Need help w/screenplay format in Pages! Please!

I am trying to set up Pages to use indents for stuff like dialogue so it will begin wrapping around before the right margin of the page, but I just have no idea how! The only way I have found to do this is to highlight the dialogue each time and enter the indents into the Inspector window, but this is ridiculous! Can anyone help me? It's really important; I'm a student in a screenwriting class and this is slowing down my work tremendously.

Thanks in advance

Posted on Oct 19, 2005 3:45 AM

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2 replies

Oct 19, 2005 5:06 AM in response to Challis Niles

If I understand you correctly, simply do the following:

1) Type one or more paragraphs you wish to designate as your "dialogue."

2) Highlight the text.

3) Set desired text/paragraph attributes (font face, size, color, indents, etc.)

4) Open the "Styles Drawer" under the View menu.

5) Click on the "boxed plus sign" at the bottom of the drawer to create a new paragraph style and give it an appropriate name (e.g., "Dialogue").

Thereafter, whenever you type text you wish designated as "dialogue," simply apply this style by clicking your newly added name in the styles drawer while your cursor is located somewhere in that paragraph text (or while multiple paragraphs are highlighted).

Oct 19, 2005 8:39 AM in response to Challis Niles

Challis,

Welcome to Apple Discussions.

As Jon pointed out, it's easy to get Pages to do what you want with dialog, shot descriptions, and scene transitions. But what are you going to do when any of these things runs over to the next page?

No word processor automatically inserts "more" or "continued". Youi need a dedicated screenwriting program (like Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter) for that.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but if you hand over a screenplay to an industry decision-maker, and it doesn't include more's and continued's, he or she will assume you don't know what you're doing, and won't give your screenplay a fair chance.

Pages is a terrific program, and I gladly use it for my book manuscript. It's perfect for that. But you can create all the paragraph styles you want, and it still won't format your screenplay the way the industry demands it be formatted.

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Need help w/screenplay format in Pages! Please!

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