How to Crop a Video in Windows 11

To crop a video in Windows 11, open it in Clipchamp, select the clip on the timeline, click crop on the floating toolbar, drag the handles in, click done, and export. The Photos app can only trim (shorten) a video, not crop its frame.

The clip is good, but there’s a messy desk in the corner of the frame and a black border down one side that you want gone before you share it.

Crop or Trim: Which One Do You Need?

People use “crop” for two different edits, and Windows handles them in different places. Microsoft’s Clipchamp trim help separates them the same way:

Edit	What it removes	Example	Where to do it
Crop	Edges of the picture (space)	Cut a cluttered desk out of the corner, remove black bars	Clipchamp
Trim	Time at the start or end	Drop the first 10 seconds of fumbling with the camera	Photos app or Clipchamp
Split	Divides a clip so you can delete a middle section	Remove a sneeze halfway through	Clipchamp

Cropping doesn’t change how long the video is, and trimming doesn’t change what’s in the frame. Many clips need both, and Clipchamp can do both in one project.

Open Clipchamp

Clipchamp is Microsoft’s video editor for Windows, and Microsoft points Photos app users to it for anything beyond a basic trim. To open it, click Start, type Clipchamp, and select the app. If it isn’t on your PC, Microsoft’s notes on the new Photos app say you can install it from the Photos app’s Settings with the Open Clipchamp option, and you can also open a video in Photos and choose Edit in Clipchamp video editor.

Sign in with a Microsoft account (personal) or your work account when asked, then select the option to create a new video. You’ll see a media area on the left, a preview window (Microsoft calls it the stage) in the middle, and the timeline along the bottom.

Crop a Video in Clipchamp

These steps follow Microsoft’s Clipchamp crop instructions.

1. Import your video from your device or OneDrive. You can drag the file from File Explorer into the media area, or use the import button.
2. Drag the video from the media area onto the timeline.
3. Click the clip on the timeline so it’s highlighted. The floating toolbar only shows crop when a clip is selected.
4. Click the crop button on the floating toolbar inside the stage.
5. Freehand cropping handles appear on the sides, top and bottom of the video in the preview. Drag each handle inward until the part you don’t want is outside the box.
6. Click done when the frame looks right.

Here’s how that plays out with a real-world clip. Marcus filmed a two-minute cooking demo in landscape, and the left edge shows a stack of dirty dishes. He selects the clip, clicks crop, drags the left handle in until the dishes disappear, and leaves the other three sides alone. The video keeps its full two minutes; only the left strip of the picture is gone.

If you crop too much, click the undo button. To start completely fresh, delete the clip from the timeline and drag it in again from the media tab; the original file on your PC is never changed by Clipchamp edits.

Keep in mind that cropping throws away pixels. A 1080p clip cropped to half its width has much less detail left, and stretching it back to fill the frame will look softer. Crop away only what you need to.

Remove Black Bars With Fill

Black borders show up when the clip’s shape doesn’t match the project’s shape, for example a phone video shot upright placed in a widescreen project. You don’t need to drag crop handles for this. Select the clip and click the fill button on the floating toolbar, and Microsoft says the black borders are removed so the clip fits the video’s aspect ratio.

Fill works by enlarging and cropping the clip, so parts of the picture near the edges can be cut off. If someone’s head or a caption ends up outside the frame, drag the clip around on the stage to reposition it. To bring the borders back, click the fit button. Fill and fit apply to one clip at a time; Microsoft’s aspect-ratio help says there’s currently no way to set all clips at once.

Change the Shape of the Whole Video

Cropping one clip and changing the project’s aspect ratio are different settings. If you want an upright video for a phone feed or a square one for a social post, change the project shape instead, as described in Microsoft’s guide to changing aspect ratio in Clipchamp:

1. Click the size button above the stage.
2. Hover over each ratio to preview it.
3. Click the one you want.
4. Select each clip and use fill or fit to decide how it sits in the new frame.

The presets Microsoft lists include 16:9 widescreen (the default), 9:16 portrait, 1:1 square, 4:3 classic, 4:5 social, 2:3 vertical and 21:9 cinematic. If you want to keep the original widescreen version too, Microsoft suggests making a copy of the project on the editor home page and changing the copy.

Trim the Start or End of a Video

Quick Trim in the Photos App

If you only need to shorten a clip and don’t need to crop it, the Photos app is faster. Microsoft’s Photos editing help lists these steps:

1. Open the video in Photos.
2. Select Trim at the top of the window, or press Ctrl + E.
3. Drag the sliders at the bottom to the new start and end points.
4. Select Save as copy to keep the original untouched.

Watch the drop-down next to Save as copy: its Save option overwrites your original video. Use the copy option unless you’re sure you won’t need the untrimmed version again.

Trim in Clipchamp

If you’re already cropping in Clipchamp, trim there too. Click the clip on the timeline and drag the handle on its left or right edge inward. If you trim too much, drag the handle back out; the footage is still there. To cut a section from the middle, split the clip at the start and end of the unwanted part, delete that piece, then right-click the empty space left behind and choose delete all visual gaps so the video doesn’t show a black pause.

Export the Cropped Video

Clipchamp saves your project automatically, but the cropped video only becomes a file you can share when you export it. Microsoft’s Clipchamp export help describes the options:

1. Click Export in the top right corner of the editor.
2. Choose a resolution from the drop-down: 480p (drafts), 720p (social media), 1080p (HD) for streaming and presentations, or 4K (UHD). A GIF option appears for videos 15 seconds or shorter.
3. Wait for the progress bar to finish. The video is saved as an MP4 file at 30 frames per second, usually in your Downloads folder.

To keep as much quality as possible, pick the resolution that matches your original footage. Exporting a 1080p phone clip at 4K doesn’t add detail, and exporting it at 480p throws detail away. Because export re-encodes the video, the file won’t be byte-for-byte identical to the original even at the same resolution, so keep the source file.

On cost: Microsoft’s Clipchamp plans page says the free plan for personal accounts includes watermark-free exports up to 1080p, while 4K exports and some stock media, filters and effects are premium. The free plan includes core editing tools, and premium items are marked with a diamond, so a plain crop, trim or fill doesn’t call for a paid plan. If you’ve used a premium item on the free plan, you’ll see diamond-shaped symbols at export; remove those items or upgrade.

When Cropping Doesn’t Go to Plan

• No crop button. The clip isn’t selected. Click it on the timeline (not in the media area) and look at the floating toolbar on the stage.
• Black bars came back after cropping. Cropping can leave the clip smaller than the frame. Click fill, or change the project ratio to match the cropped shape.
• The video looks blurry. You cropped a large part of the frame and the remainder is being enlarged. Crop less, or export at the source resolution rather than higher.
• A black pause in the middle. There’s a gap on the timeline after a deletion. Right-click it and choose delete all visual gaps.
• Can’t find the exported file. Check Downloads first, then your browser or app download settings.
• Export asks you to upgrade. Look for the diamond symbols and remove those premium items, or choose 1080p instead of 4K.

If the clip you’re editing is a screen capture, it’s often easier to avoid the clutter in the first place by recording only one window or region; see how to screen record in Windows 11.

Video Cropping Questions

Can the Photos App Crop a Video?

No. Microsoft’s Photos help describes crop, flip and rotate for photos, but for videos the built-in tool is Trim. For cropping the frame, Photos sends you to Clipchamp.

What Happened to the Old Video Editor in Photos?

The current Photos app doesn’t include it. Microsoft says the Video Editor lives on in the separate Photos Legacy app, and points new editing to Clipchamp. Old instructions that mention a “Create” or “Edit & Create” menu in Photos describe that earlier version.

Can I Crop Just Part of the Video’s Running Time?

A crop applies to the whole clip. To crop only one section, split the clip where the section starts and ends, then select just the middle piece and crop it. Microsoft’s trim help notes that split pieces can be edited separately.

Can I Crop a GIF the Same Way?

Yes. Microsoft’s crop page says selecting a GIF and clicking crop opens a GIF cropper with the same handles and done button.

Once the export finishes, play the new MP4 all the way through before you delete anything, then share it and keep the original clip in case you want a different crop later.