On what device are you trying to drag your project? If it’s saved to the folder on Dropbox specifically created by the iOS app when you linked to Dropbox, then it should show up automatically on the iOS device. While working on the iOS device, dragging the project out of the Dropbox project folder stores it on the iPad, and thus it won’t sync
That’s not quite accurate. You can drag, indeed that’s one of the ways you move projects created on the iOS device to the Dropbox folder. Though when you create a new project you are given the option of saving to the Dropbox folder or on the iPad.
Oh yeah, the dragging between dropbox and locally stored on iOS. When I said “no dragging”, I forgot about that.
I’m not quite sure what you mean there. There is no original vs working copy. Each copy is exactly the same (once synced) - there’s a copy on your iOS device, a copy on your Mac (or Windows machine), and a copy on Dropbox.
All the best,
Keith
Are you trying to create conflicts?
That is, if you have the iPad version and the desktop version both open at once, and hop back and forth between them without syncing, you are extremely likely to get conflict files. This might be an appropriate thing to do if, say, you are trying to test the sync and conflict resolution features, but is it really a realistic use case?
To avoid conflict files, be sure to allow Dropbox to finish syncing on whatever platform you are using before switching to another platform. Personally, I recommend closing the desktop version when not actually in use, but that shouldn’t be necessary if you’re alert to Dropbox’s status updates.
FWIW, I’ve been using the beta version for over a month, and I’ve encountered one synchronization conflict.
Katherine
Give him a break we have the app there will be teething problems and patience is needed , but its not 24 hours yet and I am guessing there are some tired guys there. It will be sorted I trust these guys completely.
Refunds seems drastic solution
It says quite clearly ion my iPad :
“drag projects from Dropbox”
If there is no dragging why does it say to drag?
There seems to be some standard errors done by people, that causes the problems:
-
They use “Sync with external folder” in the File menu, and thus create a lot of rtf-files instead of the Scrivener project which iOS Scrivener expects.
Solution: Use “Save as…” instead. -
When they move the projects to Dropbox, they drag the project from Finder and dump it on the Dropbox app(!), which creates zip-files.
Solution: In Finder, choose File-New folder and create the folder you want for sharing projects with the iDevice in the Dropbox folder in Finder. Then you either drag and drop the Scrivener projects within Finder from their current location to the folder you just made, or you do as in 1).
And some do both. Then all hell brake loose…
Where and when does it tell you to drag?
As per my previous confession, I forgot about tha ability to drag projects between Dropbox and local storage in iOS. But from what I understand of your problem, this will not help you. If you have a project stored in Dropbox and drag it to local iOS storage, it will no longer sync changes with the desktop. Unless you accidentally created a project locally on iOS and want to drag it to Dropbox storage. Then go ahead.
I thought your problem was that you couldn’t see your project on iOS at all, and my understanding is that there is something else going on that won’t be solved by dragging anything on iOS.
Megan has done some nice screen shots of what you should do. Look at them and everything should be solved. You are probably confusing what you are supposed to do on the Mac and on the iPad.
Look at Megan’s shots. It’s quite simple actually:
In case I haven’t been clear before: you guys helped me solved the problem. I hadn’t saved the Scrivener desktop project directly into Dropbox. My bad. All things are good now.
Now I’ll return to my own problems. There’s somebody on the next floor trying to sing, and she’s screaming her head off.
Only the writing that remains to be done then? 
I hope NorthTexasGirl also manage to sort out what she is doing wrong. It seems that she, like many others, have read that the syncing is not ‘magical’ and automatic, and thus haven’t understood that the “syncing” is actually semi-magic and semi-automatic, and extremely simple.
Yes. I have been worried about some people saying to use Save As from within mac Scriv to get their projects into a Dropbox folder. Doing that would mean the user would have two instances of their project on their Mac – one wherever they were keeping that project in the first place and one in the Dropbox-blessed folder. That is bound to lead to confusion.
The right way is to, in Finder, move the project file from its accustomed home to the Dropbox-blessed folder.
gr
The “people” who got this advice moved the project file from its accustomed home, by dragging and dropping it on the Dropbox app! Even when explicitly told to move within Finder, from one folder to another folder, they simply wouldn’t understand what they were supposed to do, so some dragged the project file from Finder and dropped it onto an open online browser window with Dropbox open. The only way to get them to understand the logic was to use the Save as… command, thereby explaining that it is the normal, usual Scrivener project we are talking about, nothing else, and just having it in another folder.
Besides, what’s wrong with starting on a new version of the ongoing project? Like an extra backup? You could rename it as well in the process.
Back to Scrivener from Ulysses again 
Scrivener for iOS is dead simple and secure. BUT!!! You must really really understand how Dropbox works.
You must!!!
Or else you WILL have problems, and these problems won’t be because of Dropbox or Scrivener.
It’s the way the files are handled in the cloud.
I did a quick search on YouTube that explains this process nicely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCDmbAotvww
Hope this helps.
Oh, and not to forget, many thanks for Scrivener for iOS Keith, you did a fantastic job!!!
Cheers
Philipp
I am running iOS 9.3.3 on my iPad and I had trouble with the “/” character in the default folder name that Scrivener for iOS suggested for storing my .scriv files in Dropbox. I created the folder, naming it as suggested, dropped my .scriv file in there but could not see the project in Scrivener for iOS.
Finally I discovered that without my knowing it, iOS changed the name of the folder to Apps:Scrivener, substituting “:” for the illegal character, “/”
I changed the name of the Dropbox folder to Scrivener, pointed to that folder in the Scrivener iOS settings, and then was able to see my Project in Scrivener iOS. 
‘Apps/Scrivener’ is NOT a suggested folder name. It is a standard way to describe a folder hierarchy. So, that slash-delimited phrase was suggesting you use a folder named ‘Scrivener’ inside the ‘Apps’ folder inside your Dropbox folder (that is on your Mac).
Where did you write the name of the folder? You don’t write it like you describe it in Finder, and you don’t write anything when you navigate to the correct folder in iOS Scrivener, so where did you try to write a folder path?
It sounds as if you tried to create a path in Finder by calling the folder ‘apps/scrivener’, which is not allowed because slash separates folder names and can’t exist inside folder names.
The same people who insisted on dragging the project to the Dropbox app will, after some period of time, open the old version of the project – without realizing that they have done so – and send very angry messages here/the support queue/the internet at large because a large quantity of work has ‘vanished.’
Katherine
You’ve got a point. It just proves that you can’t protect some people from their own stupidity. Those that refuse to read the instructions, insist on doing things their own way, and then blame the disaster on someone else. 