Write mode

Write mode clears the screen down to the lyric. The header, the side panel, the section chips and buttons, the line numbers and the hints fade away; the text moves to the middle and grows, and the line you're on stays in the centre of the screen while you type, like a typewriter.

#Where to find it

• Write mode in the song's header (the highlighted button).
• ⌘ ⇧ ↩ (Ctrl+Shift+Enter on Windows and Linux) turns it on and off.
• Type / and pick Write mode; inside Write mode the same row says Leave Write mode.

#Step by step

1. Open a song and press Write mode (or the shortcut).
2. Write. The other sections are dimmed, and the name of the section you're in (for example Chorus 2) shows quietly beside it.
3. Move the mouse, or press Tab, to bring back the controls for a couple of seconds.
4. Press Esc, or Exit Write mode in the corner, to leave. Your line stays where it is on the screen.

If a menu, an AI suggestion, the side panel or a dialog is open, Esc closes that first; the next Esc leaves Write mode.

#What's still there

Write mode hides almost everything, but these controls appear in the corners when you move the mouse:

• ☰ opens the side panel over the page (the song brief, Versions, Comments…) without leaving Write mode.
• Home and Songs take you out of the song.
• 🎧 Hear it sung opens Hear it sung over the page, for the song's owner and editors. It uses AI (Eleven Music) and costs credits.
• 🎙️ Record opens Record an idea for the section the caret is in.
• ▶ 120 BPM plays the metronome, when the song has a tempo. While it plays, a small dot pulses at the edge of the page. See Tempo, key & metronome.
• Syllables hides or shows the syllable counts, which stay very dim in the margin. See Syllables & language.
• Full screen, where your browser allows it. Leaving Write mode leaves full screen too.
• Exit Write mode.

Everything else still works from the keyboard: the / menu, the Space menu on an empty line, undo and redo.

#Saving and comments

Your work is saved as usual, but Write mode only tells you when something is wrong: a small red dot means the last change wasn't saved. Comment threads become a small dot beside their line; open the side panel's Comments to read them.

#Tips

• Want the metronome running while you write? Set the tempo in the song brief first; the ▶ control only appears once the song has a BPM.
• With reduced motion turned on in your system, the text doesn't glide; it simply switches.

#Limits