Each card contains text (with Markdown support) and can have child cards that appear in the column to its right.

Columns

Columns represent levels of hierarchy. The leftmost column contains your top-level ideas. When you select a card, its children appear in the next column to the right. This lets you zoom into any branch of your document while keeping the broader context visible.

Selection Path

The highlighted cards across columns show your current "path" through the document. As you navigate, the display updates to show the children of your selected card.

Getting Started

When you first open TextGarden, you'll see a single card. Click on it to select it, then:

1. Press Enter to add a sibling card below
2. Press Tab to add a child card (creates a new column to the right)
3. Double-click any card or press F2 to edit its content

Navigation

Use the arrow keys to move between cards:

• ↑ ↓ move between siblings in the same column
• ← moves to the parent card
• → moves to the first child (if the card has children)

Click any card to select it directly. Press Esc to clear the selection.

Creating Cards

New cards are created in edit mode, so you can start typing immediately. Press ⌘Enter (or CtrlEnter) to save and stop editing, or Esc to cancel.

Moving Cards

Rearrange your document structure by moving cards with Shift plus arrow keys:

When you move a card, all of its children move with it.

Editing Cards

There are two ways to edit a card:

Inline Editing

Double-click a card or press F2 to edit in place. This is quick for small changes.

Expanded Editor

Press e to open the expanded editor, which provides:

• A larger text area for writing
• Live Markdown preview
• Formatting toolbar (bold, italic, links, headings, lists)
• Multiple view modes (default, fullscreen, split left/right)

Press e when a card is selected (not editing) to open it in the expanded editor.

Splitting and Merging Cards

While editing, you can restructure your document without leaving the editor:

• ⌘\ splits the card at your cursor position. Content before the cursor stays in the current card, content after becomes a new sibling card below.
• ⌘Backspace merges the current card with the card above it. The content is combined and the card above is removed.

Markdown Support

Cards support Markdown formatting:

• **bold** or __bold__
• *italic* or _italic_
• [link text](url)
• # Heading, ## Subheading, etc.
• - bullet or * bullet
• 1. numbered
• `inline code`

Zen Mode

Zen Mode provides a distraction-free writing environment. Press z with a card selected to enter Zen Mode, which:

• Opens the card in a fullscreen editor
• Hides the toolbar and header for minimal distraction
• Shows only the word count at the bottom (hover to reveal)

Press Esc to exit Zen Mode and return to the normal view.

Structure Mini-Map

At the top of Zen Mode, a subtle mini-map shows your position in the document hierarchy. It displays:

• Parent: The card above yours in the tree (shown at top)
• Siblings: Cards at the same level as yours (middle row, current highlighted)
• Children: Up to three of your card's children (shown below)

Click any item in the mini-map to navigate to that section. The mini-map fades when not in use and becomes visible on hover.

Adding Cards in Zen Mode

You can add new cards without leaving Zen Mode:

• Tab: Add a child card (one level deeper)
• Shift Tab: Add a sibling card (same level, below current)

New cards are inserted at the correct position based on your cursor location, and the cursor moves to the new card ready for typing.

Focus Fade

Enable "Focus fade (Zen mode)" in Settings to add a subtle visual effect that dims the top and bottom of the text area, helping you concentrate on the text near your cursor.

Writing Analysis

TextGarden includes tools to analyze your writing. Access them from the document menu (click the document title in the toolbar).

Word Frequency

Shows your most frequently used words, excluding common words like "the", "and", "is", etc. This helps identify overused words or recurring themes in your writing.

Reading Level

Calculates the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Reading Ease score for your document. This indicates:

• Grade Level: The US school grade level needed to understand the text (e.g., "Grade 8" means an 8th grader could read it)
• Reading Ease: A score from 0-100 where higher is easier (60-70 is standard, 80+ is easy, below 30 is very difficult)

The analysis also shows total words, sentences, and average words per sentence.

Managing Documents

Auto-Save

Your document saves automatically to your browser's local storage as you work. This means your work persists between sessions, but only on this browser and device.

Export (JSON)

Click the Export button (or press ⌘S) to download your document as a JSON file. This file contains your complete document structure including settings and can be opened later.

Export as Markdown

Use the document menu to export as Markdown. The exported file uses invisible HTML comment markers to preserve your tree structure while looking clean in any markdown preview. The content appears as normal text, and the structure is preserved for re-importing.

Open / Import

Click the Open button (or press ⌘O) to load a file. TextGarden automatically detects the format:

• JSON files (.json, .textgarden): Full document restore with all settings
• TextGarden Markdown: Files previously exported from TextGarden (preserves exact structure)
• Heading-based Markdown: External markdown files where heading levels (# ## ###) determine tree depth (limited to 6 levels)
• Bullet list Markdown: Legacy TextGarden format with indented bullet points

New Document

Click New (or press ⌘N) to start a fresh document. You'll be prompted to save your current work first.

Print

Press ⌘P to open the print dialog. The document will be formatted for printing with all columns visible.

Settings

Access settings from the document menu (click the document title in the toolbar). These preferences are saved to your browser and persist across sessions.

Display Settings

• Zen fullscreen: When enabled, Zen Mode requests browser fullscreen. Disable if you prefer Zen Mode in a window.
• Typewriter scrolling: Keeps your cursor at a fixed position (1/3 from the top) while editing, so you don't have to look at the bottom of the screen.
• Show card child counts: Displays a badge on cards showing how many children they have.
• Card preview on hover: Shows a tooltip preview of a card's children when you hover over it.
• Focus fade (Zen mode): Dims text above and below the center of the editor in Zen Mode to help focus.

Session Tracking

• Session word goal: Set a target word count for your writing session. A progress bar appears in the toolbar showing your progress toward the goal.
• Show session timer: Displays a timer in the toolbar with two modes:
  • Stopwatch: Counts up, showing how long you've been writing
  • Pomodoro: Countdown timer with preset durations (15, 20, 25, 30, 45, or 60 minutes). Plays a gentle chime when complete.

Click the timer to pause/resume, or use the control buttons that appear on hover to pause or reset. The timer turns yellow in the last minute of a pomodoro and green when complete.

Export/Import Settings

You can export your settings to a file and import them on another device or browser. This is useful for keeping a consistent setup across computers.

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Press ? at any time to see the shortcuts dialog. Here's the complete list:

Navigation

Creating Cards

Moving Cards

Editing

While Editing

Zen Mode

Document Actions