FDX vs Fountain: Which Screenplay Format Should You Use?

FDX is Final Draft's XML format: exact, app-owned, and what production offices expect. Fountain is plain text: readable in any editor, tiny, and perfect for version control and phones. In the FDX vs Fountain choice, use FDX for anything that goes to a producer or a set and Fountain for drafting, archiving and collaboration in git — and keep both, since converting between them is free.

Updated 2026-09-22 · About 7 sections · 5 answered questions

FDX vs Fountain: the short answer

Use FDX when the file has to be a document: it is going to a producer, a manager, a contest that asks for it, or a production office that will add scene numbers and revision colours. FDX stores every screenplay element explicitly and carries the layout settings, so what arrives is what you sent.

Use Fountain when the file has to be text: you are drafting, writing on a phone, keeping the script in git, emailing a scene, or archiving a copy that will still open in thirty years. Fountain is readable without any software and diffs line by line.

This is not a format war. A writer in act two and a first assistant director breaking down a shooting script have different needs, and the same script can be both files. Zen Writer, like most modern screenwriting apps, imports and exports both, and the converters between them are free. The rest of this guide compares them on the criteria that actually decide the question.

What each format actually is

FDX is Final Draft's file format and it is XML: plain UTF-8 text, but structured for software. Every paragraph carries a Type, and the document carries scene numbers, revision marks, dual-dialogue groupings, a title page block and page layout settings. The FDX file explainer walks through the whole structure; a fragment looks like this:

<Paragraph Type="Scene Heading" Number="12"><Text>INT. HARBOUR OFFICE - NIGHT</Text></Paragraph>
<Paragraph Type="Action"><Text>A single desk lamp. DEV counts cash into a tin, twice.</Text></Paragraph>
<Paragraph Type="Character"><Text>DEV</Text></Paragraph>
<Paragraph Type="Dialogue"><Text>You're late, and you're wet.</Text></Paragraph>

Fountain is a plain-text markup with an openly published spec, created by John August and Nima Yousefi. It infers elements from the shape of the text: a line starting with INT. is a heading, an all-caps line before a speech is a cue. The same passage, as a Fountain file:

INT. HARBOUR OFFICE - NIGHT #12#

A single desk lamp. DEV counts cash into a tin, twice.

DEV
You're late, and you're wet.

Both files describe the same page. The FDX says what each paragraph is and how the app should lay it out; the Fountain file says what each paragraph is by looking like it. The Fountain syntax guide has the complete cheat sheet.

FDX vs Fountain comparison table

Criterion	FDX	Fountain
Readability without software	Poor. Opens as XML; the script is in there, wrapped in tags.	Excellent. Reads as a screenplay in any text editor, email or notes app.
Editability without special software	Technically possible in a text editor; practically no.	Full. Edit it anywhere text can be typed, including a phone.
Fidelity	Stores element types, scene numbers, revision marks, dual dialogue, title page and layout settings.	Stores element types, scene numbers, dual dialogue and title page keys. No layout, no revisions, no locked pages.
Pagination	Layout settings travel with the file; page count is stable across compatible apps.	Decided by whichever app renders it; can differ by a few pages.
Industry acceptance	The standard deliverable. Production offices, agencies and many contests ask for it by name.	Accepted by most writing apps; rarely requested by producers or contests.
Collaboration	Through app features or by passing files; two people editing one FDX needs care.	Any text-collaboration tool works; merges and diffs are trivial.
Version control	Diffs are XML noise; merges are painful.	Line-by-line diffs, clean merges, readable history in git.
Outline and notes layer	Script notes and outline features exist but are app-specific and fragile in transfer.	Sections, synopses, notes and boneyard live in the file and never print.
File size (feature)	Hundreds of kilobytes.	Tens of kilobytes.
Longevity	Needs software that still understands the format.	Plain text: readable for as long as text files exist.
Specification	Not formally published; implemented by observation.	Openly published.
Native to	Final Draft; read and written by most pro apps.	Highland, Slugline, Beat; imported and exported by most apps.

Read down the table and a pattern shows: FDX wins every row about the document, Fountain wins every row about the text. That is the whole comparison, and it is why the right answer for most writers is both.

When to use FDX

Anything going to production. Locked scene numbers, revision colours, A-pages and OMITTED scenes exist only in FDX. A first assistant director cannot work from Fountain, and the shooting script conventions depend on this metadata.
When a recipient asks for it. Agencies, production companies and some competitions specify FDX because their tools ingest it. Do not argue; send the FDX.
When the page count is load-bearing. The layout settings travel with the file, so the number on the last page is the same in every compatible app. With Fountain the count is the renderer's opinion.
Round trips through Final Draft. If your co-writer, your reps or the office live in Final Draft, FDX is the format that arrives intact.
Dual dialogue and rich formatting. Handled explicitly rather than through a caret convention whose support varies.

You do not need Final Draft to produce or read FDX. You can open an FDX file in a free viewer or a phone app and edit it without Final Draft; the format is an exchange format first and a proprietary asset second. What you cannot do is read one comfortably as raw text, which is where Fountain comes in.

When to use Fountain

Drafting. No app between you and the words. Type in whatever editor is open — on a laptop, a phone, a borrowed machine — and the file is a screenplay.
Writing on a phone. Plain text is the one thing every phone does perfectly. Draft in a notes app, or in Zen Writer for iPhone, which formats as you type and still exports the result as Fountain.
Version control. Put the script in git and every commit is a readable diff: this speech changed, that scene moved. Branch for an alternate ending; merge the one that works.
Collaboration without a platform. Two writers can pass a Fountain file through any text tool and merge changes line by line, with no subscription.
Archiving. A Fountain copy of each draft is a few dozen kilobytes and will open in 2050. It is cheap insurance against a discontinued app or a corrupted file.
Keeping your scaffolding with the script. Sections, synopses, notes and boneyard sit in the file and never print, so the outline and the alternate lines travel with the draft.

The one place Fountain loses is the last mile to a reader who expects a document. For that, export a PDF (the free Fountain converter does it in the browser) or convert to FDX.

Converting between FDX and Fountain, both ways

Both directions are free and take a few seconds:

FDX to Fountain: drop the .fdx into the FDX to Fountain converter and download plain text. Element types map one to one; script notes, revision marks and locked pages are dropped because Fountain has no way to express them.
Fountain to FDX: drop the .fountain into the Fountain converter and download a Final Draft file. Notes, boneyard, sections and synopses are stripped, and dual dialogue and centered text should be checked by eye. Converting Fountain to FDX has the full list.

Or skip the file juggling. Zen Writer imports .fdx, .fountain, .txt and text-based PDFs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android, and exports PDF, FDX, Fountain and plain text from the same document, with nothing uploaded and no account. One screenplay, whichever format the next person needs.

A workflow that holds up: keep the master in whichever format you write in, and export the other at every milestone — a new draft number, a send to a reader, a lock. Name them so the pairing is obvious, Ferry_v4.fdx and Ferry_v4.fountain, and the argument about which format is "the" archive stops mattering.

One warning outranks the rest: do not route a production draft through Fountain. Revision colours, locked scene numbers and A-pages have no representation in plain text, and the loss is silent until someone asks which lines changed on the blue pages.

Mistakes writers make with both formats

Sending an FDX for a first read. The reader may not have software that opens it, and if they do, they can reflow it into their own template. Send a PDF; converting FDX to PDF is one step.
Sending a raw Fountain file to a producer. It reads fine, but it looks like a text file, and the notes and boneyard are visible. Render it first.
Trusting a Fountain page count. It is the renderer's count, not the script's. Check the number in the file you are actually sending.
Keeping only the FDX. When the app that opens it goes away, so does the easy path to your script. Export a Fountain copy at every milestone.
Keeping only the Fountain. When production needs revision tracking, you will rebuild the document from scratch. Convert to FDX before the first coloured page, and treat that FDX as the master from then on.
Using Word for either. Neither format needs it, and Word breaks both. If you are choosing software, start with the Final Draft alternatives roundup; every app on it handles at least one of these formats, and most handle both.

The rest of the FDX guide covers each conversion and each device in detail.

Frequently asked questions

Is Fountain better than FDX?

Neither is better in the abstract. Fountain is better as text: readable, diffable, tiny and future-proof. FDX is better as a document: stable pagination, scene numbers, revision marks and dual dialogue, and it is what producers ask for. Choose by what the file has to do this week.

Can Final Draft open a Fountain file?

Some recent versions can import a .fountain file directly; older ones cannot. The dependable route is to convert Fountain to FDX with a free converter and open that. Going the other way, export FDX from Final Draft and convert it to Fountain for archiving or diffing.

Which format should I archive my screenplay in?

Both, if you can. The FDX reproduces the document exactly, and the Fountain copy will open in any text editor indefinitely. If you keep only one, keep the format you can still write in and export the other at every milestone.

Do FDX and Fountain produce different-looking scripts?

On a standard template, no: both render as Courier 12 on US Letter with the usual margins. The difference is that FDX carries the layout settings inside the file, while Fountain relies on the app to supply them, so page counts can differ slightly between apps.

Does Fountain support scene numbers and revision colours?

Scene numbers, yes: append them to the heading as #12#. Revision colours, locked pages and OMITTED scenes, no; plain text has no way to represent them, which is why a production draft should live in FDX and never round-trip through Fountain.

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FDX & Final Draft Files

FDX vs Fountain: Which Screenplay Format Should You Use?

FDX vs Fountain: the short answer

What each format actually is

FDX vs Fountain comparison table

When to use FDX

When to use Fountain

Converting between FDX and Fountain, both ways

Mistakes writers make with both formats

Frequently asked questions

Ready to turn this idea into a screenplay?

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What Is an FDX File?

What Is Fountain?

How to Convert Fountain to FDX (Fountain to Final Draft)

How to Convert FDX to PDF (Final Draft Script to PDF)

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