Scene versions

[Writermonki]

A scene versioning system (like apple's Auto Save and Versions) is a real must for me. I need something where I can try big scene changes, then switch between versions of those scenes to find what works best. I do this with IA Writer on the Mac, but I need more organization than it provides. Versioning is really the only big feature that's missing from Storyist, that I can think of.

 

Also thanks for Storyist for iPad, it's the best of a crowded field, and the reason I'm buying Storyist 2 over that other popular novel writing app for the Mac.

[marguerite]

Hi, Writermonki, and welcome to the forums!

This is a great feature request, and I expect Steve will implement full Lion integration as soon as he can. In the meantime, Storyist does contain two features that may help you.

 

1. File > Back Up. I routinely back up my files, with descriptions, before making major changes and keep any important backup around for the life of the project. The backups are regular .story files, so you can open them (choose Backups from the File menu) and display them on screen next to the working file to compare, then copy and paste as needed. If you haven't done this, you probably have backups anyway: Storyist creates them by default every time you start up, unless you turn the feature off.

 

2. In-file copies. You can hold down the Option key and drag a manuscript to a new location to create a copy. This is not quite as useful as 1, because you can see only one version of the scene at a time, but it does let you keep multiple versions of the scene in one project (you can't drag the preferred version to another manuscript within the Storyist file, though: you have to set up a new, untitled scene, then copy and paste). I use this option mostly for stashing scenes I think I'm done with but am not quite ready to trash.

 

Not quite the same as versioning, I know, but better than nothing.

Best,

Marguerite

[Writermonki]

Thanks for the information. The back up idea looks interesting, but I think l'll use it more for re-drafts, for scenes it just seems like overkill. I have the Mac App now so I'll start playing with it and see what I can find.

Like you said, full Lion integration is needed. Hopefully it's on the way. Thanks again.