Coming Attractions!

4-15-02
Just a few scant months ago I reviewed Final Draft 5 for MacReviewZone, and despite some reservations I found it to be a superb piece of software suitable for the beginning or advanced screenwriter.  Perhaps the greatest drawback to the upgrade was a lack of native support for Mac OS X, but the Final Draft folks promised a revision soon, and I was willing to wait patiently.  Since then, we have experienced a major upgrade to OS X that has made it a prime time operating system, and I was surprised to see a message in my email about a new, native version of Final Draft.

Even more incredibly, this isn't just an OSX/XP upgrade to the software.  Numerous new features have been added, and many bug fixes were purportedly fixed.  Bug squashing is always welcome, but as I pointed out in my last review, Final Draft is beginning to become bloated with features of dubious value.  Are these new additions truly upgrade inspiring, or are they just drawing attention from further fine tuning of an already fantastic application?  Is Final Draft happy in the watery world of Aqua?  Will I ever deliver the follow up review of CollaboWriter that I promised so many months ago?  Find out in the inevitable sequel to the review that drew nearly seven comments from the entire English speaking World Wide Web -- the sequel calledÄ

My Final Draft Review Two: Aqua Boogaloo

Part I: Installation, Performance, and Documentation

As of two months ago, FD5 would no longer run on my TiBook without the CD, no matter how many attempts I made to deauthenticate and then reauthenticate it.  This made the appearance of an upgrade quite timely.  Installation was a snap, but the registration/authentication process proved to be a bit sticky.  Online registration seemed to work fine, but the online authentication failed, claiming the program was not registered.  Several further attempts to register within the hour failed to solve the problem and, assuming that the Final Draft customer database wasn't updating itself, I gave up for the day.  After another day without a successful authentication I broke down and made the toll call to the Final Draft folks. Fortunately, the response was quick, and it wasn't long before a technician informed me that they were having difficulties with their registration system.  In just a minute, I was registered, authenticated, and ready to roll.  I ejected the FD6 CD, popped in the new They Might Be Giants CD, and cued up "Mr. Excitement" for my first experiment with the software.

Performance is rarely an issue with programs like FD6, and this case was no surprise; Final Draft 6 generally runs at the same speed as its classic predecessor. The new version of Final Draft also sports some changes in documentation, combining the old printed "Getting Started" and "User Manual" into one "Getting Started" manual.  The "User Manual" is the new name for the PDF manual presented on the CDROM.  Now, I'm not a big fan of wasted paper in software packaging, but I would love to have a more substantial printed manual provided with the software.  Lacking discussion of key features like CollaboWriter, the old manual's worth is limited. Switching out the printed tutorials for the missing manual sections found on the PDF would be a fine way to address this problem without using any more paper.  If only the Final Draft could slim down the box that holds all this stuffÄ

Part II: The New Aqua Interface

The new version of Final Draft maintains the fit and finish of the Aqua interface (except when using the new "Ask the Expert" module).  Buttons are smoothed over in that NyQuil caplet style that's all the rage these days, but there are no other significant changes to the user interface here.  This probably falls into the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" category of software upgrade design, and there's little to complain about here.

So here's my little complaint: if you're going to provide users with customizable toolbars, make them fully customizable.  I wanted to replace some of the buttons I use less often with buttons for CollaboWriter, Script Compare, and Format Assistant, but no such luck.  In fact, the default toolbar already contains most of the available buttons without branching out beyond the script window itself.  This is a situation just aching for changes in the next revision. 

If only they would make a Toolbar Editor Editor.

Thanks to the automatic formatting features of FD6, the software is quite mouse-independent anyway (see the "Tutorials and Main Features" section of my last review for the lowdown on automatic formatting).  Nevertheless, there have been some slight changes to this aspect of the program.  The Tab key now allows you to toggle between Dialogue or a Parenthetical after entering a Character Name, though this seems to violate the principle of using the Tab key to move to the next element to the left in a screenplay.  I don't find this change troubling, but it may be one of the reasons for some compatibility problems between versions 5 and 6 of Final Draft when using Collabowriter (more on this later).

Part III: CollaboWriter Explained

This was one of the most intriguing featues I found in the last version of Final Draft, and I was glad to see it return in version 6.  Ever since my screenwriting partner relocated to Los Angeles, writing has become challenging, to say the least.  With CollaboWriter, we can work together on the same document and discuss changes through a separate chat window.

The CollaboWriter window -- way too big, no windowshade.

The Chat window -- too small, with no resize option.

Though the directions to CollaboWriter are still buried in the appendicies of the PDF manual, using it is incredibly simple.  With all CollaboWriter members connected to the internet, one writer opens the target document, then chooses CollaboWriter from the tools menu and clicks the "Host" button in the pop-up window.  After choosing a screen name, the host is assigned an IP address that other members use to enter the session.  Once connected the host can send anyone a copy of the document, and any changes made on the host computer are dynamically updated onscreen for everyone in the group.  At any time, any member can become the host by requesting control from the current host. 

In practice this feature worked remarkably well, even when my writing partner was running Final Draft on a Windows ME machine (don't worry, he's about to buy an iBook). Though I consider this to be quite an achievement, my partner and I found that any serious writing simply didn't work as well through chat, so we burnt up his extra weekend long distance minutes while only using the writing component of Collabowriter. 

Showing it's youth compared to the rest of this mature application, CollaboWriter could use a number of small improvements.  The CollaboWriter window could be open to more configuration options for those less interested in chat or for larger groups.  The chat element itself is stone-aged compared to modern Instant Messaging software, and you may want to use IM to tell everyone which IP you've been assigned by the CollaboWriter server anyway. 

I also encountered several bugs in CollaboWriter when upgrading to FD6.  When attempting to host a session, I could not get CollaboWriter to assign me an IP address other than 0.0.0.0 which, of course, means nothing is going to work.  After working on the problem with Final Draft's prompt and friendly support staff, I found that having both Ethernet and Modem ports simultaneously acitve in Network settings was the culprit.  Though I need to use both ports on an almost daily basis (ethernet at work, modem at home), I didn't find the solution to be overly problematic. 

The more vexing bug has yet to be fixed.  It seems that when I'm hosting a CollaboWriter session while running FD6 on my OS 10.1.3 TiBook, and my friend is connected using FD5 in Windows ME on his Dell (don't worry -- he's buying an iBook in a few months), any changes I make to the script appear as garbled text on his computer.  The Final Draft support folks have been unable to recreate the problem, but they're still working with me on an answer to the problem.  Stay tuned for an update, but until then it's probably wise to keep your version of FD5 handy.

All told, CollaboWriter is a worthwhile feature that could be fantastic with some thoughtful tweaks. Even without chat, this feature makes FD6 a must for writers using version 4 or earlier.

Part IV: ScriptCompare, and Contrasts

What with all the sending of scripts you'll do in CollaboWriter, you'll want a simple way to compare drafts and see what's changed.  Before Script Compare, users had to rely on copious ScriptNotes to denote changes.  Though ScriptNotes are undoubtedly useful, using them to compare drafts is like using a butter knife to do brain surgery.

ScriptCompare clearly denotes alterations in red and additions in blue, making alterations immediately visible.  The feature seemed to work flawlessly across documents made on multiple platforms without a hitch.  Again, an unexpected surprise in what I thought would simply be an OSX native upgrade.

Part V: Format Assistant

Studios receive an incomprehensible number of screenplays to review, and one error in formatting can give an overtaxed reader good reason to turn your masterpiece into kindling faster than you can say "Rosebud."  To avoid such ignominy, you can now run the all-new Format Assistant to find blank spaces, empty elements, characters without dialogue, characters with consecutive dialogue, and dialogue without characters.  Like your favorite spellchecker, FD6 suggests fixes, and it will perform them for you at the click of a button. 

I was surprised to find fifteen errors in one of my puny fifteen page drafts, and Format Assistant helped me find and fix the errors in under a minute.  Though necessarily limited, this is another killer feature in FD6.

Part VI: Ask the Expert, if you dare!

Just when I thought the Final Draft folks had shut me up for good concerning the whole "feature bloat" issue, in comes Ask the Expert.  In this feature, Final Draft boils down the key elements of Syd Field's ubiquitous book Screenplay into an HTML-based help system. 

Using Mr. Field's virtual chalkboard, hints are broken down by character and plot structure. The fact that Field has given Final Draft his blessing has contributed to the program's market dominance, and the company markets a video taped screenwriting course in addition to their software, but this feature truly disappoints.  Ask the Expert launches the Macromedia Flash Projector program that only runs in Classic, and clicking on the "character" link causes the program to completely freeze up (note: a quick update to Macromedia Flash Player 6 for Internet Explorer 5 [Classic] eradicated the bug, but Final Draft 6 will not yet launch the recently released Flash player for OS X ).  Most disappointingly, this feature doesn't relate to the text or context of the open document in any way, thus rendering the advice generic.  I can envision a version of Ask the Expert that maps the current text on top of the provided story map, but as it is now it clashes with the rest of Final Draft's exemplary polish.

Part VI: Miscellaneous Changes

Sometimes it's the smallest change that makes the greatest difference.  In FD6, the ability to save a screenplay as a PDF is incredibly useful.  No longer will you need to worry over which format to save your document in for Final Draft-impaired friends, and you can kiss the Final Draft Viewer application goodbye.  I know this feature is a side effect of the OS X quartz engine, but kudos go to the folks at Final Draft for including this essential OS X capability.

The available reports have also been expanded, offering more exhaustive statistical options, and more font options.  The ability to view how often, and how many lines each character speaks can come in handy when you're trying to balance your screenplay, and the ability to choose a new font is a refreshing change from plain old Courier.  Speaking of fonts, Final Draft has also created their own Courier font for better cross-platform consistency -- another laudable decision.

Part VII: Cut to the Chase

When I suggested a follow-up review for Final Draft 6, I thought I was in for easy work -- a CollaboWriter discussion, and some quick comments on the new Aqua interface.  Instead, I found a version loaded with new features and substantial improvements to existing ones.  With the exception of the flaky "Ask the Expert" module, the new features are outstanding, and many of the smaller improvements are equally impressive.  As is the case with any upgrade like this, there are some vexing new bugs begging to be squashed, but I found this to be a quality upgrade for Final Draft users, and a must-have upgrade for OS X users and anyone working on a collaborative project.  If you're new to screenwriting, save those pennies and nickels so you can throw away those cheesy Word templates and move up to a program that will help you get it right the first time.

Be sure to check out my interview with Syd Field!

Russ Aaronson
English Teacher,
Pompano Beach, FL

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Product: Final Draft 6 Company: Final Draft, Inc Price: $200 .... Upgrade price: $69 Rating: (5 possible)