Keyboard Remapping in Final Cut Pro

Keyboard Remapping in Final Cut Pro
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Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are great to make your editing work faster and more intuitive, but often the presets are not what seem natural. Especially for those used to working on other operating systems you may find the integration of default quick keys difficult. Thankfully changing the keyboard shortcuts is fairly easy in Final Cut Pro, and is called Keyboard Remapping.

Getting the Window

When you are in Final Cut Pro go to Tools and select Keyboard Layout. From here go ahead and click on Customize. You will be given a window with a long search bar that looks common from Apple programs. Here is where you can search for a command you would like to apply a new keyboard shortcut. For example, if you are trying to apply a new shortcut for Save you would simply type “Save” and it would come up.

Changing the Settings

The top of this window has a series of tabs for different keyboard shortcuts, such as Control and Apple or Shift and Apple. There will be a depiction of a keyboard for you to view. Go ahead and click on the command you are trying to assume and either drag it onto one of the preset tabs, with keyboard combinations like Control and F, or onto one in the keyboard to assign it. You can work with this menu as much as you like until you feel satisfied with the new keyboard set-up. From here you can go ahead and set the changes as the new shortcuts and they will appear as such until you change back to the default or alter them further.

Think Twice

Once you are in this window it is pretty self explanatory, and can be a quick way to assign keyboard combinations that are more natural to you. This may not always be the thing you want to do because standard keyboard shortcuts are what will be default on any other system you work with. It is better to learn the default shortcuts as much as you can before you go and start to alter them. If you are going to customize them you need to make sure that you do it on a computer that you intend on using for almost all of your editing work.

This post is part of the series: Final Cut Pro

Learn different tools in Final Cut Pro with this tutorial series.

  1. The History of Final Cut Pro
  2. Final Cut Pro Certification
  3. How to Use “Photo Motion” in Final Cut Pro - Part 1
  4. How to Use “Photo Motion” in Final Cut Pro - Part 2
  5. How to Do Color Correction in Final Cut Pro
  6. How To Change Video Clip Speeds in Final Cut Pro
  7. How to Make Video Clips Black and White in Final Cut Pro
  8. How to Do Video Transitions in Final Cut Pro
  9. How to “Nest” Items in Final Cut Pro
  10. How to Import and Capture Video in Final Cut Pro
  11. Keeping Your Final Cut Pro Project Organized
  12. Video Editing - How to Crop Images in Final Cut Pro
  13. Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Final Cut Pro
  14. Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Final Cut Pro - Part 2 of 3
  15. Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Final Cut Pro - Part 3 of 3
  16. Using Markers in Final Cut Pro
  17. Labeling Clips in Final Cut Pro
  18. Adding Zoom to Video in Final Cut Pro
  19. Creating Map Motion in Final Cut Pro
  20. Printing to Video in Final Cut Pro
  21. How to Make Scrolling Credits in Final Cut Pro
  22. Keyboard Remapping in Final Cut Pro
  23. Quick Organizational Tips for Final Cut Pro
  24. Learning How to Use Final Cut Pro