General
What is Penzu?
Penzu is an online diary and personal journaling service that focuses specifically on privacy. That means that your entries are private by default and aren’t visible by anyone else unless you decide to share them. You can sign-up for free or sign-up for a Pro account and experience more features and security. Learn more about our products here.
How do I start?
Simply start by signing up. If you have already signed up, then you can login or make your way to the pad where you can start writing instantly. All you have to do is type, Penzu saves your work automatically. To see some tips on getting started, click here.
What is an entry?
An entry is anything you want it to be! Simply, it is words on a page. But depending on what type of journal you are creating, it could be a day in your life, or a moment you want to capture and save, or an expression of any kind. Write anything you want in your Penzu account!
What does it cost to keep a journal on Penzu?
Penzu is completely free. But Penzu Pro, which provides users with many more features, including military-grade security, customization features, and exporting of data, is just $19 US per year. Sign-up now!
What is Penzu Pro?
Penzu Pro is an enhanced version of Penzu, with premium features such as tagging, entry encryption, rich text formatting, customizing, importing, and exporting to name a few.
You can learn more here.
How much does Penzu Pro cost?
Penzu Pro costs $19 US per year. There is no tax or extra charges.
What forms of payment to you accept?
Penzu accepts VISA, Mastercard, and Paypal only.
Why is Penzu so great?
While most journaling and blogging services focus on the public journal or diary, Penzu is all about privacy and sharing your entries only if you want to. It is extremely intuitive and easy to use, and adds a layer of security not offered by most competing services. To learn more about why Penzu is the best way to keep a journal on the web, click here.
How do I Import posts from an RSS feed?
Penzu Pro users can import posts from any blog by simply clicking the “Import” icon on the Entries page toolbar. Select “Blog Feed” in the drop-down and a popup will appear. In that popup, enter the blog URL or Feed URL and click “Import”. The posts that are available on the first page of the blog’s feed is what will be imported into your account.
Currently images from the original posts can’t be imported, only text.
Are Entries secure?
Your Penzu account is password protected and safe from prying eyes. Penzu Pro users are able to use military-grade security to encrypt their entries. Encrypted and non-encrypted entries are also backed up on a separate server for extra security.
Can my Entries be read by anyone else?
No! Unless you specifically share your entry, it is completely private and accessible only by you. As long as you keep your password safe, your entries will never be read by anyone else. You can even lock your entries with a second password for increased security!
How does Spellcheck work?
Spellcheck is available to Penzu Pro users only, and can be found in the Formatting toolbar.
To spellcheck an entry, simply click the spellcheck icon and incorrectly spelled words will appear highlighted in light red. Right click on those highlighted words and suggestions for the correct spelling will appear. Select the desired spelling or ignore the word if you want the spelling to remain.
Which browsers do you support?
We currently support Firefox 3, Safari 4 and Google Chrome, but using Penzu on other browsers shouldn’t be too bad. Please be patient while we fully support other browsers.
Download Firefox here: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox
Do I need to login before I start writing?
If you have something you want to write down urgently, simply navigate to Penzu.com and you can start typing right away. If you land on the home page, just click “Try It Out” and you will see the pad. When you are finished writing, log in (or sign up) if you don’t have an account and your entry will be saved!
What’s the difference between using Penzu and keeping a blog?
A blog is more commonly read by others, whereas Penzu is primarily for you. So feel free to write and do anything – no one is watching!
How do I pay for a Pro account using Paypal?
To pay for a Penzu Pro account using Paypal, choose “Paypal” from the Select Payment Method drop-down menu on the Pro Sign-Up page. Check the “I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.” box and click the green Submit button. From there you must login to your Paypal account and then just follow the instructions on the screen to complete your purchase.
What is the Info Side Panel?
The Left Side Panel displays various information about journaling and your Penzu account. The Panel is accessed by clicking on the “i” tab on the left side of your screen.
What is the Recent Entry Side Panel?
The Right Side Panel is where you can find your Recent Entries. The Panel is accessed by clicking on the number tab at on the right side of your screen, or it will pop out whenever you create a new entry. The Right Side Panel displays your most recent entry at the top of the Panel, and subsequent entries will be listed below it. At the bottom of the Panel, you can sort your Recent Entries by when you last edited them.
How can I manually renew my Pro account?
To manually renew your Penzu Pro account, you must first turn-off auto-renew from your account page. Then you can manually renew your Pro account as long as it is within 30 days of expiry.
My text is not aligning with the lines on the pad…
If you are a Penzu Pro user, you may experience this problem.
This can happen when you either paste content from another site into an entry, or if you are altering the size and font of the text on the pad. To make the text align with the ruled lines on the pad, simply click the right-most button on the formatting toolbar (the button looks like a T with an x) to remove all formatting. The text will be stripped of it’s style but will now align properly with the pad.
Can I find out the identity of the sender of an anonymous message?
No. Unless the message you have received violates our Terms of Use or Privacy Policy, the sender’s identity will remain unknown. You can report misconduct to us at support[at]penzu.com.
Why can’t I share?
You must type something on the pad in order to share an entry. Otherwise, make sure you have filled out all of the fields correctly. If you still can’t share an entry, make sure your browser is supported.
Why can’t I print?
You must type something on the pad in order to print. A blank entry cannot be printed. If you are trying to print from the Entries page, make sure you have selected one or more entries.
Where are the photos I just uploaded?
To access images that have been uploaded to an entry, just click the “Insert” button on the Pad toolbar. In the Insert dropdown, on the top right-hand side, you will see a sub-nav button “Entry Photos”. Click that and your photos should appear!
I have locked an entry with Basic Lock and can’t remember the password…
If you are unable to unlock an entry because you have forgotten the password, try a few more times to make sure you aren’t typing it incorrectly and turn the CAPS LOCK off.
Otherwise, you can send us an email at support[at]penzu[dot]com and we can unlock it for you. Please send the email from the email account that is associated with your Penzu account and include the title of the entry you would like unlocked along with the approximate date/time it was created.
In the future, make sure to add a hint or write your password on a safely-stored piece of paper!
I have locked an entry with Encryption Lock and forgotten the password. Help!
If you are unable to unlock an encrypted entry because you have forgotten the password, try a few more times to make sure you aren’t typing it incorrectly and turn the CAPS LOCK off. Otherwise, we cannot unlock the entry, and it is effectively irretrievable. In the future, make sure to add a hint or write your password on a safely-stored piece of paper!
I have forgotten my main account password. What do I do?
If you have forgotten your password and are unable to login to your account, simply click the “Forgot?” link in the Log In menu. Enter your email in the pop-up and you will be sent a link with a reset password code. Follow the link and you will be asked to fill out a form to reset your password.
I saved an entry and now I can’t find it.
You must be logged in to save entries. When you are logged in, all of your saved entries should be in the Entries section. You can get there by clicking the blue Entries tab at the top right of the pad. Make sure to clear the search field by clicking the large “X”. If your entries still aren’t saving, make sure your browser is supported.
Why can’t I create a new entry?
You can always create a new entry by clicking the New Entry button at the top of the pad. If the button isn’t working, please make sure your browser is supported.
How do I edit my payment information?
To edit your credit card payment details, on you Account page, click “Edit” next to the Billing box. You can then update your info and save it to your account.
How do I change languages?
Currently Penzu is only available in English. We are working on it and will have other languages soon!
How do I change my avatar?
To change your avatar you can either click on your avatar in the top right-hand corner of your screen or click “Change” next to your avatar on your Account page. A popup will appear allowing you to choose a new avatar, or if you are a Penzu Pro user, you can upload a custom avatar!
How do I change my password?
To change your password, simply view your Account page (accessed from the top right-hand corner). From there just scroll down to Password and click “Change”.
Can I change the display date on entries to show the date created instead of edited?
Currently, you can only change the entry’s date if you have a Pro account. Sign-up for a pro account here. To change the default date between last edited and first created, click on the Settings link at the top right of your screen, then scroll down to “Entry Display Date”. Select your preferred option and then click “Change”.
Can I change my Remember Me settings?
To change your Remember Me settings, simply click on the Settings link at the top right of your screen, then scroll down to “Remember Me” Auto Login. Select how long you want to stay logged in and then click “Change”.
How do I block users from sharing entries with me?
When you receive a shared entry via email, in the email there is a link to block the sender from sending you future entries. On your Settings page you will see a list of blocked users which you can edit.
You can also set general settings and block all entries shared with you, all anonymous entries shared with you, or all entries shared from unregistered users. Just select your desired setting from the Sharing drop-down and click “Change”.
How can I stop receiving shared entries?
To stop receiving shared entries from other users, simply click on the Settings link at the top right of your screen, then scroll down to “Sharing”. Select what types of shared entries you want to receive and then click “Change.”
How do I change my time zone?
To change the time zone associated with your Penzu account, go to your Account page (click on the “Account” link at the top right of your page) and scroll down to Time Zone. Select your zone and click “Change”.
Can I change the date of an entry?
Currently, you can only change the entry’s date if you have a Penzu Pro account. If you have a Pro account, simply click the date on the entry and select the “Created” date you wish from the date picker dropdown.
If you are having trouble changing the date of your entry, check your “entry display date” preferences on the Settings page (link in the top left). On that page, under the “Entry Display Date” heading, make sure that you have the default “First created” option selected. After this, you should be able to change your entry dates.
What is your refund policy?
If you purchase a Penzu Pro account and decide you don’t like the service, you can get a refund within 48 hours of purchase. Refunds must be processed manually, so you have to email us at support@penzu.com and request a refund. After that, you have 24 hours to unlock your encrypted entries and your account will then be downgraded to a Free account.
What happens if I forget to renew my account?
If you turn-off auto-renewal, and forget to manually renew your Penzu account, no sweat. You will receive a notice upon expiry that will tell you how you can restore and renew your account. If you do not renew, your account isn’t simply downgraded automatically. We require that you downgrade manually and unlock any encrypted entries before doing so.
What does Auto-Renew mean?
By default, once you sign-up for Penzu Pro, your account is set to auto-renew. That means that upon expiry of your Pro account one year from when you signed-up, the same credit card will be charged $19US for another year. If you wish to disable this, you can do so on your account page. Just click the Turn-off Auto-renew button and your account will require a manual renewal if you decide to continue using Penzu Pro for another year.
How do I downgrade or cancel my Pro account? (Pro)
To cancel or downgrade your Penzu Pro account to a Free account, simply visit your Account page and click on the “Downgrade” button at the bottom of the page. All of your entries will still be in your account but all Pro formatting and features will be lost. Please make sure that all of your encrypted entries have been unlocked before you do so or they will be irretrievable.
An email will be sent to you confirming the downgrade. All of your payment information will be immediately removed from our system.
How do I upgrade to a Pro account?
You can upgrade your Free Penzu account to a Pro account at any time. To Go Pro, click one of the various Go Pro buttons on our splash pages, or click here.
How do I change the email associated with my account?
To change your associated email account, simply click on the Account link at the top right of your screen, then click the green “Change” button next to your current email address. You will be prompted to enter a new email address to associate with your Penzu account.
How do I access my settings page?
To access your settings page, simply click on the Settings link at the top right of your screen. Here, you will be able to change your Penzu account settings.
How do I access my account page?
To access your account page, simply click on the Account link at the top right of your screen. Here, you will be able to change your Penzu account information.
How do I reactivate my account?
Once your Penzu account is deactivated, it can be reactivated by clicking the link sent to you in the reactivation email. If you didn’t receive an email, you can reactivate your account by logging in with your old credentials.
How do I permanently delete my account?
To permanently remove your Penzu account from our system, you must first disable your account. To disable your account, click the “Disable” button at the bottom of your Account page. Then, you are required to make a request in writing to support[at]penzu.com to permanently delete your account. We will manually remove your account and all of your entries.
How do I disable my account?
To disable your Penzu account, go to your account page by clicking on the Account link at top right of your screen once logged in. Near the bottom of the Account page you will find a “Disable Account” button. Click it and your account will no longer be accessible until reactivated.
How do I log in?
To log in, click the Log In link at the top right of the page or visit the Log In page here.
How do I create an account?
To create a Penzu account, you must sign up. You can do this by clicking the green sign-up button at the top right your screen in the Pad interface, or the Free Sign-Up button on the landing page.
How do I export my entries? (Pro)
You can export your entries from your Penzu account as a PDF or a TXT file. Simply select the entries you want to export and click the Export button on the toolbar. Select the format you want, and the file will be downloaded to your computer.
How do I import posts from my Live Journal account? (Pro)
If you have a Live Journal account, you can import your posts to your Penzu Pro account. Simply click the Import button on the toolbar and a popup will appear. Enter your Live Journal user name and password, the date from when you want to start importing your posts, and click Import.
How do I view tagged entries? (Pro)
If you have tagged entries, you can click on the Tag button on the toolbar. Click the tag you want to view and the entries with that tag will appear below.
To remove a tag from an entry, you must select the entry and then click “Remove Tag” on the purple filter bar.
How do I restore entries from the Trash?
You can undelete entries by restoring them from the Trash. Just click “View Trash” on the Entries header, select the entries you want to restore, and click “Restore Entries” on the red filter bar.
How do I search my saved entries?
Just start typing in the search field. As you type, the entries containing the entered term will start to appear. Clear the search field to display all of your entries.
How do I rename an entry?
Renaming an entry must be done from the Entries page. Select the entry (or entries) you would like to rename and click the rename button.
How do I permanently delete my entries?
Entries are deleted automatically 30 days after they are sent to the Trash, or you can permanently delete them by selecting the entries in your Trash and clicking the delete button. This immediately removes entries from your account to never be retrieved.
What is the trash?
The Trash is where your deleted entries go. To view your trash, click on the View Trash link at the top of my Entries page.
How do I Delete an entry?
To delete an entry, you must select it in the Entries page and then click the delete button at the top of the page. You may select an entry by using the checkboxes to the right of the entry or by using the “Select” filters at the top left of the page. To delete more than one entry, just select multiple entries and click delete. Once you have deleted your entry, it is removed from the Entries page and is moved to the Trash.
What is the Entries page?
When you are logged in, all of your saved entries should be in the Entries section. You can get there by clicking the Entries tab at the top right of the pad. From here, you can Open, Print, Delete, Rename, or Search through entries. Penzu Pro users will also able to Tag, Import, and Export their entries from this page.
Where are all of my saved entries?
Your saved entries can be viewed on the Entries page, which can be accessed by clicking the Entries icon on the side of the pad.
What if your server that contains the user and random passwords fails? Do you have backups?
We back up our database regularly. The database backups are also encrypted, and stored in a separate secure location. Should the primary server fail, we do have backups that we can restore from.
All Penzu accounts and entries are backed up on our servers every day.
If I unlock my entry and relock it with the same password, will you generate a new key each time?
Yes, each time you lock an entry we generate a new random password that will be combined with your password to create the key that locks your entry.
What is one-way encryption?
One way encryption is a mathematical function that takes a variable-length input string and converts it into a fixed-length binary sequence. Furthermore, one-way encryption, or a one-way hash function, is designed in such a way that it is hard to reverse the process, that is, to find a string that hashes to a given value (hence the name one-way.) A good hash function also makes it hard to find two strings that would produce the same hash value.
Since it is computationally infeasible to produce a document that would hash to a given value or find two documents that hash to the same value, a document’s hash can serve as a cryptographic equivalent of the document.
Can attackers gain access to the key used to encrypt the random password?
The key used to encrypt the random password is stored securely on Penzu’s servers. These servers have very limited access, and extra credentials are required to access the file storing the key. The key is also stored on a separate server from our database where the random password is stored. This database server is also secure and requires additional credentials to both gain access to and then to access the actual database.
Do you have access to the user password? It is stored on your server after all, so why can’t you read it?
When an entry is encrypted, Penzu stores the password using a one way encryption function, meaning that once it is encrypted there is no way to reverse the process and retrieve the original text.
If you have access to the random password, can you unlock my entry?
No, not without your password. The random password and your password are combined to create a key to unlock the entry.
How secure is the random password Penzu generates?
The random password is generated using OpenSSL. OpenSSL is an open source implementation of the SSL and TLS protocols. The core OpenSSL library implements basic cryptographic functions and provides various utility functions. OpenSSL is one of the few open source programs to be validated under the FIPS 140-2 computer security standard by the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cryptographic Module Validation Program. Government agencies use FIPS 140-2 cryptographic products to secure networks carrying unclassified sensitive data.
The random password is a a string of random bytes, created by a cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator.
What are the components of the key used to lock my entry with Encryption Lock?
The encryption key used to lock you entry is made up of your entry password and a random password that we generate for added security. The random password makes your entry twice as hard to access since an attacker would require both passwords to unlock your entry instead of just one.
You can read more here.
What is SSL or HTTPS?
HTTPS stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol over SSL (Secure Socket Layer). It is a TCP/IP protocol used by Web servers to transfer and display Web content securely. The data transferred is encrypted so that it cannot be read by anyone except the recipient.
HTTPS is used by any Web site that is collecting sensitive customer data such as banking information or purchasing information. If you are making a transaction online, you should make sure that it is done over HTTPS so that the data remains secure.
What is a key?
A key is a piece of data that is needed to encrypt and decrypt information. Much like a physical key is used to lock and unlock things (your house door, a locker, your car), it is used to lock and unlock information.
What is the process of encryption? (Pro)
When you lock an entry in your Penzu Pro account using encryption, we go to extra lengths to protect and store your password and encryption key. Each time you lock an entry, we combine your password with a random password to create a unique “key”. This key is what is required to encrypt and decrypt your entry.
You can read more about Encryption Locking here.
What does 256-bit AES mean?
In cryptography, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is an encryption standard adopted by the U.S. government. The standard comprises three block ciphers, AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256, adopted from a larger collection originally published as Rijndael.
What if I lose my password?
If you lose your password for an entry that is locked using the Basic Lock, you can contact us via email at support[at]penzu.com and we can retrieve it for you.
If, however, the entry was locked using the Encryption Lock, your password cannot be retrieved. If you have forgotten it entirely, we cannot help you and the entry will remain locked indefinitely.
When I edit an encrypted entry, is it vulnerable? (Pro)
No, when an encrypted entry is unlocked, the contents remain in session data only, and dumped once the entry is locked again.
Why aren’t encrypted entries searchable? (Pro)
Once an entry is encrypted, the contents aren’t visible by anyone unless they have the encryption key. This includes us, and so we can search encrypted entries unless they are unlocked. The encryption key is made up of the user password and a random password we generate. To learn more, you can read more in the security section of this Help page.
What is Encryption Locking? (Pro)
Encryption Locking is available to Penzu Pro users only. It works similar to Basic Locking except the entry is encrypted on our servers using military-grade 256-bit encryption and is unreadable by anyone except the password holder. The contents of encrypted entries aren’t searchable, and need to be unlocked in order to be searched.
What is Basic Locking?
Basic Locking is available to both Free and Penzu Pro accounts. For example, if someone managed to guess the password to your Penzu account, they would need to enter another password to unlock your locked entries.
While it protects people from viewing your entry, the actual file on our server remains unprotected and in text form. Entries that are locked using the Basic Lock are searchable from the Entries page.
How do I lock an entry?
To lock an entry, click the Lock button on the toolbar. Enter a password, and a hint to help you remember your password. Then click the Lock Entry button to lock the entry.
What is locking?
Locking is an extra safe-guard for your entries. It allows you to add a password to individual entries so that if you happen to leave your account open or forget to log out on a public computer, your most cherished entries are safe from on-lookers.
How can I download my images? (Pro)
With a Penzu Pro account, you can download your entry photos from the View Large popup. Simply click View Large from the inserted thumbnail rollover, and a download button will appear in the large popup.
The largest image size we save is 1280 x 1024, so anything smaller than that will download the original size. Anything larger than that is downsized to 1280 x 1024.
How can I view a larger size of my uploaded image? (Pro)
With a Penzu Pro account, if you rollover the image thumbnail once the image has been inserted into the entry, you will see a View Large button. Click on that to reveal a large popup of your image.
The largest image size we save is 1280 x 1024, so anything smaller than that will display the original size. Anything larger than that is downsized to 1280 x 1024.
Where is the rest of my image?
To see the entire image you have uploaded, you must insert the image and then rollover the thumbnail.
What image formats do you support?
We support JPEG, PNG, and GIF images. All images must be no larger than 5MB.
How do I move an image around in the margin?
Pictures can be moved up and down in the margin by clicking and dragging the image thumbnail.
How do I change the caption on a photo I have uploaded?
To change the caption below an image, rollover the thumbnail of the image within the entry and click on the text of the old caption. You will then be prompted to type in the new caption.
How do I add a caption on a photo I have uploaded?
To add a caption below an image, rollover the thumbnail of the image within the entry and click on “Add a Caption!” You will then be prompted to type in the new caption.
How do I delete an image?
An image must be removed from your entry before it can be deleted. Once it is no longer in the entry, simply click “Delete” on the image within the “Entry Photos” tray.
How do I remove an image?
To remove an image inserted in an entry, rollover the desired image thumbnail and click remove in the bottom right corner. It will still be available in the “Entry Photos” tray for reinsertion. Alternatively, you can click remove on the image from within the “Entry Photos” tray.
How do I insert an image?
To insert an image or picture, click on the “Insert Photo” button on the toolbar above the Pad. You will then be able to upload an image from your computer’s local hard drive or from Flickr. To upload an image from your computer, select the “Computer” link and click “Browse” to select the file and then click upload. Once the page is finished loading, click “Done”, and your image will appear under the “Entry Photos Tab” on the top right of the drop down. To add it to the current entry, click “Insert” and it will appear in the margin of the entry. Rollover to zoom the image and add a caption, if desired.
If I make a shared entry private, do I lose the comments?
You have the option of keeping the comments with the private entry or deleting them. If you decide to keep them, they cannot be removed until the entry is shared and unshared again.
Can I comment on my own entry?
Yes, any entry that is shared (either via email or public link) can be commented on.
Can everyone see my comments or just the author?
Anyone that the entry is shared with can see the comments. For public entries, anyone that views the entry will be able to view or contribute to the comments.
How do I comment on an entry?
Any entry that has been shared (either via email or public link) can be commented on by clicking the Comment button on the toolbar. Clicking “Add Comment” in the drop down will display a popup that will allow you to enter a comment, pick your posting name (either your name or anonymous), and choose an avatar. You can change your avatar when commenting to either your custom avatar (pro users only) or any of the stock avatars.
Does sharing a Pro entry retain it’s formatting and customization? (Pro)
Yes, sharing a Penzu Pro entry will look the same to you as it does to the recipient.
What happens when I edit a shared entry?
Any edits you make to a shared entry will not show up in the shared copy.
Any edits made to a public entry will appear in the public copy and seen by anyone who visits the link unless the entry is made private.
What happens when I delete a shared entry?
When a shared entry is deleted, all recipients are notified via email of the deletion and the shared entry copy is removed from the recipient account. When public entries are deleted, the link directs the user to a notification page that the entry is no longer available.
How do I save a shared entry to my Account?
Entries that are emailed to you can be saved by simply clicking the save button when logged in. Public entries, however, cannot be saved to your account at the moment. The link will be active until the author decides to delete or unshare the original entry.
Can recipients of shared entries edit the entry?
No, shared copies of entries are read-only.
How do I unshare (or make private) a public or emailed entry?
Once an entry has been shared, an icon will appear in the top right corner of the Pad. If you rollover on that icon, a button will be there for you to make any shared entry private. For entries that have been emailed, an email notice will be sent to the recipients telling them that the entry has been made private.
How do I make an entry public?
Select the Public Link tab in the Share menu (which is found by clicking the Share button on the toolbar above the Pad). Click the green “Generate Link” button and a public link will be created that you can share with anyone that you want. This link is not posted anywhere, so you can decide who you share the entry with.
How do I share an entry via email?
Select the Email tab in the Share menu. Enter the recipient’s email, an optional message that will be displayed in the notification email the recipient receives, and who you want the message to be sent from. You can “share as” yourself, or anonymous, in which case your identity will remain hidden from the person you are sending the entry to. You can share your entry with multiple email recipients by simply separating the email addresses with commas. Each recipient will receive an email notification with a link to view your entry. They will not be able to edit the entry.
How do I share an entry?
Click the “Share” button on the toolbar above the Pad to drop down the Share menu. There you will have two options for sharing: Email and Public Link.
How do I change the date of an entry? (Pro)
If you have a Penzu Pro, you can change the date of your entries by simply clicking on the date on the top right-hand side of the Pad. A dropdown date picker will appear and you can select any date in the past that you wish. The “date created” will then be immediately changed for that entry.
How do I change the Pad Style? (Pro)
Under Customize, you can change the Pad Style to something other than the default ruled lines if you have a pro account. Just select the Pad Style sub-nav and choose your desired style. You can make all entries have the same Pad Style by clicking “Make Default”. Entries that have already had the Pad Style changed will not be affected by the new default.
How do I customize the background of an entry? (Pro)
To change the Background of an entry, click the Customize button. With the Background sub nav selected, you can choose from various background styles by clicking select on the desired style. To change all of your entries to a certain Background style (and your Entries page), simple click “Make Default” below the desired Background. Entries that have already had the Background changed will not be affected by the new default.
How do I remove a tag from an entry? (Pro)
To remove Tags from the Pad, click the “x” on the purple tag in the Tag dropdown. The entry will no longer be tagged with that tag, and if that tag doesn’t exist anywhere else, it will no longer be in your list of tags on your Entries page.
To remove tags from multiple entries at once, click the Tag button in the toolbar on your Entries page, click a tag you want to view, and below all entries with that tag will appear. To remove the tag from those entries, simply select them (by checking the box next to the entry title) and click “Remove Tag” in the purple bar above.
Once a tag no longer is used, it is automatically deleted.
How do I tag an entry? (Pro)
To tag an entry, click the Tag button on the toolbar. Click the Add Tag button, and either add a new tag or select from past tags.
What is formatting? (Pro)
Formatting allows you to change normal text to rich text. You can make the type bold, italic, underlined, larger, smaller, change the font, the colour, alignment, indentation, add strikethrough, highlight text, make a bulleted list, numbered list, and add hyper-links.
How do I print an entry?
Click the “Print” button on the toolbar above the Pad and your entry will print. The ruled lines you see on the page will not print. The entry title, body, and date will, however, be printed. You can also print multiple entries from the Entries page by clicking on the “Print” button above the list of entries when multiple entries have been selected.
How do I change the title of an entry?
To change a title of an active entry, all you have to do is click on the current entry title at the top line of the pad. You will then be able to replace the title.
To change the title of a non-active entry, go to the Entries Page (click on the Bookmark icon to the right of the Pad), and select at least one entry. Entries may be selected by using the checkboxes on the left side of the Entries page, or by using the select “All Entries” or “This Page” links at the top left of the Entries page. Once you have selected at least one entry, press the “Rename” button above the Entries page. You will then be prompted to choose a new name for your selected entries.
How do I lock an entry?
To lock an entry, simply click on the “Lock Entry” button on the toolbar above the Pad. You will then be prompted to enter and re-enter a password, along with a password hint. Once the entry is locked, it can’t be read or edited until the correct password has been entered and it has been unlocked. Penzu Pro accounts allow you to lock an entry with 256-bit AES encryption. In order to lock entries, you must be logged in.
How do I save an entry?
Entries are saved automatically every 10 seconds, so you don’t need to save all the time. However, if you want to make sure your work is saved, simply click “Save” button on the toolbar above the Pad. You must be logged in to save an entry.
How do I create a new entry?
Click on the “New Entry” button on the toolbar above the Pad. It looks like a plus sign. You can always click that button to create a new entry from any page it appears.
Is there anything I can’t write about?
Nope. Write away. Your thoughts are for you only. For more information, please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Do I have to lock each entry?
The reasoning around locking is for extra security. Penzu is already secure enough that you don’t have to lock each entry. To give you an example, using Penzu is like using a paper-bound diary with a lock on it—a really strong lock, not like one of those flimsy locks that comes with a Hello Kitty diary. The key to that lock is your login password. If you want to ensure that someone doesn’t get into your account, make sure your password is impossible to guess and contains letters and numbers.
Continuing with our metaphor, entry locking is like writing certain entries in your own made-up language. So even if someone does break the lock on your diary, certain entries they will not be able to read.
Penzu Pro, then, is like writing certain entries in a made-up language that was created by the CIA—not even the smartest people in the world would be able to decode your entry and the only person that could ever read it is you. It is so secure that if you lose the password to a locked entry, that entry becomes irretrievable.
So, to sum up, no, there isn’t a way around locking each entry. But, you shouldn’t have to lock each one as your account is already extremely safe and secure.
How do I delete a Tag (Pro)?
If you want to delete a tag, it must no longer be used. That is, no entries must be tagged with that tag.
To do so, click the Tag button in the toolbar on your Entries page, click a tag you want to delete, and below all entries with that tag will appear. Remove the tag from those entries, by simply selecting them (by checking the box next to the entry title) and clicking “Remove Tag” in the purple bar above. Once the tag no longer is used, it is automatically deleted.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Formatting Entries with Penzu Pro
You can use keyboard shortcuts to format your entries with Penzu Pro so that you don’t have to keep revisiting the formatting toolbar. A list of basic formatting shortcuts is below and we will continue to add to this list:
Ctrl A = Select All
Ctrl B = Bold
Ctrl U = Underline
Ctrl I = Italicize
Ctrl C = Copy
Ctrl V = Paste
Ctrl Y = Redo
Ctrl Z = Undo
*For mac users, substitute the command key (or “⌘”) for “Ctrl”
Penzu won’t accept my credit card…
If you are trying to upgrade to Pro and can’t, or are receiving this error: “Credit Card Transaction Failed” it could mean that you have entered incorrect information or that your credit card is invalid.
Please follow these steps to solve this problem:
1) Make sure all of your information is correct and your name, card number, expiry, and CVV match up properly with your credit card. We accept only VISA and MASTERCARD so Amex and other cards will NOT work.
2) Double check that you have entered your information properly in the checkout fields as indicated.
3) Try a different credit card if you have one.
4) A method that is sure to work is to signup for Paypal. You can add funds to your Paypal account from your bank account and then pay for a Pro membership with those funds using the Express Checkout payment method on the Penzu Pro sign-up page. While this isn’t ideal, and might take a while, it will work every time so long as funds can be transferred to your Paypal account.
5) Finally, as a last resort, you can use a friend or family credit card and pay them back. After all, it’s only $19!
Please contact support (support [at] penzu.com) if you are still having issues. We sincerely apologize for any people that are experiencing trouble upgrading.
What can I do if entries are missing?
If your entries are missing, deleted, gone, or blank, please contact us directly and we will try our best to salvage any lost material.
Make sure that you don’t open multiple entries at the same time in separate windows or tabs. Use our side panel to manage open entries.
Keep in mind we don’t support Internet Explorer, so some bugs still exist. You can download Firefox here.