The Chapter Outline
The Chapter Outline is the tree on the left side of the Chapters page. It shows every chapter in your book (and every scene inside each chapter) as a single, scannable list. This is your primary way to move around the Chapters page: click a chapter or scene here, and its details appear on the right.
The outline stays where it is no matter which view you're in, so it works the same way when you switch the right side over to The Corkboard.
Reading the Outline
Chapters are listed in the order they appear in your book, with their chapter number alongside the title. When you've assigned a color to a chapter or scene, the row shows that color as a small square: a quick visual cue you can use however you like (point of view, mood, draft state).
Chapters that contain more than one scene have a small triangle (called a chevron) on the left. Click the triangle to show or hide that chapter's scenes. Scenes appear tucked slightly to the right under their chapter, so it's always clear what belongs to what.
You can also organize chapters into groups: folders that hold a stretch of related chapters, like an act or a part. Groups have their own triangle and behave the same way: click to open or close the folder.
For everything you can do with groups, see Chapter Groups (Folders).
Selecting and Renaming
Click any chapter or scene to select it. Its details load into the right side of the screen, where you can read or edit them — covered in Editing Chapter and Scene Details.
To rename a chapter, scene, or group without leaving the outline, double-click its title. An inline text field opens right where the name was. Type the new name and press Enter to save, or Escape to cancel.
Tip: Scene titles are optional. If you leave one blank, the outline shows the scene's opening words in italics instead, or "Empty scene" if you haven't written anything yet. The right side of the screen falls back to "Untitled Scene".
Placeholders in the Outline
Alongside your chapters you may see rows with a dashed edge and a small "Placeholder" label. These are sticky notes for chapters you haven't written yet: they hold a spot in your outline but stay out of your manuscript entirely. Everything you can do with one is on its right-click menu. See Placeholder Cards.
Right-Click for More
Right-click (or Ctrl+click on Mac) any chapter, scene, or group to open a context menu with everything you can do to that item: insert a new chapter before or after, change a status color, create a group, merge with the previous item, delete, and more. Right-clicking empty space in the outline opens a smaller menu for creating a new chapter or group from scratch.
Each menu has its own dedicated article so you don't have to hunt for what each option does:
- Creating Chapters and Scenes: adding new chapters or scenes from the outline.
- Reordering and Organizing Chapters: moving items earlier or later.
- Chapter Groups (Folders): creating, naming, and using groups.
- Merging and Deleting: combining items or removing them safely.
Resizing the Outline
The outline has a resize bar along its right edge. Click and drag it to make the outline wider or narrower (useful when chapter titles get long, or when you want more room for the details on the right). Your chosen width is remembered the next time you open the app, so you set it once and it stays.
Collapsing the Whole Outline
When you want maximum room for chapter and scene details, you can hide the outline entirely. Click the Collapse outline icon (a small icon at the top of the outline header that looks like a panel with an arrow pointing left). The whole tree slides away and leaves a thin strip down the left side. Click the icon on that thin strip to slide the outline back out at its previous width.
Tip: The Chapters page and Manuscript Mode each remember their own outline width and collapsed state, so you can keep the outline wide for planning and slim for writing without one bleeding into the other.
For broader navigation tips across Penpoint, see Sidebar & Navigation.