Mac tutorials › Screenplay
ScreenplayExport the screenplay
Save the screenplay as a PDF, Final Draft, Fountain, Word or plain text file.
Before you start
- A screenplay with text is open.
Steps
Choose Screenplay Tools, then Import and Export, then Export Screenplay…. The File menu has Export Screenplay… (Command-Shift-E) and Export PDF (Option-Command-Shift-E).
The sheet asks: What am I exporting, which version, in which format, and where will it be saved? Source names the draft, for example Example-Short (imported) (current), whether it is a Draft, and how many scenes it has. Format has PDF (professional, printable), Final Draft (.fdx), Fountain and DOCX (editable).
Choose Final Draft (.fdx), or the format you need.
Scope has Entire draft or Selected scenes, and Clean script or Revision-marked version. Below are four boxes: Title page, Scene numbers and Revision info are ticked, Include notes is not. A note reads: Private notes excluded. Export creates a snapshot; your project does not change.
Choose Fountain for a plain text file other writing tools can read.
The same options apply.
Choose DOCX when you want to edit the script in Word.
The same options apply.
Click Additional formats… for plain text.
A new choice appears: Plain text (.txt), screenplay layout in plain characters.
Choose Selected scenes under Scope.
A list, Scenes to export, shows every scene with its number and heading. Tick the scenes you want. A note says: Selected scenes keep their numbers from the full draft.
Switch Revision-marked version and clear Title page if you need them.
Revision-marked version marks revised lines in the file. Clearing Title page leaves the title page out. Scene numbers and Revision info control those parts.
Click Preview… to see the pages, or Export… and choose where to save the file.
Export… asks for a name and a place in the standard macOS save panel. Cancel closes the sheet.
Open the sheet in a new project.
It shows Draft 1 (current) with 1 scene. The options are the same.
What you get
The file is saved where you chose.
Watch out for
- Look at Scope, Title page and Scene numbers before you export.
- Private notes are never exported. Include notes adds only the comments and notes that are not private.
- Text in some scripts, for example Chinese or Arabic, is refused by the PDF with a clear message. Export Fountain or DOCX instead.