Keyboard shortcuts are a lifesaver. Honestly, anyone who edits knows how much time you’ll save using a keyboard shortcut in Premiere Pro.
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Efficiency is key when it comes to video editingThe process of selecting, arranging, and assembling the visual and audio components of a film to tell a coherent and compelling story., and every second you save can make a big difference, especially when working on tight deadlines. Adobe Premiere Pro is packed with features that can speed up your workflow, but one of the most powerful tools at your disposal is the ability to customize keyboard shortcuts.
By creating your own keyboard shortcuts, you can streamline repetitive tasks, reduce the need for constant menu navigation, and keep your focus on the creative process. Whether you’re a seasoned editorThe person responsible for piecing together the film's footage, working closely with the director to achieve the desired final cut. or just getting started, mastering custom shortcuts will make your editing sessions faster and more intuitive.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up your own keyboard shortcuts in Premiere Pro, so you can work smarter, not harder, and spend more time bringing your creative vision to life.
Let’s dive into How to create a keyboard shortcut in Premiere Pro.
How to create a keyboard shortcut in Premiere Pro
To create a new keyboard shortcut in Premiere Pro, simply navigate to ”Premiere Pro” and click “Keyboard Shortcuts”.
This will open up a menu where you can view your existing shortcuts and can create new shortcuts.
To create a new shortcut in Premiere Pro, you need to search for the command you want to relate the shortcut.
For this example, we will use “MarkA specific spot on the floor or ground where an actor needs to be positioned during a scene, often indicated with tape or chalk. In”.
Firstly type in your desired command into the search bar at the bottom left-hand corner.
To create the shortcut, simply click the x to delete the current shortcut and you will be left with an empty box beside.
Now begin to type which keys you want to assign as the shortcut for “Mark In”. Once you’ve typed in the key into the box it will show you if it’s already assigned, if it is, choose another. Once you’ve found the key, you simply hitA precise moment in the script or performance where an action, line, or effect occurs, often used to emphasize timing. “Enter” and assign by clicking the “OK” button in the right-hand corner.
There you have it, that is how to create a keyboard shortcut in Premiere Pro.
Something you may like to read: A beginners guide to Adobe Premiere Pro: Learn Premiere Pro in 15 minutes
How to add multiple keyboard shortcuts to one command
Next up, we will look at how to add multiple keyboard shortcuts to one command. It’s a pretty cool trick, especially if you have multiple editors using the same program as some of the editors may be used to DaVinci Resolve, rather than Premiere Pro. So they like to assign their DaVinci Resolve shortcuts to Premiere Pro to help them work much more efficiently.
It’s pretty simple to achieve.
Simply find the command you want to create a shortcut for and double click on the already assigned shortcut’s right-hand side.
This will open up a little box to the right, and you can assign another key for the command shortcut.
There you have it; you have successfully added multiple keyboard shortcuts to one command.
How to update existing keyboard shortcuts in Premiere Pro
Here is how you can update existing keyboard shortcuts in Premiere Pro.
When you open the keyboard shortcut window, you will notice the buttons are green, purple or both. This shows that the keys have been assigned a command or multiple shortcuts.
The green colour means that this is a secondary panel shortcut. Secondary panel shortcuts are shortcuts that are used within an individual window, meaning that if the key is both purple and green, the green overwrites the shortcut within the specific panel.
The purple colour means that it’s an application shortcut. It’s one of the more commonly used shortcuts within Premiere Pro; an example would be to save your work.
For instance, if we select the ‘G’ key on the keyboard, it has two commands.
To change this shortcut, simply click within the box, and search for the new command or shortcut you wish to associate with it.
There you have it; you will have updated existing keyboard shortcuts in Premiere Pro to suit your personal editing preference.
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Default Keyboard Shortcuts: Overview
In Premiere Pro, there are two main types of shortcuts that you can use. These are Panel Shortcuts and Application Shortcuts. Here we will explore the different types of keyboard shortcut in Premiere Pro.
Panel shortcuts are only in use when you are working from a specific panel within Premiere Pro. Whereas, application shortcuts you can use across the application without a panel in use.
Regarding the above to shortcut segments, Panel and Application Shortcuts. We can break this down a little more granular.
We can break the shortcuts into four more sections. These are Clipboard, Command, Tool and Navigation Shortcuts. Here’s a brief breakdownA detailed analysis of the script, identifying all the elements needed for production, such as locations, props, and costumes. of the four shortcuts:
Clipboard Shortcuts | These are copy and paste based shortcuts, including basic and advanced shortcuts. |
Command Shortcuts | Performs a task. I.e saving your project. |
Tool Shortcuts | This is a shortcut related to a tool, for example the cutting tool. |
Navigation Shortcuts | Shortcuts that help review your projects within Premiere Pro |
Clipboard Shortcuts
Your working through your project but you need to make some bulk actions, like copy a part of the clip throughout your project. These shortcuts will be your go to shortcuts to save you a hell of a lot of time.
They’re pretty simple commands, but boy do they save you time! Let’s have a look at the clipboard shortcuts below.
Shortcuts | Windows | Mac OS |
Undo | Ctrl+Z | Cmd+Z |
Redo | Ctrl+Shift+Z | Shift+Cmd+Z |
CutA transition between shots in editing, also a command from the director to stop filming. | Ctrl+X | Cmd+X |
Copy | Ctrl+C | Cmd+C |
Paste | Ctrl+V | Cmd+V |
Paste Insert | Ctrl+Shift+V | Shift+Cmd+V |
Paste Attributes | Ctrl+Alt+V | Opt+Cmd+V |
Clear | Delete | Forward Delete |
Clear In & Out | Ctrl+Shift+X | Opt+X |
Ripple Delete | Shift+Delete | Shift+Forward Delete |
Duplicate | Ctrl+Shift+/ | Shift+Cmd+/ |
Select All | Ctrl+A | Cmd+A |
Deselect All | Ctrl+Shift+A | Shift+Cmd+A |
Find | Ctrl+F | Cmd+F |
Edit Original | Ctrl+E | Cmd+E |
Command shortcuts
Up next are the command shortcuts. Command shortcuts are any shortcut that you would find in the File Menu.
Using these command shortcuts allow you to save, copy and in general action a lot more items in a quicker space of time. They are incredibly useful task-based shortcuts.
These command shortcuts can be found below.
Shortcut | Windows | Mac OS |
New Project/Production | Ctrl+Alt+N | Opt+Cmd+N |
New Sequence | Ctrl+N | Cmd+N |
New Bin | Ctrl+B | Cmd+B |
Title | Ctrl+T | Cmd+T |
Open Project/Production | Ctrl+O | Cmd+O |
Browse in Adobe Bridge | Ctrl+Alt+O | Opt+Cmd+O |
Close Project | Ctrl+Shift+W | Shift+Cmd+W |
Close | Ctrl+W | Cmd+W |
Save | Ctrl+S | Cmd+S |
Save As | Ctrl+Shift+S | Shift+Cmd+S |
Save a Copy | Ctrl+Alt+S | Opt+Cmd+S |
Import from Media Browser | Ctrl+Alt+I | Opt+Cmd+I |
Import Media | Ctrl+I | Cmd+I |
Export Media | Ctrl+M | Cmd+M |
Get Properties for Selection | Ctrl+Shift+H | Shift+Cmd+H |
Exit/Quit Premiere Pro | Ctrl+Q | Cmd+Q |
Tool Shortcuts
Tool shortcuts are simply put, shortcuts that help you edit your footageThe raw, unedited material recorded by the camera, measured in feet for film or minutes for digital media.. Namely tools like the Ripple Edit Tool or the Pen Tool can be accessed by a simple tap of the keyboard.
Rather than trawling through your application window, as a lot of the time you will want to switch in between each tool frequently.
So the shortcuts allow you to save a considerable amount of time.
Here’s the overview of the Tool Shortcuts below.
Shortcut | Windows | Mac OS |
Selection Tool | V | V |
Track Select Forward Tool | A | A |
Track Select Backward Tool | Shift+A | Shift+A |
Ripple Edit Tool | B | B |
Rolling Edit Tool | N | N |
Rate Stretch Tool | R | R |
Razor Tool | C | C |
Slip Tool | Y | Y |
Slide Tool | U | U |
Pen Tool | P | P |
Hand Tool | H | H |
Zoom Tool | Z | Z |
Navigation Shortcuts
Finally, the last type of shortcut. The navigation shortcuts are the shortcuts that allow you to navigate through your clips, playback sections and so forth. They’re all about the playback of the footage.
You can use these shortcuts to set In and out points etc. Here’s a quick overview of the shortcuts for both Mac and Windows.
Shortcuts | Windows | Mac OS |
Selection Tool | V | V |
Track Select Forward Tool | A | A |
Track Select Backward Tool | Shift+A | Shift+A |
Ripple Edit Tool | B | B |
Rolling Edit Tool | N | N |
Rate Stretch Tool | R | R |
Razor Tool | C | C |
Slip Tool | Y | Y |
Slide Tool | U | U |
Pen Tool | P | P |
Hand Tool | H | H |
Zoom Tool | Z | Z |
By using a keyboard shortcut in Premiere Pro, you can considerably increase the efficiency of your video editing workflow ten-fold. The more you use these shortcuts the faster your post-production process takes, allowing you to work on more projects, or free up more time for you to relax.
The more you use these, the easier these shortcuts will become to remember. Allowing you to fly through your edits, and saving hours over the course of a week.
Jay Neill
Jay Neill is the founder, owner, and managing editor of iFILMthings and believes everyone should have access to the film resources they need to plan their filmmaking project, which is why he’s dedicated iFILMthings to helping all filmmakers.