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The Timeline is where you assemble your video. It runs along the bottom of the editor and holds all your clips, audio, and captions in a multi-track layout. You can drag, trim, split, and rearrange clips to build your edit.

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Clip operations

1

Add a clip

Drag any file from the Media Library onto the timeline to add it. New clips are placed at the end of the timeline or wherever you drop them.
2

Trim a clip

Hover over the left or right edge of a clip until the trim cursor appears, then drag inward to shorten it. The clip trims non-destructively — you can always drag it back out to restore footage.
3

Split a clip

Move the playhead to where you want to cut, then press C (or click the razor tool). The clip splits into two independent segments.
4

Move a clip

Click and drag a clip to reposition it on the timeline. Drop it between other clips or onto a different track.
5

Delete a clip

Select a clip and press Backspace or Delete to remove it from the timeline.
6

Duplicate a clip

Select a clip and press Cmd+D to create a copy right next to the original.
7

Copy and paste

Use Cmd+C and Cmd+V to copy and paste clips anywhere on the timeline.

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Speed control

You can change the playback speed of any clip from 0.25x (slow motion) to 32x (fast forward). Right-click a clip and choose Speed, or adjust it in the clip inspector.

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Audio per clip

Each clip has its own audio settings:
  • Volume — Set from 0% to 100%
  • Fade in — Gradually increase volume at the start of the clip
  • Fade out — Gradually decrease volume at the end of the clip

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Ripple edit mode

Press R to toggle Ripple Edit mode. When enabled, trimming or deleting a clip automatically shifts all subsequent clips to close the gap. This keeps your timeline tight without manual repositioning.

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Multi-select

Hold Shift and click multiple clips to select them at once. You can then move, delete, or apply changes to all selected clips in a batch.

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Track management

The timeline supports three types of tracks:
  • Video tracks — Hold video clips and images
  • Audio tracks — Hold music, sound effects, and voiceovers
  • Caption tracks — Hold auto-generated or manually added captions
You can reorder tracks by dragging them, mute an audio track to silence it, or toggle visibility on a video track to temporarily hide it from the preview.

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Snap and grid

Snapping helps you align clips precisely:
  • Snap to clips — Clips snap to the edges of neighboring clips
  • Snap to playhead — Clips snap to the current playhead position
  • Snap to grid — Clips snap to a configurable grid interval
You can toggle snap settings from the timeline toolbar.

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Undo and redo

Cardboard supports up to 50 undo steps. Press Cmd+Z to undo and Cmd+Shift+Z to redo. Every action on the timeline — trimming, splitting, moving, deleting — is fully reversible.
You can also use AI Chat for timeline edits — try “Trim the first 5 seconds off every clip” or “Delete all clips shorter than 2 seconds.”

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Keyboard shortcuts

  • Space — Play / Pause
  • L — Play forward
  • J — Play backward
  • Left arrow — Move playhead back one frame
  • Right arrow — Move playhead forward one frame
  • C — Razor / Split tool
  • R — Toggle ripple edit mode
  • V — Selection tool (default)
  • Backspace / Delete — Delete selected clip
  • Cmd+D — Duplicate selected clip
  • Cmd+C — Copy clip
  • Cmd+V — Paste clip
  • Cmd+Z — Undo
  • Cmd+Shift+Z — Redo

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What’s next?

Media Library & Search

Import and find your media files.

Editing with AI Chat

Use AI commands to edit your timeline faster.