Features
Everything CuePad can do today. If you sit down with the app, here's what you can actually accomplish.
Script Management
Upload Scripts
Import any PDF script and start annotating immediately. Click "New Script," drag-drop or select a PDF file, give it a title, and you're ready to go.
Script Library
View all your uploaded scripts in a list showing title, page count, and creation date. Scripts are listed in reverse chronological order. Open any script to view and annotate, or delete scripts you no longer need.
Trash and Recovery
When you delete a script, it moves to the trash rather than being permanently deleted. All your cues, highlights, and positions are preserved. You can restore scripts from the Trash view at any time.
PDF Viewing
Page Navigation
Navigate through your script page by page using Previous/Next buttons, or jump directly to any page using the dropdown selector. The dropdown shows page numbers with indicators for pages that have cues.
Use cue-aware navigation (double arrows) to jump to the previous or next page that has cues, skipping blank pages.
Zoom Controls
Adjust PDF display size from 50% to 200%. Use the + and - buttons, or keyboard shortcuts (Cmd/Ctrl + Plus/Minus). Your zoom level is saved and restored when you return.
On mobile/tablet, use two-finger pinch to zoom naturally.
Page Labels
Add custom labels to pages (e.g., "Act 1, Scene 2"). Labels appear in the page dropdown and next to the page number, making it easy to navigate by scene or act.
Cues
Creating Cues
In Cues mode, click and drag on the PDF to draw a lasso around the trigger text, the specific line or moment that triggers this cue. When you release, a dialog opens where you can select the cue type, enter your notes, and confirm.
Each cue gets a sequential index number (1, 2, 3...) unique to that page. A colored circle appears in the margin, connected to the trigger text by a line, mimicking traditional prompt-book notation.
On iPad, use Apple Pencil to draw the lasso. Finger touch pans and scrolls instead.
Nine Cue Types
Each cue has a type with a distinct color, making it easy to scan your script at a glance:
Blocking
Actor movement and positioning
Music Cue
Musical cues and underscoring
Lighting Cue
Light changes
Sound / Audio Cue
Sound effects and audio
Projection / Media
Video and projection cues
Prop Note
Prop handling
Costume Note
Costume changes or notes
Set / Scenic Note
Scenery and set pieces
Director Note
General direction notes
Viewing and Managing Cues
All cues for the current page appear in a scrollable list panel. Each card shows the index, type, trigger text excerpt, your notes, and a timestamp. Cards are color-coded by cue type.
Click a cue card to select it and highlight it on the PDF. Edit any cue to change its index, type, or notes. Delete cues you no longer need.
Use Re-Order mode to change the sequence of cues on a page with up/down arrow buttons.
Ground Plans
Uploading Ground Plans
Upload images of your stage or set layout (PNG, JPEG, or WebP). Ground plans are stored per script, so you can have multiple ground plans for different scenes or views. Access them through Script Settings.
You can rename, replace, or delete ground plans. Replacing a ground plan preserves all cue assignments.
Assigning Ground Plans to Cues
Each cue can have a ground plan attached. Click "Add GP" on a cue card and select which ground plan to use. A "GP" badge appears on cues that have ground plans assigned.
When assigning a ground plan, you can optionally copy positions from the previous cue, useful when blocking builds incrementally through a scene.
Placing Characters
Click "Edit GP" to enter full-screen ground plan editing. In Position mode, add character markers by clicking their name in the character list or dragging them onto the plan. Drag markers to reposition. Click the X to remove.
The same character can be placed multiple times on a ground plan, useful for showing multiple positions or movement sequences.
Drawing Movement Paths
In Movement mode, draw freehand paths to show how characters move during a cue. Paths are rendered as dotted lines with arrowheads and are automatically smoothed for cleaner appearance.
Click a path to delete it. Use Undo to remove the last path, or Clear to remove all paths. Erase mode lets you click/tap to remove individual characters or paths.
Characters
Managing Characters
Define characters for each script in Script Settings. Each character has a full name (e.g., "Hamlet"), initials (1-3 characters, e.g., "HAM"), and a marker color.
Character markers appear as colored circles on ground plans showing their stage position. Edit a character to change their name, initials, or color, and changes apply to all existing placements.
Highlighting
Draw Mode
Switch to Draw mode to add freeform highlight marks on your script. Choose from six preset colors and adjust thickness (Thin, Medium, Thick, Extra) and opacity (10-100%).
Use highlights for general emphasis, marking emotional beats, or noting sections that need attention. Highlights are separate from indexed cues.
Erase Mode
Switch to Erase mode to remove highlights. Click on any highlight to remove it, or drag to erase multiple. Use "Clear Page" to remove all highlights on the current page.
Undo restores the last drawn or erased highlight. Undo history is per-page and per-session.
Write Mode (Mobile Only)
On iPad with Apple Pencil, Write mode lets you draw freehand notes directly on the PDF using a stylus. Choose from four ink colors (Black, Blue, Red, Green) and four thickness levels (Fine, Normal, Medium, Bold).
Unlike highlights, script strokes are opaque ink meant for handwritten annotations, quick notes during a run, or anything you'd write with a pen on paper.
Settings and Preferences
CuePad remembers your preferences across sessions. Your zoom level, highlight color and thickness, last viewed page per script, and panel states are all saved automatically.
When you return to a script, you'll pick up right where you left off, on the same page, at the same zoom level, with your preferred drawing settings.
Ready to Try These Features?
The best way to understand CuePad is to use it on a real script. Sign up and start annotating.
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