Palettes

Overview

Here is a typical Subs Factory working window.

Palettes

A palette is a part of the interface that groups related features of the software. Here is a palette:

At the top we can see the title bar. If we click on it, the palette folds to take up less space, as shown: Clicking again unfolds it.

There are also palette groups, called columns. They have a vertical title bar. They can be folded just like palettes.

The list of palettes is available in the "Palettes" menu, located in the menu bar.

Please note that the general palettes and those involving only video are colorless. Palettes about subtitle files are colored (yellow for the first opened file). This allows you to distinguish them if you open several files in a single project (for example to make translations).

"Files" palette

This palette lets you load files into the current project.

The first button, "Open a video file...", lets you load a video into the project. It is named "Change video file..." when a video is already loaded. In this case, the current video will be replaced by the new one.

The second button, "Open a subtitles file...", lets you open a subtitle file (in .srt, .sub or .tsv format) in the current project. It also lets you load a text file (.txt) in order to turn it into subtitles (see Turn a text into subtitles).

The third button, "Create new subtitle file...", lets you create a new subtitle file within the project.

Several options are available in order to create that file:

• Create an empty file, containing no subtitle,
• Copy an existing file (to be chosen from the dropdown menu),
• Copy an existing file, but erase the subtitles content - therefore keeping only their timings. This option is useful, for example, for translation;
• Split an existing file. The new file will then contain the end of the subtitles, while the file selected in the dropdown menu will keep the beginning.
• Translate an existing file (see Automatic translation),
• Transcribe an audio track of the video (see Create subtitles automatically).

To save this new subtitle file outside the project, use the "Export" button of the "Actions" palette.

"Image" palette

This palette simply shows the video on which you are working. At the top, from left to right, are located:

• a "Transcribe audio" button. This button is only present if the video file or audio file opened contains an audio track. It is active only if an audio track is selected (via the bottom-left menu of this palette). It lets you create new subtitles via voice recognition on the selected audio track. More information can be found in the Create subtitles automatically section.
• an "Extract subtitles" button. This button is only present if the video or audio file contains a subtitle track (not burnt-in). It is active only if the selected subtitle track (via the bottom-left menu of this palette) is a track included in the video or audio file. It lets you extract this track, in order to work on it. More information can be found in the Extract subtitles from a video file page.
• an "Origin" button, letting you choose the timing of the video beginning. Its use is described in the Tips and tricks page.
• an "Infos" button, displaying information about the opened video file, particularly the list of its tracks. To close the popup, just click on the button again.

The bottom left menu lets you select the subtitle track to be displayed on the video. It only appears if there is a subtitle file opened and/or if the video file contains at least one subtitle track. When displayed, the menu contains:

• a "None" item, to display no subtitle,
• zero to several items corresponding to the subtitle tracks included in the video file,
• one item for each subtitle file opened in the project. These items show a color square to indicate which subtitle file they belong to (for example, yellow for the first subtitle file opened).

The other menus let you select the audio or video track to be played. To mute the audio, just select "None" for the audio track. The video track menu only appears if there is more than one video track. Multiple tracks are used, for example, when one video file contains several audio languages.

Finally, at the bottom right, a text indicates the playback speed (1x is standard speed, 2x twice the standard speed, etc.)

This palette only appears if you opened a video in the current Subs Factory project.

"Controls" palette

Here is the meaning of the symbols on the buttons of this palette:

• : play the video,
• : stop the video,
• : play the video backwards,
• / : go to the beginning/end of the project. The project end is the end of the video or the end of the last subtitle, whichever comes last,
• / : move backward / forward by the duration defined in preferences (3 seconds by default),
• / : go to the beginning / end of the current subtitle,
• / : go to the previous / following subtitle,
• / : go to the first / last subtitle.
• / : activate or deactivate looping on current (or next) subtitle / exit current loop (displayed instead of when loop is active).

In the second line of controls, colored rectangles represent subtitles. When there are several subtitle files in the project, the selected file is used as the reference for these actions. The controls then display its color.

The slider in the bottom right corner of the palette changes the video playback speed. This lets you move more precisely or more quickly through the video. To come back to normal speed, move it to the middle (1x).

"Timeline" palette

Timeline description

This palette shows two timelines. The first, on the top, represents the entire project: the beginning is on the left and the end on the right. The blue cursor represents the current timing. It can be moved with the mouse.

The subtitles are colored on the grey background. Their color depends on the file they belong to. The subtitle being edited is highlighted with a border.

The violated constraints also appear if you wish (checkbox "Display constraints violations" of the "Constraints" palette). They are represented by coloured triangles. A horizontal bar of the same color represents the duration on which they apply. Their color depends on their importance (see the Constraints help).

The second timeline, on the bottom, is called the detailed timeline, and represents in the same way the project's part around the current timing, as a "zoom" of the top part, around the cursor. The zoom level can be changed with the slider on the right between the parts.

In this second timeline, audio waveforms are also displayed. They represent the sound graphically. They can help position subtitle beginnings and ends precisely.

You can choose whether or not to display audio waveforms in the preferences.

Audio waveforms may not appear right away when the video is opened, because they must be computed. They appear as the computation progresses. This computation may significantly increase CPU usage.

This part can also display the subtitle text. It can also be hidden via the preferences.

Interact with timeline

The detailed timeline also lets you interact easily with its components:

• drag the blue cursor (or click anywhere in the background) to change current timing,
• drag a marker to move it,
• drag a subtitle (by the middle) to move it,
• drag the beginning or end of a subtitle to change its duration,
• double-click on a subtitle to edit it,
• click on a subtitle while holding the shift (⇧) key to extend the selection to several subtitles, or the command (⌘) key to individually add it to or remove it from the selection,
• click and drag on the timeline background while holding the option (⌥) key to create a new subtitle,
• click on a subtitle while holding the option (⌥) key to delete it,
• click on a marker while holding the option (⌥) key to delete it,
• click on a subtitle while holding the control (⌃) key to split it at the click timing, and
• click between two subtitles while holding the control (⌃) key to merge the previous and next subtitles into one.

You will get a summary of these actions by hovering over the circled ℹ︎ located between the two timelines.

Right-clicking the detailed timeline shows a contextual menu whose content depends on what is under the cursor. On a subtitle, it lets you cut it, copy it, split it, merge the selection (if that is possible) or delete it; on an empty area, create a new subtitle starting or ending at this location. If the clipboard contains subtitles or pastable text, the menu also offers, on a subtitle as well as on an empty area, to paste it with its beginning or its end set to this location. On a marker, it only offers to delete it. Except in that last case, it always also offers to place a beginning, plain or end marker at the clicked location.

You can also simply use your trackpad (with two fingers) or your mouse scroll wheel while your cursor is over a timeline to move in time.

"Counter" palette

This counter simply shows the current temporal position (current timing) in the project, in the format specified in the preferences.

You can edit the counter (only when the video is paused) to go to a precise timing, or use your trackpad (with two fingers) or your mouse scroll wheel while your cursor is over this palette to change the counter value.

"Subtitle edition" palette

This palette lets you edit the current subtitle.

This palette only shows up if you open or create a subtitle file in the current Subs Factory project.

The main text field, in the top left, lets you edit the subtitle text. The three fields "Start", "Duration" and "End" located below let you set respectively the subtitle start timing, duration and end timing. These must be entered in the format chosen in the preferences.

The padlock lets you lock the subtitle duration. When it is locked, if the beginning or the end of the subtitle is changed, the whole subtitle will be moved. Its duration will not change. If it stays open, then only the beginning or the end will be moved. The duration will then be modified.

The buttons located underneath the beginning timing field let you move this beginning to the previous beginning marker () or the next one (). Ditto to move the subtitle end to the previous end marker () or the next one (). You can also change these timings, not with markers, but with the playback cursor, with the and buttons. Finally, the and buttons let you move in the video to the value displayed above.

These buttons change their icons or are enabled according to what is possible in this context.

The button, located to the right of the main text field, deletes the subtitle.

The button, located next to it, splits the subtitle in two in the middle, in particular to separate its two lines if applicable.

The "Format" button, located to the left of the main text field, displays a popover in which you can choose the text format (font, size, color, italic, bold,...). Beware, these attributes might be omitted when exporting the file, depending on the file format chosen.

This palette also shows, if you ticked it in the constraints palette, the constraints violated by the current subtitle. If several constraints are violated, you can navigate between them thanks to the button.

If several subtitles are superimposed at the current timing, you can navigate between them thanks to the button then displayed in the top right. To its left, the number of superimposed subtitles at the current time is displayed in red.

You will also notice, at the bottom right of the subtitle text editing field, two numbers labeled "c" and "c/s". They represent the count of characters (including invisible ones, except on extremities) and the number of characters per second of the subtitle. They let you check that the subtitle remains visible long enough to be read correctly.
The number of characters per second will change color if it gets higher than the maximum allowed, defined in the "Maximum characters per second" constraint. You can change this maximum value to adapt it to your requirements, or to the subtitles language.

When the subtitle has two lines, the number of characters of each line is also displayed, at the right end of that line. It changes color if it is outside the limits defined in the "Maximum characters count per line" and "Minimum characters count per line" constraints.

When several subtitles are selected at once, this palette is replaced by a variant dedicated to group actions: it shows the number of selected subtitles, then lets you change their format, merge them (if the selection is contiguous) or delete them. Two more rows let you snap the beginning and end of the whole group to a marker or to the current playback time, or move the playback time to the beginning or end of the group.

"Subtitles table" palette

This table shows all the subtitles of the file associated with the palette. They are sorted by beginning timing, and then by end timing.

You can modify their beginning timing or their end timing, as well as their text, by double-clicking on one of these values. Note that the timings should be entered respecting the format defined in preferences.

A single click on one of the subtitles will move the current timing (the video timing) to its beginning.

To select several subtitles at once, click one of them while holding the shift (⇧) key to extend the selection to it, or the command (⌘) key to individually add it to or remove it from the selection. This works the same way in the detailed timeline.

The round blue cursor may appear next to a subtitle. This means that the subtitle is shown at the current timing. At the same place, if you ticked it in the "Constraints" palette, a little triangle can appear if the subtitle violates one or several constraints.

Each subtitle has several action buttons:

• : Splits the subtitle in two in the middle, in particular to separate the two lines if applicable.
• : Adds an empty subtitle before the one on this line. The button is disabled if there is not enough space.
• : Adds an empty subtitle after the one on this line. The button is disabled if there is not enough space.
• : Deletes the subtitle.
• : Modifies the format (color, font, size,...) of the entire subtitle or of the selected part if applicable.

These action buttons are hidden by default behind a circled ellipsis icon, at the end of the line: hover over this icon to reveal them.

A merge button appears, for its part, between two adjacent lines when you hover over that gap, to merge the two corresponding subtitles into one.

When a subtitle is part of the multiple selection, its action buttons are replaced by the word "Selection:" followed by three buttons that apply to the whole selection: merge (enabled only if the selection is contiguous), delete and change format.

One or several selected subtitles can be cut, copied and pasted using the usual ⌘X, ⌘C and ⌘V shortcuts (also available in the "Edit" menu). The ⌘⌥V shortcut pastes the text without its formatting.

Subtitles copied this way can be pasted into another application as .srt-formatted text; conversely, pasting such text, copied from another application, recreates the corresponding subtitles. Pasting any other text creates a single new subtitle containing that text, positioned at the current playback time.

"Actions" palette

The button adds a subtitle at the current timing. The new subtitle will respect constraints as much as possible, and its default length can be set in preferences.

The button transforms each couple of markers [ then ] into one subtitle. The used markers will then be deleted.

The "ReSync" button opens the resynchronization window. To know how to use it, consult the "Resynchronize subtitles" page.

The "Merge" button opens the window to merge two subtitle files. To know how to use it, consult the "Merge two subtitle files" page.

The "Split" button opens the window to split a subtitle file. To know how to use it, consult the "Split a subtitle file" page.

The "Translate" button opens the translation window. To know how to use it, consult the "Translate subtitles" page.

The "Export" button saves the subtitle file alone, in the format of your choice (.srt, .sub, .tsv or a custom format). You will then be asked where to save the file.

The "Close" button closes the subtitle file to which this palette is linked. It will then no longer be part of the project. A confirmation will be requested if you did not export the file before, in order not to lose your work.

"Markers" palette

This palette contains the list of all the project markers. The type of each marker is shown in the first table column: for beginning markers, for end markers, and for undifferentiated markers.

You can modify the timing of each marker by double clicking on the corresponding value (it has to respect the format defined in preferences). You can give them a name in the same way.

The three buttons in the bottom right , , and let you place a marker at the current timing (respectively a marker of subtitle beginning, undifferentiated, and subtitle end).

The "Markers" menu lets you do the same thing. In particular, it lets you place beginning and end markers with the I and O keyboard keys (for in and out). This is useful for placing markers while playing a video, in order to transform them into subtitles (see "Subtitle a video" page).

The bottom left button with the red crossed marker deletes the selected marker.

"Constraints" palette

This palette contains the list of all constraints violations. Their color shows their importance. You can sort them by importance, beginning timing, end timing or message by clicking on table headers.

The "Constraints..." button lets you adjust the applicable constraints for this subtitle file in this project.

The checkbox "Display constraints violations" activates constraints violations display in other palettes (timeline and subtitle editing).

To know more about constraints, see "Constraints" page.

"Search / Replace" palette

This palette lets you search for text in the subtitles, and then replace it with another.

Start by typing the searched text in the first field, "Search". The occurrences found will appear in the list above. The second column contains the number of the subtitle containing the text. The third column contains an extract of the subtitle, where the text found is underlined. If the searched text appears several times in one subtitle, then as many lines will be displayed, one per occurrence. Click on a line to go to the subtitle. Check "Case sensitive" to distinguish between upper and lower case.

If you want to replace the occurrences found with another text, type it in the second field, "Replace by". Then, check in the table first column the occurrences you would like to replace. The "All" and "None" buttons allow you to quickly check or uncheck all the occurrences. Finally, click on the "Replace" button.