Distraction Free Writing Mode

As a writer distraction and ADHD is a pain. That said, I would love to see a way for Scriviner to block apps and notifications outside of just hitting the F11 button. Yeah it blocks the screen but doesn’t actually force things to not open. Apps like Freedom and what not do it but I think it would be a great addition for a powerful suite such as Scriviner.

Meantime, does these help?

I found this via Goggle

macos remove distractions - Google Search"

where you might find other things that will help you right now.

That won’t help on Windows.

so sorry. Probably something available in the Windows diaspora.

Don’t worry, I also only found out after trying F11. :joy:

It’s a function of the operating system, not apps like Scrivener. One of those ubiquitous things that happen to also be called Focus in Windows.
I leave notifications off permanently. Like my cellphone never rings either. It’s quite liberating.

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Welcome to the forum, klrobinson. And, thank you for using Scrivener.

We’ve had this request come up in the past. Before adding a feature like this to Scrivener, the developers need to take into account that many users would never want that setting enabled.

They’re linking Scrivener to PDFs or other research materials on the hard drive, and they need to access those resources while writing.

The program would need a way to selectively block only some items, which would be a more complex design and move us away from our core competencies.

Also, we would have an increase in support tickets from users not remembering that the setting is engaged. Since we’re a small team, that’s a factor that’s weighed when considering feature requests.

As you’ve already noted, other companies produce dedicated tools for this purpose. You mentioned Freedom, which is has a lot of detailed settings and has been improved over time.

I can’t speak for KB or the other members of the development team, but I rather doubt they want to master coding a program like Freedom and then roll it into Scrivener’s design. They’re already plenty busy with Scrivener and Scapple, I would think.

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It’s a rather scary idea, that a writing program would constantly monitor other processes and block or terminate them.

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In Windows, there’s an option for Do Not Disturb. Once you set it up, you can activate it with a keystroke or by clicking an icon near the time display. Then, only the apps you allow to bypass Do Not Disturb will show notifications. I have mine set on a timer for work.