An outline becomes useful when it shows the level of detail needed for the next decision. If a manuscript contains H1 through H4 headings, showing every item can bury the chapter structure. The sensible starting view is H1 and H2: choose the chapter and major section first, then read the smaller headings in context.
Rune Studio’s product documentation describes an Outline tab that lists Markdown headings, tracks the current section, jumps to a selected heading, and can limit the visible heading levels. In the current hands-on check, H1 through H4 headings could be read and a line could be changed to H3, but the heading-level filter itself was not reproduced from beginning to end. This article therefore separates the documented option from a fallback that works without pretending the filter was observed.
Give each level one structural job
Use H1 for chapters and H2 for the major argument or scene inside each chapter. Reserve H3 and H4 for details that matter after you arrive. This is more durable than choosing heading levels by appearance. A shallow outline can only remain meaningful if the source hierarchy is meaningful.
Repeated headings require another clue. Suppose both chapters contain a section called “Review.” Do not force every heading to become a long unique sentence. Keep the concise label, but give the body a chapter identifier or a distinctive nearby phrase. The first Review might begin with “choose the research sample”; the second might begin with “compare the returned results.” Those phrases become reliable arrival checks.
What the Outline tab can safely establish
The sidebar contains Panel, Search, and Outline tabs. The Outline tab reads Markdown headings beginning with #, presents them as a list, follows the section at the current cursor position, and supports navigation to a selected item. In the controlled manuscript used for this check, all four levels were detected. After the second line was converted to H3, the heading text and line number could be read back.
If your installed version exposes a level control in the Outline tab, begin with H1 and H2. H1 alone may be too coarse for a long chapter; adding every H3 and H4 immediately recreates the clutter. Add H3 only for the part of the manuscript where the extra detail helps.
A safe route when no level control is visible
Do not assume the outline is filtered merely because the sidebar looks shorter. Save the source and follow this alternative:
- Open the Outline tab and confirm that H1 through H4 appear in the correct order.
- Select the parent H1 and check that the current-section indicator changes.
- When two H2 headings share a name, open Search and look for the chapter ID or distinctive nearby sentence.
- Change a heading level only when the source hierarchy is wrong; use the Format menu or the EPUB-markup panel for H1 through H6.
This route does not claim to perform level filtering. It solves the more important problem—reaching the correct repeated heading—through structure plus a unique source phrase.
Walk through two headings named “Review”
Start in Chapter One and choose its H1 in the outline. Move to Review and verify that the following sentence concerns sample selection. Then choose Chapter Two and its Review section; the nearby sentence should concern result comparison. If the first click lands in the wrong location, search the distinguishing phrase instead of repeatedly clicking the ambiguous label.
This is where outline navigation and workspace search have different jobs. The outline answers “where is this section in the hierarchy?” Search answers “which occurrence of this repeated wording do I mean?” Combining them is safer than asking one control to resolve both questions.
Fix source structure before blaming the filter
Three source problems cannot be solved by hiding deeper levels: multiple decorative H1 headings inside one chapter, bold lines that should have been real headings, and repeated labels with no contextual clue. Correct those in the manuscript first. A well-structured H1/H2 outline is often usable even before level filtering is available.
The verified boundary is straightforward: Rune Studio can read and navigate Markdown headings, while the end-to-end filter interaction was not confirmed in this run. Check whether the control is present in your current version. If it is not, use chapter IDs and surrounding text through Search rather than restructuring the whole book around an unverified control. The current feature overview is available on the Rune Studio product page.
Keep a short navigation note beside the manuscript
For a manuscript with repeated headings, record the parent chapter and one nearby phrase for each frequently visited section. That note remains useful whether the level control is available, the sidebar is collapsed, or another editor opens the Markdown later. It also reveals weak headings: if every section needs a long explanation to distinguish it, some labels may need editorial improvement.
Use the filter, when visible, to reduce scanning rather than to hide structural mistakes. The manuscript should still make sense when all headings are shown.
