Other Items in the View Menu

While the primary panels (Timeline, Filters, Export) are accessed frequently, the View menu contains several utility items that toggle specific interface elements or provide diagnostic information about the application.

Interface Toggles

Full Screen

• Shortcut: F11
• Action: Expands the Shotcut window to cover the entire screen, hiding the operating system’s taskbar or dock.

Show Title Bars

• Action: Toggles the thin bars at the top of each panel (e.g., “Playlist,” “Properties”).
• Usage: Disabling title bars creates a cleaner, more minimalist look. However, you must enable them if you wish to drag, undock, or close panels using the mouse.

Show Toolbar

• Action: Toggles the main horizontal toolbar at the top of the window.
• Usage: Hiding the toolbar can provide more vertical space for the Player or Timeline, especially on smaller screens. Note that most toolbar functions are also available via keyboard shortcuts or the main menus.

Show Small Icons

• Action: Reduces the physical size of the icons on the main top toolbar.
• Usage: If you are working on a laptop or a low-resolution screen, enabling this option frees up valuable vertical space for the Player and Timeline panels. It is also a popular choice for experienced users who recognize the icons by sight and no longer need large targets to click.

Show Text Under Icons

• Action: Toggles the text labels (e.g., “Open File,” “Save,” “Export”) beneath the toolbar icons.
• Enabled: Recommended for new users to help learn the interface quickly without hovering the mouse to see tooltips.
• Disabled: Recommended for advanced users or those with limited screen space. Turning this off significantly thins the toolbar, providing a more “professional” and minimalist aesthetic.

Utility Panels

History

• Shortcut: Ctrl + 8 (Windows/Linux) / Cmd + 8 (macOS)
• Description: Opens a list of every action taken in the current session (e.g., “Split clip,” “Change filter”).
• Usage: You can click on any previous state in the list to “undo” multiple steps at once. The history is cleared every time you close Shotcut.

Notes

• Shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + 3 / Cmd + Shift + 3
• Description: Provides a simple text area to type reminders, project to-do lists, text to be converted to generated-audio speech, or script notes for voiceovers.
• Usage: These notes are saved directly into your .mlt project file.

Resources

• Description: Displays a list of all unique media files currently used in the project (both in the Playlist and on the Timeline).
• Usage: Useful for identifying “missing” files or bulk-converting problematic variable-frame-rate files to “Edit-Friendly” formats.

Diagnostic Tools

Application Log

• Description: Opens a text window showing the background technical activity of Shotcut.
• Usage: If Shotcut crashes or behaves unexpectedly, developers on the Shotcut Forum will often ask for this log to help diagnose the issue. You can use the Save button to export the log to a text file.
• Use the Previous button to view the log of the previous session. For example, if Shotcut crashed, restart, choose View > Application Log, and click Preview to view the log of the session that crashed.