PowerDirector Beginner's Guide

New to PowerDirector? The editing flow is shorter than the screen makes it look: bring in your clips, drop them on the timeline, trim and arrange them, then export. Once you know which of the three main areas does what, the rest is repetition, and the same handful of moves covers most of what an edit ever asks of you.

The editing window is split into three parts: the Preview window where you watch your video, the Media Library where your clips and built-in assets live, and the Timeline at the bottom where you actually build your edit.

The Media Library already includes built-in assets like stock video and background music. To add your own footage, click Import, then choose the files you want to use.

Select any asset to preview it in the Preview window. When you're ready, drag it down into the Timeline. The timeline is where your video comes together.

The timeline is where most editing happens. Here you can adjust the length of clips, cut them, move them around, and add background music, all in the order you want them to play.

To check your work, move the playhead to any point, then click play in the Preview window or press the spacebar.

When your video is done, use the menu bar to save your project so you can come back to it later, or click Export to render the finished video as a file you can share.