Splitting and trimming clips

Splitting and trimming give you precise control over every clip on your timeline. Whether you are removing a mistake, cutting out a pause, or rearranging segments of your video, these two techniques are the foundation of manual editing in PublishFi.

Splitting a clip

Splitting cuts a clip into two independent pieces at a specific moment in time. Once split, each piece can be moved, deleted, or modified on its own — giving you the flexibility to remove a section from the middle of a clip, reorder parts of your video, or insert content between two halves.

To split a clip:

1. Drag the playhead to the moment in the timeline where you want to make the cut.
2. In the timeline toolbar, click the Split Clip button (the scissors icon). The cursor changes to a scissors icon to indicate that Split mode is active. The button highlights in red to show the mode is on.
3. Click directly on the clip you want to split at the playhead position. The clip is divided into two separate clips.
4. Click the Split Clip button again to exit Split mode and return to normal editing.

After splitting, you can delete either piece, close the gap between them, or drag one half to a different position on the timeline.

Tip: Split mode stays active until you click the toolbar button again. This means you can make multiple cuts in a row without re-activating the tool each time — useful when you have several sections to remove in sequence.

Trimming a clip

Trimming adjusts the visible start or end of a clip without splitting it. This is the quickest way to remove a few seconds from the beginning or end of a clip — for example, cutting out a false start or a trailing pause.

To trim a clip:

1. Click on a clip in the timeline to select it.
2. Hover over the left or right edge of the clip. A resize handle appears.
3. Drag the edge inward to shorten the clip from that end.

Trimming does not permanently delete the hidden footage. If you trim too far, drag the edge back outward to restore the original content. The source media is always intact.

Trim on import for long videos

When you upload a video longer than two minutes, PublishFi opens a trim dialog before the file is added to the timeline. The dialog shows a preview of the video with a range selector, so you can choose the segment you actually want to work with before it appears on the timeline. This keeps your project focused and avoids cluttering your workspace with footage you don't need.

Tip: If you want to use additional segments from the same source file, you can import it again and choose a different range each time.

When to use transcript editing instead

For removing spoken words, filler phrases, or pauses, transcript-based editing is usually faster than manual splitting. Click on a word or select a range of words in the transcript panel and delete them — the corresponding video segment is automatically removed from the timeline. This is ideal for podcast clips, interview footage, and any video where the speech is the primary content. Use the split and trim tools when you need to cut based on timing rather than what was said.