Advanced Writing Features

Final Draft Cloud allows you to adjust the look and feel of Writer to match your preferred writing environment.

To change your theme:

1. Click your profile icon in the upper-right corner
2. Select Theme
3. Choose from:
   • Day Mode (light background)
   • Night Mode (dark gray background)
   • Midnight Mode (darkest background)

You can toggle between themes at any time while writing.

Writer includes a floating toolbar that gives you quick access to formatting and editing tools.

The toolbar appears at the bottom of your screen, but when you highlight text, it automatically moves up to wherever you’re working.

If you prefer a cleaner workspace, you can turn the toolbar off:

1. Click your profile icon
2. Open Settings
3. Under Preferences, toggle Show format palette to “No”

You can always enable it again later.

The first two buttons on the toolbar help you quickly reverse or restore changes:

• Undo removes your most recent action (like command-z / control-z)
• Redo restores an action you just undid

These tools are especially useful when revising dialogue or experimenting with edits.

Writer makes it easy to change screenplay elements while you work.

To open the Elements menu:

1. Place your cursor in the script
2. Click the Elements button in the toolbar
3. Select the element you want, such as:
   • Action
   • Dialogue
   • Transition

The current element is always indicated with a green icon.

Final Draft Cloud includes several formatting tools that apply only to the text you highlight.

You can use:

• Bold
• Italics
• Underline
• Strikethrough

Simply highlight the text you want to adjust, then click the appropriate button. Formatting will not affect the rest of your script.

For additional emphasis, you can apply color formatting to selected text.

• Text Color changes the color of the characters
• Highlight Color changes the background behind the text

To use these tools:

1. Highlight the text
2. Select a color from the toolbar
3. Toggle it off anytime by returning to “No color”

The toolbar icon updates to match your selected color.

Dual Dialogue is used when two characters speak at the same time.

To apply Dual Dialogue:

1. Ensure two dialogue blocks appear back-to-back
2. Place your cursor in the Character element of the first speaker
3. Click the Dual Dialogue button

The dialogue will shift into a side-by-side format, showing that the lines occur concurrently.

You can continue editing while Dual Dialogue is active — no need to undo formatting first.

Script Notes are perfect for leaving reminders, suggestions, or feedback without changing the script text itself.

To add a ScriptNote:

1. Place your cursor where you want the note
2. Click the ScriptNote button
3. Type your note and save it

ScriptNotes remain visible as an icon in the script. You can click them to:

• View the note
• Edit it
• Reply in a thread
• Delete the note if needed

Each note also shows the author name and the date it was added.

Now that you’ve explored the advanced tools in Writer, continue learning with the next topics: