I’m trying out the Linux beta and want to be able to share files with Scrivener for Mac, through Dropbox. I can’t open files from the Mac on the Linux version, as they appear as directories and files, not as a single package. I can’t open files from the Linux version on the Mac - Scrivener says: “No valid Scrivener 1.x project could be found at the specified path.” Is there any way around these problems?
There’s no such thing as a “package” in the Linux world, as far as I know. Of course a package is really nothing more than a directory disguised to look as a file, so a Scrivener “document” in Linux is just a directory anyhow. At least that’s my understanding…
I would advise caution. I once tried to open Mac Scrivener files using the Linux beta software, and it wouldn’t open most of them properly – and it corrupted some of them. I eventually managed to recover everything, but it was a big hassle. Be sure and make a copy or backup before even trying this.
I hope the Linux version will eventually be finished and be completely compatible, but it isn’t there yet AFAIK.
I have done this, plenty of times. In particular, all through NaNoWriMo last year I was bouncing back and forth between the Mac version at home and the Linux version on my netbook at the various group writing sessions in my city.
Things you need to know:
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If you’re having trouble opening a Mac-created .scriv file in the Linux version, because it appears as a directory rather than a file, look inside it, and open the .scrivx file within instead. That generally works fine.
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Be prepared for your word count to possibly be a little wonky. It seemed to me that the Linux version didn’t always pay attention when I indicated that some documents weren’t to be included in the compile… Although I’ve only just now downloaded the newest version of the Linux Scrivener, so that may be fixed now.
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Copying a Scrivener project that you’ve made changes to back to the Mac version can sometimes cause problems (or at least, could as of last year). What I usually ended up doing was just noting which documents within it I’d worked on while working in the Linux version, and then copied those individually over to the Mac version, rather than allowing the entire project to replace the Mac version. I basically decided that the Mac version of my project would be the canonical one, and each time I went back to the Mac after working on Linux, I’d save the version I copied over the netbook under a different name, open it up alongside the original, and then just copy and paste the scenes I’d changed. However, if the newer version of Scrivener for Linux has gotten less buggy, this may no longer be necessary.
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All of the above works best if you remember to always close the project before making a copy of it. Otherwise you get a warning message about having it open on multiple computers at the same time.
Anyway, I know the above probably sounds like a nuisance, and it is a bit, but once you get used the routine, it becomes pretty automatic…
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but the Linux version has had some significant upgrades since the last reply and am wondering if it’s gotten to the point where sharing Scrivener projects is now seamless and trouble-free between the Mac and Linux versions?
Wade.
Sorry, no. See my bug report on the current beta in the pinnes Beta Release thread (somewhere among the last posts).
Haven’t tried to copy individual documents, though – thanks for that tip.
Update:
Copying individual documents doesn’t do the trick. they are still not parsed under Mac.
BUT “Export Files” on LINUX and “Import” on Mac works. Even there errors might occur if exporting to .rtf format (id est, in fact copying the files), but up to now, converting into .odt and importing those odts into an existing project on Scriv/Mac works fine.
I’m running raring cinnamon on an Acer C720 and I had no problem opening the save file from my macbook. Easy peasy 