80+ Essential Adobe Premiere Pro Shortcuts for 2023

Speed up your video editing process with these keyboard shortcuts, and optimize your Premiere Pro workflow with top tips

Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the most widely-used video editing programs in the audiovisual sector thanks to how easy it is to use and the wide range of features it offers.

When it comes to professional video editing, speed and precision are key. That’s why these essential shortcuts might just revolutionize your experience working in the software. Mastering them will improve your workflow and help you to edit faster, more smoothly, and help you get the results you want.

What is Premiere Pro?

Premiere Pro is a program by Adobe that can be used for:

1. Importing video, audio, and graphics.

2. Editing existing videos and audio - trimming and cleaning up.

3. Editing together multiple clips and still images to create new results.

4. Adding titles to videos and applying filters and other effects.

5. Exporting high-definition broadcast-quality video in different formats for different means of distribution.

Who is Premiere Pro for?

Premiere Pro is a tool designed for video production companies, news broadcasters, marketing professionals, and design agencies.

It is used by video editors, production managers, marketing managers, and multimedia designers to create assets such as trailers, advertisements, vlogs, short films, and feature-length films. Premiere Pro is considered to be industry-standard software alongside Final Cut Pro (for Mac only).

80+ essential Premiere Pro shortcuts

These shortcuts are divided into sections, depending on the kind of activity you are doing. In all cases, remember these tips:

For Windows: Use Ctrl and Alt keys. Shortcuts below are in Windows format.

For Mac: Use Command and Option keys instead. Most of the shortcuts are identical on Mac, except for when a shortcut uses Ctrl + Alt. Reverse the order, and use Opt + Cmd. For example, Ctrl + Alt + N for New Project becomes Opt + Cmd + N.

Get started with the workspace

- Project → Ctrl + Alt + N
- Sequence → Ctrl + N
- Bin → Ctrl + /
- Open Project → Ctrl + O
- Close Project → Ctrl + Shift + W
- Close → Ctrl + W
- Save → Ctrl + S
- Save As… → Ctrl + Shift + S
- Save a Copy → Ctrl + Alt + S
- Capture → F5
- Batch Capture... → F6
- Import from Media Browser → Ctrl + Alt + I
- Import... → Ctrl + I
- Export Media → Ctrl + M
- Get Properties for Selection... → Ctrl + Shift + H
- Exit → Ctrl + Q

Viewing video and timeline

- Play/pause toggle → Space
- Stop → K
- Zoom tool → Z
- Expand and minimize your timeline tracks → Shift+=/–
- Video track height → Ctrl+=/– (Cmd+=/–)
- Audio track height → Alt+=/– (Opt+=/–)
- Adjust the zoom on sequence to show everything in the timeline → \

Editing shortcuts

- Undo → Ctrl + Z
- Redo → Ctrl + Shift + Z
- Cut → Ctrl + X
- Copy → Ctrl + C
- Paste → Ctrl + V
- Paste Insert → Ctrl + Shift + V
- Paste Attributes → Ctrl + Alt + V
- Clear → Delete
- Ripple Edit Tool → B
- Ripple Delete → Shift + Delete
- Duplicate → Ctrl + Shift + /
- Select All → Ctrl + A
- Select Clip at Playhead → D
- Deselect All → Ctrl + Shift + A but Shift + Cmd + A
- Find... → Ctrl + F
- Edit Original → Ctrl + E
- Keyboard Shortcuts → Ctrl + Alt + K

Clip shortcuts

- Make Subclip... → Ctrl + U
- Audio Channels... → Shift + G
- Audio Gain → G
- Speed/Duration... → Ctrl + R
- Insert → ,
- Overwrite → .
- Enable → Shift + E
- Link → Ctrl + L
- Group → Ctrl + G
- Ungroup → Ctrl + Shift + G

Sequence shortcuts

- Render Effects in Work Area → Enter
- Match Frame → F (Hover over any clip in the sequence and hit F to open the master clip in the Source Monitor at the exact same frame.)
- Reverse Match Frame → Shift + R
- Add Edit → Ctrl + K (cuts the clip in two)
- Add Edit to All Tracks → Ctrl + Shift + K (cut all clips under the Playhead in two)
- Trim Edit → Shift + T
- Extend Selected Edit to Playhead → E
- Apply Video Transition → Ctrl + D
- Apply Audio Transition → Ctrl + Shift + D
- Apply Default Transitions to Selection → Shift + D
- Lift → ;
- Extract → ‘
- Zoom In → =
- Zoom Out → -
- Next in Sequence → Shift + ;
- Previous in Sequence → Ctrl + Shift + ; or Opt + ;
- Snap in Timeline → S
- Make Subsequence → Shift + U
- Add new caption track → Ctrl + Alt + A
- Add caption at playhead → Ctrl + Alt + C
- Go to next caption segment → Ctrl + Alt + Down
- Go to previous caption segment → Ctrl + Alt + Up

Marker shortcuts

- Mark In → I
- Mark Out → O
- Mark Clip → X (X will mark the clip under the Playhead, but the / (forward slash) key will set In and Outs around all the clips you currently have selected.)
- Mark Selection → /
- Go to In → Shift + I
- Go to Out → Shift + O
- Clear In → Ctrl + Shift + I
- Clear Out → Ctrl + Shift + O
- Clear In and Out → Ctrl + Shift + X
- Add Marker → M
- Go to Next Marker → Shift + M
- Go to Previous Marker → Ctrl + Shift + M
- Clear Selected Marker → Ctrl + Alt + M
- Clear All Markers → Ctrl + Alt + Shift + M

More Premiere Pro tips

Once you’ve got to grips with some keyboard shortcuts, you may be looking for more advice to optimize your workflow. Video producer and editor Gonzalo P. Martos (@gonzalopmartos) is an expert in editing, digital post-production, artistic photography, and lighting, and below shares his advice for working in a professional manner…

1. Save files on an external hard drive so you don't overload your computer.

2. Create a new folder for every project that includes all the video, multimedia, and audio files you use, as well as a folder for each file type.

3. The more organized you have all components you will use for each project, the easier it will be to search through them and make changes. Try to adhere to the same structure when working in the program.

4. Always create a folder that contains all the files that have been auto-saved by Premiere.

Learn more about Premiere Pro in 2023

Want to learn more expert tips for working in Adobe Premiere? Dive into these further resources to take your work to the next level.

- Get to grips with one of the most popular programs for editing video by exploring our range of beginner and specialist Adobe Premiere courses.
- Discover other programs such as DaVinci with 3 DaVinci Resolve Tutorials for Beginners
- Want to start a YouTube channel? Learn what a vlog is and how you start one with this article.
- Try Adobe Premiere Pro for Beginners, a course by Alex Hall
- Or learn more from Gonzalo P. Martosdriv with Video Production and Edition with DSLR Camera and Adobe Premiere

English version by @eloiseedgington.