Import & manage media

Bring videos, photos and sound into Project files, find the source you need, and reuse it on the timeline without changing your originals.

Import files into the project

Import is in the top bar. In a narrow window it appears as an icon; hover over it or focus it to see its name. Importing adds a source to Media → Project files. It does not put that source into your finished sequence until you add a clip.

1. Click Import.
2. In the file picker, open the folder containing your video, photos or audio. Select one file, or select several files together.
3. Confirm the selection in the file picker. To leave the project unchanged, cancel the picker instead.
4. Click Media in the left rail if another library is open. The imported files appear under Project files.
5. Wait for any preparing previews… message to finish. Then add a file to the timeline as described below.

You can reach Import with Tab and activate it with Enter or Space. Ctrl+O opens a saved project; it is not the media-import command.

Which file types can I choose?

The Windows application's Media file picker lists these extensions:

The browser editor asks its file picker for video, audio and image files. A picker may offer additional types, but being selectable does not guarantee that the browser can play or export every file. Two files with the same extension can contain different video or audio formats. If a file imports but does not play correctly, try a compatible copy in one of the common formats above and check the picture and sound before continuing.

Use the editor's Import button to bring in files from your computer. Dragging a card that is already in Project files is a separate action described in Add a file to the timeline.

Find a source with filters and search

The four small icons above the search box filter Project files. Their highlighted state shows the active filter. Hover over an icon or focus it to see its name and file count.

1. Click Media in the left rail.
2. Choose a filter, or choose All media to search every kind of source.
3. Click the Search files… box, named Search project files for keyboard and screen-reader users, and type part of the filename.
4. Clear the search text to see the other files in the active filter. Choose All media as well if you want the complete list again.

Search ignores letter case and combines with the chosen filter. For example, searching for intro while Audio is active will not show a video called Intro.mp4. Nothing matches this filter. means the current filter and search have no matches; it does not mean the project has lost its files.

With a filter focused, press Enter or Space to choose it. Use Tab to move to the search box and the file cards.

Read the file cards

Each card shows a filename, a media-kind icon and a duration in seconds. The duration belongs to the source, not to a trimmed clip on the timeline; it is rounded on the card. A photograph has a suggested display length rather than a recording length. Newly imported photos start with a 10-second suggested length, which you can change for each timeline clip.

Hover over a card to read the full filename and its add or relink guidance. This is useful when a long filename is shortened below the thumbnail.

Add a file to the timeline

Click or use the keyboard

1. Open Media and locate the file card.
2. Click the card once. With the keyboard, focus the card and press Enter or Space.
3. Find the newly selected clip on the timeline. An ordinary video or photo is appended after the last clip on V1. An audio file is appended after the last clip on A1.
4. Move or trim the new clip if you want a different position or length. See Move and trim clips.

Adding an ordinary media card uses the end of its main track, even if the playhead is somewhere else. Clicking the same card again creates another clip using the same source; it does not replace the first clip.

Drag a Project files card

1. Press and hold on a file card in Project files.
2. Drag the card into the timeline and release it.
3. Locate the new clip at the end of V1 or A1, then drag that clip to the desired time or compatible track.

The release point does not set an ordinary media clip's time or destination track. Dropping the card has the same initial placement as clicking it. To place it precisely, move the resulting clip or edit its Start field afterward.

Editable titles and elements have different placement: reusing their cards adds an independent item at the playhead on a new upper video track. For choosing a new style rather than reusing an existing project item, open Text or Elements.

Adding a video with sound creates two aligned blocks: picture on a video track and sound on an audio track. Chain icons and a matching selection outline identify the linked pair. Silent videos add only a picture block. Linked audio and video

Reuse a source without changing the original

A Project files card is the source; a timeline clip is one use of that source. You can use the same interview, photo or music file several times and give each clip different timing, volume, color or placement.

1. Add the source card again for each new use.
2. Select the new timeline clip.
3. Set its Start, Length and Source in in Timing. For example, Source in can choose a later part of the same recording.
4. Adjust the other properties for that clip, then play through the result.

These edits do not overwrite the recording or photo on your computer. Adding the source again begins a fresh clip; it does not copy another clip's adjustments. There is no Copy, Paste or Duplicate command for clips. For a reusable edited title or arrow style, use Save as reusable asset.

Importing an already available file again can create another Project files card. Reuse the existing card when you simply want another timeline clip. The green Used on timeline check refers to that particular card.

Relink missing media

A missing card keeps its place in the project so you can recover the edit. This can happen after moving or renaming an original file, opening a project on another computer, or opening a browser project where its local media is unavailable.

1. Open Media, choose All media, and clear Search files if necessary.
2. Find a card marked missing. Hover over it to read the complete expected filename.
3. Click Import and choose the correct original with that same filename, including its extension. Confirm the file picker.
4. The matching missing card is relinked instead of adding a new source. Its existing timeline clips keep their edits and use the recovered file.
5. Check the missing badge has gone, move the playhead into each affected clip, and check both picture and sound.
6. Save the project again once the relink is correct.

If the only copy has been renamed, give a suitable copy the filename expected by the card before importing it. Do not rename an unrelated recording just to satisfy the name match: matching names do not prove matching content or duration.

If several missing cards have the same filename, check them individually and repeat Import as needed. One import relinks a matching missing entry. Avoid keeping unrelated recordings with identical filenames when moving a project between computers.

If Import creates a second card while the old card still says missing, compare the full names and extensions. The command has imported a new source rather than relinking the expected one. There is no separate Browse or Relink button on a card.

Use Undo if you relink the wrong file, then import the correct original. When working in a text field, leave the field before using the editor's Undo shortcut.

Keep media and projects together

A saved CutWright project retains your edit and media references. It is not a bundle containing all the original video, photos and music. Keep those originals as well as the project file.

• Windows: keep the source files at their working locations. If you move them, open the project and relink the missing entries through Import.
• Browser: imported media is kept locally when browser storage is available. Keep using the same site and browser profile for that local media. A different browser, another profile or cleared site data may require importing the originals again.
• If the editor says a file is available in this tab only, keep the tab open while you finish and keep the original available for reimport. Do not treat that message as confirmation that the media will survive a restart.

Save an editable project for continuing work; export a video for watching or sharing. See Projects, saving and recovery and Export.

Remove or correct an unwanted addition

To remove an unwanted timeline use, select its clip and choose Delete. The source stays in Project files and the original stays on your computer. Removing a clip and removing an original file are different operations.

There is no individual Remove or Rename command in Project files. Do not look for one in a card's right-click menu. If you imported the wrong file just now, use Undo before making further edits; undo any uses of it first if you added clips afterward. Several imported files can require several Undo steps. To start an entirely new edit, save the current project if needed and use New.

Common media problems