Compiling

[JSK]

I'm writing a method for classical guitar in Scrivener and looking to compile it to different formats. I'm writing in a Markup language (ala MultiMarkdown) and have just begun to use TextMate as well. I can figure out how to compile for my Wordpress site (soon to be a Drupal site) but can't seen to compile the same document from Scrivener into a word type format where the markups are seen as headers, italics, lists, tables and images and not code.

Am I missing something?

I'm hanging on by a thread here software-wise so please try to dumb down any ideas....just saying.

Thanks,

Scott

[AmberV]

but can’t seen to compile the same document from Scrivener into a word type format where the markups are seen as headers, italics, lists, tables and images and not code.

I’m not sure what you mean by this, these things are always in code. All file formats are code.

As for compiling to WordPress, well it just takes HTML, so you don’t need to anything special here. What I do is compile without MMD meta-data to HTML. The resulting file will not be contained within a web page container, which is what you want when pasting your article into WordPress’ editor. Do note that you should switch to HTML mode before pasting.

[JSK]

AmberV - thanks for your reply.

I'm a bit thick about this so please excuse....I'm trying to write in the MultiMarkDown format (where # replaces the <h2> headers, etc). I can't seem to find a way to compile in Scrivener where the output will be recognized in WordPress. (I just get the actual # symbol instead).

Does that make sense??

Thanks,

SCott

[ilottg]

I think I understand what you want…I would love Scriv to do this too. What you want is for Scriv to parse the MMD code and convert it into formatted text (header 1 format, etc). Well no, AFAIK it won't do this because Scrivener is a rich text environment and there is nowhere for you to map MMD code to formatted text. Ulysses 2 used to do this, with limited success, but it wasn't as nice a planning environment as Scrivener. Ulysses 3 will do it, but you have no control over the text and paragraph format that comes out in RTF.

I suggest that you format in Scrivener exactly as you want it to appear in RTF. Then let the MMD functionality in Scrivener compile for HTML.

I am sure AmberV will come to the rescue with something making more sense than I can. Good luck.

[AmberV]

Ah, yes Scrivener can do this conversion for you. What might be confusing is if you are using the Mac App Store version. If you purchased from Apple, you will not have a copy of MultiMarkdown installed on your computer. You may need to follow these instructions to get the necessary compile options showing up.

If you are using the direct-sale version, or have followed the necessary steps to install MMD, then you should see an option toward the bottom of the "Compile For" drop-down menu, entitled, "MultiMarkdown->HTML".

As for what I was saying earlier, while you are in the compile pane, visit the Meta-Data panel and simply delete everything you see in the list here (you may want to keep the "Base Header Level" option if you need one hash to be h2 rather than h1, you can set the value of that to "2" to push header levels up). What that will do is instruct MMD to just create the body HTML, instead of an entire web page. It's no big deal of course, you could just copy and paste the stuff in between the body tags, but it's easier if you can just open it and copy and paste the entire file into a text field in your browser and be done with it.

I suggest that you format in Scrivener exactly as you want it to appear in RTF. Then let the MMD functionality in Scrivener compile for HTML.

Actually, if you do that, it won't be using MMD at all. Scrivener's HTML output is generated by OS X's converter, and while it does a good job of making a web page look like an RTF file, it doesn't use any semantics for doing so. Everything is just paragraphs and spans. Most WordPress themes are going to be expecting standard elements, without any styling.

[JSK]

Thanks so much - I'll get on this tomorrow and see if I can make that work.

Scott

[JSK]

AmberV,

I purchased Scrivener from Literature and Latte directly (99% sure - memory serves and when I go to the Apple App store it shows that I need to purchase rather than install).

I also purchased a program called MultiMarkdown Composer from FletcherPenney and am running v. 2.4.3.

Following your instructions for compiling I deleted all but the 'Base Level Header' in the meta data tab. When I go to compile the closest option to the one you suggested "MultiMarkdown->HTML" that I'm given is "MultiMarkdown - Web Page (.html)". (Is that the drop-down I'm looking for??) When I compile this way it still gives me the actual '#' instead of the headers I want.

Is the problem in MMD?

(I'm a fellow Portlander as well!)

Thanks,

Scott

[AmberV]

Okay, yeah I was just using shorthand for the actual compile format choice. It is the "MultiMarkdown - Web Page (.html)" option.

All right, if that is not working, then something must be wrong with the syntax. Have the hashes been typed in my hand, or are you using the Formatting compile option pane to generate titles?

One thing you can do to troubleshoot the process is compile as plain "MultiMarkdown" from that drop-down, and then open that up in Fletcher's MMD Composer. Does the syntax look colour-coded correctly in that program? If you see things that should be handled as headers or whatever, that are not, you can go back to Scrivener and see what is wrong in that spot.

P.S. Woo PDX!

[JSK]

AmberV,

In Scrivener when I compile in Multimarkdown or MMD HTML and open in the program MultiMarkdown nothing changes (hash tags stay as hash tags - even <h2> stays as <h2> but when I copy the Scrivener file and PASTE in the program MultiMarkdown it changes the above to the appropriate headers. Does that make any sense?

Scott

[AmberV]

No, that doesn’t make sense, what should work in MMD Composer should work in Scrivener because they both use the exact same conversion engine to make the HTML file. We might be approaching what is infeasible to detect remotely. Would it be possible to get a copy of the project from you so I could examine it first-hand? If you are concerned about confidentiality, you can scramble a copy of the project by using Save As, and then `Edit/Find/Project Replace` repeatedly, to replace common letters with other letters until it is gibberish.

Either way, use the `File/Back Up/Back Up To...` menu command to create a zipped copy of the project and send that as attached e-mail, or via file sharing, to our support address with this thread URL so the receiving party can forward it to me.

[JSK]

AmberV,

Thanks - that would be great. I'd like to send the file 'as is'. How concerned should I be regarding confidentiality?

Scott

[AmberV]

Unless you are under contract or working with classified material, it's not a problem. We of course do not share your data with anyone outside of our team and delete working copies after we're done with them. If you do choose to scramble the project, just make sure the problem still exists after doing so. In theory it should be functionally identical if all you do is switch vowels and a few consonants, but it's worth making sure the flaw is still present before sending it.

[JSK]

Okay great! Sending soon!!

Thanks so much - sorry for being such a case...

[AmberV]

No worries! We're here to help.

[JSK]

AmberV,

I know you guys are backlogged but I wanted to let you know I sent the file the other day - just wanted to give you a heads up.

Thanks again for your help....

Scott