I see this has been pitched before and there are serviceable solutions using Labels, Compile Filters, Collections etc. I’d like to make the argument for having Back Matter (BM) working in exactly the same way Front Matter (FM) currently does… this is Wish List, not support after all…
I assume most of us publish on PoD and eBook (potentially multi-vendor) platforms and use slightly different FM and BM for PoD/eBook and possibly per vendor. We have FM and even Cover handled for some formats but inexplicably BM is missing. It just seems a symmetrical argument.
In fact I would argue further that Body should have it’s own Binder node and switch in the Compile window because that gives really high level control using established terminology. I think some PoD platforms use separate files for Cover, FM, Body and BM so this makes that really simple without having lots of sub-sets of presets.
I’d also argue Cover support could be more sophisticated with a single image for eBooks and a version with back cover and spine for PoD. Scrivener is a great platform but I think there’s a vibe on here that the Compile sub-system is the weakest element. Trying to be positive here. I haven’t read the manual cover-to-cover and guess you can probably count those who have on the fingers of one hand but if I’ve missed something please let me know.
Just a a few thoughts… bun fight will ensue, no doubt.
Back Matter is on the list for the next major version. Also, the next major version will have an option that allows Compile to pick the cover from the first image file in the Front Matter folder, so you don’t have to switch the cover image for each compile format.
I don’t think there’s a vibe that Compile is the weakest element in Scrivener - rather, just that it is the most complex and difficult to use, which is the pay-off for allowing complete flexibility when structuring a project (although I am working to make it easier to use - but I doubt it will ever be as simple as some would like, because that would necessitate crippling it). Was that a bun?
It depends on what you mean by ‘weak’. It is complicated, sure, but once I got the hang of the basics, I was able to compile a 600 page book as a CreateSpace novel, an ePub file and a Kindle book, all from the same project, without having to fiddle with anything in between. I don’t think there’s anything else out there that can do that.
If Keith manages to implement stylesheets then I suspect the compilation will be much simpler and much more flexible.
