DASEIN888  Sorry, forgot to rate...  (Version 1.5.1)

DASEIN888  I have to agree with Trenino. I work as both a published novelist and produced screenwriter, and I've long looked for an alternative to Final Draft. I've tried both StoryMill and Montage, and constantly I am wishing features of StoryMill were integrated with Montage--and that they were a combined product.

StoryMill, of course, is an acquisition once called Avenir and so its development has a different legacy and comes from outside of Mariner's mindset.

The overall problem with both is that they constrain a very creative process and don't let a writer wiggle around within the software to find the 'sweet' spot. If StoryMill and Montage were combined, and if Montage were production-grade (as is Final Draft), then it would be a brilliant product. Nearly any writer would feel comfortable working within the product and not feel boxed in by predefined process.  (Version 1.5.1)

POWERMACDADDY  Trenino: Not sure why, if Montage is so bad, you keep using it. And why you're comparing a screenwriting program with a novel-writing program puzzles me. Two different audiences.

Personally, I haven't had the issues you're describing, and think the 2-star rating you gave it is totally unfair.

I took a 1.2 document and went to 1.5.... no problems. Oh, and after I upgraded to 1.5 it opened a "Tutorial Monkey" tutorial file automatically. Have you even used 1.5?

Some other things that makes me wonder if you've even used Montage for longer than 5 minutes:

1) Annotations: apple-shift-A allows you to make a new annotation. no need for a button, no need to go to the menu. Nice for keeping your hands on the keyboard and writing rather than reaching for the mouse.

2) Keyword/tagging: Works well for me... apple-shift-T makes a new keyword/tag and it's displayed in the left-hand column. Again, it allows me to keep my hands on the keyboard and keep typing. I can sit back and enter 10 keywords rapid-fire as fast as I can type.

3) You claim that "Exporting is so unintuitive in Montage." Montage exports 1 thing and 1 thing only: THE SCRIPT. What's to check? What's unintuitive about that? You select Export, pick your file format and destination, and you're done. Oh, and it can read and write Final Draft format, which is a HUGE plus.

It seems to me that you are missing the fact that StoryMill is written for the workflow of a novelist, where Montage is written for the workflow of a screenwriter. Screenplays are typically much more rigid in their outline/structure than novels/stories tend to be. (Which is why most movie adaptations of books wind up changing parts of the book to make the movie version "screenplay friendly.") It seems to me that most of your gripes revolve around the fact that you think like a novelist, not a screenwriter, which is why StoryMill appeals to you more than Montage. Don't give a good product with a bright future a bad review because your workflow/method of thinking is different. Comparing Montage with StoryMill is like comparing TextEdit with TextWrangler... while both are full-featured, they each have a different target audience: one is a word processor, the other a text editor. Why don't you compare Montage with Final Draft?

Does Montage need some interface tweaks? Certainly. All programs do. But needing mere "tweaks" makes it worthy of 4 stars, not 2.  (Version 1.5)

TRENINO  Indeed at this price one can only be harsh version 1.5 has not given any essential changes.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING FOR USERS:

Regardless of the various bugs and glitches of Montage(all versions), 1.5 brings with it a serious one:

Be sure to back up everything in an external word processor until this product becomes stable.

The file I was working on under version 1.4 when imported to 1.5 could not be opened. In fact it would open and the titles of things would be in place but ALL THE CONTENT WAS MISSING.

I was glad that I had not thrown away version 1.4. I had to open it in 1.4 and MANUALLY copy everything to a new project in 1.5.

---In a few words backwards compatibility has SERIOUS ISSUES.---

Do not get me wrong, I am spending my time here because I believe that Montage can become a great tool. In the level of the current development though it is a shame for Mariner to ask for money. This should be named public beta and be available free...

Still the same problems: Fullscreen not everywhere, windows do not open separately, glitchy etc.

In outline mode one can move things around but unknown why you can not move anything around in synopses, task, research location...

---In a few words... what is said in my previous review is still accurate---

I really do not know much from programming but it seems that if they start from scratch and put the screenplay+formatting algorithms to the Storymill user interface they might come up with something better.  (Version 1.5)