Cut, arrange and fine-tune your edit

The timeline

The timeline is where the edit takes shape: tracks stacked top to bottom, clips laid left to right, and a playhead that shows the current frame. This section covers tracks, the core cutting tools, precise trimming, grouping and markers, plus the keyboard shortcuts that make it all fast.

Work with tracks

Timeline › track headers

Tracks hold your clips. Higher video tracks sit in front of lower ones; audio tracks mix together.

Click + Track to add a track, and drag track headers to reorder them.
Use the eye to hide a video track, the speaker to mute audio, and the lock to protect a track from edits.
Set a track's volume from its header, and rename or delete a track from its right-click menu.

Track headers with mute/hide/lock controls, the ruler, clips and the editing toolbar.

Cut and arrange clips

Timeline › toolbar

The essential editing actions live in the timeline toolbar and the right-click menu.

Move the playhead and click Split (or press S) to cut a clip at that point.
Select a clip and press Delete to remove it, or use Delete (close gap) to pull the following clips left.
Duplicate a clip, and use Close gaps to remove empty space across the timeline.
Toggle Snapping so clips align cleanly to cuts, markers and the playhead.

Zoom in and out with the timeline zoom control (or Ctrl+scroll) to work frame-accurately, then Fit zoom to window to see the whole edit.

Precise trimming: slip, roll and slide

Inspector (selected clip)

Beyond dragging clip edges, three precision moves let you adjust a cut without disturbing the rest of the edit.

Slip (Content): change which part of the source is shown, without moving the clip on the timeline.
Roll (Cut): move the cut point between two clips; the total duration stays the same.
Slide: move a clip between its neighbors, which stretch to fill the space on both sides.

Group and disable clips

Timeline › right-click

Keep related clips together and mute parts of the edit without deleting anything.

Select several clips and choose Group so they move as one; Ungroup to split them again.
Right-click a clip and choose Disable clip to skip it on playback and export; enable it again anytime.
Copy a clip's settings and Paste attributes onto other clips to reuse a look instantly.

Markers

Left panel › Markers

Drop colored, labelled markers to note beats, sync points or spots to revisit.

Press M (or use Add here) to place a marker at the playhead.
Give it a color and a label from the Markers panel.
Jump between markers with the previous/next marker shortcuts.

Keyboard shortcuts

Menu › Help › Keyboard shortcuts

Every core action has a shortcut, and you can remap them to match the editor you already know.

Open the shortcuts cheat sheet (press ? ) to see everything grouped by Playback, Editing, Navigation and more.
Click Customize to rebind a key, or pick a preset.
Use Reset to return to the defaults at any time.