How to Try the File Transcribe Caption Editor

You can try the File Transcribe caption editor without hunting through a transcript toolbar. Signed-in accounts have Subtitles in the sidebar. That screen is the caption editor: your files, a way to start a new one, and the cue editor with video.

This is the click path. Rankings and alternatives are in best caption editor and best free caption editor.

Two editors, on purpose

Use the tool when the times are already right and you are fixing words. Use Subtitles when you want the recording in the same view.

Open the caption editor

1. Sign in at File Transcribe.
2. In the sidebar, choose Subtitles. It sits under Library.
3. You will see your recordings. A row that is only an imported caption file is marked Caption file.
4. Choose New subtitles when you are starting, or open a row when the file already exists.

Opening captions on a recording you already transcribed does not run transcription again. You are editing the text and times you already have.

Start from a recording you already transcribed

On New subtitles, pick a ready file from the library and open subtitles.

You land in the editor for that recording: cue list on one side, video on the other, timeline along the bottom. Change a line. Drag or type an in or out point. Split a cue that runs too long. Merge two short ones. Export is in the top bar as SRT or VTT.

Public pricing puts that SRT/VTT export on Pro (about $19/month) and Plus (about $49/month). Free includes the transcript editor, TXT, and PDF, with about 50 minutes a month. Confirm on /pricing so a free account is not promised a caption file it does not include.

Translate and Ask AI in that top bar are Pro features. They run on the captions in front of you. They are not a second transcription.

Start from an SRT or VTT you already have

Still on New subtitles, import the caption file.

• The import does not transcribe anything and does not charge a transcription.
• The file shows up in the same list as your recordings, labeled Caption file.
• Open it. If there is no video yet, the player says so. Pick one of your recordings, or use Upload video.
• Uploading a video here is for playback. It does not transcribe that video, and it does not rewrite the imported times.

That is the path when a client sent an SRT and a separate MP4. You are lining them up, not generating a new transcript.

The sidebar starts collapsed on this editor so the cues and the video get the width. Video and Upload video sit in the same top bar as export.

What to check before you export

• Names and product terms, not just grammar.
• Lines that stay on screen after the person stopped talking.
• A cue that starts before the word. Nudge the in point.
• Line length you can read. A style guide in Settings can shape captions the first time they are created from a transcript. It does not silently rewrite a file you already edited.

Then export SRT or VTT if your plan includes it, and upload that file where it belongs. YouTube steps: how to add captions to YouTube videos and how to add an SRT in YouTube Studio.

A first file worth trying

Use a recording you already know, not a client's only master. Two or three minutes is enough to see the editor.

• One name the auto draft usually gets wrong.
• One sentence where two people overlap, so you can see a cue that should be split.
• The video file, so the player is not an empty box.

If you do not have a transcript yet, upload that short file from the homepage or New in the dashboard first. Wait until it is ready. Then open Subtitles and open that row. If you already have an SRT from somewhere else, skip transcription and import it.

After one export, upload the SRT to a private or unlisted YouTube video and watch it once. That catches a cue that looked fine in the editor and late on YouTube. Studio upload is in how to add an SRT in YouTube Studio.

If you only wanted a text fix

Skip the dashboard. Open the subtitle editor tool, drop in the SRT or VTT, edit the cue text, and download. No timing controls. No account. If a line is also late, you are in the wrong tool. Come back to Subtitles and move the cue.

FAQ

Where is the caption editor in File Transcribe?

Sidebar, Subtitles, after you sign in. New subtitles starts from a library recording or an imported SRT/VTT. The no-signup text editor is /tools/subtitle-editor.

Does trying the caption editor cost transcription credits?

Opening subtitles on a finished transcript does not transcribe again. Importing an SRT or VTT does not transcribe. Uploading a video onto a caption file is playback only. A new recording still goes through the normal upload, and that uses your usual limits.

Can I try it for free?

Yes, for a text pass on the tool page, and yes to open the signed-in editor. SRT and VTT export from the transcript workflow is listed on Pro and Plus. Read /pricing.

Can I use my own caption file?

Yes. New subtitles, import SRT or VTT, then attach a recording you already have or upload a video for playback. The imported times stay as they were.

More guides

• Transcription guides
• Try File Transcribe free
• Transcript format guide
• Best transcription software
• Transcribe YouTube videos

Further reading

• W3C captions overview
• Google Speech-to-Text docs