Treatment/Outlining Add-ons

Hi there,

First of all, I just want to say thanks for developing this amazing program. I have quite literally bought (and retired) a dozen story development programs over the last few years and this is the first that truly allows me to work the way I want to work. In fact, it is the first time I have been able to work completely digitally. For that alone, thank you!

I should point out that I use Scrivener for screenwriting. In particular for development/outlining etc and I make good use of the index cards. With that in mind, there are a few things that I feel could dramatically speed up the process and make the entire experience more seamless. Here goes:

  1. I usually split the screen horizontally, placing my index cards at the bottom and the screenplay/writing window at the top. This works great as a reference point back to the cards, allowing me to focus on a scene at a time, which is SUPER helpful for productivity. What would be AMAZING, is if the scene I was working on at the time, would correspond to the index card in the other view by placing a highlight around it. Perhaps a specific mode could allow this?

  2. The reverse would also be amazing - ie, if I could click on header of the index card in the bottom window and it would take the writing window in the top to the corresponding scene.

This might sound like a minor thing, but in order to keep the index cards reflecting the project as it evolves, I find myself spending a lot of time re-finding and re-selecting and the appropriate card - often having realised I have clicked on the wrong one, going back and trying to correct everything.

Not sure if this will help other users too, or if this is in line with your vision for Scrivener, but I really feel that for screenwriters, this would be an amazing leap and would make it a no-brainer for any screenwriter who starts with a treatment/outline.

Thanks again for the wonderful program!

Ant

Your suggestion #2 is already possible. Right-click on the card you want, and choose the Open -> in Top/Bottom Editor command.

#1 isn’t possible, but you can use the View -> Reveal in Binder command to show where the current document resides. From there, you can adjust the corkboard view to match the appropriate part of the outline.

Katherine

There’s also an icon in the footer of the corkboard (or outliner) editor that, when engaged, will cause a click on an index card (or outline entry) to open the corresponding document in the other editor.

Also, if you keep the inspector open, you should be able to see the index card of the document you’re editing there, thought it won’t point out its position among the other index cards.