Locking tracks?

[JulieM]

Warning: I'm at the beginning of my learning curve with Premier 4!

I have added a set of still images and an audio track. If I subsequently insert images, the audio track splits. How can this be prevented?

[ATR]

Julie,

I hope that this works for you...

Given stills on the Timeline, Video Track 1; audio on the Timeline, Audio Track 1.

You want to insert another still from the Media. Hold down the Alt key and drag the still from the Media into the place on the Timeline where you want this still to go. Do not release the Alt until still is inserted.

Check it out and see if it works for your situation. I tried it out in Premiere Elements 2 and 4 and seems to do the job.

ATR

[ATR]

Julie,

Hope I am (no pun intended) on the right track.

I just found some source material for you to check out. Have you seen in Premiere Elements 4 Help?

Arranging and Previewing Clips
Arranging Clips in the Timeline
Add Clips to Timeline

Bottom line: there are a few ways to approach this, but the Alt drag seems an easy and quick route.

ATR

[JulieM]

Yes! Thank you, ATR. That's what I was looking for. Thanks for the reference to Help. I did look but sure did miss it somehow!

[Chuck Engels]

Also holding down the Ctrl key will insert without moving clips on other tracks. It depends on when you press the key, and when you lift or drop the clip as to what key you should use. Muvipix has a very nice tutorial on using the Alt and Ctrl keys while moving clips.

By the way, you can lock tracks in Premiere Pro :)

[ATR]

Before Julie's question I really never ran into the situation, so I never really thought about it.

I knew about the Alt drag for inserting (adding) into Timeline content without disturbing the audio et al., but never remember seeing anything about the use of the Ctrl for this same purpose. So, I tried it with my Premiere Elements 4.

It may just be a matter of the interpretation of the word inserting, but I found that you cannot use the Ctrl for "inserting" (add to), but you can use it to "replace" without disturbing the tracks.

CE, from your previous reply it sounded like you could use the Alt OR Ctrl in the issue that originated this thread. Did I go off track on this one?

ATR

[Chuck Engels]

The use of each depends on the desired results. In most cases the Ctrl key provides the proper action for most users. If the use of the Alt key to place clips is needed chances are the Ctrl key will be needed also. Just adding additional information.

The use of the keys also do different things depending on when you press the key and when you release the key in combination of when you select and/or drop the clip.

[ATR]

CE

Premiere Elements 4

Just what is the proper action for most users with that Ctrl action??? Are you trying to say that most Users want to replace a photo in an existing Timeline, rather than insert (add) it?

This is what I have found. If you want to insert (add) a photo into an existing Timeline with audio and not disturb the status quo, Ctrl is just not going to do it.

If you want to replace a photo in an existing Timeline with audio and not disturb the status quo, Ctrl is OK.

For the question at hand, inserting a photo into an existing Timeline with audio and not disturbing the status quo, Alt drag seems to be a way to go.

But, I am always open to learning, and I will stand corrected if you can give me a specific example using the Ctrl Key of how to insert (add, not replace) a photo into an existing Timeline with audio etc and not disturb the tracks.

I wanted to avoid someone reading this thread and becoming frustrated when the Ctrl was not working to insert (add) a picture into his/her Timeline.

ATR

[Chuck Engels]

Here is a good explanation from an old Adobe Forum post;

Congratulations! You guys have hit upon a little caveat that was introduced to Premiere Elements when the default Timeline behavior was switched to ripple trim and delete from the overlay behavior used by PrPro. The ripple behavior is generally easier and more desirable when you're working in a track with no overlapping media in other tracks, but once you have several layers of audio (or video) it can get quite confusing. Additionally, use of the CTRL button is pretty straight forward when you're just trimming clips in or out (just hold down CTRL before trimming and it won't force any ripple movement) but it gets more complicated when re arranging clips, depending on whether you press CTRL before or after you start moving. When moving clips around in the timeline (TL) there or 4 basic types of movement Extract, Lift, Insert and Overlay: The first 2, lift and extract have to do with how the clip is moved OUT of it's current position. To see what I mean, mouse over a clip in the TL, then press and release the CTRL key while watching the status text string in the lower right of the app window, you'll see that holding CTRL before clicking and dragging triggers the extract behavior (which tells the timeline that there is a gap being created that should be closed) but clicking and dragging with no CTRL modifier allows the Lift behavior (which tells the TL to ignore the gap) The second 2, Insert and Overlay have to do with how the clip is placed IN to it's new position, that is, whether it is Overlaid over exisitng footage without any ripple movement or Inserted within the existing footage, causing any following media (including that on other tracks) to be rippled out. It is this final behavior that is throwing you because it may affect other tracks in order to keep things in sync after the ripple. Since there is no way to lock down tracks in PRE, you must always be mindful of what this deault rippling behavior is doing to overlapping media on other tracks. The good news is that there is an undo feature and that the correct behavior can always be obtained by pressing or releasing the CTRL at the right time (either before or after clicking on the clip). It is too difficult to expalin exactly how each combination of those 4 basic movement types work, so if you're doing a lot of multi-track editing, I would suggest opening a test project first and playing around with moving clips while pressing or releasing the CTRL key before and during click-and drag actions. If you watch the info bar in the lower left, this will clue you in on what each behavior is doing. (JamesStrawn 8/17/2005)

[JulieM]

Thanks, Chuck. I will print that post out and play with the different permutations.

[ATR]

CE

Ditto

ATR