🚀 01. Getting Started

Essential essentials when opening the extension for the first time.
Welcome to FlashNote! This guide will get you up to speed with FlashNote’s core features and writing workflow within 5 minutes.

📑 In This Guide

1. What FlashNote is & Best Use Cases
2. Creating Your First Note
3. Formatting, Images & Tables
4. Saving, Searching & Managing Notes
5. Your First Note in 5 Minutes

1. What FlashNote is & Best Use Cases

FlashNote is a modern, lightweight note-taking and knowledge base extension embedded directly into your browser’s sidebar. It harmonizes the speed of quick scratchpads with publication-grade structured archiving:

• 💡 Instant Ideation & Quick Scratchpad: Capture thoughts, code snippets, or meeting notes while browsing without ever switching apps;
• 📑 Technical & Academic Writing: Dual-engine Markdown and WYSIWYG editor with first-class support for syntax-highlighted code blocks, KaTeX math, and Mermaid diagrams;
• 📚 Books & Columns Archiving: Structured tree hierarchy and chapter compilation designed for structured technical monographs;
• 🌐 Static Blog Pipeline & Cloud Sync: Seamless integration with modern static blogs (such as MagicNote / VitePress) with differential cloud backup and local-first data privacy.

2. Creating Your First Note

2.1 Opening the Sidebar & Global Shortcut

FlashNote stays comfortably docked inside your browser sidebar:

• Click to Open: Click the FlashNote icon in your extension bar, or choose FlashNote in Chrome’s side panel menu;
• Global Instant Shortcut:
  • macOS: Command + Shift + F
  • Windows / Linux: Ctrl + Shift + F

2.2 Dual Workspace: Notes vs. Books

At the top of FlashNote, you can switch between Notes and Books:

1. Ensure the “Notes” tab is selected;
2. Click the “New Note (+)” button in the top right corner (or press Ctrl/Cmd + N);
3. The title field is focused automatically; type a title and press Enter to begin writing.

3. Formatting, Images & Tables

FlashNote features an intuitive, modern rich-text editor:

3.1 Text Formatting & Quick Markdown

Format using either standard shortcuts or instant Markdown triggers:

• Headings: Type #, ##, or ### followed by Space for H1–H3;
• Inline Styles: Select text to use the floating toolbar, or use shortcuts:
  • Ctrl/Cmd + B: Bold
  • Ctrl/Cmd + I: Italic
  • Ctrl/Cmd + K: Insert Link
• Quotes & Lists: Type > + Space for blockquotes; - or 1. + Space for bulleted and numbered lists.

3.2 Inserting Images

• Paste from Clipboard: Take a screenshot and press Ctrl/Cmd + V directly into the editor;
• Drag & Drop: Drag local image files into any paragraph;
• Local Sandbox Persistence: All images are downloaded and stored locally in browser sandbox storage. You never need to worry about broken images due to anti-hotlinking.

3.3 Inserting Tables

• Click the Table icon in the toolbar to insert a matrix table;
• Add or delete rows/columns and adjust cell alignment effortlessly.

4. Saving, Searching & Managing Notes

4.1 Local-First Auto-Save

FlashNote persists changes in real-time:

• Every keystroke is saved immediately to local IndexedDB;
• No manual saving required. Even if your browser crashes or restarts, your content remains completely safe.

4.2 Global Search & Tag Filtering

• Instant Search: Click the search icon or press Ctrl/Cmd + P to search across titles and full content with highlight matches;
• Tag Categorization: Add tags like #tech or #ideas at the top of notes to filter by theme instantly.

5. Your First Note in 5 Minutes

Follow this quick workflow to experience FlashNote in action:

1. Open Sidebar: Press Command/Ctrl + Shift + F;
2. Take Quick Notes: Create a note titled “My First FlashNote” and write three key bullet points;
3. Web Clip: Select text on any web page, right-click and choose “Add to FlashNote”. The clip is saved with source URL attribution;
4. AI Summary: Click “AI Summary” on the toolbar to generate a concise summary and tags in a single call;
5. Export & Share: Copy as standard Markdown or export locally with one click.