In Final Draft's screenplay formatting, the Tab key is designed to move from one paragraph to another and there's no way to make it work like a standard word processing Tab key. However, automatic indenting is not needed in screenplays, as FD will format elements for you with the correct indents automatically.
The Manuscript template in Final Draft 13 automatically creates an indent in each new paragraph when using the General element.
If you have more specific needs, you can create a macro to create indents for you:
- Go to Document > Macros;
- Click NEW. This will create a new Macro that you can title anything you want; in this case let's name it "indent." (Note: Mac users will need to modify an existing Macro as there isn't a way to create a new one);
- Assign a Keyboard shortcut -- one that is not used by another function, like Control+Alt+T;
- In the Macro Text box, press the space bar 5 times or however many spaces you want the indentation to be;
- Click OK and on your document, press CTRL-Alt-T or the shortcut you configured. You will see the indentation.
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