Gidday Gidday all,
I am running Scrivener Version: 1.9.16.0 - 14 Nov 2019. It lacks an option I require that is available in Beta.
How do I upgrade to Beta without losing my work in 1.9.16.0 please?
Yours Faithfully
Seaplane Paul
Hi Paul,
Fancy meeting you over here. 
One thing to keep in mind is that the beta has an expiry date, so every 7-10 days you’ll have to install the latest version. L&L have never been late releasing the newer version prior to the previous one expiring. I’m mentioning this because the expiration date seems to freak some people out. If an expiration date’s going to cause you stress, you’re probably not a good beta candidate. :mrgreen:
You can download and install the latest version of the beta from here: [url]https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/scrivener-3-0-beta-release-candidate-10-download-links-change-list/38228/1]
Install it to a different program directory than v1.9. I put the beta in program directory Scrivener-beta, so I don’t accidentally overlay v1.9, which is in program directory Scrivener. Once you’ve installed the beta, it will become the default program for Scriv files, but you can still launch v1.9 and then open your old projects from there.
First thing I recommend you do after installing the beta is to launch it and create a Tutorial project. I name mine Tutorial-beta, so I’m clear about which version it’s for. Having a go through the tutorial is definitely worth the time.
The v1.9 project format and the beta format are not compatible. Keep that in mind before converting and doing a bunch of work in a book-length project. In the event you decided you want to go back to v1.9, that would require some effort to accomplish.
After the beta’s been installed, here’s how I’ve been converting v1.9 projects. Let’s assume a v1.9 project call MyNovel.
- Make sure you’ve got a zipped backup of your v1.9 project. (Always have one just in case!)
- Make a new copy of the MyNovel.scriv folder.
- Rename the new copied folder to MyNovel-beta.scriv
- Open the MyNovel-beta.scriv folder and double-click on the Scrivener Project file MyNovel.
- The Scrivener beta will launch, tell you the expiry date, then tell you your project’s in an older format and do you want to update. Press OK.
- The update process will create a backup folder of your original v1.9 project called MyNovel-beta Backup. You can delete this folder, because your original v1.9 project folder MyNovel.scriv has never been touched. (That’s why we made a copy of it in step #1.)
- Your converted project will open.
This is the way I do it. If you like, you can skip steps #1 and #2 and simply upgrade your v1.9 project in place, but I’d rather control the process myself and keep my original v1.9 project intact. If you decide to upgrade in place, then don’t delete the backup folder containing your original v1.9 project folder!!!
You can set the beta to alert you when new versions are available. File > Options > Startup > enable Automatically check for updates.
When the time comes to upgrade the beta, some people update in place, others uninstall/reinstall. I do the latter. If you take this approach, be sure to save any customizations you’ve made to the beta prior to uninstalling it. Prior to the uninstall, do File > Options > Manage > Save Options to file. After the install, do File > Options > Manage > Load Options from file.
Paul, that’s everything I can think of. Please let me know if you have any questions. If you encounter any issues and want to let the developers know, please post them in the Beta Forum: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=57
Enjoy the new features!
Best,
Jim
Hi Jim,
Loving the new Beta version thank you.
Have just redownloaded the latest version and its working fine.
I guess if I just save my scriver novel to a folder in my Google driver then each time I redownload the latest Beta my work is safe right?
Thanks again
Paul
Do not save your live project to Google Drive; it is known to corrupt Scrivener projects. In the Support pages, there is an article on sync’ing with cloud servers followed by advisories on different ones.
Secondly be clear on.what is a “live project” and what is a back-up. A zipped back-up is safe on any cloud server, and the back-ups should not be saved to the same location as the live project.
Unless you make the mistake of trying to save your live project in the same location as the Scivener program itself—a bad idea at the best of times—it will not be deleted when you update the beta. But you should be backing up your entire hard disk regularly anyway.
Paul,
Here are the Knowledge Base articles on syncing: https://scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb/cloud-syncing
As Mr X said, don’t use Google Drive as a place to store your live project folder. Bad things can happen.
Downloading and installing/reinstalling the beta only impacts the Scriv program, it will have zero impact on your data/writing.
Best,
JIm