Support

Answers to the questions that come up most. If yours isn’t here, write to us: we read every message.

Contact

Email support@westiewrites.com. Please say which device you use (iPhone, iPad or Mac), its system version, and what you were doing. Please don’t attach your writing unless we ask.

Placeholder for Kev: support@westiewrites.com does not exist yet. Create the mailbox, confirm the address, then replace it here, on the privacy page and in the README, and delete this note. Until it is real, do not publish the site.

Common questions

Where are my files?

With the default setup they are in your iCloud Drive, in a folder called Westie Writes. Open the Files app on iPhone or iPad, or Finder on the Mac, choose iCloud Drive, and open it. Every sheet is a .md file and every folder is a real folder.

If you chose your own folder instead, they are in that folder. The app’s Settings show which one is open.

Two things in there are the app’s own and are safe to leave alone: a hidden .westie folder (the Trash, your templates and the library’s settings) and small _group.json files that remember the order and colour of a folder’s contents. Pictures and PDFs go in an assets folder next to the sheet that uses them.

How do I use a different folder, or go back to iCloud Drive?

Open Settings (on the Mac: Westie Writes ▸ Settings…; on iPhone and iPad: the Library menu at the top of the sidebar, then Settings…). In the Library section choose Change… and pick a folder. To return, choose Use iCloud Drive.

Westie Writes opens the library that is at the place you choose. It does not move your existing files for you, so if you want them in the new place, copy them across in Files or Finder first.

Any folder works, including one inside another cloud service that shows up in Files or Finder. Syncing for such a folder is done by that service, not by us.

What happens if two devices change the same sheet? (iCloud conflicts)

Usually nothing special: iCloud brings the newest save to every device. A conflict only happens when the same sheet is edited on two devices while both are offline. Westie Writes then shows a banner on that sheet. Open it to see both versions side by side, with what differs marked, and choose which to keep.

The version you don’t keep is not thrown away: it is saved as a separate sheet next to the original, so you can copy anything back from it. If another device has already resolved the conflict, you’ll be told there is only one version now.

How do I turn on the Share extension in Safari on the Mac?

In Safari, click the Share button in the toolbar (or choose File ▸ Share), then choose Edit Extensions…, and tick Westie Writes. After that it appears in the Share menu. You can also look in System Settings ▸ General ▸ Login Items & Extensions ▸ Sharing.

Share a page, or select some text first and then share, and a small window lets you check the title and press Save. The item becomes a new sheet in your Inbox folder.

I can’t see Westie Writes in the Share sheet on iPhone or iPad

Scroll to the end of the row of apps in the Share sheet, tap More, and make sure Westie Writes is switched on (you can also add it to Favourites so it stays near the front). If you have only just installed the app, open it once first.

How do due dates and reminders work?

Choose Set Due Date… from a sheet’s menu, or swipe the sheet in the list. A sheet can be due on a day, or at a time. You get a reminder on the day, at the time you set for all-day sheets in Settings ▸ Reminders (9:00 by default), and you can ask for one the day before as well. The first time you turn this on, your device asks permission to send notifications.

The reminder has buttons: Done, Snooze 1 Hour and Snooze Until Tomorrow. They work without opening the app. Reminders are scheduled on your device and need no internet connection.

Reminders don’t show up when a Focus is on

Westie Writes marks reminders as Time-Sensitive, which lets them through a Focus if the Focus allows it. Check, in order:

  1. Settings ▸ Notifications ▸ Westie Writes (on the Mac: System Settings ▸ Notifications) is on, and Time-Sensitive Notifications is allowed there.
  2. In the Focus itself (Settings ▸ Focus ▸ the one you use), Time-Sensitive Notifications is turned on, or Westie Writes is in its list of allowed apps.
  3. In Westie Writes ▸ Settings ▸ Reminders, “Remind me when a sheet is due” is on. If notifications were declined, the same screen has an Open Notification Settings button.
How do I export a sheet?

On the Mac choose File ▸ Export, then Markdown, HTML or PDF, and pick where to save. On iPhone and iPad use the sheet’s menu (the pencil or ⋯ menu) and choose Export; the result goes through the share sheet.

  • Markdown saves the sheet with its pictures, in a folder.
  • HTML is one self-contained page.
  • PDF is made from that page, on A4 or US Letter depending on your region, and always on a light page.

Exporting never changes the sheet or your library.

Can I open my writing in other apps?

Yes, that is the point. Your sheets are ordinary Markdown text files. Open the library folder in any text or Markdown editor (Obsidian, iA Writer, VS Code, BBEdit and others), or in Files or Finder. Changes made there appear in Westie Writes, and new .md files you add show up at the end of their folder.

Westie Writes only writes when you edit something in it: opening and browsing never modify a file.

I deleted something. Can I get it back?

Deleted sheets and folders go to the Trash in the sidebar and stay there, with where they came from, until you choose Empty Trash. Open the Trash and choose Restore. Emptying it is final.

Is Westie Writes really free? Is there anything to buy?

Yes, it is free. There are no in-app purchases, no subscriptions, no tips and no ads, and nothing is sold. DRAFT: Kev to approve this wording.

A sheet or picture says it is downloading

iCloud Drive sometimes keeps files in the cloud until they are needed. The app shows a downloading state, then the file once it arrives. If it seems stuck, check you are online and signed in to iCloud, and open the Files app to nudge the download.

Is it accessible? Something is in the way with VoiceOver or large text

Westie Writes is built with VoiceOver, Dynamic Type and Reduce Motion in mind, but a full test on real devices is still to come, so there will be rough edges. Please tell us exactly what you were doing and what was said or shown; accessibility problems are treated as bugs.

Keyboard shortcuts

On the Mac, and on an iPad with a keyboard. Every command is also in the menus, with its shortcut.

Writing and formatting
ActionShortcut
Bold⌘B
Italic⌘I
Strikethrough⇧⌘X
Code⌘`
Link⌘K
Heading 1, 2, 3⌘1 ⌘2 ⌘3
Plain text (remove heading)⌘0
Bulleted list⇧⌘L
Numbered list⇧⌘7
Task list⇧⌘T
Quote⌘'
Insert image or PDF⇧⌘I
Find in the sheet⌘F
Library and views
ActionShortcut
New sheet⌘N
New folder⇧⌘N
New window⌥⌘N
Search the library⇧⌘F
Move to Trash⌘⌫
Set word goal⌥⌘G
Formatted or Markdown view⌥⌘M
Typewriter mode⌥⌘T
Focus mode⌥⌘F
Full-screen writing (Esc leaves it)⇧⌘↩

About this app

Westie Writes is made by one person, and named after Beano, a West Highland terrier. See the privacy policy for exactly what the app does with your data.