I’ve just now started using Scrivener, so apologies if this is covered somewhere in the documentation. I’ve kinda sifted through that (and the tutorial) and haven’t found a good solution.
Basically I have a large-ish (20") widescreen monitor, and this makes the default text area in Scrivener and thereby the lines way too wide. If I manually shrink the margins substantially this helps things visually, but then in fullscreen mode the right margins seem to be knocked inward much more than the left - the result is a completely uncentered text off to the left of the screen. And I wonder if that will screw up the formatting integrally when it comes to printing/exporting.
Another option is to manually widen the columns for the project navigation and info pane to get a narrower text area, but this looks messy to me.
All I want is an option to set a consistent paper width through regular and fullscreen mode without having to change other visuals, where can I find that option? Thanks!
Have you tried the vertical split? It’s on the View > Layout menu. Scrivener is designed to be used in two text windows simultaneously, typically one for writing and one for reference.
Thanks for the reply Jerome, but then I still run into the problem of the main text column being off-center.
Also I’m not entirely sure about the “Scrivener is designed to be used in two text windows simultaneously” part - surely that can be a helpful option at times, but to say that’s the intended state and the reason why it’s so difficult to format a single text window to a manageable width… well, that seems a strange claim for a writing app that strives to be flexible and cater to different styles of composition.
Yeah, this is a known limitation at the moment. We have two features planned for the Windows 2 release which will help with this:
The ability to set a fixed maximum width on the editor, your choice between left and centre alignment of the text column. Padding will be used to fill the editor space around the text, using a colour or text of your choice.
Page View, which will simulate the popular page layout from word processors, where you have a “sheet of paper” with margins and a drop-shadow around it. With some ways of working, this will even serve as a reasonably accurate estimation for page count.
I wouldn’t necessarily claim that Scrivener is meant to be used in a two-column layout. It’s meant to work that way fluidly, but it shouldn’t be something you have to do.
This is purely a visual option for your benefit. Feel free to use it however you like. Printing margins aren’t even handled at this level of Scrivener.
Another option is just to not maximise your window on a 20" monitor. But, that’s probably a philosophy that betrays my Linux/Mac roots. It is rare to work with windows that take up the entire monitor, but rather to use a lot of smaller windows, set out beside each other. When I use the Windows/Linux version of Scrivener, I keep my window at a width that suits the text line length, because that has the side effect of being able to use many other programs beside the project window.
And yeah, a no-fuss-no-muss Page View type option a la conventional word processors is exactly what I’m looking for. Honestly I’m surprised people didn’t clamor for this during beta testing, but glad you’ve identified it as a planned feature. Where can I find info about the next release (timeframe, etc)?
It is rare to work with windows that take up the entire monitor, but rather to use a lot of smaller windows, set out beside each other. When I use the Windows/Linux version of Scrivener, I keep my window at a width that suits the text line length, because that has the side effect of being able to use many other programs beside the project window.