Writing an idea

Formatting and the / menu

A written page is a column of blocks: paragraphs and headings, lists and quotes, the parts of an idea, a flow, a sketch, a screenshot, a file. Type / to add any of them, or use the shortcuts you may already know as you type.

The / menu

On an empty line, type /. A menu opens under it, in three groups:

• Parts of the idea. Problem, Worth and Approach (on the idea page, while they aren’t there yet), and Unknowns and Not doing (on any written page). See The idea page.
• Thinking tools. Flow, Sketch, Canvas, Screenshot and File.
• Writing. Text, Heading, Bulleted list, Quote and Divider.

Keep typing to narrow the menu (/quote, /file), move with ↑ ↓, and press Enter to add the block. The + beside any block opens the same menu on a new line below it.

Shortcuts while you type

Type these at the start of a line, followed by a space, and the line becomes that block:

# or ##

A heading

###

A smaller heading, for a sub-section

- or *

A bulleted list

1.

A numbered list

>

A quote

?

Then the question and Enter: an unknown. See Unknowns and Not doing.

Anywhere in a line, **words** makes them bold, *words* or _words_ italic, and `words` code. A web address becomes a link as you type it.

With words selected, ⌘ B makes them bold, ⌘ I italic and ⌘ U underlined (Ctrl instead of ⌘ on Windows). ⌘ Z undoes. Shift Enter breaks a line without starting a new paragraph. Every shortcut is in Keyboard shortcuts.

Move, copy and delete a block

Point at a block, or put the cursor in it, and its controls appear in the margin beside it. On a phone they sit just above the block you’re in.

• + adds a block below, with the / menu open.
• The grip moves the block: drag it, and a line shows where it will land. Click it instead for Move up, Move down, Duplicate (greyed out on a part or a Canvas block) and Delete.
• The speech bubble asks a question about the block, in the margin. See Writing together.

Deleting a block says so, with Undo. Deleting a part from the idea page also records that you left it out on purpose; see The idea page.

Flows

A flow lays out the places someone goes, what they can do in each, and where each action leads. Each place is a box with its name on top and its actions under it.

• Type a place’s name and press Enter to go on to its actions. Enter after an action adds the next one; Backspace on an empty one removes it.
• Point at an action and choose the arrow to say where it leads: another place, or Nowhere.
• Add a place is under the flow, and Add an action under each place as you point at it. The × on a place removes it.

Once the places have names, choose Sketch the flow and Walden draws each one as a screen, on a page of its own. See Sketching the screens.

Sketches, screenshots, files and boards

• Sketch. A panel to draw on with a mouse, a pen or a finger. The marker is thick on purpose, to keep you out of the details. Point at it for Undo stroke and Clear, and write what it shows underneath.
• Screenshot. How the product looks today. Paste or drop an image anywhere on a page, or choose /screenshot. It lands after the block you were in, with a line under it for what it shows.
• File. Drop a PDF, a document or a spreadsheet on the page, or choose /file. It lands as a block with Open and a line for why it matters. In a project, the menu also offers the project’s own files and those on its other ideas. See Files.
• Canvas. /canvas makes a board as a page of its own and shows a map of it here; click the map to open it. See Boards and Pages.