Help, Writing
Focus, page settings and typewriter scrolling
Clear everything away but the page, set the width and spacing you like to write at, and keep the line you are typing at a steady height.
Onwarder keeps the page quiet by default. When you want even less, Focus takes away everything but your words. Page settings change how the page looks to you while you write; they never change your exports.
Go into Focus
- Choose Focus above the page.
- Or press Cmd+Shift+F on a Mac, Ctrl+Shift+F on Windows and Linux. In the desktop app it is also in the View menu.
- On a phone, open This book (in Page tools, the ••• at the top) and choose Focus.
The scene list, the panels, the top bar and the line at the foot of the page all go. On a computer, Focus also fills the screen where the browser or app allows it. On a phone, the header and tabs go and the bar above the keyboard stays. Your caret stays exactly where it was.
To leave, press Esc. On a phone, open Page tools from the bar above the keyboard and choose Leave focus. Everything comes back as you left it, with the caret where you stopped typing.
Need something while in Focus? Move the pointer to the very top of the screen. A thin bar appears with Page (the settings below) and Leave focus.
If a save ever goes wrong while you are in Focus, Onwarder tells you straight away, on the page. Successful saves stay out of sight.
Focus without filling the screen
Open Settings, Appearance and turn off Focus fills the screen. Focus then hides the panels but leaves the window as it is.
Change how the page looks
Page colour, width, line spacing and text size are in Settings, Appearance; Dim the rest and typewriter scrolling are in Settings, Writing. From the page, open This book (the … above the page, or This book on the Focus bar), then Appearance or Writing: the section opens beside your page and each choice applies at once.
| Setting | Choices |
|---|---|
| Page width | Narrow, Standard or Wide |
| Line spacing | Snug, Standard or Open |
| Writing text size | Standard, Large or Larger |
| Typewriter scrolling | Off, In focus or Always |
| Typewriter line | A third down, or The middle |
| Dim the rest | Paragraph, Sentence or Nothing |
As the settings say, they change how your writing looks here, not your manuscript or exports. They belong to the device you set them on, so your phone and your laptop can each look the way that suits them. Your Word, EPUB and PDF files always use their own layout.
Typewriter scrolling
Typewriter scrolling keeps the line you are typing at the same height on the screen, so your eyes stay in one place while the page moves up under them.
- Open the page settings.
- Set Typewriter scrolling to In focus (the usual choice, and the starting setting) or Always.
- Choose where the line sits with Typewriter line: A third down or The middle.
The page only moves when you type or delete. Clicking somewhere else, using the arrow keys or jumping to a find result leaves the page where it is, so you can look back without being pulled away. If your device is set to reduce motion, the page steps rather than glides.
In the desktop app you can also switch it between Always and Off from the menu bar: View, Typewriter Scrolling.
Dim the rest
While you are in Focus, Onwarder can soften everything but the paragraph or sentence you are on. Set Dim the rest to Paragraph, Sentence or Nothing.