# The timeline

> Tracks and clips, selecting, moving, trimming and cutting, the editor's tools, snapping, the music grid, markers, in and out points, groups, nesting and automation.

https://driftedit.app/manual/timeline/

The timeline is the edit: time runs left to right, and each row, a track, holds clips. A clip higher up is drawn over the ones below it, so titles and overlays go on the tracks above your footage, and sound goes below.

![The timeline with video, title and sound tracks, the ruler and the toolbar](https://driftedit.app/manual/shots/timeline-light.webp)

*The timeline*

## Finding your way
- **The playhead** is the white line: the viewer shows the frame under it. Click the ruler to move it, or drag it.
- **Zoom** with the slider at the right of the toolbar, `=` and `-`, or `0` to fit the whole edit. Hold `Ctrl` and scroll over the timeline to zoom there.
- **Scroll** with the scrollbar under the tracks, or with the mouse wheel and `Shift`.
- **Step** with `ArrowLeft` and `ArrowRight` a frame at a time, `Shift+ArrowLeft` and `Shift+ArrowRight` a beat at a time, `Alt+ArrowLeft` and `Alt+ArrowRight` a bar at a time. `Home` and `End` go to the start and the end.

## Tracks
Each track's head, on the left, has its name and buttons: **M** mutes it, **S** plays it alone (solo), the eye hides a picture track, the lock keeps a track from being changed. Drag a head by its grip to move the track up or down; a picture track brings its sound tracks with it.

- **Add a track**: **Sequence**, **Add a video track** or **Add an audio track**, or right-click a head.
- **Delete a track**: right-click its head and choose **Delete the track**, or click the head and press `Delete`.
- **Make a track taller**: drag the bottom edge of its head. Double-click the edge to put it back.

A clip keeps its colour as far as it is heard or seen: a sound turned down greys, a volume fade greys along it, and a picture greys with its opacity. A clip not heard or seen at all keeps a dashed edge and shows how far down it is, such as **-60 dB** or **0%**.

## Selecting
- Click a clip to select it. `Shift`-click or `Ctrl`-click to add more.
- Drag a box across empty space to select every clip it touches.
- `Ctrl+A` selects everything; `Escape` clears the selection.

The inspector on the right always shows what is selected. Several clips of one kind are changed together.

## Moving and trimming
- **Move**: drag a clip, along its track or onto another. Several selected clips move together. A video's sound follows its picture into the sound row under the new track where there is room, and rows a move, a paste or a delete leaves empty go (a row you named, or gave settings of its own, stays). Captions and titles selected together also move to and from the captions track.
- **Trim**: drag a clip's left or right edge. A cut between two clips that touch stays glued: drag it and both clips change. With several clips selected, dragging the edge of one trims them all by as much.
- **Trim to the playhead**: `Q` trims the start of the selected clip to the playhead, `W` trims its end.
- **Split**: `S` cuts the selected clips at the playhead (a video and its sound together).
- **Delete**: `Delete` removes the selected clips and leaves a gap. `Shift+Delete` removes them and closes the gap (ripple delete).
- **Copy and paste**: `Ctrl+C`, `Ctrl+X` and `Ctrl+V` (at the playhead). **Paste attributes** (`Ctrl+Alt+V`) puts a copied clip's effects, position and scale, opacity, sound or text style on every selected clip. **Copy properties** (`Ctrl+Shift+C`) and **Paste properties** (`Ctrl+Shift+V`) put everything of one clip on the selected clips of its type: its picture and keyframes, effects, sound, a video's speed, a title's look and animation. Where each clip is and what it plays stay its own.

Drag anything from a panel over the timeline and a preview shows where it will land before you let go.

## The tools
The toolbar has the tools editors use to fine-tune cuts. Choose one, or press its key:

| Tool | Key | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Select** | `V` | Select, move and trim: the usual tool. |
| **Blade** | `B` | Cut a clip where you click. |
| **Slip** | `Y` | Move the footage inside a clip, keeping the clip where it is. |
| **Slide** | `U` | Move a clip between its neighbours, which trim to make room. |
| **Roll** | `R` | Move the cut between two clips, one getting longer as the other gets shorter. |

## Snapping and the beat
With snapping on (`N`, or **Snap** in the toolbar), clips and the playhead snap to the song's kicks and bars, to clip edges, to markers and to the playhead. Without a song, snapping still catches clip edges, markers and the playhead; the music grid's button and **Snap cuts to the kicks** show on the toolbar once the song's beats are known. Hold `Alt` while you drag (a clip, an edge, a key, a point) to place it exactly where the pointer is, nothing snapping it.

- **Snap cuts to the kicks** (`Shift+K`) moves the cuts near a kick onto it, where the footage allows; with clips selected, only the cuts at their edges.
- The song's kicks, snares, bars and sections show on the **beats row** at the top. An auto edit has them; for an edit made by hand, use **Find the beats** in the Techniques panel. Drag a kick to where it really is, select one and press `Delete` to take it out, or double-click the row to add one.

### The music grid
Where the song's bars are known, the ruler counts bars like a music program does, and the tracks show a line on every beat and a stronger one on every bar, every other bar shaded. It makes cutting to the music easy to see. The grid button beside **Snap**, or **View**, **Music grid**, turns it off; the studio remembers your choice.

## Markers, and in and out points
- **Markers**: `M` adds a marker at the playhead. Double-click its flag to name it and give it a colour. `Ctrl+ArrowLeft` and `Ctrl+ArrowRight` jump between markers.
- **In and out points**: `I` and `O` mark the start and end of a part of the edit, also from the buttons in the toolbar. Drag their edges on the ruler. **Loop** (`Ctrl+Shift+L`) plays the part again and again, and Export can export only that part. `Ctrl+Shift+X` clears them.

## Groups, links and nesting
- **Link**: a video's sound moves with its picture. **Unlink** (`Ctrl+L`) separates them.
- **Group** (`Ctrl+G`) keeps clips together, such as a sound effect and the zoom it lands on: they are selected and moved as one. **Ungroup** with `Ctrl+Shift+G`.
- **Nest**: **Clip**, **Nest** turns the selected clips into a sequence of their own that plays as one clip. Double-click it, or its tab above the timeline, to edit inside.
- **Sequences**: one project can hold several. The tabs above the timeline switch between them; **+** makes a new one.
- **Adjustment layer**: **Sequence**, **Add adjustment layer** puts a clip whose effects apply to everything under it.
- **Bring to front** and **Send to back** move a picture above or below the others.

## Automation
A track's volume, pan and filters, or a picture's opacity, zoom, position and rotation, can follow a line of points over time. Right-click a track's head and choose what to automate (**Add automation: Volume**, for example): a lane appears under the track with a clip of points. Double-click the line to add a point, drag a point to move it. A zoom lane can be pulsed on every kick of the song in one step.

## Undo and history
`Ctrl+Z` undoes and `Ctrl+Shift+Z` redoes; a long session keeps its most recent steps. **Edit**, **History** (`Ctrl+Shift+H`) lists every step; choose one to go back to it.