The Timeline is the core of the Shotcut editing workflow. It is a multi-track, non-linear editing area where you arrange your media clips, apply transitions, and mix audio to create your final project. Unlike the Playlist (which is a simple list of files), the Timeline allows for complex layering and precise timing of video and audio elements.
Opening the Timeline
If the Timeline panel is not visible in your interface, you can open it using any of the following methods:
- Keyboard Shortcut: Press
Ctrl + 5(Windows/Linux) orCmd + 5(macOS). - Toolbar: Click the Timeline icon on the top main toolbar.
- Menu: Go to View > Timeline.
The User Interface
1. Tracks
The Timeline is divided into horizontal rows called tracks.
- Video Tracks (V1, V2, etc.): Used for video, images, and transparent generators. Higher tracks (e.g., V2) will overlay tracks below them (e.g., V1) based on the Blend Mode (default is “Over”).
- Audio Tracks (A1, A2, etc.): Used for music, sound effects, and voiceovers.
- Track Header: Located at the far left of each track. It contains controls to Mute (audio), Hide (video), and Lock (preventing any edits to that track).
While some video editors have somewhat complicated “arm” or “record” toggles on tracks, Shotcut simply has the concept of a current track, which has a gold color background. This sets the target for various operations. Clicking or selecting a track head or clip changes the current track automatically. There are also convenient keyboard shortcuts Ctr+Alt+Up or +Down.
2. The Playhead
The vertical white line with a “head” at the top indicates the current frame being shown in the Project Player. You can move the playhead by clicking on the time ruler at the top or by dragging the playhead itself.
3. Timeline Toolbar
The icon at the far left is a menu button. Click it to browse all of the possible Timeline actions. The rest of the toolbar contains a subset of these:
- Cut (scissors): This copies the the selected clip(s) to the clipboard, then removes them including the space they occupied, and moves all of the following clips to the left (ripple).
- Copy (2 pages):** This copies the selected clip(s) to the clipboard. If only one clip is selected it is also in the Source player if you switch to it because the Source player in Shotcut is also an internal clipboard viewer.
- Paste (clipboard icon):** Insert the clip(s) in the clipboard memory at the current playhead time position on the current track.
- New Generator (plus document icon): Opens a menu to insert a synthetic clip to an empty or new track at the current playhead. A generator or synthetic clip are things like text, solid background color, simple beep sound, or even a new drawing or 2D animation you can make with the bundled Glaxnimate app!
- Append (+): Append the current Source clip to the end of the current track.
- Ripple Delete (-): Remove the selected clip and moves all of the following clips to prevent a gap.
- Lift (^): Removes the selected clip(s) but leaves a gap.
- Overwrite (v): Adds the current Source clip to the current track at the playhead but will not move anything out of the way or move any clips.
- Split (][): Slices the selected clip at the playhead position. If no clip is selected, it uses the clip on the current track. If there is no clip on the current track, it looks for the topmost clip.
- Marker
- Previous Marker (<)
- Next Marker (>)
- Snap (magnet icon): When enabled, clips will “stick” to the edges of other clips or the playhead for precise alignment.
- Scrub (spaceship icon): Allows you to hear audio while dragging the playhead.
- Ripple (circles icon): When enabled, moving or trimming a clip will cause all subsequent clips on that track to shift accordingly.
- Ripple All Tracks (circle with * icon): When enabled, rippling affects clips across all tracks to try to keep things synchronized. Be careful with this! It often causes undesirable or unexpected changes. Therefore, we recommend to leave it off and turn it on only for possibly a single or short series of operations.
- Ripple Markers (circle with bookmark icon): When enabled and an action causes clips to ripple, also move the markers after the start of the clip.
- 3 buttons and a slider to Zoom in and out the timeline.
- Record Audio (microphone icon): Start recording audio at the current playhead on an empty or new audio track. This is especially useful for making a voice-over (narration or spoken word).
Basic Operations
Adding Media
- Drag and Drop: Drag a clip directly from the Playlist or the Source Player onto a track.
- Append (A): Adds the clip from the Source player to the end of the track.
- Overwrite (B): Places the Source clip on the timeline, covering any existing media.
- Insert (V): Places the Source clip and pushes existing media forward to make room.
Trimming and Moving
- To Move: Click and drag the center of a clip.
- To Trim: Hover over the left or right edge of a clip until the cursor changes, then drag to shorten or lengthen the clip.
Creating Transitions
To create a transition (such as a cross-dissolve), simply drag one clip so that it overlaps another clip on the same track. A “transition object” (marked with an ‘X’) will appear in the overlap area. You can select this object and use the Properties panel to change the transition type (e.g., Wipe, Iris, or Clock). You can use trimming to create a transition by dragging the start or end of a clip across a neighboring clip.
Advanced Controls
- Track Operations: Right-click the track header area to add new tracks, delete tracks, or change track height.
- Output (Master) Track: The very bottom header labeled “Output” allows you to apply filters (like a watermark or color correction) to the entire project at once.
- Zooming: Use the slider at the bottom right of the timeline, or the keyboard shortcuts
+and-, to zoom in for detail or out for a project overview.
Common Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Append to Track | A |
| Split at Playhead | S |
| Lift | Z |
| Ripple Delete | X |
| Copy | C |
| Insert | V |
| Overwrite | B |
| Zoom In / Out | + / - |
| Fit Timeline to Screen | 0 (zero) |