Getting Started
Welcome to Lína! Here's a quick overview of the steps to get your production up and running.
1. Create an account — Sign up for free at app.lina.tools. No credit card is required. Education accounts are always free.
2. Create a project — After logging in, click + New Project from the Project Manager. Give your project a name and you're ready to start. Each project holds one screenplay along with all of its breakdowns, schedules, call sheets, and crew data.
3. Import or write your screenplay — In the Screenplay section, import a file or start writing from scratch in the built-in editor. Lína supports Fountain (.fountain), Final Draft (.fdx), and plain text (.txt) formats.
4. Build outward — With your screenplay in place, everything else flows from it: draw coverage lines on the Lined Script to generate shots, break down scenes for props and wardrobe, build a schedule on the stripboard, and generate call sheets for your shoot days.
Lína is built around one core idea: the screenplay is the living center of the project. Enter data once and it flows everywhere — from the lined script to the shot list to the schedule to the call sheet.
Project Manager
The Project Manager is your home screen. From here you can create, rename, and delete projects, as well as share them with collaborators. Your current plan's project count and storage usage are displayed so you can keep tabs on your limits at a glance.
Click any project to open it. The project you're currently working in is highlighted in the sidebar. You can switch between projects at any time — Lína saves your work automatically to the cloud.
Projects that have been shared with you by other users appear in a separate Shared with Me section beneath your own projects, along with any pending invitations you can accept or decline.
Production Settings
The Production section is your project's home base. It has three main areas: the production calendar, the production office, and the task list.
Production Calendar
The calendar gives you a month-by-month overview of your production timeline. Define start and end dates for your three production phases — pre-production, production, and post-production — using the timeline editor. These phases are color-coded on the calendar so you can see your entire timeline at a glance.
The calendar also displays shoot days from your schedule, task deadlines, and any custom events you add. Click on a day to see its events or add new ones.
Production Office
Store your production company name, street address, city, state, zip, phone number, email, website, and notes. This information is carried into your call sheets automatically, so you only need to enter it once.
Task List
A lightweight task manager built for production to-do lists. Each task supports a title, due date, assignee (autocompletes from your cast and crew list), tags, and a status (open or complete). Overdue tasks are flagged automatically. Filter your tasks by tag or assignee to focus on what matters. Task deadlines appear as dots on the production calendar.
Screenplay
The Screenplay section is where you import, view, and manage your screenplay drafts.
Importing a Screenplay
Click the Drafts button in the toolbar, then Import Draft. Lína accepts Fountain (.fountain), Final Draft (.fdx), and plain text (.txt) files. During import, Lína parses scene headings, characters, action, dialogue, parentheticals, and transitions, and calculates page counts using industry-standard 1/8th-page measurements.
An import report is displayed after parsing so you can review and reclassify any elements before confirming. If your screenplay doesn't import as expected, check that scene headings begin with standard prefixes like INT., EXT., or INT./EXT. and that the file is properly formatted.
Draft Management
Lína supports multiple drafts per project. Open the Drafts modal to see all drafts, switch the active draft, delete old versions, or import additional revisions. Only one draft is "current" at a time — this is the draft used by the lined script, breakdowns, schedule, and all downstream sections.
Title Page
Click the Title Page button to add or edit your screenplay's title page metadata (title, author, contact info, etc.). The title page is included automatically when you print your screenplay.
Characters
Click the Characters button in the toolbar to view all detected characters. Characters are auto-extracted from screenplay dialogue. You can also add characters manually for extras or non-speaking roles. Characters defined here are linked to your cast members in the Cast & Crew section.
Screenplay Viewer
When not editing, the screenplay is displayed in a paginated, read-only viewer that closely resembles printed screenplay formatting. Zoom in and out with Ctrl+Scroll (50%–200%), or double-click the zoom label to reset to 100%. A floating page indicator shows your current page position as you scroll.
Scene numbers can be toggled on or off and are displayed in the left margin alongside each scene heading.
Outline Panel
The Outline side panel gives you a bird's-eye view of your screenplay's scene structure. Each scene is listed with its heading, a short preview of its first action line, and any synopsis or color tag you've assigned. Click a scene to jump directly to it in the viewer or editor.
Use the color-coded scene cards to organize your screenplay at a structural level — group by act, storyline, tone, or any system that works for you.
Notes Panel
The Notes side panel lets you attach notes to specific points in the screenplay. Highlight text and press Ctrl+Shift+M (or use the popup toolbar) to create a note anchored to that text. Each note supports tags for organization (e.g., #rewrite, #vfx, #question) and can be marked as open or resolved. Filter by tag or status to focus on what needs attention.
Statistics Panel
The Statistics panel computes live analytics for the current draft: total scene count, word count, page count, action-to-dialogue ratio, and a per-character breakdown showing dialogue lines and word count for each speaking role. Useful for understanding your screenplay's shape and balance.
Exporting & Printing
Click the Export button to download the current draft as a Fountain (.fountain) file. Click the Print button to print the screenplay with proper formatting, including the title page if one is defined.
Screenplay Editor
Lína includes a full-featured, built-in screenplay editor. Click the Edit button in the Screenplay section to enter edit mode, where you can write and revise directly in the browser.
Smart Formatting
The editor handles screenplay formatting automatically. Press Enter to create a new element, and Tab to cycle between element types (scene heading, action, character, dialogue, parenthetical, transition). Lína infers the correct element type based on context — for example, pressing Enter after a character name creates a dialogue block.
Autocomplete
As you type character names and scene headings, Lína suggests completions drawn from earlier in the screenplay. Press Tab to accept a suggestion. This speeds up writing and helps maintain consistent character and location naming.
Focus Mode
Press Ctrl+Shift+F (or click the Focus Mode button) to enter a distraction-free writing environment. The sidebar and toolbar fade away, leaving just the page. Press Escape to exit focus mode.
Scene Heading Support
Lína recognizes standard English scene heading prefixes (INT., EXT., INT./EXT.) as well as Spanish equivalents. Scene headings that include a time of day (DAY, NIGHT, etc.) are parsed and carried into the schedule.
Auto-Save
Edits are saved to the cloud automatically as you work. You can also press Ctrl+S to trigger a manual save. Only changed sections are written, keeping saves fast and safe for collaboration.
Lined Script
The Lined Script is where shot planning meets the screenplay. It's Lína's signature feature — draw vertical coverage lines directly on the script text, and each line automatically creates a corresponding shot in the shot list and a frame in the storyboard.
Drawing Tools
The toolbar offers four tools:
- Select / Move — Click a line to select it. Drag to move it horizontally, or drag the top/bottom handles to resize. A shot info popover appears when a line is selected, letting you review and edit shot details without leaving the page.
- Draw Line — Click and drag vertically on the script to draw a new coverage line. Each line represents one shot.
- Draw Squiggle — Click and drag to draw a squiggle mark over off-screen dialogue. Squiggles indicate dialogue that is heard but whose speaker is not visible in the shot.
- Eraser — Click on a squiggle to remove it.
Press Tab to cycle through tools quickly. Use Ctrl+Z to undo and Ctrl+Shift+Z to redo any line operation, including drawing, moving, resizing, deleting, and squiggle edits.
Scene Reconciliation
When you re-import or edit your screenplay, Lína's scene reconciliation system automatically detects changes, re-maps your lines and shots to the updated scenes, and alerts you if any scenes were removed. Your coverage work is preserved across rewrites.
Settings
Open Lined Script settings to customize:
- Shot Label Position — Display shot numbers above the line or inline beside it.
- Line Weight — Thin, Normal, or Heavy stroke thickness.
- Squiggle Style — Normal or Wide density for off-screen dialogue squiggles.
- Continuation Arrows — Show arrows where a coverage line spans across a page break.
- Scene Numbers — Toggle scene number labels alongside headings.
Printing
Click the Print button to generate a printable version of the lined script, complete with coverage lines, squiggles, and shot labels formatted for paper.
Shot List
The Shot List displays every shot created from the lined script, organized by scene. Each shot has fields for shot number, setup, type, angle, lens, camera movement, subject, and notes.
Filter the shot list by scene using the dropdown at the top. You can also add shots manually without drawing a line — useful for insert shots or pickup coverage.
Click any shot row to open its detail modal, where you can edit all fields in a larger form. Changes here sync back to the lined script and storyboard.
Exporting & Printing
Export your shot list as a CSV file for use in spreadsheets or other tools. Print the shot list using the Print button to generate a formatted, print-ready view organized by scene.
Storyboard
The Storyboard section displays your shots as visual cards in a grid. Each card shows the shot's metadata (setup, type, angle, lens, movement, subject) and a frame area where you can upload a reference image or storyboard drawing.
Upload images by clicking on a card's frame area or dragging and dropping an image file (JPEG or PNG). Remove an uploaded image with the ✕ button that appears on hover.
Switch between 1-column, 2-column, and 3-column grid layouts depending on how much detail you need to see. The storyboard stays in sync with the shot list and lined script — editing a shot in any section updates it everywhere.
Scene Breakdowns
Scene breakdowns let you catalog every production element in each scene. Select a scene from the dropdown, then add items to any of the 13 standard breakdown categories: Cast Members, Stunts, Extras/Atmosphere, Special Effects, Props, Vehicles/Animals, Wardrobe, Makeup/Hair, Sound/Music, Set Dressing, Greenery, Special Equipment, and Production Notes.
Each category is color-coded using the standard EP (Entertainment Partners) breakdown colors, so your breakdowns look familiar to anyone in the industry. Tagged elements flow into your schedule and call sheets automatically.
Tag Mode
Click the Tag button to enter Tag Mode. The screenplay text is displayed alongside the breakdown sheet, and you can highlight words or phrases directly in the script to tag them into a category. Click on a tagged highlight to change its category or remove it. This is the fastest way to break down a script — read through the text and tag elements as you go.
Printing
Print breakdowns for the current scene using the Print button. Printed breakdowns include all categories and their items in a traditional breakdown sheet layout.
Schedule & Stripboard
The Schedule section presents a traditional stripboard interface. Each scene appears as a colored strip that you can drag and drop to arrange your shooting order. Strips are color-coded by INT/EXT and DAY/NIGHT, matching the industry-standard convention.
Day Breaks, Meal Breaks & Banners
Add Day Breaks to define shooting days (each with an optional date), Meal Breaks to mark lunch or dinner within a day, and Banners / Notes for company moves, weather holds, or any other production notes. All three types are draggable strips you can reposition freely.
Unscheduled Pool
Scenes that haven't been placed on the board appear in the unscheduled pool at the top. Drag them down to the board to schedule them, or drag scheduled scenes back to the pool to unschedule them.
Complexity Score
Each shooting day shows a complexity score that factors in the number of scenes, page count, unique cast, unique locations, company moves, night shoots, and other variables. Use this to balance your workload across days and spot overloaded shoot days before they become problems.
Reports
The Schedule section can generate three printable reports:
- Stripboard — A traditional strip layout showing scenes organized by day.
- One-Liner — A compact, one-line-per-scene schedule organized by shoot day.
- Day Out of Days (DOOD) — A grid showing each cast member's work status (Work, Start, Finish, Hold, etc.) across all shoot days.
Cast & Crew
The Cast & Crew section has two tabs: Cast and Crew.
Cast
Add cast members with a cast number, name, role, phone, email, agent name, agent phone, agent email, status, and notes. Cast members linked to characters in the screenplay automatically appear in scene breakdowns, the stripboard, Day Out of Days reports, and call sheets.
Crew
Add crew members by department and position, along with contact info (name, phone, email), day rate, status, and notes. Lína includes a set of default film departments and positions to speed up setup.
Import & Export
Both cast and crew lists can be imported from CSV files for quick setup and exported as CSV for use in other tools or for sharing. The Print button generates a printable contact sheet for either tab.
Locations
Track your shooting locations with full address details (street, city, state, zip), a location contact person and phone number, scouting status, and general notes.
Scouting Status
Each location can be tagged with one of five statuses: Scouting, Pending, Confirmed, Permit Required, or Locked. This gives you a quick visual overview of where things stand across all your locations.
Parking & Hospital Info
Each location has dedicated fields for parking notes and nearest hospital information (name, address, phone). Hospital and parking data are automatically carried into call sheets for any shoot day at that location — you only need to enter this once.
Call Sheets
Generate professional call sheets for any shoot day. Call sheets pull data from your schedule, breakdowns, cast, crew, locations, and production office automatically, so there's minimal manual entry.
What's Included
Each call sheet displays the production name, date, crew call time, shooting location with address and parking notes, weather (including sunrise, sunset, conditions, and temperature — fetched automatically when a date and location are set), a scene schedule table, cast call times, an advance schedule section for notes about tomorrow's shoot, and emergency info (nearest hospital, production office).
Distribution Lists
Create and manage reusable distribution lists — named groups of email addresses — so you can send call sheets to your full crew, department heads, or any custom group with a single click.
Sending & Tracking
Send call sheets by email directly from Lína. Choose a distribution list and/or add individual emails, customize the subject line, and send. Each recipient gets a unique link, and Lína tracks who has viewed the call sheet so you can follow up with anyone who hasn't opened it. The Send & Track tab shows delivery status: total sent, viewed, and not yet viewed.
Printing
Print or save any call sheet to PDF via the Print button. The printed version is formatted for letter-size paper with professional production layout.
Collaboration & Sharing
Lína supports real-time project sharing so teams can work together.
Sharing a Project
From the Project Manager, click the share icon on any project you own. Enter a collaborator's email and choose their access level: Can edit (full read/write) or View only (read-only). You can also configure per-section permissions — for example, granting edit access to the screenplay but read-only access to the schedule.
Invited users receive the project in their Shared with Me section and can accept or decline the invitation.
Section Locking
When collaborating, Lína uses soft locks to prevent conflicting edits. When someone with write access opens a section, a lock is automatically acquired. If another collaborator navigates to the same section, they'll see a banner indicating who holds the lock, and the section becomes read-only for them until the lock is released.
Locks expire automatically after two minutes of inactivity. The Lined Script, Shot List, and Storyboard are locked together as a group since they share underlying data.
Keyboard Shortcuts
General
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| Ctrl+S | Save |
Screenplay Editor
| Enter | New element (smart context) |
| Tab | Cycle element type / Accept autocomplete |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Toggle Focus Mode |
| Ctrl+Shift+M | Add note from text selection |
| Escape | Exit edit mode / Focus mode |
Lined Script
| Tab | Cycle through tools |
| + / - | Zoom in / out |
| Delete | Delete selected line |
| Escape | Deselect / cancel |
Account & Plans
The Account Settings page (found in the sidebar under your user section) shows your email, display name, membership date, current plan, and usage stats (project count and storage used vs. available).
Your display name is shown on call sheets and production documents sent to your crew — set it to whatever you'd like recipients to see.
To change your password, click Send Reset Link and follow the email instructions. Account deletion is available in the Danger Zone and permanently removes all projects and data.
Plans
Lína offers the following plans:
- Education (free) — For students and educators. Includes 3 projects, unlimited drafts, and 3 GB of storage. Always free; no credit card required.
- Indie ($7.95/mo) — For independent filmmakers. 3 projects, unlimited drafts, and 3 GB of storage.
- Pro ($14.95/mo) — For working professionals. Expanded project and storage limits.
Non-.edu educational institutions can contact info@discoverlina.com for access codes or manual account setup.
In-App Help & Feedback
Lína includes a context-sensitive help system accessible from the Help button in the top-right corner of the interface. This panel shows documentation specific to whichever section you're currently viewing, so help is always one click away.
The Feedback button (also at the top of the screen) lets you submit bug reports, feature requests, or general feedback directly to the development team.
Need More Help?
If you have questions not covered here, visit our Support page to get in touch. We're here to help you get the most out of Lína.