Scrivener put up a scary alert today when I went launch the application and open my last opened Project.
This has happened before and caused much havoc to my projects. What and why? How do I avoid such data loss and structural chaos to my projects? I am using 3.4 on a Mac running the latest (Sequoia 15.2) OS. There is nothing unusual about my projects when this happens. I am saving to Dropbox across a reliable internet connection. No warnings were given when I saved and then waited and then quit Scrivener. I am only using one device for my writing as of late.
This has happened to me several times over the last years, and while using several versions of Scrivener on several versions of Mac OS and on several different Macs.
My Mac is not running anything in the background. I always quit out of my Browser and other apps before I save and then quit out of Scrivener.
Are you saving to a local Dropbox folder on your Mac, or direct to Dropbox?
The latter is a BIG no.
If you have the project in a local Dropbox folder, have you set the Scrivener folder on Dropbox to always be available offline? Right click on your Scrivener folder, or the project if you want to do them individually, and in the Dropbox options (you do have the Dropbox app installed?) select âMake Available offlineâ
But you are saying that this advice is not made explicit in the Scrivener Manual or the Scrivener How-To Videos? What percentage of software users participate in forums? Is this a new issue? Why wouldnât have L&L have informed its users if such a problem existed, a problem with grave consequences? Lots of things are said in the this forum that I do not trust. Why wouldnât L&L have included such advice in the Scrivener Documentation or Tutorials?
That said, the symptoms for that are not typically conflict copies of files. That nearly always comes about from skipping over some good practices. In theory it is possible to do that even with one computer, though it is much more difficult. A better question at that point might be though: why introduce the increased risk of using sync technology if youâre not syncing it anywhere?
Maybe if the idea is to have âa backupâ that isnât on your computer, it would be safer to point Scrivenerâs automatic backup folder at Dropbox.
âŠa problem with grave consequences?
Never mind the fact that it is posted on the website under cloud usage as an advisory, there are no grave consequences though. The cloud server makes a copy of a file that was edited more than once without its awareness of updates being made, so that you have both copies and can compare them. Scrivener takes the logical conclusion of that reaction and presents them to you in the binder so you donât have to dig around in your file system.
âThere are a few cloud services you should be wary of, in terms of how well they handle a complex format like Scrivenerâs. Visit our knowledge base for up-to-date information on specific services, before settling on one to use with your important work.â
âAs with all synchronisation technology, it is inherently âless safeâ than working local and saving remote.â
5. "Be cautious with âsmartâ synchronization: many services will offer you the opportunity to âoptimizeâ your local storage by storing less recently used files exclusively on the companyâs server. Unfortunately, these services do not always handle Scrivener projects correctly, which can cause some of the component files in your project to appear to be missing or blank. We recommend ensuring that Scrivener projects are always available âoffline.â "
Shouldnât this advice be available in the Scrivener Manual? In the Literature and Latte Scrivener Tutorial Videos? Better yet, why doesnât Scrivener itself make this explicit when setting up Saving and Backup?
Are you saving to a local Dropbox folder on your Mac, or direct to Dropbox?
The latter is a BIG no.
If you have the project in a local Dropbox folder, have you set the Scrivener folder on Dropbox to always be available offline? Right click on your Scrivener folder, or the project if you want to do them individually, and in the Dropbox options (you do have the Dropbox app installed?) select âMake Available offlineâ
Was submitted as comment by a Forum participant. Is this also recommended by Literature and Latte? What happens if a user is using several computers and each of these computers are also iCloud and iCloud Drive enabled? Where should that local offline dropbox folder be stored? Given the known incompatibilities of Scrivener with iCloud, I would guess that the Dropbox Local folder should very much NOT be stored on an iCloud enabled folder (Desktop or Documents)? If this is sound advice? If so, why isnât it made explicit in the Scrivener Manual or in any of the Literature and Latte Scrivener Video Tutorials? A forum isnât a Wiki. Is there a live continuously updated version of the Scrivener Manual available on line?
No, it is generally fine to save Scrivener projects in areas other tools sync, so long as they do sync files and folders normally. That is all a project is.
That aside it is very important to keep in mind that sync is a risk elevating form of computer use. It is not a backup system, it is the opposite of a backup system. It is what we use backups to protect ourselves from. If you want an online backup, then look to dedicated tools for that, such as Backblaze. You want systems that upload periodically, not systems that by design modify your computer remotely, at least not without a very explicit command being made, as you would in Time Machine.
Given the known incompatibilities of Scrivener with iCloudâŠ
The are no known âincompatibilitiesâ with iCloud Drive. Good and safe usage of those systems is, generally speaking, not arcane things only Scrivener users need to be aware of, or something Scrivener must support, or be compliant with. Turning off their smart sync features is essential for everyone to do. Itâs a terrible default setting that should be universally spurned and complained about. As an option, okay, but as a default we have no idea how many people think they are backed up with Time Machine or whatever, and actually arenât. It isnât just a problem of programs like Scrivener, that use more than one file to do a thing.
If so, why isnât it made explicit in the Scrivener ManualâŠ
I donât think we should have to document how to use other software effectively. There is no end to that. I should add a note in the part we do document though, that relates directly to Scrivener features, in iOS syncing. But I canât document every sync serviceâs optimal settings.
Well Dropbox is advocated directly by Scrivener as the safe way to save projects on the cloud. This is true in the manual, in the official tutorial vids, in the video sessions sponsored by Scrivener, and here in the forum. Iâve followed thes recommendations to the letter. But problems persist and responses to my questions here have been answered by users who say that the methods outlined in the manual are not sufficient and can lead to problems. We all know that Scrivener projects are not compatible with iCloud, so we rely on Dropbox as Scrivener emphatically recommends. Seems reasonable for Scrivener to notify us users when there are critical changes in this backup option.
Thatâs fine in theory, but Dropbox/Apple do not always provide the sort of information that allows L&L to race about and proactively announce needed changes. I recall an iOS update that generated incompatibility with Dropbox in general (not specifically Scrivener) and at first there was silence from the perpetrators. (Apple, and Dropboxâs failure to move quickly to ensure compatibility if I recall correctly)
As soon as L&L became aware they were active on this forum working to address the issue which, again if I remember correctly was dependent on external actors getting their act together, not L&L.
Iâve followed what I consider to be common sense, and the L&L recommendations, and apart from that period of being unable to sync due to DB/Apple, have had zero problems since I started using Scrivener with DB (many years), as I understand the vast majority of users have also experienced. I must have missed something because I donât recall other members here saying the methods outlined by L&L are not sufficient or lead to problems.
Theyâre are. Iâve used iCloud for syncing projects for years. The limitation is that Scrivener on iOS doesnât use iCloud, so itâs no use for that purpose.
