GUI Mode

GUI Mode controls the app’s colors, including workspace surfaces, the left rail, toolbars, text, and Canvas/PenPad backgrounds. It does not recolor the contents of an imported PDF or image.

Screenshot placeholder: Hamburger menu showing GUI Mode and the current selected mode.

Open GUI Mode

1. Open the hamburger menu.
2. Select GUI Mode.
3. Choose a preset to apply it immediately, or select Custom to open the Custom GUI mode dialog.
4. In the custom dialog, edit the colors and select Apply to save and activate the theme.

The selected GUI mode affects the app immediately after it is applied.

A fresh installation starts in Purity. After you choose another mode, the app restores that saved choice on later launches.

Preset GUI modes

Preset modes are built-in color themes.

The available presets are Dark mode, Dark high contrast, Clarity light, Purity, Evergreen, Choco Light, Strawberry, and Fresh. Custom opens the custom GUI controls described below.

Use a preset when you want a quick, consistent appearance without adjusting individual colors.

A preset is also a good starting point for custom work. If you want to fine tune one preset, first select that preset, then open Custom GUI mode. The selected preset’s color values are reflected in the custom GUI dialog, where you can change individual UI colors.

Custom GUI mode

The dialog contains Light / Dark, a live preview, fourteen color roles, Light node bg / Dark node bg, Saved themes, Theme name, and Reset / Cancel / Delete Theme / Apply. On smaller displays, scroll the dialog content to reach the lower controls; the layout adapts to the available width.

Most changes stay in the dialog until Apply. The exceptions are Delete Theme and the two quick node-background buttons: these act immediately, as explained below.

Starting colors and Light / Dark

• When the active GUI mode is already Custom, the dialog starts with that active custom configuration.
• To start from a preset, select the preset in GUI Mode during the current app session, then open Custom. If a preset was only restored from a previous session and none has been selected this session, Custom starts with its default light palette.
• A previously chosen quick node-background override is also reflected in the initial Node/comment bg swatch.
• Selecting Light or Dark replaces the entire draft palette with that option’s default colors. It is not just a brightness switch: your unsaved color adjustments are replaced. The theme name and saved-theme selection are retained.

Choose the starting palette before fine tuning individual colors. Nothing is applied to the whole app until Apply.

Live preview

The sample shows a Case/Global Lib. rail, toolbar, heading and body text, muted text, an Action button, and a canvas with a grid and sample node. It updates as you edit the draft. Use it to check text, border, and grid contrast before applying the theme; it is a sample, not your actual workspace.

Screenshot placeholder: Custom GUI mode dialog showing Light/Dark, the live preview, all color roles, node-background shortcuts, and saved-theme controls.

Color roles

Each color tile shows its label, a swatch, and a six-digit hexadecimal color. Select a tile to open Edit color.

These are theme defaults, not a command to overwrite individually styled content. For example, changing Canvas grid changes its color; it does not turn the grid on or off.

Edit a color

The Edit color popup provides:

• A color spectrum: click, tap, or drag to choose hue and saturation.
• A vertical brightness slider: adjust how light or dark the chosen color is.
• A large swatch showing the current color.
• Hex: a six-digit RGB value, such as #336699 or 336699. Incomplete or invalid entries do not update the swatch.
• Red, Green, and Blue: numeric channels from 0 to 255. Entries above 255 are limited to 255. Each field accepts up to three digits.
• Cancel: close the popup without changing that color role.
• Set color: return the chosen color to the custom-theme draft and update its preview. You still need Apply in the main dialog to save and activate the full theme.

Colors are opaque; there is no transparency/alpha control in this popup. For example, RGB 51, 102, 153 corresponds to #336699.

Hex, RGB, and the preview stay synchronized as you enter valid colors or use the spectrum and brightness slider. You can enter a Hex value and select Set color directly; there is no need to re-enter it as RGB. Hex letters may be uppercase or lowercase, with an optional leading #.

Your current field keeps its typed form and cursor position while you edit. Pressing Enter/Done or Set color normalizes the fields to the preview color (Hex appears as #RRGGBB, and RGB channels are limited to 0–255). An incomplete/invalid Hex entry or an empty RGB channel leaves the last valid preview color unchanged; finishing the edit or setting the color keeps that last valid color.

Screenshot placeholder: Edit color popup with spectrum, brightness slider, swatch, Hex, Red/Green/Blue, Cancel, and Set color.

Custom theme name

Theme name is the name used when you select Apply. Keep the generated name, such as custom_theme_1, or enter your own, such as Courtroom dark, Bright tablet, or Presentation.

Generated names use the next unused numbered name. A blank name is replaced with one automatically; spaces at the start and end are trimmed. Pressing Enter/Done in this field also saves and applies the theme.

Saved themes lists New theme followed by saved names in alphabetical order. Selecting a saved name loads its colors and name into the draft, replacing unsaved edits, but does not activate it until Apply. Selecting New theme clears the saved-theme selection and supplies a fresh name while keeping the current draft colors.

Save a user-defined theme

To create a reusable theme:

1. Open Custom GUI mode.
2. Choose the starting palette or adjust the colors.
3. Select New theme in Saved themes if a saved profile is currently selected. Your draft colors are retained.
4. Enter an unused Theme name.
5. Select Apply. This saves the named theme, activates Custom, and closes the dialog.

There is no separate Save button. Apply both saves and applies. Themes are saved in the local app’s settings and remain available after reopening the app.

Load or update a saved theme

1. Open Custom and select the name in Saved themes.
2. Review the preview and make any adjustments.
3. Leave Theme name unchanged and select Apply to update that saved theme and activate it.

Rename a saved theme

Select the saved theme, change Theme name, then select Apply. This moves the saved configuration to the new name and removes the old name; it does not create a second copy.

If the destination name already exists, Apply replaces that profile without asking for confirmation. Use an unused name to avoid overwriting another theme.

Make a copy without replacing the original

1. Select the original in Saved themes to load its colors.
2. Select New theme. The loaded colors remain, but the original profile is no longer selected for replacement or renaming.
3. Enter a different, unused Theme name and adjust colors as needed.
4. Select Apply. Both the original and the new theme remain in Saved themes.

Delete a saved theme

Select a saved name, then Delete Theme. This button is disabled when New theme is selected. Deletion is immediate, with no confirmation prompt, and a Deleted “name”. status appears.

Deleting removes only that saved profile. It does not switch the app to a preset, change the active colors, or clear the draft preview. The dialog stays open with New theme and a newly generated name. You can save the retained draft again with Apply if needed. Cancel does not undo a deletion that has already succeeded.

Screenshot placeholder: Saved themes dropdown, Theme name field, and Reset, Cancel, Delete Theme, and Apply controls with a saved profile selected.

Fine tune a preset theme

To tweak a preset:

1. Open GUI Mode.
2. Select the preset that is closest to what you want.
3. Select Custom to open Custom GUI mode.
4. The preset’s color values appear in the custom dialog.
5. Change the colors you want to adjust.
6. Keep New theme selected and enter an unused Theme name for the variant.
7. Select Apply to save and activate it. The built-in preset itself is unchanged.

This is the easiest way to make small adjustments without building a theme from scratch.

Light node bg and Dark node bg

The Light node bg and Dark node bg buttons are quick Canvas/PenPad background overrides, separate from saving a complete theme:

• Light node bg uses #F3F4F6.
• Dark node bg uses #111827.
• A check mark shows when the draft node-background color matches a shortcut.

When you select one of these buttons:

• The default Canvas/PenPad node background is changed immediately and the choice is saved for later sessions.
• The dialog closes automatically after a brief visual acknowledgement; Apply is not needed.
• The current GUI mode stays the same. Other draft colors and an edited theme name are not saved by this shortcut.

Save any full-theme edits with Apply first, then reopen the dialog if you also want to use a shortcut. Selecting a shortcut does not save a named theme.

This separate node-background override can continue to take precedence over a theme’s Node/comment bg, including after applying another custom theme. A node’s explicitly stored background can also take precedence. The shortcut does not recolor the canvas surface, grid, or the rest of the app.

Use Light node bg when you want brighter note cards or high contrast against a dark canvas. Use Dark node bg when you want quieter cards or a lower-glare canvas.

Apply behavior

The Apply button saves the current named profile, switches the app to Custom, applies the draft colors, and closes the dialog. The active custom configuration is retained for future app sessions.

Use Apply when:

• You changed one or more color roles.
• You edited the custom theme name.
• You selected a saved user-defined theme and want to use it now.
• You fine tuned a preset and want the app to switch to that version.

While themes are loading, the saved-theme selector, name field, and Apply button are temporarily unavailable. While saving or deleting, the Apply icon shows a progress indicator and the main action buttons are temporarily disabled.

If Could not save and apply this theme. or Could not delete this theme. appears, that operation did not complete successfully. The dialog stays open so you can review the status and retry. Do not assume a save or deletion succeeded until the dialog closes after Apply or shows the deletion confirmation.

If you are experimenting, use the copy workflow before replacing a favorite custom theme.

Reset and Cancel

• Reset replaces draft colors with the defaults for the currently selected Light or Dark setting. It keeps the current theme name and saved-theme selection, clears any operation status, and does not apply or save until Apply. It is not an undo to the last saved profile. To reload a saved profile, select it again in Saved themes.
• Cancel closes the dialog without saving or applying the current draft. It does not undo a profile deletion already performed. Quick node-background buttons have their own immediate behavior and close the dialog before Cancel can be used.

After Reset, applying with a saved profile still selected updates that profile. Select New theme and use an unused name if you want to preserve the saved version.

Choosing a mode

Use a brighter mode for:

• Daylight use.
• Screenshots.
• Presentations.
• Shared review.

Use a darker or lower-glare mode for:

• Long drafting sessions.
• Night work.
• Reading dense documents.
• Stylus writing.

Use Custom GUI mode when the preset is close but not quite right.