Traverse is designed for fast navigation through structured outlines, especially when an outline becomes too large for a simple flat list.
Switch views from the keyboard
- Command-1: Outline view.
- Command-2: Writer view.
- Command-3: Column Auto.
- Command-4: Column Manual.
Writer view
Writer presents the outline as a continuous document while preserving every line as a structured node. It is useful for drafting, reading, and screenplay work. See Writer view for the full editing reference.
Column view
Column view presents each outline level in its own column.
- Auto: Selecting a node opens its children in the next column and keeps the selected path visible.
- Manual: You can expand and collapse multiple branches at once. Filtering in Column view uses Manual mode so matches can be revealed together.
Settings > Appearance includes Normal, Wide, Extra Wide, and Dynamic Column widths. Dynamic sizes each column according to its content, which is useful when levels contain very different title lengths.
Outline view
Outline view shows a traditional indented list. It is useful for scanning a whole section, editing quickly, and collapsing branches you do not need right now.
Create structure
In Column and Outline views:
- Return: Add a sibling at the same level.
- Tab: Add a child.
- Command-]: Indent the selected node.
- Command-[: Outdent the selected node.
- Shift-Up / Shift-Down: Move sibling nodes.
In Writer view, Return creates a sibling, Shift-Return creates a child, and Tab or Shift-Tab changes indentation. The Add Child toolbar button has the same meaning in every view.
You can also drag nodes before, after, or inside another node.
Paste text as nodes
Copy a block of text, select a node, and paste to turn its lines into Traverse nodes. Leading spaces or tabs are preserved as parent-child hierarchy, making it a quick way to bring an indented plan or list into an outline.
Show the shortcut bar
Choose View > Show Keyboard Shortcuts to display a floating reference bar at the bottom of the workspace. The bar adapts to the active view and shows the main commands for adding siblings and children, indenting, outdenting, and moving nodes.
Collapse and expand
Collapse branches when you want to reduce visual noise. Collapse works in Outline view and Column Manual mode. Command-L toggles the selected branch, and the app menu can expand or collapse all nodes.
Move through the hierarchy
Arrow keys follow the shape of the active view. In Column view, Left selects the parent and Right selects the first child. In Outline view, Left and Right collapse, expand, or move into children. Option-Up and Option-Down jump between siblings in Outline view and across open branches at the same level in Column Manual.
Node links
Traverse can copy a link to the selected node using its traverse:// URL scheme. These links can reopen a saved library document at a specific node, which is useful from notes, calendars, task managers, and project documents.
URL fields
If a node has a URL attribute, you can open that link directly from the Inspector or with the relevant command. This is useful for source material, tickets, briefs, web pages, and related documents.
Back and Forward
Traverse keeps recent node and document locations for the current app session. Use Back and Forward to retrace your work across nodes and documents. Missing documents and deleted nodes are skipped.
