Editor

Write your scenes with a distraction-free, three-panel editor.

Overview

The Editor is where planning meets writing. Instead of outlining in Braidr and drafting in another app, you write your scenes right here. The three-panel layout keeps your context visible while you write.

Three-panel layout

The Editor is divided into three panels:

Left: Scene Navigator

A compact list of all scenes in reading order (across all characters). Each row shows a character color dot and the scene title. Click any scene to load it in the editor. The current scene is highlighted.

The navigator gives you context — you can always see what scene comes before and after the one you're writing.

Center: Rich Text Editor

The main writing area. Braidr uses a rich text editor that supports:

• Bold (⌘B) and Italic (⌘I)
• Headings (H2, H3) for scene structure
• Bullet lists and numbered lists
• Task lists (checkboxes) for revision notes
• Scene breaks — horizontal rules to mark section transitions (the “* * *” of fiction)

At the top of the editor, you'll see the scene title, character name, scene number, and the current draft version badge (V1, V2, etc.).

Right: Properties Panel

The properties panel shows metadata for the current scene:

• Scene Synopsis — a short summary for reference while writing.
• Tags — the scene's people, location, arc, thing, and time tags.
• Scratchpad — a free-text area for jotting notes, ideas, or reminders.
• Quick links — buttons to jump to this scene in the POV or Braided view.
• Status — the current scene status (Outline, Draft, Revised, Final).
• Draft History — save and restore draft versions.

Panel toggling

For distraction-free writing, you can hide either side panel:

• ⌘[ — toggle the left (Navigator) panel.
• ⌘] — toggle the right (Properties) panel.

When both panels are hidden, the editor expands to fill the full window width — a focused writing mode.

Draft versioning

Braidr lets you save named versions of any scene's draft, so you can experiment freely without fear of losing earlier work.

• Save a draft — click the Save Draft button in the Properties panel (or ⌘ShiftS). Each saved draft gets a version number (V1, V2, V3...) and a timestamp.
• Add version notes — when you save, optionally add a note about what changed (e.g., “Rewrote the dialogue”).
• View diffs — click any previous version to see a visual comparison between that version and the current text. Additions appear in green, deletions in red.
• Restore a version — click Restore on any saved draft to replace the current text. (This creates a new version first, so you can always go back.)

Auto-save

Braidr saves your work automatically as you type. There is no save button for normal editing. You will never lose work because you forgot to save.

The bottom status bar shows “Last Saved: 2:14 pm” (or similar) so you always know your work is safe.

Word count and reading time

The bottom of the editor shows a live word count and estimated reading time for the current scene. For full project word count stats, see the Word Count page.

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