Scrivener, from Literature & Latte, is a great program for writing on a desktop or laptop computer. But there are times when it’s either inconvenient or not possible to work from either. Now almost everyone has a phone or tablet these days. That’s why Literature & Latte (L&L) decided to build Scrivener for mobile, starting with iOS.
Review
I’ve been using the iOS version for a couple months now, I was part of the first round of beta testers. All I can say is that this product works. I have had no issues with the Dropbox syncing feature, and the ability to write away from my home computer is amazing. And I don’t need an iPad to write, my iPhone works just fine. Toss in a wireless Bluetooth keyboard, and I’m all set.
I could go in depth with the features, but I won’t. Because L&L has been doing an excellent job with their blog posts on the features. I’ve got links to all of them at the end. Plus, I can’t explain everything as well.
One caveat users need to know: this isn’t the desktop version. Phones and tablets might be more powerful than the computer that landed the Apollo mission on the moon, but they do not have the power of modern desktops. There are features that are scaled back. There is a Compile feature, but it can’t do everything the desktop can. You can’t view multiple documents as one (Scrivenings Mode). The iPad display allows you to work with the Binder, while the iPhone doesn’t have enough real-estate to allow it. Those are a couple of the larger ones I’ve noticed.
As with desktop Scrivener, this product won’t be for everyone. If you are looking for a mobile document editor that has a lot of good features, you won’t go wrong with iOS Scrivener. Especially if you already use the macOS (OSX) or Windows version of Scrivener. It is an excellent addition to your toolbox.
Other tidbits
Android users, don’t despair. It has already been mentioned that L&L would like to make Scrivener for your system as well. Also, it sounds like the next major versions of macOS and Windows will have the same features. As it is, there are only a few the Windows version doesn’t have now. The future of Scrivener is looking good.
Tips
A couple tips to get you started with iOS Scrivener:
- There is a built in Tutorial Project. Read (and work) through it (in app). It is a big help.
- You can also read through an online Tutorial. I haven’t looked through most of it, so I’m not sure how much is the same as the in app tutorial.
- If you are having Dropbox Sync issues, L&L did a Sync Screencast to walk through how to set it up.
- If you are still having issues, there is an article about Dropbox Syncing with iOS on their bug report page.
- If nothing else, the L&L iOS Forums is a great resource as well.
L&L Blog
As new ones get posted, I’ll add them here as well. They aren’t linked in any particular order (other than the Release Info at the top)