Here are the frequently asked questions about Writer. First things first—a walkthrough/tutorial for iA Writer for iPad. Best viewed on iPad in portrait mode in a 1:1 ratio…

Music: Autogenics I, by The Books Director: Pedro Cascao

1. Renaming Documents

Q: How do I rename a file?
A: Tap on the title bar.

Q: When I put a “/” or a “\”, it changes to a “-”, why?
A: We set the program to automatically change the “/” to a “-” to prevent compatibility issues. Same thing happens to ¥, €, £.

2. Saving Documents

Q: Are the files being saved to my iPad?
A: Yes.

Q: Where is the save button?
A: The file is saved automatically (autosaved) every two seconds.

Q: Do I need Dropbox to save my document ?
A: No.

Q: Do I need to be online in order to save my document?
A: No.

Q: I heard that people sometimes lost their data?
A: In the previous version there was a bug that didn’t save files including a “/” in the filename. We fixed this bug in the new version and also prevent this problem by automatically replacing a “/” with a savable “-”.

3. Deleting Documents

Q: How do I delete a file?
A: Swipe on the document name in the document list.

Q: I have deleted my file on Dropbox but it still appears.
A: Delete the file on iPad first.

Q: I have deleted my file on iPad but it still appears on Dropbox.
A: Push the Sync button in order to syncronise the files between your Dropbox and your iPad.

4. Folders

Q: Can I order my documents in Writer?
A: No.

Q: Can I create folders in Writer?
A: No.

5. Working with iTunes

Q: Can I sync documents using iTunes?
A: Yes.

Q: How can I save my file in my computer?
A: Use the iTunes sync feature, then: – Connect your iPad to your computer. – Launch iTunes. – Select your iPad. – Go to the apps tab. – Scroll down and you will see that you can retrieve your files from iPad to your computer.

Q: I started writing a file on my computer, how do I put it on my iPad?
A: Use the iTunes sync feature, then: – Connect your iPad to your computer. – Launch iTunes. – Select your iPad. – Go to the apps tab. – Scroll down and you will be able to put your files from your PC to your iPad. – Sync.

6. Working with Dropbox

Q: I don’t have an account on Dropbox, how can use it?
A: Tap on the folder icon (top left), then: – Tap on the link to Dropbox. – Hide the iPad keyboard. – Tap on the “New to DropBox?” – Follow the instruction on the screen and you’re done .

Q: How can I import files that I have created on my computer into Writer?
A: Save your file as a plain text (.txt) file, then: – Make sure the encoding (the file format) is “UTF-16″ or “UTF-8″ – Put the saved file in the “Writer” folder in your Dropbox – Within Writer, tap on the sync button. – You should see your file now from Writer

Q: I screwed my great manuscript and can’t undo it, how can you help me? / How can I retrieve a draft of the same file saved a long time ago?
A: Use Dropbox’ version control feature.

Q: I linked the software to Dropbox but my file is not saved.
A: Tap the sync button in the file menu. Don’t change the folder name/place in your Dropbox.

Q: I can’t find my documents on Dropbox…
A: You need to tap the sync button (the arrow in the file menu).

Q: Is there an auto-sync function?
A: Not yet, (we are working on it).

Q: If I don’t tap the sync button, are my file saved?
A: Yes, but only on your iPad.

Q: If I’m offline but linked to my Dropbox, is my work saved?
A: Yes.

Q: Can I change the name or place of the folder “Writer” in my Dropbox?
A: No.

Q: I have way too many documents, isn’t there a way to manage them?
A: Use the “open with” feature of Dropbox App for iPad. (Note that the selected file would be copied to Writer’s own folder, so you’ll have to put it back by yourself in your custom folder.)

7. Opening a document made with another program

Q: When I create a file on[abc word processor]with the [.xyz] extension, it doesn’t show up in Writer, why? For iWork users : – Open Text-Edit – Copy paste your text from pages to Text-Edit – From Text-Edit click on save as – In the Plain Text Encoding drop down menu, choose Unicode (utf-16) For Word users: – Click on the File > choose “Save As” in the menu. – The “Save As” dialog box pops up. – Enter your filename. – Select the “Plain Text (*.txt)” option in the “Save as Type” field. – Click the Save button. – The File Conversion dialog box pops up. – Click the “Other encoding” radio button and select the “Big-Endian” option. – Click the OK button. – Your file is saved now in the right format.

Q: My document is blank on Writer, why ?
A: You have to make sure that the encoding is “UTF-16″ when you save your file in .txt. For Word users: – Click on the File > choose “Save As” in the menu. – The “Save As” dialog box pops up. – Enter your filename. – Select the “Plain Text (*.txt)” option in the “Save as Type” field. – Click the Save button. The File Conversion dialog box pops up. – Click the “Other encoding” radio button and select the “Big-Endian” option. – Click the OK button. Your file is saved now in the right format.

Q: On Windows, when I open the file with notepad, paragraphs disappear…
A: You have to open it with WordPad or any editor that supports UTF-16 encoding.

Q: Are your files convertible into Word formats on a PC or on a Mac?
A: Yes, the files are plain text.

8. Opening a Writer document on the computer

Q: Why can’t I sync my file with Windows?
A: Windows doesn’t support filenames which contain characters such as < > : ” / \ | ? *

Q: What form of document is created with Writer?
A: Writer creates .txt files in UTF-16. These files don’t open properly in Notepad on Windows.

9. Email

Q: How do I insert text written with Writer in the mail body (not as an attached file)?
A: Tap the export button, then: – Tap copy. – Tap export to E-Mail. – Tap paste.

Q: I enabled Dropbox on Writer but can’t send E-Mails, why?
A: Dropbox and E-Mail are unrelated. Please check your Mail Settings (in the iPad’s Settings).

10. Keyboard

Q: Are right to left languages (such as Hebrew) supported?
A: Yes.

Q: Does Writer support the bluetooth keyboard?
A: Yes.

Q: Can you change the chars within the on-screen standard keyboard?
A: No.

Q: Can I use Writer’s keyboard as a default keyboard for my iPad?
A: No.

Q: Is there a way to make accents or special characters easier to access than Apple’s default touch-screen keyboard?
A: No.

Q: Does Writer support my language?
A: Writer works with any language that works on the iPad.

Q: What are the key bindings for the special Writer function keys like “| word” and “word |”
A: Press alt + left for “| word” and alt + right for “word |”.

Q: I’m using a BlueTooth Keyboard, how can I display the iPad’s keyboard as well?
A: Press the “eject button” (top right)

Q: In Japanese, I can’t see word suggestions when typing with the bluetooth keyboard and Focus Mode enabled…
A: When you want to see a word suggestion, tap the right key on your bluetooth keyboard. You will access a bigger and better word suggestion dialogue from there.

11. Features

Q: Spell checker doesn’t work. Is it broken?
A: It works in normal mode, but it is disabled in Focus Mode.

Q: How do I undo/redo? (from version 1.2)
A: Use straight HORIZONTAL two finger swipe gestures. – Undo = Two finger swipe from right to left.
 – Redo = Two finger swipe from left to right.

Q: Can I disable the cursor time?
A: No.

12. Accessibility

Q: I’d like a black background for writing. How can I invert color?
A: For now, use iPad’s standard feature: – In your iPad Settings > General > Accessibility there is a cool option – Tap on Tripple-Click home, choose “Toggle White On Black” – Now the screen inverts its colors on tripple click the home button

Q: How do I make the font bigger?
A: You can’t set the font size in the application, but you can zoom into your work with iPad’s standard accessibility feature: – Go to “Settings”, tap on “General”. – Tap on “Accessibility”. – Now switch the “Zoom” option to “ON”. – If you want to have the font bigger, tap with three fingers to zoom in. – If you want to go back to the normal mode, tap again with three fingers to zoom out.

13. Miscellaneous

Q: What is the battery life impact of Writer?
A: It’s a very light weight app, thus it has low processor usage.

Q: Can I download Writer from the app store of my country?
A: You can download Writer from any app store in the world.

Q: Will you support other 2nd party services than Dropbox (such as iDisk, Mobile me, GDocs, WordPress, Evernote, TextExpander…)?
A: We will do our best to integrate with as many other services as possible.

You can get Writer at the App store. View in iTunes.