Working offline

Plotic is designed so writing does not depend on a constant connection.

If a project has already been opened in that browser, you can open it from Projects and keep editing and reviewing its local structure offline. Changes are stored in the browser until the connection returns.

Creating a local project or importing a local .plotic/.fdx file needs no account or connection once the app is loaded. Account creation, cloud projects, remote collaboration, and requested AI analysis need a connection.

Synchronization status

The bottom bar reports whether the project is synced, syncing, connecting, or offline and saved locally. When the connection returns, leave the tab open for a moment so pending changes can be sent.

Collaboration

When several people open the same connected project, the document synchronizes in real time. The browser remains the immediate local workspace while the server coordinates collaboration and remote persistence.

Screenplay comments are stored separately on the server to preserve authorship and permissions. Their markers remain anchored as the text changes, and other open browsers receive thread updates in real time. Creating, reading, replying to, or resolving comments requires a connection; this does not prevent offline screenplay editing.

Collaboration requires the owner to have a Studio subscription with an available seat. The invited person does not need another paid subscription to work in those projects; their personal projects retain their own plan. They can first join the Studio team from Account, including with an email that does not yet have a Plotic account. Then use the chain icon in Projects to share only the required projects. Plotic sends an email with a link that expires after seven days.

Shared projects appear under Shared with me, separate from your folders. The owner keeps control of the name, folders, invitations, and deletion. Collaborators can edit the document content and document settings.

When several people have the project open, avatars in the top bar show who is present and which document they are using. Screenplay, synopsis, and treatment also show remote cursors and selections. The title page shows presence but not a remote cursor because its fields are not a text editor.

If Studio ends or no longer covers a seat, the membership is kept but the shared project is suspended. If someone with more than three owned projects returns to Free, they choose up to three active projects. The rest stay available for reading and export without deleting content.

Version history

In the editor, choose Versions next to the project name. Plotic saves an automatic copy at most once an hour while there are changes, and you can create named versions for milestones such as a delivery or approved revision.

Open any version in read-only mode. View opens the complete screenplay compared with the current project: additions are green and removals are red with a strikethrough, inside the document itself. It is a review view and changes neither state. Restore as copy creates a new project from that state: it never overwrites the current project or copies collaborators. Only the owner can delete or restore versions; collaborators can view them and create named versions.

Free accounts keep up to three versions. Paid and self-hosted plans keep up to 100 automatic and 50 named versions. When returning to Free, existing named versions remain and are not deleted automatically.

.plotic files

The owner can choose Export in the editor and then Plotic project to download a complete editable copy. A .plotic file works between Plotic Cloud and self-hosted installations and includes the document state, Fountain, synopsis, treatment, and readable entity data.

In Projects, use Import .plotic to create a new cloud copy in the selected folder. It keeps no collaborators or permissions and counts toward Free's three cloud slots. Import locally creates a browser-only copy without using a slot.

Final Draft (.fdx)

In Projects, choose Import file and select an .fdx file. Before creating anything, Plotic shows the scene and paragraph counts and lists anything it cannot retain. Cloud import creates a new project in the selected folder and counts toward Free's cloud limit. Local import creates a browser-only project and does not.

Plotic imports the screenplay, conventional title page, headings, action, characters, dialogue, parentheticals, transitions, shots, scene numbers, extensions, and dual dialogue. Revisions, ScriptNotes, tags, images, locked pages, and alternate dialogue are not retained. Final Draft does not publish a third-party FDX schema, so compatibility intentionally stays within this screenplay core.

Do not clear site data while changes are pending. If you move to another device, reconnect before signing out.

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