On Mac, access Settings from the Menu iA Writer → Settings or with the keyboard shortcut ⌘,. Settings are grouped into seven tabs.
Choose between Light and Dark themes for iA Writer.
Choose whether to show the Light or Dark icon in the dock while running iA Writer.
Show or hide the extension of your files in the Library.
Various ways to set up the main window of Writer.
Choose if you always see the Title bar or if it fades in/out.
Choose if you always/never see the Toolbar or if it fades in/out.
Turn on support for URL commands url schemes.
The + / - will add or remove blogging accounts. The Options... let you choose whether drafts for the selected account are posted in HTML or Markdown.
New files will be saved with the extension provided here.
Common extensions are .txt, .text or .md for Markdown.
Determines the behavior of ⌘N; either create files in the currently shown folder of the Library or prompt for a save location upon ⌘S.
Enable or disable for “Ask to keep changes” when closing.
Choose which sections to display in the Organizer.
Toggle these options to keep folders at the top of the library list, show text excerpts for each file and show or hide the Sort and Filter bars.
Choose to sort documents in the library by modification date, name, or kind.
Adjust slider to desired text size.
Select the font between iA Mono, Duo or Quattro.
Select language corresponding to the typography (for CJK optimization).
Select maximum characters per line (64, 72 or 80).
Adjust indentation, tab key behavior, tab width, and treatment for wrapped line/whitespace.
Choose the color for the highlight function between yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and green.
Determines the appearance of a task when complete, either strikethrough, faded or both.
Determines the focus mode, between Sentence/Paragraph/Typewriter.
Select parts of speech to be highlighted when Syntax Control is enabled.
Select parts of speech to be crossed out when Style Check is enabled and add Custom Patterns to compliment built-in lists.
Select which type of Authors are identified when Authorship is enabled in a document.
Decide how iA Writer checks your spelling and grammar, if at all.
Automatically removes word-bordering whitespace.
Replace straight quotes with curly quotes
Two hyphens in a row are converted to an emdash
Toggles replacements from → System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input.
Add or remove authors from global list. Select an author’s name to edit name, identifier and kind of author.
Toggle to center or left-justify headings (H1, H2, etc.)
Automatically number headings in Preview
Indicate new paragraphs with indentation instead of vertical space
Invert Colors: uses Night Mode when the Editor is in Day Mode and vice-versa.
Choose whether to include a Title page, headers and footers in your printed documents and exported PDFs.
Add or remove Custom Templates here using the +/- buttons or dragging them into the field.
To determine Global metadata, which has the lowest priority.
Advanced settings for Wikilinks, Content Blocks or Hashtags.
Turn on to prettify punctuation in the Preview (e.g., Convert straight quotes in the editor to curly quotes in Preview)
Allows for “lazy paragraphs” by only requiring one return to create a new paragraph—instead of the usual two needed for Markdown documents
On iPhone, tap the ⚙️ icon at the top-left of the Library to modify settings for iA Writer. It is divided into the following sections:
Interface
Library
Editor
Text
Authors
Keyboard
Templates
Markdown
Wikilinks, Hashtags, Autolinks
URL CommandsYou can switch the appearance of the app between Dark and Light modes. If you chose System, the app will follow iOS when it changes to Light or Dark mode.
You can switch the appearance of the app icon between Dark and Light modes.
Shows or hides file extensions in the Library file list.
When turned on, Preview will keep the same position as the text view in the Editor. It is useful when you are working in the middle of a document.
By default, iA Writer hides the toolbars above and below the Editor and Preview when scrolling. You can use this option to keep them always visible.
Add new or configure existing accounts for Ghost, Medium, Micro.blog, Micropub, or WordPress
Set your default plain text file extension. Common extensions are .txt, .text or .md for Markdown.
Show/hide Favorites, Smart Folders or Hashtags panels on the main Library screen.
Sort files by Date Modified, Date Created, Name or by Extension. You can as well select if the Newest or Oldest file appears on top.
Choose between showing documents’ creation date or last modified date in the Libray file list.
“Pin” folders to the top of the Library’s document list.
Show or hide excerpts of your documents’ text in the Library file list.
Turn Focus Mode ON or OFF.
Choose how much of your text to keep focused. You can choose to blur out everything but the current Sentence or Paragraph. Choosing Typewriter won’t blur out any text, but will keep the cursor centered vertically on the screen.
Colorize the parts of speech in your document. This can help you spot weak verbs and superfluous adjectives. You can Enable All or select the ones you need among Adjectives, Nouns, Adverbs, Verbs and Conjunctions.
Get suggestions on how to remove unnecessary fillers, clichés, and redundancies with Style Check. You can also add your own Custom Patterns here.
Select the font between iA Mono, Duo or Quattro.
Select language corresponding to the typography (for CJK optimization).
Choose the maximum number of characters on a single line before it wraps to the next.
Choose whether indents use Tab or Space characters.
Choose whether tab key always indents the current line—no matter the cursor position—or whether it always inserts a tab character at the cursor position.
Choose two, four or eight spaces for the appearance of tab characters in the Editor.
Choose two, four or eight spaces for the appearance of the indent width in the Editor.
Lines that wrap under a line that is indented with tabs or spaces will also indent to the same degree.
Lines that wrap under a line that begins with Markdown block markers, e.g., list markers (“- “, “1. “), will also indent to the same degree as the start of the text above.
Resets all Settings on this page to their defaults.
Text surrounded with the ==highlight syntax== will use this color in both Editor and Preview.
You can choose between yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and green.
Modifies the appearance of completed tasks in both Editor and Preview to either Strikethrough, Fade the text, or both.
When turned on, typos in the Editor will be underlined in red.
Accounts for spaces in the content so you don’t end up with two-space gaps in the text.
Automatically replaces straight quotes with curly quotes when typed into the Editor.
Automatically replaces two hyphens with an emdash.
When opening a bracket ( [ or {, a closing bracket will automatically appear.
When selecting a text and pressing [ ( or {, the selected text will be wrapped like [text] (text) {text}.
Global list of authors available in Library. Select an author to edit details or remove entry.
On iOS 15+, iA Writer includes a Lightning Menu in the Keyboard Bar. Here you can choose which shortcuts appear in the menu when tapped.
In Writer 7+ you can choose which shortcuts appear in the Edit menu (popover) when working with selected text.
The Keyboard Bar appears above the software keyboard and provides shortcuts to common functions. When a hardware keyboard is connected keyboard shortcuts are available, so you may choose to hide the Keyboard Bar here.
Choose to show or hide the Command Keyboard in the Keyboard Bar and modify its layout.
Here you can add Templates , or remove any previously installed custom templates by swiping their entry in the list to the left.
Choose between centered or left-justified headings in the templates.
Headings will be automatically numbered in the Preview.
Choose to indent new paragraphs or separate them with an empty line.
Preview will use the inverted colors of the Editor. This is useful to tell at glance whether you are in Preview mode on iPhone.
Configure header, footer and title page settings for exported/printed documents. Configure paper size (print and PDF export).
Determines how content from the Editor is processed by the Markdown parser to display content in Preview.
When turned on, straight quotes in the Editor will automatically be converted to curly quotes in Preview. Likewise, two hypens immediately following each other will be shown as an emdash in Preview.
N.B. This is distinct from the Editor setting for Smart Quotes and Smart Dashes. Those will modify the characters themselves in the Editor, while this function only changes the appearance in Preview and PDF export.
Traditional Markdown requires two returns to complete a paragraph. i.e., one empty line between paragraphs or any other element. This setting lets you use a single return instead, if you prefer.
You can configure how paths for Wikilinks and Content Blocks will appear in the Editor here.
GeneralAlice in Wonderland.../ to indicate folders above: ../Classics/Alice in Wonderland/Books/Classics/Alice in WonderlandOutput & rendering settings for wikilinks, hashtags and autolinks. You can configure HTML, Other (copying, exporting and publishing), and Preview behavior all independently.
In Preview and HTML output, you can choose to show Wikilinks as the source text appearing in the Editor, text using the filename or optional title, e.g., [[Alice in Wonderland|My Optional Title]], or as a **`** element. For other output you may either choose between source text or text.
For HTML output, Hashtags can be shown as the source text as it appears in the Editor, as a <span> element, or removed entirely from the output.
In Preview, Hashtags can be shown as the source text as it appears in the Editor, a link, or removed entirely from the output. For other output, you may either show Hashtags as source text or remove them.
In Preview, HTML and all other output, Autolinks can be shown as the source text as it appears in the Editor or as a link.
Add or configure existing custom Metadata that is global for all files. “Author” is the only default metadata iA Writer uses and it will be included on Title Pages in Preview and PDF export if present.
Enable URL Commands: Here you can turn on support for url schemes and copy or reset the Auth Token.
On iPad, tap the ⚙️ icon at the top-left of the Library to modify settings for iA Writer.
It is divided into the following sections:
Appearance
App Icon Interface
Accounts
Files Library Editor Authors Keyboard Templates Markdown URL CommandsYou can switch the appearance of the app between Dark and Light modes. If you chose System, the app will follow iPadOS when it changes to Light or Dark mode.
You can switch the appearance of the app’s icon between Dark and Light modes.
Shows or hides file extensions in the Library file list.
When turned on, Preview will keep the same position as the text view in the Editor. It is useful when you are working in the middle of a document.
By default, iA Writer hides the toolbars above and below the Editor and Preview when scrolling. You can use this option to keep them always visible.
Add new or configure existing accounts for:
Set your default plain text file extension.
Common extensions are .txt, .text or .md for Markdown.
Show/hide Favorites, Smart Folders or Hashtags panels on the main Library screen.
Sort files by Date Modified, Date Created, Name or by Extension. You can as well select if the Newest or Oldest file appears on top.
Choose between showing documents’ creation date or last modified date in the Libray file list.
“Pin” folders to the top of the Library’s document list.
Show or hide excerpts of your documents’ text in the Library file list.
Turn Focus Mode ON or OFF.
Choose how much of your text to keep focused. You can choose to blur out everything but the current Sentence or Paragraph. Choosing Typewriter won’t blur out any text, but will keep the cursor centered vertically on the screen.
Colorize the parts of speech in your document. This can help you spot weak verbs and superfluous adjectives. You can Enable All or select the ones you need among Adjectives, Nouns, Adverbs, Verbs and Conjunctions.
Get suggestions on how to remove unnecessary fillers, clichés, and redundancies with Style Check. You can also add your own Custom Patterns here.
Select the font between iA Mono, Duo or Quattro.
Select language corresponding to the typography (for CJK optimization).
Choose the maximum number of characters on a single line before it wraps to the next.
Choose whether indents use Tab or Space characters.
Choose whether tab key always indents the current line—no matter the cursor position—or whether it always inserts a tab character at the cursor position.
Choose two, four or eight spaces for the appearance of tab characters in the Editor.
Choose two, four or eight spaces for the appearance of the indent width in the Editor.
Lines that wrap under a line that is indented with tabs or spaces will also indent to the same degree.
Lines that wrap under a line that begins with Markdown block markers, e.g., list markers (“- “, “1. “), will also indent to the same degree as the start of the text above.
Resets all Settings on this page to their defaults.
Text surrounded with the ==highlight syntax== will use this color in both Editor and Preview.
You can choose between yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and green.
Modifies the appearance of completed tasks in both Editor and Preview to either Strikethrough, Fade the text, or both.
When turned on, typos in the Editor will be underlined in red.
Accounts for spaces in the content so you don’t end up with two-space gaps in the text.
Automatically replaces straight quotes with curly quotes when typed into the Editor.
Automatically replaces two hyphens with an emdash.
When opening a bracket ( [ or {, a closing bracket will automatically appear.
When selecting a text and pressing [ ( or {, the selected text will be wrapped like [text] (text) {text}.
Global list of authors available in Library. Select an author to edit details or remove entry altogher.
On iOS 15+, iA Writer includes a Lightning Menu in the Keyboard Bar. Here you can choose which shortcuts appear in the menu when tapped.
In Writer 7+ you can choose which shortcuts appear in the Edit menu (popover) when working with selected text.
The Keyboard Bar appears above the software keyboard and provides shortcuts to common functions. When a hardware keyboard is connected keyboard shortcuts are available, so you may choose to hide the Keyboard Bar here.
Choose to show or hide the Command Keyboard in the Keyboard Bar and modify its layout.
Here you can add Templates , or remove any previously installed custom templates by swiping their entry in the list to the left.
Choose between centered or left-justified headings in the templates.
Headings will be automatically numbered in the Preview.
Choose to indent new paragraphs or separate them with an empty line.
Preview will use the inverted colors of the Editor. This is useful to tell at glance whether you are in Preview mode on iPhone.
Configure header, footer and title page settings for exported/printed documents. Configure paper size (print and PDF export).
Determines how content from the Editor is processed by the Markdown parser to display content in Preview.
When turned on, straight quotes in the Editor will automatically be converted to curly quotes in Preview. Likewise, two hypens immediately following each other will be shown as an emdash in Preview. N.B. This is distinct from the Editor setting for Smart Quotes and Smart Dashes. Those will modify the characters themselves in the Editor, while this function only changes the appearance in Preview and PDF export.
Traditional Markdown requires two returns to complete a paragraph. i.e., one empty line between paragraphs or any other element. This setting lets you use a single return instead, if you prefer.
You can configure how paths for Wikilinks and Content Blocks will appear in the Editor here.
– “Shortest” will use the smallest path possible in any situation, often simply the file name: Alice in Wonderland.
– “Relative” will use a relative path, using ../ to indicate folders above: ../Classics/Alice in Wonderland
– “Absolute” will use the full explicit path to the document: /Books/Classics/Alice in Wonderland
Output & rendering settings for wikilinks, hashtags and autolinks.
You can configure HTML, Other (copying, exporting and publishing), and Preview behavior all independently.
In Preview and HTML output, you can choose to show Wikilinks as:
– the source text as it appears in the Editor
– text using the filename or optional title, e.g., [[Alice in Wonderland|My Optional Title]]
– or as a <span> element
For other output you may either choose between source text or text.
For HTML output, Hashtags can be shown as:
– the source text as it appears in the Editor
– as a <span> element
– or removed entirely from the output
In Preview, Hashtags can be shown as: – the source text as it appears in the Editor – a link – or removed entirely from the output
For other output, you may either show Hashtags as source text or remove them.
In Preview, HTML and all other output, Autolinks can be shown as: – the source text as it appears in the Editor – a link
Add or configure existing custom Metadata that is global for all files. “Author” is the only default metadata iA Writer uses and it will be included on Title Pages in Preview and PDF export if present.
Here you can turn on support for url schemes and copy or reset the Auth Token.
Users can find Editor settings by clicking on the ⋮ → Settings within a open document in iA Writer for Android.
The settings are divided into the following sections:
When switched on, you can swipe between the Library, Editor and Preview.
Turn ON/OFF AMOLED night mode.
When turned ON, the content stored in DEVICE cannot be accessed without inputting a PIN.
Enter your account to enable collaboration.
Click to directly access the Support Website of iA Writer with the full documentation for Android.
Click to directly access the Privacy Policy of iA Writer.
You can manually set up the line height that will be displayed in the Editor (the line height in Preview is determined by selected template).
Change the font size in the Editor (the font size in Preview is determined by selected template). You have the choice between:
Show or hide iA Writer keyboard on top of your regular Android keyboard. Allows access to the lightning menu and quick search among others quick actions.
Style Check for Android is available in English, French and German. Select one of those language before enabling one or all of the following options.
Enter your integration token to publish your drafts from iA Writer directly to your Medium account.
Connect your WordPress account to publish your drafts from iA Writer directly to your blog. WordPress.com or Jetpack is required.
You can access the Settings for iA Writer for Windows by clicking the ⚙️ at the top of the Library or from the Menu File → Preferences. Settings are divided into 5 groups.
Choose whether to sort files by Name or Date.
Choose ascending or descending order for files.
Check this box to keep folders pinned to the top of the File list instead of sorted among regular files.
Check this box to display file extensions in the Library list.
Check this box to display an outline of your file in the Library list.
Choose between iA Writer Mono, Duo, or Quattro fonts.
Size Increase or decrease font size in the Editor (this won’t affect Preview).
The default width allows for 64 characters on a single line before it wraps.
Choose the language to be used for the spellcheck. spell-checking can be added too.
Scroll Toggle to keep Preview and Editor aligned or scroll them independently.
Characters Toggle to show invisible characters in the Editor, like spaces or tabs.
Choose between A4 or Letter for PDF export.
Choose to include a title page for your exported PDF.
Toggle to include headers in your exported PDF.
Toggle to include footers in your exported PDF.
Centers all headings instead of positioning them flush left.
Numbers headings beginning with H2.
Use indentation to indicate new paragraphs instead of vertical space.
Preview will show as Day Mode while the Editor is in Night Mode and vice-versa.
Straight quotes in the Editor will be automatically converted to whichever quotes style is selected here.
Hashtags written in the Editor will not appear in the Preview/Export.
iA Writer will create new files using this file extension.
If ON, when relaunching iA Writer, this will reopen the last used document; if OFF, an empty file is presented.
YAML metadata at the top of a file will be processed and hidden from the Preview/Export.
Check this option to get the true full-screen experience.
A trackpad or mouse wheel with a tilt function can be used to swipe in/out the Library and the Preview.
If the swipe gesture feels unnatural to you, it can be inverted to the other direction.
Some graphics cards and HiDPI monitors can cause issues with refresh rates or dialog visibility—use this function to render everything through software.
You can adapt the speed of scrolling in iA Writer to your needs.
To protect your file against Cross-site scripting attacks.
Check Rules You can add custom patterns to Style Check from here. For more about, check our Style Check section.
Basics 
A quick tour of the interface of Writer for first time users.
Apply basic formatting by adding a few punctuation characters.
An overview of our features on different platforms.
A wide range of options to fit the various use cases, professional and personal needs.
Supported languages for the localization, spell-check, Syntax Highlight and Style Check, per platform.
What are the advantages of a focused writing app like iA Writer compared to Microsoft's WYSIWYG classic?
Six rules for better writing, a rundown on how to use parts of speech, lectures on style, and the elements of style.
Style Check
Export
Advanced