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Will I lose my existing journals if I remove i*write from my computer or if I install a new release of i*write ?

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I downloaded a new release of i*write and double-clicked the downloaded file. When I was asked whether I wanted to repair or remove i*write, I chose to repair it. However, it seems that I'm still running the old version.

Yes, you are still running the old version. Please remove i*write before installing a new release. You can either remove the program by using Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs or by choosing Remove in the i*write installation program (iwrite_inst.exe). Then run iwrite_inst.exe again.

Why is there no Save or Save As... command?

You save a day or a category by using the Save command. For example, pressing ALT+S or right-clicking a day or category tab and selecting Save will save the active tab's content. The same command is accessible from the Tab menu and from a toolbar button.

You can choose to have i*write save the tab content automatically whenever you switch to another tab (Options/General Options/Storage). i*write can also make a backup copy of the complete journal before you quit the program (also under Options/General Options/Storage). You can make explicit backup copies by choosing Backup from the Journal menu.

How do I install the thesaurus for i*write ?

To be able to use the thesaurus feature for full-text searching you need the following:

• The i*write Plus or Professional Edition (or the Evaluation Edition to try all features of i*write for 50 invocations of the program).
• The thesaurus files. You can download iwr_thes.msi (approximately 5.5 MB) at no additional cost. Note that if you have the i*write CD version, the thesaurus files are included and will be installed automatically.

Double-click iwr_thes.msi to install the thesaurus on your hard disk. i*write will automatically recognize the presence of the thesaurus. If you select concept-searching options on the Advanced Full-Text Search dialog (not available in the Standard Edition), i*write will now find synonyms or words related to your search term.

What do I have to download to use i*write™ ?

The i*write 3.2 download is approximately 3.2 MB. This includes two extensive help files: the Reference Manual and the User Guide. It also includes an industrial-strength full-text search engine.

i*write 3.2 uses Microsoft database technology. The necessary software components are already included with Windows 2000 or later. They may also be present on earlier systems (for example, if you have Microsoft Office 2000 installed). The i*write setup program will help you to determine what you need. See the system requirements for more details and the download page for further instructions.

You will now also find a little utility (52 KB) - i*write system check - on the download page, which you can use to determine whether your system satisfies the software requirements.

Finally, if you want to use the free thesaurus (for example to let the full-text engine search for synonyms or related words) you have to download it separately (approximately 5.6 MB) or get the CD version. Note that you cannot use the thesaurus in the Standard Edition.

How can I export data from my journal?

You can export data in Rich Text Format (.rtf files) which is compatible with MS Word. Files will be named automatically with date, category, or date and category depending on their contents. The files will have a .wri extension; this has the advantage that they will be opened with WordPad by default; WordPad starts much quicker than MS Word. You can, of course, open the files from MS Word also.

To export a single item to a file

Right-click the item and select Export from the context menu.

To export all items of a day or a category to separate files

Right-click the day or category tab in Multiple Tabs View (F8) and select Export from the context menu.

To export all items of a day or a category to one file

Right-click the day or category tab in Full Page View (F8) and select Export from the context menu.

To export the complete journal; all items to separate files

Choose Export... from the Journal menu.

How can I import data into my journal?

You can copy text in other programs (many programs support Ctrl+C or have a Copy command on their Edit menu) and paste it into an item in i*write (use Ctrl+V). You can also drag selected text from most other programs and drop it in i*write . For example, you can drag a newsgroup message from Outlook Express directly into i*write .

Can I export all the data in my journal without opening items first?

Yes. Choose Export... from the Journal menu to export all items of the journal as separate files in Rich Text Format (with a .wri extension). You can select a folder where to store the files; they will be named automatically. Depending on the size of your journal this operation may take some time.

Sometimes when I try to browse to a date, I'm taken to a different date. Why?

Many times, this is the desired behavior if the date you specified doesn't exist, especially when browsing. i*write™ doesn't just take you to an arbitrary date: Select General Options... from the Options menu. On the Navigation tab you will see that Navigate to closest date is selected. This means that i*write will automatically take you to the closest date if the date you wanted to browse to doesn't exist. By selecting one of the other options on the Navigation tab you can change this behavior.