Cut and Delete
How to split clips, remove whole clips or selected ranges, close gaps, and disable clips when you want an easy way back.
Each action on this page is one undo step, even when it changes several clips. Press Ctrl+Z to undo it.
Split clips at the playhead
- Park the playhead where you want the cut.
- Select the clips to split.
- Press Ctrl+B.
Only clips that cross the playhead are split. Solar Sailer skips the rest, including clips it can't split because they or a linked partner are on a locked track. The clips it can split still go through, and the batch is one undo step.
Split at Playhead does the same job from a clip's right-click menu.
With Linked Selection on, both halves of a linked pair split when they cross the playhead. Turn it off to split only the clips you selected.
Cut with the Razor tool
Select Razor (C) and click a clip. Snapping applies to clip edges, the playhead, and markers. Turn snapping off to cut at the exact point you click.
Hold Shift while you click to cut every clip that crosses that point on an unlocked track.
With Linked Selection on, the razor also cuts linked partners that cross the same point. With it off, only the clip you click is cut. Its two new pieces stay linked to the uncut partner.
Choose Delete or Ripple Delete
When an AI tool asks how to remove a range, the choice is Delete or Ripple Delete:
- Delete removes the material and leaves a gap. Later clips keep their positions.
- Ripple Delete removes the material and moves later clips left to close the gap.
Pressing the Delete or Backspace key on a whole clip is the same as the Delete action: the clip goes, the gap stays. Delete is the safer choice when timing on other tracks must not change. Ripple Delete is handy when you want the edit to tighten immediately, but check linked clips and locked tracks first.
Delete whole clips
- Select the clips.
- Press Delete or Backspace to remove them and leave a gap, or press Shift+Delete or Shift+Backspace to ripple-delete them.
You can also use Delete or Ripple Delete from a clip's right-click menu.
With Linked Selection on, linked partners are deleted too. During a ripple delete, later linked clips move together even when their partners are on another track. Unrelated tracks don't move. Turn Linked Selection off to delete only the clips you chose.
If a clip or linked partner that must change is on a locked track, Solar Sailer cancels the edit. Your selection stays in place so you can see what was blocked. A ripple delete also stops rather than move one half of a linked pair away from a locked partner or create an overlap. If only part of a gap can close safely, the rest stays open and Solar Sailer warns you.
Remove selected ranges
AI tools and the assistant can remove part of a clip instead of the whole clip. Solar Sailer splits the affected clips at the range boundaries, then removes only the middle. Linked partners are included so audio and video stay together.
These edits also offer Delete (leaves a gap) and Ripple Delete. Delete turns each selected range into a gap. A ripple delete closes the gaps on the affected tracks. Multiple ranges are applied together as one undo step, even when they aren't next to each other.
A range that crosses a locked track is blocked. Solar Sailer also rejects a ripple that would overlap clips or pull a moving clip away from its locked linked partner. In that case, use Delete, unlock the track, or fix the linked clips first.
Close gaps across the timeline
Choose Sequence → Close Gaps to pack the timeline left. It closes only spans that are empty on every track, including an empty span at the start. Markers move with a normal all-track collapse.
If a locked track contains clips, Solar Sailer asks before continuing. Locked clips and anything linked to them stay put, while the rest of the timeline packs around them. This can put locked content out of sync, markers don't move, and an obstruction may leave part of a gap open. Solar Sailer refuses a close that would change the timing within a linked group.
Disable clips instead of deleting them
A disabled clip stays in place but is skipped during playback and export. It's useful when you want to test a cut and keep an easy way back.
Select the clips, then choose Disable from the right-click menu. Choose Enable to restore them. These actions apply only to the clips you selected, never to linked partners.
The analysis tools in the Clip menu, such as Delete Silence, can also disable ranges for you instead of deleting them.
To remove disabled clips later, choose Sequence → Delete Disabled Clips… and select the tracks to clear. Locked tracks can't be cleared until you unlock them.