Greetings all:
I’ve been using Scrivener since 2014 and have created many short stories and a few novels (still incomplete) in the Windows version (Currently 3.1.5.1).
Now, I’m considering the purchase of a MacBook. Of course, I’m happy to pay for the Mac Version of Scrivener and Scapple, but my question is can I import and/or convert those works-in-progress from the Windows file-types into the MacBook file-types successfully? OR … Would I have to convert my Windows files into MS Word (docx) files and THEN import into MacBook Scrivener? Perhaps there is a better way? Or … no way at all?
Thanks in advance.
Hi JimC49, and welcome to the forum.
You won’t need to take a lot of steps to transfer your work from a PC to a Mac. One of our goals with recent updates on both platforms is improved cross-platform compatibility.
We have this Knowledge Base article with tips on working across platforms. You might find reviewing those tips a good starting point.
And, if you’re considering using a cloud-storage service like Dropbox to either share the work or migrate it to the Mac, these cloud-storage recommendations could also help.
Thank-you, very much, RuthS.
After reading the Cross Platforms link that you provided, I surely am relieved down to my soul.
I keep my Scrivener work on an external drive, so I plan to plug-in the Windows creations drive to the MacBook, open the appropriate files in the Mac Version of Scrivener (one by one), then save them to the new machine. Once this is done, I doubt if I will want to go back-forth between the two and use the MacBook as a single purpose machine going forward. Of course, when inspiration strikes, I have whatever machine I have open at the time, to record my thoughts.
Thank-you for bearing the good news.
Just a simple caveat, you will need to check if your MacBook will be able to read your external drive, which presumably was formatted in Windows NTFS. I don’t know whether new versions of MacOS can read NTFS; in the past you had to install software for that.
It may be simpler to use a cloud service. Zip the projects upload them, download them on your new Mac then unzip them and just double-click the resulting project-name.scriv (you don’t need to have access to the .scrivx on the Mac!).
The other thing to think about is fonts. Default fonts are different on Macs, so you’ll need to sort that out unless you are using something like Times New Roman.
Good luck.
Mark
Read access is no problem, but they removed the (experimental) write access.
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I’m grateful for your response and advice. I did remember that Win/Apple file formats were at odds with each other, once upon a time. I’ve always been a Windows guy since before Win 95.
I don’t know how this happened, but the SanDisk thumb-drive I’m using is fortunately exFAT formatted and works very well in my Windows 11 laptop. On your advice, I checked several places online and sources say that Mac OS should be able to process that file extension. At least, I hope so.
Thanks again, Mark.
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exFAT works perfectly well with macOS. It has been capable of read/write/verify and repair of that file system for many years. It’s a very safe choice these days, for external drives, and thus often a default setting or how it is shipped from the factory.
Thank-you, AmberV.
I’m afraid I’ve fallen very much behind the curve on many attributes to computing these days. I shall investigate external hard drive solutions using the exFAT format.
As you may have read above, I’m considering a MacBook purchase of some kind strictly because some software I “think” I need to format and publish is only available in MacOS. Therefore, the “need” for a hardware change seems imminent.
Although at my age, my writing may/may not be appreciated by the youngers. My “old” friends maintain that even Shakespeare is relatable today. I’m certainly no Shakespeare or Edward deVere, as the case may be, but I still feel the need for expressing my stories through words.
So, until the day I either publish traditionally or take the plunge to self-publish, this is all preparatory work until those days come - assuming those opportunities do exist.
Take care and thanks again.
Jim
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“Even” Shakespeare? 
That fella will still be relatable when those are old who’re not even born yet. Language changes, human struggles (apparently) don’t.
And don’t worry, as long as you pour your soul into the keyboard, it’s statistically very unlikely that nobody wants to read it.
You’re so kind in offering such encouragement. Thank-you.
As an aside, have you ever worked with police or military communications? As one who was Marine Corps trained for the job of wire and radio communications, the phonetic alphabet is hard-wired into my brain. I’m going out on a limb here, but thank-you, also, for your service.
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I used to, and that’s still a very handy tool in civilian life across all borders on phone or radio. Guess we have to thank aviation for that. But I can’t morse anymore, other than a last · · · – – – · · · before the lights go out, maybe. (Some things are unlike bicycling if not used frequently.) Thank you for your service!
S-O-S was the first Morse I ever learned … I think from an old WW-II Submarine film.
I remember the old TV days of Adam-12, when the officers “made-up” their own phonetic alphabet, which was different every week. As I had enlisted and been through Comm. School, I found their lack of proper radio procedure almost irritating. Hollywood didn’t care so much for accuracy in those days - just filling a half-hour with action, uniforms, and running down criminals who gave up without a fight. Ah, those were the days.
Take care.
JimC49, out.
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