Scrivener Absolute Beginner's Guide

Jennifer Kettell switched from being a long-time Windows user to working on a Mac in 2006 for the primary purpose of being able to use Scrivener for her fiction writing. Since then, she’s written several tutorials, given workshops, and helped many other writers adopt Scrivener as the keystone of their writer’s toolkit. Jenn is the author of My Kindle Fire HD, and has written or contributed to more than two dozen other books. When Jenn isn’t writing about technology, she writes romantic fiction. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and recently served as president of her local chapter. Jenn has lived all over the United States, but currently resides in upstate New York. She loves to read, debate current events, and do all manner of puzzles, but she spends the better part of every day thinking of ways to torture the fictional characters who live in her head.

Introduction ..............................1



 

What Is Scrivener? ...............................................................2

Mac Versus Windows Versus Linux Versus iPad ................2

How This Book Is Organized ........................................................3

Conventions Used in This Book ..............................................4

Assumptions About Computer Knowledge ....................................7

Getting More Help .............................................................7

 

I Getting Started in Scrivener

 



1 Getting to Know the Scrivener Interface ...............9

Understanding Projects ...............................................................10

 Creating a New Project ...............................................10

 Selecting a Project Template ...............................14

 Saving Projects ..........................................................15

Introducing the Main Scrivener Components ......................15

 Examining the Editor ........................................16

 Using the Binder................................................17

 Opening the Inspector .............................................19

Changing the Group View Mode ................................20

Understanding Folders Versus Files ...............................23

Accessing Other Panels.....................................................23

 



2 Customizing Your Work Environment .................27

Setting General Preferences ............................28

 Startup Options ..........................................29

 Saving .............................................................29

 Services (Mac Only) .............................................30

 Separators (Mac Only) ................................................30

 Scratch Pad .............................................................31

 Bibliography Manager .....................................31

Customizing Scrivener’s Appearance ............................32

 Binder ........................................................33

 Outliner .......................................34

 Notepad Lines ......................................34

 General .......................................35

 Full Screen ......................................35

 Fonts .............................................36

 Modifying the Color Scheme .................................36

Customizing the Corkboard Appearance ....................40

 Appearance ..............................................41

 Fonts .............................................................43

 Dragging and Double-Clicking ....................................43

Setting Full Screen Composition Mode Preferences ..........44

 Composition Mode Setup .................................45

 Editing Options .................................46

 Composition Mode Appearance ...............................47

 Composition Mode Customizable Colors .........................47

 Default View Settings ................................................48

Customizing the Editor..............................................48

 Editing Options ...................................................49

 Wrap to Editor Mode ............................................50

 Wrap to Page Mode ............................................51

Setting a Writing Font ...............................................53

Saving and Sharing Your Preference Settings .............55

 Saving Preference Presets ..............................................57

 Saving Theme Preferences .........................................58

Using Workspace Layouts ..........................................59

 Creating Layouts ..........................................................61

 Accessing Layouts ..........................................62

 Modifying Layouts ..............................................63

 Renaming Layouts ..................................................63

 Deleting Layouts ...........................................................64

 Exporting and Importing Layouts .....................................64

Customizing the Toolbar ...................................................65

 



3 Organizing the Binder ...................................69

Working with Files and Folders ......................................70

Adding Documents and Folders to the Binder .......................73

 Adding Text Documents .........................................74

 Adding Folders .........................................75

 Adding a Folder at the Root Level.................................76

 Adding a File at the Root Level...................................77

 Grouping Documents and Folders ........................77

Organizing Documents and Folders in the Binder .............78

 Moving Items ................................................79

 Duplicating Items .......................................80

 Renaming Items ..............................................81

 Deleting Items .............................................81

Adding Icons to Documents and Folders (Mac Only) ..............82

 Installing Additional Icons ........................................83

 Restoring Original Icons .....................................85

Importing an Existing Manuscript ............................85

 Setting Import Preferences .......................................87

 Importing Documents .............................................88

 Splitting and Merging Files ...........................88

 Using Import and Split .......................................89

Focusing on the Chapter at Hand ...........................90

 Revealing and Hiding Items .................................90

 Hoisting the Binder (Mac Only) ...........................91

 



4 Writing in the Editor ..............................93

Examining the Editor Window ..........................94

Using the Header Bar .....................................95

 Navigation History Buttons .............................95

 The Item Icon Menu.......................................96

 Sidebar Navigation Buttons ...............................98

Splitting the Screen ...........................................98

 Splitting the Editor ...........................................99

 Selecting an Item in Split Screen ................. 101

 Binder Affects Menu ................................ 101

 Closing a Split ...................................... 103

 Saving Your Layout ................................... 103

Formatting Text and Paragraphs ........................ 104

 Preserving Formatting ...................................... 107

Using Formatting Presets (Mac Only) ................... 107

 Creating a Formatting Preset ..................... 108

 Deleting a Formatting Preset ........................ 110

Accessing the Ruler ................................. 110

 Setting Tabs ......................................... 111

 Adjusting Indents ............................................ 112

Using the Footer Bar .......................................... 112

Checking Spelling ...................................................... 113

 Automatic Spell Checking ...................................... 113

 Manually Checking Your Spelling............................. 115

 Automating Corrections as You Type ........................ 116

Adding Images to a Document ................................ 118

 Inserting Linked Images (Mac Only) .................... 119

 Embedding PDF Images (Mac Only) .......................... 120

Viewing Scrivenings ............................................ 120

Using QuickReference Panels (Mac Only) ........................... 121

Taking Notes in the Scratch Pad ......................................... 123

 Adding and Deleting Notes.............................. 125

 Sending a Note to a Project ...................... 125

 



5 Writing in Full Screen ......................... 127

Using Composition Mode ....................................... 128

Making Adjustments in the Control Strip ..................... 130

Using Composition Mode with Multiple Displays .................. 134

Using the Mac’s Full Screen Mode ........................ 134

 

II Organizing Your Writing Process

 



6 Storyboarding with the Corkboard .............. 137

Opening the Corkboard ............................ 138

 Viewing Multiple Containers in a Stacked Corkboard ......... 139

 Adding Documents to the Corkboard .................... 141

Examining Index Cards .................................. 142

Adding Index Card Options ............................ 143

Setting Corkboard Options on the Footer Bar .................. 145

Using the Corkboard in Split Screen ............................ 146

 Putting Split Screen to Work ................................ 148

 Using Images to Your Advantage ............................ 150

Locking the View Mode (Mac Only) ..................................... 152

Working with the Freeform Corkboard (Mac Only)...................... 152

Printing Index Cards ........................................... 155

 



7 Plotting in the Outliner ................... 161

Exploring the Outliner ................................... 162

Customizing the Outliner .............................. 163

 Expanding and Collapsing Containers ...................... 163

 Adding and Removing Columns ........................... 164

 Arranging Columns and Items ...................... 167

 Hiding the Synopsis ........................................... 168

 Sorting by Outliner Columns (Mac Only) ................. 168

Printing an Outline on the Mac ............................ 170

Exporting an Outline ........................................... 173

 Exporting to a Spreadsheet (CSV Format) ..................... 173

 Exporting to OPML Format................................... 174

Importing an OPML or Freemind Outline ..................... 177

 



8 Organizing Your Research ............ 181

Importing Research Files .......................... 182

 Using File Import .................................. 182

 Opening Files in an External Editor ................... 183

 Linking to an Alias .............................. 185

Using PDFs ......................................... 188

Accessing Media Files ................................. 189

Importing Web Pages ............................... 190

 



9 Brainstorming with Scrivener ......................... 193

Using the Name Generator ............................... 194

 Searching for Names on the Mac................................... 194

 Adding Names to the Mac Name Generator ................... 196

 Searching for Names in Windows .................................. 198

 Adding Names to the Windows Name Generator .................. 201

Creating a Sketchpad ...................................... 202

Using Aeon Timeline with Scrivener (Mac Only) ...................... 205

 



10 Editing Your Manuscript .......................... 211

Using Inline Annotations ....................................... 212

 Adding Annotations ......................................... 212

 Editing Annotations ................................................. 213

 Changing the Appearance of Annotations ........................... 214

Adding and Reviewing Comments ............................ 217

 Adding Comments ........................................ 217

 Editing Comments .................................... 218

 Changing the Appearance of Comments ........................... 219

 Moving Comments ......................................... 219

 Removing All Document Notations ........................... 220

Converting Annotations to Comments (and Vice Versa) ................ 221

Searching for Annotations and Comments ................... 222

Exporting Annotations and Comments ................... 223

Using Revision Mode (Mac Only) ..................... 223

 Marking Text .......................................... 224

 Marking Text for Deletion ................................... 226

 Customizing Revision Mode ............................... 226

 Finding Revisions .......................................... 227

 Removing Revisions ................................ 228

Taking Snapshots ......................................... 229

 Creating Snapshots ..................................... 229

 Viewing Snapshots .................................... 230

 Comparing Snapshot Versions (Mac Only) .................. 232

 Reverting to a Prior Snapshot ......................... 233

 

III Digging Deeper into Scrivener

 



11 Digging into the Inspector ...................... 237

Navigating the Inspector ..................................... 238

Adding a Synopsis in the Inspector ........................... 239

 Automatically Generating a Synopsis ................................ 240

 Adding an Image to the Synopsis ................................ 241

Toggling the Created and Modified Date .......................... 242

Selecting Compile Settings ...................................... 242

Adding Project and Document Notes ................................ 243

 Adding Images to Notes ........................................... 244

 Managing Project Notes (Mac Only) ........................... 246

Using Reference Links ................................................ 247

 Adding Internal References ................................ 248

 Adding Internal References to the Item Icon Menu (Mac Only) ......... 249

 Adding External References ................................. 250

 Viewing References ............................................... 251

 Editing and Deleting References ............................... 252

Locking the Inspector ....................................... 253

 



12 Putting Keywords and Meta-Data to Work ............... 255

Setting Status and Labels ...................................... 256

 Changing the Label and Status Titles ........................... 256

 Removing Status and Label Values .......................... 259

 Adding Status and Label Values ............................... 260

 Setting a Default Status or Label ......................... 262

 Associating Color with Labels ................................... 262

 Applying Label Color to Interface Elements .................... 264

 Applying a Status Stamp to Index Cards ............................. 266

 Using Glyphs as a Status Stamp on the Mac ......................... 266

 Adding Glyphs as a Status Stamp in Windows...................... 268

Using Keywords........................................................ 270

 Viewing the Keywords Inspector Pane ........................ 271

 Adding Keywords to Documents ..................................... 271

 Removing Keywords from a Document ................................. 272

 Using the Keywords Panel .................................. 272

 Organizing Project Keywords ............................. 274

 Searching by Keyword .......................................... 274

 Deleting Keywords from a Project ................................... 276

Adding Custom Meta-Data (Mac Only) ................................... 276

 Adding Fields ................................................... 277

 Adding Values ..................................................... 279

 Deleting Custom Meta-Data Fields .................................. 280

 



13 Creating and Using Template Sheets ............................ 283

Using Predesigned Template Sheets ................................ 284

 Changing the Template Folder ............................... 285

 Modifying Template Sheets ................................... 285

 Creating a Document from a Template ......................... 287

Creating Your Own Template Sheets ...................................... 288

Setting a Default Document Type ............................................ 290

 



14 Creating and Using Project Templates ........................ 293

Creating a Project to Build a Template ................................... 294

Developing a Good Template .......................................... 295

 Create a Workspace Layout .......................................... 296

 Set Up the Draft Folder .................................................... 296

 Add or Modify the Information File ........................................ 297

 Create Non-Draft Folders and Files .................................... 297

 Set Default Meta-Data ............................................. 300

 Set Project Targets ................................................... 301

 Create Template Sheets ................................................ 301

 Create Initial Collections ............................................... 302

 Designate Compile Settings .......................................................... 303

Using Template Placeholder Tags (Mac Only) ................................. 303

Saving a Project Template ............................................................ 306

 Modifying a Project Template ............................................. 307

 Setting a Default Project Template .................................... 308

 Deleting a Project Template ........................................................ 308

Importing and Exporting Project Templates ................................ 309

 Importing a Project Template ........................................ 310

 Exporting a Project Template ...................................... 311

 

IV Managing Your Writing Projects

 



15 Tracking Your Progress ........................................ 313

Using Project Targets .......................................................... 314

 Setting Target Options (Mac Only) ............................... 315

 Setting Draft Targets ................................................. 319

 Setting Session Targets ................................... 320

 Resetting Target Sessions ......................................... 320

Using Document Targets .............................................. 321

Using Project Statistics ...................................................... 323

Viewing Word Frequency .......................................... 325

 



16 Searching Your Project ....................................... 329

Conducting Project Searches ............................................... 330

 Narrowing Project Search Results by Element ........................... 331

 Limiting Project Searches with Operators ........................... 332

 Narrowing Search Options ................................ 333

 Using Project Replace .................................. 334

Using Document Find and Replace ..................................... 336

 Performing a Document Find ........................................ 336

 Using Document Replace with Document Find.................... 338

Using the Find Synopsis Tool (Mac Only) .......................... 338

Searching by Format ................................... 340

Creating and Using Collections.................................. 342

 Creating a Standard Collection ...................................... 343

 Adding and Removing Files from Standard Collections .............. 346

 Moving Files in a Standard Collection ...................... 347

 Creating a Search Collection ............................... 348

 Converting a Search Collection to a Standard Collection......... 349

 Renaming Collections ..................................... 349

 Removing Collections ..................................... 349

 Toggling the Collection View ............................... 349

Setting Bookmarks (Mac Only) .................................... 350

 Adding Bookmarks ........................................................ 350

 Using Bookmark Headers for Navigation ............................. 351

Choosing Favorites (Mac Only) .................................... 352

 



17 Backing Up Your Work....................... 355

Setting Backup Preferences ............................... 356

Backing Up to Dropbox ................................. 359

Excluding a Project from Automatic Backups ...................... 361

Performing Manual Backups ...................................... 361

Backing Up to Time Machine or Windows Backup ....................... 364

Restoring from a Backup ................................ 364

 



18 Taking Scrivener Out and About ..................... 367

Using Scrivener on Multiple Computers ...................... 368

Using Dropbox to Access Your Scrivener Project ........................... 369

Syncing Your Project (Mac Only) ................................................ 371

 Using Files in the External Folder ..................................... 375

 Working Wisely with Synced Folders ........................... 376

Using iPad Apps with Scrivener Files (Mac Only) .............................. 376

 Using iA Writer with Scrivener Files (Mac Only) ........................... 377

 Using Index Card for iOS (Mac Only) ........................................... 380

 

V Generating a Completed Manuscript

 



19 Compiling Your Completed Work .................... 387

Understanding the Compile Process ............................................ 388

 Choosing a Compile Format................................................ 389

 Selecting an Output Format ................................................. 391

 Compiling the Project Using Compile Presets ............................ 394

Using the Compile Window ....................................................... 396

Choosing the Contents to Compile ................................................. 397

 Selecting Items in the Compile Group ....................................... 399

 Filtering the Contents of a Compile Group (Mac Only) ...................... 400

 Adding Front Matter (Mac Only) ....................................... 402