A star's card
A small card low on the sky answers every touch on a star. Touches on the card stay on the card; they never reach the sky beneath. A star is one entry, drawn on the day it is filed under.
A star's card
Tap a star, or drag through the sky onto it.
- The label line — the day, the app that wrote it, and its journals ("loose" when none). An echo adds "· a year ago today".
- The title — or "not written yet".
- Its first lines — or "nothing written yet."
Its buttons:
| button | what it does |
|---|---|
| "read" | opens the entry in the reader. See The reader |
| "write" | opens compose on it. See Compose, top to bottom |
| "connect" | starts connecting — see below. Not on an echo |
| "its journal in the list" | when a journal holds it: the list, narrowed to that journal |
| "to the shuttle ✦" | puts the entry's title and words on the shuttle, the suite's shared tray (Gold). Once you have journal gold it reads "to the shuttle". A hidden entry "stays off the shuttle" |
| "take it back" | only while the entry is still blank: to the burn pile, with "undo" |
| "more ⋯" | the entry's one menu — see below |
| "close" | closes the card |
Back, or a tap on empty sky, closes the card too.
A new star's card
Hold empty sky and a new star is placed, with its card: "a new star ·" the day and the app, "not written yet", and "connect it to a constellation, or leave it loose. you can write it now or later."
| button | what it does |
|---|---|
| "write it" | opens compose on it |
| "connect it" | starts connecting |
| "leave it loose" | the star stays where it is, in no journal: "placed · …", "a loose star", "it waits on its own. connect it to a constellation, or file it from the orbits, any time." |
| "take it back" | to the burn pile, with "undo": "taken back · it waits in the burn pile 30 days" |
A placed star is a real entry at once, written now and filed on the day you held.
Connecting
- Tap "connect" (or "connect it"). The card reads "connecting ·" and the title, "tap the star to connect it to", and "it joins the constellation you started from. tap a loose star to bring it in." "cancel" goes back to the star's card.
- Tap another star — not an echo, not itself.
The constellation you start from is the one that grows. The line is drawn from your first star to the second.
- Your star is in a journal, the other is loose — the other star joins your star's journal.
- Your star is loose, the other is in a journal — your star joins that journal.
- Both are loose — the two begin a new journal called "a new constellation".
- Both are already in the same journal — only the line is added.
- Each is in a different journal — the card asks how they should join. See "two constellations" below.
- A journal that is closed, put away or locked is passed over. If every journal that would grow refuses, nothing is joined and the line says why — such as "this journal is closed — reopen it to add anything".
The card then says "connected ·" the day, "now part of" the journal's name, and "the line is the filing. one star can join more than one constellation." The notice line says "connected · now part of …" with "undo": the line goes, and the star just brought in leaves that journal. Nothing is deleted, and nothing goes to the burn pile. If the two had started "a new constellation", it stays, holding the first star.
Connect again to join another journal.
Two constellations
When the two stars are in different journals, the card says "two constellations", "‹first journal› + ‹second journal›" and "these stars are in different journals.", with "how should they join? ▾" and "cancel". "cancel" goes back to the first star's card.
"how should they join? ▾" opens a small menu of the ways that can be done:
| line | what it does |
|---|---|
| "merge into ‹first journal›" | every entry and line of the second journal moves into the first, with the new line. The second journal goes to the burn pile |
| "merge into ‹second journal›" | the same, the other way round |
| "merge into new journal" | both journals' entries and lines, and the new line, go into "a new constellation". Both old journals go to the burn pile |
| "put the end stars in each other's journals" | your first star joins the second journal and the second star joins the first; the new line is drawn in both. Nothing else moves |
- After a merge the line says "merged · now all of …", with "undo", which brings the merged journal back out of the burn pile. A merged journal waits in the burn pile for 30 days.
- After "put the end stars in each other's journals" the line says "each star is in both journals now", with "undo".
- A way that would add to a journal that is closed, put away or locked isn't offered. If no way can be, the card says why and shows only "cancel".
- Ask the sky never merges journals; only you choose that, on this card.
"undo" also waits in the top-right corner, beside AI and the shuttle. See Undo & earlier versions.
"more ⋯" — the entry's menu
The same menu opens from "more ⋯" here, "more ⋯" on a row in the list, and ⋯ on a journal's page. A tap off it shuts it.
| line | what it does |
|---|---|
| "read it" | opens the reader |
| "write in it" | opens compose |
| "design it" / "its design · n" | opens design. See Design slides |
| "bring it to life ✦" / "▶ play it · n" | bring to life (Gold), or plays it once it has scenes |
| "one earlier version" / "n earlier versions" | opens the reader on its history |
| "ask the sky about it" | opens ask the sky with this entry's title in the box. Not on a hidden entry, or while the AI is off |
| "onto the shuttle" | its title and words onto the shuttle (Gold) |
| "share it" | opens sharing for this entry (Gold). See Share an entry (Gold) |
| "in the sky" | the sky, centred on its day |
| "take it out of this journal" | "taken out of …", with "undo". From the sky, only when exactly one journal holds it |
| "hide it · from insights, the widget, notices, the ai and the shuttle" | "hidden · it stays here, and nowhere else", with "undo". On a hidden entry: "stop hiding it" |
| "put it away" | into the reliquary: "into the reliquary · it keeps every word", with "undo" |
| "to the burn pile" | "on the burn pile · 30 days", with "undo" |
See also.
Tap, hold, drag & pinch · Make & name a journal · Hide an entry · The reliquary & the burn pile