Scrivener alternative with icloud sync?

[silverlakerCA]

I know Pages is one writing app that effortlessly syncs in iCloud. But I'm trying to find a Scrivener-type writing app that is iCloud-friendly? I like having chapters and sections but have had sync disasters with Scrivener that have resulted in lost projects and productivity.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[artfossil]

Ulysses syncs flawlessly and has wonderful iOS and iPadOS versions. It's subscription based and for me it's a terrific value. You can of course try it out for free.

 

[fastmax]

I would recommend taking a look at Notebooks, which works across all Apple devices over iCloud. The app is priced reasonably on each platform to support ongoing development without needing to pay a subscription.

The nice thing about Notebooks is that you can work with it on a per-project basis like Scrivener. The advantage that it has is that you can write with rich text, but the parsing engine generates HTML text files that are stored in standard macOS folders in the Finder. Everything you create is then highly portable and future-proof. You can use Markdown as well if you prefer.

It is a very pleasant app to write in since it is so lightweight and flexible. A major free update is coming soon according to the developer.

 

[GrumpyCoder]

If you're really using all/most features of Scrivener then there's no alternative. So either ask yourself if you can live without many of the features and look for apps that can handle syncing or stick to Scrivener and use DevonThink to handle sync between cloud and devices. While you can use DevonThink for editing documents, you can also use it for sync only and open the documents in any 3rd party app of your choice such as Scrivener.

 

[artfossil]

If you're really using all/most features of Scrivener then there's no alternative. So either ask yourself if you can live without many of the features and look for apps that can handle syncing or stick to Scrivener and use DevonThink to handle sync between cloud and devices. While you can use DevonThink for editing documents, you can also use it for sync only and open the documents in any 3rd party app of your choice such as Scrivener.

Hey, one’s workflow is one’s workflow. But I just can’t imagine adding another app (DevonThink) to overcome the deficiencies of the first app (Scrivener).

In any event, the free trial of Ulysses will illuminate whether it meets the OP's needs.

Personally, I prefer elegant and frictionless solutions, hence my choice of Ulysses

 

[GrumpyCoder]

Hey, one’s workflow is one’s workflow. But I just can’t imagine adding another app (DevonThink) to overcome the deficiencies of the first app (Scrivener).

Sure, but if something like Scrivener is needed feature wise, then there's no way around another app. None of the suggested apps so far have the feature set of Scrivener, I've been through them all, multiple times. Only the OP will know what is needed and if those Scrivener features are not needed, then something like Ulysses, Notebooks or even Joplin might be the better solution.

 

[artfossil]

Sure, but if something like Scrivener is needed feature wise, then there's no way around another app. None of the suggested apps so far have the feature set of Scrivener, I've been through them all, multiple times. Only the OP will know what is needed and if those Scrivener features are not needed, then something like Ulysses, Notebooks or even Joplin might be the better solution.

Well put. We're fortunate to have choices!

 

[silverlakerCA]

Thanks to you all your comments and suggestions.
I have licensed Ulysses for a year and I'll admit that I've now taken the time to learn about some of its features - like Material Sheets where I'll be able to put in background/research information. I love that Ulysses is blazing fast with syncing and I can easily move from my mac mini setup to the ipad and resume working on a project.

 

[ignatius345]

Been using Ulysses for quite a few years now. It is great, but I don't believe it even remotely deserves to be a rental app. It had basically all of its features years ago, and these days they just noodle around with little word counters and screw up the interface periodically to keep the Mac and iPad versions parallel.

Sadly, I'm rather locked in with many hundreds of thousands of words written in it -- but I'm always on the lookout for an alternative. I've checked out Scrivener a few times, but the interface looks a bit kludgy and sync seems like a full on disaster as the OP said. If they ever get around to overhauling it, I'd give it a look. I don't mind paying for quality tools, but Ulysses pulling $40 out of my pocket every 12 months to add a "writing stat tracker" or whatever doesn't sit well with me.

I do love writing in Pages, but I'm filled with dread at the prospect of setting up a zillion folders and tags to organize my stuff half as well as Ulysses does.

 

[silverlakerCA]

Been using Ulysses for quite a few years now. It is great, but I don't believe it even remotely deserves to be a rental app. It had basically all of its features years ago, and these days they just noodle around with little word counters and screw up the interface periodically to keep the Mac and iPad versions parallel.

Sadly, I'm rather locked in with many hundreds of thousands of words written in it -- but I'm always on the lookout for an alternative. I've checked out Scrivener a few times, but the interface looks a bit kludgy and sync seems like a full on disaster as the OP said. If they ever get around to overhauling it, I'd give it a look. I don't mind paying for quality tools, but Ulysses pulling $40 out of my pocket every 12 months to add a "writing stat tracker" or whatever doesn't sit well with me.

I do love writing in Pages, but I'm filled with dread at the prospect of setting up a zillion folders and tags to organize my stuff half as well as Ulysses does.

I too wish I could use Pages for my writing but it's the same issue as you've pointed out - setting up too many documents and trying to organize them. Ulysses, for better and worse, makes it much easier.

 

[Big Bad D]

How about Storyist? I haven’t had reason to use it for sometime, but for previous projects it worked well for managing materials and content, and synced over icloud.

 

[ignatius345]

How about Storyist? I haven’t had reason to use it for sometime, but for previous projects it worked well for managing materials and content, and synced over icloud.

Interesting. I think I'd looked at Storyist a long time ago but passed it over for some reason. I'm taking another look now.

It kind of feels like they've deliberately taken on a lot of Ulysses' features. I'm messing around with it now to see if it could be cajoled into working in a big single library file the way Ulysses does. I may stress test it by importing a bunch of stuff and seeing if it breaks.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Scott Robinson]

I have written my PhD Thesis on Ulysses for the last few years. I started originally on Scrivener but got tired of it’s clunky interface and syncing issues. For me Ulysses is well worth the subscription. The freedom to write on any device and not worry about syncing is the real sell. I am constantly writing on my phone and revising and editing at my desk. There are many community export templates, or you can build your own. I even have my computer watch a folder for changes and convert markdown to incopy files that automatically import into an indesign document. This is so much more useful for me than Scrivener‘s confusing export options. There are very few barriers in Ulysses to stop your writing. There are a lot of haters but for £40 a year if you use it daily it’s a great tool.

 

[ignatius345]

I have written my PhD Thesis on Ulysses for the last few years. I started originally on Scrivener but got tired of it’s clunky interface and syncing issues. For me Ulysses is well worth the subscription. The freedom to write on any device and not worry about syncing is the real sell. I am constantly writing on my phone and revising and editing at my desk. There are many community export templates, or you can build your own. I even have my computer watch a folder for changes and convert markdown to incopy files that automatically import into an indesign document. This is so much more useful for me than Scrivener‘s confusing export options. There are very few barriers in Ulysses to stop your writing. There are a lot of haters but for £40 a year if you use it daily it’s a great tool.

I agree Ulysses is very good. But it's a writing app. It works with text, and it had all its major features back before they started renting it out. The syncing is handled by iCloud. The library, tags, smart groups, the main writing interface, the export styles... those were all in place and working smoothly years ago. I ran the last paid version as long as I could until a MacOS update broke it.

Sure, I get a bunch of utility out of it every year, but I would if I had a purchased version, instead of having to hand them a fee up front every year to keep noodling around with the interface. It wasn't that long ago a company like this would build a new version with compelling new features, then sell you that new version. Now we're just paying forever and I don't think it's always warranted, especially in a case like this.

 

[Token]

Ulysses' payment model is controversial for what it is, and this holds me back as well, although it has a very mature and Mac-friendly interface. It should be noted that Ulysses is part of the Setapp package, which offers deep discount for educational users. .

Obsidian is another alternative. It has sync via iCloud, a nice mobile app, and has extensive customization options through a vibrant plugin and theme community. Although branded primarily as a "second brain" or "zettelkasten" note taking setup, it can be set up as a very efficient writing environment.

 

[Scott Robinson]

I agree Ulysses is very good. But it's a writing app. It works with text, and it had all its major features back before they started renting it out. The syncing is handled by iCloud. The library, tags, smart groups, the main writing interface, the export styles... those were all in place and working smoothly years ago. I ran the last paid version as long as I could until a MacOS update broke it.

Sure, I get a bunch of utility out of it every year, but I would if I had a purchased version, instead of having to hand them a fee up front every year to keep noodling around with the interface. It wasn't that long ago a company like this would build a new version with compelling new features, then sell you that new version. Now we're just paying forever and I don't think it's always warranted, especially in a case like this.

All true. There are also alternatives out there which offer similar functionality. after dumping my thoughts into it for over 5 years I’m emotionally connected to this little writing app and I don’t mind paying the subs 😀

 

[Apple_Robert]

I tried Ulysses several years ago and it is a good app but, for $49 a year, it is more than I wish to spend. If it were like the app Agenda, where you only pay for any future features you may want, I would be more inclined to give it another go.

If it would be possible to use Ulysses like the DayOne journal, amongst other things, I might see fit to go down to one sub and ditch DayOne.

 

[ignatius345]

I tried Ulysses several years ago and it is a good app but, for $40 a year, it is more than I wish to spend. If it were like the app Agenda, where you only pay for any future features you may want, I would be more inclined to give it another go.

If it would be possible to use Ulysses like the DayOne journal, amongst other things, I might see fit to go down to one sub and ditch DayOne.

It wouldn't be hard to set up some folders in Ulysses for journalling. It's definitley overkill for just that, but if you were to use it for other writing too, it might be worth it. Aside from their payment model, I think it's a great app. (What I really wish they'd do is tackle another Mac app of some kind and sell that. I'd probably buy their take on a calendar or an email app in a heartbeat, based on the polish Ulysses has.)

I pay for Agenda and use it a lot at work. I really think they're doing the "subscription" thing the right way. If you're satisfied with the features that you have bought, you can stop paying and use them if you'd like. If more features come along that you want, you can pay again to get those features. It's more or less like a normal one-time purchase, but done more incrementally.

 

[ignatius345]

All true. There are also alternatives out there which offer similar functionality. after dumping my thoughts into it for over 5 years I’m emotionally connected to this little writing app and I don’t mind paying the subs 😀

Yeah, if I'm being honest it would be very hard for me to switch too. I did a quick check and I've got well over 1M words in my database. I always keep an eye on alternatives, but it's a high bar.

 

[Apple_Robert]

It wouldn't be hard to set up some folders in Ulysses for journalling. It's definitley overkill for just that, but if you were to use it for other writing too, it might be worth it. Aside from their payment model, I think it's a great app. (What I really wish they'd do is tackle another Mac app of some kind and sell that. I'd probably buy their take on a calendar or an email app in a heartbeat, based on the polish Ulysses has.)

I pay for Agenda and use it a lot at work. I really think they're doing the "subscription" thing the right way. If you're satisfied with the features that you have bought, you can stop paying and use them if you'd like. If more features come along that you want, you can pay again to get those features. It's more or less like a normal one-time purchase, but done more incrementally.

Speaking of Agenda...

 

[matrix07]

Scrivener with Dropbox or Google Drive free tier? Should be enough?

 

[ignatius345]

Speaking of Agenda...

152 months??

And honestly I think Agenda would be a bit more suited to daily journalling than Ulysses, just because it has calendar awareness.

 

[ignatius345]

Scrivener with Dropbox or Google Drive free tier? Should be enough?

Their description of how sync works is all very manual, and the term "data loss" is mentioned a whole lot more than I care for, myself. I also have no desire to run Dropbox or Google bloatware just to enable syncing.

From what I can tell, Scrivener is woefully behind the curve to not just offer seamless iCloud syncing like most ever app in the world offers these days.

Syncing Scrivener Projects to the Cloud

When you're working with any Scrivener project that syncs to the cloud, you must close it on one computer or device before you open it on another. If not, you'll get a warning from Scrivener that the project may be open on another computer. Always make sure that you've closed the project first, or you may lose data. If not, Scrivener will warn you of potential conflicts. (See the Scrivener manual, section 14.2.2 for more on resolving conflicts.)

When shutting down a project, especially a large project with lots of research files, don't shut down your computer or put it to sleep until your sure the project has been uploaded to the cloud. If you don't wait, it may only partially sync, and, if you then open it on another computer, you may lose data.

The same is the case when you open or start up your other computer. Give the cloud service enough time to download the project to make sure you have all of its elements. Opening your project too soon could lead to data loss.

 

[matrix07]

Their description of how sync works is all very manual, and the term "data loss" is mentioned a whole lot more than I care for, myself. I also have no desire to run Dropbox or Google bloatware just to enable syncing.

From what I can tell, Scrivener is woefully behind the curve to not just offer seamless iCloud syncing like most ever app in the world offers these days.

Yeah my Scrivener projects aren't big (only 4-5 projects) so I put the files on Dropbox and so far so good. Nothing's lost. iCloud sync like lots of apps have would definitely be better though.

 

[Tajhad]

I'm not sure where people get their information regarding Scrivener and iCloud. On Mac OS, Scrivener syncs fine with icloud. Many people already do this without issue. In fact, the only service they don't recommend is Google. All the other cloud-based services work fine. It's all in the Scrivener forums on the Literature and Latte website.

The only place that Dropbox comes into play is syncing on IOS (iPad or phone). Because IOS somehow uses the "Files" app - DropBox seems to handle this the best (I don't understand the tech of all this - but it is in the Scrivener literature).

So if you're just syncing between macs - iCloud is fine.