How to Transfer Scrivener to another computer

After installing the Scrivener software on your new machine. You can directly transfer your Scrivener Projects to your new machine by:

Before you start I have a few Suggested Precautions:

Backup your Scrivener Project Folders, any zip backups of Projects, and any customizations like themes, compile formats, dictionaries, etc to an external drive/USB key.

A few minutes to backup this information to an external location is worth the time for the peace of mind in case any errors in the transfer process occur. You have spent weeks up to years creating this information. Keep your old computer running until you have assured your self of the successful transfer of your work.

How to Transfer-

Method 1: Copying the whole project folder to the new machine.

Again as a precaution, backup as mentioned above.

I also suggest when you have transferred the information to the new machine, you open Scrivener and make sure everything transferred before wiping the old machine.

The simplest way to find your Scrivener Project Folder (on your old computer) is to use the Menu command File > Open (which opens a Scrivener Project) and this will open the Windows Explorer to your current Scrivener Project Folder.

Copy the ENTIRE FOLDER to preserve the intact Project.

Method 2: Open a Zip backup on the new computer

Extract the zip backup (right click on the file and click Extract All) and follow the prompts and choose the new location for your Scrivener Projects folder (on the new computer).

Again, I suggest you copy all the zip backups to an external drive/USB key as a precaution and backup up multiple copies of each project in case a backup was corrupted.

After installing the Scrivener software on your new machine. You can directly transfer your Scrivener Projects to your new machine by:

To copy Project Backups:

1. As a precaution, backup the folder holding your project backups to an external drive/USB key in case of errors in the migration process.

2. If your Project backups are on a cloud sync folder such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc they should automatically sync to the new machine, but note and copy the backup path in case you have to reset on the new machine.

3. If you do not have a cloud sync folder, then use the Menu command File > Options > Backup and find the Backup folder location.

4. Copy this folder to the new machine, but for safety back this folder up to an external drive/USB key as well.

Write down or take a snapshot/snip image of your current backup settings to reproduce these on the New Scrivener installation. Your settings in options will not necessarily all be transferred.

How to copy the general application settings:

1. On your original computer in an open Scrivener Project use the Menu command File > Options.

2. In the Options Panel (see below) you will click on the Manage button in the footer bar (#1).

3. Then you will click the Save Options to File…. (#2) to create a .prefs file of your settings. The Windows Explorer will open to ask you where you want to save this file. Again, I would save on an external drive/USB key and put inside a folder where these files are easy to find. (ex. Scrivener Transfer Folder)

4. Open this .prefs file on the second computer by choosing the Load Options from File… (#3) AFTER Scrivener has been installed and a transferred project has been opened. Now Select the .prefs file you created.

How to copy custom Project Templates, Layouts, Compile Formats, Script Formats, Personal Word Lists, Themes, and Custom Name Generator Name Lists*?

If you have not changed the default location for automatic backups on your new machine, they will also be copied during this procedure.

However, to be safe, I would copy the folder holding this information to an external drive/USB key. To find this folder, on the first computer use one of two methods:

1. Use the Menu command File > Show Application Folder and this will open the folder where all these settings are and you can copy the entire Application folder and save on the new computer or replace the Applications folder of the newly installed Scrivener.

2. Use the Windows file browser to navigate to the Scrivener folder in your user application data directory: C\Users\Account name\AppData\Local\LiteratureAndLatte\Scrivener. (This folder is a hidden directory by default. Replace “Account” with your Window’s user name.)

Copy this "Scrivener settings" folder to the same location on the second machine and backup to an external drive/USB key.

These steps will replace these items on the second machine.

The one exception is your Custom Name Lists for the Name Generator. These must be saved separately to the new computer and after saving a copy first to an external drive/USB key.

You will have to go to where you saved any Custom Name Lists and migrate these to a folder you remember (? Custom Names Folder). Again, I would save your custom names and Legacy Name Lists (Numerous lists created by Scrivener beyond what is included in the base offerings.) to an external drive/USB key.

Remember:

— It is easy and cheap to get a 16 or 32 gig USB key for under 10 dollars to have peace of mind during this transfer process and ensure that none of your hard work or favorite settings are lost during the transfer process. Most of the time, this will not be necessary, but when it is the extra time becomes a life saver.

— Again make sure Scrivener is up and running on your new computer before deleting the data on the old one.

— Custom Name Lists are not included in any of the backup methods above and must be saved separately.

Scratchpad:

If you wish to copy Scrivener's Scratchpad note files, go to Scrivener ▸ File> Options> General and choose Scratchpad from the list. By default they will be in a folder called "~(Your User name)/Documents/Scrivener Scratchpad Notes".

If you use a cloud-sync sharing you might consider setting your Scratchpad location to your cloud folder on all computers, so that you can share notes automatically.

Go to the (Scratchpad) Notes folder and copy the Documents within. I suggest saving on an external drive/usb key to move and copy onto the new computer’s (Scratchpad) Notes folder. If the folder is inside a cloud based location, then all you need to do is match the location on your new computer, by using the Choose button to navigate to this folder on the cloud based location. (Don’t get rid of the old computer till you are sure the transfer process was successful.

Deactivating the Old Machine

If you are moving from one computer to another (rather than expanding to owning two computers) it is a good idea to deactivate Scrivener or Scapple on the old Windows computer (this does not apply to App Store purchases). Simply go to Scrivener/Scapple ▸ Help> Deactivate Scrivener or Deactivate Scapple. Once deactivated the application will not be usable on that machine as your 30 day trial will have expired. To reactivate you would have to reenter the license.

In Conclusion:

I do hope this makes the transfer process safer and easier in migrating Scrivener to its new home.