Editing In-Depth

Learn editing techniques to minimize recording again and edit video more efficiently.

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In this tutorial:

Make a Selection

Select media to edit, move, or delete on the timeline.

Select Part of the TimelineClick and drag the green or red playhead handles to make a selection. The selected area is highlighted in blue.
blue selection between green and red playhead handles

For a precise selection, drag the Zoom slider to zoom in or out on the timeline.
slider to zoom in or out on the timeline
Select Media on the Timeline
Select media on the timeline
Click to select media. Shift+click to select multiple media. The selected media is outlined in yellow.

To select all media in an area on the timeline, click and drag the cursor across the media.
click and drag to select multiple media on the timeline

Rearrange Media or Insert Space

Magnetic Track
examples of media on magnetic track
Automatically remove all space between media on a track to insert or rearrange media on the timeline.

Enable Magnetic Track
Click the magnet icon pointing left icon to the left of the track. Any space between media is automatically removed.
no space between clips when magnetic track is on

Insert Media
Drag media from the Media Bin or Library onto a track. If you add media between two clips, other media on the track automatically shifts to insert space.

Rearrange Media
Click and drag media to a new location on the track. If you move media between two clips, the other media on the track automatically shifts to insert space.

Disable Magnetic Track
Click the magnet icon points right when magnetic track is on icon to the left of the track. Spaces can be added between media on the track.
space between clips when magnetic track is off
Split
Media split into two clips
Split media into multiple clips to:
  • Move and edit each clip separately.
  • Insert transitions, title slides, or graphics between clips.

To Split Media:
  1. Drag the playhead to the location to split.
  2. Click to select media to split. Shift+click to select multiple media.
  3. Click the Split button button or press S (Windows) or Command+T (Mac) on the keyboard.

To split all media on the timeline, press Control+Shift+S (Windows) or Command+Shift+T (Mac) on the keyboard.
Insert Space at a Specific Point (Ripple Split)
Shift + drag the playhead to ripple split After ripple split
Hold the Shift key and drag the playhead. Camtasia splits the media across all tracks and moves everything to the right of the playhead.
Move Media to Insert Space (Ripple Move)Move Media on One Track:
Hold the Shift key and drag the media to a new location on the timeline. Everything to the right of the clip moves with the selection.

Move Media on Multiple Tracks:
  1. Shift+click to select the first clip on each track.
  2. Hold the Shift key and drag the media to a new location on the timeline. Everything to the right of the clip moves with the selection.
See Ripple Move & Extend Frame or Move Multiple Clips at Once.

Remove Unwanted Parts

Trim (Mark-in or Mark-out a Clip)
Resize media
Reduce or extend the start or end of a clip without cuts or splits.
  1. Click to select a clip on the timeline (Mac only).
  2. Hover the cursor over the beginning or end of the clip.
  3. Drag the end of the clip in or out.
    Drag start or end of clip to trim
CutA cut removes a selection from the timeline and adds it to the clipboard. You can cut a single clip or across multiple clips.

To Cut Media:
  1. Click to select media or Shift+click to select multiple media on the timeline.
  2. Click the Cut button button.
To Cut a Timeline Selection:
  1. Click the button to lock tracks on timeline that contain media you do not want to delete button to lock tracks on timeline that contain media you do not want to cut.
  2. Click and drag the green or red handles on the playhead to make a selection. For a precise selection, drag the Zoom slider to zoom in on the timeline content.
    blue selection between green and red playhead handles
  3. Click the Cut button button. The selection is removed and the remaining media is stitched together.
  4. To paste the selection on the timeline, move the playhead to a new location and click the Paste button button.
Delete Media or SelectionTo Delete Media:
Select media on the timeline and press Delete.

To Delete a Timeline Selection:
  1. Click the button to lock tracks on timeline that contain media you do not want to delete button to lock tracks on timeline that contain media you do not want to delete.
  2. Click and drag the green or red playhead handles to make a selection. For a precise selection, drag the Zoom slider to zoom in on the timeline content.
    blue selection between green and red playhead handles
  3. Press Delete on the keyboard.

Extend Media (Freeze Frame)

Extend the Frame of a Video Clip
Press Alt on Windows or Option on Mac while dragging end of clip
Extend a frame to lengthen the duration of a video clip to match the audio or voice narration.

Windows:
  1. Drag the playhead to the frame to extend.
  2. Click to select the clip on the timeline.
  3. Right-click the clip and select Extend Frame or press Shift+E on the keyboard.
  4. The Extend Frame dialog appears. Enter the desired duration of the extended frame.
  5. Click OK.
You can also extend the frame by holding the Alt key while dragging the end of the clip.

Mac:
Hold the Option key while dragging the end of the clip.
Add Exported Frame as ImageAdd a frame to a new track on the timeline for more flexible editing.
  1. Drag the playhead to the desired frame.
  2. Right-click (Windows) or Control+click (Mac) the playhead and select Add Exported Frame.
Camtasia exports the frame as an image to your Media Bin and automatically adds the frame to a new track on the timeline.
Save Video Frame as ImageSave the current frame (on the canvas) as an image file (BMP, GIF, JPG, or PNG).
  1. Drag the playhead until the desired frame is displayed on the canvas.
  2. Select Export > Export frame as.
  3. The Export Frame As dialog appears. Enter a file name and select a file location.
  4. Select a file format from the Save as type field.
  5. Click Save.

Other Editing Tasks

Stitch Media
  • Only sections of media created from the original clip can be stitched together.
  • Media must be next to each other to be stitched.
  • Media is automatically stitched back together when cut.
  • Media is NOT stitched and a gap appears on the timeline when deleted.

To Stitch Media Together:
Right-click (Windows) or Control+click (Mac) the location where the two media clips touch and select Stitch Media.
Stitched media

To separate media, right-click on the stitch and select Unstitch (Windows) or Unstitch Media (Mac).
PlaceholdersConvert to Placeholder: Replace media on timeline with a placeholder.
  1. Click to select media on the timeline.
  2. Right-click (Windows) or Control+click (Mac) the media and select Convert to Placeholder.
  3. Edit the placeholder title and optional note in the properties.

Add Placeholder: Add a media placeholder to create a template or to replace content at a later time.
  1. Drag the playhead to the desired location on the timeline.
  2. Right-click (Windows) or Control+click (Mac) on the timeline and select Add Placeholder.
  3. Edit the placeholder title and optional note in the properties.

See Build a Video Template to Share.
Replace Media on the Timeline
Drag to replace media on the timeline
Quickly replace media on the timeline, while preserving properties, transitions, effects, audio points, and animations.
  1. To switch media or placeholders on the timeline, drag new media from the Media Bin or Library onto the media or placeholder on the timeline. When a green outline appears around the media or placeholder, release your mouse button.
    green border around replacement media
  2. A menu appears with the replacement options. If the new media is a different duration than the original media or placeholder, select one of the following options:
    • Ripple Replace: Shift all clips on the track to the right to insert space for the entire duration of the new media.
    • Replace From Start: Trim the new media to fit the duration of the original media. If the new media is longer, the end of the clip is trimmed to fit the duration.
    • Replace From End: Trim the new media to fit the duration of the original media. If the new media is longer, the beginning of the clip is trimmed to fit the duration.
    • Replace with Clip Speed: Increase the playback speed of the new media to fit the duration of the original media.