Scrivener actually only opens individual files in the editor as needed, with the only exceptions being the Scrivenings, Corkboard, and Outliner Views. Files in the binder can be added, deleted, duplicated, or merged. The Menu command View > Binder gives you the option to show the binder or not on your left. Its position cannot be changed. If you use the Menu command View > Collections then any saved or active searches will be visible above the Binder. Only seven collections are visible above the Binder, if there are more you will have to scroll to see these, though you can reorder their arrangement to have the seven most important ones visible at all times.

The Binder consists of three main sections.

These three default root folders cannot be merged or deleted in Scrivener though each can be renamed and their icon changed.

Draft/Manuscript/Screenplay-

Where the main body of your writing is. Only text can be imported here (you can include static images, graphs, tables, and etc.) Multimedia files (including PDF files and Image files) must be imported into the Research Section of your project.

Research-

This is where media and PDF files can be directly imported and not just linked to as in the Draft section.

Trash-

Where you keep discarded files. You must actively choose to empty the Trash folder to permanently delete these files. You can right click an individual document in the Trash folder and a delete option replaces the Move to Trash option. Clicking the delete option will delete the selected document(s) from your project permanently.

Depending upon the Scrivener Project Template you have selected the top folder may be called the Manuscript, Draft, or Screenplay. It is called Draft in the Scrivener documentation for all non-screenplay applications. Its name makes no difference when exporting your project and in non-screenplay projects can be renamed as a matter of personal preference.

1. Draft (Or the Manuscript,etc.) Folder Facts:

This section of your project contains text but you can drag static images into these text files as well.

This is where you will select which elements from this section (or all of them) will be compiled (exported) into other formats such as ebooks, PDF’s, etc.
If you have trouble finding this folder, then use the Menu command Navigate > Reveal Draft Folder
If try to drag a PDF, Video, or other Media file into the Draft folder, then you will see a circle with a line thru it to show that these file types cannot be directly added here.
If you try to drag a PDF, Video, or other Media file into the Draft folder, then you will see a circle with a line thru it to show that these file types cannot be directly added here.

5. However, you can add links to these file types either on your computer or on the web into the Draft folder. Clicking the link will open the file in the appropriate program to view the file type in an external editor.

6. Using the Scrivenings view, all files in the Draft folder (or a select group of them) can be viewed as a single continuous document to give the sense of reading a novel, or research paper.

7. The terms files and documents are equivalent as are folders and documents.

2. Research Folder Facts:

This section of your Scrivener Project can contain media files, videos, etc. All the other rules that apply to the Draft Binder apply to this folder as well.
Your Template Folder will be found here as well. It cannot be in the Draft folder.
Any Folder in the Binder can be moved into the Research Folder.

3. Trash Facts:

You can move documents to the Trash Folder by:

A. Right clicking on any file, folder or group of files and selecting the third available option of Move to Trash.

B. Drag any file, folder, or group of files onto the Trash folder and they will be placed inside it.

C. Use the Menu command Document > Move To > Trash (Folder(s) or File(s) or both)

D. Selecting a file(s) and then clicking the Trash toolbar icon (If added to the main toolbar.) [see below]

E. Selecting a folder(s)/file(s) and use the Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Delete Key.

F. Very Important- Moving files into the Trash folder does not delete them from your project and they can still be recovered and dragged back into the project, UNTIL you empty the Trash folder or delete an individual document.(see below)

G. Once a file or folder is deleted from the Trash, the files are PERMANENTLY GONE from the project.

You can permanently Delete any files in the Trash folder by:

A. Using the Menu command Project > Empty Trash

B. Right clicking on a single or multiple selected documents and in the Trash Folder, the right click option of Move to Trash is now changed to Delete. If you do this, you will get the same warning statement as shown below.

C. Right clicking on the Trash folder and choose empty trash

Options A and C will permanently delete ALL Trash files from your project and cannot be undone.

You will see a Panel appear explaining this before you can delete the files.

Changing the Binder View of documents:

You can add Icons to the Main Toolbar to fully expand/and or collapse the Binder including subdocuments see below.

You must click on a Binder document for these options to become active in the toolbar.

When fully collapsed, you will only see the Draft, Research, and Trash folders.

Binder Selection Effects: How the editor reacts to selection of a binder file/folder

This is chosen using the Menu command Navigate > Binder Selection Effects. Your options are also affected by whether the editor is currently in a single or split view.

In a single window Editor view, there are ONLY two Menu choices which are active (The other choices remain, but can not be clicked on):

1. The Current Editor option: Selecting a file/folder opens it in the current Editor window.

2. The None option: Choosing the None setting option for the Binder Selection Affects completely decouples the binder from the editor, so that the Editor window no longer reacts to left or right clicking on a document, or the effect of using the Arrow Icons to maneuver within the Binder.

This effect is 100%. When None is chosen the Editor window does not respond to changing any Binder documents.

In a Split Editor Window view, then the multiple choices (as shown above) become available when you select any file in the Binder.

If you use the Menu Command Navigate > Open this reveals additional options when in a split Editor view which match the right click options on any Binder document(s).

However, a document’s right click options continue to function and will override the Binder Selection settings.

If you right click on a single (or multiple documents) you see the options as above. The Open in Right or Left editor option (replaces open in Other Editor) will change based on which Editor pane is active.

Note that the open menu includes options to open a document as a Quick Reference Panel or a Copyholder as well.

The seven ways to add files or folders to the Binder.

1.) Using the Add (+) Main Toolbar icon:

A. Clicking the + sign will add a text file immediately below the currently active file in the Binder.

B. The caret adjacent to the + sign gives multiple other options, including adding a folder or file (#1) to the Binder or any of your current document templates (#2). All the templates and subdocument templates are available here. You can add Existing files (#3) from your computer (In the Draft Folder, these files must be only text files.). Inside the Research Section you can any files from your computer including any media files or pdf files. Web pages (#4) (For web pages you will be asked to supply an internet address. [This option is not available in the Draft folder.]

2.) The Binder’s Footer :

Here you have plus signs to add blank file or folder directly below the currently selected document in the Binder.

File- Click + icon at bottom of binder to add a blank text file
Folder- Click the + sign inside a folder to add a blank folder file. (Note a file with subdocuments in Scrivener is labeled a File Group and behaves like a Folder.)
Options- Click … at the bottom of the Binder column and you see additional options which are identical to those available if you right click on any document/folder in the Binder.

3.) Right Click:

Right clicking on any existing folder or text file in the Binder will show you various options including add new files/folders or sending the current document to the trash. This menu also includes the options to convert a file to a folder or change a folder to a file. The Add menu is identical to that which occurs when click the + sign in the Main toolbar.

If you right click on a folder you will have an option to Ungroup the files contained within it. (See White Box above) This only works when a single folder is chosen.

Addendum: A right click troubleshooting tool is hidden, but if you hold the CTRL key and then right click a Binder document, you will have the additional option of Reveal File Location (on your computer). You can click the Ctrl key AFTER right clicking and still see this option. This will open Windows Explorer for the file holding its data in RTF form.

4.) Use the Menu command options:

Project > New Text

Project > New Folder

Project > New From Template

Documents > New Folder from Selected Documents (This command will take files you have selected and move them all into the New Folder created by this command. These files do not need to be adjacent to each other to use this command.)

5.) Keyboard Shortcuts :

Default Shortcuts exist for the above menu options, though these can be reprogrammed.

New Text = Ctrl + N

New Folder =Alt+ Shift + N

New from Template = Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + N

Duplicate a file(s)/folder(s) = Ctrl + D

However, you can change these Keyboard shortcuts or even use special keys if available on your current mechanical keyboard.

6.) Duplicate a file, folder, or group of files/documents:

Right clicking on any existing folder or text file in the binder (you can choose multiple items at once to do this with) allow you to duplicate that item or group of items and these will have the file's name followed by a number (ex. 1) for the duplicate file(s). Duplicating a folder also duplicates all of its contents as well.

The duplicate below had a number added to its name.

The Keyboard command to duplicate a file/folder is- Ctrl + D

7.) Using the Return Key:

Depending on the options you choose in the Options Panel, hitting the return key can create a new file in the Binder below the current one. If you check this option for the return key in behaviors to create a new item in the list when clicked, then a new file will be created by pressing the return key. If you uncheck this, then you must use another of the above options to add files to the Binder.

(Default Binder Icons and their meanings)

(Note: Custom icons will not display any of the information below.)

Manuscript: this is the top-level folder, which can be called the Draft or Manuscript, depending on the template you've used. You can change this, if you want, by clicking inside the title just like you would do for any other file or folder.

Chapter 1: This is a basic folder.

1: This is an empty file; it contains no text and has no synopsis.

2: This is an empty file with a synopsis. You may have icons like this if you have outlined a project, adding synopses, but not started writing any text.

3: This is a file containing text, and that has sub-files; you can nest files in folders, and files below files.

4: This is an empty scriptwriting file.

5: This is a scriptwriting file that contains text.

Other icons will give more information about a file/folder.

See Above

Chapter 2: This is a folder with a synopsis.

1: This is an empty file with snapshots. (Note the right corner folded down) See How to Manage, Compare, and Restore Snapshots in Your Scrivener Projects to learn how to use snapshots.

2: This is an empty file with a synopsis, and with snapshots.

3: This is a file containing text, and which has snapshots.

4: This is a file containing text and sub-files, and which has snapshots.

If in Scriptwriting modes, then the icons change appearance.

Enter by Format>Scriptwriting or the keyboard command Ctrl + 8. (If see yellow icons in the binder you are now in scriptwriting mode and can use the same command to return to standard novel mode.

Note if you accidentally enter Scriptwriting Mode, then when you leave a newly created file, the icon will be yellow in the Binder. You can leave this mode by the Keyboard Shortcut Ctrl + 8, or the Menu Command Format > Scriptwriting again. Note a black box message will appear to state you are in Standard Text Mode.

In Scriptwriting mode, you will have multiple formats to choose from. The purple icon, if active, will have a blue shadow. (see below)

Reveal the Draft Folder-

The Keyboard shortcut - Ctrl + Shift + R will switch to the displaying the Draft/Manuscript view of the Binder from a collections view, search results, or Hoisted Binder view.

The Scrivener Binder Part One