Supported File Formats
Supported File Formats
SceneItAll accepts screenplays in the following file formats. The maximum file size is 20 MB per file.
Format Details
Final Draft (.fdx)
The industry-standard screenwriting software format. FDX files contain full structural markup (scene headings, action, dialogue, transitions, character names), making them the best format for parsing.
Fountain (.fountain)
An open-source plain-text screenwriting format. Fountain uses simple markup conventions (e.g., scene headings in ALL CAPS, character names before dialogue). Parses very well since the format is designed to be machine-readable.
Highland (.highland)
A format used by the Highland screenwriting app. Based on Fountain conventions with additional metadata.
Celtx (.celtx)
A format from the Celtx screenwriting software. Contains structural information similar to FDX.
PDF (.pdf)
Portable Document Format. SceneItAll extracts text from PDF files, but since PDFs are primarily a visual format, parsing accuracy depends on how the PDF was created. PDFs exported from screenwriting software parse better than scanned documents.
Microsoft Word (.docx)
Word documents. SceneItAll attempts to identify screenplay structure from formatting (fonts, margins, spacing). Results vary depending on how consistently the document follows screenplay formatting conventions.
Rich Text Format (.rtf)
Similar to DOCX in terms of parsing behavior. Works best when the document uses standard screenplay formatting.
Plain Text (.txt)
Plain text files with no formatting. SceneItAll uses the Fountain parser to identify structure from text conventions (ALL CAPS headings, centered character names, etc.). Results depend on how closely the text follows standard screenplay layout.
Parsing Quality
| Format | Structural Data | Parsing Reliability |
|---|---|---|
| Final Draft (.fdx) | Full | Excellent |
| Fountain (.fountain) | Full | Excellent |
| Highland (.highland) | Full | Very Good |
| Celtx (.celtx) | Full | Very Good |
| PDF (.pdf) | None (extracted) | Good to Fair |
| Word (.docx) | Partial (inferred) | Fair |
| RTF (.rtf) | Partial (inferred) | Fair |
| Plain Text (.txt) | None (inferred) | Fair |
Tips
- If you have a choice, export your script as .fdx or .fountain before uploading. These formats produce the most accurate parse results.
- For PDF uploads, use PDFs exported directly from screenwriting software rather than scanned or printed documents.
- If a script doesn’t parse correctly, try converting it to Fountain format first using a free online converter.