Reading vs. Writing — mental modes

Olivier’s Theme treats Reading and Writing as two different mental activities.
Each gets its own visual environment, so you can optimise both without compromise.

Reading: a typographic page

Reading view is designed to feel like a well‑set page, not like a text editor.
The goal is calm, sustained attention, with as little friction as possible.

A few principles behind the default Reading settings:

  • Comfortable text size. Large enough to avoid strain, small enough that a paragraph still fits in your field of view.
  • Reasonable line length. Lines are long enough that the text does not feel choppy, but short enough that your eyes do not have to “hunt” for the beginning of the next line.
  • Balanced line height. The vertical spacing is tuned so that lines do not sit on top of each other, but also do not drift apart like in a slide deck.

In practice, this means:

  • You can scan the page quickly when you are looking for a passage.
  • When you read sequentially, your eyes move in a smooth, predictable rhythm.
  • The page itself almost “disappears”, leaving only the content.

Olivier’s Theme adds a few tools on top of that, such as Reading‑mode text‑size classes and alternate table styles, so you can adapt the typographic feel of a given note without disturbing the rest of the vault.

Writing: a tailored workspace

Writing is a different activity: you are producing and shaping text, not just consuming it. The editor can therefore afford to be more opinionated and more personalised than Reading view.

With Olivier’s Theme, you can tune the Writing / Editing environment along several axes:

  • Typeface. Use the same font as in Reading, or switch to a more “editor‑like” choice: a monospaced terminal font, a typewriter‑style serif, or a very clean sans‑serif.
  • Body size and line height. Slightly smaller text, slightly tighter lines, so you see more context around the cursor while still keeping things readable.
  • Line length. Longer than in Reading if you want to see whole sentences, or shorter if you prefer a narrow, focused column.

Because these parameters are specific to Editing mode, you can optimise for how you think when you write, without sacrificing the typographic quality of the final, readable page.

Example writing “modes”

Here are a few typical writing environments you can recreate with the theme settings and cssclasses.

“Terminal” mode

For nostalgic programmers or people who think in code:

  • Monospaced or pixel‑style font in Editing mode.
  • Slightly smaller text and tighter line height.
  • Dark background with higher‑contrast “ink”.

This creates a compact, high‑density view where you can keep a lot of material on screen and where structural markers (lists, headings, code blocks) stand out clearly.

“Typewriter” mode

For screenwriters, novelists, and anyone who likes a page‑like drafting experience:

  • Classic serif or typewriter‑style font in Editing mode.
  • Moderate line length and generous line height, closer to a printed page.
  • Optional paper‑like background and slightly larger text size.

The feeling is that of a single sheet in front of you: you see only what matters for the current passage, without the “infinite canvas” impression of a very wide editor.

“Deep thinker” mode

For outlining, reflection, and long‑form thinking:

  • Calm, neutral font (serif or humanist sans‑serif).
  • Slightly reduced line length to keep thoughts visually grouped.
  • A background and text color that differ clearly from Reading view, so your brain knows you are in a “drafting” space.

You can combine this with list‑oriented features (step lists, task‑driven layouts) for structured reasoning, or with wide tables and Dataview views for analytical work.

Combining Reading and Writing

The whole point of having separate Reading and Writing environments is to respect both modes of thinking:

  • Reading view aims for long‑term comfort and typographic quality.
  • Writing view aims for clarity around the cursor, fast structural edits, and a look that matches your personal way of working.

You can:

  • Keep Reading view stable and consistent across the vault, so every note feels like part of the same “library”.
  • Adjust Writing view by note type, project, or mood, using the theme’s settings and cssclasses to switch between a terminal‑like editor, a typewriter page, or a deep‑thinking workspace.

Once you get used to this separation, switching from Reading to Writing feels less like toggling a button and more like moving from your bookshelf to your desk.