Boost Your Final Cut Pro Workflow with the Option-Shift-N Shortcut: Viewing Clip Names in the Browser

Keyboard shortcut: OptionShiftN

Option-Shift-N runs the Final Cut Pro command View Clip Names. It shows or hides clip names in the Browser. It's a Browser display option, not a timeline setting.

What It Does

When you view clips as filmstrips in the Browser, each clip can show its name under the thumbnail. Option-Shift-N turns those names on or off. Turn them off and you get a cleaner, more visual Browser that's all pictures. Turn them on and you can identify clips by name at a glance.

How to Use It

  1. Click in the Browser and make sure you're viewing clips as filmstrips.
  2. Press Option-Shift-N to hide the clip names.
  3. Press it again to show them.

When to Use It

  • Picking shots visually: When you're choosing B-roll by how it looks, hiding names gives you a cleaner view and more room for thumbnails.
  • Finding a specific file: When you need to match a clip to a name in a shot list, script notes, or a client email, show the names.
  • Reviewing with someone: A Browser without file names can be less distracting when you're showing footage to someone else.

Tips

  • If you want even more detail about each clip, switch the Browser to list view, which shows names along with other information in columns.
  • Clear, descriptive clip names make this option far more useful. Rename clips in the Browser as you log them.
  • Clip names in the timeline are controlled separately, through the timeline's clip appearance settings.

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