In this tutorial, we show you some key Premiere Pro keyboard shortcuts, including a few videos of them in action.
Post-production is a major part of the filmmaking process, with all the cuts, revisions, tweaks, and feedback. As a result, it can take up a lot of your time.
As you master Premiere Pro, you may find yourself looking for ways to reduce the time it takes to edit. So, what can you do to shave off time and speed this process up?
Luckily, Adobe incorporated an endless amount of keyboard shortcuts into their software. Below, we will give you some of the best keyboard shortcuts.
Basic Shortcuts
Firstly, before you learn anything else, let’s talk about saving.
We’ve talked before about saving your work regularly when editing. Saving your project and a copy of it should become a reflex, something you do quickly every few minutes.
Now, as with any other program, rather than going to File > Save, you can simply hit Ctrl + S on your keyboard (Cmd + S for Mac users). Furthermore, to save a copy, hit Ctrl + Alt + S or Opt + Cmd + S for Mac users.
Below, we’ve added a few other basic keyboard shortcuts that will be very useful when you first start out.
| Command | PC | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Save | Ctrl + S | Cmd + S |
| Save A Copy | Ctrl + Alt + S | Opt + Cmd + S |
| Import | Ctrl + I | Cmd + I |
| Export | Ctrl + M | Cmd + M |
| Open Project | Ctrl + O | Cmd + O |
| New Project | Ctrl + Alt + N | Opt + Cmd + N |
| New Sequence | Ctrl + N | Cmd + N |
Create New Project
Create New Sequence
Import
Clipboard Shortcuts
Next, knowing the shortcuts for carrying information over on your clipboard is really useful.
For example, you may like the color grade you’ve added to one clip and want to apply it to another. Rather than remembering all the different edits and tweaks you made, a simple copy and paste will do the trick.
Additionally, there are a few others here that will prove very useful. Did you make a mistake or pasted something where you shouldn’t have?
At some point in every edit, undo and redo will become your go-to shortcuts.
| Command | PC | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Cut | Ctrl + X | Cmd + X |
| Copy | Ctrl + C | Cmd + C |
| Paste | Ctrl + V | Cmd + V |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | Cmd + Z |
| Redo | Ctrl + Shift + Z | Shift + Cmd + Z |
| Clear | Delete | Forward Delete |
| Ripple Delete | Shift + Delete | Shift + Forward Delete |
| Duplicate | Ctrl + Shift + / | Shift + Cmd + / |
| Select All | Ctrl + A | Cmd + A |
| Deselect All | Ctrl + Shift + A | Shift + Cmd + A |
Tool Shortcuts
Now, when it comes to editing footage on your timeline, you have many tools at your disposal. Using these really speeds up the process.
For all of the main tool shortcuts, have a look through the table below.
| Command | PC | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Selection | V | V |
| Razor | C | C |
| Ripple Trim Previous | Q | Q |
| Ripple Trim Next | W | W |
| Track Select Forward | A | A |
| Track Select backward | Shift + A | Shift + A |
| Ripple Edit | B | B |
| Rolling Edit | N | N |
| Rate Stretch | R | R |
| Slip Tool | Y | Y |
| Slide Tool | U | U |
| Pen Tool | P | P |
| Hand Tool | H | H |
| Zoom Tool | Z | Z |
Razor + Select + Delete
Track Select Forward
Ripple Trim Previous or Ripple Trim Next
Rolling Edit
Rate Stretch
Slip Tool
Navigation Shortcuts
Lastly, one of the most time-consuming elements of any edit is simply navigating around with your cursor. Spending a few seconds dragging your mouse from left to right may not seem like a big deal.
However, adding up these valuable seconds over many days can become a real pain.
Luckily, there are much easier ways to move your footage around on the timeline and jump between the different panels. By using the navigation shortcuts, you can save yourself a lot of hassle and get into the flow of editing.
| Command | PC | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle Play/Stop | Space | Space |
| Find In Source | F | F |
| Shuttle Left | J | J |
| Shuttle Right | L | L |
| Stop | K | K |
| Turn Snap On/Off | S | S |
| Mark In Point | I | I |
| Mark Out Point | O | O |
| Go To In Point | Shift + I | Shift + I |
| Go To Out Point | Shift + O | Shift + O |
| Clear In & Out | Ctrl + Shift + X | Opt + X |
| Step Back | Left Arrow | Left Arrow |
| Step Forward | Right Arrow | Right Arrow |
| Next Edit Point | Down Arrow | Down Arrow |
| Previous Edit Point | Up Arrow | Up Arrow |
| Move Footage | Alt + Arrow | Cmd + Arrow |
Find In Source
Mark In Point or Mark Out Point
In short, there’s a lot you can do by using the keyboard shortcuts. It’s possible to edit a whole project without ever using your cursor.
Using shortcuts will enable you to work quicker, turn projects around faster, and leave you more time to get stuck into the next project.
