I have an old Mac with screenplays done on Final Draft, I purchased a PC this time around and am wondering if there is a way to export them to another software program that works on PC and if so which one would you recommend? Thanks!
Screenwriting : Moving from Final Draft- Recommendations needed by Angie Baggett
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Hi Angie. A lot of screenwriting programs offer the ability to import various formats from .txt to .fdx. If you're happy with FD, that still runs PC. Most software is now platform agnostic and runs in the cloud.
I think you should use the free trial period to test a few different platforms and see how they compare to FD and then make your decision.
Celtx, WriterDuet, Scrivener, Trelby & Fade In are just a few alternatives.
Kind Regards,
Eoin
You can import screenplays in the software "writer duet" and the software is pretty sweet and easy to use.
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If you have screenplays that are already in Final Draft for Mac, why not buy a copy for Final Draft for the PC and import them?
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All current software, Mac or Windows, will import/export FD fdx files or PDF. I have Highland & FD for Mac and FadeIn, WriterDuet, Celtx for Windows .
I like Scrivener, specially if you may write something other than narrative screenplays, at times. It does import/export .fdx . I also really like Fadein.
Angie, I've got a Power Mac as well, and it's got Final Draft 6 on it. I use that Mac to bang out screenplays...then I use a flash drive to load the PDF copies Final Draft 6 generates on my Mac onto a Windows PC.
I don't have the money (yet) for Final Draft for Windows...but I've got Trelby loaded onto my Windows computer. It's just a question of my going back to my Power Mac to create FDX copies of my FDRs.
Wishing all the VERY BEST to you, Angie!
Pretty much all software will import from Final Draft. I've experimented with many platforms and none do so perfectly. There will be a hiccup or two along the way. So figure you need to give the imported script a pretty good read through.
As for software, I strongly recommend Movie Magic Screenwriter - very user friendly and fewer issues that FD, especially when going between Apple and PC. A cheaper viable alternative is Fade In Pro. Solid software and great for the price.
A tip for exporting from Final Draft... it's a bit of a pain, but verify that none of your elements are "general." If they are, other platforms may not know how to interpret them.
I use Fade In Pro on my android and mac. You can use it for PC as well. They have a free version as well.
Final Draft also works on PC.
William- I have to repurchase the PC version, right?
Some (I will not say most) can import a PDF or FDX file.
I have even cut and paste text into Writer Duet and it figured out the formatting just fine.
I love Fade In. I have a Mac though.
can you not just get final draft for your pc? That's what I use on mine and can share files with my Mac using friends.
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Just download the pc version of FD on your new computer. Save your files in FD format if you haven't already. Then deactivate the license on the mac version and use it to license the pc version and it should all work. You don't need to repurchase anything if you're using the same edition of FD
I actually enjoy Trebly...it is free but has tons of features and as with most all others can save as PDF
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My advice only: Stick with FD and just transfer it to your PC - update the license - it's free.