Tips & FAQ

It's a very long recording (hours). Is that OK?

Yes — that's a main use case. The Preview frame and Trim marks seek straight to a timestamp rather than decoding from the start, so jumping around a 14-hour file is quick. Set trims numerically (frame number or timecode) and add as many as you need.

How do I find the frame number / timecode for a trim?

Scrub the Preview frame to the moment you want and click the ⤓ button next to Start to drop that frame in. The End field's ⤓ jumps to the last frame, since trims usually run to the end.

Does it use my GPU?

By default the Encoder is set to Auto: it encodes on your NVIDIA graphics card (GPU) when you have one — much faster — and on the CPU otherwise. You can force GPU or CPU in the Encoding panel. The Parallel toggle (Jobs tab) keeps several encodes running at once.

Will it overwrite my files?

No. Outputs go to the folder you choose (defaulting next to the source), and if a name would clash with an existing or already-queued file, Croppy appends -2, -3, … Cropping/trimming/compressing always writes a new file; the source is untouched.

My cropped file kept the original's "Date created" — why?

That's the Creation date option (on by default, Windows only): the output inherits the source clip's creation date, so a processed file still reflects when the footage was recorded. Its "Date modified" shows when Croppy wrote it. Turn it off in the Encoding panel.

Can I make files smaller without re-cropping?

Use the Compress tab — it re-encodes whole videos with your chosen quality. To also drop the frame rate, enable Frame rate in the Encoding panel.

A long combine got interrupted — did I lose it?

No. Combine writes a fragmented .partial.mp4 and only renames it on success, so you're left with a playable, clearly-partial file rather than a corrupt one.

Where do outputs go?

Wherever the Output → Folder of that tab points — by default next to the source file. See Output names & the Jobs queue.