Playback Controls
Every control for playing back your edit: the transport bar under the Preview, the speed keys, frame stepping, volume, and fullscreen.
Find each control on the transport bar
The transport bar sits directly under the Preview. Hover any button to see its name.
Left side, in order:
| Control | Tooltip | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Jump to start | Jump to Start (Home) | Moves the playhead to the beginning of the timeline |
| Step back | Step Back (Left) | Moves the playhead back one frame |
| Play / pause | Play/Pause (Space) | Starts or stops playback |
| Step forward | Step Forward (Right) | Moves the playhead forward one frame |
| Jump to end | Jump to End (End) | Moves the playhead to the end of the timeline |
| Timecode | (none) | Shows the playhead position as HH:MM:SS:FF |
| Speed badge | (none) | Appears only when playback runs faster or slower than normal, reading 2x, 0.5x, and so on |
Right side, in order:
| Control | Tooltip | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| PXY | Using optimized media (720p) when on, Using original media (full resolution) when off | Switches the Preview between optimized preview copies and your original files |
| Zoom dropdown | Zoom level | Sets how the Preview scales the image: Fit, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, or 200%. The active level shows a check mark |
| Volume slider | Volume: N% | Sets the master output volume |
| Fullscreen | Fullscreen (F) | Fills your screen with the Preview |
Play and pause
Press Space, or click Play/Pause. While playback runs, the button shows a pause icon and stays highlighted. Press Space again to stop.
Pressing play does nothing when the playhead sits at the very end of the timeline. This is easy to hit right after Jump to End. Move the playhead back first, with Home or a click in the timeline ruler, then play.
Step and jump through the timeline
Use the arrow keys to move one frame at a time. Left steps back and Right steps forward. Home jumps to the start of the timeline and End jumps to the end. The matching transport buttons do the same. If playback is running, any of these stops it first.
Set in and out points
Press I to set an in point at the playhead and O to set an out point. Both appear as handles in the timeline ruler, and you can drag either handle to a new spot. When an out point is set, playback stops there instead of at the end of the timeline. In and out points are saved with your project.
To clear them, press Alt+I to remove the in point or Alt+O to remove the out point.
Change speed with J, K, and L
These three keys work like the shuttle keys in other editors, with one difference: there is no reverse playback.
- L starts playback at normal speed. While already playing, each press doubles the speed: 2×, then 4×, up to 8×.
- K stops playback.
- J slows playback down. While playing, each press halves the speed, down to 0.25×. When stopped, J steps back one frame instead.
Whenever the speed is anything other than 1×, a badge such as 2x appears next to the timecode. The speed always resets to normal when playback stops, so the badge disappears the moment you press K or Space.
Read the timecode
The transport bar's timecode shows the playhead position as hours, minutes, seconds, and frames (HH:MM:SS:FF). A second readout sits at the left end of the timeline ruler and adds a frame count beside the timecode. Both count live during playback and land on the exact playhead frame when you stop. Neither one is editable, so you can't type a timecode to jump to it.
Set the master volume
Drag the slider near the right end of the transport bar. It controls the overall output level from 0% to 100%, and its tooltip shows the current value while you drag. There is no master mute button. To silence a single track, use the Mute button on that track's header. See tracks and linked clips.
Watch fullscreen
Press F, click the fullscreen button, or double-click the video in the Preview. The Preview fills your screen. While fullscreen, the video always fits the screen no matter what the zoom dropdown says. Your chosen zoom level comes back when you exit.
To exit, press F or Escape, or double-click the video again.
Next, learn to move around the timeline itself in Navigate and Zoom the Timeline.