Interface Tour
NuvoPad uses a three-panel layout inspired by VS Code: a collapsible sidebar on the left, a note list in the centre, and a full-width editor on the right. This page covers every UI region and what it does.
Sidebar
The sidebar is the primary navigation panel. Toggle it with Ctrl+\. It contains the following sections:
Shows every note in your workspace regardless of notebook or tag, sorted by most recently updated. Pinned notes appear at the top.
Notes that are not assigned to any notebook. Use this as a capture zone before you decide where to file a note.
Notes you've starred. Toggle a note's favorite status from the note context menu, the editor overflow menu, or with the keyboard shortcut.
Soft-deleted notes. Notes moved to Trash are hidden from all other views but remain recoverable until you empty the Trash.
A collapsible tree of your notebooks, nested up to 2 levels deep on Free (5 levels on Pro). Click a notebook to filter the note list. Right-click for Rename and Delete options.
All tags with note-count badges. Click a tag to filter the note list to notes carrying that tag.
A customizable pinned shortcut strip. Drag any note, template, or notebook here for instant access. Free tier is limited to 5 pins; Pro is unlimited.
A special system notebook reserved for note templates. Templates appear in the Pro template picker when creating a new note.
Note List
The centre panel shows the list of notes for the currently selected view or notebook. Notes are ordered by last-updated time (most recent first), with pinned notes grouped at the top.
Type to perform a full-text search across all note content. Results appear inline with matching snippets highlighted. Clear the field to return to the full list.
Creates a new untitled note in the currently selected notebook (or the Inbox if no notebook is selected).
Each card shows the note title, a content preview, tags, and the last-updated time. Right-click a card for the full context menu: Pin, Favorite, Duplicate, Move to Notebook, Move to Trash.
Note cards are draggable. Drag a note onto a sidebar target — a notebook, Inbox, Favorites, Quick Pin, or Trash — to trigger that action.
Editor Panel
Provides one-click access to all formatting actions: headings, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, highlight, inline code, code block, blockquote, lists, links, images, and tables.
Shows 'Saving…' while a write is in progress and 'All changes saved' once the autosave flush completes. NuvoPad autosaves by default 750ms after you stop typing.
Displays open notes as tabs. Click a tab to switch notes, click the × to close it. The tab bar appears as soon as you open a second note.
An editable field at the top of the content area. Changes to the title are synced back to the note list and sidebar in real time.
Located in the toolbar, cycles between WYSIWYG, Source (raw Markdown), Split (edit + preview), and Preview-only modes.
Additional editor actions: Export, Duplicate, Favorite, Pin, Move to Trash. Also the entry point for the Attachment panel (Pro).
Status Bar
The thin bar at the bottom of the editor displays live document metadata. Its color is customizable in Settings → Appearance.
| Item | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Word count | Running word count of the current note |
| Line count | "Ln N" — total lines in the document |
| Editor mode | Source or Markdown label |
| Indentation | Spaces: 4 |
| Encoding | UTF-8 |
| Created date | Date the note was first created |
| Read time | Estimated read time in minutes |
| Sync status | "All notes synced / saved locally" |
Command Palette
Press Ctrl+P or Ctrl+K to open the command palette. It provides fuzzy search across:
- Actions — New Note, New Notebook, toggle Sidebar, switch Theme, switch Language, Settings, etc.
- Notes — Jump directly to any note by title
- Notebooks — Navigate to a specific notebook
💡 Tip