Quote: Dolly Dagger @ December 14 2009, 9:29 AM GMTThat's crazy that the BBC can't accept scripts in BBC ScriptSmart! It's a real pain in the arse trying to format without a template. I've sent out ScriptSmart docs to different people all the time and no one has had a problem opening or editing them. The only thing I've been asked to re-send was some .docx files.
I've had problems with scripts written in ScriptSmart that my writing partner has sent me, I can read them fine but I can't always edit them, so we don't use it anymore. I think your success with ScriptSmart documents very much depends what version/brand of operating system you have and what version of Word/Office you are running and possibly on some of your settings as well.
Also ScriptSmart hasn't been maintained for a few years, and won't ever be updated in the future - it's an old product now - so it's only going to get less compatible with everyone's computers as time goes on. I think it was only ever a WritersRoom initiative, I don't believe it's been used much by the radio department.
As Dan says, it's straightforward enough to hit TAB and RETURN a couple of times as you write. Or (which I prefer) just write the sketch any old how and then spend a couple of minutes formatting it once it's finished. I often spot things that need fixing during this reformatting bit.
I'm surprised Rory Bremner's people haven't been on the phone.