I am a long-time Scrivener for Mac user, trying to make the switch to Scrivener for Windows and Linux. I installed the trial version of Scrivener onto my Windows machine. When I try to open the files from Scrivener for Mac using that version, Scrivener for Windows says they’re “incompatible with this version of Scrivener.” Obviously this is a bit of a problem for me. I’m not sure what to do about it.
Are they different versions of Scrivener simply not compatible right now? I was under the impression that they were supposed to be, and I was able to open mac-created files in earlier beta versions of Scrivener for windows without any problems. I would appreciate any help or information anyone could give me about this. Thanks!
Are you still using Scrivener 1.x on your Mac? Only the new version of Scrivener is compatible with Windows. When the original version of Scrivener was designed, there was no dream of a Windows version ever existing, and it uses a number of internal file formats that are Mac-proprietary.
If the Mac projects are 2.0, then probably there was just an issue with the copy/move and a file necessary for Scrivener to open the project didn’t get saved properly. First thing, make a copy of your project’s entire .scriv folder if you don’t already have one, just for safety’s sake. Then, try these steps:
In Windows Explorer, open your project’s .scriv folder, then open the Files folder
Open the “version.txt” file there in a plain-text editor (e.g. Notepad)
In the editor, select all, type “16” (no quotes), then save
Amberv, the Mac computer that I used to use Scrivener on is broken. That’s why I’ve decided to move on to Scrivener for Windows and Linux. I can’t update the version of the files if I can’t open them, and I can’t open them on Windows or Linux. I can’t open them on Mac because I no longer have a functioning Mac computer with which to do so.
MimeticMouton, thanks! Is there a way for me to find out what version they were saved as from looking at the files? I have no idea what version of Scrivener I was using and the computer I originally had Scrivener on is broken.
MimeticMouton, I don’t see any “files” folder. All I see are various number folders and a folder called “QuickLook.” Does that mean these files are the older files that can’t be opened on Linux or Windows? In that case, does anyone have any advice for me? I really don’t want to lose my fiction just because two versions of a program won’t play nice with each other.
If you open the .scriv folder on Windows, do you see a file called “binder.scrivproj” and a bunch of .txt and .rtfd folders at the top level (immediately inside the .scriv folder)? If so, it’s a 1.x project. In 2.x you’ll see just the .scrivx file at the top level and there will be a Files folder (and some others) containing the other files.
EDIT: Mm, if you’ve got a 1.x project, there are probably two “easy” solutions: 1) Find a friend with a Mac. 2) All your writing is saved as .rtf files in those numbered .rtfd folders, so you can import them all into a new Windows project–you’ll need to redo meta-data and restructure the pieces in the binder (they’re numbered according to the order you created them, which may or may not be the order that the scenes actually go in) but it’s accessible. Notes and synopses will be there as well, using the same number as the main text’s .rtfd folder, so you’ll be able to match them up.
If you do find a Mac friend, keep in mind that they don’t have to buy version 2 of Scrivener; they can just install the Trial version; it’ll upgrade your Scrivener 1 files just fine. (also note that you’ll end up with two versions of every project; the original version 1 copy (renamed slightly to distinguish it), and the new version 2 copy.
Thanks for being so helpful! According to your description these are 1.x projects. I know I can dig through the folders and extract the raw text, but I would have to do that for over a hundred files, so… I was kind of hoping to avoid that. It looks like that’s what I’ll have to do though. I think I will have to do that and then switch to another writing program that is more universally accessible to avoid something like this happening to me again.
2) All your writing is saved as .rtf files in those numbered .rtfd folders, so you can import them all into a new Windows project–you’ll need to redo meta-data and restructure the pieces in the binder (they’re numbered according to the order you created them, which may or may not be the order that the scenes actually go in) but it’s accessible. Notes and synopses will be there as well, using the same number as the main text’s .rtfd folder, so you’ll be able to match them up.