# Write in focus mode

> Hide the toolbar and both sidebars so only the page is left, then bring the chrome back with the same shortcut or Escape.

[Try it in Plot](https://app.inkwell.software/projects)

Jump to a section on the website

- [Focus on the words around your caret](https://www.inkwell.software/help/writing/focus-mode#section-focus-on-the-words-around-your-caret)
- [Choose the page's appearance](https://www.inkwell.software/help/writing/focus-mode#section-choose-the-page-s-appearance)

Focus mode clears the screen down to the page. It is a view, not a mode of the document: nothing about the script changes.

1. **Turn it on**

   Press `⌘⇧.` / `Ctrl+Shift+.`, or pick **Enter Focus Mode** from the command palette. The toolbar and both sidebars fold away and the page centers; a small reminder in the corner says how to leave.

   ![Focus mode on and off: the chrome folds away and the page centers, then the corner reminder brings the toolbar back.](https://www.inkwell.software/help/focus-mode.light.webp)

   _Focus mode on and off: the chrome folds away and the page centers, then the corner reminder brings the toolbar back._

   [Watch the recording](https://www.inkwell.software/help/focus-mode.light.webm)

2. **Leave focus mode to use a sidebar**

   Leave focus mode first, then press `⌘\` / `Ctrl+\` to open the outline or `⌘⇧\` / `Ctrl+Shift+\` to open the companion. Close the sidebar with the same shortcut when you are ready to return to the page.

   ![The outline open beside the page after leaving focus mode (1). Close the sidebar with the same shortcut.](https://www.inkwell.software/help/focus-sidebars.light.webp)

   _The outline open beside the page after leaving focus mode (1). Close the sidebar with the same shortcut._

3. **Turn it off**

   Press `⌘⇧.` / `Ctrl+Shift+.` again, press `Escape` with nothing else open, or choose the reminder in the corner. The toolbar returns; reopen the outline or companion with its sidebar shortcut when you need it.

   ![The editor toolbar returns after choosing the corner reminder (1), with the document still on the page.](https://www.inkwell.software/help/focus-restored.light.webp)

   _The editor toolbar returns after choosing the corner reminder (1), with the document still on the page._

## Focus on the words around your caret

Open **Settings → Editor → Focus & flow**. **Dim around the caret** keeps your current **Sentence**, **Paragraph**, or **Scene** clear while dimming the rest. Choose **Off** to restore the whole page.

![Focus & flow (1): choose what stays clear around the caret, the typewriter position, and whether to highlight the current line.](https://www.inkwell.software/help/settings-editor-focus-flow.light.webp)

_Focus & flow (1): choose what stays clear around the caret, the typewriter position, and whether to highlight the current line._

**Typewriter scroll** keeps the line you are writing one-third down (**Top**), halfway down (**Middle**), or two-thirds down (**Bottom**) the visible writing area as you type. **Highlight current line** adds a tint behind that line. These settings work with or without focus mode.

## Choose the page's appearance

Under **Settings → Editor → Page style**, choose **Eye-friendly** for a soft element-color hierarchy, or **Traditional** for one ink color and bold cues and headings on a light page. You can also adjust the colors, page tone, and emphasis yourself. Exported and printed scripts keep their screenplay format.

![Page style (1): compare Eye-friendly and Traditional, then adjust the page's colors and emphasis.](https://www.inkwell.software/help/settings-editor-page-style.light.webp)

_Page style (1): compare Eye-friendly and Traditional, then adjust the page's colors and emphasis._

> **Tip: Less motion**
>
> If the chrome folding away is too much movement, Settings → Accessibility → **Reduce motion** keeps focus mode and drops the animation.

## What next

- [Find your way around the editor](https://www.inkwell.software/help/getting-started/find-your-way-around): What the two sidebars hold, what the command palette can reach, and the handful of shortcuts that open and close each panel.
- [Change how Plot looks and behaves](https://www.inkwell.software/help/account/settings-overview): Open Settings from anywhere and set the theme and palette, the page's size and markers, motion and transparency, which emails you get, and your profile.

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Canonical page: <https://www.inkwell.software/help/writing/focus-mode>