Just compiled my script to FD8, using “export to FDX” but I was getting an error message saying the script was not compatible with this version of FD.
I exported each file in the compile one by one, using “export - file” and found one individual file which refused to open - all the others were fine. But I couldn’t find anything different about this particular file.
I was able to cut and paste the offending scene into place in FD8, then reformatted it, so I do now have the script in FD8, but I wondered if you would be able to look at this file for me, or if you could offer some advice. Really don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’ve successfully exported to FD8 before.
I’ve emailed the offending file. I fiddled with it some more - tried exporting it as RTF. It opens happily, with the right layout and everything, in textedit, but if I open it in FD8 it comes out as a solid block of text, all caps, with bits of code or something, regardless of whether I import it as text or screenplay.
Hey I managed to fix whatever was wrong with this file by exporting it from Scrivener as an RTF, opening it in Pages, saving it as a Pages file, closing it, then opening it again, exporting it from Pages as an RTF and re-importing it to Scrivener. I’m now able to export the whole project normally to FD8.
I assume the file just became corrupted somehow and saving it in a different format and re-importing cleaned up whatever the problem was?
Anyway, no worries.
cheers
william
PS Did I say recently how much I love Scrivener? The more I use it (a year or so now) the more useful it gets.
Glad you sorted it. Thanks for sending the file - I will take a look at it as soon as I get chance regardless. I should say that I’m not personally monitoring the support@ e-mail address yet but Ioa - who is monitoring it while I catch up with the 2.0 code following my holiday - sent me your file, so I do have it and will look at it. Sorry I didn’t get back to you more quickly. It will probably be early next week before I get chance to look at it, but I will let you know what I find.
I took a brief look at it on the surface, and couldn’t find anything weird, but I didn’t look at the nitty gritty in the RTF, which is where it sounds like there was a fault if running it through Pages fixed it.
Finally, we have a good use for Page’s RTF import/export: a “cleaner”. Ha.
Yes, that’s actually why I tried Pages - I’d read all the discussions about how Pages strips out so many RTF features so I thought maybe in this case it would be more likely to strip out whatever was muddled!
Keith - thanks for looking at this but please don’t feel any hurry on my account. I know you must be very busy right now and things are running smoothly again with me. I don’t know anything about computers but I imagine sometimes random and unexplainable errors can creep into a file… or can they?
Just wanted to say thanks for the explanation of my corrupt file - really interesting.
The only place the file had been previously was in FD8 which I guess is ironic. I exported the script from FD8 into Scriv, broke it up into files, worked on it for a bit, then wanted to put it back to FD8 - and that must be where the error occurred.
Actually, Scriv and FD8 treat ellipses differently, don’t they? Scriv takes your three dots and turns them into a proper ellipsis, FD8 just leaves it as three dots. So maybe not surprising that it was the ellipsis that caused the problem. Anyway, thanks again guys for your help.
It maybe some control character from FD8, I suppose, but that is very strange! Anyway, as I mentioned in my e-mail, Scrivener 2.0 will strip strange characters so the problem shouldn’t occur in future.
You can have ellipses converted to three periods when exporting in the Text Options pane for consistency, by the way (or you can turn off the behaviour altogether in the Preferences).
Just to let you know I had another corrupt file when exporting to FD8. As far as I can recall it hasn’t been in FD8 before coming to Scriv, so maybe it’s something that happened in Scriv itself.
Also there are no ellipses in this particular chunk so maybe that rules them out.
Using the patent “Pages Rtf stripper” method I got it all cleaned up and it is now exporting fine so no problem at this end.
If you are interested in seeing the file however for your collection (I picture you labouring at your desk with a row of groaning be-cobwebbed shelves behind you, all laden with heavy glass jars containing pieces of deformed code floating in formaldehyde) I have it set aside and can send it to you.
