Forum Posts Feed
Atomic Scribbler -- a Windows replacement for Scrivener?
< Next Topic | Back to topic list | Previous Topic >
Posted by tightbeam
Mar 23, 2018 at 03:43 PM
Maybe something will come of this, maybe it won’t, but I can’t see why anyone currently invested in Scrivener would descend from that hard-fought learning curve and start from the ground-up with Atomic Scribbler (a truly awful name). The developer abandoned his previous product, PageFour, which had been around for a while, and had been launched at a time when there wasn’t so much competition. Given Scribbler’s current feature set, and the fact that now there *is* a version of Scrivener for Windows, a very good version, I don’t see the appeal in - or the market sense for - Scribbler. Of course I hope I’m proven wrong.
Posted by washere
Mar 23, 2018 at 04:20 PM
bobmclain wrote:
Maybe something will come of this, maybe it won’t, but I can’t see why
>anyone currently invested in Scrivener would descend from that
>hard-fought learning curve and start from the ground-up with Atomic
>Scribbler (a truly awful name). The developer abandoned his previous
>product, PageFour, which had been around for a while, and had been
>launched at a time when there wasn’t so much competition. Given
>Scribbler’s current feature set, and the fact that now there *is* a
>version of Scrivener for Windows, a very good version, I don’t see the
>appeal in - or the market sense for - Scribbler. Of course I hope I’m
>proven wrong.
>
Yes, that was my initial, and then medium term, impression.
Firstly comparing multi tabbed top bar, non-existent in scrivener, to multiple Windows is a very basic and to put it bluntly a wrong dismissal.
It’s like saying to billions of people who use tabbed web browsers to open multi tabs every single day that you are wrong and stupid and should instead use:
Multi browser floating Windows
Multi instances of browsers
Multi browser types
Frame based websites
Multiple Virtual OS boxes
Multiple virtual desktops in Windows/Mac
multiple monitors
etc etc
Instead of multiple tabbed pages in a browser. Most are not wrong nor stupid to do so. We all do it. Same thing here, scrivener simply doesn’t have it.
Secondly, imaging one is writing a chapter. At any given time, we need to have quick access to a few relevant files. You might say you can click on the tree. What if some files are not in the SUB branch but way down, common data files, reference, notes etc.?
Why should one fiddle with tiny scroll bars, moving up & down a big long tree and expanding collapsing branches? When the relevant top tabs for current chapter are there as one closed the software?
Not to mention CTRL+TAB to switch between them fast. Long live the tree, but this is something else.
Thirdly the right column flip box of index cards are unique too. It keeps last session’s ones also.
Fourth, it’s got other features like its own note & fragments etc types.
Fifth reason I changed my mind, it’s got top section interface buttons for 2 whole other sections with their own:
Tree +
Top tabbed Windows
These are:
Fragments +
Research
These are two whole separate environments. With slight differences to the the main DOCUMENTS environment. You can copy stuff between environments.
Scrivener will incorporate multi top tabs at the top bar, dragged kicking & screaming at some point. But this trio of environments is where the dev can distinguish himself further and keep scrivener running. It has great potential. BUT it’s already very useful.
Sixth main reason for me, it’s good for smaller projects. Better all-over fast view etc. To dismiss this is similar to saying all general word processor smaller than MS Word are pointless. They are not. For a variety of reasons. Sometimes people use MS Wordpad or event notepad or thousands of other editor software.
Seventh, due to the above reasons, it’s very useful to start even a large project in scribbler, give it some meat and work out the main structure too before migrating the project to scrivener.
These are some of the reasons I changed my mind. Each to his own, but I do see a point, now.
Posted by Franz Grieser
Mar 23, 2018 at 04:28 PM
@washere: As much as I love tabs in my web browser, I hate them in a word processor. I often have to or want to compare 2 or more documents (part of my work involves translating). And that’s simply not doable in a multi-tabbed window.
Posted by washere
Mar 23, 2018 at 04:48 PM
@Franz
Most people who can code use lots of shortcuts & work much faster than others generally & w/ multi documents & wares, not just 1 or 2.
However,
CTRL + TAB
in browsers is used by many who are not coders & not even techie nor computer savvy & basically ignorant of any tech abilities. This I’ve seen myself in some of such users, switching across numerous tabs, fast. It’s not brain surgery or rocket science.
This is an outliner detailed discussion topic/forum for relevantly interested people though, most of whom use multi tabs in browsers, note takers, etc. on a regular basis. As do billions everyday.
The other points remain too.
I see a place for it in my tool chain. I don’t just use a couple of documents or software at a time. Lucky you.
Glad to hear you made up your mind and decided this is not for you.
Posted by Franz Grieser
Mar 23, 2018 at 06:06 PM
@washere: I do know that I can use CTRL+TAB to switch tabs. But I do want to see 2 documents side by side. That’s why I need 2 or more windows and no tabs.