I want to make a template from an existing project. If I use the 'save as template' option, it also saves all of the text - (currently 100,000 word plus research). Is there a way to save a template without the text, or alternatively a way of deleting the text without going through each scene individually and deleting it?
Is it possible to change the default location for the templates?
Apologies if these questions have been tackled in the manual or elsewhere on the forum - I had a quick check and I couldn’t find them…
I don’t think there’s a way to automate any of what you want to do above. What you should do is use the Save As ability to create a pre-template copy. Then delete everything that’s irrelevant, maybe add some boiler-plate text to remind yourself what a given element in the structure is for, and when you’ve tweaked everything just the way you want it, then use the save as template menu option.
Also, don’t forget to empty the trash before creating the template, since you don’t want to store all that detritus in a template.
I have a more fundamental question regarding templates. Even having read the user guide with regard to creating new templates a couple of times, I still don’t ‘get’ it!
Can someone explain how to create a new template in fairly basic terms!
I’m trying to create a template for a non-fiction book.
Thanks in advance,
DS.
P.S. having just posted the above comment, I see that the new beta includes ##A non-fiction template with sub parts has been added. Any idea when this will be released as a upgrade?
A project template is just a project that is stored in a particular location by Scrivener; when you use a template to create a new project, all that happens is the chosen template is copied to the name you give it in the location specified. While that’s an over-simplification, it’s essentially what most people will experience when they have designed and used their own templates.
When you create your own template, you’re just making a “blank” project, with all of the Statuses, Keywords, Folders, font settings, compile settings, etc… that you want to start from the next time you create a new project of that type (stage play, novel with parts, etc…).
Yeah, a good way to think of it is like this: if you put a blank project on your disk with all of the stuff set up the way you want, and then used Windows to copy and paste the folder to make a new copy of that project, and started working in the new copy—that’s really all Templates are. It makes that process easier for you and you don’t have to keep your drive cluttered with “starter projects”. They can stay tucked away in the application’s support directory for when you want to use them. It also means you won’t accidentally end up editing your live “starter” version of the project. So in that way it’s a bit like having a .doc file with a stylesheet and everything set up the way you like, and always copy/paste or use Save As to start working on a new file from it.
When I have created a new document with all the folders that I feel are appropriate to a non-fiction book (the template that I wish to create), is there a way of saving this as a template and not as a working document? In other words, being able to use that same template for more than one non-fiction book project?
Ignore previous question! Think I’ve cracked it. When you create a new project using a selected template, in my case a ‘Blank’, and the add the folders and text boxes under those folders, one has the option of saving it as a template.
I actually think I’m ready to start writing the damn book!
Yeah, the key thing to note is that all of the templates you see provided in the software package ultimately came from a Blank project (some are derivatives of others though). All we did was build them up, refine them, and then use the File/Save as Template... menu command to create a template entry.
