Hi all, was wondering if external folder sync can be used together with mobile sync (Scrivener iOS)? I write on Scrivener mac, and currently edit on phone with a markdown editor using external folder sync. I’m thinking of getting Scrivener iOS too but I don’t want to stop using external folder sync – is it possible to maintain a three way sync without breaking the project? Many thanks in advance!
It’s possible, but requires a bit of caution. iOS Scrivener won’t see the External Folder, and can’t sync its changes back in. So you’ll want to use a “hub and spoke” approach, with the Mac version as the hub. Always sync to the Mac when you’re done with one of the “spokes,” and always sync from the Mac before starting to work on one of the spokes.
Note that you need to actually open the project in Scrivener on the Mac in order to incorporate synced changes into the main structure of the project. The remote syncs write to a special “holding” area in order to facilitate conflict resolution.
I’d advise testing with disposable data, and make sure you understand where your backups are and how to restore them.
Ahh. So it’s not actually possible to sync between external folder and iOS? Am I right in understanding it’d have to be something like this:
iOS <-> Mac <-> External folder
And the other thing is, I read on the support page that you should always close one project before opening another, but another page also says it’s fine to keep project open on Mac when you sync and then start using iOS. I’m assuming the “always close” rule only applies if you are trying to sync .scrivx package overall? I always have my mac project open, would that be a problem when using iOS sync?
Many thanks for clarifying these!
Without a lot of qualifiers, that would be a dastardly lie.
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I don’t know what kind of qualifiers you would need (other than obvious good practices, you still need to actually sync)! The sync system is specifically designed to allow for the ability to step away from your computer and open up the project remotely on mobile, while doing chores around the house or whatever.
The iOS version only modifies its own settings files and adds all other modifications to a dedicated area within the project package. It does not alter the original project otherwise, and the desktop version is designed to look for that folder periodically and when switching to the window.
Now you wouldn’t want to open the project twice on two different desktops, or on two different iOS devices, but that’s because those both use the same resources respectively and would trample on each other’s edits.
Hi Amber,
Thank you very much for your reply. Am I right in understanding that, I could leave the Mac project open on standby, while editing it on iOS, and as long as I sync it back before starting to work on the Mac project again, it will be fine? Would the iOS sync and Mac sync happen automatically, or would I have to manually sync just like external folders?
Sorry, this is all a bit confusing…
Thank you very much for your reply. Am I right in understanding that, I could leave the Mac project open on standby, while editing it on iOS, and as long as I sync it back before starting to work on the Mac project again, it will be fine?
Since you are using the Dropbox client on the Mac, you don’t really need to do anything on that side, other than wait for it to finish syncing your changes before switching devices—it’s all automatic and works continuously in the background as you work in the project. So you don’t have to click a button or use a menu command to sync, like you would with the external folder feature. Not having to sync, as an action, is the whole advantage of putting the whole project you are working on into the Dropbox folder; same as for everything else you might choose to save into that folder.
That kind of convenience isn’t available on iOS given the system’s design, so you do have to sync there, however there are some settings you can change to make things less of a procedure. Go into the system Settings.app tool and scroll down to Scrivener’s settings. Under “Syncing & Sharing” you can set it up to always sync automatically when you close the project, and to check whenever you open a project. With both of those set, you won’t ever have to remember to do anything, it will always ask if necessary, or just automatically sync for you.
You do want to close out the project on mobile whenever you switch back.
Give it a quick test with the tutorial project or something equally disposable. You should find it’s quite easy to manage once you’ve seen how it works a time or two.
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That’s brilliant, I think I understand how it works now. Many thanks Amber!
Modified documents have a duplicate there, and desktop Scrivener compares TLM to update the original?
And we don’t have to warn everyone not to have the project open on two devices at once??
@drmajorbob: Modified documents have a duplicate there, and desktop Scrivener compares TLM to update the original?
You can see what an iOS-modified project looks like by opening one of the pre-merge backups, or just opening up the package in Finder before opening it in Scrivener. You will find a Mobile folder, and in that will be essentially everything you’ve done during the iOS session, in fully self-contained project within the project, of only the parts that have changed. That’s the only stuff the iOS version edits (again outside of a few settings files). When you open an iOS-modified project on the PC or Mac, one of the first things it does is check for that Mobile folder, and if it finds one, goes through the whole thing and merges the changes back into the main project structure. At that point the Mobile folder is deleted and the cycle starts again.
So yes, from the ground up the whole thing was designed to allow for one to just transition between mobile and desktop as they need. You still have to follow sane sync rules when switching back and forth, you can’t not sync without issues, but that’s how it goes for everything.
And we don’t have to warn everyone not to have the project open on two devices at once??
Only what I already said above, and the software already throws a warning if you try:
@AmberV: Now you wouldn’t want to open the project twice on two different desktops, or on two different iOS devices, but that’s because those both use the same resources respectively and would trample on each other’s edits.
Wow. That’s a well-kept secret.
Out of 14,000 people in one of my Facebook Scrivener groups, I suspect I am now the only one who’s aware of this. Okay, I’d estimate two or three others do, but I don’t know who they’d be.
You don’t need to explicitly invoke the File → Sync → With Mobile Devices command?
It’s good to be aware of that command, in case Scrivener doesn’t pick up on changes you know exist, but ordinarily no, you wouldn’t have to use it. As mentioned above:
@AmberV: …It does not alter the original project otherwise, and the desktop version is designed to look for that folder periodically and when switching to the window.
Considering that the default settings are to check for pending changes every 60 seconds while you are working on a project, even if you leave the project in the foreground when stepping away from the computer, when you come back it should be alerting you to changes. One can change this interval in preferences if they wish, too. But if your habits are to check email or the news before taking a break, then it will be even safer since the “window to foreground” event always triggers a check for pending changes.
Bear in mind, if the project was left in the foreground, the moment Dropbox starts downloading iOS changes, wherever the computer is in your house, the clock is already ticking on it detecting them as they download. In most cases it’s going to have a message by the time you sit down.
But if not, there is the menu command, yes.
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This has been my experience when I’ve left a Desktop Scriv project open and subsequently made a change using iOS Scriv. There will be a Desktop Scriv alert awaiting me when I return to the PC.
Best,
Jim