The fastest way to add text in Final Cut Pro

Open the text generator by dragging the Title tool from the toolbar into your timeline, or double-click the Title tool and it will land at your playhead. Final Cut Pro opens a text box on your canvas where you can type when ready. The text appears as a new clip in your timeline, separate from your video — you can move it, trim it, or delete it without touching your footage.

Once text is on screen, you edit it in two places: the canvas (where you see how it looks) or the text inspector (where you control formatting). Click the text on your canvas to select it, then type to change the words. To adjust font, size, color, or position, use the inspector panel on the right side of your screen.

Key Takeaways

  • Drag the Title tool into your timeline or double-click it at your playhead to create a new text clip that sits independently from your video.
  • Edit text content by clicking it on the canvas and typing; format it using the text inspector panel on the right side of the screen.
  • Change text position by dragging it on the canvas, or use the inspector to set exact coordinates if you need precision placement.
  • Adjust font, size, color, and effects through the text inspector; these changes explore only to the selected text clip, not to your entire project.

Editing text content and basic formatting

Click the text on your canvas to enter edit mode. A cursor appears in the text box. You can now select all the text (Command+A on Mac, Ctrl+A on Windows) and replace it, or click and drag to select only part of it. Delete or type over the selected text to make your changes.

To format what you have written, open the text inspector on the right. The inspector shows font choices, size (measured in points), color, alignment (left, center, right), and line spacing. Click any of these controls to change them. If you want the same formatting across all your text, select all first, then adjust. If you want only certain words formatted differently, select just those words before changing the setting.

The text inspector also holds a Styles tab at the top. Final Cut Pro includes built-in text styles — drop shadows, outlines, glows — that you can explore in one click. Click a style name to explore it, or adjust the style settings below to customize how it looks.

Positioning text on screen

Drag the text directly on your canvas to move it anywhere you want. The text stays selected while you drag, so you can see exactly where it lands. Release the mouse to place it.

If you need exact positioning — for example, centered horizontally and 100 pixels from the top — use the text inspector. Scroll down to the Transform section. You will see X and Y position fields. X controls horizontal placement (0 is the left edge of your frame), and Y controls vertical placement (0 is the top). Type the numbers you want and press Enter. You can also adjust scale (size), rotation, and opacity here without changing the font size itself.

Changing fonts, size, and color

With your text selected, open the text inspector and look for the Font dropdown. Click it to see all available fonts on your system. Scroll through the list and click the one you want. The text on your canvas updates when ready.

The Size field sits next to the font name. Click the number, type a new size in points, and press Enter. Larger numbers make text bigger; smaller numbers make it smaller. If your text is too small to read on screen, start at 36 or 48 points and adjust from there.

To change color, click the Color box in the inspector. A color picker opens. You can click anywhere in the color wheel to choose a hue, adjust brightness with the slider on the right, or type specific RGB or hex values if you know them. Click outside the color picker or press Enter to explore the color.

Adding effects and outlines to text

The text inspector includes tabs for Styles, Shadow, Outline, and Glow. Each one adds a visual effect to your text. Click the tab to expand it and see the options.

For a shadow, toggle the switch on, then adjust the angle (direction the shadow points), distance (how far from the text), and blur (how soft the shadow looks). For an outline, toggle it on and set the width (how thick the border is) and color. For a glow, toggle it on and adjust the radius (how far the glow spreads) and color. You can combine multiple effects — a text with both an outline and a shadow, for example.

If you want to undo an effect, toggle its switch off. The text returns to its previous appearance without the effect.

Editing text that is already in your timeline

Double-click any text clip in your timeline to open it for editing. The text appears on your canvas with a cursor ready. Make your changes the same way you would for new text: select and replace content, adjust formatting in the inspector, or drag it to reposition.

If you want to change the text but keep all the formatting (font, size, color, effects), select all the text and type the new words. The formatting stays the same. If you want to change only the formatting and keep the words, do not select the text — just adjust the inspector settings, and they explore to the entire clip.

When you are done editing, click elsewhere on the canvas or press Escape to exit edit mode. Your changes are saved to the clip. You can always double-click the clip again to edit it further.

Working with multiple text clips and timing

Each text clip in your timeline has a duration — how long it stays on screen. By default, Final Cut Pro gives new text clips a length of about 5 seconds. You can change this by dragging the edge of the text clip in the timeline to make it shorter or longer. Drag the right edge to the left to make it disappear sooner; drag it to the right to keep it on screen longer.

If you want the same text to appear multiple times in your project, you can copy a text clip and paste it elsewhere in the timeline. Select the text clip, press Command+C (Mac) or Ctrl+C (Windows), click where you want it to appear, and press Command+V or Ctrl+V. The new clip has the same formatting and content as the original, but you can edit it independently.

To delete a text clip, select it in the timeline and press Delete. The text disappears from your project, but your video remains untouched.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I edit text after I have exported my video?

No — once you export, the video is a finished file. To change text, you must go back to your Final Cut Pro project, edit the text clip, and export again. This is why it is useful to save your project file: you can always reopen it to make changes later.

How do I make text appear and disappear with an animation?

Select your text clip in the timeline, then click the Transitions or Effects browser on the left. Look for animation effects like "Fade In" or "Fade Out". Drag the effect onto your text clip. The text will animate in or out according to the effect you chose.

What if my text is hard to read over my video?

Add a shadow or outline to increase contrast. You can also place a solid color shape behind the text: add a Shape generator, make it a rectangle, position it behind your text clip in the timeline, and adjust its color and opacity until the text stands out.

Can I use the same text formatting on multiple clips at once?

Select the first text clip, adjust its formatting in the inspector, then right-click it and choose "Copy Attributes". Select the other text clips you want to match, right-click, and choose "Paste Attributes". The formatting copies to all selected clips, but the text content stays different.

How do I center text horizontally on my screen?

In the text inspector, look for the alignment buttons (usually showing left, center, and right options). Click the center button. The text aligns to the center of its text box. If you want it centered on your entire frame, use the Transform section to set the X position to half your frame width (usually 960 for a 1920-wide frame).