I have Scrivener on the Mac and PC, when I tried to import the Mac version into the PC version, I get this:
So I check for updates, and I get this:
I would understand this if it was a new version of the Mac version vs an old version of Windows…but I just purchased the latest version of the Windows version of Scrivener… which I just purchased less than 24 hours ago.
I really, really, really don’t want to have to manually transfer everything over to the PC… but I will if I have to. Please tell me there is a fix for this… because I really would like to think when offering a Mac and PC version bundle, they would work together, or was I hoping for too much?
I am sorry if I sound sarcastic, but I’ve been working on my book for over 3 years on my Mac, and now I have a PC because my Mac well, blew up… I was able to rescue the HD, but now transferring everything to my PC from my Mac has not been as “clean” as it was when I transferred everything from my PC to my Mac the first time around.
The current release version for the Mac is 3.1.5, which uses the v3 project version. This version will automatically back up and upgrade an opened v2 project to v3. It can also be used to export your current v3 project as a v2 version.
The current release version for Windows is 1.9.16, which uses the v2 project version. This version can only work with v2 projects. This version also does not check for the beta versions when you check for a program upgrade.
There is also a beta version for Windows, currently 2.9.9.7, which uses the v3 project version. Like the Mac release version, it will automatically back up and upgrade a v2 project when you open it.
You have a couple of options here:
Use your Mac version to export your project to v2 format, then transfer the v2 format project to your PC and run it with the current release version of Windows. This is probably the simplest option if you still have access to both. However, if you are trying to go back and forth, you may find that it is not ideal for you to export on the Mac, then open/convert on re-opening on the Mac every time you move back and forth.
Use the beta version on Windows. It still has some bugs but is mostly stable and feature-complete. You can easily round-trip your v3 projects without any extra hassle. However, you will need to open this on a regular basis and keep an eye on when each beta version expires so you can upgrade to the new beta version before the expiration date. Your license will not work with this version until it is released as 3.0 – the beta expiration is the only “licensing” currently in place.
Regretfully, I cannot use the Mac version anymore because my mac “blew up.” As I said, I only have the HHD… and no Mac to go with it… so for me I will have to manually move it over it seems.
Then you should use the Windows beta, in all likelihood, so that once you get the project moved over to the PC you can simply open it and resume working.
Make sure to copy the entire project from the Mac – it is what is known as a package format file, which (on a PC) looks like a folder named ProjectName.scriv with a bunch of child folders and files. On a Mac, by default it looks like a simple file – the Mac hides the contents of the package from you unless you specifically go digging.
On the PC, inside the top-level ProjectName.scriv folder, you will find a few folders and a Projectname.scrivx file. That file is what you double-click on in Windows Explorer to open up and launch your project in Scrivener, but it is not the whole file. You need the top-level ProjectName.scriv folder, the ProjectName.scrivx file, and all the rest of the child folders and files for it to properly work on the PC.
If you had a zipped backup on your Mac, that might be the easiest to copy across. Copy it to the PC, extract the contents, and away you go.
