Interface overview
The Cora interface has three areas: the outline sidebar on the left, the main content area in the centre, and optional panels on the right.
Outline sidebar (⌘1)
The left sidebar shows your entire novel structure — all Parts and Chapters, in order. Click any chapter to open it. Click a Part to open the Part overview.
- Drag chapter rows to reorder them within a part, or drag them onto another part to move them
- Hover over a row to reveal the + (add) and trash (delete) buttons
- Use ⌘[ / ⌘] to navigate back and forward through your recent selections
- ⌘P jumps from a chapter back to its parent part
Main content area
What appears in the centre depends on your selection:
- Chapter selected → the writing editor, with your scenes stacked vertically
- Part selected → the Part overview, with tabs for Stories, Scenes, Notes, and Drafts
Right panels
Three panels can open on the right side of the window, toggled with keyboard shortcuts:
| Panel | Shortcut | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Scenes | ⌘4 | Scene cards for the current chapter — reorder, add metadata |
| Search | ⌘F | Find and replace across all scenes, drafts, and notes |
| Drafts | ⌘3 | Draft tabs for the current chapter |
The Scenes and Search panels share the same slot — opening one closes the other.
Top bar (chapter view)
When a chapter is open, the top bar shows:
- The chapter index (e.g.
1.2.) and editable chapter title - Notes and Drafts capsule buttons (with counts) — click to show the Notes overlay (⌘2) or the Drafts panel (⌘3)
- Search and Scenes toggle buttons on the right
Bottom bar (chapter view)
- A 4 px progress bar shows your cursor position through the chapter
- Hover the bottom-left stats block to see word, character, and page counts — broken down by selection, scene, chapter, and total
Focus Mode (⌘.)
Focus Mode hides all chrome — sidebar, panels, toolbar, scene titles — leaving only the prose column. A typewriter-style scroll keeps the cursor vertically centred. Press ⌘. again to exit.
Typography dock (⌘T)
A bottom bar for adjusting font, size, line height, and theme. Changes apply immediately and are remembered per-device.