Celtx Beginners Guide

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  • Celtx Beginners Guide

    Haven't sold a script lately but books, I know how to sell.

    Just contracted with Packt to do CELTX BEGINNER'S GUIDE.

    Celtx is free open source scriptwriting (and more) software which 1) did I mention 'free'? 2) runs on Windows, Mac, AND Linux.

    It keeps getting better and better.

    --Ralph
    Ralph Roberts
    Director SkyFest http://skyfest.net
    Producer http://1vid.com
    author of over 100 books, member SFWA, MWA
    IMDB: http://imdb.me/ralphroberts
    March 2011 CELTX: OPEN SOURCE SCREENWRITING

  • #2
    Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

    Only one question I've ever wanted answered about Celtx, but can't seem to find that answer anywhere -- Why do you have to be connected to the internet in order to format?

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

      Originally posted by Banjaxed View Post
      Only one question I've ever wanted answered about Celtx, but can't seem to find that answer anywhere -- Why do you have to be connected to the internet in order to format?
      The buzzterm is "cloud computing" -- i.e. rather than all the work being done on your computer, it's parceled out to big, fast machines out there in the "cloud" (somewhere on the Internet).

      In the case of Celtx, connecting to a server online that does the computer intensive work of formatting the PDF and results in a much smaller footprint on your own machine and lets Celtx be written easily to run ON more operating systems, such as Linux. It also gives great scope for automatic updates since that part of the software is controlled from online (because it IS online).

      For the paranoid, Celtx does not retain any of your script -- it just formats it in memory on the cloud server and shoots it back to you.

      Wonderful concept for free software and thus Celtx is not bloated with code like the high dollar commercial programs.

      --Ralph
      Ralph Roberts
      Director SkyFest http://skyfest.net
      Producer http://1vid.com
      author of over 100 books, member SFWA, MWA
      IMDB: http://imdb.me/ralphroberts
      March 2011 CELTX: OPEN SOURCE SCREENWRITING

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

        Cheers.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

          Congrats, Ralph.

          I think Celtx has a future.

          I had actually given some thought to doing a manual myself (back as long ago as a year or two), but I never seriously pursued the idea, because I just did not have the time. I have several writing projects for stage and screen, plus some essays, and what with having to eke out a living as a part-time physician in a small town, I just could not get started on the Celtx project. I kept coming back to it as a possibility, though, with the idea of doing a book with the general goal of showing how to write a script for the screen or the stage with Celtx. In it I would have included a great many of the questions that I have dealt with here on Done Deal for the last nine years, issues involving format and "how do you do such and such?"

          Good luck. A manual is really needed.

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

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          • #6
            Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

            Just a question about Celtx -- does anyone know how to change the font (or make a font bigger) on the title page?
            Introduce a little anarchy.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

              You cannot. That is a current limitation of the program. It is designed to have you write your script, and then to have the Great Celtx Server in Cyberspace "typeset" it according to a set of standards that you do not control.

              The font will be Type 1 Courier.

              I know you cannot change the font. I am not absolutely sure about not being able to enlarge the font for the title page, but I do not think so. Everything is preset for those standards that I mentioned.

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

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

                Originally posted by author View Post
                The buzzterm is "cloud computing" -- i.e. rather than all the work being done on your computer, it's parceled out to big, fast machines out there in the "cloud" (somewhere on the Internet).

                In the case of Celtx, connecting to a server online that does the computer intensive work of formatting the PDF and results in a much smaller footprint on your own machine and lets Celtx be written easily to run ON more operating systems, such as Linux. It also gives great scope for automatic updates since that part of the software is controlled from online (because it IS online).

                For the paranoid, Celtx does not retain any of your script -- it just formats it in memory on the cloud server and shoots it back to you.

                Wonderful concept for free software and thus Celtx is not bloated with code like the high dollar commercial programs.

                --Ralph
                I didn't realize that Celtx still required you to be online to fully use the program. I've been playing with it quite a bit, but I've always been online -- sure enough, I go offline and I can't format. That's kind of a deal killer for me. I've been suggesting Celtx for new writers, now I won't. A writer needs a complete program *locally.* A loss of connection to the Internet should not keep him from being able to format and print his script. Celtx needs to offer an add-on (paid or free) that let's you format locally. Otherwise I won't use it for anything but experimenting.

                And I don't buy the "intensive work of formatting" and "small footprint" argument. AbiWord (a freeware, full-featured word processor for Windows, Linux and Mac) has a download of less than 9 Megs, and it can save to just about any format available, including PDF. Celtx is over 19 Megs in size -- it could easily include formatting. There's another reason why Celtx has decided to keep you online -- I wouldn't say it's snooping, but I'm guessing they're keeping open options to charge a fee for their service in the future.

                As for "running on Linux" the program is based on the Mozilla Development Framework. It works on Linux because Mozilla does. Celtx is not really a cloud project as you must download and install the program to use it, and its system requirements are not really that small. (Except when compared to bloatware like Microsoft Office).

                As for having to be online for "automatic updates" -- almost every program I use has a "Check for Updates" feature in the Help Menu. You should only have to be online for that process, not all the time.

                I'll get off my soapbox now. Sorry for the rant. And good luck with the book.
                Last edited by Centos; 05-15-2010, 07:17 PM.
                STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

                  Looks like I overreacted. The folks at Celtx have done a lot of good work. Thinking about it, it would probably cause a lot more work to enable formatting and printing features in each of the platforms. And it really isn't that much of a problem to format and print to PDF online.

                  I'll shut up now.

                  And *REALLY* good luck with the book.
                  STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

                    No problem... thanks!

                    I'm enjoying writing it.

                    To put it in terms of knives (and why the heck not), Final Draft and Movie Magic are like a chef's favorite kitchen knife -- man, can they precisely dice those onions or what?

                    Celtx? Celtx is more of a Swiss Army knife.

                    So, why would you want a Swiss Army knife?

                    Well, remember MacGyver? Chopping onions is nice but sometimes you need to disarm a nuclear bomb or fix your sink.



                    --Ralph
                    Ralph Roberts
                    Director SkyFest http://skyfest.net
                    Producer http://1vid.com
                    author of over 100 books, member SFWA, MWA
                    IMDB: http://imdb.me/ralphroberts
                    March 2011 CELTX: OPEN SOURCE SCREENWRITING

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Celtx Beginners Guide

                      The US & International stageplay formats, which display through the Typeset feature, are the best I've seen for playwriting.
                      If you really like it you can have the rights
                      It could make a million for you overnight

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