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Typora navigation, search, outline, and TOC

docs/research/sources/typora/navigation-search-outline-and-toc.md

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Original Source

Typora navigation, search, outline, and TOC

Purpose

This page compiles the Typora sources that define document-level navigation chrome.

Source set

  • outline.json
  • search.json
  • toc.json
  • toc-levels.json

Strongest explicit signals

  • search has a current-file find/replace surface
  • search also branches into broader file-search and open-quickly territory, which is useful but not always core editor law
  • outline supports heading navigation, current-heading highlight, and filter / search behavior
  • TOC supports [toc] creation, auto-updating heading extraction, and export behavior
  • TOC level control exists as a narrower supporting page, not the main TOC page

Plate-relevant takeaways

  • document navigation is its own interaction class, not just a side effect of cursor movement
  • search, outline, and TOC are related but not identical:
    • search is query-driven navigation
    • outline is persistent heading chrome
    • TOC is a document artifact or block
  • some of this surface belongs in app-shell behavior rather than core editing law, but Typora is still a strong reference for the split

What this source cluster is good for

Use this cluster when deciding:

  • current-file search behavior
  • outline navigation
  • current-heading highlight
  • heading filtering
  • TOC token insertion and auto-update expectations

What this source cluster is not good for

This cluster is weaker for:

  • structural editing keys inside normal content blocks
  • block-editor-native TOC product shells beyond markdown-native expectations

Those need other sources or Plate decisions.