I’d like to view the division between scrivenings when I’m working in document groups (or folders) in scrivenings mode as a blank line (or two) instead of the provided four options (Preferences > Appearance > Scrivenings: Corner | Dashed line | Corner | Bookish). I seem to recall that this option existed in the past (an option to present the division between scrivenings as a blank line). For now I’m artificially adding a blank line to the end of scrivenings (and using the “Corner” option above as the least visually intrusive option). I’d like to avoid this so that these extra lines are less likely to accidentally end up in a final compile.
Have I simply missed how we do this now in version 3? Hope so. Any help appreciated. And if it is not possible I’d love to see this added as one of the options under this area of the preferences.
Are you showing titles in the Scrivenings? If so you can suppress the separator above a title – the setting is at the bottom of the same preference panel. (If you don’t want the titles, then show them anyway but set their text to the colour of the page… and there’s your blank line )
I manually added a blank line between sections for years, though more because I preferred the aesthetic in conjunction with the divider, than as a replacement for using a visual divider. Scrivener lets you be sloppy about that kind of stuff. In the compile overview screen, click on the general options (gear) tab, and select Remove trailing whitespace from documents. There, now you don’t have to worry about it.
Both workable solutions (though workarounds, really). Thanks. However, am I right in remembering that we used to be able to select a blank line as the visual divider between scrivenings? And if so why not retain/return this functionality? That seems be the most direct approach. Setting the scrivenings title preference to the background color could create confusion when later attempting to actually see scrivenings titles (forgetting why they are not showing up, plus making it clumsy to move back and forth between these modes). Adding a blank line (and using the “Remove trailing whitespace from documents” during compile, thanks for pointing that out) continues the need to type a blank line for no other reason at the end of scrivenings.
Regardless, thanks for the two workarounds. Appreciate it.
There was such an option many years ago, but it was removed along with the alternating background method, when Scrivener 2 came out with visual dividers.
No Bridey you have not misunderstood; that is the feature I was remembering. Thanks for the preferences pic. to ground this discussion. I’ll just say again that I hope it returns. Thanks.
Yeah, it’s an oddly worded option, but with that checkbox enabled it’s identical to the “Corners” setting in Scrivener 3, and with the option disabled it’s identical to the “Dividers” setting. By “single line” here, it means that very literally—not that there is a single empty line, but that there is a break between the very last letter of one file and the very first letter of the next—i.e. like a normal paragraph.
By the way, my goal (and personal preference) is to work on text on the screen that has something of the feel of how it will look once printed. Not fully formatted, just the basic look. Lots of fiction is published with first lines of paragraphs indented (easy to do in Scrivener, of course) and simple blank lines (perhaps two) between scenes/sections (what we’ve been discussing here). Thats the feel I’m most comfortable with. So I’ll still promote the idea that something like “Blank line” be included in the preferences for scrivenings delineators (alongside the existing four visual markers). ( I’ll look for a “wish list” area in the forums and add this request there if I find one.)
Very much with you. I use the option to set a hefty post-paragraph amount of spacing to achieve something similar. Have grown to need to see white space between paragraphs when writing or editing.
I looked for a wish list forum topic and didn’t find one. So, for now, this request will remain here. If anyone knows of a more focused area for putting up requests (not for discussing them necessarily, just getting them up for consideration) let me know. Thanks,
)
