Changelog
What’s new in The Novelist — release notes for every public version.
- New: Items / Objects belong to your books, with Story Links and Story Context to keep important objects connected to the draft.
- New: Reference Library keeps words, phrases, dialogue, names, excerpts and general references in your workspace. Associate entries with books and mention existing story entities.
- Improved: Explore the workspace-wide Pro Graph across books, with optional Reference connections, clearer labels, closer zoom, search and book filters.
- Platforms: Download the Linux x86_64 AppImage, physically tested on Arch Linux, or the macOS Intel x64 Beta, verified under Rosetta but not on physical Intel hardware. AUR and Snap remain deferred.
- Improved: Books with many cover images load and reopen much faster.
- Improved: Rename Media image titles and view images in a larger viewer.
- Improved: Book Overview presents relationships more clearly, and Story Context returns you to the Book tab you came from.
- Improved: Your chosen navigation order stays in place through Writing Mode, book changes and restart. Controls have cleaner keyboard-focus styling.
- Improved: Export has clearer settings for each format, more reliable linked Author credits, and better separation of book content and metadata. DOCX and Markdown are Free; HTML, PDF and EPUB are included with Pro / Early Access.
- Fixed: Multi-word names such as Jason Chen and Financial District remain fully linked and clickable in Missing Connections.
- Fixed: Switching book context no longer briefly replaces an existing book with an empty or Untitled Project view.
- Fixed: More reliable Story Links, plugin/navigation startup, responsive right rail and update safety.
- Import DOCX and Markdown manuscripts directly into Books with a structure preview before confirming.
- Organize Parts with labels, titles, and descriptions, and edit their details directly while writing.
- Manage Front, Spine, and Back covers, with a complete Book Preview including front matter, manuscript, images, and back matter.
- Insert semantic Page Breaks and reuse Media Library images for Full Page Images.
- Inspect Story Context and Entity Quick View without leaving your writing, with a responsive right sidebar.
- Continue Writing restores your last valid Book and document; the Book title takes you back to its Overview.
- Local Style Analyzer offers Current Chapter/Document and Whole Book scopes with clearer explanations.
- Improved privacy consent theme consistency, entity contrast, keyboard focus, and Greek label wrapping.
- HTML exports are easier to read in a browser, with a bounded reading column, compact sections, and clearer images while preserving print layout.
- Linux x86_64 AppImage Beta adds a portable download with improved desktop icons and theme readability. Updates are manual; AUR and Snap publication remain deferred.
- Separate macOS downloads for Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (x64 Beta). Intel has passed automated and compatibility testing, but has not been tested on physical Intel Mac hardware.
- Blog Posts now remain visible after editing, status changes, and navigation, and restore the selected status filter reliably.
- Fixed the Completed status selector spacing in Grid, Detail, List, and Table views.
- Improved reliability when licenses are updated or renewed.
- Strengthened internal checks for Pro feature availability and exports.
- Chapter Notes now live in the editor sidebar, with a book-wide All Notes view, per-note chapter or book assignment, tags, story links, and @mentions.
- Fixed confusing Notes browsing controls and right-sidebar panels failing to return after visibility settings changed.
- Improved writing flow with em dash input, native spelling suggestions, consolidated Review tools, and clearer Search and @mention results.
- Redesigned Characters and hierarchical Locations for larger story worlds, with safer book and workspace scope controls.
- Expanded Authors into contributor cards with editor, publisher, and other book roles.
- Redesigned Author's Journey and added Atlantic and Aegean themes.
- Improved first-run language selection, English and Greek copy, and long-form Story Bible editing.
- Chapters now move reliably within and between Parts and the manuscript root; Part reordering and drop targets are more dependable.
- Manage Location hierarchies with root/sub-location drag-and-drop, cross-book hierarchy moves, direct deletion, Collapse/Expand all, and responsive Grid/List views.
- Multi-word @mentions and scoped Character/Location quick-create now support Book and Location parent selection; comment Undo and Redo stay in sync.
- Optional anonymous product analytics are off by default and can be controlled in Settings → Privacy; manuscript and story content are never analytics events.
- Fixed license activation for existing and Early Access license keys.
- Fixed Pro activation during first-time setup.
- Improved Book Preview across supported page and device layouts.
- Improved Word, Markdown, HTML, PDF, and ePUB exports.
- Improved preservation of manuscript structure, formatting, scene breaks, links, images, and Unicode text.
- Improved export privacy and book isolation.
- ePUB exports now pass EPUBCheck validation with zero errors and zero warnings.
- Improved Pro license reliability — activation, device deactivation and reactivation, revocation, and renewal now report and refresh their status consistently.
- Better onboarding — new writers can continue with Free or activate Pro, then create a first chapter or explore after making their first book.
- Rewrite in your style — rewrite selected prose with a preview, Copy, and an explicit Replace action that leaves the original untouched until accepted.
- Find Missing Connections — scan the active book locally for unlinked characters, locations, events, organizations, secrets, and character aliases.
- Safe story links — link one, selected, or all reviewed matches without changing a single word of manuscript text. Available in Free.
- Book-safe AI — writing context, memories, entities, and late responses stay isolated to the active book and document.
- Theme polish — all 16 themes, including System light and dark, were checked across the full writing experience.
- Editor and progress fixes — improved lists, links, scene breaks, media reuse, word counts, Author Journey XP, and book-only statistics.
- Honest Home shelf — pinned books now stay first and books sort by the most recently updated draft.
- Phase 24 trust fixes — Home stats, session copy, graph empty states, research headers, and AI/plugin access rules now match the real app behavior.
- Localized release polish — Worldbuilding tabs and known update errors now use English and Greek app copy.
- Release preflight — desktop, license-core, and License API tests all pass for this checkpoint.
- Theme contrast — button text stays readable across light, dark, and custom themes via semantic foreground/background tokens.
- Soft accent, success, danger, and warning controls pick contrast-safe label colors per theme (including green-on-green and black-on-black cases).
- Automated contrast audit — every supported theme and button variant is checked against WCAG AA.
- Library safety — discovers your real library (including the older default folder) instead of silently opening an empty one after an update.
- Recovery — if more than one library is found, Recovery lets you open the right one, restore a backup, or confirm an empty library only when nothing recoverable remains.
- Pre-update backups — protect every discovered library path (not only registered workspaces), verify the backup, and abort the update if verification fails.
- Non-mutating backups — backing up never creates a new empty novelist.db or workspace folder.
- True first install — a brand-new empty library is created only when there is absolutely no prior library residue.
- Images — align left, center, right, or full; resize with presets or drag; wrap text beside left/right images; comment on an image and jump to it from Comments.
- Book Previewer — updates after you pause typing (~1.25s), not on every keystroke; status text while waiting; stays responsive on large chapters.
- Content safety — pending edits flush on chapter switch and window close/quit so rapid switching or quitting is far less likely to lose words.
- Wide editor — wider writing column with a safe max width (no unbounded full-bleed lag on huge chapters).
- Stats & Journey — clearer Early Access upgrade wording, “Next level” progress, and “Current mission” on the map.
- Online licensing — Pro licenses activate and verify against the License API, with offline grace.
- Navigation — Back/Forward keep a real in-app history; logo returns Home after saving.
- Writing-first — new books open in the editor; opening a book lands on Structure (Δομή).
- First-launch wizard — language, theme, first project, then create your first book.
- Export preview — quick page mock before exporting; pre-update backups cover all workspaces.
- Print preview & PDF — a shared layout engine treats title pages, copyright, dedication, parts, and chapters as real book pages, with an auto table of contents, roman/arabic folios, mirrored gutters, and optional facing-page (spread) view.
- Export matches preview — PDF and HTML include front matter and part openers instead of chapters only.
- Stats & Journey — Living Bookshelf on Stats, clearer map unlock gates and theme ladder, personal bests, season labels, and collapsible stats sections that remember your preferences.
- Journey map clarity — honest region copy, named lock requirements, and Settings tips for earning theme unlocks.
- Custom book types — manage manuscript kinds from the library so your workspace matches how you write.
- Light-mode polish — readable unlock badges, book-cover actions, and comment excerpts across Daylight and other light themes.
- Editor lists — bullet markers are visible again, with disc, hollow, square, and dash styles from the list menu.
- To-do checklists — add clickable task boxes in the editor; checked items strike through and boxes match the app UI.
- Update banner — restart and download controls are readable in Light Mode with theme-aware colors.
- Story Bible — timeline search, templates, drag reorder, visual timeline, participants, map view, POV matrix, full export, and printable character/location sheets.
- Events, locations, and characters now support book scope, relationship edit/delete, and consistency checks for timeline entries.
- Journey map redesign — clearer regions, unlock rewards explained, SVG path connectors, and milestone detail on the Stats & Journey map tab.
- Author Journey economy — word-credit anti-farming, session qualification, XP budget caps, and fairer repeatable milestone rewards.
- Theme unlocks — earn color themes as you level up and complete story-bible milestones; unlock progress shown in Settings.
- Navigation — nested default sidebar layout, responsive story-bible panels, and improved light-mode contrast across accents and buttons.
- Author's Journey — earn XP as you write, unlock milestones, climb author ranks, and follow a living journey map with missions and collections.
- Stats & Journey — writing stats and your author journey in one place, with expanded habits insights and an AI coach for focus and pace.
- Midnight Writer theme — unlock a secret dark theme by writing 10,000 words between midnight and 8 AM.
- Book print preview — accurate trim sizes (6×9, 5×8, A5), margins, fonts, and paragraph styles that match export.
- Editor colors — text and highlight color pickers in the toolbar; drop caps and full-page images in book design.
- Blog posts — draft status, publication targets, and estimated read time on post cards.
- Workspace features — enable or disable sidebar sections from Plugins; cleaner Home and Stats layouts with more breathing room.
- Sidebar depth cues toggle in Settings, document rename dialog, and improved book structure add menu.
- Author Pages — create author profiles with bio, social links, and portraits; link authors to books from the Overview tab.
- Book design controls — fonts, drop caps, page backgrounds, and full-bleed image sizing in preview and export.
- Writing Stats — word-count history, streaks, and a calendar heatmap to track your writing rhythm.
- Graph sidebar plugin — explore character and location connections from the right sidebar while you work.
- Entity consistency — auto-link names in your draft, link all at once, or dismiss false positives.
- Character, location, and author images stay compact profile photos instead of large inline blocks.
- Graph sidebar stays off the editor so the book preview has full room on the right.
- Windows fixes — subtitle field while creating books, staying in your book after refocusing the app, and clearer AI error toasts.
- Editor right-click paste, light-mode polish for status badges and callouts, and Authors plugin enable fix.
- Redesigned Graph View — force-directed layout, zoom and pan, fullscreen, hover focus, and theme-aware colors across Midnight, Daylight, Goldleaf, and System.
- Editor comments — select text to add notes you can review in the sidebar.
- Fresh installs start empty with a guided first-project flow; no demo books or sample content.
- Always-visible back and forward navigation in the top bar.
- Home dashboard counters now include nested chapters and count imported books correctly.
- Books grid polish — status badges align with titles; improved Draft badge contrast in light mode.
- Plugins: bulk toggle to disable all AI features; sidebar stays clean when AI is off.
- Greek translation fixes for Serial Fiction plugin labels.
- PDF and ePUB export are now free for all users.
- Expanded Help with a beginner-friendly Ollama setup guide and model recommendations.
- Improved Greek translations across the app and bilingual release notes.
- New changelog page on the download site; fixed the “View all updates” link in About.
- Pro plugin previews on the Plugins page and light-mode fixes for tier badges.
- Book status labels — Idea, Draft, Writing, Published — with quick edit in the Books library.
- Expanded Help page with a feature guide covering workspaces, books, library, themes, and updates.
- Stability fixes for workspace management and light-mode book covers.
- Fixed workspace delete so removed workspaces disappear from Settings and disk.
- Improved coverless book styling in light mode with readable text and softer shadows.
- Book placeholder covers now use theme-aware colors across light and dark modes.
- Fixed workspace delete and rename in Settings.
- Edit book title and description inline from the book header.
- Improved library card layout with clearer titles and spacing.
- Greek interface and release-site polish.
- Stability fixes across workspaces, stats, and AI feature gating.
- First public desktop release for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
- Local-first writing workspace with books, chapters, notes, and story bible tools.
- Characters, locations, events, graph view, and manuscript analysis (Pro).
- English and Greek interface, themes, backups, and in-app update notifications.
- Privacy-focused: your manuscripts stay on your device unless you enable optional online features.
