This should work fine. SSD drives are fast enough to keep the slower interface for an external drive (vs internal) from being noticeable, at least for typical text file sizes. (Video files might be another matter.)
There are a few caveats to be aware of, though:
- Be sure you know where the project you’re working on is located. This is less of a concern if you are working exclusively on the external drive; if you have both local and external versions of a project it’s very easy to get confused.
- Don’t trust Scrivener’s Recent Projects menu. Again, this is less of a concern if you’re only on the external drive. But if you do have multiple versions, the Recent Projects menu can easily send you to the “wrong” one. It will also give you a scary error message if you attempt to open a project without connecting the drive first.
I would recommend configuring Scrivener’s automatic backups to go to either the local drive or a different external drive. Again, make sure you know where they are for each system.
Thanks for your answer. Yes, I figured this was the issue. I guess my original question could have included the possibility of issues or what problems might arise if I do as I intended.
I intend to have the backups sent to the cloud (GDrive). I’m just wondering, would it be better to have the files on local drive (the computer) and then just copy paste the saved file/project to SSD, then overwrite the local file before opening the same project on a different terminal?
I understand cloud syncing is designed to eliminate this “fuss”, but I’m not concerned about the hassle at all. I like using external drives. It’s secure and it feeds my habit of buying cool gadgets.
Reason for question: I probably will be using Scrivener primarily for compiling/writing my articles from now on. When I was doing my PhD I was using it for a repository and research etc, but I’m now separating those tasks into separate programs, so I probably wont need fast speeds, hence projects located on external drive seems feasible.