Who ends up importing Word scripts
Plenty of short films, student projects, and commercial boards never touch screenwriting software. The writer drafted in Word, or in Google Docs and downloaded a copy, and the formatting is close to screenplay style without being exact. Storiara's Word import is built for that file. It ignores styles entirely and looks at the words, line by line.
What comes across from a .docx
Storiara extracts the raw text of the document, one paragraph per line, and cleans up the spacing. From there the same scene rules apply as for any script:
- A line becomes a new scene when it starts with INT, EXT, EST, I/E, or INT/EXT. A scene number in front, like "12. INT. KITCHEN - DAY", is fine.
- INT or EXT and the set name come from that scene heading.
- The scene is marked Night if the heading contains NIGHT, EVENING, DUSK, or MIDNIGHT, and Day otherwise.
After the scenes are split, the AI pass writes a short description for each and pulls characters, extras, locations, props, wardrobe, vehicles and animals, makeup and hair, and music and effects into the planning pages.
Because Word files have no fixed page layout, Storiara builds a screenplay-style PDF from the text (Courier 12 pt, one-inch margins, letter size) and shows that PDF in the Script & Breakdown View. Page numbers and page eighths are measured on it.
What doesn't come across
Word styles, bold, italics, comments, and page breaks you set by hand are all dropped. So is anything that only makes sense visually, such as a two-column AV layout, because the importer reads text in order and doesn't rebuild columns.
Scene numbers in the document are not kept as scene numbers either. Storiara numbers scenes in the order they appear.
Importing a Word script
- Save the script as .docx. In Word, older .doc files need Save As first. From Google Docs, download the file as Microsoft Word (.docx).
- Go to My Stories and click Create Your Story.
- On the Scripted Content card, click Upload Script (.pdf, .docx) and choose the file.
- When DOCX Processed Successfully appears, click Analyze.
- Review Title, Genre, and Tags on Approve Story Details, then click Approve & Continue.
The progress banner then tracks scenes, locations, cast, and the rest of the breakdown as they come in. How to import a script has the same flow with every error message explained.
Formatting that helps the import
You don't need perfect screenplay formatting, but a few habits make the scene split clean. Put each heading on its own line and start it with INT. or EXT. Headings written as "Scene 4: Kitchen" or "Kitchen, day" won't be recognized. Keep character names on their own lines above dialogue, which also helps the character pass. And avoid putting the script inside a table, since table text can come out in an order you didn't expect.
Limits
- .docx only. Plain .txt scripts and old .doc files are refused as an unsupported file type.
- Up to 1,000,000 characters of text.
- Import only. There is no export to Word, and edits in Storiara don't change your file.
- A revised draft goes in as a new script version from the story's Edit dialog, which re-pulls pulled items. The switch is blocked once anything is on the stripboard, a scene has shots, or a hand-added item is linked to a current scene.
Troubleshooting
- If you get "No Scene Headings Detected", open the document and search for "INT." If nothing turns up, your headings use a different style. Retype a few and upload again, or continue and add scenes on the Scenes page.
- "DOCX Text Too Short" means Word saved little or no readable text. That happens when pages were pasted in as images. Replace them with real text and save again.
- Pages that look nothing like your Word document are expected. Storiara reflows the text into Courier. If the page count has to match a printed script, export a PDF instead and read the PDF import page.
- A file that fails with "DOCX Processing Failed" may be password protected or damaged. Open it in Word, save a fresh .docx copy, and try that.