Storyboarding and script writing go hand-in-hand. Toon Boom Storyboard Pro allows you to use your Final Draft 7 or 8 script to create a new Storyboard Pro project. This feature is an amazing time saver as it handles the creation of scenes and panels as well as inserting all the text in the proper captions automatically.

Note: Final Draft 8 uses a new file format, an *.fdx, which can be imported directly into the software, as opposed to the older *.fdr, which needs to be exported from Final Draft Tagger to generate an *.xml file. See the last section of this article to learn how to export an *.xml file using Final Draft Tagger.

To import a Final Draft script:

1. In the Top menu, select File > New From Final Draft Script. The Import from Final Draft window opens.
   
   
   
2. Use the Browser button to search for a *.fdx or *.xml file exported from Final Draft. After making a file selection the other options in the window become active.
   
   
3. Select a tag on the left, then choose an item from the Action drop-down menu to assign this action to the selected tag. In the screen shot below, Action is the selected tag. By assigning this tag the action of New Scene, you are asking Storyboard Pro to create a new scene every time it crosses this tag in the *.fdx or *xml script.

4. For the selected tag, decide whether you would like to enable the following two options:


Combine successive elements: This option will combine the selected tag with an identical tag if it occurs successively in the script. For example, you might choose to create a New Panel for every Dialogue tag that appears in the Final Draft script. However, if there are three Dialogue tags in a row, say without a break due to an Action tag, then checking this option will put these three lines of dialogue together in the same Panel.

Include Element Number when available: In a Final Draft script, there are numbers along the right and left margins of the document that indicate a change in scene. By checking this option, you can choose to import these into your Storyboard Pro project.


5. From the Destination caption field drop-down menu, select the location in the Panel window where you would like the text associated with the selected tag to go.

In the example above, Storyboard Pro will take all the text associated with the Action tag in the Final Draft file and put it in the Action Notes section in the Panel window for each new scene that it creates in this project.
6. When you have finished setting up your import parameters, click on the Import button.
7. Now, you will be asked to create your new project. You will be prompted to save changes to your current scene, before it's closed and your new project, generated from your script, is opened.

Final Draft import settings:

For the Import from Final Draft dialog box, below is a list of some sample settings for the most common tags:

• Action: New Panel
• Destination caption field: Action Notes

• Action: none
• Destination caption field: Dialogue

• Action: none
• Enable the Combine successive elements option
• Destination caption field: Dialogue

• Action: New Shot
• Enable the Combine successive elements option
• Destination caption field: Slugging

• Action: New Transition
• Destination caption field: Notes

• Action: none
• Destination caption field: none

Try different settings with your style of script and see what works best for you. Remember to check the Save as default rules check box once you have your settings just right, so that these settings are used as the default for the next time you create your Storyboard Pro project from a Final Draft script.

Exporting your Final Draft 7 script as an XML:

If you're still working with version 7 of Final Draft, you will have to use the Final Draft Tagger to generate the *.xml file needed to use this feature. After you have produced your export, follow the steps detailed in the section above and proceed with the import.

1. Launch the Final Draft Tagger software.
2. Select File > Import Script, the keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[I]. The Import dialog box opens.
3. In the browser, select your script file and click on the Open button. Your script will appear in Final Draft Tagger.

4. Select File > Export to XML.
5. Close the Final Draft Tagger application and proceed to import the *.xml file as in the first section of this article.