Hi, … just an idea for a far in the future version
As I am writing my second book with Scrivener there are some things that I find I wish were a little easier. Not that there is anything wrong with Scrivener … it is brilliant … just little extras that would be nice if they were possible.
One is a way of viewing a small range of other documents while viewing and editing one and not leaving it. This would apply to character profile/history docs (where I keep profiles, and often extracts from what I have written about them earlier in the story. Also to Plot planning docs perhaps.)
My idea is optional ‘tabs’ across the top that popout with mouseover and stay out with a click. dragging a doc from the Binder would assign that tab to that doc, until another is dragged instead. Or they could all be cleared after a certain point in the story, when a new set could be set up.
The tabs might be coloured or monochrome. And sliding the mouse across the tabs would cause them to appear one at a time. They could be numbered or just left coloured.
This way while inside a document I could mouseover a tab that I have allocated temporarily to “Michael” and see the text. I could just move the mouse back to the text and the tab would pop back in place. Or I could click on the tab and copy/paste text from/to it.
Ok … that’s it. Now tell me that it’s a daft idea and would be impossible to program
I like that idea, and I don’t know that it would be that hard to program. The tabs, when clicked, would act just like a scrivener link, right? Since that’s already something available, I would think it would be fairly easy to implement.
The effect of colored tiles as Scrivener Links can be achieved in the Project Notes editor, and a narrow vertical set can be maintained in the Favorites Manager. Looks like saoir’s version adds a drag and drop interface and a hover preview that can be clicked into an additional docked window.
I believe K & Co are planning a second available editor split, to a total of four panes. This would be useful option for the secondaries.
The nice things about the mouseovers would be the ability to refer to things without leaving the full page view. Split screens are fine when a major reference issue needs to be taken care of and also with quickreferences. But for some things a quick pop up would speed the creative process no end in my humble opinion.
Although not much precisely like your suggestion, I think we have some ideas for down-the-road that will be very useful in addressing what it is you are going for here, that do not operate within the main editor/split methodology.
I would like to someday have a single tabbed QR window that allows me to drag out tabs into other windows, much like a web browser’s tabs do. That alone would make QR windows much more manageable to me. Being able to open a container’s children (like Character sketches and the like) in a new, tabbed window would be really handy too.
I get you, but one reason that wouldn’t appeal to me is the issue of screen real estate. QR windows are nice and useful yes ! But they use up a lot of space. When I use them I more often than not have to drag them over to the edge of the screen while I write, and if I want two of them the whole things becomes very awkward.
The principle behind the concept I have posited is one where real estate is not given up up except as a mouse over. That way information can be referred to at a glance and writing continued.
Naturally there are many ways of implementing such an idea I guess. And mine is just an off the cuff one (though it took oodles of my Photoshop time ). Having said that … I have to say that I still like it :mrgreen:
Oh, I absolutely understand where you’re going with this idea. I like it, and I’m sure I’ll like whatever Ioa is alluding to. I was just chiming in with an “+1, and also I’d like this…”
Your implementation would be quite handy when I’m just using one screen, which is most of the time currently, but when I’m at my desk, with an external monitor available, having a tabbed QR window would be a huge improvement over what we have presently (not necessarily over your idea). Being able to have my cast of characters on the other screen in one easily resizable and movable window vs. a number of too-small windows that I have to relocate and arrange manually would be another great way to view those documents while leaving the main window for other tasks.
). Having said that … I have to say that I still like it :mrgreen: