Frequently Asked Questions

The first time you open a new manuscript, Stet shows a three-step checklist: review your book's structure (chapters, front matter, back matter in one view), fix typography (smart quotes, em dashes, ellipses), and land on "Ready to format" which takes you straight to the template picker. Each step can be skipped — each is also available individually from the sidebar and Review menu at any time.

No — it means Stet didn't find anything that needed attention. Your chapters were detected correctly and there were no typography issues to fix. You'll land on the template picker, ready to go.

Your chapter headings are probably formatted manually (bold text, larger font size) rather than using Word's built-in heading styles. Stet reads heading styles from your document, so it can't reliably detect chapters from visual formatting alone.

Fix: open your document in Word, click each chapter title, and apply the Heading 1 or Heading 2 style from the Styles panel on the Home tab. Then re-import into Stet.

Alternatively, use the Chapter Detection correction in Stet to mark headings manually after import.

Use the Chapter Detection correction to review the structure. In the wizard, set those items to Merge to fold them back into the previous chapter, or to Part if they're section dividers.

This can happen if your front matter isn't clearly separated from the main text, or if it uses heading styles that Stet doesn't recognise as front matter.

Fix: right-click the incorrectly classified chapter in the sidebar and choose Move to Front Matter, then select the correct type.

Stet found paragraphs before your first chapter heading that it couldn't automatically classify. Pick the type that fits — Title Page, Dedication, Copyright, etc. — or choose Include in first chapter if you're unsure. These items become part of your book's front matter. You can always reclassify them later by right-clicking in the sidebar.

Never. Stet makes a copy of your manuscript when you import it. The original .docx is stored inside your .stet project file and is never touched. You can always re-import from your original if anything goes wrong.

Yes. Click the font name next to Chapter Headings or Body Text in the sidebar to open the font picker. Stet ships with a curated set of open-licence fonts that are safe to embed in your published files.

If you have a font you'd rather use, expand Advanced at the bottom of the picker and click Import Font File to add it directly to your project.

Only use fonts you are licensed to embed in published files.

This is expected. Kindle uses its own font rendering system and overrides custom fonts in all ebooks, regardless of the tool used to create them — it's the same in every book formatting app.

Your custom fonts will display correctly in Apple Books, Kobo, and most other ebook readers.

Right-click any chapter in the sidebar and choose Move to Front Matter or Move to Back Matter, then select the type. You can also right-click existing front or back matter sections to change their type, move them back to chapters, or remove them from the book.

Yes. Below the template picker, the Style section lets you tweak the chapter opener layout, scene break style, chapter numbering, page numbers, and other details — without switching to a different template. A dot appears next to the template name when you've made changes, and a Reset link restores the defaults. Your customisations are saved per template, so switching templates and back preserves them.

Some non-fiction templates (Business / Self-Help, Academic) use automatic chapter numbering. If the count seems off, check for any parts or front matter sections being counted as chapters. Use the Chapter Detection correction to review the structure.

This is controlled by the template. Stet's templates are designed to match industry standards for the chosen genre. If the spacing doesn't suit your book, try a different template. The preview updates instantly so you can compare.

Open the Chapter Detection correction at the top of the Style & Checks panel and click Review. The wizard lets you reclassify any detected heading as a chapter, a part, or merge it into the previous chapter. Chapter Detection can be reopened and reapplied at any time. It's always reversible with Command-Z.

Dismiss it by clicking the x next to the check. Dismissed checks are remembered in your project and won't appear again unless you restore them.

Open the Smart Quotes correction and use the diff view to review each change. Skip any instances where the direction is wrong. This can happen near em dashes, nested quotes, or unusual punctuation patterns.

Yes. Press Command-Z immediately after applying. Every correction registers a single undo action, so one Command-Z reverses the entire correction.

Yes. Double-click any page in the preview to open the chapter editor. The full chapter text appears in a split-view editor alongside the page preview. Use the paragraph style menu to apply styles like Block Quote, Verse, and Epigraph. The chapter text — fix typos, delete sentences, add content. Click Save Chapter or press ⌘Return to save, or Cancel to discard changes. Every edit is undoable with ⌘Z.

• Ebook: EPUB 3
• Print: Print PDF, using the trim size that matches what you'll select in KDP's setup form

The print preview in Stet is generated from the same code as the exported PDF, so what you see should match what you get. If there's a difference, check:

1. Is the trim size in Stet set to the correct size?
2. Did the preview fully load before you exported? (Wait for it to stop regenerating after making changes.)

IngramSpark has specific requirements that vary by title type. Common issues:

• Trim size mismatch: your PDF trim size must exactly match the size you selected in IngramSpark. Even a fraction of a millimetre difference can cause rejection.
• PDF/X compliance: some IngramSpark titles require PDF/X-1a. Stet's Print PDF export includes PDF/X-1a metadata flags and embeds all fonts, which is sufficient for text-only books. If your book contains images, verify CMYK colour space separately.

Amazon no longer accepts MOBI files. They switched to EPUB as their preferred format in 2022. Upload EPUB 3 to KDP for ebook distribution.

When you first import a manuscript, Stet asks where to save the project. The default location is your Documents folder. You can move the .stet file like any other file. Stet will find it from the recent documents list or you can open it directly.

Yes. The .stet file contains everything: the manuscript copy, your corrections, your template and font choices, and any imported font files. Send the file and the recipient can open it in Stet on their Mac.

No. Your manuscript is processed entirely on your Mac. Stet does not upload your text to any server, cloud service, or third-party API. Everything (import, corrections, preview rendering, and export) happens locally on your device.

No. Every check and correction in Stet is built on deterministic rules: pattern matching, typographic conventions, and document structure analysis. There are no language models, no machine learning, and no generative AI anywhere in the pipeline. When Stet flags a smart quote or detects a chapter break, it's applying a specific, predictable rule that you can review and override.

Stet requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. It is Mac-only — there is no Windows or iPad version.

No. Stet is Mac-only. This allows us to use Mac-native technologies (Core Text for PDF rendering, AppKit for the interface) that produce higher quality output than cross-platform alternatives.

Yes. Compile your Scrivener project to a .docx file first, then import into Stet. Make sure to set up your Scrivener compile settings to use proper heading styles for chapter titles (Heading 1).