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130Final Cut Pro User Guide
Select clips in Final Cut Pro
Clips represent your video, audio, and graphics files and allow you to work with your
media in Final Cut Pro without changing the files themselves. To add clips to your project,
rearrange them, or trim them, you first need to select them. You can select a single clip or
multiple clips at a time.
Selecting multiple clips allows you to move them as a group within your project, or from
one event to another. It’s also useful if you’ve made adjustments to a clip and you want to
copy effects and attributes between clips.
Select an entire clip in the browser
1. In the Libraries sidebar in Final Cut Pro, select an event.
2. In the browser, do any of the following:
• Click the clip once.
• Move the skimmer (or the playhead) over the clip, then press X.
Note: This results in a range selection that matches the boundaries of the clip.
• Press the Up Arrow key or Down Arrow key to move the selection to a neighboring
clip.
• Option-drag from the start point to the end point of the clip.
Note: All selections in the browser are technically range selections (with adjustable
start and end points).
Select an entire clip in the timeline
1. In Final Cut Pro, open an existing project.
2. In the timeline, do any of the following:
• Click the clip once.
• Move the skimmer (or the playhead) over the clip, then press X.
Note: This results in a range selection that matches the boundaries of the clip.
• Move the skimmer (or the playhead if skimming is turned off) over the clip you want
to select, then press C. This method selects the clip in the primary storyline.
Connected clips and storylines are attached to clips in the primary storyline,
and they appear above and below the primary storyline. To select a connected
clip or storyline with this keyboard shortcut method, position the pointer on the
connected clip, then press C. See
Connect clips in Final Cut Pro and Add storylines
in Final Cut Pro.