Anchoris 0.1.7: Import Markdown and Word Files Into Your Local Workspace

Project work rarely begins inside a single app.

A useful note may start as a Markdown file in Downloads. A brief may arrive as a Word document. Research, drafts, meeting notes, and source material often remain scattered across folders long after they become part of the same project.

Anchoris 0.1.7 makes it easier to bring those files into the local-first workspace where the rest of your work already lives.

You can now import Markdown and Word documents by dragging them into Anchoris, choosing Import file from the file tree, or opening a supported file with Anchoris directly from Finder.

The imported file becomes part of your local workspace and opens automatically, so you can continue working without manually copying files, finding the right folder, and opening them again.

Drag a file into Anchoris

You can now drag supported files directly from Finder into the Anchoris window.

Anchoris 0.1.7 supports:

• Markdown files: .md and .markdown
• Microsoft Word documents: .docx

Drop a file into Anchoris and it will be copied into the current workspace folder, added to the file tree, and opened automatically.

This also works with multiple supported files. Anchoris imports them together and opens the first successfully imported file, without filling your workspace with unnecessary tabs.

Import files from the file tree

The + menu above the file tree now includes a new option:

Import file

Choose it to open the native macOS file picker and select one or more Markdown or Word documents.

Anchoris imports the selected files into the folder you are currently working in. If you have a file selected, the new file is added beside it. If no specific folder is selected, Anchoris imports it at the workspace level.

This gives you a more deliberate way to organize project files on Mac and place incoming material exactly where it belongs.

Open Markdown and Word files with Anchoris

Anchoris can now appear in the macOS Open With menu for supported files.

From Finder, right-click a Markdown or Word document and choose:

Open With → Anchoris

Anchoris launches if needed, imports the document into your current local workspace, and opens the imported copy.

This turns Anchoris into a more natural entry point for files received through email, downloaded from the web, exported from another tool, or stored elsewhere on your Mac.

Your original file stays where it is

Importing a file does not move, rename, or modify the original.

Anchoris creates a copy inside your workspace. The imported copy becomes the version managed and opened by Anchoris, while the source file remains in its original location.

This matters because a workspace should remain reliable even if the original file is later moved, renamed, deleted, or stored on a temporarily unavailable drive.

It also keeps the Anchoris model simple: the files shown in your workspace actually belong to that workspace.

Existing files are never overwritten

If the destination folder already contains a file with the same name, Anchoris preserves both files.

For example:

• Project brief.md
• Project brief 2.md
• Project brief 3.md

Anchoris automatically assigns the next available name instead of replacing existing work.

The same protection applies to imported Word documents.

A faster path from scattered files to active work

The purpose of importing is not simply to move another file into another folder.

It reduces the distance between receiving something and using it.

A document that was sitting in Downloads can immediately become part of a project. A Markdown draft can open alongside its connected material. A Word brief can enter the same local workspace as the notes, references, and files needed to act on it.

With Anchoris 0.1.7, the flow is shorter:

1. Find the file.
2. Bring it into Anchoris.
3. Continue the work.

No separate upload step. No cloud library required. No need to reconstruct where the document belongs later. If you already keep notes, captures, and references together, importing is the missing step between receiving a file and putting it next to the rest of a project workspace.

Local-first by design

Imported files are copied into the Anchoris workspace on your Mac.

Anchoris does not require you to upload a document to a cloud service before you can organize or open it. Your workspace remains made of ordinary local files that stay under your control.

That is especially useful for project material that may be private, unfinished, client-related, or simply not intended for another online account.

Local-first is not only about privacy. It also makes the workspace more durable: your files remain accessible through the filesystem and are not locked inside a remote content database.

For a broader look at gathering notes, captures, and files in one place, see how Anchoris 0.1.6 organizes project materials.

What is supported in Anchoris 0.1.7?

Anchoris 0.1.7 can import:

• .md
• .markdown
• .docx

Legacy .doc files are not supported yet. Convert them to .docx before importing.

Folder import and other file types are outside the scope of this release.

Three ways to import a file

Use whichever path fits the moment:

• Drag and drop when the file is already visible in Finder.
• Import file when you want to browse for one or more documents.
• Open With Anchoris when you want to begin from the file itself.

All three paths follow the same underlying behavior: Anchoris copies the file into the current workspace, protects existing files from being overwritten, adds the imported copy to the file tree, and opens it for you.

Available in Anchoris 0.1.7

File importing is available in Anchoris 0.1.7 for macOS.

Update Anchoris, then drag a Markdown or Word document into your workspace to try it.

Download Anchoris

Related reading

Organize Project Materials on Mac with Anchoris 0.1.6

How to Organize Project Materials on Mac