Reference
Shortcuts and limits
Keyboard shortcuts, field lengths and cover specs.
Quick answers to "is there a shortcut for this" and "how long can this be". Numbers marked as advice are suggested by the editor and never stop you.
Keyboard shortcuts#
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cmd+Shift+F (Ctrl+Shift+F on Windows) | Turns Focus mode on and off. Focus mode hides everything except the title, the text and the choices. It is unavailable on a fork, which has no text. |
| Esc | Leaves Focus mode, and closes the three-dot menu and the ? guide. |
| Cmd+Z (Ctrl+Z on Windows) | Undo your last change, when the cursor is outside the text box. Inside the text box, it undoes typing. |
| Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows) | In these docs, opens search. |
Undo remembers about the last 50 steps. Typing quickly counts as one step, and deleting a scene is always its own step, so you can undo it separately.
Limits and advice#
| What | The number | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Scene or ending text | Warning above 1,750 characters (about 300 words) | Warning |
| Choices per scene | 2 to 4 recommended | Advice |
| Endings per story | 4 to 7 recommended | Guidance only |
| Estimated read time | 5 to 15 minutes suggested | Advice |
| Path length | Warning when the longest route passes 25 scenes | Warning |
| Text field answer | 80 characters by default, from 1 to 500 | Enforced |
| Remembered value names | Letters, numbers and underscores, starting with a letter | Enforced |
| Cover image types | JPEG, PNG or WebP | Enforced |
| Cover shape | 512 by 800 pixels (portrait), cropped when you upload | Enforced |
| Cover size | Resized to 512 by 800 pixels and compressed in your browser | Automatic |
| Cover uploads | Up to 20 an hour | Enforced |
| Autosave | A moment after you stop typing | Automatic |
| Share link | No expiry, until you stop sharing | Automatic |
"Enforced" means the editor will not accept anything else. "Warning" and "advice" appear in the Validation card and never stop you submitting. See Validation messages.
What you cannot do#
These come up often enough to list.
- Print a yes/no value in the text. Use a Shown-only-if paragraph instead.
- Generate choices from a list, or compare the length of a list. See Lists and inventory.
- Use "or" or "not" in a check. A fork with two rules to the same scene gives you "or". See Hiding choices and forking.
- Do arithmetic inside a check. Calculate into a helper value first. See Math and comparing values.
- Send a reader to a random scene. Roll into a value and route from it. See Randomness.
Next#
If your question is not answered here, try the FAQ.