Option-Command-Click in Final Cut Pro: Not a Default Keyboard Shortcut (How to Move Clip Connections)

Keyboard shortcut: OptionCommandClick

If you search Final Cut Pro's default command set for Option-Command-Click, you won't find it. It isn't a default keyboard shortcut in Final Cut Pro's Command Editor, and no command is bound to it there. Here's what that means and how to work with clip connections.

Keyboard Commands vs. Modifier Clicks

The Command Editor lists commands that are triggered by keys. A click with modifier keys held down is a mouse gesture in the timeline, and it isn't something the Command Editor lists or lets you assign. So Option-Command-Click won't appear in the Command Editor.

What This Post Is About: Clip Connections

Connected clips, such as titles, B-roll and sound effects, attach to a clip in the primary storyline at a connection point. If you move or delete that primary clip, its connected clips go with it. Sometimes you want a connected clip to belong to a different clip below it without moving the connected clip in time. Apple's documentation describes doing this by holding Option and Command while clicking the connected clip at the spot where you want the connection to be. Try it in your own timeline and watch the connection line move.

Assigning Your Own Shortcuts

To find keyboard commands related to connected clips, or to give a command a key of your own:

  1. Press Option-Command-K to open the Command Editor.
  2. Duplicate the default command set so you can switch back any time.
  3. Type a word such as "connect" in the search field to see related commands.
  4. Drag a command onto a free key on the keyboard image.
  5. Save your command set.

Tips

  • Check a key's color in the Command Editor before assigning it. A colored key is already in use.
  • Before you ripple-delete or move primary storyline clips, check which connected clips are attached to them, so nothing moves unexpectedly.
  • Export your command set and keep a copy so you can bring your shortcuts to another Mac.

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