EXPORTING TO FINAL DRAFT XML (.fdx):
This is a new, high-quality export. Please note there are many differences between the high level of customization in Screenwriter that cannot translate to Final Draft, some of which we detail below. Those exceptions noted, this export is still light years ahead of using RTF or copy/paste to export to Final Draft.
•You may notice a difference in page count. Screenwriter and FD do not line wrap or paginate exactly the same. Generally, Screenwriter's wrapping/paginating follows the industry page-a-minute rule more closely than Final Draft.
•Screenwriter does not presently export our title page, headers/footers, or user lists to Final Draft. We DO export character names , as well as spell check exceptions (from .mmx files).
•Final Draft does not support the concept of arbitrarily hiding elements, nor intermixing hidden elements with the rest of the script. Therefore, Screenwriter Outline Styles and Notes that are non-printing ("hidden") are converted to script notes in Final Draft the are attached to the nearest element, as they would be in Screenwriter. They To see them in FD, you need to look at FD's note navigator.
•Screenwriter Outline Styles that are set to print (i.e. are NOT hidden) are exported to FD as their own "custom styles".
•Usually, we convert the Courier MM Screenwriter to the Courier Final Draft, because that's what FD users expect (despite our servant belief that Courier MM Screenwriter is a superior font).
•We STRONGLY discourage you from exporting a locked production script to FD (and vice-versa). If you do so, do NOT expect production features like locked page and scene numbers in FD to correspond exactly with the same pages in the original, pre-export Screenwriter file.
