Two Questions

Scrivener Scrivener for macOS
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(1) I wanted to import a file but a lot of them were greyed out. Is that because they are not .rtf, or are not the right format? I actually ended up doing a copy/paste of some paragraphs from one of the files that wouldn’t import and I am having trouble with formatting the text. Italics, etc., doesn’t work on them. What should I do about those docs that were made originally with WordPerfect, etc, whose formatting messes up everything? I’d really like to import some of them.

(2) Is the Nisus word processor a good program to use with Scrivener for final formatting?

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Yes, Word Perfect is not supported, I think. But I think Nisus Writer Pro will import Word Perfect, though I don’t know how perfectly :confused: — but I don’t know about Nisus Writer Express, 'cos I’ve been using Pro for so long — so you could import into NWP and then save as RTF, which will import into Scrivener fine.

On NW§ as a partner for Scrivener, it suits me down to the ground, though some people on the forum prefer Mellel. Those who’re writing academic papers in the humanities generally prefer Mellel. That didn’t suit me for specific reasons, in spite of being in the Humanities. However, I believe the latest version should fit my needs better. On the other hand I’ve been using NW since the beginning anyway and I don’t want the expense and wastage of having yet another paid for word processor. If you use Sente or Bookends for Bibliographic work, Mellel is more seamless apparently, but on the other hand NWP leaves it back at the starting gate in terms of UI and user-friendliness in my opinion. But that is just my opinion.

HTH

Mark

Edit: Have you tried doing a on the recalcitrant files?

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Oh no, I replied with a long answer…but when I came back I see for some reason it didn’t post. So this’ll be a shorter version. :slight_smile:

I appreciate your response and opinion. I think WordPerfect was responsible for a lot of my computer problems in general. The Apple gal was supposed to transfer all the WP files into plain or rich text for me but they’re not all opening. Will WP haunt me forever? I used it because I never could abide Word…even the makers of it couldn’t tell me how to get rid of a horizontal line. I think (hope) things have gotten better in the word-processing world since then.

From what I read, both Nisus and Mellel are good, but I’m getting the impression that Mellel has a steep learning curve, just what I don’t need, and that Nisus is more intuitive and Mac-like. I guess that makes up my mind for me. User-friendliness is of utmost importance to me.

Can you explain what you mean by <Documents: Convert: Formatting to Default Text Style on the recalcitrant files?

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As for being haunted by WordPerfect for ever, I have no idea as I never used it. I loved Word 5.1a … after that it was downhill all the way … and the only Microsoft thing I have on this is a copy of instant messenger needed to set up my MSN account. I use Adium for all chats.

Yes, Mellel has a steep learning curve, whereas Nisus is very Mac-like and intuitive. There are still those who complain, though. I moved over from Mellel, not because of the interface, in fact, but because at that time it was a lot of hassle with Chinese which I’m exchanging all the time with others. Soon after I found that, I found an embryonic word processor called Okito Composer which showed promise. After a year or two the developer, Charles Jolley, sold it to Nisus who were still trying to develop a replacement for the OS-9 Nisus, and it became the foundation of Nisus Writer. I moved on to Nisus Writer Pro when that was developed.

I haven’t used Nisus Writer Express for two or three years now, and can’t remember what the differences are, but if you’re into a book that’s going to need a table of contents and an index, and you want cross-referencing then NWP is definitely the one. It uses RTF as its native format though it can export to .doc. And I haven’t yet met anything that I would prefer to use.

As for your last question, have a document open in Scrivener, then choose the menu, down the bottom is which gives you an option . It’ll come up with a warning that the change is irreversible, so perhaps try it on a duplicate of one of your files in the binder — hint, highlight the file in the binder and press Cmd-D. It will convert the file to the format that is specified as default in the preferences … see if that removes any gremlins.

Another possibility is to open one of them in Nisus Writer (Pro), or copy and paste into a new Nisus Writer document, and then from the menu, I think it is, choose . That might show you any hidden characters that have been left behind in the transfer from WP. You can delete them, save the file back out as RTF and then bring that back into Scrivener.

I believe there has been talk of “Show Invisibles” coming in version 2 of Scrivener, but I’m not sure.

HTH.

Mark

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Oh my, you’ve gone beyond the call of duty! Please know I appreciate it. I tend to kick and scream at all this technology (even the simplest things) but find I’m being forced to learn it. I know I’ll be happier in the long run, but for now I’m in pain. I think I’ll try your last suggestion, which gives me an excuse for downloading a trial version of Nisus Pro. I’ll return as soon as I can to let you know how things work out. Thanks again for your comprehensive answer! :smiley: