Skip to main content

Media library & clips

A project isn't one recording — it's a set of sources and an ordered list of clips cut from them. Media mode is where you manage the sources; the clip row at the bottom of the timeline is where you arrange them.

Media mode​

Switch to Media in the top bar. The stage shows one card per source in the project, with a search box above them.

Select a card to open its detail panel:

  • Source Transcript — the full text for that asset, with its status (No transcript / Pending transcription / Downloading speech model / Transcribing / Transcript ready / No speech detected / No audio track / Transcription failed) and the detected language.
  • Regenerate as — re-run local Whisper for this asset, either on Auto detection or forced to English, French, or Spanish.

Import media adds a source from disk — video, audio, or images. The file dialog accepts webm, mp4, mov, avi, mkv, m4v, wmv, flv, and ts.

Importing a source does not put it on the timeline. Drag its card onto the clip row to do that.

Clips on the timeline​

The bottom row of the timeline is the clip strip. Each clip shows its own waveform.

  • Drag to reorder. The regions on top follow their clip — a zoom you placed on a clip stays on that clip when it moves.
  • Double-click (or the pencil on a clip) opens Edit clip: in/out points with a scrubbable range, and a crop rectangle with draggable handles, numeric X/Y/W/H, and ratio presets. Crop is per clip.
  • Delete clip removes it from the timeline; the source stays in the media library.
  • Drop a source onto an existing clip and OpenScreen asks where it goes: Add before, Add after, or Split here and insert — which cuts the target clip at the drop point and drops the new source in between.

Clips are always contiguous — no gaps, no overlaps. Removing or reordering one closes the ruler up behind it.

Output size​

The aspect-ratio picker in the timeline toolbar sets the shape of the frame; Original lists the actual shapes of the clips in your project. Every clip gets fitted into that frame, so mixing a 16:9 screen recording with a 9:16 phone capture in one timeline works — see Export for what resolution comes out.

Starting a project​

New project asks for a name and a starting point:

  • Screen recording — jumps straight into Rec mode.
  • Import media — opens the file picker.

Open project lists your recent .openscreen files with a search box, keyboard navigation, and a Browse files… escape hatch. You can also drop a .openscreen file onto the empty editor.