How to Add Subtitles in PowerDirector
Add subtitles with AI or by hand, then get every line looking and reading right.
Updated Oct. 25, 2026 · 5 min read
In a hurry? Use the subtitles quick guide instead.
PowerDirector can add subtitles three ways: AI transcribes the speech in your video, you type them yourself, or you import a file. Every line stays editable, and you can export the finished subtitles as an SRT file. Subtitles keep a video watchable with the sound off, and the SRT file can go to YouTube with it.
- Click the Subtitles tab in PowerDirector to open the Subtitles room.
- Click AI Speech to Text, pick the Audio source and Language, then click Create. Or create the lines by hand, or import an SRT or TXT file.
- Click any line to fix the wording, then press Esc to save. To change a name in every line, open Find and Replace at the top of the subtitle list.
- Drag a subtitle on the timeline to fix its timing. Or type its Start Time.
- Click Split subtitle at the top of the subtitle list to break up a run-on line.
- Click Properties in the left panel to set the font, color, border, and shadow. Or take a ready-made look from the Preset row.
- Open the ... menu at the top right of the subtitle list and choose Export Subtitle to save the subtitles as a file.
Steps to Add Subtitles
Prefer to watch? Here is the whole thing in under 4 minutes.
Step 1: Open the Subtitles Room
Click the Subtitles tab at the top of the library to open the Subtitles room. It offers three ways in, and the one you want depends on what you already have.
| Option | Use it when |
|---|---|
| AI Speech to Text | There is speech in the video and no transcript. This is the usual case. |
| Create Subtitles Manually | There is no speech to transcribe, or you are writing captions rather than transcribing. |
| Import Subtitles from File | You already have the text. It accepts SRT and TXT. |
Step 2: Add the Subtitles
Pick one of the three ways from Step 1. Whichever you use, the lines land in the same list, and Steps 3 to 7 work the same.
Option A: Transcribe the Speech with AI
Click AI Speech to Text at the top of the three options.
Set the Audio source and Language in the dialog that opens. You can transcribe a single track or all tracks.
The two checkboxes under them, and what each setting changes, are explained in the AI Speech to Text tutorial.
Click Create at the bottom right of the dialog, and AI transcribes the speech into subtitles on the timeline.
Option B: Create Subtitles Manually
Click Create Subtitles Manually. The list opens with one empty line at the playhead.
Click the line and type the subtitle. For the next one, move the playhead and click + at the top of the list. Or click the + at the right end of the line. From here on, editing works as in Steps 3 to 6.
Option C: Import an SRT or TXT File
Click Import Subtitles from File if the text already exists. It takes SRT and TXT files.
Pick the file and click Open. An SRT file carries its own timings, so each line lands on the timeline at the right time.
A TXT file has no timings. Before you import one, add as many empty lines as the file has lines: move the playhead and click + for each. PowerDirector then drops the text into those lines in order.
Step 3: Fix the Words
Click any line in the list to edit it. Press Enter to add a line break, and press Esc to save what you typed.
To add the next subtitle after a line, click the + at the right end of that line.
To delete a subtitle, click the trash icon to the right of the +.
Replace a Word Everywhere
To change a word everywhere it appears, usually a name or a product, use Find and Replace. Click its button next to the Find box at the top of the subtitle list.
Type the word in Find and its replacement in Replace with. Click Replace to change the current match. Or click Replace All to change the whole file at once.
Step 4: Fix the Timing
Drag a subtitle along the subtitle track at the top of the timeline to move it.
To change how long a subtitle stays on screen, drag its edge on the track.
Or click its Start Time in the subtitle list and type the value.
Step 5: Split Run-On Lines
When the transcriber has run two sentences together, select the line and click Split subtitle at the top of the subtitle list. Or press Ctrl + Enter.
Merge Two Lines
The reverse is Merge subtitles. Hold Ctrl and click the lines you want joined. Then click Merge subtitles at the top of the subtitle list, in the spot where Split subtitle sits.
Step 6: Style the Subtitles
Click Properties in the left panel to set the font, size, and color in the row at the top.
Scroll down the same panel for the Border and Shadow settings.
Or take a ready-made look from the Preset row below the font controls.
With Apply to all subtitles checked at the bottom of the panel, your changes apply to every line, including its position in the preview window. Uncheck it to style only the selected line.
Step 7: Export the Subtitles as a File
Click the ... button at the top right of the subtitle list to open its menu.
Choose Export Subtitle, then pick Export Without Style Formatting for a clean SRT. Or pick Export with Additional SubRip Style Information to keep your styling in the file.
Take the plain one if the file is going to YouTube, where the platform does the styling and toggling for you. Take the styled one when the player you are targeting will honor it.
We tested these steps in PowerDirector 365 version 24.0.10 on Windows.
Don't have PowerDirector yet? PowerDirector transcribes the subtitles for you, so the work left is the wording and the timing.
Download PowerDirector Free →
