User guide

406 Part VI Rough Editing
Several elements trigger snapping in the Timeline:
 Clip boundaries
 The playhead
 Markers
 Keyframes
 In and Out points
When you drag the playhead or a selected clip item in the Timeline, it “snaps” to these
elements when it encounters them.
While snapping is extremely useful, it can also be a hindrance if you’re trying to move a
clip only a few frames among a series of markers and clip boundaries, and you don’t
want it to snap to any of these points. Fortunately, you can turn snapping on or off at
any time, even while you’re dragging a clip.
To turn snapping on or off, do one of the following:
m Press N (you can do this even while you’re dragging).
m Choose View > Snapping. (A checkmark indicates snapping is on.)
m Click the Snapping button in the Timeline.
If the Snapping button is not in the Timeline button bar, you can add it. For more
information about customizing button bars, see Chapter 10, “Customizing the
Interface,” on page 137.
Snapping affects the functions of many of the editing tools in Final Cut Express, such as
the Ripple and Roll tools, as well as the playhead in both the Viewer and the Canvas.
A small pair of arrows appears
above or below the edit, marker, or
keyframe to indicate that the
playhead has snapped to this item.