how to use text-based editing in Premiere Pro
Jul 18, 2025 am 12:55 AMText-based editing in Premiere Pro enables editors to modify video by working directly with transcribed text, improving efficiency for dialogue-heavy content. 1) It uses Adobe Sensei AI to generate transcripts from audio clips automatically. 2) Editors can highlight and edit sections of the transcript to manipulate corresponding video segments without timeline interaction. 3) Ideal for long interviews, quick phrase searches, and experimenting with story structures. 4) To enable it, go to the Timeline panel, click the Text-Based Editing icon, and select Generate Transcript. 5) Transcripts can be edited offline or imported via third-party services as XML or EDL files. 6) The Transcript Panel aligns spoken words with timestamps, allowing users to cut, delete, mute, or reorder clips using the transcript. 7) A search bar helps locate specific keywords quickly. 8) Tips for better results include recording clean audio, avoiding overlapping speech, using lapel mics, and checking for transcription errors. 9) Regenerate the transcript if it becomes out of sync. 10) Users can toggle between Original Timecode and Sequence Timecode for flexibility during editing. This feature streamlines the editing process and enhances productivity once mastered.
Text-based editing in Premiere Pro is a game-changer for editors who work with dialogue-heavy content. It lets you edit video by working directly with the transcribed text instead of scrubbing through clips manually. This feature, powered by Adobe Sensei AI technology, makes cutting interviews, podcasts, or any spoken-word footage much faster and more intuitive.

What Is Text-Based Editing?
Text-based editing allows you to convert spoken audio into searchable, editable text. Once enabled, each clip with detectable speech will have a transcript generated automatically. You can then highlight parts of the transcript and perform edits—like cutting, trimming, or rearranging—without touching the timeline at all.

This is especially useful when:
- You're dealing with long interview clips
- You need to find specific phrases quickly
- You want to experiment with different story structures fast
Just note: the feature works best with clear speech and minimal background noise.

How to Enable Text-Based Editing
Before you start, make sure your sequence contains clips with audio. Then follow these steps:
- Go to the Timeline panel
- Click the Text-Based Editing icon (looks like a speech bubble)
- Select Generate Transcript from the dropdown menu
Premiere Pro will analyze the audio and create a full transcript. If your project is set to a specific language, it will try to match that automatically, but you can change the language setting before generating if needed.
You can also generate transcripts for offline editing or use third-party transcription services and import them as XML or EDL files later.
Editing with the Transcript Panel
Once the transcript appears, you’ll see the spoken words lined up with timestamps. Here’s how to use it effectively:
- Highlight sections of the transcript to select corresponding video/audio in the timeline
- Use the right-click menu to cut, delete, or mute selected segments
- Drag highlighted sections to reorder clips or build a new sequence
One trick is using the “Create Sequence from Selection” option. This pulls only the selected lines into a new sequence, making rough cuts incredibly fast.
Also, the search bar above the transcript helps you jump to keywords instantly—great for finding exact quotes or topics buried in long footage.
Tips for Better Results
Transcription accuracy plays a big role in how smoothly this works. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Record clean audio whenever possible
- Avoid multiple people speaking over each other
- Use a lapel mic to reduce ambient noise
- Check the transcript for errors before making major edits
If the transcript gets out of sync with the clip (for example, after trimming), just right-click the clip and choose "Regenerate Transcript" to refresh it.
Another small but handy tip: you can toggle between Original Timecode and Sequence Timecode in the transcript view depending on whether you're editing a source clip or a full timeline sequence.
That's basically how text-based editing works in Premiere Pro. It might seem minor at first, but once you get used to shaping your edit through text, you'll wonder how you ever worked without it.
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