WriteRoom Guide

Appearance

More Editing ​

WriteRoom edits text like other Mac apps. These commands go further.

Insert ​

To insert the date or time ​

  • Edit > Insert > Date (Shift-Command-D)
  • Edit > Insert > Time
  • Edit > Insert > Date & Time

To insert ISO dates like 2026-09-23, turn on WriteRoom > Settings > General > Insert dates in ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD).

Select ​

Select the word (Control-W), sentence (Control-S), paragraph, or section at the caret from Edit > Selection. A section is a heading and everything under it.

To grow or shrink the selection ​

  • Edit > Selection > Expand Selection (Control-Shift-Command-Right)
  • Edit > Selection > Contract Selection (Control-Shift-Command-Left)

Double-click a bracket or quote to select through to its partner.

Completions ​

WriteRoom can type the closing half of a pair for you.

Turn these on in WriteRoom > Settings > Typing > Auto-close:

  • Brackets and quotes ( [ { " '
  • Markdown marks * _ ` ~ <

Text Direction ​

WriteRoom writes right-to-left languages like Arabic and Hebrew, and mixes them with left-to-right text. Each paragraph takes its direction from its first letter.

To set a document's direction ​

  • Format > Text Direction > Auto, Right to Left, or Left to Right

The arrow keys move the way the text reads.

See also ​