Using Final Draft CollaboWriter
February 16, 2009
Since most of my resent day-to-day work has been writing with writing partners, I’ve been using Final Draft’s ‘CollaboWriter’ function. What a genius idea! With this tool, and the use of skype, you can co-write a screenplay with anyone in the world!!! It really is truly marvelous!
I’ve been using Final Draft for five years or so and really do love it. But in using the ‘CollaboWriter’ function I’ve found a load of bugs in the system. It seems crazy that Final Draft hasn’t sorted these out, but here are the problems I encounter:
- In CollaboWriter mode you can’t undo!!!
- No commands work – I’m so used to using short cuts that this takes a while to get used to!
- Can’t change settings – i.e. elements need formatting and revision modes need to be set before hand.
- Randomly changes format… Formatting (Character, Action etc) Stays okay with the person in control but the person watching will have dialogue as action, action as scene headings etc etc…
That aside, the program has really helped me enormously.
Over the last 12 months I’ve been working with three different writing partners. With one, we have to use the program. He’s based out of England and earns his main ‘bread and butter’ as an airline attendant. As a result we have been writing a screenplay with him sitting in different parts of the world each week! My next writing partner, Ms Kathy Fischer, lives just fifteen miles down the road and yet 75% of the time we sit in our respective offices and write using the program. For us we find that it is extremely focusing. When we come up against something that has us stumped I jump in the car and we will work face-to-face to sort it out. But, even then, sitting next to each other, we’ll use CollaboWriter - we’ve just got used to seeing what each other types. And then there is Nick Maggio, with whom I wrote SIN OF MAN which the Willis Brothers are currently taking out. Nick HATES collaboWriter. And I mean HATES!!! He can’t stand me being able to see the words as he types - he gets very self concious. He wants to get his thoughts on a scene down before I can begin to formulate my ideas and punch ups… I’ll write a scene, he’ll write a scene, and then we will go back and review - for me, this way of working is just as fun and productive as using CollaboWriter.
So, Final Draft CollaboWriter might not be for everyone, but it certainly makes my life easier… I just wish they’d sort out some of the bugs.
If anyone else has any experience working with writing partners, or software to aid the process, then feel free to chime in!
Which version of Final Draft are you using? 7 or 8?
I was using 7 for this but I’ve just got 8 from the good people at Final Draft and I’m very much looking forward to testing it out… I’ve been using it a little for writing on my own and it’s got some great new features which I will write about soon.
Tell me, Dick James, what does one do when Collabowriter sucks Dick and refuses to connect.
We first thing that took me a while to work out was the fire wall (both the computer one and the one built into your wireless). The person doing the hosting should try hard wiring to a modem rather than using the wireless. I couldn’t get my wireless to let me through no matter what I did!
Give that a try. Otherwise try disabling your computer firewire and see if it works them… Hummm… what else…
Let me know how you do and if that doesn’t work then I’ll continue thinking
Richard
Final Draft does indeed suck the big one. I have worked with Final Draft, Mac and AT&T personnel on getting my V8 to connect with my writing partner on the west coast. Each says it’s the other’s problem - no-one will own up to the problem. I like Final Draft - but I bought it for the internet connectivity. Now I’m looking for something else.
Is there anyway around the bug of collabowriter showing different formatting between host and client? We’re finding this extremely frustrating and can’t figure out a solution
Looks like an older tread, but I’m trying to get some information on using a MAC to join a windows session. I use win7 and my writing partner a MAC. I’m hosting and have tested my ports and am convinced
that data is getting through, so it’s probably the MAC. He uses a Time Machine router/firewall but I don’t know if MAC or TM closes ports by default.
Anybody else figured this out?
I know that this is an older thread, but it’s the only interesting one that comes up when I google how to use Collabowriter. I have spent 3 days trying to configure this feature to actually work on my computer. My take is that Final Draft really needs to work on making this easier by joining the 21st Century. They might consider partnering with someone to make this happen. The only useful way i’ve found to collaborate on a screenplay with Final Draft is to use iChat in “Screen Sharing” Mode. You can hear audio chat while sharing the same file on the same screen. This eliminates all formatting issues. The only problem is that we have to be careful not to work over each other, as we both have control of the screen at the same time.