Time controls in the Source and Program Monitors

Learn about time controls in the Source and Program Monitors to enhance your editing precision and streamline your workflow.

The Source Monitor has several controls for moving through time (or frames) in a clip. The Program Monitor contains similar controls for moving through a sequence.

A. Current time display B. Playhead C. Zoom scroll bar D. Time Ruler E. Duration display 

Time rulers

Display the duration of a clip in the Source Monitor and sequence in the Program Monitor. Tick marks measure time using the video display format specified in the Project Settings dialog box. You can toggle the time rulers to display timecode in other formats. Each ruler also displays icons for its corresponding monitor’s markers and In and Out points. You can adjust the playhead, markers, and the In and Out points by dragging their icons in a time ruler.

Playhead

Shows the location of the current frame in each monitor’s time ruler.

Current time displays

Show the timecode for the current frame. The current time displays are at the lower left of each monitor’s video. The Source Monitor shows the current time for the open clip. The Program Monitor shows the sequence’s current time. To move to a different time. Alternatively, click in the display and enter a new time, or place the pointer over the time display and drag left or right. To toggle display between full timecode and a frame count, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (macOS) the current time in either monitor or the Timeline panel.

Duration display

Show the duration of the open clip or sequence. The duration is the time difference between the In point and the Out point for the clip or sequence. When no In point is set, the starting time of the clip or of the sequence is substituted. When no Out point is set, the Source Monitor uses the ending time of the clip to calculate duration. The Program Monitor uses the ending time of the last clip in the sequence to calculate duration.

Zoom scroll bars

Zoom scroll bars correspond with the visible area of the time ruler in each monitor. You can drag the handles to change the width of the bar and change the scale of the time ruler below. Expanding the bar to its maximum width reveals the entire duration of the time ruler. Contracting the bar zooms in for a more detailed view of the ruler. Expanding and contracting the bar is centered on the playhead. By positioning the mouse over the bar, you can use the mouse wheel to contract and expand the bar. You can also scroll the mouse wheel in the areas outside the bars for the same expanding and contracting behavior. By dragging the center of the bar, you can scroll the visible part of a time ruler without changing its scale. When you drag bar, you are not moving the playhead, however, you can move the bar and then click in the time ruler to move the playhead to the same area as the bar. A zoom scroll bar is also available in the timeline.