Keyboard shortcuts

File

Also in the palette, with no shortcut: New stage play; New novel; New Markdown document; New guided screenplay; New guided stage play; Template: Screenplay; Template: Stage play; Document: Novel; Document: Markdown (plain text); Open as screenplay…; Revert to Saved; History…; Cuts…; Take snapshot…; Start new draft…; Drafts…; Draft by draft…; Open sample: Screenplay; Open sample: Stage play; Open sample: Novel; Open sample: Markdown; Reset sample; Start blank; Export as PDF; Export as Markdown file; Export as HTML; Export as EPUB; Export as Story map…; Export as Fountain (.fountain); Export as plain text; Export as Final Draft (.fdx); Export as treatment…; Export as Manuscript (PDF)…; Export as Manuscript (Word)…; Export as Revised pages (PDF)…; Export as Sides (PDF)…; Export as Breakdown (CSV); Export as Breakdown (PDF); Export options…; New screenplay from this outline; Remove from this browser.

Edit

Also in the palette, with no shortcut: Move scene up; Move scene down; Scene details…; New note…; Expand outline; Lock pages and scene numbers; Start the next revision; Write new scene numbers; Omit scene; Clear marks…; Unlock…; Check spelling; Add word to this script’s dictionary; Add word to my dictionary; Ignore misspelling here; Element: Act; Element: Dialogue; Element: Section; Element: Synopsis; Element: Page break; Emphasis: Bold; Emphasis: Italic; Emphasis: Underline; Force scene heading (.); Force action (!); Force character (@); Force parenthetical ( ); Force transition (>); Force centered text (> <); Force lyric (~); Mark a setup; Mark a payoff; Use in story map; Never use in story map; Markdown: Heading; Markdown: Bold; Markdown: Italic; Markdown: List; Markdown: Numbered list; Markdown: Quote; Markdown: Link; Markdown: Code.

View

Also in the palette, with no shortcut: Show Source; Show Script; Show Preview; Show Problems; Show Outline; Show Cards; Show Notes; Show changes; Next change; Previous change; Compare’s Changes view; Compare’s Pages view; Close comparison; Focus on this chapter; Focus on this section; Start a 15-minute sprint; Start a 25-minute sprint; Start a 45-minute sprint; Pause sprint; Resume sprint; Stop sprint; Hide sprint countdown; Show sprint countdown; Counts and daily goal…; Show stats; Show Scaffold; Show the cast; Show the places; Show Production; Switch theme; Show line numbers; Hide line numbers; Turn on typewriter scrolling; Turn off typewriter scrolling; Turn on typewriter sounds; Turn off typewriter sounds; Turn on scroll sync; Turn off scroll sync; Switch to Classic Mode; Switch to Fountain Mode; Show the element bar; Hide the element bar; Condense to outline; Expand all.

Go

Also in the palette, with no shortcut: Go to scene…; Go to line…; History of this scene…; Scaffold for this scene.

Help

In the palette, with no shortcut: Take the tour; Open the page: What is Drafter?; Open the page: Why Drafter; Open the page: Fountain cheat sheet; Open the page: Classic Mode; Open the page: Novel; Open the page: Production; Open the page: Saving and your browser; Open the page: Drafts and cuts; Open the page: Story map; Open the page: Drafter for Claude; Open the page: Self-hosting; Open the page: Keyboard shortcuts; Open the page: Privacy; Open the page: Open formats; Open the page: Third-party licences; Open the page: Technical details; Open the page: What’s new; Download the desktop app; Sample script: Screenplay; Sample script: Stage play; Sample script: Novel; Sample script: Markdown; Report a problem…; Suggest an idea…; Copy technical details; Check for updates…; About Drafter.

Classic Mode

In Classic Mode (Switch writing mode, ⌘⌥0 on a Mac and Ctrl+Alt+0 elsewhere), these keys move you through the script. The Classic Mode page has where each one goes.

• Enter goes on to the next element; on an empty line it opens the chooser, where ↑, ↓, Enter, or an element’s underlined letter picks, and Esc closes it.
• Tab goes to the element that usually comes next (a Character after Action, a Parenthetical in a speech), and on an empty line walks a row of elements; Shift+Tab goes back.
• Shift+Enter starts a new line inside the element.
• Tab or Enter takes a suggestion from autofill, and Esc closes the list until your next letter.
• Backspace at the start of a line, or Delete at its end, joins two elements in one press.
• To leave the text, press Esc, then Tab; if a list is open, press Esc twice. Ctrl+M (Shift+Alt+M on a Mac) makes Tab move focus until you press it again.

Other keys

These are not commands, so they aren’t in the palette. Some are the editor’s own, which Drafter keeps.

• F6 moves between the editor and the Inspector, the pane beside it. It works where the two panes are side by side, and not in focus mode.
• Esc leaves focus mode, once nothing else (the palette, a menu, a dialog, completion, or search) needs it.
• In the Outline tab, Enter on a row goes to its scene, or a novel’s chapter or section, and Alt+↑ and Alt+↓ move it, with all its text, up or down (⌥ on a Mac). The context-menu key or Shift+F10 opens the row’s menu. A novel’s focus keys, Focus on this passage and Show the whole book, are under View above.
• In the Cards tab, the arrow keys move between the cards as they are drawn, and Home and End go to the first and last. Enter edits a card’s synopsis (Enter saves, Esc cancels), and the context-menu key or Shift+F10 opens the card’s menu. Alt+← and Alt+→ move a card one place earlier or later, and Alt+↑ and Alt+↓ move it a row up or down (⌥ on a Mac).
• In the Structure strip (Toggle the structure strip, ⌘⌥O on a Mac and Ctrl+Alt+O elsewhere), Tab enters on the block you last focused, or the cursor’s scene. ← and → move along a row, ↑ and ↓ to the block above or below, and Home and End to a row’s ends. Enter or Space goes to the scene or section in the Source. The context-menu key or Shift+F10 (or a right-click) opens the block’s menu: Go to and, on a scene, History of this scene and Scaffold for this scene.
• In the Stats tab’s Character by scene, Tab enters the grid on the cell you last focused. The arrow keys move from cell to cell, Home and End go to the ends of a character’s row, Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End to the first and last cells (⌘ on a Mac), and Page Up and Page Down move ten scenes. Enter goes to the character’s first cue in that scene, or, where they’re there without speaking, to the first time the action names them. The context-menu key or Shift+F10 (or a right-click) opens the cell’s menu: Go to, Scaffold for this character, and Scaffold for this scene.
• In Scaffold, Alt+← (⌥← on a Mac) goes back to the page before, as the Back button at the top of the Inspector does, while focus is anywhere in the tab except a filter field, where it moves by a word.
• In the Notes tab, ↑ and ↓ move between the notes, and Home and End go to the first and last. On a note, Enter goes to it in the Source, E edits it in place (Enter saves, Esc cancels), R resolves or reopens it, C sets its category, and Delete (or Backspace) deletes it. The context-menu key or Shift+F10 opens the note’s menu.
• In History (the app menu’s History…, or the file’s name in the status bar), ↑ and ↓ move between the snapshots, and Home and End go to the first and last. On a snapshot, Enter compares it with now, C compares it with another, R restores it, L labels it, S saves it as a file, and Delete (or Backspace) deletes it, after asking. The context-menu key or Shift+F10 opens the snapshot’s menu.
• In Cuts (File’s Cuts…, or History’s Cuts button), every cut’s buttons are in the Tab order: Show all for a long one, Put back, Insert at cursor, and Copy.
• In History of this scene (a scene’s menu in the Outline, the Cards, or the Structure strip, or the palette for the scene holding the cursor), ↑ and ↓ move between the scene’s versions, and Home and End go to the first and last. On a version, Enter compares it with now and U uses it in place of the scene now (Undo brings back what it replaced). The context-menu key or Shift+F10 opens the version’s menu.
• In the Compare tab, N goes to the next change and Shift+N to the previous one, and says what changed; the palette’s Next change and Previous change do the same from anywhere while a comparison is open.
• In the Script tab, while Show changes is on, N goes to the next marked change and Shift+N to the previous one, and says where it is; with no comparison open, the palette’s Next change and Previous change go through these marks.
• Redo is also Ctrl+Y on Windows and Linux.
• Find next is ⌘G on a Mac and Ctrl+G elsewhere, or F3; add Shift for find previous. Esc closes the search panel.
• Completion (character names, locations, times, transitions, and section titles) opens as you type, or with Ctrl+Space (also ⌥` on a Mac). ↑ and ↓ choose, Enter accepts, and Esc closes it.