I am sure this has to have been answered somewhere in these boards before. I’m sorry, but I can’t find it.
I have Scrivener on Mac. I have been using it for a couple of years. I now have Scrivener for Windows 10. I want to open my files cross operating system. From what I have found on this site, I need to view the contents of the scriv file in Windows. I then have to open the scrivx file in Windows. I can’t view the Mac file contents on Windows. I have tried WinZip, and Win7. I have searched the internet and these boards. Could someone, please tell me how to view the scriv file in Windows?
I bought Scrivener specifically for its cross system compatibility but I have continued to run into problem after problem. This is just the latest. Could someone please tell me how to view the contents of the Mac scriv file so I can try and open the scrivx file in Windows?
How did you transfer the project from the Mac system?
A Scrivener project (.scriv) is actually a folder, with subfolders. The .scrivx file lives inside this folder and is the master index used to build the Binder. The only difference between Mac and Windows is that Mac OS hides the contents of the folder, while Windows does not. The actual format is identical between the two versions of Scrivener.
When you say you “can’t view” the project in Windows, what do you mean? Are you unable to see the contents of the .scriv folder?
The first thing is make sure you’re securely syncing your files between your two computers. We recommend Dropbox for this. Setting up sync will allow you to view and edit your project from either computer.
Once you have the file on both devices, you’ll see a .scriv folder on your Windows computer and a .scriv file on your Mac computer. As @kewms mentioned, the contents are exactly the same, but the systems display them differently. On your Mac, you just open a Scrivener file by double-clicking it. On Windows, you’ll click into the .scriv folder and double-click the .scrivx file to launch it. You don’t need to look inside the Mac file because the entire .scriv file has to be kept together—if you transfer just the .scrivx file to Windows, you won’t be able to open the project.
The other thing to watch out for is ZIP files. If you transfer a file from one computer to another as a ZIP file, you will need to extract the file before you can open it with Scrivener. On Windows, you can look inside a zipped file, but you can’t actually open it until you extract it.
Your responses have left me wanting to bang my head against a wall. I have never seen a scrivx. file on Windows. I CAN’T GET TO THIS FREAKING FILE. My question is how do I do so? I can’t click on it to open the file if Windows NEVER allows me to view the file. In addition, your instructions on your website are way outdated. I bought this program specifically because it was supposed to be able to be used between systems. To this day, I’ve never made use of this feature.
I have the IOS .scriv file! The whole thing. All of it. I specifically posted that in my initial post. Since I can’t open it or view its contents, it makes sense that I have the whole file. I get the concept but I can’t make it work.
Seriously, is there anyone out there that can realize I am a novice and I need simple complete instructions. Anyone please? I’ve been fighting this darn program for over two years now and I’d dump the whole thing if I didn’t have a novel already written in it! Not to mention having purchased multiple versions.
Again, how did you transfer the Mac .scriv file to the PC? Please remember that none of us can see your computer: explain as if we were literally blind, because effectively we are.
The reason why I am asking is that if the project works correctly on the Mac, but you are completely unable to see it on the PC, something has clearly gone wrong at the transfer step. Without knowing exactly what you did, it’s impossible to know what happened.
1 - What versions of Scrivener do you have on the Mac and on Windows? With Windows Scriv you’d find that info by doing Help > About Scrivener from the menu. It’s probably something similar on the Mac.
2 - On your Windows PC, navigate using Windows Explorer to the Dropbox folder that contains your Scrivener project, take a screenshot of the folder contents, and upload it here.
Be sure that the full file path is in your screenshot and that you’re displaying file extensions. (In Windows Explorer, go to View menu and enable File name extensions.)
First, is Scrivener for Windows able to create new projects? If not, then there’s an issue with your Scrivener installation, not just the project you’re trying to transfer.
If Scrivener itself is okay, let’s look at the transferred project. Since the jump drive is the simplest method, let’s focus on that.
In Mac Scrivener, use the File → Backup → Backup To command to back the project up to the drive. Do not check the box to create a ZIP backup.
Then, with Scrivener closed, create an ordinary text file and save it to the drive as well.
Using Finder on the Mac, you should see two items on the drive: an ordinary text file and a Scrivener project. Correct?
Disconnect the drive from the Mac. Plug it into the PC.
Is the ordinary text file visible? If not, you have a Windows problem, not a Scrivener problem.
If the text file is visible, what about the Scrivener project? Does Windows see it at all? Recognize it as a folder? If so, open the folder via Windows Explorer, and send a screenshot of what you see.
