Step 1Pick the test section
Find ten seconds that represent the hardest part of your video: fast speech, a long word, a number. Press B at the start and N at the end to set the work area.
Step 2Transcribe smart
- Just testing styles? On the Setup tab set Transcribe to Work area only (uses fewer minutes). Only the work area is transcribed, and the words still land at the right time.
- Going to caption the whole video anyway? Transcribe the Whole comp now. Words at the very edges of a work area can be missed, and a full transcription is saved with the project for later.
Offline transcription doesn't use any minutes, so with it you can simply transcribe the whole comp.
Step 3Generate only the work area
On the Preview tab, switch on Work Area Only. Click Generate Captions. Captyne builds only the phrases that start inside the work area, and keeps each phrase whole, so you see real captions in seconds.
Step 4Compare styles
- Play the section and note what you like.
- Undo, pick another preset, and generate again.
- Repeat for a third style.
Picked the wrong preset and the build has started? Click the × next to the progress ("Building phrase 3 of 8"). Everything that run added is removed and the rest of your comp is untouched. On Mac, use the Cancel button in the progress window.
Step 5Decide on punctuation
While you're comparing, decide how punctuation should look. On the Preview tab, the Punctuation card has Remove periods, Remove commas and Remove ? and !.
- Bold social styles usually look cleaner without periods and commas.
- Keep question and exclamation marks if the speaker's tone matters.
- Numbers like 3.5 and 1,000 are never touched, and sentence ends still guide grouping either way.
Step 6Caption the full video
- Undo the test captions.
- If you transcribed only the work area, set Transcribe back to Whole comp and transcribe again.
- Switch off Work Area Only and click Generate Captions.
Your grouping settings (Words / Phrase, Pause, Words / Line, Reveal Mode) are remembered between sessions, so the next video in the series starts with the same look. Click ↺ Use preset's values any time to go back to a preset's own settings.
Spend your time on the creative part
Every Captyne plan includes unlimited offline transcription.
See Plans & Pricing →FAQ
Why did a phrase outside the work area appear?
Phrases that start inside the work area are always built whole, so the last one can run past the end of the work area.
Does Work Area Only change my transcript?
No. It only limits which phrases are generated.
Where's the reference?
See Work Area Only, punctuation switches and cancelling, and 7 habits for captioning long videos on the blog.