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After installing leaftext, the whole app fits in a handful of gestures. There are no settings to configure before you start and no account to create — open a file and start reading. This page walks through opening your first file and introduces the main interface elements so you feel at home immediately.
You can drag and drop any .md file directly onto the leaftext window to open it instantly, without touching the keyboard or the file picker.

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Opening your first file and exploring the interface

1

Open a file

Press Ctrl+O on Windows or Linux, or Cmd+O on macOS. The native file picker opens — navigate to any .md file and confirm. leaftext renders it immediately in the main reading pane.Alternatively:
  • Drag and drop a .md file from your file manager directly onto the leaftext window.
  • Recent Files — if you have opened files before, they appear on the no-file view when no document is loaded. Click any entry to reopen it without using the file picker. leaftext remembers the last 8 opened files.
2

Read the document

Scroll through the document using your mouse wheel, trackpad, or keyboard arrow keys as you normally would in any application.On the right side of the window you will see the minimap: a scaled overview of the entire document with a shaded band showing your current viewport position. Click or drag anywhere on the minimap to jump to that part of the document. Heading markers in the minimap make it easy to navigate long files at a glance.
The minimap is responsive: it becomes narrower on medium-width windows and hides automatically on small windows to give the document more room. You can also toggle it from Settings in the app bar.
3

Open a second file in a new tab

Press Ctrl+O (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+O (macOS) while a document is already open. leaftext opens the new file in a new tab rather than replacing the current one. Switch between tabs by clicking the tab titles in the tab bar at the top of the window.Each tab maintains its own scroll position and navigation history independently.
4

Navigate history

leaftext records a navigation history for each tab — both documents you have opened and in-document jumps you have made (such as clicking a heading in the minimap). You can move through that history just like a browser:
DirectionWindows / LinuxmacOS
BackAlt+←Cmd+←
ForwardAlt+→Cmd+→
If your mouse has side buttons, those work too — the back and forward side buttons navigate history without requiring the keyboard.When you go back after a minimap jump, leaftext returns to the scroll position you were at before the jump, not just the top of the previous document.
5

Close a tab

Press Ctrl+W on Windows or Linux, or Cmd+W on macOS, to close the current tab. You can also click the X button beside the navigation controls in the tab bar.If only one tab is open, closing it returns you to the no-file view where you can open a new file or pick from recent files.

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Keyboard shortcuts reference

ActionWindows / LinuxmacOS
Open fileCtrl+OCmd+O
Close tabCtrl+WCmd+W
Navigate backAlt+←Cmd+←
Navigate forwardAlt+→Cmd+→
These four shortcuts cover the complete navigation model of leaftext. Everything else — scrolling, minimap interaction, tab switching — is handled with the mouse or trackpad.

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Explore further

Navigation

Learn more about the minimap, tab history, in-document jump tracking, and mouse side-button support.

Themes

leaftext follows your OS light/dark preference automatically using a semantic token system. Find out how theming works and what you can customise.