Trim a clip by dragging its edges on the timeline

Trimming shortens a clip from its start or its end. In DepCut you do it by dragging the clip's edges on the timeline, and the right panel has a Trim tab for fine adjustments.

Drag an edge

1. Hover over the clip. A white handle appears on its left and right edges.
2. Press on a handle and drag. The left handle cuts the beginning, the right handle cuts the end.
3. Release when the picture shows the frame you want.

A video clip cannot grow past the footage it was cut from. If you drag beyond the first or last frame of the source, the edge resists and springs back when you let go. A photo has no length of its own, so you can stretch it as long as you need.

Each drag is one undo step. Press ⌘Z (Ctrl+Z on Windows and Linux) to put the edge back.

Let the edge snap

While you drag, the edge pulls toward nearby points on the timeline:

• the start of the project and its end
• the cut points on the main video track
• the playhead
• the edges of every other item, on any track, including titles and audio

This gives you a clean way to land on a precise frame. Move the playhead to the frame you want, then drag the clip edge toward it. The edge snaps to the playhead and a guide line confirms the match. Hold ⌘ while dragging to turn snapping off when you want a free position.

Zoom in for precision

Long clips are hard to trim at a glance. Zoom the timeline with the Zoom slider in the toolbar, or press = to zoom in and - to zoom out around the playhead. Fit shows the whole project at once. With the playhead parked on a clip, the left and right arrow keys step one frame at a time, so you can check the exact frame before you trim.

Use the Trim tab

Select a clip and open Trim in the right panel. It has two controls, Trim start and Trim end. Each one is a shuttle bar:

1. Press on the bar and drag left or right.
2. The distance from where you pressed sets the speed. A small drag creeps along, a long drag moves quickly.
3. Release to stop. The edge stays where it landed.

In the Trim tab, the clips after the one you trim close up behind it. When you drag an edge shorter on the main track, a gap opens beside the clip. Right-click the empty space and choose Remove empty space to close it.

Trim for pace

Cut the pause before the first word and the pause after the last one, and leave each clip only as long as it earns its place. Tight clips keep a video moving. Trimming also keeps your footage intact: the part you removed is still in the source, so you can drag the edge back out later, up to the ends of the original file.

Give it a go

Drop a clip on the timeline in DepCut, park the playhead on the frame you want, and drag the clip edge until it snaps.