DaVinci Resolve Edit Page Trimming Shortcuts
The Edit page is where the core assembly and trimming of a sequence happens, and its shortcuts revolve around quickly switching between the small set of core editing tools — Selection, Blade, and Trim — that together cover the overwhelming majority of moment-to-moment editing actions. Beyond Selection, Blade, and Trim, two more tools round out Edit page trimming: Dynamic Trim for adjusting an edit's timing live during playback, and Insert for placing a source clip onto the timeline following standard three-point editing conventions.
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blade (cut) tool | B | B | Turns the pointer into Blade Edit Mode so the next click anywhere on a timeline clip slices it into two independently editable clips at that frame, with each half retaining its own separate color grade node tree and Fusion effects rather than sharing one — essential to know before cutting a clip that already has grading work applied. |
| Selection tool (Arrow) | A | A | Switches back to the standard Selection tool for clicking and dragging clips, the default tool you return to after using Blade or Trim. |
| Trim Edit tool | T | T | Activates the Trim Edit tool for adjusting a clip's in or out point directly on the timeline, including ripple and roll trim variants depending on where you click relative to an edit point. |
| Ripple delete selected clip | Shift+Delete (or X) | Shift+Delete (or X) | On the Edit page, removes the selected clip and ripples every later clip on that track backward to fill the space, keeping downstream color grades and Fusion compositions correctly attached to their clips since nothing shifts relative position except to close the gap — a standard Delete instead leaves a blank gap that would otherwise need manual closing. |
| Dynamic Trim mode | W | W | Activates Dynamic Trim mode, letting you adjust an edit point's timing live during playback using J/K/L, rather than statically dragging a clip's edge while playback is stopped — useful for judging exactly how a trim adjustment feels in motion before committing to it. |
| Insert clip at playhead | F9 (or drag from Media Pool) | F9 | Inserts the clip currently loaded in the Source Viewer at the playhead position on the active track, pushing existing content later to make room, following the same three-point editing conventions found across most professional NLEs. |
The Selection tool (A) is the default state you return to constantly, used for simply clicking and dragging clips around the timeline or into it from the Media Pool. Blade (B) switches into a cutting mode where a single click on any clip cuts it apart at that frame, which is the fastest way to isolate a section you want to trim, delete, or hand off to a different grade or effect without disturbing the rest of the original clip.
Trim (T) activates a more nuanced tool that behaves differently depending on exactly where you click relative to an existing edit point — clicking near a clip's edge trims just that side (a ripple trim, shifting only that clip's boundary), while clicking directly on the edit point between two clips performs a roll trim, adjusting both clips' adjacent edges together so the total timeline duration stays unchanged. Understanding this positional behavior is what separates fluent Trim tool use from constantly fighting with unexpected results.
Ripple Delete (Shift+Delete, or the single-key X shortcut) removes a selected clip and closes the resulting gap automatically by shifting everything downstream earlier, which is usually what editors actually want when tightening a rough cut, as opposed to a plain Delete that leaves an empty gap in the clip's place — deliberately useful in its own right when you want to preserve exact timing elsewhere on the timeline, such as keeping a music cue's beat aligned even though the removed video clip's space needs to stay open temporarily.
A practical detail worth internalizing early: these tool-switch shortcuts (A, B, T) are single unmodified letters specifically because tool-switching happens dozens of times per editing session, and reaching for a modifier-heavy combo that often would slow down what's meant to be an instantaneous, reflexive action.
Dynamic Trim (W) offers a genuinely different feel from the static Trim tool covered above — rather than dragging a clip's edge while playback is paused and judging the result only after releasing, Dynamic Trim lets you adjust an edit point's exact timing live while JKL shuttle playback continues running, using J and L to nudge the trim earlier or later in real time as you watch and listen to the actual cut happen. This is particularly valuable for dialogue-driven edits where the precise feel of a cut's timing against speech rhythm matters more than a frame-accurate but static visual judgment would capture.
Inserting a clip from the Source Viewer (F9) follows the same three-point editing logic found across Premiere Pro, Final Cut, and Avid alike — with In and Out points marked on the source clip and the playhead set on the timeline, an Insert edit shifts every downstream clip forward by exactly the new clip's duration and slots it into that gap, so nothing already on the timeline gets overwritten, only shifted later in time. This is the standard way of building up a sequence from source footage methodically, clip by clip, rather than relying purely on drag-and-drop placement from the Media Pool.