Quick Start¶
If you are a self-learner who just needs a jump start, then this chapter is for you. We won't bore you with the details, but rather will quickly help you put together your first screenplay by providing just enough information. You can always come back to this guide and explore other chapters to discover finer details.
Instead of text, if you would much rather watch a video then this one is for you:
If you prefer text descriptions, then here we go!
NOTE: Screenshots may not match the current UI. Scrite evolves continuously, so visuals and layout can change.
Home Screen¶
When you start Scrite, you’ll see the Home Screen.
From here you can:
- Start a new document (blank or from a template)
- Open a screenplay from Scriptalay (our online mini‑library)
- Open a document from your local disk
- Import from Final Draft (FDX) or Fountain
- Recover unsaved screenplays from the vault
- Quickly access recent files
This guide will show you how to write your first screenplay, capture notes, plot your story, format scenes, and export your work.
Importing Screenplays¶
Many writers start by importing existing screenplays from Final Draft or Fountain. To do this, close the Home Screen and drag‑and‑drop your FDX or Fountain file onto the Scrite window.
Scrite allows importing from:
- Final Draft (FDX) files, created with versions 5 through 13. Paragraphs formatted as scene heading, action, character, parenthetical, shot, and transition are imported and tagged accordingly.
- Plain text and Fountain files. There may be minor import errors, which you can manually fix.
Scene List Panel¶
After import, open the Scene List panel (left‑side icon) or press Alt+0 to
view all scenes.
Click any scene in the list to jump to it in the editor.
Scrite calculates page count and estimates screen time after import. The Scene List shows each scene’s estimated duration; hover a scene to view more metadata. By default, one page ≈ one minute—this can be configured.
NOTE: Scrite estimates page count and screentime in a background thread, which means that it may take some time before you see final estimates on the UI.
You can reorder scenes by dragging them to a new position.
Creating a New Screenplay¶
To start from scratch, open the Home Screen and select "Blank Document".
Your first document starts with a blank scene, using a default heading like
EXT. SOMEWHERE – DAY.
Scrite’s UI is scene‑centric: you won’t see pages; you’ll work with a text block for each scene.
To create a new scene, click New Scene on the toolbar or use Ctrl+Shift+N
(Windows/Linux) or ⌘+Shift+N (macOS).
This creates a new empty scene after the selected scene (or at the end if none is selected).
You can also append a new scene, act, or episode break using the buttons at the end. More on this in a later section.
Scrite adds the scene with a default heading and places the cursor in the content area.
Saving Files¶
New files are created without a name and remain unsaved, allowing you to work freely until you choose to save them. Autosave becomes available after you save the file at least once to a writable location. Until then, your changes are temporarily stored in a vault folder on your hard drive, which you can use to recover your work if you forget to save before exiting Scrite.
To save, click the Save icon, choose a folder, and enter a name. Scrite files
use the .scrite extension.
Opening Files¶
You can open files by:
- Double‑clicking the
.scritefile in File Explorer (Windows), Finder (macOS), or Nautilus/Konqueror (Linux) - Using the Home Screen’s Open option or
Ctrl+O(Windows/Linux),⌘+O(macOS). Scrite lists up to ten recent files in this screen. - Drag‑and‑dropping the document onto the app window
Editing the Scene Heading¶
Click the scene heading or press Ctrl+0 (⌘+0) to move the cursor to the
heading and edit it.
Press Enter to switch the cursor to the scene content area.
Unlike many apps that let you mark any paragraph as a scene heading, Scrite requires creating a scene and assigning its heading. In a later article, we’ll show when (and why) you can create scenes without a heading.
The scene heading area is color‑tinted and shows the character list. You can also show the scene synopsis.
By enabling the highlighted options in this dialog box, you will see a space for synopsis, characters and tags in each scene heading. This is especially useful in large screenplays where you may want to capture synopsis, and additional meta data against each scene.
By default, synopsis isn’t exported to PDF—you can enable it if desired.
While typing scene content, if you want to quickly switch to the synopsis field, make changes, and come back you can
- Hit
Ctrl+8to switch focus to the active scene's synopsis field - Once you finish editing changes in the synopsis field, hit
Escto move the focus back to the scene content area
Typing Scene Content¶
Format action, character, dialogue, parenthetical, shot, and transition paragraphs using the toolbar buttons.
You can also use keyboard shortcuts to switch paragraph types:
| Paragraph Type | Windows, Linux | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Action | Ctrl+1 | ⌘+1 |
| Character | Ctrl+2 | ⌘+2 |
| Dialogue | Ctrl+3 | ⌘+3 |
| Parenthetical | Ctrl+4 | ⌘+4 |
| Shot | Ctrl+5 | ⌘+5 |
| Transition | Ctrl+6 | ⌘+6 |
In many cases, pressing Tab advances the current paragraph to the next
appropriate type.
Below is an example scene with paragraphs properly formatted.
Adding More Scenes¶
Keep creating scenes and adding content. To add a new scene, click the button at the end of the page or use the toolbar.
Alternatively, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts to insert a scene, act or episode break after the current scene.
| Type | Windows, Linux | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Scene | Ctrl+Shift+N | ⌘+Shift+N |
| Act | Ctrl+Shift+B | ⌘+Shift+B |
| Episode | Ctrl+Shift+P | ⌘+Shift+P |
NOTE: In the chapter on User Interface you can find tips to discover and configure keyboard shortcuts to your liking.
Optimal Scene Length¶
Scrite is optimized for screenplays with mostly short scenes. The app performs best when scenes are under a page, with occasional scenes up to two pages. Longer scenes are supported, but if most scenes exceed two pages, performance may suffer. Keeping scenes concise helps pacing and readability.
Distraction‑Free Writing¶
Use "Screenplay Editor Options" to hide the character list and synopsis panels, optionally reducing color intensity if you prefer.
Hide the toolbar using keyboard shortcut Ctrl+., and collapse the "Scene List
Panel" with keyboard shortcut Alt+0 to maximize your writing area.
Editing the Title Page¶
Click "Edit Title Page" at the top of your screenplay, or by using the keyboard
shortcut Ctrl+Shift+T. This opens the Title Page editor where you can assign a
cover image and fill in title‑page fields.
Click the close icon (top‑right) to apply changes. The title page appears before the first scene.
Exporting to PDF¶
Select Export → Adobe PDF, or press Ctrl+P (Windows/Linux) or ⌘+P (macOS)
to preview your PDF.
The Export dialog offers options to customize your PDF—toggle title page, include synopsis, and more.
Review the options and customize the output to your preference.
Click "Generate PDF" to create a preview.
When you’re satisfied, click "Save PDF" to export to a location of your choice.
NOTE: During the free trial, the default watermark can’t be changed or removed. Purchase a plan that supports watermark customization to modify or remove it.
NOTE: Certain plans may just show a PDF preview, but not allow you to save it. Please review plan features before subscribing.