Appearance, typography & page setup
Separate comfortable on-screen writing from the format of your printed manuscript.
Browser editing requires a purchased license and Workspace sync. Desktop writing needs an active trial or license, without sync. Reading, search, and export of available work remain accessible. Check access requirements.
On this page
Application settings
- Open Settings with the gear at the foot of the sidebar, the app menu, or Ctrl/Cmd+,.
- Use Appearance for the available application appearance choices. These change the interface, not your story’s words.
- Use Typography to compare the bundled prose typefaces. For the World’s actual writing face, use the typeface control in the writing toolbar.
- Use Account for the author profile, license, and sync subscription rather than looking for these in the writing-surface controls.
A comfortable writing surface
In Writing view, use the writing toolbar’s typeface and text-size controls; the toolbar also shows the current line spacing. Choose a size and theme you can read comfortably for long sessions.
Manuscript view uses the page’s own type, so those controls are unavailable there. Switch back to Writing when you want to change editing comfort rather than page layout. Focus mode can hide surrounding controls without changing the document.
Page setup and output
Manuscript view and the page count use the book’s page, shown in the Manuscript button’s tooltip as characters per line and lines per page. That page is separate from the application theme and the comfortable writing view, and changing your writing type does not change it. Export manuscript sets the layout of each output format.
After changing layout, check both the manuscript preview and the exported result. Word, EPUB, and PDF render differently; inspect the destination you actually intend to send rather than treating the editor as a universal print proof.