When a file changes in another app

Your book is a folder of ordinary files, so you can open it in other apps, such as a text editor or Obsidian. Plot Device watches the folder while the book is open.

A change while you’re not typing

The chapter, outline or page reloads by itself with the other app’s version.

A change while you were typing

If a chapter changed elsewhere while you had unsaved typing in it, Plot Device stops and asks. Nothing has been overwritten:

• Keep both: Your text is saved as a separate copy, and this one shows the other version.
• Use my version: Your text replaces the other version. The other changes will be lost.

Either way, the version that’s replaced is kept: see Earlier versions.

Outlines

If an outline changes elsewhere, it reloads. Undo won’t undo past that change, so it can never overwrite it.

Tip

To avoid surprises, close a chapter in one app before editing it in another, rather than typing in both at once.