Kelk quick rules

The few rules behind everything Kelk does. Learn these and the rest of Kelk becomes obvious. For every detail, see the full User’s guide.

The golden rule: what you select decides what changes

You select…	Your action changes…
Nothing (click empty canvas)	The page: its defaults for new things, and its free text.
A baseline	That line and everything attached to it.
Items (words, letters)	Only those items.

Holding Shift usually means “apply it to what is already there as well”.

1Fonts and size: three levels

The Font, Style and Size boxes in the top bar always work on what is selected:

Page font

Select nothing, then pick a font.

Used for free text typed with nothing selected, and every new baseline starts with it.

For a permanent default use Page Setup → Default font, which is kept for New and Clear canvas.

Baseline font

Select a baseline, then pick a font.

That line now uses it for text you type next. Words already on it stay as they are.

Hold Shift while picking to rebuild the words already on the line too.

Item font

Select words or letters, then pick a font.

Only those items are rebuilt in the new font. The line is arranged again around them.

Size works the same way: the size box or Bigger / Smaller changes the page default, the line’s default (with Shift: its words too), or the selected items.
When a word changes font, its kashida and attached dots and diacritics are removed, because the new font has different shapes. Add them again afterwards.

2The Edit Text box: what it shows, what Apply does

Text is typed and changed in Edit Text (Text group, the big T). Each line of the box is one thing on the page. What those things are depends on what was selected when you opened it:

Selected when you open it	The box shows	New text you type belongs to
Nothing	Only the free items (items not on any baseline). Each free item is on its own line. Baseline text is not shown.	The page: each new line becomes a new free item, in the page font and size.
Free item(s)	Just those items, one per line.	The page, as above.
Baseline(s)	The text of each selected baseline, one line per baseline, from top to bottom.	That baseline, in its own font and size. The words move and rotate with the line.
Items on a baseline	Each selected word on its own line. If you selected only part of a word, only that part is shown.	Your change replaces those words, in their own font, in the same place on the line.
Free items and baseline items together	The box does not open. Kelk asks you to select items of one kind.

What Apply does to each line

Change a line: that item, or that baseline’s text, is rebuilt with the new text. The item keeps its own font and size.
Empty a line (with other lines still in the box): that free item is deleted. For a baseline, the whole baseline is deleted with everything on it, including its dots and diacritics.
Add a line: a new free item (nothing or free items selected), or a new baseline below the others (baselines selected).
Remove a word from a line: that word is deleted together with its dots and diacritics.
Apply is greyed out while the whole box is empty. To remove everything shown, use Delete on the page instead.
Changing a word pushes or pulls the rest of its line by the right amount, whether Kerning is on or off. A locked item never moves and stops the push.
Tab / Shift+Tab (or Prev / Next) apply, then bring in the next or previous baseline or word, without closing the box. Clicking a baseline on the page while the box is open brings that baseline into the box.

Usual way: click the baseline → Edit Text → type → Apply. Why don’t I see my text? With nothing selected the box lists only free items. Select the baseline first to see and edit its text.

3Dots and diacritics: when they follow, when they stay, when they go

Dots (added by Auto Dot or Ctrl+D) and diacritics (inserted with a letter selected) belong to their letter. A mark inserted with nothing selected belongs to nobody: it is a free item.

You do this to the letter or word	Its dots and diacritics
Move, rotate it, or move its baseline	Follow it.
Drag it with `Shift` held	Stay where they are.
Make it bigger or smaller	Resize and stay in place on it.
Change its font or style	Are removed (the new font has other shapes). Add them again. Kashida is removed too.
Press `Delete`	Are deleted with it.
Press `Shift`+`Delete`	Stay on the page as free marks.
Remove the word in Edit Text	Are deleted with it.
Use Remove dots only / Remove diacritics only	Only that kind of mark is deleted. The letters stay.

Images, PDF pages and SVGs are always free. Use Arrange → Attach to tie one to a baseline or guide so it follows the line. Paste with an item selected puts the copy right after it, and the line makes room.

4Baselines

New line: with nothing selected it is added after the last baseline. With a baseline selected it is added right after that one, and the lines below move down.
Move: drag, or use the arrow keys. Ctrl+drag moves it with every baseline below it. Alt+drag moves the line without its words.
Length: drag the round handle at either end.
Rotate: double-click the line, then drag the rotate handle. Its words turn with it.
Lock (Arrange) stops a baseline from being moved, lengthened or rotated by accident.

5Selecting

Click selects (no handles, so you can’t resize by accident). Double-click shows the resize and rotate handles.
Shift+click adds or removes items. Drag a box to select several. Ctrl+drag a second box to add to the selection.
Alt+click cycles through items stacked on top of each other.
Tab moves from baseline to baseline.

6The three switches: Kerning · Defaults · Auto Dot

They are shown in the status bar at the bottom. Click one there to switch it ON or OFF.

Switch	When ON
Kerning	Moving or resizing one word pushes or pulls the rest of the line, so gaps stay even.
Defaults `Ctrl`+`F`	Typed text uses the shapes you saved with ★ Save as default shape. With items or baselines selected, the button rebuilds them from the saved shapes.
Auto Dot `Ctrl`+`D`	Every word you insert gets its dots automatically. With items or baselines selected, the button adds dots to them.

Spacing tools: Closer / Farther moves everything after the selected word, or with several words selected changes only the gaps between them. Fit Text to Baseline justifies a line. Text On Baseline puts drifted words back on their line.

7Colour and effects

Fill & Stroke and Effects follow the golden rule: select a baseline to colour the whole line, or letters to colour only them.
Save as… in Fill & Stroke keeps a look as a template. Copy Format (Arrange) copies a look from one item to others.

8Deleting: what goes and what stays

Selected	Key	Deleted	Stays on the page
Item(s)	`Delete`	The items and their dots and diacritics	Nothing of them
Item(s)	`Shift`+`Delete`	Only the items	Their dots and diacritics, as free marks
Baseline(s)	`Delete`	The baseline and every word on it, with their dots and diacritics. Kelk asks first.	Nothing of it
Baseline(s)	`Shift`+`Delete`	Only the baseline	Its words, now free items, still with their marks
A guide	`Delete`	The guide	Everything attached to it, no longer following it

Deleting a word never closes the gap: the rest of the line stays where it is. Use Closer or Fit Text to Baseline afterwards.
Locked items, baselines and guides cannot be deleted. Unlock them first.
Made a mistake? Ctrl+Z brings everything back.

9Undo and saving

Ctrl+Z undoes and Ctrl+Y redoes, almost everything.
Save writes a project file on your computer. Save to Cloud keeps it in your account, so you can open it on any computer.
A project keeps the page’s look (Canvas Style). Your own app look (Workspace Style) is never changed by someone else’s project.

10When you are stuck

Use the Help tool ❓ (File group): click it, then click anything in Kelk to see what it is and how it works.
📖 → Search the guide: type what you want to do (“how do I rotate a baseline”) and jump to the answer.
Hover any button to see its name and hotkey. Every side-panel section has its own ? button.
Text doesn’t appear? Check that a font is chosen and that you are online. Text is shaped by Kelk’s server.
Still stuck? Right panel → About → Suggestions & problems, or write to kelkadmin@sinasoft.us.