Formatting a script with Elements
Final Draft, in short, is designed to help you make sure your script and other documents have correct formatting without you manually needing to align paragraphs, set fonts, or adjust margins. To do this, Final Draft has set up "Elements" in every document.
The basic flow of using Final Draft Writer is to select an element, type the relevant text for that element, press Enter/Return to go to a new line, then select the next element. If you only follow those steps and use the elements appropriately, then you will have a well-formatted script.
If you feel like you are having to do manual work to align things correctly, you may not be selecting or using the correct elements.
Here is our Screenplay for Beginners template, with each element in use and identified in the contents of the template:
You select these elements by using the Element Dropdown at the top of the screen:
Or by going to a new line with Enter, then pressing Enter again to bring up the elements menu with shortcut keys identified, then clicking or pressing the shortcut key:
There are many guides on the finer points of screenplay formatting online and in the Final Draft Blog, but for the absolute basics, these are how the elements are used:
Scene Heading — Where and when the scene happens. Use INT or EXT to identify if the scene is shot Interior (inside) or Exterior (Outside), and include the time of day.
Example: INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
Action — What we see happening on screen.
Example: Sam rushes in, holding a pizza box.
Character — The name of the person speaking.
Example: SAM
Dialogue — What the character says.
Example: I’m late! Don’t eat my pizza!
Parenthetical — Brief direction for how a line is delivered (optional).
Example: (whispering)
NOTE: Character must always come before Dialogue or Parenthetical, and after a new Action line or Scene Heading another Character element must be used, even if the same character is still talking.
Transition — How the script moves to the next scene or shot (used sparingly).
Example: CUT TO:
Using Enter/Tab to quickly set and change Elements
Final Draft is designed to be used in the way that screenwriters think. Because of this, a lot of behavior for how elements are selected is baked into the program. Using the Enter and Tab keys allows you to rely on Final Draft's logic to very quickly write a well-formatted script.
Think of Final Draft like a helpful assistant who says:
“Oh, you just wrote this… so you probably want that next.”
Enter = “Next line, what comes next?”
Final Draft automatically changes to the element that usually follows.
Common examples:
If you type a Scene Heading and press Enter → it switches to Action, because Action always follows Scene Heading
INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
(Enter) → Action
If you type Action and press Enter → it stays Action
Because you might keep describing what’s happening, but want to use white space on the page to break up the paragraph.
If you type a Character and press Enter → it switches to Dialogue
SAM
(Enter) → Dialogue
Tab = “I want a different kind of line”
Tab is like saying:
“Not that. I want something else.”
Most common uses:
From Action, press Tab → Character
You’ve finished describing, now someone talks.
In Dialogue, press Tab → Parenthetical
You want a quick “how they say it” note.
In Character, press Tab → Transition
You want something like CUT TO:
Here is the optimal basic Final Draft workflow in action:
While there's much more to explore to use Final Draft Writer's entire feature set, as a beginner, use just the above, and your script will be formatted to the industry standard!