Draftroom help

Getting started

The first time Draftroom opens, it adds a short starter project to your library: a few sheets that show the features by using them. You can then start a project of your own, with a goal if you like.

The window has three panes: the Library (groups and projects), the sheet list, and the editor, with a side panel for goals, notes, keywords, statistics and snapshots.

A few keys worth knowing

Ctrl+N new sheet, Ctrl+Shift+N new project.
Ctrl+K opens the command palette: type a command or a sheet name.
Ctrl+Shift+F searches the whole library.
F11 focus mode, Ctrl+E export, Ctrl+, settings.
Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2 and Ctrl+3 show or hide the library, the sheet list and the side panel.

Writing and formatting

Draftroom uses simple Markdown-style text that styles itself as you type. Each line is a paragraph, so you don’t need blank lines between them.

# at the start of a line makes a heading (## for smaller ones).
Ctrl+B bold, Ctrl+I italic, Ctrl+Shift+H highlight (==like this==).
Ctrl+/ turns the selection into a comment: a note to yourself that is never exported.
- starts a list, > a quote. Links look like [text](https://…).
Insert pictures from a sheet’s attachments in the side panel.

Smart quotes and Check spelling (with your Windows dictionary) are on in Settings › Editor, along with the font, text size, line height and column width.

Organising your writing

Groups hold projects, and projects hold sheets. Drag to reorder or nest them, or use Alt+↑/Alt+↓ to move an item and Alt+←/Alt+→ to move it out of or into a group.

Keywords are labels like “Draft” or “Needs edit”. Add them in the side panel and filter by them in the library.
Notes and Attachments sit beside each sheet for research, ideas and sources.
Deleted sheets and projects go to the Trash for 30 days. Right after a delete, Undo brings it back.
Import files… in Settings › Library turns Markdown, plain text and Word files into sheets, one per top-level heading, and lists anything that couldn’t be converted.

Goals and focus

Open Goals in the side panel to set a target for a sheet or a project: words or characters, at least, at most or about. Add a deadline and Draftroom shows a daily target, recalculated after days you miss. Progress rings appear in the library, the sheet list and the status bar.

Daily goal reminder in Settings › General sends a quiet notification at a time you pick if today’s target isn’t met yet. It’s held back during Focus. Reminders need the notification-area icon, so turning them on turns it on.
Focus mode (F11) goes full screen and fades everything but the current paragraph or sentence. Press Esc to leave.
Typewriter mode (Ctrl+Shift+T) keeps the line you’re writing in the middle of the window.

Exporting

Press Ctrl+E to export the open project as one document. Pick a Format (Word, PDF, HTML, Markdown or plain text) and a Style:

Classic: a serif book face, justified, with indented paragraphs.
Modern: clean sans-serif with space between paragraphs.
Manuscript: submission format, 12 pt monospace, double-spaced.

The Preview shows the first pages. Word documents use real heading styles, and PDFs get bookmarks and page numbers. Copy as rich text puts the project on the clipboard for pasting into other apps. If Pressleaf is installed, Open in Pressleaf exports a Word document and opens it there to format as a book.

Snapshots and backups

Draftroom saves as you type, so there’s nothing to set. On top of that:

Snapshots keep earlier versions of each sheet automatically while you write. Press Ctrl+Shift+S to take one yourself. Open Snapshots in the side panel, pick a version to read it, and choose Restore this version. Your current text is kept as a snapshot first, and Ctrl+Z undoes the restore.
Daily backups copy the whole library once a day and keep the last 30. Use Back up now or Restore… in Settings › Library. Restoring opens the backup as your library and leaves your current library where it is.
Location in Settings › Library moves your library to another folder.

Trial and license

Draftroom is free to try for 14 days, with everything turned on. After that: All your writing stays readable and exportable as plain text or Markdown, and you can write 500 new words a day. Word, PDF and web-page export need a license.

Entering your license key

Buy a license. Your key appears on screen as soon as the payment goes through, and arrives by email.
In Draftroom, open the License page in Settings.
Paste the key and choose Activate. The PC needs to be online for this step.

Using it on more than one PC

One key works on up to 3 PCs. To move it to a new PC, deactivate it on the old one from the License page first. If the old PC is gone, free up its place at Manage devices, using the email address you bought with or the key itself.

Once activated, Draftroom works offline. When it's online it checks the license about once a week, so a refunded or revoked key stops working on its next check.

Bought Draftroom in the Microsoft Store? The Store edition is licensed through your Microsoft account instead, and doesn't use a key.

Updates

Draftroom checks for a new version on its own about 45 seconds after it starts, and asks before installing it.

Each update is checked against a fingerprint (SHA-256) before it runs, and installs over the current version without touching your data. Updates for the Microsoft Store edition come through the Store.

See what’s new in each version.

Your data and uninstalling

Draftroom keeps its settings and data on your PC, in this folder (paste it into File Explorer’s address bar to open it):

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Hedgerow\Draftroom

To back it up, quit Draftroom and copy that folder.

To uninstall, open Windows Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Draftroom and choose Uninstall. The uninstaller asks whether to remove your data too.

Still stuck?

Email support@hedgerowapps.com and we’ll get back to you. Mention your Draftroom version (shown in Settings › About) and your Windows version. More answers are on the support page.