Macromedia Premiere - 6.5 Instruction Manual
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Adobe Premiere Help Using Help
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Using Help
About online Help
Adobe Systems, Inc. provides complete documentation in the Adobe PDF Help system.
The Help system includes information on all the tools, commands, and features for both
Windows and Mac OS. The PDF format is designed for easy navigation online, and support
for third-party screen readers compatible with Windows. The Help can also be printed as a
desktop reference.
Navigating in Help
The Help will open in an Acrobat window with the bookmark pane open. If the bookmark
pane is not open choose Window > Bookmarks. You can also navigate using the
navigation bar, the index, or search the document.
At the top and bottom of each page is a navigation bar. Click Using Help to return to this
introduction. Clicking Contents, or Index will take you to that section.
The Next Page and the Previous Page arrows let you move through the pages
sequentially. Click Back to return to the last page you viewed. You can also use the
navigation arrows in the Acrobat toolbar.
Using bookmarks, the table of contents, the index, and Find
The contents of Help are shown as bookmarks in the bookmark pane. To view subtopics,
click the plus sign next to a bookmark. Each bookmark is a hyperlink to the associated
section of the Help document.
To go to the information, click its bookmark. As the information is displayed in the
document pane, its bookmark is highlighted.
You can turn highlighting on or off by selecting the Highlight Current Bookmark option
from the bookmark pane menu.
To find a topic using the table of contents:
1 Click Contents in the navigation bar at the top or bottom of any page.
Click a topic on the Contents page to move to the first page of that topic.
In the bookmark pane, expand the topic to see its subtopics.
To find a topic using the index:
1 Click Index in the navigation bar at the top or bottom of any page.
Click the appropriate letter at the top of the page.
You can also expand the Index bookmark, and click the letter in the bookmark pane.
Locate your entry, and click the page number link to view the information.
To view multiple entries, click Back to return to the same place in the index.
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Adobe Premiere Help Using Help
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To find a topic using the Find command:
1 Choose Edit > Find.
Enter a word or a phrase in the text box, and click OK.
Acrobat will search the document, starting from the current page, and display the first
occurrence of the word or phrase you are searching for.
To find the next occurrence, choose Edit > Find Again.
Printing the Help file
Although the Help has been optimized for on-screen viewing, you can print pages you
select, or the entire file.
To print, choose Print from the File menu, or click the printer icon in the Acrobat toolbar.
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Adobe Premiere Help Contents
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Contents
In
troduction 4
Working with Projects 9
Capturing and Importing Source Clips 33
Editing Video 71
Adding Transitions 126
Mixing Audio 135
Creating Titles 148
Superimposing and Compositing 163
Animating a Clip 173
Applying Effects 180
Producing Final Video 218
Using the Adobe Title Designer 242
Using the New Features in Premiere 6.5 272
Macintosh Shortcuts 281
Windows Shortcuts 291
Legal Notices 301
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Adobe Premiere Help Introduction
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Introduction
We l c ome
Welcome to Adobe
to the Windows
®
Premiere
®
and Macintosh desktop. Adobe Premiere provides extensive support for
video capture cards, hardware systems, and many input/output formats. Moreover, Adobe
Premiere provides a consistent work environment with other Adobe applications
including Adobe Photoshop
LiveMotion
™
, and Adobe After Effects
®
6.5—software that brings the world of digital video editing
®
, Adobe Illustrator
®
.
®
, Adobe InDesign
®
, Adobe GoLive
®
, Adobe
Registration
Adobe is confident you will find that its software greatly increases your productivity.
So that Adobe can continue to provide you with the highest quality software, offer
technical support, and inform you about new Adobe Premiere software developments,
please register your application.
When you first start Adobe Premiere, you’re prompted to register online. You can choose
to submit the form directly or fax a printed copy. You can also register by filling out and
returning the registration card included with your software package.
Installing Adobe Premiere
You must install Premiere from the Adobe Premiere CD onto your hard drive; you cannot
run the program from the CD.
Follow the on-screen installation instructions. For more detailed information, see the
HowToInstall file on the CD.
Getting started
Adobe provides a variety of options for you to learn Adobe Premiere, including printed
guides, online Help, and tool tips. Using the Adobe Online feature, you can easily access a
host of continually updated Web resources for learning Adobe Premiere, from tips and
tutorials to tech support information. Getting up to speed depends on your experience
with previous versions of Adobe Premiere.
If you are new to Premiere:
See the Overview chapter in the Adobe Premiere 6.0 User Guide to get an introduction to
•
the software.
Use the tool tips feature to help identify tools, buttons, and palette controls as you work
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in Premiere. See “U
•
Go to the Adobe.com Web site and work through some of the Premiere tutorials for
hands-on lessons. See “U
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sing tool tips” on page 6.
sing Web resources” on page 6.
Adobe Premiere Help Introduction
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If you are an experienced Premiere user:
Check out the new Adobe Title Designer to see how you can expand your creativity
•
with titles. See “
•
See “U
sing Real-Time Preview” on page 272 to learn about Premiere’s powerful new
software-based Real-Time Preview option.
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Explore the exciting new effects included with Premiere 6.5. See “U
from Adobe After Effects” on page 276.
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If you’re a Windows user, learn how to create top of the line MPEG output for DVD,
Super DVD, or Video CD. See “U
page 273.
If you’re a Macintosh user, learn how to export your projects to a variety of popular
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formats using the QuickTime File Exporter. See “U
OS only)” on page 275.
Opening a new or saved title” on page 243.
sing new effects
sing the Adobe MPEG Encoder (Windows only)” on
sing the QuickTime File Exporter (Mac
Using the printed documentation
In addition to the printed documents included with the application, you will find many
PDF documents on the Premiere CD; Adobe Acrobat
®
Reader
®
software, included on the
Premiere CD, lets you view PDF files.
Two printed documents are included with Premiere 6.5:
Adobe Premiere 6.5 User Guide supplement Contains essential information on using
Premiere’s new commands and features. Complete information on all topics is available
in online Help.
Adobe Premiere Quick Reference Card Contains basic information about the Adobe
Premiere tools and palettes, and shortcuts for using them. Shortcuts are also included in
the online Help.
Using online Help
Adobe Premiere includes complete documentation in an HTML-based help system.
The help system includes all of the information in the Adobe Premiere 6.5 User Guide
Supplement,
keyboard shortcuts, and full-color illustrations.
Online Help provides three ways of locating information. The Contents and Index tabs
let you find general information, and the Search tab lets you look up specific words
or phrases.
the
Adobe Premiere 6.0 User Guide,
plus information on additional features,
To properly view online Help topics, you need Netscape Communicator 4.0 (or later)
or Microsoft
®
Internet Explorer 4.0 (or later). You must also have JavaScript active.
To start online Help:
Do one of the following:
Choose Help > Premiere Help.
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Press F1 (Windows).
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Adobe Premiere Help Introduction
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Using tool tips
The tool tips feature lets you display the name of tools, or buttons and controls in palettes.
To identify a tool or control:
Position the pointer over a tool or control and pause. A tool tip appears showing the name
and keyboard shortcut (if any) for the item.
If tool tips don’t appear, the preference for displaying them may be turned off.
To display tool tips:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Adobe Premiere
6.5 > Preferences > General (Mac OS X).
Select Show Tool Tips, and click OK.
Note: Tool tips are not available in most dialog boxes.
Using Web resources
If you have an Internet connection, you can use the Adobe Online feature to access
additional resources for learning Premiere located on the Adobe.com Web site. From
the Adobe.com home page, select Digital Video Products. Then choose Premiere and look
in the Product Info, Support, and Training & Events sections.
These resources are continually updated and include the following:
Tutorials and Techniques Provide step-by-step instructions on using Premiere or help
on performing advanced techniques. These tutorials can help you go beyond the
reference information contained in the user guide and show you how to use Premiere with
other applications.
Technical guides
detailed reference information on a variety of topics. This information provides help on
everything from common processes to the complex tasks necessary to prepare movies for
the Web.
Troubleshooting
Premiere. You should check out troubleshooting information available through Adobe
Online and the Adobe Web site before you call customer support.
To access the Adobe home page for your region:
1
Open the Adobe U.S. home page at www.adobe.com.
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From the Adobe Worldwide menu, choose your geographical region. Adobe’s home
page is customized for 20 different geographical regions.
Provide access to procedures for performing tasks in Premiere and to
Provides access to solutions to problems you may encounter using
About Adobe Online
Adobe Online provides access to the latest tutorials, quicktips, and other Web content for
Premiere and other Adobe products. Using Adobe Online, you can also access the Web
page containing current links to the latest Premiere technical support solutions.
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Using Adobe Online
Adobe Online is constantly changing, so you should refresh before you use it. Refreshing
through Adobe Online updates bookmarks and buttons so you can quickly access the
most current content available. You can use preferences to automatically refresh Adobe
Online.
When you set up an Internet connection to Adobe Online, Adobe can either notify you
whenever new information is available through the Updates feature or automatically
download that information to your hard disk. If you choose not to use the automatic
download feature, you can still view and download new files whenever they are available
using the Updates command in the Help menu.
To use Adobe Online:
1
In Premiere, choose Help > Adobe Online.
Note:
You must have an Internet connection to access Adobe Online. Adobe Online will
launch your browser using your default Internet configuration.
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If prompted, do any of the following:
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Click Updates to access updated files.
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Click Preferences to set up your operating system to enable automatic updates.
Note: You can set Adobe Online preferences by choosing Edit > Preferences > Online
Settings (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Adobe Premiere 6.5 > Preferences > Online Settings
(Mac OS X).
Click Go Online to access the Adobe Web site.
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Click Cancel (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Close (Mac OS X) to return to Premiere.
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Accessing Adobe Online through the Help menu
The Help menu includes options to view and download information from the Adobe
Web site.
To view updated articles or documents:
Click Help and choose the topic you want to view.
To view and download information from the Adobe Web site using the Help menu:
1
In Premiere, choose Edit >Preferences > Online Settings (Windows and Mac OS 9)
or Adobe Premiere 6.5 > Preferences > Adobe Online (Mac OS X).
Choose an item from the Check for Updates pop-up menu to determine how often
Premiere launches an automatic update.
2
Choose Help > Updates.
3
Select a View Option:
Select New Updates to view only the files that are new since the last time you viewed
•
downloadable files or were notified of them.
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Select All Updates to view all the files on Adobe’s Web site that are currently available.
To see a description of a file, click on a filename and view its description in the Item
Description section.
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To see the location where a file will be installed if downloaded, select a file and view its
location in the Download Location section. To change the location, click Choose.
To download a file, click the check box next to the file name, and then click Download.
To close the Adobe Product Updates dialog box, click Close.
Other learning resources
Other Adobe learning resources are available but are not included with your application.
Adobe Press Offers a library of books that provide in-depth training in Adobe software,
including the acclaimed Classroom in a Book series developed by experts at Adobe. For
information on purchasing Adobe Press titles, visit the Adobe Web site at
www.adobe.com, or contact your local book distributor.
The Adobe Certification program Offers users, instructors, and training centers the
opportunity to demonstrate their product proficiency and promote their software skills as
Adobe Certified Experts or Adobe Certified Training Providers. Certification is available
worldwide. Visit the Partnering with Adobe Web site at http://partners.adobe.com to learn
how you can become certified.
Customer support
When you register your product, you may be entitled to technical support. Terms may vary
depending on the country of residence. For more information, refer to the technical
support card provided with the Premiere documentation.
Customer support on Adobe Online
Adobe Online provides access to the Premiere Knowledgebase, where you can find
answers to technical questions.
Additional customer support resources
Adobe Systems provides several forms of automated technical support:
See the ReadMe and ReadMe First! files installed with the program for information that
•
became available after this guide went to press.
•
Explore the extensive customer support information on Adobe’s World Wide Web site
(www.adobe.com). To access the Adobe Web site from Premiere, choose Help > Adobe
Online or click the icon at the top of the toolbox. See “U
sing Web resources” on page 6.
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Adobe Premiere Help Working with Projects
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Wo r king with Projects
Wo r king with a project
project is a single Premiere file that describes a video program. It stores references to all
the clips in that file and contains information about how you arranged the clips. It also
includes details of any transitions or effects you applied. You can add and remove clips,
organize clips into bins within the project, and substitute low-resolution clips as placeholders for your final, high-resolution clips.
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Selecting an initial workspace
When you start Premiere for the first time (or when the Preferences file has been deleted),
Premiere asks you to select an initial workspace. Based on your decision, Premiere
optimizes the layout you will use to assemble and edit programs. Your choice of
workspace depends on the kind of editing you will be doing.
If you will primarily be dragging clips from the Project window to the Timeline, select the
A/B Editing workspace. If you will be using more advanced editing techniques such as
three- or four-point editing, select the Single-Track Editing workspace. For more information, see “Selecting an editing workspace” on page 76.
Starting a project
Start a new project by specifying project settings. It’s a good idea to save the project
immediately afterward. See “Saving and autosaving a project” on page 17.
To start a new project:
1 Do one of the following:
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If Premiere is not open, start Premiere.
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If Premiere is already open, choose File > New Project.
When the Load Project Settings dialog box appears, do one of the following:
To apply preset project settings, select an item from the list of Available Presets and
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click OK.
To customize settings, choose the preset that most closely matches your editing
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environment, and then click Custom, select your specific project settings, and click OK.
See “Saving and loading project settings” on page 16.
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Specifying project settings
When you start a project, review the project settings, which are organized into five
categories:
General Settings Control the fundamental characteristics of the video program,
including the method Premiere uses to process video (Editing Mode), count time (Time
Display), and play back video (Timebase). See “General settings” on page 11.
Video Settings Control the frame size, picture quality, compression settings, and aspect
ratios that Premiere uses when you play back video from the Timeline (the window where
you edit your video program). See “Video settings” on page 12.
Audio Settings Control the characteristics of audio you play back from the Timeline. See
“Audio settings” on page 13.
Keyframe and Rendering Options Control frame-related characteristics when you build
(render) and play back video previews from the Timeline. These options work in combination with the Video settings. See “Keyframe and rendering options” on page 14.
Capture Settings
camera. (Other Project Settings panels do not affect capturing.) For more information
about capture settings, see “Digitizing analog video as DV” on page 36 and “Preparing for
DV video capture” on page 41.
Control how Premiere transfers video and audio directly from a deck or
The appropriate settings for your project are usually determined by the current stage of
your project. Many video capture cards provide their own presets or recommend project
settings for optimal results. For information on comparing and changing settings, see
“Comparing settings using the Settings Viewer” on page 16. Keep the following guidelines
in mind as you progress through your project:
•
When setting up or editing a project, specify settings that will provide the quality you
want when you play back the Timeline. For example, specify project settings that match
the requirements of the final program or that temporarily lower the frame rate so that
your computer can process edits faster. For more information on using low-resolution
files, see “About offline editing” on page 35.
•
If you are about to use a videotape deck to record directly from the Timeline, specify
project settings that represent the final picture quality you want.
•
If you are about to export the video program to a file (for example, a QuickTime .MOV
file) and you want to specify different settings than you did for editing, you must also
specify export settings. Export settings are available through the File > Export Timeline
command, not in the Project Settings dialog box. Since you use separate settings for
previewing and exporting, you can also maintain a set of preview settings that stays
constant no matter how often you change export settings (such as when you
repurpose a program for multiple distribution media such as television and the Web).
When you specify project settings for the first time, the settings are copied to the
export settings, making your export settings the same as your project settings unless
you change the project or export settings later. See “Exporting a video” on page 224.
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General settings
Choose Project > Project Settings > General, to specify the following options:
Editing Mode Determines which video method is used to play video back from the
Timeline and which compression methods are listed in the Video Settings panel. The
QuickTime editing mode is installed with Premiere. In Windows, the Video for Windows
and DV Playback editing modes are also installed. Manufacturers of video-capture cards or
other video hardware may provide plug-in software that adds editing modes for
maximum quality and compatibility with their hardware.
Note: The Editing Mode does not necessarily specify the export format. For more information, see “Exporting a video” on page 224.
Advanced Settings This button may be available if you have installed an editing mode
plug-in provided by another manufacturer. For information on settings for your plug-in
editing mode, see the documentation provided by the plug-in’s manufacturer.
Timebase Specifies the time divisions Premiere uses to calculate the time position of
each edit. In general, choose 24 for editing motion-picture film, 25 for editing PAL
(European standard) and SECAM video, 29.97 for editing NTSC (North American standard)
video, or 30 for other video types. Do not confuse timebase with the frame rate of the
video you play back or export from the Timeline, although timebase and frame rate often
use the same value.
Playback Settings This button is available when you use a DV preset or choose the DV
editing mode (Windows) or QuickTime editing mode (Mac OS), or if you have installed a
plug-in that provides additional playback functions. When you use the DV (Windows) or
QuickTime (Mac OS) editing mode, use this option to indicate where you want your
previews to play back: on your DV camcorder or other connected device, or on your
desktop. For information on the playback settings available for third-party plug-ins, see
the documentation provided by the manufacturer of the plug-in.
Time Display Specifies the way time is displayed throughout the project. The time
display options correspond to standards for editing video and motion-picture film. For
broadcast NTSC video, choose 30 fps Drop-Frame Timecode if that was the time display
used by the original video. For video to be played back from the Web or CD-ROM, choose
30 fps Non Drop-Frame Timecode. For PAL and SECAM video, choose 25 fps Timecode. For
motion-picture film, choose Feet + Frames 16mm or Feet + Frames 35mm. To count
individual frames and audio samples instead of timecode, choose Frames/Samples.
Current Settings Displays a summary of the settings you specified in all Project Settings
panels.
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Video settings
Choose Project > Project Settings > Video, to specify the following options:
Compressor Specifies the codec (compressor/decompressor) for Premiere to apply when
building a preview of the Timeline. The codecs available depend on the Editing Mode
specified by your preset or selected in the General Settings panel. Click Configure (if
available) to set options specific to the selected codec. If you chose an editing mode
provided by a manufacturer of a video-capture card or other hardware, see the documentation for the hardware, as it may recommend a particular codec for editing with that
hardware. Otherwise, consider choosing a fast codec so that edits are processed quickly. If
you want to play video back through your capture card to an NTSC or PAL monitor, choose
the codec specific to your capture card.
Note: If you use a clip in your video program without applying effects or changing
frame or time characteristics, Premiere uses the clip’s original codec for playback. If you
make changes that require recalculation of each frame, Premiere applies the codec you
choose here.
Depth Indicates the color bit depth, or number of colors to include in video played back
from the Timeline. This button may not be available if the selected compressor provides
only one option for bit depth. You can also specify an 8-bit (256-color) palette when
preparing a video program for 8-bit color playback, such as for the Web or for some
presentation software. The Palette button may be available when 256 Colors is chosen,
if the selected Editing Mode and Compressor support creating custom palettes. When
the button is available, click it and then either select Make Palette from Movie (to derive
a color palette from the frames used in the video program) or Load Palette Now (to import
a color palette you prepared and saved previously). You can load color palettes stored in
the .ACO (Photoshop color swatch), .ACT (Photoshop color palette), or .PAL (Windows
palette—Windows only) format.
Frame Size Specifies the dimensions, in pixels, for frames when you play back video from
the Timeline. Ideally, you want the frame size for your project to match the frame size of
your video clips. A large frame size shows more detail but requires more processing. If
preview playback is slow, you can reduce the frame size to a smaller dimension, as long as
your capture card supports it. When changing the frame size, keep the dimensions
proportional to the original video clip.
4:3 Aspect If you’re using analog captured video, select 4:3 Aspect to constrain the frame
size to the 4:3 aspect ratio used by conventional television. If you are using a D1/DV NTSC
pixel aspect ratio, do not select this option.
Frame Rate Indicates the number of frames per second to play back video from the
Timeline. In general, type a value that matches the frame rate of the final video, or type a
lower value to process previews faster. When changing the frame rate, make sure that the
new rate is evenly divisible by the original rate. For example, if your original frame rate is
29.97, lower it to 14.985, or if it is 30 fps, lower it to 15 or 10 fps.
Pixel Aspect Ratio Sets the aspect ratio for individual pixels. Choose Square Pixels for
analog video, scanned images, and computer-generated graphics, or choose the format
used by your video. If you use a pixel aspect ratio that is different from your video, the
video may play back and render with distortion. For more information, see “About D1, DV,
and various pixel aspect ratios” on page 62.
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Quality Affects the picture quality and disk space used when you play back video
from the Timeline. Low quality usually plays faster and uses less disk space, and may
be preferable for editing. High quality provides the best-looking image the selected
compressor can provide, but requires more disk space. You can change the quality
setting while working on a project without causing distortions or affecting the final
output. Some codecs, such as DV codecs, use a fixed quality level and do not provide
access to this option.
Data Rate If available for the selected compressor, places an upper limit on the amount
of video data that Premiere compiles for previews. Do not set the data rate higher than
the data transfer capacity of your system. Select Limit Data Rate to _ K/Sec and type the
data rate required. If previews do not play smoothly, reduce this value. By default,
Premiere recompresses frames that use different settings than those selected in the Video
settings dialog box. Select Always from the Recompress menu to compress every frame
even if it is already within the data rate, or select Maintain Data Rate to preserve quality
by compressing only the frames that are above the specified data rate.
Audio settings
Choose Project > Project Settings > Audio, to specify the following options:
Rate In general, higher rates provide better audio quality when you play audio back from
the Timeline, but they require more disk space and processing. Resampling, or setting a
different rate from the original audio, also requires additional processing time and affects
the quality; try to capture audio at the final rate. Note that with DV audio, you can capture
only at the rate that was originally used to record the audio. In this case, it’s best to match
the predominant rate of the clips in your project. If you want to use a different rate in your
final output, you can export at a different rate to resample, or you can change the rate in
the project preset when you are done editing.
Format Higher bit depths and stereo provide better quality but require more disk space
and processing.
Compressor Specifies the codec for Premiere to apply when playing audio back from the
Timeline. The codecs available depend on the Editing Mode you specified in the General
panel in the Project Settings dialog box. Click Advanced Settings (if available) to set
options specific to the selected codec. Generally, you don’t want to compress audio for
playback from the Timeline; instead, compress audio when exporting.
Interleave Specifies how often audio information is inserted among the video frames in
the preview file that is created when you play audio back from the Timeline. This value is
set by the preset you choose and generally does not require adjusting. A value of 1 frame
means that when Premiere plays back a frame, the audio for the duration of that frame is
loaded into RAM so that it can play until the next frame appears. If the audio breaks up
when playing, the interleave value may be causing the computer to process too much
audio at once. Decreasing the value makes Premiere store longer segments that need to
be processed less often, but it requires more RAM.
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Enhanced Rate Conversion When you play audio back from the Timeline, this option
specifies a level of quality for converting the sample rates of clips in the Timeline to the
sample rate you specified in the Rate and Format options. Enhanced Rate Conversion
controls both rate upsampling and downsampling. The Off option resamples audio the
fastest, but produces moderate quality. The Good option balances quality and processing
time. The Best option resamples audio for the highest possible quality but requires the
most processing time. Because this option can affect playback performance, you may
want to select Off while editing, and then select Better or Best for the final render after you
have finished editing or when you are exporting.
Use Logarithmic Audio Fades Controls how audio gain increases or decreases are
perceived during playback in Premiere. Select this option to process gain levels using the
logarithmic scale used by the human ear and by conventional volume controls. Deselect
this option to process gain changes using a linear curve. Selecting this option creates
more natural-sounding changes as sounds become louder or softer, but increases audio
processing time. Audio faders in the Timeline are not changed except as a result of this
option’s processing of the overall gain level.
Create Audio Preview Files If There Are _ or More Specifies when Premiere creates an
audio preview instead of real-time playback, based on how many audio tracks are active
and how many audio effects are applied in those tracks. The number of audio tracks active
and effects applied directly affects the load on your system resources. When your system
resources are exceeded by audio processing demands, you will hear pops and clicks while
playing back audio in Premiere. If you encounter this problem, decrease the settings for
these parameters so that Premiere creates audio preview files instead of trying to process
more than it can handle.
Keyframe and rendering options
Choose Project > Project Settings > Keyframe and Rendering to specify the
following options:
Ignore Audio Effects Select to render audio without applied audio effects.
Ignore Video Effects Select to render video without applied video effects.
Ignore Audio Rubber Bands Select to render audio excluding changes made to the
Timeline’s rubberband controls for audio fading and audio panning.
Optimize Stills Select to use still images efficiently when rendering video. For example,
if a still image has a duration of 2 seconds in a project set to 30 frames per second,
Premiere will create one 2-second frame instead of 60 frames at 1/30 of a second. Deselect
this option if the exported video file exhibits playback problems when displaying the still
images. This option is determined by your preset. Some capture cards do not support
optimized stills—if you are using a preset provided by your capture card, do not adjust
this setting.
Frames Only at Markers Select when you want to render only the frames at which you
have added a marker in the Timeline. This option does not affect compression keyframes.
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Preview Choose To Screen when you want to preview edits, transitions, and effects but
don’t care if the preview is at final playback speed. When To Screen is selected, Premiere
renders directly to the screen as quickly as possible. Playback speed depends on image
size and resolution, the number and complexity of effects and transitions, and the
processing speed of your system. This option is not recommended for previewing areas
that include many effects. Choose From Disk when you want to preview edits, transitions,
and effects at the final playback speed. With this option selected, Premiere renders the
preview to the hard disk. Choose From RAM when you want to preview edits, transitions,
and effects quickly, without having to first render a preview file. When From RAM is
selected, Premiere creates a preview by displaying frames as they are rendered. Because
frames are rendered in RAM, this process depends on the amount of RAM available.
If sufficient RAM is not available or if the frame rate, frame size, or effects used require
more RAM than is available, frames may be dropped during playback, or Premiere may
render the preview to disk instead. To minimize the effects of limited RAM, use a smaller
frame size (for example, 320 x 240 or 240 x 180). A smaller frame size also produces a more
even frame rate during Preview to RAM. If you have chosen From RAM or To Screen, you
can speed up previewing by choosing 1:2 or 1:4 to reduce resolution. Choose 1:1 for
normal resolution. To preview with the selected option, choose Timeline > Preview or
press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS). To stop a preview, press the spacebar.
Field settings Select an option that matches the playback display. This option is set by
your preset. If you use a preset provided by your capture card, do not change this setting.
No Fields is the default and is the equivalent of progressive scan. Some DV cameras offer
a “frame movie mode,” which resembles progressive scan. If you shot your video using
this mode, or if you’re using video that is anything other than interlaced, use No Fields.
Select Lower Field First for interlaced DV video to maximize motion smoothness. For
analog video, select either Upper Field First or Lower Field First, depending on your
capture card specifications, when your final output will be played back on a television
monitor using an interlaced standard such as NTSC, PAL, or SECAM. Choosing the wrong
field settings causes the video to flicker or appear jagged when rendered and played
back on an NTSC monitor.
Some codecs support compression keyframes, which can increase the effectiveness of
compression by acting as starting points for temporal compression. Temporal
compression looks for ways to compact the description of the changes during a sequence
of frames. It does this by looking for patterns and repetition over time. If the codec you
specified supports compression keyframes, the following Keyframe Options are available:
Keyframe Every _ Frames Select and type the number of frames after which the codec
will create a compression keyframe when exporting video.
Add Keyframes at Markers Select to create a compression keyframe at each marker.
Add Keyframes at Edits Select to create a compression keyframe between each clip.
For information on the Capture Settings dialog box, see “Preparing for analog capture” on
page 39 or “Preparing for DV video capture” on page 41.
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Saving and loading project settings
Use the Save and Load buttons in the Project Settings dialog box to save all project
settings into a file and later load them into a new project. Premiere comes equipped
with settings files preset for typical programs, which you can adapt and save for your
own projects. Most certified video-capture cards include preset settings files for Premiere.
Adobe strongly recommends that if your capture card provides a preset file, you use it
and do not manually change the settings. For information about loading saved settings,
see “Starting a project” on page 9.
To save the custom settings as a preset for use in other projects:
1 In the New Project Settings dialog box, specify your settings, and then click Save.
2 In the Save Project Settings dialog box, type a name and description (if desired) and
click OK. The settings are saved as a preset file that appears in the list of available presets in
the Load Project Settings dialog box.
Save and name your project settings even if you plan to use them in only one project.
Saving settings creates a backup copy of the settings in case someone accidentally
alters the current project settings. These preset files are stored in the Settings folder in
the Premiere folder on your hard disk, so you can back them up and distribute them
if you want.
Comparing settings using the Settings Viewer
Premiere stores settings for projects and clips, as well as settings used when you export or
capture files. To make it easier to see and compare settings, Premiere displays all settings
together in the Settings Viewer window. Settings that do not match display in red. Avoid
potential conflicts by matching settings for each of the four categories wherever possible.
You can change Capture, Project, and Export settings by clicking the associated setting
heading in the Settings Viewer window.
To view, compare, and adjust settings in the Settings Viewer:
1 Choose Project > Settings Viewer.
2 Compare settings and ensure that they are the same in each category. Settings that do
not match are red.
3 To view the settings for different clips in your project, select a clip from the clip heading,
which is also a pop-up menu.
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4 To change a setting, click the setting’s heading (for example, click Project Settings),
locate the setting in the dialog box that appears (you may need to navigate to different
panels within a dialog box), change the setting, and then click OK.
5 Click OK when you are done comparing settings.
Saving and autosaving a project
Saving a project saves your editing decisions, references to source files, and the most
recent arrangement of the program’s windows. Protect your work by saving often. If you
prefer, Premiere can save your project automatically at a specified interval. Premiere can
either save the project to the same file each time or to a new file. For example, you can set
Premiere to save a new archive of your project every 15 minutes, producing a series of files
that represent the state of your project at each interval. In this way, automatic archiving
can serve as an alternate form of the Undo command, depending on how much the
project changed between each save. Because project files are quite small compared to
source video files, archiving many iterations of a project consumes relatively little disk
space. Adobe recommends saving project files to the same drive as your application.
Archived files are saved in the Project-Archive folder inside the Adobe Premiere 6.0 folder.
For information about other ways of returning to earlier versions of a project, see
“Correcting mistakes” on page 21.
To save a project:
Do one of the following:
• Choose File > Save. If necessary, specify a location and filename, and click Save.
• To save a copy of a project under a new name or location and continue working in
the new copy of the project, choose File > Save As, specify a location and filename,
and click Save.
• To save a copy of a project under a new name or location but continue working in
the original project, choose File > Save a Copy, specify a location and filename, and
click Save.
To automatically save a project or series of projects:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Auto Save and Undo.
2 Do any of the following, and then click OK:
• In the Auto Save section, select Automatically Save Projects, and type the number of
minutes after which Premiere will save the project.
• In the Project Archive section, type a number for Maximum Files in Archive to specify
how many copies of project files from all projects will be saved into the Project-Archive
folder. When the limit is reached, Premiere deletes the oldest project file to make room
for the newest one. Type a number for the Maximum Project Versions to specify how
many versions of each project file you want to save. For example, to save the last five
versions of each project you work with, type 5.
To open an autosaved project file:
1 If a project is currently open, close it.
2 Choose File > Open.
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3 Locate and double-click the Project-Archive folder in the folder containing Premiere.
4 Select a project file, and click Open. If no files are available, the autosave feature may be
turned off; see the previous procedure.
Opening a project
You can open only one project at a time. Premiere recognizes Premiere project files
created using versions 4.2 or later on Windows or Mac OS. See “Using a Premiere project
on another platform” on page 19.
To open an existing Premiere project:
Choose File > Open. Locate and select the file, and then click Open.
Premiere doesn’t copy the original source file into the project—it stores only a reference
to the source file based on its filename and location at the time you imported it. If you
move, rename, or delete a source file after you import it, Premiere will be unable to find
it the next time you open the project. In this case, Premiere displays the Locate File
dialog box, listing the missing file. You can resolve this situation using the options
explained below.
OK (Windows) or Open (Mac OS) Replaces the missing file if you first use this dialog box
to locate and select the original file or its replacement, and then click this button.
Offline Replaces the missing file with an offline file, a blank placeholder that preserves all
references to the missing file throughout the project until you replace the offline file with
the original file.
All Offline Replaces all missing files with offline files, without asking you for confirmation.
Skip Removes all references to the missing file throughout the project. All instances of
the clip will disappear from the Project and Timeline windows.
Skip All Removes all references to all missing files throughout the project, without asking
you for confirmation. See Skip.
Important: Select Skip or Skip All only when you are certain that you want to rework all
the instances where the file is used in the project. If you want to keep the file in the project
but can’t locate it at the moment, use Offline instead.
Skip Preview Files Skips preview files if they cannot be found by their original path and
file name. Preview files that can be found by their original path and file name are loaded
automatically.
When you want to replace an offline file after the project is open, you don’t have to close
the project and then open it again. Instead, use the Replace Files command. For more
information, see “Using offline files” on page 70.
Note: Because a clip is only a reference to its source file, do not delete source files while you
are using them as clips in a Premiere project. After you deliver the final movie, you can
delete source files if you do not plan to edit the project or use the source files again.
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Removing unused frames from source clips
Editing a video program means putting the best segments of the original clips into the
program. Sometimes, the clips you use in the final program are only small portions of
the original clips. Because video clips can take up large amounts of hard disk space, you
can trim the project so that unused frames are removed. Project trimming is especially
useful before archiving a completed project.
When you trim a project, Adobe Premiere first creates a copy of the project. In the new
project, each clip’s original In and Out points become the new beginning and ending
of the clip, respectively. Clips that weren’t used in the original project aren’t copied into
the new project. Premiere can also create trimmed copies of the source clips. You can
preserve extra frames (called handles) before the In point and after the Out point of
each trimmed clip.
To trim a project:
1 With a project open, choose Project > Utilities > Project Trimmer.
2 Select Create Trimmed Batch List to create a batch list that can be used to redigitize the
trimmed versions of the clips. For more information, see “Creating a batch list to redigitize
project clips” on page 54.
3 Select Copy Trimmed Source Files to make new copies of existing source files that
include only the frames used in the Timeline plus handles as specified below.
4 For Keep _ Frame Handles, type the number of frames to retain before the In point and
after the Out point of each clip so that edits can still be adjusted later.
Note: Adding handles after trimming a project a second time will offset your In and
Out points.
5 Click Create Project.
6 When asked, specify the location and name of the new project based on the trimmed
clips; make sure it’s a different folder than the original location. Click Save.
7 Close the original project. Choose File > Open, locate the trimmed version, and click OK.
8 Examine the trimmed version of the project. If it’s satisfactory, you can delete the
original project and its source clips or move them to an archive disk.
Using a Premiere project on another platform
Premiere project files are designed to be usable across computer platforms. You can open
and work with a Premiere project on any other platform on which Premiere 6.0 is available.
Transferring a Premiere project to another platform is similar to moving a Premiere project
to another computer: You must move not only the project file, but all of the source clips
used in the project. In addition, follow these guidelines:
• All of the source files must be in a format supported by the destination platform. For
example, if you plan to transfer a project to Mac OS for editing, don’t use Windows PCX
files. For more information about filename extensions and platform support for various
file formats, see “Importing clips” on page 64.
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• All files must conform to the destination platform’s filename conventions. For best
results, use the 8.3 filename convention (eight characters and a three-character
filename extension). For example, a Premiere project uses the extension .PPJ.
• For best results, make sure that source clips are saved using cross-platform codecs such
as Motion JPEG A or Motion JPEG B, provided by QuickTime.
• Any fonts used in titles must be available on the destination platform.
• When you open the project on the other platform, you’ll be asked to locate each source
clip (see “Opening a project” on page 18). You might want to remove unused clips (see
“Naming, finding, and deleting items” on page 27) or run the Project Trimmer (see
“Removing unused frames from source clips” on page 19) so that you don’t have to
transfer any more clips than necessary.
Many Premiere settings files can be transferred across platforms, including batch capture
lists (Windows filename extension: .PBL), batch processing lists (.HBP), edit decision lists
(.EDL), exported file lists (.TXT ), filmstrip files (.FLM), motion settings (.PMT ), project files
(.PPJ), project settings (.PRS), storyboards (.PSQ), and titles (.PTL).
Command sets (.PFN) and transition sets (.PFX) files cannot be transferred across
platforms.
If you have trouble opening a project file from another platform by double-clicking,
try using the File > Open command from within Premiere.
Setting up Premiere’s scratch disks
When you edit a project, Premiere processes your changes in RAM. When the available
RAM isn’t enough, Premiere can use hard disk space as an additional work area. Also,
Premiere stores some project information, such as preview files, on your hard disk, using
the disk the same way you would use a paper scratch pad. If your system has access to
multiple volumes (disks or disk partitions), you can specify which one Premiere uses as a
scratch disk for the different temp files it creates when capturing movies, building video
previews, and building audio previews. The scratch disk space Premiere uses increases as a
program becomes longer or more complex. For maximum performance, follow these tips:
• Store Premiere and the operating system on one hard disk, and capture video to an
additional AV-certified hard disk on which nothing else is stored. Save and store your
project on the same hard disk as Premiere (preferably the system disk).
• Specify your fastest hard disk for video preview files and capturing. You can use a
slower disk for audio preview files. Ideally, you want your video and audio preview
files on different disks to reduce the amount of activity necessary for playback. Two
partitions on the same disk do not improve playback—you must use two physically
different disks.
• Specify only disks attached to your computer—a hard disk located on a network is
usually too slow. Removable media may be acceptable if it is fast enough.
To specify scratch disks:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Scratch Disks and Device Control.
2 For Captured Movies, select or create a new folder where Premiere will store video and
audio files when you digitize using Premiere.
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3 For Video Previews, select or create a new folder where Premiere will store files
generated when previewing video clips.
4 For Audio Previews, select or create a new folder where Premiere will store files
generated when previewing audio clips.
5 Click OK.
When generating preview files, Premiere can warn you when a scratch disk you specified is
running out of space. You can specify the point at which the warning appears.
To specify the warning level for low disk space:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General and Still Image.
2 For Low Disk Space Warning Level, indicate in kilobytes the amount of unused scratch
disk space that will trigger the warning. Click OK.
Correcting mistakes
If you change your mind or make a mistake, Premiere provides several ways to undo your
work. You can undo only those actions that alter the video program; for example, you can
undo an edit, but you cannot undo scrolling a window.
To correct mistakes:
Do one of the following:
• To undo the most recent change, choose Edit > Undo. You can sequentially undo up to
99 of the most recent changes made to the program in any Premiere window. The 99
levels of undo are shared among all Premiere windows.
• To jump to a specific state of the project within the last 99 changes, select an item in the
History palette. See “Using the History palette” on page 31.
• To undo all changes made since the last time you saved the project, choose File >
Revert.
• To undo changes made before the last time you saved a project, try opening a previous
version of your project that may be stored in the Project Archive folder. The degree to
which you can go back depends on the settings you specified for automatic project
archiving and how often you saved. See “Saving and autosaving a project” on page 17.
• To stop a change that Premiere isn’t finished processing (for example, when you see a
progress bar), press Esc, or press Command-period (Mac OS only)
• To close a dialog box without applying changes, click Cancel.
For both the Undo menu item and the History palette, you can specify the number of
steps that can be undone. The default is 15. Specifying more steps increases memory
requirements but may not affect performance.
To set the number of undo levels:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Auto Save and Undo.
2 In the History/Undo Levels section, type a number for Levels of Undo (1 to 99) and
click OK.
3 Exit and restart Premiere. You do not need to restart the computer.
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Wo r king with windows in Premiere
Three named windows form the main work area in Premiere:
• The Project window is where you import, organize, and store references to clips.
It lists all source clips you import into a project, though you don’t have to use every
clip you import.
• The Monitor window can include the Source and Program views. Use the Source view to
see an individual video clip and the Program view to see the current state of the video
program being edited in the Timeline.
• The Timeline window provides a schematic view of your program, including all video,
audio, and superimposed video tracks. Changes you make in this window appear in
the Program view.
For more information about using and customizing the Project window, see “Using the
Monitor window” on page 71 and “Using the Timeline window” on page 78.
Premiere also provides specialized windows for tasks such as capturing video (see “Using
the Movie Capture window” on page 45), creating titles (see “Editing titles” on page 148),
mixing audio (see “Working with the Audio Mixer window” on page 141), and storyboarding (see “Creating a storyboard” on page 101).
When you exit Premiere, the positions of windows and palettes are saved. In addition,
you can create and save named window layouts as a workspace. For more information,
see “Selecting an editing workspace” on page 76.
Using window and palette menus
In Premiere, most windows and palettes include menus that can be displayed by clicking
a button. In addition, all windows also have context menus, the content of which depends
on the current task or mode. The commands found in window menus, palette menus, and
context menus are specific to individual windows or palettes.
To open window and palette menus:
Click the Menu button ( ) near the upper right corner of the window or palette. Choose a
menu item or click outside the menu to close it.
To open window context menus:
Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) in the window. Choose a menu item or
click outside the menu to close it.
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Using the Project window’s bin view
A Project window includes a bin view, which shows the bins that have been added to the
project. The bin view appears on the left side of the Project window, and can be resized or
hidden. When the bins in the bin view contain other bins, the hierarchical structure
appears, much like the graphical view of folders and subfolders in your operating system.
A
B
C
KJIHGFED
A. Thumbnail viewer B. Bins C. Clip D. Find E. New Bin
F. Create Item G. Delete Selected Items H. Resize Bin Area
I. Icon View J. Thumbnail View K. List View L. Clip
information M. Project window menu
L
M
To hide or display the bin view:
Choose Hide Bin Area or Show Bin Area from the Project window menu.
To resize the bin view:
Drag the Resize Bin Area button located at the bottom of the Project window until you
have the size you want. You cannot make the bin view smaller than the four buttons below
it. To make it bigger, you may need to first make the Project window bigger.
To add or delete a container in the bin view:
• To delete one or more bins, select the bin and click the Delete Selected Items button ( )
at the bottom of the Project window.
• To add a bin, click the New Bin button ( ) at the bottom of the Project window.
To display the contents of a bin in the bin view:
Select the bin. If the bin contains other bins, click the triangle beside the bin icon to
display them, and then select the bin you want to view.
Organizing clips using bins
Clips in a project can be arranged in bins (with bins inside of bins, if you like), just as files
are arranged in folders on your hard drive. Bins are particularly useful for organizing a
complex project containing a large number of clips. You can also save a bin for use in
other projects.
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To manage clips using a bin:
Do any of the following:
• To create a bin, Choose File > New > Bin or click the New Bin button ( ) in the Project
window. Type a name for the bin, and then click OK.
• To move a clip into a bin, drag the clip to the bin icon. If the bin window is open, drag
the clip to the bin window. In the same way, you can store a bin inside another bin.
• To view the contents of a bin, select the bin in the Project window.
• To open a bin in its own window, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the
bin, and choose Open Bin in New Window.
• To make a bin available for use in other projects, select the bin and choose Project >
Export Bin from Project, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the bin and
choose Export Bin from Project. Then, type a name, choose a location for the bin, and
click Save. Bins created and saved in Windows use the extension .PLB.
• To use a saved bin file in any project, click File > Open, select the bin file (.PLB), and
click Open.
Using libraries from earlier versions of Premiere
In previous versions of Premiere, you could create containers called libraries, which were
used to store clips from one or several projects. A library was stored as a separate file apart
from any project. Although Premiere 6.0 doesn’t directly support libraries, you can open a
library. The library is converted into a bin when you open it in a Premiere 6.0 project. If you
want to store a set of clips so that they are available for other projects, simply save the bin
that contains the clips. See “Using the Project window’s bin view” on page 23.
To import a library:
1 Choose File > Open.
2 Locate and select the library (.PLB) file, and then click Open.
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Customizing a Project or Bin window display
Each clip appears in a Project or Bin window with its filename, file type, and duration.
You can customize the kind of information that a Project or Bin window displays, and
apply different display options to each individual window.
A B
A. Bin view B. Resize Bin Area button
To change a Project or Bin window view:
Click the Icon View ( ), Thumbnail View ( ), or List View ( ) buttons at the bottom of
the window.
To sort items in the Thumbnail View or List View:
Do one of the following:
• Click the column heading by which you want to sort the items.
• To reverse the sort order of column items, click the same column heading again.
• To rearrange columns in List View, drag column headings left or right as needed.
• To resize the Bin column, drag the Resize Bin Area button ( ).
To customize Icon View, Thumbnail View, or List View:
1 Choose Window > Window Options > Project Window Options.
2 At the top of the dialog box, choose Icon View, Thumbnail View, or List View.
The remaining options depend on which view you choose. Select from these options
(if available) and then click OK:
• Select a Size for the icon that will represent each file in the Project or Bin window.
• Select Snap to Grid to make window icons line up according to an invisible grid.
• Select Draw Icons to make icons visible. Deselect this option to prevent icon display and
make the Project window display faster.
• Type labels for the four fields that you can define.
• Select a sorting method for items in the window.
• Select the fields you want to display in the List View.
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To rearrange a Project or Bin window in the Icon View when icons obscure
other icons:
With the Icon View active, choose Clean Up View from the Project window menu.
Viewing clip information in the Project window
At the top of a Project or Bin window is the thumbnail viewer, which you can use to preview
individual clips. This viewer uses the first frame of a clip as the icon or poster frame; this
frame is used when the Project window is set to Icon View or Thumbnail View—it is also
used as the sample frame for the Title window (see “Importing a sample frame” on
page 148). You can change the poster frame to any frame in the clip.
To view a clip and its information in the Project window:
1 Select the clip in the Project window. Premiere displays the clip’s information beside the
thumbnail viewer in the upper left corner of the Project window.
Note: The average data rate is displayed for all video clips. This information is useful for
analog video because maintaining a consistent data rate for all clips in a project results in
smoother playback from the Timeline.
2 View the clip by pressing the Play button ( ) on the thumbnail viewer. Press Play again
to stop playback.
3 Select List View, if necessary, and expand or scroll along the right side of the window to
see all of the columns of information.
4 Choose Clip > Properties.
To change the poster (icon) frame for a clip:
1 Select the clip in a Project window.
2 Press the Play button ( ) or drag the play slider on the thumbnail viewer in the upper
left corner of the Project window until the frame you want is displayed.
3 Click the Set Poster Frame button ( ).
Using the Project window’s List View fields
The following fields are available in the List View:
Name By default, displays the clip name on disk. You can change the name the clip
uses inside the project. For more information, see “Naming, finding, and deleting items”
on page 27.
Date The most recent modification date of the source file.
File Path Location of the file on disk, expressed as a folder path.
Log Comment The text typed in the Comment field when the clip was logged during
capture, if it was captured using Premiere.
Media Type The kind of media, such as Movie or Still Image.
Video Info The clip’s video characteristics, such as the frame size.
Audio Info The clip’s audio characteristics, such as sample rate, sample size, and stereo
or mono.
Video Usage The number of times the video component of a clip is used in the Timeline.
Audio Usage The number of times the audio component of a clip is used in the Timeline.
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Duration Length of the clip, expressed in the currently specified Time Display option
(see “General settings” on page 11).
Timecode The timecode of the first frame, for source video that was captured from tape.
Reel Name The reel name typed in when the clip was logged during batch capture, if it
was captured using Premiere.
Notes Displays comments you type in this field. You can change the name of this field.
Labels Additional fields for labels to be used for identification and sorting. You can
change the names of these fields.
In Icon View, you can arrange the icons by dragging them. If you select and drag
multiple icons to the Timeline at once, they will appear in the Timeline in the same
order as in the Project Window.
Naming, finding, and deleting items
Manage the clips and other items in your project using the tools to rename, find, and
delete items. All clips in your project (including captured DV clips that automatically
appear in the Project window after capturing) exist on your hard disk—only a reference to
each clip is added to the Project window in Premiere. Whenever you rename, edit, or
delete a clip in Premiere, the original file remains untouched on your hard disk.
To manage project items:
Do any of the following:
• To rename a clip, select the item, choose Clip > Set Clip Name Alias, type the new name,
and then click OK. In List View, you can also select the name and type a new one.
• To rename a bin, select the bin name, highlight the old name or backspace over it, and
type the new name.
• To view a clip’s original name or change its alias, select the item in the Project or Bin
window and choose Clip > Set Clip Name Alias. Type a new name or click None to
remove the alias.
• To rename an original source file on disk, exit Premiere and rename the file using the
Windows Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac OS). The next time you open the project
that uses the renamed file, Premiere will ask you to locate the file (see “Opening a
project” on page 18).
• To delete an item from a Project or Bin window, select the item and press the Delete key.
• To delete all clips in a project that are not currently used in the Timeline, choose
Project > Remove Unused Clips (also see “Removing unused frames from source clips”
on page 19).
Note: Because Premiere stores references to clips and not the originals, deleting a clip
from a project or bin removes it from the project and Timeline (if it was included there)
but does not delete the corresponding original source clip from your hard disk.
• To find any item in a project or bin, based on the contents of any column in the
Thumbnail View or List View, select the window you want to search and choose Edit >
Find. Specify options as needed and click Find. To find an item in the Project window,
click the Find button ( ), specify options, and click Find.
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Printing window contents
You can print the contents of the Project, Storyboard, or Timeline windows for use in a
storyboard or to document your project. You can also print the File Properties and Data
Rate Graph windows or the first frame of the clip in the Clip window.
To print the contents of a window:
1 Click the Project, Storyboard, Timeline, Clip, File Properties, or Data Rate Graph window
to activate it.
2 If necessary, choose File > Page Setup, specify page options, and click OK.
3 Choose File > Print, specify printing options and click OK.
Note: The options in the Page Setup and Print dialog boxes come from the driver software
for the currently selected printer, not from Premiere. For information about printing
options, see the documentation for your printer software.
To save paper when printing a wide window, such as the Timeline, choose File > Page
Setup and set the paper orientation to Wide or Landscape.
Creating a text list of project files
To document the contents of a project, you can export a text file that lists all the clips used
in a project. The list displays the original filenames of clips, bins, and bin contents in the
order in which they appear in a Project window. If a Bin window is active when you export,
Premiere exports a file list for the project that includes the bin and its contents. In
Windows, the file list contains the pathname to the file. In Mac OS, you can choose
whether you want to include the full pathname.
To export a file list:
1 Activate a Project window.
2 Choose File > Export Timeline > File List.
3 Specify a location and type a name for the file list.
4 (Mac OS only) Select Include Full Path Names if you want to include a complete folder
path for each file in the list.
5 Click Save.
Changing the startup window
When you start Premiere, it displays the palettes you left open the last time you used
Premiere. You can also make the Open, New Project, or Load Settings dialog box appear
automatically at startup.
To change the startup window:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General and Still Image.
2 Choose an option from the Window at Startup menu and click OK:
• None starts Premiere with the palettes from the previous session.
• New Project opens the New Project dialog box when you start Premiere.
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• Open Dialog opens the Open dialog box when you start Premiere.
• Load Settings opens the Load Project Settings dialog box when you start Premiere.
Wo r king with palettes
Adobe Premiere includes several palettes that display information and let you modify
clips. You can display, hide, or recombine palettes as you work.
Changing the palette display
You can change the arrangement and display of palettes and palette groups to make the
best use of space on your monitor.
To show and hide palettes:
Do one of the following:
• To show or hide a palette, choose the name of the palette from the Window menu.
• To hide or display all open palettes, press the Tab key.
To move a palette to another group:
Drag a palette tab to that group.
Drag a palette to another group (left). Palettes are combined (right).
To separate a palette:
Drag a palette tab to another location.
To dock a palette to another palette group:
Drag a palette tab to the bottom of another palette until the bottom of the destination
palette is highlighted, and then release the mouse.
To separate a palette from other palettes to which it is grouped or docked:
Drag a palette tab away from the other palettes.
If you have more than one monitor connected to your system and your operating
system supports a multiple-monitor desktop, you can drag palettes to any monitor.
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Using the Info palette
The Info palette displays information about a selected clip or transition. If you drag a clip in
the Timeline, you can watch the starting and ending time change in the Info palette. The
information displayed in the palette may vary depending on factors such as the media
type and the current window. For instance, an empty space in the Timeline, a rectangle in
the Title window, and a clip in the Project window display information unique to each item
when selected.
Using the Navigator palette
Use the Navigator palette to quickly change your view of the Timeline by dragging a view
box within a miniature representation of the Timeline. You can also change the level of
detail displayed in the Timeline.
E
F
G
BACD
A. Timecode B. Zoom Out button C. Zoom
slider D. Zoom In button E. Current View box
F. Edit Line G. current work area
To change the view of time using the Navigator palette:
Do any of the following:
• Double-click the timecode, type a new time, and press Enter (Windows) or Return
(Mac OS). The edit line moves to the new time.
• Click the Zoom Out button to make more of the Timeline visible at once.
• Drag the Zoom slider left to reduce or right to magnify the Timeline.
• Click the Zoom In button to magnify the Timeline at the edit line.
• Drag the Current View box to scroll the Timeline.
• Press Shift as you drag the edit line in the Navigator palette to move the edit line in
the Timeline.
Using the Commands palette
The Commands palette comes with a list of preset commands, which you can modify to
suit your needs. You can create a custom set of buttons for fast access to your favorite
menu commands, and assign a function key to each button for instant keyboard access.
To add a command to the palette:
1 If the Commands palette is not visible, click its tab or choose Window > Show
Commands.
2 Choose Button Mode from the palette menu to deselect it.
3 Click the Add Command button ( ).
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