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Docs › Formatting screenplay text

Formatting screenplay text

Screenplay formatting in Scenaloom follows the element you are in: pick an element with Tab, Enter or Mod+1–7 and the editor sets its margins, capitals and spacing. You never type indents, (MORE) or (CONT'D).

Elements and when to use each

  • Scene heading: where and when it happens (INT. or EXT., a location and a time of day). It starts every scene.
  • Action: what we see and hear, in the present tense.
  • Character: the speaker's name in capitals, above their dialogue.
  • Parenthetical: a short note on how a line is said, such as (quietly).
  • Dialogue: the words spoken.
  • Transition: CUT TO:, DISSOLVE TO: and the like, set to the right.
  • Shot: a camera direction such as WIDE ON THE HARBOR.
  • Subtitle: on-screen text.
  • Comment: a note for you or your collaborators.

Switching elements with Tab and Enter

Enter starts the element that usually comes next. Tab changes the element of an empty line, stepping through action, character, transition and scene heading; on a speech it switches between dialogue and parenthetical. Shift+Tab steps an empty line back.

  • Scene heading, then Enter: action.
  • Action, then Enter: more action. Tab on an empty action line: character.
  • Character, then Enter: dialogue. Tab: parenthetical; on an empty cue, Tab moves on to a transition.
  • Parenthetical, then Enter: dialogue.
  • Dialogue, then Enter: action. Tab: parenthetical. Enter on an empty dialogue line turns it into action.
  • Transition, then Enter: scene heading.
  • Mod+1 to Mod+7: scene heading, action, character, parenthetical, dialogue, transition and shot. Mod is ⌘ on a Mac and Ctrl elsewhere.
  • Esc, then Tab: leave the script with the keyboard.

Three typing shortcuts save keystrokes: a character's name typed in capitals on an action line becomes their cue, ( on an empty speech line starts a parenthetical, and @ in action links a character by name. Shift+Up and Shift+Down past the start or end of a line select whole lines, and Alt+Shift+Up or Down (⌥⇧ on a Mac) moves them.

Scene headings and sluglines

A scene heading, or slugline, is stored in three parts — interior or exterior, location and time of day — so the scene list, location pages and CSV sheets can read it. As you write one, a picker offers INT., EXT., INT./EXT. and EXT./INT., your existing locations, and times such as DAY, NIGHT, DAWN, DUSK, CONTINUOUS, LATER, MOMENTS LATER and SAME. Tab moves to the next part, and Enter chooses a location or adds a new one. Renaming a location on its page rewrites every heading that uses it. For the conventions, read the scene headings guide.

Dialogue, parentheticals and (CONT'D)

When the same character speaks again after only action in the same scene, the cue shows (CONT'D) automatically; you never type it, and exports add it the same way. When a speech crosses a page break, the page ends with (MORE) and the next page repeats the name with (CONT'D). For two characters talking at once, put the cursor in the second speech and press Mod+D: dual dialogue sets it beside the speech before it.

Transitions and shots

Transitions sit flush right in capitals, and a transition never opens a page. Shots print full width like a heading and stay with the line that follows them. Use both sparingly — most scenes read best when the action implies the camera.

Formatting check

The format bar lists clear slips only, each linked to its line: a character cue with no dialogue after it, dialogue with no cue before it, an empty scene heading, and a name written another way elsewhere in the script. Click a line number to jump to it, fix it, and the count goes down.