Before I get to the wish-list item, allow me to explain the problem that led up to it. It’s possible that other Scriveneers out there already have a simple solution for this.
I work on my first draft to the point where it’s ready to go to my publisher (specifically, to my copy editor). I compile my draft to Word .docx format (because that’s the publisher’s standard). It creates one monolithic Word file, but my editor needs the thing broken down into smaller chunks - typically 2,000-3,000 words per file. So now I have to manually break it up. The way I do that is use the Word Count stats Scrivener shows me for each scene to figure out which scenes to include in each file such that the word count for each file is closest to 2,500 words. For example, if the first three scenes are 1,500 words, 700 words, and 400 words, then the first two scenes total 2,200 words while the first three would be 2,600. 2,600 is closer to that magic 2,500 so the first file gets those three scenes. Each file is usually named in the form “KEYWORD ch 01 v 01.docx” (leading zeros on the chapter numbers make it easier to keep the files in the right order in Windows Explorer; the version of the first compile will always be 01).
I generally help make things a little easier for myself by organising the scenes within the folders such that each folder contains one file’s worth of scenes, but not always. (Each folder might then be called a Chapter, or not, depending on how I’m organising the book, but that’s not a requirement. It might be that a single chapter gets split across two files, or one file might end up containing two chapters, and so on. It all depends on the book.)
So, to get to the wish list item(s):
What I’d like is for Scrivener to help me automate that process a bit. The main thing would be a way to compile the full manuscript to create multiple files instead of one huge one, automatically naming each file using a pattern I can specify. It would be nice to have it figure out which scenes to put into each file such that the word count for each file is closest to my target (2,500 in most cases). Alternatively it could break it up by folder - not an ideal solution in my case, but it would work. In that case it would be nice to have tools to help when shuffling scenes up and down between folders (one thing that would help there would be an option to show total word counts for the subdocuments in the binder, so that you can see the counts updated as you drag scenes between folders).
Once I’ve broken the file up, those smaller files become in essence the master files for the rest of the editing process. My copy editor and I work on those files, bouncing them back and forth as she sends me suggestions for changes and I send back revised versions with new version numbers. The point being that I’m now working in Word instead of Scrivener. Frankly I detest that - I’d much rather be able to use Scrivener to see the project right through to the end, but there’s no going back because we use Word’s Track Changes and Comments features for the editing. You can’t have everything, I guess.