This is part two of a review of of Celtx 0.9.3 (part one is here). I started to write a review on the some of the interface annoyances within Celtx and then found that each of those problems were 1) not that big a deal and 2) there were solutions for it.  So I deleted that and started over. I really wanted to talk about something else and so decided it was waste of our collective time to talk about something that I really did not care to talk about in the first place.

One of the big reasons I am excited about Celtx is that it uses the Firefox engine. Now many of you know that Firefox is a open-source browser with an incredible support base of developers that create extensions and themes to add to an already great browser. I was a very content Safari user but slowly and steadily with extensions such Scrapbook, Session Saver and, then finally, Greasemonkey, I switched. With all of these extensions, Firefox is unmatched in power, user configuration and features. Now what does this have to do with Celtx?

The biggest drawback in using Celtx as a writing tool is the lack of drag and drop in the outline side panel. Now imagine, a feature-length screenplay with massive amounts of scenes and you decided to move one scene from the bottom of the structure to the top, pressing the up button and then going up one scene at a time just does not cut it.

Now, I don't doubt in the future that drag and drop will be a Celtx feature but the reason I bring this up is that Celtx is basically a browser borrowing technology of Firefox to create a screenwriting application. One of the most wonderful Firefox extensions is Greasemonkey. This extension basically acts as a browser within the browser displaying web pages configured to your liking. For example, making changes to my Netflix queue is tedious.  I have to change the number on the side of the movies to place them higher or lower on the list. This is a pain because you have to do it right, you cannot just change one number and hope the list just reconfigures the rest. It has to be right, if #8 is going to be #3 then either #3 needs to be #8 or you just have to shuffle a lot of stuff around for the numbers to work. Back to my point, there is a Greasemonkey script that converts the whole Netflix queue to work with drag and drop. I am not too familiar with code whether it be HTML or javascript or whatever. They all sound foreign to me. But what I do know is that the Greasemonkey script added some javascript thus enabling the drag and drop. Not only is it cool, it is incredibly useful.

And this is where it gets exciting for Celtx. Now imagine that someday that certain Firefox extensions become Celtx extensions. There has already been talk and work on this among the Celtx developers. With an extension like Greasemonkey in Celtx we could now add drag and drop to the outline but it does not end there. The possibilities are endless. Users will create scripts that they need and then (hopefully) share it with other users. In a sense, creating an application tailor-made for them. Writers will have their scripts, directors will have theirs, and the production crew will have theirs. All of sudden, Celtx moves from a screenwriting tool to becoming the focus point of an entire production. How cool is that? And the great thing, it is not really that far off from where Celtx is currently at. Cannot wait to see this play out!