Customize Editing Options

Customize > Editing Menu

WriterDuet is designed to format your document automatically, however, these intuitive settings can be changed and customized as desired. With so many customization options, it's easy to become overwhelmed. The list below defines all of the customizable options in the Customize > Editing menu.

To open the menu select Customize > Editing.

Editor

Actions

Enter/Tab traditional behavior - Enter/Return and Tab can be used to navigate through the available line types. Deselecting this option changes the order of automatic line types when pressing Enter/Return and Tab to switch between line types. To learn more about the intuitive nature of line types, see Change Line Types.
- With option deselected, Enter/Return after a Dialogue line will bring you to a new Character line instead of an Action line
Ctrl+Number traditional order - Shortcut keys can be your best friend. We have programmed them to follow the industry standard pattern. However, if you wish to use the alternate shortcut numbering order, deselecting this option changes the order of numbers/letters used with pressing Ctrl/Cmd. Deselecting will not change the intuitive nature of line types.
- With option selected, the top three line types are Scene, Action, and Character
- With option deselected, the top three line types are Character, Dialogue, and Parens
Enter adds default Character - As mentioned before, the line types are initiative. With this option selected, the line type will suggest the default character you intend to enter based on the dialogue pattern. Pressing enter adds the default Character to a new line (normally, only pressing spacebar or arrow key does this). Deselecting this option will disable the suggestion.

With option selected, suggested Character:

Create a snapshot of your document on save - Enabling this setting will allow you to create a new snapshot every time you complete a save (Cmd/Ctrl + S or select File > Save).

Preferences

Show line type select on enter - Pressing Enter/Return from an empty line will show options for line types. Most common from Scene and Action lines.

Line Options:

Auto-capitalization - When enabled, beginnings of lines will automatically be capitalized.
Display suggestions - When enabled, the program will recognize what word you may be typing and offer suggestions to autofill with, such as character names already found in the script. This makes writing more efficient and less redundant.
- To remove autofill suggestions, Shift+click the option you would like to remove within the dropdown that auto-populates.
Hide text color while editing - When enabled, color changes applied to the script will not be visible and all text will be displayed as black (or white in Dark Mode).
Move your cursor when other writers continue from end - Automatically repositions your cursor when a collaborator begins writing from the exact point where you left off.

Typewriter mode - Pro Feature

Vertical Centering - When enabled, this option keeps your cursor in the same spot vertically as you type, shifting the script up and down like a page in a typewriter. This can help reduce eye fatigue while writing.

Comments

Right-click lines to add comments - When enabled, quickly add notes to lines by right-clicking.
- This will disable all other right-clicking options. You will need to re-enable this option in order to access right-clicking options.
Project comment color - When you or a collaborator add any comments, the bubble/text background will automatically have the color you set here.
- Comment colors can be altered multiple times to allow for color-coding.
- Each collaborator can set their own comment color.
- All collaborators will see all color assignments made on comment bubbles.

Line Types

Defaults

These options are part of the intuitive nature of line types. We suggest leaving these options selected as it provides a smoother writing experience.

Parenthetical when you enter "(" on certain lines - If you enter a left parenthesis, the line will change to a Parens line (a parenthetical line). Deselecting this option will require you to assign the line type manually.
Scene when you start most lines with "INT." or "EXT." - If you enter the standard "INT." or "EXT." intro of a scene to a line, the line will change to a Scene line. Deselecting this option will require you to assign the line type manually.
Transition when you finish most list with "TO" - If you enter add "TO" to the end of most lines, the line will change to a Transition line. Deselecting this option will require you to assign the line type manually.
Character when you write just a character's name - In a character line, if you begin to type a character's name you have used previously, it will show the character name as an option. Deselecting this option will require you to enter the name manually.
Dialogue when you finish a Character line with ":" - If you enter a colon at the end of a character name, it will generate a Dialogue line just beneath the Character line. Deselecting this option will require you to assign the line type manually.

Shortcuts

Ctrl/Cmd shortcuts - When enabled, keyboard shortcuts for changing line type will appear by pressing Ctrl/Cmd.
Option/Alt shortcuts - Off by default to allow for easier use of accent mark shortcuts. Turn back on to allow for faster use of a number of cool shortcuts. See Keyboard Shortcuts for more.
Cmd+number - When enabled, pressing Cmd+number will make the line the desired line type based on the shortcut associated with the line type.
New line via line type shortcuts (hold Option to invert) - When enabled, this will create a new line of the desired line type based on the shortcut used. Pressing Option/Alt with the Ctrl/Cmd+number shortcut will change the line type of the line your cursor is currently in.
New line via line type icons (hold Option to invert) - When enabled, this will create a new line of the desired line type based on the line type icon selected from the menu. Pressing Option/Alt while selecting the line type icon will change the line type of the line your cursor is currently in.