iOS / Editing and Formatting /

Editor

Write, format, navigate, and share Markdown notes on iPhone

The editor renders Markdown as you write and saves changes automatically. Open a note from Library, Daily Desk, Search, Tags, Properties, or another note's wikilink. The bottom navigation hides while you write; use the back button or swipe from the left edge to return.

Title and Header

The title area shows the note's folder path, editable title, and one compact statistic. Tap a regular note's title to rename it. Daily and weekly notes show a friendly date or week range instead; tap that label to reopen Daily Desk.

Tap the statistic below the title to cycle through word count, character count, line count, and reading time.

The header can include:

ControlWhat it does
TasksShows incomplete and completed task counts and opens their breakdown
InsightsChats with the open note using the selected AI model
FindSearches within the current note
InfoOpens Stats, Outline, and Backlinks
OptionsOpens note actions and properties
UnlockMakes a read-only note editable again

Keyboard Toolbar

The toolbar appears above the keyboard and scrolls horizontally. Its contents are customizable under Settings → Editor → Bubble menu. You can reorder controls, remove optional ones, add them again, preview the result, or reset the default layout.

Available controls include:

  • Undo, redo, and clear formatting
  • AI creation at the cursor or rewriting for selected text
  • Dictation
  • Block picker and slash commands
  • Wikilink and web link
  • Bold, italic, inline code, highlight, and text color
  • Headings, callouts, dividers, and code blocks
  • Tags, bullet lists, numbered lists, and to-do lists
  • Image picker and camera

The block picker and slash-command controls always remain available. Contextual controls appear when useful: indent and outdent inside lists, and collapse or expand for headings and nested lists. A keyboard button remains at the end of the row.

See AI Writing and Insights to connect a provider, select a model, and use the AI editor controls.

Block Picker

Tap the block picker in the toolbar to insert:

  • Blocks: Text, Heading 1–6, bullet, numbered and to-do lists, code block, blockquote, divider, table, Mermaid, and math block.
  • Insert: Wikilink, file, and links to today's, tomorrow's, or yesterday's daily note.
  • Callouts: Info, Tip, Warning, Error, and Success.
  • Date & Time: Today's date, tomorrow, yesterday, current time, and date with time.
  • Templates: Any templates available in the workspace.

Images and camera capture have their own toolbar controls. Other files are inserted from File in the block picker.

Slash Commands

Type / or tap the slash-command button to insert common values without leaving the keyboard. Commands include today's date, current time, date and time, a link to today's Daily note, templates, and file attachments. Search the menu for tomorrow or yesterday shortcuts and matching templates.

Touch Controls

Enable Settings → Editor → Navigation and selection bar for additional cursor controls. The bar moves the cursor left or right by character and up or down by line, and can switch into selection mode for extending a text selection precisely.

Find in a Note

Tap the search button in the editor header. Enter a word or phrase to highlight every match, then use the previous and next controls to move through them. The result counter shows your current match or reports that none were found. Close Find to restore the normal toolbar.

This searches only the open note. Use Search for filenames and content across the workspace.

Note Actions

Tap the sliders button in the editor header for actions that apply to the current note:

  • Add Property or open the existing properties panel
  • Share Note or Manage Sharing
  • Pin or Unpin
  • Make note read-only or Make note editable
  • Copy Content or Copy with Properties
  • Rename, Duplicate, Move to Folder, or Delete

Templates omit pinning. Daily notes, weekly notes, and templates cannot be moved to another folder. See Share a Note for publishing controls.

Formatting and Blocks

You can use toolbar controls or type standard Markdown directly.

FormatMarkdown
Bold**text**
Italic*text*
Strikethrough~~text~~
Inline code`text`
Heading# through ###### followed by a space
Bullet list- item
Numbered list1. item
To-do- [ ] item

When a heading or list item has nested content, use the contextual collapse control to hide its children and Expand to show them again. This only changes the editor display; it does not remove Markdown.

Callouts

Choose one of the five callout types from the block picker. They use familiar blockquote syntax:

> [!TIP]
> Your callout text here.

Code, Tables, Math, and Mermaid

The block picker can insert fenced code blocks, Markdown tables, KaTeX math blocks, and Mermaid diagrams. Inline math uses $E = mc^2$; block math uses $$ delimiters.

Images and Files

Use the image or camera toolbar button to add media to .attachments/. Use File in the block picker for documents stored under .files/. Octarine inserts a wikilink:

[[photo.png]]
[[photo.png|500]]
[[report.pdf]]

The optional number sets an image width in pixels.

Dictation

Octarine can transcribe on-device with Whisper. Enable Dictation, choose a Tiny, Base, or Small model, download it, and select a language under Settings → Dictation. The microphone appears in the toolbar when dictation is ready.

Properties

YAML frontmatter is presented as a collapsible properties panel below the title. Expand it to add, edit, rename, or remove values and reuse suggestions from the workspace. Its undo control restores recent property edits made during the current editor session.

Supported editable types are Text, Number, Date, Date & Time, Checkbox, and List. tags and file properties use their special list handling automatically. See Properties.

Note Info

Tap the info button for:

  • Stats: created and updated dates, counts, reading time, and outgoing links.
  • Outline: a tappable list of headings.
  • Backlinks: notes that link to the current note, with surrounding context.

Auto-Save

There is no Save button. Octarine writes changes as you type, so you can navigate away when you are done.

Quick Answers

Can I customize the editor toolbar on iOS?

Yes. Open Settings → Editor → Bubble menu to reorder, hide, add, preview, or reset toolbar controls.

How do I search inside the current note?

Tap the search button in the editor header, then use the previous and next controls to move between matches.

Does the iOS editor save automatically?

Yes. Changes are saved as you type.