I want to import a number of .doc files (about 100) which are on another drive, and concatenate them together into an ebook with the help of scrivener and create a ‘hyperlinked’ table of contents. How do I do that?
As far as to the import…
- In Scrivener
- Start a new project (File > New), selecting type of project that seems most appropriate, then supplying location and name for project.
- Click on the manuscript or draft folder in the binder (which name is presented depends on type of project you chose)
- File > Import > Files and navigate to and select all the doc files you want to import, then click Open, click OK when prompted
- Wait while Scrivener imports… it will take a while and you will see a popup as each one is imported…
- Once the docs have been imported and are in the bindery, you can rearrange, rename, combine, split, etc. them.
As far as the hyperlinked TOC, read the manual (in Scrivener itself, Help > Scrivener Manual… or download the PDF version from the Scrivener web site’s Support page), check out tutorials, books about Scrivener (see Amazon), search the forum for posts discussing “table of contents” or “TOC”, etc. There’s probably multiple ways to go about it, depending on how you structure the material in the manuscript/draft folder… and the desired type of output has a bearing…
You’ll have to spend some time learning Scrivener. It has its own proven way of doing things. It is not Word. It is not magic. Some folks manage to jump in, find that it immediately makes sense and suits them and are productive immediately. But for many, mere mortals such as myself, it takes some time, study and experimentation. It’s worth it. Jump in and give it a try.
Easiest way is probably to go through the tutorials (Help > Interactive Tutorial (may have to supply a location and project name to store the tutorial project when launch this the first time… and/or Help > Video Tutorials). And do some small throwaway experiments, using minimal number of items, text, etc., before jumping into something big.
Hope that helps.
What is the easiest way to create a TOC in your opinion ( am using the novel template)?
Also, when I copy and paste from Ms Word some of the images of my document do appear blurred in Scrivener while others appear fine, so I have to go fix them manually. So far so good. 
The absolute easiest way is to follow the template’s suggestions to a ‘T’. That means organising a sequence of files, one for each scene, into folders which will operate as chapter breaks when you compile. The folder names will be used to generate the ToC for you, and the scene files will remain invisible (only separated by a typical blank space for you).
The next most popular method is a list of individual files, one for each chapter—good if your chapters are short and to the point, or if you just prefer long chunks of text to work with. There should be some tips in the novel template help file (top of the Binder with a blue icon) for converting your project’s compile settings to work with that method of organisation. Basically the compiler by default assumes a chapter break is a folder, so you just need to set it up so that it knows a sequence of files are chapters.
But like I say, the easiest will be to just follow along with how the template is set up. Our templates are examples of how you can use Scrivener, and as such they are not rigidly defined, but if you go with the flow you won’t have to learn a whole bunch trying to modifying them. One day you probably will wish to learn though, however. 
A template can only make so many assumptions.
Okay I will go by the template setup then. I am in a hurry now coz after buying Word and Scrivener I am a little broke so I need to publish my ebook asap to earn a few dollars. :mrgreen:
Right now all my scene files are in the manuscript folder. Once I am done tweaking them, I plan to organize them into chapters. So, as an example,let us say that my book deals with three topics:
Health, Life and Sleep
So I create three chapter folders pertaining to them. Then, I move the relevant scene files into the respective chapter folders (kinda like categorization). When I am done with it, I will click compile.
Am I getting it right then?
Yup! That’s the basic idea. When you go to compile, I suggest selecting “E-book” from the Format As drop-down menu, as that will set things up in a fashion that will work best for most readers, and it will work with the chapter=folder / file=scene layout. The default compile settings are for a standard manuscript submission for an agent.
Thanks. My plan is to publish with Amazon kindle first, then smashwords and finally createspace. A long journey ahead. 
One more question: if I mistakenly move any scene in the wrong chapter folder can I move them into the correct chapter folder or back to the manuscript folder later on?
Of course, you would move it out the way you moved it in (except in inverse of course!); one of the benefits of using Scrivener is that it is really easy to make strategic decisions like this about your work. Since Scrivener handles the naming and chapter numbering for you, you can just move things around freely, or swap scenes in and out of folders until the narrative fits what you are going for. That’s where the Corkboard view can help you out, especially if you take time to fill in the index cards with a short summary of the scene.
Understanding that kind of thing is something that the interactive tutorial can help you with, if it gets overwhelming. But in basic terms, just think of that Draft folder (called “Manuscript” in the template you used) as an outline of your book that doubles as your book. The order in which you move things and organise them into chapter folders is how they will appear when you compile. No cut and paste needed to restructure a tricky chapter.
While they are in Manuscript folder, how do I combine several scene files into one long scene file?
The Documents/Merge menu command. That will put an empty line between merged files, so you may need to go through and edit them out if this has become one scene.