RELEASE NOTES FOR DRAMATICA Story Expert 5.0.1 Release 2
version 5.0.1 build 42
June 29, 2012

1.  Activating Your Software
2.  Newer File Format
3.  New features in 5.0
4.  Known Defects
5.  Reporting Issues

1.  ACTIVATING YOUR SOFTWARE:

After installing your software, the first time you launch Dramatica Story Expert you will be taken to the registration web site and asked to enter your serial number.

2.  NEWER FILE FORMAT

IMPORTANT:  Dramatica Story Expert 5.0 saves its files in a newer file format, identified by the .dr5 file extension.  Presently, you can OPEN pre-5.0 files, but you cannot export back to Dramatica 4.1. (we expect to provide an export back to Dramatica Pro 4.1 .dsf file format in the near future).

When saving older Dramatica documents, you will be prompted to save as a new document -- so you will always be left with a copy of your original (pre-5.0) document.

3.  NEW FEATURES IN 5.0

• Dramatica is now a “universal” application that runs natively on Intel or PowerPC.  A minimum of OS X 10.5 (Leopard) is required.  OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and 10.7 (Lion) have been tested.

• GISTS!  This is a major new area of the program.  Gists are little bits of storytelling that are pre-connected to structural choices.  They can be selected in structural questions in the StoryGuide, and used to speed the forming of a story.  Gists may be created and applied in the Query System.  Gists may also be created, edited, and deleted in the Gist Manager window (CMD+M).  Please read the separate short PDF document, "Gists and How to Use Them" for a brief tutorial.

• Redesigned Front End Window shows Project Overview.  Allows unified one-click access to Dramatica's feature panes.

• Redesigned Menu Layout brings Dramatica in step with modern apps, adding the VIEW and GISTS menu and combining the old STORYFORMING, STORYTELLING, and TOOLS menus into the new PROJECT menu.

•  Spell Checking:  Context menu provides spell checking suggestions for misspelled words.

• "Getting Started" Window:  A new window allows you to open recent projects, example documents, and to create new projects.  It also provides links to useful information and tutorials.  This windows is displayed the first time you launch Dramatica, and optionally when you re-launch (unless you uncheck the "Show this dialog on startup").  If you really like using this window, there is a FILE > GETTING STARTED… menu item that calls it up at any time.  Also, this window is displayed whenever you close the last document window.

• Recently Opened Documents are now remembered and displayed in the FILE > Open Recent menu.  There is also a "Clear" menu item, for emptying out the menu, and a FILE Preference, Display Recently Opened Documents,  to set how many files to track (defaults to 10).

• New Files Preference: Open Last Document On Launch.  When starting up the program, opens the last document you had opened (or created and saved).

• Instant Dramatica pathway in Query System.

• Query topics combined: Topics that have both StoryForming and StoryTelling questions are now displayed on the same Query System page.

• StoryGuide help can be positioned on the Left, Middle, or Right side of the pane.

• StoryGuide topics "history" can be navigated forward/backwards.  (CMD+[ and CMD +])

• New Master Story Engine and Signposts Story Engine.  Also, you can enable a preference where changed popup items are colored red.  You may also turn on the display of Gists in the Story Engine,

• Redesigned Brainstorming (Spin-the-Model, Character Generator)

• Redesigned Spin-the-model.  You can assign random Gists.  New Print button.

• Redesigned Character Generator.  NEW Random last name generator.  First and last names from US census.  Sliders control how common first & last names are generated.

• Redesigned Story Info.  You can now import a character picture for the Overall and Relationship throughlines.

• Redesigned Casting Window:  New high-resolution casting pictures.  Silhouettes in addition to photos.  You can drag from a casting image to a character.  New popups filter the casting pictures.  New indicators for Main / Impact characters displayed on character pictures.

• Story Examples now have high-resolution pictures of characters, instead of cartoon icons.

• Redesigned Character Info (under "Players" icon).

• Double-Clicking character image takes user to Character Info.

• Relationship "sex-change":  If main and impact character pictures are set to the default, and you change the gender of one of them, the Relationship picture will change to an image aligned with the proper genders.

• Flyover Help is now available for most areas of the program.  In the story engine, you can see context and structure-specific flyover help for the popup menus, which integrate the choices you have currently made.

• Character Pictures can be cropped and scaled.  

• New Build Characters ("Characteristics"):  High Resolution Pictures, scalable grid.

• Enhance Story Points view allows in-place editing of storytelling text.  Gists column shows any assigned gists.

• Completely redesigned Plot Progression view.  You can now adjust the vertical and horizontal scale with sliders.  A new "Fit-to-View" icon attempts to get the entire plot progression to fit into the window.  The Plot Progression respects custom font settings, and there are now header rows identifying each throughline.

• Redesigned Scene Reference Assignment:  The old method of assigning structural references to Scenes (e.g. the "popup menu from hell") has been replaced with a three-column structural browser that allows quick assignment of structural references.

• Redesigned Reports / reports selection Window.    Reports use a Rich Text viewer, which allows you to SELECT and COPY formatted text right out of the on-screen Reports.

• Theme Browser, Plot Progression are now accessible via unified interface.

• Filename length:  Filenames can now be long and can contain Unicode characters.

•  User Controllable Fonts & font zooming for all windows.

•  New Preferences window: Quick setting of fonts; choice of Original, version 4 or version 5 terminology.

•  New Document and Gist Collections folder Preferences: Choose where your default documents / Gist Collections will be stored.

•  New Terminology:  Some changes in terminology:

	Problem Solving Style:
		Logical -> Linear
		Intuitive -> Holistic

	Throughline Labels:
		Main/Impact (M/I) -> Relationship Story (RS)

	New term for Obstacle / Impact Character:
		Influence Character

4. KNOWN DEFECTS:

- Using a slash in a filename might crash program.

- Occasionally scrollbars may not scroll a long text field all the way up or down, by about a half line.  If this happens, slightly resizing the window or clicking and dragging in the text field will adjust the view.

- SPELL CHECKING: highlighting of misspelled words can disappear.

5. REPORTING ISSUES 

Please contact our Technical Support department: (818) 843-7819, or send email to support@screenplay.com.