# Trim a video

Trim a video in Drime, split it into clips and remove the parts you do not need, crop, adjust or annotate it, then save it or save a copy.

Updated: 2026-10-19  
Source: https://drime.cloud/support/more-apps/edit-a-video

Drime has a video editor built into the file preview. You can keep only the parts you want, then crop, adjust, annotate or resize the video. It works in your browser.

## Open the video editor

Open a video, then click **Edit** \> **Trim video** or **Edit in editor**, or the pencil icon. You can also use **Edit** in the Quick View panel, or click **New** \> **Modify** \> **Edit** \> **Video** and pick the video in **Choose a video to edit** (MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, AVI or MPEG).

**Preparing video…** shows while the video loads.

![A video open in the Drime video editor on the Trim tab, with the timeline and its green handles](https://drime.cloud/media/01M5BAZPCGHRAFPKX0G3CBP92V/a2983619b545-web-video-editor-trim.png)

## Keep only the parts you want

1. Open the **Trim** tab, if it is not open already.

   **Drag the green handles to keep only what you want. Split at the playhead to cut a clip in two and remove the clips you don't need: the kept clips are joined in the saved video.**

2. Drag the green handles on the timeline to the start and the end of the part to keep.

3. To remove a part from the middle, move the playhead to where it starts, then click **Split**.

   Do the same where it ends, select the clip in between, then click **Remove**. **Merge** joins the selected clip with the next one again.

   ![The Trim timeline of the video editor with a video split into clips and the Split, Remove and Merge buttons](https://drime.cloud/media/01M5BAZMQ471F02M2SXH5KXZHB/0ee88781735d-web-video-editor-clips.png)

4. Check the timeline: it shows the number of clips and the **Kept** duration.

The kept clips are joined in their original order: you cannot change their order. A clip lasts at least 0.1 seconds.

## Crop, adjust or annotate the video

The other tabs work as in the image editor (see [Edit an image](https://drime.cloud/support/more-apps/edit-an-image)):

| Tab | What you can do |
| --- | --- |
| **Crop** | **Rotate & flip**, **Straighten**, choose an **Aspect ratio** or **Freeform**. |
| **Adjust** | Change the brightness, the contrast, the colours and more. **Reset adjustments** sets them back. |
| **Filters** | Apply a filter to the whole video. |
| **Markup** | Draw, add shapes, arrows and text over the video. |
| **Stickers** | Add an emoji or a picture over the video. |
| **Resize** | Set the **Output size**, with **Lock aspect ratio**. |

**Undo** and **Redo** step through your changes, and **Reset** starts again from the original.

## Save your video

- **Save** replaces the original. **File saved** confirms it. When file versioning is on, the previous video is kept as a version.
- The arrow next to **Save** offers **Save a copy** and **Replace original**. **Save a copy** writes a new video in the same folder, named after the original with "(edited" and the date and time: **Copy saved as** then shows its name.

Saving re-encodes the whole video in your browser: **Exporting video…** shows while it works, and it takes about as long as the video plays. Keep the tab open until it ends.

To leave without keeping your changes, click **Cancel**. **Leave without saving?** asks you to confirm: click **Stay on page** to go back to the editor.

## If it doesn't work

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Couldn’t load the video** | Your browser cannot load this video, so the editor cannot open it. |
| **Edit** is greyed out, with **Backup files are read-only.** | A file from a backup cannot be edited. |
| **Failed to save file** | The video was not saved: you may not have the right to edit it, or not enough storage left. Check with its owner, or free up space. |
| **Failed to save copy** | The copy was not saved. Try again. |
| **Log in or sign up to make changes.** | You opened the video from a share link. Sign in to Drime to edit it. |
| **Editing is disabled for this share.** | The person who shared the link did not allow downloads, so the video cannot be edited from the link. |
| Saving takes a long time | The video is re-encoded at playing speed: a 10-minute video takes about 10 minutes. Keep the tab open. |

## Next steps

- [Edit an image](https://drime.cloud/support/more-apps/edit-an-image)
- [Trim or cut an audio file](https://drime.cloud/support/more-apps/edit-audio)