Photos, files & voice notes
The "materials" tab of compose holds the files an entry carries: pictures, videos, sounds and any other file. There is no library of loose files — a file exists only because an entry holds it.
Open compose on the entry, then tap "materials" under the filed line. The line at the top says: "files live with the entry that holds them. they're copied in from the phone; nothing is shared unless you share the entry."
Add something
| button | what it does |
|---|---|
| "✛ a photo or video" | the phone's photo picker, up to 20 at once |
| "✛ take a photo" | the phone's camera app takes the picture, and it is added to the entry. Back out without a shot and nothing is kept. With no camera app: "no camera app on this phone"; if the camera can't be handed a file: "the camera couldn't be given somewhere to write" |
| "✛ a voice note" | records, reading "· recording ·" while it runs — see below |
| "✛ a file from the phone" | the phone's file picker, any kind of file, several at once |
Every file is copied in, so it doesn't go stale when the other app lets go of it. A file over 256 MB is refused. A file that can't be read is named, not skipped silently: "that file couldn't be read — it may be over 256 MB, or whatever sent it may not be sharing it any more".
Record a voice note
- Tap "✛ a voice note". The microphone is asked for at this first tap, never before. Say no and it reads "no microphone, no voice note — a sound file from the phone still works". A panel shows "recording ·" and the time, with a line that moves as you talk.
- Tap "■ keep it" to stop and keep it, or "✕ never mind" to stop and keep nothing.
- Under one second: "too short to keep — hold it a second longer". One that fails: "that recording couldn't be kept".
- If another app holds the microphone: "the microphone couldn't be opened — another app may be using it".
- Leaving the screen while recording keeps nothing.
Each file
A small picture for an image, then its glyph and name, then its size, as "2.1 MB" or "48 KB". Under it:
- "◎ make this the entry itself" — sound files only. Makes this recording the entry: a spoken entry. It then reads "◉ the entry itself · undo", which turns it back. If the file was already saved with the entry, this is kept at once; otherwise with the next save. See Spoken entries & write it out.
- "place in the words" — puts the file's line at the end of the last page's words; gone once placed. See Words, titles & pages.
- "remove" — takes the file off the entry and out of the words, with "undo".
With none: "no files yet."
The gallery
When the entry holds a picture, "the gallery" shows its pictures side by side as squares, and "the list" goes back to every file. The choice lasts while compose is open.
Removing a file
- A file added and removed before it was ever saved says "the file is removed". It stays on the phone until compose closes without it, so undo can still give it back.
- A saved one says "removed · it goes when you save, unless an earlier version still uses it".
Both lines carry "undo", and the "undo" button at the top right offers the same step until you leave compose or do something else that can be undone; once undone it turns into "redo". See Undo & earlier versions.
After compose closes, if an earlier version still uses the file, bringing that version back brings the file back. See Save & earlier versions.
When it is kept
Added files are part of the draft, kept with "save" or when you leave compose.
Pictures as pop-ups
A picture here is what a pop-up of the kind "a picture" can open, and any other file is what "a file" can open. See Pop-ups.
See also.
Compose, top to bottom · Spoken entries & write it out · Pop-ups · Design slides