Editing caption text, timing, and appearance

Caption text and narration are separate. A spelling, capitalization, timing, or style adjustment in the caption panel edits what viewers see. If the spoken words also need changing, edit the script and update the voiceover as well.

Before you begin

Open a project with generated captions in the Editor. You need an existing Captions clip on the timeline; selecting a video, audio, or ordinary text clip opens different properties.

Autosave is on unless you have turned it off, and saves pending changes about every 15 seconds. Check the switch in the top toolbar before editing; with Autosave off, use Save or Cmd/Ctrl+S. Either way, wait for Saved before leaving the editor.

Find the caption controls

1. Open your project from Projects and enter the Editor.
2. Select a clip labeled Captions on the timeline.
3. Use the properties panel on the right. Its expandable sections include Layout, Typography, Fill, Stroke, Captions, and Tokens.
4. Collapse sections you are not using, or scroll within the panel, to reach the controls below them.

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The selection outline identifies the caption box on the canvas. Keep the playhead within a captioned passage when checking the result.

Correct a caption word

The Tokens section lists individual words or text fragments. Each row has a start time, an end time, and an editable text field.

1. Expand Tokens.
2. Find the word using its text and timestamps. Scroll down the list for later words.
3. Edit that row's text field, called Caption text. Preserve any spacing or punctuation that belongs with the word.
4. Play the passage to check the spelling and how it joins the surrounding words.
5. Save your changes and check the save status.

For example, if a caption says Videomule but the product name should be VideoMule, change that token's capitalization. Leave the timestamps unchanged when the word already matches the narration's timing.

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The screenshot shows the existing Start token and its 00:00.000 → 00:00.313 interval. The fields above each word belong to that word, rather than to the entire sentence.

If the voiceover says the wrong product name, changing the caption alone will leave viewers hearing the old name. Use Script to make the narration correction; see Reviewing and Editing Your Script.

Adjust word timing

Use the Caption start time and Caption end time fields in the token's row. They display time as minutes, seconds, and milliseconds: 00:02.250 means 2.25 seconds.

1. Play the passage and identify the word that appears too early, too late, or for the wrong duration.
2. Find its row under Tokens.
3. Adjust its start or end time, keeping the start earlier than the end.
4. Check neighboring tokens so the sequence follows the speech naturally.
5. Play from just before the change through the following word, then save.

For example, suppose a word is timed 00:02.000 → 00:02.400, but speech begins 100 milliseconds later. Try 00:02.100 → 00:02.500 to shift the whole interval later while retaining its 400-millisecond duration. Use the recording to decide the final values; this is an illustrative adjustment, not a timing preset.

Changing caption timestamps does not move the spoken word. If the audio itself is mistimed, address the narration or timeline separately.

Change the font and spacing

Expand Typography with a caption clip selected.

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For a simple readability adjustment, select a caption, change Max Font Size from 56 to 60, and preview a longer phrase. Check that the text fits and does not cover an important control in the recording. Restore the previous size if it crowds the frame.

Text direction and alignment serve different purposes. For a right-to-left language, select Right to Left, then choose the alignment that suits the composition. Review mixed numbers, punctuation, and Latin text in the preview.

The separate Captions section also exposes Page duration (ms) and Max Lines #. Check these when reviewing how much text is shown together and how it fits in the caption box.

Set colors, opacity, and stroke

Expand Fill and Stroke to control caption contrast.

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• Fill → Color sets the ordinary text color.
• Highlight color sets the color used to emphasize the active word.
• Opacity controls transparency. The screenshot shows 100%.
• Stroke → Width controls the text outline's thickness.
• Stroke → Color sets that outline's color.

Choose colors that remain readable over both light and dark portions of the recording. Play a few phrases to judge the highlighted word in motion, and avoid a stroke so thick that it closes up small letters.

Position and rotate captions

Expand Layout to adjust the caption box:

• Position → X / Y places the box horizontally and vertically.
• Dimensions → W / H controls its width and height.
• Rotation and Rotate Right control its angle.
• The six Alignment buttons position the box left, center, right, top, vertically centered, or bottom.

These Layout alignment controls position the box on the canvas. The Alignment controls under Typography arrange the text inside it.

Keep a comfortable margin from the video edges, and place captions where they do not obscure the action. Check the result across the passage, especially when the recording's important content changes position.

Check scope and save your work

Start each adjustment by selecting the intended Captions clip. After styling it, select another caption clip and inspect its settings and preview before continuing through the video. This check helps catch inconsistent appearance across separate timeline clips.

1. Review the corrected word, its neighboring words, and the timing against the narration.
2. Inspect another caption clip after a style change.
3. With Autosave off, click Save or press Cmd/Ctrl+S. With Autosave on, check the save status before leaving.
4. Reopen the project and check the edited passage before exporting.

Finish planned script and voiceover changes before detailed caption polishing. After any regeneration, review the captions again for text, timing, and appearance before exporting.

Troubleshooting

The word fields are missing. Select a Captions timeline clip, then expand Tokens. Collapse other sections or scroll the properties panel if the list is below the visible area.

The caption changed, but the voice still says the old word. Update the script and voiceover. Caption text edits affect the on-screen wording.

The caption is hard to read or is cut off. Check Max Font Size, letter spacing, box dimensions, position, fill opacity, and contrast. Review longer phrases as well as short ones.

The timing still looks wrong. Play from before the affected word and compare both its start and end with the audio. Check the next token too; fixing one boundary can reveal another mismatch.

For editor navigation, see AI Video Editor. When the captions are ready, continue to Rendering and Exporting.