§ ·Writing

Typing on the machine

The bell, the end of a line, the carriage, tabs and the arrow keys.

The bell and the end of a line

Seven letters before the right margin the bell rings. What happens next depends on Settings › Typing › End of a Line:

• Wrap: the last word moves on to the next line by itself, like a computer. The bell still rings, the carriage returns and the paper feeds.
• Ring and Stop: the bell rings near the margin and the carriage stops at it, like a typewriter. Press Return for a new line.

Return

Return sends the carriage home and feeds the paper one line (or one and a half, or two: see line spacing). You can also click or tap the return lever on the left of the carriage.

Moving around the page

The arrow keys work like the knob and the carriage of a real machine and never erase anything:

• ↑ rolls the paper back a line, ↓ rolls it on a line.
• ← and → move the carriage a space.

Then type over what is there, add to a line, or fill a gap.

Tabs

Tab moves the carriage to the next tab stop: to your own stops first, then every few letters (every five, unless you choose otherwise).

• Set a stop: with the guides on, tap the ruler under the line where you want it, on the machine or in the manuscript. On the Mac, Format › Set Tab Stop Here sets one where the carriage stands.
• Move a stop: drag its small marker along the ruler.
• Take a stop away: tap its marker, or pull it off the ruler. Format › Clear All Tab Stops takes them all.
• Change the interval: Settings › Paper › Tab Stops, from every 2 to every 10 letters.

Every page keeps its own stops and interval, like its paper: a list on one page and a screenplay on the next can each have theirs. A new page starts with the stops of the page before it, and Use This Look for All Pages gives every page of the folder the same.

In the manuscript, Tab puts in spaces up to the next stop of the page it is on.

A full page

When the last line of the sheet is used, the machine takes the sheet out and feeds a fresh one. Every sheet is a page in the open folder. See Folders and pages.

Shift and Caps Lock

Shift works as on your keyboard; on a segment-shift machine the whole basket of typebars drops for a capital, and you can watch it happen in Whole Machine.

Still stuck? Write to support@dactyloapp.com and say which device you use.