# Welcome to Bear
![](../../Welcome@2x.jpg)

Bear is a beautiful, flexible app for crafting notes and prose. It’s easy to get started and master Bear, so we’ll show you around. You can also [subscribe to our monthly newsletter](http://eepurl.com/dvs38P) for tips, interviews, news, [and more](https://bear.app/faq/).

## Bear has three parts 🐻
Bear has three main columns where you create, edit, and organize your notes.

![](../../Bear3columns.png)

* **Sidebar** (on the left): when you add tags anywhere in your notes, Bear will collect them in this sidebar. Think of them like folders you can create and use on the fly, while you write.
* **Note List** (in the middle): all your notes live here, ordered by modification date. You can pin a note to the top of this list for quick access.
* **Editor** (on the right): this is where your magic happens; you’re looking at it right now. 😄

**Note**: In Bear for iPhone, you swipe between the Sidebar, Note List, and Editor.

## Bear has style ✒️
Bear has many text and style tools, including: **bold**, _italic_, _underline_, ::highlight::, -strike-, headings 1-6, and others. You can find shortcuts for them in the **Style Panel**:

* **Mac**: Click on the pen symbol in the bottom right of the Editor
* **iPhone or iPad**: It’s in Bear’s shortcut bar above the keyboard

Bear also has a range of [beautiful themes](bear://x-callback-url/open-themes) to give you a comfortable writing canvas. Some are free, and there are over a dozen more in [Bear Pro](bear://x-callback-url/open-bear-pro).

## Tools for Everyone 🛠
Bear is lean but flexible, so it’s easy to just start writing and learn more once you’re ready. Fortunately, there is plenty more to explore in Bear! You can:

* [Organize your notes with tags](https://blog.bear.app/2017/08/bear-tips-organize-notes-with-tags-and-infinite-nested-tags/) and even infinitely nested tags
* [Export notes](https://blog.bear.app/2017/08/bear-tips-turn-your-notes-into-pdf-jpg-and-more/) to share them elsewhere
* [Pin notes](https://blog.bear.app/2017/09/bear-tips-pin-notes-to-the-top-to-stay-on-task/) to the top of your list for quick access
* [Set TagCons](https://blog.bear.app/2018/08/bear-tips-make-your-important-tags-stand-out-with-tagcons/) for important tags to stand out in the Sidebar
* Use [Bear for Apple Watch](https://bear.app/faq/Bear%20for%20Apple%20Watch%20overview/) to quickly dictate notes on-the-go
* Add photos and files (each can be up to 250Mb in size)
* [Track tasks](https://blog.bear.app/2017/02/bear-tips-check-your-task-progress/)
* [Sketch on iPad](https://bear.app/faq/Attachments/Add%20Sketches%20to%20your%20notes/) with Apple Pencil and other styluses
* and more!

You can even [link notes in other notes](https://blog.bear.app/2017/03/bear-tips-link-notes-for-fun-and-profit/). In fact, continue your Bear introduction in our next Welcome Note: [[Organize and Publish]]. 😉

#welcome #welcome/getting started#