> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.4thewords.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Writing Home

> Your writing dashboard: pick up where you left off, track your streak and word counts, and move between files with the file tree.

Writing Home is your writing desk. Open **Writing** and the file you were working on is right there, next to today's progress toward your streak. You'll also get a look back at your week, month, and year in words.

> **Where to find it:** Left sidebar → **Writing** → **Home** tab [Open in 4TW ↗](https://app.4thewords.com/writing)

## Getting around Writing

Three tabs sit at the top of **Writing**: **Home**, **Files**, and **Projects**. **Files** and **Projects** each have four views: **All**, **Favorites**, **Shared**, and **Archive**.

<Tip>
  Clicking **Writing** in the sidebar brings you back to the Writing screen you used last, so you land right where you left off.
</Tip>

## Search and create

Use the search bar to find files, projects, sections, and files shared with you, all in one place. Type `#` and a tag name to search by tag, like `#fantasy`. Click **See all results in Files** for the full list.

Ready for something fresh? Click **New file** or **New project** right next to it.

## Your dashboard

* **Continue where you left off.** The file you worked on last, with its words, time, and any unread comments. Click **Keep writing** to jump back in, or **Set a goal** to give it a target.
* **Jump back in.** Quick lists of your **Recent** files, **Files**, **Projects**, **Favorites**, and everything **Shared with you**.
* **Recent activity.** The latest moments in your writing. Click **View all** to open [Activity](#activity).
* **Your streak.** This week at a glance, your **Current** and **Longest** streaks, and how many days until your next milestone. See [Writing Streaks](/writing/writing-streaks/overview).
* **Today's goal.** How close you are to keeping your streak alive today.
* **Your week, Your month, and Your year in words.** Charts of your writing over time, with your daily average, best day, and best week. The year view is a heatmap, with a tab for each year.
* **Share & collaborate.** How many files and projects you're sharing, with shortcuts to find them. See [Sharing & Collaboration](/writing/documents-and-editor/sharing-and-collaboration).
* **Your readers.** Reads, comments, followers, and ratings for your published work. It fills in once you [publish a project](/community/reading-and-publishing).
* **Your goals.** Your active [writing goals](/writing/goals) and how far along you are.

## The file tree

A slim rail runs down the left side of every Writing screen, including the editor. Use it to open the **file tree**, a sidebar with all your writing in one place.

* **Home and Go back.** **Go back** returns you to the project or list you came from.
* **Favorites.** Shows only your starred files and projects in the tree.
* **Notepad.** A scratch pad for quick notes. See [Notepad](#notepad).
* **New file and New project.** Start something without leaving the page you're on.
* **Search, Sort, and Expand all.** These appear while the tree is open.
* **Hide sidebar.** Folds the tree away. **Show sidebar** brings it back.

The tree has three tabs:

| Tab          | What it shows                                              |
| ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Files**    | All your files in one list                                 |
| **Projects** | Your projects, with their sections and files inside        |
| **Shared**   | Files and projects **Shared with me** and **Shared by me** |

### Organizing in the tree

* **Drag and drop.** Drag files into projects and sections, or drag them into a new order. Hold Ctrl/Cmd or Shift while you click to move several at once.
* **Right-click menus.** Right-click any file, section, or project to rename, tag, share, archive, and more.
* **Pin to top.** Right-click a file or project and choose **Pin to top**. It stays above everything else, under **Pinned**.

<Note>
  Dragging into a new order only works when the tree's sort is **Custom (manual)**. Pick it from **Sort** if dragging doesn't move anything.
</Note>

In the editor, the tree floats over your text. Click **Lock sidebar in place** to push your text aside instead.

## Notepad

Click **Notepad** on the rail for a scratch pad that's always one click away, whichever file you're in. Jot down a character name, a plot twist, or tomorrow's to-do. It saves as you type.

<Info>
  The Notepad is for quick notes. Write your story in a file so every word counts toward your battles and streak.
</Info>

## Activity

> **Where to find it:** Writing Home → **Recent activity** → **View all** [Open in 4TW ↗](https://app.4thewords.com/writing/activity)

**Activity** is a timeline of your writing, day by day: words written, files and projects created, updated, or deleted, and what your collaborators did in shared work.

* **Search.** Look for anything in your timeline, or exclude a user, project, document, or event type.
* **Filters.** Narrow it down by **Event type**, **Date range**, or **Group**: **Progress**, **Created**, **Updated**, **Deleted**, and **Collab**.

Open a project's activity to see only what happened in that project.

## Frequently Asked Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Where are my favorite and archived files?">
    Open **Files** and pick **Favorites** or **Archive**. **Projects** has its own **Favorites** and **Archive** views too.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I go straight to my files instead of Writing Home?">
    Yes. The **Writing** button remembers the last Writing screen you used. Open **Files** once and that's where it takes you next time.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What's the difference between a favorite and a pinned file?">
    A favorite gets a star, so you can filter your lists to show only favorites. Pinning keeps a file or project at the top of the file tree. Use both if you like.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do Notepad notes count as words?">
    No. The Notepad is a scratch space, so its words don't count toward battles, streaks, or goals.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

**Find your way around**

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card icon="file" href="/writing/documents-and-editor/files" title="Files">
    Create, find, filter, archive, and export your files.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="folder" href="/writing/documents-and-editor/projects" title="Projects">
    Group files into a book with sections and one shared goal.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="pen-nib" href="/writing/documents-and-editor/writing-editor" title="The Writing Editor">
    The header, panels, formatting, and shortcuts.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>