I’m on MacOS Monterey 12.4. Here’s an error I got when I I checked for updates.
Scrivener can’t be updated if it’s running from the location it was downloaded to.
Hmmm. The location is the Applications folder. Where else would it be located?
Did you move the Scrivener application to the Applications folder, or the whole DMG that you downloaded?
I’m currently having the exact same problem and it’s just the application in the Applications folder, not a DMG in sight!
Usually the fastest solution to this problem is to simply download the latest version from our site, here: Download Scrivener | Literature & Latte
Sounds like a plan - thanks!
I’m having this problem too, and since it’s nearly two years since the last post, and I do have the latest version (I just bought this software a short while ago) I can’t see how reinstalling the same thing is the answer.
My pop-up message is slightly different:
“Update Error!
Scrivener can’t be updated because it’s running from the location it was downloaded to.”
Where should it be running from?
I followed all the installation instructions, and yes, there’s Scrivener sitting in its alphabetical place amongst all the other applications, and it’s been working fine. Or so I thought.
It was a smooth successful install (I took Scriv out of the DMG). Why is the location it was downloaded to wrong, and where should it be instead? How can I be sure the same thing won’t happen again?
I use a 2016 Retina-build MacBook running MacOS Monterey 12.7.4 (the highest OS this computer can have). Buying a newer computer is simply not an option right now!
Again, usually installing from a fresh download rather than using the automatic updater is the fastest and simplest answer. The automatic updater can glitch for a variety of reasons, not all of them within our control.
I downloaded the one I got from Scrivener by email when I bought the software about 3 or 4 weeks ago. It wasn’t from an updater, it was (as far as I can see) a clean new install, the first on this machine.
I am confused, as the error message you reported specifically says that it is coming from Scrivener’s automatic updater. Regardless of where you originally installed from, if the updater is failing now the best solution is usually a fresh download from our site.
If you launch Scrivener directly from the Applications folder – not from the Dock or your Recents list – do you still see the error?
It’s coming from “Check for updates” in the Scrivener menu - which I clicked on manually, thinking it meant that it would simply check to see if a later version is available, and alert us to it. I didn’t expect it to go ahead and actually DO an update right there and then.
I’m not trying to split hairs - the wording really did confuse me. Anyway, I’ve disabled the automatic option now.
Under “About Scrivener” it says I have version 3.3.6 (16305), and I see from the L&L Download page that this appears to be the current one (I’m not sure whether the 16305 is part of its designation or not).
So if we just want to check what the latest version IS, and whether we need to update anything, it sounds like the best idea is just to keep visiting that Download page to look.
By default, it only checks and lets you know if there is something available, giving you options to defer, skip this precise update, or go ahead and do it. There is also a checkbox presented in that dialogue to automatically apply updates without any involvement, which is probably more like what you’re thinking of. You do have to specifically opt in for that though, and the only way to do so is when there is an update available. I normally would not recommend selecting that option. It is better to have control over when things will change, particularly around deadlines.
And yes, you are up to date. There hasn’t been anything since 3.3.6 and probably won’t be until early Autumn, when Apple breaks stuff again with their macOS update. 
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