Character Continuity Tracker

The continuity tracker helps you keep track of where your characters are throughout the script. It shows which characters appear in which scenes and flags potential gaps that could signal a continuity problem.

Where to find it

Open the Continuity tab in the left panel of the editor. You can also open it from the command palette (Cmd+K) by searching for "continuity."

What it shows

Character list

Every character with a dialogue cue is listed, sorted by how many scenes they appear in. Your most prominent characters appear at the top.

The tracker counts a character as present in a scene when they have a dialogue cue there. A character who appears only in action lines doesn't register, so check silent appearances yourself.

Scene presence

For each character, you'll see:

The total number of scenes they appear in, and the pages they span
A visual bar showing which scenes they appear in (filled dots) and which they skip (gaps)

This gives you a bird's-eye view of each character's journey through the script.

Gap warnings

If the stretch between two of a character's appearances reaches a set number of pages (15 by default, adjustable in the Gap box at the top of the tab), a warning appears with the length of the gap and the scenes on either side of it. This helps you catch situations like:

A character walks into a room in Scene 5 but isn't heard from again until Scene 20
A character is established in the first act but vanishes for the entire second act

Why it matters

Continuity errors are one of the most common problems in screenwriting. When you're deep in a draft, it's easy to lose track of where everyone is. A character who disappears without explanation, or who seems to be in two places at once, will get flagged in a production read-through.

Catching these issues early saves you from awkward notes sessions and expensive reshoots.

Production use

The continuity tracker is also valuable for production professionals beyond the writing stage:

Script supervisors can use it to check character presence across scenes
Assistant directors can use it to see which cast members are needed for which scenes
Line producers can use it as a starting point for day-out-of-days planning (figuring out how many days each actor needs to be on set)

Run the tracker before your final draft

Before you send your script to a producer or showrunner, check the continuity tracker for any unexpected gaps. It's a quick sanity check that can catch problems you might have overlooked.