How to Use the Control-Tab Shortcut to Switch Inspector Tabs in Final Cut Pro

The Inspector is where you adjust almost everything about a clip, and its settings are split across several tabs. Control-Tab lets you move through those tabs without clicking.

What Control-Tab Does

In Final Cut Pro's default command set, Control-Tab is assigned to Next Inspector Tab. Each press moves the Inspector to its next tab. The tabs you see depend on what's selected. A video clip might show Video, Color, Audio and Info, while a title adds its own text and title tabs.

How to Use It

Select a clip in the Timeline or the Browser.
If the Inspector isn't showing, press Command-4 to open it.
Press Control-Tab to move to the next Inspector tab.
Keep pressing until you reach the settings you need.

Practical Uses

Quick checks: Jump from the Video tab to the Audio tab to confirm the volume of a clip, then over to Info to check its metadata.
Working on titles: Move between the text settings and the title's published parameters without hunting for the small tab buttons.

Tips

The tabs cycle, so if you pass the one you want, keep pressing Control-Tab to come back around.
In other Mac apps, such as Safari, Control-Tab switches browser tabs. In Final Cut Pro it switches Inspector tabs instead, so it's an easy one to remember.

Control-Tab is a small shortcut, but it keeps your hands on the keyboard while you work through a clip's settings.