Installing on Windows

DunneWrite is installed from a single file, DunneWrite-0.22.0-x64.exe (about 98 MB), from the download page. Read this page before you run it: the first thing Windows shows you looks alarming, and it isn't. To check the download first, run Get-FileHash followed by the file name in PowerShell, and compare the result with the SHA-256 checksum on the download page.

This page is marked In progress because the installer is not yet code-signed. A signed Microsoft Store version is planned.

Upgrading from an older test build#

If an earlier test build of DunneWrite is already on this computer, uninstall it first. The app's identity changed between builds, so Windows does not know the two are the same program. Installing on top of the old one leaves you with two DunneWrites in the Start menu and two rows in the uninstall list, with no warning.

Uninstalling removes the program only. Your stories are kept outside the program folder and are not touched. The new version picks them up when it starts.

If DunneWrite has never been installed on this computer, skip this section.

Back up before upgrading#

If you have used DunneWrite before, copy this folder somewhere else (another drive, a memory stick) before you install a newer version:

C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\dunnewrite

The first time a newer version opens a story made by an older one, it updates that story's file so the new features have somewhere to live. That update is normal, happens once, and is one-way: there is no converting the story back. A copy means that if anything looks wrong, nothing is lost. It takes two minutes.

The SmartScreen warning#

When you run the installer, Windows will probably show a blue box:

Windows protected your PC Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognised app from starting.

This is expected, and it is not a virus warning. Windows shows it for any program that has not been signed with a code-signing certificate. This build of DunneWrite is not code-signed.

To continue:

If you would rather not run an unsigned program, that is a reasonable decision. Let us know through a support ticket or the contact page.

Running the installer#

The installer asks where to put the program. The default is fine; if your C: drive is short of space, you can pick another drive for the program itself.

• It installs just for you, so it does not ask for an administrator password.
• It adds a Start menu entry and a desktop shortcut, both called DunneWrite.
• The icon is a gold fountain-pen nib on a dark square.

When it opens, it shows Welcome to DunneWrite. Continue with Your first story.

Where your stories are kept#

Your work is not stored inside the program folder. It lives in your own user folder:

C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\dunnewrite

This matters for three reasons:

• Uninstalling DunneWrite does not delete your stories.
• This is the folder to back up.
• It is always on the C: drive, even if you installed the program elsewhere, so the C: drive needs room for everything you import.

How much disk space you need#

A story grows as you read material into it: the prose, the notes about where every fact came from, and every save in History. As a rough guide:

Settings ▸ Storage on this computer shows what is taking up room and offers ways to reclaim space without deleting any of your records.

Uninstalling#

Use Settings ▸ Apps ▸ Installed apps ▸ DunneWrite ▸ Uninstall in Windows, as for any other program. Your stories stay on disk. To remove them too, delete the dunnewrite folder shown above.

Next#

• Your first story
• Stories and bundles
• Known limitations