Today a new review of Scrivener came out in AppStorm. Rating: 10 out of 10! I'd like to say this happens once in a blue moon, but it's much more infrequent than that.
Beyond getting a high rating, the reviewer does a great job of describing the key features of Scrivener 2. Perhaps more importantly, the reviewer focuses on some key features of Scrivener that I haven't and that many other reviews haven't. Well written, complete, and very helpful. Check it out:
Friday, December 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
iThoughts
About a month ago I discovered a mind-mapping app named iThoughtsHD. While I use visual models a lot, I'm not a particular fan of mind mapping software. However, iThoughts works beautifully with the iPad. Simple, intuitive, quick.
The only downside to the app is that it costs $9.99. However, it's worth every penny and more if you plan on using it as part of your workflow.
There are currently four ways that I use iThoughts. First, I sometimes use it just to create a visual model. I export my final product as a PDF—in turn this allows me to upsize the image (if necessary) in something like Keynote with no loss in quality. Second, more often I use it as a way to brainstorm an initial outline structure—after all, mindmaps are essentially visual outlines. iThoughts allows me to export in the OPML format (or Outline Processor Markup Language)—in turn this means I can import my work into almost any dedicated outliner program (such as OmniOutliner, Tree, and several others). Third, I export in the MindManager format (as you can see, there are lots of different formats you can export) and then import into Curio for the Mac. Curio will read this file as a mindmap which I can further develop in that software program. Finally, and most importantly for me, I also export as OPML and then bring into Scrivener (the writing software). When you bring an OPML file into Scrivener's binder area then it will create an automatic structure to your binder area complete with files, sub-files, and so on. Since you can add "notes" to any node in an iThoughts mindmap, these notes get imported into Scrivener as the regular "text" for a particular file in the binder area.
Put differently, a lot of the power of iThoughts isn't just in what it makes, but also in the many ways you can take advantage of its various export formats to further refine your work in a variety of different software applications on your computer.
Check it out for yourself at the iThoughts website. What will be particularly useful to many is the tutorial movie they provide:
The only downside to the app is that it costs $9.99. However, it's worth every penny and more if you plan on using it as part of your workflow.
There are currently four ways that I use iThoughts. First, I sometimes use it just to create a visual model. I export my final product as a PDF—in turn this allows me to upsize the image (if necessary) in something like Keynote with no loss in quality. Second, more often I use it as a way to brainstorm an initial outline structure—after all, mindmaps are essentially visual outlines. iThoughts allows me to export in the OPML format (or Outline Processor Markup Language)—in turn this means I can import my work into almost any dedicated outliner program (such as OmniOutliner, Tree, and several others). Third, I export in the MindManager format (as you can see, there are lots of different formats you can export) and then import into Curio for the Mac. Curio will read this file as a mindmap which I can further develop in that software program. Finally, and most importantly for me, I also export as OPML and then bring into Scrivener (the writing software). When you bring an OPML file into Scrivener's binder area then it will create an automatic structure to your binder area complete with files, sub-files, and so on. Since you can add "notes" to any node in an iThoughts mindmap, these notes get imported into Scrivener as the regular "text" for a particular file in the binder area.
Put differently, a lot of the power of iThoughts isn't just in what it makes, but also in the many ways you can take advantage of its various export formats to further refine your work in a variety of different software applications on your computer.
Check it out for yourself at the iThoughts website. What will be particularly useful to many is the tutorial movie they provide:
Sunday, December 5, 2010
RapidWeaver 5 Released
This past week RealMac software touted a major upgrade to RapidWeaver, their template driven website design software (Mac only). I love RapidWeaver and used it to design this website as well as all my course websites.
The big question for some is: Should I upgrade to version 5? In general my answer is "No." However, in some cases there are likely people who do want to upgrade right away. There are a few current problems with RapidWeaver 5: (1) the upgrade is $39, (2) there aren't a lot of obvious beneficial features, and (3) the various third-party plugins, themes, and stacks haven't all updated themselves to be version 5 compliant. In addition, version 5 is demonstrating a fair number of bugs (depending on your specific computer set up and plugins).
The second question is: Should I ever upgrade to version 5? In general my answer is "Yes." I'd suggest waiting until the various bugs have been squashed, and all third-party add-ons have been updated to work with the new version. In addition, the current version has paltry documentation, but proper documentation should come along in the next month or two. Perhaps around March or April would be a good time to update.
RapidWeaver 5 mainly has a lot of under the hood improvements that end-users won't benefit from until third-party add-ons take full advantage of them. So further down the road upgrading (and thus paying $39) may be worth it.
I think there may be an exception to the "wait to upgrade" approach. If your current version of RapidWeaver is unstable (i.e. it crashes a lot) then an upgrade may help. In my initial testing RapidWeaver 5 is a lot more stable than version 4. However, if you really have an unstable setup you'd want to first check that the problem doesn't lie elsewhere—typically old add-ons that are not at their most recent version or that have been discontinued.
All in all, version 5 is a bit of a disappointment for several reasons. However, I'm fairly confident that by the time spring rolls around we'll start to see the practical benefits of this change.
The big question for some is: Should I upgrade to version 5? In general my answer is "No." However, in some cases there are likely people who do want to upgrade right away. There are a few current problems with RapidWeaver 5: (1) the upgrade is $39, (2) there aren't a lot of obvious beneficial features, and (3) the various third-party plugins, themes, and stacks haven't all updated themselves to be version 5 compliant. In addition, version 5 is demonstrating a fair number of bugs (depending on your specific computer set up and plugins).
The second question is: Should I ever upgrade to version 5? In general my answer is "Yes." I'd suggest waiting until the various bugs have been squashed, and all third-party add-ons have been updated to work with the new version. In addition, the current version has paltry documentation, but proper documentation should come along in the next month or two. Perhaps around March or April would be a good time to update.
RapidWeaver 5 mainly has a lot of under the hood improvements that end-users won't benefit from until third-party add-ons take full advantage of them. So further down the road upgrading (and thus paying $39) may be worth it.
I think there may be an exception to the "wait to upgrade" approach. If your current version of RapidWeaver is unstable (i.e. it crashes a lot) then an upgrade may help. In my initial testing RapidWeaver 5 is a lot more stable than version 4. However, if you really have an unstable setup you'd want to first check that the problem doesn't lie elsewhere—typically old add-ons that are not at their most recent version or that have been discontinued.
All in all, version 5 is a bit of a disappointment for several reasons. However, I'm fairly confident that by the time spring rolls around we'll start to see the practical benefits of this change.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Windows Public Beta
On November 1 the first public beta of Scrivener for Windows was released. For the first couple of weeks there were lots of bugs in the releases. It seems the bugs have calmed down a lot. The official Windows release is estimated for February 1 (give or take a couple months).
As the public betas evolve they will exhibit fewer bugs, but also include more features. I suggest only downloading these betas if you are comfortable working with unfinished software that is susceptible to crashing.
You'll also want to re-check the Public Beta page for updates, as well as check the forums. Both links are provided below.
As the public betas evolve they will exhibit fewer bugs, but also include more features. I suggest only downloading these betas if you are comfortable working with unfinished software that is susceptible to crashing.
You'll also want to re-check the Public Beta page for updates, as well as check the forums. Both links are provided below.
Don McAllister
If you are a Mac-user then you really want to become familiar with Don McAllister. A few years ago he started a series of "screencasts." These are essentially video tutorials that show you exactly what's going on in a software product. Don is very thorough, has a great voice, and his knowledge of Mac software is thorough and deep. Many of his screencasts are now available only to paid subscribers, but from time to time he does create free ones.
Recently Don created a free 36 minute tutorial about Scrivener 2 for the Mac. (It's also a useful tutorial for users of the Windows beta-version.) You can download the screencast directly from his ScreenCastsOnline website, or watch the YouTube version. Both links are given below.
Recently Don created a free 36 minute tutorial about Scrivener 2 for the Mac. (It's also a useful tutorial for users of the Windows beta-version.) You can download the screencast directly from his ScreenCastsOnline website, or watch the YouTube version. Both links are given below.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Gwen Hernandez
Gwen is a writer who has a blog named The Edited Life. One of the very cool things she has done is to develop a series of Scrivener how-to posts. Most of her posts were written with Scrivener 1 in mind. With version 2 now released I'm sure Gwen will be adding and editing some of her posts to include new hints and tutorials. Keep in mind that everything she writes about Scrivener version 1 will also apply to version 2. Check out her Scrivener posts at:
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Five Essentials Tutorial
On November 1 Scrivener 2 for the Mac was released. Currently Scrivener for Windows is under development and will likely be released in January or February of 2011.
Several faculty in the School of Education are getting Scrivener and I've created a tutorial mainly for them, but anyone is welcome to download and use this tutorial. The tutorial covers, at least for me, the five essential features you want to know about Scrivener. In essence this tutorial presents why someone would use Scrivener rather than being a how to tutorial.
Perhaps the most important concept to understand is that Scrivener creates a writing environment rather than being simply "writing software." The distinction is important and I think becomes clear once you've viewed the tutorial.
Here are the five big areas covered:
Realistically there are several other important features about Scrivener—and what I list as the big five may not be the same for everyone. However, this 22 minute tutorial does provide a decent overview for academics wanting to get started with Scrivener. The download is about 135 Mb, and the movie will play fine on your iPad (sync via iTunes) as well as your computer.
Several faculty in the School of Education are getting Scrivener and I've created a tutorial mainly for them, but anyone is welcome to download and use this tutorial. The tutorial covers, at least for me, the five essential features you want to know about Scrivener. In essence this tutorial presents why someone would use Scrivener rather than being a how to tutorial.
Perhaps the most important concept to understand is that Scrivener creates a writing environment rather than being simply "writing software." The distinction is important and I think becomes clear once you've viewed the tutorial.
Here are the five big areas covered:
- Chunking
- Organizational Flexibility
- Integrated Research
- Compiling (Exporting)
- Meta-Data
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