I’m really glad that there is an iOS version under development. After I bought Scrivener a few months back and realized how great it is, all other editors for composing articles fell short.
I would definitely buy Scrivener for iOS as soon as it came out (and I could afford it).
In order of desire I would like the following in an iOS version:
Sync with OS X (via Dropbox or iCloud would be fine)
URLs w/titles & accesskey (also would like title & accesskey editing in the OS X version)
a Universal Binary that I could load on my iPhone and also on my future iPad (instead of 2 different apps)
Footnotes & Comments Supported
Snapshots (wish!)
Configurable Gestures using Accessibility Gesture Recording in iOS5 (big wish!)
So, I have been thinking about this for awhile since it was announced that an IOS platform was announced. I don’t envy the programmatic challenges ahead and I would like to type out loud regarding my thoughts about this. In short, I have two reactions to the announcement: 1) YAY. I would love an ipad version; 2) how the heck are they going to do this? Short versions of recommendations are in bold.
One of the things that Scrivener made possible for me is that it is a program where I can link all kinds of different files while being able to refer to the files as I write. In some ways the ipad is antithetical to this: you are to stay in one window and do one task, but given the size of the screen (in landscape), I think a split screen is possible where we can see two documents at the same time and write and view.
I downloaded quite a few writing programs for the ipad and the one that was most disappointing to me was “Notebooks for Ipad” by Alfons Schmid. Using it was an exercise in solving a rubiks cube and it was difficult to navigate between the various documents. An IOS version must have a way to organize documents of different types in a fashion that makes sense.
3) I wonder if it wouldn’t be worth your time to use the API of other popular programs and let people write in one program, export to Scrivener and perhaps have the ScrivIOS be the program that is for viewing and organization. There are all kinds of writing programs and programs to annotate pdfs, and web viewers. I don’t think I need that capability duplicated here. I would like a way to view my Scriv files on IOS in total.
Syncing. Good luck with that. There are two programs I use frequently who seem to have done a good job syncing: Iannotate and Goodreader. Perhaps there are ways you can check out what they have done to help with this issue for the IOS app.
I would LOVE the ability to use Scrivener on my iPhone to write while at my ‘real job’. I won’t get an iPad anytime soon, so thinking of a version for the phone only, I’d say the most important thing for me would be the ability to sync from the iOS version to the Windows version. I wouldn’t use the full/three-part screen (because the phone is so small). I’d like to pull up the binder, choose a scene, and edit/write. I’d like to then return home and sync it to my computer to pick up where I left off.
I am using IPad for screenwriting with text editor’s iWriter and IAWriter. These editors have very good keyboard with additional chars. It’s improve my productivity very very. I want such keyboard in Ipad version of Scrivener. Thx.
Im not sure why everyone insists on dropbox sync. i think that would be a good feature, but its also a whole extra step as far as im concerned and more room for error.
I think it should just sync directly to The scrivener desktop App.
there’s a "to do"program called “things” that does this and its great.
I think that a Scrivener app for iphone/ipad would be great. I would surely be a fan of it.
Most of my ideas came while I’m away from my working desk (i.e.: when I’m walking, when I’m on a bus/train, and so on).
I think the main feature should be a scrapbook tool syncable with the Scrivener on the mac/pc
The app should be able to “see” the folders of the Script section and of the Research section.
Example:
I’m working on mynovel.scriv scrivener project. I have three folders in the Research section: 1) ideas for the beginning; 2) ideas for the development; 3) ideas for the grand finale. When I’m on the train going to working I get an illumination for the grand finale. Then I turn on my scrivener app on the iPhone, the app shows me the folders on my “mynovel” project. I choose the “grand finale” folder and add a new text document with my brand new idea for the finale. Then I get home, start working on the Scrivener on my mac and I manage the new text for my convenience.
Too easy?
Anyway, whatever you will do I’ll surely get the Scrivener app!
First, I just wanted to thank you for this program. I only found it last week, and I’m already in love, and even though I don’t yet have an iPad (though I should get one in the next few months provided all goes well financially), I made a forum account just so I could post what I’d most like to see in an iPad version.
My biggest want is split screen support. I’m only on Day 4 of my trial for Scrivener, and I’m already convinced I’m going to buy it once the trial runs out because I love it so much, and the main reason for that is being able to split the screen and have two aspects of my project on my screen at the same time. I divide my project by chapters and then have a folder for individual scenes per chapter. The folder contains in-depth synopses of the different scenes, synopses that are too long to go on the corkboard cards. This way, I can have my synopsis on one half of the screen right where I’ll see it and will remember exactly what I want to do with it while I actually flesh it out on the other half of the screen. I know that sounds lazy, but my memory is literally so bad I would forget what I want to do with the scene between tabbing from one window to the next. Thus: split screen support is essential for me. Storyist has it, so I’m sure Scrivener can make it work too (granted, Storyist doesn’t also have a binder to make room for, but I still think it’s doable).
Secondary wants:
[] Dropbox syncing support like others have been saying. Since I use the Windows version of Scrivener, I don’t think syncing between program versions is possible for me, so Dropbox syncing is the next best thing.
[] External keyboard support - I don’t know if this is even an issue as, like I said, I don’t have an iPad just yet. But when I do get one, I’m going to have to get one of those external keyboards. I hate touch screen keyboards, so if there’s a way to have the program acknowledge an external so the on-screen one doesn’t appear and get in the way, that would be great.
That’s pretty much it. Split screen is most important with the binder on the side like in the full version.
I’ve been using scrivener since i bought a mac for that sole purpose in 2009. I own an ipad since it was first released and soon begun using it for writing text, as i’m always on the move. In terms of ubiquity, simplenote was the only serious choice for a year or so. But not a single app back in 2010 was really convenient to use on the ipad.
Before this announcement, we were left with little hope of a scrivener version for tablets and many made up their own workflow (mine included editing the scriv file and having a daemon sync back and forth to dropbox), untill the 3 flavors of sync were introduced with scrivener 2. In the meantime and since, i’ve tried all apps on the appstore and their mother’s, and settled on IAwriter and Daedalus. Those two apps, especially Daedalus, totally succeed in the one most important task for a tablet writer : enable you to forget about the touch keyboard and write fast, in an unecumbered environement. Both are writing-focused, no primordial editing function is further than one touch away, and i won’t use a tool that’s does not succeed as well as daedalus in this respect. I come from a Vi/Vim background, soft which i still use on a regular basis and the thing that struck me lately is that apps on tablets have to be modal. IDE’s don’t thrive in that ecosystem.
If i had a requirement for scrivener on a tablet, it would be that : modes. And each mode / app doing its best to focus on what it does. I could live with a coarkboard app, a scrivenings app, etc… All enabling me to access a project stored in the cloud somewhere (icloud, dropbox, sugarsync, whatever).
The second thing, which the ipad writing apps in general totally lack is some flavor of version control. That’s been a very strong scrivener feature for a long time now (and a big sell for me at first). I wish i could dispense from setting up GIT repositories in all the ipad text-writing dedicated folders in my dropbox account, with a bloody daemon watching for modified files and autocommiting them on the fly. Even if there isn’t a problem in my workflow that cant be solved with the ubiquitous external folder sync feature.
Anyway, i totally trust you and your extended team with the developement of the tablet version, as you’re doing such a great job with this unique piece of software. Can’t wait to get my hand on them ! And i will buy the litt&latte apps anyway
Save. Save. Save.
I use QuickOffice, PlainText, DropBox, and Notes, across mac laptops, iPads, and an iPhone, and not being able to save files, at will, is my biggest complaint. I know this seems silly, but this is only basic function that none of the currently available options offer.
Can’t wait to see what you deliver!
Sync through Dropbox so that I don’t even know it’s happening.
The binder. Ie, be able to replicate a project from the computer to the iPad.
The three views: index cards, outline, document.
Full-screen view.
Allow annotations, highlights & (if possible) comments. If comments are too hard to implement, annotations and comments would be fine.
If possible, have it work on iPad 1. I will buy another for it if that’s the best way for your to do these things. But, obviously, I would rather put my coin elsewhere.
Things like txt, as opposed to rtf or some other, are no issue for me. I don’t care. It would be nifty if it could “read” pdfs the way Goodreader does, however.
Thank you for doing this. The worst thing about the iPad has been being “Scrivener-less.”
My needs are simple, and relatively similar to those of many others.
I need it to sync easily, presumably over Dropbox or ICloud. I understand the difficulties in opening one project across multiple computers over Dropbox - but for Scrivener on Ipad to be at its best, it needs to be able to edit a project which hasn’t been closed on another machine. I’ll live with closing a project on the machine then opening it on the ipad if I must, but it would take some of the value out of it.
I need it to load a whole scrivener project, presumably showing the binder or something like it, and then to be able to add/edit individual files.
I don’t need any bells and whistles. It doesn’t need to print/compile, I don’t need real rich text formatting (although I’d like it).
There’s nothing wrong with releasing something fairly minimalistic but bare-bones, then updating it over time. I’ll happily pay full price now for basic but reliable functionality.
We totally agree, and this is one of the challenges ahead, although we have some good ideas on how to address this. But for myself, I’m always picking up my iPhone and making notes (using External Folder Sync) while the project is still open on my computer, so it’s important that the iOS version supports this behaviour, and we’re determined to make this work.
As long as it’s functional. We’re a long way from that stage yet!
I think DJ’s getting tired of me on twitter, so I thought I’d move my campaign here. Plus, my demands for mocha and cookies (fine, ‘biscuits!’) were meeting with less than positive results.
If we could but dream at this stage in what is surely the second or umpteenth phase of actual development work, when no matter what demands are made on the project are of little relevance because no sane developer is starting over again, I’d offer my late suggestion that it would be swell if the mobile platform version (iPad ideally, though I’d understand if you were aiming for a larger market) be able to do the following:
sync. smoothly, seamlessly, and without any fuss or question of whether my changes are going to trash my desktop version. Maybe let me set one as the default (if in doubt, the version on this platform is sacrosanct). But let me sync, and let me do it in such a way that visually, the files are in the same order I left them in.
edit. What good is any of it if I can’t add that missing line while revising, or tweak my draft while motor skiing across the lake?
kitchen sink. Sure, we’d all love to be able to work with the cork board (which I think was actually mentioned in a blog post about the beta, so there you go), or the binder, or outliner mode (mmmmmm), but ultimately we use scrivener to write and create stories. The closer the mobile version is functionally to the desktop version, the happier folks will be, but being able to sync and edit should, IMHO, be the starting point. Plus, it will save me tons of cash on trying different apps as I look for the right combination on my iPad. Like another poster said - I think a lot of us would happily pay full price now for a minimally functional tool with the knowledge that it will get updates over time that will improve it.
And we love you guys and gals. No, really. Like, share my coffee with you kind of love.
I’ve seen no sign of my promised cookies or mocha, so no, no respect. Not in the morning, anyway. :mrgreen: (I have no idea what “mrgreen” symbolizes beside the huge grin. I just like it.)
We’re a long way from that stage yet!