Go to the download page, download the software to your Win7 PC, and try to install it.
If it doesn’t install, there’s your answer.
If it does install, that’s good, but doesn’t mean it will work well.
You should get a 30-day trial on the Win7 PC. I suggest you first open the Tutorial project and have at it. Give Scrivener a good long test. Particularly, try to compile. Check for anything that doesn’t seem to work or causes the software to crash.
If everything runs well, then try a test with your actual data. On your Win11 PC, open one of your projects in Scrivener. Select File > Back Up > Back Up Now to create a zip file of your project. Email it to yourself or otherwise transfer the zip file to your Win7 PC. Unzip the project. Open the .scriv project folder and double-click on the .scrivx project file.
Have at it. If you like, you can actually do real writing with it, but remember that your changes will only be on your Win7 PC.
If it works well on the Win7 PC, awesome. If it were me, I’d be sure to take frequent backups, because you’re running on an unsupported OS.
I don’t have any other suggestions. If this doesn’t work, I guess you could try upgrading Win7 to Win10? Or purchasing a used Win10 PC?
Upthread, I explained that Paddle, our licensing vendor, is no longer compatible with Windows 7. So with that, you can run the free trial on a Windows 7 machine, but once you actually purchase the license and have to activate it, that’s when you interact with the Paddle framework and encounter issues.
However, since I wrote that in December of 22, we upgraded Scrivener 3 for Windows to Qt 6 which increased the operating system requirement from Windows 8 to Windows 10.
The current version requires a 64-bit system, so you’d likely need to run a legacy version of the software and even then you run the gamble of simply not being able to activate the license on Windows 7 (not to mention the security concerns I’ve previously expressed given that Windows is no longer putting out security patches for that OS)
You also might be able to run Scrivener on Linux but that’s not a use-case we directly support. We do have Linux users in the forum you can connect with to chat more about that.
Our recommendation as noted by our compatibility requirements and Release Notes is 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11.
I hope this helps and that you’re able to find a writing setup that works for your eyeballs. Perhaps you can try some dictation tools to give them a break from the screen from time to time? Dark mode can also help with eye strain.
Thanks JenT
I am running a 64-bit system.
The issue I’m having with the graphics hardware can’t be fixed with dark mode, and I don’t write with dictation tools. I write longhand on a SuperNote, which translates it almost flawlessly into text. I am in editiing mode mostly while using Scrivener, so dictating won’t help. I need my eyes.
I’m also concerned that I’m going to have problems with Scrivener once Win10 is no longer supported. Or would I be grandfathered in? In other words, once you are past the Paddle gatekeeper, can you use whichever OS you want? And how does that work if you need to put Scrivener on an OS Paddle doesn’t support later, once you have gotten the license?
If so,what would happen if I license Scrivener while using the Win11 laptop–thereby satisfying Paddle’s requirements, but then went to download it on the ThinkPad using Win7, and simply entered my licence key? Could that be a workaround?
Thanks, Jim. I appreciate the detailed instructions.
Part of my problem is that I despise the computer tech aspects of all of this and I get frustrated by making changes that then have unexpected consequences. Getting my ThinkPad upgraded from Vista Business to Win7 was very time consuming and fraught–and that’s with a compatible OS. I want to be doing my work, not dredging through all this crap.
The only reason I’m even sticking my neck out to try Scrivener is because I am tired of my old manual paper/scissors/tape method that I have used going back to the stone age when I was still writing on a manual typewriter (early 1980s). I just can’t face printing out hundreds of pages, clearing miles of desk space, and trying to hold everything in my brain–my brain simply can’t even do that any more. So I need this software.
I suppose my other option, as you suggested, is to find a used Win10 or Win11 machine with an older graphics chip that doesn’t hurt my eyes. I could even buy my husband a new laptop and keep his. But I adore the keyboard on the ThinkPad and how, unlike newer laptops, there is no planned obsolescence–you can keep replacing all the parts as they wear out forever. There is one later iteration of the ThinkPad that has the same keyboard. I don’t know if it will run Win 11 but I shall look into that next.
Yeah, having the right keyboard is important. I can’t remember the last time I used a laptop with a really nice keyboard.
Not trying to open a rabbit hole here, but have you considered using the Win11 PC with an external bluetooth keyboard and a monitor or two? The rabbit hole would be trying out mechanical keyboards until you find one that you like as well as your Thinkpad’s.
Thanks, Jim,
I do have a bluetooth keyboard and monitor I use with my ThinkPad when I plug it into its docking station. But that won’t work for travel. And within the next year I will be traveling extensively and need to be able to work on my project while on the road.
FYI–there are still ThinkPad x200 series laptops for sale on eBay. Best keyboard ever. But then you’d be in the same predicament I’m in.
I was suggesting you use an external keyboard & monitor for your Win11 PC, because you mentioned you didn’t like the Win11 keyboard as much as the Win7 keyboard.
But you are correct, that won’t help you while traveling.
I’ll try to clarify the licensing questions to the best of my ability.
When you purchase Scrivener, you are purchasing a license for its use from Literature and Latte as the creators of the software. Paddle, the licensing vendor, issues a specific license key to you on Literature and Latte’s behalf and handles things like license authentication/verification when you activate the software.
There are a couple of factors when it comes to the operating system compatibility: what Paddle’s framework is compatible with and then what the actual Scrivener program is compatible with. The issue of Windows 7 was previously a Paddle framework issue. The jump from Windows 8 to 10 is a Scrivener compatibility change due to updates to Scrivener.
You can read the full End User License Agreement here, but here’s the bit that I think pertains to your questions about future-proofing:
In the event that: (i) the Software does not comply with the express terms of this licence
agreement; (ii) the usability of the Software is affected severely and sustainably; or (iii) any
bug or severe anomaly could not be detected during the use of the free trial version then the
Licensor may, at any time up to six months from the date of purchase, at its sole and
absolute discretion either replace the Software free of charge to you or refund the purchase
price.
This seems to indicate that if at the time of purchase the minimum requirement is Windows 10 and that requirement changes in a way that makes you unable to continue using the software within 6 months of purchase, you could pursue a refund.
I probably should clarify here that I am a Literature and Latte employee but I do not own or have a stake in this company, did not write the EULA, am not a lawyer, and am therefore not making any guarantees on behalf of the company. This is simply my understanding. You could send an inquiry to our support queue to be escalated if that explanation doesn’t satisfy you.
If it helps, we don’t change the requirements often at all. The program code is pretty stable and operating systems for Windows don’t change nearly as often as they do for Macs.
This would not work as the program has to be activated on each machine it is installed on, so you would be able to activate it on the Windows 10 machine and not on the Windows 7 machine.
