Hello,
I don’t want to nag, but I was just wondering if anyone has heard anything about the next Linux version - the 21st being just a few days from now.
I’ve been working on a new project in Scivener to test it, and I’m really into it at the moment, but I’ll have to export it to something else if the next extension for Linux doesn’t come out in time - bummer.
When you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll.
Thanks. 
Lee said that both will be released next week in this thread: https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/12th-march-lees-update-beta-0-2-0-live/11822/1
However, if the new Linux version is not ready by the 21st, it has been established in the thread at https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/31st-jan-lees-update/11043/1 that rolling back your system time when launching should keep you going in the meantime.
If all else fails, there’s always Wine. See literatureandlatte.com/wiki/ … in_linux&s[]=linux
Thanks to garpu for an addition to the Wine instructions–If you have trouble with the Windows version crashing in Wine you might want to open “Configure Wine,” and in the libraries tab add winegstreamer and set it to “disabled.” I know that fixed issues for me and at least one other person.
Thanks for the heads up.
I guess, I’ll have to find a way.
Keep on writing.
:mrgreen:
Yeah… this is exactly what I was afraid of [url]https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/scrivener-on-linux/11715/1]. The developers of scrivener do not owe me or any Linux user anything whatsoever, but I’m definitely going to feel like the donkey chasing the carrot if I have to start hacking my system because they put “shelf dates” on their Linux releases.
C’mon Scrivener. If you think you can’t provide software we can depend on as a primary tool (and I’m not talking about whether it’s Beta) then say so. I’m OK with that. I get it. I’ll move on. Just don’t like the cat and mouse game.
I’ve got writing to do…
I feel your dilemma. I don’t want to fall for the app simply to have it ripped out of my fingers. I’ve been using it for just a week, or two, and hope I can at least finish my current project in it. But they did say, next week they’d release a beta 2.1 for Windows and Linux together - let’s hope so.
If they really pull the rug on the Linux project, I can jump back to Celtx, which is open-source and for a couple of bucks you’ll get a cork-board view add-on which is very much like Scrivener’s.
Though, to be honest, I’d rather work with Scrivener, I simple like the GUI and layout better.
Write on …
The shelf date is on all releases, not just the Linux builds—and it’s the same shelf date for both platforms. When the Mac version goes through a significant beta cycle, it has shelf dates too. This is not uncommon at all. The main reason for doing so is to make sure everyone is on the same beta version so that bug reports are more accurate and relevant—reducing how much unnecessary work everyone has to do. They’ve been expiring periodically ever since early November, and to date there was only one time where the replacement build was a bit late due to extenuating circumstances. Likewise, the Linux builds have been right alongside the Windows build in all but a few cases—and in one of those cases it was actually out before the Windows build. So, I don’t get all of the pessimism there either. 
Thanks for the head-up on that.
I’ll keep quiet (as far as nagging goes) and wait for the stable Linux build, buy it, and keep on writing.
Great app!
:mrgreen:
//The shelf date is on all releases, not just the Linux builds—and it’s the same shelf date for both platforms. When the Mac version goes through a significant beta cycle, it has shelf dates too.//
OK, but here’s the difference. If you’re a MAC user, you can buy the product. Then who cares about betas. No need to worry that you won’t be able to access your document or that you will have to reset your clock to use it.
//So, I don’t get all of the pessimism there either.//
It’s not pessimism. It’s being realistic. Linux (unlike Windows) is going to be in BETA until some unspecified date. Keith wrote: “It will continue indefinitely as a free beta, until such time as we are able to dedicate resources to it so that it can be turned into a paid application.” The emphasis is on Windows. Get the Windows version working and then we’ll see about Linux.
If I could be sure I could always access my work, then I would feel more comfortable. It’s obviously for me to decide whether I want to stop using the product until such a version shows up…
Just some reassurance and a couple of reminders from another Linux user and long-time Scrivener user who uses it on Mac, Windows, and on Linux (both natively and in Wine). I’m not in any way trying to tell you what to do; just answering some implied questions and giving you a bit of info that–should you want to continue using Scrivener–will hopefully set your minds at ease and give you a bit of confidence that there will be a Linux release, and that you have other options to access your Scrivener projects should you choose that route. Also, there’s a bit of history that may give you a better perspective.
This is all according to my understanding of the state of things, and I’m sure someone will correct me if I am in error on any point.
* First, if all of the below were to fail, you can always compile and export your projects either as parts or as a whole, and if a beta or trial runs out before you get a chance to do so, you can turn back your system clock temporarily to do so. Even failing that, Scrivener projects are stored as rtf files in subdirectories of your project directory, and are thus accessible outside of Scrivener. One may also choose to use an external editor from within Scrivener.
* Although the Linux release won't be [i]officially[/i] supported, [i]official[/i] Scrivener developers work on the Linux version (which is based on the Windows code). Considering that they've released several Linux betas, and that these are smart people whose time is valuable, it would make [i]very[/i] little sense for them to allow that work to go to waste. Also, in addition to users helping users, Lit&Lat staff have so far been helpful in providing "best effort" support for Linux users.
* It is my understanding that the biggest reasons that the Linux version is not officially supported, and that its release will trail the Windows release are that a) there are so many Linux distros to take into account, and b) the Linux version is based on the Windows code, so it makes more sense to get the Windows version right first; that'll make it easier to track and squash bugs in the Linux version. The sheer number of distros is also much of why the Linux betas (and presumably the final Linux release) are released as generic tarballs (which, by the way, are perfectly usable in every distro of which I am aware that they've been tried) instead of as packages.
* As long as tarballs released and there are users who want debs or rpms or whatever, those will happen. Randy usually takes the lead on that, but I put together the most recent deb, and although I'm not in any way a part of Lit&Lat staff I'll commit right now to building a deb of the final Linux release if no one else steps up to the plate.
*Lastly, a little history: The reason Scrivener was Mac-only for so long was that it was originally "scratch-your-own-itch-ware" written by one person, and was written in Cocoa because that was the language with which he was most familiar. To release it for Windows (something for which there'd been demand for years), therefore, required a trusted developer who would be willing to pretty much write new code from the ground up while trying to keep things compatible with the Mac version, and to keep the user experience as similar as possible across platforms. In this case, it was done in such a way as to make it easily reworked for Linux, which is why we have a Linux version, and why the Linux version is based on the Windows code.
Hope some of this helps set your mind at ease.
Thanks Rob. Your efforts are appreciated.
Thanks Rob, very interesting.
is there any beta for linux that hasn’t aleady expired? I tried .9 from the main site http://literatureandlatte.com/scrivenerforwindows/ it says it should be the Beta 2 that expires on the 25th of March but its not.
Plus, the instructions for installing, if the .deb isnt around, on http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/03/scrivener-for-linux-gets-official-beta-release/ , are so much easier than the usual terminal procedure.
I have all my thesis work on Scrivener! hope i can access it soon. Should have had backups in Word i know, but i have faith, that using scrivener on linux work! Please let me buy it.
If you’re wine-adverse, one thing you can do is set your clock back a day, start Scrivener, then put your system clock back where it is. (Since you’ll screw up cron jobs keeping it a day behind, if said jobs have already run.) Don’t close Scrivener. It should be fine and keep working.
By the by, thanks garpu, for the tip that I can re-set my system clock back to normal once I have the Scrivener beta started. That is very helpful.
Heh. Been there, done that on the doctorate thing. 
Has a new Linux BETA been released yet?
What about the Windows side? I’ve looked here http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivenerforwindows/ but haven’t seen anything - or am I not looking in the right place?
Been hanging out in the windows end, since I primarily use wine/windows. I haven’t heard anything, but I’m assuming there will be a new build by Friday, since it expires on the 25th. I think LAP mentioned some personal crap going down. 
Yeah, Lee said there’d be new builds of both on Friday.