> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.tella.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Style subtitles

> Choose, customize, save, and reuse subtitle styles, including fonts, colors, layout, and active-word effects.

Tella automatically generates subtitles from your transcript. In the editor, you can enable or disable them, choose a visual style, and control how they appear in shared and exported videos.

## Open subtitle styles

1. Open your video in the Tella editor.
2. Click **Subs** in the toolbar.
3. Use the toggle beside **Subtitles** to enable them.
4. Choose a style to apply it immediately.
5. Click the settings icon on the selected style to open **Edit style**.

## Change the layout

Under **Layout**, you can:

* Drag **Size** or enter an exact size in pixels.
* Adjust **Position** to move subtitles vertically.
* Set **Lines** to **1**, **2**, or **3** for each subtitle block.

The **Lines** setting is unavailable when **Single-word captions** is enabled.

## Customize the text

Under **Text**, choose a font, weight, text color, and letter case. The font picker includes Tella fonts and any personal or workspace fonts you have uploaded.

Changes appear in the **Preview** above the controls immediately.

## Add decorations

Under **Decoration**, turn **Background**, **Outline**, or **Shadow** on or off. When you enable an effect, you can also choose its color.

## Highlight the active word

Under **Active word**, choose how Tella emphasizes the word currently being spoken:

* **None** applies no active-word effect.
* **Text** changes the active word's color.
* **Background** places a colored background behind the active word.
* **Fade the rest** dims the other words.

You can also enable **Single-word captions** to show only the word being spoken. See [Show one word at a time in captions](/docs/help/editing/show-one-word-at-a-time-in-captions).

## Save and reuse a style

1. Customize a subtitle style in **Edit style**.
2. Click **Save as preset**.
3. Return to the **Subtitles** panel and find it under **Your styles**.

Open a saved style's **More actions** menu to **Customize**, **Rename**, **Duplicate**, or **Delete** it. Your saved styles are available in your other videos.

## Edit the subtitle text

Click **Edit subtitles** at the top of the **Subtitles** panel. The editable subtitles open in the **Subtitles** view of the right-side **Script** panel.

You can also open the **Script** panel, open its menu, and click **Subtitles**. See [Edit with the transcript](/docs/help/editing/edit-the-transcript-of-a-tella-video#editing-the-transcript-text) for more.

<Note>
  Subtitle styles apply when viewers watch your shared video and when you export with burned-in subtitles.
</Note>


## Related topics

- [Add text to your video](/docs/help/editing/text-overlays.md)
- [Overlays overview](/docs/help/editing/overlays.md)
- [List subtitle presets](/docs/api-reference/videos/list-subtitle-presets.md)
- [Apply a subtitle preset](/docs/api-reference/videos/apply-a-subtitle-preset.md)
- [Videos](/docs/mcp-tools/videos.md)