How to Use the Control-Option-Command-C Shortcut to Split Captions in Final Cut Pro

Keyboard shortcut: ControlOptionCommandC

What Control-Option-Command-C Does

In Final Cut Pro, Control-Option-Command-C runs Split Captions. It splits the selected caption into multiple single-line captions. If a caption has two or more lines of text, each line becomes its own caption. It doesn't cut the caption at the playhead the way the Blade command cuts a clip.

Why Split Captions?

Long, multi-line captions can be hard to read, especially on phones. Breaking them into single lines keeps each caption short, so viewers can read it at a glance and the text stays closer to what's being said.

How to Use It

  1. Make sure your captions are visible in the timeline.
  2. Select a caption that has more than one line of text.
  3. Press Control-Option-Command-C.
  4. Final Cut Pro replaces it with separate single-line captions.
  5. Play back the section and adjust each new caption's timing by dragging its edges if needed.

Tips

  • Select several captions to split them all at once, which is handy after importing a caption file with long lines.
  • Check the text after splitting. You may want to rewrite a line so each caption reads naturally on its own.
  • If you need two captions in a specific place instead, edit the text so each line is where you want the break, then split.

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