We learned 3 great Final Draft software tips from insiders.
(The following is a guest post Rebecca Norrisscreenwriter and former chief technical staff member of Final Draft software.
When I used to work on Final Draft, I got a lot of calls from frustrated writers complaining that it was taking them too long to type and revise their scripts. But most of the time they don’t use the program at all effectively Because they could have…
So, here are three quick tips to help you enter and modify your scripts, and make writing with Final Draft software easier.
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Final Draft Software Tip #1: Rebuild your smart type.
In the Final Draft software program, every time you enter a name into a character element or enter a new scene title, it is added to your SmartType. Autofill feature In the final draft, it will remember them for you.
However, if you change your character’s name or delete a location, it can be annoying to see that name or location continue to appear as you type.
To resolve this issue, please visit File > SmartType and view your list of roles and locations. You may see old information from previous drafts.
according to reconstruction The button updates the SmartType to reflect what is currently happening in the script.
Rebuilding your SmartType frequently will also help keep your .fdx files healthy. Sometimes, if you mark it incorrectly while writing, strange lines of text will slip into SmartType (i.e. random action lines marked as scene titles).
Too many incorrect entries in Final Draft software can bog down your SmartType and possibly cause your files to behave erratically or crash.
Final Draft Software Tip #2: Use element pop-ups.
For some people who are new to Final Draft software, they find that entering scripts takes a long time because they have to manually change elements each time using the mouse down (in Mac) or up (in Windows) toolbar As they write.
There is no need to do this.
Just press return (input) raised twice Element popup menuyou can then type the first letter of the desired element (i.e. “S” for scene title, “A” for action.) without taking your hands off the keyboard at all.
Final Draft Tips#3: Use reformatting tools.
Sometimes I’ll get a call from an assistant director ready to throw a tantrum because an element was incorrectly tagged during the writing process.
If you need to check your script and re-mark mis-marked elements you can go to Tools > Reformat Do it easily.
This Final Draft pro tool will highlight each line for you and pop up a box where you can click on what the element should be tagged with. then hit Next Go to the next one until you have finished reading the script.
Upgrade from Final Draft 10 or earlier to Final Draft 11 at a special price!
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Are there any other final draft tips and tricks you think our readers should know about? What problems do you have when using Final Draft software for script writing? Let us know in the comments section below!
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