Advanced Timeline Tools - Descript Help Center

Pick the right tool for the edit you’re making: Select, Range, Blade, Slip, and Hand. Each handles a specific kind of trim, split, or adjustment with more precision than the basic timeline.

Advanced timeline tools in Descript showing precision editing controls

What each timeline tool does

Tool	Shortcut	What it does	When to use it
Select Tool	A	Move, trim, or combine clips and layers.	Move or reposition content in script or layer tracks. Drag media between script and layer lanes. Use `Shift` + click to multi-select adjacent script clips.
Range Tool	R	Highlight a section or “range” of the script track.	Replace a section with a gap clip, remove content, apply visuals, or re-align words. You can also use the Add label to range option to mark non-speech sections (like “cough” or “laugh”). Labels behave like words: you can copy, delete, or move them in the script.
Blade Tool	B	Split clips or layers at a specific time.	Break a clip into two parts so you can trim, move, slip, or delete sections independently.
Slip Tool	S	Change which portion of a clip plays.	Shift the visible portion of media inside a fixed-duration clip without changing its position or length.
Hand Tool	H	Move around the timeline.	Move around large or zoomed-in timelines without selecting or editing anything.

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