Manuscript Settings

Manuscript settings control the look and feel of your writing environment. Access them by clicking the Settings button in the toolbar at the top of your writing area. These settings apply to all your books, but they only affect how things look on your screen; they don't change the content of any book.

Canvas Width

Canvas Width (how wide the writing area appears on your screen) lets you choose the option that feels most comfortable:

• Narrow: A tighter column, similar to a printed page. Great for focused writing.
• Standard: A balanced width that works well on most screens (default).
• Wide: Fills most of the screen. Great for large monitors or longer chapters.

Start Reading At

Choose where you start reading when you open a chapter or scene:

• Beginning: Opens at the top of the page (default).
• End: Opens at the bottom, so you can pick up writing right away.
• Where I Left Off: Takes you back to the exact spot you were last working. Penpoint remembers your place in each chapter and scene separately.

Paragraph View

Paragraph View controls how your paragraphs look: indented like a printed novel, or separated with spaces like online writing. Choose the layout that suits your writing:

• Standard: No indent on the first line. Paragraphs are separated by a blank line, like most ebooks.
• Novel: Each paragraph is indented on the first line, like a printed novel (default).

Chapter Numbers

Turn Chapter numbers on or off to show or hide "Chapter 1," "Chapter 2," etc. above your chapter titles. You can also turn numbering on or off for individual chapters by right-clicking (or Ctrl+click on Mac) them in the chapter list on the left.

Subtitles

Turn Show subtitles on or off to show or hide the subtitle line beneath every chapter title, along with the "Add subtitle..." prompt. This only changes what you see on screen; any subtitles you've written are kept and reappear when you turn it back on.

Spellcheck & Autocorrect

Turn Spellcheck on or off. When it's on, misspelled words will be underlined as you type. Autocorrect settings (like dash behavior and smart quotes) are also available here.

Highlight Current Line

Turn on Highlight current line to draw a soft band behind the line your cursor is on, so it's always easy to see where you are as you write. A "Line X of Y" counter also appears at the bottom of your writing area.

When it's on, two extra options appear beneath it:

• Line Color: Keep the neutral Default band, pick one of twelve colors, or choose a custom color of your own.
• Intensity: How strong the band looks: Subtle, Medium, or Bold.

Scene Dividers

Choose the visual style for scene breaks:

• Quill: A quill icon flanked by horizontal lines (default)
• Dinkus: The classic * * * mark you see in published books to signal a scene break
• Line: A simple horizontal line
• Fade: A line that gently fades at the edges
• Dot: A centered dot with lines on each side
• Blank space: No visible divider, just empty space

Editor Font

Editor Font lets you pick a different font for just your manuscript writing area, without changing the rest of the app. Your prose, chapter titles, and chapter subtitles will use the font you pick here, while sidebars, toolbars, and settings stay on the font you chose in your main app settings.

Useful if you like writing prose in a serif like Source Serif 4 but prefer a clean sans-serif like Inter everywhere else. Pick Use Global Font to match the rest of the app again.

Zoom

The zoom control is in the toolbar at the top of your writing area (the percentage number on the far left), not in settings. You can adjust it from 75% to 200% by typing a number, picking from the list of sizes, or holding Ctrl and scrolling your mouse wheel. Your zoom level is remembered the next time you open Penpoint.