Import and export scripts

Import and export .fdx files with screenplay elements and dual dialogue intact. Use this format when working with Final Draft users.

Fountain is plain text you can read in any text editor. Screencake imports and exports it.

After import, a banner identifies possible element errors, such as a character cue classified as action. Select individual corrections, undo a correction, or close the banner without changes.

To compare before import, open Version history. Select Compare with a file…. Neither draft changes.

Use PDF to keep the page numbers and layout from the editor. Refer to Formatting rules. Open File → Export → PDF…. Select the applicable options:

• A title page and whether to include notes. Removing notes reflows the pages.
• Coverage marks, facing pages, and open comments as an appendix.
• Revised pages only, after issuing a revision.
• A Prepared for name, stamped across pages and in the footer. Unlike a review-link stamp, it has no link ID.

Open full size

PDFs store text positions, not screenplay elements. Screencake uses margins and columns to find headings, dialogue, action, and dual dialogue. Examine uncertain blocks in the import check banner.

• Kept: title-page fields and shot headings such as CLOSE ON.
• Removed from the text: page and margin scene numbers, revision asterisks, and (MORE)/(CONT'D) continuations.
• Not recovered: bold and italic styling.
• Selectable text is necessary: scanned images will not import. Text from OCR can contain errors. Correct these errors after import.

PDF import runs on your device, including for encrypted scripts. It does not upload the PDF and also works from first-run setup and the Local Mode library.

Export a .docx with screenplay paragraph styles, indents, Courier, and title-page fields. Word handles its own pagination, so use PDF for fixed page numbers. Word import is not supported.

In Script settings, set the title, credit, author, source, draft date, and contact. Exports include these fields. A PDF title page has no page number. To exclude the title page, keep its fields empty.

Fountain, FDX, and PDF imports can fill these fields for you. Local Mode has no title-page form, but keeps and exports imported title-page data.

Alternate lines and breakdown tags do not export. Comments are not included in standard exports, but the PDF dialog can add open comments as an appendix.

An exported FDX or Fountain file can be imported again with its screenplay structure intact. Omitted scenes are an exception: FDX keeps the omitted mark, while Fountain exports their full text.

In the Stripboard, Import schedule reads comma-separated or tab-separated files. Use columns named scene, day, date. The scene column is the printed scene number. The day column is a day number or a title such as "Pickups". Day number 1 becomes "Day 1". The optional date column uses YYYY-MM-DD.

Movie Magic Scheduling and Fuzzlecheck export text or CSV schedules. Change their column names to the specified names. For Celtx scripts, use the script importer with Fountain or Final Draft files.

The dialog shows a preview before import. It lists and skips unknown scene numbers. A file without a scene column imports nothing. Existing days do not change. Imported days show after them.

On the Budget page, open Export. Select CSV or Excel (.xlsx) for the complete budget with one row per line. The columns are scenario, currency, group, account_number, account, description, unit, quantity, linked_to, rate, rate_currency, fringe_pct, fringe, total, locked, actual, committed, etc, efc, variance, note. The export uses the selected scenario and names it in each row. Account filters do not change exports.

Import reads a .csv or .xlsx file with those columns, or a Movie Magic style export with the columns Account, Description, Amount, Units, X, Rate. A numbered row without an amount, multiplier, or rate names its account.

The preview counts new accounts, lines, and skipped rows. Click Add to the budget to apply. Imported lines go to the base budget as typed values without schedule or crew links.

Select Export → PDF to download the top sheet for the selected scenario. Select Export → Print to print every account and its lines.

Crew, Cast, Budget, Tasks, and the Breakdown report support workbook and CSV exports. The two formats contain the same rows. The workbook opens in Excel, Numbers, LibreOffice, and Google Sheets without an import step. The Budget page also imports both formats.

Workbook and CSV exports include contact columns only if your role can see contact details. Time cards use server-generated CSV files with approval data.

An AV script supports PDF export only and does not support import. The server creates its PDF. For a local AV script, move the script to the cloud before PDF export.

Encrypted scripts import and export PDF, Final Draft, and Fountain on your device. Word export is unavailable because the server cannot read the script. The budget PDF, the budget API, and the archive budget CSV are also unavailable. Budget print, CSV, and .xlsx export work on your device.

Select Account → Your data to create a ZIP of scripts in workspaces you own. Screencake sends an email when the ZIP is ready. The download stays available for seven days.

• Screenplays include Fountain, Final Draft, JSON, comments, saved versions, and Yjs document state.
• The archive includes storyboard frames, character pictures, and breakdown pictures.
• AV scripts are included as PDFs.

The archive excludes scripts in other owners' workspaces. Export those scripts individually. Encrypted scripts stay encrypted in the archive because the server cannot read them. For readable copies, export from the encrypted script on your device.