The typewriter
Write any text file on a simulated manual typewriter, with a bell, a ribbon, correction tape and the sound of the keys. It's the same file underneath.
The typewriter is another way to write in a text file. Open a file on it and you type onto a sheet in a simulated manual typewriter: a bell near the margin, a ribbon, correction tape for mistakes, and the sound of the keys. What you type is saved to the same file, and you can go back to the ordinary editor at any time.
Open the typewriter
- Open a text file.
- Click the small keyboard icon in the file's header, or press Cmd+K and type tw.
- The window goes dark for a moment, then the typewriter appears with your document already typed and the carriage waiting at the end. Start typing.
Back to Studio at the top left returns you to the editor; everything you typed is already in the file. Esc hides the controls so it's just you and the machine, and brings them back.
How a typewriter writes
A typewriter puts a letter where the carriage is and can't push words along to make room. Studio keeps those rules, with a little help:
- Lines and paragraphs. A bell rings eight characters before the right margin and the carriage returns by itself at the next space. Enter returns the carriage; press it twice for a new paragraph. Prefer to throw the carriage yourself? Choose Bell & lock in the Writing panel.
- Mistakes. Delete goes back a space and lifts the letter off with correction tape. Option+Delete lifts the last word, Cmd+Delete the whole line. There's no cursor to put in the middle of a sentence: back up to the word you want to change and type on.
- Sheets. A sheet holds about five hundred words; when it's full, a fresh one rolls in. Cmd+Enter does that early. The Sheets panel shows them all.
- Moving around. Scroll to look up the sheet, Ctrl and scroll to zoom. Click the sheet to move the carriage, or click the keys.
Make it yours
The round buttons on the right open the side panel. Your choices are remembered on this computer.
| Panel | What's in it |
|---|---|
| Machine | Ten enamel colors, chrome or brass trim, three kinds of keys, five papers, five ribbons, how fresh the ink is, three typefaces, and morning, lamplight or midnight. |
| Sound | Volume, a light portable or a heavier desk machine, the bell, and rain, a fireplace, a mantel clock or a summer night to type under. |
| Writing | Line spacing, auto return or bell & lock, correction tape or ink that's forever, the margins, and a close-up view. |
| Sheets | Read any sheet, put one back in the machine, or roll in a fresh one. |
Cmd+R switches between the black and red halves of a two-color ribbon.
Your words
The typewriter saves through the same path as the editor, so your other devices catch up as usual. Headings, bold, links and comments in paragraphs you don't touch are kept exactly as they were; a paragraph you change on the typewriter is saved as plain text, which is all a typewriter can write.
Still stuck?
Send us a note from Contact Support, or choose Report Bug in Studio’s account menu so your app version comes along with it. For the device itself, see the BYOK device manual.