Scrivener for iPad and iPhone is meant to work both independently and in conjunction with Scrivener for Mac or Windows. You can create projects, write, edit, and compile on your iPad or iPhone, but you can also sync projects between your mobile device and desktop computer so you can work on both devices.
If you want to sync projects between devices, there are two ways to do so. You can use the Apple Devices app (on Windows) or the Finder (on Mac) to copy projects to and from your mobile devices. Or you can use Dropbox to sync your projects as you work on them.
In this article, we’ll look at both of these methods
About Apple Devices or Finder file sync
The iPhone and iPad have long allowed you to manually copy files to and from apps on mobile devices. This used to go through iTunes, until Apple split that app into multiple apps. On the Mac, this process occurs through the Finder; on Windows, through the Apple Devices app. If you’re running Windows prior to Windows 10, or your Mac is running macOS 10.15 Catalina or earlier, you’ll still use iTunes. If so, the iTunes interface looks similar to what we show below, syncing via the Finder on Mac, whether you are on Mac or Windows.
When using this method, you don’t really “sync” files; you copy them from your mobile device to your computer, and vice versa. Here’s how.
How to copy files to and from mobile devices with the Finder on Mac
Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer with a USB cable. Find the device in the Finder sidebar and click its icon.
Click the Files tab, then click the > next to Scrivener to see the files the app contains. In the example below, there are two projects and a Tutorial folder. That contains the interactive tutorial that you can access in Scrivener for iPad or iPhone.
To copy one of these folders to your Mac, just drag it to the Finder. You can start working on it with Scrivener on your Mac.
To add a project to Scrivener for iPad or iPhone, drag it from the Finder onto the Scrivener entry in the app list. This will take a few seconds or a few minutes, depending on the size of the project; you don’t need to click Sync for the copy to occur. Note that you must make sure that your iPad or iPhone has enough storage for your project, especially if it is a large project with lots of research files.
When you open Scrivener, you’ll see the project you just copied in the On My iPhone or On My iPad section.
How to copy files to and from mobile devices with Apple Devices on Windows
Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer with a USB cable. Launch the Apple Devices app, and you see an overview of the device.
Click the device’s icon in the sidebar, and a menu displays.
Click Files, then scroll down in the Apps list until you find Scrivener. Click it, then you see files that Scrivener uses in the Documents pane (you may have to scroll up to see them). In the example below, there are two projects and a Tutorial folder. That contains the interactive tutorial that you can access in Scrivener for iPad or iPhone.
To copy one of these projects to your Windows computer, just drag it to the desktop or to any folder in Windows Explorer. You can start working on it with Scrivener on your computer.
To add a project to Scrivener for iPad or iPhone, select Scrivener in the Apps list, then drag it from your computer into the Documents section of the window. This will take a few seconds or a few minutes, depending on the size of the project; you don’t need to click Sync for the copy to occur. Note that you must make sure that your iPad or iPhone has enough storage for your project, especially if it is a large project with lots of research files.
When you open Scrivener, you’ll see the project you just copied in the On My iPhone or On My iPad section.
Caveats about copying projects
The above procedure is quite simple, but you need to be careful. If you copy a project from your mobile device to your computer, then make changes, you can copy it back to the mobile device. But when you do so, it will overwrite the file on the device without warning. It’s a good idea to name each project file on your computer when you make changes; for example, My Project 26-0-09. Also, you might want to keep the various versions you’ve copied from your mobile device on your computer as backups; this ensures that if you accidentally overwrite a project, you still have a copy.
How to sync with Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud storage service that offers a free tier (2 GB) and paid tiers (2 TB or more). The free plan may be sufficient if you just use it for your Scrivener projects, but it is limited to three devices (Scrivener doesn’t count as a device). If you only have, say, a desktop computer, a laptop, and a tablet, then the free plan will work for you. But if you have more devices, and you want to use Dropbox on them, you’ll have to pay at least $10 a month.
This said, Dropbox is extremely reliable, and Dropbox support is baked into Scrivener for iPad and iPhone. (See this article for more on syncing projects to the cloud from computers, as well as some remarks about other cloud storage services.)
Syncing with Dropbox is easy, but it is important to be aware that this syncing is not automatic; syncing only occurs when you have finished working on a project, or when you tell Scrivener to sync your files, depending on the settings you choose.
To set up Dropbox syncing on Scrivener for iPad or iPhone, you must have the Dropbox app installed, and you must be logged into your account. You also need to install the Dropbox app on your Mac or PC to sync files to and from your computer.
From the main screen of Scrivener – I’m using the iPhone app for these examples – tap Edit, tap the Gear icon, then tap Link Dropbox.
The Dropbox app opens, asking you to allow Scrivener to access files and folders it manages. Tap Allow, then choose a folder. You can choose to store your Scrivener projects in Dropbox’s /Apps/Scrivener folder, or you can choose any other folder in your Dropbox.
After you’ve chosen a folder, tap Done.
You’ll now see an empty Dropbox section on the main screen of the Scrivener app. If you tap Edit, you can drag any projects on your device to Dropbox, or you can create a new project by tapping +. When you do this, and enter a name for the project, a dialog asks where you want to save it: On my iPhone or Dropbox. Tap the latter to save the project to Dropbox.
Now, with the project in your Dropbox folder, it is available on other devices where you have Dropbox installed.
You can also now put projects into the Dropbox folder on your Mac or PC, so you can access them on your mobile devices. Make sure to put these projects in the folder you selected above. On a Mac or PC, syncing occurs automatically if the Dropbox app is running.
When you work on a project and want to sync it, go back to the main Scrivener screen, which lists your project, then click the sync icon at the top of the screen.
Dropbox sync settings for Scrivener
Scrivener does not sync your projects to Dropbox while you work. There are some settings that can make Dropbox syncing a bit easier. Go to Settings > Scrivener, then tap Syncing & Sharing. If you toggle Auto-Detect Changes, Scrivener will sync your projects when you close them, if it has detected changes; that is, when you go back to the main screen that lists projects.
You can choose whether syncing projects on close or rename takes place: Never, Wi-Fi Only, or Always. There is a similar setting to allow Scrivener to check Dropbox when you open a project. And Scrivener can give you a warning if you are not on wi-fi and your project is more than 10 MB, Never, or Always. This is because mobile data can be expensive, and if you sync often, you’ll be sending the same files over and over to Dropbox.
With these options, you can sync files easily from your computer to your mobile devices so you can write anywhere. I’ve not gone into much detail about Dropbox syncing, and there’s a Scrivener support document that looks more closely at how this works (though you probably don’t need to know more) as well as offering solutions if you have a problem.