Smart Type

Automating the Entry of Common Text

When writing a script, certain things get entered over and over – Character names, Locations, Transitions and more. Even Int/Ext and Day/Night get inserted frequently in specific spots.

Making that easy and automated is done with Smart Type, a typeahead feature that lets you quickly insert frequently entered text without having to type it all in all the time.

To view the entries in the Smart Type, choose the Smart Type item from the Document menu:

That pops up the Smart Type management box:

Note the items in the top bar, which contain the six lists maintained by the editor to make script entry easier:

• Characters
• Extensions (added at the end of character names)
• Int/Ext
• Locations
• Day/Night
• Transitions (CUT TO, FADE TO BLACK, etc)

These lists should be fairly self explanatory, just note that for Characters list and the Locations list, if you manually type in something not already in the list, it will get automatically added to the proper list.

For example, if you manually type in PAPA JONES in a character name element in your script (likely the first time he speaks) then depress the Enter key, PAPA JONES will immediately be added to the Smart type character list for use the next time he speaks.

When Importing from Final Draft

For those of you who have been using Final Draft (or other screenwriting software), when you upload an FDX file that contains its own Smart Type lists, we will build the lists automatically.

To rebuild the Character and Location lists

Not all third party screenwriting software exports Smart Type lists when saving as a Final Draft file, so in the case where you see the Character and/or Location lists empty, just use the Rebuild button (shown when viewing the Character and Location lists) and our Editor will scan the script and build the related list directly from your screenplay.

SmartType Extra - Character & Location changes update the Script

In addition to changing the auto-type popups when writing your script, changing Character names and Locations within the Smart Type manager automatically change them throughout your script. This change is done immediately when you click the Save button in the manager popup.

For Character Names:

When you change a character name (or a bunch of them!) and click Save, the editor will change that name in both the Character paragraphs as well as within action and parentheticals, letting you know exactly how many occurrences were changed.

For Locations:

When a location name is changed, the editor will change all occurrences of that location in the Scene Heading paragraphs throughout the script.

As an example...

Note the character Jerrold in the follwing image, occurring in both Character and Action paragraphs:

Now, you could bring up the Smart Type manager, click on Jerrold in the character list and change it to JERRY (in our example):

Then, click the Save button and notice the same section of the screenplay: the old name (Jerrold) is intelligently replaced in both Character and Action paragraphs:

With Character Names, we try our best to match the upper/lower case of the name in the script (JERROLD becomes JERRY and Jerrold becomes Jerry), so just enter the new name and rely on us to make proper changes.

While this is not foolproof, these changes should be almost always correct. Even if the name is a common word that might appear normally in sentences (e.g. MAN, CHILD, HANDY, GUARD), the editor requires the first letter be in upper case when in action paragraphs, avoiding blindly replacing non-name occurrences of the name (e.g. Joe moves to guard Bob).