Pimloc Redact: Audio Timeline Overview
The audio timeline shows your video's sound as a waveform. Use it to mark the parts of the audio to mute or bleep, and to check what will be redacted before you export.
The audio timeline is at the bottom of the video editor. To open it, click the Audio tab next to Timeline.
Audio waveform
Jump to a moment by clicking the waveform. The video moves to that point.
Zoom in or out by scrolling with your mouse wheel over the waveform. Zoom in to place the start and end of a range more precisely.
Scroll along the waveform when you're zoomed in by dragging the bar along the bottom of the waveform, or by swiping sideways on a trackpad.
While the video plays, the waveform scrolls with it so you can always see the current point. The time along the top shows where you are in the video.
Audio ranges
An audio range is a part of the audio that will be redacted. Each range is an orange bar over the waveform, from where the redaction starts to where it ends. The selected range is pale grey, so you can see which one you're working on.
You can also see every range as a list, and type in exact start and end times, in the Audio ranges tool in the Sidebar.
To draw a range on the waveform:
Find the part of the audio you want to redact.
Press on the waveform where the redaction should start.
Drag to where it should end, then let go.
The new range is selected, so you can change or delete it straight away.
To select or change a range:
Click a range to select it. You can also use Previous and Next on the Audio Toolbar to jump from range to range.
Move a range by dragging the middle of it.
Make a range longer or shorter by dragging its start or end.
When you let go of a start or end, Pimloc Redact plays a second of audio around it, so you can hear exactly where the redaction now starts or ends.
Audio Toolbar
The Audio Toolbar is the row of buttons above the waveform, on the right. It shows when the Audio Timeline is open. If the panel is narrow, the buttons show icons only. Hover over a button to see its name and shortcut.
Undo (keyboard shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd + Z) = Undoes your last change to an audio range. This works for drawing, moving, resizing and deleting a range. Press it again to undo the change before that. Undo is greyed out when there's nothing to undo.
Previous (keyboard shortcut: Alt + Left) = Jumps back to the start or end of the previous range
Next (keyboard shortcut: Alt + Right) = Jumps forward to the start or end of the next range
Delete (keyboard shortcut: backspace) = Deletes the selected range. You can also right-click a range and choose Delete audio range. The range is deleted straight away, with no message to confirm. If you delete the wrong one, click Undo. Delete is greyed out until you select a range.
Redact (keyboard shortcut: G) = Redacts the audio while you hold it down and the video plays. Hold down Redact, the video plays, and an orange band grows along the waveform. Let go when the audio you want to redact has finished. The band becomes a new range. If the video was paused when you started, it pauses again when you let go.
If the video is already playing when you press Redact, the range starts a moment earlier, so you don't miss the first word.
To redact a long stretch without holding the button, click Redact once quickly. It stays on while the video plays. Click it again to stop.
Review (keyboard shortcut: A) = Plays only the audio that will be redacted. You hear every redacted word on its own, so it's easy to tell if a range cuts off the end of a name or takes in a word that should stay. Without Review, those parts are silent and you can only listen for the gaps. Click it again, or press A, to go back to normal playback.
Review only changes what you hear in the editor. It doesn't change the exported video.
Audio only = Opens the file in audio-only mode, with the transcript in the middle. Your ranges are the same in both modes.