Introduction

From CeltxWiki

Contents 1 Welcome to Celtx! 2 Introduction 3 System Requirements 4 Internet Connection & Networks 5 The Technology - XUL, RDF, Moz framework. 6 Cross Platform Compatibility 7 Features Summary 7.1 WRITING TOOLS 7.1.1 Story Development Forms 7.1.2 Scripts 7.1.3 Adapt To 7.1.4 TypeSet 7.1.5 Index Cards 7.1.6 Template Engine 7.2 PRE-VISUALIZATION TOOLS 7.2.1 Storyboarding 7.2.2 Media Rich Breakdowns 7.3 ORGANIZATION TOOLS 7.3.1 Catalogs 7.3.2 External Documents 7.3.3 Scheduling, Call Sheets and Shooting Reports 7.3.4 Inter-Project Document Management 7.3.5 Toolbox 7.4 PUBLISHING TOOLS 7.4.1 Project Central 7.4.2 iPhone Viewing - 'My Celtx' 7.5 CELTX STUDIOS

Welcome to Celtx!

This wiki manual is intended to provide our users with everything there is to know about Celtx. The information currently provided reflects the features of the desktop versions 1.0 and 2.0, and The Celtx Studios. The Manual is written primarily from a Mac perspective, but for the most part all features function similarly to those on Windows. Any obvious differences should be included, but if we've missed something... anything at all, please feel free to create a wiki user account and contribute your knowledge, or let us know by contacting us at Customer Support and we'll be sure to update.

Your suggestions and feedback... the good and the bad... are always encouraged.

THANK YOU for using Celtx!!

Enjoy!

The Celtx Crew

Sheila, Steve, Laurie, Tony, Greg, Chad and Mark

Introduction

Welcome to Celtx, the world's first client-server web based application designed for the Pre-Production of film, television, theatre and animation. Celtx helps Creators bring their story ideas to life – combining intelligent writing and media planning tools with Internet friendly technologies to create a new, open standards platform for the pre-production of Media. The software provides features for generating story ideas, writing narratives as well as properly formatted film scripts, and completing media rich breakdowns of a project that can be saved where you want with a standard folder system, and shared with team members to foster Collaboration.

Celtx is available as a free download from the our website www.celtx.com. Published Media is hosted on Project Central. The free, open source client software is augmented by Celtx Studios, a set of integrated web services that are delivered by the Celtx server.

System Requirements

Celtx v.2.0 (based on Firefox 3.x)

WINDOWS

• 75 MB of free disk space
• Windows 2000
• Windows XP
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Vista

Minimum Hardware

• Pentium 233 MHz (Recommended: Pentium 500MHz or greater)
• 64 MB RAM (Recommended: 128 MB RAM or greater)
• 52 MB hard drive space

MAC

• 75 MB of free disk space
• Mac OS X 10.4.x

Note to MAC Panther (10.3) Users - The latest version of Celtx (v.2.0) is not compatible with the MAC OS X 10.3.0 operating system. On moving Celtx to the new Firefox 3.0 code base, we are no longer able to support 10.3 (or earlier) versions of the MAC operating system.

• Version 1.0 For Mac OS X 10.3.x users is available for download here.

Minimum Hardware

• Macintosh computer with an Intel x86 or PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
• 128 MB RAM (Recommended: 256 MB RAM or greater)
• 200 MB hard drive space

LINUX

• Linux kernel - 2.2.14 or higher with the following libraries or packages:
  • glibc 2.3.2 or higher
  • XFree86-3.3.6 or higher
  • gtk+2.0 or higher
  • fontconfig (also known as xft)
  • libstdc++5
• Gnome (recommended)
• 75 MB of free disk space
• NOTE: an up to date Linux distribution is recommended

Minimum Hardware

• Intel Pentium II or AMD K6-III+ 233 MHz CPU (Recommended: 500MHz or greater)
• 64 MB RAM (Recommended: 128 MB RAM or greater)
• 52 MB hard drive space

Internet Connection & Networks

If you are experiencing connection or network issues, ensure your network/firewall is not blocking the Celtx server which could be considered a 'non-approved host'. Access to the Celtx server is over a SSL connection, so access to an encrypted connection must also be allowed.

At a minumum, for TypeSet to work you need to allow HTTPS (port 443) access to render.celtx.com. For upload/download (etc.), the client needs HTTPS access to publish.celtx.com.

If you connect to the internet via proxy, ensure the proxy settings are correct in the client preferences/options.

The Technology - XUL, RDF, Moz framework.

Built on top of the award winning Firefox technologies, Celtx is an open source and open standards software application. Celtx is built using Firefox's XUL Mozilla application framework. The application uses a semantic web compliant RDF database and XML file formatting.

As a client-server application Celtx is Internet aware and also provides off-line access. This provides the best of both worlds - giving users desktop client behavior coupled with Server based intelligence. Celtx users can access managed web services like enhanced data security, remote file back-ups, and special server features like auto-formatting for PDF printing. As a "stand-alone" application. Celtx data is stored on the user's own computer; which means that users can access their Projects while off-line.

Cross Platform Compatibility

Celtx is designed to work on all major operating systems - Mac, Linux and Windows. Celtx is available for free download from the Celtx website, under an open source license.

Features Summary

WRITING TOOLS

Story Development Forms

Celtx helps you develop your story with preloaded forms for key elements like locations, scenes, props, characters, and 32 other production categories. You can use the forms to organize your thoughts and kick-start a media rich storyline that includes sound files, images and video clips. Celtx story development forms are intelligently tied into your script, informing the story and each scene with valuable production information.

Scripts

Celtx includes six dedicated industry standard editors for writing:

• Screenplay
• Stageplay - International and US standard
• AV scripts - including documentaries, music videos and advertising.
• Audio Play - including radio plays and podcasts.
• Comic Book
• Plain Text

Celtx includes the essential features that writers need to keep their fingers moving - like intuitive formatting, text auto-complete, page breaks, dual column dialog, scene management, scratchpad, embedded notes, title page generation, pagination, printing, spellchecker, keyboard shortcuts, find and replace, script importing and exporting, PDF and HTML script reports, and collaboration.

Adapt To

With a single click Adapt To converts any fully formatted script of one type into a fully formatted script of another - for example, a Stageplay to a Screenplay - displaying in an instant the multi-media potential of your work.

TypeSet

TypeSet provides precise automatic formatting of your script to industry and international standards. The Celtx server uses the very powerful LaTex typesetting tool to deliver perfectly formatted scripts. Full support is provided for optional formatting features like Mores and Continueds, Scene Numbering and paper size. Encryption technology protects every project upload & download between the Celtx Server and the desktop.

Index Cards

Celtx includes reversible, colour coded Index Cards that are intelligently tied to your script and auto populate with the Scene Headers and first 40 words or so of the scene. You can flip the cards to type notes on the back, colour code them to track plot lines, and drag and drop them to reorder scenes.

Template Engine

If the default setting for a Celtx project doesn't fit your needs, you can create your own new, blank state Template that will only open the documents you want.

PRE-VISUALIZATION TOOLS

Storyboarding

Take your media project to the next level by adding a storyboard based on your script and adding individual or batch images in to the storyboard. Each storyboard image is accompanied with a shot description to help you communicate your creative vision. Rearrange images and sequences within the project to construct your visual narrative. Then when you're ready, use the slideshow feature to play the images to help pre-visualize your media project.

Media Rich Breakdowns

You can add sound files, video clips, digital photos and scanned documents to your project to create a media intensive breakdown. You can then associate the media with any one of the 36 production categories, including wardrobe, props, and locations.

ORGANIZATION TOOLS

Catalogs

Catalogs provide a way for you to organize and view the many production items and research details required in the pre-production stage of any media project. Each Celtx project includes a Master Catalog which auto-populates as you breakdown your script, ultimately providing a searchable dashboard view of all your story's elements and production items. Additional Sub-Catalogs can be created for specific production categories - like props, characters, and wardrobe.

External Documents

You can add any document from any application to your project - PDFs, budget spreadsheets, images, and scripts written in other applications - to help stay organized.

Scheduling, Call Sheets and Shooting Reports

Celtx includes a 'Just In Time' Scheduling feature that lets you manage your projects in real time. Open a schedule based on your script and drag and drop scenes to the calendar to build your shooting schedule. Generate customizable Shooting Reports to keep track of the resources you'll need during shooting, including lists of props, actors, and wardrobe items. Create Call Sheets to ensure your crew knows where and when to show up for the shoot.

Inter-Project Document Management

You can also drag and drop documents between projects. Grab a document from one Project Library and drop it in to another Project Library and you're done.

Toolbox

New for v2.0, you can now customize your Celtx application with a suite of new add-on productivity tools. Customization lets you better tailor Celtx to fit your particular needs.

Note: Are you interested in developing custom tools for Celtx? Check out our developers page for more information.

PUBLISHING TOOLS

Project Central

When your work is "in the can" you can publish it to Project Central and give the world a sneak peek at your work in progress and get peer reviews and comments. You can publish to Project Central through the new 'Upload' feature on the home page.

iPhone Viewing - 'My Celtx'

View your Celtx projects from just about anywhere with a display optimized for your iPhone. Access 'My Celtx' at http://pc.celtx.com/mobile

CELTX STUDIOS

New web-based Celtx Studios integrate with Celtx software to provide a cost-saving and professional way to store, manage, and collaborate on your scripts and projects.

Celtx Studios are filled with innovative tools you can use to take your creativity and productivity to new heights.