For writers

Canopy works for a novel or a series as well as for games. When you create the world, or import your notes from the start page, answer What's this world for? with Writing a book or a series, or set it later in World settings. The world then shows nothing for games: no campaigns, sessions, players or handouts, and none of their words. Your files don't change, so you can switch back at any time and lose nothing.

On the start page, Sample for writers opens Thornmere as the setting of a short story, What the Ferryman Saw. Read the story, then follow its links into the world: the characters' private notes hold what the reader doesn't know yet, and Readers has a group of beta readers who know what happened at the chapel, but not yet who Wren Ashby is. Changes to the sample aren't saved.

A setup for writing

Articles for your characters, places and lore, with built-in templates for people and places and your own for anything else (see Templates and families).
Focus in the editor hides everything but the writing, with a word count. The editor's top bar names the article you're writing. Long articles get a Contents box.
Families and their trees for your dynasties, with hidden parentage you keep to yourself until you choose to share it.
Calendar, histories and the timeline for your world's past, down to the day, with a history of its own for each people, family or culture (one can split off from another, sharing its past until then), and how each tells it. A people's or family's page gets a History tab. Born and Died dates give ages on character pages and at events (see Time and the timeline).
Maps (World menu, until you make one) put your places on a picture of your world: pins for places, with your own notes on them (see Maps).
Print a world book (World menu) lays out every article as one book with contents and links, for an editor: save it as a PDF, use Download for Word, or Download as EPUB to read it on a tablet or an e-reader. The cover has your description and your name, and your own folders of notes become sections. Put your private notes and hidden truths in, or leave them out. Characters come with their life and family. Without hidden truths, a family reads as your reader believes it, and so does a family tree printed Without hidden truths.
Your files stay plain Markdown, ready for Obsidian or a manuscript tool (see Your files).

Private notes and hidden truths

Under every article, Private notes are yours alone: what the reader doesn't know yet, what you're planning. They're kept in a separate file, so the article itself is safe to share.

In the private notes, each Hidden truth has a title ("Her true father") and what it reveals. A hidden truth can also reveal a family tie, such as a true father or a secret marriage; it shows in family trees only for readers you share it with. Lines under Only for you are never shared, even with the hidden truth.

In the editor, Only for you marks lines in the article itself that nobody else gets, and Later holds a passage back. Later asks Keep this passage back until when?: name the point where the reader learns it ("Book 2, chapter 14"), give it a date in your world, or pick an event under Or after an event (readers get it once Readers know up to is past that event's end), and press Keep it back. The passage then starts with a small grey label, such as Later: Book 2, chapter 14, and its lines have a bar beside them instead of their > marks; put the cursor on a line to see or change its Markdown. Todos, lines starting with - [ ], are never shared either (see Writing articles).

An Event has its date in the When box on its page, with Until for something that lasts. The template's Date field in the editor is that same date: change either one.

Readers

Readers (in the sidebar, or the World menu until you have one) is where you share your world with beta readers or an editor. Make a group per set of readers, such as Beta readers or My editor. Sharing needs the world to be in your Canopy account.

A group has:

Invite readers: a link to send. Readers sign in and choose the name they go by. Joined lists who did; Remove takes someone out straight away.
Notes shared with you: notes your readers chose to let you read.
Introduction: a word to your readers, shown at the top of their page.
See what they see: Read as a reader (or everyone) shows the world exactly as they get it. Reader's copy prints what a reader has as one book.
To read first and Shared along the way: the articles and hidden truths you shared, with whom. Share an article and Share a hidden truth add more; tap a share's label to change who has it. Readers read To read first in the list's order: drag an article by its handle, or use the arrows.
Held back: Later passages in shared articles. Readers don't see them until you release them here: Release… asks who: tap Everyone or a reader, and nothing goes out before.
Edit details: the group's name, its readers, its notes and, with a calendar, Readers know up to: readers never see events dated after it.

Pick a group under Sharing with in the sidebar and every article page gets its share button. What readers see is filtered on the server: your private notes, other hidden truths and held-back passages never reach them. How it looks for them is in For readers.

What's coming

Revealing by book and chapter is on the list.