How to import a script

Storiara builds a story from one script file. It accepts PDF, Word (.docx), and Final Draft (.fdx). Fountain, Celtx, Movie Magic, and plain .txt files are refused, so export to one of the three first.

Before you upload

Check two things in the script. Scene headings should start with INT., EXT., or I/E, because that's how Storiara splits scenes. And if it's a PDF, you should be able to select the text in a PDF reader. A scanned PDF is a picture of the page and gives the app nothing to read.

Steps

1. Go to My Stories and click Create Your Story.
2. On the Scripted Content card, click Upload Script (.pdf, .docx) and choose your file, or drag it onto the card. Final Draft files work here too, even though the button doesn't say so.
3. Wait for the confirmation, such as PDF Processed Successfully. If you see No Scene Headings Detected, you can still go on and add scenes by hand later.
4. Click Analyze. Storiara reads the script and suggests a title, genre, and tags.
5. On Approve Story Details, correct the Title, pick or type a Genre, and add Tags by typing each one and pressing Enter.
6. Click Approve & Continue.
7. Watch the progress banner. Scenes come in first, then locations, cast, props and wardrobe, and effects arrive in parallel.

The pull runs on Storiara's servers, so you can move around the app while it works. As soon as scenes exist, the Planning pages, Shotlist, and Schedule unlock.

What to check afterward

Open Scenes and skim the list against your script. Scenes are numbered in script order, starting at 1, so a shooting script with A-scenes won't match number for number. Then open the Script & Breakdown View on the right edge of the screen, which also calculates each scene's length in page eighths. The My Stories guide covers editing the story afterward, and the format pages for PDF and Final Draft explain what each file type keeps.

If it doesn't work

• Create Your Story greyed out usually means your plan's story limit is reached. The free Beginner plan allows one story.
• "Unsupported File Type" means the file isn't .pdf, .docx, or .fdx. Old .doc files need Save As .docx.
• A "Too Large" message (for example "PDF Too Large") means the extracted text passes 1,000,000 characters. Take appendices or reference material out of the file.
• "PDF Text Too Short" almost always means a scan. Export a new PDF from the writing app.
• If Approve & Continue won't click, the Title or Genre field is empty.