Restoring a Project from a Backup File

Having all these project backup files doesn’t do you any good if you don’t know how to use them when needed.

Follow these steps to open a project from a backup file:

1. Locate the file in Finder or Windows Explorer.

Automatically backed up files are called ProjectName .bak.scriv if uncompressed, or ProjectName .bak.zip if compressed.

To locate the backup files easily, choose Scrivener⇒Preferences (Windows users, choose Tools⇒Options), and then select the Backup tab to view the Backup settings and click the Open Backup Folder button. (The backup drive must be connected for this process to work.)

2. (Optional) Make a copy of the backup file and move it to the folder in which you keep your writing projects.

Copying the file ensures you’re not working on the file in the backup folder, which could cause problems with other backup files. It also prevents you from losing that version of the backup.

3. If using a compressed file with the .zip extension, double-click the file.

On a Windows PC, right-click the file and choose Extract.

The Archive Utility runs, unzipping the file. After it finishes, you have the original .zip file and the uncompressed .scriv file.

If necessary, remove the .bak portion from the name to make it clear that it’s a working file. Be sure to rename the original project file (that you’re replacing with the backup) to something like OLD_ filename.scriv to avoid confusion.

4. Open the restored project file by double-clicking it, and then get back to work!

What if you don’t want to roll back to the old version of your project, but you need to restore one or two documents? No problem. Follow the preceding steps to open the backup file, but rename the backup rather than your current project. With both projects open at the same time, you can drag the old versions of the files you need from one Binder to the other, creating a copy in the current project.