Workspace basics

The Adobe Premiere Elements workspace presents an easy-to-use interface for video enthusiasts. It organizes features into Quick, Guided, and Expert views based on their complexity. 

When you launch Adobe Premiere Elements, the first screen that you receive is the Home screen. On this screen, you can open your desired application, view several feature tutorials, access resources for latest features, view Auto Creations, and more. For more information about the Home screen, see Get to know the Elements Home screen. 

Quick Goal screen

From the Home screen, after you click Video Editor, the Quick Goal screen opens. 

The Quick Goal screen contains the following: 

• Trim a video clip tile: Click the tile and select a video that you want to trim. The Smart Trim screen opens with the selected video. For information about trimming a video clip, see Premiere Elements 2019 Quick view.
• Combine photos and videos to create a single movie tile: Click the tile and select the media that you want to combine. Quick view opens.
• Don't show again checkbox: If you select this checkbox, the Quick Goal screen does not open as the default home screen the next time you launch Premiere Elements. To change the setting of this checkbox, open the Quick Goal screen by choosing Windows > Quick Goal Screen.

Views

Add Media

Use the Add Media panel to add media files to the Quick view sceneline. You can add media files from your computer’s hard drive or from albums in Elements Organizer.

Alternatively, in the Add title or media area in the monitor panel or the Quick view sceneline, click the + sign or choose  > Add Media. 

After the media files are added to the Quick view sceneline, you can rearrange and edit them. For more information, see Add media.

Create

Use readily available templates and start creating stunning videos by clicking the Create drop-down list. Select Video Story, Instant Movie, or Video Collage to start the desired creation workflow.

Create a structured story of your life events and spice it up with a magical touch.

Automatically guides you through the movie creation process. It lets you quickly select movie templates and edit clips. Instant Movie also lets you add theme-based effects, titles, transitions, and audio to your movie. You can change settings as desired.
(Instant Movie is applicable to 2022 and earlier versions)

Create lively collages with photos & videos to share your memories in different styles.

For more information, see Video story, Instant movie, and Video Collage.

Export & Share

The Export & Share (previously called Publish +Share) panel contains everything you need, to save and share your finished project. You can save your project for viewing on the web, mobile phone, computer, DVD (applicable for 2022 and earlier versions), and Blu-ray disc, among others. The Export & Share option includes all the available export formats in a single panel. Individual tabs on the Export & Share panel represent the various media options that you can choose from.

For more information, see Export & Share.

Use the Export & Share panel to save and share (export) your finished project.

Toolbar

All the editing controls and tools in Premiere Elements are grouped in the right panel and categorized in three categories based on their functionality:

Fix

Lets you adjust the inherent properties of your clip, for example color and lighting. You can also use the Smart Fix tool to enhance the quality of your video footage.

If you add a title to your clip, use the Adjust panel to alter its properties, if necessary.

Provides options that let you add cool effects to your video. For example, use Time Remapping and Smart Mix to add sophisticated motion effects to your video. You can choose Smart Trim to let Premiere Elements automatically edit your footage for a crisper video. For more information, see Tools.

Edit

Lets you view the properties of effects already applied to your clip. The panel provides various options that enable you to modify the applied effects.

Shows special effects and presets you can apply to clips in your movie. To edit a special effect after applying it, click Applied Effects to modify the properties in the Applied Effects panel. Compared to the Quick view, the Expert view provides more effects that are organized under various categories. For more information, see Effects.

Provides transitions you can use between your movie clips. The Transition contextual control appears automatically when you apply a transition for the first time. Use it to modify the transition properties. To open the Transition contextual control later, double-click the transition. The Expert view provides more transition effects compared to the Quick view. For more information, see Transitions.

Add

Contains pre-formatted title templates you can use in your movie. The Title contextual control appears automatically when you apply a title to your movie for the first time. Use it to modify the title properties. To open the Title contextual control later, double-click the title. The Expert view provides more title templates compared to the Quick view. For more information, see Creating titles.

Lets you add theme music to your movie. You can select multiple music clips from here, and they are played in the order selected. For more information, see Adding music scores to video clips.

(Available in 2019 Expert view and 2018 versions) Spruce up your videos with graphic elements, such as clip art and callouts (thought bubbles or speech balloons) that you can add to portions in your video clips.

Action bar

The Action bar contains the following options:

Reverses the action performed.

Repeats the action performed.

Opens Elements Organizer to let you organize and manage your media files.

Opens the Premiere Elements home screen. For more information, see Get to know the Elements Home screen. 

Premiere Elements 2018 and earlier releases

• Welcome screen
• Start screen

Welcome screen

When you first launch Adobe Premiere Elements, the Welcome screen is displayed. The product Welcome screen includes options to launch all three products - Premiere Elements, Photoshop Elements, and Elements Organizer. A link to the trial version is available if any of the products is not installed on your computer.

Click Video Editor to create a new project, with default settings, in the workspace. To open an existing project, click the arrow next to Video Editor.

Access the Elements Organizer to organize, tag, and perform basic editing tasks on your media before importing them into Adobe Premiere Elements.

Customize launch options

By default, the Welcome screen opens when you launch Adobe Premiere Elements for the first time.

Click the Settings button on the title bar to specify the window or application that you want displayed on subsequent launches of Adobe Premiere Elements.

Select one of the following launch options:

• Welcome Screen: Launches the Welcome screen each time you open Adobe Premiere Elements. This option is enabled by default.
• Organizer: If you use Elements Organizer to organize your media before editing them in Adobe Premiere Elements, choose this option.
• Video Editor: Select this option if you want the Adobe Premiere Elements workspace to open every time you launch Adobe Premiere Elements.

Start screen

The Premiere Elements start screen makes it easier for you to initiate popular workflows. You have several options to start creating your videos. Hover your mouse over each option to learn more about it. Click one of the options to start creating your video.

Add Media

Use the Add Media panel to add media files from sources, such as video cameras, flip, webcams, digital still cameras, mobile phones, and folders on your hard disk.

Create a template-based movie

Use readily available templates and start creating stunning videos. Clicking Create a template based movie, opens the Create drop-down list. Select Video Story, Instant Movie, or Video Collage to start the desired creation workflow.

Tell your story using titles

Enhance your movies with ready-to-use and customizable motion titles. Start by including motion title templates that are preloaded with animated graphic presets, text, and background styles that can all be edited to suit your requirements.

Clicking Tell your story using titles opens the Motion Titles selection panel from the action bar. Select and drag a template of your choice and start creating your movie.

Learn video editing

Use Guided edits to perform video-editing tasks with ease. From trimming unwanted footage to animating graphics in your video clips, guided edits help you enhance your video clips. Clicking Learn video editing opens the Guided Edit launch panel. Pick the desired creation workflow and start creating your movie.