User Interface Overview

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.inkwell.app/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Inkwell’s native macOS interface is designed for distraction-free writing while keeping powerful formatting, outlining, and AI tools just a keystroke away. This guide introduces the main user interface components.

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Main window layout

When working on a script in Inkwell, the interface centers around three main workspace components:

1. Editor (center): Your primary writing canvas, styled in standard Courier Prime formatting.
2. Project Panel (left sidebar): A collapsible panel to browse your script’s outline, character statistics, and script metadata.
3. ScrollMap (right gutter): A visual scrollbar and minimap showing scene structure, search highlights, and revision markers.
4. Beat Board (swappable center canvas): Swaps the text editor for a grid of index cards representing your scenes.

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The editor

The editor provides a native, high-performance text canvas. It displays your screenplay with live, automated formatting as you type.

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Key features

• Live formatting: Automatic screenplay layout conforming to Fountain syntax.
• Typewriter scrolling: Keeps your cursor centered vertically as you type (toggle in the View menu).
• Line numbers: View or hide line counts in the left margin.
• Page markers: Shows industry-standard page breaks (1 page ≈ 1 minute of screen time).
• Active element readout: Displays the active paragraph type (Scene Heading, Action, Character, Dialogue, Parenthetical, Transition, Shot) in the status bar.

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Workspace modes

• Edit mode (default): Write and edit your screenplay.
• Focus mode: Collapses sidebars and status bars for a distraction-free writing environment (toggle in the View menu).
• Beat Board mode: Displays scenes as index cards for outline organization.
• Print Preview: Displays the formatted PDF layout (press Cmd+P or toggle preview).

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Project Panel

The Project Panel (left sidebar) manages your script’s structure and metadata. Toggle it with Cmd+[ or use the menu. It contains four tabs:

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Navigation tab

Displays a hierarchical outline of your script:

• Sections: Major story divisions (Acts, Sequences, Beats) defined by # and ## in your script.
• Scene headings: Every scene beginning with INT. or EXT..
• Notes: Inline developer notes wrapped in [[ double brackets ]].
• Synopses: Summaries of scenes prefixed with =.

Usage:

• Click any item to instantly jump to that line in the editor.
• Drag and drop outline items to reorder scenes directly.

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Project Info tab

Contains high-level story data:

• Logline: A one-sentence summary of your script. Quill AI accesses this to keep responses contextually relevant.
• Scratchpad: Freeform outline notes and ideas that travel with the project file without printing.

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Characters tab

Shows all characters detected in your script:

• Character list: Names sorted by first appearance.
• Dialogue statistics: Displays dialogue count and percentage of total lines for each character.
• Metadata fields: Age, gender, biography, and description.

Usage:

• Click a character name to highlight their dialogue throughout the editor and outline.
• Edit character biographies so Quill AI has access to their backstory when generating dialogue suggestions.

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Script Info tab

Title page metadata for industry-standard formatting:

• Title & Subtitle: Screenplay name and subheadings.
• Credit: “Written by”, “Story by”, etc.
• Author(s): Writer credits.
• Source: “Based on…” or adaptions info.
• Date & Contact: Draft dates and representation details.

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ScrollMap

The ScrollMap (right gutter) is a visual scrollbar that maps your entire script.

• Scene Blocks: Visual blocks indicating scene lengths.
• Current Position: Highlighted tracker showing your active page.
• Character distribution: Clicking a character in the Characters tab shows where they appear as color stripes on the ScrollMap.
• Revision indicators: Shows where edits have been made in revision mode.
• Scroll & Jump: Click anywhere on the ScrollMap to jump directly to that page or scene.

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Top menu bar

All commands are mapped to standard macOS native menu hierarchies:

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File menu

• New Script (Cmd+N): Create a new screenplay tab or window.
• Open (Cmd+O): Open an existing .ink file.
• Save (Cmd+S): Manually save (auto-save is active in the background).
• Import: Bring in Fountain, Final Draft (.fdx), or PDF files.
• Export: Save as PDF, Final Draft (.fdx), or Fountain.
• Print Preview (Cmd+P): View standard formatted PDF pages.

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Edit menu

• Undo/Redo (Cmd+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z)
• Cut/Copy/Paste (standard shortcuts)
• Find (Cmd+F): Find and replace text.

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View menu

• Toggle Outline (Cmd+[): Show or hide the left Project Panel.
• Toggle Quill Panel (Cmd+]): Show or hide the right AI panel.
• Focus Mode: Hides sidebars for minimal distraction.
• Typewriter Scrolling: Centered cursor mode.
• Scroll Gutter Map (Cmd+Opt+M): Toggle the ScrollMap visibility.
• Zoom Controls: Reset zoom (Cmd+Opt+0), Zoom in (Cmd+=), and Zoom out (Cmd+-).

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Go menu

• Go to Page… (Cmd+L): Jump to a specific page number.
• Go to Scene… (Cmd+J): Jump to a scene by scene number or heading.
• Previous / Next Change (Opt+J / Opt+K): Navigate between recent edits.

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Screenplay menu

• Number Scenes / Clear Scene Numbers: Automatically manage scene numbers.
• Lock Script: Prevent accidental edits during production.

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Revision menu

• Show Revision Mode (Cmd+Opt+R): Toggle revision color overlays.
• Previous / Next Revision (Cmd+Opt+[ / Cmd+Opt+]): Jump to edits.
• Commit Current Generation: Accept and lock changes for the active revision color.

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Window menu

• Standard macOS window controls and tab switching.

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Status bar

Located at the bottom of the window:

• Page count: Current page total.
• Word count: Total words in the document.
• Active element: Shows active formatting element (e.g., Action, Dialogue).
• Save status: Shows “Saved” or “Saving…”.
• AI credits: Remaining Quill credits.

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Quill AI panel

Toggle the Quill panel with Cmd+] (or Cmd+0).

• Dialogue box: Chat with Quill to brainstorm, rewrite, or analyze scripts.
• Smart Model Routing: Quill automatically routes requests to the best model (e.g. Anthropic) behind the scenes.
• Inline diffs: Quill suggests edits that can be accepted or rejected in the document.

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Keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet

Here are the most essential shortcuts: See complete shortcuts list →

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Common UI questions

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Next steps