Happy Little Fish

Select clips on the timeline and click the fish icon. LmBox Bridge sends out a "little fish" for each clip. When you finish editing, export with the default file name into the home folder you picked beforehand, and the clip on the original timeline is swapped for the new export automatically.

If you tick Empty on the panel, no editing-app media is carried along. LmBox Bridge creates a blank local draft instead (in Jianying, the project name often contains Pipixia, "mantis shrimp"). Add text, stickers or animation on the empty canvas, export, and the export is imported into the timeline as new media instead of replacing a clip.

Jianying is the China edition of CapCut. This tool needs Jianying to be installed on the same computer, and it works with Jianying draft projects.

Video tutorial

▶Video coming soon

What you will learn

• Drag "Happy Little Fish" into a Toolkit slot
• Pick the home folder before you swim out
• Normal round trip: take the original clip out, then swap it back after export
• Tick "Empty" to send out a Pipixia blank draft, then import the export into the timeline
• With several clips selected, each clip gets its own little fish

Where to find it

1. Open in the sidebar
2. Drag Happy Little Fish into an empty slot
3. Click the slot in the main window: choose the home folder at the bottom right, and switch auto apply on or off
4. Click the slot on the floating bar: use Swim out and Refresh at the bottom, and see the jobs of the current project

Connect the editing extension first. It works with Premiere Pro, After Effects and DaVinci Resolve.

Which mode to use

Mode	How to turn it on	What it is in Jianying	What LmBox Bridge does after export
Normal round trip	Leave "Empty" unticked	Carries the clip you selected	Swaps back the original clip on the timeline (replace)
Empty draft (Pipixia)	Tick "Empty"	A blank canvas with no media; the project name often contains Pipixia	Imports the export into the timeline, without replacing a source

Normal mode suits "take this clip out, fix it, put it back". The empty draft suits "start from blank for a text effect, sticker or transparent-channel animation, then bring the whole thing into the project".

Finish one round trip (normal mode)

1. Select the video clips to send out on the timeline (several are fine)
2. Click the slot to open the panel and choose the home folder first
3. Make sure Empty is not ticked, then click Swim out
4. Open the new project in the Jianying draft list (its name contains LMBOX-), edit it, and export directly. Do not change the default file name
5. Once the file lands in the home folder, LmBox Bridge swaps back the original clip on the timeline and shows a success message at the bottom

If you select several clips at once, several little fish and several jobs are created, and each export belongs to its own original clip.

Nested sequences, pre-comps and compound clips are not supported yet. Flatten them into a normal video first, then swim out.

Empty draft and Pipixia import

1. Click the slot to open the panel and choose the home folder first (empty mode also uses it to watch for the export)
2. Tick Empty, then click Swim out (you do not need to select a clip first; no editing-app media is carried along)
3. A message at the bottom says the empty draft has been sent out. Open the matching project in the Jianying draft list (its name often contains Pipixia)
4. Edit on the empty canvas. When you export, do not change the default file name. Empty mode presets an export format with a transparent channel, so text effects and stickers keep their transparency
5. When the export lands in the home folder, LmBox Bridge imports it into the timeline as new media (it does not swap a source), and the bottom bar says it has been imported

If the export panel still shows the old path or format, close the panel and open it again. Video containers picked up from the home folder are imported as picture media, never as sound effects by mistake.

Note

• "Empty" is off by default. Tick it only when you want a blank draft.
• Bringing back an empty draft imports the export. It never replaces a clip already on your timeline.
• Normal and empty modes export in different formats: normal leans to a common picture format, and empty leans to a format with a transparent channel. Follow what the app actually writes.

Home folder and jobs

Choose the home folder in the settings. If you change the path, LmBox Bridge follows it and tries to point the export location at the same folder. Ticking "Empty" switches the export to a transparent-channel format, and unticking it switches back to the common picture format. If the export panel still shows the old path or format, close the panel and open it again. Auto apply is switched only in the settings at the bottom right of the Toolkit in the main window. When it is on, an export landing in the home folder is swapped back or imported automatically. Connecting the extension or opening the panel never refreshes everything on its own. When it is off, use Refresh on the floating bar, or retry a single job, to bring the exports back. The job list is on the floating bar; hover a row to retry or remove it (LmBox Bridge asks before removing, and tries to take back the matching little fish).

You can still swim out before choosing a home folder. The bottom bar reminds you to choose one first, otherwise the exported files are not picked up automatically.

FAQ

If I tick "Empty", do I still need to select a timeline clip?
No. Empty mode carries no editing-app media. Selecting a clip or not does not change how the empty draft is created.

What is Pipixia?
It is the project / clip name Jianying often uses for an empty draft. The switch in the app is called "Empty". A successful send shows "Sent an empty draft", and a successful bring-back shows "Imported to the timeline".

Why does an empty draft not replace the original clip when it comes back?
An empty draft has no "original clip" to replace. The product path is to treat the export as new media and import it into the timeline.

The export is in the home folder but did not reach the picture track.
Check that the extension is connected and auto apply is on, or use Refresh / single-job retry on the floating bar. Video exports should be imported as picture media. If it still fails, read the message at the bottom and retry.

Can a nested sequence swim out?
Not yet. Flatten it into a normal video first.

Further reading

• Grab timeline stills
• Floating toolbar
• Toolkit features overview

Release notes

• 2.9.0 The timeline of a sent-out draft now matches the aspect of the host sequence / composition. Fixed In/Out points shifting and a long empty stretch on the timeline when a Premiere round trip is swapped back automatically.
• 2.7.0 Tick "Empty" to send out a blank draft (Pipixia): after export, the file is imported into the timeline. Empty mode presets an export format with a transparent channel.
• 2.3.1 Fixed refresh and auto apply not matching the original clip, and everything being refreshed as soon as the extension connected. Exports now swap back correctly, and refresh is manual only.
• 2.3.0 Added "Happy Little Fish": in Premiere Pro, After Effects and DaVinci Resolve, selected clips can swim out for editing and are swapped back automatically after export to the home folder.