Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts act on the area and selection that currently have focus. Cmd means Command on macOS; use Ctrl for the equivalent command on Windows or Linux.

Shortcuts pause while you type in a text field, edit a caption token, rename a layer, or use another editable control. Finish or cancel that edit before expecting a global command to run.

Essential commands

Action	macOS	Windows / Linux	Context
Undo	`Cmd+Z`	`Ctrl+Z`	Most committed editing operations
Redo	`Cmd+Shift+Z`	`Ctrl+Shift+Z` or `Ctrl+Y`	After undo
Cut	`Cmd+X`	`Ctrl+X`	Selected layers
Copy	`Cmd+C`	`Ctrl+C`	Selected layers
Paste	`Cmd+V`	`Ctrl+V`	Inserts at the playhead; copied visual layers keep their relative geometry
Duplicate	`Cmd+D`	`Ctrl+D`	Selected layers and their included frame descendants
Delete	`Delete` or `Backspace`	`Delete` or `Backspace`	Selected keyframes first; otherwise selected layers
Select all	`Cmd+A`	`Ctrl+A`	Selects editable layers
Deselect all	`Cmd+Shift+A`	`Ctrl+Shift+A`	Clears layer and keyframe selection
Rename one selected layer	`F2`	`F2`	Exactly one renameable layer

Draft changes are persisted by the editor’s autosave flow. There is no keyboard command you need to press to persist a normal edit.

Tools and panels

Action	Shortcut	Notes
Select tool	`V`	Returns to selection and transform work
Solid tool	`R`	Draw a solid layer on the canvas
Frame tool	`F`	Draw a frame container
Text tool	`T`	Click the canvas to insert text
Open Bin	`Cmd/Ctrl+2`	Opens or focuses the draft Bin panel
Open AI Search	`Cmd/Ctrl+3`	Opens or focuses the AI Search panel
Open Inspector	`Cmd/Ctrl+7`	Shows properties for the current selection
Open Canvas settings	`Cmd/Ctrl+8`	Shows composition dimensions, FPS, and duration

Tool letters do not fire while an editable field has focus. Press Escape to leave a field or cancel an in-progress drawing gesture, then choose the tool.

Playback and seeking

Action	Shortcut	Behavior
Play or pause	`Space`	Toggles normal preview playback
Reverse shuttle	`J`	Starts reverse playback; press again to increase speed up to the available shuttle steps
Pause shuttle	`K`	Stops playback
Forward shuttle	`L`	Starts forward playback; press again to increase speed
Step one frame backward	Hold `K`, tap `J`	Seeks exactly one composition frame
Step one frame forward	Hold `K`, tap `L`	Seeks exactly one composition frame
Step one frame backward	`Left` or `,`	Seeks exactly one composition frame
Step one frame forward	`Right` or `.`	Seeks exactly one composition frame
Jump one second backward	`Shift+Left` or `Page Up`	Seeks `fps` frames backward
Jump one second forward	`Shift+Right` or `Page Down`	Seeks `fps` frames forward
Previous edit point	`Up`	Seeks the preceding eligible layer boundary
Next edit point	`Down`	Seeks the following eligible layer boundary
Previous keyframe	`Option/Alt+Left`	Seeks the preceding keyframe in the active keyframe context
Next keyframe	`Option/Alt+Right`	Seeks the following keyframe in the active keyframe context
Start of composition	`Home`	Seeks frame `0`
Last playable frame	`End`	Seeks the final playable frame in the draft
Earliest selected start	`Shift+[`	Seeks the earliest start among selected layers
Latest selected end	`Shift+]`	Seeks the latest playable frame among selected layers
Toggle loop	`Shift+L`	Changes preview looping; it does not alter draft duration
Toggle fullscreen	`Shift+F`	Enters or exits browser fullscreen for the preview

J, K, and L are a transport system. Holding K changes J and L from shuttling to single-frame stepping. Releasing K restores normal shuttle behavior.

Timeline edits

Action	macOS	Windows / Linux	Preconditions
Split at playhead	`Cmd+B`	`Ctrl+B`	Splits eligible selected targets under the playhead; if none of the selection is splittable there, falls back to all eligible clips under the playhead on non-hidden tracks
Trim start to playhead	`[`	`[`	Playhead is after the clip start and before its end
Trim end to playhead	`]`	`]`	Playhead is after the clip start and before its end
Nudge one frame earlier	`Cmd+Left`	`Ctrl+Left`	Timeline layer selection
Nudge one frame later	`Cmd+Right`	`Ctrl+Right`	Timeline layer selection
Nudge one second earlier	`Cmd+Shift+Left`	`Ctrl+Shift+Left`	Moves by the draft’s FPS value in frames
Nudge one second later	`Cmd+Shift+Right`	`Ctrl+Shift+Right`	Moves by the draft’s FPS value in frames
Toggle snapping	`Shift+M`	`Shift+M`	Applies to timeline edge snapping
Show or hide selected keyframe lanes	`U`	`U`	Selection has animatable properties
Frame selection	`Shift+2`	`Shift+2`	Wraps eligible selected layers in a frame

Trimming, splitting, and nudging are frame-quantized. A one-second nudge is exactly fps frames, not an estimate from wall-clock time. See Timecode and frame math.

Canvas geometry

Action	macOS	Windows / Linux	Amount
Nudge left/right/up/down	`Cmd+Option+Arrow`	`Ctrl+Alt+Arrow`	`1` composition pixel
Large canvas nudge	`Cmd+Option+Shift+Arrow`	`Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Arrow`	`10` composition pixels

Canvas nudges exclude audio-only layers. Repeated key presses are grouped into a single practical undo boundary after the nudge gesture finishes.

Canvas viewport

Action	Shortcut / gesture
Fit composition	`0`
Actual size	`Shift+0`
Zoom in	`+` or `=`
Zoom out	`-`
Pan	Wheel, middle-drag, or `Space`-drag
Zoom around cursor	`Cmd/Ctrl+wheel`

Select and navigate layers

Action	Shortcut	Selection rule
Previous layer in track order	`Option/Alt+Up`	Replaces selection
Next layer in track order	`Option/Alt+Down`	Replaces selection
First layer	`Option/Alt+Home`	Jumps to the first selectable layer
Last layer	`Option/Alt+End`	Jumps to the last selectable layer
Extend selection while navigating	Add `Shift`	Preserves the range anchor
Cycle visible layers at the playhead	`D`	Moves forward through candidates under the playhead
Cycle backward at the playhead	`Shift+D`	Moves backward through candidates

Hidden tracks are excluded from the playhead candidate cycle. If one layer is selected and the playhead is outside it, keyboard navigation may seek to its nearest edge so the result is visible.

Align, distribute, and order

Action	Shortcut
Align left	`Option/Alt+A`
Align horizontal centers	`Option/Alt+H`
Align right	`Option/Alt+D`
Align top	`Option/Alt+W`
Align vertical centers	`Option/Alt+V`
Align bottom	`Option/Alt+S`
Distribute horizontally	`Option/Alt+Shift+H`
Distribute vertically	`Option/Alt+Shift+V`
Bring to front	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+]`
Send to back	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+[`

Alignment requires an eligible visual selection. Distribution needs enough items to preserve two outer anchors and redistribute the layers between them.

Track commands

Action	Shortcut	Target
Toggle selected track visibility	`Shift+H`	Tracks containing the current layer selection
Solo selected tracks	`Shift+S`	Unhides selected tracks and hides every other populated track; not a toggle, so use Undo to restore prior visibility

Right-click the track gutter for Hide/Unhide or Mute/Unmute. See Track controls.

Timeline view

Action	Shortcut	Result
Zoom timeline in	`Cmd/Ctrl++` or `Cmd/Ctrl+=`	Increases pixels per frame around the current timeline focus
Zoom timeline out	`Cmd/Ctrl+-`	Decreases pixels per frame
Fit the timeline	`Cmd/Ctrl+0`	Resets the visible range to the full draft
Fit the timeline	`\\`	Resets the visible range to the full draft
Fit selected layers	`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+2`	Zooms and scrolls to the current selection

Zoom buttons and the timeline’s view controls are the most reliable choice when browser or operating-system shortcuts intercept common plus, minus, or zero key combinations.

Why a shortcut may do nothing

A field is still active

Text, numeric, caption-token, and rename controls intentionally block global shortcuts. Follow the field’s own commit behavior. In the shared numeric control, Escape behaves like Enter: it commits a pending valid value and blurs rather than cancelling it.

The selection is not eligible

Audio cannot be moved on the canvas; a boundary trim needs the playhead inside the clip; keyframe-lane toggling needs an animatable selection; and frame selection excludes invalid nesting combinations.

The command is context-sensitive

Timeline, canvas, transport, and track commands can share letter keys. Focus the intended area and use visible controls for ambiguous operations.

The browser owns the key

Browser zoom, tab navigation, fullscreen security, or assistive technology may intercept a key. Use the corresponding editor button when available.

Context menus

Find the same commands close to the layer you are editing.

Timeline track controls

Combine keyboard commands with track visibility, locking, ordering, and selection controls.

Start here

Workspace

Core editing

Timeline

Canvas and layout

Media

Layers and inspectors

Effects and shadows

Audio

Captions

Animation and keyframes

Collaboration and recovery

Render

Reference

Troubleshooting

Essential commands

Tools and panels

Playback and seeking

Timeline edits

Canvas geometry

Canvas viewport

Select and navigate layers

Align, distribute, and order

Track commands

Timeline view

Why a shortcut may do nothing

Context menus

Timeline track controls

​Essential commands

​Tools and panels

​Playback and seeking

​Timeline edits

​Canvas geometry

​Canvas viewport

​Select and navigate layers

​Align, distribute, and order

​Track commands

​Timeline view

​Why a shortcut may do nothing

Context menus

Timeline track controls

Essential commands

Tools and panels

Playback and seeking

Timeline edits

Canvas geometry

Canvas viewport

Select and navigate layers

Align, distribute, and order

Track commands

Timeline view

Why a shortcut may do nothing