This is not a request that all versions catch up with the Mac version.
I watched several video tutorials, then went to try those features in the Windows version…
And I couldn’t find those features because the menu items I needed to select weren’t where the tutorials said they were…
Because the tutorials were for the Mac version. And there were no video tutorials for the Windows version covering those features.
Sometimes, when I look up a feature in the Windows manual, I find that the manual and Scrivener itself don’t call that feature by the same name. Further, the feature might be accessible from a sub-menu in Scrivener, not from a top-level menu as the manual said.
As a result of all this, I’d like to see the menus and button layouts be the same on all platforms. Standardize Scrivener to itself rather than to the OS conventions where each version will run.
For instance, Options doesn’t have to be in the Tools menu in the Windows version. It doesn’t even have to be called ‘Options.’ That may be a Microsoft convention, but only Microsoft themselves follow that convention religiously.
If it’s called Preferences on the Mac, I don’t mind if it’s called Preferences on Windows and Linux, too. In fact, a lot of other software does just that. And other developers put Preferences under the Edit menu which makes buckets of sense to me. And if the Mac version doesn’t have a Tools menu, there’s no reason the Windows version needs one. It just makes it a little harder for Windows users to get up to speed.
I won’t make this an exhaustive look at all features for obvious reasons. I think the point is made.
And on the subject of getting up to speed, software design is as important as the feature list, IMHO. I can’t speak about the Mac (or Linux) version because I’ve never used it, but the Windows version design could use a tweak or two.
Features that I think of as being related are found across the entire menu bar and interface instead of in one place. For instance, if I want to adjust the size, font, colour and corner shape of index cards on the corkboard, I have to visit the View menu, the Tools menu (and dig down to Options > Corkboard) and then finally click on the Corkboard Options button in the bottom right of the display.
I’m starting to really like working with Scrivener, but each time I need to use a feature I haven’t used in a couple of days, I have to look it up again. With so many tutorials and manuals floating around, it’s seem rather strange that I need to also write my own abbreviated guide to Scrivener features just to keep things straight.
I’d really like to see a more intuitive design. I know that’s a lot to ask and you’ll likely have to hire a bona fide software designer to accomplish it, but I think it would be a huge benefit to everyone, users and developers alike.