Does anyone here use Final Draft 9? They are doing a promotion for Scrivener users, so FD9 is USD99.00 instead of the usual USD249.99 until 18 Oct 2014. That just piqued my curiosity, especially as FD9 also has index cards, which are of interest to me.

http://store.finaldraft.com/final-draft-9.html/

My question is: how amenable is FD9 to other types of writing (non-finction, academic prose etc.), as opposed to script writing, for which it is marketed?

I used it several versions and numerous years ago. I seem to remember that it then had a "novel" mode - which to me half-defeated its original purpose, and turned it into an expensive text editor. But - if that's still the case - it may be of interest to you. I seem to remember that the index cards were then relatively crude. (Of course its selling point then, even more than now, was its scripting mode, which then was if not unique, quite rare, saved a lot of time and was what you paid for.)

Dr Andus wrote:

They are doing a promotion for
Scrivener users, so FD9 is USD99.00 instead of the usual USD249.99
until 18 Oct 2014.
http://store.finaldraft.com/final-draft-9.html/

Thanks for this. I see that FD9 is bundled with a Scrivener license, but I don't see the offer for existing Scrivener users. I may be missing something, or the offer may only be available in selected countries.

@Hugh

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm a bit too busy to trial it just now, but I guess I'll just have to take v. 9 for a test drive before the deal expires on Saturday...

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

Thanks for this. I see that FD9 is bundled with a Scrivener license, but
I don't see the offer for existing Scrivener users. I may be missing
something, or the offer may only be available in selected countries.

There is a special link in an email sent to existing Scrivener and Scapple users this morning. So if you're one, check your email and click on it, and it somehow inserts the discount when you land on the above page. I can't tell if it's a personalised link (it's a bit.ly address) - but it does sound like the promotion might be tied to ownership of those two software (it's a pretty massive discount, so I'd presume so).

If index card apps are of interest to you, Dr A., here is a list: http://list.ly/list/Eum-index-card-apps (Story O, listed there, is another wannabe-scriptwriter's tool, but is significantly cheaper than FD, has just been upgraded, and its index cards work OK.)

Thanks for that, Hugh!

Hugh wrote:

If index card apps are of interest to you, Dr A., here is a list:
http://list.ly/list/Eum-index-card-apps (Story O, listed there, is
another wannabe-scriptwriter's tool, but is significantly cheaper than
FD, has just been upgraded, and its index cards work OK.)

Dr Andus wrote:

There is a special link in an email sent to existing Scrivener and
Scapple users this morning. So if you're one, check your email and click
on it, and it somehow inserts the discount when you land on the above
page.

Thanks; I found it my overzealous spam box!


Hugh wrote:

If index card apps are of interest to you, Dr A., here is a list:
http://list.ly/list/Eum-index-card-apps

Webroot antispyware gave me a stong warning for the site, but all seems to be OK.

I wonder if any of these index card programmes also fall into the Zettelkasten software category http://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/5298/0/zettelkasten-software
I understand that most are oriented to brainstorming/structuring/writing but if 'ideas' notes can include 'facts' then the Zettelkasten paradigm is just a sideways step.

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

I wonder if any of these index card programmes also fall into the
Zettelkasten software category
http://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/5298/0/zettelkasten-software

I understand that most are oriented to brainstorming/structuring/writing
but if 'ideas' notes can include 'facts' then the Zettelkasten paradigm
is just a sideways step.

The proof of that would be how they would handle thousands of index cards. It seems to me that most of these index card software focus on dealing with a single writing project, so they are more like the equivalent of a physical corkboard or a large table (or a small box) with a manageable number of cards.

Zettelkasten software in contrast would be like the equivalent of a massive filing cabinet full of thousands of index cards.

Dr Andus wrote:

Zettelkasten software in contrast would be like the equivalent of a
massive filing cabinet full of thousands of index cards.

... with an accompanying library catalogue system (I should have added).

like this one here, by the Master himself :-)

http://youtu.be/qRSCKSPMuDc?t=37m27s

Dr Andus wrote:

Dr Andus wrote:
>Zettelkasten software in contrast would be like the equivalent of a
>massive filing cabinet full of thousands of index cards.

... with an accompanying library catalogue system (I should have added).

Hugh wrote:

I used it several versions and numerous years ago. I seem to remember
that it then had a "novel" mode - which to me half-defeated its original
purpose, and turned it into an expensive text editor.

I did try it out and now I see what you meant. The index card features only work if you're willing to stick with the scriptwriting mode, which is too limiting for my purposes.

There is some criticism out there saying FD has been complacent, as the industry leader, and that not much has changed for several versions. I can see why. I was barely able to install it (cdintf400.dll missing). The interface is clumsy and dated, and in some of my monitors the software would struggle to render the lines and pages as I was scrolling.

Otherwise the index card feature is neat. Too bad they didn't extend it to all the other non-script templates they provide. I won't be buying it.


Hugh wrote:

(Story O, listed there, is
another wannabe-scriptwriter's tool, but is significantly cheaper than
FD, has just been upgraded, and its index cards work OK.)

Thanks for the suggestion. First time I looked at their site I was put off by the childish feel of it but upon second look the timeline and the index card features look interesting, so I might take it for a test drive.