In this video, I’m sharing 20+ DaVinci Resolve keyboard shortcuts that will help you cut down on the clicking and menu hunting, and edit your YouTube videos faster.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WL1I3t4_18Y
Mentioned
DaVinci Resolve Cheat sheet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lglmRxFGrh0&t=563s
Edit faster in DaVinci Resolve
If editing takes too long, in this video, I’m sharing my go-to shortcuts that will help you edit faster in Davinci Resolve.
Starting with keyboard customization, click on the DR up top to open it up.
Click around to see what a keyboard is linked to. Or search commands here.
If you’ve used Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere, you can use those presets here.
Use the default shortcuts from dr or, after you create your own customized shortcuts, save as new preset.
Shortcut F1
F1 = Keyboard customization
So for your 1st shortcut, if you want to pull this up quickly to add a new one, type ‘keyboard’ in search, default is CTRL+Alt+K, but you can also add another one by clicking the plus sign. Mine is set to F1.
Click save and close.
Now you know how to make changes, lets move on to the edit page where you can use all of these shortcuts.
If you’re new to DR and you create YouTube videos, here’s where you’ll spend most of your time.
I’ll try to follow the usual editing workflow with these shortcuts so it’s not all over the place.
So, once you’re done recording your videos and have clips, broll, and audio files all organized and in a project folder, you can drag and drop them in this area here.
Then start adding the video clips in the timeline.
First thing to do is the rough cuts to quickly remove the unwanted parts.
So the filler words, silent parts of the video, or any unnecessary sections you don’t need.
Shortcuts QWE
The 3 shortcuts to use for rough cuts are ripple start to playhead, ripple end to playhead, and razor.
I have this set up as QWE.
- Q = ripple – start to playhead – deletes everything on the left side of the playhead
- W = razor – is set to split
- E = ripple – end to playhead – deletes everything on the right side of the playhead
In this clip, you see the first few seconds are silent, so place the playhead here then Q to delete everything in front of the playhead.
Then move on to this part here and click W to split here.
Then move the playhead in front and press E to delete the right side.
You keep on doing this until you’re done with the clip.
Most likely, you’ll use the QW with the mouse for fast cuts.
Before the next shortcut – go to Timeline > Video > check Selection follows playhead.
This is so that any edit you make, it’ll happen on where the playhead is placed.
Shortcuts D + S
For example, the next 2 shortcuts are used to delete a clip using delete or backspace.
- D = Del (ripple delete) – deletes clips and shifts everything from right to left to close the gap
- S = Backspace (delete no ripple, gap delete) – backspace deletes only the clip selected and leaves a gap.
I have mine set to D for ripple del and S for backspace.
I have it under my QWE keys so my hand stays in one spot while editing.
The backspace is used the most to avoid the ripple delete.
So if I drop a broll clip on top here and press D for ripple delete, it deletes that whole section.
But using S for backspace deletes the clip selected.
Shortcuts JKL
If you really want to get fancy with it, instead of using the mouse, use J, K, L.
- J = play reverse
- K = stop
- L = play forward
- Space = pause
Shortcuts M, Ctrl+M, Shift+M, 0
Next 2 shortcuts are used for markers.
While you’re cutting and trimming clips, a good idea is to start labeling or adding markers for chapters and comments.
So after rough cuts, you’ll know exactly where to add things like broll, titles, text, effects, or screenshots.
There’s M to add a marker.
Because the ‘Selection follows playhead’ is checked, it will add the marker on the clip itself.
If you’re good with that, you can keep going, or uncheck Selection follows playhead.
I created a shortcut for that, of course, so 0 to go back and forth.
And then there’s CTRL+M to add and name the market, plus add notes or keywords.
To delete a marker, click the marker and press delete.
Double tap to edit or Shift + M to edit.
If you want to use markers for chapters or timestamps, later on, I’ll show you what tool to use that’ll automatically list the markers as timestamps.
Then you can copy and paste it in the description when you’re uploading the video.
Shortcuts F2, Alt+Scroll, Shift+Z
If you want to group clips together for easier organization, you can create compound clips.
Use this to combine clips for sections or chapters of the video – like intro, tutorial, tips, or outro.
If you have a lot of clips and you notice Resolve starts to lag, combining clips will help speed up the playback.
You can select multiple clips by dragging the mouse, then right click and select compound clip.
Or set this to F2. And now you can easily see the title of each clip when you scan through the timeline.
Use Alt + Scroll Wheel to zoom in/out of the timeline without touching the zoom slider
Or Shift + Z to see the whole project.
Shortcuts F3
Next shortcut is if you want to add a voiceover over a track.
If you forgot to mention something in the video or if you want to replace the audio with loud background noise, use record voiceover.
Go to Timeline > record VO. F3 is how I set it up.
You can edit just the same in here.
Shortcuts IOU/+4
When you’re ready to add broll and other things, deselect the auto track selector first so anything you add won’t be auto-added to the main track.
Double-click the clip you want to add then under the preview window, select video only, or video and audio, or just audio.
From the selected clip, press play then I for where you want to start the clip and O to end the clip.
- I = input
- O = output
Because it’s set to Video only, click:
- U = insert clip at the playhead
- P = add that portion or clip to the end of the timeline
- Shift + P = place on top
- F11 = to replace clip
- Shift + F11 to fill in the gap exactly, good for timing broll
From the Mark tab, you can remove the IO by selecting clear in, out, in and out
Shortcuts Ctrl + T, Alt+drag clip
Next one is adding transitions. You’ll have to set this up first to use this.
Click effects on top. Go through to find what you’re looking for.
Hover over each to review that effect.
If you like it add to your faves by clicking the star.
Then it’ll show up under faves so you dont have to search again.
Once you find a transition you want to use, double click or drag and drop it on top of the clip.
Zoom in the timeline if you can’t see it.
Click on the transition, then open up Inspector to make changes, like changing duration.
Set as default duration.
If you want to reuse this duration, right-click it and name your preset.
Tip – add your initials or a # in the front so you can search for it later.
Search your initials and you’ll have them all under here.
Add that to your favorites, then right-click it to set as a standard transition.
You can also favorite Open FX and Audio FX effects you use a lot.
Now when you Ctrl + T, this standard transition will be added to the clip.
I haven’t figured out why it doesn’t work all the time, but try double-clicking or dragging and dropping it on the clip.
Tip – When you’re adding and customizing your text and titles – add your most used assets to Power Bins to reuse again.
Click the 3 dots and check Power Bins. Go to effects > titles. Pick one and make changes. Once you’re done, drag and drop it in Power Bins.
Create a folder to keep assets organized. Right click to create a new bin – Text, Music, Broll, Video – end screens
Press Alt and click on the clip and drag it up, left or right to duplicate it without copying and pasting
Shortcuts F5
The next shortcut is for ‘search effects’ which is a new feature in Resolve 20.1.
Press F5 to search for an effect, then hit enter.
One thing to mention – Because I’m using my own keyboard preset, the default Shift+Space shortcut isn’t set up.
So if you’re watching a tutorial about a new feature in Resolve and the shortcut doesn’t work, update it to match.
Create a new one and use Shift and spacebar or set that as F5.
If you want to know what other features are in the 20.1 version, check out this video here from Creative Video Tips.
Another thing is those customized effects you named; you can’t search for yours yet, but I’m hoping that’ll change in the future.
Shortcuts CTRL+F, Shift+L
When you’re done adding the broll, transitions, music, and effects, the next shortcut to use is Ctrl + F for Cinema Viewer.
This is where you do the final review, but in full screen, this time use Shift+L to double the speed and do a quick scan.
Here’s where you look for mistakes like typos or missing transitions or titles.
Shortcuts F6, F7
My favorite one though – Dual screen and full timeline.
I’ve been editing in DR for 7 months, and looking at that itty bitty screen was driving me crazy.
That’s the one thing I missed from Capcut, where you can have the full video playing on one monitor while editing on another.
And I finally figured out a workaround since that layout is a paid feature. (Video Clean Feed)
So go to Workspace > turn Dual screen on then check full screen timeline.
I’m using F6 to turn on dual screen and F7 for full timeline (2x).
When I set up OBS correctly, I’ll be able to show both screens.
But I can now stay on this timeline screen to edit from the main monitor in front of me, while this window here – I can move to the left on my laptop.
So my workflow is to quickly edit the audio first, then use the IOUP shortcuts to add broll and things.
And now with F5 to search effects, I can add the effect in the main window without clicking over to the left.
Also – I can save this layout by going to Workspace > layout presets > save layout as preset, which I saved as Full Screen then click Load preset.
Shortcuts F4, F8
When you’re done with the final review, don’t forget to grab a screenshot for your thumbnail.
Make sure to do this before you export the video so you can work on the thumbnail in Canva, while it’s rendering.
Place the playhead on what you want to grab. There are 3 ways to do this:
1. File > Export > Current Frame as Still
2. Color page > right click and grab still. Then in the gallery, RC to export and save in your folder
3. F4 = or create a shortcut – mine is set to F4.
Going back to the markers and timestamps:
A tip I got from this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lglmRxFGrh0&t=563s
Right-click the timeline > Timelines > Export > Timeline marker to EDL.
After you download the file, go to Chapter Generator, then drag the file here to copy and paste the chapters into the description.
Another tip from that video – select the timeline again > Timelines > Add to render queue using – preset.
On the Deliver page, you can create your own export preset.
I picked the YouTube 1080p export then customized it.
Then clicked the 3 dots to set as new preset.
Name it, choose an icon, check to add to quick export.
It’s been a while so I don’t remember what I changed, but if you’re on Windows, here are the recommended settings.
For example, Windows users would use Rec.709 but if you’re on a Mac, it’s Rec.709-A.
And under audio, normalization – normailize audio, optimize to standard, standard > youtube
So with that new preset, again – select timeline > Timelines > Add to render queue using – your new preset.
Create a shortcut for that. Or for Quick Export, which I set up as F8.
Other shortcuts + tips
I went through the essentials to speed up your editing workflow, but here’s a quick rundown of some other ones
- Home and end keys to jump to the beg or end of the timeline
- Use the standard shortcuts like CTRL+S to save, CTRL+C to copy, V to paste, Z to undo. To redo is Ctrl shift Z.
- CTRL R / Shift R / Ctrl d |
- ctrl r = retime controls – speed up or slow down a clip – if you want to do a timelapse
- ctrl+r to speed up (like how I do in my video intros)
- SHIFT R for freeze frame – good for pauses, stretch this out
- ctrl d to change length of the clip
- Shift ctrl comma / Shift ctrl period – swap selected clip – instead of moving the clip above, then sliding the other to the right
- Shift ctrl comma – the left
- Shift ctrl period – the right
- Ctrl alt y / alt y – selects all clips to bulk move or edit –
- ctrl alt y – selects all clips on the left
- alt y – selects clips on the right
- Ctrl + h = open history window see all changes you’ve made, go back to and edit w/o ctrl-z’ing your way back
Last 2 tips – Use the help tab to search if you forget a shortcut.
And if you want to find what other shortcuts to add or customize, click through the menu to see what you want to update.
What’s next
This is the first in a series of videos for creators on how you can edit + improve your videos, especially if you’re an educational channel.
Make sure to subscribe to get updates.
About
Hi, I’m Marjy! Content Producer + Editor for creators and educators. If you’re enjoying this post, here are other ways you can connect with me:
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