SceneItAllDocs

Crew

Numbering characters

Every character can have a project-unique character number, and the Cast member who plays the character uses the same number. Use Number characters to give a whole list of characters new numbers in one step. The same dialog opens from the Breakdown’s Characters tab and from the Cast List.

Prerequisites

  • A project with characters.
  • Numbering characters needs the admin role or higher.

Open the dialog

  • From the Breakdown: on the Characters tab, select Number characters in the toolbar. The dialog numbers exactly the characters the list shows, in the order it shows them. Your search and any column filters apply, so filter the list first to number only some characters.
  • From the Cast List: select Number characters in the toolbar. The dialog numbers the characters played by the Cast members the list shows, in the list’s order. Cast members without a linked character are not numbered; the dialog names them under the preview.

The line under the dialog title says which characters will be numbered and how many.

Settings

Order by

How the characters are ordered before numbering:

Option What it does
Current list order Numbers the characters in the order the list shows them, including any column sort. This is the default.
Scene count Most scenes first.
Alphabetical By name, A to Z.
First appearance By the first scene the character appears in: season, then episode, then scene number. Scenes removed from the latest revision do not count. Characters with no scenes come last.

Characters that tie keep the current list order.

Keep numbers set by hand

A number you type by hand is locked (see Change one character’s number). With Keep numbers set by hand ticked, which is the default, those characters keep their number and the other characters are numbered around it. Untick it to renumber those characters too; their lock is removed.

Advanced: Start at and Step

Select Advanced to show Start at and Step. Both default to 1 and accept whole numbers of 1 or more. With Start at 1 and Step 1, characters are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4. With Start at 100 and Step 10, they are numbered 100, 110, 120, 130.

Preview

Every change updates the Preview, which shows exactly what Apply will do:

  • Each character with its current and new number, for example #10 → #1. The first 10 characters are shown; select Show all to see the rest.
  • Characters that keep a number set by hand show a Kept badge.
  • A note lists numbers that are skipped because another character already holds them, for example a character outside the list or a kept number.

Apply

Select Apply. A message confirms how many characters were numbered. The character numbers change first, and the linked Cast members show the same numbers straight away.

Numbering characters cannot be undone with Undo. Earlier changes in the undo history are cleared when you apply, so Undo never reverses an older change behind it.

Tips

  • Scene count is useful when you want the principal cast, who appear in the most scenes, to have the lowest numbers.
  • First appearance numbers characters in story order.
  • Use a Step of 10 if you expect to add characters later and want room for numbers in between.