Hi
Wondering about possibilities for one day having an option to show synopses along with titles in scrivenings? (so along with View > Text Editing > Show titles in scrivenings, we could also have View > Text Editing > Show synopses in scrivenings).
This would allow my most preferred writing style, which is to have titles and synopses on a long page, then browse up and down adding detail to synopses and fleshing out text for each section as inspiration strikes.
I know we can do something similar with a two-pane view (outline with titles/synopses on left; scrivenings with titles on right) and even use the ‘behaviour’ thing to make sure we are in the right section of the scrivenings.
But to be honest I find this clunky. Despite quite a lot of practice (and reference to the manual for additional tips and tricks) I always end up getting lost and writing stuff in the wrong place etc.
OR - maybe, as so often happens I have missed something that would give me a smoother workflow?
Thanks, as always
Helen
Hello again
Just thought I would bump this question as it seems to have been missed, perhaps inadvertently. If not inadvertent (eg. if I have overlooked a previous answer!) could you direct me to same?
Cheers
Helen
This might serve your purposes, for now anyway.
I use Inline Annotations for entering synopses or other notations wherever needed. They can be easily stripped out at Compile. In the screenshot below of a Scrivenings session (taken in the tutorial), the Synopsis (via copy and paste) is inside the red border and I’m using black text. I’ve chosen the preference for black text at––Scrivener Preferences > Editing > tick the box “Do not color the text of inline annotations (faster)” in the Footnotes &Comments section.
The first point is not to worry that no-one seemed to respond to your first post! That’s quite usual in the Wish List forum, and it doesn’t mean that the developers are ignoring your request: it will have been noted — doesn’t mean it will be implemented, of course, but they are all noted, as far as I can tell.
You’ll normally only get a response if there’s a technical reason why your request is impossible or undesirable, or if there is another way of doing what you want.
And on that second point… There is another workaround for what you want to do, and I wonder if it would help (you may already know about it, of course…)
Set the display in the ‘standard’ three and mode (Binder, Editor, Inspector), with the Inspector panel set to Synopsis and Notes. Then click on the little arrow next to Notes so it’s minimised: this gives you a full height Synopsis panel.
Next, set up your scrivening in the normal way and click in the first document in the editor, making sure its synopsis is visible in the Inspector panel, and that as you move from document to document the synopsis changes accordingly. From there you can edit the synopses in the normal way in the Synopsis panel.
I appreciate that this may not feel as though it’s a help, but if you know three shortcuts, then it’s actually a very simple, effective workflow, which has some benefits over the ‘synopsis at the top method’ (which I’ll come on to later).
The shortcuts:
Cmd-opt-ctl-i takes you directly into the synopsis panel
Cmd-opt-ctl-e takes you directly back to the Editor to where you left the cursor
Cmd-opt-up/down arrow move you between documents. This works whether you’re in the Binder, the Editor or the Inspector —ie there is not need to come out of the Synopsis panel to see the next one: cmd-opt-down will show it directly (and move the Editor too, of course).
The upshot is you can can move up and down the Scrivening and at every point you have the relevant Synopsis visible, which you can edit with a keystroke (cmd-opt-ctl-i) before moving back to the point you left (cmd-opt-ctl-e).
The advantage of that over having the synopsis shown in the text? It’s always available, wherever you are in the document — you don’t have to scroll to the top to make a change when you think of something.
Obviously that’s not in any way saying that your request is invalid, but perhaps this method will help you (and if you already know it… anyone who doesn’t) in the meantime?
Hi,
We do indeed read all requests, even if we don’t get chance to respond to all of them. I’m afraid there are no plans for anything like this, though, as the idea is that synopses are displayed in the Inspector. I’m not sure what advantage there is to having the synopsis at the top of the text, given that if you write enough, the synopsis will scroll off the top of the editor and you won’t be able to see it. Instead, the synopsis is displayed in the Inspector - and you can make the synopsis area as large or small as you want (as Brookter says, you can hide the notes, but you can also just drag-resize the height of the synopsis). This way, you can always see the synopsis of the document you are currently editing.
All the best,
Keith