Like any other word processor, Final Draft automatically repaginates when text is added to or removed from the document. If a document is exactly 10 pages long and 2 pages’ worth of text is added to the beginning, what were pages 9 and 10 are now pages 11 and 12. This is not an issue if a script is not about to go into production. However, when a script is broken down by scene and page in collateral production documents (i.e., schedules, prop lists, talent call sheets), automatic repagination with each change would be a critical problem.
For example, when a script has been distributed to cast and crew and The Big Important First Act Monologue starts on Page 15 and The Big Chase Scene has been designated as Scene 25, no matter how much the script is rewritten, all subsequent versions must still have The Big Important First Act Monologue on Page 15 and The Big Chase Scene must still be Scene 25. Otherwise, people would not be, in a very literal sense, on the same page.
Also, once a script has been issued, every page and scene must now be accounted for without exception — if Page 15 or Scene 25 are deleted without permanent denotation, cast and crew will wonder if they’re missing a page. Final Draft’s page-locking feature is designed to protect a script’s pagination against changes caused by the addition and removal of content.
Note: it is strongly recommended not to lock pages until a script has moved into pre-production or active production. While writing or redrafting, locking pages is not necessary.
To lock script pages
- Choose Production > Lock Pages;
- A dialogue appears asking whether to enable Revision Mode.
- Click either the Yes or No button, depending on the situation. (Enabling revision mode is recommended).
From this point forward, if enough text is added to a page to cause existing text to spill over to the next page, Final Draft moves the additional text to a blank A page without affecting the next existing script page. Conversely, when text is deleted or omitted from a locked page, the text from the next page does not flow backward onto that preceding page.
When pages are locked, the menu command changes to Lock “A” Pages and other locking and unlocking commands are enabled.
Lock "A" Pages
Pages for each revision may be locked separately. For example, pages have been locked so there is now a 21A, 21B, etc. If the Lock “A” Pages command is chosen, Final Draft locks all existing A and B pages, which then act just like any other locked page (retaining their starting position, etc.)
When new text is added to a locked A page that causes an overflow to a new page, it becomes an “AA” page, and so on. Likewise, if there are multiple locked pages and more than a page is deleted, the multi-page range that appears in the header reflects the page range that was deleted (such as 7BB-9A).
Unlock "A" Pages
Reverts one level of page-locking. It becomes enabled only after A pages are locked.
To unlock “A” pages
- Choose Production > Unlock “A” Pages. A confirmation dialogue appears;
- Click Yes.
The last level of locking is overridden and the appropriate pages are unlocked.
This command may be chosen multiple times, if applicable.
No matter how many times “A” pages are unlocked, the Production menu item still reads “Unlock A Pages” — that is, the menu item does not dynamically track levels of page-locking.
Unlock All Pages
Completely unlocks the script and renumbers the pages in standard numerical order (removing all “A” and “B” page numbers).
To unlock all pages
- Choose Production > Unlock All Pages;
- A confirmation dialogue appears.
- Click Yes.
All pages are unlocked and the script repaginates so that the pages are renumbered consecutively.
Locking Tools
Relock Pages
Removes all A page numbers from the page containing the cursor to the end of the script, renumbers them in normal sequential order, then locks them again. Use this command when the locked script does not match the printed draft of the script due to pages not being properly locked at some point before changes were made.
To relock pages
- Place the cursor at the beginning of the page where relocking is to begin;
- Choose Production > Relock Pages;
- A confirmation dialogue appears;
- Click Yes.
All pages following the current page are unlocked and repaginated normally, then locked again.
Adjust Locked Page
Changes the starting position for a single locked page. This can be useful when a particular locked page must be moved up or down a paragraph or two to match a printed draft.
To adjust locked pages
- Place the cursor at the beginning of the paragraph where the locked page to is start;
- Choose Production > Locking Tools > Adjust Locked Page;
- A confirmation dialogue appears;
- Click Yes;
- The Adjust Locked page dialogue appears:
- Select the page number where the current paragraph is to begin;
- Click OK. The script repaginates to reflect the new starting position for the specified locked page.
Edit Page Number
Manually change the number of a page that displays in the header or footer.
To modify a page number
- Position the cursor in the page whose number is to be edited;
- Choose Production > Edit Page Number;
- The Edit Page Number dialogue appears:
- Enter the new page number;
Click OK.
The page number changes.
Lock New Page
Creates a new locked page at the current cursor position. The new locked page extends from the insertion point (the blinking cursor) to the end of that page. This should only be necessary if a page is incorrectly numbered.
To create a new locked page
- Place the cursor exactly where the new locked page is to begin;
- Choose Production > Locking Tools > Lock New Page;
- A confirmation dialogue appears.
- Click Yes.
The page becomes locked.
Unlock Page
Unlocks a single page. This essentially removes the top border of the page and allows as much text as will fit to flow backward onto the previous page. Use this command if a page is incorrectly numbered or is improperly numbered as an “A” page.
To unlock a page
- Place the cursor on the page to be unlocked;
- Choose Production > Unlock Page;
- A confirmation dialogue appears;
- Click Yes.
The page becomes unlocked and text from the following page will move up into it.
Unlocking Pages
A user may want to delete some content on pages after they have been locked, resulting in “orphan” pages. It is common to combine the page numbers and put the remaining script contents on a single page to cut down on paper and confusion.
There are two ways content can be moved around: unlocking a page or deleting all the contents on a single page to create a page “x-y” on the prior page. Unless a page number is not expected to be used again, we don't advise unlocking a page once the pages are locked and suggest the second method described below in “merging pages”. However, sometimes it is impossible to get the desired results without unlocking pages.
To manually unlock an individual page
- Place the cursor in front of the first contents at the top-most position of the page to be unlock in order to have its contents move up to the prior page;
- Choose Production > Locking Tools > Unlock Page;
- A dialogue will ask to confirm the unlocking of the page at the cursor location. Click Yes.
The contents from the page move up to the prior page, filling any available space on the prior page.
Repeat steps 1-4 on any other pages to be unlock and move up to other content. For example, if there is an empty page 1A, 2 and 3 and they should be merged with page 1.
Once all the pages to merged together have been unlocked, the new page must be unlocked so that any subsequent changes made to the script will maintain the proper pagination and page numbering.
To manually re-lock an individual page
- Place the cursor in front of the first contents at the top-most position of the page to be relocked;
- Choose Production > Locking Tools > Lock New Page;
- A dialogue appears asking to confirm whether the page should be locked at the cursor location. Click Yes.
The contents on the page are now locked.
Continue these steps for any other remaining pages that were created as a result of unlocking pages.
To learn more about locking pages and page numbering watch the following video: