I asked for this years ago and got a rather rude response, but I keep running into the need for it, so I’m just going to politely ask again.
I need three editing windows. Having two is great, but being in the most complex part of the writing process, having three docs open in front of me is vital.
The Quick Reference pane does not work. It would not be so bad if it had a slider or means of changing the font size, but it comes up too small, meaning I have to resize the font of the original doc - then resize it when I’m done with it. It’s a slow, messy hassle compared to being able to simply hit a button to split the screen into three.
TL;DR - three editing windows please - quick reference does not do the job.
Your description suggests you are talking about actually changing the font size, but if you are instead adjusting the zoom level of the QR window, then quit setting it back each time, because you are working against yourself! Zoom does not change the font size of your document, so set it to whatever you like and leave it there.
Quick Reference windows come up for me with the same Zoom setting (175%) as my editor panes, so they present at the same scale. I am unsure whether this happy result is because Scrivener is remembering a % selection I made at View > Zoom, or if it is simply picking up my preference setting Scrivener > Settings/Prefs > Editing > Options > Default text zoom. These are both things to check.
If that is the only strong reason QR windows are not working for you, that is going to be addressable.
If you mean you had to set it once for a QR window and never again, or have to set it once per project and never again, then that suggests Scrivener is remembering the View > Zoom setting.
If you mean you have to set it each time you open a new QR window (the thing @bimbogumbo is annoyed by), then that suggests that the Zoom setting of the QR window when it comes up is controlled by the setting at: Scrivener > Settings/Prefs > Editing > Options > Default text zoom. Which in my case is set at 175%, and which our friend should set to their preferred %.
Yup, as noted there is a default zoom level, and unless you change that, one would indeed have to micromanage various areas of Scrivener’s text display. That should probably have been the thread title.
As to this feature request, it’s worth noting that the OP opens an identical new wish request for this, every other year or so:
So, we’re on #4 of this same conversation! Ahem. Whether there is anything more to be said of substance on that matter itself is probably debatable, as numerous techniques and methods have been shared over the years (sometimes multiple times because of how many threads there are).
To refresh, there was an in-depth answer given, on why Scrivener is a two-pane editor and that this is a deliberate design decision, that adding a third pane would break, turning it into another kind of software. I should think that would clear up the matter of whether this will ever change. Copyholders were added to address this fundamental desire, without breaking that two-pane model.
I just wanted mention that, as a friendly warning to anyone coming along, that most of anything one might think to say about alternative workflows has been said already.
@AmberV , I haven’t seen you this … impatient before. Are you all right? It’s understandable that you don’t want to answer the same question an infinite number of times. But was it necessary to post each of these attempts and expose the customer to ridicule? He didn’t hide the fact that he already asked the question. He’s just still hoping for an answer that you can’t give him. @gr had cleared up the matter. You could have taken a deep breath and left it at that. That’s what I would have done in your place … maybe
That’s right, it actually didn’t occur to me. But what I said was not meant in a bad way. I know @AmberV as patient and competent. That’s why I was surprised. Ah, and if you only comment on such things behind the scenes …
I know. And what Amber said wasn’t either, IMHO. Posting the same request over and over and over on a public forum… I mean, it’s not exactly secret to begin with. Not that I don’t appreciate a good dose of stubbornness, but come on. After some years it starts to wear the rubber thin.
Yeah, just to be clear, I dug up the links for everyone’s benefit, so that anyone coming along would see the diverse different techniques people have come up with for working with lots of data at once in Scrivener, and like I say, maybe save someone some time if they thought to speak on one of them. There are a lot of useful tips in those threads!
I don’t know how that exposes anyone to ridicule when they are aware it’s a repeat. The rest is just me speaking as a moderator and to as gently as possible ask that decisions we’ve made in the past be respected, particularly when we’ve put a lot of time into explaining them. There isn’t always a really nice way of putting some things like that.
Certainly forums exist where repetitive posts are removed, and repeat offenders are banned. Which may look “nicer” because the results are less visible to other forum participants.
