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Movie Magic Screenwriter

Script Order—First groups all scenes in the Primary sort order, then in the order they appear in the document (without any sorting).

Interior VS. Exterior—First groups all scenes in the Primary sort order, then sorts all Exterior scenes before Interiors within each group.

Location—First groups all scenes in the Primary sort order, then sorts all Locations alphabetically within each group.

Time-of-Day—First groups all scenes in the Primary sort order, then sorts alphabetically by Time-of-Day within each group.

Calculate Eighths by...—Specifies how Screenwriter should define an 1/8th of a page.  Historically, an 1/8th of a page was one inch (6 lines).  Nowadays writers are allowing more than 48 lines on a page, so Screenwriter gives you a choice between the standard 1/8th or a “truer” 1/8th.

Standard- 6 lines = 1/8th of a Page—If checked, defines an eighth of a page as 1” (6 lines).  If you have more than 8” of text on a page, however, it's possible for a page to calculate as longer than 8/8ths—giving inaccurate page counts.

Adjusted - 7 lines = 1/8th of a Page—If checked, defines an eighth of a page as the total allowable lines on a page divided by eight.  When rounded, this equals 7 lines.

Display Eighth Totals...—Specifies how Screenwriter should calculate the totals for each Sort grouping.  If the displayed totals for each scene are added, their rounding accumulates too—leading to an inaccurate total.

Totals of All Rounded Eighths—If checked, rounds the displayed totals for each scene into eighths before adding them.

For example, a group has Scene 5 with 39 lines and Scene 7 with 50 lines in it.  You have specified 6 lines per eighth.  For Scene 5, it calculates 39 divided by 6 = 6.5/8ths, which rounded upwards becomes 7/8ths.  Scene 7 is calculated as 50 divided by 6 = 8.33/8ths or 1 and 0.33/8ths, which rounded upwards becomes 1-1/8ths.  The total of Scenes 5 & 7 calculates as 7/8ths +1-1/8ths = 2-0/8ths.

True Total of All Lines—If checked, the actual numbers of lines in each scene are added, then rounded into eighths to give a more accurate total.

In our previous example, the total of the lines from Scenes 5 & 7 is 89.  And 89 divided by 6 is 14.83/8ths—or 1-6.83/8ths—which rounded upwards comes out to 1-7/8ths.