iA Writer is file storage provider agnostic but we recommend iCloud for the best experience across most devices:
- iCloud Drive (iOS, macOS, Windows, web)
- Dropbox (iOS, macOS, Windows, Android, web)
Dropbox is useful for wider access (including iA Writer for Android) and accessing previous versions.
Note: On iOS Dropbox does not currently support being added as a location. Users can access documents on an individual basis here.
iCloud Troubleshooting
Apple changed from iCloud “Documents & Data” to “iCloud Drive” on OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) and iOS 8. These two storages cannot be used at the same time, and documents cannot be synced between them. Make sure to
upgrade all your devices to iCloud Drive at the same time.
Due to the nature of online storage systems, from time to time syncing issues can occur. Problems include single documents not syncing, being unable to open iCloud documents, devices becoming out of sync, etc. We suggest trying the following:
1. Is iCloud working on Apple’s side?
Check Apple’s
System Status page, for the status of either iCloud Backup or iCloud Drive.
2. Update
iCloud works nicely, but there are annoying cases where it just fails. Apple is continuously improving iCloud with every version of their Operating Systems. We suggest in general that you update the operating system and iA Writer on all your devices.
3. Set the time automatically on all your devices
Mac:
System Settings →
Date & Time →
Set date and time automatically
iOS:
Settings →
General →
Date & Time →
Set Automatically
4. Check that iA Writer is enabled in the iCloud Drive settings ¹:
Mac:
System Settings →
Apple ID →
iCloud →
iCloud Drive (Options…)
iOS:
Settings →
iCloud →
iCloud Drive (on) →
iA Writer (on)
5. Check that you can see your iA Writer documents on Apple’s servers
- On a computer, navigate to http://www.icloud.com.
- Sign in with your Apple ID
- Click on iCloud Drive and then the iA Writer folder
If you can see your files here, but they don’t download to your device, it is possible firewall software such as Little Snitch, VPN and/or antivirus use can be preventing your files from downloading to your device.
6. Try the common fixes
Follow the steps on our website under
trouble shooting.
7. Please confirm you have full internet access
Corporate firewalls and privacy programs such as TCPBlock can block traffic to iCloud’s servers. Also check if you’ve turned “Use Cellular Data” on in Apple’s
Settings →
iCloud →
iCloud Drive.
8. Finally, some users reported that backing up your iPad, restoring it, then reapplying the backup might finally get iCloud running.
If backing up using iTunes, make sure to use “Encrypt local backup” to save your passwords.
iCloud syncing and versioning is handled by Apple
We use Apple’s APIs for all Writer apps to sync through iCloud, so all iCloud syncing and versioning is handled by Apple. That means there’s very little we can do about sync problems. However, we’re relieved to report that serious iCloud issues are now rare, and can almost always be fixed with the steps above. If this doesn’t address your problem, please
email us, and we’ll do our best to help.
¹ The requirements to see documents here are:
(i) That iCloud is active and using the same Apple ID.
(ii) Your device must be connected to the internet. Settings → iA Writer → Use Cellular Data must be turned on if you’re not connected to WiFi
(iii) If your device is managed by your company, they may have disabled iCloud Drive syncing. In this case iCloud → iCloud Drive won’t appear, and iCloud document syncing is not possible. ↑
² Resetting all settings is not the same as resetting your device. Only basic system settings that you set in Settings.app are reset when doing this, like Wifi passwords, sound settings, wallpapers etc. All app- and service-specific settings (like mail, calendar, and Twitter accounts) remain untouched. You won’t lose any data, although we recommend backing up your device first (using the “Encrypt local backup” setting) to be safe. Encrypting the backup saves all your stored passwords.
iCloud FAQ
I upgraded to the new iA Writer and now I don’t see my documents from iA Writer Classic. Why?
iA Writer and iA Writer Classic are separate applications so they use different folders in iCloud. The Classic folder has writer| as the icon, whereas the new iA Writer uses the iA| logo.
To migrate your documents on Mac: We recommend copying your documents from iA Writer Classic’s iCloud folder to that of iA Writer using the Finder. When finished you can remove iA Writer Classic.
To migrate your documents on iOS:
- Tap on the folder icon on the top-left corner of iA Writer Classic
- Tap on iA Writer on the top-left corner
- Tap on Export to iA Writer at the bottom-left corner
- Tap on Copy to iA Writer
Your files are also accessible online at the iCloud Drive website.
I want to back up Writer files stored in iCloud locally
In Writer for Mac, copy the contents of your iA Writer iCloud Drive folder to a different, local folder.
On iOS, copy files to On My [Device] folder using Files app.
If I choose to use iCloud, can I view or create documents while offline?
Yes. All your Writer documents in iCloud are saved on your device for offline use. iCloud syncs any documents you create offline — and any changes you’ve made — with your other devices the next time you use Writer while connected to the internet.
What are the terms of service and privacy policy for Apple’s iCloud?
iCloud requires iOS 5 or later on iPhone 3GS or later, iPod touch (3rd generation or later), iPad, or iPad mini; or a Mac computer with OS X Lion or later. For more information please see www.apple.com/icloud.
Set up iCloud
iCloud is on by default, but you can check with the following steps:
|
Confirm iCloud is active |
| macOS |
1. Add your Apple ID to System Preferences → Apple ID → iCloud
2. Check System Preferences → Apple ID → iCloud → iCloud Drive |
| iOS |
1. Add your Apple ID to Settings → iCloud
2. Check Settings → iCloud → iCloud Drive is ON |
iCloud Drive
This is the latest version of iCloud, and is not compatible with the previous “Documents & Data” iCloud system. It requires iOS 8+ or OS X 10.10+ (Yosemite). Make sure to upgrade all your devices to iCloud Drive at the same time.
iCloud Drive on Windows
iCloud Drive documents can be accessed on Windows 7 or Windows 8 running iCloud for Windows, and viewed or downloaded from the iCloud Drive website.
Document Recovery
You can restore deleted files for up to 30 days at icloud.com. Sign in with your Apple ID, then:
- Click Data Recovery → Restore Files
or;
- Click Drive icon → Recently Deleted
For the most up to date instructions on using iCloud recovery, please see the following Apple resource.
Mobile/Offline Use
Writer automatically downloads all Writer documents in iCloud, and saves them on your device. Any changes or new documents made while offline are saved on your device, and synced the next time you have a connection. If you edited the same iCloud document on two different devices, iCloud will determine which one is newer. If there’s a conflict, Writer will ask you to choose one or more versions to keep.
Web-Based Access
You can access iCloud Drive documents at icloud.com.
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