I’ve used a Scrivener trial and loved it so am seriously thinking about purchasing it. I’ve looked for an answer to my question but haven’t found one yet, so apologies if this is a repetition:
Can I use several devices to edit one document (I’ll buy more than one licence if required)?
My scenario is that I write a lot at home, but also at lunchtimes at work which is often one of my most productive times for research. Rather than carry my home computer around with me can I store all my project files in the cloud somewhere and edit them from whichever of the two computers I happen to be using at that time, then pick up seamlessly from the other one?
Yes, lots of people work that way. I use Dropbox and access my projects from four Macs.
Your user licence will let you install the software on your own personal devices, but Windows and Mac licences are separate, so you need separate licences for each OS.
If you want to sync using a cloud service, read this…
I am so frustrated. I have watched Youtube videos, read the documents you referenced earlier, read all kinds of posts on the Internet, but I can’t save my project to a cloud in any form other than a zipped document. I’ve got it set up to back up to Onedrive, but that file is zipped. I was thinking I would get it to save to Dropbox for my normal use so I can work on it from two machines, but I can’t find the button to do that. Help!
Not sure where exactly the setting is on the Windows version (I use a Mac), but somewhere in Tools > Options there will be a tick box for saving backups as compressed files.
But… I really don’t recommend that you turn it off. Because a Scrivener project is a multitude of small files, there’s always a small possibility that a glitch in synch will corrupt the project. That’s much less likely to happen with a singe zip file.
You basically have 2 workable options:
a) Work on laptop, zip backup to Dropbox etc. On desktop, copy zip backup to desktop then decompress it to work on the file. When you’ve finished, zip backup to Dropbox and rinse and repeat.
b) Keep the actual project on Dropbox and work on it there from any computer – but NEVER, have it open on two computers at once. Set the zip backup on automatic as well – I have it set up to a different Dropbox folder, so all my projects and backups are available wherever I am. To get it there in the first place, just copy it over from Windows, or use ‘Save As’ from the File menu (I think), not backup.
a) is the ‘safest’ but slightly more laborious. But b) is also perfectly workable and is less hassle. I’ve not had any corruption using it – but don’t have the project open on two computers at once and remember to let Dropbox sync before you close the computer!
I strongly recommend that you don’t go any further with either of these routes until you’ve read the official support article on this:
There’s also a long thread on it on these forums somewhere.
Don’t be put off by the seeming complexity of this, BTW: take the simple precautions mentioned in the article and it will be fine – loads of people work this way.
There is no button. You just move the project (the folder ending in .scriv if you’re using the Windows version) to your dropbox folder and let the dropbox software upload it to the cloud.
