Where are all the features?

Slugline, streamlined.

Slugline with all the bells and whistles.

When you first open Slugline 2 for macOS, it can look rather minimalistic. You might wonder where all the features are.

Slugline’s most important feature is that it allows you to write without the distraction of a busy toolbar, buttons, or unnecessary stuff. Slugline formats as you go based on what you type, and otherwise stays out of your way.

But Slugline also has a bunch of truly amazing tools for writers. Here’s how to access them:

The Outline

The Outline is generated automatically from your writing. You can show or hide it from the Outline menu, where you also control what appears there.

The Timeline

Also under the Outline menu is the option to show the Timeline. As with the Outline, the Timeline reflects what you’ve written and how you’ve structured it. It’s descriptive, not prescriptive, of your structural choices.

Sections and Synopses

Both the Outline and the Timeline can display Sections in a helpful way. Sections are non-printing elements that start with a pound sign. Add more pound signs to “nest” sections inside one another.

Notes

Notes in Slugline are wrapped in [[double brackets]]. You can color-code notes by beginning them with any text followed by a colon, like this: [[To do: make this part better]]. We call this a Note Tag. Right-click (or Control + click) on the note to assign that Tag a unique color.

You can even batch-edit Note Tags. Choose Format → Edit Note Tags to add, remove, or edit Tags on all selected Notes.

Dark Mode and More

Access writing settings like Dark Mode and Writing Typeface, as well as Document Settings and more, using the menus that appear on the right side of the page when you mouse over them. These controls are hidden when you write and always there when you need them.