Script Styles are the predefined paragraph styles that format a script. The style sets each paragraph’s margins,
spacing, etc. These are set to match the format specified for a type of script.
Script Styles in Page 2 Stage come in two flavors, standard and program (file). The standard styles are
the four main styles; Screenplay, Sitcom (tape), Sitcom (film), & Stageplay. These four formats are stored as part
of Page 2 Stage and are always available.
Program styles are styles that are for a specific show or studio. Each style is a separate file. If you have the
correct style file, you can load and use it. As shows come and go, style files for new shows are created and can be
downloaded from our site as needed.
But if you don’t have a show’s style file, you cannot load it. Standard styles are always there while program styles
require the appropriate file.
When you create a script or load a style, the style used is copied into the script. If you change that style later,
it does not change the style in that script. The only way to have changes in a style applied to a script is to load
that style into that script.
You can load, save, and edit both types of styles.
The left two-thirds of the dialog box below is the same for all paragraph styles. The right third is different for
each paragraph type.
The spacing sets the left and right margins for the paragraph and the line spacing before, within, and after the
paragraph. The spacing between two paragraphs is the greater of the spacing after the first paragraph and before
the second paragraph.
Spacing can be set to zero lines if you wish the next paragraph to start on the same line as this paragraph.
Below the spacing is a window showing how the paragraph will appear on the page. The dark lines represent the
paragraph being set. The gray lines represent the paragraph before and after this paragraph. If the paragraph
can be dual column also, it will show both single column and dual column. The lines represent the spacing and
the format alignment.
The format gives the settings for the characters in the paragraph. This includes settings like bold and italic.
You can also press the font button to change the font and the color of the font. You can choose proportional
fonts if you wish.
Alignment can be set to left, center, or right. The paragraph will then be aligned that way.
The window below the font button displays the selected font, in the selected color, and with the format settings
applied. If you select All Caps as is selected below, it displays as AABBYYZZ instead of AaBbYyZz.
The bottom middle section sets how the paragraph breaks across pages. You can set it to not break, break at
sentence ends, not allow widows and orphans, or just break as it falls. The keep with next check mark means
this paragraph cannot be the last paragraph on a page.
The next setting is what paragraph normally follows this paragraph. This is used when you press Enter on your
keyboard to determine what type of paragraph to place next.
The Line setting is for SFX: type paragraphs in sitcom format.
The special settings depend on the paragraph type. For Character it allows you to set what text to use when
dialogue breaks across a page, what text to use when a character speaks twice in a row, and where to place the
columns in dual column mode.
And finally, if you make a royal mess of the settings, there is the reset button. Press that and it will reset the
format to the original settings.
