Purple rounded rectangle with white Audiate logo inside

Edit Audio & Mistakes

Learn how to remove words or mistakes and edit the voice-over transcription text.

3d Audiate icon

In this tutorial:

TechSmith Audiate automatically transcribes the words recorded in a voice-over or imported in an audio file on the screen. Clean up your narration to create smooth, professional voice clips.

  • Use text-based editing to quickly remove words or edit mistakes, such as “ums” or “ahs”.
  • Edit the transcription and correct words to create captions.

Edit the Audio

To create professional audio clips, use Audiate to correct mistakes, pauses, and remove hesitations, such as “ums” and “ahs”.

Note: Select File > Import Audio to import .wav, .mp3, or .m4a to Audiate for Windows or to import .wav files to Audiate for Mac.

Apply an Audio Effect
Apply effects to improve tones, remove background sounds, and adjust volume levels in the recording.		See Improve Audio with Effects.
Suggested Edits
Quickly remove all hesitations, such as “ums” or “ahs,” and shorten long pauses. 		When your audio contains hesitations or pauses, Audiate automatically detects each instance and provides suggested edits.

Click the Suggested Edits dropdown and select an option to apply the improvements to your entire audio file.
Suggested Edits dropdown
Remove Hesitations
Pink words in the transcription represent hesitations, such as “ums” and “ahs.”
  • To remove a hesitation, click to select the pink word in the transcription and press the Delete key.
  • To remove all, select Edit > Delete All Hesitations.
  • To silence all hesitations, select Edit > Silence All Hesitations.
Remove a Pause
Ellipses in the transcription represent pauses.
Yellow ellipsis represents a pause
  • Click to select an ellipsis in the transcription and press the Delete key.
  • To silence all pauses, select Edit > Silence All Pauses.
Shorten All Pauses
Automatically shorten all pauses above a set duration to help the pace of your audio sound natural.
  1. Select Edit > Shorten All Pauses.
  2. Enter the maximum duration (in seconds). Audiate shortens any pauses above this amount to the new duration.
  3. Enter the desired duration (in seconds) for pauses.
  4. Click OK.

Audiate automatically changes any pauses above the maximum duration to the new duration.

Remove a Word
Remove incorrect or unnecessary words from the audio.		Click to select a word in the transcription, press the Delete key. The word is removed from the audio and the transcription.
Remove a Selection
Remove extra or unnecessary phrases from the audio.
  1. Click and drag to select an audio segment.
  2. Press the Delete key.
    The selection is removed from the audio and the transcription.
Restore Audio
Restore audio that was previously deleted.		When a selection is deleted, Audiate adds a marker to the location.
Deletion marker
Click the marker and select Restore Audio.
Restore Audio option
Silence Audio Selection
Silence or mute a segment in the audio.
  1. Click to select a word or click and drag to select an audio segment.
  2. Click the Silence Audio button or press Ctrl+Delete (Windows) or Command+Delete (Mac).
    Silence Audio button below transcription
    The text selection changes to white indicating the audio has been silenced for the duration of the selection.

To undo this action, click to select the word or click and drag to select the segment, right-click, and select Unsilence.
Add a Pause
When deleting words or audio segments, consider adding a pause before or after to provide a natural pause in the audio.		To add a half second of silence before or after a selection:
  1. Click to select a location in the transcription.
  2. Right-click the selection and select Insert Silence Before or Insert Silence After or press a keyboard shortcut:
    • Insert Silence Before: Ctrl+comma (Windows) and Command+comma (Mac)
    • Insert Silence After: Ctrl+period (Windows) and Command+period (Mac)

To add a pause the length of your choosing:
  1. Click the Waveform Editor button or press Ctrl+1 to view the waveform.
    Waveform Editor button
  2. Click to select the word after the location where you want to add the pause.
  3. Drag the selected word to the right.
View the Audio Waveform Editor
For precise audio editing, open the audio waveform editor.
waveform editor
  1. Click the Waveform Editor button or press Ctrl+1 to show or hide the audio waveform.
    Waveform Editor button
  2. Drag the Zoom slider to adjust the scale of the waveform display.
    slider to adjust the scale of the wave form

Complete any of the following to navigate and edit in the waveform editor:
  • Click or drag in the time bar to move the playhead position.
  • Click or drag in the waveform area to make a selection.
  • Drag the edge of a selection to expand or contract the selection.
  • Press the Delete key to remove a selection from the audio and the transcription.
Find and Replace
Quickly search for and replace a single instance or all instances of a word, hesitation, or pause.
  1. Select Edit > Find > Find and Replace or press Alt+Control+F (Windows) or Option+Command+F (Mac).
  2. The Find pane opens. In the dropdown, select a Find option. Select Automatically Preview to play the audio as you jump between instances.
  3. If you select Find and Replace, enter the words to find and replace into the fields. Click Replace to replace the current instance. Click All to replace all instances.
  4. Click the arrow buttons to jump between instances in the search results.
  5. Click Done to close the Find pane.

Tip: Export audio to TechSmith Camtasia

To export the edited audio as a WAV file to use in TechSmith Camtasia or other applications, click the Export button.
Export button

Preview the Audio

During the editing process, play back the audio edits to make sure you have the desired effect and quality.

  1. Click and drag to make a selection in the audio transcription.
  2. Click the Playback Mode button to select a mode:
    Playback Mode button
    • Loop Selection: Continuously play the selection on a loop.
    • Play Selection and Stop: Play the selection once.
  3. Click the Play button or press the Tab key to play the audio back from the selected location.
    Play button
  4. Click the Pause button or press the Tab key to pause the audio playback.

Edit the Transcription

To edit the transcription text that appears when you export a script (.txt) or caption (.srt) file, complete the following:

Edit Word(s) in the Transcription
If a word or phrase is incorrect or misspelled, you can edit the word in the transcription.		Edit a Word:
  1. Double-click the word to edit.
    Menu of options to replace the selected word
  2. Type the correct word and click OK.
    Custom Word replacement dialog

Edit a Phrase:
  1. Click and drag to select the words in the transcription.
  2. Right-click and select Combine into Custom Word.
  3. Type the correct word or phrase and click OK.
Find and Replace
Search for and replace a word or all instances of a word in the transcription.
  1. Select Edit > Find > Find and Replace or press Alt+Control+F (Windows) or Option+Command+F (Mac).
  2. The Find pane opens. In the dropdown, select the Find and Replace option. Select Automatically Preview to play the audio as you jump between instances.
  3. Enter the words to find and replace into the fields.
  4. Click the arrow buttons to jump between instances in the search results.
  5. Click Replace to replace the current instance. Click All to replace all instances.
  6. Click Done to close the Find pane.
Edit Transcription Timing
Manually adjust transcription timing for more accurately timed captions.
  1. Right-click a word and select Edit Transcription Timing.
  2. The audio waveform editor opens. Drag the handles in or out to adjust the duration of the word in the transcription.
    Drag transcription timing handles to adjust transcript timing

Export the Transcription

To export a script or caption file to use in TechSmith Camtasia or other applications:

  • Export SRT Caption File: Select File > Export Script > Save as type > Subtitles (SRT).
  • Export a Script: Select File > Export Script > Save as type > Text files.

Up Next

Improve Audio with Effects

Read

Improve Audio with Effects

Related Posts

Export Audio, Captions, or a Script from Audiate

Read

Export Audio, Captions, or a Script from Audiate
Record a Voice-Over

Read

Record a Voice-Over

Categories / Tags

Edit Audio
Getting Started
Audiate