I’ve tried to convince other screenwriters to use Fountain syntax and Highland. Some have bit, some balked at the learning curve (which really takes about ten minutes for such a great game changer). But I continued to advocate because it made the writing process so much more fluid than anything I’d ever come across.
So when Highland 2 dropped I didn’t even skip a beat, I bought it from the app store the first week it was available. I was very excited to start using it. But as I began playing with the features I regretted that I was not one of the Beta Testers…
Because I’m not in love with it.
Let me start by saying that almost everything I write ends up in Final Draft at some point.
The software is industry standard and some producers may even want the .fdx file. At a certain point you’re just going to have to splurge on the software, clunky as it is.
Let me also say that there are still bugs in Highland 2 , specifically with dual dialogue in Play Script mode, which is a real bummer. But their tech reply was kind and prompt and thorough. They also stopped letting you choose Times New Roman for play script mode, which I can’t understand. Plays have no industry standard typeface. I’ve been told they are going to come out with custom templates soon which will address this.
Why Highland 1 was so great…
What made Highland 1 so amazing was that it was almost invisible. It was just a magical conversion tool that I only had to use once I’d written the work— in Fountain— using either Scrivener, Ulysses, Byword, iAWriter, OmWriter, you could use a basic web based text editor on a Chromebook— whatever your drug of choice is (and I like all of them for different reasons) all strung together on a single file through the magic of Dropbox or iCloud— I could do an easy Ctrl-A / Ctrl-C from one of those programs (if I don’t want to use the export tools) and a Ctrl-V into Highland and wallah: formatted screenplay. Export to PDF (or Final Draft). Proof and Email.
That was… in a nutshell… my workflow. And it paid the bills.
I would occasionally use Highland 1 as a writing tool, not because it was brilliant, but because it changed it up a little and I could get a real time look at the formatting as I went while still writing in easy-peasy Fountain. It wasn’t great, but they are trying to change that with Highland 2.
The Big Move In Highland 2.
What Highland is doing with Version 2 is it is now trying to replace your preferred text editor. This is a bold task given how comprehensive Scrivener and Ulysses are, given how lightweight and iOS friendly both Byword and iAWriter are, given how niche OmWriter is and how accessible Chromebooks are. Highland 2 is betting that you’ll forgo those editors and instead want to spend your dozens of hours in their app composing your masterwork. I think this is a battle they are likely to not win, despite their efforts, which are admirable.
The Disappointing.
.highland, we now have yet another file type
First off, Highland 2 defaults your file to their new “.highland”— which seems antithetical to the Fountain philosophy, which says that your text should be readable by any computer no matter what changes occur throughout time and software. Any file with .txt (or .fountain) should be able to be read by any computer, even the oldest one still running, and it will look more or less like a screenplay or stage play. And no matter the changes any computer will still read it say 100 years from now. If Quote Unquote apps goes under, your .highland file will become useless and unreadable. You’re making the same bet with .fdx and .docx but those files can be read by multiple programs already. Not so with .highland at the moment.
Why…
Why have they done this? Well, they think you’re really going to want to be able to store files and images into the Highland app under their “Assets” feature. And this capability needs something beyond a .txt or .fountain file. That sounds fine, but now the only place where I can work on my file is on Highland 2— which has no support for iOS let alone Android or Windows.
Apparently they made this decision and discovery during Beta. I wish I was part of that Beta process to tell them that working on a screenplay in a lightweight way is the best thing about what they have going and to please not muss with it.
The problem here is that Ulysses and Scrivener do this “Assets” feature already, and better. The other problem is that in all the screenwriting I’ve done I’ve never had to use a file in my work (maybe for a show bible). This feature caters mostly to bloggers and writers who need images. It means that Highland is trying to expand from its screenwriting base. This might net them a wider audience, but now they have to compete in a very crowded field.
There is an option in Highland 2 to open up a “Plain Text” document to begin a new project in .fountain exclusively. (.txt seems to not be an option anymore) (you can’t store files in “Assets” when you use this option). But there’s currently no way to make this default.
The “Meh” Features
There are some new features which vary between nice and not necessary.
Live Margins means that as you type in Fountain, it will automatically format it as you’re writing. Type “WALTER WHITE” on the left hand margin in all caps, hit enter, and it centers it right where it should be and you’re ready to write his dialogue. I can see how some would like this. But it drives me nuts. What I loved about writing in Fountain is that nothing called attention to formatting. Nothing moved. You can turn this feature off, which I did immediately. So this feature is moot for me.
There is “Sprint” mode which is a timer that you can set for yourself. Nice. But nothing your iPhone or Alexa can’t do. It does keep track of your sprints, if you’re into that. Perhaps that’s useful for some people. Not me.
It has a Goal Setting option— for number of pages or number of words. That’s nice too. Scrivener and Ulysses have had these for a long time. They’ve never been super important to me. It can track your progress too.
There’s also typewriter mode and dark mode and selections of different themes— entry level features for a serious writing app. But it’s nice that Highland 2 has them.
They’ve generously given us Autofill so you don’t have keep writing character names in all caps over and over. I got used to doing this, but this feature is nice and one of the good ones, especially for playwrighting where you are using primarily dialogue.
There’s also a Scratch Pad where you can leave notes on your project. There is also a “Bin” where you can drag and click work for later— maybe some cool dialogue comes to you but it’s not for this scene, put it there for later. Both are nice.
The issue with the Scratch Pad and Bin feature is that if you’re planning to write a 120 page feature these sections are going to get very crowded very quickly and very difficult to navigate.
For me I usually have a completely separate document— I call it a Captain’s Log— within my Ulysses or Scrivener Project or in my Bear Notes app where I put and date all the bits of info, dialogue, good and bad ideas, producer or director notes from calls, that come to me to use or refer to later. This document can get quite large over time as I work. A tiny section on the side bar of Highland 2 is going to get crowded to a point where it will be unusable.
The Best Update Feature
The only real improvement— and I do love it and longed for it in Version 1— is the Navigator Feature. It’s a side bar which tracks your chapters/sections (#), if you use them, and notes (=).
I used to use those features in Highland 1 but they’d get buried in a long document with no way to find or refer to them so I stopped using the syntax. Now they appear in the side bar so I can skim to them when I want. Drop a note directly in a scene (“= Draft Edit 6.4 still needs another character polish on this scene”) or a section (“# Walter White meets Jesse”) and you’ll easily be able to find that note or section next time you need it on the Navigator side bar and jump right to it in your draft. I’m going to start using this syntax again. If they would update Highland 1 with just this alone plus typewriter mode, I’d easily go back to the old software. And I’d pay for it too. The Navigator is easily the best feature.
But here’s why I think that Highland 2 is fighting an uphill battle in trying to compete in the field of robust text editors:
There’s No Real Way To Deal In Sections
I’m talking about the way which most writers work, which is on small parts at a time, sometimes out of order, sometimes replacing the order as you go or as you finish. Ulysses and Scrivener are set up for this beautifully. You can write a scene and if you decide it needs to be in Act II instead of III you can drag and click and re-order it. Or you can move it out of the draft completely and then re-drag it back in a week later if you decide there’s a place for it.
With Highland 2 you are stuck with one document and no real way to do this. There is one method offered enthusiastically by John August (whom I love for many reasons, one of which is introducing me to Fountain) using Highland 2’s “Include” syntax feature, meaning the file can exist on your computer and you just have to drag it into Highland 2 for it to be used. But this means placing each piece of your project in entirely different files and having one master Highland project which places all the different files together— let me stop myself: it’s more complicated than… Final Draft… which Highland 2 is supposed to replace.
Highland 1 was a beautiful last pit stop on the way to .pdf or .fdx. Highland 2 wants to compete in a space as a fully realized text editor where it has a lot of thick competition. I don’t think it is going to fare well.
I could be wrong about this. And I hope I am because I truly do love the philosophy behind the product. I just can’t get on board with Highland 2 yet.
But I Still Think You Should Buy It
I do. Why? Because if you like writing in Fountain this is still the best conversion tool out there. I would just still use it as I do Highland 1. Write almost anywhere else, and pull through Highland 2 for the formatting. It’s currently listed in the app store for $50.