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File export

Using the Report | Export Report... menu command, StoryLines can currently export linear versions of your project to three kinds of file:

  1. HTML text (extension .htm)
  2. plain text (extension .txt)
  3. OpenOffice.org Writer (extension .sxw)

Choosing your report style carefully allows you to import effectively into screenwriting packages such as Sophocles, preserving styles that would otherwise take you a long time to reapply.

Three export file types may seem limiting, but if you have a copy of OpenOffice you can easily import from StoryLines and then export to further file formats including Microsoft Word, RTF, and StarWriter.

Because StoryLines defines paragraph styles in a similar way to most word processors, it preserves the styles when exporting to OpenOffice.org Writer, and the styles are even preserved if the document is then saved to Microsoft Word. This means that you can easily continue to edit your project in your favourite word processor, applying styles and even having styles automatically change according to context (for example, hitting return after entering text in SL Cue causes the style to change to SL Dialogue).

You can download OpenOffice for free from http://www.openoffice.org, and if you purchased StoryLines on CD-ROM from Julian and Harriet Smart, it should be on your disk. OpenOffice currently runs on Windows and Linux, with a Mac version in development. For some advice about using OpenOffice with StoryLines, please see Editing a StoryLines Document in OpenOffice.

Here are some tips for exporting to packages such as Sophocles and Final Draft.

  1. Edit your report style to capitalise scene headings (edit the SL Scene Heading style);
  2. check 'Enable Scene Auto Heading' in the element styles list;
  3. switch off all extraneous text such as storyline descriptions, storyline names;
  4. export to a text file (Reports | Export Report...);
  5. open or import the file in your screenwriting software.