Import video or audio

Rooster edits recordings you already have as well as ones you make in it. A video or an audio file - a podcast episode, a voice memo, a screen recording from another app - becomes a project you edit through its transcript.

Rooster reads your file where it is and never changes it. Edits live in the project, and an export writes a new file.

Make a project from a file

1. Choose File > Import Media… (⌘I), or press Import media on the welcome screen.
2. Choose one video or audio file and press Create Project.

Rooster makes a new project named after the file, opens it, and starts transcribing. See Transcribe a video on your Mac.

Import makes one project from one file. To put several files in one project, make the project first and add the rest as below.

Add media to the project you have open

With a project open, any of these adds to it:

• Choose File > Add Media… and pick one or more videos, images or audio files.
• Open the Media section of the rail on the right and press Add.
• Drag files from Finder onto the Media rail or onto the timeline.
• In an empty project, drag a file onto the box that says Add a file to start, or click it to choose one.

The first video or audio file in a project becomes its main recording and is transcribed. Everything the project holds is listed in the Media rail.

Open a file from Finder

You can also open a video or audio file with Rooster from Finder, or drop it on Rooster's icon in the Dock. Each file becomes a project of its own.

Turn off automatic transcription

A new project from a file is transcribed straight away. To stop that, open the recorder from a project, press its gear button (Recorder settings) and turn off Transcribe when recording ends. A file imported as a new project follows the same setting, and it stays off until you turn it back on. A file that becomes the first recording of a project you already made is always transcribed. You can still transcribe a project later with Transcribe video in its script pane.

If Rooster refuses a file

Rooster makes projects from video and audio only. If a file is neither, or Rooster cannot find a picture or any sound in it, it says so and does not make a project. Images can still be added to a project that is already open.