I come from typing on Microsoft Word, where I’m used to saving my work as a single file. Scrivener has its own way of compiling multiple files into a folder. My question is, is there a way to have scrivener save my project as a single file, like Word?
It depends on what you mean. You can compile your project into a final format, like pdf, docx, epub, etc. but if you do that you can’t open the project in Scrivener again.
Why do you ask? What is the problem you are experiencing with Scrivener’s project format?
I am used to seeing these files on my desktop after saving anything I type on Microsoft Word like this:
But with Scrivener, the “Save as” works little differently, so instead of saving anything as a file, it saves it as a folder with a bunch of files inside, looking like that:
Yes I can reopen the project I am working on by navigating through the folder, but my usual preference is seeing one simple neat file rather than a folder. So I wonder if there is an option that would make Scrivener “save as” my work as a file instead of placing it inside a folder.
No.
What you are seeing is Scriveners project format.
You could buy a Mac.
Mac OS shows the Scrivener project structure as a single “Project.scriv” package. With Windows, the structure is the same, but the operating system doesn’t hide it from you.
Katherine
I’m not sure what the idea here is, for wanting a different way of saving your project, but if it is to create an backup copy (generally what one would use Save As for in a program like Word), then the best answer is to use the dedicated tool for doing that: File ▸ Back Up ▸ Back Up To…. This dialogue has an option to Zip compress the backup, which I highly recommend. Not only does it give you one file like it sounds like you want, it also makes it impossible to open in Scrivener, without first extracting a copy of the project folder back out of the .zip. So as a true backup it is much more effective than something you can accidentally open and edit some day.
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Scrivener automatically saves your work all the time as you work.
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Snapshots of individual docs within a project take over for much of the reason you probably keep saving doc versions in Word. At any moment, you can snapshot a doc inside your project – to stow away a safety copy of that doc before you make some significant change.
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Backup feature is better than manual saving-as.
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When you really want to iterate copies of your whole project, you can just use Windows from the desktop to duplicate the project. This is not something you would be doing anywhere near so often you would be doing with Word.
You should not think of a Scrivener project as comparable to a Word doc. A Scrivener project contains and organizes text documents and much more. If you have been doing longform work in Word, you have been living in a narrow channel. Scrivener opens up the landscape of what you can do and how you can access, navigate, manipulate your work in progress.
best,
gr
Alright, so guess we’re stuck doing it that way then 
If you want to call it being “stuck”, feel free. But, what you are asking for is impossible, as I understand it. Scrivener can store everything on your computer into its project format, from spreadsheets to films to entire databases. The only actual file formats that can encapsulate such a variety of information are archive formats, like .zip and .tar. Scrivener includes a handy tool for the former, so you might as well use it if that is what you want.
Perhaps that is the disconnect—you’ve been using it like Word, typing into it, but one can put 100 gigabytes of audio interviews into Scrivener, with the intention of transcribing them. Perhaps in knowing that, you can see why we use folders and files instead of one massive blob of data.
I wonder if the alternative here is to simply compile the project (as word doc, pdf, etc)?
Definitely seems like the op is not utilising or grasping the full range of Scrivener’s capabilities, but compiling would result in a single file …
Kinsey has a point.
What are you actually attempting to do? And why do you want to do it with Scrivener?
If all you have is a single text file of whatever length, then yes, I can see how the Scrivener project format would seem to be a fairly complex and non-intuitive way to store it. A single Word (or Nisus Pro, or Pages) file would be a much more concise solution.
But Scrivener’s entire design is built around the notion that a single text file is not the best way to approach the construction of large documents. You need research materials. You need an outline, You need notes to yourself and notes from editors and collaborators. Combining all those elements into a single unit is how you get the Scrivener project format. If you see that as a “problem” that you are “stuck” with, it may be because you are trying to apply a framework that Scrivener explicitly rejects.
Katherine
There is a simple solution:
Buy a Mac.
Folks, I don’t think there is anything untoward in the OP’s question/desire. The question is quite natural from one coming from working in Word. And I don’t think it is about projects showing up as a folder instead of a package, etc.
When working on important stuff in Word, I am always using Save As… and saving my doc with a new version number. That way I have a snapshot of how things were before I start some major changes.
Coming to Scrivener with a history of this workflow in mind, it would seem natural to wonder why there was not a similar function in Scrivener. It would seem needful.
The OP indicated they would press on, but hinted also that they were not as yet prepared to believe that the battery of facilities I mentioned in my earlier post would supplant the felt need to work in the old way. And that’s okay. I believe time and experience will tell.
Well there is a Save As function in Scrivener, and it serves exactly the purpose you suggest. Wanting that is slightly different from wanting a “file” rather than a “folder.”
Katherine
Apologies. Looks like I needed to think harder before that last post. Thanks for straightening me out (again).
Best,
gr