Fountain vs FDX: Screenplay File Formats Explained

If you have written a screenplay in more than one app, you have run into file formats: .fdx, .fountain, and good old PDF. Picking the right one keeps your formatting intact when a script moves between writers, tools, and the people who read it. Here is what each format is for.

FDX — the Final Draft format

FDX is the native file format of Final Draft, the long-time industry standard. It is XML under the hood and preserves rich screenplay data — scene properties, revision marks, and more. Because so much of the industry runs on Final Draft, the ability to export to FDX matters: it is often what an agent, production company, or collaborator expects to receive.

Fountain — the plain-text format

Fountain is an open, plain-text markup for screenplays — think Markdown for scripts. A Fountain file is just text with simple conventions (a line in ALL CAPS becomes a scene heading, etc.), so it opens anywhere, plays well with version control, and will never be locked to one vendor. It is a great choice for writers who want portability and longevity.

PDF — the read-only deliverable

PDF is not an editing format; it is how a finished script is shared. An industry-paginated PDF preserves exact layout and page breaks for everyone who opens it, which is why it is the standard for sending scripts out to be read. You write in FDX or Fountain; you deliver in PDF.

Which should you use?

• Collaborating with industry pros? Keep an FDX export handy — it is what most expect.
• Want portability and future-proofing? Fountain is open and tool-agnostic.
• Sending a script to be read? Export a paginated PDF.

Don't get locked in

The practical answer is to use a tool that speaks all three. SceneCraft imports Fountain, FDX, plain text, and pasted pages, and exports to PDF, FDX, and Fountain in one click — so the format is never the thing standing between your draft and the next step. You can generate and write your script once and deliver it in whatever format the moment calls for.