I use Scrivener to manage my course material, and as such I have deeply nested folders. What I would like to do is have automatic numbering of just some of the deeper sections. From what I could find, it seems that it’s not possible to do what I want it to do. (Ok, that’s fine – I know Scrivener wasn’t designed for course management, but I wonder if there actually is a way to do it.)
My course, Spring 2016
[list]…
My other course, Fall 2016
Weekly
[list]
Week 1
[list]
Project 1
[list]
Part 1: Background
[list]
(I want these sections to be numbered automatically:) 1. First section
2. Second section
3. Third section
When I export Project 1 I can get it to supply section numbers for just those inner sections, but it actually starts counting at a much higher level. The inner sections are numbered like 1.1.1.1.1, 1.1.1.1.2, 1.1.1.1.3, etc.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
If I understand the example correctly, this might be very simple to accomplish, depending on how you are numbering the other levels—otherwise it might not be quite as simple, but you’d be surprised what all Scrivener can do when it comes to numbering, there are some limits, but it takes some pushing to get there. Are your “Part” levels using a simple <$n> tag? If so, you could probably just get away with using <$sn> for the inner level. The way it works is that it counts up like <$n> does, but resets itself automatically whenever an actual <$n> placeholder increments.
But, if you are numbering the rest by hand, or using a named counter like <$n:part>, then the section number tag won’t work. In that case, you can use a manual reset. You’ll find instructions for this Help/Placeholder Tags List… cheat sheet. Search for “$rst” in that window to read up on the basics.
Have you been using the Formatting compile option pane to insert the <$hn> placeholder tag? If so, consider handling your reset placeholders using that system as well. It is possible to fully automate this stuff with a little tinkering. For example using <$n:section> for the level 6 prefix, and in the level 5 suffix, <$rst_section>. Now whenever a new level 5 appears (“Part 2”, etc.) the section counter gets reset automatically and resumes at 1.