Trimming and cutting
Two modes, not two actions
Select (V) and Razor (C) sit together in the toolbar because they are modes. Select is for choosing and moving things. Razor turns the pointer into a blade so that clicking a clip cuts it at that point.
Razor stays on until you switch back. Cut all your points, then press V and start choosing what to remove.
Trimming by drag
Drag either edge of a clip inward to shorten it. The status bar reports the new duration and the new source point while you drag, so you can watch the numbers rather than guessing.
Trimming changes where the clip starts or ends in its source. It does not change its speed. Those are different operations and the program keeps them separate, which is why dragging an edge never leaves you with footage running slightly fast.
To change speed, use Fit to Length (Speed). See The tools.
Splitting
Three ways, and they suit different moments.
Razor and click, when you are working by eye and cutting several points in a row.
S splits the selected clips at the playhead. With nothing selected it splits every unlocked clip at the playhead, which is how you cut straight through a stack of layers at once.
The Split button in the toolbar does the same as S.
Splitting does not duplicate anything. Both halves still point at the same source file, at different in and out points.
Delete against Ripple Delete
Delete removes the selection and leaves a gap where it was. Everything downstream stays exactly where it is.
Ripple Delete, or Shift+Delete, removes the selection and pulls everything after it back to close the hole.
Neither is correct in general, and choosing wrongly is the most common way to break a piece that was working.
Ripple is right when the timeline is a single chain of shots and everything should move together. Ripple is wrong when a music bed, a title or a second camera angle underneath has to stay where it is, because rippling one track slides it out of relationship with the others.
When in doubt, delete leaving the gap, look at it, and close the gap deliberately afterwards. Right click a gap between clips to delete just that gap.
Moving clips
Drag a clip body to move it in time, or onto another lane of the same kind. Video goes to video lanes, audio to audio lanes.
The modifier keys
These are worth learning, because each one turns an ordinary drag into a different edit.
| Hold | While | And you get |
|---|---|---|
| Shift | moving a clip | neighbours are pushed right instead of overlapped |
| Shift | trimming the right edge | the downstream gap closes or opens to match |
| Ctrl | dragging a clip body | slip: the source moves inside the clip, the clip stays put |
| Alt | any drag | snapping is suspended |
Slip is the one people do not know they wanted. The clip keeps its position and its length, and you change which part of the source plays inside it. When a shot is the right length in the wrong place, slip it rather than retrimming both ends.
Selecting
Click a clip to select it. Ctrl+click adds or removes one. Shift+click selects a range on one track. Drag across empty space to select everything the box touches.
Ctrl+A selects all. Escape clears the selection.
Copy, paste, duplicate
Ctrl+C copies, Ctrl+V pastes at the playhead, Ctrl+D duplicates to the right. The clipboard survives opening another project, so you can carry a title or a graphic from one piece to the next.
Undo
Ctrl+Z undoes, Ctrl+Shift+Z redoes, and the Edit menu names what it is about to undo rather than saying just "Undo". The status bar confirms it afterwards. A hundred steps of history are kept.
Locked tracks
A locked track ignores edits. That is how you protect a music bed or a finished lower third while you cut the picture above it, and it is why a split sometimes skips a track. The Lock button is in the track header.