Plain Text to SRT: What Estimated Timing Really Means

Choose a draft duration deliberately

Use Plain text / Estimated timing when each non-empty line should become a separate cue. Set Draft cue duration to the interval you want to start with. This setting creates a predictable draft that you can revise while listening.

For a two-second setting, two lines become intervals from zero to two seconds and from two to four seconds. This does not mean either line takes two seconds to read or speak. Long text and short text receive the same starting interval in this mode.

First caption.
Second caption.

Keep estimated timing separate from source anchors

Auto-detect mode preserves recognized timestamp anchors instead of distributing every line at fixed intervals. Plain text mode intentionally treats the input as text. Selecting the wrong mode can produce a valid-looking file with unsuitable timing.

The Timing source summary and export note identify estimates. A clean timing check only establishes that the generated intervals pass the workbench rules; it does not establish synchronization with your recording.

Turn the draft into usable subtitles

1. Keep the original transcript and recording together so you can check both.
2. Listen to the beginning of each caption and enter a suitable start time.
3. Check its end against speech, pauses and the next caption; avoid zero-length intervals.
4. Read the caption at normal playback speed. Divide or shorten text when necessary.
5. Test the exported file in the intended editor or player before publishing it.

Decide when a different workflow is needed

If your task is to create a transcript from an audio file, use a transcription workflow first. If you already have a transcript and need automatic alignment, choose a tool that explicitly supports audio alignment and review its result.

Transcript Rescue is useful after those steps or for a short manually timed draft. It does not upload your text for speech analysis. Refreshing the page clears the working state, so export the draft you want to keep before leaving.