Final Draft 7 Professional Scriptwriting [OLD VERSION]

I was PO'd at Final Draft for releasing such a buggy program but they
said they would fix it and they totally did. It's great now and the guy
said they're going to be add even more features. He wouldn't tell me
what ones but I'm looking forward to it. They screwed up and they knew
it but they took care of it and I'm very happy with Final Draft 7 again.
Great program (finally), great company. Good job, guys!


The King is Back   May 19, 2004
Billy Levi (Suffern, NY)
10 out of 17 found this review helpful

As with most sophisticated software, the initial release of a new version has flaws. What separates good companies from bad is how quickly they fix the problems. Now that Final Draft has released a patch for Version 7, it shines. I wish Microsoft would fix their products this fast! I think the new Summary Cards are the bomb! They have given me a great way to develop projects, enabled me to make all kinds of notes and to view them along with my script. Simply fabulous.


A New Way Of Writing   May 18, 2004
8 out of 15 found this review helpful

I was forced to switch to Final Draft by the studio that hired me, and I switched, kicking and screaming from my old stand by. Now I could never go back. Take the plunge - it totally changed the speed in which I crank out a script. I'm much faster now. Believe me, Hollywood is going to want you to use Final Draft, anyway. I am doing re-writes and the process has been streamlined with the new multiple window features. I just did it - I re-worked a setup on page 13 of the script and its payoff on page 86 - onscreen, at the same time! I have been waiting for this. I had a problem with priinting when I first got it, but I bought it when it was just released and Final Draft fixed it in a patch. I had more problems with XP when it first came out. After shopping online, I found it on amazon!


Seriously Buggy   May 14, 2004
Bman (Culver City, CA USA)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful

I've been using FD for years, and haven't had any serious problems, but this version is a disaster. I can only select text from bottom to top, and even that is totally unpredictable. The new version crashes endlessly if you have an older version installed, but uninstalling the previous version deletes the custom Final Draft fonts. Since the 'upgrade' to version seven I've spent more time wrestling the software than I have writing.

The only new feature that interested me was the outline view, but in practise it's stupid. Most of the time it's impossible to navigate a script by sluglines alone, and the result is more wasted time.

Steer clear of this product.


Warning: Wait Until They Fix It   May 12, 2004
Dwayne McDuffie (Sherman Oaks, CA United States)
9 out of 12 found this review helpful

I've used Final Draft for Macintosh since Version 5. It's always been a touch cranky but well worth the trouble. This is no longer the case with version 7.0 (and the upgrade to 7.0.0.33 seems to have made things worse). Cursor position is unstable, that is you probably aren't entering text where you think you are. Randomly, selected text refuses to unselect. Parentheticals won't allow you to move the cursor to the next block of dialog. Smart type "forgets" character names and locations, et cetera. As is, this program is unusable and repeated e-mails to the publisher have gone unanswered.

I hope they fix the problems, until they do I've gone back to version 6, and I'm out the cost of the upgrade.