Import Episodes into a script book: single, batch, whole-series

Import external script files as Episodes. Two paths: add to an existing script book's season (single or several at once), or import a whole multi-episode series as a new book via a .zip.

Path A: import single / multiple episodes into an existing book

The script book already exists and you want to add one or more episodes:

1. Open the book, go to the Plan view "Planning" tab
2. Scroll to "SEASONS & EPISODES", click "Expand episodes" on the target season
3. The episode list has two buttons at the bottom: "+ Add episode" (add one blank episode manually) and "Import from file"
4. Click "Import from file" → the file picker opens
5. You can select multiple files at once — one file adds one episode, several files batch-add several
6. Slima parses each file and creates a new Episode under that season

Accepted formats: .rtf / .docx / .pdf / .fountain / .txt / .fdx (this entry does not take .zip).

When to use this

• Cross-tool migration: you wrote a few episodes in Final Draft and want them in an existing Slima book
• Backfilling a missed episode: a skipped episode coming in from Fountain
• Collaboration merge: a co-writer's episodes merging into the main book

Path B: import a whole multi-episode series via .zip (new book)

If you're importing a whole series that has no Slima script book yet:

1. "My Screenplays" page → "Import script files" → opens the "Create new book from script files" dialog
2. Upload a single .zip with episode files arranged in an S01/E01 folder layout
3. Slima reads the folder structure and builds a multi-season / multi-episode new script book

See: Import a script file to a new book

The key difference: "Import from file" adds episodes to an existing book; the .zip import creates a new book. There is no "merge a whole .zip into an existing book" option.

Parsing and detection

Both paths work the same way: Slima uses heuristic rules to classify each line as Scene Heading / Character / Dialogue / Description. Character names not in uppercase, non-standard formatting, and mixed-language text are easy to misclassify — after import, open the Write view and fix any mis-detected elements.

When imported content overlaps existing data

If episodes / characters / locations you import into an existing book overlap with what's already there (e.g. same-name characters, duplicate scenes), use Reconcile to compare old vs new and decide what to keep.

Auto-versioning

Importing modifies the script book, so Slima auto-creates a version before the import. If the result isn't what you expected, restore from version history. Before a large import, it's worth manually exporting a .slima backup as well.

Vs restoring from a .slima backup

	Import script files	Restore from .slima backup
Source file	.rtf / .docx / .pdf / .fountain / .txt / .fdx	.slima backup file
Result	Adds to an existing book, or .zip creates a new book	Creates a new script book
Version history preserved	❌ (external files have no history)	✅ (the backup contains full history)

A .slima backup is Slima's internal format with full metadata and version history; a script-file import only restores the content itself.

Related

• Import a script file to a new book
• Reconcile + no snapshot
• .slima import + bulk export
• Episodes row + inline detail
• Restore from a .slima backup