Compile is incredibly robust, which I love, however, I don’t like getting kicked out of it when I compile a preview of my work. Right now, I choose all my settings, then use the compile mode that goes to “Print” so I can see a version of what make changes look like (or you can make a PDF as well and view it once the file is created). However, this is time consuming as I often find myself changing LOTS of compile settings.
If there was a way to make Compile two-paned where the left pane was the compile window with all the settings and the right pane was a LIVE VIEW of what your compile document looks like that would be a huge time saver and really help formatting. Page size, font size/style, chapters, etc. This way, we can see what changes look like on the fly before we do a final compile. As there are lots of options in the compile menu, some that aren’t always immediately understood, a live preview would be an incredibly handy tool so we don’t have to make dozens of test outputs before creating a final version.
Not really. The trouble is that Print and PDF are just two of many options, and there is no way Scrivener could ever show you a preview of exactly how a .mobi file is going to look on the Kindle, or a .docx file will look in Word, or a .tex file will look when laid out, or how an RTF file will look in your program of choice, or how an FDX file will look in Final Draft… and so on. Moreover, even to show a “live” preview of only PDF/Print (the only two formats over which Scrivener has control of the final “look” of the text), Scrivener would essentially have to recompile the text for each change, or else the PDF/Preview export code would need to be completely detached from the code for the other formats.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand where you coming from and can see exactly why you’d want something like this, it’s just that I can’t see how it will be possible from a technical standpoint.
Thank you very much for replying. The software is amazing, I honestly use it every day, and know the next version will be even better. Thanks for your time.