Scrivener tip – compare & roll back snapshots (Mac)

A particularly useful feature in Scrivener is the snapshots function. Before making changes to a document press CMD-5 and – you guessed it – the program will take a snapshot of that file, making an appropriate camera shutter sound in the process. If desired you can name your snapshots to remind you why they were taken: pre cut character X for example.

When you’ve made some changes you can click the Compare button to, um, compare your existing text with that in the previous version. If you decide you don’t like what you’ve done – maybe you want to keep character X after all – simply click Roll Back to undo all the changes you’ve made.

I use the snapshots function a lot, and while I rarely perform a full roll back, it’s handy to have the option available as a safety net. Also useful is the ability to copy selections of text from the snapshot pane to replace into the current document without having to revert completely.

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I’m a writer, editor, and Royal Literary Fund Fellow.
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