Add a "Save" Button to the Toolbar

In a program like Scrivener, saving---as the kind of action one takes periodically with a text editor or word processor---isn't something one ever has to do, except in rare scenarios. Instead, Scrivener works more like OneNote in that it manages a large collection of information where everything you do is automatically saved as you work.

The concept of having a button on your toolbar that saves would in most cases perform no real task when clicking it. By the time most people manage to reach for their mouse, position the pointer over the button and click it---everything they would have done recently has already been saved.

So with that known the question becomes: how well can we protect our work, if the only copy of it is constantly saving beneath our fingertips? We have a few tools that you can use to protect your work:

1. Snapshots: this is very briefly covered within the Interactive Tutorial (in the Help menu). They are a bit like using "Save As" in traditional text editors, but without all of the distracting bits of choosing where to save and what to call it---just press ⌘5 on macOS, Ctrl+5 on Windows or add a toolbar button if you prefer, a snapshot will be created. In the meantime, you keep writing. With no distraction of having to name copies and keep them organised, keeping iterations of a document safe can be pushed out of mind.
   
2. Project backups: You can create a backup at any time via File ▸ Back Up ▸ Back Up Now (or add a back up button to your toolbar via View ▸ Customize Toolbar...). If you aren't familiar with backups, every project you create keeps five of the most recent copies of your work by default. With settings you can bump that up to 25 additional copies (or no cap at all). These are whole copies of your project, in each phase of its development. You can read more about backups in the user manual, under §5.2, Backing Up Your Work.

Point being: if you want to save, then backing up is the way to really do it. That not only ensures your current edits are all written to the disk (which most usually are) but it ensures a second copy of that project is created, with every detail preserved down to where your cursor is blinking. We recommend visiting the "Backup" pane under Scrivener ▸ Settings... (or on Windows, File ▸ Options...) and making sure those settings look good for how you work; the more backups the merrier, and especially if you make a habit of clicking that button.