File conversion error

Scrivener Scrivener for Windows
1

ENVIRONMENT: Currently I am using Scrivener For Windows version 1.6.0.0 on a Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium desktop.

The problem I am experiencing is as follows:

  1. I am creating a new chapter in my novel using Scrivener’s editor.
  2. I then export it in .doc format to my harddrive.
  3. At this point I continue working on my file in MS Word 2007 and save my completed work.

BUT, when I IMPORT the changed file into Scrivener - I get an error telling me the document I am trying to import is NOT a .doc file. Then, I get a File conversion error.

The final result is a new chapter in Scrivener with nothing but a chapter title.

One workaround to this problem has been to go back into MS Word 2007, copy the chapter’s content into a new blank Word document and do a Paste Special (using the Format Text (RFT) option), and then SAVE the new document.

Scrivener is then able to properly import the newly saved document.

It would seem like when I export a .doc chapter or document - that somewhere/somehow something is going wrong that MS Word does not detect, but Scrivener does when it tries to import and convert the file.

Any ideas?

2

When Scrivener exports to the .doc format, currently this is just an RTF file with a .doc wrapper, making it easier to open automatically in Word (RTFs typically are set to open in WordPad, which will lose various formatting). Unfortunately at the moment the importer is looking at that and not reading it properly, throwing the error. We’re looking at a way to address this–the import/export is done with various third-party tools, so it’s not as straightforward as it might be–but in the meanwhile I’d suggest exporting as .rtf rather than .doc. You’ll still be able to open and edit in Word exactly as you were doing with the .doc files, but you’ll have no trouble re-importing them. For ones you’ve already completed, just do a Save As in Word either to RTF or to .doc and then import that newly saved file.

3

Thanks for the explanation and recommendation.