Scrivener for Windows

[Harper Kingsley]

Okay, so I've been using Scrivener for Windows the last couple of days. It's still in beta, so it's just a little buggy, but I was wondering if anyone else has been using it and can give me some help

-how do I compile just 1 folder instead of everything?
-has anyone else had the issue where Scrivener takes out all the italics and bolds and whatever when you import files?
-what the heck are collections and what am I supposed to do with them? (I don't want to have to go through the tutorial again)
-is there a way to set a default note card size for the corkboard?

I guess the Mac version is super awesome and I'm incredibly jealous, but the Windows is still full of bugs. It's like I've fallen in love with some mildly horrible man--"I think I can change him!"--and I'm just praying that by the time we get married he'll become socially acceptable or something.

BTW, it doesn't import .odt files yet, but I guess that's something they're trying to fix.

[ipetraka]

how do I compile just 1 folder instead of everything?

Click the blue expansion arrow in the compile window to show all options. In the Contents section, you can choose the folder you want to compile. By default it does the whole Draft; but you can select any spot within the Draft to do a sub-set.

has anyone else had the issue where Scrivener takes out all the italics and bolds and whatever when you import files?

It's hard to say what is happening here without more information. It could be, for instance, that the font in the original file doesn't have italic and bold variants, and the original word processor was just faking them by slanting glyphs and chunking up pixels.

what the heck are collections and what am I supposed to do with them? (I don't want to have to go through the tutorial again)

There's no good answer to that. Some people might find them useful; others might never once use them. There are a lot of things like that in the program. Here are a few things I've used them for recently:

• To Do list. I needed to proof every item in the Draft; so I dumped them all into a collection and worked my way down the list, removing them from the collection as I worked.
• Collect notes to Individual X. I put notes in as inline annotations with the individuals name in each one, then did a project search for their name and saved the search as a dynamic collection. Now they can open the project, view that tab and see all of my notes to them.

There are some other ideas provided in a bullet list in the user manual section on collections. Eh, I don't have the page number handy at the moment. Check in the table of contents; it's a major section in the chapter "Setting Up the Binder".

is there a way to set a default note card size for the corkboard?

Yes, in fact for all project based options like this (things that stick once you change them): that is what custom templates are for. Set up a blank project just the way you like it and use `File/Save as Template...`; tweak it over the years as your styles change.

I guess the Mac version is super awesome and I'm incredibly jealous, but the Windows is still full of bugs. It's like I've fallen in love with some mildly horrible man--"I think I can change him!"--and I'm just praying that by the time we get married he'll become socially acceptable or something.

We're still working on those! Thanks for hanging in there. The Mac version has been in development since 2004 if you count early concept builds; 2006 is when it finally took shape in the form you see now. That's a long time to get the kinks worked out. The Windows version has had a year in public testing now and is immeasurably better than it was a year ago. If the pace keeps up; it'll get there.

BTW, it doesn't import .odt files yet, but I guess that's something they're trying to fix.

Yes.

[crich70]

I've always thought that Scrivener was for Mac what Liquid Story Binder was for Windows. I don't remember if the latter has a Mac compatible form or not though. I got lucky with my LSB in that I got it when the program was "Giveaway of the day" a few yrs back. Haven't really tried the Scrivener for Windows program out. Does anyone know if there will be a deal for it during next months NaNoWriMo?

[Harper Kingsley]

Originally Posted by crich70

Does anyone know if there will be a deal for it during next months NaNoWriMo?

Because it's in beta, it's free right now. After that it's going to be $40. So far I'm really liking it, even with the little issues. Hopefully, though, those will all be fixed by the time it's commercially available.

I like that I can set a target for what I want to write a day. So if I'm aiming for 4000 words, I just put that in the target. Plus, each text file I make has a visible word count at the bottom. And I can put all my notes into the notecards on the side.

So far I've been making each chapter into its own separate file. Then I put on the notecard what I want to have happen in that chapter. Then yay!

Seriously, I could do a commercial for Scrivener. The Mac people have had it forever, but it's like my first day right now.

[Harper Kingsley]

Question: Is there a way to make a target word count just for a select folder rather than the whole document? I'm trying to do a multi-book series, so one book is at 123,000, while the other is only at 21,000, but Scrivener just counts them both together. Is there a way to have each folder have its own count?

[Bob Russell]

Scrivener is the first and only software that has made me consider buying a Mac just for one single purpose. But I'm pretty confident (or maybe I should just say hopeful, based on the reputation of the guy who runs the show) that the Scrivener for Windows version will soon be right there with the Mac version in quality and features.

[seajewel]

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

Scrivener is the first and only software that has made me consider buying a Mac just for one single purpose. But I'm pretty confident (or maybe I should just say hopeful, based on the reputation of the guy who runs the show) that the Scrivener for Windows version will soon be right there with the Mac version in quality and features.

Agreed on that. It's made me want a Macbook.

[VydorScope]

And here I am sitting on a iMac without it... I do need to check it out, but wonder what it could give me, that I might use over MS Word. At a quick look over their web page it looks like it would more then likely just get in the way, or be overly complex, but some many of you like it... maybe Im just too simple minded

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

And here I am sitting on a iMac without it... I do need to check it out, but wonder what it could give me, that I might use over MS Word. At a quick look over their web page it looks like it would more then likely just get in the way, or be overly complex, but some many of you like it... maybe Im just too simple minded

I said the same thing about LibreOffice (well, it was OpenOffice in those days) until I moved to Scrivener. Of course I still use LibreOffice, but not for writing novels.

The secret of Scrivener that it allows you to include as much or as little as you want of your working papers in the same window and move between them as you want.

Like the others said, I'd buy a Mac to get Scrivener. Fortunately my son gave me his old one!

[anamardoll]

Can anyone speak for the epub/mobi output formats? Are they clean and relatively free of code garbage?

[Nancy Fulda]

Originally Posted by seajewel

Agreed on that. It's made me want a Macbook.

Me too. Fortunately they announced the Windows version before I invested in new hardware.

I love Scrivener. I will oh-so-happily shell out the money to buy a full version once it's out of beta.

[Penforhire]

It seems to me you can get much of the funtionality in Windows by using Word and OneNote but not nearly as well integrated as what I see advertised in Scrivener. Makes me want to try a Mac too. Also the "versioning" and history control in the Lion OS sounds too cool (assuming programs quickly make use of it).

[SeaKing]

I have no problems with Word though I am sure there are people more expert here, but I haven't the faintest idea what Scrivener does that is so great.

I am on a Windows machine.

[Harper Kingsley]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

I have no problems with Word though I am sure there are people more expert here, but I haven't the faintest idea what Scrivener does that is so great.

I am on a Windows machine.

It's kind of an outliner program. You can create word targets for yourself that you can reset as you go along. If you break your story into chapters, it's like each one is a separate story, each with their own word count showing at the bottom of the page.

The note cards are nice because I can list what I want to have happen in each chapter. And I can mark the status of each chapter--in progress, done, etc.

You can have all your character notes and settings stored in Research so it's right there. I had my working notes in spiral notebooks, which was getting pretty out of control.

I've used Word and OpenOffice and LibreOffice, and the minute I touched Scrivener it was like I fell in love. I write my story, then compile it as .odt or .doc, bringing it all back together in LibreOffice for a final run through.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by Harper Kingsley

It's kind of an outliner program. You can create word targets for yourself that you can reset as you go along. If you break your story into chapters, it's like each one is a separate story, each with their own word count showing at the bottom of the page.

The note cards are nice because I can list what I want to have happen in each chapter. And I can mark the status of each chapter--in progress, done, etc.

You can have all your character notes and settings stored in Research so it's right there. I had my working notes in spiral notebooks, which was getting pretty out of control.

I've used Word and OpenOffice and LibreOffice, and the minute I touched Scrivener it was like I fell in love. I write my story, then compile it as .odt or .doc, bringing it all back together in LibreOffice for a final run through.

Thanks. I will look into it.