OpenShot Video Editor has one main window which contains most of the information, buttons, and menus needed to edit your video project.
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main Toolbar | Contains buttons to open, save, and export your video project. |
| 2 | Function Tabs | Switch between Project Files, Transitions, and Effects. |
| 3 | Project Files | All audio, video, and image files that have been imported into your project. |
| 4 | Preview Window | This is the area that the video will playback on the screen. |
| 5 | Edit Toolbar | This toolbar contains buttons used for snapping, inserting markers, and jumping between markers. |
| 6 | Zoom Slider | This slider will adjust the time-scale of your timeline. |
| 7 | Play-head / Ruler | The ruler shows the time-scale, and the red line is the play-head. The play-head represents the current playback position. |
| 8 | Timeline | The timeline visualizes your video project, and each clip and transition in your project. |
| 9 | Filter | Filter the list of items shown (project files, transitions, and effects) by using these buttons and filter textbox. Enter a few letters of what you are looking for, and the results will be shown. |
For step-by-step instructions on the basic usage of OpenShot, be sure to read the :ref:`quick_tutorial_ref`.
When you first launch OpenShot, you will be presented with a friendly built-in tutorial. It will point out and explain the basics. Clicking Next will jump to the next topic. You can always view this tutorial again from the Help→Tutorial menu.
OpenShot uses tracks to layer videos and images. The top most track is the top layer, and the bottom track is the bottom layer. If you are familiar with layers in a photo editing application, then you should be quite familiar with this concept. OpenShot will mix each layer together, just like a photo editing application. You can have an unlimited number of tracks, but typically a video project will not need more than 10 (or so) tracks.
For example, imagine a 3 track video project
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Top Track | Clips on this track will always be on top and visible |
| 2 | Middle Track | Clips in the middle (might or might not be visible, depending on what is above them) |
| 3 | Bottom Track | Clips on this track will always be on the bottom |
Here is a list of the default keyboard shortcuts supported by OpenShot. You can configure these shortcuts in the Preferences dialog. Learning a few of these shortcuts can save you a bunch of time!
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+H | About OpenShot |
| Ctrl+M | Add Marker |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Add Track |
| Ctrl+W | Add to Timeline |
| Ctrl+B | Animated Title |
| Ctrl+P | Choose Profile |
| Ctrl+C | Copy |
| Delete | Delete Item |
| Backspace | Delete Item |
| Ctrl+D | Details View |
| Ctrl+E | Export Video |
| L | Fast Forward |
| F11 | Fullscreen |
| Ctrl+F | Import Files |
| Ctrl+End | Jump to End |
| Ctrl+Home | Jump to Start |
| Ctrl+N | New Project |
| Right | Next Frame |
| Ctrl+Right | Next Marker |
| Ctrl+O | Open Project |
| Ctrl+V | Paste |
| Space | Play/Pause Toggle |
| Up | Play/Pause Toggle |
| Down | Play/Pause Toggle |
| K | Play/Pause Toggle |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Preferences |
| Left | Previous Frame |
| Ctrl+Left | Previous Marker |
| Ctrl+I | Properties |
| Ctrl+Q | Quit |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo |
| J | Rewind |
| Ctrl+S | Save Project |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Save Project As... |
| Ctrl+A | Select All |
| Ctrl+Shift+A | Select None |
| Ctrl+K | Slice All: Keep Both Sides |
| Ctrl+L | Slice All: Keep Left Side |
| Ctrl+J | Slice All: Keep Right Side |
| Ctrl+G | Toggle Snapping |
| Ctrl+X | Split Clip |
| Ctrl+Shift+D | Thumbnail View |
| Ctrl+T | Title Editor |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| = | Zoom In |
| -- | Zoom Out |
| Ctrl+Scroll | Zoom In/Out |
| Ctrl+Middle Button | Scroll Timeline |