You may know that you can modify the Label and Status fields to meet your needs, but what if you want to track even more items? With Custom Meta-Data, you can make your own. Want to know more? Here’s how to get started.

Adding a Custom Meta-Data Field to Your Project

1. Make sure the Inspector is open (if not, click the Inspector icon at the top right of your screen).

2. Click the Custom Meta-Data button at the bottom of the Inspector.

3. Click Definte Meta-Data Fields…
The Meta-Data Settings box will open. (Note, this box is also available when you edit Label or Status settings.)

4. Click the + button to add a new Meta-Data field, then enter the desired field name, and click OK. I called my field Blog Type.
– If you want all of the entered text to show (e.g. in Outline view), and you expect your values to be long, check the Wrap Text box.
– If you want the text color to be something other than black (so it will stand out in contrast to other data), check the Colored Text box and use the Color Picker to select a color.

Populating a Custom Meta-Data Field

Once you’ve created a custom data field, it shows up in the Inspector any time you click the Custom Meta-Data button. To add a value to it, just enter the value in the text box below the field name.

You can also add values in the Outliner view as shown in step 3 below.

View Custom Meta-Data in the Outliner

1. In the Binder, select the folder you want to view in the Outliner.
If the Outliner doesn't show, click the Outliner button (far right button in View Mode section of toolbar) or go to View–>Outline.
2. To see your Custom Meta-Data, click the Column Selector button at the far right end of the Outliner header bar (looks like a >> on Mac or a down arrow in Windows) and choose the desired field.
3. To add/edit the value for a document, double-click in the cell under the custom field’s header and enter the desired value.
4. To sort by your custom field, click the header to toggle between ascending and descending sort. (Mac only for now)

View Files by Custom Meta-Data Value using Search

1. To search by Custom Meta-Data, type the value in the Search box at the top right of your toolbar.
2. Click the magnifying glass icon and choose to search in Custom Meta-Data. The resulting documents will show in the Binder.

3. To save the search, click the magnifying glass again and choose Save Search As Collection. Saved searches show up in your Collections.

Pros and Cons of Custom Meta-Data

+ Once created, custom data fields can be added to any document in the project.

+ Can be used to create a collection, which in turn can be used as a filter for choosing which documents to compile.

+ Allow you to track additional data not already provided for.

– User cannot create drop-down list to limit values and control for errors.

– Can only be viewed in Inspector and Outliner.

If you want to store more data, but aren’t a big fan of how Custom Meta-Data works, try Keywords instead. Scrivener is nothing if not flexible.

Need more help? Sign up for an online class, read more Scrivener articles, or schedule a private training session. If you don't already have it, you can download Scrivener here.

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