Capture and organise
Nodes and the editor
Write and format a node, use its contextual actions, and work with hashtags, lookups and connections.
A node holds a title and body. Its position and connections put that writing in context. Notes and tasks share the same canvas, while task editors add completion, due dates and subtasks.
For example, a node titled “Garden plan” can hold your explanation, connect to research notes and have child nodes for individual questions. You can write in its small canvas preview or open the editor for more room.
Open and resize the editor
Click a canvas node to get its attached editable preview. Double-click it, choose Open from its context menu, or use the preview’s Enlarge control to open the larger editor. A long body can also hand you into the larger editor automatically.
The full editor appears over the canvas. Its height control cycles through compact, half and full. These are starting sizes: expanding sections can need more room, and content scrolls when it exceeds the available space. Close editor closes the panel. Escape also closes the active editor.
Clicking a note or task row in the list panel opens a compact editor at the bottom of that panel. Click outside it or press Escape to dismiss it. Expand editor carries the draft and your text position into the canvas editor. On a small screen, expansion dismisses the list panel so you can use the larger editor.
A compact list editor can remain separate from an editor on the canvas. Expanding it deliberately replaces the canvas editor. If you request the same private record in both places, Glob focuses its existing editor.
An attached preview containing several timeline entries says … timeline entries — enlarge to edit. Open the larger editor to edit those entries separately.
Write and save
Edit the title and body directly. A blank title can display the first line of the body, so a useful display title does not always mean you typed one separately. A long title can be shortened in the canvas preview; focus its field to see and edit the full title.
In the larger editor, Enter moves from the title to the body and from one editable body field to the next. Use Shift+Enter to insert a new line in a body field. The final body field has no next field to move into.
Glob saves private editor changes after a pause of ten seconds. Closing or switching the editor also attempts to save. A Saving… line can appear while that work runs. There is no separate Save button for the node’s title and body.
Avoid reloading while you are still writing. A draft that has not finished saving can be lost on reload. Closing the editor first gives its save a chance to finish.
If another change reaches the same private record while you are editing, the editor can say This record changed elsewhere. Your draft is retained; reopen to review before saving. Reopen the record and review your draft. A failed save shows its error in the editor; keep the app open while you address it. Shared editors have their own publication state; see sharing.
Date divisions
When you append body text on a new local day, Glob can add a date division. It displays the date separately above that day’s text. Correcting existing prose or applying formatting does not add a new daily division. Existing timeline entries remain separate rather than being flattened into one field.
Format text
The full canvas editor expands the left toolbar with formatting controls. Click in the body and select the text first. Controls are dimmed when no editable body field has focus.
| Controls | Use |
|---|---|
| Bold, Italic, Underline | Emphasise selected text. Keyboard alternatives are Ctrl/Cmd+B, Ctrl/Cmd+I and Ctrl/Cmd+U. |
| Strikethrough, Code | Mark selected text as struck through or code. |
| Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 | Set the selected line or lines to a heading level. |
| Bulleted list, Numbered list | Apply a list prefix to the selected lines. |
Inline controls need a non-empty selection. Applying the same mark again to the same marked selection removes it. Line controls replace another heading or list style on those lines.
Formatting uses visible text markers, such as **bold**, *italic*, __underline__, ~~struck through~~ and backticks around code. The editor styles the words while keeping their markers visible. You can type these markers yourself too. Underline uses __ in Glob’s editor.
The compact list editor does not expose the formatting toolbar. Expand it for the toolbar. The body’s bold, italic and underline keyboard controls also work in the compact editor.
Use selected text
Select text in a body and right-click it for the Selection menu:
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Copy | Copies the selected text. |
| Paste | Replaces the selected range with clipboard text when the field is editable. |
| Create node | Creates a note on the current canvas from the selection. |
| Create note | Creates a note in the current note-list destination. |
| Create task | Creates a task in the current task-list destination. |
| Look up | Opens a contextual explanation for that text. |
For a short, single-line selection, the created item uses the selection as its title. Longer or multiline text supplies a short title and keeps the selection as the new body. The original text stays in place.
Clipboard access depends on your browser. If the menu says Use Ctrl/Cmd+C to copy the selected text. or Use Ctrl/Cmd+V to paste., use that keyboard shortcut instead. Read-only text can offer Copy and Look up while Paste remains unavailable. Creation also depends on your ability to edit the canvas.
Use the up and down arrows to move through this menu, Enter to choose, and Escape to dismiss it.
Hashtags, lookups and connections
A note’s editor has collapsible HASHTAGS, LOOKUPS and CONNECTED sections beneath the body. They start closed. Click a section heading to expand or collapse it. A count shows when the section has items.
- In HASHTAGS, use Add hashtag to type a tag.
Enteror leaving the field adds it;Escapecancels. Each tag has a remove control. The toolbar’s Hashtags button opens this section, and the node menu offers a separate hashtag panel. - In LOOKUPS, Add lookup opens the lookup controls for the note. Existing explanations appear here, including branches made from selected text. The toolbar’s Lookups button reveals the section. See contextual AI.
- In CONNECTED, click a named node to open its editor. Arrows show the connection direction. Not synced yet means the other end is not currently available. Use Link to another node, choose a Link target, then Link to connect another visible record.
A generated SUMMARY appears separately from the body when one exists. In a private editor you can edit that summary text. See synthesis for generation and reset controls.
Tasks show DUE and SUBTASKS in place of the note’s hashtag, lookup and connection sections. Their controls are covered in tasks and projects.
Organise a node
Return to normal canvas navigation, then right-click a node. The menu adapts to the node and where it appears.
| Action | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Open | Opens its editor. |
| Duplicate | Makes another record with copied content. The copy is separate from the original. |
| Add Child / Create Subtask | Creates a child, using the task wording when the parent is a task. |
| Color | Offers Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple and Pink. Reset Color returns to the structural colour. |
| Make Root Node | Makes this node the marked root of its tree. Another marked root in that tree loses its mark. Selecting an already marked root removes its mark. |
| Keep Parent | Toggles the node’s explicit parent preference. |
| Split | Removes its parent relationship. Offered when it has a structural parent. |
| Bookmark | Toggles its bookmark indicator. |
| Glue / Unglue | Stops or resumes the node’s movement from the canvas’s settling forces. You can still drag it. |
| Task | Toggles between a note and task, and adds the node to the Tasks or Notes list while keeping its canvas placement. |
| Complete / Uncomplete | Changes a task’s completion state. |
| Due, Make Subtask, Assign | Open task controls. Assign belongs to shared tasks. |
| Make Project | Opens the naming step for a private node’s subtree. |
| Make List / Make Task List | Lists a private node as a note or task container. An existing list offers Remove List or Remove Task List. |
| Send to Notes / Send to Tasks | Adds a private node to the corresponding list while keeping its canvas placement. |
| Hashtags, Look up, Brainstorm, Summarize | Open the node’s tag or contextual AI controls. |
| Reset to Original | Removes the generated summary. Offered when a summary exists. |
| Collapse Children / Expand Children | Changes the display of the node’s branch. Offered for connected nodes. |
| Delete | Removes the node from the current place. See the canvas deletion rule. |
Glue, Make Project, list controls and Send to … are private-record actions. Shared roles and connection state can restrict other actions; see sharing.
In the node menu, use arrow keys to move through items. Right arrow opens Color; left arrow or Escape returns from the colours to the main menu. Escape again dismisses it.
Touch actions
Hold a finger on a canvas node to show its action ring. The ring centres on the node and offers Duplicate, Color, Make Root Node, Keep Parent, Task, Look up, Brainstorm and Delete. Tasks also offer Complete or Uncomplete; connected nodes can offer Summarize.
Tap a colour control to replace the actions with colour choices. The ring dismisses after a short pause, a tap outside or Escape. Hold a node again if you need it back. A long press on empty canvas does not create a node; double-tap there instead.