Screenwriting software - a recommendation?

I'm getting ready to start writing my first screenplay. Can anyone recommend screenwriting software? I use a Mac. Also, are most screenplays submitted electronically to agents and producers? If so do I need to worry about compatibility issues and people not being able to read my script because they don't have the same screenwriting software as mine? And if this is the wrong forum for such questions can you recommend the proper one? Thanks!
 
The only screenwriting software I can think of for Mac would have to be Storyist. I think there's a version of Celtx for Mac as well, I'm not sure. Final Draft is excellent for both Mac and Windows but would cost you. Yes, it is easier to market your screenplay electronically. You can reach to more agents and producers that way. There's no issue of people using different software to view your screenplay. As long as you export it as a PDF format as long as the reader has Adobe Acrobat Reader, they will be able to read it. Which most people have by the way.
 
FadeIn is fantastic, more stable than Final Draft and costs way less at just $50. It has been used on the new Star Wars films, so it's "industry tested". Celtx is junk these days, stay away. If you want something free, check out KIT Scenarist, which is developed by another member of this forum.
 
I have never experienced instability with Final Draft. It's the one used by industry professionals on LinkedIn film industry groups. Works just fine on my Mac. Screenplays can be exported as pdfs as well as many other industry standard formats. It comes with two licenses. So, if you have more than one computer, you can install a second copy with no extra charge.
 
I have never experienced instability with Final Draft. It's the one used by industry professionals on LinkedIn film industry groups. Works just fine on my Mac. Screenplays can be exported as pdfs as well as many other industry standard formats. It comes with two licenses. So, if you have more than one computer, you can install a second copy with no extra charge.

You're one of the lucky ones. The last stable version I used was 7, but it hurts my eyes to even look at it. I tried it on Mac and Windows over the years and never had much luck. Also, when you print (either to PDF or on paper) they font they use is super light and can be challenging to read. FadeIn lets you use the new Courier Prime font which is better on screens and on page, without jacking up your page count. I never realized how bad the font in FD was until I compared a printed script I wrote in it with a printed script from FadeIn with the new font. Night and day difference.
 
Version 7 is their best version ever. It's a shame they stopped supporting it. I have version 10 on my iMac. The old iMac has version 5. It is stable. I have version 9 on a Windows 8.1 desktop. But, I haven't used it too much on the desktop to make a fair assessment.
 
The problem may be with your printer or the font you choose. HP printers tend to print darker than other bands such as Lexmark.

Try boldfacing the Courier typeface that it uses to simulate the typewriter font. Boldface should come out darker.
 
I agree with the screen page is too small for the body of the screenplay. I go into view and zoom in to 100% to enlarge the print. That helps. Final Draft seems to think those other screens are important enough to shrink down the body of the screenplay.
 
I have nothing against Final Draft, I've written a few features in it, but after using a little of everything (Sophocles, Drama Dog, Celtx, Movie Magic, Trelby, Adobe Story, KIT Scenarist, Final Draft and FadeIn), FadeIn is the cleanest, most stable and easiest on the eyes. These days I use KIT for story development and then write in FadeIn. Both are completely cross platform, which I like since I use Windows, Mac and Linux regularly. There is a certain "status" that you feel when writting with Final Draft, I'll admit that. But until they can rasterize their text better on the screen and update that aweful UI from windows to panels along with a darker theme, I see no reason to keep looking into them. For the indie filmmaker/screenwriter. The funny thing to me is that FadeIn feels like a Ferrari, but Final Draft feels like a VW Bug. Yet FadeIn is only $50 where Final Draft is much more.
 
You're one of the lucky ones. The last stable version I used was 7, but it hurts my eyes to even look at it. I tried it on Mac and Windows over the years and never had much luck. Also, when you print (either to PDF or on paper) they font they use is super light and can be challenging to read. FadeIn lets you use the new Courier Prime font which is better on screens and on page, without jacking up your page count. I never realized how bad the font in FD was until I compared a printed script I wrote in it with a printed script from FadeIn with the new font. Night and day difference.
You can always change the font and use Courier or Courier New instead of Courier Final Draft. I have found if you export your script as a PDF and then print it from Preview, it looks better than printing directly from Final Draft.
 
I've used Final Draft for years, and I love all the new features in version 10.
Celtx used to be a decent free option but try looking at FadeIn for a cheap 'middle ground' of the two.
 
I use WriterSolo, a spin-off of WriterDuet without the collaboration cloud server. I prefer the WriterSolo version because I can still save scripts to my own Dropbox and Google Drive accounts, and did not need the WriterDuet dedicated collaboration cloud server functionality.

WriterSolo has can be accessed via a web browser or installed desktop application.

Amazon Storywriter is free cloud-based option that I also use on occasion.
 
Is this spam? This was an old post to bump.

No, it is not spam, as I have no affiliation with WriterSolo/WriterDuet or Amazon and just started using both tools about two months ago.

As a new member, I wanted to offer my input to this and a few other thread as time permits over the next few days. Although the original poster has more than likely selected his or her screenwriting software by now, I am sure the thread is remains relevant for others, registered or unregistered, who might have the same question and stumbled upon this forum.

If the thread was over a year old, I would not have posted a new message. Going forward, I will refrain from posting comments to any thread that was not started within a few days. However, I have seen posts by other members that transpired several years after the most recent activity and no questions were asked. Therefore, I did not think it would be an issue. My apologies.
 
No worries, spammers these days are sneaky, there's no need to change your method I was just checking. A spammer would not answer me. ;)
 
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