Documentation

Basic Shortcuts

To write a script in accordance with all the industry standards, you only need two keys: Enter and Tab. Enter creates a new paragraph, Tab selects the next available type for the paragraph in the current context. To select the previous available type, press Shift + Tab.

To change the type of an existing paragraph, simply place the caret on any character of this paragraph and press Tab.

In total, the following types of paragraphs are available in the application:
- Act;
- Action;
- Character;
- Dialogue;
- Scene Heading;
- Parenthetical;
- Transition.

Paragraphs Ordering Rules

A script can start with the following types:
- Action;
- Scene Heading;
- Transition;
- Act.

After the paragraph with the Character type, only the following types can follow:
- Dialogue;
- Parenthetical.

After the paragraph with the Scene Heading type, only the following types can follow:
- Action;
- Scene Heading;
- Act.

After the paragraph with the Transition type, only the following types can follow:
- Scene Heading;
- Act.

After the paragraph with the Parenthetical type, only the following types can follow:
- Dialogue.

After the paragraph with the Act type, only the following types can follow:
- Scene Heading;
- Transition;
- Act.

After the paragraph with the Dialogue type, only the following types can follow:
- Character;
- Parenthetical;
- Action;
- Scene Heading;
- Transition;
- Act.

Note that types are excluded from the available types in the current context if, in case of switching to them, the allowable paragraph size will be increased. More on this below.

Paragraphs Size Limits

Obviously, paragraphs of the Character or Transition types cannot consist of a large number of lines, for example, 10. Therefore, there are limits on the size of paragraphs.

Below are the limits in lines for each type of paragraphs:
- Act: 3 lines;
- Action: 49 lines;
- Character: 4 lines;
- Dialogue: 42 lines;
- Scene Heading: 5 lines;
- Parenthetical: 3 lines;
- Transition: 3 lines.

If you try to exceed the allowed limit, an error will be displayed in the lower right corner:

Paragraphs Limit Error

Formatting

All formatting to meet industry standards is done automatically. You don't have to think about margins on the left or between paragraphs.

Scene headings, characters, and transitions types are automatically switched to uppercase.

Parentheticals are automatically wrapped in parentheses.

The "(CONT'D)" text is automatically added to characters whose dialogues are interrupted by other paragraphs or page breaks. "(MORE)" is automatically added to the end of dialogues that are broken by page breaks.

If the dialogue or action does not fit on the page, they are divided into different pages by sentences.

Transitions are aligned to the left if they are at the beginning of a script or go immediately after the act type. In other cases, they are aligned to the right.

Page numbering starts from one. The number is not indicated on the first page.

The act always starts with a new page. Note that by default, the act type is used only to indicate the structure and is not exported to PDF. However, this type is widely used when writing for TV, for example, for "COLD OPEN", "TEASER" or "TAG" lines. Therefore, you can allow exporting this type in the settings.

Each paragraph type is highlighted accordingly to make it easier to read and navigate through the script. Please note that the highlighting does not affect how the script is exported to PDF.

Formatting Preview

Autocomplete

Autocomplete feature helps you quickly find the right character, location, transition, scene time, and so on.

Autocomplete

Spell Check

Currently only English (United States) dictionary is supported.

Editor Actions

If you click on the button in the botom right corner, you will see a set of the editor actions: Undo, Redo, Search, Scenes, Shots, Filters, Comments and Listen. Click on the button again to hide the list of actions.

Editor Actions

Undo - cancels the last action with the script. You can also use the keyboard shortcut: "Ctrl + Z" for Windows and Linux, or "⌘ + Z" for macOS.

Redo - repeats the previously canceled action with the script. You can also use the keyboard shortcut: "Ctrl + Shift + Z" for Windows and Linux, or "⌘ + Shift + Z" for macOS.