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Use Guides and Safe Zone

Guides and Safe zone are overlays you turn on while you review, so you can check that titles, faces, and key action still sit inside the crop.

Check a video with Guides​

Use Guides when a video will be delivered in a different aspect ratio than the file you are watching. For example, a 2.39 theatrical crop on a 16:9 file, or a 9:16 social crop.

The Guides menu in the player control bar, with 4:3 selected

  1. Open a video
  2. In the player control bar, click Guides
  3. Choose a ratio: 2.39, 1.85, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, or 1:1
  4. Choose Off to hide the overlay

On a phone, the same list lives under Settings, then Guides.

The overlay dims everything outside the chosen ratio, and the outer box is the crop. The inner box is the safe zone inside that crop, 10% in from the edges. Keep titles, logos, and key action inside it so they stay visible.

A video with the 4:3 guide overlay on, showing the dimmed outside area, the crop, and the inner safe zone

The same Guides control is on both panes when you compare two video versions. One selection applies to both.

note

Guides only affect playback. They don't change the file. Your choice is stored in this browser, and it carries into side-by-side comparison.

Check a still with Safe zone​

Safe zone is for stills. Turn it on to see a yellow overlay around the edges. Keep important content inside the clear area.

The Safe zone control in the image control bar, turned on

  1. Open an image
  2. In the image control bar, click Safe zone to turn the overlay on or off

A still with Safe zone on, showing the yellow overlay around the area that should stay visible

It works on 1920×1080, 2000×3000, and 3840×2160 images. On any other size the control is disabled.

The same Safe zone control is available when you compare two stills.