Keywords overview part 1
Keywords are another useful metadata tool in Scrivener.
You can use the project search function with Keywords to find various aspects of your story. The Keyword’s main advantage over labels and status metadata is that multiple Keywords can be assigned to a single file or a group of files at once instead of just one value per file as with labels and status metadata. You can also assign a single Keyword to multiple files at the same time. They are not visible in the binder, but can be seen in the Inspector Metadata pane and can be shown as color chips on the edge of Index Cards, or the Keyword column in the Outliner view.
You can have as many Keywords as you need assigned to one item, creating compound descriptions of items, and allowing for an overlap of multiple characters, locations, forshadowing, or plot elements. This allows a Project Search of multiple Keywords to triangulate on very specific files. You can search for multiple Keywords at once by including a comma or space between each Keyword. In the middle of the search Panel is the Operator option to include Any Word (select files that have any one of several Keywords), or All Words (Which only select files containing every Keyword in the search list which allows a very focused limited search for the relevant information.)
Appearance of Keywords
Keywords can be visible in Scrivener, depending on the options you choose.
For the Corkboard Index Cards- You can enable options to show Keywords on the right edge of index cards as color chips. (View>Corkboard Options> Keyword colors or Keyboard shortcut Shift + F9)
The number of visible Keyword chips is set in the footer bar of the Corkboard in the lower right and using the dropdown caret allows you to chose the option you want. If you have more Keywords for a particular file than the chosen display number, the excess Keywords will be ignored visually, but still associated with the file. Note: You can change the order of keywords for any file in the Inspector Metadata Panel and dragging the Keywords to change their order. Putting the most important Keywords at the top of the list will allow them to be visible.
View>Corkboard Options>Keyword Colors- can display or hide Keyword colors on Index cards (Keyboard Shortcut Shift + F9)
In the Outline View- You can show Keywords in your outline view as color chips or as the Keyword title. (Click on column options in Outliner View to see Keywords as color chips or names.) You must have this column visible in the Editor window to see this.
As Color Chips-
Or as written values-
Changing Keyword Color-
1. Double click on color chip in the Keyword Panel (see below)
2. This brings up the color chooser options (Which uses the same method as the highlighter, text, and comments to choose their colors including default and custom colors.)
If you click the Show Colors options at the bottom of the panel you will see.
Selecting a color will display specific values (as above). These colors can be added to your Custom colors options to use the same colors over and over.
If click the Screen C color box, you will get a + sign to maneuver to pick a current screen color to use as your choice for Keyword chip color (or text, highlighter, or comments color as well)
The possibilities for using Keywords are endless, but some common examples/categories include:
Character presence -
Show which characters are present in individual scenes. Keywords are a good option to show character presence, since more than one character is typically present in a scene. You can then use to search a specific scene where a character or two characters interact. [Bonus Tip- If you make a Keyword for every minor character, you can include a brief description and be able to track minor characters that might be important to your story or a mystery with ease. This list can be dragged into a blank document to create a list of all your novel’s characters.]
Point of View Character -
Show which character has the Point of View in which scenes. Since there’s normally one point of view character per scene, Labels can solve this as well. However, some scenes can transition between different POV characters and Keywords can highlight this.
Storylines / Subplots -
Express what storyline a scene belongs to. A scene ought to be present in only one story line.
Story structure beats -
Indicate what story structure beat a scene hits. Sometimes a scene may hit two beats, but usually they don’t, so using a Label or a Keyword for a story beat is a good option as well. Another option is to use Custom Metadata for Story Structure. Story structure comes in distinct varieties, be it the Hero’s journey, Kate Weiland’s Story Structure, Lisa Cron’s Story Genius, Save the Cat or others. Implement your favorite.
Locations -
Cover the various locations in your story
Tracking Story Elements -
Keep track of various Story Elements by giving these elements Keywords. See when objects are first used, for example. In the Outliner the presence of these elements is shown in the Keywords column and colored when "as Color Chips" is also selected. Together with other metadata, combined in a Story Grid, you get insight in the development of your story. Can track forshadowing, backstory, flashback, etc.
Document Status -
Even when Status metadata is available, and it’s visible at the bottom of the Inspector at all times, you might use Keywords to show Status information, because you can color Keywords and not Status. Apart from the Project Keywords dialog, this allows for colored status information in the Corkboard, the Outliner and the Keywords tab in the Inspector.
Issues to be solved -
When editing, issues to be solved later, like head hopping or an unnecessary omniscient narrator, are marked in a striking color, like red or fuchsia, to show it needs work. Using Keywords is helpful if multiple issues exist in one scene.
Language -
When a translation is part of your project, a specific Keyword might reveal the language used for a scene.
The possibilities for their use are only limited by your imagination.
The Keyword Panel-
Here you can add or delete Keywords. Changing a Keyword in the Keyword Panel will cause changes across your project. Changing the Keyword does not alter the files or folders that it is attached to.
Five Ways to Open
Method 1. In the inspector Panel under the Metadata icon you will see Keywords. This is the last of the four metadata sections. In the header bar you will see three dots and clicking on this will show options including Show Project Keywords. Clicking on this will take you to the Keyword Panel.
Method 2. Click the Keyword icon if you have added it to the main toolbar.
Method 3. Project >Project Keywords
Method 4. Double-Click the color chip of a Keyword. This only works for color chips in the Inspector Metadata Panel and NOT elsewhere in Scrivener.)
Method 5. Keyboard shortcut (Windows key + Shift + K)
Keyword Panel Footer Bar
1. Creates a Keyword on the same level as selected Keyword (a sibling), pushing the return key when in the Keyword Panel will do the same thing.
2. Creates a Keyword on a nested level compared to the selected Keyword (a child).
3. - Sign deletes selected Keyword (s) (or pressing the delete key will remove the Keyword as well)
If delete a Keyword in Keyword Panel will automatically remove it from any documents containing that Keyword after seeing the warning below.
Highlighting a Keyword in the Inspector Metadata pane and using the - sign will also delete a Keyword but only from that document.
4. Check box #4 will sort alphabetically and see option click to sort appear in the header which will reverse the alphabetical order. (Clicking inside the header changes the alphabetical order.)
If you change your mind on Keyword order, you can simply drag-and-drop a Keyword to wherever you want to place it.
Note pressing the return/enter key will add a sibling blank Keyword entry below the currently selected one. ( At the same level.) (This also works in Inspector metadata pane in the Keywords section.)
5. Options to apply or remove Keyword(s) from single or multiple files. If select multiple documents at once AND select a Keyword can remove by choosing … and choose remove Keyword. This can also be done by right clicking any Keyword in the Panel to apply or remove a Keyword from selected (highlighted) binder documents. Can choose a single or multiple Keywords with this option.
6. Search option (Magnifying Glass Icon) Allows searching for Keywords directly from the Keyword Panel.
A. Select a Keyword or several.
B. Click the Icon (see below) and choose a search option and click this and will see search results on your left based on Keywords chosen, if choose multiple then the file or folder must contain all of them.
Note: A Project Search using Keywords gives more options and can do more refined searches. Keyword searches launced from the Keyword Panel will use the criteria currently set in the Project Search window. Change these before doing a search to get the result you want. You can drag multiple Keywords at once into the Project Search Window.
(If search all content, then the words represented by the Keyword will be searched for any place in your project.)
Keywords can be added to a file(s) by -
1. Dragging a Keyword(s) onto a binder file and you will see a small + sign.
2. Dragging a Keyword(s) onto the document title above the editor window.
3. Dragging a Keyword(s) onto an index card in the Corkboard view.
4. Dragging a Keyword(s) onto the a file in the Outline view.
5. Dragging a Keyword(s) into the Keyword Panel in a Quick Reference Panel.
6. Dragging a Keyword(s) into the Keyword section of the Metadata Panel of the Inspector.
You can use the arrow keys to maneuver within the Keyword Panel and pushing the arrow keys with up and down moving that way in the Keyword Panel. If you push the right arrow key you will go inside a folder of Keywords. If you use the left key you will move up to the parent folder of the Keyword. (If there are no folders containing the Keyword, then the right and left arrows will not do anything.)
The Keywords can be dragged into files without having to open the file itself. However, once this is done the Keyword will show up in the outline view if enabled, in corkboard index cards if enabled, and the inspector Panel under Metadata. For the outliner you just have to choose to add Keywords as a visible column and decide whether you want to have the Keywords typed out or represented by color chips. For index cards you must enable Keyword colors as an option for the corkboard under the View drop down menu.
If you drag a Keyword while holding the Alt key then that Keyword and all of its parent Keywords will be dragged as well.