# Managing Your File Tree

The file tree is your project's home base — it's the sidebar on the left where you organize your manuscript, notes, research, and everything else that goes into your book. Think of it like the folder structure on your computer, but purpose-built for writing.

## The Basics

When you open a project, the file tree shows your entire project structure in the left sidebar. It's hierarchical — folders can contain files and other folders, nested as deep as you need.

• Click a file to open it in the editor
• Click a folder's arrow to expand or collapse it
• Folders show a ▶ when collapsed and ▼ when expanded
• Your currently open file is highlighted in blue

## Your Manuscript Folder

Every project has a special Manuscript folder. This is where your actual book lives — your chapters, in order.

The Manuscript folder has a few superpowers that regular folders don't:

• Chapters are numbered and ordered sequentially
• You get special chapter management options (more on that below)
• It can't be accidentally deleted or renamed
• It auto-expands when you open your project

Everything outside the Manuscript folder — character sheets, research, world-building notes — is supporting material. Only the Manuscript folder treats its contents as ordered chapters.

## Adding a New Chapter

To add a new chapter:

1. Right-click on the Manuscript folder
2. Click Add Chapter
3. A new chapter is created automatically with the next chapter number (e.g., "Chapter 4")

That's it — no modal, no naming step. Novelium figures out the next number and creates it for you. You can always rename it later.

Reordering Chapters

There are a few ways to change chapter order:

Drag and drop: Grab a chapter and drag it onto another chapter to swap their positions.

Context menu:

1. Right-click a chapter
2. Use Move Up or Move Down to shift it one position
3. Or use Set Chapter Order to jump to a specific position (e.g., move Chapter 7 to position 2)

If your chapter numbers ever get out of sync — maybe after a lot of rearranging — right-click the Manuscript folder and choose Reindex Chapters to fix the numbering.

## Creating Files and Folders

To create a new file:

1. Right-click any folder
2. Click New File
3. Enter a name in the modal and confirm

To create a new folder:

1. Right-click any folder
2. Click New Folder
3. Enter a name and confirm

You can nest folders inside other folders to organize however you like.

## Document Types

Every file has a document type that tells Novelium what kind of content it contains. This affects how the file is displayed (icon and color) and how it's treated during analysis.

To change a file's document type: Right-click the file, hover over Document Type, and pick the right one.

To change all files in a folder at once: Right-click the folder and choose Set All Document Types.

## Renaming and Deleting

To rename: Right-click the file or folder → Rename → type the new name → confirm.

To delete: Right-click → Delete → confirm in the dialog. Deleting a folder removes everything inside it. This can't be undone, so Novelium asks you to confirm first.

A few things can't be renamed or deleted: the root project folder and the Manuscript folder are protected.

## Drag and Drop

The file tree supports drag and drop for reorganizing your project:

• Move files between folders — drag a file onto a folder to move it there
• Move folders — drag a folder into another folder (Novelium prevents you from dragging a folder into its own subfolder)
• Import from your computer — drag files or folders from your operating system directly into the file tree to import them

## Importing Documents

There are several ways to bring existing work into your project:

Drag from your computer: Drag files (.txt, .doc, .docx, .md) or entire folders from your file explorer into the file tree. Novelium imports them and auto-detects their document type.

Import menu: Right-click a folder → Import Documents to open a file picker where you can select files to import.

Add a link: Right-click a folder → Add Link to save a URL reference (useful for online research sources).

## Excluding Files from Analysis

If you have drafts, scraps, or notes that you don't want included when Novelium analyzes your manuscript, you can exclude them:

1. Right-click the file or folder
2. Click Exclude from Analysis

Excluded files appear grayed out in the tree. To bring them back, right-click and choose Include in Analysis.

## Tips

• Keep your Manuscript folder clean — put only actual chapters in there. Supporting materials belong in separate folders.
• Use document types — they help Novelium understand your content and give you better analysis results.
• Create a folder structure early — even a simple split like Manuscript / Characters / Research / World Building goes a long way.
• Use "Add Chapter" instead of "New File" for manuscript chapters — it handles the numbering automatically.

Updated on: 01/03/2026