User Guide

Quick Start

Six steps take you from a video file to tagged, exported clips. Each one links to the full section further down.

1. Import your video. In Edit mode, click + Import in the Media Bin (or drag a video file onto it). Sports Video Basic works with MP4, MOV and M4V videos, and you can start working straight away. → Import Video Files
2. Put it on the timeline. Double-click the video in the Media Bin, or drag it onto the track at the bottom. Nothing can be played or tagged until it's on the timeline. → Add Clips to the Timeline
3. Switch to Code mode and set up your codes. Click Code in the top bar, then Edit in the Code Buttons panel to add a button for each thing you want to tag (e.g. Offence, Turnover), each with a colour and an optional hotkey. → Setting Up Code Buttons
4. Tag as you watch. Press Space to play. Press a code button (or its hotkey) when the moment starts, and press it again when it ends. Each tag appears in the Instances list. → Tagging a Clip
5. Review in Replay. Click ▶ Replay in the Instances panel, or double-click any instance. There you can step through clips, draw on the video, add notes, trim a clip's start or end, and build playlists. → Replaying Instances
6. Save and export. Press Ctrl+S to save the project. Click Export in the Instances panel to save your tagged clips as video - one file per clip, or all joined into a single reel. → Saving a Project, Export Labelled Clips

Good to know: ← / → step one frame, Shift+← / Shift+→ rewind and fast-forward while held, and Ctrl+← / Ctrl+→ skip a couple of seconds. Your original video files are never changed. Click ? in the top bar to open this guide again.

Overview

Sports Video Basic is a two-mode desktop application for reviewing and annotating sports footage.

• Edit mode - import video files, arrange them on a timeline, and trim clips
• Code mode - tag moments in the footage with your own codes, review them in Replay (draw on the video, add notes, build playlists), and export labelled clips

Switch between the two with the Edit / Code toggle in the top bar.

Getting Started

1. Import Video Files

Switch to Edit mode (the Edit / Code toggle in the top bar). In the Media Bin on the left:

• Click + Import and select one or more video files, or
• Drag and drop video files directly onto the media bin grid

Each file is scanned automatically for duration, resolution, frame rate, and audio. A video that's already in the Media Bin isn't added a second time; the app says which ones were skipped.

Supported Video Files

Sports Video Basic works with the most common video files: MP4, MOV and M4V in H.264, the format used by most cameras, phones and sports video platforms. H.265 (HEVC) videos, such as iPhone recordings, work too on computers whose graphics can decode H.265, which includes most computers from about 2016 onwards.

• Ready the moment it's imported. Rewind, frame-stepping and scrubbing read the frames straight from the original file - there's no waiting, and nothing extra is saved to your hard drive.
• Your original files are never changed. Exports always use the full-quality original.
• Other files are turned away. If you try to import a different kind of file (for example MKV, AVI or WebM), the app tells you which ones it couldn't use. Convert them to MP4 (H.264) first - free tools like HandBrake can do this. The same applies to H.265 videos on a computer that can't decode them.

Projects made with an older version can still contain other kinds of video. They open as before, but the app lists those videos when the project opens, and rewind and frame-step are slower on them. To fix that, convert each one to MP4 and move the old file somewhere else: next time the project opens, it asks you to find the video, and you can pick the new MP4.

Sorting the Media Bin

Click the Sort button in the Media Bin header to order files by:

The Sort button turns blue when a non-default sort is active.

Removing Files from the Media Bin

• Hover ✕ button - hover over any item to reveal a small × in the top-right corner; click it to remove that item (or the entire selection if the item is part of a multi-selection)
• Delete button - when one or more items are selected, a Delete button appears in the Media Bin header
• Keyboard - click in the Media Bin, then press Delete or Backspace to remove the selected items. The key goes to whichever of the Media Bin and the timeline you clicked last, so videos still selected in the bin aren't removed when you're deleting clips on the timeline

Removing a video that's on the timeline also removes its clips there, so the app asks first, and says how many tags will be left without video. Ctrl+Z puts the video and its clips back, with the tags on them.

2. Add Clips to the Timeline

• Single file - drag a media item from the bin onto a Video track in the timeline
• Multiple files - Ctrl+click items in the bin to select them in order, then drag the group onto the timeline; clips are placed in selection order
• Adding to a timeline that already has clips - drop the new video anywhere on the track. Clips can't overlap, so if you drop it on top of an existing clip it is placed straight after that clip, in the first gap it fits. You can also double-click an item in the bin to add it to the end of the timeline

Tip: Use the Zoom slider (top-right of timeline) or Ctrl+scroll over the timeline to zoom in/out - the readout next to it shows how much of the game is on screen (e.g. Showing 12 min). Zoom in for fine positioning, or click Fit to see the whole timeline at once.

3. Arrange Clips

• Drag clips left/right on a track to reposition them
• Snap (checkbox, top-right) snaps clip edges to the grid while dragging - turn it off for freeform placement
• Delete selected clips - click the clip, then press Backspace, or right-click a clip and confirm to remove it
• Remove a track - click the × on the track header
• Undo / Redo - Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y (on a Mac, ⇧⌘Z also redoes). Each drag or trim of a clip is one undo step; zooming and selecting clips aren't undo steps. Undo also covers tagging, in the order things were done - see Undoing Tags
• Move the playhead - click anywhere on the time ruler above the tracks

Tags go with their footage. Moving, sorting or trimming clips after tagging doesn't put tags out of line: each tag stays on the moment of the game it was tagged on, and its marker and times move with the clip. Removing a clip (or trimming off everything a tag covers) leaves its tags without video, marked ⚠ in the Instances panel, until the video is back on the timeline - see Managing Instances.

Trim Clips on the Timeline

Drag the left or right edge of a clip on the timeline to trim its start or end. Dragging the edge back out restores the footage - nothing is deleted from the original file. An edge dragged outwards stops at the clip next to it (and the start at the beginning of the timeline), so clips never overlap and the footage inside a clip never shifts.

This trims the video on the timeline. To adjust the start or end of a tagged instance, see Trimming or Extending a Clip in Replay.

4. Sort Clips on a Track

Click the ↑↓ icon on any track header (visible when the track has clips) to sort clips by:

Sorting repacks all clips from the start of the track with no gaps. Tags move with their clips.

Playback Controls

The controls bar sits below the video preview.

Slow motion: click the speed at the right-hand end of the controls bar and pick 0.5× or 0.25× (or 1.5× / 2× to play faster). The speed stays until you change it; holding fast-forward or rewind uses their own speed and goes back to yours when you let go.

Previous / next instance moves the playhead to the start of the next tagged clip along the timeline. Previous goes back to the start of the clip you're in, or to the one before if you're right at its start.

Volume, mute and the fast-forward speed are remembered the next time you open the app, and Replay uses the same volume and mute.

Fast-forward and rewind share one speed. Clicking the ▶▶ button to cycle 2× → 4× → 8× sets the speed used by both hold-rewind (Shift+←) and hold-fast-forward (Shift+→).

Frame stepping: a quick press of ← / → moves exactly one frame; holding the key steps continuously (like a media player), so you can scan frame-by-frame without repeated tapping.

Skip amount is configurable in the Keybindings dialog (⌨ button, top-right). Set it anywhere from 0.5 s to 60 s.

After rewinding, playback carries on the way it was: if the video was playing when you started rewinding, it resumes playing from the rewound position when you let go; if it was paused, it stays paused there.

Rewinding through empty timeline space (gaps between clips in Edit mode) shows the blank screen for the gap rather than a frame from another clip.

Skipping while playing keeps the video playing from the new position.

Code Mode - Tagging Footage

Switch to Code mode (the Edit / Code toggle in the top bar). The layout changes to show:

• Left panel - Code buttons for tagging (top) + Instances list (bottom). Drag the thin divider between them to give either more room
• Right panel - Video preview, using the full height of the window
• Bottom - Timeline (still visible and interactive)

Setting Up Code Buttons

Click Edit (top-right of the Code Buttons panel) to open the Edit Code Buttons dialog. Here you can:

• Add new codes with a custom name, colour, and single-key hotkey (a letter or number). Each code needs its own hotkey, and it can't be a key the main window already uses (such as K for Stop or M for Mute); the dialog says if a key is taken
• Edit an existing code's name, colour or hotkey. A new name or colour also updates every clip already tagged with that code, including on exports
• Delete codes you no longer need. It asks first, because deleting a code also deletes every clip tagged with it (including clips where it's an extra tag), and removes them from playlists. Ctrl+Z (once the dialog is closed) brings the code and its clips back
• Click Save as Default to store the current code set as the starting point for all new projects

Tagging a Clip

1. Play the footage (or scrub to the moment you want)
2. First press of a code button (or its hotkey) starts recording that code - the button pulses red and shows ● END
3. Second press ends the clip and saves the instance with a start and end time. If you moved back before the start, the clip runs between the two presses; ending it exactly where it started discards it

Multiple codes can be recorded simultaneously. Each tagged instance also appears as a small marker on the timeline ruler - click a marker to jump the playhead to the start of that instance.

A tag belongs to the footage it covers, not to a place on the timeline: if you later move, sort or trim clips, it stays on the same moment of the game. A tag that runs on past the end of a clip into empty timeline ends where the video does.

A clip still recording when the project is saved is still recording when the project is opened again: press its code to end it.

Undoing Tags

Ctrl+Z takes back the last thing you did, whether that was tagging, a change to an instance or a timeline edit, in the order you did them; Ctrl+Y redoes it. Undo covers:

• Tags - a clip you started and ended is taken back in one go (a clip still recording is taken back on its own)
• Changes to instances - extra tags added or removed, trims made in Replay, instances deleted (several deleted together come back together)
• Code buttons - added, edited or deleted (with the clips that were deleted with them)
• Playlists - made, renamed, reordered or deleted
• Matrices - made, changed (including merges and NETs), renamed or deleted
• Timeline edits - see Arrange Clips

Notes aren't part of undo: they stay as you typed them. In Replay, Ctrl+Z undoes drawings instead.

Code hotkeys only work in Code mode. They do nothing in Edit mode, nothing while a window such as Export, Edit Code Buttons or Help is open (the playback shortcuts are off then too), and nothing while the Replay popup is open - Replay has its own shortcuts (see Keyboard Shortcuts), so the same key can safely be used for both. Hotkeys are also ignored while you're typing in a text box, when held down (so one press is one tag), and with Ctrl / ⌘ / Alt.

Managing Instances

The Instances panel (bottom-left in Code mode, under the code buttons) lists all tagged clips.

In a narrow panel, each row shows its times on a second line, under the tag.

Each row starts with the instance's number for its code - e.g. #3 on a Turnover row is the third turnover in the game, counted in time order. The same number is shown on the clip in the Replay playlist. Numbers don't change when you filter the list. They aren't shown on the video in Replay, but exported clips show them before the tags (when Show play number, tags & notes on video is on) and include them in file names.

A ⚠ after the times means the instance's video isn't on the timeline any more: the clip it was tagged on was removed, or trimmed so that none of the tagged moment is left (an instance that's only partly trimmed off is shortened to what's left). Marked instances keep their last times, but they're left out of Replay, exports, previous / next instance and the timeline markers (the Export dialog says how many). They come back, in the right place, when their video is back on the timeline: with Ctrl+Z, by dragging the trimmed edge back out, or by dragging the video from the Media Bin onto the timeline again. Instances tagged where there was no video at all (between clips) are marked too, and stay marked. Double-clicking one says why it can't be replayed.

Filtering & Sorting

• Filter ▾ - in the Instances header; tick or untick tags to show/hide their instances, or choose All tags to show everything. The button shows how many tags are showing (e.g. Filter · 2/5) while a filter is active
• Sort buttons - in the Instances header, next to the title: sort by Time, A→Z, Z→A, Dur↑, or Dur↓

Adding a Note to an Instance

Each instance row has a note button (a small page icon) on the right, next to the + button. Click it to open a note box for that clip and start typing - the note saves as you type.

• Enter or Esc closes the box; Shift+Enter starts a new line. Clicking anywhere else, or the note button again, also closes it
• The note button is highlighted on any instance that has a note; hover over it to read the note
• These are the same notes you see and edit in Replay, and they appear on the video in Replay and in exports

Adding and Removing Tags on an Instance

Each instance row has a + button on the right. Click it - or right-click anywhere on the row - to open the tag picker, which shows all available codes with a tick (✓) next to any code already applied to that instance:

• Apply a tag - click any unticked code to add it
• Remove a tag - click a ticked code to remove it
• The last remaining tag cannot be removed - at least one tag must always be applied

The first tag applied is the primary tag, shown by name and colour on the instance row. Any additional tags appear as small coloured dots alongside it. If the primary tag is removed, the next applied tag automatically becomes the new primary.

Deleting an Instance

Click the 🗑 trash icon on the right of any instance row.

Matrices

A matrix shows how your tags go together: codes down the side, codes across the top, and in each cell the number of instances tagged with both - for example how many Turnovers were also tagged Pick & Roll. An instance's extra tags count as well as its main tag. Click Matrix in the Instances header to open it.

• New matrix - click + New matrix. It starts with every code down the side and across the top; untick codes under Down the side and Across the top to leave them out (All / None tick or untick them all). Rows and columns follow the order of the code buttons
• Reading it - each cell counts the finished instances with both tags; a code against itself (where a row meets its own column) counts every instance with that tag. The Total column counts every instance with the row's tag, and the Total row every instance in the table with the column's tag (each instance once). The fuller a cell, the brighter it's shaded
• Count / Time - switch the cells between the number of instances and their total length (minutes:seconds)
• Replay or export a cell - click a cell (or a total) to pick its instances: the bar at the bottom shows how many and how long, with ▶ Replay and Export clips. Double-click a cell to replay it straight away. Closing Replay or the export window brings you back to the matrix. Instances whose video isn't on the timeline are counted but can't be replayed or exported
• Merge rows or columns - drag a code's name onto another's to merge them into one row (or column) that counts an instance tagged with either, once. The merged row takes the place of the codes in it. Or click a name, Ctrl+click more on the same side, and press Merge. Merging a merged row with another code adds that code to it. A merged row is named after its codes (e.g. Turnover + Shot), and its name changes if you rename one of them or untick it
• NET - pick two or more names the same way and press Create NET to add a subtotal row (or column) that counts them together, as well as keeping them as they are. A NET goes after the last of its codes and is shown like a total. Pick a merge or a NET to Rename it (or double-click its name; clear the name to name it after its codes again), Split a merge back into its codes, or Remove NET. Merges and NETs are saved with the matrix and go into the spreadsheet too
• Merges and NETs together - a NET of a merged row counts all the merge's codes, and keeps them if the merge is split later. A NET picked with other names stands for its codes: Create NET makes a bigger NET (if that would count just the same codes as a row that's already there, such as a NET and one of its own codes, that row is picked instead), and Merge (or dragging a name onto a NET, or a NET onto a name) merges all its codes into one row, which takes the NET's place. A code is only ever in one merged row, so merging a NET can take a code out of another merged row. A NET that would just repeat a merged row is removed
• Several matrices - choose one from the list at the top. Rename and Delete act on the one showing (deleting a matrix doesn't delete any instances). Matrices are saved with the project, and Ctrl+Z undoes changes to them, with the matrix open or closed
• Save as spreadsheet - saves the matrix as an Excel workbook (.xlsx), laid out as in the app: tag names in their colours, shaded cells, bold totals, and the top row and first column kept in view. With Time showing, cells are real Excel times (minutes:seconds), so Excel can add them up. To get a CSV file instead (for Numbers, Google Sheets or any other spreadsheet app), choose CSV as the file type in the save window. Once it's saved, the bar at the bottom asks whether to open it: Open (opens it in Excel, or whatever opens spreadsheets on your computer), Show in folder, or Not now
• Press Esc to close the matrix. If names are picked, or the bar at the bottom is asking whether to open a spreadsheet, the first Esc puts that away instead

Replaying Instances

Replay All

Click ▶ Replay in the Instances panel header to open the Replay popup. This plays every currently visible (filtered) instance in sequence.

Replay a Specific Instance

Double-click any instance row to open the Replay popup starting at that instance. (Double-clicking doesn't change which instances are selected for export.)

Replay Popup Controls

The replay popup's fast-forward / rewind buttons use the same speed setting as the main player - cycling the speed in either place changes both.

Smooth rewind in Replay: rewinding and holding frame-step (the buttons or ← / →) read frames straight from the file, just like the main player, so they stay smooth on laptops. When you let go, the full-quality frame is swapped back in.

Trimming or Extending a Clip

If a tag started a little late or ran on too long, fix it in Replay without re-tagging. Click Trim / Extend in the Replay title bar to switch it on - it is off by default, so the progress bar is normally just a playback bar. While Trim / Extend is on, the progress bar under the video has a handle at each end of the clip:

• Drag the left handle to move where the clip starts; drag the right handle to move where it ends
• Drag a handle inwards to shorten the clip, or outwards into the dimmed area to extend it - the bar shows about 10 seconds of footage either side of the clip. To extend further, release and drag again
• The video shows the frame under the handle while you drag, and the readout shows the new length
• After moving the end, the video parks 2 seconds before it, so pressing Play shows how the clip now finishes

From the keyboard: press E to switch Trim / Extend on or off. While it is on, each press of these keys moves one end of the clip by half a second:

These four keys do nothing while Trim / Extend is off, so a stray key press can't change a clip. All Replay shortcuts can be changed in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog.

Click Trim / Extend again when you're done. All the usual Replay controls keep working while it is on, including clicking the bar between the handles to jump to that point in the clip. Changes save straight away and apply everywhere - the Instances panel, the timeline markers, playlists and exports. A clip can't be made shorter than half a second, or extended past the ends of its video. Back in the main window, Ctrl+Z undoes these changes like any other (in Replay itself, Ctrl+Z undoes drawings).

Drawing on the Video

Pause a clip in Replay and a small drawing toolbar appears at the bottom of the video. Drag on the video to draw:

• Tools - pen (freehand), rectangle, circle and arrow
• Colour - pick one of the colour dots
• Line thickness - three sizes
• Undo (↶, or Ctrl+Z) - take back the last thing you drew, one at a time. After Clear, Undo brings the drawings back
• Clear - wipe everything you've drawn

The tool, colour and thickness you last used are remembered for next time.

Drawings are for talking through a moment on screen. They stay on the players you drew them on when the picture changes size (full screen, hiding the playlist, resizing the window), and stay while you step frame by frame. They disappear when you press Play, fast-forward or rewind, or move to another clip (Undo can't bring those back), and they are not saved with the project or included in exports. Click Draw in the Replay title bar to hide the drawing tools (and click it again to bring them back).

Notes

The Notes box at the bottom of the right-hand panel belongs to the clip you're watching - type to add or change its note. Notes save as you type, are shown under the tags on the video, are included in exports when Show play number, tags & notes on video is on, and can also be edited from the Instances panel.

Playlist Order & Sorting

The playlist on the right side of the Replay popup shows all instances in the current playback order. You can:

• Drag rows to reorder them manually - the order is saved automatically and restored the next time you open the popup
• Sort with the dropdown (top of the playlist) to instantly reorder by a preset:

Applying a preset sort switches the dropdown to that mode. Dragging any row switches it back to Custom.

Tags on Screen & Changing Tags

Each instance's tags and notes are shown in the bottom-left corner of the video while it plays - the same text that appears on exported video. The top line lists the tags, each in its code colour, starting with the primary tag (e.g. Centre Bounces · Pick & Roll); many tags wrap onto another line. The clip's notes follow underneath in white, wrapping onto new lines before they reach the edge of the video (even a long link with no spaces is broken across lines). Up to 4 lines are shown; longer notes are cut short with …. Click Tags in the Replay title bar to hide or show them.

To change the tags on the instance you're watching, use the tag chips in the bar under the video:

• × on a chip - remove that tag (an instance always keeps at least one tag)
• + Tag - open the tag list and tick or untick any code
• Right-click the video, or any clip in the playlist, to open the same tag list where you clicked. Right-clicking a playlist clip tags that clip without leaving the one you're watching
• New tag… - at the bottom of the tag list. It opens the same Edit Code Buttons dialog as the Code panel: type a label, optionally a hotkey, pick a colour and click Add. The new code is added to the clip straight away and appears as a button in the Code panel. Hotkeys work in the Code window, not in Replay

Changes apply straight away - to the on-screen labels, the playlist, the Instances panel, and any export you make afterwards.

Custom Playlists

Build your own lists of clips - e.g. Best defence or Clips for Sam - and play them back in any order. Playlists are saved with the project.

• Switch lists with the dropdown at the top of the playlist panel: All instances (what you opened Replay with) or any of your playlists.
• New playlist - click + next to the dropdown and type a name. Each playlist needs its own name (capitals don't count as different).
• Add a clip - hover a clip in the playlist and click its +, or click + Playlist under the video for the clip you're watching. Tick the playlists it should be in, then click Add. Nothing changes until you click Add; clicking away cancels. A clip can be in any number of playlists.
• Remove a clip - while viewing a playlist, hover the clip and click ×. This only takes it out of the playlist; the instance itself isn't deleted.
• Reorder - drag rows, or use the sort dropdown, exactly as for All instances. Each playlist keeps its own order.
• Rename / delete - use the pencil and bin buttons next to the dropdown while a playlist is showing. Deleting a playlist doesn't delete any instances.
• Export - the Export button at the top of the playlist panel opens the export dialog with the clips currently shown, in the order shown. Combine it with Single file to make a highlight reel.

A playlist can include clips that the Instances Filter is hiding. If you delete an instance, it's removed from every playlist.

Selecting Several Clips

Select several clips in the playlist panel to move, tag, add to a playlist, delete or export them together.

• A run of clips - click the first clip, then hold Shift and click the last. Every clip between them is selected, both included.
• Clips here and there - hold Shift (or Ctrl; ⌘ on a Mac) and click each clip to add it, or click a selected clip again to take it out. This works on its own or after selecting a run.
• Every clip - Ctrl+A (⌘A on a Mac).
• Clear - click a clip without Shift, press Esc, or click the × in the selection bar.

Selecting doesn't change the clip you're watching. Selected clips are outlined, and a bar at the top of the playlist shows how many are selected. Then:

Playback Speed

The Speed row above the controls lets you play at 0.25×, 0.5×, 1×, 1.5×, or 2× speed. The active speed is highlighted and persists as you move between instances. (The main window has the same speeds: see Playback Controls.) Use frame step (← / →) to move through a clip one frame at a time.

Exporting

Export Labelled Clips

In the Instances panel, click Export to open the Export dialog. The button label shows how many clips are queued for export, e.g. Export (3). If no clips are individually checked, all visible instances are exported.

Selecting Clips

Click anywhere on an instance row in the Instances panel (or tick its checkbox) to pre-select it for export, and click it again to deselect it. Selected rows are highlighted, and the Export button shows how many are selected. Selected clips are all exported even if the Filter is now hiding some of them. If none are selected, all visible instances are included automatically.

The dialog lists each clip with its current tags and play number (e.g. Turnover #3 + Pick & Roll), including any tags changed in Replay.

Inside the dialog you can also check or uncheck clips individually, or use the Select all checkbox at the top to toggle all at once.

Output Mode

From the Instances panel with the Filter showing just one or two tags, the name also includes them, e.g. Madi Ryan - Turnover + Shot.

Export Settings

The dialog remembers how you left it - format, resolution, frame rate, quality, graphics card, single file or separate files, and the overlay - for the next export, even after closing the app.

A progress bar shows export progress. When it finishes, the dialog says where the export was saved, and Show in folder (Show in Finder on a Mac) opens that folder. If it fails, it says why in red.

Click Cancel Export to stop at any time. A file that was only partly written is deleted rather than left behind; with Individual files, the clips that had already finished are kept, and the dialog says how many.

When saving a single file, the type of file comes from the name you give it: typing clips.webm saves a WebM even if MP4 was chosen. A name without an extension gets the chosen format's.

With Individual files, a clip whose video file can't be found is skipped, and the dialog says how many were skipped.

Use the Filter ▾ menu in the Instances header to pre-filter which codes appear in the list before opening the dialog.

Export Full Project

Click Export in the top bar to export the entire timeline as a single video file. Choose the format (MP4, MOV or WebM), video codec (H.264 or the smaller H.265), resolution, frame rate (Same as source by default) and quality, then pick where to save it. If the computer has a supported graphics card, Encoder → Graphics card exports faster (on a Mac it's the default for H.265, and uses less battery for H.264). Progress is shown in the top bar, followed by Export complete.

Keyboard Shortcuts

On a Mac: use ⌘ wherever this guide says Ctrl, and Option for Alt.

Customising Shortcuts

Click the ⌨ keyboard icon in the top-right to open the Keybindings dialog.

• Rebind any action - click the action row, then press any key combination (supports Shift, Ctrl, Alt modifiers)
• Reset one binding - click the ↺ icon on a modified row
• Reset all - click Reset all at the top of the dialog
• Skip amount - adjust the number of seconds used by Skip Back / Skip Forward

A key combination can only be used for one action - if it's already taken, the dialog tells you which action has it. Code button hotkeys are set separately, in Edit Code Buttons.

Default Shortcuts

Layout - Collapsing Panels

All three major panels can be collapsed to give the video preview more space:

A collapsed Instances list or Timeline shows as a labelled bar (Instances ˄ / Timeline ˄) - click it to bring the panel back. You can also drag the thin divider above either panel to resize it.

The timeline automatically sizes itself to fit its tracks. Once you drag its divider, it keeps the size you chose.

Project Management

Saving a Project

Your work can be saved to a .svb project file at any time. A project file stores:

• All timeline tracks and clips
• All media file references (file paths and metadata)
• All code buttons and tagged instances - including their extra tags, notes and any trims made in Replay
• Your Replay playlists and playlist order
• The current playhead position
• The project name

To save:

• Press Ctrl+S, or
• Click the 💾 floppy disk icon in the top bar

The first time you save, a dialog will ask where to save the file. After that, Ctrl+S saves directly to the same file.

If the project can't be saved (a folder you aren't allowed to save in, a full disk, or a drive that's been unplugged), the app says why and offers to save it somewhere else. A save that fails part-way leaves the project file as it was.

Unsaved changes are indicated by a yellow ● dot on the save icon and a • after the project name. Any change to the timeline or coding state triggers this.

Closing with Unsaved Changes

If you close the app while there are unsaved changes, it asks "Save before closing?":

• Save - saves the project, then closes. If the project has never been saved, the save dialog opens first; cancelling it keeps the app open
• Don't save - closes and discards the changes
• Cancel (or Esc) - keeps the app open

If an export is still running, closing asks Stop the export and close? Keep exporting leaves the app open; stopping deletes the video the export was making (with separate files, the clips already done are kept). With unsaved changes as well, the Save before closing? box mentions the export.

With nothing to save and no export running, the app closes straight away.

Saving to a New File

The save dialog only appears the first time a project is saved; after that, saving always updates the same file (hover the 💾 icon to see which one). There is no separate Save As - to keep a second copy, copy the .svb file in File Explorer.

Opening a Project

Click the 📁 folder icon in the top bar to open a previously saved .svb file. You can also double-click a .svb file in File Explorer to open it in Sports Video Basic. If the app is already open, the project opens in it rather than in a second copy of the app.

If the project that's open has unsaved changes, the app first asks Save before opening?: Save, Don't save or Cancel, as when closing.

A damaged project file (for example one that didn't finish saving) or a file that isn't a project isn't opened, and the project that's open stays as it was.

Opening a project will:

1. Restore all tracks, clips, and media references
2. Restore all code buttons and tagged instances
3. Return the playhead to its saved position
4. Regenerate thumbnails in the background (and list any videos that aren't supported)

Opening a Project from Another Computer (or After Moving Videos)

A project remembers where each video was. If a video isn't there any more - the project was cut on another computer, or the videos were moved or are on a different drive - Sports Video Basic looks for a file with the same name in the project's folder (and the folders inside it) and uses it automatically.

Easiest way to share a project: put the .svb file in the same folder as the game videos (keep the video file names the same) and copy the whole folder to the other computer.

If a video still can't be found, a Find your videos box lists it:

1. Click Locate… next to the video and choose it
2. Any other missing videos in that same folder are found automatically
3. Click Done (or Skip for now - clips from a missing video stay on the timeline but won't play until it's found)
4. Save the project so it remembers the new locations

If the video you choose is a different length from the original, you'll get a warning - tags and clips may not line up with a different video.

Versions: if a project was saved with a newer version of Sports Video Basic than yours, a message tells you so. Update the app (updates download automatically when you're online) to be sure everything in it opens as saved.

Project Name & Duration

• Rename - double-click the project name in the top bar and type a new name, then press Enter
• Duration - shown in the top bar (MM:SS) once clips are on the timeline

License, Updates & Help

• Activating - the first time you open the app it asks for your license key. Paste it in and click Activate.
• About (ⓘ in the top bar) - shows the version you're running, a What's new button with the release notes for that version, and your license key (click the copy icon to copy it).
• Moving to another computer - click Deactivate license in the About dialog on the old computer, then activate with the same key on the new one.
• Updates - new versions download automatically in the background. When one is ready, an Update ready popup offers Restart now; choose Later and it installs the next time you open the app. Save your project before restarting. After an update, a What's new popup lists the changes.
• This guide - opens automatically the first time you run the app; click ? in the top bar to open it again.

Tips

• Blank space in the timeline (no clip under the playhead) shows a black screen in the preview - this is intentional so you always know when the playhead is between clips
• Clip-to-clip playback is seamless - the player automatically advances to the next clip when the current one ends, even across different source files