Adobe Premiere Pro is a powerful video editing software trusted by both professional and amateur editors to create stunning visual stories. Whether you're crafting a heart-stopping documentary or a captivating social media ad, efficiency is key. Every minute saved in the editing room translates to more time spent refining your content and achieving your creative vision.

This is where keyboard shortcuts come in. By mastering these handy hotkeys, you can ditch the mouse clicks and navigate Premiere Pro with lightning speed. With shortcuts at your fingertips, you'll streamline your editing workflow, shave off precious editing time, and ultimately, unlock a new level of editing efficiency.

How to Change Keyboard Shortcuts in Premiere Pro

While Premiere Pro comes packed with default shortcuts, the real magic happens when you personalize them to fit your workflow. Here's how to access and customize keyboard shortcuts to create an editing experience that feels as unique as your creative vision.

Accessing and Modifying Shortcuts:

• Head to the Edit menu (Windows) or Premiere Pro menu (Mac).

• Select Keyboard Shortcuts.

• Alternatively you can use the handy shortcut "Ctrl + Alt + K” for Windows or "Command + Option + K" for Mac.

• This opens the Keyboard Shortcuts window, displaying a comprehensive list of commands and their assigned shortcuts.

Customizing Your Shortcuts:

• Find the command: Use the search bar to quickly locate the function you want to customize. For example, typing "cut" will show the shortcut for the "Add Edit" command.

• See what's assigned: The current shortcut for that command will be displayed next to it. If it's blank, there's no assigned shortcut yet.

• Assign your preferred shortcut: Click directly on the empty box or overwrite the existing shortcut. 

• Now, press the keys you want to use for the new shortcut (hold Ctrl/Command or other modifier keys if desired).

Avoid conflicts: The window will warn you if your chosen shortcut conflicts with another command. Choose alternative keys to prevent confusion.

Save and Conquer: Once you've customized your shortcuts, click Save to solidify your editing!

Embrace the Flexibility:

The beauty of Premiere Pro lies in its adaptability.  Don't be afraid to experiment and find shortcuts that feel natural for you.  There's no "one size fits all" approach – the perfect setup is the one that makes your editing process flow seamlessly.

Bonus Tip: Many online communities share pre-configured shortcut sets for different editing styles. These can be a great starting point for your customization journey!

Commonly Used Adobe Premiere Pro Shortcuts

Before we get into the most common ones, let’s try to understand how Premiere pro’s shortcut functions are setup:

In the image below,

• The keys shaded in purple are application-wide shortcuts. 

• Keys shaded in green are panel-specific shortcuts. 

• Keys shaded in both purple and green represent the panel commands that have been assigned to keys that also have an application command already assigned to them.

Certain keyboard shortcuts work only in specific panels. This means that you can have more than once shortcut assigned to the same key. You can also make use of the pop-up window that shows only a certain batch of panel shortcuts (for example, only for the timeline). When a Panel Shortcut has the same assigned shortcut as an application Shortcut, the application shortcut does not function when that panel has focus. 

Now let’s dive into the most common keyboard shortcuts you need to know:

Commonly Used Premiere Pro Shortcuts

From the Forums:

Someone asked this question "What keyboard shortcuts do you use the most in Premiere?" on reddit.

Here are a few replies which we felt would be useful to you as well:

Ahh the Match frame shortcut, of course!

Man this qualifies as a lifehack for all video editors!

Ok you should definitely try this!

Here's your sign to use Q and W more!

Lesser-Known Keyboard Shortcuts in Premiere Pro Worth Learning

We've covered some foundational shortcuts, but Premiere Pro offers a vast arsenal for various editing tasks. Here's a dive into some hidden gems across different functionalities:

Editing:

Match Frame (F): Instantly jumps you to the source clip of the clip under the playhead, allowing for precise edits.

Rate Stretch (Ctrl/Cmd+R): Adjusts playback speed of a clip without affecting pitch (hold Shift for finer adjustments).

Insert Clip (Ctrl/+): Inserts a clip at the playhead position, pushing following clips further down the timeline.

Lift/Extract ( ; & ' ): Lifts (removes) or extracts (copies) video or audio independently, offering creative editing possibilities.

Timeline Navigation & Selection:

Zoom to Fit (Ctrl/Cmd+0): Zooms your timeline to display all clips and edits at once, providing a bird's-eye view.

Zoom In/Out ( = & - ): Quickly zooms in and out on specific sections of your timeline for detailed editing.

Select All Tracks (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+A): Selects all tracks in your sequence for efficient editing across multiple elements.

Lock/Unlock Tracks (Shift+[/]): Locks or unlocks specific tracks, preventing accidental edits while focusing on others.

Color Grading:

Copy/Paste Color Attributes (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+/ & Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+V): Copies and pastes color grading adjustments from one clip to another, ensuring consistency across your project.

Solo Color Wheels (Ctrl/Cmd+`): Temporarily isolates a specific color wheel within the Lumetri panel for focused adjustments.

Reset Effect (Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+Click Effect): Resets an effect back to its original settings, allowing you to start fresh with your color grading.

Sequence Management:

New Sequence (Ctrl/Cmd+N): Creates a new sequence from scratch for different project sections or outputs.

Open in Source Monitor (Ctrl/Cmd+Click Clip): Opens the selected clip in the Source Monitor for detailed trimming and adjustments.

Nest Sequence (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+N): Nests a sequence within another sequence, allowing for complex project organization.

Replace Sequence (Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+Click Sequence): Swaps out an existing sequence with a new one while maintaining all edits and references.

Essential Graphics:

Open Essential Graphics Panel (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+K): Quickly launches the Essential Graphics panel for creating titles, motion graphics, and lower thirds.

Duplicate Layer (Shift+Ctrl/Cmd+/): Creates a copy of a selected layer within the Essential Graphics panel, saving time when building complex graphics.

Toggle Text Tool (T): Switches to the text tool within the Essential Graphics panel for easy text editing and animation.

Show/Hide Rulers (Ctrl/Cmd+R): Displays or hides rulers in the Essential Graphics panel, providing helpful visual guides for precise positioning of elements.

This is just a taste of the hidden shortcuts that empower your editing workflow.  Remember, consistent exploration and practice are key to unlocking the full potential of Premiere Pro and becoming a keyboard shortcut master!  So, dive in, experiment, and elevate your editing efficiency to new heights.

Save Your Premiere Pro Keyboard Shortcuts as a Printable PDF

This guide explains how to create a printout of your keyboard shortcuts, including any customizations you've made.

Here's how:

1. Access the Keyboard Shortcuts Menu:

On Windows (for Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, or Custom shortcuts): Press Ctrl+Shift, then go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.

On Mac (for Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, or Custom shortcuts): Press Command+Shift, then go to Premiere Pro > Keyboard Shortcuts.

2. Copy the Shortcuts:

Look for a button labeled "Clipboard" (the button's name might vary). Clicking it copies the keyboard shortcut list.

3. Paste into a Spreadsheet or Text Editor:

Open a new document in a program like Microsoft Excel (spreadsheet) or Google sheets.

Paste the copied information from the clipboard into the document.

4. Print Your List:

Save the document you created in step 3 as a PDF file.

Use the program's print function to print the saved document containing your keyboard shortcuts.

This method allows you to not only print the default shortcuts but also any personalized ones you've set up.

Conclusion: Master the Art of Quick Editing

 Throughout this guide, we've explored the magic of keyboard shortcuts in Premiere Pro. By mastering these handy hotkeys, you've unlocked a world of editing efficiency, allowing you to navigate projects with lightning speed and shave off precious time. Remember, every second saved translates to more creative freedom and a smoother editing workflow.

But the journey doesn't end here! The beauty of keyboard shortcuts lies in their customizability.  Experiment, explore, and discover shortcuts that perfectly suit your editing style. Don't be afraid to delve into online communities and discover hidden gems shared by other editors.

The learning process is continuous –  as you master existing shortcuts, new ones will emerge, further refining your editing skills.  Embrace this ongoing exploration, and you'll witness a remarkable transformation in your Premiere Pro experience.  Keyboard shortcuts aren't just button presses – they're the keys to unlocking a faster, more efficient, and ultimately, more enjoyable editing journey.  So, put your newfound knowledge to the test, and take your video editing to the next level!