Keep getting this message and need help fixing this issue

Scrivener Scrivener for macOS
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1

Greeting fellow writers -

When I started using Scrivener in 2015 or so, I had zero issues with simply selecting the Scrivener icon and the WIP would simply appear. I stepped away from the project for a few years, but kept the latest version of Scrivener installed.

Now, when I open Scrivener, I often get the message below. I’m not sure what I am doing wrong or if the WIP is stored in the wrong place, but I find this very frustrating. I am assuming (yea, I know) that I may need to set up another folder to prevent this, but I don’t know how to do this. I searched here and YouTube, but couldn’t find anything.

When I open the pdf in Finder, I get the story, but it doesn’t open in Scrivener.

The project at “/Users/(my name removed/Documents/DEADHEADING 2024.scriv” seems to be of an older format, but no binder.scrivproj file could be found inside it. It may be missing or corrupt, possibly because of a problem with the device on which it is stored, or because of a synchronisation problem.

Try ctrl-clicking on the project in the Finder and selecting “Show Package Contents”, then look for a file entitled ‘binder.scrivproj’. Ensure it has not been renamed by a backup routine. If it does not exist, try restoring from a backup.

Any and all help greatly appreciated!

And if you know of any reasonably priced online / zoom tutors, I’m all ears.

2

Is the project stored with iCloud, Dropbox, or any other cloud service? The most common cause of this issue is incomplete synchronization: the service has “helpfully” stored part of the project exclusively on their servers, where Scrivener can’t get to it.

Was the project last successfully opened on this computer, or a different one? This could also be a sign that it wasn’t successfully transferred between devices.

3

It is stored with iCloud, but I’m not sure how to retrieve it from there.

This is the only computer I use for Scrivener.

I usually save my work by compiling it with Scrivener and save as a pdf. I then let Scrivener save it (and it shows up in Finder) as well as email it to two different email addresses. I am sure this is a simple fix for Scrivener experts, but I’m at a loss.