Confused about total progress bar

Scrivener
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Hello,
I am giving Scrivener a try, and so far it looks excellent. However, I feel confused about the progress bars in the outliner.

Consider this project, a paper I am writing with a strict 3,000-word limit. The total target column reflects the sum of the targets of each section, while the total words columns show that I have already overrun it by more than 300 words.

Under the “Progress” column, empty bars indicate that I have not set a specific target for the paper and its folders (chapters), as doing so would add to the total target. Targets are only set for sections. How can we explain, then, that the “Total progress” bar for the entire paper still has a blank portion, while the total limit has already been exceeded? It appears to indicate the sections that have not yet reached their target, while the blue portion shows the progress of the sections that have met their target.

I understand that, if I want to ensure the whole project does not overrun its limit, I have to set the paper’s target to 3,000. However, in that case, the total target will sum up the target of each section, which here means it will show 6,000. So far, the only way I have found to show the total target is to delete the target for particular sections. However, I then lose the capacity to work with individual goals.

Is there an alternative workaround to visualize it quickly? So that I can know whether the total target for the paper or each chapter has been met, without deleting the targets of each file?

Additionally, from what I’ve read in other topics, it appears that the outliner bars cannot display the overrun in sections that have exceeded their targets. That option would be beneficial to know at a glance which sections need to be reduced, or to lower the targets of other sections to balance.

Thanks!

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Since you are talking a small target, you could simply select all the documents in your paper and view in Scrivenings view and see the word count for the selected document in the footer bar of the editor.
Or you could move the other writing in your current project lout of the Draft folder (temporarily putting it in the research folder) leaving only your current paper in the Draft Folder. Now go to Projects > Project Targets and set the project target to 3000 words and when you view project targets you will have a progress bar towards your goal while viewing your paper in any of the three views.

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Welcome to the forum!

So I think part of what you might be running into here is trying to use a specific tool for two competing purposes at once. The Total Target and Progress features are indeed meant to be driven by the subsections, so you’re on the right path there. But if you also give a goal to the container itself then that is going to be added to the total as well.

That might not make sense until you consider that the container itself is something that can be written into, and thus have its own individual goal contributing to the total. The goal on the container then, if you set one, is meant to work in concert with the subsection goals, not as an override to them.

There is another way of using these tools, and that is what you describe as not wanting to do: you don’t bother with budgeting individual subsections and just give a goal to the container. They all contribute counts toward it, but do not modify the overall goal. I just mention that as an aside really, as it doesn’t sound like that’s how you need to work—but it’s how you would use these particular tools to stipulate 3k for the overall work and have those progress bars work with that.

What I think will work better for you, and what you want, is to use a different tool for that, one which is designed to take the whole into account and disregard all of the individual targets in the work, and that is the Project ▸ Project Targets tool. That is where you want to be saying “3000”, and then it is up to you to budget the subsections to fall within that overall goal. That is where the Total Target field becomes valuable as it helps you adjust your subsection targets to fit within the 3k.

You won’t see that in the outliner, but up in the toolbar, on the Quick Search tool, or in the floating panel as you can choose to leave that open and off to the side. You might find that a better tool anyway, as it has more features for tracking overall progress.

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