Getting started

This page takes you from the start screen to a saved document. Get Nixt Writer from the Download page.

Before you start

• You don’t need an account. Writer opens and saves files on your computer and sends nothing anywhere.
• Writer works with Word documents. It opens .docx files, and also macro-enabled documents (.docm) and Word templates (.dotx, .dotm). See File formats and compatibility.

The start screen

When Writer starts without a document, it shows the start screen.

Create a new document

1. On the start screen, click New document.

The editor opens with an empty page. The title bar shows Untitled document and, beside it, Not saved yet.

A new document starts with:

• A4 paper in portrait orientation.
• Margins of 1 inch (72 points) on every side.
• Calibri at 11 points.
• One column, no header and no footer.

Nothing is written to disk until you save. See Save your work.

Open a document

1. On the start screen, click Open a document or Open a file.
2. In the Open a document file picker, choose a .docx, .docm, .dotx or .dotm file.
3. Click Open.

The editor opens with the document. The title bar shows the document’s name without its extension, and the full path of the file beside it.

Writer adds the file to RECENT each time you open it.

When Writer offers a newer copy

If Writer kept an autosave copy of this document that is newer than the file on disk — for example because Writer closed before you saved — a dialog titled There is newer work than the file appears after the document opens.

• Click Open the newer copy to replace what is on screen with the autosave copy. The file on disk is not changed until you save, and Undo puts the document back.
• Click Keep the file to carry on with the file as it is on disk. The copy stays available under Earlier versions.

See Autosave and earlier versions.

Files you can’t write to

If the file is read-only on disk — for example it is on a locked volume — Writer still opens it. A lock icon appears beside the name in the title bar, and the Save button is unavailable. Your edits are kept on screen. To keep them, use Save a copy as to save the document somewhere else. See Save a copy in another format.

When a file’s name doesn’t match its contents

Writer checks what a file actually contains, not only its extension. If a file’s name says one thing and its contents are a Word document, Writer opens it as a document and shows a message in the status bar saying what the file really is.

Open a recent document

1. On the start screen, find the document under RECENT. Writer shows up to six recent documents.
2. Click the document’s name.

If the file has been moved, renamed or deleted since you last opened it, a dialog titled Cannot open followed by the file’s path says “That file is no longer where it was.” Click OK. Writer removes the file from RECENT. Files that no longer exist are also left out of the list the next time it is shown.

Writer remembers the last twelve files you opened.

Files for other Nixt Office apps

Each Nixt Writer app is built for one kind of file. Writer opens Word documents. If a spreadsheet, a presentation or a PDF reaches Writer — for example because another program passed it to Writer, or because a file with a document’s name turns out to contain something else — a dialog titled Cannot open followed by the file name says that Writer opens documents, what kind of file this is, and which app opens it.

Click OK, then open the file in the app the dialog names.

Files that no Nixt Office app opens — for example the older Word format .doc or an OpenDocument .odt file — get a dialog that explains why and what to do. See Files Writer does not open.

Save your work

A small amber dot beside the document’s name in the title bar means there are unsaved changes. Hover over it to see Unsaved changes.

To save:

1. Click Save at the right of the title bar, or press ⌘S (Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux).

For a document that came from a file, Writer saves over that file. The status bar says Saved to followed by the file’s path, and the amber dot disappears.

For a new document, or a file Writer can’t write to, Writer asks where to save:

1. Press ⌘S (Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux) or click Save.
2. In the save dialog, choose a folder and a file name. Writer suggests the document’s current name, for example Untitled document.docx.
3. Click Save.

The status bar says Saved followed by the file name. The title bar now shows the new name and location, and the file is added to RECENT.

If saving fails, the status bar says Could not save: followed by the reason. See Troubleshooting.

Save a copy in another format

The download icon beside Save opens the Save a copy as menu.

1. Click the download icon at the right of the title bar.
2. Choose a format.
3. In the save dialog, choose a folder and a file name, then click Save.

When you save a copy in the document’s own format, the copy becomes the document you are editing: later saves go to the new file. When you save in a different format — for example a PDF — the document you are editing stays connected to the original file.

What each format keeps is described in Printing and exporting.

Document properties

Document properties are stored in the file and used in several places.

1. Click the More button (three dots) at the right of the title bar.
2. Click Document properties….
3. Fill in Title, Author and Subject.
4. Click Save. The change is part of the document; save the document to keep it.

To sign comments and tracked changes with a new Author, save the document, close it and open it again before you add them.

Close a document

1. Click the back arrow (Close) at the left of the title bar.

If there are no unsaved changes, Writer returns to the start screen. Otherwise a dialog asks Save changes to followed by the document’s name:

Closing the app’s window or quitting Writer with unsaved changes asks the same question. Cancel keeps the app open.

Next steps

• The Writer window — what every part of the editor is for.
• Writing and editing — typing, selecting, breaks, undo and word count.
• Keyboard shortcuts.