Formatting

Scrivener Scrivener for iOS
1

I intend to use my iPad rather more than my laptop, partly because my eyesight is poor and I can lift my iPad nearer.

I also use Scrivener for macOS. I used to use Scrivener 1, but have upgraded for writing a novel.

Formatting for output (compiling) should be another issue, done on the whole document in the end. I can’t be the only person who needs formatting to be eye-friendly while writing. I find this typeface (in the forum), for example, horrible, because it’s a) very light in weight, b) small point size and c) sans serif. Palatino 13 doesn’t suit me either.

When I used Pages on the iPad, the thing I hated most was being forced into using Helvetica (could not find a way to reset the base typeface, and I tried).

I was very relieved to find when I used Scrivener 3 that it let me choose my preferred typeface (I have been comfortably using Georgia 18pt for years; it’s reasonably large with enough weight to be contrasty). I use that because my eyesight is poor, and then set a different typeface for final output.

I was expecting this to carry through to Scrivener for iOS, which may be considered as an “adjunct” to the main program. It forces me to use Palatino 13pt as well.

What am I doing wrong?

As for why this is such an issue: I find myself writing several paragraphs (often just a couple of paragraphs) for each scene and leaving it there as a first-draft placeholder and start. Being forced into using a typeface that isn’t comfortable for my eyes, I can write ten or twenty-odd sketched-in scenes at a go (that is, just the starts of them), and it’s a pain not to set it up and go straight to writing those because I have to fiddle with each and every subdocument.

2

You can set the fonts in the iOS version as well, but (I think) the underlying engines are different, so while paragraphs written in the default style on the Mac should look the same, any new documents and paragraphs will use the iOS default until you change it.

AFAIK, Georgia is provided by default on iOS, so the process is basically:

  • in an editor, select a paragraph and format it the way you want it to be (font, size, spacing, alignment etc), using the Format button (paintbrush).

  • when it’s the way you want it, click on formatting options in the format panel and choose Set as Default Formatting. From then on all new paragraphs will use the new formatting.

At least, that works for me… HTH

3

In addition to Brookter’s points, once you’ve got the font & formatting dialed in on iOS Scriv, remember you can always pinch the editor to zoom text in or out.

Also, in case you haven’t stumbled across these already, have a look at the iOS Knowlegebase articles. They are all helpful, but for your questions see in particular Using Fonts Across Platforms.

https://scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb/ios

Finally, have you done the iOS Tutorial? Specifically, have a look at Draft > The Main Interface > The Editor > Accessing Text Features, as it has info that might be useful to you. But do the whole thing if you haven’t already.

Best,
Jim