"Return to starting point" option for playhead

In most DAWs, there is a very useful feature that works like this:

  1. Set the starting point (playhead) to some point in the timeline
  2. Press space to start the playback
  3. WIth the “Return to starting point” option, pressing space again would reset the playhead back to the point it was in Step 1

Currently Shortcut stops the playhead at the position you press Space in. So if you start with the playhead at 00:00:10:00 and press space at 00:00:25:00, then the playhead will stay in 00:00:25:00. Pressing Space again would continue from 00:00:25:00.

With the DAW approach, you could start at 00:00:10:00, press space to play until 00:00:25:00, and then pressing space again would reset the playhead back to 00:00:10:00. Press space one more time would play again from 00:00:10:00.

Would be nice to have this option in Shortcut, especially for editing music videos :slight_smile:

2 Likes

From someone that uses the space bar the way Shotcut uses the space bar, I would be really lost if that changed to your suggestion.

Maybe a modifier to your suggestion: Have the option to choose how the space bar works.

Agree with this suggestion. Like a toggle option (with a hotkey) whether to return the playhead after stopping the playback to it’s last position.

Hi, I am brand new to Shotcut and have been looking to do the same thing - the option to have the playhead return to its starting point when play stops. It looks like it’s been almost four years since this was posted, but I haven’t been able to find a solution (if there is one). I don’t know anything about coding, but I’d hope this wouldn’t be too difficult to implement, since it may be a dealbreaker for me, personally… If not possible, is there a workaround? Thanks.

The space bar is the keyboard shortcut for Play and Pause. I think this is the norm in most if not all video editors and media players.

Workarounds?

  1. If you play from the Timeline:
    Place a marker at the desired start position.
    Press the space bar to start/stop playing
    Use the < key or the Previous Marker button in the toolbar at any moment to rewind back to the marker position.
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  2. If you play from the Source panel:
    Set a In point at the desired start position.
    Play from there.
    Click the Skip to previous point button, or use Alt + Left arrow to go back to the In point.
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    You can also use the i key to set a In point.
    Reset the In point to it’s original position after you’re done, if necessary.

These are not exactly as describe in the original post, but I think that’s as close as you can get for the moment.