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Tapes & Library

Trimming a recording

Shorten the start or the end of one recording — the only editing Videflo does.

Every recording has a bit at the start where you're pressing the button and a bit at the end where you're reaching for it again. Trimming tidies those away.

This is the whole of Videflo's editing. There's no cutting from the middle, no splitting, no filters, and no soundtrack — a Tape is meant to be what happened, lightly tidied.

Trimming

  1. Open the Tape's menu and choose Manage Recordings.

  2. Find the recording and tap Edit.

  3. Drag the handles at either end of the filmstrip.

    The picture follows your finger as you drag, so you can see the exact frame you're landing on.

  4. Check the Start, Duration and End figures underneath.

  5. Tap Save.

    Reset puts the handles back to the full length; Cancel leaves the recording completely untouched.

Nothing changes until you tap Save

Dragging the handles is just looking. You can move them about as much as you like, then back out with Cancel and the recording is exactly as it was.

What Saving does

Videflo writes a new, shorter video file and points the Tape at it. The original is removed once the new one is safely saved, so you'll get back the storage the trimmed-away footage was using.

Trimmed footage is gone

Once you've saved a trim, the parts you cut away can't be brought back. If you might want them, export the recording to Photos before trimming.

Tips

  • Leave a beat of breathing room at each end. Trimming right up to the first word makes the recording feel clipped when it plays after another one.

  • Recordings have a minimum length, so the handles won't let you trim a recording down to nothing.

  • Trimming marks any prepared copy of the Tape as Tape Changed, so prepare it again before your next export.

Common mistakes

  • Trying to cut an interruption out of the middle of a recording.

    Not possible — trimming works from the ends only. If the middle is unusable, the options are to keep it or delete the whole recording.

  • Trimming aggressively to save storage.

    The savings are small compared to deleting a prepared Tape copy, and trims can't be undone. Trim for how it watches, not for space.

Troubleshooting

The preview doesn't move when I drag a handle.

  • Drag slowly — the picture follows the handle you're actually holding, so make sure you've grabbed one rather than the strip itself.
  • Close the editor and reopen it if it stays frozen.

Save fails or the editor closes with an error.

  • Free up storage — Videflo needs room to write the trimmed copy before it removes the original.
  • Try again with the app in the foreground and the screen awake.
  • Your original recording is never modified during a failed save, so nothing is lost.

Frequently asked

Can I undo a trim?

No. Once saved, the trimmed-away footage is deleted from your iPhone.

Does trimming re-encode and reduce quality?

Videflo writes a new file covering the range you kept, at the quality the Tape was recorded at. The part you kept looks like it always did.

Can I trim a whole Tape rather than one recording?

No. Trimming works on individual recordings, which is also what gives you control over exactly where a Tape starts and ends.

Did this answer your question?

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