How to fix an ‘Invalid sound effect’ message?

Why does the message “Invalid sound effect” appear?

The “Invalid sound effect” message appears when the syntax of a sound effect is not recognized by Imparato.

💡 How does a sound effect work?

A sound effect works just like a character’s line.
It is made up of two lines:

@SoundEffect (Rooster crow)
coq

👉 The first line indicates the name of the sound effect in parentheses.
👉 The second line contains the actual sound to be played.

⚙️ Possible causes of the “Invalid sound effect” message

There are several reasons why this error may appear:

1. You modified the syntax of the sound effect. The sound effect must be copied and pasted directly from the Sound Effects page. You must not modify:

• the label inside the parentheses (e.g. Rooster crow)
• or the text on the following line (e.g. coq)

If you’ve made changes, go back to the Sound Effects page and copy the correct syntax.

1. The text following the sound effect is invalid. After a sound effect, you can only use:

• a new line of dialogue (starting with @CharacterName),
• a stage direction (inside parentheses),
• or an act/scene separator (# or ##).

If you add plain text right after a sound effect, an error will be displayed.

🎭 Example of correct use in a scene

@Martin
Yes, it’s true that... (the rooster starts crowing again)

@SoundEffect (Rooster crow)
coq

@Martin
Will you shut up, you stupid bird!