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Finding your way around Studio and the Formatter: windows, menus, keyboard shortcuts and appearance

This article shows you where things are in Pendrilo Studio and Pendrilo Formatter: the layout of each window, the menus, the appearance and zoom settings, and the keyboard shortcuts. Both programs are part of Pendrilo and open the same book files. Studio includes everything the Formatter does, so most authors only need Studio.

The Formatter window

The Formatter has one main screen, in three columns:

  • Left: the chapter list under CONTENTS. Click a chapter to work on it.
  • Middle: the tab you've chosen at the top: Text, Styles, Book Details or Print Settings.
  • Right: the real typeset pages, exactly as they'll print or appear on an e-reader.

The tabs and the Generate Book button run along the top. The status bar along the bottom shows your word count and chapter count, Checks, and whether the book is saved. Click Checks to open the list of things to look at before you publish.

The Studio window

Studio is organised into workspaces. Click one in the top bar to switch to it:

  • Write: the editor, with the chapter's notes beside it.
  • Outline: every chapter as a row in a table.
  • Corkboard: every chapter as an index card.
  • Plot: each thread of the story, chapter by chapter.
  • Codex: your characters, places and lore.
  • Story: events, facts and threads, with a timeline and checks.
  • Format: the Formatter, with its four tabs and the page preview.

The top bar also has buttons for writing tools: Find, To-do, Online, Scratchpad, Reading Aid, Listen, Focus and Notes. ‹ My Books takes you back to your shelf. The bottom bar shows today's word count, your progress toward your word target, and whether the book is saved.

The menus

Both programs have the same five menus across the top of the window.

  • File: New, Open, Open Recent, Save, Save As…, Import… and Export….
  • Edit: Undo and Redo, which are greyed out. See the note at the end of the shortcuts section.
  • View: Appearance, zoom, text size, Focus on the Page, Typewriter Scrolling, Reading Aid and Read Aloud.
  • Book: Version History…, Back Up This Book…, Generate Book…, and My Books.
  • Help: Getting Started, User Guide…, Check for Updates…, Send Feedback… and About. In Studio, the About item is About Pendrilo Studio. In the Formatter it's About Pendrilo.

Appearance, zoom and text size

These settings are in the View menu:

  • View → Appearance sets Match System, Light or Dark. Match System follows your computer.
  • View → Zoom In, Zoom Out and Actual Size make the whole window bigger or smaller.
  • View → Editor text size changes the size of the text in the editor only.
  • View → Preview page size changes how large the typeset pages appear.

None of these change your book.

Keyboard shortcuts

On a Mac, use Cmd wherever this list says Ctrl.

  • Ctrl+S: Save
  • Ctrl+N and Ctrl+O: New book and Open a book
  • Ctrl+Shift+S: Save As
  • Ctrl+E: Export, the same as Generate Book
  • Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I and Ctrl+U: bold, italic and underline
  • Ctrl+Enter: scene break
  • Ctrl+K: link
  • Ctrl+Alt+F: footnote
  • Alt+↑ and Alt+↓: move the selected chapter up or down
  • Ctrl+Shift+F: Find in the Book (Studio only)
  • Ctrl+Shift+D: Focus on the page (Studio only). Press Esc to leave.
  • Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y: undo and redo while you type in the editor

Undo and Redo: The Edit menu's Undo and Redo are greyed out in Pendrilo. Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y still work while you type. To undo a bigger change, such as a replace across the whole book or a deleted section, use Book → Version History…. Version History can bring back earlier versions of your book.