How to use Filament

Filament is still being built, by one person, in her free time. That means it changes often, mostly for the better, and that a few things work best if you know where to look. Here is how I use it.

On your phone: put it on your home screen

Filament isn't in the App Store yet, but it can live on your home screen and open like an app.

  • iPhone: open filamentsparkles.com in Safari, tap the Share button, then "Add to Home Screen".
  • Android: open it in Chrome, tap the menu (three dots), then "Add to home screen" or "Install app".

From then on, one tap opens your library.

On your phone: snap the page

Your phone is for catching lines. When a passage stops you, tap the plus, snap the page, mark the lines you want, and keep them. Filament types them out for you, with the book and the page if you add them.

  • Snap while you read, or sit down the evening you finish a book and go back through everything you marked. Five minutes is enough.
  • For a line on a screen (a film, a podcast, a post), paste it in and add where it came from. Save the link too.

Pour in what you already have

Old notes, documents, Kindle highlights, screenshots: drop them into Import, all at once. Filament finds the lines and puts them in Unshelved, where they wait until you have time to keep, change or let them go. Nothing is added to your library until you say so.

  • Kindle: connect your Kindle to your computer and drop in the file called My Clippings.txt.

On your computer: work with your library

Catching is for the phone. Working with your lines is easier on a bigger screen:

  • tidy a fragment, its source and its themes
  • write your own notes next to the lines
  • gather lines into collections, for an essay, a speech, a card or just for yourself
  • read your library side by side, filter it by book, author, type or theme

Find a line again

  • Search for any word, author or title.
  • Jog my memory: describe a line in your own words ("something about light in an empty room") and Filament finds the one you mean.
  • Heart the lines you return to most. They're one tap away under favourites.

Let your lines come back to you

  • Spark my synapses: one line from your library each day, with something to think about.
  • Read my mind: a monthly letter about what your reading says about you, the themes and voices you keep returning to.

It's yours

Your library is private. Export all of it whenever you like: Word, PDF, Excel, or one full backup.

Something not working?

Tell me. Send feedback from the footer or your account. I read every message, and many of Filament's best changes started there.

Questions

Is there a Filament app in the App Store?

Not yet. Add filamentsparkles.com to your home screen and it opens like an app, with its own icon.

Should I use Filament on my phone or my computer?

Both. The phone is best for catching lines: snapping pages and saving what you read. A computer is best for working with them: editing, notes, themes and collections.

Can I bring my existing notes and Kindle highlights?

Yes. Drop them into Import and Filament sorts out the lines. They wait in Unshelved until you keep them.

Is Filament free?

Yes, while it's in its first season. Later there will be a free plan and a paid one, and export always stays free.

Is my library private?

Yes. Only you can see it unless you share a line or a collection.