Selects keeps its editing tools in two places. The floating toolbar on the timeline holds the tools you use while cutting, and the [Tools] tab in the left panel holds the one-click cleanup passes that run across a whole draft. This guide covers both, then lists the keyboard shortcuts that go with them.
Note: To build or rework a draft by describing the edit instead, use chat. Learn more in Edit with chat.
The floating toolbar
The floating toolbar sits at the bottom right of the timeline. Hover any button to see its name and its shortcut.
Selection and Razor
Selection and Razor are the two tools with their own buttons, because they are the two you switch between constantly.
[Selection]: the default cursor. Pick clips, move them along a track, drag them between tracks, and drag their edges to trim.
[Razor]: splits a clip at the point you click.
Expand multi-cam tracks
Expand multi-cam tracks opens every camera angle and audio track in a synced timeline out into its own lane, so you can see which angle each clip is using. Click the same button to collapse them back into one.
The More menu
The More menu, the button with three dots, holds four more actions.
[Zoom]: click the timeline to zoom in on it.
[Hand]: click and drag to scroll the timeline without moving any clips.
[Add marker]: drops a marker on the clip under the playhead.
[Shortcuts]: opens the full keyboard shortcut reference.
Speakers
Speakers, at the bottom of the toolbar under a divider, opens the panel where you set which speaker maps to which face on camera and which audio track. Camera switching follows those assignments.
Learn more in Set up speakers, cameras, and audio for multi-cam.
The Tools tab
The Tools tab holds the cleanup passes that run across a whole draft at once. In the left panel, switch from [Assistant] to [Tools], then click the tool you want.
[Remove silence]: tightens the pauses between sentences. Pick how much room to leave, and click [Restore] to put every pause back.
[Cut filler words]: removes hesitations, hedging, and repeated phrases. Pick which categories to cut and how aggressive to be.
[Speaker audio settings]: choose whether a speaker's assigned tracks play only while they are talking, or stay on throughout.
[Check names and terms]: corrects names and jargon the transcript got wrong, before they reach your export.
[Translate transcript (Beta)]: translates every caption in a timeline into another language, leaving your original transcript unchanged.
Note: Every tool is listed even when you are looking at a source file rather than a draft, and clicking one that edits a draft will ask you to pick a draft first. On a draft, [Cut filler words] appears only when at least one file in it was transcribed in English.
Learn more in Remove silence, Cut filler words, Check names and terms before editing, and Translate your transcript.
Keyboard shortcuts
Selects ships three keyboard shortcut presets, one per editing tool, so the keys you already know keep working: Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve. Premiere is the default.
To see the full list, open the [More] menu in the floating toolbar and click [Shortcuts]. The panel groups them by area: General, Timeline, Project panel, and Transcript. You can switch preset or customise any single shortcut from the same panel.
Note: The keys below are macOS. On Windows, press Ctrl wherever the table says Cmd.
The shortcuts you will use most
These are the shortcuts that cover most of a cutting session, shown for all three presets.
Action | Premiere | Final Cut Pro | DaVinci Resolve |
Play / stop | Space | Space | Space |
Selection tool | V | A | A |
Razor tool | C | B | B |
Zoom tool | Z | Z | Z |
Hand tool | H | H | H |
Add edit at playhead | Cmd + K | Cmd + B | Cmd + B |
Delete selected clip | Backspace | Backspace | Backspace |
Trim backward | Shift + Cmd + Left | Alt + [ | Cmd + [ |
Trim forward | Shift + Cmd + Right | Alt + ] | Cmd + ] |
Add marker | M | M | M |
Clear selected marker | Cmd + Alt + M | Ctrl + M | Alt + M |
Go to next marker | Shift + M | Ctrl + ' | Shift + M |
Go to previous marker | Shift + Cmd + M | Ctrl + ; | Shift + Cmd + M |
Step one frame | Left / Right | Left / Right | Left / Right |
Go to previous / next edit point | Up / Down | ; / ' | Up / Down |
Zoom timeline in / out | = / - | Cmd + + / Cmd + - | Cmd + + / Cmd + - |
Select all clips | Cmd + A | Cmd + A | Cmd + A |
Clear selection | Shift + Cmd + A | Shift + Cmd + A | Shift + Cmd + A |
Copy / paste | Cmd + C / Cmd + V | Cmd + C / Cmd + V | Cmd + C / Cmd + V |
Undo / redo | Cmd + Z / Shift + Cmd + Z | Cmd + Z / Shift + Cmd + Z | Cmd + Z / Shift + Cmd + Z |
Find | Cmd + F | Cmd + F | Cmd + F |
Focus project panel | Shift + 1 | Cmd + 1 | Cmd + 1 |
Focus main timeline | Shift + 2 | Cmd + 2 | Cmd + 2 |
Focus draft timeline | Shift + 3 | Cmd + 3 | Cmd + 3 |
Focus transcript | Shift + 4 | Cmd + 4 | Cmd + 4 |
Tip: Shortcuts go to whichever panel is active, so the focus shortcuts above are worth learning first. Focus the transcript to edit by text, focus the draft timeline to cut clips.
Change a preset or a single shortcut
To change a preset or a single shortcut, open the shortcuts panel from [More] then [Shortcuts], or from [Keyboard shortcuts] in the settings menu in the top bar. Pick the preset that matches your editing tool, or click [Customize] to rebind one key at a time.
Learn more in Selects App & Editor Workspace Settings.
FAQs
Where did Cut tools go?
Cut tools moved out of the floating toolbar. Remove silence and Cut filler words now live in the [Tools] tab of the left panel, next to [Assistant], alongside Speaker audio settings, Check names and terms, and Translate transcript.
Where are the camera switching settings?
There is no camera switching settings panel any more. Camera switching runs through chat, so ask for it in the [Assistant] panel and describe how you want the cameras to cut. The [Speakers] button at the bottom of the floating toolbar is still where you assign each speaker to a face on camera and an audio track, which is what switching follows. Learn more in Set up speakers, cameras, and audio for multi-cam.
I cannot find the Zoom and Hand tools
Zoom and Hand are in the [More] menu, the three-dot button in the floating toolbar. Only Selection and Razor have their own buttons. You can also press Z for Zoom and H for Hand on any preset.
Cut filler words is not in my Tools list
Cut filler words needs a draft where at least one file was transcribed in English. If your footage is in another language, it stays hidden. When you are looking at a source file rather than a draft, the tool is still listed, and clicking it asks you to pick a draft first.