Blog

WYSIWYG?

WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get

In the good old days …

In the good-old-bad-old-days, writers didn’t have the option to see their finished masterpiece until it was almost finished and about to be published. The commissioned author wrote the words, supplied the images and the (traditional) publisher put it together using a team of typesetters, designers, copy editors, proofreaders, collators, etc.

If we go back far enough (I do…), the first proofs were called galleys. No images, just the words set to the required width. It was literally a physical cut-and-paste to work out where the images might fit on the page.

The original Scrivener approach to writing

Scrivener was originally designed with this same ‘old-fashioned’ approach to publishing:

• Get the words written (using the Editor pane).
• Identify the images (figures and tables).
• Put it all together (using Compile).

How the finished product looked was not a factor during writing

This was the case, for several reasons.

• Applying the old-fashioned principles, the writer doesn’t need to see it, yet.
• The output could be to a variety of page sizes – and to electronic forms where the page size is determined by the reader. So, determining what landed where required knowledge of the output type – and that means going through Compile.

You could work in Scrivener without considering how your material will land on a page, or in an ebook. Just write the words and worry about the formatting later.

However, I know, and Literature & Latte have acknowledged, that many writers feel happier seeing on screen how the manuscript might appear when published.

With Scrivener 3, things have changed! We now have Page View.

Page View – for self-publishing authors

Page View is a new feature and may appeal most to those who come from a WYSIWYG background, eg those using Word.

However, it’s also a sign that publishing itself has changed. More authors self-publish and they want to ‘see’ the finished look while writing. Even if you are not self-publishing, having sight of a ‘page view’ and being able to visualise how your book will look when published is reassuring.

So, how can you activate Page View? What are the necessary steps?

First, define your page

Scrivener cannot work out how your words will look on the page until you decide how big your page will be. Select File / Page Setup.

This opens up a window and you’ll see various options.

• Format For (the options are ‘Any Printer’ plus any that you have connected to your computer).
• Paper Size … there are standard lots of options but you can also have a custom size.
• Orientation (portrait or landscape)
• Scale

For Page View, the Paper Size is the crucial piece of information Scrivener needs to work out how much text will fit and therefore how each page will look. As usual, there are lots of preset options.

I’ve chosen A4.

If none of these suit you, select Manage Custom Sizes… and set up a page size. Click on the + sign, give it a name and complete the dimensions you desire.

Notice that the default dimensions here are A4 – but you can change them to whatever you want.

Selecting Page View

Selecting Page View is straightforward: View / Text Editing / Show Page View.

What happens next? Your text will be displayed on pages, and the break between pages is clear.

Which page you are on is also visible – and arrow keys to let you move from page to page, rather than scrolling.

If you change your mind, you can select View / Text Editing / Hide Page View. Notice there is also an option to see ‘Two Pages Across’.

Health warnings!

Literature & Latte stress that what you see might not be exactly what will appear ‘on the page’ when you compile. To quote from the Scrivener Manual:

Page 446: Page view is for simulating the look and feel of writing on real pages, and is thus an aesthetic preference, not a print preview tool.

Why? There are a number of features used while editing (such as Show Titles in Scrivenings) which use more vertical space in Scrivenings than would be needed when you compile.

So, it’s great for you, if seeing your manuscript laid out on pages makes you feel better, or you just want to get an idea of how it might look, but it’s no substitute for compiling and looking at the output.

Note also: If you enjoy the new typewriter scrolling or have a need for line numbers, Page View is not for you. It’s not possible to combine Page View with either of these features.

Questions about Scrivener? Need a helping hand? Want a demo?

To watch me go through the setting up Page View or to ask any questions, book a Simply Scrivener Special.

To help me to prepare, you could also complete this short questionnaire.

The Scrivener Virgin blog is a journey of discovery:
a step-by-step exploration of how Scrivener can change how a writer writes.
To subscribe to this blog, click here.

Also … check out the Scrivener Tips
on my ScrivenerVirgin Facebook page.