CovenantWorks user guide

CovenantWorks is a set of engines that share one home screen. Each engine has its own home with templates and your files for it. Everything you make is saved automatically.

Getting started

• Desktop app: open CovenantWorks from the Start menu, Applications or your desktop.
• In a browser: run cworks_server --open. It only listens on your own computer.
• Online workspace: open the address you were given and sign in with your access key.

The rail on the left switches engines. Home (the seal at the top) shows every engine and your recent files. Settings (the gear at the bottom) changes the appearance.

Opening files you already have

Drop files onto Home or any engine home, or use Choose files…. CovenantWorks opens .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, PDF, CSV/TSV, Markdown, HTML, plain text, PNG/JPEG pictures and its own formats (.cwdoc, .cwslides, .cwpub, .cwsheet, .cwprop). Each file opens in the engine that fits it.

Files on your computer: choose the type, keep the type

• New file of a type: each engine home has New … file. Pick the name, the type (for example .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, PDF, Markdown or CovenantWorks's own format), a starting template and the folder. The file is created there straight away.
• Open from this computer: opens a file in the engine that fits it and remembers where it came from. The file's name appears next to the title.
• Save (Ctrl+S) writes your changes back to that same file, in the same type, so a .docx stays a .docx and an .xlsx stays an .xlsx.
• Save as… (Ctrl+Shift+S) saves to a new name, folder or type. The dialog says what each type keeps:
• Everything: native, .docx, .xlsx and .pptx.
• The look: web page.
• A print copy: PDF.
• Text only: Markdown, plain text and CSV.
• PDF engine: Save writes your applied edits back into the PDF you opened, and Save as… writes a copy.
• Replacing a file: you are asked before an existing file is replaced.
• In the online workspace: Download as… gives you the file in the type you choose.
• With the installer: CovenantWorks's own files open with a double-click. CovenantWorks is also offered in "Open with" for .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, PDF, CSV and Markdown.

Saving, exporting and sealing

• Changes save on their own a moment after you stop typing; Ctrl+S saves at once.
• Export in the top bar downloads the file in another format (PDF, .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, CSV, Markdown, web page, text, SVG pages) or turns it into a new file in another engine, for example a workbook into a document.
• The chip next to Export shows the document's fingerprint (SHA-256 of its exact contents). Click it to copy.
• Seal writes a packet with the document, its exact page layout, the PDF and the fonts used, each with its own fingerprint. Verify now (or Home › Sealed packets) checks the fingerprints and rebuilds the PDF to confirm nothing changed.

Docs

• Ribbon tabs: File, Home, Insert, Design, Layout, References, Mailings, Review, View and Help. Double-click a tab, or press Ctrl+F1, to collapse the ribbon.
• Home:
• Paste, cut, copy and format painter.
• Font, size, grow and shrink, change case, bold, italic, underline, strike, subscript, superscript, highlight and colour.
• Lists, indents, sorting, alignment, line spacing, shading and ¶ marks.
• The style gallery, and find and replace.
• Export or sign as PDF, dictate, read aloud.
• Insert: cover page, blank page, page break, table, picture, link, header and footer, page number, date, title, symbol, horizontal line, text from a file.
• Design: style sets, colour sets, font pairs, paragraph spacing and page colour.
• Layout: margins, orientation, paper size, page breaks, line numbers, indents and spacing.
• References: a table of contents with page numbers (Update table refreshes it), and figure and table captions.
• Mailings: choose recipients from a CSV file or a workbook, insert {{Field}} merge fields, preview each record, then finish into a new document or a PDF.
• Line numbers: turn them on to see which line you are on. The status bar shows Ln and Col, as a code editor does. Layout › Line numbers also prints them on the pages.
• Views: Draft is for writing. Pages shows exactly what will print. Focus mode hides everything but the page; press Esc to leave it.

Slides and Publisher

• Click to select, drag to move and use the handles to resize. Shift keeps proportions. Arrow keys nudge an item, and Shift+arrow moves it 10 px.
• Double-click a box to type in it. The toolbar formats the text.
• Insert text boxes, shapes, pictures, lines, arrows, tables and charts.
• Use the inspector on the right for position, size, fill, outline and other details.
• With nothing selected, the inspector shows page settings, page size and the theme.
• Pages: add, duplicate, reorder by dragging, and delete in the left column. Masters hold elements shared by many pages.
• Present (Slides): F5 starts from the beginning and Shift+F5 from the current slide. Arrow keys, Space or a click move on; Esc ends the presentation.

Sheets

• Type to replace a cell, or press F2 to edit it. Formulas start with =; function names are suggested as you type.
• While typing a formula, click or drag over cells to insert references.
• The toolbar covers number formats, fonts, colours, fill, alignment, wrapping, borders, merging, adding and removing rows and columns, sorting, fill down and right, freezing, AutoSum, charts and find and replace.
• Sheet tabs: add, rename by double-clicking, duplicate, delete, reorder and colour.
• The status bar shows the sum, average and count of the selected numbers.

Proposals

• Outline: add sections such as text, tables, pricing, cover, acceptance and page breaks, or ready-made ones like scope, timeline, team and terms. Reorder, hide or duplicate them.
• Details: client and sender information, dates, currency and your own variables. {{client.company}}, {{total}} and the rest fill in everywhere.
• Pricing: line items with quantity, unit and price. Optional items count only when selected. Add discount and tax.
• Brand: fonts, accent colour and logo.
• Accept: record the client's typed or drawn signature and mark the proposal as accepted. Status is shown in the top bar.

PDF

• Organise:
• Select pages with click, Shift and Ctrl, and drag to reorder.
• Rotate, delete, duplicate and insert blank pages.
• Insert pages from another PDF, merge and split.
• Extract selected pages into a new PDF you can edit.
• Edit:
• Add text, cover-ups, highlights, rectangles, ellipses, lines, arrows, pictures, link areas and your signature.
• Changes wait until you press Apply. Cover-ups hide content visually only; the original text stays in the file.
• Tools: fill forms, add a watermark, add page numbers or numbered stamps, edit document properties and compress. You can also turn the PDF into an editable document or workbook, or download it in another format.
• Undo steps back through every applied change.

Convert

Choose files, choose what to do, get the result:

• Convert to another format.
• Open in CovenantWorks, as the file is or turned into another engine's format.
• Reduce file size for PDF, .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, PNG and JPEG. Lossless keeps quality; Balanced and Strong recompress pictures.

Code (desktop only)

• Open a folder: browse the tree, sort it by name, type, date or size, and filter it.
• Tabs and saving:
• A single click previews a file; editing or double-clicking keeps its tab open.
• Closing a changed file asks whether to save.
• If a file changed on disk since you opened it, saving offers to compare, reload or overwrite.
• Panels: search and replace across the folder, see git changes, and run detected tests and builds. These come from the project's own scripts, task files, package scripts and build files.

Terminal (desktop only)

• Start sessions in any installed shell, in any folder.
• Keys: Up and Down recall history, Ctrl+L clears the screen and Ctrl+C stops the session.
• Run script… runs a .ps1, .sh, .bat or .cmd file with the right command for the shell.
• Full-screen programs such as editors are not supported.

Vault

• Create the vault with a passphrase of 8 characters or more. It locks after 15 minutes without use.
• Find secrets:
• Scan files, pasted text, a document from your library or a whole folder.
• Results are grouped as passwords, API keys, secrets, tokens, private keys, connection strings and IDs.
• Values found in several places are merged, and same-named values from different places get distinct names.
• Choose which to keep, rename them and save.
• Viewing values: they stay hidden. The eye button reveals one for 30 seconds, and the copy button copies it.
• Export: asks for your passphrase again, because the exported file is not encrypted.

Settings

Choose a theme:

• Match this computer
• Light
• Dark
• Slate
• Warm paper
• High contrast

You can also set an accent colour and the density, and turn on reduced motion. Documents always print exactly as laid out, whatever the theme.

Keyboard shortcuts