Table of Contents
Intro
Configuring the Act Structure
Adding Beats
Editing Beats
Moving and placing Beats
Visualization Controls
Undo / Redo & History Restore
Integration with the Script Editor
Other
Intro
Your project Beat Sheet is designed to help you capture and organize your story ideas in one centralized location. We’ve recently overhauled the tool to offer more power than ever, introducing image uploads within nodes, a customizable act configuration for structured plotting, and a split-view for seamless movement between free-form brainstorming and formal screenplay organization.
The Beat Sheet is divided in two main areas:
- On the right-hand side of the Beat Sheet, you'll find the primary workspace for mapping out your story. It uses a structured layout where each column represents a page of your screenplay, all organized within clearly defined Acts.
- The left-hand side of the Beat Sheet is the Unassigned View and it acts as your creative scratchpad. It provides a free-form canvas for brainstorming and capturing ideas that aren’t yet ready to be slotted into your formal story structure.
Configuring the Act Structure
The Act Management menu is your control center for defining the pace and scale of your story. To open it, simply click on the icon button located next to any Act label. By default, this menu will show all the Acts in an expanded view, but these components can be collapsed by clicking on the corresponding chevron button.
Edit Names & Summaries: Personalize your Acts to match your narrative. Updating an Act name here will automatically reflect on your main Beat Sheet.
Adjust Page Ranges: You can define the Start and End pages for each Act. Making changes here will update all other Page Start/End accordingly.
Total Page Count: The "End Page" of your final Act determines the total number of page columns available in your Beat Sheet (currently capped at 210 pages).
Adding & Removing Acts: Click the Add Act button at the bottom of the menu to insert a new section (defaults to a 20-page range).
To delete an Act, use the Delete icon. The remaining Acts will automatically adjust their page ranges to fill the gap.
You must always have at least one Act. If you reduce your total page count (e.g., from 100 pages down to 50), any nodes sitting in the removed columns will be safely moved to your Unassigned View so you never lose your work.
Adding Beats
There are two ways to add nodes directly into your screenplay structure:
- Click the + Add Beat button at the bottom of any specific page column. This automatically assigns the beat to that page, placing it at the bottom of any existing nodes in that column.
- Use the + Add Beat button in the top toolbar to open the creation menu. This defaults to "Page 1," but you can manually specify a custom page range to span the beat across multiple columns.
If you have an idea that doesn't have a home yet, use the Unassigned View on the left-hand side:
Clicking the + button opens the creation menu with the "Assign to Page(s)" option deselected. Any beat created here stays in your Unassigned View until you are ready to drag it into the right-hand side.
Editing Beats
Left-clicking on any beat (or right-clicking and selecting ‘Edit’ from the context menu) will open the Edit Beat menu. This menu allows you to customize how your beat looks and where it lives within your project.
- Title: Give your beat a name. This will be displayed directly on the node in your beat sheet.
- Color: Categorize your ideas visually. Beats are white by default, but you can change the node color to highlight themes, characters, or storylines.
- Assign to Page(s): When active, shows the Page Start and Page End fields. Beats without assigned pages are shown on the unassigned view - on the left-hand side.
- Details: Use this text field to flesh out your thoughts. Note that while this info is saved, it is not displayed on the beat node to keep your view clean.
- Image: Upload an image to your beat node for visual inspiration. This will be reflected directly on the node.
Always click Save to ensure your edits are applied to the Beat Sheet. If an idea no longer fits, you can permanently remove the node using the Delete button located within this menu.
Moving and placing Beats
Left-click and hold allows you to move the beats around both views, as well as between them. In the Unassigned View, nodes can go anywhere. Once you move them to the right-hand side view, they must be put into position within a page column(s).
When a Beat Node is in a page column, you can click and drag on the white handles on either side of the node to increase or decrease its horizontal span (associating or disassociating it with multiple pages).
Right-clicking on any node will open the context menu, providing access to edit, delete, or duplication options. Duplicated node(s) will appear in relative position to the original.
Shift+click/Ctrl+click allows you to select multiple nodes, which can be moved in bulk via left-click and drag. Right-clicking on multi-selected nodes will allow you to bulk-delete them.
In the Unassigned View, Shift+click/Ctrl+click allows you to select multiple nodes. You can also use Shift+left click+drag on the background to create a selection box. These can be moved in bulk, and can be bulk deleted or duplicated via the context menu, but not edited.
Visualization Controls
In the Unassigned View, mousewheel up or down will increase/decrease the zoom level of the canvas. Left-click and drag on the background will allow you to control viewer position.
Left-click and drag on the Divider handle allows you to increase or decrease the size of the Unassigned View, or hide it via the ‘Hide Unassigned’ button.
A zoom bar is available in the beat sheet toolbar to increase or decrease the width of page columns. Chevron navigation buttons allow you to scroll through the Beat Sheet. The double-chevron will navigate to the next Act label, and the single-chevron will navigate by one column. Left-click and dragging against the edges of the window will scroll rapidly vertically and horizontally.
Undo / Redo & History Restore
The Undo and Redo buttons in your beat sheet toolbar control actions for both your beat sheet and unassigned view.
If your act structure is modified via the Act Management menu, the histoy stack will reset.
If you need to revert to a much earlier version of your project, Document-level history restore remains available. You can access this at any time via the File menu in the top navigation bar.
Integration with the Script Editor
The Beats Panel allows you to reference and create story development material directly alongside your script (available only in the Film & TV editor).
Opening the Beats Panel
In the script editor, click the Beats option at the top of the floating tools palette to open the Beats Panel.
This panel lets you reference your outline side-by-side with your script. Use the navigation arrows to browse page columns, or click the Focus button to instantly align the panel with your current script page.
You can also create, view, and edit beats directly within the panel. Any new beats are added to your current page column and can be fully rearranged later within the main Beat Sheet module.
These are the key controls within the Beats Panel:
Close Panel: Click the arrow in the upper right corner to collapse the panel.
Current Page Column: Displays the specific Beat Sheet page column you are currently viewing.
Navigate to Beat Sheet: Jumps to the full Beat Sheet module, focusing on this specific page column.
Focus Panel: Instantly aligns the panel view with the page currently active in your script editor.
Previous/Next Page: Manually cycle through your page columns to reference other parts of your outline.
Add a New Beat: Opens the beat creation menu to add a new beat to the current page.
Navigating Between the Editor and Beat Sheet
Moving between your script and your full Beat Sheet is seamless:
- From the Editor: Click the Navigate to Beat Sheet icon in the panel. This opens the Beat Sheet and automatically focuses on the corresponding page column.
- From the Beat Sheet: Click the Navigate to Editor icon (#1 in the image below) at the top of any page column. This opens your script and focuses both the editor and the panel to that specific page.
Note: If the script page doesn't exist yet, the editor will focus on the last available page and notify you with a pop-up.
Syncing Your Script Length
If your screenplay becomes longer than the page columns currently configured in your Beat Sheet, you'll notice a syncing option.
This allows you to bulk-add new page columns to the end of your final Act (to a max of 250), ensuring your outline stays as long as your script.
Other
Much like with the other Celtx Project modules, you're able to share the document with collaborators, create links for a read-only view of your work, and make comments to discuss progress and any questions which arise with the Beat Sheet itself.