Add Character & Places folder to project

[smakbarnett]

I am new to Scrivener and just imported a large manuscript (a novel) into a new project using the blank template. I have been working to divide it up into chapters. I would like to utilize the character and place folders discussed in the tutorials but don’t seem to have access to them in the “Blank” template mode. Is there anyway to access them or to convert my “blank” project to a “novel” project?
Thanks so much!

[KB]

The Characters and Places folders are just regular folders with icons assigned to them. So you can just create folders for these and assign the icons via Documents > Change Icon. They are also set to have template documents created by default when you create a new document inside those folders. There’s information on setting this up at the top of the Novel template - here is what it says:

Making your own special folders: The “Characters” and “Places” folders are really just regular folders that have been set up in a particular way, and you are free to create other folders that work in a similar manner.

1. To create a folder with a custom icon, add a new folder, place it where you want it, ensure it is selected, and then go to Documents > Change Icon to choose a different icon.

2. To create your own template sheets, simply create a new document inside the “Template Sheets” folder and set it up however you want (whether by adding text, changing the title, setting default meta-data, or whatever). Now this document will be available as the basis of new documents from the New From Template menu. (You can add a custom icon to this if you so wish, too.)

3. To set things up so that when the special folder created in (1) is selected and you hit “Add”, a new document based on the one you set up in (2) is created, select the folder and go to Documents > Default New Subdocument Type and select the special template document you created.

Perhaps the quickest way to set things up is to create a new project from the Novel template and then drag the Characters, Locations and Templates folder to your existing project. Then set the Templates folder as the project templates folder via the Project menu and follow the instructions above to set everything else up.

Hope that helps.

All the best,
Keith

[richmilne]

Is the New from Template menu choice within a folder to make a new document only in the Mac version?
Sigh . . . I’m afraid I probably already know the answer.

[AmberV]

Is the New from Template menu choice within a folder to make a new document only in the Mac version?

No it is not, but you won’t find it in the current stable version. It (along with custom icons) is being tested currently in the 1.7 beta, which all are welcome to try (it is perfectly fine to install the beta in a separate folder so that you can continue to use the stable version for important work).

The one missing detail in the 1.7 beta is a lack of default subdocument types in step 3 above.