Content Blocks
On Windows, effortlessly insert images, text files, code, or CSV tables into your documents with Content Blocks.
Besides the addition of these elements into your document, Content Blocks offer an excellent document management solution.
Among use cases, this feature are particularly popular for writers who need to compile various chapters of a book into a unified document.
Origins of Content Blocks
John Gruber, inventor of the Markdown markup language, remarked that image syntax was his biggest mistake with Markdown, and proposed an alternative:
My best idea for good Markdown img syntax would be to just paste in a URL ending in .jpg/.png/.gif etc.
In our search of support for file transclusion, we landed on a syntax for what we call, Content Blocks.
If you want to know more about our journey with this, feel free to check our blog post here: iA Writer 4.
Adding Content Blocks
You can add a Content Block in one of two ways. By drag and drop, or manual entry (typing). In both cases, the same principles should be followed:
- the Content Block must be at the start of an empty line
- they must start with a slash, followed by file name with extension
- embedded files should be referenced in iA Writer's Library
- captions in quotes or parentheses can be added (this will be ignored with .txt files)
- referenced files must be located either in the same folder as the file where they are referenced, or in a subfolder
1. Drag and Drop
In an open document simply drag and drop an existing file from your Library's File List into the Editor.
2. Typing Path
You can manually type the path of a file to you wish to embed in your target document. Be sure to respect the proper syntax, as shown below:
/Section.txt "Section"
/images/Structure.jpg 'Data Flow'
/Balance Sheet.csv
Embedded files are rendered in the Preview and will be included in documents exported to HTML, PDF, Markdown and Microsoft Word.
Library
Organize Your Files
Folders, favourites, hashtags and more, discover all the ways to organize your documents in Writer.
Navigate Your Files
Create, search and navigate through your documents in the Library.
Wikilinks
Connect, browse, and rediscover your writing.
Cloud Storage
Having access to your documents on multiple devices makes life easier.
Outline
Writer for Windows comes with two powerful features for working with long or complex documents.