What templates do you want in Scrivener 2.0?

[lulu]

Thanks AmberV

OK to clarify, I am writing a dissertion. I need it to have a bibliography that conforms to Harvard referencing - as shown here http://referencing.port.ac.uk/apa/index.html

I need to reference books, weblinks, journals etc. There is a specific style that has to be followed (i.e. Author of chapter, Initials. (year). Title of chapter. In Initials. Name of Editor/s (Ed.), Title of book (pp. start and end page numbers of chapter). Place of publication: Publisher.) for each type of reference. Is there any way that a template could be used to automatically fill in the details correctly?

hope thats enough info for you - if not, do let me know!

thanks

[AmberV]

Hmm, I'm not sure what a template could do for you here, as most people don't use Scrivener for final bibliography formatting. That is much better handled using your citation database software. What you want to do is use it to insert placeholders into your thesis, and then when you compile, use RTF, and then "scan" the RTF with the citation software. It will take the placeholders and do everything necessary to connect them to a bibliography entry and format both that and the reference correctly. Most of these have many style guides built into them and know how to properly do everything you are looking for. We've never made any attempt to replicate that sort of behaviour as these tools already do a great job of it, so it would be a re-invention of the wheel.

A project template doesn't really dictate too much along these lines. It must work within the same restrictions you would, since all they are is a blank project, built up a bit with some starter files and ideas that you can discard or amplify at will, and sometimes compile settings. But the compile settings for endnotes and footnotes are wholly ignorant of such minutia as where the page number goes, or whether to use "pp" or "pg" and so on---they just establish things like font, numbering scheme, and simple placement. Hopefully that makes more sense.

[lulu]

ooo, Ive never heard of citation database software! I will look into that; thanks so much.

[AmberV]

You're welcome! Check around in the usage forum sections, there have been some good discussions on which software works best, and how to get various versions working best with Scrivener. If you've are tight for cash, Zotero is a good free manager that a lot of people like. Its integration with Scrivener isn't quite as slick as the big names, but those can be fairly pricey.

[lulu]

Thanks again. I will check out Zotero.

cheers!

[Lord Lightning]

Deleted reference to the PhD template LL

[lulu]

Thanks for your reply. However, It seems to me it might be easier just to type my references manually without any additional software which seem to confuse the situation somewhat.

I'm guessing you might be in America, Lord Lightning as it sounds like you are speaking about a different system. My supervisor is right there for me, pointing me in the right direction. My uni's preferred style is Harvard, as stated originally, but they dont sell software. I can of course get student discounts on various software but that's a different matter.

[mbbntu]

[quote="Lord Lightning"]Each University or College has a preferred approach and preferred software[/quote]

Really? News to me, and I have just spent the past five years doing an MSc followed by a PhD. My university certainly did not have "preferred software". As lulu says, the situation is likely to be very different in different parts of the world. I'm in the UK, and PhD students here tend to value being left alone to get on with things. In fact, one of the major irritations I faced was having the graduate school getting me to fill in forms to tell them how I was getting on. As my supervisor said, it was tantamount to saying that they didn't trust him. Ditto for me.

[quote="Lord Lightning"]usually offers new Masters and Doctoral candidates a very healthy discount on both referencing and data analysis software as part of the canditature.[/quote]

Not in my experience, they don't. I was never offered so much as a bent farthing in discount, but then my university doesn't sell software, either.

However, what is really important is lulu's situation. Having just been through the mill myself, I would advise you to think seriously about the advantages of bibliographic software. I started with half a dozen books to read. I ended up with a bibliographic database that has 595 entries in it. You would be amazed how things can mushroom in three years. I've used Bookends for several years and it works well. I'd recommend trying a few to see what suits you.

Best of luck with it, and having lived through it all, I can say that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Martin.

[lulu]

Thanks Martin, and I couldnt agree more with you.
I will look at your suggestion, though I imagine your Phd requires a much bigger reference section than my dissertation of 'only' 20,000 words, which currently has 60 references - and growing ;)

[mbbntu]

My pleasure. Of course, it's the "growing" which is the problem! But don't overlook the fact that bibliographic software can help you by grouping books and articles according to themes, in folders or by tagging, and that you can print out sub-bibliographies according to theme or whatever. It's another way of understanding and mastering the subject. And you can also make links between works that are linked by being rebuttals, reviews of another work, etc. Moreover, the bibliographic software keeps more information than is given in the citation or bibliography that you place in your dissertation (for example a URL for the website where you found the item, a shelfmark in your library, links to a pdf you have downloaded, etc.). And you will always read more than you refer to or cite directly!

Best, Martin.

[lulu]

I'm hovering between using scrivener on a mac and a pc and cant make up my mind, but I see that some of the software mentioned is only available for a mac, including Book Ends. Its useful to see links of rebuttals and other citings, as you mention, so that might sway me to the old mac, though my internet connection where the mac is sited is not very good. Its a long and tedious problem for me...!

thanks again Martin :)

[CarolinaJoy]

Forgive me if this has been suggested.

I would LOVE to see a Picture Book template. I am thinking of something similar to the many scrapbook/photo book templates that are available.

For my personal purposes I'd love to see a box(es) that a photo could be dragged and dropped into and then a box for text to be typed into. I'm envisioning something that would work well with Kindle or ipad or other ereader platforms. Landscape or Portrait choices would rock.

Say if I was writing a non-fiction children's book about minerals it would be neat to have the box on the left/right/top/bottom (depending on orientation) for the photo/illustration of the mineral and then a text box next to/under/over for text that describes it.

It would be super neat if there were choices with a couple basic collage patterns that would work on the larger ipad/tablet screen and simpler ones for the smaller Kindle/Nook screens.

This may be totally out of the scope of Scrivener. I am a new user (just a couple of weeks) and brand new to the forums (just today). But I think it could be a useful "add on" for some folks. I'd certainly pay another $5 or $10 for personalized add-ons. An "a la carte" option for these different templates I've seen mentioned might be a way to go. Development could then be continuous and the 2.0 could be released while other add-ons are being developed. Oy vey. Forgive me if I am not clear. I'll try to clarify if you need.

Places that have the templates I'm thinking of are www.blurb.com, the app fotobooks on Facebook and the like.

Thanks for a great program. I am so impressed and shocked at how much easier writing is for me using it.

[AmberV]

All good ideas, to be sure. The only problem is that Scrivener isn't really a layout program in the traditional sense. It can do some basic "placeholder" style layout like putting a graphic down where it should appear in the final copy, but most designers are going to need more control than that. The author can use alignment to hint at design ideas, but there are no boxes or word-flow options.

So, lacking all of that I'm not sure what a template for a picture book would have over one of the other fiction templates, like perhaps short story.

[Taliesin2]

Can we get a new template for the poetry option? I was thinking of Poetry Chapbook. Or a novella template. Thanks.

[AmberV]

I'll repost the guidelines from the original request, since they are all the way on page one:

So, now's your chance to suggest some others. HOWEVER, please follow these guidelines when making a suggestion, otherwise I'm afraid I won't even be able to consider it:

1) Provide some links to or e-mail me specifications for the format if it is a standard one or one that is widely used. I'm sorry, but I don't have time to research every format suggested, and I'm no expert on all formats out there, obviously. So it's a format you find useful, send me some specs. Even better - or additionally - send me a sample document that adheres to the specs.

2) Describe exactly what you would like to go into the project - any default folders that would be useful for that sort of project, for instance.

So, say you were suggesting standard novel manuscript format (which of course there's no need to, as it will be in there already). Then you might send me a link to the BBC PDF example and a couple of other samples describing and showing how to set up a MS. And you might also say, "It would be useful to have folders for "Characters" and "Places", and maybe even a character sheet in there..."

I'll start by creating the ones that I receive the most easy-to-follow information for. If I receive no suggestions, then I'll just cobble together the basic formats I think should be in there, so now's your chance to speak out.

So with all of that in mind, please expand on what you mean by a novella template? What would this have (or not have) that would set it apart from the novel template, for instance?