Choose how you write

Browser or PWA: use PlotDirector's projects, books, scenes, Context, Intent, Plot Lines and Problem Solver without installing anything in Word.

Windows desktop Word: the Companion connects Word's manuscript access to a Windows tray control centre. PlotDirector performs chapter AI analysis and the browser provides review and story workspaces. Word's ribbon stays small: local connection status and Open Companion.

Installer availability

A complete per-user Windows installer has been tested in Development. A publicly qualified, production-signed download is not yet offered on this page. Do not use an internal developer path, a loose Word manifest or an unverified download as a public installer. You can continue using PlotDirector in your browser meanwhile.

When an approved release is published, use its verified download and close Word normally before installation. Missing prerequisites should produce a clear message, not require changing Visual Studio or disabling Office security.

Connect and review

On first connection, approve this Companion installation through your normal PlotDirector browser session and select an authorised book. In version 1.0.0.14, the approved installation reconnects automatically after normal restarts, network interruptions and short-lived access expiry. Credentials and local preferences are protected for your Windows user and scoped to the PlotDirector server/account. Book associations are remembered locally and checked against current permissions. Remembering the association inside the Word document is an additional, optional metadata change; it never saves or rewrites prose.

Use Heading 1 for chapter headings. In the website’s existing manuscript import wizard, choose the same book as the linked Word document, then select Import manuscript. This explicitly requests a bounded reading of that document and uploads a server-side capture. Wait for PlotDirector to acknowledge receipt before closing Word. Chapter and scene analysis, locations, characters, assets, summaries and the existing review stages remain in PlotDirector; the Companion does not provide a second importer.

Review the detected chapters before starting server analysis. Once the capture has been accepted, analysis and review do not require Word or the Companion to remain connected. Existing story records and Word prose are not silently replaced. If transfer is interrupted before acceptance, reconnect and retry from the wizard.

Save Word normally before capturing when you want live positional scene mapping. Word reports saved and PlotDirector acknowledged this captured revision are separate states. Saving does not upload prose. After editing or saving again, use a fresh wizard capture when synchronisation is needed; automatic prose synchronisation is not implemented. The Companion’s Check document connection verifies presence only.

Get started without Word

Your writing control centre

The Companion provides browser-approved sign-in, the active Word document, its authorised book association, connection checks and troubleshooting. Import, analysis, Context and Intent are launched from PlotDirector. The normal tray interface no longer contains chapter selection or a separate analysis workflow.

The managed interface follows Windows light or dark appearance. Full PlotDirector theme synchronisation is not available. Source version 1.0.0.14 needs a new Windows build, unified installer qualification and real Word tests; Atlas has not installed or qualified it.

Context and Intent beside Word

Open Context and Intent from the website writing-workspace launcher. Each role reuses its own window, with no PlotDirector ribbon or navigation around the reference workspace. Manual navigation pauses following independently in each window. Live positional following requires trustworthy mappings for the same saved document session and revision; otherwise choose saved scenes manually.

Context shows saved scene details, nearby dated scenes, participants, thread developments and linked floor-plan information. Its People, Relationships, Place and Story tabs provide more detail. Missing dates and mappings stay visibly missing. Use manual selection to explore without Word pulling you back, then return to following when ready.

Intent shows your saved plan and objectives. On Evidence, Show saved evidence loads an existing assessment without requesting AI. Assess saved prose with AI explicitly compares saved manuscript prose with your intentions and may incur AI costs. Unchanged prose and plans reuse the saved result. Evidence can be kept, dismissed or deferred; objective completion is still your decision in the scene editor. A stale assessment is labelled when the saved plan or prose changes.

These assessments use imported PlotDirector manuscript text, not unsaved Word edits or a scene summary. Import or otherwise update saved source through the established workflow before reassessing. No automatic prose synchronisation, silent objective ticking or Word editing is performed.

Approval, closing and sign-out

Closing the Companion window hides it in the tray. Quit Companion stops its process without forgetting your account, settings or device approval. Windows sign-in or opening a new Word process can start it again. An already-running Word process respects an explicit Quit; use Open Companion to resume immediately.

Access credentials last ten minutes and renew automatically. The separate installation approval is revocable and expires after 90 days without renewal. No permanent access token is saved. Normal renewal does not open your browser or upload prose.

Sign out, Change account, revoking an installation under approved Companion installations, or signing out of PlotDirector deliberately removes approval. Website sign-out revokes all approved Companions for that account. Offline Companion sign-out clears local authorisation immediately and keeps a protected revocation request for when the server is reachable; its status says when that server confirmation is still pending.

The connection states are Connected, Reconnecting, Disconnected and Action required. A connected agent does not mean a Word document is connected. Check document registration separately. If access to a book is removed, its saved association cannot authorise a manuscript transfer.

Version 1.0.0.13 never stored installation approval. After upgrading to 1.0.0.14 and the matching server update, approve this installation once; subsequent normal reconnects do not need approval. Windows-protected storage and native startup still require qualification on your actual Windows profile. Do not use a private Codex profile as evidence of a normal-user installation.

Manuscript import and scene following

With Companion 1.0.0.18, use the existing Import manuscript wizard. Paragraph identities and chapter/scene mappings are captured automatically; no separate adoption step or individual scene approval is needed. Save Word normally so its document identity is retained.

After structure import, open Book → Manuscript structure and evidence to split or merge scenes, move boundaries, undo layout changes and review story evidence. Saved Word changes synchronise after import/analysis finishes. No Word prose is rewritten.

Open Context or Intent from PlotDirector. Live from Word shows the current chapter and scene. Manual navigation pauses following; Return to current Word scene resumes it. Unsaved, stale or ambiguous positions do not claim a live scene. Saved information remains available when Word is disconnected.