I need to keep using Scrivener on my Windows 7 computer and just noticed the 3.1.0 update now says they can’t guarantee it will keep working - and that there will now be a reminder about the operating system.
So upgrading to 3.1.0 will now initiate a continuing notice to change the OS? That does not sound so great, but the bigger concern is if Scrivener is indeed going to become unusable on Windows 7. Does anyone know anything about this?
It sounds like the best course is to cancel all future updates when they are offered.
Release notes for the latest update say
Blockquote
Scrivener now alerts users running the trial on Windows 7 that we are unable to guarantee licensing support for that system, as both Microsoft and our activation provider no longer support it. You may be able to successfully activate Scrivener on Windows 7, but we do not recommend purchasing a license solely for use on that operating system.
L&L has one Windows developer, I believe. There may also be an additional part-time developer involved as well. The point being, this is a tiny outfit. It makes sense they won’t guarantee the software will run on the older OSs, because they don’t have the bandwidth to do so.
But it might work fine. You can always install new updates to try them, and revert back to prior if you experience problems. Scrivener updates are here.
Or, if the current version works for you, then stick with it.
Scrivener 3 has been recommended for use on Windows 8 and above prior to this update. Compatibility for 7 hasn’t changed for better or worse, but the warning has been added to let you know there may be issues when using it with Windows 7. Windows 7 is no longer receiving updates or security fixes from Windows, either, so no one can really guarantee results with it anymore.
Yes those of us who are paying the annual Win 7 security extension fee have obviously decided to deal with some trade-offs, and staying with the previous release of Scrivener will have to be one of them. Thanks for the info!
It’s really a bit like the ‘will my software work on a beta OS’.
Because it’s not officially supported, nor tested it can potentially be a bit hit and miss.
Personally have not yet found an application that doesn’t still run on Win 7. Just that if that does happen, I can’t expect MS or the SW developer to step in a rescue me.
Scrivener itself should still work on Windows 7; we’re not aware of anything that has changed in the 3.1 update that would affect that. The reason for the warning in trial mode is to do with activation process through our third-party provider, which sometimes does not work as expected on Windows 7. Whereas Window 8 and up come out of the box meeting the requirements for the activation process, Windows 7 does not, and we’ve found that some users are unable to activate even when their systems seem to have everything necessary enabled. Unfortunately this isn’t something that can be determined by running the trial, and given the lack of support for the deprecated OS version, we added the caution.
Plenty of Windows 7 users don’t run into this problem, however, and if you’ve been running on Windows 7 there is no need to avoid the latest update. If you do run into an issue, you can revert to the previous version (and let us know–as Jim suggested, with Windows 7 out of official support, we’re not doing much testing on that system, so if an update does stop Scrivener working on that system, we’ll want to keep the last usable version available for download if possible even as future releases come out).
Ok thank you this is very helpful, I guess I will try the update.
BTW the activation problem that is discussed here so much lately, on my Windows 7 setup at least, only seems to appear after some of the monthly updates from MS. Then, I just have to fill in the activation form and am good to go until next time. It does not occur every month.