Captions

Create timed caption lines in the Captions panel, adjust when each line appears, and choose one size and color for the project. You can also import or export a separate .srt subtitle file.

Open the caption tools

1. Click Captions in the left tool rail.
2. Find the font-size slider, four color swatches, Export .srt, and Import .srt above the caption list.
3. Use + Add at the top of the panel to create a new line. Its accessible label is Add caption.
4. Click an existing caption in the list to jump to its start and expand its text and timing fields.

Captions also appear as blocks on the timeline's TXT row. Clicking a block selects the line and moves the playhead to its start. Open the Captions panel to edit that selected line. You can focus a TXT block with Tab and press Enter or Space to select it.

Captions are suited to timed spoken lines and .srt files. For a heading with a chosen typeface, free positioning, or animated styling, use the Text library.

Add and write a caption

1. Pause the project at the point where the line should begin. Click the timeline ruler to position the playhead; use the player's frame-step buttons for a finer adjustment.
2. Click Captions, then + Add.
3. A selected line appears with the text New caption. It starts at the playhead and initially lasts three seconds.
4. Click the expanded line's text box, labelled Caption text, and replace the placeholder with the words viewers should read.
5. Press Enter in the text box when you want a deliberate line break. Long lines also wrap to fit the picture.
6. Set Start and End as described below, then play across the cue to check the words against the sound.
7. Repeat for each line. The list is ordered by start time, so changing a start time can move a line within the list.

Use short, readable phrases and leave enough time for a viewer to finish reading. Type the words yourself or bring in an existing timed .srt file. There is no speech-transcription control in this panel.

Set the start and end precisely

Click a line in the Captions list to expand its controls. The readout above the line uses minutes, seconds, and hundredths; the editable Start and End fields use seconds.

1. Click the selected caption's Start field and enter the desired number of seconds.
2. Press Enter or click outside the field to finish the entry.
3. Enter the desired stopping time in End and finish that entry.
4. Click the timeline just before Start and play through End to check that the line enters and leaves at the intended moments.

Each timing field has increase and decrease buttons. Arrow Up and Arrow Down change the focused field by 0.1 seconds. Hold Shift with an arrow to change it by one second. You can type a more precise decimal when needed. The caption must remain visible for at least one project frame, so End cannot be equal to or earlier than Start.

Move a caption later without shortening it

Changing Start does not automatically move End. To move a cue from 1–4 seconds to 10–13 seconds:

1. Change End to 13 first.
2. Change Start to 10.
3. Play the new interval to confirm the placement.

For the reverse move, from 10–13 seconds to 1–4 seconds, change Start to 1 first, then End to 4. This keeps the two fields in a valid order while you work.

Keep successive lines from overlapping

Set the earlier line's End no later than the next line's Start. Overlapping cues can display together and stack vertically. If you only want one caption at a time, adjust their times so the intervals meet or leave a gap. The TXT blocks help you spot overlaps, but their times are changed through the panel's Start and End fields.

Choose the caption size and color

The controls above the list style every caption in the current project. Selecting one line does not turn these into per-line style controls.

1. Keep Captions open and move the playhead into a caption's active interval so you can see it.
2. Drag Caption font size to make the words smaller or larger. Its range is 14 to 40, with 22 as the starting size.
3. Click one of the four circular color swatches.
4. Watch a few longer and shorter lines in the preview. Choose a size that leaves room for the longest lines and a color that is readable over your shots.

Captions appear centered near the bottom of the picture with a dark outline. Their size scales with the project picture, so preview magnification does not change the exported caption size. The panel offers these four colors and a shared size; use Text when you need a freely placed title with other typography choices.

For keyboard sizing, Tab to the slider. Arrow keys adjust by one, Page Up or Page Down by ten, and Home or End chooses the smallest or largest size. Tab to a color swatch and press Enter or Space to select it. The selected swatch is indicated in the control.

Import an .srt caption file

Import .srt replaces the current caption list. Export the existing captions first if you want a separate copy of them, or save the project before importing.

1. Open Captions.
2. If there are captions you want to keep separately, click Export .srt and retain that download.
3. Click Import .srt.
4. Choose the .srt file in the file picker and open it.
5. Check the imported lines and start times in the list. Click several lines to jump to them and verify the words against the video.
6. Adjust Start, End, or the text of any cue that needs correction.
7. Save the project to keep the imported list with your edit.

A usable .srt file contains timed text cues with a start time, an arrow, an end time, and the caption words, separated into blocks. Standard timestamps look like 00:01:05,500. A cue needs readable text and an end later than its start. Invalid or empty cues are skipped. If the file contains no valid captions, the editor reports that and keeps the current list.

The import replaces caption words and timing while retaining the project's selected caption size and color. If you chose the wrong file, click Undo to restore the previous list. Importing a different .srt file is also how to replace one language's captions with another language's version.

Export a separate .srt file

1. Open Captions and review the list.
2. Click Export .srt.
3. Keep the downloaded file, named after the current project with an .srt extension. Its cues are ordered by start time.
4. Use that file wherever a separate subtitle file is accepted, or import it back into Captions to restore its words and timing.

An .srt file contains caption text and times. It does not retain the project's chosen caption size or color. Save the editable project to preserve those appearance choices as well as the rest of the edit; see Projects, saving, and recovery.

The normal video export includes captions that are active during the video. Use Export .srt in addition when you need a separate subtitle file. For the video export controls and output sizes, see Export.

Delete a caption or reverse an edit

1. Find the line in the Captions list.
2. Click the cross at the right of its time readout. Its tooltip and accessible name are Delete caption.
3. If that was the wrong line, click the timeline's Undo button or press Ctrl+Z after returning focus to the timeline.

You can also select a TXT block, return focus to the timeline, and press Delete. The editor's Delete button removes a selected caption as well. Use Redo or Ctrl+Y to restore a change you have undone.

While you are typing in Caption text, Delete edits the text and Ctrl+Z can undo typing. Click the timeline before using those keys to change project items. Valid timing and style changes take effect while you edit; use the project Undo control to reverse them. Escape in a number field clears an unfinished entry rather than reversing a valid value that has already taken effect.

Solve common caption problems

I selected a caption but cannot see it in the picture.

Check that the playhead is at or after Start and before End. Click its list row to jump to Start, then play a few frames. Check the caption's text and choose a readable color over the current shot.

The project has an unexpected blank tail.

Check the last caption's End. A caption that ends after the last clip can extend the project. Shorten its End or add the intended footage.

The next line appears at the same time as the previous one.

Compare the previous End with the next Start and remove the overlap if it is unintentional.

A long line fills too much of the screen.

Use Enter to split it into readable lines, shorten the wording, reduce Caption font size, or divide the words into successive captions with suitable times.

The imported text shows formatting tags.

Edit the words as plain caption text and remove tags you do not want viewers to read.

Import removed the captions I had typed.

Click Undo to recover the previous list. Export that list before importing the replacement file again.

I want to move one caption around the canvas or choose another font.

Create a separate Text clip for that treatment. The Captions panel uses the shared bottom-centered caption appearance.