Why the Export button is grayed out and how to fix it

You finish the cut, reach for Export in the top bar, and it will not respond. The button is off for a reason, and the top bar usually tells you which one. Three conditions turn it off, and each has a short fix.

The three causes

• No clip on the timeline. Export needs at least one video or photo clip. An empty timeline, or one holding only audio and titles, leaves the button off.
• An upload is still running. On a cloud project, each file you import uploads in the background. Export waits until they finish.
• An import failed. A file whose upload did not land blocks Export until you retry it or remove it.

Share is gated by the same checks, so a grayed Share button points to the same cause.

Read the top bar

Look right of the project name. The small status area there shows one of these:

• Saving, then Saved, when everything is in order.
• Uploading, or "Uploading 3 files", while imports are in flight.
• A warning such as "1 import failed" with a Retry link.

Hover over the grayed Export button for a tooltip. It reads "Finishing uploads…" while files are on their way, and "Retry the failed imports first" when a file failed. On a narrow window the actions fold into a More actions menu, where the Export entry carries the same message in place of its name.

Why Export waits

A render reads the saved project. A file whose upload has not finished, or never finished, is missing from that saved copy. If Export ran anyway, your video would quietly leave that clip out. A failed import would also disappear from the timeline the next time you opened the project. The wait protects the cut.

Fix it

1. Check that the timeline holds a video clip. Add one from Media if it is empty.
2. If the bar says Uploading, wait for it to finish. Each card in Media, then Assets, shows a thin progress line along its bottom edge while its file uploads.
3. If the bar says imports failed, press Retry beside the message. It retries every failed file at once.
4. To retry one file you imported yourself, find its card in Assets. A failed card shows "Upload failed" with its own Retry.
5. If you do not need that file any more, open the card's More actions menu and choose Delete. The warning clears with it.
6. When the status area shows Saved, press Export.

If retry keeps failing

Check your connection first, since uploads need it. Once you are back online, press Retry again. Media added from the stock panels has no card in Assets, so use the Retry link in the top bar for those. A file added from the Library does get a card. If you can live without a file, delete it, finish the export and add it back later.

Export with confidence

Make a habit of glancing at the status area before you leave a project. Open DepCut, check that it says Saved and render.