Add more video and audio files to a project whenever you need them. You decide file by file which ones to sync and which ones to analyze.
Add files to your project
In the timeline, click the + button at the top of the [Project] panel. It gives you:
[Media] to browse for video and audio files on your computer
[Folder] to make an empty folder to sort files into
[Timeline] to start an empty draft timeline
[Synced timeline] to build a new synced timeline from scratch
[Import synced timeline] to pull a synced timeline out of a project file from your editing software. Learn more in Import a synced timeline from your editing software
You can also drag files straight into the [Project] panel from your computer.
Nothing is analyzed automatically
Files you add sit at rest until you say otherwise. Hover a file and an [Analyze] button appears, so you decide what is worth the credits.
This matters because an unanalyzed file can still be useful. You can place it on the timeline by hand and sort it into folders straight away, without spending anything.
While a file is analyzing, hovering it shows a cancel button instead. Clicking it stops the analysis right away, with no confirmation, and puts the file back to where it was so you can analyze it again later.
Sync the files you added
Files you add later are not stuck on their own. Select the ones that belong together, right-click, and choose [Create synced timeline with selection]. Selects places them on a new synced timeline, sorted onto tracks by camera, and opens it. To line them up, click [Sync clips]. To sync only some clips, select clips on at least two tracks, right-click, and choose [Sync selected clips] > [Sync with audio waveform] or [Sync with timecode].
To put a file into a synced timeline you already have, open that synced timeline first. Then select the file, right-click, and choose [Add to (timeline name)].
Tip: You do not have to analyze a file before you sync it. Sync and analysis can happen in either order. Analysis runs on the individual files, and a synced timeline picks up the results of whatever is inside it.
Learn more in Sync your files.
What you need analysis for
An unanalyzed file has no transcript, no topics, and no speakers. Chat can move it into a folder, and that is all.
It will not:
Place it in a draft
Find it in a search
Count it or group it when working out an edit
If you want chat to do anything more than file it away, analyze it. You can do that at any point, including long after you added it.
Retry a file that failed
When a file fails to analyze, a button at the bottom of the project panel counts the files still waiting for analysis. If all of them failed, it reads [Re-analyze (number) clips]. If some were never analyzed, it reads [Analyze (number) clips] and includes those too. Click it, and Selects shows the estimated credits and your remaining balance before it starts.
An analysis that fails costs you nothing. Re-analyzing is a fresh attempt, so it uses credits like any other analysis, and again you are only charged if it succeeds.
FAQs
Can I sync files I add after the project is created?
Yes. Select the files you want, right-click, and choose [Create synced timeline with selection], or add them to a synced timeline you already have. You can do this at any point, not only when the project is created.
Do I have to analyze a file before I sync it?
No, the order does not matter. Analysis runs on the individual files, and a synced timeline picks up the results of the files inside it. A file that is already analyzed is never charged again.
Do I get charged twice if I analyze a file that was already analyzed?
No. Already-analyzed files are excluded from the estimate and are not charged again.
Can I add media to an older project?
Yes, in almost any project, however old it is. There is nothing to migrate. The exception is an older project that still contains a topic stringout from an earlier version of Selects. It does not offer [Media], [Synced timeline], or [Import synced timeline] in the + menu, and files cannot be dragged into it. Learn more in What changed in Selects on September 9th, 2026.
Can I add media while analysis is running?
Yes. Analysis runs in the background, and you can leave the page while it works. You can also start analyzing newly added files while another analysis is still running.


