Your first ten minutes

A short tutorial: create a folder, add files, open one, write a note linked to it, then find everything again with search.

On this page
Documentation sections

In ten minutes, you will create a folder, add a few files, open one, write a note that links to it, and find everything again with search. These are the moves you will use every day in Filarr.

Before you start, set up Filarr: see Install Filarr and Set up Filarr the first time. Any files will do for this tutorial. If you would rather use realistic examples, download the sample files from Try Filarr with sample data.

Step 1: Create a folder

  1. On the home screen, click New Folder. If the button reads New, click it, then choose New folder.
  2. In Folder name, type a name, for example "Clients".
  3. Check Location: it shows where the new folder goes.
  4. Click Create.

The folder appears on the home screen and in the sidebar, under Folders.

Step 2: Add files

  1. Open your folder: click it on the home screen, or in the sidebar.
  2. Click Upload Files at the top of the folder.
  3. Select one or more files on your computer and confirm.

Filarr encrypts the files and adds them to the folder. A message confirms how many arrived.

You can also drag files from your computer's file manager and drop them into the open folder, up to 25 at a time. Folders cannot be dropped this way: create the folder in Filarr first, then add its files. Add files to Filarr covers every way to import.

Step 3: Open a file

  • Double-click a file to open it. PDF files, images, videos, sounds, emails and many other formats open right inside Filarr.
  • Move to a file with the arrow keys and press Space for a quick preview. Press Space again to close it. Right after a mouse click, Space does nothing: press an arrow key first.

Preview and open files lists the formats Filarr reads and the other ways to open a file.

Step 4: Sort a file into a subfolder

  1. Inside your folder, click New Folder and create a subfolder, for example "Northwind Coffee".
  2. Drag a file onto the subfolder and drop it there.

If you hold the file over the subfolder for a moment, the subfolder opens, so you can go deeper before you drop. You can also right-click a file and choose Move. See Organize files in folders.

Step 5: Write your first note

  1. In the sidebar, click Notes.
  2. Click the + button (New Note), or press Ctrl+Shift+N (Alt+Shift+N in the web app).
  3. Choose Start with a blank note.
  4. Click Untitled and type a title, for example "Northwind kickoff".
  5. Click below the title and write a few lines.

Filarr saves as you type: there is no Save button to think about. From inside a folder, New Note does the same and attaches the note to that folder.

Write your first note shows everything else: templates, icons, covers and more.

Notes become useful when they point to what they talk about.

  1. In your note, type [[.
  2. Start typing the name of the file you added in step 2. A list shows the notes, files and folders that match.
  3. Pick the file with the arrow keys and press Enter.

The link appears in your note. Click it to open the file. To link to another note, type [[ and the note's title. If no note has that title yet, the last entry of the list creates it for you. Link your notes explains links and backlinks in detail.

Step 7: Search everything

  1. Click the search box at the top of the window.
  2. Type a word: part of a file name, a word from one of your notes, or a word inside a document.

Results appear as you type, files and notes together, with the matching words highlighted.

You can also filter in plain words. Type a file type or a period next to your search: "pdf this week" keeps only the PDF files added this week.

Find anything explains what search looks through, including the text inside your documents.

Step 8: Get back to things fast

  • The command palette. Press Ctrl+P, type a few letters of a file or folder name, and press Enter. See Find your way around.
  • Favorites. Right-click a file you use often and choose Add to favorites. It appears in the sidebar under Favorites. Right-click it there and choose Assign a shortcut (Ctrl+1-9) to open it with a single key.
  • Recent files. The sidebar lists what you opened last.

What to try next

You now know the basics. From here: