I use Scrivener for screenplays, and for aesthetic reasons I (over)use Underline By Word. I just think it looks better with Courier. And right now I’m writing a very action-heavy script where I’m busting out all sorts of IN CAPS and underlines by words formatting to get the job done.
I often switch between Scrivener Mac and Windows. The Mac version DOES have Underline By Word, the Windows version doesn’t.
In programs that have the UBW capability, they seem to handle it in different ways. For instance:
- Scrivener (Mac) shows the words as “officially underlined” (i.e. with the toolbar underline icon switched on).
- FInal Draft (Mac or Windows) DOESN’T show the words as “officially underlined”. The words appear on the page as underlined, but the toolbar icon doesn’t flag the words as underlined.
- Word (I only have Windows) DOESN’T show the words as “officially underlined”. The words appear on the page as underlined, but the toolbar icon doesn’t flag the words as underlined. I’m pretty certain it (and Final Draft) actually achieves the effect using some other protocol, which brings me back to…
… Scrivener. In Scrivener Mac’s case, the blank gaps BETWEEN the Underline-By-Words words show up as still being underlined in the toolbar. And this is the main thing. When I switch a project between Scrivener Mac and Scrivener Windows, Scrivener Windows interprets the whole sentence as being underlined and my preferred formatting choice goes away.
Thankfully, compiling to Final Draft DOES retain Underline By Word, as does importing from Final Draft. Copying and pasting doesn’t, but I avoid that anyhow.
I very much doubt it can be done, but does anyone have any ideas about how I could retain Underline By Word going from Scrivener Mac to Windows? At the moment I’ve resorted to doing the underlining manually word by word.