The highest-rated screenwiting app on the Mac App Store comes to iOS! Slugline is a minimal, distraction-free environment for the most important part of screenwriting—the writing part.
- You can also open Fountain (or.highland) screenplays in Slugline from any location in the Files app, and Slugline will edit them in place. We also found a few ways we could be more resilient to funky conditions with Dropbox and iCloud sync. Slugline for Mac requires macOS 10.11 or later. Slugline for iOS requires iOS 10 or later.
- Sync up your work in iCloud or Dropbox so that you can work on them from any device, anywhere, anytime. Slugline; Writing a movie script or screenplay? Go for one of the best writing apps for Mac named Slugline. It is a simple and elegant writing application for Mac and iOS systems.
“Slugline is outrageously, life-changingly excellent.” – Neil Cross, Emmy nominated writer of Mama and Luther Slugline is a minimal, distraction-free environment for the most important part of screenwriting—the writing part. Slugline works with plain text.
It automatically turns your writing into a properly formatted screenplay, without you ever needing to press the Tab key or touch the mouse. Just writing. Slugline 1.3.1 is all about performance, Undo, and performance. And performance.
Here’s what’s new: ⋮ Performance! Slugline scrolls smoother and keeps up with your typing better, even on very large, complex documents. ⋮ Performance! Slugline should be less greedy with your laptop’s battery.
⋮ Undo now un-does blocks of typing, rather than one letter at a time. Plus some little tweaks: ⋮ Typing the @ symbol, the trick for forcing a Character element, now brings up an auto-complete menu of any forced Characters already in your screenplay. ⋮ After pressing Return to choose a Scene Heading prefix (INT, EXT, etc.) from the auto-complete menu, the cursor now remains on the line, so you can keep typing your Scene Heading. And some bug fixes: ⋮ Undo-ing the creation of a Character/Dialogue pair no longer inserts random garbage into your screenplay. “That’s my job,” you joked, but, hey, take it easy on yourself. That kind of self-doubt adds up. ⋮ We fixed a potential memory leak.
⋮ When reverting to a saved document, the “Loading” spinner should go away now, rather than stay there for four to eight years. ⋮ And (most recently), fixed some compatibility issues with High Sierra that were causing crashes around parentheticals. Each new update provides a blank canvas for your generous reviews. We are always grateful when you share your feedback with us, either here or at slugline.co/contact. Happy writing!. 1.3.0 Mar 16, 2017.
Slugline 1.3 is all about performance, Undo, and performance. And performance. Here’s what’s new: ⋮ Performance! Slugline scrolls smoother and keeps up with your typing better, even on very large, complex documents. ⋮ Performance! Slugline should be less greedy with your laptop’s battery.
⋮ Undo now un-does blocks of typing, rather than one letter at a time. Plus some little tweaks: ⋮ Typing the @ symbol, the trick for forcing a Character element, now brings up an auto-complete menu of any forced Characters already in your screenplay. ⋮ After pressing Return to choose a Scene Heading prefix (INT, EXT, etc.) from the auto-complete menu, the cursor now remains on the line, so you can keep typing your Scene Heading. And some bug fixes: ⋮ Undo-ing the creation of a Character/Dialogue pair no longer inserts random garbage into your screenplay. “That’s my job,” you joked, but, hey, take it easy on yourself. That kind of self-doubt adds up.
⋮ We fixed a potential memory leak. ⋮ When reverting to a saved document, the “Loading” spinner should go away now, rather than stay there for four to eight years.
Each new update provides a blank canvas for your generous reviews. We are always grateful when you share your feedback with us, either here or at slugline.co/contact.
Happy writing!. 1.2.5 Jan 6, 2017.
Slugline 1.2.4 fixes a bug with turning off Bold Scene Headings, corrects a cosmetic issue with scroll bars, and updates the Help documentation. New from Slugline 1.2.3: ⋮ Choose Format - Force Uppercase (Option + Command + K) to convert an entire line to uppercase. ⋮ We greatly improved pagination, fixing a slew of small bugs, and improving handling of widows and orphans. For more details, visit: slugline.co/blog/123 As always, we are grateful when you take the time to rate or or review Slugline!. 1.2.3 Sep 13, 2016. Some important bug fixes, improved pagination, and a handy new feature. New: Choose Format - Force Uppercase (Option + Command + K) to convert an entire line to uppercase.
We’ve greatly improved pagination in this release, fixing a slew of small bugs, and improving handling of widows and orphans. And the bug fixes: ⋮ Less crashing! We fixed a crasher bug where Slugline would helpfully insist that it was time to take a break from writing. ⋮ We fixed two different cases where Dual Dialogue would get scrambled. Don’t everybody thank us at once. ⋮ Outline text is no longer cut off by an “Always visible” scroll bar. For more details, visit: slugline.co/blog/123 We are already hard at work on our next update.
As always, we are grateful when you take the time to rate or or review Slugline!. 1.2.2 Feb 16, 2016. Slugline 1.2 is a major performance and maintenance update. We changed everything, then made it look like we changed very little. The guts of Slugline have been completely reworked.
The result of this major undertaking is dramatically better performance across the entire app, especially with long documents. Slugline should feel tuned up and streamlined, even if you’re writing THE HOBBITAR.
Slugline now supports Scene Numbers! If your screenplay has Fountain scene numbers, Slugline now recognizes them and prints them correctly. For more details on Scene Numbers, visit: slugline.co/blog/120 Changing the on-screen size of your text is now much slicker. The zooming is smoother, with smaller increments. If you don’t like increments, you can pinch-zoom to any size you like using your trackpad (Magic or otherwise).
And the Preview now matches the zoom size you choose for writing. We’ve added a TV Pilot Template!
With act breaks, page breaks, and, well, we based it on the BREAKING BAD pilot, so it has a lot of breaks. Find it under File → New From Template. Other changes: ⋮ Bold, underlined text now prints correctly. ⋮ Creating a Note near the end of the document no longer causes horror. ⋮ Dual Dialogue now previews and prints correctly even when the first dialogue element is longer than the second.
⋮ Smoother transitions in and out of Preview. ⋮ If you open a new screenplay while in full-screen mode, Slugline no longer bumps you out of full-screen mode.
⋮ Home and End keys now do the things they say on them. ⋮ Emoji probably works now.
Please be responsible. ⋮ Centered text works better. This major update is just the beginning of some awesome stuff we have coming your way. As always, we are grateful for your reviews and feedback. Thanks for writing with Slugline!. 1.1.1 Feb 4, 2015. (Still) Back.
Slugline 1.1.1 fixes an issue where the Help menu would just be a jerk sometimes. New Features from Slugline 1.1.0: ⋮ When you turn off Character CONT’Ds in Document Settings, they are now really off, even in Preview and Print.
⋮ Pressing Tab at the end of a Dialogue element adds a Parenthetical to the next line. (Softly.) ⋮ We fixed a rare-but-nasty bug where missing or corrupted system fonts could result in no as-you-type formatting, changing Slugline from a screenwriting app into, well, an app. For more details, visit: slugline.co/blog/110 Other changes: ⋮ You can now search the help documentation! And Slugline’s menus! ⋮ We fixed a rare case where long notes could be truncated in the Outline.
⋮ Arrow keys now nudge the Preview scroll in a soothing, pleasant manner. ⋮ When you start a Character with @, Slugline now offers auto-complete suggestions for other “forced” character names. ⋮ Speaking of forcing Character elements, you can now do that from the context menu.
That's it—for now. Much more to come soon!
As always, we are grateful when you take the time to rate or or review Slugline. 1.1.0 Jan 26, 2015. This update fixes bugs and makes things better and also exists! ⋮ When you turn off Character CONT’Ds in Document Settings, they are now really off, even in Preview and Print.
⋮ Pressing Tab at the end of a Dialogue element adds a Parenthetical to the next line. (Softly.) ⋮ We fixed a rare-but-nasty bug where missing or corrupted system fonts could result in no as-you-type formatting, changing Slugline from a screenwriting app into, well, an app. For more details, visit: slugline.co/blog/110 Other changes: ⋮ You can now search the help documentation! And Slugline’s menus! ⋮ We fixed a rare case where long notes could be truncated in the Outline. ⋮ Arrow keys now nudge the Preview scroll in a soothing, pleasant manner. ⋮ When you start a Character with @, Slugline now offers auto-complete suggestions for other “forced” character names.
⋮ Speaking of forcing Character elements, you can now do that from the context menu. That's it—for now. Much more to come soon! As always, we are grateful when you take the time to rate or review Slugline. 1.0.9 Apr 23, 2014. We’re back, with a big little update! New features: ⋮ See page breaks as you write.
⋮ Automatic (CONT’D) after successive dialogue by the same character. ⋮ Dual Dialogue! Just press ⌘D. Don’t everyone thank us at once. ⋮ Slugline now remembers your cursor position when you save, so you can pick up right where you left off.
For more details, visit: slugline.co/blog/104 Other changes and bug fixes: ⋮ We squashed the bug where hiding Slugline would quit the app. That’s how committed we are to keeping you writing. ⋮ Check Spelling While Typing (those red squiggly underlines) is now On by default. You can toggle this at Edit → Spelling and Grammar → Check Spelling While Typing.
⋮ Character names can now begin with a number. We’re talking to you, Lawrence. ⋮ We've improved Pagination, with more reliable breaks for Dialogue and Action. ⋮ Lower-contrast page color. From now on, writing with sunglasses on is purely an affectation, sorry. ⋮ Uppercase (⌘K) is now smarter.
It can cycle back to where you started, even mixed-case. ⋮ End an uppercase line with a colon, press Return, and Slugline will convert it to a Transition automatically. ⋮ No more auto-capitalization. After an ellipsis. ⋮ Auto-completion for Notes.
Type and Slugline will add the for you. ⋮ Emphasis shortcuts now work with no selection. Press ⌘B with nothing selected, and Slugline will create the asterisks that magically make stuff bold, placing the cursor in between.
As always, it was your awesome feedback that helped shape this update! Never hesitate to drop us a line at slugline.co/contact, or on Twitter at @SluglineApp. 1.0.2 May 10, 2013. We are listening! Your feedback is helping Slugline get better and better.
⋮ Select text in Preview, then switch back to Edit. The flowers are still standing! (And the text remains selected.) Bug fixes: ⋮ Fixes a bug where all text would appear to take on the formatting of a line from earlier in the screenplay. ⋮ Even more super mega fixes the permissions warning bug so that it works with.txt files.
⋮ The return of the Recent Documents list in the Welcome screen. We hope you already have lots. ⋮ Fixes a potential crasher. ⋮ But more importantly, fixes LOTS of typos. 1.0.1 Apr 26, 2013. Slugline 1.3.1 is all about performance, Undo, and performance. And performance.
Here’s what’s new: ⋮ Performance! Slugline scrolls smoother and keeps up with your typing better, even on very large, complex documents.
⋮ Performance! Slugline should be less greedy with your laptop’s battery. ⋮ Undo now un-does blocks of typing, rather than one letter at a time. Plus some little tweaks: ⋮ Typing the @ symbol, the trick for forcing a Character element, now brings up an auto-complete menu of any forced Characters already in your screenplay.
Syncing Screenplays With Slug Line For Mac
⋮ After pressing Return to choose a Scene Heading prefix (INT, EXT, etc.) from the auto-complete menu, the cursor now remains on the line, so you can keep typing your Scene Heading. And some bug fixes: ⋮ Undo-ing the creation of a Character/Dialogue pair no longer inserts random garbage into your screenplay. “That’s my job,” you joked, but, hey, take it easy on yourself.
That kind of self-doubt adds up. ⋮ We fixed a potential memory leak. ⋮ When reverting to a saved document, the “Loading” spinner should go away now, rather than stay there for four to eight years. ⋮ And (most recently), fixed some compatibility issues with High Sierra that were causing crashes around parentheticals.
Each new update provides a blank canvas for your generous reviews. We are always grateful when you share your feedback with us, either here or at slugline.co/contact. Happy writing! IgnatiusJReilly smooth and easy, for the most part I like Slugline a lot, and find that Fountain fits really well into my workflow. For an initial draft of a screenplay, or for smaller pieces, it’s clean and easy to use. It’s no Final Draft, but if you don’t need features like revision tracking, character reports and so on, this will do just fine.
It runs very smoothly and is far more streamlined than Final Draft. And of course it’s like 1/4 the price and doesn’t come with Final Draft’s awful instability, sluggishness and onerous registration system.
One issue: scene heading options, character continued lines and choice of font all have to be set manually for EVERY document separately — instead of there being global Preferences in the app. (There IS a Preference panel, but literally all it is is a dialog box that says “I prefer writing” with a button that says “I agree” — the joke gets old really quick.) Since I wrote this review, Highland (another good Fountain-based screenplay app) has stepped up its game significantly, but I still find Slugline a bit smoother with element recognition and auto-complete. IgnatiusJReilly smooth and easy, for the most part I like Slugline a lot, and find that Fountain fits really well into my workflow. For an initial draft of a screenplay, or for smaller pieces, it’s clean and easy to use.
Reading Screenplays With Slugline For Mac
It’s no Final Draft, but if you don’t need features like revision tracking, character reports and so on, this will do just fine. It runs very smoothly and is far more streamlined than Final Draft. And of course it’s like 1/4 the price and doesn’t come with Final Draft’s awful instability, sluggishness and onerous registration system.
One issue: scene heading options, character continued lines and choice of font all have to be set manually for EVERY document separately — instead of there being global Preferences in the app. (There IS a Preference panel, but literally all it is is a dialog box that says “I prefer writing” with a button that says “I agree” — the joke gets old really quick.) Since I wrote this review, Highland (another good Fountain-based screenplay app) has stepped up its game significantly, but I still find Slugline a bit smoother with element recognition and auto-complete. T1GN How is this rated so high? I’ve been using this for a couple of hours and have to say, this is the most unnessessarily confusing screenwriting app I have ever used. I have been searching for an app tp replace Adobe Story which is an amazing application, and was told Slugline was the way to go. They talk about how intuitive it is but it’s not. I’ve spent the past 45 minutes trying to get a title page formatted properly to no avail.
I followed all of their instructions in their help section but it was in fact not helpful. What would be helpful is if they had video tutorials explaining how to format things because not everything is as easy as type a name in all caps and its recognized as a character. A lot of things are actually poorly explained when written down and the examples are useless, if there were a visual aspect where you’re watching them perform the actions THAT would be actually helpful. T1GN How is this rated so high? I’ve been using this for a couple of hours and have to say, this is the most unnessessarily confusing screenwriting app I have ever used. I have been searching for an app tp replace Adobe Story which is an amazing application, and was told Slugline was the way to go.
They talk about how intuitive it is but it’s not. I’ve spent the past 45 minutes trying to get a title page formatted properly to no avail. I followed all of their instructions in their help section but it was in fact not helpful. What would be helpful is if they had video tutorials explaining how to format things because not everything is as easy as type a name in all caps and its recognized as a character.
A lot of things are actually poorly explained when written down and the examples are useless, if there were a visual aspect where you’re watching them perform the actions THAT would be actually helpful. JavawaIk Love It, Would Recommend; Couple Requests I’ve been using Slugline for maybe three years now, and in those years I’ve had no major qualms with this software. I love Slugline’s simplicity as well as the formatting and outlining capabilities. Adding notes to the script is really easy, and that’s one thing I really appreciate. Although it’s not necessary, I would love a mobile version of the software. Just for easy, on-the-go access in case I don’t have my laptop (which is rare, but it has happened before). Doing this would require Cloud support, which is another thing I would like to request.
Not a huge issue since any script you write you can just drop it in to the Cloud. One last thing: as others have mentioned, an option to number your scenes would be cool. Overall, I love Slugline and would recommend it to any screenwriter. I recently moved to Final Draft just to be acquainted with other screenwriting software; so far it’s nice, but Slugline is definitely an app worth using if you don’t want to spend as much. JavawaIk Love It, Would Recommend; Couple Requests I’ve been using Slugline for maybe three years now, and in those years I’ve had no major qualms with this software. I love Slugline’s simplicity as well as the formatting and outlining capabilities.
Adding notes to the script is really easy, and that’s one thing I really appreciate. Although it’s not necessary, I would love a mobile version of the software.
Just for easy, on-the-go access in case I don’t have my laptop (which is rare, but it has happened before). Doing this would require Cloud support, which is another thing I would like to request.
Not a huge issue since any script you write you can just drop it in to the Cloud. One last thing: as others have mentioned, an option to number your scenes would be cool. Overall, I love Slugline and would recommend it to any screenwriter. I recently moved to Final Draft just to be acquainted with other screenwriting software; so far it’s nice, but Slugline is definitely an app worth using if you don’t want to spend as much.