Keyboard & mouse reference
A complete reference for the editor's keyboard commands, pointer modifiers, and focused controls, including when a field or menu takes priority over timeline editing.
Configure keyboard shortcuts
- Click the keyboard icon at the top-right of the editor to open Keyboard shortcuts.
- Type part of an action name in Find an action…, or browse the Project, Playback, Editing, Timeline, and Preview groups.
- Click an existing key label, then press the new key or combination. Hold Ctrl, Alt, or Shift while pressing the main key if you want those modifiers. The new label appears as soon as it is accepted.
- If that combination belongs to another action, the message identifies it and nothing is reassigned. Remove it from the other action first, or press a different combination. Press Escape to cancel recording.
- Click the small + beside an action to add another shortcut. Click × beside a key to remove that shortcut. Removing every key leaves the action Unassigned; its on-screen button remains available.
- Use the curved-arrow Restore this action’s defaults icon to restore one action. If a default is now used elsewhere, resolve that conflict first. Restore all defaults returns every action to its original keys.
- Click Done, the close icon, outside the panel, or press Escape after recording has ended. Changes save automatically; there is no separate Apply step.
Preferences stay with this browser location or Windows app profile, not with a saved project. They survive reload/restart when local settings are available. If storage is unavailable, the panel says changes last for the current session. Button tooltips show your current assignments. Ctrl-labelled commands also accept Command on macOS; letter keys follow their physical keyboard positions and modifiers must match. A browser or operating system can reserve some combinations.
Every editor command shortcut in the groups above can be changed or removed, including all alternative keys and the preview hold-to-pan key. New project, Import, appearance cycling, opening shortcut settings, Fit, preview zoom, and the hand-tool toggle are available for custom assignments even though they have no default shortcut. The default Space assignment is shared intentionally: it holds the hand tool while the preview is active and toggles playback elsewhere.
The tables throughout this manual show the default bindings. After customizing them, use your configured keys or the corresponding on-screen controls. Standard text editing, Tab/Enter/Escape navigation, and mouse gesture modifiers continue to operate their focused controls.
Project, export, and connection commands
| Keys | Action | Important detail |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+S | Save the editable project. | Browser: download a .cutwright.json file. Windows: choose the project save destination. It does not export an MP4. |
| Ctrl+O | Open a project. | Choose a saved CutWright project file. Save the current work before replacing it. |
| Ctrl+E | Focus the Export button. | It does not start export by itself. Press Enter or Space on the focused button to activate it. During an export the same button is Cancel, so activating it then cancels. |
| Ctrl+/ | Open Agent connection. | Equivalent to the Agent button in the left rail. See Agent connections. |
These four shortcuts can work from ordinary text fields when no dialog or choice/color popup is open. To avoid interrupting a field or menu operation, finish it and close the panel first. New, Import, and Keyboard shortcuts have no default binding; assign one in the shortcut panel if wanted.
Playback and time navigation
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Space or K | Toggle playback. Space is used for preview panning when the pointer/focus is in the preview's working area; use K or the Play button when that hand-tool behavior would take priority. |
| J | Seek backward two seconds. |
| L | Seek forward two seconds. |
| ← / → | Step backward/forward one project frame. |
| Shift+← / Shift+→ | Seek backward/forward one second. |
| ↑ / ↓ | Jump to the previous/next clip start or end. |
| Home or I | Move to the beginning of the project. |
| End or O | Move to the sequence end. |
| Ctrl+Shift+← / Ctrl+Shift+→ | Pause and jump to the previous/next marker strictly before/after the playhead. |
J and L seek; they are not variable-speed reverse/forward playback controls. I and O jump to the start and end; they do not mark an export range. Pause first when positioning a precise edit. The preview's Previous frame and Next frame buttons also pause playback.
Editing and history
| Keys | Action | Target or limitation |
|---|---|---|
| C, Ctrl+B, or Ctrl+K | Split at the playhead. | Select the intended clip and put the playhead inside it, away from its ends. Otherwise a different clip under the playhead can be used. |
| Delete or Backspace | Delete the selected item. | A selected transition or caption is removed; a selected clip follows the Ripple editing setting and can remove linked partners. |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo a recent project edit. | Leave a text or number field to use timeline history rather than field editing. |
| Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo a previously undone project edit. | A new edit after Undo replaces the available redo path. |
| Ctrl+M | Add a marker at the playhead and open its editor. | Use the right-click Add marker action to add at a clicked time instead. |
| S | Toggle timeline Snapping. | This does not toggle the canvas Snap button above the picture. |
There is no general keyboard multi-selection, copy/paste clip, or select-all operation in this workflow. Use the actual timeline actions rather than assuming another editor's shortcuts apply.
Timeline zoom and preview navigation
| Keys or gesture | Action |
|---|---|
| + or = | Zoom the timeline in. |
| − or _ | Zoom the timeline out. |
| Ctrl with +, =, −, or _ | The same timeline zoom commands with editor focus; these are not picture magnification commands. |
| Wheel over the preview | Zoom the picture around the pointer. |
| Right-button or middle-button drag over the preview | Pan the preview view. |
| Hand tool enabled + left-button drag, or hold Space + left-button drag | Use the hand tool to pan instead of moving content. |
| Fit preview icon above the preview | Center the whole frame and reset preview magnification to its fitted 100% view. Fit has no default key; you can assign one in Keyboard shortcuts. |
Keep the distinction between the timeline's time scale and the preview's picture scale. Neither changes the exported frame dimensions. Close dialogs and menus before using preview navigation, and release Space when finished panning.
Drag modifiers and guide keys
| Gesture or key | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt while moving/trimming a timeline clip | Temporarily bypass timeline snapping. |
| Alt while scrubbing the timeline | Bypass snapping to markers. |
| Alt while moving/resizing a visual selection | Temporarily bypass canvas object snapping. |
| Shift while creating or moving a guide | Choose the nearest grid spacing/origin position, even with Grid and snapping off. Without Shift, guide dragging follows whole project pixels. |
| Press/release Shift during a held guide drag | Immediately switch interval placement on/off, even with the pointer stationary. |
| Double-click a guide, or Enter on a focused guide | Open Guide position for exact numeric editing. |
| Delete/Backspace on a focused, unlocked guide | Delete that guide; it takes priority over deleting a timeline selection. |
| Double-click a timeline marker | Open its name, time, and color editor. |
Keyboard operation of focused controls
| Focused control | Keys and result |
|---|---|
| Button, file card, clip, caption, or transition | Enter or Space activates/selects it. A focused timeline clip or caption also moves the playhead to its start. The same Space press does not toggle playback. |
| Number field | Type a value; Enter finishes and leaves the field. Up/Down steps the value; Shift+Up/Down steps ten times as far. Escape abandons an unfinished draft and leaves the field. |
| Slider | Arrow keys change one step; Page Up/Page Down change ten steps; Home/End selects minimum/maximum. |
| Choice menu, such as Export preset | Enter or Space opens it; Up/Down moves through choices; Home/End moves to the first/last; Enter or Space chooses. Typing opening letters finds a matching label. Escape closes without a new choice; Tab dismisses the list so you can continue keyboard navigation. |
| Aspect-ratio button group | Left/Right, Home, and End move to and apply a different ratio. This is an immediate frame change. |
| Expandable properties section | Enter or Space expands/collapses the focused heading. |
| Media-panel or timeline separator | Arrow keys adjust its panel dimension. They do not seek the playhead while that separator is focused. |
| Text input or text area | Typing and text-editing shortcuts belong to the field. In particular Ctrl+Z is not a timeline Undo while you are typing there. |
| Color picker | Tab among swatches, Hex color, and Done; Enter/Space activates a focused swatch or button. Escape closes the picker. |
Valid number and color changes can apply immediately while you type. Escape or closing a panel is not a general Cancel changes command. Leave the field and use the timeline Undo button to reverse a value already accepted.
Context menus and dialogs
- To open general timeline actions by keyboard, focus Timeline tracks with Tab and press the Context Menu key or Shift+F10. Its time is the playhead, not an imaginary mouse position.
- Inside a timeline or track action menu, use Up/Down to move among enabled actions, Home/End for the first/last, and Enter to run the focused action.
- Escape dismisses the menu without running an action. An outside click also dismisses it.
- Use Tab and Shift+Tab to move around an open dialog or bounded settings panel. Close the relevant color picker or choice popup before closing the panel underneath it.
Right-clicking an actual clip, transition, or marker supplies its item-specific actions; the keyboard's general timeline menu does not substitute a pointer hit inside an item. Track actions are available from the track's three-dot button.
Why a shortcut may do something else
- A dialog or choice/color popup is open. Finish or close it first. The normal editing shortcuts yield while it is open.
- A text, numeric, slider, choice, menu, or separator control has focus. Its own keyboard behavior takes priority. Click the timeline before trying an editing command.
- A button has focus. Space/Enter activates the button, not Play/Pause. This includes Export and Cancel export.
- The pointer is over the preview. Space may engage the pan tool. Use K or the Play button when you want playback.
- You are composing text with an input method. Finish the composition before expecting editor shortcuts to run.
- The requested action has no target. Split needs a clip at an interior playhead position; Delete needs a selection; marker navigation needs a marker in that direction.
Save, Open, focus Export, and Agent connection are special top-bar commands that can still run from ordinary text fields. An open dialog or choice/color popup blocks them. Close any context menu before using project commands so your next action is clear. If a shortcut still does not act as expected, use the equivalent labeled button and check the focus rules above.