Screenplay Formatter

Scripts typed as plain text come back as pages laid out the way the industry expects: dialogue columns, scene numbers, MORE and CONT'D, and a running page count. Twelve point Courier is ten characters to the inch, and that fact is the whole format, including the rule that a page is a minute.

How to use it

Scene headings and action run the full width, character names and their dialogue sit in narrower columns of their own, and transitions are pushed to the right margin.

  1. Write it in plain text A line starting INT. or EXT. with a blank line above it is a scene. A name in capitals with a blank line above and dialogue below is a character. Everything else is action. That is the whole of it.
  2. Watch the page count It appears above the pages and moves as you type. One page is roughly one minute on screen, so it is also a running time.
  3. Print it Press Print to open your browser's print box, where you can send it to a printer or save it as a PDF, or press Download PNG for an image. Turn your browser’s own headers and footers off in the print box, or they land on top of the page numbers. You can also download the pages as plain text or the script as a .fountain file.
Full instructions

Your script

Plain text, written the Fountain way: capitals make a name, INT. or EXT. makes a scene.

How it should print

Take it away

Printing opens your browser’s own box — choose Print as the destination, and turn its headers and footers off.

In depth

Turning a plain script into standard screenplay pages

This guide digs into the Screenplay Formatter below its quick help. You will see how it reads your plain text, how to force a line when the guess is wrong, what every print setting does, how to read the page and timing counts, and how to get the pages out. It closes with the traps that trip up new users.

Screenshot: A page is a minute, and the margins are why
A page is a minute, and the margins are why as it appears when the page opens.

Who it is for

A screenplay has a strict look. Wide margins, names above dialogue, a set width for speech, and roughly one page for each minute on screen. Getting that right by hand in a word processor is slow and easy to break.

This tool is for anyone who wants to skip that fuss. A writer drafting a scene, a student handing in a script, or someone who was sent a plain text file and needs proper pages to read or print. You write in simple text and the pages build themselves as you type.

How it reads plain text

You do not tag anything. The tool works out what each line is from its shape, using a small set of rules.

A line that starts with INT. or EXT. and has a blank line above it becomes a scene heading. A name typed in capitals, with a blank line above and dialogue on the next line, becomes a character cue. A line in capitals that ends in TO:, such as CUT TO:, becomes a transition to the right. Anything else is action. That really is the whole of it, and it covers most of a script without a single special mark.

Forcing a line when the guess is wrong

Sometimes a line is read as the wrong kind. A few lead characters let you take control. Begin a line with a full stop to make it a scene heading. Begin it with an at sign to make it a character name. Begin it with an exclamation mark to keep it as action. Begin it with a greater-than sign to make it a transition, or wrap it with a greater-than sign and a less-than sign to centre it.

You can also style words. Put single stars around text for italics, double stars for bold, and underscores around it for underline. To let two characters speak side by side, add a caret after the second name, and their speech is kept next to the first rather than read as a new one. A line of three or more equals signs forces a new page. Double square brackets mark a private note to yourself.

Adding a title page

A title page is optional and easy. At the very top of your text, before anything else, put a few label lines. Title: gives the name. Credit: is the line such as written by. Author: is your name. You can also add Source:, Draft date:, and Contact:.

The block ends at the first blank line, and the scene text carries on below. The title page itself carries no page number, which is what a reader expects. Numbering starts on the first real page of the script.

The print settings, one by one

The panel headed How it should print holds the choices that change the finished pages.

  • Paper: pick US Letter, the standard for scripts, or A4. The paper size changes how many lines fit on a page.
  • Scene numbers: choose None, ask the tool to Number them for me, or Use the ones in my script if you wrote your own.
  • Print a title page when the script has one: on by default, it shows the title block if you wrote one.
  • Page numbers: on by default, it prints the page number in the top corner from the first script page.
  • Add (MORE) and (CONT'D) when a speech runs over: on by default, it marks a speech that breaks across a page.
  • Mark a character speaking twice in a row (CONT'D): on by default, it adds a note when the same person speaks again with no one between.
  • Keep [[notes to self]] in the pages: off by default, so your private notes stay out of the printed script unless you tick it.

Reading the counts

Above the pages sits a row of chips. They show the number of pages, an estimate of minutes, the count of scenes, the number of speaking parts, the number of speeches, and how many lines fit on a page. Because one page is about one minute, the page count doubles as a running time.

Two messages may appear. If your device does not have the Courier typeface, the tool measures the letters and adjusts the size so the page count stays correct, and it tells you it did so. If it finds no scene headings, it reminds you what one looks like. It also tells you when a speech had to be split across a page.

Getting the pages out

The panel headed Take it away has four buttons. Print opens your browser's own print box. Choose your printer there, and turn off the browser's own headers and footers, or they land on top of your page numbers. In that same box you can pick Save as PDF as the destination if you want a PDF file rather than paper. The tool itself does not write a PDF; the browser does, and it does a good job of it.

Download the script file saves your plain text as a script file you can open again later with the Open a file button. Download as plain pages saves the laid out pages as a plain text file. Copy the pages puts that same laid out text on your clipboard. Above the editor, Try an example loads a short sample script so you can see the whole thing work at once.

How a speech breaks across a page

Long speeches sometimes reach the foot of a page. The tool handles this the way a script editor would. It leaves the word (MORE) at the bottom, then repeats the character name with (CONT'D) at the top of the next page, so the reader never loses the thread.

It also guards against two ugly page ends. A character name is never left alone at the foot of a page without the first line of their speech. A scene heading is never the last thing on a page, since that would send the reader over the page just to learn where they are. These small rules are why the pages read like a real script and not like text that was simply cut every so often.

A worked example

Type this into the editor, keeping the blank lines. First line: INT. LIBRARY - DAY. Blank line. Then: Nora slides a book across the desk. Blank line. Then a name in capitals: NORA. On the next line: You are three weeks late.

The pages build at once. The chips read pages 1, about 1 minute, scenes 1, speaking parts 1, speeches 1, and lines a page 54, because US Letter is the paper. Nora is centred as a name, her line sits under it in the speech column, and the heading spans the full width.

Now change Paper to A4 and watch lines a page jump to 58, since A4 is a little taller. Set Scene numbers to Number them for me and a 1 appears in front of the library heading. Nothing else moves, because the layout is fixed and only these settings are yours to change.

Common mistakes and their fixes

  • A name is read as action: it needs to be in capitals with a blank line above and its dialogue on the very next line. Add the blank line, or force it with an at sign.
  • A line of action is read as a name: a full line in capitals with a blank line above looks like a cue. Reword it, or force action with a leading exclamation mark.
  • The script feels too long: pulling the margins in is not offered, because the page a minute rule depends on fixed measurements. If it runs long, the answer is to cut it.
  • The title page has no number: that is correct. Numbering begins on the first page of the script, not the title.
  • Headers or footers print over your numbers: turn the browser's own headers and footers off in the print box.

When another tool is a better fit

This formatter is built for scripts, not for general documents. If you want a letter, a report, or a flyer, a word processor gives you the fonts and free layout you need, and this tool would only get in the way.

It also expects the script style where capitals mark a name and INT. or EXT. marks a scene. If your text does not follow that at all, the guesses will miss, and you may spend more time forcing lines than it saves. For a plain outline or notes, a simple text tool is the calmer choice.

Your script stays on your computer

The whole layout is worked out inside the page. Your words are never sent anywhere, there is no account, and once the page has loaded it keeps working with no connection.

That privacy has one catch worth remembering. Since nothing is stored on a server, closing the tab is the end of that copy. When you are happy with a draft, use Download the script file so you keep a copy you can open and format again another day.

Help

A page is a minute, and the margins are why

Scene headings and action run the full width, character names and their dialogue sit in narrower columns of their own, and transitions are pushed to the right margin. A speech that will not fit is broken at the foot of the page and marked as continuing rather than squeezed in, and the result prints at true paper size.

Write it in plain text

A line starting INT. or EXT. with a blank line above it is a scene. A name in capitals with a blank line above and dialogue below is a character. Everything else is action. That is the whole of it.

Watch the page count

It appears above the pages and moves as you type. One page is roughly one minute on screen, so it is also a running time.

Print it

Press Print to open your browser's print box, where you can send it to a printer or save it as a PDF, or press Download PNG for an image. Turn your browser’s own headers and footers off in the print box, or they land on top of the page numbers. You can also download the pages as plain text or the script as a .fountain file.

Widening the margins is not a shortcut to a shorter script

The one-page-a-minute rule only holds because everybody uses the same measurements: an inch and a half of left margin, an inch everywhere else, ten characters to the inch and six lines to it. Pull the margins in and a 120-page script becomes 108 pages that still take two hours to shoot — and anybody who reads scripts for a living spots it in seconds, because the page looks wrong before a word of it is read. The measurements here are fixed for exactly that reason. If the script is too long, the answer is cutting it.

Good to know

Capitals do the work

A line in capitals with a blank line above it and text below is read as a character name. A line in capitals ending in "TO:" is a transition. If a line is being read as the wrong thing, start it with a full stop to force a scene heading, an at sign to force a name, or an exclamation mark to force action.

The type size is measured, not assumed

The whole layout rests on ten characters filling an inch. That is true of Courier New at twelve point and not of every other typewriter face, so the width is measured on your own device when the page opens and the size adjusted until it is exactly right.

Speeches break properly

A speech that runs off the bottom of a page gets (MORE) underneath it and the character name with (CONT’D) at the top of the next. A name is never left stranded at the foot of a page without its first line of dialogue, and a scene heading is never the last thing on a page.

Your title page counts as page nought

Numbering starts on the first page of the script, and the first page carries no number, which is what a reader expects. If you want the title page numbered, it is not a script — it is a document.

Common questions

What do I have to type for a scene heading?
A line starting INT. or EXT. with a blank line above it. If you want something else to be a heading, start the line with a full stop.
How do I get a PDF?
Press Print and choose Save as PDF as the destination in the box your browser opens. There is no PDF library on this site, and the browser makes a better PDF than any library would. You can also download the laid-out pages as plain text, or the script itself as a .fountain file.
Why does my page count differ from another program?
Nearly always the paper size or a slightly different set of margins. US Letter is the standard for scripts even outside the United States; A4 is a little taller and holds a few more lines a page.
Can I write two characters talking at once?
Put a caret after the second name. The speech is kept with the one before it rather than being read as a new one.
Is my script uploaded anywhere?
No. It is laid out inside your browser and never sent anywhere. Closing the tab is the only copy that matters, so download the script file when you are done.

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