If you let Scrivener update itself automatically, or use the Mac App Store, on occasion you may find that after the application is updated, it refuses to run. Common symptoms of this are an icon that look like the generic application icon, sometimes with a "Do Not" badge over it, and potentially your projects might even revert to looking like folders.

This is nothing to panic about. Your work, settings, and registration information are all safe. It is just the application itself which has become corrupted by the installer. Getting everything back up and running is simple to do, but you'll need to follow a different set of instructions depending on who you purchased the application from.

For both versions under no circumstances would you need to purchase Scrivener again. If you receive any messages about needing to purchase the software again, please disregard them.

Standard Version

If you purchased directly from us and have a serial number to use the software, then you were probably alerted by Scrivener that you had updates, and clicked the Update button to do so. Fixing your installation is incredibly easy. Just download a fresh copy of the latest version of the software from here. Unless Safari opens the DMG for you, you'll need to open it yourself. Located it in the Downloads folder and double-click to open the installation disk. Drag the Scrivener icon to the Application folder icon, as the arrow indicates, and confirm that you wish to overwrite what is already there.

If that this point you get an error about files being in use, you will need to double-click on the Applications folder to open it and move the broken copy of Scrivener to the Trash, first. Now you should be able to move the fresh copy in.

Mac App Store Version

If you purchased from Apple's iTunes Mac App Store, then you will need to use their software to fix the broken update. This can be a little finicky on occasion. Typically all you need to do is find the Scrivener icon in your Applications folder and move it to the Trash. Once this is done, you should be able to see an INSTALL button in the Purchases tab of your Mac App Store software.

If you do not see this button, or it is fussing at you about needing to purchase again, you may need to empty the trash and use the Store menu in the Mac App Store software to log out of your iTunes account and then back in. Occasionally you might also need to reboot your computer.

Once you get the INSTALL button showing up properly, click that to re-download the software and install it. You should now be good to go.

Still Not Working?

If you have completely re-installed the software and it still refuses to launch, first make sure you have downloaded the correct version for your system. If you are running an older computer (Tiger or Leopard) then you need to download the universal binary version. Systems running Snow Leopard or newer should use the Intel only version which is also 10.8 GateKeeper compatible. (This is not a concern with the Mac App Store version, which cannot run on the older systems.)

Contact technical support with as much detail as you can provide, including an operating system errors or errors that you receive from Scrivener, so that we can help you get the problem resolved as quickly as possible.