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Native markdown editor for Windows

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Scratchpads

Scratchpads are lightweight, always-on-top floating windows for quick markdown notes. They live outside your main document tabs, so you can jot down ideas, outlines, or reference material without disrupting your workflow.

Creating a Scratchpad

There are three ways to open a new scratchpad:

  • Global hotkey: Press Ctrl+Alt+N from anywhere (even when Feather doesn't have focus)
  • Menu: File > New Scratchpad
  • System tray: Right-click the Feather tray icon and select New Scratchpad

The global hotkey can be customized in Settings > Background & Shortcuts.

How Scratchpads Work

Each scratchpad is a floating window with its own markdown editor. Scratchpads support all of Feather's smart editing features: auto-close pairs, list continuation, selection wrapping, formatting shortcuts, and more.

Key behaviors:

  • Always-on-top by default (toggleable via the pin icon in the title bar)
  • Auto-save on every keystroke (500ms debounce) so you never lose a note
  • Persistent across app restarts. Each scratchpad is saved as an .md file in your local app data
  • Multiple windows can be open simultaneously

Scratchpad Controls

Each scratchpad window has a minimal title bar with these controls:

Icon Action
Pin Toggle always-on-top
Open in Feather Open the scratchpad content as a full tab in the main Feather window
Save Export a snapshot of the scratchpad to a file location of your choice
Delete Permanently delete the scratchpad and its backing file
Close Close the window (content is preserved on disk for later)

Run in Background

To use the global hotkey when Feather's main window is closed, enable Run in background in Settings > Background & Shortcuts. This keeps Feather alive in the system tray so the hotkey works at any time.

When background mode is on:

  • Closing the main window hides it instead of quitting
  • A system tray icon appears with options for New Scratchpad, Show Feather, and Exit
  • Use Exit Feather from the tray to fully quit

Tips

  • Use scratchpads for meeting notes, quick outlines, or reference snippets while working on your main documents
  • The scratchpad title is automatically derived from the first line of content
  • Close a scratchpad to dismiss the window. Your content is saved and the file remains on disk
  • Delete a scratchpad when you're done with it to clean up