8 Features I Use Most in Scrivener for iOS (Which Releases Today)

 

Scrivener is so good a writing program, I used its iOS app in beta as my primary place for writing at a recent week away. (For the record, I found no bugs.)

It’s easily the best writing app there is for Mac and Windows. (See here and here.) But its iOS companion has languished in development like a half-finished manuscript.

Until today. Scrivener for iOS (iPad and iPhone) is in the App Store right now. Here it is, worth more than its $19.99 price.

 

 

This post was going to highlight my five most used features in Scrivener for iOS; it’s grown to eight, though there is even more than the below to appreciate about the app.

1. Goodbye, Markdown–Rich Text is Back!

No offense to Markdown (Ulysses and 1Writer are still fabulous apps), but I’m happy to have a full-bodied, rich text app on iPad, at long last. Pages is fine, but Scrivener can do so much more, since it organizes your research, supporting documents, and drafts–all in once place.

2. Pinch to Zoom Text

No need to tap through a settings screen. Just pinch (zoom) in or out to adjust the text size you’re seeing as you write. Scrivener does a great job in this way of taking advantage of the iOS platform.

3. Sync via Dropbox to the Desktop Apps

Truth be told, this is probably my #1 favorite feature–you can start working on a laptop, finish up a draft on iPad, and edit on your iPhone. This is what the many users of Scrivener have been waiting for. Ahhhhh.

4. Research: Have Your PDFs Right There

Not only can you save your research in your project you’re working on (for easy access), Scrivener remembers your place in the PDF you were viewing.

 

 

 

5. Set Label, Status, Icon for anything in the Binder

This will mostly appeal to Scrivener nerds, but you can label and color code your way to great visual clarity to track project progress. (I use Red to mean done (at least for now), Yellow to mean working on, and Green to mean do it!)

 

 

 

 

6. Recent and Bookmarks

Always a tap away are your recent documents and bookmarks.

 

 

7. Two Panes at Once on iPad in Landscape

The iPad app comes out of the box with Split View and Slide Over, but you can also see two panes at once when you’re using Scrivener in landscape mode. This is especially helpful if you want to write, for example, from an outline.

 

 

8. Word Count

Word and character counts are easy to access, too.

 

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Once again, here it is in the App Store.

And if you want to desktop version, here are the links for purchasing Scrivener:

• Scrivener 2 for Mac OS X (Education License) ($38.25, educational discount)
• Scrivener 2 for Mac OS X (Regular License) ($45)
• Scrivener for Windows (Education License) ($35, educational discount)
• Scrivener for Windows (Regular License) ($40)

You can also try Scrivener on Mac or Windows free for 30 days if you want to see what you think.

Thanks to Scrivener for allowing me to beta test this excellent app, and best wishes to their team on launch day!