Hi,
I would like to ask if the following is possible. I often want to open document (other than I work on) in other editor or in quick reference. Lets say I have “Document1” (which I am currently working on) open in my editor and I want to open “Document2” in background. However, when I right-click (=ctrl-click) on Document2 in binder (and want to choose open->other editor or open->in quick reference or to press space to view in quick reference), document2 is LOADED immediately in first editor. I understand this behavior with left-click. However with right-click, I might want to do something else with my document (move, change icon…) than to view it.
Do I understand correctly that it is intended behavior or do I do something wrong? I understand that I can use workaround: set lock-in-place Document1 before clicking in binder, or split documents first and then right-click in binder…but it is very cumbersome for me, because I need to do this often…
It’s not so much the intended behaviour as technically unavoidable behaviour. There are a few ways you can work around the issue for opening in a QR window, though:
Lock the editor before right-clicking in the binder, via View > Editor > Lock in Place (Opt-Cmd-L). The click will still select the document, but the binder click won’t affect your editor. You can toggle off the lock with the same keystrokes.
Instead of clicking, drag and drop the document from the binder onto the QuickReference icon in the toolbar. Your original binder selection won’t be changed.
Familiarise yourself with the Cmd-[ and Cmd-] shortcuts to move backward and forward in the editor history, just like a browser. If you accidentally switch documents in the editor when trying to work in the binder, Cmd-[ will restore your previous view.
Thanks MM, especially for dragging tip. I will use it! (I already use lock-in-place and back-ff shortcuts). I also found out that I could drag document not only onto quick reference icon, but also onto editor header.
And, I also found out that I can set which editor will be affected by binder (it means, I do not have to lock-in-place and unlock repeatedly). Thanks for your help again.
Is this still unavoidable behavior on Mac? In many (but not all) apps, I can right click on items in the sidebar outline view without fully selecting them, which enables opening the context menu without changing the item in the main view (for example, in Finder or Mail).
Yes; Scrivener’s binder isn’t quite the same internally as sidebars like Finder’s, so unfortunately while the right-click works without selection in the latter, it’s still going to select and load the item in Scrivener.
There are though more options now than when this thread started for opening items, so you may find it less an issue. For instance, the quick search lets you call up an item quickly and use drag and drop or modifier keys to open it in either editor (⌥ for other editor) or a quick reference window (⇧). The context menu in the editor header has a “Go to Document” command to navigate the binder as a cascading menu (and quick access to bookmarked items); you can also access document and project bookmarks via the inspector.
You can also ⌥-click a document in the binder to load an item in the other editor. It does select it in the binder like a right-click does, but it wouldn’t disrupt your current editor.
