I recently moved to the new version and now every time I look at the Scrivener files in my file explorer there are dozens of backups! I love the backup system but instead of overwriting as it used to (right?) it creates a new one, backup1, backup2 - 5 for my current file.
How can I stop this.
That is normal depending on how many backups you have selected for Scrivener to make in Options.
I recommend as many as your storage allows. I select 25. That way if an issue develops over time you have more chance of getting back to a good copy.
Also both here and on the Scrivener Facebook groups, too often people reach out for help after they have panicked and overwritten all their potentially good backups poking and prodding around looking for the problem.
Number one rule if something does go wrong, sit on your hands while you think how and when.
Also remember that when you first open a v. 1 project in v. 3, it automatically makes a backup in v. 1 format before converting it to v.3 format.
Mark
To reiterate what the others have said, the strong recommendation is to let Scrivener make as many auto backups as your storage will tolerate. For mine, I have no limit set, and cull them myself at the beginning of every month.
I cannot tell you how many times in these forums I’ve seen posts from people who have set their backup number to 5, and then after mistakenly making a deletion or a system crash or some other unforeseen event, have lost months or even years of writing because they opened and closed their project multiple times and overwrote the 5 backups with a copy of their useless, broken project.
It’s the saddest thing to hear about on these forums, because it’s quite preventable. Don’t be that person. 
Best,
Jim
Thanks for the follow up. I see now why I was confused. When I updated, the backups started going to a different folder on my computer. So I thought this was a new behavior but it was only that I’d never seen the multiple backups before because they were going into a backup folder that I never needed to access.
Thanks to your comments, I’ve rerouted them back to where they belong and I see the option for changing the number of backups if I need to. Now that they’re in their own home, I can leave it as five as suggested. I just needed to clear the clutter.
Appreciate the help.
Actually, the suggestion was to keep a minimum of 25 backups. But perhaps you are doing thorough backups some other way and you don’t require Scrivener’s backup sytem. And it’s your work, only you know what it’s worth. :mrgreen:
Best,
Jim