SmartEdit Writer (Formally Atomic Scribbler) is the closest you’re going to get as it purposely set out to emulate the scrivener workflow experience. It doesn’t have a lot of the advanced features Scrivener does though (but has some unique ones of its own).
Outside of that, there really isn’t much competition for Scrivener which is probably part of the problem. Right now Scrivener’s workflow just makes so much sense over Word/Docs for lengthy projects like a novel and tools like text-to-speech are useful for self-editing.
But who knows what will happen in a year or two; maybe SmartEdit Writer or something else will be a viable alternative. Heaven knows that’s about when we’ll be seeing Scrivener 3 fully released on Windows anyway.
Please be careful with the antecedents to pronouns like “they.” Most of the people commenting in these threads are not Literature & Latte employees, and represent no views other than their own. It certainly is not an official position of Literature & Latte that people frustrated with any version of Scrivener are frustrated or failed writers!
You’re right and I stand corrected. I never ever intended to convey that it ever was the official position of Literature & Latte. I apologise if anyone ever thought I intended to say so.
In all fairness to SmartEdit Writer, I don’t think it set out to emulate Scrivener. SmartEdit started out as Page Four, which was developed at around the same time as I was developing Scrivener. (I believe I even got the name “Snapshots” from Page Four back in the early days, in fact, even though the feature worked quite differently.) It’s been in development as long as Scrivener for Mac and is just trying to solve many of the same problems, so inevitably there is some similarity here and there. The developer is a very nice chap too.
Not good alternatives. Qt is a very stable and mature platform with long term viability. Targeting Win32 with Qt on top will lead to a very snappy and efficient application, which is good for both UI responsiveness and power consumption (for laptop use and the like).
I would not. And especially not those two. They’re both locked into .NET, meaning they require more computing power (thus also battery power) and memory, and they’re both subject to rapid change. WinForms is deprecated, and WPF is a mess to do complicated layouts like Scrivener has in.
C# does have the QtSharp library, allowing development of Qt applications in C#, but it’s still a CLR locked language with unnecessary overhead.
And the only real gain from using C# over C++ is getting a managed language. That’s only a library away in C++ if that’s what’s going to make the difference. But it’s not.
Xamarin is a flavor of the month. I would not lock myself into using that for a long term project.
That is highly subjective, and a function of how well versed you are with C++ vs C#. And it also depends highly on the coding standard followed. I have worked with C# code which left me crying, and with C++ code which is a marvel to read.
In summary, working with C++ and Qt has a few significant long term advantages. The application will be small and lean, and very efficient. There is no lock-in into anything but the standard Win32 libraries, making the application both future proof and portable (to Wine and the like), and very easy to run on any Windows or Windows-like system. And Qt is here to stay - but more importantly, if it’s not, and development of it were to die, the source is available and it can be maintained indefinitely. .NET may look alluring, but it’s not a good fit for an application that is intended to be around for decades. The long term maintenance burden is horrid.
Just want to say that I have been using the new Windows Beta parallel to the old Scrivener for Windows with some documents for quite a while. There is a difference between the two. This is a major overhaul and I’m glad that us Windows users will be able to use so many new features to keep us organized. Try using beta for a while as there is a learning curve. I suspect that some people will be asking for the old Scrivener when they don’t understand a new feature in 3.0.
It is impossible to please everybody!
I love the old Scrivener too. It has been my best writing friend for many years. I have no problem using it a bit longer. I am often surprised by how little the average user knows about all the features that are in it. They only look at what is “shiny new” without understanding the whole package.
I agree wholeheartedly, although I’ve been using the Beta exclusively since v7. I’ve been going back to 1.9+ to check on the activation issues. You know, just in case there’s a burp. I can produce meaningful output in either version.
To tell the truth, I quite like revisiting the v1.9 interface, but time and software moves on, and I’m antique enough as it is. I won’t be going back to it since “graduating” to the new version.
Telling us we are failures as writers because we dare to question the delayed release of a version that has been promised for two years is a sign of a toxic environment and cult thinking. Reading these posts is making me regret my purchase of Scrivener. Methinks it may be time to move to Google Docs. I can use my terrible writing skills to explain why I know longer use Scrivener!
I and others suggested that you have a perfectly fine (much better than Google docs) writing environment in 1.9 and time spent bitching by some could be productively used actually writing.
No toxic environment and if you check, the only pushback was for those who attacked L&L and their staff. Those who politely expressed disappointment, but understood reality (myself included) were not pushed back against.
If you look at the overwhelming content of the L&L forums you will find friendly, polite, helpful discourse with Mac and Win users helping each other freely.
I’ve said it before, storming off to use a markedly inferior (for the type of writing Scrivener is designed for) product to prove a point is a bit of ‘cutting off nose to spite face’.
As for making threats of using your ‘writing skills’ to tell everyone why you left Scrivener, isn’t that sinking to the same or even greater depths you accuse forum members of??? You’re threatening to harm Scrivener because your feelings were hurt by some blunt talk. (NOT by L&L staff, I should emphasise)
Did you read this thread at all? Or do you just willingly turn a blind eye to your compatriots and their jibes at people? This is just from this thread. There is other crap just like this in other threads.
I swear, sometimes it’s like wandering into a cult here.
“But don’t blame your failure as a writer on Scrivener”
Checked back and yes, missed a couple of such comments. Looking at one in particular seemed the poster being referred to was claiming they couldn’t write due to the delay in V3 where they had 1.9, so the comment was somewhat BS. The poster was being called on that, perhaps a bit harshly, however it was accurate to the extent, they could write, and claiming they couldn’t seemed an excuse for innaction.
It did seem another might have committed ‘production’ work to V3 in anticipation of release despite L&L warning not to use beta for that (not to mention common sense).
So, despite those two, still no sign of claimed trolls or any poor culture.
Your reply ignored my point about the overwhelming supportive culture in all boards. You pointed out I missed a couple of posts you feel prove your point, you seem to be missing or dismissing thousands that disprove it.
My closing point remains, you were threatening to go to an inferior solution and more importantly and patently nasty, attack L&L’s business just because your nose was out of joint by a few people who called out the attacks on L&L and their staff.
Perhaps one of the “guilty” parties here, but I’ve been using the new beta since 7. Have I ever used ALL of any versions of Scrivener’s features? NO! I do not.
I use Send To Kindle to proof multiple times on a tablet and a phone. These proofing files are compiled by Scrivener into a .doc for upload using Send To Kindle. Nothing easier than that.
Perhaps my reasoning is skewed, but I write like the devil himself. I compile the edited draft in the current Scrivener Beta to text for the final version. I load the .txt file into Word, and subsequently use Word’s Styles feature and a personalized template for everything. The final product is saved as a .doc and a .docx file for upload in those formats for Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and on and on.
Slam. Bam. Bob’s yer unkle. Done. So yeah, when some start complaining about how it doesn’t do this and won’t do that, I take exception.
No, I don’t compile to all the marvelous outputs that Scrivener users admire. I don’t need them.**
** Others might, for whatever reason. Good luck if you do, because it seems like an awful lot of extra work.
So while I may get a little cranky at the differences of opinion, I keep on writing, editing, uploading, and starting new work. Know why? Because the Scrivener SOFTWARE. JUST. WORKS.
Just on this point, and on this point alone, what’s going on in some of these threads is not, in my experience over the last several years, typical of these forums. To me, it’s like wandering into the postgame discussion after a round of 5th-grade dodgeball: “You cheated!” “You threw at my head on purpose!” “Your sister is ugly!” “It takes one to know one!”
Some of these threads complaining about the delay of Scrivener Windows 3 started out fairly reasonably; some of them started out aggressive and hostile. Some of the responses from long-time users who are, yes, loyal to an excellent product and even sometimes defensive of its hardworking and honest creators, have gotten obnoxious.
For those who may be discouraged about whether anything useful ever happens here, I really would encourage you to dip into a couple of threads responding to requests for help in using the software. I think you’ll find a much healthier and less culty or dodgeballish environment. We do occasionally get things right around here!
Inferring that disappointed people willing to express their disappointment are “crybabies” isn’t necessary.
That aside, you are of course correct. We would rather have disappointed folks over the calendar date than disappointment over releasing incomplete (not even just with many known bugs) software. So we’re avoiding the second much larger problem, and we’ll be avoiding the first problem as well, going forward. The community will know when the software is ready, not when we think it will be.
You’re right amber, it doesn’t match to all critics here, but sometimes i can’t take forums seriously enough anymore. to attack the programmers does not help anyone, tough.
Of course. History doesn’t exist for some people, and this is the only thread ever that anyone has read so you can dismiss their opinion on just how toxic some people are here. I’ve seen it in past visits as well, and no, I’m not bothering to cast about for samples for you. You won’t care, and you’ll simply attempt to justify them anyway.
Because I come to the forums from time to time looking for news on WinV3 and pop in infrequently except for this past month, when I finally had to register and speak my piece. Ergo, this is where I am. I do not have the time or the need to park myself in the forums here, so my observation is based on this. I recall reading one post here at some point - by a Mac user, of all people - pointing out the toxicity in these forums from a certain group of people. At least they had the stones to acknowledge it actually happens.
I threatened no such thing and have not once attacked L&L’s business. I happily use Scrivener and have since…I can’t recall exactly when, but it was perhaps six months or so after the Win version came out. I currently (and happily) use whichever beta version is on the block, although the incompatibility between them is slightly annoying. Two days ago, someone asked me what I used for my writing projects. Without hesitation, I blurted out “Scrivener!” and then spent some time helping them get into it - one reason for which was so they didn’t have to come here - because I think it is a fine tool indeed.
As a business owner myself, however, I recognize that there are people in this forum doing no favors whatsoever for L&L, who make a product I would love for them to make oodles of money on so they can continue to develop it.
get a little cranky at the differences of opinion, I keep on writing, editing, uploading, and starting new work. Know why? Because the Scrivener SOFTWARE. JUST. WORKS.