Scrivener is a powerful tool, but it can be a bit tricky to navigate at first. There are multiple blogs out there that provide countless suggestions for ways to use it to your advantage, but unfortunately, they are all geared toward the Mac user and do not take into account the differences in the Windows application. Below are a few tips and tricks to get you started when working on Scrivener in Windows.
Today’s focus will be on project level statistics. This includes project targets, project statistics, and text statistics. Since it’s November, many of you are especially interested in your session numbers and total numbers, and these three tools will give you all the information about those that you ever wanted.
Project Targets
Project targets are an excellent tool to see where you are and where you want to be, either in a scene, a chapter, or your entire manuscript. Click on the section you would like to know about, and Scrivener will tell you how far along you are in comparison to your goal. It will also tell you the total for your manuscript. Simply go to the main menu, choose “Project,” then click on “Project Targets.”
Here you have the option of setting your target for your entire manuscript and for your session. The bar will change from red to green the closer you get. In Windows, I have not found a way to set the session target to automatically reset each day – you have to manually hit the reset button each time you sit down to write a session.
Project Statistics
Project statistics are similar to project targets, except they give you an overview of your entire manuscript and can also break it down by part, chapter, or scene. On the main menu, choose “Project,” then click on “Project Statistics.”
The menu will show you the statistics for your chosen selection as well as the total for your manuscript. The “Options” tab allows you to change what is counted in this number. In my example, the selection is showing me the totals for Chapter 1. If you would like to see multiple sections, simply hold down the control button and choose the sections you want to see represented before you click on project statistics.
Text Statistics
Text statistics will allow you to look at your word frequency for the section you have chosen or for the document. Simply choose the scenes/chapters/parts you wish to view in the counter by holding the shift key or control key and clicking on them, then click on “Project,” “Text Statistics.” This will allow you to determine if you are overusing any words in a particular selection or your entire manuscript.
Be sure to click on the little upside-down triangle to view your word frequency.
Scrivener for Windows is a great tool, and I hope these tips help you to navigate it better. Stay tuned for further updates on the blog as I find more and more interesting ways to improve my Scrivener experience.