Learn how Scrivener lets you write scripts and screenplays on an iPad or iPhone.
In a previous article, we looked at How to Use Scriptwriting in Scrivener for Mac and Windows. Scrivener’s scriptwriting mode allows you to combine the flexibility of Scrivener’s Binder, Corkboard, and Outliner with tools designed for scriptwriting. Scrivener applies industry-standard formatting for scripts, and lets you easily switch among script elements such as scene headings, shots, and dialogue.
Scrivener for iPad and iPhone also has a scriptwriting mode. In this article, we’ll look at how scriptwriting works with Scrivener for mobile devices.
Scrivener for iPad and iPhone
Scrivener for iPad and iPhone has many of the same features as Scrivener on the desktop, but the limitations of these mobile devices means that it can’t offer all the features of the Mac and Windows apps. You can create and manage projects, and you can sync projects between Mac or Windows and your iPad or iPhone, either with Dropbox or by copying projects to the mobile app.
Because of the more limited screen space, Scrivener on iPad and iPhone lacks some key features. Neither app offers an Outliner, as on the desktop version of Scrivener; the Binder works as an outliner on mobile devices. And only the iPad app offers a Corkboard, because the iPhone screen is too small for this sort of display.
Aside from those key features, you can write just as well on any of the versions of Scrivener, adapting your approach to the more limited screen size.
Get started with scriptwriting on iPad and iPhone
There are two ways to work with scripts in Scrivener on iPad and iPhone. The easiest way to do this is to create a project on Scrivener for Mac or Windows, using one of the built-in templates, then sync or copy this to your device. Scrivener for iPad and iPhone don’t offer multiple template types, but any template you create on the desktop can be used on a mobile device, so you can use a specific scriptwriting template this way.
The other way is to create a project on your iPad or iPhone, then turn on scriptwriting in the project settings. When you do so, this only offers screenplay formatting, whereas Scrivener on the desktop has projects for other types of scripts, such as stage plays, radio plays, and even comics.
To enable scriptwriting on iPhone, tap the gear icon when you’re viewing your project, tap Scriptwriting, then toggle Allow Scriptwriting. On iPad, tap the gear icon, tap Editor, then tap Allow Scriptwriting. This enables scriptwriting for all documents in the project.
Once you’ve enabled scriptwriting for a project, you can turn it on or off for individual documents. To do this, select a document in the Binder, tap the i icon to open the Inspector, then toggle Scriptwriting on or off.
You can combine documents with and without scriptwriting enabled, and you can always tell which documents have this feature enabled. In the screenshot below, you can see three scene files, which have yellow icons, indicating that scriptwriting is enabled. The Notes file below it has a white icon, which means that scriptwriting is not enabled.
Working with scriptwriting on iPad and iPhone
Working with any type of text on the smaller display of on iPhone has limitations, and with scriptwriting in Scrivener, there is an important one to note. Because of the way scripts are formatted, with script elements aligned in the center or at the right of the screen, you may find it difficult to view their contents correctly on an iPhone. Switching to landscape mode improves this.
In scriptwriting mode, Scrivener shows the different script elements in a menu, which you can access by tapping the header bar. On iPad, a menu appears just below the header bar; on iPhone, it displays from the bottom of the screen.
When you press Return, Scrivener automatically switches to the element that is most likely to follow the previous element. If this is not the element you want to use, tap the menu and choose a different element.
If you work with an external keyboard, you can press the Tab key to cycle through the different elements if the one you want to use is not automatically selected.
Adding new documents to your scriptwriting project
To add new documents to your scriptwriting project, tap the + icon below the Binder, and Scrivener gives you three options: Text, New Scene, and New Act. The first is a standard document that is not in scriptwriting mode, and you can use this if you want to create a document to store notes about your project, information about characters, or anything else.
The second is a standard text file in scriptwriting mode, with a yellow icon, as you saw above.
And the third is a folder, which you can label as Act 1, Act 2, etc., or use as a normal folder to organize any files you want.
You can reorganize your Binder as you progress, adding folders and files as needed, and moving them around. See this article for more on rearranging the Binder on iPad and iPhone.
Compiling your scriptwriting project in Scrivener for iPad or iPhone
When you’ve finished working on your project, or if you want to print it out or share it with someone, then you must compile it. When you compile a project, Scrivener stitches together all the elements in the binder and and saves them in one of a number of formats. These include PDF, plain text, RTF, and Word, and, if you’re in scriptwriting mode, you can compile your project in Final Draft format.
To learn how to compile your project, read Compile Scrivener Projects on iPad and iPhone.
Kirk McElhearn is a writer, podcaster, and photographer. He is the author of Take Control of Scrivener, and host of the podcast Write Now with Scrivener. He also offers one-to-one Scrivener coaching.