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Edit Your Tribute: arranging the timeline

How to use the timeline in Edit Your Tribute: order, timing, transitions, framing, replacing photos, your logo, voice recordings, preview and Notify Funeral Home.

Updated 2026-10-19

1. The timeline: selecting and moving items

Use the timeline along the bottom to see everything in order, pick an item to change and move items around.

Click Edit Your Tribute at the top. The settings are on the left, the preview on the right and the timeline along the bottom.
Click a photo, video or scene on the timeline. It gets a bold outline and a Selected label.
Check the heading of the settings panel. It says what you're editing, such as "Photo 4 of 23" and the file name.
To move a photo or video, drag its block to a new place. On a phone or tablet, press and hold, then drag.
Drag a voice recording left or right on the Audio row to change when it plays.
Click Zoom in or Zoom out to see more or less of the timeline.
Click the X on a block to remove it, or the X in the settings heading to close the settings.

What each row holds

Media: the opening scene, opening portrait, photos, videos and closing scene, in playing order.
Audio: voice recordings.
The music row: the music tracks you chose. Click it to set the music volume.

Can I move the opening or closing scene?

No. The opening scene and portrait always come first, and the closing scene always comes last.

Is the new order saved?

Yes, straight away. Anyone else working on the tribute sees the same order.

Is there help on the timeline itself?

Yes. Click Timeline help next to the play controls.

2. How long each photo shows

Change how many seconds a photo or scene stays on screen, one at a time or all together.

On the timeline, press the − or + button on a photo to shorten or lengthen it by one second.
Or click the photo, open the Timing tab and use − and + under How long it shows.
Use the − and + buttons on the opening scene, opening portrait or closing scene to change how long they show.
To set one time for every photo, go back to Build Your Tribute and open Photos & videos. Choose a time under How long each photo shows.
Choose Change all to update the photos you already have, or Only photos I add from now on.

Why is there a lock on the photo time?

Photos are synced to the music, so the times are set for you. Untick Automatically sync photos to music in Build Your Tribute, under Music.

Can I change how long a video plays?

Videos play for their own length, shown on their block.

3. Transitions and overlapping transitions

Choose how one photo or video moves into the next.

Click a photo or video on the timeline and open the Timing tab.
Under Transitions, choose a style in Into this photo and Out of this photo.
Pick from Dissolve, Fade, Push Left, Push Right, Push Up, Push Down, Push In, Push Out or None (cut).
Choose Default to use the tribute-wide setting.
Press play on the preview to see how it looks.

How overlapping transitions work

A transition lasts about 1 second. The photo going out stays on screen underneath while the next one comes in, so there is no gap of empty background.

A video can't be held past its end, so a video fades out and the next item fades in.

If one photo's "Out of this photo" and the next photo's "Into this photo" are both set, "Into this photo" wins.

Can the transitions be mixed for me?

Yes. Tick Use random transitions in Build Your Tribute, under Photos & videos.

What happens if I turn random transitions off?

Every photo goes back to a dissolve. You can then set any photo on its own.

4. Pan, fit and resize

Frame a photo or video so the right part shows, without editing the file first.

Click the photo or video on the timeline. The Media tab opens.
Under Size, choose Whole photo to show all of it, or Fill screen to fill the frame.
Drag the Resize slider to make it smaller or bigger, from 40% to 200%.
Under Position, use the arrows to move it around the frame.
Under Crop, click Crop photo (or Crop video), drag the box, then click Apply Crop.
Click Reset to go back to the whole photo in the middle, or Remove crop to undo a crop.

Can I frame the opening scene or portrait too?

Yes. Click the scene on the timeline, open Media and use Size & position.

What fills the space around a tall photo?

The background. Change it for one photo in its Background tab, or for the whole tribute in Build Your Tribute.

5. Replacing a photo or scene picture

Swap a photo, video or scene picture for another one, keeping its place on the timeline.

Click the photo or video on the timeline and open the Media tab.
Scroll to Replace photo (or Replace video).
Open Upload Your Own and click Choose image or video (or drag & drop). Pick the new file.
Or open Stock Images (or Stock Videos for a video) and click one from the collection.
For a scene, click it on the timeline, open Media, then Change picture. Choose Stock Images, Stock Videos or Upload Your Own.
Check the new picture in the timeline and preview.

Can I replace a photo with a video?

No. A photo is replaced with a photo, and a video with a video. To add a video instead, add it in Build Your Tribute.

Why does it say the new photo is small?

Photos under 1000 pixels may look blurry on a big screen. It's still used, but a larger copy is better.

6. Your logo on one item

Turn your logo off, move it or change it for a single photo, video or scene.

Click the photo, video or scene on the timeline.
Open the Logo tab. Only your funeral home sees this tab.
Under This photo (or this video or scene), turn Show the logo on this photo on or off.
Choose a Position, such as Bottom right, and a Size: Small, Medium or Large.
Drag See-through to make the logo lighter. 100% is solid.
To use a different logo here, pick a saved logo or click Upload new (PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG, up to 5 MB).
Click Use the tribute's settings to undo your changes for this item.

Under This tribute you can set the logo for the whole tribute and choose which items show it. Click Use Settings to go back to your usual logo settings.

Can families remove our logo?

No. Families don't see the Logo tab, and can't change or remove the logo.

There's no logo to show. Why?

Add your logo first in Settings, under Brand Logo.

7. Voice: transcription and removing filler words

See how voice recordings are turned into text and cleaned up, and adjust them on the timeline.

What happens after a recording is saved

The recording is turned into text. The card in Build Your Tribute, under Voice recording, shows Transcribing... and then ✓ Transcribed.
Filler words such as "um" and "ah" are found and taken out automatically. The card then shows Cleaned and Audio cleaned.
The written words show under Transcript on the card.

Choices on the recording card

Show Details shows the length before and after, and how many filler words were removed.
Untick Use cleaned audio to use the recording as it was.
Delete original keeps only the cleaned version. This can't be undone.
If it says Transcription failed, tap to view details, tap it to try again.

In Edit Your Tribute

Drag a recording on the Audio row to change when it plays.
Click a recording to set its Volume, from Silent to Full.
Click Upload audio on the Audio row to add a recording you already have.

Do I need to do anything to remove the "ums"?

No. It happens on its own after the recording is saved.

Can I rename an uploaded recording?

Yes. Click the pencil on its card in Build Your Tribute, under Voice recording.

8. The preview player

Watch the tribute with its music, voices and scenes before the video is made.

Press Play under the preview. It plays the tribute as the finished video will look.
Click or drag the bar above the buttons to jump to any moment.
Press Restart to go back to the start.
Press Fullscreen to watch it on the whole screen, and Exit fullscreen to come back.
You can also use the play, mute and volume buttons with the timeline controls.

Why can't I see a preview?

The preview needs at least one photo or video and some music. Add them in Build Your Tribute.

Where are the Back and Continue buttons?

On a computer, move the mouse to the bottom edge of the screen to bring up the bar. Click the padlock in the middle of the bar to keep it on screen, and click the open padlock to let it hide again. Continue to Preview & Create is also under the preview.

Can I keep the menu at the top on screen?

Yes. On a computer, move the mouse to the top edge to bring up the menu, then click the padlock next to Sign Out. Click the open padlock to let it hide again.

Does the preview match the finished video?

Yes. The preview and the finished video follow the same rules for scenes, backgrounds, transitions and sound.

9. Notify Funeral Home button

Explains what the family sees when they press Notify Funeral Home, and what your funeral home receives.

When the family can edit the tribute

The family sees Notify Funeral Home under the preview in Edit Your Tribute, and in the bottom bar.
They are asked "Notify your funeral home?" and told they won't be able to make more changes. They click Yes, Notify Them or Go Back.
They then see Funeral Home Notified, saying your funeral home will make the video.
You get an email saying the family has submitted their tribute, and it shows as Ready to review on your Dashboard.

With an upload-only link

The family sees Notify Funeral Home at the end of Build Your Tribute, and in the bottom bar.
They see Funeral Home Notified. They can click Continue Editing and notify you again later.
You get an email saying they have finished uploading media, with an Open your dashboard button.

Good to know

Your team doesn't see this button. You see Continue to Preview & Create instead.
The email goes to the address you sign in with.
To turn these emails on or off, go to Settings, find Emails we send you and click Choose emails. They are listed as Tribute activity.

A family pressed it too early. Can they keep editing?

Not after notifying, unless they used an upload-only link. Your team can still make changes before making the video.

I didn't get the email. Why?

Check your junk folder, and check Tribute activity is turned on under Choose emails. A family who can edit still shows as Ready to review on the Dashboard.