Hi all. I’ve been using Scrivener 3 on Windows for a while. However, I’m really keen to move to Linux and fully abandon Microsoft. I have 1 laptop on Linux already (the other is Windows for now). The only software holding me back from making the switch on my other machine is Scrivener as I use it for work daily.
I’ve been reading and experimenting a bit to explore options, which are…
Use native Linux Scrivener v 1
I tried this. It’s ok. The hurdle here was none of my file types from prior projects were compatible, nor were some of the preference files I wanted to import (such as Compile settings). I think it’s also missing some features I want to use (revision mode, mostly).
The inability to import Compile presets was a bit of a deal breaker given how picky I am about my exported files and how much time it takes to set up the compiler.
I installed Lutris and Scrivener 3. I imported my preferences, options, compile settings, etc. I changed all the save/backup locations to something Lutris can see and access. Backups seem to be working fine, so I assume I did this right.
2a) I downloaded and installed some additional fonts and set my fonts to ones that exist in Linux. I adjusted my Main text style for new documents to be something other than Arial, which it defaulted to.
I opened up a 110k word manuscript and every scene, every comment (which I use extensively) are all in Arial. Ok, I definitely can’t look at Arial for hours on end for a long document. I was hoping it would somehow apply the Main text style to projects I opened up, but it looks like I am going to have to go through scene by scene and change the font in each scene and comment? Is there an easier way to reset the fonts in ~100 separate scenes (and comments) or am I going to have to commit a crime against my wrists to get my project back to a place where I can actually work with it?
any other beginner tips for Scrivener 3 on Linux via Lutris? Did I miss anything important? I’m a little nervous as when I first used it it seemed to randomly crash/close and the idea of losing my work is quite horrifying and I’m very set in my ways.
The ability to bulk reformat text is a basic Scrivener feature. Refer also to §15.7.5, Resetting Formatting, in the user manual PDF. Comments are reset as described in §18.4.2, Resetting Linked Note Formatting.
As for fonts though, I’m not sure if you can (licensing issues and such), but I have found that if you install your favourites into Linux, Scrivener will pick them up and use them reliably. It’s more an issue going to or from Mac or iOS, where you may see different platforms getting confused over how fonts are described. In this case particular case though, it is the exact same software.
So you might want to look into that, and seeing if the sections you haven’t touched yet load in the preferred font automatically, before changing everything (not that it is particularly difficult to change things back, if you later install fonts).
I was in that same situation maybe 5 years ago (switching to linux but loving Scrivener on Windows). I’ve since found that Scrivener runs fine under Wine. I’m on Arch, so you’ll need to adjust accordingly, but there are tutorials for this on the web.
This is incredible! I now recall having used the Convert to Defualt Formatting on text before, but it’s been ages. Thank you this is amazing! I did a little test, and it worked wonderfully.
I did get fonts installed in Linux and recognised in Lutris (and Scrivener) just fine so no worries there.
Yes I installed via Lutris and it’s fine so far. I still prefer using native software rather than a workaround and I’d love to see an updated native Linux Scrivener. For example, thinking long term, what happens when/if Lutris updates or changes and Scrivener is no longer compatible or accessible?
There are a few instructions on the script’s website that could be useful:
"After installation, pick the latest Wine version available on your system as the Runner in the Lutris game settings.
In Wine Settings, under the Applications tab, change the Windows version from Windows 7 to Windows 10 or, preferably, Windows 11. Otherwise, Scrivener will warn that your operating system is not supported.
For the best interface rendering, manually copy the Segoe UI font files (segoeui.ttf, segoeuib.ttf, segoeuii.ttf, segoeuil.ttf, segoeuisl.ttf, segoeuiz.ttf) from a Windows installation into the prefix’s drive_c/windows/Fonts folder."
You can do the last step using a Windows virtual machine. After that, the app should use the original Scrivener font, which did the trick for me!