There is no single best screenplay format; the right choice depends on what you are doing with the script. Write and archive in a format that stays editable (Fountain or FDX), and send a PDF whenever someone only needs to read. Use FDX when a production partner or a Final Draft user needs to keep editing with revisions and notes intact.
The question looks trivial until a script has to move between a writer, a director, a line producer and a competition portal. At that point the format decides what survives the trip: page breaks, colours, notes, even the scene numbers. Here is what each format actually is and how to choose.
What each format actually is
Fountain is a plain-text markup for screenplays, created by Stu Maschwitz and John August, among others. Files use the extension .fountain (sometimes .spmd) and open in any text editor. Structure is inferred from simple conventions, so there is nothing to lock you into one application, and the file diffs cleanly in version control.
FDX is the native format of Final Draft. It is XML, so it is technically readable, but it is tied to one proprietary application and its element model. It carries more than text: styles, revision marks, scene numbers, colours, notes and page layout settings. Many other tools import and export it because the industry has long exchanged scripts this way.
PDF is a delivery format. It preserves exactly how the pages look, on any device, which is why it is what most readers, agents and competitions want. It is not designed for editing, and getting a script back out of a PDF means text extraction that may break the structure.
Prose-oriented formats such as .docx and .txt are common for early drafts, treatments and adapted material, but they carry no screenplay structure. Treat them as an import source, not a working format.
Comparison table
| Criterion | Fountain | FDX (Final Draft) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Editable | Yes, in any text editor | Yes, best in Final Draft or compatible tools | Not practically |
| Readable without special software | Yes | Technically (XML), not comfortably | Yes, universally |
| Carries layout and page breaks | No, computed by the app | Settings stored, final pagination by the app | Yes, frozen |
| Revisions, colours, scene locks | Not in the standard | Yes | Only as visible marks |
| Notes and comments | Limited (note syntax) | Yes, but support varies between tools | Annotations at best |
| Version control friendly | Excellent | Poor (verbose XML) | Poor (binary) |
| Typical use | Writing, drafts, archive | Production drafts, hand-off | Reading, submission, final copy |
What Fountain looks like
Fountain is easy to learn because it reads like the script itself. Here is a short, valid fragment:
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
The kettle whistles. MARA, 40s, stares at an unopened letter.
MARA
(quietly)
You're early.
DANIEL (O.S.)
The train was empty.
CUT TO:
EXT. STATION PLATFORM - CONTINUOUS
Rain. Daniel stands alone under a dead lamp.
The rules are few. A scene heading starts with INT. or EXT. (or a leading dot to force one). A character name is in capitals on its own line, followed directly by dialogue. A parenthetical sits in brackets between them. A transition is a line in capitals ending in TO:. Anything that would be misread can be forced with a prefix, for example a leading ! for action or @ for a character name with lowercase letters.
Which format for which job
Writing
Fountain suits drafting because the file is small, portable and independent of any licence. FDX suits writers whose workflow already lives in Final Draft or who must follow a producer's FDX-based process. Either is fine; the damage comes from switching repeatedly mid-project.
Collaboration
For two people trading drafts, one format must be the master. If one collaborator uses Final Draft, FDX is the safer master, because it is the only one of the two that keeps revisions and notes in the file. If everyone works in text or a browser tool, Fountain is simpler and merges better.
Sending to producers, agents and competitions
Send a PDF unless asked otherwise. It looks the same everywhere and cannot be altered by accident. Use standard layout: Courier 12 pt, a title page, and no more pages than the brief allows. The usual rule of thumb is one page per minute of screen time; treat it as a convention, not a measurement.
Some competitions and production offices ask for FDX so they can load the script into their own system. Follow the submission rules literally.
Archiving
Keep two copies of each milestone draft: an editable one (Fountain or FDX) and a PDF of exactly what was sent. Plain text is the most future-proof, because it will open in any environment. The PDF records what the other side actually saw.
Moving between tools
Pre-production software generally reads FDX and Fountain. If you plan a breakdown or schedule from the script, see the script breakdown guide and the pre-production workflow: the cleaner your scene headings, the less the import needs fixing. STORYGRAPH imports .fountain, .fdx, .docx and .txt, and exports FDX, Fountain and PDF.
What gets lost in conversion
Every conversion drops something, and the losses are predictable.
- Revisions and revision colours. Final Draft's coloured pages and revision marks do not exist in Fountain. Converting to Fountain flattens them to the current text.
- Scene numbers. Fountain can mark scene numbers, but locked numbers from a production draft may not survive a round trip through another tool. Check them against the PDF before shooting.
- Notes and comments. Notes may come through as bracketed text or disappear. Inspect the result before you share it.
- Dual dialogue. Fountain supports it with a caret after the second character name, but some importers flatten it into two consecutive speeches.
- Page breaks. Pagination is recomputed by each application, so page counts and "continued" marks can differ slightly. Never compare page numbers across tools.
- Formatting details. Custom fonts, margins and bold or underlined elements can reset to defaults.
Example: one script, three audiences
Example, for illustration. A writer drafts a short film in Fountain. A friendly director sends back notes in a PDF. The writer then needs the script in a producer's FDX-based system. Exporting FDX, she opens it, finds that two dual-dialogue passages became sequential, and fixes them by hand. Before submitting to a festival she exports a PDF and stores it beside the Fountain file as the record of the submitted draft. Nothing was lost that could not be checked, because she compared the output each time.
Practical recommendation by situation
- Solo writer, no fixed software: write in Fountain, deliver PDF.
- Working with a Final Draft team or studio: use FDX as the master and keep PDFs for reading.
- Competition or agent submission: PDF in standard layout, unless the rules ask for FDX.
- Heading into breakdown and scheduling: whichever format imports cleanly into your planning tool, with scene headings checked first.
- Long-term archive: a plain-text or FDX source plus a PDF per milestone.
Takeaways
- Choose an editable master format and stick with it; export other formats from it.
- Send PDF for reading and submission, and editable files only when someone needs to keep working.
- Fountain is portable and version-control friendly; FDX carries the production metadata.
- After any conversion, check revisions, scene numbers, notes and dual dialogue.
- Keep a PDF of every draft that leaves your hands.
