Video Editor
Editing tools
The timeline has seven tools, picked in the toolbar or with one key. The Selection tool covers everyday editing; the trim tools (Ripple, Rolling, Slip, Slide) change cuts without breaking the rest of your edit, the way professional editors do.
| Tool | Key | Cursor | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selection | V | Arrow | Select, move and trim. |
| Razor | C | Crosshair | Cut a clip where you click. |
| Ripple Edit | B | Edge | Trim an edge; everything after it follows. |
| Rolling Edit | N | Edge | Move a cut; both sides change, the total stays. |
| Slip | Y | Clip | Show another part of the source, same place and length. |
| Slide | U | Clip | Move a clip between its neighbours, which adjust. |
| Hand | H | Grab | Drag the view. |
Selection (V)
- Click a clip to select it; Shift/Ctrl/⌘-click to add or remove.
- Drag a clip to move it; drag onto another track, or past the first or last track for a new one.
- Drag an edge to trim. On the main track with the magnet on, the gap closes.
- Drag on empty space to box-select (Shift adds).
Razor (C)
Hover a clip: a line follows the pointer. Click to cut the clip in two at that frame. Locked tracks can't be cut. To cut at the playhead instead, use Split (Ctrl/⌘ K) with any tool.
Ripple Edit (B)
Drag a clip's edge: the clip gets longer or shorter, and every clip after it on the track moves by the same amount, so no gap opens and nothing overlaps.
Use it when a clip runs too long and you want the rest of the edit to close up behind it.
Rolling Edit (N)
Drag the cut between two touching clips: one clip gets longer by exactly as much as the other gets shorter. The total length doesn't change and nothing else moves.
Use it when the cut lands a moment too early or late.
Slip (Y)
Drag a clip left or right: it stays where it is with the same length, but shows an earlier or later part of its source.
Use it when the clip sits right but shows the wrong moment.
Slide (U)
Drag a clip: it moves between its neighbours, the clip before it grows or shrinks to meet it, and the clip after it does the opposite. The clip's own content and length stay the same.
Use it when the clip is right but belongs a little earlier or later.
Hand (H)
Drag anywhere on the lanes to scroll the view in both directions. Nothing in the edit changes.
How trims respect your media
A trim can't make a clip show more than its source has: an edge stops where the source runs out. Transitions take their extra frames from past the edges; when a clip has none there, the transition repeats its edge frame and warns Some frames are repeated.
FAQ
Which tool should I use most?
Selection (V). Switch to a trim tool when you want the rest of the edit to stay in sync, then press V to go back.
What's the difference between Ripple and Rolling?
Ripple changes one clip and moves everything after it. Rolling changes two neighbouring clips in opposite directions and moves nothing else.