Bring your Fade In scripts. FDX round-trips cleanly with Final Draft 12, Fountain export comes through verbatim, and the same editor runs on your phone — not a stripped-down companion.
Export FDX from Fade In. Open in Arqo. Scene-locked numbers, dual dialogue, revisions, A-pages — preserved. Send FDX back out for production.
Fade In writes Fountain at heart. So does Arqo. Your scripts open exactly as you wrote them — no conversion, no normalization.
Fade In Mobile is a separate paid app and lacks features. Arqo is the same editor on every device, included in every tier — Free included.
Fade In licenses are per-machine. Arqo runs on every device you sign in on. Lifetime's great until you change laptops.
File → Save As → Final Draft (.fdx). For plain-Fountain users: File → Save As → Fountain (.fountain). Either works.
Scripts → Import → drop the .fdx or .fountain file. Scenes, dialogue, dual-dialogue, revisions all come through.
Open the imported script in Arqo. Spot-check the first three scenes — elements, character names, scene numbers, revision marks. Round-trip FDX back to Fade In or FD12 if needed.
Sign in on iOS or Android. Same editor, same Fountain engine, same export. No second purchase.
No urgency. Fade In is excellent on a single machine and the lifetime license is genuinely good value. Switch when you want a real mobile editor (Fade In Mobile is a separate purchase with fewer features), a memory layer, or a tool that runs on every device you sign in on. Arqo doesn't replace Fade In — it adds what Fade In deliberately doesn't.
Index card / outliner data preserves as Fountain notes through FDX. The visual index-card surface in Arqo is simpler today (scene list); a richer outline view is on the roadmap.
Character + location auto-suggestion, yes. Custom macros, partial. The full SmartType surface (Extensions, Times of Day, custom Transitions) is on the roadmap, not blocking import.
Yes. Fade In FDX → Arqo → Fade In FDX preserves scene-locked numbers and revision marks. Use Arqo on the phone, Fade In at the desk, hand a producer FDX from either side.
Honest answer: a web/mobile editor with sync, memory, and weekly releases needs ongoing infrastructure. The free tier is full-featured (FDX export, two scripts, no nag) — closest thing we can do to a one-time price.
Two scripts on Free. Full editor. Full export. Bring your FDX, see how it lands.