iA Writer Keyboard Shortcuts
iA Writer's whole design philosophy centers on removing distraction from the writing process, and its most distinctive shortcuts exist to trigger features built specifically around that goal rather than general text editing — Focus Mode, which dims everything except the current sentence or paragraph you're working on, has its own dedicated toggle precisely because forcing attention onto one piece of text at a time is a core, marketed feature rather than an incidental setting. Syntax Control, which visually distinguishes nouns, verbs, adjectives, and conjunctions by color or style, is similarly unusual enough among writing tools that its toggle shortcut doesn't have a real equivalent in more conventional word processors, reflecting iA Writer's specific interest in helping writers spot overused words or weak sentence construction. Standard Markdown formatting shortcuts (bold, italic, headings) round out the rest of the set and follow conventions broadly consistent with other Markdown-first editors like Typora, since that part of the writing experience isn't where iA Writer tries to differentiate itself. Content blocks — tables, images, and embedded code with syntax highlighting — extend iA Writer's Markdown handling a step further than a purely plain-text editor while still keeping everything stored as portable, human-readable Markdown source rather than a proprietary rich format. Because the app runs across Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android with a shared file format and largely consistent feature set, a document started on a phone during a commute can be picked up on a desktop later with Focus Mode and Syntax Control behaving identically on both.
Focus Writing Modes
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle Focus Mode | Ctrl+Shift+F | Cmd+Shift+F | Dims everything on screen except the current sentence (or paragraph, depending on setting) you're actively writing, one of iA Writer's signature distraction-reduction features with no real equivalent in most conventional word processors. |
| Toggle Syntax Control (parts-of-speech highlighting) | Ctrl+Shift+H (varies) | Cmd+Shift+H | Highlights different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives) with distinct visual styling across the document, a writing-analysis feature aimed at helping spot overused words or weak verb choices, unusual among mainstream writing apps. |
| Toggle Typewriter scrolling | Preferences toggle (no dedicated shortcut in some versions) | — | Keeps the current line vertically centered in the window as you type, so your eyes stay in a fixed position on screen rather than following text that scrolls up toward the top, mimicking a mechanical typewriter's fixed typing position. |
Formatting
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bold selected text | Ctrl+B | Cmd+B | Wraps selected text in Markdown bold syntax, following the standard convention shared broadly across Markdown-focused writing apps. |
| Apply heading level | Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+6 | Cmd+1 through Cmd+6 | Prepends the exact number of hash marks needed for the chosen heading level right at the start of the current line. iA Writer keeps these markdown characters visible in the editor at all times rather than hiding them behind a rendered preview, consistent with the app's whole editing philosophy of showing you exactly what plain-text file is being written rather than abstracting the markup away. |
| Insert a Markdown table | Ctrl+Alt+T (varies) | Cmd+Option+T | Inserts a basic Markdown table template at the cursor, ready to fill in cells, using the same pipe-and-dash Markdown table syntax portable to any other Markdown-aware editor. |
| Italicize selected text | Ctrl+I | Cmd+I | Surrounds the current selection with single asterisks, the standard italic marker any Markdown-aware app or renderer recognizes without further conversion. |
Navigation
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle preview/rendered view | Ctrl+P (varies) | Cmd+P | Switches between the raw Markdown syntax view and a rendered preview, depending on which mode iA Writer is configured to use by default. |
| Open Library/document browser | Ctrl+0 (varies) | Cmd+0 | Opens the document library sidebar for navigating between files and folders, toggle-able to maximize writing space when not needed. |
| Show word/character count | Bottom status bar (no dedicated key) | — | Displays a running word and character count in the status bar, useful for tracking progress against a length target without opening a separate dialog. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the actual difference between Focus Mode and Typewriter scrolling in iA Writer?
Focus Mode visually dims everything except your current sentence or paragraph to reduce visual distraction from surrounding text, while Typewriter scrolling keeps your current line at a fixed vertical position on screen as you type, addressing a different distraction (eye movement tracking scrolling text) — the two features are independent and commonly used together rather than being alternate versions of the same idea.
Does Syntax Control actually check grammar, or just highlight parts of speech?
It's a highlighting tool, not a grammar checker — it visually distinguishes categories like nouns, verbs, adjectives, and conjunctions to help a writer visually spot patterns (like overusing adjectives or weak verbs) themselves, rather than flagging actual grammatical errors the way a tool like Grammarly does.
Is iA Writer's file format proprietary, or does it save plain Markdown files?
iA Writer saves and works with plain, portable Markdown (.md) text files by default, consistent with the broader category of Markdown-first writing apps, meaning documents remain readable and editable in any other text or Markdown editor without needing iA Writer specifically to open them.
Can I insert tables in iA Writer, given how minimal the interface looks?
Yes, despite its minimalist appearance, iA Writer supports inserting basic Markdown tables through a shortcut or menu command, which render using standard pipe-and-dash Markdown table syntax that stays fully portable to any other Markdown-aware editor rather than a proprietary table format.
Does a document look and behave the same across iA Writer's different platform versions?
Yes, since the app shares a common Markdown file format and largely consistent feature set across Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android, a document started on one platform opens with Focus Mode, Syntax Control, and formatting behaving consistently once continued on another device.
Is there a way to track how long my document is without leaving the writing view?
Yes, a running word and character count displays in the status bar at all times, letting you monitor progress toward a length target without interrupting your writing to open a separate word-count dialog.
Does iA Writer support syncing documents across devices automatically?
Yes, through iCloud or a connected folder-based sync service, documents stay consistent across Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android devices signed into the same account, letting you start writing on one device and continue seamlessly on another without manual file transfer.
Can I customize iA Writer's color theme, or only use its defaults?
Yes, iA Writer includes several built-in light and dark theme options and lets you choose a preferred font from its curated selection, though it doesn't offer the fully open-ended custom CSS theming some other Markdown editors support.
Does iA Writer have a shortcut for toggling its Focus Mode to dim everything but the current sentence or paragraph?
Yes — Ctrl+Shift+F (Cmd+Shift+F on Mac) toggles Focus Mode, and a follow-up setting in Preferences controls whether it dims everything but the current sentence or the current paragraph, letting you choose the level of surrounding-text distraction reduction that suits your own writing and editing habits.