I’m debating options for how to write on the iPad, and considering using Outliner, but would need to be able to export to HTML. Any options for doing this?
Either way, other’s thoughts on where to write and how to have relatively painless syncing back and forth? At the moment, I see some possibility in the new Notably.
Ideas for how to make “syncing” between Scrivener and a solution on the iPad as painless as possible? The fact that it can’t be a Scrivener to Scrivener sync frankly has me thinking (VERY reluctantly), that for ease of universal use, I may need to change what I write in on my Mac. I’d love to know other ideas.
Have you considered WriteRoom? There is already built-in support to download your WR documents into Scrivener from the Import menu. You can go the other way by using the built-in web app server on the iDevice. It’s pretty easy, and is my preferred way to “write” on an iDevice as there is a good deal of control over colours and fonts.
I’m not sure what you mean by that. Do you mean, can files in the application be sorted into folders? If so, then yes that is one area where it is limited, it is just a flat list. I keep what is on the device pretty slim, just a few reference documents and whatever I’m working on, so it’s never been a huge issue. I guess I’m used to flat-list though. TaskPaper has the ability to tag documents and then filter by tags, I would hope that eventually WriteRoom gets that feature as well (I think it is already planned for).
If what you are asking for is an outliner, then TaskPaper might actually be a better option. It uses the same synch service, so is just as integrated with Scrivener, and while it was designed as a very simple task manager, the way it is implemented is flexible enough that it needn’t necessarily be used as one. Check out the TaskPaper for Mac demo and see how that works. It’s basically the same in the device version, interface differences aside. If someone just ignored the task mode and wrote everything using headers and notes, they could build a decent document outline that would import into Scrivener and could be split up from there.
Thanks, Amber. You answered my question, but what I mean is the way Scrivener organizes documents and how they relate with each other in hierarchical way (Book 1, Part 1, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Book 2, Part 1, … etc…).
I have a need for a complex hierarchy as what I work on all interrelates. I just get lost in “flat”. So that’s the reason I’m looking at outliners.
Ah, I see. Well then in that case check out Outliner’s ability to generate OPML exports. Scrivener supports these for import, just drag the file into the Binder and you should get a full outline structure and text. Unfortunately you can’t export from Scrivener as OPML though, so that really only solves one direction. You may also have issues with full text coming through, if it is saved in the notes field in Outliner. Not all applications do this the same way, but since their website indicates their OPML files work with OmniOutliner, there is a good chance it will work.
So, reading your original post again, when you ask about needing a way to export to HTML, did you mean from Scrivener? Because if Outliner supports an HTML file with standard headings to indicate structure, the MultiMarkdown->XHTML compiler option with titles turned on for all document types might do the trick. You will lose formatting though, like italics and bold.
Sorry, I meant OPML in my original question. Via Keith, I’ve tried the MultiMarkdown export, but it imports with every paragraph as it’s own field, rather than maintaining them as multiple paragraphs in a single field.
My current plan is to switch to OmniOutliner on both platforms as they are producing an iPad app.
You might find this post interesting: Additional OPML support for MMD. Basically it is there to allow round-trip editing with OmniOutliner. It could also be used to work round-trip with Scrivener.
Well, I got so desperate for a cross-platform solution I turned to iWork (after exploring a LOT of other yet to be realized options to see if they might be far enough along).
Word has a well done full screen mode, outline mode (though no outline organization of documents, like Scrivener), and looks to be the most advanced option for syncing fairly easily.