Automatic captions are quick, but they are never perfect. The last few minutes of work, fixing a name, splitting a long line, nudging a word that appears late, are what make captions look professional. This guide shows how to edit caption text and timing in the CapsField editor, step by step.
If you have not made your captions yet, start with how to add captions to a video online and come back here.
The short version
Click a caption row to jump to it. Click a word to open its menu: Edit, Search & Replace, Split, Previous Line, Next Line or Delete. Drag edges on the timeline to change timing. Caption Tools changes how many words show at once. Ctrl+Z undoes anything.
The Captions list: your main workspace
The panel on the left is the Captions list. Each row is one caption, numbered in order. A few things worth knowing:
- Click a row and the video jumps to the first moment that line is on screen, and the row is selected.
- Press Space to play and pause while you read along.
- Right-to-left languages such as Urdu are laid out right to left, so the list reads the way the words do on screen.
- The search icon at the top of the list filters the rows by text.
Read the whole list once from top to bottom. Most errors are names, brands, numbers and slang.
Step 1: Fix a wrong word
- Click the word you want to change. A small menu opens.
- Choose Edit (Modify the text).
- Type the correct word and press Enter.
The word keeps its place in time, so the caption still appears at the right moment. If a whole line is missing, add one with the + Word button on the timeline, described below.
Step 2: Fix the same mistake everywhere
If the tool spelled a name wrongly in many places, do not fix each one by hand. Click one of the wrong words and choose Search & Replace (Find all occurrences). The list is filtered to that word and a box asks what to replace it with. Type the correct spelling, confirm, and every matching word is replaced. A message tells you how many were changed.
Keep names consistent
Viewers notice a name spelled two ways in one video. Fix it once with Search & Replace and it is right everywhere.
Step 3: Split, move and delete
The same word menu has the tools that change how the text is divided into lines:
- Split (Split caption here) cuts a caption in two at the word you clicked. Use it when a caption is too long to read comfortably.
- Previous Line moves the word to the end of the previous caption, and Next Line moves it to the start of the next one. Use them when a sentence break landed in the wrong place.
- Delete removes the word.
Two other options in the menu are about emphasis rather than editing: Emphasize makes a word stand out in the caption’s style, and Spotlight gives it maximum impact. They are covered in the styling guide.
Step 4: Edit timing on the timeline
At the bottom of the editor the timeline shows two rows of captions:
- Words shows each word as its own block.
- Lines shows each caption as one block.
Drag the edges of a block to change when it starts or ends. Dragging a word block moves one word. Dragging a line block moves the whole caption. The video and the captions stay in step, because the timing you see is the timing that is exported.
Useful controls in the timeline toolbar:
- + Word adds a new caption at the playhead, ready for you to type over.
- Undo and Redo step back and forward through your edits.
- Delete selected removes the selected caption or captions.
- The Snapping toggle makes block edges and the playhead jump to nearby edges, so captions do not overlap or leave tiny gaps.
- Zoom in and out to make small adjustments precise, or to see the whole video at once.
Keyboard shortcuts save time: Ctrl+Z undoes, Ctrl+Shift+Z (or Ctrl+Y) redoes, Ctrl+Enter adds a caption, Ctrl+C copies the selected caption and Ctrl+V pastes it at the playhead. Hold Shift and press the arrow keys to move one second at a time.
Step 5: Change how many words show at once
Open Caption Tools above the list. Its Display Settings change how the captions are grouped on screen:
- Words sets how many words appear together: Default, or 1 to 5 words per screen.
- Max chars sets the longest a line can be before it breaks.
- Max lines sets one, two or three lines.
Short groups feel fast and punchy, which suits Reels and TikTok. Longer groups suit tutorials and interviews. Changing these re-cuts the captions in the list and on the timeline, and you can switch back to Default at any time.
The Actions section has four switches: Remove Punctuation, Remove Emphasis, Remove Gaps in Captions and Remove Emojis. Under Timing, Caption Delay Control shifts every caption earlier or later by up to five seconds, which is handy if a platform adds a slight delay.
What good caption text and timing look like
Professional subtitle guides give clear numbers. Netflix’s English timed-text style guide, for example, caps each line at 42 characters and allows at most two lines. It sets a reading-speed ceiling of 20 characters per second for adult programmes (17 for children’s), and asks editors to break lines after punctuation and before conjunctions and prepositions, keeping a noun with its article and a first name with its last name. You do not need to follow a broadcaster’s rules for a short video, but they are a good compass. Our best practices guide turns them into simple rules.
Frequently asked questions
Can I undo a caption edit?
Yes. Press Ctrl+Z, or use Undo in the timeline toolbar. Redo is Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y.
Why is a word showing at the wrong moment?
Drag its block on the Words row of the timeline until it lines up with the spoken word. Zoom in first so the adjustment is precise.
How do I make a caption shorter?
Split it with the word menu, or lower Max chars or Words in Caption Tools so each screen holds less text.
Will editing change my styling?
No. Text and timing edits keep the style you chose. Styling is a separate step, explained in how to style captions.
Can I edit captions on my phone?
The editor works in a mobile browser, and the Captions list and timeline are available there. A larger screen is easier for fine timing.
Try it on your own captions
Open a project, click the first word that looks wrong and fix it. Start a free CapsField project and edit your captions in a few minutes. When the words are right, move on to styling them.
