## Where to Find It

Keyboard shortcuts work anywhere in the editor. Press **?** at any time to open the shortcuts reference panel. Touch gestures apply to the timeline area on mobile and tablet devices.

## Keyboard Shortcuts

### Playback
- **Space** — Play or pause the video
- **K** — Stop playback and return to clip start
- **J** — Step backward 1 frame
- **L** — Step forward 1 frame
- **Shift + J** — Step backward 5 frames
- **Shift + L** — Step forward 5 frames
- **Home** — Jump to the start of the timeline
- **End** — Jump to the end of the timeline

### Editing
- **Ctrl + Z** (or **Cmd + Z** on Mac) — Undo
- **Ctrl + Shift + Z** (or **Ctrl + Y**) — Redo
- **Ctrl + S** (or **Cmd + S**) — Save project
- **Delete** or **Backspace** — Remove the selected clip, overlay, or audio item

### Navigation
- **Left Arrow** — Select the previous clip on the current track
- **Right Arrow** — Select the next clip on the current track
- **Up Arrow** — Move selection up one track (toward overlay tracks)
- **Down Arrow** — Move selection down one track (toward audio tracks)

### Timeline Zoom
- **=** or **+** — Zoom in the timeline
- **-** — Zoom out the timeline
- **Shift + Z** — Fit timeline to view (show all clips)

### Toggle Controls
- **S** — Toggle snap on or off
- **M** — Toggle audio mute

### Selection
- **Ctrl + A** (or **Cmd + A**) — Select all clips on the active track
- **Click** — Select a single clip on the timeline
- **Ctrl + Click** (or **Cmd + Click** on Mac) — Add or remove a clip from a multi-selection
- **Shift + Click** — Select a range of clips on the same track
- **Escape** — Deselect all clips and close open panels

### Help
- **?** — Open or close the keyboard shortcuts panel

## Mouse Controls

### Timeline Navigation
- **Scroll wheel** — Zoom the timeline in and out. Scroll up to zoom in (see more detail), scroll down to zoom out (see more of the timeline).
- **Click on the time ruler** — Jump the playhead directly to that moment

### Clip Editing
- **Click and drag a clip** — Move it to a new position on the timeline
- **Drag the left or right edge of a clip** — Trim the clip shorter or longer
- **Right-click on a clip** — Open a context menu with options like Delete, Replace, and Settings

### Playhead
- **Click and drag the playhead** — Scrub through your video manually

## Touch Gestures (Mobile and Tablet)

### Timeline Navigation
- **Pinch** with two fingers — Zoom the timeline in or out
- **Swipe** left or right — Scroll through the timeline

### Clip Interaction
- **Tap** — Select a clip
- **Long press** — May open additional context options
- **Drag** — Move clips to new positions

## Tips for Faster Editing

- **Space** is your best friend — quickly play and pause to check your work
- **J and L** let you step frame by frame for precision editing
- **Use Snap mode** (**S**) to quickly align clips to beat markers
- **Multi-select** (Ctrl+Click) several clips, then press Delete to remove them all at once
- **Shift + Z** instantly zooms to show your entire timeline
- **Loop mode** lets you watch your montage on repeat to check the flow
- **Ctrl + S** saves your project — no need to reach for the mouse

> **Tip:** Press **?** anytime to see all available shortcuts. The most powerful shortcuts to learn first are **Space** (play/pause), **J/L** (frame step), and **Ctrl+Z** (undo).

Speed up your workflow with keyboard shortcuts and touch gestures.

Keyboard Shortcuts & Gestures

## Where to Find It

Advanced features are spread across the timeline controls, clip settings, and project settings panels. This article brings them all together.

## Multi-Track Editing

ReelCut Studio supports multiple tracks for layering content:

- **Up to 5 video tracks** (V1–V5) — Layer video clips on top of each other
- **Up to 5 audio tracks** (A1–A5) — Add multiple music or sound effect layers
- **Up to 3 overlay tracks** (OV1–OV3) — Stack text, images, and title cards

Use the **Add Track** button in the timeline controls to create additional tracks as needed.

![Add Track dropdown showing Video Track and Audio Track options](/img/help/af-add-track-menu.png)

## Track Layout Modes

Each video track can operate independently in either layout mode:

- **Sequential (Ripple)** — Clips sit back-to-back. Moving one shifts the rest. Best for quick montages.
- **Free (Absolute)** — Clips have fixed positions with gaps allowed. Best for precise timing control.

Switch modes from the track options. Switching from Free to Sequential shows a confirmation because it removes all gaps.

## Tempo Sync Variants

When using Tempo Sync, you can cycle through three different strategies:

- **v1** — Standard beat matching. Clips align to primary beats.
- **v2** — Alternative rhythm pattern. May distribute clips differently across beats.
- **v3** — Third variation. Experiment to find which creates the most pleasing rhythm.

Click the variant button repeatedly to cycle through v1, v2, and v3. Each applies a different approach to matching your clips to the music's tempo.

## Image-to-Video AI Conversion

Transform still photos into cinematic video clips with AI-generated camera movement:

1. Select a photo clip on the timeline
2. Click **Convert to Video** in the clip settings
3. Choose your crop area and camera movement type
4. Select duration — **5 seconds** or **9 seconds**
5. Review the token cost and click **Start Rendering**
6. The AI generates a smooth pan, zoom, or orbit movement

This is perfect for turning property photos into dynamic video content without any actual video footage.

## Cross-Track Drag and Drop

Move clips between different video tracks by dragging them up or down. This lets you rearrange your content across layers for more complex compositions.

## Pending Move Dialog

When you move a clip while Tempo Sync is active, a dialog appears with three options:

- **Adopt Tempo Timing** (recommended) — The moved clip adjusts to match the destination slot's beat timing
- **Keep Original Timing** — The clip preserves its current trim length
- **Cancel Move** — Undo the reorder

## Rolling Preview

The editor continuously renders a preview of your final video in the background. The render bar above the timeline shows progress. This means you can watch a near-final version of your montage as you edit, without waiting for a separate render step.

## Boundary Trimming with Snap

![Timeline control bar with snap, zoom, height, and fit controls](/img/help/tl-control-bar.png)

When you drag the edge of a clip to trim it, the edge automatically snaps to:

- Beat markers from your background music
- The edges of adjacent clips
- The playhead position

This makes it easy to create precise, beat-synced cuts.

## Slip Editing

Slip editing lets you shift which portion of a longer video is visible within a clip:

- The clip's position and duration on the timeline stay the same
- But the visible content shifts — like sliding a window along a filmstrip
- Use the slip bar to control which section of the original video is shown

## Tutorial System

ReelCut Studio includes a built-in tutorial with guided coach marks. When activated, it highlights specific areas of the editor one at a time and explains what each tool does. You can access it from the Help panel.

Power-user features for creating professional montages.

Advanced Features

## Where to Find It

Click the **download icon** in the left sidebar to open the **Export** panel.

![Export panel with project details and Export Video button](/img/help/ex-export-panel.png)

## Before You Export

Before you can export, make sure your project is ready:

- **All clips must be approved** — If any clips are pending review (such as AI-generated videos), you will be prompted to approve them first. Use the "Approve All" button for convenience.
- **No missing media** — Replace or remove any clips that show a "Media removed" placeholder.
- **At least one clip** — Your timeline needs at least one video or photo clip to export.

## Choosing Resolution

In the Export panel, you can choose the output quality:

- Higher resolution means sharper, more detailed video — but also a larger file size
- Lower resolution produces a smaller file that downloads faster and takes up less storage

> **Tip:** For listings you will share on social media, mid-range resolution is usually sufficient. For MLS or website use, choose the highest available resolution.

## Starting the Export

1. Open the **Export** panel from the left sidebar
2. Configure your resolution settings
3. Click the **Export** (or **Merge**) button to begin
4. The editor starts combining all your clips, overlays, music, and effects into a single video file
5. A **progress indicator** shows how far along the rendering is (as a percentage)

> **Note:** Exporting can take several minutes depending on the length of your video and the resolution you chose. You can continue editing while it processes.

## Downloading Your Video

Once the export is complete, a **Download** button appears. Click it to save the finished video to your device.

## Sharing via SMS

ReelVids includes a built-in sharing feature:

1. After exporting, look for the **Share** or **SMS** option
2. Enter your client's phone number
3. Send the video link directly to their phone
4. They can watch the video from any device

## Previous Exports

The Export panel keeps a history of your previous exports. You can re-download any earlier version of your video without re-exporting.

## Token Cost

Some export features may use tokens from your balance. The token cost is displayed before you start so there are no surprises. If you need more tokens, you can purchase them directly from the editor.

Export your finished video and share it with clients.

Keyboard Shortcuts & Gestures

Where to Find It

Keyboard Shortcuts

Playback

Editing

Navigation

Timeline Zoom

Toggle Controls

Selection

Help

Mouse Controls

Timeline Navigation

Clip Editing

Playhead

Touch Gestures (Mobile and Tablet)

Timeline Navigation

Clip Interaction

Tips for Faster Editing

Related Articles

Working with Clips

Timeline Basics

Advanced Features

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