Canvas layout, titles, highlights, and visual styling

Open a project with an available Editor and a populated timeline. Select a clip to show its properties on the right. Click the empty workspace outside the video to return to Canvas settings. Expand or collapse property sections to reach the controls you need.

Change the canvas size

1. Deselect the current element by clicking the empty workspace beside the preview.
2. In Canvas, enter the intended width in W and height in H. For example, 1920 × 1080 is a landscape layout; 1080 × 1920 is portrait.
3. Use Swap Dimensions, beside the size fields, to exchange width and height when changing orientation.
4. Review the composition at several points on the timeline. Check the video edges, captions, titles, and any callouts.
5. Use Fit Items to Canvas when you want to refit the items after a canvas change. Review the result before continuing; use Undo if it changes a composition you want to preserve.

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The canvas controls appear when no element is selected. Swap Dimensions and Fit Items to Canvas are the two buttons beside H.

A portrait canvas has less horizontal room than a landscape recording. To keep a wide interface readable, decide which area viewers need for each step. Leaving space around the recording preserves its edges; enlarging it to fill a narrower canvas can put content outside the frame. Check the preview after each adjustment instead of assuming a size change keeps every control visible.

The toolbar's Zoom out, Fit, and Zoom in controls adjust your view of the editing workspace. Use the Canvas fields to change the composition's dimensions.

Position, resize, and crop an element

Select the relevant video, text, or solid clip on the timeline and open Layout.

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Select the video clip to work on its geometry. Its green selection boundary shows the element's current extent.

For a video, expand Crop to adjust Left, Top, Right, and Bottom. Crop deliberately: it removes parts of the visible source. Before cropping a screen recording, check whether moving or reducing the video would preserve the interface you need. Return unwanted crop values to zero, then review the frame again.

Corner Radius is available under Fill for videos and solids. Use it to round the element's corners, and check that small labels or buttons near those corners remain visible. Text has its own typography and background controls; available properties depend on the selected element type.

Build a readable title card

The toolbar provides Add Text for titles and labels, Add Solid for a colored panel, and Add Highlight for attention callouts. Hover over the icons to identify the tool before selecting it.

A useful title card combines a short heading with a simple background. The example below uses a white solid behind black text and a smaller green step label.

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The title occupies the left side of the composition. The recording remains visible on the right, and the solid and text have separate timeline clips.

To style your title:

1. Use Add Text for the title, then select its clip on the timeline.
2. Open Typography and enter the heading in Text. Keep it short enough to read during its time on screen.
3. Choose the font family, weight, and Font Size. Adjust Line Height and Letter Spacing if the heading wraps or feels crowded.
4. Use the alignment controls within Typography to align the words inside the text box. Use Layout alignment to position the whole element on the canvas.
5. Set Direction to Left to Right or Right to Left as appropriate for the text.
6. Open Fill to choose the text color and opacity. Stroke provides a width and color for a text outline.
7. Position the title with Layout, leaving space between the words and the panel's edges. Check it at the viewing size your audience will use.

For a background attached to text, open Background and choose Add Background. Use Add Solid when you want a separate panel with its own size, position, and timing.

Style the solid behind the title

Select the solid clip. Under Fill, choose its color, opacity, and corner radius. Under Stroke, adjust the border width, style, and color. A plain, high-contrast panel usually makes a tutorial heading easier to read than a busy or partly transparent background.

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The example's white solid covers half the canvas. The title stays visible above it.

Track order determines which overlapping visual elements remain visible. In this example, text is on track 4, the solid on track 3, and the video on track 2. Keep title text above its solid and the solid above the recording when you want that panel to cover the footage. Check the full stack before moving clips, particularly when captions overlap the title interval.

Set the title and its panel to appear for the same interval. Scrub to the beginning and end of that interval: a panel that outlasts its text can leave an unexplained blank area over the recording.

Direct attention without hiding the control

Use the toolbar's Add Highlight entry point for an attention callout. Plan its position around the control or region the viewer should notice, and limit its time on screen to the relevant action.

For example, when explaining a filter dropdown, leave the dropdown's label and current value readable. Place a short text cue such as “Choose a filter” beside the target. Keep the callout clear of the cursor, open menus, and captions. Preview the moment when the dropdown opens as well as the moment before it opens; the menu may occupy space that was empty in the first frame.

Use Add Text for the explanatory words and a separate solid only when those words need a background. Avoid putting an opaque panel across the control viewers are supposed to click.

Set fades and zoom behavior

For text and solids, open Fade and adjust Fade In and Fade Out. The controls show durations in seconds. Video clips expose fade controls inside Video.

Short fades can soften the entrance of a title, but the fully readable portion needs to last long enough for the viewer to finish reading. Preview both ends of the clip after changing its duration or fades.

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Under Behavior, text and solids expose Follow Video Zoom. The button shows Disabled when following is off; clicking it enables following. Use this control when an overlay should follow the video's zoom, and preview the entire zoom interval to check that it stays with the intended subject. Leave following off for a title intended to stay fixed in the composition.

For the video's zoom controls, see Zoom effects and cursor tracking.

Use Blur screen as a visual effect

For a selected solid, Visual effects contains Blur screen. This is an element-level control in the solid's properties. Keep its placement and timeline interval in mind when reviewing the composition.

Treat blur as a visual styling effect. Do not rely on it as secure redaction of confidential text or personal information. Remove sensitive material from the source before using it in a video you intend to share.

Blur also needs attention at export time. The Rendering and Exporting guide identifies glass-blur effects as a reason a project may require cloud rendering. Check the current export options before starting, and inspect the finished file for the intended appearance.

Check the result before exporting

Play the affected section and inspect the first and last frames of each overlay. Confirm that the title is readable, the target control stays visible, and the layout still works through video zooms and open menus. After a canvas change, repeat this check for every distinct title or callout layout.

The editor has an Autosave switch, on unless you have turned it off. When it is off, use Save or Cmd/Ctrl+S; either way, confirm the Saved status before leaving. See Saving, editor history, and restoring a timeline for save and recovery details.

Troubleshooting

For editor orientation, see AI Video Editor. For caption-specific styling, see Editing caption text, timing, and appearance.