How to edit caption text and timing word by word in Premiere Pro

What’s in the Text step?

The 2 Text step shows your bare text, without the style, so you can focus on words and timing. From top to bottom:

Element	What it does
✂ Autocut (beta)	Removes the silences of your sequence — see Autocut.
+ Add text	Opens the window with the ✨ AI transcription, 📥 Import and ✍ Write tabs.
⬇ (Export the text)	Saves your text as SRT, TXT or CSV.
🗑 (Delete all text)	Clears everything to start over.
Case / Punctuation bar	Shows the words in Normal, UPPERCASE or lowercase, With punctuation, No commas/periods or No punctuation.
✂ Re-split	Re-cuts all the blocks with new settings.
The list	One row per caption block, with its ⊞ start and end crosses.
The timeline	Every block and every word, on a time scale, at the bottom of the panel.

Why it matters: a caption is only as good as its text and its timing. Fixing a word here fixes it everywhere — preview, layout and generation — so you never correct the same mistake twice in the timeline.

How to fix, add or delete a word

• Fix a word: click it, type, then press Enter (or click elsewhere). Esc cancels.
• Right-click a word for its menu: ✏ Rename, ◂ Add a word on the left, Add a word on the right ▸, ⧉ Duplicate, ⏱ Edit timecode, ↺ Original timecode (transcribed words only) and 🗑 Delete.
• Insert a word between two words: press and hold on the gap between them for about half a second. The new word appears with a timecode halfway between its neighbours, ready to type.
• Deleting the last word of a block removes the block.

How to split and merge caption blocks

• Split: hover between two words — a blue bar appears (Cut here — split into two sections). Click the ×: the block becomes two, each keeping its words and their timing.
• Merge: at the left or right edge of a block, click the green ⇄ (Merge with the previous section / Merge with the next section).

After a split or a merge, the Premiere Pro playhead jumps to the edit point, so you can check it straight away.

How to set and fine-tune timecodes

The start and end of a block

Each block has a ⊞ on the left (start) and on the right (end). An empty cross sets the time at the Premiere Pro playhead when you click it. A set cross shows its timecode:

• click the timecode: the playhead goes there, then ← / → move it by one frame (Shift = 10 frames);
• or use the small ‹ › buttons on each side.

Blocks without times are highlighted and counted in the ⏱ N blocks missing timecodes alert — see Write your own text.

The timecode of a single word

Right-click the word › ⏱ Edit timecode (or right-click the gap just before it). The Word timecode window shows its time:

• Set to the playhead puts the word at the current position of the Premiere Pro playhead;
• − 1 frame / + 1 frame nudge it.

A word always stays between the word before and the word after. Changing the first word also moves the start of its block. ↺ Original timecode puts a transcribed word back where the voice says it.

How to use the timeline under the list

The timeline shows all blocks and all their words at once. Each word is a segment; hover the ⓘ for a reminder of the gestures.

Gesture	Result
Drag a boundary between two words	Times the word: the end of one word is the start of the next.
Drag the strip under a block	Moves the whole block, its words with it.
Shift or Ctrl / Cmd + click on strips, or click-drag on the background	Selects several blocks to move them together (Esc or a click on the background deselects).
Click a word	Moves the Premiere Pro playhead to it.
Click the background	Moves the playhead there.
Mouse wheel / the bar at the bottom	Zooms in and out, or slides the visible window. Shift + wheel scrolls sideways.
Snap (magnet, on by default)	Blocks and boundaries stick to the playhead and to their neighbours while you drag.

Gaps between blocks are allowed; overlaps are not — a block stops at its neighbour.

While you play or scrub in Premiere Pro, the current word is highlighted and the list follows (setting Follow playback, on by default, in ⚙ › Settings › Display). The small button at the left of each row opens that block in the 3 Layout step and moves the playhead to it — see Layout and word placement.

How to re-split all the text

Click ✂ Re-split. The ✂ Re-split the text window offers:

Option	What it does
Characters per block (2 to 200)	Maximum length of a block.
Split at punctuation	Ends blocks at punctuation marks.
Merge stray punctuation	Glues a lone punctuation mark to the word before it.

Click ✂ Re-split to apply. The values start from your preset’s settings but stay local: your preset is not changed. The window warns you: ⚠ Placement and per-word tweaks will be reset. Word timing is kept, and Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z brings the previous blocks back.

Tip: re-split before you lay out the words. Once you’ve placed or styled words by hand, a re-split would reset that work.

Case and punctuation

The Case and Punctuation bar changes how all the words are shown, without retyping anything: Normal, UPPERCASE or lowercase; With punctuation, No commas/periods or No punctuation. It’s the same setting as in Style › 🔧 Layout, so the preview and the generated captions follow it. A single style can still force its own case — see Customize a style.

How to export the text or an SRT file

Click ⬇ (Export the text), then choose:

Format	Contents
SRT subtitles (.srt) — for YouTube, Premiere…	Standard subtitle file, one entry per block.
Plain text (.txt) — one block per line	The text only.
Continuous text (.txt) — all in one flow, like the transcription	One paragraph, handy for a description or an article.
Text + block timecodes (.txt)	Each block with its start and end.
Word-by-word detail (.csv) — one word per line, with its timecode	For a spreadsheet or another tool.

Options: Keep punctuation, and the scope All the text or Between the in/out points (available when the sequence has In/Out points). Click Export and choose where to save; files go to Documents/Subkick Caption/exports by default. In an SRT, blocks without timecodes are left out and the panel tells you how many.

How to start over

Click 🗑 (Delete all text). The Clear everything? window explains that the text, all per-word settings and this sequence’s video background will disappear; confirm with Clear everything. Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z brings the text and settings back as long as the panel stays open — the video background has to be created again.

Frequently asked questions

Can I edit subtitle timing word by word in Premiere Pro?

Yes, with Subkick Caption. In the Text step of the panel, the timeline under the list shows every word as a segment: drag its boundaries to time it, or right-click a word › ⏱ Edit timecode and click Set to the playhead. Each word then appears in your animated captions at that exact time.

How do I split a long caption into two in Subkick Caption?

In the Text step, click the small × between the two words where you want the cut: the block becomes two. To join two blocks, click the green ⇄ at the edge of a block. Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) undoes either action.

How do I export an SRT file from a transcription in Subkick Caption?

In the Text step, click the ⬇ button (Export the text), choose SRT subtitles (.srt), pick the scope and click Export. Subkick Caption also exports plain text, continuous text, text with block timecodes, and a word-by-word CSV with a timecode for each word.

Can I change how the transcription is cut into lines?

Yes. Click ✂ Re-split in the Text step of Subkick Caption, set the Characters per block and the punctuation options, then confirm. It re-cuts every block without changing your preset; per-word placement and tweaks are reset, and Ctrl+Z brings the previous version back.

How do I undo a mistake in the Subkick Caption panel?

Press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) with the panel in focus: Subkick Caption keeps its own history of edits. Redo with Ctrl+Shift+Z (Cmd+Shift+Z) or Ctrl+Y.