Using Scrivener with Dropbox

[pippa6161]

hi, I have an iMac, an iPhone and an iPad. I have Scrivener downloaded on my iMac and I have been using it for a week or so. In the ad I saw for Scrivener before i purchased it, it said that buying Scrivener would give me access to the software on all three of my Apple devices. My problem is that I have spent two days trying to download the Scrivener software onto my iPhone and my iPad and it won't download unless i purchase it again.
My real question is - do i have to buy it three times for each device and if so - that is a complete rip off - and not what they said in the ad.
I just want my one subscription to cover my three devices as said in the ad and for all three of them to sync. Is this possible?

[pippa6161]

Hi Mark - thank you so much - that was so kind of you to send me all that info. I have drop box as an app on my iMac now and i managed to save my novel in the folder Scrivener in dropbox. But turning to the ipad now - i have the drop box app on their now, but I cannot get Scrivener app on the ipad without paying for it again. Every time i read anything about Scrivener it says i can have the software on all three of my Apple devices but every time i try and down load it on my ipad or iphone it wants another €20 from me. This is where I am stuck. Surely if i have paid €50 for the software i don't have to pay for it again for both my phone and my ipad do I ?

[Kinsey]

Scrivener for iOS is a separate purchase from the Mac app that you have already bought. Once purchased, it can be used on both your iPhone and iPad. It's worth remembering that this is not a subscription, but a one time purchase. Scrivener 2 on the Mac had at least 7 years of free updates, and on iOS has been maintained and updated for free for the past two years (I think – I forget exactly when it was launched). Well worth the investment in my opinion.

[pippa6161]

Damn - you are all right. I never realised MacOS was different to iOS. So i have now paid another subscription for my ipad and will see if i can sort it all. Hopefully I will get it all to sync ok through dropbox so fingers crossed.

[JimRac]

ETA: Pippa - Never mind my post below, as you seem to have sorted it. But you keeping saying "subscription". To be clear, Scrivener is *not* subscription based.

In the ad I saw for Scrivener before i purchased it, it said that buying Scrivener would give me access to the software on all three of my Apple devices. My problem is that I have spent two days trying to download the Scrivener software onto my iPhone and my iPad and it won't download unless i purchase it again.
My real question is - do i have to buy it three times for each device and if so - that is a complete rip off - and not what they said in the ad.
I just want my one subscription to cover my three devices as said in the ad and for all three of them to sync. Is this possible?

Hi Pippa,

I don't believe that was an ad for Scrivener by Literature & Latte, as they have *never* charged a subscription. Could you please provide a link or snapshot to the ad?

L&L's website is very clear that each platform is a separate purchase: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener?tab=iOS

As others have mentioned, if you like Scrivener for Mac, then you'll find Scrivener for iPad/iPhone is a lighter version of the software--less functionality--but extremely capable, and well worth it if you like to work cross platform.

[pippa6161]

The 'subscription' i was talking about was the product key. And as i said, i never realised Mac was different to iOS so i was upset i had to buy it twice. But its done now and i have Scrivener both on my Mac and my iPad.

I have also got Dropbox on both.

To risk annoying anyone with my simple brain ........ I am now stuck on how to sync and work with my project via dropbox. I have just read the tutorial on syncing to dropbox and its telling me to copy and move the work out of dropbox before working on it and it all sounds terrifying to be honest. Any advice that once i have managed to get everything syncing via dropbox, how to actually work on the documents and not lose all my work?

[kewms]

There's a thorough guide to setting up Dropbox synchronization for iOS Scrivener here:
https://scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb ... g-with-ios

If you still have questions after reading that, you might want to start another thread. This one is long enough that things tend to get buried. Please note also that this thread started before iOS Scrivener existed, so much of what it has to say is not applicable to your situation.

Katherine

[Helena Halme]

I'm trying to sync Scrivener 2 with my iPad via Dropbox and have got as far as getting the draft onto my Scrivener on the iPad, but I get a notification ‘Invalid project. The project has not a correct binder structure files' (I use Novel format). I’ve looked at the Package settings, and they seem to be correct. Files, Setting and so on with Capital F and S.
When I see the project on my iPad, it looks as if each folder is a separate project, so there must be something wrong with the original project on my Mac? It works fine there, and I am using the save as function to get it over to Dropbox. I am not able to sync any other projects even though I use the save as function to Apps/Scrivener as before.

Help, I'm at my wits end.

[kewms]

What version of Mac Scrivener do you have? The Scrivener -> About Scrivener command will tell you.

Only versions 2.8 and newer support synchronization with iOS Scrivener.

If that doesn't help, there's a troubleshooting guide for iOS synchronization here:
https://scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb ... os-syncing

And a thorough setup guide for synchronization here:
https://scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb ... g-with-ios

Katherine

[pippa6161]

I am really struggling with this. I am not stupid but I seem to be with all this. I actually do not understand what to do. Can anyone take me through a step by step guide for morons to sync between iMac, iPad and Dropbox. I'm just not getting how to do it.

[kewms]

I am really struggling with this. I am not stupid but I seem to be with all this. I actually do not understand what to do. Can anyone take me through a step by step guide for morons to sync between iMac, iPad and Dropbox. I'm just not getting how to do it.

Please look at the setup and troubleshooting guides linked in the post immediately above yours. If that doesn't help, please either start a new thread or email our support address and explain what you have tried and what is happening.

To contact our support team:
http://www.literatureandlatte.com/contact-us

Katherine

[Lewis-H]

If you haven't already, install the Dropbox app onto your Mac and let it put all the files in your Dropbox into your Dropbox folder on your Mac.
Quit Scrivener.
MOVE YOUR PROJECT to the folder inside your Mac Dropbox folder that you've told iOS Scrivener to sync to.

[rdale]

I think this is worth mentioning: The dropbox app on your iOS devices is completely superfluous. The iOS version of Scrivener had to build in access to dropbox, so it doesn't need or use the Dropbox app on your iphone or iPad. You can certainly have it installed, but the iOS dropbox app is not how you sync your iOS Scrivener to dropbox.

The Mac is completely different. It does not have built-in code to talk to dropbox.com. Instead, you have to install the Mac dropbox app, which creates the dropbox folder on your Mac. The Drobox app then monitors that folder for changes and syncronizes them with the dropbox.com servers. The dropbox.com servers are the middle-men between each of your devices.

If you have your iOS Scrivener app configured to sync with dropbox, that should create a folder for Scrivener that will appear on your Mac (via the Finder) inside the Dropbox folder. That's where you'll want to access projects that sync between Mac & iOS devices.