Skip to content

Split Cut Editor How To

Jump to bottom
simonefil edited this page Oct 9, 2026 · 1 revision

Cut editor: step by step

This page lists the typical jobs of the Cut editor with the exact steps for each one. The Cut editor page describes every control in detail.

Two words come back on every step:

  • a file is one output file, a card in Output files on the right;
  • a segment is a range of the source inside a file, a row of the card and a colored bar in the timeline.

The cursor is the frame shown in the preview. Start at cursor, End at cursor, Range start and Range end all include the frame shown.

Contents

Open the editor

  1. In the Split file list, click the file.
  2. Press Cut editor on the toolbar (F4). The same command is Open in cut editor in the Actions menu, in the row menu of the file (right-click), and on the entry of the file in the plan review.
  3. Wait for Preparing source information… to finish. The editor opens on the first file, with the cursor on the start of its first segment.

With Manual, in the cut editor, the editor starts with one file holding the whole source. With a wizard rule, it starts with the files the rule creates.

Bring the cursor to an exact frame

  1. Click the timeline near the point. The preview shows the frame under the cursor.
  2. Zoom with the mouse wheel or a trackpad pinch over the point, for a finer click.
  3. Step with Previous frame and Next frame (← / →) until the preview shows the frame you want. Hold the button to keep stepping.
  4. To land on a keyframe, use Previous keyframe and Next keyframe. Keyframes are the ticks of the Keyframes row in the timeline.

The position next to the frame buttons gives the time; its tooltip gives the frame number. Start of video (Home) and End of video (End) jump to the first and the last frame.

Split a file into two episodes

The cut goes on the first frame of the second episode.

  1. Click the bar of the segment in the timeline, at the point of the cut. The segment is selected and the cursor moves there.
  2. Bring the cursor to the first frame of the second episode, as in Bring the cursor to an exact frame.
  3. Press Split at cursor (S). The file now has two segments: the second one starts on the frame shown.
  4. Open ⋯ on the second segment, in the list on the right, and choose New file from here.

The second segment moves into a new file, placed right after the first one. With automatic names, both files take the name of the Naming scheme of the wizard.

Create several files from one source

  1. Repeat steps 1 to 3 of Split a file into two episodes at every point of cut: each Split at cursor adds a segment to the same file.
  2. Open ⋯ on the last segment and choose New file from here.
  3. Open ⋯ on the segment that is now last in the first file and choose New file from here again.
  4. Continue up the list until every segment sits in its own file.

New file from here always takes the chosen segment and the ones after it, so working from the bottom up gives one file per segment.

Remove a part in the middle

An opening theme, a recap or an advertising break: the file keeps the parts before and after it, joined.

  1. Click the heading of the file in Output files, to select it.
  2. Bring the cursor to the first frame to remove and press Range start (I) above the timeline.
  3. Bring the cursor to the last frame to remove and press Range end (O). The range is highlighted on the timeline.
  4. Right-click inside the highlighted range, on the audio, and choose Remove from selected file (…).

The segment is divided in two around the range, and the file plays the two parts one after the other. To mark the range with the mouse, drag on an empty area of the timeline instead of steps 2 and 3.

Another way, by segments:

  1. Select the segment and bring the cursor to the first frame to remove; press Split at cursor.
  2. Bring the cursor to the first frame to keep after the part; press Split at cursor again.
  3. Select the middle segment and press Delete.

Remove the start or the end

  1. Click the segment that holds the start of the file, in the list or in the timeline.
  2. Bring the cursor to the first frame to keep.
  3. Press Start at cursor. The frames before it leave the segment.
  4. For the end: select the last segment, bring the cursor to the last frame to keep and press End at cursor.

You can also drag the left or the right edge of the selected bar in the timeline: the preview follows the edge while you drag.

Move a cut point precisely

A cut point is the start or the end of a segment. Select the segment first, then use one of these:

Method Steps
From the cursor Bring the cursor to the frame, then press Start at cursor or End at cursor.
By typing Type in Start or End a time such as 00:21:40.500 or a frame such as f31200, then press Enter. End is exclusive: f31200 ends the segment on frame 31199.
With the mouse Drag the edge of the selected bar in the timeline. Zoom in first for a fine movement.

Go to segment start and Go to segment end bring the cursor back to the current start or end, to check the frame.

Start a cut on a keyframe

A segment that starts on a keyframe is copied without re-encoding.

  1. Open ⋯ on the segment.
  2. Choose Start on keyframe.

The start moves to the keyframe chosen by Cut alignment in the wizard: nearest, previous or next. The command is available with a keyframe Cut alignment. To choose the keyframe yourself, bring the cursor there with Previous keyframe or Next keyframe and press Start at cursor.

Build a file from an empty start

  1. Press New file. An empty file appears at the end of the list and is selected.
  2. Bring the cursor to the first frame of the part.
  3. Press Segment. The file receives a segment from the cursor to the end of the source.
  4. Bring the cursor to the last frame of the part and press End at cursor.
  5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 to add more parts: each Segment goes after the last segment of the selected file.

Put the same part in two files

  1. Open ⋯ on the segment.
  2. Choose Copy to ▸, then the destination file.

The copy goes at the end of the destination file, and the original stays where it is. With the mouse: drag the segment into the other file and hold Alt when you drop it.

Move a segment to another file

  1. Open ⋯ on the segment.
  2. Choose Move to ▸, then the destination file.

The segment goes at the end of the destination file. With the mouse: drag the segment into the other file, between two of its segments, or onto Drag a segment here in an empty file. Dropping it onto New file creates a new file holding it.

Change the order of segments and files

To move Steps
A segment inside its file ⋯ on the segment, then Move up or Move down. Or drag it to its new place in the same file.
A file in the list ⋯ on the file, then Move up or Move down. Or drag its heading between two other files.

The file writes its segments from top to bottom, and the split creates the files in the order of the list.

Join two segments

Two segments of the same file join into one when the second starts exactly where the first ends, for example after a Split at cursor.

  1. Open ⋯ on the first of the two segments.
  2. Choose Join with next.

Join two files

  1. Bring the two files next to each other, as in Change the order of segments and files.
  2. Open ⋯ on the first file and choose Merge with next.

The segments of the second file go at the end of the first one, and the second file disappears. The notification Files joined offers Undo.

Start a new file from a segment

  1. Open ⋯ on the segment that opens the new file. It has to be the second segment of its file or a later one.
  2. Choose New file from here.

The segment and every segment after it move into a new file, placed right after the original one.

Delete a segment or a file

To delete Steps
A segment Select it and press Delete (Delete), or ⋯ on the segment, then Delete segment.
A file ⋯ on the file, then Delete file.

The notification Deleted offers Undo for a few seconds; Undo in the header works at any time.

Rename a file

  1. Open ⋯ on the file and choose Rename.
  2. Type the name, ending in .mkv. A / puts the file in a subfolder of the destination.
  3. Press Enter to confirm, or Esc to keep the old name.

To return to the Naming scheme of the wizard, open ⋯ on the file and choose Automatic name.

Check the assembled file

  1. Select the file.
  2. In Preview, at the top of the frame preview, choose Selected file.
  3. Step with Previous frame and Next frame across the joins between segments: the preview shows the frames in the order of the finished file, and the line under the frame gives the matching Source time.
  4. Choose Source to return to the source.

Fix the reported errors

Errors and warnings appear at the top of Output files, and a file with errors shows a red badge.

  1. Press Show next to the message: the editor selects the file or the segment involved.
  2. Fix it as the message says: for example, add a segment to an empty file, or Rename a file whose name collides with another.

Undo and redo

  • Undo (Ctrl+Z, Cmd+Z on a Mac) takes back the last change.
  • Redo (Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y) brings it back.

Every change counts as one step, a drag on the timeline included.

Start again from the whole source or the rule

  1. Press Restore full source in the header, for a file in Manual, in the cut editor, or Reapply batch rule, for a file cut by a wizard rule.
  2. The files return to one file holding the whole source, or to the result of the rule.

Undo brings your edits back. The plan of the file changes only when you press Apply.

Apply the changes

  1. Check that no error is listed at the top of Output files.
  2. Press Apply in the header.

The editor closes, and the file list shows Manual segments in Mode. Start the split from the file list with Split selected (F9) or Split all (F10). Close leaves the editor without applying; with changes still to apply, choose Discard changes or Continue editing.

Next

Start here

Remux

Split

Metadata

Reference

Project

Clone this wiki locally