Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

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  • Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

    I've found another utility for converting Fountain files to PDF (or HTML) in the command line (CLI). It's a utility called "Wrap" and it works basically like the command line versions of Screenplain and 'Afterwriting.

    With Linux it requires installing Snap and then using that to install the app. It appears to be more straightforward with Windows and Mac. It's one dependency is Courier Prime.

    https://github.com/Wraparound/wrap

    Downloads here.

    https://github.com/Wraparound/wrap/releases/tag/v0.2.2

    It has the simplest command line of the lot. If you're going to name the PDF the same as the Fountain file, just type ...

    wrap pdf file.fountain

    If you want to name the output file something else you'll need to add the -o (for output) option.

    wrap pdf file.fountain -o newfile.pdf

    HTML would be ...

    wrap html file.fountain

    or

    wrap html file.fountain -o newfile.html

    You don't seem to have as much control over output as you do with screenplain or 'afterwriting (but it could be my ignorance at work).

    Okay, that said, it works really well, EXCEPT I ran into an odd glitch. If I try to use the name of my character "Estella" (in a screenplay I wrote a long time ago) wrap freaks out. With "Ella" (for example) it works as advertised.

    I wrote a small screenplay snippet to make sure it wasn't glunk in my file. Here's what it looked like.

    Wrap produced the following from this Fountain file ...

    Code:
    INT. LIVING ROOM — DAY
    
    ESTELLA ROBERTS, 40, is sitting at the couch, reading.
    
    The TV blares from another room.
    
    ESTELLA
    Can you turn that down?
    
    VOICE (O.S.)
    Huh?
    
    ESTELLA
    Turn down the TV!
    
    The TV volume lowers a notch.
    
    VOICE (O.S.)
    You're just not cool, Estella.
    Results in PDF ...

    Code:
    INT. LIVING ROOM — DAY
    
    
    ESTELLA ROBERTS, 40, IS SITTING AT THE COUCH, READING.
    
    The TV blares from another room.
    
    ESTELLA
    Can you turn that down?
    
                             VOICE (O.S.)
              Huh?
    
    ESTELLA
    Turn down the TV!
    
    The TV volume lowers a notch.
    
                          VOICE (O.S.)
              You're just not cool, Estella.
    When I change the name to Ella instead, the PDF results ...

    Code:
    INT. LIVING ROOM — DAY
    
    ELLA ROBERTS, 40, is sitting at the couch, reading.
    
    The TV blares from another room.
    
                          ELLA
              Can you turn that down?
    
                             VOICE (O.S.)
              Huh?
    
                          ELLA
              Turn down the TV!
    
    The TV volume lowers a notch.
    
                          VOICE (O.S.)
              You're just not cool, Ella.
    This is exactly what it was doing with my full 104 page script. I thought I had some gunk in there. I wanted to recover the script I wrote a few years back, but the copy I had, had been written in a defunct Windows program (fortunately it was based on XML, so it was possible to extract the text and turn it into a Fountain file, but it took a while).

    Estella works fine in the same file when I use Screenplain ... (or 'Afterwriting) ...

    Code:
    INT. LIVING ROOM — DAY
    
    ESTELLA ROBERTS, 40, is sitting at the couch, reading.
    
    The TV blares from another room.
    
                       ESTELLA
             Can you turn that down?
    
                       VOICE (O.S.)
             Huh?
    
                       ESTELLA
             Turn down the TV!
    
    The TV volume lowers a notch.
    
                       VOICE (O.S.)
             You're just not cool, Estella.
    So ... I don't know if I picked the one name in creation that wouldn't work, or whether this would be a constant issue. I'll try to write to the developer. He should be able to figure out what's triggering this. It drove me nuts because I thought there was something wrong with my file and I couldn't see what it was. It's a bit of a "bummer" because Wrap seems to be easier to install and use. (Although ComicBent is leery of Courier Prime, I can't remember exactly why now.)
    STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

  • #2
    Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

    I downloaded the program and ran a couple of experiments. I also downloaded the code, but have not looked at it except to see what the programming language is.

    The program is coded in something called Go, which I had to look up.

    Here is what I think is happening. I tried using the names ESTHER and INTIMA in the troublesome line.

    In both cases, Wrap converted the whole line to caps. It is doing this because the code for categorizing the Fountain paragraphs is defective. Wrap sees a capitalized word with E*T or I*T at the beginning of a paragraph and thinks that these are Scene Headings (EXT or INT) instead of properly recognizing them as Action.

    Or that is my strong suspicion anyway. I may look at this some more, but it is the middle of the night right now.

    EDIT (1) TO ADD: If you use the Fountain action symbol ! right before ESTELLA, as in:

    !ESTELLA

    things work properly.

    You need to report this bug on GitHub.

    EDIT (2) TO ADD: I do not really dislike Courier Prime. I just have a couple of complaints about it, mainly that the tail on the italic 'y' is weaker than I would prefer. Some of the font hinting is suboptimal (hinting relates to how the font appears on screen in smaller sizes; it has nothing to do with how nice the font looks when printed).

    On my screens the small 'e' always looks a bit ragged. For those who are old enough to remember how typewriters worked on cloth ribbons, you will remember that the 'e' and certain other keys would eventually get a buildup of crusty ink and would need cleaning with a solvent. That is what the 'e' looks like in Courier Prime on my computers. It is only a slight imperfection, but I do notice it right away.

    Ah, yes, the typewriter days. If you ever worked in an office as a Dilbert character, whether at a desk or in a cubicle, you probably had the experience of the typewriter repairman, who appeared periodically with pungent-smelling chemicals to clean your keys and lubricate your moving parts (on the typewriter, that is).
    Last edited by ComicBent; 04-14-2019, 04:20 AM.

    "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

      Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
      Here is what I think is happening. I tried using the names ESTHER and INTIMA in the troublesome line.

      In both cases, Wrap converted the whole line to caps. It is doing this because the code for categorizing the Fountain paragraphs is defective. Wrap sees a capitalized word with E*T or I*T at the beginning of a paragraph and thinks that these are Scene Headings (EXT or INT) instead of properly recognizing them as Action.

      Or that is my strong suspicion anyway. I may look at this some more, but it is the middle of the night right now.

      EDIT (1) TO ADD: If you use the Fountain action symbol ! right before ESTELLA, as in:

      !ESTELLA

      things work properly.

      You need to report this bug on GitHub.
      It's a little more troublesome than that. Even if you don't capitalize "Estella" it still converts the action line to a scene header. As in ...

      estella roberts, 40, is sitting ...

      will still result in ...


      ESTELLA ROBERTS, 40, IS SITTING ... (with an extra space above it).

      You also have the dialogue lines moving flush left when you use "ESTELLA" (and ESTHER and INTIMA) as the name. In this case it's not changing the lines to a slugline, it's just removing (actually, not adding) the spaces in front of the character name and the dialogue.

      Code:
      ESTHER
      Can you turn that down?
      
                            VOICE (O.S.)
                Huh?
      
      INTIMA
      Turn down the TV!
      Following your advice on adding the exclamation point in front of the action line, I added the "@" symbol in front of the character's name. That fixed it, but there's definitely serious issues in Wrap's coding.

      I'll try writing to the developer (not exactly sure how the GitHub process works, but I should be able to figure it out).
      Last edited by Centos; 04-14-2019, 08:33 AM.
      STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

        Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
        EDIT (2) TO ADD: I do not really dislike Courier Prime. I just have a couple of complaints about it, mainly that the tail on the italic 'y' is weaker than I would prefer. Some of the font hinting is suboptimal (hinting relates to how the font appears on screen in smaller sizes; it has nothing to do with how nice the font looks when printed).

        On my screens the small 'e' always looks a bit ragged. For those who are old enough to remember how typewriters worked on cloth ribbons, you will remember that the 'e' and certain other keys would eventually get a buildup of crusty ink and would need cleaning with a solvent. That is what the 'e' looks like in Courier Prime on my computers. It is only a slight imperfection, but I do notice it right away.
        I'll have to take a closer look at Courier Prime. I just like the fact that it's darker. And I do remember cleaning my typewriter keys when the filled with "gunk." I kind of miss the sound and feel of a real typewriter, but I would imagine I would get "over it" after the first couple lines I screwed up a line and couldn't easily correct it.

        EDIT: I see what you mean on the "e" — it is kind of ragged. Still (for me) the overall appearance of the darker courier might be the deciding factor on which I use.
        STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

          Try Courier Screenplay instead of Courier Prime. It is just as dark.

          You can get it from the Fade In website.

          Courier Screenplay does not have the "true italics" feature of Courier Prime, but the italic face is a genuine font face within Courier Screenplay.

          Yes, you are right about 'estella'. It does get treated in the same way as the capitalized version. I am puzzled as to why the Character name gets converted to all caps but does not seem to be regarded as a Scene Heading (only has one blank line above it).

          Wrap is a long way from playing in prime time.

          "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

            Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
            Try Courier Screenplay instead of Courier Prime. It is just as dark.

            You can get it from the Fade In website.

            Courier Screenplay does not have the "true italics" feature of Courier Prime, but the italic face is a genuine font face within Courier Screenplay.
            It's a very nice font. Thanks. I've incorporated it into Trelby (both for display fonts and PDF printing fonts). I'll probably install it in KIT Scenarist, but I would really like to get it working in Screenplain. (I'll have to learn something about ReportLab to get that done, I think.) You're also supposed to be able to use an alternate font in 'Afterwriting's CLI by setting up a MyFonts.json file but, so far, I haven't figured that out either. I'm mostly interested in getting Courier Screenplay to work in Screenplain — which is what I use most of the time. It's nice that it works in Trelby, but Trelby doesn't support Unicode so this "—" (en or em dash) looks like this "--" (two hyphens) in Trelby.

            Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
            Yes, you are right about 'estella'. It does get treated in the same way as the capitalized version. I am puzzled as to why the Character name gets converted to all caps but does not seem to be regarded as a Scene Heading (only has one blank line above it).

            Wrap is a long way from playing in prime time.
            Agreed on Wrap. Not much of this makes any sense to me. If it worked right it would be a nice (and simple to use) utility. I'll write to the developer (probably tomorrow) but his application has serious issues.
            STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

              May be nothing, but I think the Italian for EXT would be EST (for esterno/esteriore).

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

                Originally posted by Mitchell McLean View Post
                May be nothing, but I think the Italian for EXT would be EST (for esterno/esteriore).
                That would make sense for mistaking ESTELLA for a header, but not sure how that would work for what it does to ESTELLA when using it for a Character name. In that case it just leaves it (and the dialogue line that follows) flush left (instead of properly indenting), but doesn't change it into a header.
                STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

                  I did post an issue "report" (or whatever it's called) for this problem on the Wrap GitHub site. I'll let you know if I get any response or solution.
                  STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

                    I'm happy to report that Wrap has already been fixed (as of version 0.2.3). Why ESTELLA triggered the issue (as well as EXTELLA and INTIMA) was because they were all shots, "EST" was the beginning of ESTABLISHING. The author's first (temporary) "fix" was using the ! and @ as mentioned above.

                    Results now correct. The following was created with Wrap.

                    Code:
                    INT. LIVING ROOM — DAY
                    
                    ESTELLA ROBERTS, late 20s, yells up the stairs.
                    
                                          ESTELLA
                              Bus is almost here.
                    
                    EXTELLA, 10, her daughter, runs down the stairs.
                    
                                          EXTELLA
                              Sorry, mom.
                    
                    INTIMA, 50s, rushes through the door without knocking.
                    
                                          INTIMA
                              Bus is already gone. I'll drive her.
                    Last edited by Centos; 04-16-2019, 02:48 AM. Reason: Corrected an error introduced by pdftotext. Why the error? I don't know.
                    STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

                      If you download Courier Prime, Wrap will use it instead of Courier-New. I wanted to see if you could also use Courier Screenplay. Yes, you can, but it's a bit of a kludge. There's an undocumented flag called --font, which requires you use the following format ...

                      wrap pdf estella.fountain --font "CourierScreenplay.ttf, CourierScreenplay-Bold.ttf, CourierScreenplay-Italic.ttf, CourierScreenplay-BoldItalic.ttf"

                      It works, but (at least so far) it appears you have to list all four files by name in the order shown (regular, bold, italic and bold-italic). I also had to move copies of these font files into the directory where I was using Wrap. Also note the commas in the font list. Required. I've just pasted the font list into Simplenote and will copy and paste when I need to use Wrap and want the Courier Screenplay font.
                      STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

                        So he was using a SHOT format for anything that began with EST because of ESTABLISHING?

                        I have done some programming, and I have to say that this is the kind of thing that a programmer should know would lead to errors. Crappy programming. Not a good sign.

                        By the way, I thought about the Italian EST for EXT, but I did not know where the programmer was from. I thought of it because I saw an Italian name somewhere when I went to Github to download the file, but I did not know if the name was that of the programmer.

                        Honestly, Centos, why don't you ditch Trelby? It is an abandoned program, as far as I know. Years ago I asked the developer about Unicode in Trelby (after it was renamed to Trelby), and I received an answer something like: "Naw, I don't think we will be doing that." I checked Github just now and saw that the most recent work on Trelby was three years ago, and these were two completely trivial items. And it is still written in Python 2.7 (the only "accepted" version for Trelby), though Python is now in version 3.7, supports Unicode, and is available in 64-bit).

                        You could use Fade In (available for Linux), write in Fountain if you want to, and import into Fade In. I do this frequently. Then you can produce a PDF from within Fade In (under FILE > Create PDF). And you get a screenwriting application with fantastic features, things like alternate scenes and alternate versions of paragraphs. And free upgrades.

                        "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

                          Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
                          So he was using a SHOT format for anything that began with EST because of ESTABLISHING?

                          I have done some programming, and I have to say that this is the kind of thing that a programmer should know would lead to errors. Crappy programming. Not a good sign.
                          I'm just happy it's working and was impressed with how quickly the fix was implemented.

                          Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
                          Honestly, Centos, why don't you ditch Trelby? It is an abandoned program, as far as I know. Years ago I asked the developer about Unicode in Trelby (after it was renamed to Trelby), and I received an answer something like: "Naw, I don't think we will be doing that." I checked Github just now and saw that the most recent work on Trelby was three years ago, and these were two completely trivial items. And it is still written in Python 2.7 (the only "accepted" version for Trelby), though Python is now in version 3.7, supports Unicode, and is available in 64-bit).
                          I've got to admit that Osku Salerma is a "take it or leave it" sort of person. But I like Trelby. I like its simplicity and its ability to be customized. And I was with it from the day its beta was first announced on October 9th, 2004 at the misc.writing.screenplays newsgroup. I think I was its first beta tester. When in December, 2004 Osku Salerma announced Blyte 1.0, I tried to get him to change the name to either (ironically) Fade In or Smash Cut. But he liked "Blyte" and that was that — until he put it in the public domain (sometime in 2007, I believe). Then Anil Gulecha came along and they relaunched as Trelby in January, 2012.

                          How Blyte was revived as Trelby.
                          https://www.gulecha.org/2012/01/02/presenting-trelby

                          I know it doesn't have Unicode support, but neither did the "standard" Final Draft until it's latest release. I still don't think Movie Magic Screenwriter has Unicode support (I may be wrong on that). An easy workaround for me is to simply export from Trelby to Fountain, edit my "--" to "—" (main thing I use Unicode for) and use the CLI versions of Wrap, 'Afterwriting or Screenplain to produce a "Unicoded" PDF. Trelby is still widely used, especially in the Linux community and can now use the python-wxgtk3.0 library. (You have to search on GitHub or the Trelby forums to find the 2.3 version, however. I have it on my free website ready for download.)

                          The ability to use Courier Screenplay (both for display and PDF export) makes Trelby look almost modern.

                          Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
                          You could use Fade In (available for Linux), write in Fountain if you want to, and import into Fade In. I do this frequently. Then you can produce a PDF from within Fade In (under FILE > Create PDF). And you get a screenwriting application with fantastic features, things like alternate scenes and alternate versions of paragraphs. And free upgrades.
                          I know I could use Fade In Pro but I'm not really a writer. I like the challenge of "making it work" or "making do." I originally got involved with screenplay writing because I wanted to get in on the political arguments at misc.writing.screenplays (my brother had been there for a while). Then I started playing around with the demo version of ScriptThing for DOS (eventually purchasing it). So, basically, I started writing short screenplays so I would have something to do with the software. But it was really the software I wanted to use. Then I moved to ScriptThing for Windows until I started using Linux full time, and when Trelby came out I glomed on to it and ran with it. I like KIT Scenarist and the demo version of Fade In pro, but both are really more than I need for writing short screenplays and screenplay snippets. Trelby really does all I need, even though I still like playing around with other options.

                          I do like Kent Tessman and I like his multi-platform Fade In Pro. I even was going to buy the software just to support a Linux option, but when I got to the site I saw the price had jumped to $80 from $50 and figured, "that's too much to show support." (Though, I admit, it's a great price if you really need the software.) The thing is, I really wouldn't use the software as I don't need all its features. I'm happy with what I've got.
                          Last edited by Centos; 04-16-2019, 04:48 PM.
                          STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

                            Centos,

                            (Movie Magic) Screenwriter has not had an upgrade in years, as far as I know, and I do check every once in a while. I was actually a beta-tester for version 6, and that was a long time ago. I was still using a dial-up internet connection in those days. Damn, that was horrible. So Screenwriter has definite limitations, and honestly I do not know why anyone would use it today. Sorry to have to say that, because they were really nice people. I do not think that they try to compete in the area of scriptwriting software anymore. I think they concentrate on their scheduling software, and maybe on some other things.

                            "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Wrap for Fountain files ... but what's with "Estella?"

                              Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
                              (Movie Magic) Screenwriter has not had an upgrade in years, ...
                              I know. It's kind of sad. But if I was still running Windows I would probably still be using it.
                              STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

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