I am hoping against hope that with the upcoming version 3.0 there will be true multi-screen support in the program. MANY people have more than one screen on the desktop, or they may be using a laptop and have an external monitor also attached at the same time. It would be extremely helpful if we could move certain “windows” that make up the Scrivener interface outside the the main container window. I believe this is called tabbed document interface (see the Visual Studio IDE to see what I’m talking about).
For example, think how cool it would be to have the Inspector and it’s related parts one screen, the outline or corkboard on another, and the main document screen front and center, without having to cram it all into the real estate of one screen.
Before you suggest it, yes, you can stretch the Scrivener Window across multiple screens. But…you can’t save the screen layout, so when you reopen Scrivener you have to do all the screen positioning again. There are better, more modern ways to do this.
And you would NOT have to change the file structures or operating code behind any of the Scrivener functions - this is only about how the “windows” are presented on the screen.
There will be no way of breaking apart parts of the interface, no, but you will be able to use Quick Reference windows, and thus have different documents from the project open on different monitors. Given that each QR window has its own inspector area, this should provide what you are after.
All the best,
Keith
Personally, I’m happy as it is, but the QR windows sound neat.
But I’m probably an outlier. I run a 32" 4K monitor surrounded by four 24" 2560x1440 monitors. Scrivener goes front and center, Firefox gets the right monitor, and Outlook the top-left, leaving the other two for miscellaneous (folders, timelines,etc.)
I doubt having that much screen real estate is common now, but it will be, eventually. It’s getting cheaper, and worth it.
Well, if it’s relevant, something I’d really like to have is a “composing mode” on one screen and the regular scrivener interface on another… just sayin .
This feature already exists in the Windows v3 beta.
Put Scrivener’s main window on your primary screen and set the option to open the Composition Mode window on the Second Display. (File > Options > Behaviors > Composition Mode > Open Composition Mode on: > Second Display)
The beta is perfectly useable and stable (I can think of one or two companies that would call it the full version). Hopefully L&L will give it a ‘full’ label in 2020.
Meanwhile, that’s the only way to get what you want . There’s no way L&L would pause developing V3 and divert resources to attempt to put that in the old V1.9. (there would be burning torches and pitchforks in Cornwall if they even thought of that)
