Lore & LilacBefore you start
- Close the project in Scrivener, so everything you've written is saved to disk.
- Keep the original. You'll upload a zipped copy; the .scriv project on your computer isn't touched, and it stays your archive of how the book was built.
- One book at a time. Each import becomes one book in your library. Move the book you're working on first and leave the rest where they are until you're sure.
- No compile needed. You don't have to compile a DOCX first. If you'd rather bring only the finished text, a compiled DOCX or RTF imports too.
Projects saved by Scrivener 3 and by the older Scrivener 2 format both work, including projects you sync to Scrivener for iOS, since those are the same .scriv folder.
Zip the project on Windows
- Open File Explorer and find your project. It's a folder whose name ends in .scriv.
- Right-click the folder and choose Send to › Compressed (zipped) folder. On Windows 11 you can also choose Compress to ZIP file (you may need Show more options first).
- A file ending in .zip appears next to the folder. That's the one to upload.
Zip the project on a Mac
- Open Finder and find your project. On a Mac it looks like a single file ending in .scriv.
- Control-click it (or right-click) and choose Compress.
- A file ending in .scriv.zip appears next to it. That's the one to upload.
Import it
- In your library, choose Import a draft and pick the .zip. Zipped projects can be up to 60 MB.
- Read the preview: every chapter with its scenes, word counts, synopses and the opening of each scene, plus a list of anything that didn't come across.
- Decide whether to bring research, character and place documents in as notes (they're listed so you can see what they are).
- Check the book title, then choose Import. Nothing is added to your library before this step, and cancelling deletes the upload.
What comes across
| In Scrivener | In Lore & Lilac |
|---|---|
| The Draft (or Manuscript) folder, in binder order | Your manuscript, in the same order |
| A folder of documents | A chapter; each document becomes a scene with the same title |
| A folder that holds only folders | A part: its title is kept as a heading at the start of its first chapter, and its folders become chapters |
| A document directly inside the Draft | A chapter with one scene |
| Folders nested inside a chapter | Flattened: their documents become scenes of that chapter (the report says how many) |
| Document text | Paragraphs with italics, bold, underline, strikethrough and links; centred break markers such as * * * become scene breaks |
| Synopsis (the index card) | The scene's synopsis, shown in planning views |
| Text documents in Research, Characters, Places and other folders | Notes, in folders with the same names, if you tick the box |
| Document notes (the Inspector's Notes pane) | Notes in a “Document notes” folder |
What stays in Scrivener
These are listed in the import report rather than dropped silently:
- Documents marked “not included in compile”, and everything in the trash
- Snapshots — the current text of each document is imported, not its earlier versions
- PDFs, images, saved web pages and other media in your research folders
- Inline comments and footnotes (the commented text itself is kept), and pictures placed in the text
- Labels, status, keywords, custom metadata, collections and compile settings
If you rely on any of these, keep the Scrivener project open beside the studio for reference. Nothing syncs between the two after the import.
After you import
- Read a few chapters through. Check italics, scene breaks and the chapter order, especially around parts and nested folders.
- Rebuild your character notes as story-bible entries when you need them. Imported notes stay as notes; the story bible is where details can cite their passages. If you allow AI for the book, a story scan can propose entries with their sources for you to accept.
- Export a DOCX on day one and open it in Word or Google Docs, so you know your way out.
- Turn on local backups if you use the desktop app: it keeps a restorable copy of each book in a folder on your computer.
- Design the book later. Scrivener's compile has no direct equivalent here; our book design offers ten themes, EPUB and a print-ready PDF, and a dedicated formatter goes further.
If the import doesn't work
| Message | What to try |
|---|---|
| “This .zip doesn't contain a Scrivener project” | Zip the .scriv folder itself. A zip of the Files folder or of a single document won't work. |
| “…missing its .scrivx file” | The zip holds part of a project. Zip the whole .scriv folder again. |
| “The file is larger than 60 MB” | Usually research media. Compile a DOCX or RTF of the manuscript in Scrivener and import that instead. |
| “…documents couldn't be read and were left empty” | Open those documents in Scrivener to check them; if they look fine, compile an RTF of the manuscript and import that. |
| “The Scrivener project has no Draft (Manuscript) folder” | The project's main folder may have been moved or renamed in an unusual way. Compile a DOCX in Scrivener and import that. |
Moving checklist
Work through these with the book you want to move first.
The ticks are just for you; nothing is saved or sent.