Scrivener App Reviews

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Mediocre, poor maintenance, not full featured. This app, without comparison to its Mac sibling, is mediocre. 1) Awful syncing: requires you to remember to close project so that it will sync before you try to open elsewhere. 2) Clunky interface: lots of unnecessary extra swipes and taps. Doesn’t take advantage of the intuitive interface possibilities of iPad. 3) The last time it was updated was over a year ago! (I’m writing this on March 3, 2018) In comparison to its macOS counterpart, the iOS app is utterly incapable. I’m not looking to copy all the bells and whistles, which would make the iOS version bloated. But, this is so ameliorated, it doesn’t deserve the same namesake as its macOS brother. It feels like this development person (or team?) is overwhelmed. Needs more competent and creative people to scale up the development across as many platforms as they’re trying develop for. (I think they’re adding a PC version... which is a scary proposition for the future of its iOS development).

Syncing not that bad after you set it up.... I’m writing my first novel and I absolutely fell in love with the desktop version. There is nothing out there that can compare to the flexibility and organization that this software provides for writers of any type. That said, I had some apprehension on purchasing the app. I read over and over how it had syncing issues. At first I had the same issue but through trial and error I figured out the problem was. In order to sync your desktop version to the app you need to create a blank manuscript in the app first. This creates the necessary files in order for the app to access your designated scrivener folder in Dropbox. Once that happens just move the manuscript you’re working on to your scrivener folder and you will be able to work on it with no problems. Don’t delete the blank manuscript. I repeat, don’t delete the mobile manuscript. Deleting it will delete the apps ability to access Dropbox. That’s it... I wish someone else would have told me this.

Missing Features. Doesn’t have opml import/export, drag-and-drop reorganization, nor changing views to view all documents in a folder as one like the desktop version. This right off makes it less intuitive and useful. It’s better than just an outlining app, but a scriptwriting app that can import/export opml can replace Scrivener entirely. Plottr or Story Planner have more specific tools for fiction and if they could do that and export to Word or Final Draft, again Scrivener, at least the iOS version, wouldn’t be necessary. Add those features, add something like tags to replace labels and keywords (including coloring), and you have a perfect tool. A timeline feature to organize notecards linearly on multiple planes would also be killer seeing as how the strength of Plottr is mostly in templates. Make an iPadOS version of Scrapple ASAP. It’s predestined for tablets as they say. Nesting in what Scrapple already offers also makes it perfect along with opml import. iCloud sync is also needed. Windows has iCloud.

Worth the Wait!. I have been writing with Scrivener for Windows for over six years. I loved the way the program consolidated in one place research, writing, character lists, and about everything else a writer needed for his craft. The program was obviously written by an end user which is something sadly missing from so many programs. As such, I waited for years for the Scrivener iPad app. During my wait I found other programs that were close, but not what I wanted. When Scrivener for iOS came out, I was one of the first purchasers. It did not disappoint. It is a well thought out app that just works. It is feature rich and the sync across my iPad, iPhone, and Windows PC through Dropbox is almost flawless. About the only feature I would add is one from Scrivo Pro when I was using it during my wait, the ability to passcode the app to keep prying eyes out. Maybe someday.

Vital but the syncing is terrible. I switched from Google docs, which is free, to scrivener, which is not, almost entirely for the organizational features. The text editor on iPad is passable, but the sync issues are really hard to get past. It doesn’t happen automatically, and if you work across multiple devices you’re almost guaranteed to end up with multiple versions of the same document and no indication about precisely where the differences are. In fact, conflicts even happen sometimes when working on the same device. I suspect it has something to do with dropbox limitations, but the fact remains that saving documents and editing across devices works worse on Scrivener than it did on Google Docs more than a decade ago, and losing/conflicting changes is a fact of life with this app. Please fix this. It would make the whole platform so much better

Edit your book while you’re laying in bed. Let’s be honest. No one’s going to write a novel on Scrivener for iPhone. (Maybe on the iPad version. I can’t comment on that.) However, I’ve done plenty of reading, editing, revisions, rewrites, and annotations from the comfort of my iPhone and my bed. Do the heavy lifting with the full app running under WINE, Windows, or macOS. Research. Write your first draft. Sync to Dropbox. Sleep and sober up. Fire up the iOS app and edit to your heart’s content while you’re laying awake at night. Review the hard chapters while sitting on a train. Add a clever thought to the manuscript while sitting in a dive bar. Paste a screenshot into the research binder and paraphrase it in the morning. It works for me. Hopefully it works for you too. Everyone’s process is different, and while Scrivener for iOS isn’t my primary writing app, I don’t know what I’d do without it.

Update. This. App.. If it weren’t for the ever-increasingly buggy and erratic behavior of this app, plus the syncing issues (yes, perhaps it was even worse 1+ years ago before I began using it, but it’s still not without potentially grave, data-losing issues...), I might be inclined to give this app 5 stars. And in fact I’ll gladly change my 1 star rating to 5 stars once this app is updated and it’s issues resolved. Hopefully this poor review and rating, along with a mounting number of similar user’s feedback, will motivate the Scrivener team to get their buttocks in gear and fix their unnecessarily subpar product. Fortunately, I’ve developed a 3-level backup method (using a local Scrivener copy, as well as a separate writing app) that has saved me numerous times from losing either recent additions to, or the entirety of my currently 395 page manuscript. In closing, I’ll echo what is undoubtedly the sentiments of many a longtime Scrivener user: For a company who charges a premium for both the desktop and mobile versions of their app, and touts itself as being (and wants to be considered) the pinnacle of modern writing software, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Whatever your reputation once was, it is certainly slipping in recent years, and this should be deeply concerning to you and your business...

Worst app ever. I got a hook up to my iPad so I could pull scrivner files from computer over to the app only to find out you cannot upload a scrivner file format to the app (I know how stupid!). Nor does it an anyway sync to anyplace I would care about like my portable hard drive that I could switch between the two devices just...drop box which I never use nor does this app cross platforms so it could update whether I am on my iPad or laptop and not have to worry that I am missing stuff between the two when writing. Rendering this app completely useless to me. Any writer wants flexibility when an idea strikes to write and this app gives you the opposite of that boxing you in to either write purely on your iPad or purely on a desktop. Apps are suppose to make a program mobile and easily assessable anywhere so why these two different formats of the same program on the desktop and app don’t mesh blows my mind. Office products apps do. Had to submit a refund within a half an hour after realizing it didn’t do anything it promised it could prior to installing and buying it. So fingers crossed I get my money back.

Maddening syncing. I was exuberant to see Scrivener materialize with an ipad version. I have head a lot about it. I am a relatively new scrivener, just learning it, and involved in a lengthy writing project. I write mostly on iPads because I am rarely home and they are easier than laptops to lug around. I have the new ipad, 10.5, 256gb, and was looking forward to using scrivener on it. Unfortunately, the Dropbox syncing is maddening. Today, for instance, it refused to sync and kept shutting down. After the first time, I got it back and backed up everything I was working on, and I was lucky I had the foresight to do that for Scrivener kept crashing. When I returned to the desktop, it wanted to sync with the ipad. This it did, but with the older version of the chapter that I was editing and I thanked the gods for that back-up I had stored elsewhere. I ended up deleting the chapter and starting over with the back-up I had emailed to myself. I do not know what to say here. Not sure if the recent update will solve the infuriating Dropbox problems. I will give it another try and see what comes of that. If it continues, I will just have to use scrivener on the desktop, writing on another program with the ipad and copying it over to scrivener later on. Ultimately, I think Scrivener has to be taken out of Dropbox and put onto the cloud.

Finally - everything in one app. I love to write. Like a weirdo, I write the most on my phone. I struggled for years with a novel text editor, and all my research notes in another app. It was disorganized and I lost many important notes I needed due to the lack of ability to organize. No more. Now I keep everything in nice sub folders in my “binder” and I can still save photos, notes, lists, and more! Everything is color coded and iconized for quick reference. Really, functionality wise, they have thought of everything. I even reached out to their CS once to request a feature. Low and behold it already existed! I just hadn’t found the setting. And let me tell you, they have a LOT of settings. My one wish would be for a web portal I could access from a computer. Every once in a while I’m sitting at a computer with enough time to work on my writing. So it’d be nice to just pop onto the website and pull up my work. It’s not an option right now, though they do have computer software you can also purchase. That’s not an option for me because I can’t install software onto my work computer, but I could access via a web portal. Not a deal breaker, but a big wish of mine. If you’ve been struggling to find somewhere to write and keep all your notes together, you really can’t go wrong with this app. I know the upfront cost seems like a lot, but compared to any subscription based platform it’s only pennies in comparison.

From BEST to WORST. For a long time I’ve enjoyed using Scriener app. Sure, like other app you have problems. Your update, from going to fonts & changing fonts, sliding left to right. Don’t like at all. The old version seeing the most used font, easy, you pick one & your back to typing. Now, from time to time I go to fonts window & there isn’t font to pick. I have to close the window & open again. And some times when I scroll down I see rectangular squares in place fonts. Probably from the updates. Went to look at my book, or section of my book and it’s not there. It took a long time to write that section. Not blaming you guys. It’s the updates Apple puts in our devices. It messes the apps up. — it’s my leisure time playing with my iPad. I’m an old retired geezer trying to enjoy myself. Might quit with the word processing entirely. I made a copy of my book from another app just in case. It’s all there. Not my rewrites. Only thing is, I have to break the paragraphs into sentences. 900 pages! To much work. Tired of fixing Apple updates.

A joy to use. I turned on “Sync project upon close or rename” to always in the iOS setting app and my projects sync almost instantly. Though I wish the setting is in Scrivener app as I took a while to find it. Overall the app is phenomenon! I’ve never used Scrivener desktop before and quite nervous about shelling out 20 bucks but I bought it in the end and I’m glad I did. I translated a 55 chapters book in there solely on my iphone 6s plus; storing 220 chapters(draft, edited versions and original script) in total and the app never crushed or lost data. Plus the sanity I lost from tinkering around with Google Docs finally returned. I enjoyed using the app so much this January when I can finally buy a laptop, Scrivener is my first software purchase! A small suggestion though... the S on Scrivener app icon doesn’t center and it’s bugging me a lot.😕

Pleasantly surprised. I had happily been writing fiction using Scrivener for a couple of years on the PC. When the iOS version was released, on a lark I purchased it, curious whether my iPad Air 2 could be used for more than just consuming web pages or checking the weather, but frankly not expecting very much. Rarely have my expectations been proven so wrong! Scrivener for iOS is a robust app with a small footprint on my devices but a big impact to my workflow. It contains the core functionality of the desktop app, giving me a comfortable alternative for writing on the go. But there are times at home when I choose to work in the iOS Scrivener over the desktop version: sometimes the iOS' stripped down interface is just the ticket when I am having trouble focusing and need to minimize distractions. While Scrivener runs well on my iPad Air 2, one of the biggest surprises was how productive writing is on my 5s. I never imagined a device with such a small screen would be useful for writing, but paired with a bluetooth keyboard it works really well for writing first drafts. In fact I am writing this review on my 5s! Integration with Dropbox has been seamless for me. (Unfortunately other cloud services like iCloud currently can't handle Scrivener's multiple file structure.) To sum up, Scrivener is my go to app for writing novels and short stories, on the PC and now on iOS.

Syncing is a Disaster. Everything about Scrivener on iOS is fantastic—everything I ever wanted in writing software. This should be a 5-star review and I should be a loud fan. But the syncing across iOS devices is a disaster. I have and iPhone 13 Pro and an iPad Pro linked through Dropbox. The syncing will always eventually fail, I’ll have files in conflicts that don’t exist where I wrote them, so I can delete them and there begins the endless compounding conflict errors that make this software unusable. I’m constantly having to start fresh with clean files, and I’m losing days of writing every couple of weeks. I’ll never finish the book this way and, sadly, will have to go back to MS Word, or anything but this software that screws up my files. This is not going to work. It’s such a waste that the syncing is so bad. ***UPDATE*** So much time later, and it’s now obvious that Scrivener has no intention to fix the syncing disaster that is their software. What’s the point in selling software that’s barely usable? You can use Scrivener, but you can only use it on one device. If you try to use two, it’s a complete mess. I’ve never seen software sync so badly.

Can’t import templates. Not having this function available is a major drawback of the IOS version. I only use an IPad Pro and an IPhone 7 because I can easily dictate or type everything I write and conveniently carry either device with me wherever I go. I did not purchase the Windows version of Scrivener because I don’t want to drag a laptop around with me. I would now like to import templates designed by others to speed up my output on certain projects, but the IOS app apparently has no way to do this versus the Windows and MacOS versions which do. I have been told there may be a way of starting my project with an imported template on either of those platforms, then syncing it with my IOS devices. But to do so, I would have to purchase another license and what do I do if my laptop is in New Jersey and I need to start a new project thousands of miles away? Bottom line: I really do LOVE Scrivener. It streamlines research, and using the cork board to pull it all together is a powerful tool. I would like to give it 5 stars, but having to reinvent the wheel on the different formats I want to use is annoying and makes this app a lot less functional than I hoped it would be.

Love hate relationship. Know what you get before you expect more. The app is amazing whether it is used on the MacBook or the iPad. I have it in all my devices. Two iPads two MacBooks and my iPhone. However if you don’t buy them the same from APPLE under same version or update one they dont link between Devices but you do get the free upgrades if you buy from scrivener which is probably why the versions don’t sync. I didn’t realize Apple isn’t linking the upgrades. Mac version is better if you like features but I just want to write across devices so a bit annoyed that no longer is an option. Best writing app for writing organizing etc but to link documents I could go back to word save money and use multiple devices. Depends what you want and how serious you are about writing. Self publishing this is great formats your story for kindle and readers. It is great just a faulty connection between devices when you upgrade.

Happy at last!. I was ready to be ornery and nitpicky after the years of waiting and the high price, but the app quickly won me over. For the most part, it's actually an improvement over the original. Many features that seemed clunky in the desktop version translate beautifully to iOS. The extended keyboard is a brilliant solution to easy access of oft-used features. My one issue is that selecting text is ferociously difficult to control. The mechanism is so overly sensitive it will slip and slide over dozens of lines back and forth until I'm finally able to grab the handful of words or lines I want to highlight or edit. This can waste considerable time, aside from being tedious in the extreme. Other writing apps I use don't have this problem. Update: love the app, but the revised logo is an OCD nightmare.

Most Dysfunctional App cripples writers. This app is so bad, quirky and ultimately dysfunctional that it’s causing me to finally leave Scrivener altogether on all devices (including desktop) and go to Ulysses. This developer has virtually zero interest in EVER updating and fixing this app. What a rip-off. Dropbox sync is tedious and time consuming at best. Doc editor features are a joke. Good luck finding them. The simplest features (highlighting, bold, underline,,etc) are several levels deep & others just don’t exist or are buried so deep that it’s not worth looking for. Just trying to select a line or two of text is almost, and sometimes completely impossible as the whole page goes nuts and selects. PDFs cannot be magnified making it impossible to see detailed images on a small screen, nor can they be resized. I could go on but you get the point. I’ve tolerated this pathetic excuse for an app for years but it ruins the writing experience and with apps like Ulysses that are actually supported I’d have to be nuts to keep using Scrivener. Unless your married to your desktop and never leave your computer, Scrivener is a joke. And even then, it’s too complicated. Old, out-dated technology apparently or the developer just isn’t that good.

There’s room for improvement. Honestly, it’s aesthetically and functionally way better than OneNote or Word because it has templates and features to help with organizing which is so helpful. But the scrolling feature could use some tweaking, when I’m trying to capture an entire paragraph (when you triple tap and the paragraph gets selected) scrolling wants to be quick and capture everything either above or below what I’m trying to grab, it’s very annoying but not enough to stop using the app (enough for me to stop using the feature though). And the cross platform Dropbox sync feature took me a minute to get down on the pc side, just make sure you save and sync the file in the Dropbox project directory BEFORE you leave the house (not that I know from personal experience) and the apple app asks you if you want to sync the file from the web.

Unbelievably good for an iOS app. The level of detail and polish in this app is just staggering. Virtually everything from the desktop version of Scrivener is included, except for collections. (The corkboard is also restricted to the iPad for obvious reasons.) According to the developer, it even already has support for the newer, more powerful styles feature of Scrivener 3, although we won’t be able to use the new goodies until they’re also released on the desktop. But beyond the raw feature list, it’s obviously a labor of love. Interactions are well thought-out and natural, there’s better keyboard support than almost anything else on my iPad, dark mode is actually restful on the eyes rather than being excessively high contrast, there are little niceties like the ability to directly add your own fonts from within the program, etc. Just overall a pleasure to use, and hard to criticize.

Amazing except sync. For what it is, a word processor, this app is 5/5. Very neat, and extremely functional, I really like the layout and this app takes some familiarizing but doesn’t take long and is super super rewarding. My problem with the app is the entire concept of syncing and sending anything anywhere is horrible. They only sync with iTunes or Dropbox which right off the bat that few of options for a 20$ app? And I don’t use Dropbox so that’s pretty inconvenient. Well no matter I paid 20$ it can’t hurt to make a drop box account just for this one thing to sync even though that’s pretty impractical. Well now that I’m linked to drop box, I can’t even believe how bad this works. You can’t take a project or even a single, page/document and move it to or from the cloud. Not simply like that anyways, the process for any syncing or sharing is so unpolished I can’t believe this app is 20$. Developers now that you have my money, what the heck. Please add more support to this app and the ability to move docs and projects around more freely. If you could add support for iCloud or google drive, or even OneDrive, just something other than JUST Dropbox. So much limitation is reason for me to possibly find a new text editor and not even bother with getting the Mac app

BEFORE purchasing this app - read this. When you are typing on this app in screenwriting mode the app will choose certain words where when you attempt to type them, the app will freeze and then you have to completely shut down the app. The words are completely indiscriminate. Whenever I attempt to type the character name SUPERINTENDENT, the app freezes. When I try to write a scene heading using the word APARTMENT, the app freezes. There have been other examples and I never know which word in which screenwriting section is going to set it off. What happens is that you will get halfway through typing the word and the app becomes unresponsive. I have contacted the app developer and they have seemed disinterested in assisting me with this issue. I understand that I am completely unimportant and that they have already received my money. There are other writing apps available for the iPad, and many are free, or very inexpensive. I would URGE you to try those out before making the purchase for Scrivener. The features with this app are very useful, but for all the frustration you will get from not being able to simply TYPE WORDS INTO THE APP it may not be worth it. Also, Scrivener was developed mainly for the Mac and, like most other app developers making serious productivity app, the mindset that is professionals don’t really use the iPad to get work done, so we won’t work on it too much. (Eh, but let’s do bump the price up a bit because, hey, it’s Scrivener!)

Stuff you didn’t even know you needed.. I am in love with Scrivener. It has amazing features - stuff I never would have even thought of and now really appreciate: 1. Pinch-to-zoom actually increases the text size, which I’ve never seen in another app. Once you start using it, it’s incredibly intuitive. 2. Links - you can easily highlight text to create a link to any other part of your project, like a different chapter. This makes it easy to follow your thoughts from one event /character/ plot point to another. 3. Feature that keeps your cursor at center of page -I don’t remember what this feature is called, but if you’re in the “zone”, it’s annoying when your cursor moves because the page is being advanced. Instead, with this feature (it’s a T with a circle around it), you’re always typing on the same line and the page moves instead. It’s easier to understand when you try it out, but I love this feature. 4. Syncing is very good. It’s an extra step on iOS devices that you come out of the project to make it sync, but it’s a very good solution. And entirely the right decision to use Dropbox instead of hosting the data themselves (I assume they can’t use Apple iCloud because Scrivener also on other platforms.) If you’re writing a few pages of a short story, you might be fine with Google Docs or Word. But if you’re banging out a novel, spend a few bucks and get the best software out there. This is it.

Good but it needs more. I have used different word processing programs since 1980. There are some pretty important basic elements missing. Why is it impossible to set a certain font, size, and text color? If I backspace too much the text settings disappear and it goes back to teeny weeny. SOME OF US WEAR READING GLASSES darn it and yeah, teeny weeny type is the bane of my existence. I feel like this is a bit of a gyp. I have a mac mini and I wanted to take my writing with me. So I bought this app, which I thought had advantages over using Microsoft Word. In reality, it does not. Give me useful features that work and not a fancy sales pitch to make me think its worth the price you’re charging. I’m a student and know how to use my resources/programs/AI (only for editing, grammar, spelling) to write exemplary papers for college. I don’t just get A’s, I get A+’s on my writing assignments. I’m intentionally being critical here because I read the description of this app and let’s be real, you haven’t delivered on those promises. Make it right and I will make it my goal to let everyone know that I write with your app.

I. NEED. CUSTOMIZATION!!!. i love this app for the most part (except for the fact that it crashes every time i try to save my manuscript as a word file but whatever) but i have one complaint and one complaint only. MORE CUSTOMIZATION PLZ!!!! i knew that when i got the ipad edition of scrivener it wouldn’t have as many features as the mac version. and that’s fine—there are wayyy too many features on there, and i like to keep things as simple as possible thankyouverymuch. but the one thing i liked most about computer scrivener is the themes! you can set photos as background on there, change the page color, make things more aesthetic, etc etc. i need to use themes and colors i like on it to set a mood while writing so i can focus. i can survive with this basic version of scrivener for now, but it would be soooooo so so sooooooooooooo helpful if there were more features customization-wise. no, it doesn’t have to be exactly like mac. but as long as i can have a choice of page colors, and i can add photos as backgrounds and such, and maaaaaybe change the fonts of things like folder names, i’ll be satisfied.

STILL haven’t fixed sync issues?. First off: I LOVE LOVE LOVE the desktop app. This review is about the mobile app, which is essentially useless because of how bad the syncing is. I took this down to a 2 star because this problem has persisted ever since I first got the app almost a year and a half ago. Like, it’s actually dangerous to use the mobile app because it’s likely you will corrupt your organizing structure or files on yr desktop if you’re not super duper careful. Even if you are super careful (closing desktop app every time you possibly can), seems unpredictable. Other than that the app & design is superb! Sometimes I use it to just look at/ refresh myself on what i was writing while out. But it’s still scary knowing I could be messing with my doc when doing even just that. I don’t have time to reconstruct from my backups and wonder what I missed all the time. Backups should be for when the computer or app crashes; not because the mobile app is deranged.

But for background. For drafting a novel, there really isn't a comparable program that I'm aware of that performs nearly as well as Scrivener. In terms of design, Scrivener is simply the best for writing a book. I'm withholding a fifth star for one reason only, and that is the inability to customize the background color of the screen in the iOS version. Dark Mode is a major step forward, however; finally, a setting that allows for hours of writing without so much of the visual fatigue. But... you still can't get to black screen/green text, or to a darker background color as you can with many other other text editors that offer the ability to customize the color of both the screen (i.e. "paper") and text. It makes a real difference on the eyes for long stretches of writing, and I hope the ability to customize the background color in iOS will be forthcoming. This is a remarkable app, otherwise.

Great for organization. Scrivener is very unique in how it lets you create and organize pretty much any way you want. I love the other features it has as well, like creating and setting your own templates, and making a goal that can be set to words, characters, or time. There is definitely room to improve, however. The first and foremost necessity, is to fix dark mode. What’s wrong with it? Contrast. The contrast in regular viewing is fantastic, but for some reason the text is too dark and the background is too light in dark mode. This is a much-needed accessibility feature. The aesthetic doesn’t matter if it’s unusable. The whole point of dark mode is to reduce eye strain, but the contrast is so low that I feel like I’m straining my eyes more than if I was just staring at the white background. Please make the background darker and the text lighter. Aside from that, I absolutely love using Scrivener.

Very easy to use, solution to DropBox sync problems. Scrivener is very easy to work with on my iPad. I took it on a trip and worked on a number of new projects created on my iPad. However, on return, I tried to set up the Dropbox sync and it didn't work. Thanks to Jeff at Literature and Latte for working through this with me over several detailed replies. The options are to backup my iPad to iTunes on my iMac and work with files from there or, easier, to sync with Dropbox and work from there. Projects cannot exist in both places. However, when I first (and many subsequent attempts, reinstalls, etc) tried to sync my existing iPad Projects to Dropbox, a folder was created, but it was empty. The Projects and the empty folder showed in my iTunes file browser. So, I understood what was happening, but couldn't fix it. Today I decided to add a new "Test" Project on my iPad with one file in it. Then I synced with Dropbox. For the first time, a Dropbox list appeared in my iPad's Projects list and the Apps/Scivener folder in Dropbox showed my "Test" Project. From there, Jeff told me to tap edit on my iPad and drag the projects from "On My iPad" to "Dropbox". Did that, synced, all is well. Also synced with iTunes and now the file browser shows the folder and it's no longer zero kb. Hope this helps someone with the same issue.

Scrivener for iPhone & iPad ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Words cannot express my regret. The other was young, sleek, and provocative. My first love for you had become cold and I lost my focus in our routine. The other caught my eye as I drifted from our special time together every day. I was unfaithful. I am sorry. Please, forgive me. I was bored and I hoped to stir the passion of our first love, even if it was with another. The lure was shiny and I swallowed the baited hook. It was delicious for a time, until the hook’s barb pierced my deceived heart. My pleasure was momentary and melted faster than a triple scoop ice cream cone on a hot summer afternoon. I missed you. Then I learned about your iPhone and iPad child. Its images reminded me of the memories we made, the stories we wrote, and the time we enjoyed together along the way. Can you ever excuse me and absolve my guilt? Will you always hold a grudge? Will you forever remind me of my mistakes? I am back. I understand your skepticism. You know my nature, and there will always be another dangling its lure in my face. In the meantime, let us write stories together again, research the unsearchable, and enjoy one another’s company again. Fill my phone and complete my pad. Maybe, one day, you will again trust me to be loyal. If you must, although I hope you will not, I will understand your decision to look for subscribers and their prepaid promise of loyalty and wealth. The other did. There are many, but none like you. Thank you.

LITERALLY AMAZING!. I’m a teenage writer and before scrivener I was using pages which honestly isn’t bad but it lacked A LOT in the organization department and overall some features that I would love to have. Even though pages is a great option still if you don’t have the money to buy scrivener I would recommend it if you do. Scrivener is a game changer and if I ever publish any of my novels (which is a lot) I would gladly tell people about it. It’s changed the game for me I mean come on everything is at my finger tips. Even research so I don’t have to be switching back and forth from tabs it’s all just in one place! The organization is a masterpiece honestly this app really helped a writer out! I enjoy it. So to the creators of scrivener thank you for helping me get one step closer to my dream! I would recommend everyone buys this!

Ipad version function very limited. I intended to use my ipad to replace my laptop. I thought Scrivener can be my app for word processing. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of like about the app. It lets you neatly organizing all the research and different parts of your project together in an organized fashion. BUT the functionality of the ipad version of the app is very restricted (I expected it to be limited somehow but not that much). For example, I cannot create tables in my writings. When inserting photos, you cannot adjust the size of the photo in your writing. And the footnote system is kind of a mess. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to make them compiled as footnotes instead of endnotes. Even though the button says “add footnotes” — in the end they just all become endnotes. So, what I am trying to say is, it’s not that this is a bad app but one should keep ones expectation realistic. And I do think they should be advertising the very significant differences between the laptop and tablet version more explicitly. I bought it thinking that I would more or less get everything advertised. Feels I little bit cheated.

It’s a hobby kit not a writing tool.. Poorly designed, the antithesis of the reason for using a Mac or iOS over other platforms. Feature rife but not feature rich. If you want to play around with frameworks for writing projects it’s great. But it gets in the way of the actual research and writing. “Compiling” the final document is byzantine and obtuse. The user community is active but starstruck. Support for the desktop product is weak and actively rude. About a paid update of all things. I was trying to spend more money with them just to keep my software current. I’d not toss any more money into the sink now, though. Apparently this is a company that takes a 15% restocking fee for a digitally distributed product. At least that’ll give you a good laugh if they ever demand it of you. But if anything goes awry they’d likely tell you to drop dead. I recommend Mellel on the desktop/laptop and iPad, and Bear on both. The drag-and-drop content organization in Scrivener would be nice if it weren’t so freighted with insalubrious side effects. But you can do the very same thing in Bear and other apps if you don’t cling to the attractive but superfluous cork board visual model.

Cork board only missing feature. Scrivener is the best writing app I’ve used. It beats Ulysses, Storyist, Bear, Celtx and IA writer in features, versatility and function. The only issue I have with the mobile is the lack of a Cork Board. Storyist does have this feature but the Scrivener app is still cleaner and easier to use and write in. However the addition of the cork board would put Scrivener for IPhone out of the reach of the competition completely. The IPad and Desktop Apps are already untouchable as far as I’m concerned. Storyist is great too but for my money, Scrivener is the king and could strengthen that position with a cork board on IPhone. Also, iCloud sync would be another amazing feature although the Dropbox sync does work well and allows for Windows compatibility. A better import system for articles from third party apps would be amazing too. Something like a Pocket or Instapaper. This is a feature dream request not a complaint because no writing app I’m aware of has even the import capability that Scrivener currently boasts. Having nit picked aplenty, Scrivener is a true joy to use. The amount of research capabilities and the ease of outlining and restructuring capacity make writing even shorter items easy and organized. I use it for business, pleasure and social media. I also use to structure my podcasts. It can do anything you need it to. The best writing app ever, in my humble opinion.

Needs Modern Cloud Sync. (Updating this review a year later to say the same issue persists) A wonderful writing and organizational app in nearly every way, with the big exception of syncing. Background cloud sync is a standard feature in 2018, and has been for the better part of a decade, but Scrivener lacks it to this day. The best it can offer is a semi-manual Dropbox sync that requires closing a project, sitting through a 5-10 second foreground popup window, then reopening the project and finding your place again. No iCloud saves, no Google Drive sync, and – worst of all – no automated background backup. De-highlighting the app during the sync will also cause it to fail without notice. Scrivener will be a 5-star app once they modernize this feature. A browser-based version of the app would also be wonderful, but this is the feature really holding me back from recommending it to folks.

Great App — But Sync is Not Truly Automatic. When I first purchased the iOS version, I became very frustrated with the sync process— mainly because I did not understand how it works. All of the iOS apps I use sync in near realtime. For example, if I make a change in Bear, Ulysses, or even Notes, I can pickup the other device and see that the changes were synchronized almost immediately. What helps for me is making sure my Scrivener Project is closed on the device I am not working on (e.g., my Mac)— before I open it on the other device (e.g., my iPad). Yes, when the Project is closed on my Mac, Scrivener “automatically” syncs (assuming you have set the app to “Sync Projects on Close”). But the point is, the sync process needs a “click start” to make it happen. It does not work like the other apps I’ve used. Perhaps this is because the developer elected to rely on DropBox rather than iCloud (I believe they addressed this on their website— certain features need to be omitted if they relied on iCloud). That said, I’m new to Scrivener and can’t imagine using anything else. Scrivener 3 is the app I’ve been waiting for.

One of my go-to writing tools. I’ve written a number of bestselling and award-winning novels in Scrivener, since I bought my first copy of the Mac software several years ago. I waited (impatiently) for the iOS version, hoping it would at least come close to the same incredible writing experience as it’s big brother. The reality is that the iOS app may actually be a better tool than the desktop version. Having the ability to write and edit from anywhere, to sync my documents to Dropbox, even to export to Word format for sharing with editors and beta readers—all from my iPhone—is an incredible boon to my production. I’m a fan. I love the ecosystem of this software. I even believe, strongly, that Scrivener was the pivotal tool I needed to become a full-yeah me author in the first place. Very well done. Five stars may not be enough.

Synced Seamlessly (Almost). I was really hesitant to purchase for fear of syncing issues, but I managed to set it up within seconds of installation. I simply created a “Projects” folder in Dropbox first, with my current project from my PC already saved there, and then synced to that folder when setting it up on iOS. So far it is working as intended. I’m looking forward to seeing what all this app can do, but I already know it will help me be more productive and organized and complete more stories. I like to work in sections and hop around so this is really ideal for me. I’m really happy it was so easy to set up and actually works despite some of these reviews. ETA the sync is not quite seamless. Have to make sure it syncs before closing app or changes will not show on PC. I also make sure to save before closing on my PC because that doesn't seem to automatically sync either unless I save before closing. So it is not quite as seamlessly as the automatic updates in Google Docs or even Word (synced/saved in the cloud on my PC and laptop), but it's worth the extra effort to me to be able to better organize my manuscript, since I don't write linearly, and to also be able to work on projects on my phone and ipad.

Doesn’t work with Mac app. So surprised, once downloaded, to find that the iOS version doesn’t sync with the Mac Scrivener app. I can’t sign in to my account and access my Mac projects with iOS devices, which is such the norm for other apps (Final Draft …) that it never occurred to me to check for this. Very disappointed. It looks like everything I create in iOS will stay in iOS, attached to my Apple ID. And everything I create on the Mac app will stay there, linked to my Scrivener account. How does this even make sense in 2022? I understand that complexity may be an issue for cross platform interactivity, but to not even link the two for backup/filling purposes …. Makes no sense … On a positive, the iOS app looks clean, easy to use. Since I’ve spent the money, will probably use it for short writing projects, butnot sure about that as it’s important to me to save all of my writing projects in one place in the Apple ecosystem (can’t stand Dropbox or Box). If Apple can create a whole cross platform functionality for its apps, and Final Draft can create useable cross platform functionality for its apps, why is Scrivener not even offering us the chance to link the content created on two platforms to one account? I hope I’m wrong, have missed something, and Scrivener will answer and set me straight :)

A Powerful all in one App. This app has all the needs for a writer and even features for screenwriting, which I haven’t tried yet. I usually write everything down then go back and type, which leads for exhausting work. However, with Scrivener it has helped me get out of that habit and write as I type. I’ve had this app for a while now and didn’t follow the tutorial…Use the tutorial, it’s extremely helpful because it can and will get overwhelming trying to figure things out. One amazing feature is the inspector where you can type in your outlines for chapters or scenes in the note section and while you are typing, the outline will appear in the drop menu to the left. This works so much better to have the outline right at your fingertips as opposed to carrying around paper and having to use multiple apps to serve different purposes. I haven’t used the research feature yet because each project doesn’t requires it. It has a lot of folders that can go within another folder then another and another and so on. Also, you can convert text into folders and vice versa. If you are looking for a writing app that does it all, then you’ve found it. Link it to your Dropbox to get the best out of it and synch it across all your devices which is another plus. They also have a computer software as well. Happy writing.

Bewildering App to use for first time on iPad. Its literally taken me DAYS to figure out how to buy this . My Mac crashed and I purchased a version again only to discover I need a different version for IPAds/. Paid AGAIN, finally loaded it, opened it, and have spent the last few hours trying to understand how on earth to write a screenplay with it. How to write ANYTHING on it. Even after reading the tutorial and finding about what sounds like the very useful outliner, Corkboard, I really am bewildered about how to go forward. It says somewhere that it may be difficult for those who haven’t used the full Laptop version, but this is like landing on Mars. I am, as I type, downloading Final Draft which I suspect I will have better luck with. I’m sure its fantastic as I hear it is from friends, but the developers have made little effort to make first users intuitively find their way around it. It assumes we all have and use the full versions of it elsewhere. And don’t get me started on the tutorial which is definitely written by an aspiring Novelist... it goes on, and on, and on and on, more like a manual to assemble a car than a guide on how to use a writing app.

Text Selection Issues. Love this app, but it is frustrating to select text with my mouse because the screen begins scrolling up or down uncontrollably quickly. This does not happen in my other word processors or on websites, so it seems to be a scrivener-specific problem. I’ve also tried changing my mouse settings, but that has not worked either. This is not so much of a criticism as much as something I would like, but more editing functionality would be amazing on iPad. Like being able to create snapshots or being able to use “editor mode” like I do on my home computer, so I don’t have half of my edits in editor mode and the other half standard text. It seems the app is built more for drafting, which is less useful further in the process. The mac version is great for revisions, and I would like if some of that functionality was portable (at least editor mode colors would be amazing).

Great for local. If I had to choose between iCloud file sharing or dropbox, I would choose iCloud. If all you’re using is a free account, and only own two devices, then dropbox is great, however, the limitation of only being able to link two different devices to your Dropbox account is simply unacceptable. For whatever reason, dropbox seems to have completely ignored the needs of single consumers in their plans as the last time I checked their plans pretty much seem only oriented towards serving the needs of larger organizations, both from a price point and storage size. iCloud is a Much More customer oriented cloud plan. Especially if you’re using Apple devices to begin with. The fact that I cannot save my Scrivener files to iCloud and I’m limited only to dropbox or local is incredibly frustrating. I would love to be able to update spontaneous ideas about a Project on my iPhone and then go to my iPad or to my laptop to be able to more fully flesh it out. Instead, if I am working between devices, then I have to save it as a Dropbox file, which means that I have to disconnect one device and connect another in order to access that file if it is not one of my “allowed devices” whenever I am switching from my phone to my laptop to my iPad.

Nice app; could be great if sync was better. I absolutely love Scrivener. I have it on my MacBook, my iPad, and my iphone and I use it in different ways on all three. However, I agree with others that sync is clunky. I do think the app should allow background sync rather than syncing on open/close. Even when I have synced everything on all three of my devices and closed out of Scrivener on all of them, when I reopen and sync on my iPad I invariably get a conflict. How is that possible? There’s only one app making changes and the others were all synced. iPad, is where I use Scrivener most, so I’ll tolerate this silliness because most of the rest of the iPad app is beautifully designed. But I just can’t give it five stars without seeing improvement on that one major issue. I use Dropbox with no issues on other apps, so I’m sure the problem is fixable.

I love how Scrivener works for me. I have used Scrivener on Mac, but have since moved to iPad. With the move, I have lost a few of the functionalities that I had grown accustomed to, but I understand why they aren’t available in IOS as compared to MacOS (limitations in the structure of IOS). I’m still learning about how to use some of the great features available in Scrivener. One thing I’d like to see available in Scrivener, which seems to not be there now is: The main screen, where all my projects are listed, is sortable based on three criteria but none of those criteria allows me to sort the way I’d like it sorted. I’d like to have an “open” sort functionality to allow me to group my projects in my own way. I know there may be a limitation in IOS that prevents this functionality, but if not... I’d love to have a “free sort” functionality. Thanks for a great product.

Stellar App but sorta glitchy. This app is way better than writing in google docs as I could easily go from one specific chapter to another without going through endless walls of text to go to where I need to be, and it’s also much easier to spot plot holes when I go back and edit. The only complaint I have is that when sometimes I click on a certain chapter, it redirects me to a chapter I didn’t mean to click on, and I have to keep clicking on the right one to go back. It happens every other time I click on a chapter, but it doesn’t really make it completely unusable, just wish for a way to fix it so it doesn’t do that. Good software, somewhat glitchy but it’s not to the point where it destroys the quality of this program. 5/5 stars.

Excellent companion to the desktop version. I've been using the iOS Scrivener for many months now, and I can definitely state that it delivers on what it promises. Most importantly, the app gets out of my way and lets me write. There is a lot of depth to it, but you don't really need to make use of it. The core functionality gives me the tools to organize my book, keep it safe on the cloud, and export into multiple formats. The deeper features were not intuitive to use at first, and I did not find good documentation within the app on how to use them. I think the app just offers so much that it takes a lot of effort to get up to speed on what everything does. I'd love a series of tutorials within the app, but generally speaking a quick googling is enough to show me how to do whatever I want.

Perfect for the way I write. This is the app I’ve been looking for. My creative process is all about planning. I like to write up bios for my characters, descriptions of locations, high level descriptions of scenes, etc. I like to have all of that written out and organized before I start writing. This app fit my workflow to a T. Now, I don’t want to give the impression that you have to write like that to use Scrivener, but if you do this is the absolute perfect app for you. Scrivener makes it easy to stay organized. You’ve got folders, labels, all kinds of great tools. Your writing project is just that, a project, with all of the various resources you create rather than just a document. Before Scrivener I had to keep bits and pieces in different apps: notes apps, folders on my drive, etc. But with Scrivener everything I need is all in one place. I can’t recommend this app enough. If you write you want this app. I’d give it an extra star for being a one time purchase with no subscription. If it was a subscription I never would have bothered trying it.

So Close, and yet So Far. The MacOS version is fantastic. While iPads were previously quite limited in their capabilities, they have come a long way and can now be used as an effective laptop replacement. Unfortunately, this app sells an iPad and any writer who uses their iPad in lieu of a laptop or desktop short. The capabilities and the layout are extremely limited. Perhaps one of the most frustrating limitations, after having used this for well over a decade, is that there is STILL no iCloud sync support. I long for an improvement in this area, but with the most recent release over six months ago, I am not holding my breath. Dropbox is a maddening solution for interoperability between mobile and desktop. I would gladly pay a reasonable monthly subscription to continue to support L&L if it would enable them to more rapidly iterate and create some modernization in this. To not have iCloud integration and to still be treating an iPad version as a “desktop lite” edition in 2022 is a big mistake and missed opportunity.

Fantastic writing experience, and no more Dropbox. I have been using Scrivener on Mac since 2019 and it is hands-down my favorite writing tool. Even when comparing to Final Draft. I’m happy to say that all the features that makes Scrivener a fantastic word processor are all perfectly replicated here in the app, and in some cases work better then the Mac/desktop version. Highly recommend for new and experience writers looking for a new writing experience. An even better note for veteran Scrivener users, with the new version of iPadOS and the updated iOS app you no longer need to sync your projects though dropbox. You can now sync through Airdrop, just airdrop your project from files to your MacBook and Scrivener will offer to sync it up with the existing document on your computer when you open it up.

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Wonderful, beautiful app. Thank you so much to the devs for bringing Scrivener to iOS. All the features I care about are included, and sync works perfectly. The only thing I really miss is the ability to add more meta data and having a bar rather than a pie chart for session targets-And maybe make the ability to toggle its visibility. ;) But it's not a huge deal and I love all the detail and care added to the app.

Disappointed IOS version. So I bought Scrivener iOS for nearly $60 Australian dollars. I wanted to simply put my apple Pages writing project into somewhere where I could access notes, plans and create chapter folders etc. Wow what a mistake. The written and video tutorials by scrivener and third parties do not even show how to create chapters correctly in the default ‘untitled document’ , I created two chapters and it placed chapter 2 above chapter 1 in the time line and when I tried to drag them into correct order it wouldn’t let me? I’m sure there’s a way but come on, I should ebe able to drag them for the money they are charging. The filing of chapters and notes is the primary reason people would buy this app yet they do an average job of explaining it on iOS. The full desktop version apparently has a ‘novel’ template that saves technophobes like me having to set up their own project but for $60 I get nothing? I tried watching the desk top videos but the interface is too different. I have heard great things about Scrivener but if they can’t design an IOS version that is intuitive and easy to use than they shouldn’t be charging so much for it. just one simple video made by someone who knows how to teach for writers wishing to create a novel template on iOS would solve this. TIP: To teach someone something new your need to start from the beginning.......DISAPOINTED.

Love it!. Absolutely love it. Couldn't be happier to finally have a portable version of my scrivener projects. I was also pleasantly surprised to see how many of the features made it over from the desktop versions. Great app.

App crashes on launch. I updated to the latest version and it crashes on launch. Cool.

Crashes when syncing with dropbox each time. Very annoying. Couldn’t use.

Appearance tab on ipad gives no formatting options. Again, another very limited writing app on Ipad.

Airdrop for Syncing. I love Scrivener! It has been a real game changer for me when it comes to organising my writing and meeting my goals! One of the biggest issues is the syncing between devices. I originally started using Scrivener on my PC, and when I moved my projects over to my iPad, the syncing was painstakingly difficult with Dropbox, and vice-versa when I moved the documents from my iPad to my Mac. BUT! A work around that I’ve found with syncing my projects from my Mac to my iPad and iPhone, is Airdrop! As long as you’re projects are saved as a Scrivener file, you can airdrop your projects from one device to another. The only downside is that there is no way to automate this. Overall, I’m very happy with how Scrivener has helped me become a better, more organised writer.

Christmas has come early!. This has been on many people's Christmas wish list for several years and it is finally here. One of the greatest tools a writer can own is Scrivener, and now it is finally available on a device that any writer can keep with him/her at all times. I now own Scrivener on my Mac, my work PC, my iPad and my iPhone6. Happy days. Writers now have no excuse for losing that flash of inspiration due to a lack access to their files.

Remarkable. Literature and Latte have done something truly remarkable with this application. I didn't have high hopes for an "iPad version" of Scrivener - to be fair iOS applications too date have been pale reflections of their computer counterparts. I was wrong. Scrivener for iOS could be the most significant application for writers ever released. To be able to pick up the threads of my stories wherever I am on iPhone or iPad and have the files sync perfectly with my masters back home is remarkable. The level of functionality they've been able to replicate from the original is incredible. This is the application I have been waiting for for years.

Best app for writing academic papers. Hi guys. I love this app for planning, organising, and writing my academic papers. Suggestions: One thing I wish this app could do would be annotation and highlighting on PDFs in the Research pane using the Apple Pencil. Also, if you could make a way to share PDFs from the Research pane in one file to another one in the app would be great. At the moment it’s a lot of messing around to access my literature. I’d keep it all in Scrivener if it wasn’t locked within one file only. Please consider these additions in a future update and keep up the great work!

Everything I'd hoped for. Scrivener (for iOS) is everything you've come to expect from Literature and Latte. The interface is intuitive, mimicking the desktop version. Syncing is flawless (once I remembered Scrivener for desktop needed to be updated to 2.8). Well worth the wait.

No iCloud sync. I’m incredulous that, in 2018, a professional app with a professional app price is unable to sync with the OS’s own cloud service. Basically a waste of money for me.

Great app. Great app for writing and organising different parts of your project. Only problem is that you have to sync with dropbox. Would like to be able to sync with icloud. I just have to use my ipad only and not on any other device.

Only great if you're using an iPad. Bought this thinking it would have most of the same features as the desktop version. Then realized - no corkboard for iphone version. It seems like all the positive reviews are from people using an ipad for which that feature is available. Also, no performance targets either - at least on the iphone. So my two favourite features that puts scrivener above other writing apps are both not available and yet I just spent $30 AUD on it for the pleasure of finding that out. Not happy.

Wish they had snapshot feature. I understand that they can’t fit all of the UI into the iOS feature, but at the very least, I wish they can somehow utilise snapshot. It’s honestly the best feature of scrivener and it’d bring the iOS experience to a whole new level.

Terrible Design. Why make it so frustratingly hard to setup templates. The instructions for setting it up are buried under confusing groups and they don’t work. This has been such a let down I am switching to another tool for both iPad and Desktop. You should have put more effort into making this app usable.

No iCloud syncing is a big minus for me. Like the app but I am really put off by not being able to import or export from iCloud ... or sync my work there.

A wonderful adaptation to the small screen. I've used Scrivener on my Mac for years - couldn't do my work (book ghostwriting) without it. I knew it was never going to be easy to translate its main features to the iPad, but they have succeeded admirably, and with seamless sync to boot. Most important for me is the ability to have two documents open at once, side by side, and that has been achieved very cleverly. Now I can literally work anywhere!

Some issues. Having issues when typing. I’m using the iPad for my work with scrivener. At times while writing, I will change lines and the font will change.... as well as this the writing cursor doesn’t always stay where I’m writing but goes a line down as my writing continues on the line above. Very annoying and distracting. I usually have this problem when trying to use bullet points, but it occurs frequently. I want to continue using this app, and will gladly give it 5 stars if these small issues could be addressed.

A Life Changer!. This program has completely changed the way I write, and has given my computer and phone the organisation I was looking for. Before I had it, I could only organise my files in folders and paper, even then it wasn’t too easy. Now I can do everything I need, with all the planning in one place. I will admit when I saw the price of this program, I wasn’t sure straight away. It’s so, so worth it for all that you get, once you get used to how it works and the way it’s all set out. Think about all the money saved from not buying notebooks/pens/paper/folders, etc. If you’re an organiser like I am, it’s an essential! I was shocked at how easy it made everything. If you write in-depth pieces, like fantasy novels I couldn’t recommend it more. You can create pages for each character, for settings, and then you can create notes or research pages that are quick and easy to access and file away. No need for word or pages doc’s crowding as separate files or risking them getting lost, it’s all in one place! You can even compile it all as a novel and publish it in the file type you want. I also highly recommend getting it for both iPhone/iPad and buying it separately for Mac too. Then through Dropbox you can access all your files and write on the go, or get those ideas down wherever you are! Great job guys, you’ve done an outstanding job.

Great program. This program is a great program and is very beneficial for writers. It does have a learning curve, but this is not to difficult to pickup, and there are plenty of support videos to assist.

Potentially wonderful - frustrating design flaws. The biggest - almost only - problem with the Scriv app is how it syncs with Dropbox. When it works, it’s wonderful. When it doesn’t, it makes you want to scream. You can be working in one file, go to the next - and it’s nothing but blank pages. Or half the chapters in one file will have content, the other half won’t. About the only predictable factor is that chapters with embedded images seem to load more often than text-only. What makes this a design flaw rather than just a frustration is the fact that, of course, you can’t force the app to re-download from Dropbox. Nope. The sync button means it tells Dropbox to overwrite the files with its flawed empty versions instead. When it works, it’s worth every cent. When stuff like this happens, you wish you’d never bought it.

Beware, no iCloud support. If you're hoping to use this and access your writing in your mac, you'll need to install Dropbox on both computers. Unfortunately, Dropbox is a very dubious file sharing and syncing service with an enormous amount of controversy widely documented on the internet regarding privacy, snooping, and, to put it kindly, curious attempts to access your computer's security. Personally, I'm disappointed to have bought it and won't compromise my security so will have to ditch it. Expensive mistake. I have written to Scrivener and they seem to have no interest in changing their syncing method.

Best writing software finally on iOS. It has been a very long wait for those of us who have been wanting an iOS Scrivener for years, but it's finally here! This is simply the best software purchase you will ever make as a writer or anyone who deals with a lot of written files and documents. So far the app seems rock solid and has synced perfectly with DropBox. My .scriv files are all there, and the key functions are all included in the mobile version. The interface is clean and clear and easy to use. Having access to all my writing projects on-the-go is a dream come true.

Ugh! Sync! 😫. Please please PLEASE! For the love of all things good in this world, please. I don’t like Dropbox. I don’t trust Dropbox. I don’t want a Dropbox account. I just want a different syncing option. iCloud would be great. But if that’s really not possible, there’s got to be some other non proprietary way to sync between Mac and iOS. Why is Scriv the only app with this problem?

I have come to love it. With my initial resistance of splitting my filing across OneDrive and DropBox, I got over it and yielded to being told to use that service. With over a year using it, I sometimes compose on the iPad version but predominantly use the iOS tool for editing and proof reading. To that regard it would be great to have a continuously scrolling reading view, aggregating all chapters and scenes so that you could do spot edits and fix typos without having to return to the binder to load new content. Keep up the good work L&L.

Syncing is troublesome. Can’t figure out how to sync between one drive and iOS, only other option is to continuously copy back and forth from Dropbox, that was a problem solved 10 years ago for most other platforms

No updates. The app hasn’t been updated in over a year and the bugs are starting to pile up. Dropbox sync still takes a lot of time an no option to sync using iCloud. App needs some attention.

Please fix. I spend a decent walk of money on this program and I’m extremely disappointed, I have to return my words in for them to line up. Please fix this

Fabulous. I have been a Literature and Latte devotee since pre Scrivener days and absolutely love Scrivener iOS. I find it much more comfortable, flexible and less invasive to write on an iPad than a lap/desktop, and with Scrivener iOS I have no need for the former any more. No matter how one approaches a big project, there is a way forward with index cards, outlines, notes, folders, summaries visible in different ways and kind to those of us who think spatially. There have been comments about features lacking in the iOS version, but these are minor, and very clearly explained in Will All Desktop Features be Added to Scrivener for iOS article on the L &L knowledge base.

Superb. The guys at Literature and Latte have outdone themselves with this one. Syncing works a treat. The whole design is thoughtful and intuitive. Much better than its competitors (including that one named after some famous novel or something). Scrivener for iOS finally here, and it's freaking awesome!

Please keep up with the iPadOS features. Adding multiple window support for the iOS version could make it a even more powerful writing app. On the iPad, Quick Reference only allows viewing of two documents from the same project. This of course is not a problem on the desktop version since you can open multiple windows.

Waste of time and money. This app is a waste of time and money. You can’t send any work to scrivener from other apps like the apple notes app. You change the default font settings and they don’t stay that way so you need to change them for every new document. When you copy and paste from Apple notes it doesn’t always copy in the same format or font so half of your note will be in one font and the other half in a different font. It’s very time consuming to try and sort out. I wish I didn’t bother wasting my money on this app that has so many glitches in the first 30 minutes of use! Really not happy at all with this app

Very annoying bug present though. I use the dark mode, but the annoying thing is that they achieve this by changing the actual font colour to white. So when it comes time to compile a draft, I can’t see any text because the text is white and the page is ofc white, And there’s not even an option to change the text to a different colour, I can’t believe this is a thing in an expensive writing app

Not Synced With Desktop Scrivener. This doesn’t sync with iCloud from your PC and $80 Scrivener, it syncs with Dropbox. So you can’t take your PC work with you on your phone. I don’t think they should call this the same app, and should disclose this massive flaw at the top not at the bottom of their about info. It’s disingenuous to market these apps as the same or as seemingly intuitive as Apple when you’re not using iCloud, not even as an option, alongside Dropbox. Not what I wanted. Not the same app. Not PC version. Not synced to my desktop work. Not helpful.

Tremendous app for writers. As a long-time Scrivener user on Windows, I have been waiting for the iOS version for quite some time, but had no idea it would be this good. It allows me to do what I do best on my iPad and iPhone (ideate, outline and edit) and work seamlessly with my desktop version on Windows. The app has been flawless! It syncs beautifully and I am now working on my writing projects on iPad, iPhone and desktop as best suits my workflow! Awesome app L&L!

Sets a new standard. Never been so excited over an app before. Purchased desktop version years ago and have found myself using a fragmented workflow with other apps until an iOS version came. It's here. It works and, take my money!

Avoid. Scrivener is great, the desktop version. I couldn’t write without it. The app is a disaster. It doesn’t always sync correctly and randomly wipes files. The file is still there but all the text is gone. Not worth the risk.

Daily Driver. I use this app every day. So handy to have along with the Mac app.

As good as the desktop version but now for on the Go. Have used this app for five years now and it's productivity heaven for a writer. Love being able to finally store story/character ideas on the go now as opposed to having to merge them from another notes app later on. The apps turned non writing times now into extra writing time. Very grateful to the developer of this wonderful app

Great companion on the move. I have both Scrivener for iOS and MacOS (v3) and find the two work very well together using Dropbox sync. I’ve only been using the iOS app for about 4 months and understand that - compared to its big sister - it has a lot less ‘development time under the bridge’ There are a few important features that I’ve noticed are missing, which will hopefully come soon in updates: 1. Global search Currently it’s only possible to search within an individual document in a project. Given that a project typically consists of many such documents this is frustrating when trying to find a particular word/idea 2. Formatting Styles The format inspector has a bunch of pre-defined styles but it’s impossible to edit them to effect project-wide format changes 3. Select All Maybe it’s an iOS issue but the usual ability within iOS to tap & hold to bring up the Select All contextual menu option is missing. This would be super helpful when editing or moving large chunks of text (see ‘Move’ function below) 4. Move (or copy) documents/folders between projects I have a couple of templates that I use for different parts of my writing process but I’m unable to use them without first creating a new document in the destination, naming it via copy paste, then copy paste the template content. Getting other data such as keywords etc. is near impossible as this all needs to be recreated in the destination

Great for all kinds of writing. This is such a great app and I use it for all kinds of writing ... its so easy to merge pieces together and organise your writing once you learn how to use it properly which does not take that long

Brilliant App. I love the Scrivener app. It means I can have all my WIP’s in my pocket wherever I am. Whatever the time.

Finally!!! The ultimate writing app is on iOS!. If you know and use Scrivener, then this review is really unnecessary - you've already bought it. But, just in case you're not sure... I was on the Beta test group and the iOS version is a brilliant implementation of Scrivener. All the core functionality is here and it has sync'd my projects via Dropbox flawlessly. I often choose to use the iOS version over the PC version because of how nice it is. Further, the support from Keith (the developer) has been second to none, with consistent updates and great communication. If you don't know about Scrivener then you might be balking at the price. If you're a writer, do yourself a favour and go and learn about Scrivener. Try the 30 day trial PC / Mac app, then when you see how amazing it is, you'll by it and you won't hesitate to buy the iOS version as well. This is the most expensive iOS app I've ever purchased, yet it's the one I've spent the least amount of time considering whether I should purchase it or not.

No iCloud integration. I quite like scrivener desktop overall, but since the iOS app will only sync with Dropbox, it really impacts the utility. I wish the devs would add the ability to store projects in iCloud rather than just on-device, since Dropbox only offers expensive, high capacity plans, and also I just don’t like their service very much, it’s bad

Scrivener is just the best writing software ever. Scrivener is just the best writing software ever. I've been using the Desktop version on my Mac for a while now, and I'm always impressed by it. Now that it's available on iOS I've got it installed on my iPhone and iPad. The syncing feature with the desktop version means I can update my manuscripts anywhere, anytime and be sure that I don't miss a moment when the inspiration to write comes. No hesitation in giving it 5 stars.

No ICloud Syncing???. Having bought both the Mac version and iPhone version it is disappointing to see that the iPhone version has no iCloud syncing. Dropbox doesn’t really do it for me and iTunes copying is too much fiddle. Please progress to iCloud syncing!

At long last. I hadn't been as vigilant keeping up with Scrivener for iOS news since I had long since assumed it would be another year before it would appear on the App Store... how delightful it was to find my estimation fantastically missed the mark! As an avid user of Scrivener on Mac, I purchased the iPad version immediately. It runs smoothly and looks beautiful. I once said I would delete my entire slew of word processing apps on iPad once Scrivener came out and I am very happy that I am able to do so in complete confidence. Scrivener on iPad is definitely a game changer for me.

Good. I have to write something here so the review will save.

Spend more time in Dropbox than writing. The lack of syncing is not only frustrating, it is broken. You have to constantly manually sync with Dropbox, because if you ever have a hiccup with your internet and it doesn’t sync, your work creates conflicted documents and you will spend your time solving that problem and doing your work again. Syncing can also take a long time, and takes over the entire screen, so when you want to jot something down quick, it is impossible. After a year of working with it, I find myself avoiding the app because of the errors, pasting in from my notes, and afraid of clicking on the icon from my phone.

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iOs13 crashes in seconds when syncing. New upgrade crashes about 10 seconds into syncing. Older version on iPad works fine. I’ll skip the next upgrade on iPad until this is fixed.

Cant Sync Between Devices. What is this, 1993? Brutal that you can’t access your data across multiple devices. Delete.

Mind-bogglingly confusing :(. I used Scrivener on my Mac for years. Loved it. Eventually I started spending more time on my iPad than my desktop so to be able to keep on writing on that device and having everything in sync seems ideal. So I bought Scrivener for iOS. I have absolutely never been able to keep my writing synced up. I find it extremely confusing. Once I get everything working properly it goes along for a while and then I start getting error messages. It’s probably my fault – I’m doing something wrong but why does it have to be so confusing? I am a writer, not a geek.

Great app, missing a few things. Great app for writing long form. However, it would’ve been a five stars if there was Apple Pencil support for jotting down notes or thoughts for brainstorming . Still lacking in syncing support as it’s still a hassle with Dropbox to sync with desktop.

Syncing is inconsistent. I lost an entire day’s worth or writing because the sync doesn’t work properly. I’ve had issues multiple times. If you don’t force it at the right time, if the computer version doesn’t pick up the changes, you could have your files over written. I can’t stand it. What good is the rest of the software if I can’t reliably sync between mobile and mac?

Francophones, abstenez-vous!!!. Impossible d’utiliser les guillemets français (« ») dans l’app iOs sur iPad. Quelle déception!!!! Et n’essayez pas d’avoir un remboursement, ce n’est tout simplement pas une option. ARGH!!!!

Great App. Have this on an IPAd and my Air but use the IPad exclusively. Easier to navigate. Wish they synced automatically but with the minimal knowledge I have of this app it hasn’t happened. I will have to study it in depth. Nevertheless it’s the only app I use for writing.

Dropbox Drops Flushes Functionality Down the Box. Dropbox creates the inability to link Scrivener work across personal platforms.. by itself, Scrivener is a ‘what a great app’.. but try to work on multiple or linked devices.. forget it. One would think that if less expensive apps, can link via browsers, that two Paid Scrivener apps, would be able to play nicely with each other... but, that is not the case.. a third party has to be in the middle. Scrivener: useful only on single devices. And only where internet works, no ‘off grid in residencies’ for you.

I love this app!. I really love how organized this app is and how I can sync it with my drop box! I got a new iPad Pro and I was really impressed with how beautiful and integrated this app is with my new iPad. I can set up multi-tasking really easily (pull up a browser to do my research as I write) which I didn’t think I’d appreciate until I realized how many apps out there don’t support this amazing feature!! I’ve had this app since the first scrivener and I love what this team continues to do. Keep up the amazing work Literature & Latte!!!

Great for Desktop, not IOS. Syncing between devices using Dropbox is a tedious process and has been for years. I had shelved the app away after seeing how unusable it was more than five years ago. It’s a shame that there is not a better sync feature. Compared to other writing softwares syncing options like Obsidian, Scrivener has fallen way behind in the app world.

Fantastic App!. Though I haven’t tapped into it’s full potential yet, I love the workflow I’m able to approach with this app, and it’s nice to know that everything can be reliably backed up and accessible via multiple devices. The fact that you can have separate sections to a project where you can even put research you’ve done down. It’s simply remarkable! This app is great if you’re just starting out, a novice writer, or someone who just needs a really good app to write with!

Amazing App. The ability to cloud save documents between both an app and the computer software is amazing!!! Very engaging software all in all, would highly recommend. 🙂

Love it. I use Scrivener for almost 4 years on my desktop computer, iPad and iPhone. Since 4 years ago I got free updates. The most professional app for writers. I have to mention that I’m not a writer, I use this app to store and find my researches and valuable information I have. I still love it. And admire the company and it’s developers.

The iOS app isn’t as good as the window version. I have both the iOS and the Window version. Sadly they don’t sync together. On the Window version I can open my files as I please with OneDrive, Google Drive, and DropBox. But with the iOS version, it is only available to sync with DropBox, which is very disappointing. I would like to see the iOS app being able to sync with OneDrive as well in the future. But so far, this app version will only get 2 star from me. As I am very disappointed with it.

The Stradivarius of Word Processors. What can I say about Scrivener that hasn't already been said? Well, I’ll just say that if word processor apps were violins, then Scrivener would surely be regarded as the Stradivarius of word processors. That pretty much says it all.

DO NOT BUY!. Bought this crap recently. Worked on editing all morning... then guess what? It crashed and all my work disappeared. How nice. Please don’t give these idiots another cent.

Horrible. The windows version of this is amazing but the hoops needed to link it to share files between iOS and windows is just agonizing and a waste of time. Requested a refund on this app. It seems from various videos and research that this app is best with a Mac book.

Navigation is too friction-heavy. TL;DR: It is absolutely unusable for daily use on the iPad if you need to be able to easily navigate between your documents easily while writing. Scrivener had been my go-to app for years but, ever since moving to the iPad as my daily driver, I’m finding it untenable to keep using. If you use the iPad version of Scrivener to just jot down a quick idea while you’re away from your main version on the Mac, this should work just fine for you. If you want to use it as your daily writing tool, though, I’d recommend moving to something else, even if, like me, you’ve been a long-time Scrivener evangelist. The main issue is navigation. It is excruciating to move between the documents inside your project. Instead of having an easy-to-use drop-down-style document browser that opens up each document folder with the documents underneath it, you have to enter that folder, enter the next document in the hierarchy, then the next sub-document in that hierarchy, and so on, until you get down to the one you want to get to and work on. Forget easily popping between two different documents to compare or to look up bits you may have collected or drafted in other parts of the project. It’s essentially like you’ve hidden every small section of your project deep in a series of file folders and are only allowed to see one of those at a time. (Oh, and it’s been many, many months since there’s been an update. Maybe the App’s been abandoned?) Great on the Mac; unusable as a daily writing tool on the iPad.

No iCloud support. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT as a writing tool on my Macs, but it’s quite limited on iPad because of how it stores files. I’m constantly moving from computer to computer and cannot access my writing projects easily or practically with Dropbox as they throttle back the number of computers you can use on their free accounts to only three devices. I have no interest in paying for Dropbox storage (because I already have a NAS Drive (and an iCloud account that has no such restrictions). I’m hoping that Scrivener will consider making this product more iPad friendly soon by releasing an update that will support iCloud storage (or that you’ll consider supporting NAS drives) but until then, I can only give this great software one star.

Amazing. The best writing app. Hands down, learn to use it, never look back. But for the developer, please make so that in script mode after a line of dialogue, it defaults to character, not action, this is far more intuitive for screenwriting. Or even better make this customizable. Switching script text types could be improved a bit, quite clunky since it’s all the way at the top of the screen. Nevertheless, the app is life-changingly good.

Syncing is terrible. (IPAD ver) I got this as an alternative to Evernote as I can pay one payment rather than monthly bill. With that said, I am comparing this to evernote quite a bit. Organization is a bit limited and rather clunky. I can work through that but what is the most frustrating is the syncing system. I have often lost work or hours of organization simply the syncing lags between the IPhone/IPad. (I usually use iPhone to jolt down idea and then use IPad for longer entries).I honestly try to sync every time I open the app on both my devices but it always lags and causes file conflicts. I would only recommend this for using on one device rather than syncing this to two. It creates a whole lot of trouble.

Sync is not ready - Don’t use for critical work. I just got the iOS scrivener after having the desktop for years. I’m a former software dev so technical experience is not the issue. Basically, sync on Dropbox with Scrivener is flakey. I recently lost (as in gone!) 25 pages of work after a sync. (Luckily I have work backed up elsewhere. I’ll never trust this app on iPad or Mac again.) I had a series of conflicts that were seriously messed up and all of the re-organization I did to my binder has been shot. I’ve read a number of the responses to reviews and the developer here often falls back to “well, this is just a small software shop, we can’t do everything.” Well, that excuse doesn’t cut it when you charge $25+ dollars for your app. You’re making decent money, you need to absolutely ensure that you do no harm to people’s work. Disappointed in the app is an understatement. Don’t bother.

It will not open old Scrivener files!. I bought the program for my PC in 2014 or 2015. I’ve been using it without issues until my PC died. Today I bought the app for iPad (my new device). I went through the whole routine of saving to Dropbox and syncing only to get a message that it’s an “older format that cannot be opened on mobile devices”. I cannot afford to buy another computer just to open my 150 000 word fantasy book. Please create a way to open old files, otherwise this app is useless. Note to self, if I manage to open it by seeing if anyone I know has an older program, I will have to remember to constantly export for word so I don’t lose my book in the future.

Simply amazing.. Scrivener in itself is an amazing tool, which authors in the past could not have even dreamed about. I am astonished by how the application has made writing possible—with the same accessibility—even at times when I don’t feel like using my computer or am not behind my desk. Bravo!

Appreciate the Sync but iCloud?. I appreciate that you allow third party syncing. But the fact that there’s no support for iCloud sync is a little strange considering the PC version is an obvious after thought. I would love native iCloud support with proper collaboration, side car, etc.

Fantastic on iOS. As a writer, I’ve been using a number of apps on my iPad for quite a few years with some success.. my favourite to date is Bear, and while it’s a wonderful app for notes and journaling and capturing, for writing a structured novel or body of work, it takes a lot of work with the tags. And with the hype of Ulysses, I did try it for a couple of months but it was way too convoluted for me to absorb how to make it work for me. Years and years ago, I used Scrivener on my MacOS, and loved it, I loved the interface and the customer support. I followed along with every upgrade and it was definitely my writing software of choice. NOW, I see the app for Scrivener... lo and behold, many great reviews (and a majority of naysayers cite DropBox as their main complaint). Being an avid user and supporter of Dropbox after researching and realizing it is one of the most secure cloud options on the market, I was willing to give the new Scrivener for iOS a go.... I’m in heaven! Oh, my goodness, I can’t believe my good fortune. Thank you Scrivener. This is exactly what I needed: streamlined app, very easy to use on my iPad, immediate and no-hassle linking to Dropbox, the ability to work with all my writing projects in a systematic way... very well done. Thank you, thank you.

Practically useless. Until the Scrivener iOS app realizes that it’s no longer 2007 and that there are more cloud services than just Dropbox, this utility of this app is questionable. It certainly isn’t useful. I am a OneDrive user.

Cross-platform functions need work. I bought this app and started using the free trial of the PC version, lured by the promise of writing things on my phone and then switching to my PC to keep working on them. Too bad the Dropbox sync is intrusive and prone to having documents suddenly vanish. Also, the formatting is inconsistent between platforms, so things I write on my phone look different from things I write on my PC, leaving the whole thing looking like such a mess that it’s almost a relief when the shoddy Dropbox sync loses the document. At least the problems were obvious enough that I encountered them before my free trial on the PC version ran out!

Disappointed - going back to Word. I felt I had done all my research, but I guess not. Was really looking forward to using the cork board but it is only available on the iPad. Feel ripped off and disappointed.

Oct 2019 App locks me out of writing projects. As of today, this app has locked me out of my projects three times. It goes from the regular screen to one with a white background filled with white boxes that appear to be folders, but when you touch them, they will not open. When in this mode, the app only allows you to start a new project folder (which you cannot open), sync with iTunes (nothing appears to happen) or link with Dropbox (it seems to work, but upon opening Dropbox, the Scrivener folder that was created is empty). I managed to get it working once by restarting my phone, but upon trying it again when Scrivener randomly went into this locked out mode, it stayed that way until I shut down the app twice. Looking for a new mobile word processor, as Scrivener has become unreliable. Not sure if this app is even being supported anymore, as this developer has a habit of abandoning previous incarnations of its apps in favour of creating an entirely new one (with few updates, if any) that you have to re-buy at full price. I used to love this app, but the developer has become unpredictable. Very disappointing. Great app when it works and doesn’t lock you out of your work.

A writers tool. There are many ways to put your words on a PC or paper. Lets be straight, all will work, but if you want to be a serious writer or work unencumbered by the tool you are using there are only two real options. Paper or Scrivener. Tools such as Word or Pages are usable but in reality are a diversion to writing, trying to move parts, or chapters of your work around is cumbersome and time consuming, with scrivener all of this becomes easy. I Have used this product for 7 months and love it. Prior to this I used Ulysses, Word and pages and all of them distracted me more than I needed, fonts, styles and margins were my go to place if I wanted to procrastinate. I am not saying that Scrivener will stop all procrastination but this is vastly reduced by the tools simplicity and flexibility. I love this product enough to write a review, if you are a writer then it may well be the best investment you have ever made. Finally, its cheap. Off to write now, have fun people.

Poor compatibility across devices. I love the desktop Scrivener apps and I use both on PC and Mac. However, there is a deal-breaking bug that erases hyperlinks created on the desktop platforms anytime the Scrivener project is opened in iOS. This means that if I do any editing on an iPad, all of the links I’ve created to files for my manuscript are erased and I need to waste time creating them all over again.

Adore Scrivener, but.... Drop box is a huge deal breaker for me. I've been using it and trying it for well over a year because I love Scrivener that much. I've been trying to get over the reliance on an app I don't want to use or install--Dropbox. I love how in-depth Scrivener is. I still use Scrivener as my main tool on the Mac. I just can't use it on mobile anymore. I hate Dropbox that much. Please untether the reliance on a third-party app. Drop box always has and most-likely, always will mess up my files. It's the only online storage that has done this to me over and over. I've gone back to Storyist for now. It's okay, but I'd rather use Scrivener without needing DropBox. Is there a way for us to choose which online storage we can use? I will come back in a heartbeat if this option becomes available. For now, I will stick to something that offers less headaches. I just want to write; I don't want to fight.

Risky for syncing. The desktop version of this I find very useful but I dare not share its files with the iOS version. Syncing creates too many errors.

Don’t bother. The iPad Scrivener is mostly useful for generating synchronization conflicts and losing your work. Stick with the desktop version and forget about synchronizing between devices. The sync function is figment of the developer’s imagination.

No more fonts in iOS 14!!. I’ve enjoyed this app for years and I honestly didn’t foresee myself ever writing a one star review but here we are.... Not one update in over a year?? Serisouly?? Please update to include the new font management in iOS 14 or else I will need to find another app to continue writing with!

Love this software. Well thought out. Minimalist. Focused on writing and nothing more.

Terrible syncing. Great writing app but the sync between iPhone and iPad is terrible. Im still waiting for my projects to show up on the iPhone app. Why is iCloud not being utilized for syncing?

Bought by mistake. So my daughter bought this by mistake on my and I’m wondering if I can get a refund for this

Rich program on MacOS, limited on iPad due to Dropbox. The main interest of the app is to access your Scrivener projects from anywhere and add notes directly into the app when new ideas arrive. This brings the issue with Dropbox syncing to the forefront. I do not use Dropbox and don’t want to start now. iCloud syncing should be a priority for this app.

Just Incredible!. For the part-time writer or writer on the go, the ability to seamlessly work between my computers and mobile devices whenever an idea strikes is very handy. I’m just finishing my second book (both in the 120-150K word range) and they were probably 80% written on my mobile devices.

PERFECT. This app is a must buy for anyone currently struggling with finishing their work. For years I used google docs and was never satisfied with how my novel was progressing. With Scrivener, I already see so much progress in my work. The word count tool is so helpful and being able to switch easily between chapters and scenes is amazing!! Highly recommend!!

Brilliant. I’ve had it on my laptop for ages now and finally got an IPhone. It works great and I would recommend it

Ignore the bad reviews due to Dropbox sync issue. 5 stars for companion app to desktop- familiar interface and adds the ability to jot down idea using phone in the middle of the night. 5 stars for Dropbox conflict resolution. If there is a conflict, it generates a conflict folder with conflicting document. No data loss. App developers: add the ability to share any webpage (ReaderView) directly from safari or chrome share menu.

Scrivener Junior, Lite Edition. An application with modest capabilities, sentimentally linked to its namesake found on Mac’s and PC’s. No support for tables, although it will kid you along until it’s finally time to give them a proper wrecking. To be fair, the limited capability is deliberate, based on re-envisioning the mobile app as a fun opportunity to build real code on bring-your-child-to-work day.

ICloud Integration is essential. I’ve been using Scrivener for years but I was really looking forward to being able to just walk away from the desktop with my iPad Pro. Dropbox is a dud and the integration clunky. Two stars until iCloud functionality is a reality.

Syncing broken on iPad Pro. I have been a huge fan of this software for years. Unfortunately, after migrating everything to Scrivener project by project, and then buying an iPad Pro specifically to use this product on a bigger screen while on the go, I can no longer use it. Dropbox syncing is totally broken and now results in crashing on iPad Pro, which defeats the purpose because I work on multiple devices, depending where I am and which is most convenient. I have spoken to tech support and they have confirmed that the problem exists, though no solution has materialized for 5 months now. Scrivener + iOS seemed like a real win over the alternatives... but now I’m forced to migrate everything back to the competition because this is an unacceptable delay. Writers need something reliable. I’m not pleased that I had to waste valuable time migrating everything elsewhere when I should have been writing. To be clear, the software still syncs perfectly on Mac and on iOS for iPhone and iPad mini (which I also have), but for how long? Who knows if another update will break compatibility with other devices? Not trustworthy in the slightest and it’s really unfortunate because this WAS the greatest tool I’d ever used.

iOS version not worth a penny. The desktop version is OK and I use it for all my academic writing but I recently got an iPad for school and need a word processor, not an notes app with tabs.

Stopped working.. Upon opening the app, I’m unable to open any projects at all. I can only start a new one, but then I can’t open that one either. Wonderful. Mobile writing has been brought to a halt. Back to pen and paper. iPhone XR with the latest updates.

Shame It Only Supports Dropbox. Scrivener is a great writing tool and I’ve used it on my laptop for years. The iPad version is a little limited but does offer a good basic writing experience. Too bad it only supports Dropbox for syncing with the desktop program, and even when that works it’s quite awkward as they are in different formats and there is a step to import your changes. Definitely makes me consider using something else with a smoother back-and-forth experience.

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iPads are no longer big iPhones, upgrade iPad tools please. I would like to take my 2021 iPad Pro as my primary writing tool. But I can’t because Scrivener still treats these powerful tools as supplementary. Many of the tools we use in the MacOS version are sadly not available on the iPad. I am forced to get out my laptop to use some fairly important and somewhat common features. Please reconsider the role of the iPad as a serious writing tool when using the magic keyboard. For example there is no way to set a snap shot or reference it once created. With these new M1 iPads you should be able to rethink the interface away from the iOS and take advantage of the iPad’s much stronger capabilities.

Fails at its most basic job, needs updating. There is no option to change the scrolling settings for the text as you type, so half the line that’s being written is covered up by the iPhone’s keyboard. I don’t know how many “professional writers” write while only being able to see half of their line at a time, but I’m not one of them. I use Scrivener on my Mac and it works great, you can adjust the “typewriter scrolling “ settings so you always have your lines at the ideal eye-height. It also works great on desktop with my iCloud sharing. This app was clearly designed early in the previous decade when Dropbox was the only name in cloud storage, so for some reason they never thought to add even iCloud support on an iOS app, much less Google Drive. Might’ve been worth $20 when it was released 4 years ago, but now it’s been a year since the last update and it looks like this is abandonware. Prove me wrong, developers!

What I wish I knew before wasting time & money on Scrivener for iphone. I purchased Scrivener for Macbook thinking it would be a one-time purchase, as advertised. No, it's an additional pricetag for an iPhone/iPad app. Also annoying (& it was not mentioned BEFORE I paid for it) quite a few features are lacking on the iPhone version of the app, including missing corkboards and poorer organization, which is already driving me crazy since my novel is already properly organized on my Mac. Why do they charge the same fee for iPhone & iPad when the iPhone version is missing features is beyond me. Also required to have a Dropbox account for syncing, I guess (an overpriced monthly fee for more than 2gb of storage & to be used offline, which is sometimes necessary for me). Also, the discounts & promo codes can't be used to purchased the iPhone/ipad app! I haven't even discovered all of it's downfalls yet, sadly. I got this thinking it would help with my nanowrimo project but it's only making my life more difficult & I feel like I just tossed $20 down the drain & turned on the garbage disposal. Other writing apps/programs that have a monthly fee would be more affordable than Scrivener & have the same features. I do not recommend this app unless you have money & efficiency to waste, & you already have an iPad that you plan to use. Hopefully, Scrivener will continue to improve in the near future, regardless.

One Glaring Problem. One glaring problem for an otherwise fine app. Dropbox synching is a pain. I’m constantly being told there’s conflicts and it always makes me concerned that I will lose what I’ve written. I’d also like to be able to more easily see how many words I’ve written and how close I am to my goal like it does on the Mac app. Right now, you have to specifically click something to see your progress and I would like to just be able to see it. I understand this is an iPad app and space is at a premium, but I’d still like to see it. I’ll continue to use and support this app because the desktop app is so good. However, if something equivalent on the desktop were to come along I’d drop it in a second for iCloud Drive and some user interface tweaks.

It only needs one thing. And that thing is Files app integration. Yeah, yeah, I know you can access your files under the “on this iPad/iPhone” tab, but using that means manually copying your project file to iCloud Drive or whatever other service you use every time you want to back your project up. This isn’t all that convenient, so I end up doing it only once every couple days, and because of that, I basically can’t use my iPhone to edit my project since it’s a slightly out-of-date version in iCloud. Look, I don’t know know if you have an exclusive contract with DropBox or something, but there are APIs for this kind of thing. Open in Place has been around since iOS 11 — please make this wonderful app perfect by adding it.

The whole thing just robs me of my creativity and inspiration.. You know, I really want to like Scrivener. It has what I need, but it just don’t work well. Every time I type, the keyboard hides what I’m writing. If that wasn’t enough, the interface is SO unstable. My cursor jumps around and interface flits up and down every time I touch anything but the keyboard. Syncing to Dropbox IS NOT COMPATIBLE between iPhone and iMac. The computer only has what is written on the computer available to it, the iPhone only has what’s written on the iPhone available to it. Any time I open the same file in both, conflicts occur, but of the duplicates, which should contain the writing from the other device, one is always blank. I am forced to always keep all copies for fear that Scrivener will delete 5 years of writing. The whole thing just robs me of my creativity and inspiration. I guess I’ll keep using it. Maybe it will get a decent update at some point.

Better than I expected. I have been using the desktop version of Scrivener for a few months now and it’s great. I had been debating for a while about getting the app because of the reviews about sync issues. I finally decided to get it in January so I could reach my word count goals easier and it has definitely helped with that. Syncing with Dropbox really isn’t that bad as long as you do it regularly on the app. In some ways it’s actually better than when I was using Pages because it would take a while for Pages to sync on its own with no way to know when it’ll be ready, but with this app, you control when to sync and then it’s immediately ready on the desktop version. I’d love to see them come out with a widget! Thank you!

HORRIBLE > SO COMPLICATED TO USE * DO NOT BUY. Huge mistake trying this and we committed to buying the IOS and the iPad version. THIS IS NOT EASY TO USE… How to sync? Good luck. If you must buy this, pick which version to use either the IOS or the iPad and stick with one and hope it works. This does NOT sync… and it evidently has to be done through Dropbox, but this does not work either. I have now wasted days writing in this app and now I am going to try to figure out how to export it to another app that makes sense. APPLE works hard to make this make sense and this app does not. This app makes everything so difficult. None of how it works is just what you would think, it is all necessary to be learned and re-learned and then having to try to read about it and then going to videos. The learning curve is NOT WORTH THIS PURCHASE. Everything has to be looked up how to use, and I mean everything. I wish I had listened to whatever everyone was saying.

Fantastic app, horrible syncing. This is a wonderful adaption of the Desktop app. On iPad it’s an incredible immersive writing experience that is stunningly beautiful to use, on the iPhone it’s usable and easy to drop into while on the go. My only complaint is that syncing is unreliable and, at times, almost unusable. I run Dropbox on my computer just to sync Scrivener documents (yuck) and frequently need to remove and reconnect it completely in the iOS version because the files become corrupted or broken. I assume files must be handled in some awful and broken way under the hood technically or something for it to be this bad. Please fix the syncing issues! There is no reason it needs to be this difficult in 2019!

Issues syncing iPhone?. So, here’s how you fix this annoying issue. On the iPhone, you can’t link your Dropbox, is simply will not progress past the login screen. To bypass this, download the Dropbox app and sign in there. Leave the app open and go back to scrivener, and link it, it should now go through the Dropbox app and boom IPHONE SYNCS!! This is a game changer and gets 5 stars from me. Also, that Scrivener “pro” app is an utter scam. Using your logo and name to draw people into it. I’d be talking to Apple about that and your legal team. I’ve asked for a refund because it got me, thinking you guys made a new product. Anyways, I LOVE this program and the work y’all do to make writing easier. Customer for life right here!!!

Incredible. I’ve been using scrivener for over a decade, and I still couldn’t be happier with how much its streamlined my writing workflow. Scrivener has helped keep everything from screenplays to novel drafts organized and focused, with the ability to keep character cards, research, and scene synopsis/keywords handy during full screen writing. Dropbox sync across multiple devices and OS is an awesome fantastic feature as well- you can jot down ideas on mobile, carry those over to a desktop, or make sure work you’ve done on a tablet while on the go is backed up to the cloud. If you’re looking for a powerful and flexible writing tool, this is it.

No iCloud syncing?! For real?. I use Scrivener all the time on my Mac and it’s convoluted and complex, but I love it all the same. I save my work to iCloud drive, backups on the local Mac. I recently bought an iPad, so that I could write while on the go, and naturally purchased Scrivener for iOS. I dove in and tried, in vain, to figure out to how to open one of my projects in iCloud Drive. I went to the Literature and Latte site to find instructions on how to do so and only found some weak excuse as to why they didn’t support iCloud Drive in version 1.0 of Scrivener for iOS. Version 1.0 came out in 2016. The current version, four years later, still does not support ICloud Drive. I should done some research before purchasing, but I had assumed a product that had been Mac-first would use Apple features. I’ll be dumping Scrivener and going with something more modern like Ulysses.

It was a nice concept at first but the product doesn’t feel finished. All of my work is suddenly vanished. Opening folders was a bit finicky first. It was like folders weren’t sure if they were text documents or held documents so I’d have to go in and out of them until my documents reappeared and the blank typing screen went away. Wasn’t that big of a deal until now all my writing is suddenly simply gone, every single word of it. So, nope, that’s not very helpful when I need long term reliability No I haven’t contacted customer service there’s too much wrong going on here. I’ve seen enough other posts online about disappearing work to see this is a major problem this product needs fixed that won’t be fixed overnight with one or two customer support interactions.

Dropbox synching is a total nightmare. I love Scrivener. I love it on both my iMac and my iPad. However, getting the versions to seamlessly allow me to work on one machine and then the other is an absolute exercise in frustration. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve worked on my iPad, only to come home and be completely unable to access or even locate the files. Other days l write whole new chapters in my desktop, only to have those changes be completely absent when I open the file on my mobile device. I’m constantly having to rename projects or copy/paste into Google Docs just to ensure my work isn’t lost. It’s making me lose faith in the program. Please please please fix this issue.

Scrivener helps you think like a writer. I have been using Scrivener for three years. I appreciate the variety of features available. When I first started it was a text editor. As I grew in my needs it morphed into an outliner, character repository and plot structurer. Enter at the level you need and learn new features as you’re ready. Combined with my Dropbox account, it lets me write on my computer, iPad, and iPhone seamlessly, syncing from one platform to the next. Just remember to sync before moving between platforms to make life easiest. Scrivener does check for different versions between platforms but you have to choose what is correct manually.

Syncing. Honestly, it is a useful app for writers. It has a learning curve, but ultimately can payoff once you get the basics of it. The real issue is that there is a hidden learning curve using Dropbox and syncing between devices. I use my iPad to write on and will sometimes add notes using my iPhone. The syncing is a mess between the two and I lost a lot of notes and writing. The folders and drafts are there, but are now blank. I looked for the files in Dropbox but they aren’t there. I can’t recommend this program, I understand I should have saved everything to my iPad, but when the app is designed to incorporate Dropbox into the way it works I figure it should work without any issues. Saving and storing files is key and all the fancy cork board features are worthless once you lose your work. Use another app.

doesnt compile like desktop app. I’m not sure how I feel about the IOS app. I think I like it a lot. That said, there are some small irritations. The Scrivener desktop app is great because you can often get things just the way you need in a way that more generic tools can’t do as well. I use it mostly for comic script writing and unfortunately the default comic settings (specifically the panel numbers <$SN>). In the Desktop app don’t compile correctly in the ios app. This is a “small” thing but it interrupts my workflow, making it so I either can’t autonumber panels or I have to go back to my desktop to export there before importing to another IOS app (Comic Draw). The dropbox sync isn’t ideal but there you go.

Scrivener for IOS is Worth a Look See. I’ve used The desktop version for years, but have always avoided the iPad version. Partly because of the horror stories in reviews that spoke about lost data. Since the desktop version is so incredible, I decided to give the IPad version a go, after researching issues and solutions and doing some test documents. Here are my observations. Dropbox, and not ICloud is used for a reason. The reason given is a good one, so I opened a Dropbox account for free. The big problems are failing to sync to Dropbox, and don’t have the Desktop and iPad versions open at the same time. Got it. Test time. On the Desktop I created a project with Notes, Keywords, Bookmarks, Synopses, and parts of text with Keywords linked to sections of text in Comments. I could jump around the document from comments. In my iPad I edited everywhere; and played with the Corkboard. Back to the Desktop and everything was as expected . I rarely write reviews, but in my opinion, the IOS version of Scrivener is well worth the money.

Almost Perfect. The iPad app is already quite amazing and I love using it to draft manuscripts. But now that I’m in the revision stage, there are some features I wish I had access to... 1. An expanded inspector, closer to the desktop, specifically with the ability to use meta-data categories and take snapshots 2. Word count reset for each session or after midnight etc. I have to manually reset my word counter to zero each time 3. Outline view of the project with the ability to show word count per document, meta-data categories, summaries, etc 4. The ability to link between documents within Scrivener. When I highlight a word, I can’t choose to link it to anything at all, unless it’s copied in as or written as a web address **EDIT—I found out how to do this! It’s on the lower right-hand corner when typing in a document rather than an option when text is selected. Thank you! I know it’s not possible to get desktop Scrivener in an iPad app, but I’d love to be able to revise easier on the app. All these things above help me do that! Thank you for the remarkable app you’ve already created!

Wonderful, EXCEPT.... Scrivener COULD be the only tool I’d need, if it weren’t for the inexcusably limited Sync feature. The Developers took their time with, and went WAY out of their way to deliver a product for iOS devices that does the ‘Scrivener’ name justice: and for the most part, they’ve done an excellent job. This app was clearly developed to give Scrivener Users an on-the-go option to give Apple patrons more universal and streamlined accessibility to their Scrivener Files. Why then, oh WHY, would the developer choose NOT to permit their beautiful apps to Sync across APPLE Devices over the APPLE cloud network (when this (App) IS an APPLE-specific product)? See what I’m getting at? Scrivener (as of now) only allows for syncing over Dropbox accounts. For a little while, I was paying for Dropbox just so I could go back and forth on Scrivener from my computer to my phone, but I could no longer justify $10/month for Scrivener alone. DEAR DEVELOPERS: Please, allow for syncing over iCloud. This simple change would make all the difference in the world for some of your users.

I bought Scrivener for the snapshot comparisons and different-colored edits. Instead I spent most of my time constructing elaborate emoji/coding systems to signify which draft is which, what edit belongs to which draft, and create comments to link to previous versions so I can merge. I wanted to avoid Google, yet had to get back on it for collaboration reasons since no one I know will use Scrivener. Google also has the merge document feature which essentially enacts Scrivener's snapshot function for you. Also would love a key or info box on the formatting symbols. i looked up on the Scrivener forums, no dice. I can find no exact equivalent of those symbols outside of the app. So using Scrivener requires all-or-nothing in terms of app usage. I like more openness and collaboration. So now I'm migrating all my material painful bit-by-bit into Obsidian and Notion.

awesome app, but lacks multitasking etc.. I really like this app, and I use it to work on my scientific manuscripts on the go, but this is by no means a replacement for the original Scrivener desktop software. (BTW, both desktop and iOS versions lack reference management, e.g. for citing scientific papers, and I have to use other app for this). The thing that annoys me the most is the lack of modern iPadOS features like having two instances of Scrivener open side by side, moving/copying elements between two writing projects by drag an drop. Even getting a split screen view is difficult - It works in limited capacity via the reference feature, but you can’t easily jump around between documents in your left and right split screen view like you can in the desktop app. Last but not least, the Dropbox synchronization works, but it is slow and feels outdated. It those features would all be in place I’d give this app 5 stars hands down.

DropBox issue resolve. Working from an iPad Pro, iOS 11: I, too, had the issue that DropBox was “syncing” from the UI, but showing empty in actual the actual DB folder after I did my initial setup and created my first couple of projects. To resolve this, on the “home” or Project screen, you might notice that the left navigation pane separates projects saved to your iPad vs. projects saved to Dropbox. DropBox syncing seems to only work for project saved to Dropbox! To resolve this, click Edit on the top of the pane, and then drag your project from On iPad up to Dropbox. It’s a little misleading to separate the two, and if you are not connected to data, you get error messages that you are not able to synchronize (obv). They do resolve once you connect, but the way the interface is phrased, one could worry that their work isn’t being saved. Maybe group all the projects together in a different category name (not Dropbox or On iPad), but then have a sync icon for the ones that are synced to Dropbox? Of note, I am only working in iOS, and will not be syncing to update projects on a computer.

No problems syncing. I read a bunch of reviews on how bad the syncing is but I decided to still try it out. I realized that in the initial set up you just have to tap the right settings. I’ve been using this every day for weeks now, both the mobile version and desktop version, switching back and forth throughout the day, and the syncing works perfectly. No issues at all. Just get your initial settings right (and if you don’t, you’ll know, so just go back and change the setting). Fantastic app, love it. Only complaint is that it keeps changing the font in my document to courier. Maybe I just haven’t found the setting to make it stop. If someone knows, please share!

Sticking to MacOS version. Overall it’s kind of an old school mess of an app that still relies on Dropbox sync when all most people want is a tried and true modern sync solution like iCloud. The MacOS version is absolutely wonderful and beats Ulysses hands-down when it comes to organizing and using research material and viewing that material side by side with your writing — super slick. It also works much better with footnotes, scripts, and audio-visual documents. It’s just too bad that the iOS and iPadOS versions fall short of what the macOS version can do — with the kicker being a wonky Dropbox sync. The macOS version is a truly amazing tool and can help writers get a lot accomplished if they are willing to forego a reliable and slick sync solution, and just use a different app (like Apple Notes) to capture quick thoughts and materials while away from their Macs. Literature & Latte would be wise to get a better and more modern sync solution (not that they maybe aren’t trying) that pulls together both desktop and mobile writing solutions, and that would win over many more customers who would gladly ditch lesser writing apps that continually fall short of the gold standard that is Scrivener for macOS.

DO NOT use if you also use desktop version. My enormous magnum opus which I had been writing on my Windows version of scrivener was completely destroyed when I opened it on my iPad. Thankfully I backed it up. Maybe this app will be useful for some people but I am in need of many of the functions on the desktop version, which this iPad version doesn't have, and I can't work on the same file in both places because syncing destroys the format. This app is not worth paying for, and has maybe 25% the functions that the desktop version has. Yes, I know it's a mobile app! Not an excuse. One of my most important apps is extremely complex and it works exactly the same way on ipad and windows, with the same amount of functions, able to open the file inn both places, so I know it's possible. So this is still not worth paying for. The desktop version is worth paying for, it's SO AMAZING. I love scrivener and the folks who built it but I need to get a refund on this app. :(

NOT what I expected. I had heard so many wonderful things about Scrivener. Everyone raves about much easier it is to write using Scrivener. They are of course talking about the desktop version, most certainly not the iOS version. I have had the iOS version for quite some time. I keep trying to find a use for it, I really do. But its best use is to waste memory and dollars. It is clunky and difficult to use. At 100% the text is tiny and almost unreadable. There are a TON of features that are availabe in the desktop version but not in the iOS version. You CANNOT compile to an ePub, for example. (the developers complain how difficult it is to compile to ePub, yet other apps can do so... they even tell you to use Pages instead of Scrivener for that... so why would use Scrivener at all instead of Pages?) You are better off using Pages. The only thing I can tell that Scrivener has that Pages does not is that Cork Board View. But in Pages it is super EASY to create and edit Styles, format just about any image, add graphs, charts, and spread sheets. Plus Pages can actually export to ePub. It is a sad commentary that the developers of Scrivener tell their users to export their work to Pages to actually do the real production work. It’s a cute little word processor, but by no means useful for professional quality work. I seriously regret wasting my money on the iOS version.

Excellent for Effective & Efficient Writing. Scrivener is a writing app that has revolutionized the way I work. I can break writing block for message prep due to the multiple workspaces and organizational features! With Scrivener, I can easily break down their work into manageable chunks, such as chapters or scenes, and move them around as needed. Another fantastic feature of Scrivener is its research saving capabilities. The app allows writers to keep all their research material in one place, including web pages, images, and PDFs. But.. One of the few drawbacks of Scrivener is that it currently only syncs with Dropbox, which may be a concern for users who prefer to use iCloud for syncing their files. However, the app's many other benefits more than make up for this small inconvenience. TAKE IT OFF OF DROPBOX! Please!!!!!!!!!!!!

My writing output multiplied. When I first tested Scrivener, I thought that it was too plain and simple to be helpful in my writing. I had tried other writing apps which had more features than Scrivener. But I gave it a try anyway. Now I’m very grateful. The value of a writing app is not about sophisticated features like spelling check, grammar check or fancy fonts. It is about productivity — the ease of use, how articles or chapters are conveniently organized or changed, how they are backed up, counting of words per article, etc. And these are the strong points of Scrivener. I tried targeting 1000 words a day, and I became conscious of my productivity because the number of words always appear on screen. So I’ve often exceeded this target.

So much more than a writing application. Scrivener has endless applications beyond being one of the most sophisticated writing program on the market - It can be used as a utility program for storing almost anything. It can be extremely simple as an organizing agent in your life for all correspondence or all the bits of information we need to refer back to neatly nested in folders or "books" - or- for professional wrtiers an application with depth far beyond most "retail" software. Incredible software on the Mac but now in the palm of my hand on my phone or iPad - really- If I could only choose one software to both write and track my life this would be the one.

Dropbox sync maims your workflow. Some serious changes need to happen, I don’t even know how I can manage these constant crashes and errors between my three devices. You change ‘two typos’ on your computer, you check if that registered on your ipad(because you have to), and you check in your iphone, touch sync iphone and wait for it, bang! iphone crashes and your workflow is nowhere to be found. You have to move your synced document to offline and delete one in dropbox, then sync all over again. I like this fancy new icon but new update made it worse. // Well that maneuver seems obsolete because it just deleted my whole project saying ‘binder form not supported’ or something, now I have to retype everything from my previous compiled document, imagine if I hadn’t compiled! thanks for erasing my next entire hour scrivener! You’re joking when you say this is for serious projects.

Love it!. It was a long wait but completly worth it. Since I bought the ipad app, scrivener handles my life even more than before. My writing, my notes from uni, every silly little idea that pops into my hat. I have quite a way with the train every day, that's when I use the app the most. I do have many files to sync but so far, nothing got lost. There is one thing that's a bit strange. Whenever I press on sync directly after starting the app, there is a miscount, like "102 of 101 files synced". I don't know why. Instead of waiting for that to go away, I always press cancel and than sync again. Now it's working. I'm used to it after all this months, so I don't see a reason the give a low rating just because I have to press two buttons more. It's working, beautifully designed and all the functions I use in the dectop version, are available in the app as well. Well, I miss a night time mode. That would be amazing! UPDATE!!! The dark mode is here & syncing works without any issues yet! Love it! 😻

Okay, Getting Better. Issues with getting the syncing set up, but finally got past that and now it seems to work pretty consistently. Had issues trying to figure out how to see index cards after I was looking at index cards and then moved to a document. Had to watch video to figure that one out. Also had to watch video to find out why none of my saved collections were appearing. (You can scroll the Collections list.) Multi-file search is better than Ulysses, but still not great, not simple. And in Dark Mode, seeing what’s selected in a search is difficult because of the dark highlight color they use. Make searching much easier before anything else, because that’s a fundamental need for writing a novel. Ulysses won’t, which is why I’ve left them.

Excellent.. Well thought out and easy to use. I find myself writing more on my ipad pro 12.9 and less and less at my computer. They did a great job moving most of the features over. The mobility and instant on is the key attraction. I can write by the water or under a tree in the park. I can also edit in the waiting room of a doctors office or anywhere that requires waiting. It syncs to the cloud with little effort, and If I need to stop I just shut the cover. When I want to continue, I open it up and back to my story in seconds. I have to capture time for writing in my home office. At times I need that private cave to focus. I find that at those times I am lost in my first draft. After that, I find small bursts of time are better for editing. I tend to be fresh and more positive opposed to frustrated as I grind through second and third drafts hunched over a computer. I would recommend the new full screen 12.9 pro if your serious about writing on an ipad. You honestly need the larger screen that is visible in sunlight. A mobile devices screen that is only visible indoors isn’t truly mobile.

Syncing & Digital Nomadism. As if we needed any new reasons to love Scrivener, the mobile app is a breeze to use and syncs perfectly with your desktop work. Follow the super clear tutorial and you’ll be working on an existing project on your phone in moments. Same as you can’t export to Pages, using Dropbox to synchronize means you’ll have to create copies to make sure you have backups on Apple’s cloud as well as Dropbox. Too bad they won’t let the synch work from iCloud directly, but that’s a minor annoyance. For digital nomads, get an external keyboard and your phone basically replaces your computer. You can pack the keyboard easily and set up to write literally anywhere. This app is brilliant in every way, especially since it does just one thing extremely well. You’ll love it.

Please Fix the Sync Issues. When I pay for apps that cost this much, I expect good service. The issues with syncing through Dropbox are extremely frustrating. I need to be able to switch between desktop and my phone without having a panic attack about losing work, or not being able to work on my latest edit. Y’all need to figure this out and fix it. How can you claim to be the best writing tool, make your users pay and still not be able to offer the premium? Reviews from up to 4 years ago are about the same syncing problems so it’s clearly been going on for a long time yet hasn’t been resolved. If I keep having problems, I’ll just switch to another word processor which is sad because I quite like this app.

Syncing is the Issue. Something needs to be done about Dropbox. I cannot believe that there’s no way for projects to sync via iCloud or OneDrive. It seems unfathomable since I used OneDrive to synchronize between Windows and Mac for years, and then iCloud to sync between multiple Macs without issue. I would ask the developers what in the API stops you from syncing through iCloud? What features wouldn’t work? The Scrivener Document is made up of multiple documents inside a container. iCloud syncs changes it finds in individual documents, even in other applications that use similar container like documents. And considering that OneDrive isn’t part of Apple, it makes no sense why syncing wouldn’t work with OneDrive either. Three times I nearly lost HOURS of work. I had to turn off my home WiFi before turning on my computer, opening the project, making a minor change, saving it, uploading it, then going back to the iPad. Or vice versa. It’s terrible.

Excellent but…. 1) You can no-longer longer look up a word from Scrivener for iPad. If you highlight a word and select ‘look up’ from the pop up menu the definition starts to appear for a split second then fades away. I’ve reached out and notified them, but months later the same problem persists. 2) It’s a small thing but the page numbers cannot be Roman numerals on iPad version when you compile, even though it is supposed to have that ability. 3) Several times I have had ‘conflicted documents’. If you are using across multiple devices like I am with my iPad Pro and iPhone, you have to be extremely diligent about… ▪️ saving the version you just worked on ▪️ opening on the new device ▪️ synching If you don’t it’s a bit of a pain. You don’t lose any work, if this happens you just have to figure out which version is which and look in the conflicted documents folder. All in all, it’s a very powerful and robust app I’m grateful to have, just wish they would fix these small bugs.

Amazing App, Maddening Sync. As with most of the other reviews, I love the app, it’s detailed features, and customization. But the sync is absolutely terrible. It’s 2019, we all live a multi-device lifestyle, and out apps should be able to sync with ease accordingly. With Dropbox’s recent user-hostile moves, I would love to quit them, but I’m stuck because Scrivener is still stuck with DB as it’s only sync option (which is terribly implemented to boot). I’ve read the support articles on the reasoning the developer gives for their sync methods (or lack there of). And honestly, I don’t care. This shouldn’t be the customer’s problem. Just figure out a solution. I’ve been using Scrivener for over six years - before there was an iOS app. But the lack of solid automatic sync after two years of the iOS app is hair pulling frustrating. It is the most request feature by far from just looking at the reviews. Please fix this giant bug without an explanation why it’s difficult to implement. It’s your job as a developer to get it done. I would happily pay a subscription if that’s what it meant to have this feature. Get it done and become a the 5-star, AAA, world-class app you deserve to be.

Missing a 'KEY' Component. FIVE MONTHS since any update on this product. Unbelievable. This app isn't cheap, but based on the wealth of functions made available to me on the desktop version, I was more than willing to set aside the funds to add this software to my creative arsenal. It was well worth it, or so I thought. For me to gain what I truly needed from this app, there's one feature that I had to get my hands on, which is the one feature missing: KEYWORDS. Yes, the only thing separating this app from a free note writing app or a simple free word processor (such as google docs or even pages), is the use of keywords. It's the only reason I purchased the desktop version in the first place and it's missing in this IOS version. Now I can't pull up my scenes based on the keywords that I painstakingly logged on the desktop version. Another unfortunate oversight (maybe) is the fact that I can't hone in my search results. I've created various folders and I'd like to able to search specific folders (like manuscripts, Character, Scene and Locations..etc). As it stands, when I chose to search, it runs through every single folder in my project thus producing results I'm not looking for. I will say though, that beyond these two issues, the app seems to be perfect. Design is clean and it's not buggy (at least to me). To summarize, I'd really appreciate an update with 'keyword' support in the near future. Until then, I'll be working on my laptop.

Sync is as bad as everyone says. The rest of the app is exactly the high-quality, writer-focused toolset I’ve come to expect from the Scrivener team. I wouldn’t use anything else to write with on my computers and I’m glad they’re making efforts to produce a useable iPad version. Unfortunately, the sync problems are not small problems if you ever intend to write on any other platform... which most of us do. I’d love to give this app a higher rating, but frankly it’s completely unusable with any of my existing projects due to the clunky and poorly designed file storage mechanism. It’s not just that sync is bad, it’s that it’s the only generally accessible file storage option. Because the app doesn’t support Apple’s Files App central store, you’re reduced to Dropbox or only ever working on your iPad. Many of the issues are properly placed at Dropbox’s feet, I believe, but because Scrivener doesn’t allow any other options for accessing your files, it forces those problems onto users who want to work on multiple platforms. And so the app badly fails in its primary purpose. Here’s hoping the many, many complaints about this are heard and resolved with a little flexibility by the development team. I want to love this app!

Horrible first time experience. Grad student looking for organization options... I download this app hoping it will help me. All I want to do at this point is create a simple outline. An outline. That sounds pretty basic. I can do that with Google docs or dropbox or evernote with a pretty great first time user experience. After using it for just 20 minutes creating some notes for research, my indentation is all over the map (and I haven't touched anything, that I know of).. sometimes lines are indented on first line then not on the second, other times it's the opposite. And I have absolutely no idea how to fix this. Creating bullet points should be... like pretty much any other app? Create an asterisk and it's done. Nope. They don't do that here, you gotta use special characters or dig into a menu to find it. Tab doesn't work for indenting bullets. Who has time for that? I'm not sure what the thought is behind this really poor user experience.

Gorgeous and Functional. This app is phenomenal. I’ve used Scrivener for Windows since 2011, and adding the iOS app to my arsenal has been a pleasure. The interface is beautiful without sacrificing much if any functionality. It takes a few minutes to figure out where things are now, but once you do, it’s a breeze. Note: if you’re using iOS and Windows, the default iOS document font looks pretty odd on Windows, so you’ll be reformatting in Windows or copying your preferred windows formatting into your created iOS documents. Mostly, I’ve just been writing on my iPad now that I have this app, so I’m not worrying about the discrepancy until I have greater cause to do so. The Dropbox syncing is easy to set up, and has been seamless for me, if a bit sluggish at times. Simply waiting to sync until I’m done writing adequately mitigates this issue for me. More than worth the $20 to me — more so since I can also load the app on my phone. I’ll be pumping many words into Scrivener for iOS for years to come.

Year 2020 no icloud = dumb. Just idiotic or plain lazy or they are NOT making enough money to care. Purposely didn’t place “no icloud compatibility” at the beginning of a long feature list. No icloud - enjoy loosing all your work No iCloud = Enjoy never having a drop box - - being FORCED to get one, then forgetting to upload to it, because that’s not part of your daily habit. No iCloud = enjoy a life random curve ball happening, didn’t have a chance to upload your hard work to drop box, lost all precious data. iCloud automatically uploads to where ALL my stuff is. iCloud is free for developers. Idiotic on every level and any level not to include it. With a VERY long list, they put not compatible with iCloud at the very bottom - they do this deceivingly and on purpose.., So you can spend the money and then be like ahh, don’t feel like refunding or not knowing how to refund “chuh ching” they keep you’re money. Then if you complain they turn around and say well we did notify you. Yea - Just not at the beginning of very long list, most people don’t read. Kind of like at the beginning of a date (hey I have aids) buy me not tell them until the end of a date. Not having iCloud support should be at they VERY TOP, the beginning line, then proceed with your features list. deleting this, getting my refund and going elsewhere.

5 star app. 2 star syncing. Yes, it’s that big of a deal. Need to be able to close one device and pick up another and have things appear as I left them. Dropbox sync does work IF you always remember to sync before you close your device, and then sync again upon opening another device. For me, that’s not always possible. At least half the time, I cease working due to an interruption (a phone call, urgent email, etc.) and don’t get to sync. It’s a professional writing app with non-pro sync features. The app itself is a game changer; a major upgrade for me, having migrated from Pages. I believe the whole concept was to set writers free, allowing one’s creativity to flow. In many respects the app does just that. Until you sync and are left with a pile of conflicts to sort out. That drenches the creative fires in a hurry. Please fix this so I can give it the 5 star rating it deserves.

Great Program!. This is a great program. It is designed to put everything you need to write in one place, research, the document, etc. There are a few things that keep me from rating the app with 5 stars. 1) The app occasionally has a hard time syncing with Dropbox, and the result is wasted (and a frustrating) time trying to get your computer copy and your iPad copy to display the things. 2) Some of the export (called “Compile”) features you need are not available. For example, I needed to print out some papers that I was writing, and I was not able to format the page numbers. While the rest of my paper was using Times New Roman, naturally, the page numbers seemed to be in Palatino or Cambria. In sum, the program is great, but the app has a hard time connecting to Dropbox and has some limitations in formatting the output.

Poor syncing features make it hard to use. I really want to love this app, but the awful sync feature makes it hard. Especially when you look closer at the feedback that customers have been giving the company for 3+ years. Fix the syncing issues, its 2020 figure out how to work with iCloud already. Since the issue has been going on for years without a fix, its kind of obvious the dev doesn’t care which is pretty sad, because this is a great app! The actual text editing, writing, and organization parts of the app are wonderful. The problem is no one writes on only one device anymore, and despite years of customers letting them know this Scrivener still hasn’t patched together a decent syncing system. Combine with having to pay out $30 for the iOS version and $50 for the desktop version for them not to communicate well is just not worth it. I know I am focusing on the syncing rather than the writing abilities of the app but it really does handicap the overall functionality, and make it hard to be my primary writing app even though it does so much else so well.

Syncing Issues. This used to be a fantastic app, and I had n concerns over things syncing up between my phone, my iPad, and my laptop. In the past few months, however, while syncing between my laptop and phone continues without any problems, my iPad continues to have sync issues. I will start to sync a project that I've spent an hour or so working on, taking time to make sure everything is just right, only for the app to crash not even halfway through. It is at the point where I work exclusively on my phone or laptop, and anytime I need to use the iPad instead I send a copy of the work to my email because I KNOW it's going to crash and lose all my work. Something needs to be done about this, as even updating the app does nothing to resolve the problem. If I didn't already have so much of my project n Scrivner, I'd probably uninstall the damned thing and find another program to use instead. Not cool, not cool at all.

So good, except when it’s not.. Scrivener, as a general rule of thumb, especially on Macintosh, is phenomenal. Formatting shortcuts and power, AMAZING organizational tools, professional grade export options, the works. For some reason there’s a few MADDENING bugs in iOS. Problem 1) Dropbox syncing. When it works, it’s fantastic... WHEN it works. How often does it work?? Not often. The app crashes over and over and over again and only an unpredictable equation of magical ingredients will allow you to finish on your iPad what you started on your phone. Problem 2) media support. Photos specifically. When imported in iOS they come out janky. Usually rotated 90 degrees and squashed into oblivion. SO BIZARRE. If it weren’t for these to bugs it would be an EASY 5/5. WITH these bugs I hesitate to give it the 4 stars. Synchronicity between devices is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to my work flow and it’s just not reliable. 2 YEARS LATER it’s still not reliable. And I really don’t want to switch editors... but if this isn’t fixed I might have to. *UPDATE* it looks like a combination of updates to both the scrivener app and iOS itself MAY have FINALLY fixed the sync issue. I’m hesitant to celebrate. But it seems promising. Time will tell.

Life changing. Some days I’m not sure if it’s better that I can work anywhere at any time, but most of the time, it’s incredible. Whenever I lament the very few missing features (no outline mode, only seeing one scrivening at a time) I try to use another word processor on mobile. Not only does this sync immediately, whether you have the program open on a computer or not, even if the file is open, it shows all formatting, is easy to edit, and syncs again within seconds. No more writing half a scene in notes and copying it in. No copying read-only files. No worrying about where you opened a document last. It’s amazing.