Does content created on the iPad correctly sync to the other devices?
Since the iPhone works and the iPad doesn’t, I’m inclined to suspect the connection between the iPad and Dropbox. Does the test project appear in the Dropbox app on the iPad?
Katherine
It does appear on the iPad, as it should. When I open it, everything I put in it on the Mac is there. If I make a change on the iPad, the Mac picks up the changes automatically, as it should. The iPad is not always the problem. Here are the details of my experiments today.
First at 1:31pm. Sequence: My iPhone picked it up and my iPad did not.
Second at 1:48pm. Sequence: I tried the iPhone first again and iPad a second later. This time the iPhone missed it and the iPad got it. I tried the iPhone again after typing this and it still didn’t pick up the change.
Third at 3:54pm. Sequence: iPhone and then iPad caught the change.
Fourth at 5:15pm. Sequence: IPad caught the change and synced. IPhone did not.
After opening and closing this project, the iPad caught the change and the iPhone did not.
Fifth and final at 6:01pm. Neither the iPad nor the iPhone caught the last change.
How much time are you allowing between closing the project on the Mac and attempting to sync with the iOS devices? That kind of inconsistency sounds like you’re trying to download to the iOS devices before the Mac has finished uploading.
Katherine
Thanks for your reply.
I wait until after the Mac has finished uploading. Last night I made a change and waited until the morning., 8 hours later. Neither device detected the change.
I’m aware manufactures of various products often assume it’s user error, and for good reason. It usually is. I can assure you I work through every known way of resolving problems before I ever reach out, which is why I rarely reach out. I solve my own problems. This one resides somewhere else and it’s almost enough to make me move on if I didn’t love Scrivener so much.
Katherine,
Again, thank you for all your help. There’s no need to do anything further. I’m going to use iTunes from here on out and monitor Scrivener updates. I’ll reconsider using Dropbox if I see any changes.
Until then, it’s iTunes syncing, as it takes less time than what I’m spending now.
Kindest regards…
When I uploaded my .scriv file to dropbox, dropbox zipped it. On my iPad, syncing the file downloaded the zipped file, but Scrivener couldn’t read it. 
I unzipped the file and then, Scrivener IOS told me the “project can’t be opened because it does not contain a valid binder structure.” On another thread, I see something about the entire Scrivener folder. Where would I find this folder on Mac OS?
Install the Dropbox software on your Mac. This will create a folder structure in Finder. Put the project in the Dropbox/Apps/Scrivener subfolder.
Complete guide to Dropbox syncing here: scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb … g-with-ios
Katherine
UPDATE: It seems you need to use dropbox on your computer, that you can’t upload to dropbox.com. Once I used dropbox on my computer, everything worked after a while. You might have to manually remove the old .scriv file from dropbox.
On my Mac, do I work directly off the .scriv file in /Dropbox/Apps/Scrivener?
Yes.
Thanks!
I am having issues with synching Scrivener (app for iOS, v 1.1.5) with Dropbox. I am using iOS 11.2.5. The problem actually predates this. It seemed to develop shortly after updating the app. When I attempt to sync the file, I get a window that says “Synching with Dropbox…downloading file list…” but the wheel of waiting does not go away, and I do not get a synced file. I am able to use Scrivener 2.8.1 on my MacBook Pro. It syncs with Dropbox seamlessly. So the problem seems to be the app. Any suggestions?
UPDATE: I just let it sit and spin. Finally it started syncing > 28000 files!? This has been going on for about 30-40 minutes and I am at 19000 right now. Is this real? Is it a summation of all the times I tried to sync previously?
How did you set up the connection with Dropbox in iOS Scrivener? What folder did you point it to?
Scrivener downloads everything you have in the folder. Even files that do not belong to a Scrivener project.
My sync folder is Files>Apps>Scrivener. It has worked previously and it works with my MacBook.
That huge number of files suggests that something is going into your Apps/Scrivener folder that you don’t want there.
Number one suspect would be project backups. Check Scrivener -> Preferences -> Backups to see Scrivener’s automatic backup location.
If that’s not it, inspect the folder in Finder and see what all is there.
Katherine
Thanks! I have a screen shot of my scrivnr folder. There are 3 79 GB folders! Ouch! Any Ideas on how to fix this? Dropbox wants to download everything? Does an individual project really take up so much space?
You have told Scrivener to put the backups in the active folder. You should have it somewhere else, preferably not on Dropbox at all so it is safe if your Dropbox screws up.
Do you have videos in the Research area of your Crisis project?
An individual project shouldn’t take up that much space, but theoretically could if you have a significant amount of video in your Research folder. I also helped one person who had accidentally dropped their entire music collection into a project, with predictable results.
You can see the contents of a project by right-clicking and selecting the option to Show Package Content. Browse to the Files subfolder.
In a Scrivener 2 project, you’ll find a Files/Docs subfolder. Browse to it and sort by Size.
If you’re using Scrivener 3, the key folder is Files/Data. Inside that, you’ll find many subfolders, each named with a UUID. To expand all of them at once, click the disclosure triangle on the Data folder while holding the option key.
Katherine
Oh, as a first step, drag those files out of Dropbox to another location on the Mac. There’s no need to ship them back and forth while you’re trying to sort out why they are so huge.
Also, did anything unusual happen on January 1? You have two backups taken that day, one of which is huge and one is normal.
Katherine
Wow! Thanks for the advice. I will work through this. On Jan 1 I was troubleshooting on my own and created a dummy file .
