Manuscript Editor
The manuscript editor is where your actual writing happens. It’s a full rich-text editor designed for long-form prose, with everything from basic formatting to footnotes, scene breaks, and math.
Basic formatting
Section titled “Basic formatting”Select text and use the floating toolbar that appears, the fixed toolbar at the top, or keyboard shortcuts:
- Bold, italic, underline,
strikethrough, superscript, subscript - Font family, font size, text color, and background highlight color
- Alignment: left, center, right, justify
- Indent, line height, and letter spacing
Block types
Section titled “Block types”Beyond plain paragraphs, the editor supports:
- Headings (H1–H4) — these also define your chapter/scene structure for export
- Linked headings — a heading that is the chapter’s (or scene’s) name: rename the chapter in the sidebar and the heading follows, type in the heading and the sidebar follows
- Toggles — a collapsible line that folds away the blocks indented under it, and toggle headings (H1–H4) that do the same while reading as a heading
- Blockquotes, with optional color tinting
- Lists — bulleted, numbered, and to-do/checklists
- Tables with per-cell formatting
- Code blocks with syntax highlighting
- Horizontal rules with configurable width and height
- Dinkus — scene break markers (
* * *, or a custom image of your choice) - Callouts — highlighted boxes with an icon and color
- Footnotes with rich content
- Math equations — both block and inline
Inserting blocks with slash commands
Section titled “Inserting blocks with slash commands”Type / anywhere to open the insert menu, then start typing to filter — /table, /toggle, /todo, /linked heading, /dinkus, and so on. Press Enter to insert.
Markdown shortcuts
Section titled “Markdown shortcuts”If you’re used to Markdown, keep typing the way you already do:
| Type… | To get… |
|---|---|
# + space |
Heading 1 (## for H2, etc.) |
> + space |
Blockquote |
- or * + space |
Bulleted list |
1. + space |
Numbered list |
[] + space |
To-do list |
**text** |
Bold |
*text* |
Italic |
Working with blocks
Section titled “Working with blocks”- Drag handle — hover over a block’s left edge to grab it and reorder blocks by dragging.
- Block selection — select multiple blocks at once for bulk operations.
- Re-apply style — the drag-handle menu lets you reset a block to your project’s manuscript formatting.
Linked headings
Section titled “Linked headings”Every new chapter, act or scene starts with a heading that carries its name, and that heading is linked: the two are one thing. Rename the chapter in the sidebar and the heading changes with it; edit the heading and, once you pause, the chapter is renamed. Undo puts both back.
A small link icon beside a heading shows it is linked. You can have more than one — insert another with /linked heading, or turn any block into one with Turn into → Linked heading 1–4. A linked heading always follows the name of the chapter or scene it sits in.
To connect or disconnect a heading, open its drag-handle menu:
- Link to manuscript name turns a plain heading into a linked one. It takes the chapter’s current name — it never renames the chapter after the heading.
- Unlink from manuscript name makes a linked heading ordinary again. Its text stays as it is, and from then on renaming the chapter no longer touches it.
Turning a linked heading into a plain heading or a paragraph also unlinks it.
Toggles
Section titled “Toggles”Insert a toggle with /toggle, or a toggle heading with /toggle heading. Press Enter at the end of a toggle’s line to start writing inside it, and Tab to move a block under the toggle above it. Click the arrow to fold the toggle away. A toggle never reaches into the next chapter or scene.
Toggle headings appear in the table of contents like any heading, and export as headings: collapsing is a way of working in the editor, not part of the finished book.
Images
Section titled “Images”Insert images directly into your manuscript. Once placed you can:
- Resize with the drag handles
- Align left, center, or right
- Set text wrap mode
Find and replace
Section titled “Find and replace”Press Cmd+F (Ctrl+F on Windows/Linux) to open find & replace within the current manuscript.
Annotations
Section titled “Annotations”Hover a paragraph and click the speech-bubble in its right margin, opposite the drag handle, to leave yourself a remark about it — see Annotations. Annotated text picks up a soft amber underline, and the remarks live in the Annotations panel of the right-hand sidebar, which opens as you write one. They are never part of an export.
A chapter’s panel includes the remarks left in its scenes, so you can read everything outstanding for a chapter in one list.
Other tools
Section titled “Other tools”- Table of contents — a sidebar listing the headings of the open manuscript; click to jump.
- Emoji picker — type
:followed by a name (e.g.:smile). - Clear formatting — strip all manual formatting from the selection.
- Paste cleanup — content pasted from the web or other apps is automatically sanitized so it doesn’t break your formatting.
Word counts
Section titled “Word counts”Live word and character counts are always visible in the toolbar. The count for a chapter includes all its nested scenes. Counts include your prose (paragraphs, headings, quotes, lists, tables) and exclude footnotes, images, and code blocks. These counts feed your writing goals.
Your work is saved automatically
Section titled “Your work is saved automatically”There is no Save button — changes are saved continuously as you type. On top of that, Scriptorium takes an automatic daily snapshot of each manuscript you edit, so you can always roll back.