Overview
Once launched, you need to add a video either by dragging the file into the program window or using the link to select it through the system file chooser.
General functions
1: Opens a new video for editing.
2: Undoes the last action.
3: Restores the most recently undone action.
4: Opens a product feedback form.
5: Opens the program settings that allow you to enable/disable hardware acceleration for video decoding and to change the program language.
6: Displays the status of your program license, provides news on Ashampoo products and allows you to contact our customer service.
Preview
1: Displays a preview of the video at the current playback position including edits and export settings. If the playback position is outside the regions specified by the current sections, the affected video portion will not be part of the export, as indicated by an icon in the top left corner (crossed-out disk).
2: Jumps to the next frame.
3: Starts playback at the current position.
4: Jumps to the previous frame.
5: Toggles audio for video playback.
6: Shows/Hides all video modifications in the preview.
7: Allows you to specify the resolution and zoom for the preview.
8: Displays the current time stamp and playback position. Drag the knob to change it.
Section management
Sections represent video segments with individual start and end settings. They can either be exported as separate files or merged into a single video file. For example, this allows you to skip portions of your original video by adjusting the start and end positions of your sections accordingly.
1: If enabled, the affected section will be included in the export.
2: Uses the current playback position as start position for the affected section.
3: Uses the current playback position as end position for the affected section.
4: Represents the length of the section. Drag the markers to adjust its start and end positions.
5: Deletes the section from your project. Note that each project must contain at least one section.
6: Creates a new section.
7: If enabled, sections will be exported as individual files.
8: If enabled, sections will be merged into a single file in their order of appearance during export.
Video editing functions
You can collapse/expand the editing functions individually by left-clicking their titles. These functions always apply to all available sections and their design follows this scheme:
1: Enables/Disables the function/effect.
2: Function title. Left-click to expand/Collapse.
3: Function settings
Distortion
This function automatically corrects lens distortions based on the selected camera model and effect strength.
Exposure, colors
Here, you can adjust white balance, exposure and color saturation either through the slider or the text boxes.
White balance
Aside from the adjacent sliders, you can also use the color dropper to adjust white balance based on a pixel in the preview. Simply left-click the tool and then click the whitest pixel in the preview pane. The program will then use its color value to adjust the white balance for the entire video. Click the arrow icon once/twice to reset the upper/lower slider to its default position.
Auto levels
To adjust tonal values automatically, tick the "Auto levels" checkbox. The program will then create a histogram for the current video. Note that this process may take several minutes, depending on the length of your video.
Effect
These effects will help you add an artistic touch to your videos.
1: Uses the current video frame as preview for the effects.
2: Use the slider or textbox to adjust the effect strength.
3: Different blend modes for the effect are available here.
4: The available effects are listed here.
Rotate, crop
1: Uses the current frame from the preview as background for the cropping pane (3).
2: Determines whether width/height will be modified in equal measure or independently. The dropdown menu provides common formats/aspect ratios. Use the arrow icon to restore the width and height to their original values.
3: This pane allows you to resize/move the viewport that will be used for your video. Drag the border markers do resize the viewport and the center marker to reposition it.
4: Use the slider/text box to rotate the viewport or use the buttons for common rotations. Note that rotation may involve zooming to avoid black borders around your video.
5: Use these buttons to mirror your video horizontally/vertically.
6: Depending on your modifications, you will see a recommended video size along with its original size here. Click the links to use their values for your export settings.
Export settings
1: Sets the video resolution for export and adjusts the affected sections accordingly.
2: Resets the resolution to the video's original values.
3: Adjust the video quality through the slider or the text box. The estimated file size is displayed to the right of the text box and always refers to the entire video.
4: If enabled, sections will be exported without sound.
5: If enabled, videos that use interlacing (like the 1080i format) will be converted to progressive formats.
Export functions
1: Either saves each section as a separate file or merges them into a single video file.
2 + 3: Creates a 3/10 second preview video using the current export settings. Previews always use the current playback position as beginning. As quality of the built-in preview is usually reduced due to performance, this feature helps you get a detailed picture of the end result without having to render the entire video.