Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Almost everything in Lightworks can be driven from the keyboard, and almost every key can be reassigned. The Keyboard Shortcuts panel (in the Settings menu) is where you view, change, and extend the keyboard - including building macros that run several commands from one key.

The Keyboard Shortcuts panel

The panel lists every available command with its Command, Category, and assigned Key columns, and every command carries a description. Use the search to find a command by name - it's the fastest way to answer "is there a key for this?".

Keys are shown the way they appear on the keyboard: single letters as capitals, Shift-modified letters as Shift+N, and the macOS Command key as Cmd.

Assigning and removing shortcuts

1. Select the command.
2. Click Add shortcut, then press the key (with any modifiers) you want to assign.
3. To clear an assignment, select it and click Remove shortcut.

A command can have more than one key, and Lightworks warns you when a key is already in use so you don't silently steal a binding you rely on.

Keyboard layouts, saving, and sharing

• Choose your keyboard layout at installation or later from Settings.
• Save your assignments to a file and load them on another machine - your keyboard can travel with you (see Application preferences).
• Revert to default assignments puts everything back to factory settings.
• Create HTML report produces a printable list of your current bindings - ideal for pinning next to the monitor while you learn.
• Download CSV report exports the same view as a spreadsheet, with the command, key, category and description in columns. Both reports export whatever the panel is currently filtered to.

Macros: several commands on one key

A macro runs a sequence of commands with a single press:

1. Choose Create a macro in the Keyboard Shortcuts panel.
2. Give it a description, then Add Command(s) in the order they should run; a repeat count runs a command several times.
3. Assign the macro a key like any other command.

Macros shine for repetitive sequences - a save-and-export chain, a trim-and-play pattern, or setting up marks the same way on every clip. Edit or delete macros from the same panel.

Where the defaults are documented

The default key assignments for editing, trimming, playback, and navigation are covered in their subject articles - see Basic editing, Trimming, and Keyboard shortcut tables for the full listing.

Tip: Change defaults sparingly and export your setup when you do. A heavily customised keyboard is powerful but makes tutorials, documentation, and other people's machines harder to follow.