So I just downloaded the 30day trial version of scrivener for Windows. I’ve been reading a few posts here and on the web that seem to be implying that scrivener works best on a Mac…Is there some truth to that?
So far, I’ve been adding the first draft of my fiction novel to a scrivener project and it seems extremely convenient, especially moving between chapters and sections…(my narrative jumps timelines a lot)… I’ve figured out the basic stuff one can make use of, but I’m thinking whether buying the software is a good idea or not?
Any tips and/or good/bad experiences from scrivener windows users would really help. TIA.
Currently, the Mac version of the program is ahead of the Windows version – Mac has Scrivener 3, whereas Scrivener 3 for Windows is still in beta. There’s no release date for the Windows version of 3, so unless you have a Mac lying around you can use, I wouldn’t worry about whether the Mac version is better than the Windows version.
Personally I’ve been a Scrivener user (Windows) since 2012 and find it indispensable, and I definitely think I got my money’s worth. I’ve never had any major problems with it. I recommend it to pretty much every writer I know.
The current beta 2.9.9.13 Beta (1129554) 64-bit is due to expire on the 31st December 2020 - Once again, users are having to chase up literatureandlatte.com for an extension to this deadline.
I am very disappointed at the development of the windows version, and quite frankly, this is no way to treat your customers.
There is just not enough updates on the forum regarding the windows version, especially in relation to a proper release candidate date.
Sorry guys - not good enough
ps. I take it there will be an extension made to the current Beta before its expiry in 9 days? I remain optimistic.
The developers have always released a new beta before the current one expires, and the blog post mentions that they will be doing so again as usual before December 31st.
Users have NEVER had to chase L&L for an extension to a beta expiry.
Without fail, they have released the next beta prior to expiry. A quick check would show this ‘the sky is falling’ wail about beta expiry dates has been stated and answered dozens of times, each with the same answer.
Has development been too long? Yes, but rather a solid product release than a rush to release and sell a half finished product.
The link above shows L&L have (perhaps belatedly) begun updating on status outside of just the beta forum but seems unless they posted that on every page of the site and issued press releases people would still complain they are not being kept up to date on progress. Far easier to just go off at the mouth than actually look I guess.
Is the release of Scrivener 3 for Windows for real? Never seen a product take so long to get to market. Really disappointed. Can anyone recommend another product. It’s time for me to move on.
I’m doing 3 way “shoot out” type comparison where I am organizing my newest novel in Scrivener for Windows v1.9 and mirroring that organization on my 2 favorite alternatives to Scrivener (Smart Edit Writer, and Wavemaker, both free).
It’s way too early to make a final judgment call, but I am surprised at how much I still like Scrivener 1.9! Smart Edit Writer (SEW) is the most like Scrivener in the UI and overall infrastructure, but still, it is different enough that you can’t replicate the organization of one in the other to a high degree.
Wavemaker uses a card database organizational model, and while it is a fine product, a person who is used to Scrivener type organization is going to feel fairly disoriented with it. I can see its strong points, but the required mental shift in how I have go about organizing a story in Wavemaker is radical. And I’m not as comfortable with it as I am with Scrivener.
I’m not sure if this is even a fair test for SEW & Wavemaker, but I suspect most people do compare what they know to what they don’t know before deciding on anything. So, fair or not, I think it is a realistic comparison.
I know that I blow both hot and cold on Scrivener right now (these delays are killing me), but there still isn’t anything that provides a close enough project management experience in my mind.
[quote=“kernowman”]
The current beta 2.9.9.13 Beta (1129554) 64-bit is due to expire on the 31st December 2020 - Once again, users are having to chase up literatureandlatte.com for an extension to this deadline.
I am very disappointed at the development of the windows version, and quite frankly, this is no way to treat your customers.
There is just not enough updates on the forum regarding the windows version, especially in relation to a proper release candidate date.
Sorry guys - not good enough
Totally agree. Not to mention this has been the longest development cycle in freaking history. I started praying for an updated Windows version when I was an undergrad. Then I was praying for the updated version when I was writing my Masters thesis. I am now finishing my freaking Phd and wanted this to write that thesis. No prayers answered either. Not to mention the dead silence from the company as to when, or even if, there is a firm release date. .
Meanwhile in the rest of the software universe new products and product category’s have been developed, launched and revised in the time this has been going on. And on. And on. And while one might accept that there is something super magical about this code that makes it impossible to develop on a competitive time line, there is no possible justification for not communicating when this release is happening. Assuming it is happening.
This whole project is beginning to feel like more of a rope a dope exercise than a legit effort.
Back in mid 2017, the entire senior staff of L&L flew me and a bunch of other forum posters to a super-secret location on an island in the South Pacific. After several days of lounging around a tropical resort, they had enough compromising information on all of us they were able to blackmail us all into going along with this scheme they wanted to roll out.
We’ve been helpless puppets for years, and I just can’t take it any more. I will pay a heavy price for breaking my silence, but that’s okay. You deserve the truth. Scrivener 3 for Windows is a sham! It’s just a ploy to keep you and other users happily using software that works and NOT HAVING TO PAY FOR NEW SOFTWARE, NOT EVEN AS SUBSCRIPTION.
I know you guys are tired of people asking “when?”, but I gotta say I’ve been lurking these forums for several years looking for updates on when it will be released. It’s disheartening reading the bullying that goes on with legitimate questions being asked. It’s great software and instead of putting people down for asking the question, maybe do a bit more to promote it. There’s a lot of people that really want this and want to pay hard earned money for a finished product that doesn’t have to be reinstalled every other month for a new “release candidate beta”. I’m being patient, but c’mon. People are genuinely frustrated at this point with fair reason to be. There’s no good reason to pick on them.
Anyway, looking forward to the release, whenever it may be.
I cannot usually be bothered to reply to these threads: primarily because I have been happily using the free beta for two years now on a literally daily basis and I cannot see what the fuss is about. The beat version is there to use and will continue to be there to use until it is finally released as version 3.0, when it will be there to use after an upgrade fee (or a free upgrade if you are not a long time user).
I am only chiming in now because hx368 said
I would respectfully suggest that these people are likely to be disappointed. Almost all software worth having gets regular updates, and my guess is that people who get the (free or paid)version 3 when it is finally released will have to install version 3.01 within a couple of months, and then 3.02, and then…
I rely on Scrivener, and happily update my beta version every other month. I also rely on Joplin (a free, open source alternative to Evernote, that works ever so much better for my needs) and I install a new update of that at least as often as I update Scrivener. Firefox and Todoist also need updates at least once every six weeks or so.
There is a blog update from 17 December (literatureandlatte.com/blog … aunch-news), so there has been recent communication. Its title suggests a relatively imminent release, though that has been implied before.
It’s worth noting that there has been more official, public communication on development in the last month than the previous year, I think partially in response to posts such as yours that have expressed deep frustration. Scriv’s developers have always encouraged open feedback, so you shouldn’t be shy about offering it, as long as it’s expressed politely.
I guess I’m confused. As both a Mac and Windows user, There are updates due to DEFECTS IN THE CORE OS for both platforms on a regular basis. In the case of Windows, every month… on a Tuesday. Is the problem that a “once a month install” for Scrivener is another set of downtime?
Last time I checked, the entire Scriv beta process, including download, was less than 20min. My regularly scheduled Windows patching is over 90min of download, install, repair busted software. And I PAID for windows to be broken every month.
What am I missing? honest question. I don’t see the difference.
If my recent “I gotta confess” post triggered this response, I will just point out that I was directly responding to the implication that L&L are not acting in good faith. “Rope a dope” as a term implies some sort of nefarious strategy involving deception.
Most of us here have no problems with people asking legitimate questions, but there is a line that is crossed when questions and disappointment move into character attacks and conspiracy theories. I have not always been good about making that distinction in the past, for which I apologize, but that is my personal trigger these days for how I will participate in a thread (if at all) about these things.
Personal disappointment is not a reason to lash out at people who, at the end of the day, are just trying to make sure they can continue to make a living delivering great software. I absolutely guarantee every last one of them is more sick of WinScriv still being in beta than all of us customers put together, because the regular bullying and character attacks that a handful of customers feel entitled to make are not fun to be on the receiving end of.
As a full time software engineer who also does contract work on the side, I completely understand how it is to be on the receiving end of angry comments. Honestly they do not bother me anymore and i’m sure the developers here probably have pretty thick skin at this point too.
Has anyone here ever had to come in behind a super programmer and either replicate their work or add on to it? I have and it blows. Keith wrote Scrivener for Mac pretty much alone from my understanding and being a Windows developer that has to come in behind and replicate all that work and make your finished product completely compatible with his is no small task. Not to mention that coding for Windows is not my cup of tea - but I do know plenty who love it so I won’t say that’s a sole reason for long development.
The point is that any time one person writes software solo and others come in behind, it is not a fun experience and i’ve been on both sides of that. That is not a reflection on Keith (other than that he is a super programmer indeed ) but rather the nature of developing software. I’m sure they’re doing the best they can and I admire them for not releasing garbage and actually waiting for a rock solid build to release. For those who game, look at Cyberpunk 2077 - a game that took about 9 years or more to develop and released with so many bugs and such bad performance on PS4 that it literally got taken off the PlayStation store. Imagine if they had just waited until it was stable despite all the griping and pressure?
Anyways maybe i’m just sympathetic because I understand how these things go. Right now no one has been cheated by L&L any way you look at it, I can say that much. If you bought Scrivener for Windows you have a solid release build (1.9) that you paid for and a FREE upcoming upgrade to the latest version which is usually a paid upgrade. If you bought Scriv for Mac, well that works outstanding. If you didn’t buy it, you now have a FREE Scriv 3 beta that is almost bug free at this point and much more stable than a lot of software being sold out of beta.
Presuming this is not an auto-correct or dyslexic typo, Owen, I would be very interested in acquiring the beat version, myself. I presume that this specialty version eschews mundane terms like “OK” and “Yes,” and substitutes hipper terms, like “Cool, Daddy-O!” and “That’s a gas!” It could really set the mood, should I endeavor to write a Beatnik novel. I’m also looking forward to the Hippie version of Scrivener. Far out, man!
) but rather the nature of developing software. I’m sure they’re doing the best they can and I admire them for not releasing garbage and actually waiting for a rock solid build to release. For those who game, look at Cyberpunk 2077 - a game that took about 9 years or more to develop and released with so many bugs and such bad performance on PS4 that it literally got taken off the PlayStation store. Imagine if they had just waited until it was stable despite all the griping and pressure?