Help › Reference

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Answers to common questions and quick fixes for things that look wrong.

Your work and your data

Where are my projects?

In your library folder. Choose WriterMorph › Reveal Support Folder in Finder to open it, or File › Show Project in Finder to reveal the current project. The location is set in Settings › General › Library.

Do I need an account or an internet connection?

No. WriterMorph runs entirely on your Mac and stores your work in .wmorph files you own. An internet connection is only needed for things that are online by nature, such as web page tabs, embedded videos or iCloud Drive.

Does WriterMorph use AI to write for me?

No. WriterMorph has no built-in AI writing features; everything in your project is written by you. If you already use Claude Code or Codex, you can connect it to your project yourself. See AI connections.

I deleted a card or document by mistake.

Cards and tabs: open Project › Project Trash… and choose Restore.
Manuscript documents: click the trash button at the bottom of the binder and choose Restore.
A whole project: on the Home screen, open Trash and choose Put Back.

You can also press ⌘Z right away.

I want an earlier version of my text.

In the Inspector, open Snapshots and restore a snapshot.
In the card editor, open History and restore a saved version.
View › Revert History rolls the whole planner back to an earlier save.
As a last resort, open a backup from File › Back Up › Open Backup Folder.

See Revisions, History and Snapshots.

My Mac crashed. Did I lose anything?

WriterMorph saves automatically a moment after you stop typing, and writes files safely so that an interrupted save does not damage the previous version. Automatic backups are taken whenever you open and close a project.

iCloud shows a conflict.

Choose File › Sync › iCloud: Resolve Conflicts… and pick Keep this Mac's, Keep other Mac's or Keep both. Nothing is overwritten without asking.

The window and toolbars

Choose View › Toolbars › Show All Bars and Items, or show individual bars from View › Toolbars. The format bar can also be shown with View › Text Editing › Show Format Bar.

Where did the editor's View row go?

Its items now live in the format bar's View ▾ and Notes ▾ cells. To get the separate row back, choose View › Toolbars › Show View Bar (separate row).

The text is too small (or too large).

Adjust Menu & panel font size and Side panel text size in Settings › Appearance › Theme Designer. Use ⌘> and ⌘< to zoom the editor text on screen.

The mouse wheel zooms when I want it to scroll.

Change Mouse wheel in Settings › Behaviors to pan. You can also hold ⌘ while scrolling to do the opposite of the current setting.

The editor is dark but I want white paper.

Turn on Light paper even in dark mode in Settings › Editing, or use the paper color option in the editor's View ▾ menu.

Planning and the timeline

The Writer Timeline button is grayed out.

The Writer Timeline needs Author mode. Click Author in the planner toolbar, or turn on Author mode in Project › Project Settings… under Canvas › Writing. Fiction and script templates turn it on automatically.

A scene is missing from the Writer Timeline.

Check that it is not hidden: right-click it on the canvas or open its Properties and make sure it is Included in Timeline. Use Unassigned to show scenes that have no plotline. Also check whether a Filter is active.

My cards moved when I chose a layout.

Layout Mode rearranges the whole canvas. Press ⌘Z to undo, or save arrangements you like under Saved Layouts in Canvas › Layout Mode… so you can restore them.

Compile

A document is missing from my compiled file.

Make sure Include in compile is on for that document (Inspector, or Documents › Include in Compile (toggle)), that it is checked in the Contents list of Compile Studio, and that it is not in a research or reference folder.

My PDF has no table of contents.

The Table of contents option applies to HTML and EPUB output. For PDF and Word, the chapters follow the order of the binder.

Can I edit the running headers?

Headers and page numbers come from the preset. Set a Short title in Compile's Metadata section to change the running title.

Tasks and reminders

My task reminders do not appear.

Reminders are delivered as macOS notifications while WriterMorph is running. Make sure notifications for WriterMorph are allowed in System Settings › Notifications, and that the app is open at reminder time.

WriterMorph quits by itself.

Check Settings › General › Automatic Quit, which can quit the app after a period of inactivity.

Getting help

Help › WriterMorph Help opens the help.
Help › Keyboard Shortcuts lists every shortcut.
Help › Release Notes shows what is new.
Help › Support (E-mail) writes to support.
Help › Reveal Log & Support Folder opens the folder with diagnostic logs. Attach the log when you report a problem.