# How to Break Down a Script in Final Draft 13 Using Tags

Source: https://storiara.com/blog/how-to-break-down-a-script-in-final-draft
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Nick Harty, Storiara

> To break down a script in Final Draft 13, number the scenes with Production > Scene Numbers, turn on Production > Tags Mode, highlight each element and pick a category (Tag for this scene, Tag All for every instance), link recurring items to characters in the Tags Navigator, then run Tools > Reports > Tags Reports by scene or by tag. Final Draft has no stripboard, so scheduling happens in another program.

Menu paths below come from the Final Draft 13 user guide for Mac, which Final Draft publishes on its installers and manuals page. The Windows guide covers the same features; menu locations can differ slightly, so check it if you're on a PC.

## Before tagging: number and lock

Tag the production draft, the one that will have scene numbers and locked pages. Two things need to happen first.

Number the scenes. Final Draft doesn't number scenes as you write, and the manual recommends against numbers on a spec script. Go to Production > Scene Numbers, check Number/Renumber, and click OK. Once numbers exist, any later numbering pass should have Keep Existing Numbers checked, so a scene inserted after 28 becomes 28A instead of pushing everything down. Our [scene numbering rules](https://storiara.com/blog/scene-numbering-rules) post covers the edge cases.

Lock the pages. Production > Lock Pages freezes pagination, and Final Draft asks whether to turn on Revision Mode at the same time (the manual recommends yes). Tagging doesn't depend on locked pages, but the Tags report by tag lists page numbers, and those numbers only stay useful if pages don't reflow.

Save a copy before you start, named something like "LOW WATER WHITE TAGGED.fdx". Tags live in the script file, so the tagged file and the writers' file will drift apart the moment someone revises.

## Tagging your first element

1. Choose Production > Tags Mode.
2. Highlight the word or phrase, for example "winch strap".
3. In the tagging window, choose a category from the dropdown (Props).
4. The highlighted text becomes the tag name by default. To rename it, type in the Tag As field, for example "WINCH STRAP (HERO)".
5. Click Tag to tag it in this scene only, or Tag All to tag every instance in the script.
6. Click OK on the confirmation.

The tagged text now shows in the category's color. When you leave Tags Mode it goes back to normal script color, and the colors return when you switch Tags Mode on again.

## When Tag All misses things

Tag All is a text match. The manual's sample script shows the problem: after tagging "GOLD KEY" as a prop with Tag All, the script still calls it "key" on page 9, and those mentions stay untagged. The fix is to highlight "key", then pick GOLD KEY from the list of existing tags (the Reuse an Existing Tag field) and click Tag All. Now both spellings point at one prop.

Writers vary names constantly. In a single script you'll see "the pickup", "Dad's truck", and "the Ford" for one picture vehicle. Before tagging vehicles and props, skim the script and list the variants on a notepad, then reuse the same tag for each. Otherwise the Tags report shows three trucks, and the transportation coordinator prices three trucks.

Tag All also can't tag what isn't written. A character who "reads the text" has a phone. Add implied items from the Tags Navigator (below) with a plus in the scene's tag list, and name them clearly, like "TESS PHONE (implied)".

## Linking items to a character

Some items travel with a character: a wedding ring, a sidearm, a cane. Final Draft can attach a tag to a character so it appears wherever they do.

1. Open Tools > Show Navigator and use a Script tab (click the Tags icon at its upper left).
2. Set the right-hand list to All Tags and double-click the character.
3. Click the plus icon, choose the item (for example HAL CANE), and click OK.
4. Choose Production > Tag All Characters.

From then on, the Navigator and reports show the cane in every scene where Hal appears. Tag All Characters also scans for speaking characters and tags them as cast members, so run it again whenever you add links.

If Hal doesn't have the cane in one scene (a flashback, say), select that scene in the Tags Navigator, pick the tag, click the minus sign, and choose to remove it from this scene only.

## Setting up categories to match your breakdown sheet

The Categories window in the Tags Navigator starts with a standard set of production categories. Make it match the [breakdown sheet](https://storiara.com/glossary/breakdown-sheet) your office uses before you tag anything.

- To add a category, click the plus at the bottom left of the Categories window, name it (for example "Minors" or "Intimacy"), choose a text color, highlight, and style, and click Add.
- To edit one, double-click it and change the name, color, highlight, or style. This is where you'd set props to purple and stunts to orange to match the [breakdown color codes](https://storiara.com/blog/script-breakdown-color-codes).
- To remove one, select it and click minus. Final Draft shows every tag that will be deleted with the category, so read that list before confirming.
- To reuse a setup, click the arrow next to the Categories label and import from another tagged script or template. The imported set overwrites all categories in the open script and can't be undone, so do this before tagging, never after.

## A tagged scene

Here's scene 23 from a fictional feature, tagged in Final Draft with a customized category set. Category in brackets:

```
23  EXT. MARINA BOAT RAMP - NIGHT                          23

    Rain [SFX: RAIN TOWERS]. TESS [Cast] backs her father's
    pickup [Vehicles: DAD'S FORD] down the ramp, trailer
    hitched [Vehicles: BOAT TRAILER]. Two DOCKHANDS
    [Background: DOCKHANDS x2] in slickers [Wardrobe].

    Tess slips on the wet ramp [Stunts: TESS SLIP].
    The winch strap [Props: WINCH STRAP (HERO)] snaps
    [SFX: STRAP SNAP RIG].
```

Note the tag names. "DOCKHANDS x2" carries the count, since Final Draft's report counts how often a tag is mentioned and has no idea how many people that means. "DAD'S FORD" is the name every scene uses no matter what the action line calls it.

## Reading the results

The Tags Navigator's Scenes table can show any tag or category as a column. Open the column picker at the upper right and check, say, the Props category and the DAD'S FORD tag. The DAD'S FORD column shows how many times the truck is mentioned in each scene, and the Props column shows every scene containing a tagged prop.

For paper, go to Tools > Reports > Tags Reports:

| Report | What it lists | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| By Scene | Every scene and all tags in it, with categories | A stand-in for breakdown sheets, scene by scene |
| By Tag | Every tag by category, with page numbers and optionally scene headings | Department lists: props, vehicles, wardrobe |
| Scene Report (with tags option) | Scene number, location, time of day, page number, page length, plus tags | A rough one-liner with elements attached |

The manual notes that report formats can't be changed, but the output can be edited, saved, and printed. I export By Tag, clean it in a spreadsheet, and hand each department its section.

## Where Final Draft stops

Final Draft is a writing program with a good tagging layer. It doesn't have breakdown sheets with header fields like script day, a [stripboard](https://storiara.com/glossary/stripboard), a day out of days, or budgeting. For those you move the script into scheduling software. The manual says Movie Magic Scheduling 5 and later import .fdx files directly, and File > Export > Scheduling Export (.sex) produces a file for EP Scheduling.

Storiara imports .fdx files as well (along with PDF and Word) and runs its own element extraction on the script text, which you then review in the Script & Breakdown View. Compare what it pulled against your Tags report instead of assuming the two lists match. The [Final Draft integration page](https://storiara.com/integrations/final-draft) explains what the import covers.

## Keeping tags alive through revisions

Tags sit in the file, so they survive revisions made in that file. Problems come from parallel copies. If the writers revise in their own .fdx and send new pages, your tagged copy doesn't have those changes. Two ways to handle it:

- Make revisions in the tagged file. Writers work in Revision Mode, and tags stay put. This works on small productions where one person controls the file.
- Retag revised pages only. When blue pages arrive, open the tagged file, apply the changes, and tag just the asterisked lines. The [script revision colors](https://storiara.com/blog/script-revision-colors) post covers how to read a revision set for breakdown changes.

Final Draft 13 is a paid program. On its pricing page when I checked in September 2026, the personal license listed at $249.99 and the educational edition at $129.99, both shown with sale prices at the time. Students on a budget should read our roundup of [free film production software for students](https://storiara.com/blog/free-film-production-software-for-students).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Final Draft do script breakdowns?

Final Draft 13 has a tagging system for breakdowns: Tags Mode, customizable tag categories, the Tags Navigator, and Tags reports by scene or by tag. It doesn't produce breakdown sheets in the traditional form, a stripboard, or a schedule.

### Where is Tags Mode in Final Draft?

Under the Production menu. Choose Production > Tags Mode, highlight text, and the tagging window opens. Choosing it again turns Tags Mode off, and tagged text goes back to the normal script color until you turn it on again.

### Does Tag All catch every mention of a prop?

Only exact matches of the text you tagged. The Final Draft 13 manual's own sample shows a prop tagged under its full name while shorter mentions of the same object stay untagged until you tag them and point them at the existing tag.

### Can I send a Final Draft breakdown to Movie Magic Scheduling?

The Final Draft 13 manual says Movie Magic Scheduling 5 and later can import .fdx files directly, and File > Export also offers a Scheduling Export (.sex) format for EP Scheduling.

### How do I see all tagged props in Final Draft?

Go to Tools > Reports > Tags Reports. By Scene lists every scene with its tags and categories. By Tag lists every tag by category with the page numbers where it appears, and can include the scene headings.

## Sources

- [Final Draft 13 User Guide (Mac): Production menu, Reports, Tagging](https://www.finaldraft.com/downloads/manuals/fd13-user-guide-mac-exported.pdf)
- [Final Draft 13 User Guide (Windows)](https://www.finaldraft.com/downloads/manuals/fd13-user-guide-win-exported.pdf)
- [Final Draft pricing](https://www.finaldraft.com/pricing/)