Filtering in the Outliner-

Filtering allows you to use additional criteria to narrow the search of the multiple files/folders currently in the Corkboard and Outline Views to a smaller group of documents containing the information you are looking for.

Filtering Facts:

Filtering functions exactly the same way in either the Outliner or Corkboard view.

There are no filtering options to search by Keywords. You can search for these though in the Search bar in the Filtering View.

You must do the following to Reach the Filter View Field:

1. Be in the Corkboard or Outliner View

2. Select multiple files in the view.

3. Use the Menu command Edit > Find > Filter (the Find function changes to Filter when the above two things have happened). This shortcut is the same as the regular Find shortcut of Ctrl + F. (see below)

4. Or use the Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + F after clicking inside the Outliner.

Clicking the caret on the left (A) will reveal the filter menu below.

Note: The Search Bar above can be used to search for specific documents among the listed items found before and when filtering. You can put in Keyword names and search for them in this Search Bar, but there are no options to Filter by Keywords. You can only filter by Label, Status, Section Type, and Custom Metadata.

A. Note the caret is now pointed downwards.

B. Right click here to see additional options for the filtered search. (Not seen well in the theme above but seen clearly in a lighter theme with the magnifying glass icon just to the left of the text field.)

C. When finished using this view, then click the Done button to close this window. (Just to the left of the Done button is a refresh arrow to repeat a filtered search)

D. Check the Filter box to make the options active to filter the currently selected items and narrow your search.

When finished, click done at the far right of this view.

Search options include:

3. Any Options: (Must choose include or exclude to be able to filter based on Metadata options.)

4. Only if you choose the Include or Exclude options does this panel (above), and the next become active. You will either include or exclude files in your filtering based on the options shown below. When using the include option, you can only choose one item at a time.

5. This field will show all the values available for each choice in # 4. If choose Items with Label, then the dropdown options in field #5 will show all the label values in your project to choose to filter with or the No Label option. Any Custom Metadata entry will display all of its possible values to use as a filter choice on the selected files/folders in the current Corkboard or Outliner View.

Resetting or Refreshing Results:

Clear the current filtered search by:

Pressing the Escape Key (Press again and exit the filtered search view.)

Click the X button on the far right of the Search text bar ONCE text has been entered.

Refresh by: Clicking the refresh arrow just to the left of the Done button on the far right of the filter bar.

Three ways to close the Filter View:

Click the Done Button

Press the Escape Key twice

Navigate away from this view

Using a split Editor view, Copyholders, or Quick Reference Panels can help you stay in the filtering view yet still see the information you are seeking by opening the Search result in another area in Scrivener.

How to Save filtered Outline or Corkboard searches as a Static Collection

1. Set up a filtered search using labels, status, section type or custom metadata with lists.

2. Use Ctrl + A to select all the search results. Now right click on the highlighted results and chose Reveal in the Binder.

3. Now the Binder will show each search result (file or folder) highlighted in the Binder. If right click on any highlighted Binder item, you can then choose Add to Collection. Then Choose New Collection and give your Filtered Search a name.

4. The result is a New Static Collection (2 stars) that matches the current Outliner (or could be Corkboard) search results.

Changing Metadata Values in the Outliner View

Any Metadata column entry (including the Title and synopsis) that has multiple values can be changed inside the Outliner by double clicking on the current value. You can choose a different value or even with some entries click an Edit option to add a new value. Metadata in the form of text fields offers the option to type new information or change or overwrite the current entry. Do this by double clicking inside the text box. When finished, click elsewhere in the Outliner to save the changes in the text box. Some entries which display the number of words in a document or Progress values cannot be edited.

Note: Editing the Document Title in the Outliner view will change the Title in the Binder.

If you click multiple entries in the Outliner view, you can then right click on these and have option to modify the Label or Status values for multiple items at once. (see below)

Editing Information in the Title-

Clicking inside the title and then using the Ctrl + Enter keys will add a new line to text box where you can add additional information.

Importing OPML or Outline Files

Outliner files using the OPML or .mm (MindMap) format which can be imported into Scrivener, retaining the original hierarchy and converting it into a binder outline.

Locking the Group View Mode

You can click on an item in the Group view mode and lock this mode for the Editor window to prevent navigating away from this view two ways:

1. Right Click on an document’s icon in the Editor and choose the last option to Lock Group View Mode

2. Use the Menu command Navigate > Editor > Lock Group View Mode

You will see a lock icon on the group view toolbar icon you are currently in.

The Split function option becomes active if in split view and in Outliner or Corkboard view.

A saved Layout will determine whether you see a Corkboard or Outliner view, but will save what columns of data are displayed. In fact, different Outliner Layouts can be set to display different columns of Outliner data.

Taking Snapshots of Multiple files at once.

In the Outliner view you can choose multiple files at once and then click the Snapshot Toolbar Icon or use the Keyboard shortcut (CTRL + 5 for an untitled Snapshot)

Use the Menu command Edit ▸Select ▸Select with Subdocuments to highlight all the files in the current Outliner view, and then use the snapshot command or click the icon to take snapshots of multiple files at once.

Expanding and Collapsing the Outliner Tree

Just like in the Binder, you can collapse or expand all or part of the Outliner tree that you see in the Editor Window.

To fully expand the Outliner use the Keyboard Shortcut Alt +]

To fully collapse the Outliner use the Keyboard Shortcut Alt +[

For any single Document in the Outliner that has a sub-document you can collapse or expand the folder/file with subdocuments by using the left and right arrow keys.

Collections and the Outliner

You can open a collection and use the Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + A to select the whole collection. This can be viewed in the Outliner and use any of the Metadata choices available to review the information in a Collection.

[Note: Changing the order of the files in the Collection does not affect the Binder and can be used to experiment with different experimental text flows.]

Using the Layout Manager to change Outliner Columns without adjusting anything else.

Follow these steps:

Open the Outliner View
Click the caret at the far right of the Outliner header bar and choose what you want to display and shift and resize the columns to get the custom appearance you want.
Open the Layout Manager via the Layout toolbar icon if available or the Menu command Window > Layouts > Manage Layouts.
Click the plus sign to create a new Layout and type a name.
You will a small preview of your new layout here. However, you must click the two checkboxes below the preview to preserve the Outliner columns arrangement and metadata options will be preserved in your new layout.
Click the Use button to see this custom arrangement of Outliner columns in the future without having to set this manually again.

Note: You can set up multiple different column arrangements this way to view different aspects of the documents in the Outliner View.

Now when you go into the Outliner view, you can use different Layouts to quickly change the appearance of the Outliner columns till you find the view to showcase the data you want to review. These presets can save time in various parts of the editing process and provide a quick way to cycle between various combinations of Outliner columns.

Exporting with the Outliner

Use the Menu command File > Export > Outliner Contents as CSV… every single type of metadata in the software can be exported to a spreadsheet format.

Many databases and other miscellaneous programs that support tabular data may also read the file.

To see the column info in a printed page version, use the exported information from Excel. You should consider setting text to wrap in Excel and add gridlines to get the most efficient use from the program.

Exporting Metadata to a Spreadsheet

Printing the Outline

You will have the option to pick and choose what metadata if any to print with the Outliner view. By default you will print the Project name, the Titles of the documents (with the option of adding a prefix number), Synopses (if want), and whatever metadata has been checked in the Outliner options.

Use the Menu command File > Print Settings > Outlines (tab) to further refine what font to use and what to include when you print an Outline. (Use the Print Preview function to review the appearance of your choices.)

Outliner printing will generate an indented list (if you check this option- see above) for each item in the Outliner currently in the Editor window.

To just view your chapter synopses your binder must be set up in a hierarchal structure with a novel’s chapters all on the same level.

Highlight one of your chapters that is currently visible in the outliner view in your editor, then choose the Menu command View > Outline > Collapse all to current level). Now only the chapter titles and synopses should be visible. (Alternatively, manually select your chapters in the binder). At this point, your Editor window should show the chapter synopses you want to print.

Select the Menu command File > Print Preview to see a preview of how this will print. If you need to make adjustments, close the preview and select File > page setup OR Print settings.

Hint - if you just want this outline/synopses view as a reference while you work, click on the three dots on the bottom of the outliner view and choose Open > then you have a choice to open it as a quick reference panel, copyholder, or in the other editor.

If this is not what you want you can export Outliner contents as a CSV file to a spreadsheet, or use one of the built in Compile formats like the "Enumerated Outline", or "Full Indented Outline".

You can use the Menu command File > Print Preview to see what the printed Outline will look like.

The outliner overview part two