Finding one moment in hours of footage is where the time goes. Selects gives you two ways to search: [Text] finds what was said, and [Scene] finds what was on screen. Both run from the same window, and both can look at a single file, a single draft, or every file in the project.
Open search
You can open search three ways, and all three land in the same window.
Press Cmd + F anywhere in the editor.
Click the search box in the middle of the top bar.
Open [More actions] in the project panel header and click [Search sources]. This one opens search already scoped to [Project] and [All files].
Tip: The search window floats over the timeline. Drag it by its header to move it, drag the bottom right corner to resize it, and press Esc to close it.
Set your search scope
Your search scope decides which files Selects looks at. The scope selector sits at the top left of the search window and reads [Search in ...] with the current scope in it.
[Project] opens a submenu. Pick [All files] to search every analysed file in the project, or pick a single file by name to search only that one.
Below that, each of your drafts is listed by name. Pick one to search only that draft.
Search opens on whatever you already have in front of you, so a draft selects that draft and a source file selects that file under Project. Change it whenever you like and the results follow.
Note: Only analysed files appear in the Project submenu. If a file is missing from the list, it has not finished analysing, or it was never analysed. Learn more in How AI analysis works in Selects.
Text search
Text search finds any word or phrase in your transcript. Type in the search box and two tabs appear, [Text] and [Scene], each showing how many matches it found. [Text] is selected first.
The counter below the tabs shows which match you are on out of the total. Step through matches with the up and down arrows, or press Enter for the next one and Shift + Enter for the previous one. Selects moves the playhead to each match and opens the transcript panel so you can read it in context.
When your scope is [Project] and [All files], stepping past the last match in one file opens the next file automatically, so a single pass covers the whole project.
Replace words across your footage
Replace fixes a word everywhere it appears instead of you editing each line by hand. It works in [Text] mode only.
Click [Replace] to the right of the match counter, or press Cmd/Ctrl + R.
Type the correct word in the [With] field.
Click [Replace] to change the match you are on, or [Replace all] to change every match in your current scope. Enter and Cmd/Ctrl + Enter do the same two things from the keyboard.
Caution: [Replace all] rewrites every match in your current scope, so a project-wide scope changes the word in every file at once. Check the scope selector before you run it. Cmd + Z undoes it.
Tip: If you are correcting names, jargon, or product terms across a whole project, Check names and terms before editing is built for that job and catches things search will not.
Scene search
Scene search finds moments by what was on screen rather than what was said. Type what you are looking for, click the [Scene] tab, and Selects returns thumbnails of the moments that match.
Describe the shot the way you would to another editor. Selects matches on objects, actions, settings, and people, so "wide shot of the kitchen" and "someone laughing" both work.
Click a thumbnail to jump the playhead there. You can also move through the grid with the arrow keys and press Enter to jump to the one you have selected.
Results come 10 at a time. Use the arrows below the grid, or Page Up and Page Down, to move between pages.
Note: Scene search reads analysed footage, so a file that has not been analysed will not show up in the results. Scene search on a draft looks only at what you have already placed in it.
FAQs
Why can I not find a file in search?
A file is missing from search because it has not been analysed. Search reads analysed footage only, and analysis runs when a project is created, so anything you added later needs analysing first. Switch the project panel to list view, hover the file, and click [Analyze].
Can I replace a word in every file at once?
Yes. Set your scope to [Project] and [All files], search for the word, then use [Replace all]. Selects rewrites every match across every analysed file in the project in one go. Cmd + Z undoes it if the result is not what you wanted.
Why does scene search return no results?
Scene search returns nothing when the footage in your scope has not been analysed, or when nothing in it matches your description. Widen the scope to All files, then try a plainer description of the shot. Scene search works best on footage with distinct locations, setups, or action.
Can I search my B-roll and cutaways?
Yes. B-roll and audio are ordinary files in your project panel, not a separate library, so they are covered by the same search as everything else once they have been analysed. Learn more in Add B-roll and audio to your edit.
Should I use text search or scene search?
Use text search when you remember what somebody said, and scene search when you remember what something looked like. Text search reads the transcript and takes you to the exact words. Scene search reads the picture and takes you to the shot, which is the one to reach for on B-roll and other footage nobody speaks over.