[version 1] Change first line indent on existing project (also, missing menu tabs)

Scrivener Scrivener for Windows
, ,
1

I have a project that has the default .25 inch first line indent. I want to change it to .5 inch. In Format>Text>Spacing, I can make the adjustment, but it will only change the line that my cursor is in, or it will change the indent of every line, not just the first line in a paragraph, of a block of selected text (if I select the whole document, every single line gets the new “first-line” indentation).

I’ve been reading forums and many reference various “Options” or “Settings” menus, which I strangely cannot find in any of the drop downs. For instance, one post from 2023 said to go to the “Options” tab in the “File” menu. I have no such tab. I cannot find an options or settings tab in any menu. I found several references to menu tabs that do not exist on my Scrivener.

This post is an example; they write to go to Project Settings>Formatting. The closest menu I have is “Project”, and there is nothing resembling “Project Settings”, “Settings”, “Options”, or “Formatting” on that menu.

2

Looks like you have Scrivener 1.9 or macOS version 2.x and not the latest version 3. You should look for posts that concern your version. Or upgrade…

3

We would need to know what operating systems + version and version of Scrivener you’re using.
For instance, there are slight differences between Windows and Mac, one working with Options and the other with Settings or Preferences—a dictate of the OS.
Also, Windows never had a version 2 of Scrivener.

4

Yeah, as it has been years since v3 came out now, you will find most instructions at this point are going to pertain to how it is organised, rather than the older version.

For searching the forum, adding before:2021-03 #scrivener-for-windows to the query will help you find specifics that pertain to v1, too. Then you might more easily find posts such as this one.

The software also comes with a user manual, in the Help menu, which can help you locate things that might have moved around over the years. There are appendices for “Options” and “Menus and Keyboard Shortcuts” that can help you find a lot things by name. If you visit Appendix B, Options, you will find a description of how to open the window from the Tools menu.

That said, while the above linked post may answer parts of your question directly, it doesn’t really get to the heart of your question, which is: how can I make this project different from the defaults. Changing the defaults is, I suppose, one way of getting to that point, but then you’d have to do that every time you switch projects.

The better answer to your question, in my opinion, is met with another question: do you really need to see these different indents in front of you, while writing? If this is for only one project, and the change is so perceptually small, then is it safe to presume this isn’t something you actually want, but rather something that is being imposed upon you by some external demand; e.g. a need for this document to be formatted a certain way by a publisher?

If so, then the compiler is the better answer to that question, not changing the formatting in your text editor; that can be whatever you want. In fact the compiler probably has a preset that does close to what you need (if this is for a typical manuscript setup), without too much adjustment.

In version 1, there is no way for one project to have its own default formatting. This was something added in version 3.

1 Like
5

Thanks everyone for the speedy, useful replies. I got lazy without even realizing it. I do in fact have 1.9.16.0. I’ve had Scrivener for years and never bothered to check if they had released new versions (separate products).

I will consider buying the new version.

AmberV-Thanks for the tip on using the compiler for making these adjustments after a project is finished. I will take a look.

1 Like