final_draft

Industry-standard script processor that pioneered WYSIWYG screenplay formatting. Originally developed by Ben Cahan on the Macintosh, beginning the Movie Software Wars.

Final Draft is favored by a majority of industry professionals, studios and organizations. Many production companies, and agencies will accept scripts in Final Draft format. Endorsements include Tom Hanks, J.J. Abrahms, Alan Ball, Stuart Beattie and many others. John August uses but does not heartily endorse Final Draft.

After Cahan sold his interest in the company, there have been complaints regarding poor quality control. Some professional writers continue to write using version 6, because version 7 was plagued with so many bugs upon release. JA reported that version 7.1.3 seems to be stable, and he continues to use it.