Post-migration malfunction

Scrivener Scrivener for macOS
1

I have been using Scrivener on my Mac since 2023 with no issues.
Approximately 2 weeks ago, I migrated from a Macbook Air to a MacMini. I worked with Scrivener until yesterday (April 3) with no problems. I do not use cloud storage.
This morning I encountered the following problems:

  1. I open my Scrivener project file my folders and documents appear as normal in the binder. However, when I click on a document it appears to be blank. In corkboard view, the synopses appear on my notecards until the notecard is clicked on; then they disappear. This is not the case with all file names, just with some of them.
  2. I accessed the backup files in Settings. The problem appears in the same file names from yesterday (when Scrivener was working fine).
  3. In the course of trying to solve the problem (closing Scrivener and reopening), I get “Project Already Open: The project didn’t close properly or is already in use by another copy of Scrivener on this machine.” When I try to copy the project, the operation stalls when indexing the problematic file names, and I need to “Force Quit” Scrivener to continue.
    What should I do? Should I download a new version of Scrivener? What does that mean for my existing projects?
    Grateful for any assistance,
    Naomi
2

Apple’s migration tools can be convenient, but have been known to not always work properly. One of the ways in which they tend to fail is in permissions. I would use this checklist on one of your projects, and see if that clears up the problem. If Scrivener is not allowed to read some parts of your project, then you will see symptoms like this, of items not being present and thus loading up as blank.

Also, you say you do not use the cloud, but make sure of that. Apple pushes iCloud rather strongly, and also encourages one to sync core data storage areas like the Documents folder and Desktop. You might in fact be syncing and not know it, and thus exposing yourself to the hazards and quirks of how these systems work (such as “smart sync” handling, where local files are deleted after uploaded).

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