Nexus folders and navigation

Open folder overviews, browse child documents, and keep portable Markdown paths.

Click a folder’s name in the library to open the folder. Choose Overview on Mac, or About on the web, beside its file views to read its introduction. Click the arrow beside the folder to expand or collapse its children without leaving the page you are reading.

Folder overview

On the web, the visible About tab opens the folder overview. In Nexus Desktop 0.2.37 or later, this tab is named Overview. When a folder contains index.md, that file supplies About. The library represents it through the folder row instead of showing a second index entry underneath. On the web, opening a direct link to a nested index opens About while still addressing that same document. An index at the vault root remains an ordinary document.

A folder can contain documents without having an index.md, for example after an import or creating files in Finder. On Mac, Overview opens the normal editor directly: type context, useful links, or other Markdown in Write or Split. Saving nonempty content creates index.md; blank or whitespace-only content does not create a missing index. On the web, About offers Add an introduction to users with editing access and uses the normal save flow. Merely opening About or starting an untouched draft does not create the file. If an index already exists, edits update that same file, not a second copy.

On the web, Edit overview opens the existing document editor inside the folder’s Overview. Use Preview to read formatted content or Write to edit Markdown. If no index exists, Edit overview opens an unsaved overview; viewing the folder alone does not save a new file.

The visual grouping does not combine files or change their paths. The overview uses the same document, revision history, and autosave as its index.md. Folder actions still act on the folder, not just its overview.

Edit formatted content on the web

After choosing Edit overview, click a paragraph, heading, or supported list in Preview to edit its rendered text in place. Keyboard users can focus a supported block and press Enter. There is no separate editing modal. Use the compact toolbar for Bold or Italic, then Save or Command-Enter to apply the edit. This updates that block in the Markdown document and starts normal autosave; it does not create a separate copy of the overview. Typing alone does not apply the formatted edit.

Special blocks that cannot be converted safely ask you to use Write mode instead. Content outside the selected block, including frontmatter, is left untouched.

Close or Escape retains an unfinished formatted edit. Use the page’s unsent edit draft control to resume it. Drafts are kept in that browser tab’s session storage, not synced to other devices; they are not a substitute for Save and a successful checkpoint. Discard draft removes only that unsent block edit.

The toolbar has two distinct actions: ✦ Ask for change prepares a request in the private page-agent chat; Comment opens team feedback anchored to the selected text or block. Neither action sends your message automatically. Save any edited text first so the request or comment refers to the current document. Applied agent edits are shared document changes even though the agent chat is separate from team comments.

If the page changed while you were editing, Nexus keeps the draft and asks you to reconcile it. If another checkpoint reaches the server before yours, autosave stops with a save-conflict message rather than replacing that newer revision. Review both versions before explicitly saving again.

The folder’s Discussion is separate from comments anchored to index.md. Use the document’s comment controls for feedback on the overview itself.

Edit an Overview on Mac

In Nexus Desktop 0.2.37 or later, choose Overview to use the normal document editor inside the folder, without a separate introduction-creation step. Switch between Write, Split, and Preview for the same index.md. A missing overview starts in Write; enter content and save to create it. Browsing or leaving an untouched draft creates no file.

In Split or Preview, click supported content to edit it directly in place, without a sheet or repeated Edit block buttons. Save or Command-Enter updates only that block and starts the page’s normal local save and vault sync. The inline toolbar also offers separate Ask for change and Comment actions. Use Write mode for special blocks that cannot be safely converted.

Close or Escape retains an unapplied formatted edit on this Mac; reopen the block to resume it. These drafts are not synced to other devices. Close waits for recovery to be stored. If recovery fails, the editor stays open with an explanation; keep it open or copy your text, then retry. Discard draft explicitly removes the unsent edit. Navigation and app closure are protected while recovery is pending or has failed.

Finish or safely retain your edit before restarting for an update. A Saved on this Mac label confirms local storage, not cloud synchronization: check the sync details or pending-files indicator to confirm the remote copy is current.

Choose a view

Use Overview on Mac or About on the web for the folder introduction and the neighboring view controls to browse its contents as a list or grid. An existing board can be opened from the folder. Table views expose structured records where fields are configured.

These are ways to browse the same source material. Switching views does not move the documents. Configure the folder’s available views and default from its view settings.

Follow document links

Internal document links should open their target, not a welcome page. The library indicates the open document; an overview document is represented by its folder.

A document link identifies a destination, not a permission grant. Recipients must already have access to the vault and document. For private work, keep the link within the intended team.

Go back and forward on Mac

In Nexus Desktop 0.2.26 or later, use the Back and Forward arrows beside the tabs to revisit locations in the current vault. The keyboard shortcuts are Command-[ and Command-].

Navigation history is separate from your open tabs. Going back does not delete a document or close its draft. Document visits restore the saved reading/editing mode, selection, and scroll position. Navigating somewhere new after going back replaces the forward history, not your files.

History stays within the selected vault. If Nexus asks you to resolve an unsaved edit or a loading problem, handle that first rather than assuming the destination has opened.

Keep flexible structure

Use normal folders for projects and ordinary Markdown for notes. Add shared fields to a folder’s index when its children need consistent record values. This lets a collection become structured without requiring every document in the vault to follow one template.