Camtasia provides built-in tools to generate auto captions, manually add subtitles, and import caption files.
However, its auto-captioning feature isn’t always perfect.
This guide walks you through everything you need to know about adding captions in Camtasia.
Yes, Camtasia offers an auto-captioning feature that transcribes spoken words into text.
Called Dynamic Captions feature, this features enables automatic transcription of audio into customizable on-screen text. In version 2024.1, Camtasia has improved the timing controls for Dynamic Captions, ensuring a perfect sync between the spoken audio and the transcribed text. This update provides users with more control and fine-tuning options, enhancing the overall quality of the captions
While Camtasia’s auto-captioning is useful, it has some restrictions:
Camtasia's features Dynamic Captions is one of the best feature to generate subtitles automatically and burn them directly into your video.
Let’s go step by step.
Start by launching Camtasia and opening your video project. Once your media is loaded on the timeline, go to the left-hand menu and click on the “Captions” tab.
Inside the Captions panel, you’ll find the Dynamic Captions section. These are pre-built, animated caption templates that use speech-to-text AI to detect what’s being said in your audio track.
To use one, simply drag and drop your preferred Dynamic Caption template onto the audio track in your timeline. Camtasia will immediately start analyzing the audio and generate automatic captions.
Depending on the length and clarity of your audio, the transcription process usually only takes a few minutes.
Once the transcription is done, it's time to polish your captions.
Click on the audio track again, and you’ll see that Camtasia has divided your spoken words into individual segments. These segments are editable, and you’ll likely need to make some adjustments — AI captions are fast, but not always perfect.
To edit a caption, just click on a caption block in the timeline or Captions panel and correct the text directly. You can also:
This syncing process is essential. Even great-looking captions fall flat if they appear too early or too late.
Once the timing is right, you can customize how your captions look. Click on the caption properties panel to adjust:
This makes it easy to match your captions to your branding or the overall style of your video.
Before exporting, always do a final review. Play through your video and check that the captions are accurate, properly timed, and visually consistent.
When you're ready, click “Export” and choose your file format. Here’s something to keep in mind: Dynamic Captions are burned into your video. That means they’re permanent — viewers won’t be able to turn them on or off.
If you’re looking for closed captions or subtitle files, you’ll need to use Camtasia’s other captioning options (which we’ll cover next). But for social media content or videos where captions should always be visible, Dynamic Captions are a great choice.
Dynamic captions are great for fast, styled subtitles that stay on screen. But what if you want closed captions — the kind viewers can turn on or off depending on their needs? Or maybe you already have an SRT file you want to import? Good news: Camtasia supports both.
This section shows you how to manually create captions or import existing ones for more flexibility in your video workflow.
Start by opening your Camtasia project and making sure your video is added to the timeline.
Then head to the “Captions” tab on the left-hand panel. Here, you’ll see a section for Closed Captions. These are different from Dynamic Captions — they’re not burned into the video. Instead, they’re exported separately or embedded as soft subtitles viewers can toggle on or off (on supported platforms).
If you’ve already created your subtitles using a tool like Checksub or another editor, you can bring them right into Camtasia.
To do this:
Camtasia will place your captions directly on the timeline, aligned with the audio. If the timing is off, no worries — you can adjust it.
Click on a caption block and drag it along the timeline to match the exact moment the dialogue starts. You can also split or merge segments, and correct any text directly in the Captions editor.
This is a great option if you already have subtitles ready and want to skip the manual typing.
Don’t have a subtitle file? You can generate captions inside Camtasia using its speech-to-text feature.
Go to the Captions tab and click on the “Add Captions from Audio” button (this may appear as a speech icon, depending on your version). Camtasia will automatically transcribe your audio and insert closed captions on your timeline.
Once generated, review the text carefully. Click on each caption to edit the wording or fix any misinterpretations. If the timing is off, drag the caption bars to match the spoken audio. You can also split or combine lines for better flow.
Closed captions in Camtasia follow a standard format and can’t be customized like Dynamic Captions — but they are perfect for accessibility and for platforms that support toggleable subtitles, like YouTube or Vimeo.
Once everything is reviewed and synced, it’s time to export.
Go to Share > Local File, then look for the captioning options. You’ll have the choice to:
If you're uploading to a platform like YouTube, exporting the SRT is the way to go. You can upload it alongside your video to provide full accessibility.
While Camtasia’s built-in auto-captioning system is useful, it’s not always perfect. For more control over accuracy, timing, and styling, you can use external tools like Checksub to create professional captions :
Start by logging into Checksub. Upload your YouTube Short by selecting the video file from your device. Checksub supports various video formats, making it easy to work with your content.
After uploading, choose the original language of your video. If you want to reach a global audience, you can also select additional languages for translation. This feature ensures your content is accessible to viewers worldwide.
Once the video is uploaded, Checksub will automatically transcribe the audio using advanced AI-driven speech recognition. The process usually takes just a few minutes, depending on the length and complexity of your video.
After transcription, you’ll be able to review and refine the generated captions. Checksub’s online editor allows you to:
Checksub also offers customization options to help you match the captions to your video style. You can:
Once you’re satisfied with your captions, you can export them in multiple formats, such as SRT, VTT, or embedded text.
Alternatively, you can embed the subtitles directly into the video, ensuring that captions are always visible, even when auto-captions are turned off.
Want to produce professional Camtasia subtitles efficiently ? Try Checksub for free.
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