What can I edit in Cuttable?
You can edit almost every element in your ad — text, images, videos, logos, colours, and timing. Some elements can't be edited if they're part of a pre-built design (e.g. a digital interface overlay or billboard element). Everything else is fully customizable.
The editor at a glance
Area | Where | What it does |
Player | Centre | Live preview of your ad. Click any element to select/edit it |
Sidebar | Left | Control your media, elements, text, logos and settings |
Timeline | Bottom | Control when elements appear in your ad |
Floating Toolbar | Top | Edit font, font size, animation and more |
Edit text
Select the text in the Player. A blue outline will appear.
Use the Floating Toolbar to edit content and styling.
Text options
Font and size (scroll the mouse wheel over text to resize quickly)
Colour — click the colour swatch to choose from your Brand Kit swatches, type a hex code, use the colour wheel to pick a colour by eye, or use the eyedropper to sample any colour on screen (eyedropper available in Google Chrome and other Chrome-based browsers only)
Alignment (horizontal and vertical)
Line height
Letter spacing
Animation style
Visibility (show or hide the text layer)
Strike-through — add a line through the text using the Floating Toolbar, then set its colour, thickness, and angle to style it
Letter spacing can also be set at the Brand Kit level for a font, so every text layer using that font inherits the letter spacing by default.
Edit an image or video
Select the image or video.
The media picker will open in the Sidebar.
Browse your albums and select a replacement image or video.
Crop: Click Crop to adjust the framing in the preview, then press X to apply changes. Inside the Crop screen, the on-screen message reads "pinch to zoom." This only works with a trackpad's two-finger pinch gesture. If you are using a mouse, scroll to zoom, or press X to exit Crop, then resize the layer directly in the Player by dragging its corner handles, or open the Sidebar and enter a percentage in the Scale field (50–200%). Re-enter Crop afterward to fine-tune the framing.
Scale: Use the Scale field in the Sidebar to resize media between 50–200%. The Scale field only appears when editing the media layer directly. It is not available inside the Crop screen.
Upload from the editor: To upload a new file without leaving the editor, click Upload in the media picker sidebar. Select a file from your device. The file uploads to your library and is applied to the layer automatically. Supported file types and size limits apply. See Supported File Types and File Size Limits for details.
Flip an image or video layer
To flip a layer horizontally or vertically:
Select the image or video layer in the Player.
In the Sidebar, click the Flip icon to mirror the layer.
Flipping applies to the selected layer only and does not affect other elements in the ad.
Change video playback speed
Video layers (background or foreground) have a Speed preset that lets you speed up or slow down a clip without re-shooting.
Select a video layer in the Player.
In the Sidebar, choose a speed preset: 0.5×, 0.75×, 1×, 1.5×, or 2×.
The clip's position in the timeline and the ad's total length stay the same.
Adjust image and video brightness, contrast, and colour
Image and video layers (background and foreground) have an Adjust panel so you can fine-tune how your media looks directly in the editor.
Select an image or video layer in the Player.
Open the Adjust panel in the Sidebar.
Use the sliders to adjust: Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Warmth, and Hue.
Adjustments apply in both the editor preview and the final exported ad.
Edit the background
Select the background in the Player.
Replace background with either:
Media
Replace with an image or video
Crop or reposition
Add an animation (zoom, rotate, slide, or none)
Use the Darkness slider (0–100%) to control the intensity of the dark overlay behind text — drag toward 0% for a more transparent overlay, or increase it for stronger contrast
Colour
Select a brand colour from your palette, or open the Custom colour section to type a hex code, use the colour wheel to pick a colour by eye, or use the eyedropper to sample any colour on screen (eyedropper available in Google Chrome and other Chrome-based browsers only)
Add Elements to your ad
Stickers
Select Elements in the sidebar.
Select Stickers to view all stickers available to be added to your ad.
Click the sticker to add to your ad.
Edit the sticker by changing the colour, size and animation.
Duplicate a sticker
You can duplicate a sticker you have added to your ad, including one you have already edited, by copying and pasting it in the editor. The editor does not have a Duplicate button, so use keyboard shortcuts.
Select the sticker in the Player. Click the sticker itself, not a text box.
Press Cmd + C (Mac) or Ctrl + C (Windows) to copy the sticker.
Press Cmd + V (Mac) or Ctrl + V (Windows) to paste. The copy appears slightly below and to the right of the original sticker and is already selected, so you can drag it into place.
The duplicated sticker keeps all of the edits made to the original sticker, including its color, text, animation, size, and position in each ratio.
⭐ Important: Copy and paste works only for stickers and elements you have added to your ad, and only within the same ad. Elements that are part of the original ad design cannot be duplicated. If nothing appears when you paste, the element you selected is part of the ad design.
Brand & Product Images
Your lifestyle images and product cutouts can be added to your ad as a sticker, letting you layer them over your background and reposition them freely.
Select Media in the sidebar.
Browse your albums and click the asset you'd like to add to your ad. It will be placed on the canvas as a sticker.
Resize the image by dragging the corner handles.
Move it by clicking and dragging it to your desired position on the ad.
Brand elements, drawings and icons: add them to your albums, then add them to your ads from the Media section in the editor.
Insert additional text
Select Text in the sidebar.
Drag and drop the text into your ad, or click to insert. You have the choice of adding native, heading, subheading or body text.
Edit the text by changing the colour, size and animation.
Rotate a text layer
Text layers added from the sidebar can be rotated directly in the editor.
Select the text layer in the Player. A selection box with handles appears around it.
Grab the rotation handle (the circular handle above the selection box) and drag to set the angle.
The text layer pivots around its center point. Rotation is available for text layers added manually from the sidebar. Built-in text layers that are part of the original ad design cannot be rotated.
Highlight text using a Subheading block
The Subheading text type includes a background fill, so it can be used to highlight text without building a shape manually.
Select Text in the sidebar.
Drag and drop a Subheading onto your ad, positioned over the text you want to highlight.
Use the Floating Toolbar to resize the Subheading block and set its fill colour to your highlight colour.
Position it behind or around your text to create the highlight effect.
This gives a cleaner result than adding a shape from add-ons, and is the recommended way to highlight text in an ad.
If you add text to your ad, review the ad in all ratios to confirm the text is positioned correctly across each format.
Show, add or hide logos
Open the Sidebar.
Select a logo variant from your brand's logo grid.
Use the visibility toggle to show or hide it.
If a logo is not visible on your ad, simply drag and drop it into your ad from the sidebar.
Please visit this help doc for more information on adding logos in your ads
Hidden layers
When you hide a layer, it is removed from the canvas. To make it visible again, open the Hidden tab in the sidebar. This tab only appears when at least one layer is hidden. Click Show next to the layer to bring it back.
Adjust ad settings
The Settings tab contains configuration options. These vary depending on the ad design. Common settings include:
Number of star ratings displayed
Number of products shown in a multi-product ad
To adjust your ad settings:
Open the Settings tab in the sidebar.
Update the relevant options for your ad.
Using the timeline
The timeline controls when each element appears on your ad.
Adjust the timing of an element
Drag the timeline panel upward to expand it.
Select an element to adjust the timing of it in the ad.
Drag it left or right to change its start time.
Adjust duration
Drag the left or right edge of an element to shorten or extend how long it appears.
Minimum duration per element: 0.5 seconds
You can adjust timing for: text, logos, cut-out images, terms and conditions, and add-ons.
Split a clip at the playhead
Select the clip you want to split in the timeline.
Drag the playhead (the position marker) to the point where you want to cut.
Click Split in the floating toolbar, or press S. The clip splits at the playhead, dividing into two halves at that point.
Both halves keep the same source media and crop settings. To undo, press Cmd + Z (Mac) or Ctrl + Z (Windows).
Layer a clip on top of another
The timeline controls timing only — dragging a clip left or right changes when it appears, not which layer is on top. To layer one clip visually above another whilst in editor, open Media in the side panel and click the video or image you want layered on top — it will be placed above the bottom layer.
Change an animation
Select an element.
Choose an animation style in the floating toolbar or Sidebar (e.g. slide, fade).
Extend your ad length
Use the green zoom slider in the timeline to zoom out.
Select the background layer.
Drag it to the right to extend the total duration.
To add additional images or videos to your ads:
Hover over the end of the clip to see the + button
Select add clip
Select an additional asset from your albums
Maximum ad length: 15 seconds - 2 minutes depending on the ad design
Editing and changing your audio
Scroll to the bottom of the timeline to find the audio track in your ad.
To adjust the music volume, click the speaker icon on the audio track in the timeline. A volume slider (0–100%) will appear, drag it to set the level. The editor preview reflects the volume in real time.
To set a specific start point in the track, double-click the audio track to open Trim mode. Drag the left and right handles to set your start and end points, then press Enter to confirm or Escape to cancel.
To swap the track, click Music in the left sidebar to open your Music Library. Search by name or prompt, and switch between the Generated, Uploads and Demo tabs to find a track, then select it to apply.
To remove music from the ad, select the music clip on the timeline and click the trash icon.
Generate a new track without leaving the editor
Open the Music panel in the left sidebar.
Click Generate at the top of the panel.
Enter a prompt describing the music you want (for example, "upbeat summer track with guitar"), then generate. By default tracks are made without vocals.
The new track appears in your Generated tab, ready to add to your ad. Music generation does not use AI credits.
For the full guide to generating, uploading, rating, archiving, and turning off music entirely, see Managing music for your ads in Cuttable.
Selecting overlapping or stacked elements
If two or more elements overlap in the Player and clicking only ever selects the one on top, use the Tab key to reach the element underneath instead.
Click anywhere on the ad in the Player.
Press Tab to cycle through the individual elements, one at a time, until the element you want is selected. A blue outline shows which element is currently selected.
Once the element you want is selected, edit it the same way as any other element, for example using the Floating Toolbar for text or the colour swatch for a colour change.
This shortcut is the same on Mac and Windows keyboards.
Review all formats
Each ad is produced in 3 different ratios: 9:16, 1:1, and 4:5. When editing an ad, it is important to review all ratios.
Click Review in the top bar, or press
Shift + R.Check each layout: 9:16, 1:1, and 4:5.
Click any element within a ratio to edit it. Text content and styling, add-on resizing and rotation, and selecting overlapping elements are all fully supported in Review mode.
Exit Review Mode: Click Review, press Shift + R, or press Escape.
How edits apply across ratios
By default, edits made in the main editor view apply across all three ratios (9:16, 1:1, and 4:5) at once. Moving, resizing, or deleting an element updates it in every ratio.
To change an element's position, size, or visibility in one ratio only, without affecting the other two, use Review Mode:
Click Review in the top bar, or press
Shift + R.Select the ratio you want to adjust: 9:16, 1:1, or 4:5.
Click the element and adjust its position, size, or visibility. This change applies only to the ratio you are viewing.
Make any change that should apply to only one ratio inside Review Mode. A change made outside Review Mode applies to all three ratios.
Share feedback when leaving the editor
When you close the editor, Cuttable may prompt you to rate your editing experience. Select a rating and optionally add a comment, then submit. Feedback goes directly to the Cuttable product team and helps shape future improvements.
To submit feedback at any time outside the editor, see How to Share Feedback or Request New Features.
Save and export
Save & Exit — saves your changes and returns to the ad group.
After saving, the ad displays "Exporting" while Cuttable renders your edits across all three ratios (9:16, 1:1, and 4:5). This may take up to one minute.
Do not download the ad while it is still exporting. The downloaded file will reflect your edits once the export status clears.
If the ad shows "Export failed"
An "Export failed" status means the render did not complete. Your edits are still saved in the editor — click Edit on the ad to confirm.
To resolve it:
Click Save & Exit again to retry the export.
Hard refresh the page: Cmd + Shift + R (Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows).
Wait one minute and check the thumbnail.
If the export still fails after retrying, this is a bug. Contact the Cuttable support team at support@cuttable.com with the ad URL and a description of what you changed.
Keyboard shortcuts
Action | Mac | Windows |
Play / Pause |
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Split clip at playhead |
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Undo |
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Redo |
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Copy and paste a sticker |
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Cycle through overlapping elements |
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Review Mode |
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Exit / Deselect |
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Timeline zoom in |
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Timeline zoom out |
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Timeline reset zoom |
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Please note: Shortcuts are disabled while typing in a text field.
FAQs
Where do I add brand elements, icons and drawings?
Add them to an album, then add them to your ads from the Media section in the editor. The Brand Kit holds logos, colours, fonts, backgrounds and End Frames. See Organising Your Albums for how to set up albums.