Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

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  • Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

    Hi there. A producer just asked me to purchase Final Draft to be compatible with his company. I've worked on Movie Magic for years and am not very tech savvy, so could someone here kindly give me some simple instructions on how to export from MMS to Final Draft 10 (or import from MMS -- however it should be stated)? Thanks so much.

  • #2
    Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

    Originally posted by Pasquali56 View Post
    Hi there. A producer just asked me to purchase Final Draft to be compatible with his company. I've worked on Movie Magic for years and am not very tech savvy, so could someone here kindly give me some simple instructions on how to export from MMS to Final Draft 10 (or import from MMS -- however it should be stated)? Thanks so much.
    I tried a trial version of Final Draft once. Wrote about twenty pages of nonsense and it froze up on and I lost the script. That was enough for me to steer clear of it.

    I know that doesn't help you. But I think Final Draft used to have a free converter you could download from their site, that could convert from Movie Magic. It might be worth taking a look, although it's been a long time since even went to Final Draft's website.

    There are other indirect routes.

    For example:
    Convert Article

    Added: This might work better. From Final Draft's website.
    MM to FD
    Last edited by StoryWriter; 02-02-2018, 02:11 AM.
    "I just couldn't live in a world without me."

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    • #3
      Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

      Like you, I tried a trial version of FD (and still have it installed, Ver. 6 or something), but have never used it for my specs.

      I've retained it, however, for a few of its cool reports (character, profanity, etc.)

      To do this, I have to export it from my writing tool to a form it can import and then process for its reports.

      I export to TXT (text format) and then just drag 'n dropped that file from Windows Explorer into the FD window. (Sorry, for you Apple Mac folk, I don't know what you call it) Final Draft imported the content automatically, which allowed me to run my few reports to analyze stuff.

      And since every writing tool produce PDFs, I'd be surprised if each can't import an unlocked PDF as well. But TXT format is as basic a tool for interpretation across software products as you can go, and I'd stick with that.

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      • #4
        Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

        The new version of Screenwriter (6.5 which is only available for Mac) allows you to import/export to from Final Draft. Just select import or export from the file menu.

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        • #5
          Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

          Originally posted by Pasquali56 View Post
          Hi there. A producer just asked me to purchase Final Draft to be compatible with his company. I've worked on Movie Magic for years and am not very tech savvy, so could someone here kindly give me some simple instructions on how to export from MMS to Final Draft 10 (or import from MMS -- however it should be stated)? Thanks so much.
          I have done this a decent amount FD to MMS. MMS to FD. FD to Premiere. Etc.

          In the vast majority of cases, export the script in the screenwriting program you or anyone else is working with as a RTF (Rich Text Format). That should help retain as much as the formatting as possible, though there still might need to be a few tweaks. Then import into the program you/one is using.

          Granted FD to FD. Or Screenwriter 6 to Screenwriter 6 is easiest. But it's not that tough to do.
          Will
          Done Deal Pro
          www.donedealpro.com

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          • #6
            Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

            Thanks for all your help. I actually figured it out on my own right after I posted the request here. The mistake I made is that I was looking at my MMS to export -- but then I found how to import from Final Draft. I just didn't see it at first.

            As for the difference between MMS and Final Draft, I would say they're both equal in terms of ease of use. The only difference I found is that the script I imported came out a little longer in Final Draft. It seems like it adds an extra space/line before a new slugline. I know that can be adjusted, but that's what happened when I started using it.

            Thanks again for all your help. I really appreciate it!

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            • #7
              Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

              Originally posted by Pasquali56 View Post
              As for the difference between MMS and Final Draft, I would say they're both equal in terms of ease of use.
              Just make sure you manually back up your script when using Final Draft. The automatic backup feature doesn't seem to be as reliable in Final Draft as it is in Movie Magic Screenwriter (which is what I used to use until I went to Linux).

              Does the new version of Final Draft import Fountain format? (Just curious.)
              STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

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              • #8
                Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

                I've had good experiences with Fade In Pro which I consider superior to Final Draft in every way that matters. It can also export Final Draft documents so anyone with Final Draft can open it.

                Originally posted by Pasquali56 View Post
                Hi there. A producer just asked me to purchase Final Draft to be compatible with his company. I've worked on Movie Magic for years and am not very tech savvy, so could someone here kindly give me some simple instructions on how to export from MMS to Final Draft 10 (or import from MMS -- however it should be stated)? Thanks so much.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

                  Originally posted by nguyensquared View Post
                  I've had good experiences with Fade In Pro which I consider superior to Final Draft in every way that matters. It can also export Final Draft documents so anyone with Final Draft can open it.
                  with the caveat that if Fade In's Final Draft conversion is not exactly 1:1 in terms of formatting and page count (at least in terms of bringing in .fdx files, i've never converted from Fade In to .fdx)

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                  • #10
                    Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

                    Originally posted by nguyensquared View Post
                    I've had good experiences with Fade In Pro which I consider superior to Final Draft in every way that matters. It can also export Final Draft documents so anyone with Final Draft can open it.
                    Fade In Pro is probably the future, but if your producer specifies Final Draft there's really no choice in the matter. Pretty cool "problem" to have, though.
                    STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Exporting screenplays from MMS to Final Draft 10

                      If your producer wants Final Draft, you are stuck.

                      But if you are going to fork out the money for that crappy software, spend another $75 and get Fade In, too.

                      You can import your Final Draft .fdx file into Fade In each day and have it as a reliable backup for the day when you try to open your Final Draft .fdx file and find that it is corrupted (see this thread). You can then export your Fade In file back to Final Draft, and the file will be fine.

                      I have imported from Final Draft to Fade In many times and have exported back to Final Draft, with no problems.

                      By the way, the name of the software is just Fade In. The website is Fade In Pro.

                      DISCLAIMERS: All of the above about Final Draft is strictly my opinion, based on the experiences of people from around the world who have written to me during the last several years. However, I could be wrong in anything that I say. As for Fade In, I have no financial interest in that software, nor any personal interest except that I know that it is feature-rich and works reliably.

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

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