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Final Draft

Final Draft is the industry standard screenwriting application. If you write scripts professionally, you almost certainly have your work in Final Draft — and you likely don't want to give that up just to use ACT3 AI. You don't have to.

ACT3 AI is designed for a round-trip workflow: write in Final Draft, import to ACT3 AI for production, export back to FDX when you want to revise, re-import when you're ready to generate. Both tools stay in sync across the full production.

What ACT3 AI reads from a Final Draft file​

When you import a .fdx file, ACT3 AI parses:

Final Draft elementHow ACT3 AI uses it
Scene headings (INT/EXT, location, time)Creates a Scene for each heading; location informs Set selection; time informs default lighting
Action linesInforms shot description suggestions; parsed for visual direction and character blocking
Character namesCreates a Character entry for each unique speaking role
DialogueAssigned to each Character; used for TTS voice generation and lipsync
ParentheticalsRead as performance direction for the Character in that line
Transitions (CUT TO, DISSOLVE TO)Applied as transition suggestions in the timeline
Scene numbersPreserved if present; used to match re-imported revisions
Title pageImports project title, author, and contact information

What is not imported: production notes, locked revision pages, color revisions (pink, blue, etc.), hidden text, and watermarks. These are Final Draft production tools that don't map to ACT3 AI's structure.

Importing a Final Draft file​

  1. In ACT3 AI, go to File → Import → Script
  2. Click Browse and select your .fdx file
  3. ACT3 AI parses the file and shows a preview of the imported structure
  4. Review the scene list — confirm that every scene heading was correctly identified
  5. Review the character list — confirm that character names match what you expect
  6. Click Import to create the project

If any scene heading was not parsed (unusual formatting, non-standard slug lines), it will appear in the Unmatched Elements list. You can manually assign these to scenes or add them as new scenes.

Tip: Before importing, check your Final Draft file for non-standard formatting. Unusual slug lines ("EXT. — THE HOUSE — NIGHT" rather than "EXT. THE HOUSE - NIGHT"), untitled scenes, or heavily formatted action blocks can cause parsing gaps.

Exporting back to Final Draft​

When you want to continue writing in Final Draft after working in ACT3 AI:

  1. Go to File → Export → Script
  2. Select Final Draft (.fdx) format
  3. Choose export options:
    • Script only — Clean FDX matching your current script content
    • With ACT3 AI notes — Includes scene production notes as Final Draft scene notes
    • With beat markers — Adds beat labels as scene headings in a non-printing color
  4. Download the file and open in Final Draft

The exported FDX file is fully editable in Final Draft. Continue revising, then re-import when ready.

Round-trip workflow​

This workflow keeps Final Draft as your writing tool and ACT3 AI as your production tool, with clean handoffs between the two:

Final Draft (write draft 1)
    ↓  Import to ACT3 AI
ACT3 AI (structure review, shot list, AI generation)
    ↓  Export script (FDX)
Final Draft (revise draft 2 based on production learnings)
    ↓  Re-import to ACT3 AI
ACT3 AI (update shots, regenerate changed scenes)

On re-import of a revised draft, ACT3 AI detects which scenes changed (by scene number or by text comparison if numbers are absent) and marks them for review. Shots in unchanged scenes remain intact — you only need to regenerate what actually changed.

Keeping the two tools in sync​

A few practices prevent confusion during round-trip editing:

Lock scenes before writing around them. If you have approved shots for Scene 12 and you want to be sure those don't get flagged for review, lock Scene 12 before re-importing the revised script.

Don't renumber scenes in Final Draft without a reason. Scene numbers are the key ACT3 AI uses to match elements on re-import. Renumbering scenes mid-production means ACT3 AI cannot match them to existing work.

Use ACT3 AI's comparison view before re-importing. The Compare Script Versions tool lets you see exactly what changed between drafts before committing to a re-import. This prevents accidental regeneration of scenes you didn't intend to change. See How to Compare Script Versions.

Notes in Final Draft vs. notes in ACT3 AI: Final Draft scene notes and ACT3 AI production notes are separate and don't sync automatically. Keep production-level notes (shot direction, set requirements, casting notes) in ACT3 AI; keep story-level notes (character motivation, thematic questions, structural concerns) in Final Draft.

Final Draft formats supported​

FormatImportExport
Final Draft FDX (.fdx)✓✓
Final Draft 8 and earlier (.fdr)✓—
Fountain / Markdown (.fountain)✓✓
PDF (screenplay)✓✓
Plain text (.txt)✓✓