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Fountain Screenplay Processor (ftn2xml)

This library converts Fountain screenplay documents into XML-style documents with tags that can be converted to other markup languages, like HTML or FDX. Some command-line utilities are provided to demonstrate use, including PDF conversion using PoDoFo.

Overview

I needed a fountain parser for a Geany plugin. For performance, I wanted a parser written in a compiled language, but nearly all existing (open-source) Fountain parsers are written in scripting languages. The ones that aren't are either difficult (for me) to use or were incomplete. So I was "forced" to write my own.

Calling this a "parser" would be generous since I do not recall how to write a proper parser. Fortunately, the elements of a screenplay are generally identifiable on a line-by-line basis. So this library works by:

  • Identifying the type of each line: Scene Header, Transition, Action, Character, Parenthetical, Speech.
  • Using regular expressions to find bold, italics, and underline formatting.

The main complication to this method is dual dialog. When encountering a dual-dialog marker (^), the processor has to go back to modify the most-recently identified dialog node.

Fountain syntax

A detailed description of standard Fountain is available at Fountain.io. This processor recognizes a modified syntax, which is described at Fountain Syntax.

Usage (command line)

Some basic command line utilities are provided. More details are contained in the --help output.

  • ftn2xml – Convert to native XML-style format.
  • ftn2html – Convert to native HTML-style format.
  • ftn2pdf – Export to PDF using PoDoFo library.
  • ftn2fdx – Convert into Final Draft document.

Usage (source code)

  1. Compile as a library or include the files in your project.

  2. #include "fountain.h"

  3. Call a function to convert the script into the desired format:

    • ftn2xml() – Convert to native XML-style format.
    • ftn2html() – Convert to native HTML-style format.
    • ftn2pdf() – Export to PDF using podofo library.
    • ftn2fdx() – Convert into Final Draft document.
    • ftn2screenplain() – Convert into HTML similar to those produced by screenplain.
    • ftn2textplay() – Convert into HTML similar to those produced by textplay.

Requirements

  • Compiler that supports C++17 standard. Both clang++ and g++ seem to work.
  • CLI11 for option parsing.
  • PoDoFo for PDF export.
  • Courier Prime to work around PoDoFo 0.10.x font issues.

Building

This project uses meson build scripts with a make wrapper for convenience.

git clone https://github.com/xiota/ftn2xml.git
cd ftn2xml
make

Installing

The makefile contains an install target.

make install

To uninstall, delete the files and folders listed in build/meson-logs/install-log.txt.

License

This software is licensed under the GPL-3.0-or-later.