The first level of organization that users might think of are folders to store multiple files. But iA Writer for Mac gives you more elaborated options to organize your documents.
Folders can be created easily from the File List with a Right click → New Folder
Beyond this, the left grey panel of the Library (Organizer) allows you to create favourites, smart folders and access tags.
If you don’t see the Organizer, it could be that you have hidden it. You can hide and show it from View → Hide/Show Organizer.
The Organizer contains Locations, Favorites, Smart Folders, and Hashtags. Right-clicking any item in the Organizer pops up a context menu.
Favorites
Favorites allow you to create quick bookmarks to your most-used files and folders.
To add a Favorite:
- drag it from the File List into the Favorites section
- right-click on the file and select Add to Favorites from the context menu
Smart Folders
Normal folders are static; Smart folders are dynamic. Which files are found in a Smart Folder depends on the rules which govern it. New files can find their way into a Smart Folder with no user interaction at all.
iA Writer comes by default with a single Smart Folder: Recents. This is a list of the 25 most recently used files, across the whole Library.
If you are using iA Writer with iCloud your Smart Folders stay in sync across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices.
When creating a Smart Folder, you will be prompted to choose the rules iA Writer will follow to select the files, either:
- Search
- Parent path
- Ancestor path
- Kind (text, folder, or other)
- Date created
- Date modified
1) Paths
Parent path: contents of a specific folder.
Ancestor paths: contents of a particular folder and all of its subfolders.
To enter the paths:
- / refers to the default location (iCloud or local).
- Location: / can be used to filter files from custom locations.
- From Other Apps: / is available on iOS.
Tips: use the contextual menu in Library and Organizer to copy paths.
2) Search
Search works like a search engine. It’s optimized to be fast with a large number of files.
Search is available for:
- Names of all files
- Contents of Plain Text files (
txt, text)
- Contents of Markdown files (
md, markdown et al.)
Search supports the following queries:
| Queries |
Matching files |
| .png |
when extension begins as .png* |
| “.m” |
when extension is m |
| text machine |
where name or text contain words that begin as text and machine |
| “text* machine” |
where name or text contain a phrase with a word that begins as text and a word machine |
| #priority |
where contain a hashtag that begins as text and a word #priority* |
| -microsoft word |
that don’t include microsoft but include word |
| [ ] |
that contain an incomplete task list item |
| [x] |
that contain a completed task list item |
| -# |
that don’t contain a hashtag |
| “#diary” |
that contain a hashtag #diary |
| ^first |
where the first word of a name or a text is first* |
| time AND space |
where name or text contain words that begin as time and space |
| name:alice |
where name contains a word that begins as alice* |
| name:^”note” |
where name begins with a word note |
| time OR “space” |
with time or space |
| time NOT space |
with time but not space |
| NEAR(time space) |
where time and space are located with 10 or less words in-between |
| NEAR(time “space” “travel” 4) |
with time, space and travel with 3 or less terms in-between |
| (time AND life) OR “me” |
with time and life, or me |
Hashtags
Another way to organize your thoughts without multiple folders is by using tags. We implemented the Twitter spec for hashtags as a starting point, being the most universal implementation.
To make a tag, write the # characters beside a word (no space, just like on Social Media).
You will see your tag appearing on the Organizer under the Hashtag category. When you click on it, it will show you in the File List all the documents containing this tag.
We implemented the Twitter spec for hashtags as a starting point, being the most universal implementation.
Note that, just like in Twitter, including some characters like a dash in the tag will make it invalid:
Valid tags
#Alice,
#2Alice
Invalid tags
#-Alice,
#/Alice,
#2 Alice,
#Alice-Rabbit (only “Alice” will be recognized as a tag, “Rabbit” will be ignored)
The first level of organization that users might think of are folders to store multiple files. But iA Writer for iOS gives you more elaborated options to organize your documents.
Folders can be created easily from the File List by clicking on Edit and selecting the New Folder icon on the down-left bar.
Beyond this, the grey panel of the Library (Organizer) allows you to create favourites, smart folders and access tags. From anywhere in the Library you can tap the < button at the top left to get you up to the Organizer (and access Settings as well).
The Organizer contains Locations, Favorites, Smart Folders, and Hashtags. Long-pressing any item in the Organizer pops up a context menu.
Favorites
Favorites allow you to create quick bookmarks for your most-used files and folders.
You can add a favorite in 2 ways:
- at the top of the Organizer, tap Edit → Favorites → Add Favorite
- long-press a file or folder, from the pop-up context menu select Favorite
Smart Folders
Normal folders are static; Smart folders are dynamic. Which files are found in a smart folder depends on the rules which govern it. New files can find their way into a smart folder with no user interaction at all.
iA Writer comes by default with a single smart folder: Recents. This is a list of the 25 most recently used files, across the whole Library.
If you are using iA Writer with iCloud your Smart Folders stay in sync across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices.
To create Smart Folders: at the top of the Organizer, tap Edit → Smart Folders → New Smart Folder.
You will be presented with a view where the parameters of the folder are prescribed.
- first, give your new folder a name
- choose whether results should match all the rules provided or any (at least one)
- tap “New Rule” to create a rule and repeat as necessary
- choose whether to limit results to 25 items or limitless
- choose a custom sort method for this folder, if desired
When creating a Smart Folder, you will be prompted to choose the rules iA Writer will follow to select the files, either:
- Search
- Parent path
- Ancestor path
- Kind (text, folder, or other)
- Date created
- Date modified
1) Paths
Parent path: contents of a specific folder.
Ancestor paths: contents of a particular folder and all of its subfolders.
To enter the paths:
- / refers to the default location (iCloud or local).
- Location: / can be used to filter files from custom locations.
- From Other Apps: / is available on iOS.
Tips: use the contextual menu in Library and Organizer to copy paths.
2) Search
Search works like a search engine. It’s optimized to be fast with a large number of files.
Search is available for:
- Names of all files
- Contents of Plain Text files (
txt, text)
- Contents of Markdown files (
md, markdown et al.)
Search supports the following queries:
| Queries |
Matching files |
| .png |
when extension begins as .png* |
| “.m” |
when extension is m |
| text machine |
where name or text contain words that begin as text and machine |
| “text* machine” |
where name or text contain a phrase with a word that begins as text and a word machine |
| #priority |
where contain a hashtag that begins as text and a word #priority* |
| -microsoft word |
that don’t include microsoft but include word |
| [ ] |
that contain an incomplete task list item |
| [x] |
that contain a completed task list item |
| -# |
that don’t contain a hashtag |
| “#diary” |
that contain a hashtag #diary |
| ^first |
where the first word of a name or a text is first* |
| time AND space |
where name or text contain words that begin as time and space |
| name:alice |
where name contains a word that begins as alice* |
| name:^”note” |
where name begins with a word note |
| time OR “space” |
with time or space |
| time NOT space |
with time but not space |
| NEAR(time space) |
where time and space are located with 10 or less words in-between |
| NEAR(time “space” “travel” 4) |
with time, space and travel with 3 or less terms in-between |
| (time AND life) OR “me” |
with time and life, or me |
Hashtags
Another way to organize your thoughts without multiple folders is by using tags. We implemented the Twitter spec for hashtags as a starting point, being the most universal implementation.
To make a tag, write the # characters beside a word (no space, just like on Social Media).
You will see your tag appearing on the Organizer under the Hashtag category. When you click on it, it will show you on the File List all the documents containing this tag.
We implemented the Twitter spec for hashtags as a starting point, being the most universal implementation.
Note that, just like in Twitter, including some characters like a dash in the tag will make it invalid:
Valid tags
#Alice,
#2Alice
Invalid tags
#-Alice,
#/Alice,
#2 Alice,
#Alice-Rabbit (only “Alice” will be recognized as a tag, “Rabbit” will be ignored)
The first level of organization that users might think of are folders to store multiple files. But iA Writer for iPad gives you more elaborated options to organize your documents.
Folders can be created easily from the File List by clicking on Edit and selecting the New Folder icon on the down-left bar.
Beyond this, the left grey panel of the Library (Organizer) allows you to create favourites, smart folders and access tags.
From anywhere in the Library you can tap the < button at the top left to get you up to the Organizer (and access Settings as well).
The Organizer contains Locations, Favorites, Smart Folders, and Hashtags. Long-pressing any item in the Organizer pops up a context menu.
Favorites
Favorites allow you to create quick bookmarks for your most-used files and folders.
You can add a favorite in 2 ways:
- long-press a file or folder, from the pop-up context menu select Favorite
- at the top of the Organizer, tap Edit → Favorites → Add Favorite
Smart Folders
Normal folders are static; Smart folders are dynamic. Which files are found in a smart folder depends on the rules which govern it. New files can find their way into a smart folder with no user interaction at all.
iA Writer comes by default with a single smart folder: Recents. This is a list of the 25 most recently used files, across the whole Library.
If you are using iA Writer with iCloud your Smart Folders stay in sync across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices.
You can create your own smart folders too: at the top of the Organizer, tap Edit → Smart Folders → New Smart Folder.
You will be presented with a view where the parameters of the folder are prescribed.
- first, give your new folder a name
- choose whether results should match all the rules provided or any (at least one)
- tap “New Rule” to create a rule and repeat as necessary
- choose whether to limit results to 25 items or limitless
- choose a custom sort method for this folder, if desired
When creating a Smart Folder, you will be prompted to choose the rules iA Writer will follow to select the files, either:
- Search
- Parent path
- Ancestor path
- Kind (text, folder, or other)
- Date created
- Date modified
1) Paths
- Parent path: contents of a specific folder.
- Ancestor paths: contents of a particular folder and all of its subfolders.
To enter the paths:
- / refers to the default location (iCloud or local).
- Location: / can be used to filter files from custom locations.
- From Other Apps: / is available on iOS.
Tips: use the contextual menu in Library and Organizer to copy paths.
2) Search
Search works like a search engine. It’s optimized to be fast with a large number of files.
Search is available for:
- Names of all files
- Contents of Plain Text files (
txt, text)
- Contents of Markdown files (
md, markdown et al.)
Search supports the following queries:
| Queries |
Matching files |
| .png |
when extension begins as .png* |
| “.m” |
when extension is m |
| text machine |
where name or text contain words that begin as text and machine |
| “text* machine” |
where name or text contain a phrase with a word that begins as text and a word machine |
| #priority |
where contain a hashtag that begins as text and a word #priority* |
| -microsoft word |
that don’t include microsoft but include word |
| [ ] |
that contain an incomplete task list item |
| [x] |
that contain a completed task list item |
| -# |
that don’t contain a hashtag |
| “#diary” |
that contain a hashtag #diary |
| ^first |
where the first word of a name or a text is first* |
| time AND space |
where name or text contain words that begin as time and space |
| name:alice |
where name contains a word that begins as alice* |
| name:^”note” |
where name begins with a word note |
| time OR “space” |
with time or space |
| time NOT space |
with time but not space |
| NEAR(time space) |
where time and space are located with 10 or less words in-between |
| NEAR(time “space” “travel” 4) |
with time, space and travel with 3 or less terms in-between |
| (time AND life) OR “me” |
with time and life, or me |
Hashtags
Another way to organize your thoughts without multiple folders is by using tags. We implemented the Twitter spec for hashtags as a starting point, being the most universal implementation.
To make a tag, write the # characters beside a word (no space, just like on Social Media).
You will see your tag appearing on the Organizer under the Hashtag category. When you click on it, it will show you on the File List all the documents containing this tag.
We implemented the Twitter spec for hashtags as a starting point, being the most universal implementation.
Note that, just like in Twitter, including some characters like a dash in the tag will make it invalid:
Valid tags
#Alice,
#2Alice
Invalid tags
#-Alice,
#/Alice,
#2 Alice,
#Alice-Rabbit (only “Alice” will be recognized as a tag, “Rabbit” will be ignored)
While the organization of your files and folders in Cloud Storage will be managed by those ones, you can easily manage the ogranization of your files in Device.
Create Folders
Within Device, select the 3 dots button on the top-right then Add New Folder.
Once the folder is created, long-press any document from Device that you would like to move there.
The document will have a check mark on its left and you can open a context-menu by clicking the 3 dots on the right.
Among others, you will have the option to Move the document to existing folders.
Sort Files
Within Device or within a folder, select the 3 dots button on the top-right.
You will have the choice to Sort By
You can sort your files from A to Z or Z to A
You can create, add and sort folders in the Library to organize your documents in iA Writer for Windows.
In the Organizer
You can add any file or folder from your PC to the Library, including those from iCloud Drive for Windows, Dropbox, or Google Drive.
To do so, you have 2 ways:
- Click the + Add to Library button (bottom left) and choose to add a file or folder
- Drag the file or folder straight from File Explorer or the File List in iA Writer’s own Library
Right-clicking any item in the Organizer pops up a context menu allowing you to remove the item or browse its backups.
In the File List
The File list will show you all the folders and files stored in the selected storage (OneDrive for example).
Documents can be moved to, from, and within the Library by dragging them.
Right-click on a document in the File List opens a context menu allowing you to delete, rename, move, etc… this document.
You can also create a new folder in the currently shown folder through this menu.
Library 
