Question. Are there other Windows users who are or are trying to edit on an ipad? If so, how do you export/sync/import the text files? I’ve been trying to use Dropbox/Simplenote for editing when I don’t want to haul a laptop around, but haven’t found a quick and easy way to move the files about.
Suggestions? Expert advice?
TCB
I copy a compiled to .rtf version of my file (or just particular segments, if I know which part I’m going to work on or the file is particularly large) into the Pages app (though any other text editor that does rtf editing will work), and write in a bright colour so I can easily see what changes I’ve made.
Then, when I get back to my laptop, I export the file from Pages, open it in Scrivener in split view, and copy+paste over the changes I’ve made into their correct places, using ctrl+shift+v (paste and match style) to strip off the colour information.
It’s a bit clunky, since you have to manually export the file from both Scrivener (as compile) and Pages (through iTunes or “open in other app > dropbox”), but I found it a lot easier than keeping a copy of the .scriv folder in dropbox, since finding the section I wanted to work on was a headache and a half (I often go back and add new documents later, or rearrange the existing ones, so the numbered file order in Dropbox ended up having no relation at all to the order in the binder… finding a particular scene could take an age and a half).
Plus, it avoids the possibility of file corruption through editing the base files outside of Scrivener or Dropbox sync issues resulting in “conflicting” copies.
Excellent, thanks for the tips. I’ve been using Quickoffice, mostly because it has a pretty decent built in file browser for getting things off of google drive, which is my standard cloud backup service. However, editing in bright red is a very, very good idea.
I most certainly hope that the IOS version of Scrivener will make all of this easier. It’s not a huge pain to export a project to .rtf and move the files around, but it would be even easier with native IOS support.
Again, thanks,
TCB
I use iA Writer on my iPad, which is a text-only editor. I export the document I want to work on to my Dropbox folder, then open it in Writer, which links directly to Dropbox. Then import it back into Scrivener. Still, clunky.
I’m just beginning my second novel on Scrivener and think I’ll stick to creating text on the iPad, not editing text I’ve already written. Either that or I’ll just haul my laptop around.