Hidden Shortcuts in Final Cut Pro
There are hundreds of shortcuts hidden in Final Cut Pro, provided you know where to look. Before that, though, here are two I had forgotten that I discovered while doing some recent research.
SELECT THE EDIT POINT
- Put the playhead on an edit point.
- Type [ (left square bracket) to select the Out
- Type ] (right square bracket) to select the In
- Type \ (backslash) to select both the In and the Out.
Now, you can use comma, period, or Shift + comma, Shift + period to move the selected edit point without ever touching the mouse.
MOVE MARKERS
As you know, we can’t drag a marker to change its position. Sigh… But! Here’s a trick that moves markers anyway.
- Put the playhead on a marker.
- Type Control + [comma] to move the marker left one frame at a time.
- Type Control + [period] to move the marker right one frame at a time.
HIDDEN SHORTCUTS
There are something like 600+ shortcuts programmed into Final Cut. However, only about 250 or so are assigned to specific keys. Here’s how to find what’s missing.
- Go to Final Cut Pro > Commands > Customize.
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- If you haven’t done so yet, duplicate the Default Command Set so you can make changes. If you already have a custom Command set, select it from this menu in the top left.
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- Look at the list of shortcuts at the bottom center. Those that don’t have a key assigned are available (red arrow). There are multiple ways to create a shortcut. Here’s one.
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- Select the modifier keys you want to apply to that key. Blue means enabled.
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- Look at the keyboard. Gray means a key that does not have a shortcut assigned to it using those modifiers.
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- Locate the shortcut (Add Chapter Marker in this example) that you want to add to that key.
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- Drag the name of the shortcut on top of the key to which you want to assign it.
- Repeat this process to create as many shortcuts as you want.
- Click the Save button in the bottom right to lock in your changes.
Done.
EXTRA CREDIT
Here are some search terms to locate unconnected shortcuts: Color, Select, and Move. Or, click any of the categories on the left.
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