Articles on: Auto-Highlighting

What is Auto-Highlighting?

Scriptation can automatically highlight character names and dialogue so you can track each character throughout the script. Whether you're prepping a scene, learning lines, or sharing a color-coded breakdown with collaborators, Auto-Highlight handles it in seconds.

Getting Started

From the Top Toolbar, tap Highlight to open the Auto-Highlight sidebar.

✅ TIP: If the Highlight icon isn't showing in the Top Toolbar, touch or click the plus sign on the right side to show additional icons. To pin it permanently, see Customizing the Top Toolbar.

The Auto-Highlight sidebar opens with every character in the script listed. Tap the color dot on the left of a character's row to choose a color — their highlighting toggles on immediately, and you'll see it applied on the script page. To hide a character's highlighting, toggle it off.

Turning Highlighting On or Off for All Characters

To assign colors to every character at once and display them on the script page, tap the three-dot menu (⋯) at the top-right of the sidebar and choose All On. To remove every character's highlighting, choose All Off.

✅ TIP: All On matches colors from the Color Presets list to characters in order — first preset to first character, second preset to second character, and so on. The character list is sorted by total dialogue (most dialogue at the top). See How do I change the Auto-Highlight color presets? to set up your preferred preset order.

📝 NOTE: The free version of Scriptation highlights Name and Dialogue (both). Changing what's highlighted is an Industry Pro feature — see the customization options below.

Customizing Auto-Highlight Further

📝 NOTE: The features below are part of Scriptation Industry Pro.

Choose what gets highlighted — switch between Name and Dialogue (the default), Name Only, or Dialogue Only, and highlight Scene Headings and Action Lines. See How do I choose what Auto-Highlight highlights?;
Change the Color Presets palette — set up your preferred 16-color palette that gets matched to characters when you tap All On. See How do I change the Auto-Highlight color presets?;
Use a custom color for a specific character — open the color picker (grid, wheel, or RGB/HSB sliders) to pick any color you'd like. See How do I use custom colors with Auto-Highlight?;
Save a character's color so it persists across scripts — great for recurring characters on TV shows. See How do I save colors for characters with Auto-Highlight?.

What's Next

How do I choose what Auto-Highlight highlights?

How do I change the Auto-Highlight color presets?

How do I use custom colors with Auto-Highlight?

How do I save colors for characters with Auto-Highlight?

Auto-Highlighting or Character Names not working correctly

What is Playback Mode?

Updated on: 29/05/2026

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