L&L typically makes a new beta version available around the time the old one expires, for the length of the beta testing period. Don’t be alarmed! 
And even if they’re late, if you keep Scrivener open all night, it’ll be fine the next morning. That having been said, it’s rare that there wasn’t a fresh beta at least a week before the expiration during the 1.0 beta phase.
You like to live on the edge. Kind of a gutsy thing to do with the beta, Make sure you’re keepin’ backups!
Absolute worst case, all files are saved as rtf files within the Scrivener project folder.
I know, but Lit ‘n’ Latte did warn folks that the initial beta was more of an alpha and major projects probably shouldn’t be converted just yet. Also I think compile isn’t fully functional? Or maybe I’m out of date with that info. Could be a stumbling block depending on your project.
The compile function isn’t fully implemented, and then there are almost certainly going to be bugs when it is. Recovering data through the tedium of finding all the .rtf files, arranging them in the right order, and importing their contents into a standard word processor is hardly an ideal way to circumvent whatever features are still missing from this not-quite-a-beta version.
During the Mac beta, I triggered a bug that caused new keywords to be replaced by older ones after assigning them to a document. I was lucky in that the interface changed the keyword immediately, instead of only changing it after selecting the document again, so I was able to spot it before I wasted a lot of my time. But that’s just one example of data that cannot be recovered by trawling through the internal structure of Scrivener–not even a backup would have helped me untangle the mass of incorrect keywords mingled with good ones. I might have had to erase thousands of keywords and then started over if the bug had been harder to spot.
Since the project was in support of a hobby, and not one that had to produce a document for someone else, I took that risk (also, new features made v3 very attractive for its use-case), but I would never have done so if I had any deadlines, or if I was trying to do anything I couldn’t live without.
I’m sure they’re doing everything they can to avoid bugs that could result in permanent data loss, but that was also true of the Mac beta, and it was far more advanced than the Windows beta is now. .In fact, I waited until last night to convert all my remaining v2 projects to the v3 format using the Mac version.
In short: I agree with Mick, and urge caution with important or time-sensitive work
With the impedning expirationof the current beta, the date of the next beta release draws nigh. That and the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket are the two things I’m most looking forward to in the next ten days.
Will you release the next beta today or should I export my project back to standard Scrivener?
It expires on the 31st. Bit early for panic stations, methinks.
That’s not possible. You can’t convert a project from Scriv 3 back to Scriv 2. Another reason why the developers suggested not using 3 for any major projects.
Hey Mick,
Jan 31 is tomorrow or are we on different calendars?
As for the rest, don’t worry, I’m not so dumb not to know that.
If you have Scrivener 3 for Mac, which uses the same format as Scrivener 3 beta for Windows, it is most certainly possible.
Beta 2 runs through the 31st, but the new beta should be up shortly, we’re just getting together the builds.
Yay!
Well. if you work cross-platform using the Windows beta is not gutsy, it’s essential. Mac has already converted the projects. The beta is the only way to work on them. In light of that it’s nerve racking to get the new beta on the very day that the previous one expires. That’s what happened last month and again, we’re only day away from zero-hour and no update in sight nor any info from L&L.
This would all be moot if they did away with expiration or set them 6-12 months in the future. I’m not exactly who or what they think they are guarding against. The biggest risk, IMHO, is making people look for alternatives, not that someone is going to steal something.
Hi Dan,
The Mac version of Scrivener 3 has an “Export as Scrivener 2 Project” Option specifically to work around this. Once the project has been exported to Scrivener 2 it can be opened and edited by the current Windows version in the same way as before. When edits are made in the Windows version, they can be updated into Scrivener 3 Mac the same as any other older project.
Since there are a number of new features and changes in Scrivener 3, moving back and forth between the two versions may not be ideal, but it should work for the time being until the new Windows version is officially released.
In the meantime the new beta has been posted. (Beta 3) - viewtopic.php?f=57&t=40621
The beta is now released. I suggest subscribing to the topic at this link so you know exactly when that happens next time:
viewtopic.php?f=57&t=40621
As for why they expire every month; you’re a beta tester of v3. They want you to try it out and provide bug reports and usability issues, but if there are 3 simultaneously viable versions out in the wild, chances are that people will be reporting on older versions. The expiration and release cycle is designed to ensure that everyone is running the same version at the same time.
They’re guarding against wasted time debugging something they already fixed, people not adopting and testing the latest release sufficiently, and tester exposure to bugs that have been resolved.
Once you’ve down-graded the project on your Mac, there’s also the ability to download v2.9, which accepts the v3 license code and is compatible with Win v1, and install it alongside v3 by renaming one of the applications (“Scrivener” to “Scriv2”, for instance). Use that until the beta becomes an official release.
@Dan - If working cross-platform is essential, then you should consider Rdale’s suggestion, as downgrading your Mac is the more efficient, less risky option.
Beta 3 is available Current: Beta 3, version 2.9.0.3. Download 64/32bit version
They’re not protecting against people stealing something by having short expiration dates.
They’re protecting users and customers from using aged, out-of-date, buggy code and corrupting their projects.
If you truly need to work cross-platform, use the Mac version to export your project back to Scrivener 2 version, then install Scrivener 2.9 (which takes your Scrivener 3 Mac license) side-by-side and use that to work with Scrivener 1.9.7.0 for Windows.