No he, he is going to have to buy or live without 
Ive seen one on ebay, the man says in the description 'PLEASE NOTE THIS AUCTION IS FOR LICENCE KEY ONLY'. What does this mean?
Final Draft Page 6
I believe it's not as hard as you're finding it to get an illegal copy Jacob. So keep looking.
However people can't advise you on a forum on the details of how to do that as that's also illegal...
Why is MMSW better than FD? And is StoryView another alternative? It seems to be unavailable on Amazon.co.uk at the moment.
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 22 2009, 11:16 AM BSTI'm one of those who's just happy with something I've become familiar writing with, hence FD fits the bill for me.
As long as the script itself is clear and coherent and the software adapts to your pace of writing i.e, you can find the shortcut buttons quickly and it saves to the format you want. Then what more can a piece of writing software offer. At the end of the day, they all have the same objective.
Exactly - to fill the aching void of living in a God-less, indifferent and meaningless universe. Oh, and to get invited to a meeting in London with fruit and mineral water on the table.
There's gonna be fruit! Wow! It's like all my dreams and more.
Occasionally there are sandwiches too, so keep dreaming those dreams!
Quote: Lazzard @ July 22 2009, 10:26 AM BST1. Need and want are two different things.
2. If like me you simply glide across the surface of IT without the faintest idea of what actually goes on beneath, posts about style-sheets etc etc might as well be in Belgian.
3. The 'validation' swipe is a little un-called for - it's about as valid as me saying people who don't use them aren't serious writers.
4. Why do people get so cross about other people using these softwares? I don't get cross about people writing/adapting their own.Having said all that, each to his own.
And,has been said before, try out the freebie and see if it enhances your writing experience.
Personally I think MMSW edges FD BTW.Oh, and to rub salt in the wound - there's a stunning piece of outlining software called StoryView. If you write anything that runs to more than half-a-dozen scenes it's brilliant.
For screenplays I find it indispensable.
Lazard, it's not really hard to set up a stylesheet. It's probably easier than setting tabs. But if you don't care to/can't do it, fair enough.
I wasn't swiping at people with the 'validation' comment, I meant it, some people unfortunately feel they need 'pro tools' to be a 'pro'. It reminds me of the people you see at Atlantis (Art shop in East London) spending hundreds of pounds on the best filler-free oil paints. You can tell by the colours they choose that they haven't any idea how to paint and don't need hideously expensive pigment-rich paint. Final Draft is at least 30% a vanity product - 'I'm a script writer so I need FD.'
But I'm not saying it's a bad product, it isn't - just that it is redundant if one has a word processor. To those of you who bought FD, enjoy it and get writing.
Quote: Jacob Loves Comedy @ July 22 2009, 11:46 AM BSTThis has all become very annoying for "my friend". He hasn't been able to activate any torrents he's downloaded for final draft. He is reluctant to buy the proper version because he knows there are ways of getting it for free.
What should he do? All the codes etc he has tried appear to be blocked.
Just f**king buy it you cheapskate.
Quote: Godot Taxis @ July 22 2009, 2:15 PM BSTFinal Draft is at least 30% a vanity product - 'I'm a script writer so I need FD.'
Why 30%?
I bought and use FD simply because it was an industry-wide used programme, that's all. The templates are useful. Also, if your producer/editor wants to re-format the text, it's relatively simple for them to do so with FD. I certainly don't consider myself a more serious writer because I use FD.
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 22 2009, 2:07 PM BSTOccasionally they are sandwiches too, so keep dreaming those dreams!
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 22 2009, 2:24 PM BSTWhy 30%?
I bought and use FD simply because it was an industry-wide used programme, that's all. The templates are useful. Also, if your producer/editor wants to re-format the text, it's relatively simple for them to do so with FD. I certainly don't consider myself a more serious writer because I use FD.
30% is a guess. F**k knows what the actual customer profile of the product is. Obviously a great percentage of people who use FD are professional scriptwriters - or at least use it in a professional capacity. A further percentage are would-be writers. But there is a group of people who buy it because it helps to re-enforce something in their own minds about writing. These are similar to the people who buy £2000 Nikon DSLRs to take pictures at family barbecues. In their minds they could turn 'pro' tomorrow, and it is not their photographs that assure them of this, but rather their expensive equipment.
I'm not looking down on these people, merely identifying them as a marketing segment for the product. The people who sell FD know that some of these people use their product.
The reasons you bought FD are given in your post. They make sense and clearly it works for you. Haven't you sold some scripts? You're professional writer.
It works out like this:
FD doesn't really do anything you can't set up an ordinary word processor to do. Some people know this but can't be bothered to set up their word processors. Others don't know and think FD is a program like Photoshop, for example, that does something unique.
Fair enough. 
Quote: Stan Doubt @ July 22 2009, 12:29 PM BSTI believe it's not as hard as you're finding it to get an illegal copy Jacob. So keep looking.
However people can't advise you on a forum on the details of how to do that as that's also illegal...
Why is MMSW better than FD? And is StoryView another alternative? It seems to be unavailable on Amazon.co.uk at the moment.
I just preferred MMSW to FD when I trialed them.
Storyview is an outlining tool - for blocking out screenplays.
It really helps with structuring.
Success
just wanted to say I am finding commenting on these theads very theraputic. havent got anything partiuclarly constructive to say about final draft, though I managed to get a copy of a mate would recommend others to do the same as it shoudnt be that difficult rather than forking out a hundred quid.