Education, Pro Tips

Mastering Basic Keyboard Shortcuts in Premiere Pro

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Keyboard shortcuts are a great way to become a faster and more efficient video editor. Mastering them will help you save a ton of time when performing frequent and repetitive tasks, so let’s look at some of the basics to help you get started.

Note: If you’re on PC, Cmd = Ctrl and Opt = Alt
 

Playback Shortcuts

These shortcuts allow you to quickly play back or skim through your media (whether you’re in the Source Monitor or on the Timeline). These are some of the most used shortcuts, so memorize them well and they’ll soon become your best friends!

J              Play Backward (increase speed up to 6x when tapping repeatedly)

K             Stop Playback

L             Play Forward (increase speed up to 6x when tapping repeatedly)

Space     Start/Stop Playback

Left/Right Arrow     Step back/forward one frame

jklkeyboardedit
 

Timeline Shortcuts

+    Zoom In          Zoom Out

Once your timeline starts filling up, it’s essential to be able to quickly navigate from one point to another. One way to do this is to zoom out and get an overview, move the playhead to the approximate desired location, and then zoom in to that area.

D    Select Clip at Playhead

This will highlight and select the clip positioned under the playhead.

S    Snap

When enabled, this feature makes it easier to automatically align or trim clips on the timeline.

Cmd + K    Add Edit

Quickly create an edit in the clip where the playhead is positioned.

 

Tool Shortcuts

V    Selection Tool

Select and move items around on the timeline and adjust their length.

C    Razor Tool

Splice a clip.

B    Ripple Edit Tool

When performing a ripple edit, all clips following the shortened or extended clip are automatically moved down the timeline.

A    Track Select Tool

Selects all clips to the right of the cursor so that you can quickly move your entire timeline around.

Two Figures on Keyboard
Two Figures on a Keyboard by rolffimages
 

Project Management Shortcuts

Cmd + N    New Sequence

Create a new sequence.

Cmd + B    New Bin

Keep your project organized by quickly creating bins.

Cmd + I      Import

Import media into your project.

Cmd + M   Export

Export your timeline.

 

Marking Shortcuts

I      Mark In

  Mark Out

Using In and Out points is extremely helpful when editing: they allow you to highlight a specific section of  timeline.

/     Mark Selection

Once you have items on your timeline selected, you can use this shortcut to automatically set In and Out points for that section.

M   Add Marker

Adding Markers on your timeline allows you stay to organized by setting points of reference, adding names/comments, etc.

Close up of hand pressing keyboard buttons on desk
Closeup of hand pressing keyboard buttons on desk by ra2studio
 

Other Useful Shortcuts

Cmd + D           Apply Video Transition

Add a transition to an edit point. By default, this is set to Cross Dissolve (customizable).

`                          Maximize Selected Window

Useful when you quickly want to enlarge one of the Premiere windows (Project, Monitor, Timeline).

Cmd + `            Toggle Full Screen

View your media in full screen.

Cmd + L           Unlink Video/Audio

When video has audio attached to it, use this shortcut to unlink the two.

Opt + Delete   Ripple Delete

When ripple deleting a clip or a gap, Premiere automatically slides the items behind it.

Tip: Customize these shortcuts by opening the Keyboard Shortcuts window (using Cmd + Opt + K).

keyboardshortcuts

Got all of these down? Check out the full list of Premiere Pro shortcuts for even more!

Top Image: Computer Keyboard With Typographic Shortcut Button by vinnstock