The OtterMind handbook.
A short, human-written guide to the moving parts of OtterMind — read it front-to-back in a quiet afternoon, or jump to the part you need.
Getting started
A short walk through your first ten minutes with OtterMind.
Create an account at ottermind.net and download the desktop app for macOS or Windows. The mobile apps are available on iOS and Android, and the web app works in any modern browser.
When you sign in for the first time, OtterMind opens with a small starter workspace — a Welcome page, a journal, and a place for files. Feel free to delete any of it. The workspace is yours.
If you have notes or files in another tool, choose Settings → Import. OtterMind reads Markdown, HTML, Evernote (.enex), Notion (.zip), Google Docs, and plain text.
Workspaces & pages
How OtterMind is shaped, and how to shape it back.
A workspace is a top-level container — think of it as a notebook on a shelf. Inside, pages can be nested freely. A page can hold text, files, embeds, or another page.
To create a page, click + in the sidebar or press ⌘N. To nest one page inside another, drag it onto its parent in the sidebar.
Workspaces can be renamed, reordered, and archived from the sidebar context menu. Archiving keeps content searchable but tucks it out of view.
Working with files
PDFs, images, audio, code — drop in anything.
Drag any file onto a page and OtterMind stores it alongside your text. Most formats preview inline: PDFs flip page-by-page, images crop and zoom, audio plays in place, code highlights.
Files are full citizens of search. The contents of PDFs and text files are indexed automatically, so you can find a phrase even if you never typed it into a note.
On Pro, files are also versioned — older revisions are kept and can be restored at any time.
Organization
Tags, properties, and databases without ceremony.
Add a tag to any page by typing #tagname in the title or sidebar. Tags can be searched, filtered, and renamed in bulk.
When a page outgrows being a simple note, promote it to a database. Pages inside become rows; their fields become columns. Switch between table, board, and calendar views without restructuring.
Properties — text, number, date, select, checkbox — let you describe pages without changing their content.
Search
Find anything in seconds, including the things you forgot.
Press ⌘K from anywhere to open search. Results group by page, file, and tag. Filters narrow by workspace, date, or property.
Searches can be saved — useful for things like ‘unread reading list’ or ‘this week’s journal’.
OtterMind never sends your search index off-device for indexing.
Sync & offline
Your workspace, on every device.
All apps sync continuously over an encrypted connection. Edits made offline queue up and merge cleanly when you reconnect.
Conflict resolution is automatic; the rare manual conflict opens a side-by-side comparison so you can choose.
You can pause sync per-device from Settings → Sync if you’re working on a metered connection.
Keyboard shortcuts
OtterMind is built to be quick under the hands.
| ⌘N | New page |
| ⌘K | Search |
| ⌘P | Quick switcher |
| ⌘\ | Toggle sidebar |
| ⌘B | Bold |
| ⌘I | Italic |
| ⌘E | Inline code |
| / | Slash menu |
| ⌘⇧F | Find on page |
| ⌘, | Settings |
FAQ
A few questions we hear most often.
Where is my data? Files and pages are stored on encrypted servers in your chosen region.
Can I export everything? Yes — Settings → Export produces a portable archive of pages (Markdown) and files in their original formats.
How do I contact support? Free users can reach us through the community forum; Plus and above can email [email protected].