Hello, I’ve been using Scrivener for a few months now. I do apologize if this is not the correct area to ask a question about a major feature.
There is a Scrivener wiki, and a collection of wonderful tutorials on various features. While generally informative, though it’d be nice if they were updated for the 2.0 (Scrivener in the video tutorials look decidedly different, perhaps 1.0 – most likely it was made before 2.0 released). However, all this is to say that I’m not finding a great resource on Compilation in general.
Is there a video on this or a manual that goes bit by bit to explain the basics and advanced features of exporting your manuscript?
I’m not scrivener-savvy yet and there’s quite a bit to learn. I do like this program and I want to be able to work with it.
Thanks so much in advance for any help you may have.
Hmm, we’ve put out a bunch of new videos with 2.0, what you are seeing shouldn’t be substantially different. Perhaps you are looking at some older YouTube samples? Here is our main video page.
The problem with creating a succinct video tutorial on compiling is that its a fairly broad topic; and very open-ended. By that I mean, nearly every single person is going to need a different solution. Have you read through the chapter on compiling in the manual yet? I realise it’s not in tutorial format, but it is by far the most exhaustive resource on the topic.
Oh, and it’s not “Compile in general”, but we do have a video on making eBooks.
First of all, thank you very much for your prompt reply. I’ll try to make my reply short.
Regarding updated videos. I think I was looking at the old page for 1x and didn’t discover the updated tutorials. Thank you very much for pointing them out.
Speaking specifically, I guess I’m a bit overwhelmed about some of the higher-end capabilities of Scrivener. I am looking to basically compile my draft folder with each text document bearing a chapter number and have it look somewhat like a manuscript. I’m a college grad looking to go into grad school for dramatic writing so novel format is a second priority but I’d like to know how to take my novel format prose and output it correctly.
I’m going to take a more in-depth look at the manual but it’s somewhat intimidating, I’ll be perfectly honest.
I’d recommend going through the Compile chapter in the manual (25) while you have a Scrivener project open and can play around with the settings as you read. (You might want to backup your project first or create a new project just to mess around with so you feel more comfortable clicking buttons and investigating the different options.) Also periodically hit the “compile” button and open the output file to take a look at what the final copy actually looks like. That may help you to get a handle on the different features.
You might also try using one of the pre-sets, such as “Novel (Standard Manuscript Format),” to see how close that is to your needs. Ignoring the idea of it as a “novel,” the set up may be helpful to you as it includes the chapter numbers, etc. (The chapter numbers in that compile preset only apply to folders, not documents, but it may help to start with that as a base and modify it, as you get comfortable with the options.)
And of course, after you’ve gone through the manual, if you still have specific questions for compiling your project, feel free to ask on the forum. Someone will help you out.
