Privacy, troubleshooting and support

Where your data lives

What	Where
Your projects	Wherever you save them. StoryShape suggests your Documents folder
Automatic checkpoints and milestones	In the project’s Backups folder, or the separate backup folder you choose in Backups & Recovery
Writing history, goals, publishing settings, styles, export presets, spelling preferences and the project dictionary	Inside the project, so they travel with it
Preferences for this computer (theme, interface scale, page view and zoom, pane sizes, recent projects, window positions, where you were in each board and map)	StoryShape’s app-data folder on this computer

StoryShape’s app-data folder is normally:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\StoryShape
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/StoryShape
• Linux: ~/.config/StoryShape

The Mac App Store and Microsoft Store versions keep it inside the app’s own store container instead.

What StoryShape connects to

Ordinary work, including writing, planning, World, revision, publishing, spelling, read aloud, search and the offline guide, never needs the internet. StoryShape has no account, no subscription, no advertising, no analytics and no AI model, and it never uploads your writing.

It connects only when you choose one of these:

• Help → Check for Updates… (direct downloads only), which asks GitHub for the list of published releases. It sends no project content.
• View GitHub releases, StoryShape Website, or an email link, which open in your browser or mail app.

Store versions are updated by the store, which uses your Apple or Microsoft account as any store app does.

If you keep a project in a cloud-synced folder, or email us a file, that service receives what you chose to share. Read the full privacy policy.

Troubleshooting

Projects and saving

A recent project says “Location unavailable”. The project was moved, renamed or deleted, or its drive isn’t connected. Reconnect the drive, or use Open project… to open it from its new place. ••• → Remove from recent list tidies the old entry.

A project opens read-only. It’s open in another StoryShape window or on another computer, it’s a checkpoint, or its folder can’t be written to. Hover over Read-only for the reason. See When a project opens read-only.

The top bar says “Not saved”. Don’t close StoryShape. Choose Retry when the location is available again, or Save into a new copy…. See When a save needs attention.

“This scene changed outside the editor while you were typing.” The scene was changed somewhere else, such as in another window, while you had unsaved text. Copy your unsaved text if you need it, choose Discard to see the current scene, then paste your text back in.

“Backup needs attention” appears. An automatic checkpoint didn’t finish, often because the backup folder’s drive is disconnected or full. Choose it to see the message in Backups & Recovery. Reconnect the drive, choose another folder, or free up space.

StoryShape asks me to save or discard before opening another project. You have unsaved edits. Save them, or discard them, then open the other project again.

On a Mac (App Store version): “StoryShape needs your permission to open this project again.” The Mac App Store version can only open what you’ve chosen. Choose File → Open Project… and select the project once; StoryShape remembers it after that.

“This project uses format N…” The project was saved by a newer version of StoryShape. Update StoryShape, then open it again. The project hasn’t been changed.

I can’t find something I deleted. Look in Trash at the bottom of the project library, and choose Restore.

I need yesterday’s version of my project. Choose File → Backups & Recovery…, select a checkpoint from yesterday, and restore it into a separate copy. For one scene, use snapshots instead.

A project is in a cloud folder and something looks wrong. Close StoryShape on every computer, let syncing finish, and open the project on one computer only. If the sync service made a “conflicted copy”, open each copy to see which is current, then keep that one. Only one computer should have a project open at a time; on Linux in particular, StoryShape can’t always tell when another computer has it open.

Writing

Spelling underlines don’t appear. Check Underline misspelled words in Workspace → Writing Preferences & Spelling…, and the Spelling language. On a Mac, live spelling follows the languages set in macOS.

A made-up name is flagged as misspelled. Right-click it and choose Add spelling to project dictionary.

Read aloud doesn’t play. In StoryShape 1.0, read aloud is available on Windows only. On Windows, if StoryShape says no voices are installed, add one in Settings → Time & language → Speech.

A command is greyed out. Look it up in the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P): an unavailable command says what it needs, such as “Open a scene in Write first” or “Place the insertion point inside the scene first”.

Split or merge is greyed out. Save the scene first. Split needs the caret inside the scene’s text; merge needs another scene after this one in the same chapter.

Page view shows continuous text instead of pages. The scene is too long for page view, or a line is taller than the page. Split the scene, use a larger page or smaller text, or choose Pageless.

Text looks too small or too large. Change Interface scale in Settings for the whole app, or the Zoom slider below the draft for just the page.

A font looks different on another computer. A font installed on your computer and chosen in Draft appearance only exists on that computer. Use one of the 23 included fonts for anything you’ll share.

My word count differs from Word’s. Different apps count slightly differently, for example with hyphens and numbers. Help → How Words Are Counted… shows StoryShape’s rules. Also check that the scenes you expect are included in the manuscript.

Where are the menus? (Windows and Linux) Press Alt to show the menu bar.

Importing, exporting and publishing

A Word file came in as one long scene. Import doesn’t split at headings or page breaks. Put a line with only *** between scenes and tick Separate scenes at lines containing only ***, or import one chapter at a time.

Scrivener import is refused. Choose the complete .scriv folder (or a ZIP of it), not the .scrivx file inside. StoryShape imports Scrivener’s project format 2.0, the format Scrivener 3 saves.

The export button is greyed out. Choose Preview export first. If you change any setting, preview again.

Export PDF is greyed out in Publish. Choose Typeset, or Typeset again after a change.

The checklist says my book is too short or the gutter is too small. See the upload checklist.

Installing

Windows warns that the app is from an unknown publisher. This happens with the direct download. Choose More info, then Run anyway, or install from the Microsoft Store instead, which doesn’t ask.

The Wonderland demo says it “failed its integrity check”. Part of the app is damaged. Reinstall StoryShape, then try again.

StoryShape doesn’t offer an update. Store versions are updated by the store. Direct downloads check only when you choose Help → Check for Updates….

Frequently asked questions

Is StoryShape free? Yes, on Windows, macOS and Linux, forever, with no subscription, ads, account or paid unlocks. The iPad app is a $4.99 one-time purchase, which helps fund development.

Do I need an internet connection? No. Everything you write, plan and publish works offline.

Can two people work on the same project? Not at the same time. Only one copy of StoryShape can edit a project at once. To collaborate, take turns, or export a manuscript for your editor and use revision comments for their notes.

How do I move to a new computer? Close the project, copy the whole .storyproj folder to the new computer, install StoryShape, and choose File → Open Project…. Copy your backup folder too.

Can I use StoryShape alongside Word? Yes. Import Word files as scenes, and export Word files whenever you need them.

Does StoryShape use AI? No. StoryShape has no AI model and doesn’t send your writing anywhere.

Can StoryShape make my cover? No. Publish makes the interior and the ebook; your cover comes from a designer or a cover tool. See Covers.

Who owns my writing? You do. See the terms.

More answers are on the Support & FAQ page.

Getting support

Email support@ironcandleinteractive.com with questions, bugs or ideas. Public bug reports and feature requests go to StoryShape-Feedback on GitHub.

For a bug report, please include:

• your StoryShape version (Help → About StoryShape on Windows and Linux, StoryShape → About StoryShape on a Mac);
• your operating system;
• the steps that make it happen, what you expected, and what happened instead;
• the exact wording of any message.

Please send a small made-up example rather than a private manuscript or a whole project.

Prepare a support report

Help → Prepare Support Report… builds a short report you can attach. It contains the StoryShape and system versions, the processor type, and whether saving and backups are working. It never includes your prose, titles, names, tags, file paths or error messages. Tick Include project record counts (no names or text) if you’d like to add counts.

Read the whole preview, then choose Copy reviewed report or Save reviewed report…. Nothing is uploaded; you decide whether to send it.