Formatting

Inline with its mission, NotedELN only allows the most basic of formatting options.

Standard typography

Italics

Press [Ctrl][I] or [Ctrl][/] to italicize the word under the cursor or the current selection (or to unitalicize).

Bold face

Press [Ctrl][B] or [Ctrl][*] (or [Ctrl][8]) for bold face.

_Underline_

Press [Ctrl][U] or [Ctrl][_] (underscore; on my keyboard: [Ctrl][Shift][-]) for underline.

Subscripts and superscripts

Press [Ctrl][^] (or [Ctrl][6]) to create a superscript and [Ctrl][-] (minus) to create a subscript. Superscripts and subscripts can also be created by typing [^] or [_] followed by the text of the superscript or subscript and then pressing [Ctrl][.] (period).

Editorializing: Highlighting and crossing out

Any text, old or new, can be highlighted using the highlight icon ([F7]) or crossed out using the strikeout icon ([F8]). These annotations can be removed using the plain icon ([F9]). Highlighting of the selection or word under the cursor can also be toggled using [Ctrl][!] (or [Ctrl][1]). Likewise, [Ctrl][=] toggles cross-out.

Footnotes

Press [Ctrl][N] to create a footnote. Footnotes are connected to the main text by arbitrary tags: the word at the cursor becomes the tag. If you prefer to use symbols to tag footnotes, the symbols *, †, ‡, §, ¶, and ♯ can be created by typing *, +, ++, $, @, and # before pressing [Ctrl][N]. Footnotes are deleted by deleting the tag in the main text or by pressing [Ctrl][Shift][N] while the tag is highlighted.

If your tag is a big integer, it is interpreted as a PubMed ID. In that case, NotedELN will insert the corresponding citation in the note for you automatically. (If you have suggestions for other kinds of automatically created note contents, I want to hear from you.)

Indentation

By default, the first paragraph of a note is not indented, whereas subsequent paragraphs are. To change the indentation of a paragraph, press [Shift][Tab]. Repeat to cycle through the options:

  • No indent

  • Normal indent

  • Reverse (“hanging”) indent

Typesetting quotations, computer code, and other imported materials

Occasionally it is useful to typeset “imported” materials such as quotations differently from the rest of your notes. In a small concession to typographic nicety, NotedELN does this for you if you press [Ctrl][Tab]. The paragraph will be typeset in a slightly different color, a slightly smaller point size, and with slightly larger margins. To revert, simply press [Ctrl][Tab] again.