In Slugline 1.2.0, we changed a lot under the hood in order to increase performance and pave the way for some exciting new features. In the process, we broke a few things. So instead of a stand-up-fight, this release is...

Another Bug Hunt

Slugline 1.2.1 is available now on the App Store. Here’s what we fixed:

• Accent marks once again work the way they they shüd.
• We fixed a bug introduced in 1.2.0 where Cut and Paste would stop working and beep at you annoyingly. Then we fixed another.
• Centered text once again correctly previews and prints with any styling you may have applied (bold, italics, underlining).
• Slugline once again remembers where you last were in your screenplay when you re-open it.
• Whole-line Notes and Omits are once again removed from Preview and Print without leaving any telltale whitespace.
• Kerning is now prettier in the Outline Panel.
• Preview performance improvements.
• Pasting text into the PDF name field works once again.
• We’ve improved the accuracy of margins when printing.
• Scroll bars are now prettier always.
• Page break lines are drawn more accurately in Edit mode.
• Slugline now warns you if you try to open a document with incompatible text encoding.

A double feature of Speed and Heat

We’re sorry to report that Slugline no longer turns your laptop into a convenient space heater.

In the name of increased performance, Slugline 1.2 was a bit too hungry for power. We reduced power consumption considerably in this update, and we’d like to make further improvements in this area. If you have feedback on Slugline’s power usage, please let us know!

Title Pages

Title Page elements can once again contain “empty” lines. This is accomplished by putting at least two spaces on the line that you wish to appear blank. In the below example, the Title and Contact values each contain one of these “bridging” lines that contains spaces, but appears blank in print.

Title:
  TIME SHARK IN FRANCE

  THIS TIME IT’S FIN
Contact:
  Steve Z.
  Aquatic Dreams Productions

  14 Marina Boulevard

We’ve also simplified the default Title Page that gets created when you choose Format → Add Title Page. We’ve omitted the “Credit” field, because it was leading to some confusion. If you want an accreditation other than the default “by”, you can add back the credit field by copy/pasting this example:

Title: TIME SHARK 3: SHARK AROUND THE CLOCK
Credit: written underwater by
Author: Steve Z.

Got questions about creating more complex Title Pages? This post can help.

New Shortcuts for Converting Elements

We can never resist adding a few features too.

• Use ⌘. to convert an element to a Scene Heading.
• Use ⇧⌘. to convert an element to a Transition.

More to Come

I know I say this a lot, but there are some really exciting things coming for Slugline. Stay tuned!

We get some of the kindest and most thoughtful reviews on the App Store, for which we are beyond grateful. Each new release provides a blank canvas for these reviews, so if you’re feeling the love, please help spread the word about Slugline!

Try this. Open TextEdit (it comes free with your Mac), or any other text editor. Or use the Notes app on your iPhone or iPad.

Now start writing a screenplay.

Don't worry about formatting, just type the text of the story you have in mind.

Chances are, you’d end up something that looks like this:

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That text looks kinda like a screenplay. Enough that anyone could read it and get the right idea.

Wanna know a secret?

You just wrote in Fountain, the plain-text format that Slugline uses.

Save that file as a plain text file (.txt), and open it in Slugline. It will look like this:

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That's the same file. Slugline hasn't changed it at all. It just infers the correct formatting from the text, and displays it with proper screenplay margins.

The golden rule of Fountain is that it’s plain text that reads like a screenplay.

And an interesting byproduct of that is the Dirty Secret of Slugline:

Slugline is the first screenwriting app that doesn’t require itself.

In other words, you can start writing your screenplay today, without Slugline, using any app that makes text.

Don’t feel like buying Slugline yet? Fine. Get writing anyway. We’ll be here when you’re ready.

It’s Christmas, Theo, it’s the time of miracles!

Slugline 1.2 is available now on the App Store. This is a major performance and maintenance update — we changed everything, then made it look like we changed very little.

Speed

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.

“I’ve Scene Numbers you people wouldn’t believe.”

If your screenplay has Fountain scene numbers, Slugline now recognizes them and prints them correctly.

Fountain Scene Numbers look like this:

INT. THE NAKATOMI BUILDING (LOS ANGELES) - EVENING #7#

Slugline shows you that it’s recognized a Scene Number by displaying it in light gray as you write. Scene Numbers also appear in the Outline View. When you Preview or Print, they appear in the margins alongside your Scene Headings.

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Big

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.

Bad

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.

And Less Ugly

• 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. The End.

This major update is just the beginning of yet more awesome stuff we have coming your way, so if you didn't get your Christmas wish in 1.2, please stick with us — we value your feedback, and we want the same things you do.

Speaking of feedback, we are always grateful for your positive reviews on the App Store. Thanks for writing with Slugline!