# Word formatting and export choices > See which Word features become editable Plot writing, which changes the import report explains, and what to check before sharing a PDF or screenplay file. Word import brings your writing into Plot's editing styles. It does not reproduce the Word page design. Use the preview and **Changes to review** to check the parts that matter before creating the project. ## What carries over | In the Word file | In Plot | | ------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Paragraphs and headings | Editable prose, with supported heading levels | | Bold, italic, underline, strike | Supported emphasis, including inherited Word styles | | Bulleted and numbered lists | Editable nested lists, including supported starting numbers and restarts | | Left, center, right, and justified paragraphs | Paragraph and heading alignment | | Hyperlinks | Readable label and address; live Word link behavior does not carry over | | Tables | Cell text in reading order, with a warning that the table layout is flattened | | Tracked changes | Current text: insertions included, deletions left out | | Word fields | Their saved display text; automatic field updates do not carry over | | Text boxes | Editable text after the paragraph that anchors the box, marked “Text box”; floating placement and shape styling do not carry over | | Footnotes and endnotes | Reference markers stay in the text; referenced note bodies appear after the main writing, in order of first reference | | Fonts, sizes, colors, highlights, and page layout | Plot styling, with warnings for changed formatting | | Images and embedded objects | Omitted, with warnings | | Headers, footers, page numbers, and comments | Omitted, with warnings | Keep the Word original if its page design or embedded media is part of the handoff. Word import starts editable prose even when the source visually resembles a script. ## Choose the handoff | Format | Best use | What to check | | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | PDF | A readable treatment, mixed draft, or finished script | Prose uses Plot's typography; script uses screenplay typography. Review the resulting pages, lists, and headings rather than expecting Word's pagination | | Final Draft (.fdx) | A screenplay handoff to another screenwriting tool | Prose formatting and native lists are converted to the text structures the destination supports; this is not a Word formatting round trip | | Fountain | A portable plain-text screenplay copy | Lists can become visible text markers; Word layout and prose alignment are not plain-text formatting | Text you keep as a note during conversion doesn't print, so check the export before you send it to a reader. ## Symbols in a script PDF Script pages print in a typewriter font with fewer symbols than prose pages. A symbol that exports fine in a treatment can stop the PDF once that passage becomes script, and Plot names the symbols it can't print rather than leaving a gap on the page. Replace them, or export to Final Draft or Fountain. For the export controls and save-point selection, see [Export PDF, FDX, and Fountain](https://www.inkwell.software/help/writing/export-pdf-fdx-fountain). ## What next - [Import a Word document into Plot](https://www.inkwell.software/help/document-evolution/import-a-word-document): Bring a .docx treatment, outline, or idea document into a new Plot project, review the formatting changes, and begin with editable prose. - [Work with prose and script in one draft](https://www.inkwell.software/help/document-evolution/mix-prose-and-script): Use prose for the story you are still exploring, outlines for beats, and script sections for scenes that are ready to write in screenplay form. - [Solve Word import and conversion problems](https://www.inkwell.software/help/document-evolution/import-and-conversion-problems): Find the next step when a Word file will not import, the preview changes its formatting, a mode is unavailable, or a return to Treatment is blocked. - [Export PDF, FDX, and Fountain](https://www.inkwell.software/help/writing/export-pdf-fdx-fountain): Produce an industry-formatted PDF, a Final Draft file for the office, or a plain Fountain file, from the draft line and save point you choose. --- Canonical page: