Writing, Editing, Organizing & Versioning
Security, Storage Space & Backup
Import, Export
Publishing, Sharing & Collaborating
Blogging
Others
Getting Started 1.What is Zoho Writer? Zoho Writer is an online word processor that allows you to create and share documents online. You need not install any software in your desktop, all you need is just a browser and an internet connection for working with Zoho Writer.
2.What all can I do with Zoho Writer? Zoho Writer is loaded with a rich set of functionalities. You can:
- Create, format documents online with a powerful WYSIWYG editor
- Access, edit, and share (by email address) documents online from anywhere with whomever you choose
- Periodic auto-saving of your documents to prevent data loss
- Export documents to your desktop as Word, SXW, PDF, ODT, RTF, TXT and HTML
- Import documents in Word, SXW, ODT, RTF, JPG, GIF, PNG, HTML and TXT formats.
- Post your documents to your blogs (Blogger, LiveJournal, Typepad, WordPress etc) from within Zoho Writer
- View, edit and save documents available on the web directly (no need to download documents to your desktop & then open them using desktop-based software)
- View your documents' revision history, compare versions and rollback to any version of your choice
- Publish your documents online for public view
- Tag your documents for easy access
- Lock your documents while working in shared mode
Zoho Writer supports the following browsers:
- Internet Explorer 6.0+ & above
- Firefox 2.0+ & above
- Mozilla 1.4+ & above
- Google Chrome
Regardless of the browser type, you must enable JavaScript for Zoho Writer to function properly.
Note: Zoho Writer works best in Internet Explorer 6,7/8 and Firefox 2.0+ & its higher browser versions. .
4.How do I enable JavaScript in my browser?5.I can't sign in to Zoho Writer account even after entering details. What am I doing wrong?- Either the Zoho Writer account ID (user name or email ID) is incorrect.
- Or you have keyed in an incorrect password (remember, the password is case-sensitive).
Please check if your Caps Lock button (On/Off) in the keyboard before typing in your password. In case you have forgotten your password, try using the "Forgot your password" link available in the login page to reset it. Top6. Browser shows error on page and I am unable to access documents in Zoho Writer. What's wrong?
At times it has been observed that due to some browser cache problem, Zoho Writer scripts do not load fully and hence the documents are not displayed. To get around this problem, please clear your browser cache, reload it and then try accessing Zoho Writer with your Zoho account credentials.
One other reason could be some firewall setting either on your PC or on your proxy that can cause this problem. Please try logging into to Zoho Writer from a different PC as an initial check to ensure that it is not a system specific problem. You can also try disabling the firewall settings and try logging in to Zoho Writer. In case the issue still persists, kindly send us the screenshot of the browser error to support@zohowriter.com for further analysis.
Writing, Editing, Organizing & Versioning1.What kinds of documents can I make in Zoho Writer?- Create a document from scratch by clicking on the 'New' button and entering text in the edit frame.
- Import documents of various file types - doc, html, sxw, rtf, txt - from online or your desktop and edit them.
- You can also import jpg, gif & png image files.
Note that importing of PDF files is currently not supported.
2.When opening a document, I get a blank page with "Loading" message, but the document never loads. What should I do?
If you are unable to open documents in Zoho Writer, the possible reasons could be:
- You have been disconnected from the Internet or it is too slow.
- Your browser settings are improper - Enable JavaScript if that is the case.
- Your browser is not supported - Try a different browser and open the document again.
- You need to disable personal Firewall Settings in some cases.
Note: Try reloading the document again using a combination of "Shift+Refresh" keys after a few minutes. If the problem still persists mail your concern to support@zohowriter.com.
3.How do I organize my documents in folders?
Zoho Writer uses the concept of tags as folders for organizing your documents. Tags are keywords, terms or categories you create that allows you to organize multiple documents by project names, date, subjects, business or anything else you can imagine. Moreover, you can label a single document with multiple tags that helps in cross-referencing of documents.
You can add a tag by clicking the blue tag icon, present at the bottom of each document (third icon from left), and enter the tags of your choice. Tag similar documents and have such a tag added on the left panel by clicking on the particular tag and selecting "Add as Folder" option (having a tag as a folder).
4.How do I save my documents in hard drive from Zoho Writer?
You can save a document from Zoho Writer to your hard drive by clicking on the "Export" link present at the top & selecting one of the formats you will be prompted to save the document in the specific location of your hard drive.
For adjusting spaces between lines, click on the (
) button present next to the text justification icons in the first row & you will see the options in the pop-up. You can choose among the 3 options - Single, 1.5 Line & Double to set the line spacing. 6. Is there any word count feature available in Zoho Writer?
Yes, of course. Zoho Writer provides word as well as character count for the document. For finding the word & character count, type any document in Zoho Writer & click 'Save'. You will get a pop-up at the right bottom corner of your screen giving you the required details. We plan to display the word count on the click of a button too in the near future.
7. How do I sort my documents in Zoho Writer?
Zoho Writer provides sorting of documents by 'Name', 'Created Date' & 'Modified Time' (both Ascending and Descending). You can do sorting by clicking on the 'Sort by' link, next to the 'My Docs' on the left hand panel, and selecting any of the above three sorting criteria.
8. Is spell-check feature available in Zoho Writer?
The spell-check feature is very much available in Zoho Writer (note : spell check works only for documents in English). You can click on the spell check button (
), next to the insert layer button in the third row of the editor toolbar to check for misspelled words in the entire documents. The usual suspects will be highlighted in a different text color with a link. Click on the link to get the suggested replacements or you can opt for 'Leave it as-is' option. 9. How do I print documents from Zoho Writer?
You can print documents from Zoho Writer by clicking on the print button (
), next to the save button in the second row of the editor toolbar. The option to check for the number of pages in the document is not available as of now. We will be providing it in one of our future updates.
10. Is there any provision to insert special characters in Zoho Writer?
Yes, absolutely. For inserting special characters inside document click on the button (
), next to the emotions button in the third row of editor toolbar. On clicking the button, a pop-up layer will appear with a set of special characters. You can view the description on each of these spl character by placing a cursor over it. Click any of them to insert into your document.
Whenever a user creates a new document an initial version 1.0 is earmarked to the document. In order to make a new version of the document you must explicitly save it with the Save button or ctrl-s. For example if my current version is 1.2 & in the meantime I have added some new content to the document, the moment I click on the save button my version becomes 1.3.
Zoho Writer periodically does auto-save of your document to prevent data loss, but this does not produce a new version. The auto-save documents are differentiated from the explicitly-saved one by an asterisk(*) mark appended next to the document name.
You can click on "History" link on the extreme right of the first row of editor toolbar to check for all the versions of the current document. The versions will be listed in the combo box on the left side under the heading "Show Version". You can revert to any version by choosing one from the combo and clicking on "Revert" button.
There is also a feature to view the diff between various versions. Select any two versions for which you wish to see the difference & click on "Show Diff" button. The changes will be highlighted in a different colour thus enabling the user to view the updates done from the previous version.
Security, Storage Space & Backup 1.How secure are my documents in Zoho Writer?
2.How much storage space does Zoho Writer offer?As of now, we offer unlimited storage space to Zoho Writer users. However, we plan to limit this to 1 GB once we go out of beta.
3. What if one fine day I lose all my documents? How does Zoho Writer manage & backup data?Do not worry. We strictly follow standard security guidelines at our data center and monitor our servers regularly.
Regarding data management & backup, we at Zoho Writer replicate each document, so that even if one copy is lost, there is another live copy.
We also backup data daily. So in the worst case scenario where we lose both copies due to some unforeseen circumstances, there is a daily backup from which we can restore.
4.How do I delete a document in Zoho Writer?For deleting a document in Zoho Writer please do the following:
- Login to the Zoho Writer account with your Email ID & Password.
- Select the document from one of the folders in the left side panel.
- Click the delete button located at the top of the left side panel to delete the document from the folder.
Note: The document is not deleted permanently from Zoho Writer, it is merely moved to the "Trash" folder. You can empty the Trash folder by clicking on the "Empty" link present to the right of Trash folder.
5.I have accidentally deleted a document from the folder. How do I restore it?Do not worry. It is exactly for this reason Zoho Writer does not delete a document at the first instance. In fact, you get a message "Document Trashed" after the delete operation. You can restore the document to its original folder by selecting it from the trash folder and clicking on the "Restore" link.
Import, Export1. What are the formats supported by Zoho Writer when exporting documents?You can export the documents from within Zoho Writer in the following formats:
- Microsoft Word
- OpenOffice (sxw)
- PDF (Portable Document Format)
- ODT (Open Document Text)
- RTF (Rich Text Format)
- Text File
- HTML
Yes, we support direct conversion from and to ODT & RTF documents. You can import, edit and export the documents in both the formats.
3. How about PDF support?Zoho Writer supports export of documents in PDF format. However, support for importing PDF files into Zoho Writer is not available as of now.
4.When I export a doc from Zoho Writer I do not get any prompt, where does it gets saved?
This may be due to the default settings in your browser as a result of which the file is getting downloaded to the default location in your local drive without any prompt.
To get the prompt everytime you export a document from Zoho Writer, please do the following:
Firefox
- Open the firefox browser window and select "Tools" > "Options"
- Choose the "Downloads" tab.
- Select the radio button next to "Save all files to this folder:" and choose the location where you wish to download the document (Ex - Desktop, My Documents etc).
- Check both the boxes in "Download Manager" & click "OK"
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Publishing, Sharing & Collaborating 1. How do I publish a document in Zoho Writer?You can publish a document in Zoho Writer by clicking on the 'Publish' link, present on the the first row of the document editor, and choosing the option 'Make Public'. A document marked public can be viewed by anyone who knows the address in 'Read Only' mode. To revert back to private mode, you can click on 'Cancel Public Sharing' from the Publish link.
For sharing documents among few of your friends/colleagues, please do the following:
- Open the particular document you wish to share and click on the 'Share' link present in the first row of document editor.
- A pop-up layer or bubble with the heading 'Share Document' will open on top of the document.
- Enter the email addressess of the friends with whom you would like to share the document.
- An email with the subject 'Document Shared to You on Zoho Writer' will be sent to each of them along with the link of the shared document.
- You can also customize the email subject line and body by enabling the 'Specify Content' and entering your own text.
- Finally, specify the access permission (Read Only or Read/Write) for the shared document & click on the 'Share' button.
Note: You can also cancel sharing access to specific email addresses afterwards by clicking on the 'Cancel Sharing' link present to the right of each email address in the pop-up layer.
The 'Read/Write' access gets set as 'Read Only' when the members you invite to share documents don't have Zoho Writer accounts. This we do for security reasons. Once the invited members sign up, we automatically turn this to 'Read/Write'.
A shared document can be locked for editing, provided that it is not being edited by any of the existing shared users. This can be done by clicking on the Lock icon (
) found to the right of 'Participants' folder in the left side panel. Once it is locked you will have exclusive editing access to the document.If there are multiple participants editing the document at the same instant (collaborative editing mode), it can be edited in blocks though in a constrained environment. Yes, you can use Zoho Writer for making blog posts. Currently, we support Blogger, Wordpress, LiveJournal, TypePad blog services and other custom blogs that support metaWeblog and Blogger API.
2. How do I post a blog from Zoho Writer?- Click on the ‘Publish’ link on the Zoho Writer toolbar and choose the ‘Post to Blog’ option in the drop-down.
- In the ‘Blog Settings’ dialog box that opens, choose your blog platform - Blogger, WordPress, TypePad or LiveJournal
- Give your user name and password of your blog account and hit the ‘Get my blogs’ button. If you want, you can tick the ‘Remember my blog settings’ checkbox. This will allow you to directly fetch your blogs everytime you use the ‘Post to Blog’ option.
- Your blog will get fetched. Say you have multiple blogs at blogger or WordPress associated with your user name and password, choose the blog where you would like to post
- You can specify which ‘Category’ you would like the post to be posted in (in case you have categories). Also, if you have added tags to your Zoho Writer document and if you like these tags to be made as Technorati tags in your blog post, just check the ‘With tags’ checkbox
- Hit the ‘Publish’ button and your blog post will get published
For posting to your custom WordPress.org blog hosted in your own server please do the following steps:- Click on the ‘Publish’ link & choose the ‘Post to Blog’ option in the drop-down.
- In ‘Blog Settings’ dialog box that opens, click the ‘Add Blog’ link
- Give some name (Zoho Blog, for example) for the ‘Custom Blog Name’ field
- For the ‘URL’, give http://your_blog_domain_name.com/xmlrpc.php
- For the ‘API’, choose metaWeblog
- Click ‘Save’ & you are done with adding your WordPress.org blog.
- Now, in the ‘Blog Settings’, your blog would have got added & so choose ‘Zoho Blog’.
- Give Username/password credentials & click ‘Publish’.
Others1.Are there any keyboard shortcuts that I can use while working in Zoho Writer?Yes, there are. The list of keyboard shortcuts that you can use with Zoho Writer is mentioned below:
- Ctrl + A - Select All
- Ctrl + S - Save
- Ctrl + X - Cut
- Ctrl + C - Copy
- Ctrl + V - Paste
- Ctrl + F - Find
- Ctrl + B - Bold Text
- Ctrl + I - Italicize Text
- Ctrl + U - Underline Text
- Ctrl + L - Justify Left
- Ctrl + E - Justify Center
- Ctrl + R - Justify Right
- Ctrl + J - Justify Full
- Ctrl + Z - Undo
- Ctrl + Y - Redo
- Ctrl + K - Add Link
- Ctrl + Home - Top of the Document
- Shift + Enter - Carriage Return
- Ctrl + End - End of the Document
- Home key - Go to the beginning of line
- End key - Go to the end of line
- Shift + Home - Highlight text from beginning of line to cursor
- Shift + End - Highlight text from cursor to the end of line
Yes, we support writing documents in Zoho Writer in different languages. Now users can create their documents in Zoho Writer in their own native language. However, support for RTL (Right to Left) Languages like Hebrew, Arabic is not available in Zoho Writer as of now. We have added the RTL Language support feature to our roadmap and will be providing them in one of our future updates.
3. I can't create or edit documents on my iPhone, the keyboard doesn't show up when opening iZoho on iPhone. What's the problem?
It is an issue with the iPhone as the safari browser doesn't seem to recognize the rich text editor area and hence the keyboard isn't appearing. This is not an iZoho specific problem as all the applications that use a WYSIWYG editor face the same issue. We hope that Apple will address this issue soon and come up with the next version of iPhone's Safari that supports rich text editing. As a workaround, we may give a plain text editor for users to edit/create their documents if this isn't corrected in Safari's next version.
Top4. Can I use Zoho Writer on Mac, Vista, Linux (all flavours) & other OSes?
As Zoho services work on a web browser, they are OS independent and should work on all operating systems including Mac & Vista. Please do remember that zoho writer works best on Firefox 2.0+ and Internet Explorer 6,7 browser versions. So you can use any of the above browsers in any OS for accessing zoho writer.
5. How about accessing Zoho Writer on Web TV?
We have not tested Zoho Writer on Web TV/MSNTV2 and hence do not provide support for web tv as of now. Some of the features of zoho writer may not work properly on web tv. Sorry about that. Currently you can use a desktop PC or a notebook/laptop for accessing zoho writer.
