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Script and Editor

Who can do this: All plans. Editing the script needs the organization owner, an admin, or a member with Edit script; anyone on the project can read it.
The breakdown, the schedule, and every call sheet read from the script, so a project starts here. You can write the script in Spell Slate or import one and keep polishing it in place. Either way there is one script, and the rest of the project follows it. Where to find it: click Writing in the project nav. Script opens the editor and Outline opens the beat sheet. The Writing menu in the project nav: Script and Outline

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Write in the editor

  1. Click Writing, then Script.
  2. Type. The editor formats scene headings, action, character cues, dialogue, parentheticals, and transitions as you go.
  3. Press ⌘S to save. The editor also saves on its own after 30 seconds without typing.
The script editor with its toolbar and a formatted page The toolbar has Save, the element type menu, the Scenes list for jumping to a scene, the navigator, Find & Replace, Export, a view menu that opens the current scene’s breakdown or shot list, and focus mode. Using the script editor covers the element types, the Enter and Tab rules, and the shortcuts. If the project has more than one script version, the editor shows a version picker in the toolbar.

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Read the script with the breakdown beside it

The read view lists the scenes with the breakdown panel on the right. This is where you tag elements: select text in a scene, then choose a category.
  • Click Breakdown in the project nav, then View Script.
  • On a phone, the Script entry in the menu opens this view, since the editor needs a desktop browser.
The read view: numbered scenes with their pages, and the Add Element panel on the right Click a scene heading to open that scene’s page. Tagging elements in a script breakdown walks through tagging.

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Keep versions

The Versions menu on the read view holds Upload New Version, New Draft from Current, and Lock. See Upload a new version and Locking the script.

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Export or share

Open Export in the toolbar for Export PDF, Export Text, Export Fountain, and Share view-only link. The Export menu: Export PDF, Export Text, Export Fountain, Share view-only link PDFs split long dialogue across pages with (MORE) and CHARACTER (CONT'D). Download your script covers the formats, and Share a script link the view-only link.

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Plan the story first

The outline is a beat sheet with seven story structures to start from. Beats link to the scenes that cover them, and the outline can start a script from its acts and scenes. See Script Outline.