Can I send it to you directly instead of post it here?
Of course! There is a “PM” button in the left sidebar below my avatar. Or if you prefer, you can send it to our support address.
Done. Thanks!
Thanks, I’ve had a look at the data and I’m not seeing what you are. When I search for an asterisk in the Project Search tool I get 19 results, each of which has at least one keyword assigned.
If I change the search mode to “All” from “Keywords” then I get 38 items. I click on the binder sidebar header bar to load all 38 results into the outliner, and then sort by the Keywords column in the outliner (so as to group up all of the items with keywords) and select them, then press ⌥⌘O to open this selection into the current editor as a multiple selection, the footer bar reads 19 items—the same as when I search for all items with keywords.
To explain the attached demonstration that I returned to you:
- The binder sidebar is set to search for all items with keywords (19).
- The editor has been split horizontally:
[list][*] In the top editor is the multiple selection I created with the above described process.
- In the bottom editor is the Search Result view, obtained by activating that editor and then clicking on the binder sidebar header bar.
[/*:m][/list:u]
Ok, I think I cracked it. Seems, for some reason, the Outline mode hadn’t selected / referred to the 19 results.So, in the future would you suggest that I just click on those result and hit select all? Or is there some other approach / shortcut you’d suggest?
So, for there it seems like a good way to proceed is to save the * search as a collection, then select that * collection when compiling and proceed from there, correct? Just want to be sure I’m on the right cause before asking more questions about that… Thanks!
It won’t do that by default. Search results are primarily displayed in the binder sidebar, so you have to load them into the main editor specifically (where you can then view them using any of the editor’s view modes, such as Outliner).
That would be a handy one to save, yup. As to whether you’d want to compile that directly, that’s up to whether you want the list sorted by keywords or not. Compile will just use the collection order, which for searches will always be the binder order.
So if you want a sorted collection to compile from:
- First load your * keywords search collection into the sidebar.
- Click the binder header bar to load it into the outliner and sort by keywords.
- Select All from sorted outliner, and use the Documents ▸ Add to Collection ▸ New Collection menu command.
The neat thing here is that Scrivener uses the sorted selection to populate the new collection list. From there you can fine tune the sorting by hand and then compile that collection.
Going forward, you could manually keep this collection up to date with new documents, or regenerate it from scratch using the above checklist (only instead of creating a new collection in the third step, reuse the existing one). Which approach to take will depend on how much effort you put into fine tuning it.
Thanks very much for your help with this. I think I follow what you’re suggesting, but you lost me on your suggested approach in the last paragraph. Can you explain a bit more what you mean? I’d certainly like for the collection to regenerate, but I’m not clear on the fine tuning I’d have to do to enable the kind of recurring Keyword organization. Thanks again!
Sorry, I’m not quite sure what point you’re asking for clarification on. 
If there is some confusion over the word “regenerate”, that is simply shorthand for redoing the three-point checklist at a future date.
No problem. I guess what I’m wondering is if I can just use the same * for a Keywords collections (which I can save as “Keywords Collections”), and then select those files in the binder, and then just Compile that collection – as opposed to re-do the whole three part process / checklist.
Thanks!
Yes, that is the question I was answering in the previous post:
Ok, I think I follow… So then how would you advise me to compile from there? Just got to Compile and just select Current Selection? Or are there other steps you’d suggest that ensure that I’m able to compile with the Keywords organized in the way that I’ve set them up in the Outline, i.e, in descending alphabetical order?
Also, right now I’ve only attached one label to text files (I’m trying to do this in small steps), but I assume there’s a way to organize the Compile so that the label shows up in the Keyword organization. Is there something I need to do in the Formatting section of Compile to make that happen?
Finally, would you suggest a particular file format to make it easier to read and navigate the file? Thanks again!
By the way, I’ve tried to follow the steps you outlined in this post to figure out how to Compile drafts with the Keywords organized in the way that I’ve set them up in the Outline, i.e, in descending alphabetical order. But so far I haven’t had luck; none of my selections have produced Keyword or Label headers. I’m sure I’ve overlooking some crucial steps – both in the Formatting and Section Layout sections in Compile. Please advise when you can… Thanks!
Also, as I said, I’m happy to user any other file format to achieve these results I’m seeking. Thanks again…
That’s one way to do it, if the outliner sorting is satisfactory.
That’s the kind of thing that you’re going to want to experiment with yourself. I couldn’t tell you which format is going to be most pleasing/efficient for you to work with. 
For myself, I’d use MultiMarkdown, but that’s because I have whole workflows built around that.
As for printing keyword and label information, it would be easier if you posted what you are trying to do, as a sequence of steps and descriptions of your settings. Keep in mind my earlier advice, that when you are compiling via a collection or selection, everything will be on “Level 1”, so your Formatting pane needs to have these things applied to level one.
The Outliner sorting is fine, but I still haven’t yet figured out to use it for the desired output format that I’m seeking.
Thanks. I thought you had suggested Excel – just as a format that would better organize and group the selection of notes by Keywords & Labels. I’m open to any format – esp. one that generally enables me to organize and navigate through the document efficiently (e.g., with disclosure triangles that enable me to collapse and reveal notes – if that’s even possible). Is there a file format that you feel would serve me best in that way?
Fair enough. Here’s what I’ve done, based on your suggestions in our exchange…
- I’ve saved a Collection in which I’ve selected an " * " for Search, then selected Search In->Keywords ; Operator->Exac Phrase ; Options->Search “Included” Documents & Search “Excluded” Documents and then I saved it as “Keywords” Collection;
- I select the “Keywords” Collection
- Select all of the text files in the “Keywords” Collection in the binder
- Select View->Outliner
- Click on the Keywords column to sort in descending order – A - Z
- Click on Compile, which now show “Current Selection”
- I click on Formatting (under compile) but…that upends the Outliner set up
- Right now, all of the boxes are check for the first Level 1 row (the folder), and
- Under Formatting->Section Layout…->Title Prefix and Suffix->[in the Prefix box, I’ve typed: <$keyword> ]
So, that’s what I’ve done before hitting the Compile button. What should I do differently to make it sort by Keywords, and to show the Labels for each text selections?
Thanks again!
Sure, that’s what I mean by you having to experiment though. I can’t tell you whether exporting a CSV file is going to be better for you than this approach of compiling a linear text document.
The end result you are looking for seems to me a description how Scrivener works, leading me to wonder why you wish to export at all. There aren’t many programs that work that way, and no compiler-based formats that would export data to them.
But that aside, as for your checklist:
Ah, so at this point your selection is the list of stuff in the binder sidebar right—the one that isn’t sorted? Try selecting the sorted list in the outliner instead.
You can type whatever you want into the prefix/suffix fields. If you want just then that is what you’d type. If you want both <keywords> and <$label> then you’d type in both.
Understood, thanks. Just thought there might be one or two in particular that you felt were esp. well-suited for my needs. That’s all. Anyway, I get your point, and thank you.
I appreciate your point. In short, I maintain the Scrivner project for my own internal use, but am also trying to share a document that my colleagues can use. That’s all.
I just sent you a direct message with a link to a QuickTime movie that I just recorded, and that shows my step-by-step process – so that you can see what I’m doing, just to ensure I’ve properly explained my process. I hope it’s helpful for solving all of this. Please let me know if I can provide you with any additional info. Thanks so much again.
Thanks for the video detailing your process.
So around 1:35 we have exactly what I cautioned against above:
You are selecting the binder contents (and by the way, it’s easier and clearer I think to just click the header bar above the list of items to open the collection in the editor, but that’s a side point), sorting the outliner, and then going straight to compile. That means you “Current Selection” is the unsorted list in the binder sidebar. If you want to compile a sorted selection, then you must select that which is sorted, in the outliner. Scrivener has no clue what you mean to be doing here with the outliner, you have to be very blunt with it.
Moving on to compile settings: I can see what you have set up for folders, but since your compile group doesn’t include any folders in it (that I saw anyway), nothing will be using these settings. You probably want the same settings for all of the icon types, for this kind of report. Note there is a shortcut: you can Copy and Paste settings in the Formatting pane by selecting the row, pressing ⌘C and then selecting another row and pressing ⌘V.
Ok, I got it now! Thanks! So, I’m selecting my KEYWORDS Collection, then select Outliner, click on the Keywords column so that it’s organizing notes in descending order (i.e., from A - Z), then I’m selecting all of the notes in the Outliner pane, and then clicking on Compile…whereupon I should first see Contents and “Current Selection” selected. Correct?
I’m afraid you lost me here… I’m sorry, but could you walk me through the particular steps you’re suggesting? I’ve tried various kinds of set ups in the Formatting pane(s), but nothing seems to produce the desired effect of creating a compiled file that’s organized by Keywords, and showing the Labels, per each selected text section. I’m happy to send you another QuickTime movie if that’s helpful, but I feel like I’m overlooking some basic steps here…
Sorry about this – I know we’ve been at this for a while, and I really do appreciate your help. A lot!
Thanks so much…
If the relationship between the Formatting pane and how it formats binder items is a bit arcane yet, I’d recommend reading through §24.11.1, Structure and Content Table, pg. 373 of the user manual PDF. That will go over the basics of how if you have a list of text documents to compile, you want to use the Text icon row in the Formatting pane to set up how they look (that section will go into the concept of levels as well, which you can largely ignore for flat lists like Current Selection—everything is “Level 1”). Using the Folder row will not adjust how text works.
Ok, I’ve reviewed the section in the manual you referenced, and tried applied various set up options under Formatting. So far, I haven’t had any success. The main problem it seems is just getting any Keywords – let along any labels – to show up in exports via Compile. I don’t know what I’m failing to do, but will continue to try. How would you suggest I proceed?
Thanks.