Hi All, Is it possible to set scrivener up so it can be used as a “master content database.” I will use Scrivener for writing books, but this idea is to solve an organizational problem. I have years of content I’ve created in various fragments and formats. I repurpose content in different formats regularly. I would like to organize all my articles, blog posts, ideas under themes and topics so I can reference them quickly when writing my current books. I would like to set up one large project with organized sections intuitively labeled, and store the contents in these intuitive spaces. This way I can track if and where I have the information. I hope this makes sense. Any feedback would be appreciated.
4 posts were split to a new topic: PDF documents dragged into text files
You can do this in Scrivener, in the same way you can hammer a nail with the butt end of a screwdriver. it will work, but there are better tools for the job. Based on your description, you might want to look into smart notes or Zettelkasten, similar methods of notating and linking information as you described.
There are many apps out there that implement some flavor of these techniques, including Roam Research, Anki and my favorite Obsidian. You can also use a powerful database like Devonthink for the same purpose, and it has the added advantage of being able to input emails, scans and web pages easily.
There’s also a popular book on smart notes, and here’s a video summary.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
Thanks so much popcornflix! I will review all of those tools. Top-end content management systems are overkill and too costly for my needs. I am looking for a text and file indexing system that can scale down to my level down and grow with me. I will check out the smart notes tutorials. Gratefully, Bruce