Syncing Scrivener to PlainText

As I am now using my ClamCase Pro keyboard and iPad full time as my portable writers desk, I have been working on finding a solution that will complete the loop of writing between my iPad and MacBook Pro. When I first received the ClamCase Pro, I was using a multipart system, using the PlainText app on my iPad to write, then using Notational Velocity on my Macbook to sync with my PlainText documents and finally, moving the files over to Scrivener on my Mac where I organize all my writing. It was a reliable system thanks to Dropbox, and it worked, but it was only a one way street. It was a great way for me to import documents I wrote on my iPad back to my Mac, but I could not call up existing files sitting in my Scrivener project back to my iPad to be completed. I suddenly realized that my ClamCase Pro was so powerful that I did not need the crutch of my Mac to assist my writing, instead what I needed was complete access to my Scrivener project files in an infinite loop between my Mac, Dropbox, and iPad, then back to the Mac.

So, I started looking into alternatives for how to Sync my Scrivener folder with my iPad, because ultimately that is what I want and need. I do love Scrivener because its organizational ability is outstanding and if it had an iPad app that mirrored my Mac and my iPad that would be ideal! Sadly, it does not currently as I am writing this, perhaps in the future it may, but I won't hold my breathe in the meantime. Scrivener does, however, sync to Dropbox, also to a few iOS apps, and has built in functionality to work with SimpleNote- but I don't use SimpleNote. I know many people like it, but once I found PlainText I was in love and really don't want to keep switching around between iOS apps.

Luckily, in my research I did find a way to make my Scrivener/PlainText relationship work. Scrivener has an option to “Sync to Folder.” This option allows the user to sync all or some of the files in your Scrivener project to a specific folder and if I were to sync to my PlainText folder within Dropbox, well then, that may actually solve all my problems! So, I gave it a try and I am glad to say it actually works! On the iPad's end, its not the prettiest sight, but the files did show up in the order they appear in my Scrivener file, so I am now able to reference back to previous articles or in progress works between my iPad and Mac. If I create new documents on my iPad, it syncs those back as well and although they fall into a catchall folder, all I need to do is drop them in the correct place to remain organized (upon syncing Scrivener the document then falls into the correct order on my iPad.)

Step-By-Step Guide to Syncing Scrivener with PlainText on the iPad

Step 1: Make sure all your connections are in place. In order for this to work, you need to be syncing PlainText to DropBox. This means your PlainText Files are actually stored in your DropBox file. Even if you do not sync your PlainText across numerous devices, this is necessary. Simply open the system preferences (the cog wheel) within PlainText and use the DropBox option to sync to your DropBox account. You can verify that this has happened by opening up your DropBox folder and seeing the PlainText folder inside. If you open this folder it will show plain text documents of any documents you have created within the app. I suggest creating a folder called “Scrivener” or some equivalent within the PlainText folder so that you have your Scrivener documents separated from your other PlainText documents.

Step 2: Select the Scrivener project you would like to sync. With this process you can only sync one .scriv file at a time to your PlainText, so open up the project of your choice. Give it a once over and make sure that all your text documents and folders are organized the way you want them. This will dictate the order in which the files will appear in your PlainText folder.

Step 3: Getting to the Sync with External Folder Option. From your File Menu hover over the Sync option and then choose with External Folder. See image for details.

Navigate to the Sync with External Folder option from the File menu.

Step 4: Set up your External Folder Options.Within the dialog box that appears, you must first choose the shared folder you would like to sync to. In this option you are going to navigate to your DropBox folder and open the PlainText file that you have stored there and finally select the “Scrivener” file you created in Step 1. By doing this you will have a separate space for your Scrivener documents, which will come in handy for organizing all your PlainText documents. Once your shared folder is selected, I recommend using the settings I have selected as illustrated in the below image. If you are using PlainText you need to make sure your files are formatted as Plain Text files instead of the default Rich Text.

Choose your options in the Sync with External Folder dialog box.

Step 5: Sync. Once everything is set properly, you can select the Sync option. Once the sync is complete you should be able to turn on your iPad, open PlainText and see a new folder called Scrivener organized amongst your documents. If you navigate into this folder you will then seen a subfolder called Drafts and another called Notes. Open the Drafts folder to see your Scrivener writing project laid out in the order in which they appear in your Scrivener file. Folders will be empty documents (this is for organization) but text documents will show content so long as their had been content in the files on your computer.

Upon Syncing you will find the Scrivener file among your other files and folders in PlainText.

Navigate through the files Scrivener > Drafts until you come to your Scrivener files organized in their original order.

Now you are free to continue writing and editing your Scrivener project on your iPad. PlainText automatically syncs back to your DropBox folder when changed are made to your documents so the next time you open your Scrivener project on your computer it will ask you to sync and it will import all the changes made through your iPad. Because your iPad does have complete control over your Scrivener file, I suggest that you keep your project backed up in case you delete something important from your iPad. The Automatic back up options are found in the File Tab under Back Up for your reference.

If you enjoyed this post, I suggest also reading my previous article on How I use Scrivener to Organize my writing for a short overview on organizing files within Scrivener. Enjoy!

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