Hello! I’m new to this. I am actually still in my trial period and haven’t committed to a license of any kind yet. I use a desktop PC and a (sad, old) Macbook when I’m on the go. I was thinking of trying to find a budget PC laptop just for Scrivener, but I expect to be switching back and forth between PC and Mac periodically and have mostly decided to get the bundled license for both and be done with it. But before I do that, I wanted to confirm that there is a way to access the same save files across platforms. I have read that people sometimes save to DropBox/cloud instead of locally/the machine. And on a side note, is there a mobile version of Scrivener? I didn’t think so, but when I signed up for this Literature and Latte business, it had me select my platforms, and mobile was an option, so now I’m curious about that. Thanks!
Scrivener is available for macOS, Windows and iOS (the latter being more of a companion app with less complexity). Regarding project sync, see:
You can also just use a simple thumb drive to copy projects around, or turn file sharing on with one computer and connect to it with the other. The latter is what I do in many cases, I pretty much always have my Mac, Linux and Windows computers connected so they can access each other’s files, while working. You even get reasonable performance loading a project directly off of the other computer to work on it over WiFi. That solution is maybe a little more technical, but it’s honestly pretty simple to set up the Mac to share in a way that Windows can connect to, which is the direction I would go with it as setting up Windows can take a bit more setup.
Another route is buying a little pre-packaged file server. These can be very easy to use, some no more intrusive than a portable external drive. It can be about as difficult as getting your printer to show up on the network. The advantage there is that everything can connect to it equally, rather than having to manage file sharing settings and remembering to turn them off (for security reasons) when roaming.
Sync, like Dropbox or any other along those lines, is using another company to host your data on their equipment, and thus sending your work around the world with every edit you make. All of that to copy files between two computers in the same house or office is overkill, and comes with a lot of additional risk and procedural hassle (search around here for ‘sync’ and ‘dropbox’ and you will see plenty of evidence for how it takes more than just installing some stuff and using it without research how it works, or how to use it safely—that goes for everything, not just Scrivener). You pay in risk and speed for convenience, essentially.
Lastly, here is the compatibility FAQ article, which you should take a look at. The format works everywhere, but there are some things to be aware of, like fonts sometimes not loading correctly even if they are installed on both machines.
One thing to be careful of is that whilst your Windows desktop may run the latest verson of Scriv, the “sad old Macbook” may only run an older version. I’m not sure what the cut off points are for MacOS but no doubt someone will advise.
There are workrounds, so cross platform use is definitely available. However, if you are aiming at truly seamless compatibility you may be disapointed. EG You may have to export the Windows file in an older format in order for it to open on the Mac.
The File ▸ Export ▸ as Scrivener 1/2 Project... menu command (the Win|Mac numbering is different in the menu command, but both refer to the same format with regards to compatibility), creates a project that requires at a minimum, Scrivener 2.7 on macOS, and 1.9.5 on Windows/Linux.
That said, so long as your Mac can upgrade to at least macOS 10.14,[1] then you can run v3 on your old Mac, which will be compatible with the latest version for Windows, too—what you’d be getting with the bundle.
If your Mac truly is that old, that it cannot upgrade to within the modern security patch support window, then forget about cloud sync. You don’t want to connect an ancient computer to the internet, unless you are interested in helping to run bot nets, or enjoy fending off malware.
Technically it can be run on 10.13 as well, but none of us have anything that runs lower than 10.14 any more, so all we have is hearsay that it works. ↩︎
I bought it in 2016, I’m pretty sure. It’s mostly sad in the storage and battery life ways. I have an external hard drive, but since it drains battery very quickly and just has one USB-C port, it feels pretty cumbersome. I’ll look into the cutoffs for different versions, though, thanks!
Thanks! I’m definitely going to look into setting up the Macbook to share with my PC. External hard drives are tricky because the battery drains pretty quickly on the Macbook, and it only has a single USB-C port for charging. I did get an adapter that should let me do them simultaneously, but it just… feels annoying. I also am just unfamiliar with the concept of a pre-packaged file server, so that honestly feels like more of a learning curve, but it’s good to know there are options.
I know exactly what you mean, and I have that very same adaptor—and it mostly sits in a drawer as well, as it is almost 1/3 the width of the whole laptop itself! It is rather ungainly. We probably have the same model of laptop in fact, given the single port and date of purchase; the little tiny one? I have upgraded it all the way to macOS 11, but it doesn’t run it well, it’s a bit slow, but 10.15 was fine on it.
That sounds like the one! I do try to do the software updates, but I don’t often use the Macbook at all because I don’t really need a whole computer away from home unless I’m trying to write, which I have not been 
So I’m trying to make everything as easy as possible!