Skip to the article
Produce · Script and metadata

# Write scripts and manage episode details

Build a script from linked spoken-word and video-direction blocks. The app keeps the episode’s existing UTF-8 script file compatible behind the scenes while preserving safe handoff to external editors and a recovery path for interrupted work.

## Link the standard script

Open the episode’s Script tab. If no script is linked, choose Link Default Script. The standard relative path is `Notes/Script.md`; Studio creates the empty file when it links the path and never replaces an existing draft.

A link is not a file check

Episode Details stores relative file links. Progress and publishing readiness separately verify that script, final export, and thumbnail links resolve to readable regular files.

## Build a two-column script with blocks

The Script tab is one clean, shared canvas. Each row has the spoken script on the left and its video instructions on the right, with two-thirds reserved for the script and one-third for directions. Paragraphs, titles, headings, lists, to-dos, quotes, dividers, and code are real blocks, so formatting markers never appear in the text. Drag the six-dot handle at the left of a block to move the complete script-and-direction pair anywhere in the document.

- Use the + menu to add Text, Title, Heading, Subheading, list, To-do, Quote, Code, or Divider blocks.
- Read the small code before each row to identify its type at a glance: p, h1–h3, li, quote, code, hr, or raw.
- Paste Markdown normally to turn headings, lists, to-dos, quotes, dividers, fenced code, links, bold, italic, strikethrough, and inline code into real formatting. Paste into Code or Video instructions—or use Paste and Match Style—to keep the Markdown characters literal.
- Write the matching visual, shot, B-roll, screen recording, or edit direction in the right-hand Video instructions cell.
- Press Return to continue a list or split text into the next natural block.
- At the start of a styled block, Backspace first turns it into text; press it again to merge with the previous block.
- Move through blocks with Arrow keys, jump with ⌥↑/↓, and use Tab/⇧Tab. In the two-column script, Tab moves from spoken text to its video instructions, then to the next row. Inside Code, Tab inserts indentation; use Control-Tab to move to the paired cell or next block.
- Use ⌘B for bold, ⌘I for italic, ⇧⌘S for strikethrough, ⌘E for inline code, and ⌘\ to clear formatting. These work on a selection or at the insertion point in every text block except Code.
- Press ⇧Return for a line break inside Text or Quote. In headings and lists it safely continues to the next block; Code uses Return for a native line break.
- Use ⇧⌘↑/↓ to reorder the focused block, ⌘D to duplicate it, and ⌘Return to toggle a focused to-do.
- Change a focused single-line block with ⌘⌥0–8: Text, three heading levels, To-do, bullets, numbers, Quote, and Code.
- Right-click a drag handle to move, duplicate, change, or delete its complete pair.
- Word and block counts update with the draft.
- Choose Focus to give the Script canvas the full workspace; Exit focus returns to episode details.
- Press ⌘S to save the actual script file atomically.

Existing Markdown-based scripts are interpreted into these block types when opened. Unsupported imported structures are shown as clean, read-only preserved blocks, so neighboring edits cannot silently damage their original contents.

Video directions stay with their block

New or split blocks start with an empty direction. Duplicating a block duplicates its direction; merging script blocks keeps both directions in the surviving row. Directions are stored as invisible namespaced metadata in the Markdown file, so an external tool that strips HTML comments will remove them.

## Know the difference between save and recovery

Protection | What it does | What it does not do
--- | --- | ---
Save / ⌘S | Atomically writes the linked Markdown file. | It will not silently overwrite a file changed on disk.
Discard / Reload from Disk | Returns to the last committed external script and removes the matching recovery draft. | It does not preserve unsaved text; copy anything you intend to merge first.
Recovery draft | Protects the first dirty revision after about five seconds, then at most once per changed minute and when leaving the editor. | It is not the episode script and not a substitute for saving or backup.

Recovery drafts live under `~/Library/Application Support/After2AMManager/Script Recovery Drafts/`. When the app finds one, it checks whether the on-disk script also changed and whether the draft still belongs to the currently linked path. Typing does not restart the safety interval on every keystroke, and a recovery snapshot never counts as Save.

## When an external editor changes the script

If the file changes after After2AM Studio loaded it, a save is refused. This prevents one editor from silently destroying the other editor’s work.

1. Preserve any text you still need. Copy it somewhere safe if you plan to discard the in-app draft.
2. Compare the disk and recovery versions. Use the recovery prompt rather than guessing which is newer.
3. Reload from Disk only when intentional. Reload discards the current editor changes and removes the recovery draft first.
4. Merge, then save once. After resolving the conflict, continue from one authoritative version.

Reload from Disk is destructive to the draft

It is the right choice when the external file is authoritative, but it deliberately removes the unsaved recovery copy. Read the prompt and preserve anything you intend to merge first.

## Manage Episode Details

The sidebar edits identity, schedule, file links, render state, social links, and the destructive episode action. Choose Save Details after a coherent set of changes.

Identity Title, series or Single, episode number, favourite, and tags.
Schedule Recording date, planned release, and external publication confirmation.
File links Episode folder, script, thumbnail, and final export paths.
Render Not started, Queued, Rendering, Complete, or Failed.
Links Published URL and optional social URLs.

Use each file link’s folder button to choose the real folder or file in Finder. After2AM converts the selection to a portable path relative to the configured storage root. Manual paths remain available and cannot contain `.` or `..` path segments. Web links must be complete `http://` or `https://` URLs.

Thumbnail artwork is linked automatically when a common image file named `Thumbnail` is added anywhere beneath the episode’s `Graphics` folder. The filename, folder, and extension are case-insensitive, so files such as `thumbnail.jpg` and `Graphics/THUMBNAIL/Thumbnail.PNG` both work. A broken stored link is repaired automatically when conventional artwork exists. A readable custom selection remains under manual control.