Anytime I try to convert from one script format to another, it dutifully asks me which equivalent styles should be used and then promptly changes everything to general text. in the release notes for 2.3.1 it says this is fixed, but not for me… anybody else? I’d attach the file, but my whole scrivener file is 49 mb wiht all the research… how do I isolate just the file in question?
Have you switched between formats in the Format > Scriptwriting menu? If you just go to Documents > Convert > Script Format… then you can convert between arbitrary formats. But, say you are using the Screenplay format and go to convert to Stage Play (US), then if you do that via Documents > Convert > Script Format… you will find that once it’s finished, everything will indeed show up as “General Text”. This is because you have converted the documents to a format that the project isn’t using, so cannot recognise. You would then need to ensure that Format > Scriptwriting is set to use the “Stage Play (US)” format, at which point everything would be recognised correctly.
There is one related bug in the current version of Scrivener, though. The way to switch between script formats is to go to Format > Scriptwriting and switch formats. In the current version, however, when you do this, the “Convert formatting” panel doesn’t appear automatically. So, if you switch formats mid-project, you have to switch formats via Format > Scriptwriting and then go to Documents > Convert > Script Format… as a separate step. This has been fixed for the next update - the “convert format” panel will appear automatically when you switch formats. The Documents > Script > Convert Format… is really intended for converting scripts from other formats to the format you are using in this project rather than for switching the current format.
All the best,
Keith
Thanks Keith for your detailed response. I think I understood it, and did the two step version as you suggested but everything ends up as General text still… I created a custom screenwriting format to write a Musical, and now want to convert it to standard screenplay format. That’s where I run into trouble.
on a side note, Is there a way to “revert to original” or “close without saving” ? I’m having a terrible time, because every time I try to make a conversion (which it warns me cannot be undone), if it doesn’t work, I can’t close it without saving. Is that because it’s making changes to the documents directly?
I guess the way to do it is to open a “virgin” version, and immediately save that as “test” and do whatever i want to it…
Before anything can be converted, the elements need to be recognised. So, if everything is showing up as “General Text” when you go to convert, nothing will happen, seeing as Scrivener doesn’t recognise any of the text as valid elements. You will need your custom scriptwriting format set up to recognise the elements. If you’ve got rid of it, you can always set it up again by bringing up the Script Settings panel, selecting or creating the necessary elements, clicking in some text that is formatted as that element, and then selecting “Use current font & paragraph settings” from the “Manage…” button in the lower left of the script settings panel.
You are right that if you want to play with a project, you either need to make a copy using Save As, or make a backup first (e.g. using File > Backup). Scrivener autosaves as you go along.
All the best,
Keith