I use DropBox to store and synch my WIP. I’ve noticed, even in V 2, simply closing the project on my MBP doesn’t release it to load on my iMac unless I also quit Scrivener on my MBP. The reverse is also true: closing a project on my iMac doesn’t release it to load on my MBP unless I quit Scrivener on the iMac.
I will at times have two or maybe three projects open at once in scrivener on the iMac (One in outline, possibly one in final editing, etc.) in which case having to quit Scrivener to open a closed project on the MBP is a nuisance. I can live with it, but since I’ve not seen others mention this, I’m wondering if perhaps I’ve got a setting someplace that’s causing this?
If not, I’ll maintain regular respiration and heart rate and live with it, but I thought I’d ask.
That’s not my experience when using Scrivener on a Macbook Pro and iMac. Both devices have a local folder that is part of the local folder system synched with Dropbox “out there in their cloud”.
My hunch is that the issue is related to the timing of Dropbox synching from one device, up to the cloud, and then down to the other machine. I suspect this has nothing to do with Scrivener. Closing a project in Scrivener doesn’t keep (best I can tell) any files open.
Take a look at Dropbox’s local LAN synch help.dropbox.com/installs-integ … c-overview and see if working correctly on your two machines which may be on the same local network. If not on the same local network, then you definitely have to wait longer for all the files to sync via Dropbox in their “cloud” somewhere out there.
When you open a project, Scrivener inserts a user.lock file; if you try to open the project using another computer and it detects the user.lock, it won’t open it. When you close a project, the user.lock is deleted, but it seems to me that that deletion is one of the last things to be sync’ed by Dropbox, etc. If you haven’t given Dropbox—or whatever cloud sync system—time to complete the process fully before trying to open it on another computer, you’ll get the “can’t open” alert.
In my experience, this sometimes happens when there is an internet slowdown for whatever reason. I close my projects and spend at least 5 minutes after Dropbox or Sync show as completed before shutting down or moving to another machine.
Thanks for the suggestions. Both of you make a good point.
I store all the DropBox on the iMac and synch to it on the DropBox site. Only the Scrivener associated folders on DropBox are on the MBP because it only has a 256Gb SSD.
I’ll try it leaving time for the synch to take place and see what happens.
I have a hunch storing files “remote” into Dropbox (and not to your local file system) may lead to other issues than just closing down. If I understand what you are doing on your Macbook Pro is working off a “network” drive. Read the top post by Amber in this forum. Just a hunch, but I could be wrong. And working with Scrivener without sufficient local disk space can also be problematic.
I have no experience with this as I have plenty of local disk space. But I’ve noticed much discussion on these things on this forum.
Dropbox should be configured so that all Scrivener projects are stored locally, as well as on the remote server.
If it’s not, then yes, that would cause problems. Probably not this specific problem, though. Rather, you’d be more likely to see “blank” files in the Binder that reappear once Dropbox downloads them.
I did some experimentation. The issue was DropBox sync time as you all suggested. I just need to give it time to sync and it works like it ought to.
I am, and have been, storing the working copy files locally on both computers. That is especially important for the MBP because I frequently use it in remote location, like my brother-in-law’s home in the woods in Michigan, where ATT&T has no signal so the hotspot doesn’t work, or in hospital waiting rooms where there is no signal or phones must be turned off.
One of these days I’m going to install a bigger SSD in the MBP, but for now it’s working just fine with 60GB free.
Okay, back to planting my self in the chair and rattling the keys.
