Used Versions of Final Draft
July 16, 2022 11:19 PM Subscribe
I'm working on a musical, and need Final Draft b/c it's called the industry standard for the theatrical industry. Final Draft's website warns cost conscious buyers to not buy "gently used" versions of their script writing software b/c they may be pirated copies. I found a version of FD9 from 2016 (the latest version is FD12) that the owner says was installed once, and then sat on a shelf.
I've sent him some questions, but I have some to ask here. Final Draft seems to work better with Mac and iOS than Windows/PC. But it is considered the industry standard, esp. when it comes to formatting and standardization. Does it work poorly on PC and if I need it for my script to not be balled up and thrown away, how well or poorly should I expect it to perform if I use Windows?
Also, if it has already been installed once, will Final Draft recognize the software was previously on another computer and make it not work on mine?
Finally, I can't find a lot of comparisons between versions of Final Draft. But I need the Dramatist Musical template that I've read is in later versions of Final Draft. Does FD9 have that template?
I've sent him some questions, but I have some to ask here. Final Draft seems to work better with Mac and iOS than Windows/PC. But it is considered the industry standard, esp. when it comes to formatting and standardization. Does it work poorly on PC and if I need it for my script to not be balled up and thrown away, how well or poorly should I expect it to perform if I use Windows?
Also, if it has already been installed once, will Final Draft recognize the software was previously on another computer and make it not work on mine?
Finally, I can't find a lot of comparisons between versions of Final Draft. But I need the Dramatist Musical template that I've read is in later versions of Final Draft. Does FD9 have that template?
It's always a gamble with used software. I don't know about FD in particular, but a lot of software needs a registration code, and that code may be permanently bound to the original purchaser. It could be in metadata that the software creates, so that scripts you create show "Registered to John Doe" or whoever the original purchaser was.
In my print shop, when Adobe ditched the "buy it once forever" model for Creative Suite and went to their subscription model, we stuck with our legitimately-purchased version of Creative Suite for a few years. It was paid for (dearly!), and we didn't see the sense in ditching that investment immediately. As time went on and new versions were released, we encountered more and more issues sharing and collaborating with clients, because we were a few versions out of date from the current version that everyone else was using. We eventually gave up and subscribed, and it made our lives so much easier.
Whether it's software or hardware, I've learned the hard way that "buy once, cry once" is usually true. Whenever I've tried half-measures to save a few bucks, it always winds up costing me more money, headache, or both in the long run.
posted by xedrik at 7:20 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
In my print shop, when Adobe ditched the "buy it once forever" model for Creative Suite and went to their subscription model, we stuck with our legitimately-purchased version of Creative Suite for a few years. It was paid for (dearly!), and we didn't see the sense in ditching that investment immediately. As time went on and new versions were released, we encountered more and more issues sharing and collaborating with clients, because we were a few versions out of date from the current version that everyone else was using. We eventually gave up and subscribed, and it made our lives so much easier.
Whether it's software or hardware, I've learned the hard way that "buy once, cry once" is usually true. Whenever I've tried half-measures to save a few bucks, it always winds up costing me more money, headache, or both in the long run.
posted by xedrik at 7:20 AM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
Right now FD12 is going for two hundred bucks. How much less would you be paying for a product that’s six years and three versions old by now, with all the compatibility difficulties that implies, not to mention potential registration and pirating issues? It would have to be a lot less. Like, in your shoes I’d be extremely reluctant to spend more than thirty dollars. If the guy is asking for a hundred, forget it.
posted by slkinsey at 8:39 AM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by slkinsey at 8:39 AM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also, the Ebay listing for FD9 that it sounds like you're looking at has the product license number in one of the photos, in clear text and not obfuscated. I would assume it's already been compromised and is probably worthless.
posted by xedrik at 10:35 AM on July 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by xedrik at 10:35 AM on July 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: All great, common sense advice. One more thing ... if I do "buy once-cry once" (love that!), can I buy a CD so I can install it physically on more than one device? My collaborator is also getting FD12 so we can co-write tho' not sharing the same software (of course). Or, does the company not sell physical discs to prevent people from having it in that more permanent medium?
posted by CollectiveMind at 12:49 PM on July 17, 2022
posted by CollectiveMind at 12:49 PM on July 17, 2022
According to their website, you can install Final Draft 12 on as many computers as you like but it can only be activated for use on two at a time (you can deactivate it on one computer and re-activate it on another whenever you need to). It sounds like it’s Internet-based activation (i.e. it will connect to the Internet when you activate it and enforce the limit that way) so whether you install it from a CD or a download is moot (they do not seem to try to limit how many times you can download it: in fact, anyone can download the software — but it won’t do anything useful unless it’s activated).
posted by kyten at 4:06 PM on July 17, 2022
posted by kyten at 4:06 PM on July 17, 2022
Also just to weigh in: Final Draft is absolutely not industry standard in theatre. if you want to talk film and TV, sure. I've reached 1000s of scripts, been published by various publishers (including the biggest licenser there is) and Final Draft never really comes up. I have definitely read some script that have been written with it, but I would say more often it's Word, Page, Google Docs, etc. The main thing, other than basic formatting like Caps and Tabs, is that you can make a PDF and email it.
For musicals, where you are writing the libretto (or "book), Word or any word processor will do fine for you. You do not need to spend money on this software to write musicals for theatre.
posted by miles1972 at 9:30 PM on July 17, 2022
For musicals, where you are writing the libretto (or "book), Word or any word processor will do fine for you. You do not need to spend money on this software to write musicals for theatre.
posted by miles1972 at 9:30 PM on July 17, 2022
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posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:17 AM on July 17, 2022