Apple Compressor Tutorial: Important Keyboard Shortcuts for Compressor's Batch Monitor
Monitoring the Batch
Apple Compressor is one of the best known and most trusted video compression and video codec programs around, both in the professional and consumer realm. One of the nice things about Compressor is that it integrates so well with other post-production programs, which is part of its position in the Final Cut Studio. Here it is used as the intermediary between Final Cut Pro and where the video file may go, such as an upload to Vimeo or burned to DVD with DVD Studio Pro. Compressor also works in tandem with its Batch Monitor, a semi-separate program that will allow you to monitor the batches of video compression that was initialized in Apple Compressor. Here you can watch as the video compresses even after Compressor is closed, and it becomes a much more informational context if you need to remain in the loop during video compression. Like all video software, keyboard shortcuts are important in Batch Monitor and you will actually find that many of them are the same as with other Apple programs and those used in video post-production.
Basic Edit Keyboard Shortcuts
The basic “Edit” functions in Compressor’s Batch Monitor are going to be similar to those used in other Apple programs, for the most part. Here are the most important Batch Monitor Keyboard Shortcuts that are used for these edit functions that will help interact with your project.
- Cut - Command and X
- Copy - Command and C
- Paste - Command and V
- Undo - Command and Z
- Redo - Command, Shift and Z
- Select All - Command and A
Working With Your Compressor Project
When you are in Batch Monitor looking at your clusters of batches you are going to need to both manage your project, and how it appears. This means that you may have to interact with the basic working functions of Batch Monitor, and since it is a software designed to allow you to “monitor” your video compression you will need to also change view settings. Here are some of the Batch Monitor keyboard shortcuts to give you more control over the Batch Monitor software, and some of them are common to other post-production programs for Apple machines and some are specific to Compressor’s Batch Monitor.
- Close a Batch Monitor Window - Command and W
- Minimize a Batch Monitor Window - Command and M
- Refresh - Command and R
- Hide the Toolbar - Option, Command, and T
- Batch Monitor Preferences - Command and “,”
- Hide Batch Monitor - Command and H
- Hide Others - Command, Option, and H
- Get the Result of an Apple Script - Command and “*”
- Make a New Sticky Note - Command, Shift, and Y
- Send the File to a Bluetooth Device - Shift, Command, and B
- Searching Using Google’s Search Engine - Shift, Command, and L
- Spotlight - Shift, Command, and F
- Quit Batch Monitor - Command and Q
This post is part of the series: Apple Compressor Tutorials
Here are some of the best Apple Compressor tutorials to outline different aspects of the software.
