Checking document properties in Write by Zaweba

Every document carries a few details about itself as well as its text. These details travel with the file when you send it, and they are easy to forget because they never appear on the page. In Write by Zaweba, File > Document properties opens a dialog that shows them, so you can see what a document says about itself.

Where to find it

The command sits in the File menu, alongside saving, exporting and printing. That placement makes sense: properties belong to the file as a whole, not to any paragraph or page. Open the dialog when you want to look at a document's details or review them before the file goes anywhere.

Why the details matter

When you save as .docx, or as Write's own .zawr format, which is a .docx inside, the document details are part of the file. Anyone who opens it in another word processor, or looks at it in a file manager, may see them. That is useful when the details are right and awkward when they are not.

Templates are the commonest source of surprises. A document started from an old file, a downloaded template or a colleague's earlier report can carry details from its first life. A quick check of the properties before sending a CV, a proposal or a formal letter avoids passing on information you didn't mean to.

A routine before sharing

Before sending a final copy of an important document, run through a short checklist. Open File > Document properties and make sure the details suit the file you are about to share.

Then look at the rest of the document's hidden layers. Tracked changes from another program show as coloured text in Write, and Accept all or Reject all settles them in one undo step. Comments in .docx files are kept and written back, so deal with any that shouldn't go out. Formatting marks, shown with Ctrl+Shift+8, reveal stray breaks and spaces.

Finally, decide on the format. A PDF is best when the reader only needs to read or print, because fonts are embedded and the layout is fixed. A .docx is right when they need to edit.

Keeping files easy to find

Good document details are part of good filing, along with sensible file names and folders. If you keep many letters or reports, a consistent approach makes them easier to sort through later, especially years on when you have forgotten what a file was called.

The same goes for templates. If you make your own starting document for a regular newsletter or a standard letter, set it up carefully once, including its properties, and every document made from it starts right.

How it fits with the rest of Write

Document properties is a small tool, but it sits within a bigger idea in Write: your files should be open, standard and honest about what is in them. Write's .zawr files are .docx inside, so they open in almost any word processor. When you save to a simpler format, Write lists exactly what would be lost first. Autosave keeps a copy every minute while you work, and recovery offers it back after a crash.

Taking a moment over a document's properties completes the picture. The text, the layout and the details about the file all say what you intend, wherever it ends up.