Tell Tarryn how she can make First Draft Pro more useful to you :)
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Show scene text if there is no scene breakdown or title.
I’d love it if the scenes in outline mode could have a short, maybe a few lines or so, preview of the contents of that scene before the title/breakdown is edited. I sometimes like to write scenes first, then go back and edit the outline, and it can be confusing to see “Add Scene Title/Breakdown” with no other context. Or even having the first few words as the title automatically in the sidebar would be great too!
Considering
Ability to resume editing from last position / track last edited sections
When a user closes the app and returns later, they should be able to start writing again from the section they edited last. Similarly, if they are working in one section, and change something in another section, when they are ready to resume they should be able to track where they edited last so they can continue. This is specifically useful for revision sessions. Current work around: Highlight the last section edited in red so the user can visually spot where the last edited position.
Future Plans (Backlog)
Tagging Note categories
Would be great to tag notes and make them searchable. So that one could tag many notes under the same category, and then search can bring all of those notes up.
Considering
Export Notes
Would be really useful to be able to export some or all notes, like currently doable with the manuscript.
Future Plans (Backlog)
Folders for series / filters for projects
I’d really love to be able to put projects of the same series into one folder. I make new projects for each shiny novel idea I have, regardless of if I am actively working on it, so being able to sort things into folders would be amazing! For instance, I have one middle grade series with 6+ books and one adult fantasy series with 2 books, so having these separated even more would make the platform more enjoyable. Even just a filter system to change the order that projects are shown would help, like being able to sort based on genre, alphabetically, or word count for instance. I don’t know how possible these are, but even more opportunities for organisation helps my brain feel more locked in and ready to go.
Considering
More colour options for the plot outlines
I love the fact that we have the possibility to give every chapter it’s own colour. Unfortunately for me there are not enough colours. Is it possible to add some more colours so every chapter can have its own? That would be amazing!
Not Right Now
Ability to unpin notes in chapters you're not actively working on
When working in the manuscript, one can only unpin a note if the chapter editor is active.
Considering
Read Aloud
It would absolutely swell to be able to have a feature where the text is read aloud for a highlighted portion.
Considering
Edit header image
It would be awesome if we could customize the header image above the project!
Considering
Sidebar on Notes Tab
Would love to be able to arrange them in personalized order rather than alphabetical! Would also like to be able to scroll further down without having to close folders. Perhaps the word count could be replaced by a longer note/folder menu display, since words written in the notes section don’t count towards daily goals.
Future Plans (Backlog)
Bulk Accept for Track Changes
Users editing long manuscripts would like to accept all suggestions at once, rather than each change individually. This feature will allow to work efficiently through manuscripts while using the Suggestions mode. This specifically comes from users who edit their own draft who wants a way to process all accepted changes without manually scrolling through the whole document.
Considering
Alternative to drag-and-drop for moving scenes and chapters
Feedback: I wish there were an easier way to move the cards. I wish in the 3 dots I could assign card place like change from 1.1 to 4.1 in a pull-down down.
Future Plans (Backlog)
Ability to lock the outline so that cards don't move when you're scrolling
Feedback: I find myself accidentally grabbing cards a lot, and then it's a pain to get them back. I keep scrolling past the wrong spot. I wish I could turn off the ability to pick them up at all when I'm on my tablet and trying to swipe, and I accidentally shuffle my chapters.
Considering
Editing mode
I work with an indie line editor and although I can share my chapters, it’s not practical to go through my viewport. Maybe have a special mode / view so editors can review and leave comments more easily. As for line editing, if they suggest complete sentences, have them in a different colors that we can approve and replace our text with, like google doc
Future Plans (Backlog)
Tutorial for teachers
A tutorial for teachers implementing this in a classroom setting.
Completed
FirstDraftPro Guide/Wiki/Documentation
So far, all the features I’ve seen are great. HOWEVER, finding some of them was confusing at first. And I still haven’t figured out how to delete a draft. All that being said, I looked over the website and couldn’t find any information describing how to use FirstDraftPro. I’d love to become more familiar with it, or even to help build out a guide as I go. It’s hard to know what features I’m missing when I just have no way to see what’s there in the first place. (Hope that makes sense! Genuinely love some of these features already but thought this would be helpful for new users / growing the user base / people knowing what it is before they try it.)
Future Plans (Backlog)
Expanded comments feature
The ability to view all document comments in the “Activity” tab, organized by associated chapter. The ability to click on a comment and be automatically navigated to its highlighted text within the document.
Future Plans (Backlog)
Import Additional Documents Related to the Project
This is one of those things that’s not an immediate need, but an idea would be able to import documents for quick reference in the project. For example : If you have someone that will give you a book report or a chapter by chapter summary of how they felt about each chapter.