First steps
This page gets you from no account to a saved first line, in the Ilena editor.
1. Get an accountDirect link to 1. Get an account
If you don't have one yet, go to the Ilena home page and click Get started. The signup funnel walks you through choosing the Solo plan, paying through Stripe Checkout, and verifying your email — click the link in the verification email to activate your account.
Your password must be 8–20 characters, with at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one digit, and one special character.
2. Sign inDirect link to 2. Sign in
At the sign-in page, enter your email and password and submit. If you've forgotten your password, use the Forgot your password? link on the same page — it's self-serve, no need to contact support.
3. Open your workspaceDirect link to 3. Open your workspace
Signing in returns you to the page you were reading — the home page, if you came to the sign-in page directly. Open the editor from the Application menu in the header, where it's listed as Ilena. It opens with no work open: reach the workspace drawer with Cmd/Ctrl+O, or click Workspace in the left tool palette. Your tree starts with an author node named for you:
From here you can create a Project to group related works, or a Work directly. To learn more about organizing the tree, see Workspace.
4. Create your first workDirect link to 4. Create your first work
Right-click your author node (or use its ⋮ menu) and choose New Work. A name field opens right in the tree — type a title and press Enter:
The work is created and opens straight away in the editor, and the workspace drawer closes behind it. To come back to a work later, reopen the drawer and double-click it in the tree.
5. Write your first linesDirect link to 5. Write your first lines
The canvas starts on a verse line — just start typing. To learn what surrounds the canvas as you write (the menus, the toolbar, the gutters), see The editor.
6. Save your workDirect link to 6. Save your work
Ilena does not autosave — you decide when a version is committed.
- Press Cmd/Ctrl+S, or
- Click Work → Save, or
- Click the save button in the toolbar.
A confirmation appears when the save succeeds. While you have unsaved
changes, the browser tab title is prefixed with *. If you try to close a
work with unsaved changes, Ilena asks whether to save and close, discard, or
cancel.
Every save creates a new version — see History & Versions to browse and restore past ones.
What next?Direct link to What next?
- Turn on Inspiration for line suggestions as you write.
- Learn the keyboard shortcuts.
- Look up a word in the Dictionary.