Perform slide edits

Last updated on Jun 23, 2025

Learn how to reposition a clip within the timeline while preserving its duration and the timing of surrounding clips.

Use the Slide  tool to adjust the position of a clip in the timeline without changing its In and Out points.

A slide edit shifts a clip in time while trimming adjacent clips to compensate for the move. As you drag a clip left or right with the Slide tool, the Out point of the preceding clip and the In point of the following clip are trimmed by the number of frames you move the clip. The clip’s In and Out points (and hence, its duration) remain unchanged.

An illustrated example that demonstrates how a clip is dragged left to start earlier in the sequence.
In this slide edit, a clip is dragged left to start earlier in the sequence, shortening the preceding clip and lengthening the following clip.

  1. Select the clip you want to edit in the timeline.

  2. Press U on the keyboard to activate the Slide tool.

  3. Select and drag the clip left or right to slide it to a new position in the timeline.

Keyboard shortcuts

Action

Keyboard shortcut

Slide clip selection left five frames

  • Windows: Alt + Shift + ,
  • macOS: Option + Shift + ,

Slide clip selection left one frame

  • Windows: Alt + ,
  • macOS: Option + ,

Slide clip selection right five frames

  • Windows: Alt + Shift + .
  • macOS: Option + Shift + .

Slide clip selection right one frame

  • Windows: Alt + .
  • macOS: Option + .