Understanding the editor

The PublishFi editor opens when you click on a generated clip from your project. It is a full-screen workspace made up of several panels arranged around a central video preview. Each area of the editor has a specific role, and understanding the layout upfront makes everything else in the product click into place.

Here is a breakdown of each section.

Top bar

The top bar runs across the full width of the editor and gives you access to navigation, core editing tools, and output controls.

On the far left is the Back button, which returns you to the project view.

In the center sits the main toolbar — a dock of frequently used tools:

Select / Files — the cursor tool for selecting elements, with a Files shortcut button next to it for opening your project file list in the left sidebar.
Screen record — lets you capture your screen directly into the project.
Transcript — toggles the transcript panel on and off. When active, the panel appears in the center of the editor, showing every spoken word with timestamps.
Music — opens the Music panel in the right sidebar, where you can search for background tracks, sound effects, and voiceovers.
CoDirector — opens the CoDirector AI panel on the right side of the editor.
Auto Frame — opens a dropdown for selecting and managing your output formats. The dropdown shows your currently active frame and lets you add or switch between formats.
Design System — opens the library of motion design templates — lower thirds, titles, graphic call-outs — that you can insert into your video.

On the far right are the finishing tools:

Help — opens a live support chat.
Comments — opens the comments panel for leaving and resolving timestamped review notes.
Play — previews the current video.
Download — exports your finished video.
Share — opens sharing options including export links and collaborator invitations.

Left sidebar

The left sidebar has two views, accessed by two tabs: Layers and Files.

Layers shows every element in your video as a stacked list. Video clips, design elements, and audio tracks all appear here. Clicking any item in the Layers panel selects it in the timeline and in the preview simultaneously. You can drag items to reorder them — elements higher in the list render on top of elements below them. This view is especially useful when clips are stacked close together in the timeline and hard to click directly.

Files shows all the source media files attached to your project. You can drag a file from this panel directly onto the timeline to add it to your edit. You can also upload new files and import from URLs directly from this panel, so you are never stuck having to go back to the project view to add more footage.

Center: Transcript

The transcript panel occupies the center of the editor, between the left sidebar and the right sidebar. It displays every spoken word in your video, each one a clickable element.

Clicking a word in the transcript moves the playhead to that exact moment in the timeline. This makes navigating through long recordings fast and precise — you can find any moment by reading rather than scrubbing.

Deleting a word or a selection of words in the transcript removes those corresponding segments from the video. This transcript-based editing approach means you can make meaningful cuts without ever touching the timeline directly.

Bottom: Timeline

The timeline runs along the bottom of the editor and shows the full structure of your video laid out from left (the start) to right (the end).

It organizes your content into three track types:

Video tracks — hold your video clips. Multiple video tracks can be stacked to create layered compositions or picture-in-picture effects.
Effects / Design track — holds motion design elements like titles and lower thirds. This track always sits above your video tracks, and its content renders on top of the footage.
Audio tracks — hold music, sound effects, voiceover recordings, and any imported audio files.

A time ruler runs along the top of the timeline. Click anywhere on it to jump the playhead to that point. Use the zoom slider to zoom in for precise frame-level editing or zoom out to see your entire project at once.

Right sidebar

The right sidebar switches between several panels depending on what you open. Each panel gives you a different set of tools:

CoDirector — your AI editing partner. You can give it instructions in text (Chat mode), switch to a focused editing mode (Edit mode), or use hands-free Voice mode. CoDirector can rework clips, apply edits across the timeline, and respond to requests like "trim the pauses" or "add a title card at the beginning."
Inspector — shows the properties of any selected element in the timeline or on the canvas. Position, scale, rotation, opacity, animation settings, and text formatting all live here.
Music — a searchable library of background tracks organized by genre, mood, instruments, BPM, key, and more. You can also access sound effects, AI voiceovers, and your bookmarked tracks from this panel.
Comments — a thread of timestamped review notes left by you or your collaborators. Resolve comments as you address them.

Tip: The right sidebar responds to what you click. Clicking a design element on the canvas or in the timeline automatically opens the Inspector for that element. Opening CoDirector from the top bar switches the sidebar to the CoDirector panel. You do not need to manually switch panels for most workflows — the editor does it for you.