Final Draft Reviews

Final Draft Update 13.2.0 Brings Redemption

Comments: Final Draft (FD) has redeemed itself with the wonderful 13.2.0 update. I, like so many others, had mixed feelings with the initial version 13.0.0 release. But with the latest update, the Final Draft team has redirected its efforts to something we may all appreciate, and that new feature is called Autocorrect. Like the great novel-writing software, Scrivener, the equally great screenwriting software, Final Draft v13.2.0, now has an autocorrection facility. Hundreds of words will automatically be corrected as you write your screenplay. For example, "theif" will change to "thief" before your very eyes. But more than that, you can add your own corrections or make changes to the list. For example, you may wish to have your characters capitalised wherever their names appear in your screenplay. To do this, in the Windows version of FD, click the Tools menu > Options > Autocorrect tab ... once there, click the + button, type "clarence" in the left column and "Clarence" in the right column, click OK and you're done. Go further to make your writing smoother: make "im" = "I'm", "ive" = "I've"; but take care with "ill" = "I'll" because "ill" may be written to mean "sick"; instead use "il" for "I'll". This is what many of us ask from Final Draft: empower our writing, facilitate the nitty-gritty process of typing. The Macro utility, Typewriter Mode and now Autocorrect help our writing to flow. And this is what makes Final Draft arguably the best screenwriting software, just edging out some fantastic competitors. After all, more than any one feature, we write 70, 80, 90 or more pages of a screenplay. We write — that is our modus operandi. Why lose a millisecond pressing the Shift key to capitalise a character's name? Why lose a couple of seconds to correct a spelling error? Why continually scroll to keep the writing near the top of the screen (closer to eye level)? To the incredible credit of the FD team, it has listened and has set itself back on course to enable writers to write more smoothly and flowingly. For many screenwriters, to list Emojis as a new feature — as was the case in the initial 13.0.0 release — was too much to take. Right or wrong, screenwriters take their craft and creative efforts a little more seriously than to work out where to place a smiley face or a sad face. Another new feature of the initial release is Stats, which would interest producers more than writers. Set Goals is more for professional screenwriters on contracts than probably hobbyists who are at the mercy of the Muses. The new Autocorrect feature, introduced in 13.2.0, is likely to bring back into the fold many disaffected FD users.

Pros:

# provides great story-planning tools # facilitates smooth writing # has uncluttered workspace # exhibits bits and pieces of intelligence everywhere # has an easy-to-learn Macro Utility # quick response-time from the Final Draft team to user-concerns

Cons:

There isn't much to dislike as it provides options. If you don't want to use a certain feature, you don't have to. If you don't like a certain feature and can't ignore it, you probably have the choice of using another feature to do the job.

Best collaborative writing

Comments: I have used Final Draft as a student and then on some companies where I worked. On my new job this is the software we use for every script and I find it so comfortable and easy to use and to send the new versions. Is great to collaborate specially when developing tv scripts, I like the option to track the changes and the beat cards.

Pros:

Final Draft is the best option when you are a professional writer. Even there are other softwares Final Draft is the one if you are working on the film or tv industry as most proffesionals and producers tend to use this one. The new version is great and the options to write along a colleague and see changes on real time is what I love the most.

Cons:

I think is a little expensive for the ones that are just starting. Is not that much intuitive you need to learn trough the practice, but anyways there are plenty of tutorials on their site

The biggest brand, but not the greatest value

Comments: I loved what I accomplished with it. Seeing the scripts and really getting a knack for the craft that brought them to life. I was unfortunately rubbed the wrong way by the way my script fell apart and being told the only way to save my work was to buy the incredibly expensive, new version of the software. This led me to a much more cost-effective alternative that I have been incredibly happy with since.

Pros:

There was an incredible thrill seeing a software that easily and smoothly formatted my words into industry standard screenplays -- ESPECIALLY after having done it for quite some time manually in a more commonly used word processor. The ease of use and the quality of the final document was a true thrill when I was beginning my career.

Cons:

The list is long. Numerous features never worked for reasons that as far as I can tell were due to the compatibility of different software versions. While that might sound reasonable, the updates were frequent and always cost substantial amounts of money (for just an update!). This led to several collaborators having a different version of Final Draft that couldn't communicate with each other. While I understand the need for updates, I do not understand the frequency and the fact that it would knock out certain features such as the writer collaborating feature (which can now be easily replicated with online websites). I also reached a point where my software was working fine, but told that I needed to update it in order to work with my new computer. I went along with this, yet the update completely crashed my software, leading me to find alternative options.

Final Draft Got Me Recognized

Comments: Since using Final Draft I have written an award-winning screenplay and was hired by a production team to draft a television pilot.

Pros:

Final Draft is outstanding when it comes to being simple to use and how it anticipates my next prompt or formatting arrangement.

Cons:

This software is absolutely essential for any serious writer.

Essential Software

Comments: I’ve had a good time using it as I sold a script. Wouldn’t have been possible without it.

Pros:

Absolutely essential for screenwriting. So once I made the leap and spent the money ($200) it was incredibly easy to write my script. The one time I needed support it was personal and solved my problem

Cons:

Just a bit of a learning curve with not much instruction. You have to kind of intuitively figure it out

Once the standard for screenwriting, but now...

Comments: I find Final Draft fairly easy to use, but given that there are competitors out there that do the same things at a fraction of the cost of Final Draft make it hard to justify purchasing this software

Pros:

Final Draft offers ease in writing scripts without having to worry about formatting.

Cons:

It’s overpriced, for starters. It’s distinguishing features from comparable competitors aren’t really game changing features, especially in this day and age. For example, it’s collaboration tools for writing partners just isn’t all that compelling when compared to other similar offerings. Having features like this integrated isn’t really a plus here.

The only writing software you need

Comments: Overall, I would not make a switch to another software. I have tried a couple of free writing software, and we have to pay about $100 or sometimes a little more for Final Draft but it is the best software out there and makes our life very easy without us having to worry about anything.

Pros:

I have tried a couple of screenwriting software, but this is pretty much the industry standard, and for a good reason. The Final Draft allows you to just begin writing as soon as you open it without us having to worry about the format. Not to mention the other features like notes taking and working with different drafts of the same scripts is extremely easy. A very user-friendly software.

Cons:

In some of the older versions, the ability to collaborate with other writers to work on the same project together is not very possible. However, they did change that in the recently updated versions. Sometimes, we are constantly required to update in order to enjoy the new features in the updated versions, which can be sometimes very costly. But if we just want a standard writing software that is used industry-wise, then Final Draft does the job very well.

Streamlined Imagination at Your Fingertips

Comments: Used this personally in film school and then professionally for plays, screenplays, and comics.

Pros:

The ease of use and non-existent learning curve of this software makes someone getting into play writing or screenwriting feel entirely comfortable. The intuitive functionality of this software makes writing an absolute dream. When on a roll, having your muse screaming in your ear, it will often be hard to keep up but shortcuts and keystrokes of the software can match any speed serendipity.

Cons:

You pay for what you get and that carries with it a high price tag whereby upgrades to newer software isn't included. My advice is to spend money on a community college film/tv writing course and then use that to get an education discount on Final Draft by linking the school email address to your software registration. You will break even with price and have more of a reason to write now that you're forced to in a class.

Final Draft

Pros:

I love this software. I feel like a expert at it since I use it everyday. It’s industry standard and is easy to use. From beat boards to revision mode, this software has endless uses.

Cons:

Sometimes when working with the program, leaving revision mode, or dual dialogue, the program freezes and I have to shut it down. I make sure to save and save often, because the software though great, sometimes feels like it forgets it’s build to do what I’m asking it to do.

Industry standard

Pros:

This product is the standard. If you want to work in the business take the time and learn this product inside and out.

Cons:

I would like the tagging and scheduling export feature to improve a lot.

Final Draft is the loaded with features for scriptwriting and for moving into production

Comments: Final Draft is the industry standard for a reason. No plans to change now.

Pros:

Final Draft does all of the things it claims to do. It makes screenwriting easy and relatively automatic, once you learn the interface and keyboard shortcuts. It is very deep with tools to help creativity (beat boards, etc), formatting (formatting checkups before printing are a great last-step tool), and organization. Versioning is a must in screenwriting, and FD has a decent scheme for that. The ability to use the Navigator to search by character, scene, and notes is killer. And the REPORTS section is wonderful, with breakdowns by character, dialogue, scenes, etc.

Cons:

Volume licensing can be a little cumbersome. FD uses a "customer number" system with annual renewals that, for us, at least, have often come at odd times and with a bit of a process if someone is moving from one computer to another, or moving a license from one user to another.

Final Draft Review

Comments: I’ve been using Final Draft for over 15 years. I’m extremely comfortable with using this product to a fault that I’m hesitant to switch, even though there are other products that are significantly lower in cost. I feel the products are becoming less consistent and more buggy and being rushed to newer versions without fixing the issues that currently exist and specifically when using the product on a Windows computer.

Pros:

I like the software, because it takes very little time to learn, and you can be off and writing, and no time at all. Plus it is the industry standard ScreenWriting software.

Cons:

I think the cost does not justify the use any longer. There are several free, if not considerably lower costing screen writing software products that are available on the market today

Very Satisfied

Comments: I use Final Draft every day and like that their website has a lot of tutorials for how to navigate new features.

Pros:

Final Draft 12 has a lot of great new features and learning tools that are easy to use. Importing or converting files from older versions is much better and there are more tools for outlining, etc. It also has a template for single-cam scripts rather than calling them multi-cam or one-hour.

Cons:

The price is a bit too high and it could have better "Text" templates.

Screenwriting Made Easy

Comments: My overall experience has been great because at the end of the day, it's how well you write, and what you can put out, that wins over the customer service and software issues. I find that once I'm on a plan, Final Draft is the go-to software for screenwriting, and it lasts for some time.

Pros:

I liked its ease of use most, thanks to a friendly user interface and fill-in-the-blank feature that finishes headers and character names for you. I also like the layout in that it emphasizes the white on the page, and subconsciously I believe that's a good indicator to the writer to write less, not more. Final Draft also has a number of ancillary features such as notes or trackers to help you progress, which, while not entirely necessary, is always a good thing to have in the backpocket when writing.

Cons:

I did not like the customer service and subscription plan for Final Draft. It's hard to get a hold of them--at least it was for me--or get their help in applying older versions of Final Draft that were already paid for to new computers. Final Draft's software updates at too fast a rate for me to keep up and I don't appreciate paying for new plans or adjusting old ones every time they do.

Buggy on Windows machines

Comments: Despite the weird issues, I'll keep using it. Not only will I use it, I plan to buy an imac mini when I have the money so I can use it without all the bug issues. Overall it's good software, just wish they'd work out the issues on Windows.

Pros:

It's the industry standard so there are a lot of people to ask for help when I get stuck. There are also a lot of videos online.

Cons:

It can be very buggy on windows. Apparently these issues don't happen on the Mac version. For instance, if my friend edits a FD file while using two monitors and sends it to me, the file won't show up because it's on a second monitor that doesn't exist. Talk about a weird bug!

FINAL DRAFT REVIEW

Comments: All in all it is the best writing app I have used so far. It's flexible and user friendly interface makes it a very good software.

Pros:

Features on final draft are very easy to use. When I first purchased the software it took me less than a day to be conversant with it and its features. Also it allows you to import a screenplay that was typed with another app in a text form. Lastly it gives you the flexibility to work on two or more projects at a time and that helps in revision a project or adaptation.

Cons:

However, what I dont like is the fact that it is not available on google play store. It is although available on IOS. Also, the software is expensive. Lastly, it work better on pc's with good specs.

Industry standard, but lots of room for growth

Pros:

It has literally everything one needs for film production from outlining to postproduction.

Cons:

For a lot of people, it's super buggy and crashes regularly.

The best tool for screenwriters

Comments: When I write in Final Draft, things become easy, I go with the flow of my thoughts, having fantastic support from a consolidated program, which makes writing a breeze.

Pros:

Very easy to use and automated formatting is superb. You have to focus on creating. It’s Final Draft that takes care of the rest. It is the industry represented in words

Cons:

The main difficulty resides in using special letters in other languages than English. For instance, the letter “ë” undergoes several modifying tools to be implemented. Even then, it’s only in uppercase.

[email protected]

Pros:

Helps you teach screenwriting .It is easy to use and provides importing pdf files very easily with decoding the words inside it and it contains all the terms of the screenwriter

Cons:

Not all terms written by a screenwriter are available

Needs a Grammarly attachment

Cons:

Needs to have Grammarly type abilities to correct and suggest language that improves final product for final Draft.

My Final Draft Review

Comments: There are many different professional templates (for television, novel, musical theatre, etc.) that can be used depending on the need. Overall it's a great writing app.

Pros:

Final Draft is easy to use, it's a great writing app. It automatically fills in the names of characters, which makes things go along smoothly. I like the many different templates to use.

Cons:

It's a little expensive. The price of the software is a little high, but it can be installed on two computers which makes collaboration possible. The other issue is the work has to be saved quite frequently.

Not for me

Comments: It frustrated me to no end. I did not find it very user friendly in the slightest and definitely could not justify the cost based on my experiences with it.

Pros:

Honestly, I can't really think of anything that I truly liked about the software. Maybe the board beats section?

Cons:

It was confusing to me to figure out how to use it. I've heard of people using it for books as well as screen scripts so I was hoping it would work for what I needed instead I wanted to beat my head through a wall trying to figure out the simplest tasks.

The Pro way to Go

Comments: I use Final Draft to work with some productions, especially when having a big budget and team. I love that I can work my preproduction with ease, using reports, production summaries, script breakdowns, etc.

Pros:

My favorite feature is the ability to make production reports.

Cons:

I find it expensive over other software when working on low-budget productions.

To me it’s the only show in town!

Pros:

It’s well known and good. It’s user friendly and somewhat intuitive.

Cons:

Cost. Not sure all the “newer versions” are worth the $.

The best, easiest screenwriting software

Pros:

I love Final Draft. Even a novice can begin writing a screenplay almost immediately thanks to Final Draft's intuitive features and ease of use. A must for anyone that wants to try his or her hand at screenwriting.

Cons:

It's a little pricey, but worth it if you're going to be a regular user.