I am currently using Scrivener to make notes and list ideas pulled from transcribed interviews. First, I transcribe the entire text. Then, under that folder I create index cards with the ideas I put down. How do I set-up a link so I can click on the index card which then takes me to the section in the text document?
Currently, I have been linking the index card to the correct section of the text document by right-clicking the desired section in the text, selecting SCRIVENER LINK > desired index card. This creates a hyperlink which makes it easier to find where the index card material is in the text by sight but I’m trying to figure out how I can click the actual card in the binder and get to the desired section.
I think I can use notes to do the same thing but I want to use the card system. I’ve read in the forums about using Document References in the Inspector but not getting what I need.
The only thing you can do along these lines is click the button in the corkboard footer bar that has an arrow pointing out of a rectangle. When you have the editor split, clicking on cards will auto-load them in the other split, making the corkboard act a bit more like how the binder works when you click on things.
You can’t link cards to other documents entirely though. “Cards” could be seen as fancy icons for binder items. You can use them for whatever you want of course, like notes, and not think of them as being “files”—I do that myself, but you can’t get around the fact that it really is no different than the title you see in the binder. You click on that you load the thing you clicked on into the editor. You couldn’t set up the binder so that that if you click on the Draft folder it loaded Research instead, the same goes for the corkboard.
That is in fact what I was going to suggest. While you can’t change what a card loads when you load it (because again, it’s not a “card” it’s a representation of that thing), any item in Scrivener can store however many links to other items you wish, and that is done with the References list. If you open the Inspector and click on a card, you can see its list of references, and that is how you would jump to specific transcription files that the notes refer back to.
And by the way, if you’ve been linking to the note cards from the transcription text, you may in fact already have back-links pointing to the text files you linked from. By default if you create a Scrivener Link, the document you link to will have a Reference link pointing back to where you linked from. If for some reason that isn’t happening, check the Create back-link references when creating Scrivener Link and references option in the Navigation preference pane.
Somehow a very useful explanation, Ioa – there are always things I haven’t used yet.
Also, it occurs that this sort of usage-orientated capsule can be very effective. The manual is very complete, yet often feels to works better as a reference than for feature discovery and usage framework. Maybe a thought for the future?
One thing can add: the outline also works to select texts with a split editor – just switch to it from cards, and select a line to see that…
The reference links are in the inspector. See the row of tiny icons at the top of the inspector? Click the one that looks like a series of book spines. If there are any document references, you’ll find them in that view.
I can’t find the setting for creating backlinks either. Maybe it’s not a feature in the Windows version?
Thanks, Robert, that’s where I would have expected to find it - but there’s nothing there. If I create an internal link on document A’s References Inspector screen to document B, then there is nothing in document B’s References Inspector screen to link back to document A.
Sorry, that was my mistake (and I’ve been on the road so haven’t been around to correct it), the backlink doesn’t appear to be implemented on Windows. The rest should all stand as described however, so if you do want a circular linking reference, just drag the one in, visit it and then drag the other in.
I saw this pop up again, and looking at the OP’s original question, I have to wonder if they just reversed their index card<-> document relationship, it wouldn’t improve their workflow.
Instead of having a bunch of index cards associated with one document, why not split that document into pieces by whatever criteria you’re using the index cards for, and write that into the synopsis for that chunk of the original, longer document?
The method I’d suggest trying is this: keep the inspector open to where you can see the main document’s “synopsis” index card. As you read, put your thoughts into that index card. At some point in the document, you’re going to want to write ideas/thoughts about a different section of your document, so split it at that point (documents->split menu), and you’ll have a separate document with its own index card. Keep taking notes until you come upon a section that conceptually separate from the previous swathe of text, and split there; repeat until you reach the end.
Now you can view the split-up document in corkboard mode (select the enclosing folder and enter that mode using the toolbar), seeing the thoughts and ideas on each index card. You can split the editor and make a click on an index card load it’s associated text in that other editor. If you want to link to other documents/index cards, then you can add scrivener links in the main text or document notes.
