Video Editor
Free app for trimming and converting videos
Free app for trimming and converting videos
Last updated: 2026-09-29
The quickest way to learn Video Editor is to open a video and try the tools. This guide walks through each part of the workflow and explains what to do when a file won't open or export.
Videos from your computer are read directly in the browser. They aren't uploaded to a Video Editor server, and you don't need to sign in. The file is read from disk as it is needed, so a long video doesn't have to fit in memory.
Video Editor opens MP4 (including M4V), MOV, WebM, and MKV files that contain a video track. Whether a file plays and exports also depends on the codecs your browser can decode. File > Properties shows the container and codecs of the video you opened.
Select Open From Google Drive on the start page, or choose File > Open > Open from Google Drive... (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + O). Sign in with the account that can access the video, then choose it in the Google file picker.
The timeline under the preview shows thumbnails of the whole video, the playhead, and the trim handles. The transport buttons beside it play, pause, and step one frame at a time.
The View menu has zoom, Fit to view, Actual size, Full screen video, Compact controls, a Timeline thumbnails switch, and Playback controls, which puts the timeline and its buttons above or below the video.
Choose Trim on the toolbar or press T. Drag the two handles on the timeline, or move the playhead and press I to set the start and O to set the end. The tool also has exact time fields. Clear trim returns to the full length.
Crop, resize, compress, and some format changes need the picture to be re-encoded, and a re-encoded export is always exact. The Export dialog tells you when that is the reason.
Your edits are kept as a list of instructions and shown in the preview right away. Nothing is re-encoded until you choose Re-encode, Save, or Export, and you can switch tools at any time without losing earlier changes.
See the visual tool guide for examples and practical tips.
Some edits, such as a crop, a resize, or Compress, need the picture to be re-encoded. Until that happens the preview shows your crop, rotation, and trim over the original video, and the status next to the file name tells you a re-encode is needed. Choose Re-encode on the toolbar or in the File menu to build the edited video in the tab and load it into the preview. A thin bar under the status shows the progress, and the same button cancels it.
Re-encoding doesn't save or download anything; that is what Save and Export are for. If you save or export without editing again, Video Editor writes the re-encoded video and doesn't encode a second time. After another edit the preview goes back to the original video until you re-encode again. To do this after every edit, turn on Re-encode automatically after each edit under Tools > Options.
Use the Undo and Redo toolbar buttons or the standard keyboard shortcuts. Revert all changes, next to them, returns to the video as it was opened. Use Undo when you only want to step back once.
Select the name in the app bar or press F2. The name is used for the files you save and export. For a video opened from Google Drive that you can edit, the Drive file is renamed too; its content isn't touched.
Choose Full screen video at the right end of the toolbar, or press F, to fill the screen with the video and its playback controls. Compact controls, next to it (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + F), hides the app bar, the menus, and the toolbar so the video gets more room while you edit. Press Esc to leave either one. The theme button in the header cycles the System, Light, and Dark themes without discarding your edits. The workspace also adapts to phones and tablets.
Nothing is written until you choose it. Save writes the result to the video you opened; Export writes a copy and leaves that video as it was.
Press Save on the toolbar or Ctrl/Cmd + S. For a video opened from a folder on this device in Chrome, Edge, or another Chromium-based browser, the browser asks once for permission to change the file, then the file is replaced with the edited video. For a video opened from Google Drive that you can edit, the file gets a new revision in Drive. If an edit needs the picture to be re-encoded, Save does that first; until then the status next to the file name reads Unsaved edits and says whether saving will re-encode. The same button cancels a save that is still running, and the status reads Saved or Saved to Drive once the file holds your result. Your edits stay in the editor, so Undo still works after a save.
A video that was downloaded, dropped into the tab, or opened from Drive with view-only access has nowhere to save in place. Its first Save asks for a folder, or offers Save as where the browser cannot write into a folder.
Save as (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + S), in the File menu, writes a new file into a folder on this device or into Google Drive and makes that file the one you are editing. Download a copy sends the current result through your browser's downloads and changes nothing.
Press Export for a copy with its own settings. An export always writes a new file and never changes the video you opened.
If you chose Re-encode and haven't edited since, Export delivers that video and doesn't encode it again; the dialog says so. Before anything is written, the Export dialog states the range, the dimensions, the format and codecs, whether the video and audio are copied or re-encoded, what happens to metadata, and an estimate of the file size next to the space available. If something can't be done, the dialog names the reason instead of guessing.
A progress bar shows the export, and Cancel stops it at any time until the file is being finished. Keep the tab open and in front where you can: browsers slow down background tabs. When the export finishes, the dialog keeps the result, so Download again, Download instead, and Retry upload reuse it without exporting a second time.
Check that the device has free space, approve any browser permission prompt, and confirm that downloads are allowed for videoeditor.co. The finished result stays in the dialog, so you can choose another destination without exporting again.
Video Editor has no settings page. Its few choices are checkable rows under Tools > Options, each with a default, and the Export dialog always shows the ones that affect the file.
Video Editor writes to the file you opened only when you choose Save. An export is always a new file, and a rename changes only the name of a Drive file, never its content.
Before it saves, Video Editor checks the file you opened. If another app or another person changed it in the meantime, a dialog says so and lets you save anyway, use the changed file instead, or cancel and choose Save as. A save that fails or is canceled leaves both the file and your edits as they were.
They live in the open tab. Video Editor asks before you close a video with unsaved edits, and the browser asks before the tab closes. There are no recovery drafts, so save or export when you reach a result you want to keep.
On a Mac, use Cmd where this list shows Ctrl. For the full list, open Help > Keyboard shortcuts in the app, or press Ctrl + /.
With the preview, timeline, or toolbar focused (click the video first), single keys work too:
Opening, decoding, editing, saving, and exporting happen in your browser.
A Drive video being edited and a save or an export being written use temporary browser storage on this device. Both are removed when you close the video or the tab, and anything left behind by a tab that closed unexpectedly is cleared the next time the app starts.
See the Privacy Policy for complete details.
Reload the page once. If the workspace still doesn't appear, a network filter, ad blocker, or security extension may be blocking a file served by videoeditor.co. Try a private window to rule out extensions, then update or try another current browser.
Saving and exporting need the browser's built-in video decoders and encoders. In a browser without them, Video Editor still opens and plays the video and can save a frame as an image, and Save and each export tool show the reason they are unavailable. Current versions of Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and desktop Firefox have the feature (WebCodecs) that saving and exporting need.
The file may use a codec this browser can't decode; HEVC and AV1 support varies by browser and device. File > Properties shows the codec. When the browser can't decode a video, it can still be copied with a Fast trim, but not re-encoded. Try another current browser, or convert the file in another app first. A damaged or incomplete file can also be refused.
A saved or exported video is written to temporary browser storage before it is delivered, so the device needs free space for about the size of the finished file. The message gives both numbers. Free up disk space, export a shorter range, or use Compress or Resize to make a smaller file. A Fast trim needs the least time and memory.
That is a Fast trim: copied video can only begin on a key frame. Turn off Prefer Fast trim when possible under Tools > Options, or choose Exact in the Trim tool, to start on the exact frame.
Those edits need the picture to be re-encoded, which would flatten HDR colors, so they are turned off for HDR video. A Fast trim still works because it copies the video data untouched.
A Drive open, upload, rename, or share request can fail because the connection dropped, the sign-in session expired, the wrong account is active, you lost permission, Drive storage is full, or Google returned a temporary error.
Google temporarily limits downloads when a file has been downloaded too many times in a short period. Video Editor can't override that limit.
Wait and try again later, ask the owner to make another copy, or open a different copy of the video if one is available. The limit belongs to the Drive file, so changing browsers usually won't help.
The owner of a shared Drive file can prevent viewers and commenters from downloading or copying it. Video Editor respects that setting.
Ask the owner for edit access, a downloadable copy, or permission to download. Signing in with another account helps only if that account already has the required access.
Google may block a video it has flagged as malware, spam, or abusive content. Video Editor doesn't bypass Google's warning or download policy.
Open Google Drive directly and review Google's message. If you own the file and believe the flag is wrong, follow Google's available review or download steps. Don't open a file you don't trust.
Video Editor reads a local video from disk as it works. A recent-file entry, the preview, or an export can stop working if the video was renamed, moved, deleted, or changed by another app, if its drive was disconnected, or if the browser lost permission to read it. When another app changes a video you have open, Video Editor tells you, because it can no longer read that video.
A Google Drive video can be view-only when your account has viewer or commenter access but not edit access. You can still open and edit it. An export is always your own new file, and Save offers Save as, because the file itself accepts no changes.
Renaming changes only the name of the files you save and export, not the shared file. If the original's folder doesn't accept new files, choose Save to My Drive instead, Download, or a folder on this device. If the owner disabled downloads and copies, the video can't be opened; ask them for permission.