Scriptae User Manual

01Welcome to Scriptae

Scriptae is a writing studio for screenplays, television scripts, A/V scripts and prose (novels, short stories, memoir and nonfiction). It runs in your web browser at https://sumofilmmaker.foureyedsumo.com/studio — there is nothing to install.

Your work saves to the cloud, so you can sign in from any computer and pick up where you left off. Scriptae also keeps a copy in your browser, so you can keep writing if the connection drops; it catches up when you are back online.

Who uses Scriptae

How to use this manual: everyone should read Getting started, Projects, Writing in the editor and Exporting. Then jump to the section for your role.

02Getting started

Signing in

1. Go to https://sumofilmmaker.foureyedsumo.com/studio.
2. Enter your email or username and your password.
3. Click Sign in.

If your teacher reset your password, Scriptae asks you to choose a new one the first time you sign in. Passwords must be at least 8 characters.

Creating an account

The sign-in screen has a link for each kind of account:

• New student? Join a class — enter the six-character class code from your teacher, your name, email and a password.
• I'm a teacher — enter your details and the teacher code the site owner gave you. (If paid teacher plans are turned on, you can subscribe instead of using a code.)
• Writing on your own? — appears only when individual plans are available.

Your account menu

From the projects page you can change your password, open Preferences & Accessibility, switch between light and dark mode, and Sign out. Always sign out on shared or school computers.

Saving

Scriptae saves as you type. The badge in the top bar shows the state: Saved to cloud means everything is safe on the server. If it shows changes waiting, keep the tab open until it changes back, or click Save / Sync now.

03Projects

After you sign in you land on the Projects page, the home base for all your work. It lists your projects, most recently edited first, with search to find one quickly.

Starting a new project

1. Click New project.
2. Choose a template:

3. Give it a title and click Create. The editor opens.

Script templates use industry screenplay formatting (Courier 12 pt, standard margins). Prose templates open the book editor with chapters and sections.

Importing an existing script

Use Import Script to bring in work from another program:

• FDX (Final Draft) — keeps screenplay element types most reliably.
• DOCX (Word) — reads paragraphs and guesses the element types.
• PDF — rebuilds text-based PDFs from page positions. Scanned PDFs (pictures of pages) can't be read.

Scriptae shows a Review detected screenplay elements screen so you can fix any line it classed wrongly before importing. Check the title-page fields (Title, Written by, Contact) too.

Opening, renaming and deleting

• Click a project card to open it.
• Use the project's menu to rename, duplicate or delete it.
• Download my projects saves a copy of all your work to your computer — a good habit before the end of a term.

04Writing in the editor

The screen at a glance

• Top bar: ← Projects (back to your list), Tools, Export, the save badge, Save, and the light/dark switch.
• Left panel — Scenes: every scene in order. Click one to jump to it; + Scene adds a new one.
• Centre — the page: where you write.
• Right panel — Inspector: the title page and production settings.
• Status bar: word count and scene count.

Screenplay elements

Each line of a script is an element: Scene Heading, Action, Character, Parenthetical, Dialogue, Transition, Shot and General. The element menu in the toolbar shows the current one.

Use the Character extension menu for (V.O.), (O.S.) and (CONT'D). Scene headings follow the pattern INT./EXT. LOCATION – TIME; Scriptae fills in locations and times you've used before.

The title page

In the Inspector, fill in Title, Written by, Contact and the Draft colour. These print on the cover page when you export.

Tools menu

Views

Switch between Normal, Page and Speed view, open the Beat Board or Index Cards, split the screen, or turn on Focus Mode to hide everything but the page.

Prose projects

Novels, stories and nonfiction open in the book editor: chapters and sections in the left panel, normal paragraph formatting (bold, italic, headings), word-count targets and section progress.

Preferences & Accessibility

Choose the editor font and size, high contrast, interface size, reduced motion and light/dark/system theme. Click Save preferences; Reset defaults undoes them.

If two copies disagree

If you edited the same project on two devices while offline, the Conflict Resolution Centre opens. Compare the versions and keep the one you want (or Use All Saved Version). Nothing is thrown away until you choose.

05Exporting and printing

Click Export in the top bar.

Reports from the Reports Center (scenes, characters, locations, breakdowns) download as text files. Prose projects print the same way, with chapter breaks on new pages.

Tip: export a PDF before handing in, so you have your own copy of exactly what you submitted.

06For students

Joining your class

1. Get the six-character class code from your teacher.
2. On the sign-in screen click New student? Join a class, enter the code and create your account.
3. Already have an account? Go to My classes → Join another class and enter the new code.

If Scriptae says the class isn't accepting new students, ask your teacher to turn Accepting new students back on or give you a new code.

Finding assignments

Open My classes. Each class lists the assignments your teacher posted, with instructions and the due date. An assignment you've already submitted shows Handed in ✓.

Handing in work

1. Open the project you want to submit.
2. Click Hand in in the top bar (or on the project card).
3. Pick the class and the assignment (or No specific assignment).
4. Add a note to your teacher if you like, then click Hand in.

Scriptae saves first, then sends your teacher a snapshot of the project as it is right now. You can keep writing afterward — later changes don't alter what you handed in. To submit an updated version, hand it in again.

Reading feedback

Open My hand-ins to see every submission and its status:

Good habits

• Check that the badge says Saved to cloud before you close the tab.
• Use Version History to take a snapshot before big rewrites.
• Sign out on school computers.

07For teachers: the Classroom

Open Classroom from the projects page. Teachers can also write their own projects like anyone else.

Creating a class

1. Click New class, type a name (for example Film II – Period 3) and click Create class.
2. Scriptae gives the class a six-character class code. Click Copy and share it with students (board, LMS, email).
3. Leave Accepting new students on while students join. Turn it off once everyone is in, so the code can't be passed around.
4. If a code leaks, click New code. The old code stops working; students already in the class stay in.

Posting assignments

In the class, fill in the Assignment title, Instructions and an optional Due date, then click Post assignment. Students see it straight away under My classes.

Reviewing hand-ins

1. Open the class and go to Hand-ins. Tick Only show work waiting for review to see what's new.
2. Click a submission to read it exactly as the student handed it in. Click Print for a paper or PDF copy.
3. Write Teacher feedback and an optional Grade.
4. Click Save feedback (marks it Reviewed) or Return for revision (asks the student to resubmit).

Managing students

The Students tab lists everyone in the class and when they last saved. From here you can:

• Reset password — gives the student a temporary password; they choose a new one at next sign-in.
• Remove a student from the class.

Ending a term

Archive class hides the class and closes it to new students but keeps all hand-ins and feedback. Remind students to use Download my projects if they'll lose access.

Notes

Private teacher notes on a submission are visible only to you. Students never pay; their access comes through your class.

08For the owner (site administrator)

The owner account is the first teacher account created with the owner code. The owner code is shown once by the server's setup check and is kept in the server's private storage folder — never share it publicly or put it in documents. Anyone who signs up with it becomes a teacher on your site.

Adding teachers

Give a teacher the teacher code privately. They click I'm a teacher on the sign-in screen and enter it. If paid teacher plans are turned on, teachers can subscribe instead.

The owner menu

Open the owner menu from the projects page and choose Accounts. It lists everyone who can sign in to this Scriptae site, with search and filters for Teachers, Students and Individual writers. Each row shows the account type, access, when they joined and when they last saved.

Access labels you'll see: Owner, Free (given by you), Not paying, Student — class active and Student — no class.

Backups

• Download a full backup at least monthly and before any update.
• The hosting account can also run a nightly database backup (see the server README).

Updating the site

Upload the new Scriptae package to the server and unzip it over the old one. Your settings file, storage folder and database are left as they are.

09Plans and payments

Payments are optional and are off unless the owner turns them on. While they are off, people join only with a code: students with a class code, teachers with the teacher code.

When payments are on (handled securely by Stripe — Scriptae never sees card numbers):

Subscription & billing in your account menu opens Stripe's billing page, where you can change your card, switch between monthly and yearly, or cancel.

If access lapses (a payment fails, a plan is cancelled, or a student's class is archived), Scriptae shows an access screen instead of your projects. Your work is not deleted: you can still click Download my projects, pay or re-subscribe, or (students) enter a new class code. If you just paid, wait a minute and click to check again.

10Troubleshooting and FAQ

Can I use Scriptae on a tablet or phone? Yes, in a modern browser, though a keyboard makes screenwriting much faster.

Does handing in lock my project? No. Your teacher gets a snapshot; you keep editing your own copy.

Who can see my work? You, and — for work you hand in — your teacher. The site owner can make full backups for safekeeping.

Need help? Ask your teacher. Teachers can contact the Studio owner.