Edit merged clips

Last updated on Jun 23, 2025

Explore how editing and trimming merged clips in the Timeline panel differ from regular clips, especially when gaps are present.

In general, working with merged clips is much like working with any other clip. However, there are some workflow differences.

Edit merged clips with gaps into the Timeline panel

Merging clips affects their behavior when you're editing them into the Timeline panel, specifically, if the clips contain gaps in their component structure.

  • When there is another component clip available: If an In or Out point is marked in a gap in the audio or video, and there is another component clip available above or below that gap, Premiere Pro uses a track for the gap when you’re adding the merged clip to the Timeline panel.
  • When no component clip is available: It is possible to merge audio and video and have places in the merged clip where there is no other component clip in the gap. If you have marked an In or Out point in a gap, you'll receive a warning - “Invalid edit. No media present in source clip’s marked In/Out range” when you try to add the merged clip to the Timeline panel. The No drop  icon will appear if you attempt to drag and drop the merged clip into the timeline.
Note:

If there's a gap in the video, black (no visual content) will appear during playback. For audio gaps, you'll hear silence unless another audio clip fills that gap on a different track.

Trim merged clips

Trimming merged clips is like trimming any other clip, with the following exceptions:

  • During trimming, the trim is applied equally to component clips, preserving any offsets.
  • To trim the edge of a single component clip, users can temporarily break sync by holding down the Alt or Option modifier while dragging.
  • When trimming individual component clips, snapping occurs at the ends of other component when snapping is on.
  • Normal trimming rules apply; a merged clip can only be trimmed to the point where there is at least one frame remaining in any of the component clips.