Working with Files

A familiar way to browse your knowledge

The Mind Viewer is how you explore and interact with everything inside your mind. If you've ever used a file manager on your computer, you already know how to use it. There's a file tree on the left showing your folders and files, and a viewer on the right that displays the content of whatever you open.

No learning curve, no special training. It works the way you'd expect.

The file tree

On the left side of the Mind Viewer, you'll see all your zones and folders organized in a collapsible tree. You can expand and collapse folders to navigate through your content, and use the search bar to find any file by name.

The tree gives you a clear picture of how your mind is structured. Memory, Focus, and Canvas each appear as top-level sections, with your folders and files nested inside them.

Tabs and split view

You can have multiple files open at the same time, just like tabs in a web browser. Open up to ten tabs to keep several documents within reach — switch between them with a click.

When you need to compare two documents side by side, use Split View to open a second pane. This is especially useful when you're writing a new piece while referencing brand guidelines, or comparing this month's metrics with last month's.

What you can view

The Mind Viewer handles a wide range of file types, so you can keep all your content in one place:

Text documents display with rich formatting — headings, bold text, lists, images, and links all render cleanly.

Spreadsheets and data tables appear in a structured table view, so you can review numbers and records without needing a separate application.

Images show as previews directly in the viewer.

Code and configuration files (for those who need them) display with color-coded formatting for readability.

Plain text files (.txt) open just like any other document — no special handling needed.

Linking notes together

One of the most powerful features in Synap is the ability to link your notes to each other. While editing a document, simply type two opening brackets, the name of another note, and two closing brackets — like this: [[Brand Guidelines]]. It becomes a clickable link that takes you straight to that document.

There's no special menu or button needed — you just type the brackets as part of your text. These links work across all three zones. You can link a task in Focus to a reference document in Memory, or connect a content draft in Canvas to the creative brief that inspired it. Over time, these connections build a web of knowledge that makes everything easier to find and navigate.

Links resolve automatically by name, so you don't need to worry about where a file is located. Just use its name, and Synap finds it for you. If you misspell the name or the file doesn't exist yet, the link will still appear in your text but won't connect to anything — just check the spelling and try again.

Find in file

When you're reading a long document and need to locate a specific word or phrase, press Cmd+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Windows) to open the find bar at the top of the viewer. Start typing and every match in the document gets highlighted in yellow.

The bar shows a counter so you always know where you are — something like "3 of 12 matches." Press Enter or Cmd+G to jump to the next match, or Shift+Enter or Shift+Cmd+G to go back to the previous one. When you're done, press Escape to close the bar and the highlights disappear.

Live updates

Synap watches your files for changes in the background. If you're working with an AI tool like Claude Code, or if you edit a file in another app, the viewer updates automatically — you don't need to close and reopen the document to see the latest version.

The file tree works the same way. When a new file is added to your mind, it appears in the tree on its own. When a file is deleted, it disappears without any action on your part. Everything stays in sync without interrupting your flow.

Quick and familiar

The Mind Viewer is intentionally simple. There's no complex interface to learn, no modes to switch between, and no settings to configure. Open a file, read it, edit it, link it to other files, and move on. Your focus stays on your work, not on the tool.