I’m glad I migrated my whole project (novel) to Scrivener. It was previously on my eInk tablet with very limited features (good for focus and nomad writing)
But now I’m thinking going with an hybrid solution, going back to the eInk tablet for longer writing session for parts (documents) that are still empty or in need of a deeper rework.
So, the point is:
How to not get confused and know where is the current version of the sub document (on Scrivener or on the tablet)?
Find the best way to push to the tablet and then sync back to Scrivener (this one is dependent on the tablet ecosystem capabilities)
The options I have for the first point:
Change the document icon to a specific one, to clearly show that the doc is out for revision on the tablet. My favorite option
Maybe also use the status? It could be nice but I don’t like to double the management work. Or maybe the status could mark those I need/plan to embark on the tablet next time?
Using another color of the Progress (ex-Label). I don’t think it’s good, I could as well update the progress in Scrivener will I write on the tablet to keep an eye of the overall progress
My questions:
Do you also use an external editor at times?
What is your workflow in that regard?
Any tips or suggestions?
(I tried to add usage-tips tag on this topic but I couldn’t)
Imho, that would be your best option. There is NO progress until you fetch whatever you did elsewhere and bring it in your project. All the reason to make it as obvious as possible that the file is being treated elsewhere.
You don’t use statuses, if I understand right (from other posts). So, when using the “is outside” label (I’d make it red, personally), mark the status in status. Clone the label you’d otherwise use in the status.
That’s how I operate all the time.
I have combinations of Gdocs, printouts and whatnot and I can manage a project’s progress without any noticeable issue.
(I too, use labels to keep track of by document progress.)
I see where you’re coming from. That’s valid from the point of view of the Scrivener Project, but from my ‘sweating writer’ perspective it seems to disregard my efforts on the external editor , and it deprives me from the satisfaction of seeing things turning green before I merge them (not a daunting task in itself).
From my perspective (a very personal opinion), if you have too many files outside of the project to keep track in your head of where you are at with those, you have too much happening (at once) outside of the project.
I consider “do it and bring it back in asap, we got other things queued” to be a very good incentive.
As I said, in case you missed it (or that I didn’t explain it clearly), for special “no progress to report -RED- the file is outside” labels, use the status.
The reflex / mind association to look in the status when such flashy labels actually report nothing other than that is quickly established in one’s brain.
If you do have the status vacant, I’d use it. Plus, it is at the bottom of the inspector just like the labels, and requires no navigation at all to be consulted.
. . . . . . .
On the other hand, I understand your desire to use the binder (and label colors) as a master console / progress tracker.
In which case, instead of icons, you could use emojis as temporary prefixes to your concerned documents’ title.
❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽❾❿⓫⓬⓭⓮⓯⓰⓱⓲⓳⓴
About them emojis above
You can grab them from above.
(They look crispier – and better – once in the binder than here on the forum. – They’re actually not the same emojis at all. The first square is actually red, for example.)
(Could be that I’m still running Windows 10)
Have a label clearly state that the doc is being handled outside of the project, and use an emoji to mimic what would otherwise have been the label. Or vice versa.
I have a project bookmark document named “EDITING MARKS”. I keep it at the top of the list.
It contains all those specifics. Quickly copy/pasted. (I use a lot in the documents themselves too.)
Ex:
Back to the binder: I find them emojis faster set (and later removed) then icons. And you can use more than one.
They are also searchable. Icons aren’t.
You can mark something X (this chapter sucks, OMG, needs a complete rewrite),
using or and have a dynamic collection for that.
It would depend a lot on the tablet of course, whether or not it can have a folder full of files copied easily to it, and how easy it makes it to edit them, but do have a look at the external folder syncing feature, documented in the user manual in §14.3, Synchronised Folders.
This feature was made for what you are doing! When you copy the folder of files back into the original location, from the device, and open Scrivener, it will alert you to changes being detected and you can sync them in. A collection will be created listing all of the items that were changed, and by default it also takes Snapshots so you can compare, and see line by line revisions.
If the tablet has some kind of cloud connect, then you use that instead of the copying back and forth method.
Do you also use an external editor at times?
Quite a lot! I write using Markdown, and often in the very early drafting phases it is nicer to use a dedicated Markdown editor right alongside Scrivener (which is mainly be used for the outlining and organisation at that point). Here is a post demonstrating a typical setup.
The other way to keep track is use a standard collection in which you add documents as you write on your other device and then remove when you are finished. The collection would show all the outstanding files. If you combine this with snapshots with a title (or not), these by default have a date and time attached. So snapshot when transfer will create a save and do the same when bring back in.
I see… Thanks @AmberV for sharing the setup in the link.
For my context, sadly, I’m afraid I won’t use synchronized folders, but a more low tech check-out / check-in.
The reason is that the Remarkable lacks this level of integration, and it has its own format and own cloud. I can only import or export from and to a limited set of formats (pdf,png,svg ). The same for the Google Drive access I have from the tablet.
I guess I’d better user the Desktop App of the tablet next to Scrivener when I check out a doc for external edition, or check it back in. I might have to use a temporary Google doc for the proper conversion, since I noticed Scrivener doesn’t handle the italics the way the tablet copy the text (html & inline styles). Not very practical but still worth it, as I won’t do this often.
I agree 120%.
I use this system too. I wouldn’t want to do without.
And as for the binder, I keep it as minimal as possible.
As a matter of fact (aside minor exceptions), whenever I add emojis to it, say as a note of my intention to print this and that documents, or “requires attention”, it is always with the objective to remove them as soon as I get a chance. They (the emojis) actually mark a priority over the other documents. It is not something meant to remain.
Anyway, back to the topic, I’ll try next time the emojis in the document name, it’s a good trick. I wonder how they can be faster than a “right-click->change icon->set to a recent one”, but the advantages are superior (maybe for other needs).
Well, if you don’t have to look for a specific icon among a load of custom ones, no, I guess it is not that much faster.
The main point, my argument, is that in the project bookmark document, you can organize them as you want – by categories ; even have duplicates – and after a while you become so used to it that you know exactly where to go fetch what you want/need.
That “EDITING MARKS” project bookmark is the one I have on at all times.
Just to be clear :
I am not advocating that someone should use emojis instead of icons. Not at all.
I myself use icons. For permanent tagging of documents. Notes, general outlines, ideas that haven’t yet found their spot etc etc. Anything that is non-draft, but currently IN the draft folder.
I use emojis to mark what’s required on a short time scale (when I need it to catch my eye, mark something as priority for a few documents, not for something I am about to do to them all). Sort of. – It’s hard to come up with an explanation that 100% fits the usage.
To state an exception : In the novel I am currently writing, I have little interludes between some chapters. So I prefixed them
That makes them stand out, and searching for , I get them sequential. Without the chapters themselves. (An icon wouldn’t allow that. I’d have to use metadata.)
, and it deprives me from the satisfaction of seeing things turning green before I merge them 
(not a daunting task in itself).
). The same for the Google Drive access I have from the tablet.
