Understanding focus is essential to understanding how Arky operates. This section explores the basic concept and use cases of focus.

• You can focus on a specific Shell to work exclusively within its content.
• Entering a Shell opens a new canvas dedicated to that Shell's contents, where you can view and edit them.
• Content created inside is organized in order when returning to the parent level.

How to Focus

On the canvas, hold ⌘ (or Ctrl for Windows users) and click a Shell to focus on it. You can also focus on a Shell by clicking it from the Outline tab in the left sidebar.

Nested Canvas

A specific Shell at any level can be focused, opening a new canvas based on that Shell.

When you first create a Project, it's considered the Root Shell — and by default, you're focused on that Root Shell.

• Creating a Shell is like creating a dedicated entry point — a space where you can create and view only its internal contents.
• When you focus into a Shell, it opens as a new canvas. Any content you create inside is automatically organized in the order you created it.
• When you return to the parent level, the content inside that Shell remains arranged in order.

💡 Shell depth cannot exceed heading level 6 in Markdown. This means, if you focus into a Shell at depth 6, you cannot create new Shells inside it. This hierarchical constraint exists because Arky's structure maps one-to-one with Markdown.

Outline tab

The left sidebar has two tabs: Outline and Details. Let's start with Outline.

• The Outline tab displays the shell hierarchies within this project.
• The order reflects how they're arranged in Document view, and deeper indentation indicates deeper hierarchy levels.
• You can drag and drop to reorder items in Document view or restructure the hierarchy.

When you click on a specific shell in the Outline tab, it focuses into that shell.

• To work exclusively with the contents of a specific shell, simply click it in the Outline.
• To return to the top level, click the project name at the top of the Outline tab, or use the navigation path in the top-left corner.

Details tab

The Details tab shows the contents inside the currently focused Shell. Clicking any block or Shell navigates you to its location on the canvas.