Type what you want
⌘K knows every scene, person, note and file. Type it, press return, and the caret never moves.
INT. NURSES’ STATION - NIGHT
The kettle starts to scream. Nobody moves.
- Added✓ buy filmProps
- Added✓ call SamProps
- Type the next and press return · / another list · esc when you’re done
return adds it / another list esc done
MAYA
Somebody’s going to have to.
DEREK feeds the vending machine a pound. It eats it.
DEREK
Third time. That’s personal now.
MAYA turns the kettle off without looking.
Do, ask or make
Verbs do, questions ask, a file’s name makes it. Each kind of writing offers only its own words.
rename Maya to MiaEvery cue and mention. One undo.todo buy film /propsA to-do, on the Props list.title The Kettle ScreamsThe title page, set.find kettleEvery line that says it.move this scene upAs on the board.goal 90 pagesIn pages, words or minutes.board, outline or readAny view, by name.pdf, Word or ePubAny file the kind makes.settings, or any panelBy its name.
One of three ways
⌘K is one of three ways to write. The other two are on the home page.
A note in a line
Type note, then its title. Return opens it there to write the rest, kept as you type.
DEREK feeds the vending machine a pound. It eats it.
Third time it eats his pound. He starts talking to it.
⌘return done esc done too ⌘/ another stack return a new line
DEREK
Third time. That’s personal now.
The rows are the stacks: the piles notes sit in. Return keeps it in none. A slash and part of a name picks one.
Ask about your script
A ? first, then the question. The reader you choose answers, with the scenes it means.
Nothing leaves your Mac unless you choose a reader. Your private notes never go.
DEREK feeds the vending machine a pound. It eats it.
why does Derek keep feeding the machine
Because it is the one thing on the ward that answers him back. The third time it eats his pound he starts talking to it.Sc 9 · p. 31
does it ever pay off
Yes. In 14 it drops a Twix for May, not him, and he takes it as a betrayal.Sc 14 · p. 52
- NoteKeep as a noteLoose (in no stack) · / picks a stack
- RoomGo on in the room⌘return
- RoomStart a new room⇧return asks in one
↑↓ move return asks ⇧return asks in a new room ⌘return goes on in the room esc back to the page
DEREK
Third time. That’s personal now.
The reader is yours to pick. Apple’s on-device model, Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Ollama, or nobody. Ask again and it goes on in the room, a kept chat. ⇧return starts a new one.
Also a menu or panel
⌘K is a shortcut. Everything it does is also a menu item or a panel.
- The selection menu On the page, over the words you chose.
- The menu bar On the Mac.
- The panels The icons down the side of the window.
- Marks in braces On the page, as you type.
The keys
The writing keys are rows in ⌘K, shown with their key.
- Type what you want⌘K
- The eight elements⌘1–⌘8
- Bold, italic, underline⌘B⌘I⌘U
- Previous scene, next scene⌥⌘↑⌥⌘↓
- Larger, smaller, actual size⌘=⌘-⌘0
- Notes beside the page⌥⌘0
Margin is a writing app for Mac and iPad. iPhone later.