Note transfer not working correctly? Here are the most common causes and how to fix each.

1. Out-of-date version of Scriptation

Make sure you're running the most current version of Scriptation. To update, head to the App Store.

2. Transfer performed in the wrong direction

Note Transfer is designed to be initiated from the new draft — it pulls notes forward from the old draft into the new. A common mistake is initiating the transfer from the old draft, which overwrites the new file with the old notes' layout.

If you've already done a transfer in the wrong direction, here's the recovery:

1. Open the old draft (the one that originally had all your notes);
2. Confirm your annotations are still intact there — they should be, since the transfer only adds notes to the destination file;
3. Open the new draft and initiate the transfer again, this time from the new draft, selecting the old draft as the source.

3. Incorrect transfer selection: Full Draft vs. Collate Pages

Scriptation offers two types of Note Transfer. The right one depends on how your production distributes revisions:

• Full Scripts → use Full Draft Transfer;
• Revised Page Packets → use Collate Pages Transfer.

If you've already performed the transfer with the wrong type, follow the recovery steps in section 2 above to redo it.

4. Document is "flattened"

A flattened document is a PDF whose contents are no longer recognizable as individual parts, so Scriptation (or any PDF program) can't recognize the text. This often happens with scanned files and with some watermarking programs.

To check if your PDF has been flattened, try the Text Highlight tool. If it doesn't recognize any text, the file has been flattened. Ask your production to distribute files differently so everyone can go paperless.

5. File name issues

Sometimes file names are hundreds of characters long, or include double spaces, multiple .pdf extensions, or symbols like [ { ( * % ^ < >.

Make a local copy of your file, rename it to something simple, and try the transfer again.

6. Added pages are mismarked

Scriptation understands pages in two ways:

• Native — official script pages in their imported order;
• Inserted / Added — user-added pages, such as Facing Pages, Sides, and Copied/Pasted Pages.

Very rarely, Added Pages get mismarked as Native (or vice versa) and cause transfer issues. Master Edit Mode can correct the page assignment.

7. Format strays from industry standard

Scriptation is optimized to read single-cam and multi-cam industry-standard formatting. Vertical line spacing is also essential for transfer accuracy — in Final Draft, this setting is called Leading and should be set to Normal or Tight.

You can open and annotate any PDF in Scriptation, but with non-standard formats (musical scores, schedules, run-of-shows, contact sheets) transfer features may not work as reliably.

8. Watermark issues

Scriptation understands watermarks from the most common software (Final Draft, Adobe) and document distribution services (DAX, Doczilla, SetKeeper, and others). Occasionally a new program throws a wrench. Find out which program is creating the PDF and which (if any) watermarking program is being used after creation — with that info we can make a recommendation, since the same issue is likely affecting everyone on the production.

9. Opening or editing in other software

Opening or editing a Scriptation-annotated file in another PDF viewer or annotation app can corrupt the annotations so they won't transfer correctly. Only use Scriptation to view and edit Scriptation files.

Still stuck?

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What's Next

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How do I use Compare Scripts?

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Updated on: 02/06/2026