Drag video and audio to a sequence

By default, when dropped into a sequence, the video and audio components of linked clips appear in corresponding tracks (for example, Video 1 and Audio 1), unless the audio channel type of the clip is incompatible with the target track. In this case, the linked audio appears in the next compatible track, or a compatible track is created automatically.

Note: An audio clip dragged to an incompatible track automatically shifts to the next compatible track, even if the track is occupied by another audio clip. Therefore, take care not to disturb clips already in the sequence.

However, you can alter this behavior by holding the Shift key while you drag.

The Program Monitor can help you determine where to position a clip you’re adding to a sequence. During an overlay edit, it displays the frames in the sequence adjacent to the new clip’s head and tail. During an insert edit, it displays the frames adjacent to the insertion point.

Open a clip in the Source Monitor, and mark its In and Out points. (See Working with In and Out points.)
If you don’t want to set In and Out points, you can drag the clip directly from a bin or the preview thumbnail in the Project panel.
To make clip edges align when you drag them, make sure that the Snap button is active in a Timeline panel.
Do one of the following:
- To drag the video and audio portions of a clip to specific tracks, drag the clip from the Project panel or from the main viewing area of the Source Monitor into a Timeline. When the video portion of the clip lies above the desired video track, press and hold Shift. Continue holding shift, and drag downward past the bar separating video and audio tracks. When the audio portion of the clip lies above the desired audio track, release the mouse and release Shift.
- To drag the video portion of a clip to the Video 1 track and the audio to any audio track, drag the clip past the line that separates the video tracks from the audio tracks, and drop the clip above the audio track where you want the audio portion to land. The video portion of the clip will remain in the Video 1 track, and the audio portion lands in the desired audio track.
- To perform an overlay edit, drag the clip from the Source Monitor to an appropriate track in a Timeline panel at the point you want the clip to start. The destination area is highlighted, and the pointer appears with the Overlay icon .
- To perform an insert edit, Ctrl‑drag (Windows) or Command-drag (Mac OS) the clip from the Source Monitor to an appropriate track in a Timeline panel at the point you want the clip to start. The destination area is highlighted, and the pointer appears with the Insert icon . Arrows appear at the insertion point in all tracks.
- To perform an insert edit and shift only target tracks, Ctrl+Alt‑drag (Windows) or Command+Option-drag (Mac OS) the clip from the Source Monitor to an appropriate track in a Timeline panel at the point you want the clip to start. The destination area is highlighted, and the pointer appears with the Insert icon . Arrows appear at the insertion point only in the tracks to which the clip is added.
- To zoom into or out of a clip as you drop it into a Timeline panel, drag and press the equal sign key (=) to increase the zoom factor or press the minus sign key (–) to decrease it. Do not use the keys on the number pad.
The clip will land in a Timeline panel, the current-time indicator will jump to the beginning of the clip, and a Timeline panel will become active, making it easy to playback the clip just added to the sequence.

Note: You can also drag, or Ctrl-drag (Windows) or Command-drag (Mac OS), a clip into the Program Monitor to overlay or insert a clip. Make sure the track you want is targeted in a Timeline panel and the current‑time indicator is at the location where you want to add the clip in the sequence. To prevent an insert edit from shifting clips in any track, turn off Sync Lock for that track, or alternatively, lock the track.