Themes, fonts and icons
Make Varlig comfortable to look at for hours: pick a theme, set the fonts and the width of the page, and choose an icon you like. Everything here is in Varlig › Settings… (⌘,), and changes show straight away.
Themes
Open Settings › Themes and click a theme to use it.
- System follows your Mac: the Light theme in light mode and Night in dark mode. It’s the default.
- Light, Night, Paper, Forest and Rose are Varlig’s own themes. Night is the dark one.
- More palettes follow in the same list.
Choosing any theme other than System keeps Varlig in that theme, whatever mode your Mac is in. Themes can’t be edited, but the fonts and layout below work with all of them.
Fonts
Settings › Typography has four fonts. Click Aa beside one to choose a font from the macOS Fonts panel, and the reset arrow to go back to the default.
| Font | Used for | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Interface Font | Varlig’s own interface, such as the sidebar and note list | Avenir Next |
| Text Font | The text of your notes | Avenir Next |
| Headings Font | Headings in your notes | Avenir Next Demi Bold |
| Code Font | Inline code and code blocks | JetBrains Mono |
Headings scale with your text: a Heading 1 is nearly twice the text size, and Heading 2 about a third larger. JetBrains Mono comes with Varlig, so it works even though it isn’t installed on your Mac. If a font you chose is later removed, Varlig uses the system font.
Size and spacing
The sliders in Settings › Typography shape the page:
| Slider | Range | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Font Size | 10 to 40 pt | 15 pt | The size of your text |
| Line Spacing | 0 to 24 pt | 6 pt | The space between lines |
| Line Width | 440 to 1000 pt | 650 pt | The widest the text column gets; it narrows with the window |
| Paragraph Spacing | 0 to 40 pt | 0 pt | Extra space after each ordinary paragraph (not lists, quotes or tables) |
| Paragraph Indent | 0 to 80 pt | 0 pt | An indent at the start of each ordinary paragraph |
View › Zoom In (⌘+), Zoom Out (⌘−) and Actual Size (⌘0) change the font size too, without opening Settings. Actual Size goes back to 15 pt.
Restore Editor Defaults resets the text, heading and code fonts and all five sliders. It also turns off Check spelling while typing in Settings › Advanced. The interface font stays as it is.
Layout
Choose how much of the window you see from the View menu:
| Layout | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Show Editor Only | ⌃1 |
| Show Notes and Editor | ⌃2 |
| Show Tags, Notes and Editor | ⌃3 |
The View menu also has Toggle Style Bar (⇧⌘Y) for formatting buttons above the note, Show Word Count for a running count at the bottom of the editor, and Show History Navigation for Back and Forward buttons. The menu at the top of the note list sets the size of note previews.
App Icon
Open Settings › App Icon to change Varlig’s icon in the Dock and in Finder.
- Classic is the default.
- Colors: Ruby, Raspberry, Rose, Tangerine, Gold, Forest, Jade, Ocean, Arctic, Lake, Navy, Lavender, Violet, Mist and Midnight.
- Special editions: Playful, Retro, Spectrum and Ink.
If the Dock icon changes but Finder still shows the old one, Varlig isn’t in a folder it’s allowed to change. Move it into your Applications folder and choose the icon again.