I am new to Scrivener and have been typing like mad since I bought the program last week. Now, for the first time, I restarted my laptop as normal to give the poor machine a break.
Now, when I restart and open Scrivener, I see the introductory set-up again. All my folders, writing, and so on is totally gone.
What happened? If I do a search in the mac for everything marked “.scriv” only the sample files show up.
This is a total disaster. I’d give my left foot if someone can help me resolve this.
Oh, I just resolved it… but still confusing and nearly heart-attack inducing.
When I open Scrivener, I can choose between something like “article template” and “scrivner info training file”. I chose the latter during my first opening of the program and now, just for curiosity, I opened the article template. Somehow, if I go that route, none of my folder show up.
Why would this be?
Thank god they’re still there.
Also, happy to keep my left foot.
It’s because those two files are two different Scrivener projects, and one will not know or show what the other contains.
You might want to duplicate the training file and give it a name related to its content, like “my novel” or something meaningful, that way you’ll always open the correct file.
Usually the default behavior is that Scrivener opens the last file in which you were working. See Preferences: General: Startup Options.
A good way to keep track of your various projects is to search for .scriv in Spotlight or make a Saved Search and place it in the Sidebar as “Scrivener Files” and have them sorted by Date, descending.
Be sure to spend time with the tutorials and screencasts. They will save you much time and anguish.
Whenever you decide to start a new book (or other writing project), you should select File->New Project, or if you get the template chooser, pick one that looks like an appropriate starting point. It’s kind of why they call them “projects” instead of “files”, because each new writing project should get it’s own Scrivener Project, and you shouldn’t ever need more than one per book*.
*There are valid reasons to combine a series into one Scrivener Project, but don’t confuse yourself at this early stage… think 1 book = 1 new Scrivener project.