Adding Images in Scrivener 3
Scrivener was conceived as drafting software—and that’s still where it truly excels—but along the way it’s become a one-stop shop for writing and publishing a book. That includes the ability to add images to your project.
Whether for scene breaks, chapter headings, illustrative figures within a section, book covers, or just a reference to a character or setting’s appearance, here’s a rundown of how to work with images in Scrivener 3.
Also—spoiler alert—my ultimate goal is to convert you to a user of image placeholder tags, but read on for all of your options.
Getting Images into a Project File
In most cases, it’ll be easier to work with an image if you import it to your project first. There are exceptions, which I’ll mention where appropriate.
You also might want to store an image file in your project even if you never plan to insert it into your manuscript. For example, character or location images. And an ebook cover image must be stored in the project in order to include it when you compile.
The supported file types are JPG/JPEG, PNG, and PDF.
NOTE: Importing an image makes a copy of it, so there is no link between the original and the one in your project. Later I’ll discuss how to use linked images.
Here are your options for importing an image:
