Highland 2 → Highland Pro: what changed, what stayed the same, and where to get it

If you searched for “Highland 2,” you’re in the right place. Highland 2 has evolved into Highland Pro. It's the next generation of the app, now on Mac, iPad, and iPhone with one subscription and a 30-day free trial.

It’s the same plain-text, minimal-UI approach, broadened for how writers actually work today.  

How we got here (a visual timeline)

• 2012 — Highland launches as a utility. We started Highland as a “screenwriting utility” to melt PDFs back to editable text and move cleanly between Fountain and Final Draft (.fdx). That was the whole pitch.  The app was pretty basic!

• 2014 — From utility to editor. By 2014, I was describing Highland as a bona fide screenwriting app because more and more writers (well, me at least) were writing entire scripts in it. The Editor pane, which had originally been there just to fix problems, became more powerful.

• May 2018 — Highland 2 ships. After a three-year beta,Highland 2 finally launched. It was a genuine screenwriting app for non-tech people to use for daily work.
• Aug 2018 — Highland 2.1 packed real changes, including improved Preferences and better backups, showing our ship-listen-ship rhythm.

• June 2019 — Highland 2.5 was a very big jump, one that in retrospect should have been numbered as Highland 3. This version brought Revision Mode, the drag-and-drop Navigator, and more. Around that time, Gender Analysis drew national attention, including the NY Times!

• March 2025 — Highland Pro launches. It's version 3.0, but we stop putting the number after the name. This was a rewrite from the ground floor, replacing 95% of the existing code. The UI is completely refreshed, and for the first time, Highland is cross-platform withMac + iPad + iPhone. We added /lookup and the Shelf on the right side, and moved to a single subscription for all platforms with a 30-day free trial.

• June 2025 — Highland Pro adds Overview, giving you a bird’s-eye view of structure, and a ton of behind-the-scenes improvements. We’re committed to continuous development of the app. Not just bug fixes, but real improvements.

The philosophies that never changed

Highland has always been about plain-text writing and a clean interface that keeps you focused on words, not widgets.

You're in charge of your words. That’s why we make deliberate choices like not auto-spraying (CONT’D) in your script. We’ll handle page break (CONT'D)'s at print/preview time, but we won’t interrupt your flow as you write.

Fountain forever. Highland continues to speak Fountain fluently. The core of every document is plain text that you can open, edit, and export.  You're never locked in. Some Pro features, like snippets and revisions, require metadata – info that sits outside of your actual script. The .highland format (a simple Zip-compressed, TextBundle-based package) gives us that while keeping your words as plain text inside. If you ever need to peek, you can.  

Sustainable, steady updates. In the seven years of Highland 2, we shipped constant updates, free for all users. We're committed to shipping meaningful features (like Overview) on a continuous cadence across Mac, iOS, and beyond.

Why we moved from “2” to Pro

Highland Pro truly is a new app. It shares a long history going back to the original Highland and Highland 2, yet almost every line of code is new.

Our first instinct was to call this new version “Highland 3.” It's clear, it's simple. It tells you that it’s a significant change, not just a minor incremental update.

The problem with “Highland 3” is ultimately the same problem we were facing with Highland 2. At what point do you decide a revision merits a new number?

We considered just calling it “Highland.” Except that everyone would think that Highland 2 is more recent than Highland.

So we bit the bullet and decided to name this new app Highland Pro, continuing in the tradition of apps like Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro.  The version number is still there, but only if you look for it in the About Highland... screen.

So… what happened to Highland 2?

Highland 2 has been superseded by Highland Pro. If you’re arriving here from an old link or recommendation, the modern path forward is Highland Pro, with a single subscription that unlocks all platforms and a 30-day free trial so you can see if it fits your workflow.

Your Fountain files keep working, and .highland remains a friendly TextBundle under the hood.

If you're an existing Highland 2 user, you can always find Highland 2 in the Mac App Store. From the main window, click on your avatar in the bottom left corner of the window. That will show you a list of all your previously installed apps. Highland 2 will be there, ready for downloads.

We've updated Highland 2 for compatibility with Highland Pro, but there will be no further updates to the app. It should still work for years to come, although some UI issues will inevitably occur as Mac OS changes.

Highland 2 FAQ: Moving to Highland Pro

Is Highland 2 discontinued?

Highland 2 isn’t being developed further; Highland Pro is the successor with ongoing updates.  

Will my old Fountain files work in Pro?

Yes. Fountain remains first-class in Highland. You can open, edit, and export Fountain files in Pro.  

Is there a free trial? What’s the pricing?

Yes! There’s a 30-day free trial. After that, choose monthly or annual billing in a single subscription that covers Mac, iPad, and iPhone. (Pricing varies by local currency. Check the App Store.)

What’s new in Pro vs. Highland 2?

So much! Highland Pro is now cross-platform across Mac, iPad and iPhone. It’s faster, with great new features including /lookup, the Shelf,  Overview and Custom Themes. We’re planning a steady cadence of updates across all platforms.