Deleting words and gaps
Removing content in the transcript panel is the fastest way to cut your video. Every word you delete corresponds to a precise segment of footage, and every gap you remove corresponds to a silence between words. When you delete either, those moments are cut from the timeline automatically.
Selecting and deleting a single word
Click any word in the transcript to place the playback cursor at that point. The word gains a highlighted border to show it is selected. A small toolbar appears above it with actions for that word. To remove it, click the Delete word button in the toolbar (the backspace icon). The word is immediately removed from the transcript view and that segment is cut from the video.
Selecting and deleting a range of words
To remove multiple words at once, click and drag across the words you want to cut. As you drag, the words highlight in a block to show what is selected. When you release the mouse, the toolbar appears above your selection. Click the Delete words button to remove all selected words at once.
The selection works in reading order — you can drag from left to right or right to left, and both directions select correctly. Gaps between selected words are also removed as part of the selection, so the cut sounds clean rather than leaving silences in unexpected places.
Selecting and deleting gaps
Between some words you will see small gap indicators — labels that show the duration of a pause or silence in seconds. These gaps are their own selectable elements. Clicking a gap places the cursor at the end of the word just before that pause. Right-clicking a gap opens a small action menu with two options:
- Delete gap entirely — removes just the silence, pulling the next word closer without affecting any spoken content.
- Split at gap — splits the clip at the boundary of that pause, which is useful when you want to separate two sections for further rearranging.
Deleting a gap is a precise way to tighten pacing without removing any words. If a speaker paused for two seconds between thoughts, removing that gap makes the transition feel instant.
What happens to your video
When you delete words or gaps, the video timeline adjusts to reflect the cut. The clips on either side of the removed segment are joined automatically, so playback continues without any jump. The video preview updates immediately so you can play through the edit and hear the result.
Deleting from the transcript is useful for:
- Removing filler words such as "um," "uh," or "you know"
- Cutting stumbled sentences and re-takes where the speaker started over
- Eliminating long pauses that slow down pacing
- Removing off-topic tangents or sections you no longer need
Gaps that span a selection
When you select a range of words that spans across a silence, the gap in between is also included in the deletion. Both the words and the gap between them are removed as a single cut, keeping the result sounding natural.
Tip: Deleted words and gaps are never permanently gone until you export. A visual indicator appears in place of everything you remove, and you can restore any of it at any time. If you delete too much, see the article on restoring deleted words.
