If you have a problem with Scrivener, whether you just need a little help or think you have discovered a bug, here's where to go:
Before looking for help anywhere else, be sure to refer to the PDF help that comes with Scrivener. Access it by going to the Help menu within Scrivener and selecting “Scrivener Help”. You can also download the PDFs in the following formats:
About the project file: While this is listed as a Mac resource, it is only listed as such because the project file itself has been designed for the Mac, and will not function properly on Windows (at least for the purposes of compilation). As a reference resource, it could be used on Windows as well. Both manuals come from the same project file.
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US Letter formatted (PDF 3.1MB) A4 formatted (PDF 3.1MB) ![[ZIP]](/gfx/fileicon-zip.png){kind=small}
Scrivener Project File (ZIP 6.1MB; 2011-10-20) US Letter formatted (PDF 1.2MB) A4 formatted (PDF 1.2MB) Go through the tutorial that comes with Scrivener. Before asking questions on the forum or contacting us, be sure to go through this tutorial - you can access it by going to the Help menu in Scrivener and selecting “Tutorial”. The tutorial is an interactive project that walks you through the main features of Scrivener and answers most of the questions that will arise for new users. Additionally, you can find a range of video tutorials on our video tutorials page. While not intended to be a replacement for the full interactive tutorial, the PDF manual also contains a Quick Start guide, which can get you up and running with simple Scrivener usage in under half an hour.
You will find many common questions answered in the user-maintained FAQ, on our Wiki.
The support forum is a great place to get quick answers to your questions. We go through the questions asked in the Technical Support forums (for Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows) and the other main forums every day. But there are also numerous knowledgeable, friendly and helpful users who may answer your queries before we even see them. You can also search the forums to find out if your question has already been answered.
The Scrivener wiki hosts the answers to a number of common questions. It is intended as a community tool, where users are encouraged to create and edit content. If you have any great tips on using Scrivener or would like to share information that you feel isn't covered in the help files or that other users may find useful, please feel free to edit the wiki and add to the store of knowledge there. Or just use it to look for answers, of course.
If you think you have come across a bug in Scrivener, you can report it in the Bug Hunt forum, or report it to us directly:
If you have exhausted the other channels and still can't find the answers for which you are looking, you can e-mail support directly. We'll get back to you as soon as we can:
To help us respond to support questions as efficiently as possible, please do try the suggestions above before contacting us directly. Although we love hearing from users and are always happy to help, by checking the links above you help us respond more quickly to questions that haven't already been answered.
Please do not send your question to more than one address! If one of us doesn’t know the answer to your question we will forward your message to the right person. If two or more people end up answering your question unawares that others are doig so as well, that just slows down the queue for everyone.
If you are still using version 1.x of Scrivener and need to download it again, please download version 1.54.
The following information applies to customers who purchased directly from our own web store only. If you purchased from the Mac App Store and need a refund for some reason, you should contact Apple directly because only Apple has access to App Store order information.
The Mac App Store itself can only run on 10.6.7 and higher. Please purchase directly from us if you need to use Scrivener on older machines, as you will be unable to install the program on any computer that is itself unable to install and launch the Mac App Store.
If you need to install Scrivener on a second machine, just launch the Mac App Store on your other machine and click on “Purchased” in the App Store toolbar. There you will find a list of all applications you have bought from the Mac App Store, including Scrivener. Those that are not installed on the current machine will have an “Install” button next to them, so just click on the button next to Scrivener to install it.
For further questions, see the Mac App Store FAQ.
If you would like to register your software on more than one machine, the licence stipulations generously allow for that. Please read the licence agreement, in particular, clauses 1 & 2, under General, for further details on what your options are.
Scrivener does utilise Internet-based activation to verify your licence the first time you use it on your computer. This process is anonymous, and if you are not currently hooked up to the Internet, will not restrict you from using the software. We recognise that activation can be a sore topic, in part because many programs force you to activate before the software can be used. We think our solution is generous and respectful to those who are legitmate users, while allowing us to control abuses, which in turn helps us keep prices down.
Note that in some rare cases, you may exceed the activation limit through normal usage. If you feel your usage of the program is within the bounds set forth in the licence agreement, or suspect that your serial number has been compromised, contact us via e-mail so we can sort out your incident and get your software installed again.
If you have lost your serial number, click here to access eSellerate's After-Purchase Services. We use eSellerate to run the web store and generate licences. If you lose your serial number, you can retrieve it free of charge by entering your e-mail address and order number in the fields of the After-Purchase Services web page. If you don't know the order number, just enter your registered e-mail address next to where it says “Finding your order number” and you will be sent details of all of the licences you have purchased via eSellerate in the past, including your Scrivener licence. (If your e-mail address has changed or you can't recall the one you registered with, then e-mail us with as much information as you can to help us track down your order.)
If you receive the "Invalid Serial Number" error message when attempting to enter your licence information into Scrivener, see this page for help.
Although all refund requests will be judged on their own merits, please do make sure you “try before you buy” - trial versions are always available. Note that there is usually a 15% "restocking fee" on refunds. This is not taken by Literature & Latte; up to 15% of each sale goes to eSellerate, who run the web store and provide serial numbers. When processing refunds, eSellerate do not return this 15%, which means that Literature & Latte would make a loss without charging the restocking fee.
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