Compact layout
The touch-adapted desktop workspace, used by default on tablets and large touch screens.
Overview
Compact is the same workspace as the desktop layout, adapted for fingers instead of a mouse. You still get the sidebar, document list, and editor, and every note, category, tag, and AI feature works the same way. Panels that would compete for width on a tablet open on demand rather than sitting docked, and the controls you drag are sized for a fingertip.
The default on touch devices
With Layout mode set to Auto, Snownotes picks Compact on any device whose primary input is touch — iPads, Android tablets, and detachables used without their keyboard. There is no screen-size threshold: a 13-inch tablet in landscape gets Compact just like a smaller one in portrait, because a large screen you touch is still a screen you touch. A laptop with a touchscreen and a trackpad reports a mouse as its primary input, so it stays on the desktop layout.
What changes
One note is open at a time — split view is unavailable, and the split buttons are hidden rather than left to fail. The sidebar opens as a drawer over the document list instead of claiming a column. The inspector and AI panel slide in from the right as a drawer; their toggle buttons stay visible instead of waiting for a hover you cannot perform. The command palette and CtrlP are off, and the note-width drag handle is hidden. Everything else — formatting, typography, word count, todos, search — is untouched.
Touch-friendly handles
The dividers between columns get a wider invisible hit area and a grip pill near the bottom, so resizing works with a thumb instead of pixel-perfect aim. Tooltips are turned off, since a tooltip on touch can only appear after you have already tapped the thing it describes. These follow your input device rather than the layout, so a tablet you have switched to the desktop layout keeps them.
Switching layouts
Open Settings → App layout → Layout mode to choose Auto, Desktop, Compact, or Mobile. Auto tells you which layout it has picked for the device you are on. Nothing about the choice is one-way: Compact hides features rather than resetting preferences, so switching back to Desktop restores your split view, docked panels, and column widths exactly as you left them. You can also pick Compact deliberately on a desktop machine if you prefer the single-note workspace.