Navigation

Overview

For most common things, Tana accommodates for both mouse and keyboard navigation. Some advanced things can only be done with the keyboard.

Basics

• In Tana, you mainly navigate around by interacting with nodes and references, the sidebar, the global search. Other navigation methods are based around the type of connection the nodes have with each other.
• Navigating via nodes and references is quite simple:
  • To zoom in on a node, click on the node bullet or use Cmd/Ctrl+. (period)
  • To zoom out of a node to the previous view, use the back button or use Cmd/Ctrl+, (comma)
• The sidebar allows you to navigate to some key locations:
  • Today: Always going to the current day node.
  • Supertags: The place to view all supertags from all workspaces you're a member of.
  • Inbox: The place to view content coming primarily from mobile
  • Pinned: An area you can use to pin important nodes to the sidebar
  • Workspaces: If you are working with multiple workspaces (i.e. more than just your main workspace), you will see this section.
• The global search (Cmd/Ctrl+S) allows you to jump to any node in your graph. Similarly, the command line has some fixed locations you can jump to easily. Type Open to see the full list.
• In addition, there are different ways to navigate your data in Tana based on the connection you're traversing:
  • Via the tree: To navigate up the tree, use the breadcrumbs. Going down the tree, use the command Expand all to see all the branches below.
  • Via a supertag: Adding supertags connect your nodes together even though they appear in very different parts of the tree. Click the supertag to navigate to the supertag home to find all tagged nodes gathered here.
  • Via references and option fields: Open a reference in its original location by clicking on the node bullet or the inline link. Option fields allow you to reuse existing nodes as field values, connecting your information in a structured way.
  • Via the reference section: Every node has this section at the bottom that shows every connection to this node.
  • Via day/week/month/year nodes: When you're on a calendar node, there are navigation arrows to go to the previous/next increment, or use the calendar to pick the exact day.
  • Via the back button: You can use the Back button to go back to previous contexts
• Docks allow you open nodes to the right or on top of the main window. Each full view of a node is called a Panel. On any navigational menu/button in Tana, use
  • Cmd/Ctrl+click to open to the right
  • Shift+click to open up top

Details

Navigating with mouse

Navigational elements include:

• Node bullets
• Inline references
• Breadcrumbs in the panel header
• All sidebar buttons

All of these work with the dock modifier keys. Hold down Cmd/Ctrl or Shift to send to the right/top dock respectively.

Navigating with keyboard

Common shortcuts

Open the keyboard icon in the sidebar for a longer list.

Custom keyboard shortcuts

You can define custom shortcuts for any command in the command line. To trigger shortcut recording, open the command line, find the command you want to set a shortcut for, and hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+K. This opens a popup where you can input a new shortcut. All shortcuts are saved in your Settings > Preferences > Private keyboard shortcuts, with the bottom ones being most recent.

You can also create a new keyboard shortcut node via the command line: Create keyboard shortcut

Also see How can I add/remove custom keyboard shortcuts?

Docks and Panels

Docks are like drawers 🗄. You can pop open a dock that can be easily pulled in and out, just like a drawer. There is a dock to the right, and on top of the main window.

Multiple panels can fit in a dock. Panels are able to scroll independently from one another. Panels have a "sticky" panel toolbar that stays visible at the top when you start scrolling. It has an x to close it.

How to use Docks

From anywhere in Tana:

• To open a node in the right dock: Cmd/Ctrl+click on node bullet
• To open a node in the top dock: Shift+click on node bullet

Multiple panels can exist within a dock, and every open panel is scrollable on its own. When there's already a panel in a dock:

• Sending panels to the right dock will open the new panel to the right of the panel you were active in.
• Sending panels to the top dock will open the new panel directly above the bottom panel

Command line related to Docks

To open a node in a dock from the main panel:

• Dock node on > Right/Top

To move a panel from one docked area to another:

• Dock panel on Right/Top

In any docked panel

• Close this panel

Limitations and known bugs with Docks and Panels:

• Similar to how you cannot have reference to a node at the same level that it exists, you cannot have the same node opened in multiple panels.
• The Tana Labs feature Saved layouts doesn't work with Docks
• Scroll state resets on all panels when a sidebar item is clicked, replacing the panel in the Main area