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Editing together in real time

What happens when two people have the same script open: shared cursors, following a collaborator, holding a scene while you work on it, and what happens if you go offline.

1 min readUpdated

When two editors open the same draft line, they are editing one document. Each sees the other's cursor and selection, labeled with their name, and every keystroke arrives as it is typed. Nothing has to be merged afterwards; the script is simply shared.

PresenceLink to this section

The header shows who else has the document open. Select a name to jump to where they are working.

Following someoneLink to this section

Ghost Mode follows a collaborator's cursor: the page scrolls with them and their selection is yours to watch, without you touching the text. It is the way to read a rewrite as it happens, or to walk a co-writer through a scene on a call. Leave it by moving your own cursor.

Holding a sceneLink to this section

If you want a scene to yourself for a while, hold it from the outline. Others see the hold with your name on it and are asked before they edit inside it; it is a courtesy, not a lock, and it lifts when you release it or leave.

Going offlineLink to this section

Lose the connection and you keep writing; the editor stores your changes and sends them when you are back. If the same passage was changed by both of you in the meantime, Plot shows both versions and asks which to keep rather than choosing for you.

Working apart on purposeLink to this section

For a rewrite you do not want to share keystroke by keystroke, work on your own draft line and incorporate it when it is ready — see Draft lines.

What next

  • Invite people to a project or workspace

    Add collaborators with the role that fits — editor, commenter, or viewer — accept an invitation, and manage a Team workspace's members and seats.

    How-to · 1 min read

  • Save points

    What a save point is, how it differs from autosave, and what the History tab lets you do with one: read it, compare it, restore it.

    Concept · 1 min read

  • Draft lines

    Parallel versions of the whole script: when to open one, how switching works, and how a draft line comes back to the main draft.

    Concept · 1 min read

What writers have asked about this — open the request to follow it.