FCP Shortcut Keys

Editing Clips

JKL - these are shortcut keys for viewing scenes
Press L two or three times to fast forward a clip - the more you press L the faster the clip plays.
Press K to stop
Press J two or three times to play the scene backwards
Hold down both K and L to move forward in slow motion.
Hold down both K and J to move backwards in slow motion.
Hold down K and tap L to move forward one frame at a time.
Hold down K and tap J to move backwards one frame at a time.
Shift + Spacebar to play a clip in reverse.
Shift + ? to loop a clip

Pressing the "," nudges your clip one frame to the left and inserts a gap at the end of the clip.
Pressing the "." nudges your clip one frame to the right and inserts a gap at the start of the clip.

A - regular select tool
T - Trim tool (rolling edits) - can also use the , and . keys to roll your edit one frame at a time.
P - Position tool
R - Range Selection tool
B- Blade tool for cutting clips (if you hold the B key during the cut it will return it back to the seletion tool once you are done with the edit)
Z - Zoom
H - Hand tool

Top n Tail Edits
opt [ to indicate the start point and opt ] to end the clip

i = In Point - define the start of your clip
o = Out Point - define the end of your clip
Option Drag over a clip to manually select a section of the clip
Ctrl d = duration, change the length of your selected clip
e = Append the selected clip to your timeline, add it to the end of the previous clip in the timeline.
w = Insert the selected clip at the point of the playhead.
d = overwrite edit - replaces clips already on your timeline based on the location of the playhead.
shift d = backtime overwrite - replaces clips but starts at the end of the clip, not the beginning.

delete key = removes selected clips and shortens the timeline
Forward delete key = replaces the selected clip with a gap clip of the same duration, no change in the timeline.

Replace Edit - drag a clip over a clip already in the timeline, you will be given three options:
Replace - this will replace the clip in the timeline with the new clip no matter how long it is.
Replace from Start - this will replace the clip in the time line with the new clip but will cut the end of the replacement clip to the length of the clip already in the timeline.
Replace from End - this will replace the clip in the time line with the new clip but will cut the beginning of the replacement clip to the length of the clip already in the timeline.

Left and Right Arrows - move frame by frame
Up arrow and Down arrow = move to the beginning or end of a clip in the timeline.
Home key - move to the start of the timeline

Roll Edit - the select tool should be used, move the arrow to the start or end of a clip and drag to move the starting or ending point of the clip.
Slip Edit - be sure the trim tool is selected and click inside the clip you want to adjust. Drag the mouse to adjust the in and out points of the clip without changing the duration of the clip or it's position in the main storyline.
Slide Edit - be sure the trim tool is selected and press the Option Key and then drag the clip to where you want it. This will move the entire clip left or right overwriting the clip on either side.

Command + = zoom into the timeline
Command - = zoom out
Shift - Z to see the entire timeline

Connected Clips
Q - to add a selected clip as a connected clip to the primary storyline.
Command + G to create a secondary storyline
Shift + Command + G to break apart a secondary storyline
V - turn off visibility of the clip

Keyframes
Option + K to add a keyframe
Ctrl + V to see keyframes
Delete to remove keyframes once selected.

Color Correction
Cmd + 4 to open the inspector
Cmd + 6 to access color board
Ctrl + Cmd + E for exposure

 

Cmd + Opt + Esc will allow you to force quite FCP if it freezes