I’m eager to exploit my iPad to write in various scenarios - some days just grabbing 30 minutes on the go to write is the best I can do with my schedule.
I’m using Scriv for Windows.
I already use and love Dropbox.
Now, for the iPad…Notebooks? Index Cards? Plain Text? Something else? Unfortunately, these don’t have Lite versions so I can’t try before I buy. I do have QuickOffice, but I don’t think that plugs in as far as Scriv’s organization.
I am not worried too much about formatting at this point. I’m more interested in getting the text down and polished, and then of course I’ll have to pretty up and format for submission on a word processor. Of course, if I could keep formatting, that would be a bonus but not essential. The main thing I’d like to do is write and organize in Scriv, write and organize on my iPad, and keep the two in sync.
One important note is that the Windows version’s synchronisation abilities are not yet in development, but it’s not too difficult to copy and paste files you’ve recently edited while on the go, back into the Binder, as a temporary solution.
As for which editor to use, that’s really hard to say as it is such a personal choice! And yes, it is tough when there is literally no way at all to try out the programs. It’s like going back to boxed software in the ’90s. So much for advancement.
Here are a few of my favourites:
Elements: Fundamentally, this one is like many other editors out there, only it has a little Markdown support, so I prefer it over the other vanilla/aesthetic-biased style editors.
Nebulous Notes: Built from the ground up to be a Dropbox based editor. It has an extended and customisable keyboard macro row, and automatic local storage of files. If you view it, it saves it local. It lets you know if you’ve got files that need to be synced via an icon badge.
Textastic: More geared toward coders of all sorts, this is more like a power text-editor on a computer (though still quite a bit more simple than your average code editor). It has a bulk download and upload feature with Dropbox; which is quite nice if you go out of range of the ‘net a lot. Just grab a folder of .txt files and upload the whole thing later on (not bothering with discriminating between those you edited or not as it doesn’t adjust the timestamp unless necessary). If you occasionally need to do bulk search and replace, want an extended keyboard, like Markdown, and maybe do a little HTML/CSS/scripting on your iPad as well, it’s a good one to pick up. You have to pay more attention to what you are doing though due to manual syncing.
I’d recommend File/Export/Files... actually. Set the exporter to use plain-text, and dump the whole Draft folder to your Dropbox. Then you can edit the files as binder sections. You might want to use the compiler, with the “Enumerated Outline” preset selected from the “Format As” drop-down, as a reference, because sort orders will no doubt be different between binder and alphabetical.
Then all you have to do is check the modification date on these files and anything new you can copy and paste back into the Binder where it came from.
Now syncing Scrivener for Windows with Storyist on iPad 2. Also handles RTF seamlessly; found the following works:
Inserted all my Scrivener folders in the DROPBOX folder
Open Dropbox App on your iPad
Browse to the DOC folder in the in the xxxx.scriv – I.e. yourfilename.scriv / Files / Docs and select the RTF file you want to edit
Select ICON in upper right corner and select “Open in…” Storyist (the file will then open in Storyist and can be edited
When your finished SYNC Storyist and the updated file appears in your DROPBOX folder on your PC
Copy the file to your Scrivener Doc folder, replacing the existing file in the folder, and when Scrivener is opened the updated file appears!
Go back to step #1 each time you work on a file in Storyist
If you leave the copies on your iPad, a new copy consecutively numbered will be added so you can track changes.
You really shouldn’t be doing that! Those files are easy to get at so you can always recover a project if things go wildly wrong—they aren’t easy to get at so you can edit them externally. You’ll be getting your search index all out of sync, and if you use any kind of linking in the program they will shift in the text and no longer be aligned with what they should be.
Export the files as RTF files and handle the copy/paste or import export yourself for now. It’s a few extra steps, but it will keep your project healthy.
I tried a few writing programs on the iPad from Pages to Chapters, but ended up using My Writing Spot. I use it to jot down things while on the go, and then email those to myself and copy-paste them into Scrivener.
Now syncing Scrivener for Windows with Storyist on iPad 2. Also handles RTF seamlessly; found the following works: