FDX
FDX is the XML file format of Final Draft; American and global producers treat it as the standard script submission format, and Fountain converts to it.
Also written as: .fdx · Final Draft · final draft format
Meaning
FDX is the file format of the screenwriting program Final Draft. Internally it is XML, so it can be opened in a text editor, and each paragraph carries a type tag such as <Paragraph Type="Scene Heading">, "Character", "Dialogue", "Action", "Parenthetical" or "Transition". FDX therefore stores structure, not formatting. Moved into another program, a scene heading is still recognized as a scene heading and dialogue as dialogue. As Final Draft became the standard tool of the American film and television industry, FDX became the standard submission format.
Why it matters
Overseas producers, agencies and contests often require a script in both PDF and FDX. PDF is for reading; FDX is for production. With FDX a producer can pull a scene list, load the script into scheduling software and manage revision pages. Korean broadcasting standardizes on HWP scripts and does not ask for FDX, but global streaming originals and international co-productions do. The good news is that you do not need to buy Final Draft to produce one. Write in Fountain and run a free converter, or use a tool such as SparkLore that exports FDX directly. Because FDX is a structural file, the source must be structurally correct (scene headings, character names and dialogue properly distinguished) for the conversion to be correct.
Example
One scene inside an FDX file looks like this.
<Paragraph Type="Scene Heading">
<Text>INT. GRANDMOTHER'S KITCHEN - DAY</Text>
</Paragraph>
<Paragraph Type="Action">
<Text>Yuri opens the drawers one by one. The bottom one will not open.</Text>
</Paragraph>
<Paragraph Type="Character">
<Text>YURI</Text>
</Paragraph>
<Paragraph Type="Parenthetical">
<Text>(to herself)</Text>
</Paragraph>
<Paragraph Type="Dialogue">
<Text>Why is this so heavy.</Text>
</Paragraph>
Each paragraph's Type is the script's grammar. When this structure is right, the script displays in standard format in any program that opens it.
Common mistakes
- Trying to save a Word document as FDX. FDX is a structure file, not a formatting file. Go through a script tool or Fountain.
- Leaving Korean notation in.
S#12.and (E) have no FDX type. Convert headings to INT./EXT. and (E) to(V.O.)after the character name. - Sending only the PDF. If the requirements list FDX, send both. A PDF-only script gets retyped at the production stage.