I must admit I always thought the “handle” was Greek comedian!
Mark
I admit this took a bit of fiddling with prefs but I got full screen to be amber-on-black, which I’ve preferred since my Xywrite days, without a lot of grief. I don’t know any writer who uses white on blue, which is, come to think of it, not beside the point: One person’s essential feature is another person’s “huh?” Accommodating everyone’s taste means offering a lot of choices. I think it’s great the Scrivener does this and I would hope that these options all stay.
A thing I’ve always loved about this program is that it lets you be yourself, rather than forcing you to think like its creator. I think having a lot of preference options is a small price for that.
David
OP: Scrivener is not the app for you.
Real writers (when forced to use a Mac) use vi on GLTerminal, Full Screen, Classic Terminal mode, amber on black, brightness 80%, curvature 5%, flicker 5%, 80x25, baud rate 1200.
GLTerminal: http://riffraff.livejournal.com/356503.html
The curvature helps you focus on the central parts of your text. The mesmerizing flicker keeps you “in the zone”. The baud rate puts the brakes on distractions.
The only proper way to download this application is by logging into a BBS server with your modem and hard line. If you used the Internet, or a World Wide Web browser of any kind, you did not get the full application. You may however use the Lynx browser in a pinch.
Ioa, I have to disagree. The only REAL way to get this program is to type it character by character using the native prom basic compiler. Then you will need to set the break point just right to capture an executable core to store on cassette for your daily use.
Keep in mind that you will need to write your one routine to spool the document to tape prior to power off or execution of a different program…
/me sets down a magnet on the counter.
Nice to see you back.
A little diversion for a birthday party. A party that lasted 2 weeks.
Yes, the Subject of this thread got my attention. I was curious to see what there was to seriously “hate” about this application, or to bring about hate of the entire application.
I’ve read through a lot of the posts with interest and much humour. Delighted to see such a diversity of self-expression coming from the writing community. For me it has proved to be a much more enjoyable read than most written media I come across.
Anyway, I have digressed… 
I apologise for digging up such an old thread. I simply want to put in a vote for the idea suggested by one contributor of have an Advanced and Simple (or “Standard”) preferences option. One example of this which comes to mind is that of VLC (a popular media player). It has a simplified Preferences pane by default. It is also possible to select the Advanced option, and then a million and one other options become available. Lots of technical stuff that the average would feel confused with in a flash.
Keith: Would this be a viable way to handle this dichotomy of personal opinions about personal preferences in Scrivener? The Simple preferences view could be something along the lines of “Keith’s Default settings” (highlight by you in an earlier post), and the Advanced view would include all the bells and whistles currently available. 
Well… that’s more than enough time procrastinating for me. Back to writing on Scrivener rather than reading and writing about Scrivener.
Cheers,
Jonathan
P.S. I’ve been loving Scrivener ever since I first discovered it. Thank you!! 
[confidence=“confused”][tone=“sarcastic”]
Am I missing the point here? Is there a billion customisation options that I haven’t found yet? Surely you just press and that’s it?
I mean sure you have to deal with some pretty trickly interpretations of setting descriptions, for example:
-if you want to change the appearance you click on the ‘Appearance’ tab. That’s a tough one, or
-“Check spelling as you type” tick box. That’s pretty opaque. Could mean anything.
[/confidence][/tone]
Hi Jonathan,
“Advanced” and “Simple” preferences isn’t very Mac-like, really, and I don’t like the idea, sorry! Since this thread was created, I have changed the preferences considerably, getting rid of the System Preferences-like overview pane and making everything available via a toolbar in the Preferences pane. There are a lot of preferences, to be sure, but the trouble with the idea of a “Simple” preferences is that every single user has a different idea about what their personal “Simple” preferences would be. We’d break it up and then users would start telling us that the preferences they use are hidden away in “Advanced”, and can we move it to “Simple”, and soon enough there would be no difference. 
All the best,
Keith
P.S. And thanks for the kind words!
Hi Keith,
Fair enough, I suppose.
Part of the reasoning for my adding support to the earlier suggestion for Advanced and Simple preferences was my taking into account you saying:
It’s potentially all or some of that 75% of preferences I was thinking could be shown only when Show Advanced Preferences was activated. The remaining 25% or so would be displayed by default with just “Show Basic Preferences” activated.
I agree it’s not Mac-like, and I understood you’d already made the choice to implement preferences in a way that is not Mac-like… what with having so many customisations made possible… and this is what’s lead to there being so many Preference options.
As for people potentially complaining that preferences they like to use are now hidden away in the Advanced section… not sure I understand the logic of that point. I would have thought such a user would be the perfect contender for simply ticking the Show Advanced Preferences option and voila, everything is there just the way they like it. In the mean time, those who have a hard time with so many options can just contend with the basic 25% or so you personally feel are most pertinent.
By the way… I have no issue with the preferences as they are. I love having so many options, not that I mess with most of them. But having read this thread I thought the one solution which made some plausible sense was the one made by David, in direct response to you saying you’d personally be happy to remove 70% of the preferences.
Anyway, I understand you are against the idea, so I shall say no more. I simply wanted to make my position on the matter clearer.
All the best,
Jonathan