Scrivener 3 for macOS: the Release is Nigh

Features

• Modernised, redesigned UI with all-new graphical elements and a flatter, fresher feel.
• A true styles system, making it much easier to format headings, block quotes and more - all fully-integrated with Compile, so that you can reformat everything on the fly when you export or print.
• Compile has been rebuilt from the ground up, making it much easier for novices while providing even more power for those who want to dive deep.
• ePub 3 support and improved Kindle export, with fully customisable CSS for stunning ebooks.
• View more documents alongside one another using the new "Copyholders" feature. You can even navigate your writing on one side of the UI and your research on the other.
• Bookmark and then view and edit documents in the Inspector, right alongside whatever you're working on.
• Enhanced outlining. Scrivener's corkboard and outliner are now more flexible, and show text previews for documents with no synopsis.
• Writing Statistics: keep track of how much you write every day.
• Track threads on the corkboard: Scrivener's new "Arrange by Label" corkboard mode allows you to arrange cards along coloured lines representing labels. Great for working out different storylines or themes.
• Improved custom metadata: you can now create pop-up lists, checkboxes and date fields in Scrivener's Inspector and outliner.
• Easy layout switching: quickly switch between useful UI setups using the new default layouts available from the Window > Layouts menu, or from the leftmost toolbar button.
• Every single feature and UI element of Scrivener has been refreshed, overhauled and improved.
• Scrivener is now 64-bit.
• Much, much more.

More Info

Because of its extensive modernisation, Scrivener 3 requires macOS 10.12+ to run.

Don't worry, though: we'll continue to provide a download link for Scrivener 2 on our website for those on older systems or who do not wish to upgrade just yet. Not only that, but we'll be uploading a slightly updated version of Scrivener 2 that accepts a Scrivener 3 licence. So users on older systems can buy a Scrivener 3 licence and use it with Scrivener 2. For those working between a mix of platforms, Scrivener 3 can export to Scrivener 2 format (which is also useful for Windows users).

Scrivener 3 will cost $25 for existing users of Scrivener for macOS (Scrivener 1 or 2 macOS licences are valid for the update pricing). Anyone who purchased Scrivener 2 on or after 20th August 2017 will receive the update for free. To get the discounted upgrade pricing, simply visit our site, head to the store, and choose the "Upgrade from an older version" link. Here's a direct link to our store:

Visit Our Web Store

(This link will not work until release day - our site will be getting an overhaul on the same day.)

Note that you will need to have purchased direct from our web store (or from a reseller that required you to register via our store such as Amazon) to get the discounted pricing on our store. If you're a Mac App Store customer, please see below.

Free Trial

As always there will be a free 30-day trial available for Scrivener 3. Even if you've tried Scrivener before and run out of trial days, you'll be able to run the Scrivener 3 trial for a full thirty days of use.

Mac App Store Customers

Because Apple handles all sales through the Mac App Store and does not share customer information with us, we have no way of offering automatic discounts to Mac App Store customers via our web store. And because Apple provides no system for discounted paid updates through the Mac App Store itself, there is no way for us to offer discounted updates via the Mac App Store (Apple recommends subscriptions for this sort of thing, but we prefer to stick with the paid-update model rather than charge every year).

However, because we want to treat all customers equally, if you are a Mac App Store customer, if you send us proof-of-purchase for Scrivener 2 on the App Store, we will send you a discount coupon that you can use on our store. We just need you to email us your purchase receipt showing Scrivener 2 and the date. Please email these details to updates AT literatureandlatte.com on or after the day of release. Please bear with us, as we're a small team and expect to receive hundreds of emails. We will have to handle each discount for Mac App Store customers separately and personally, so it might take a couple of days to process.

Buying Scrivener 3 from the Mac App Store

As things stand at the time of writing this blog post, Scrivener 3 will most likely not initially be available on the Mac App Store. We will be removing Scrivener 2 from sale and Scrivener 3 should, we hope, be available on the Mac App Store soon after the release on our own store. I worked very hard to try to make sure that Scrivener 3 would be available on both stores at the same time, staying up into the early hours on Monday to ensure it was with Apple and had a whole week to get through the review process. Unfortunately that process is taking longer than hoped, owing to an obscure problem in Scrivener's metadata and having to wait a couple of days for clarification from Apple on what the problem is. I'll update this post if the situation changes.

When on November 20th?

Every time we announce a date, our eager antipodean users point out to us that we're late by their calendar, so let me clarify! We'll be releasing the update at some point during the 20th November UK time. We have a lot to do that day so cannot give a specific time. We'll be uploading the new version, switching over to the new site, ensuring all upgrade links still work after the switch, and much more. So please bear with us during the transition. There will no doubt be several hours where links and the store do not work as expected. We have nearly everything ready to go, but experience tells us that something always goes wrong no matter how much you prepare. In other words, if you're on the other side of the world from us, the release date for you is more accurately November 21st.

Other Updates

On the same day, we'll be releasing a minor update to Scrivener for iOS which fixes a number of iOS 11-related bugs and updates the application icon to fit in with our new, Scrivener 3 branding. We'll also be releasing an update to Scapple for macOS which fixes a number of bugs, has improved High Sierra compatibility and includes an enhanced Inspector.

What About Our Windows Users?

We understand that our Windows users are going to feel a little left out on Monday, but please rest assured that our dynamic duo of Windows developers is working its socks off on Scrivener 3 for Windows. (They'll also be working on a minor Scapple update soon too.) While we would have loved to have released Scrivener 3 for macOS and Windows on the same day, the only way we could have done so would have been by artificially holding back Scrivener 3 for macOS for a few more months.

The Mac version had a five year head-start on the Windows version, and as hard as our Windows developers have worked to catch up, I've been continually updating the macOS version as they did, providing them with a moving target. But the next major release of Scrivener for Windows will be jumping directly to version 3, because we are aiming for feature parity with the Mac version. So although our Windows users still have a little while to wait for their big 3.0 release day, we're working hard towards it. And in the meantime, the more intrepid and curious among you will be able to download an early beta of Scrivener 3 for Windows on Monday. (It is still a work in progress so we don't recommend it being used for major projects yet, but you will be able to see how beautiful it's looking and get an idea of what is in store for you in 2020.)

We hope our Windows users can be happy for our macOS users on Monday rather than feeling neglected. After all, Microsoft always gives you the updates first!

Monday, Monday

We can't wait to get Scrivener 3 into our macOS users' hands. We hope you love it as much as we do.