Tracks and Track Management
Understanding tracks is critical for screencast editing. Poor track management leads to messy timelines that are hard to maintain.
Think of video tracks as layers — higher tracks render on top. V2 overlays V1. For screencasts: V1 = main recording, V2 = title overlays. Audio tracks mix together — A1 + A2 = combined output.
Track Types
Video tracks (V):
Accept: Video clips, Image clips, Title clips, Color clips
Render: Higher number = on top (V2 overlays V1)
Example: V1 = screen recording, V2 = lower-third title
Audio tracks (A):
Accept: Audio clips and audio portion of video clips
Render: All audio tracks mix together
Example: A1 = system audio, A2 = voiceover, A3 = background music
Video tracks also have audio embedded in them (from the original clip). When you drag a video clip to V1, its audio goes to the linked audio track (A1). Dropping a video clip on an audio track only uses the audio portion.
The Track Header
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ▼ V2 [Tutorial Title Track] 🔒 👁 ⚡│
│ ▼ V1 [Screen Recording] 🔒 👁 ⚡│
│ ───────────────────────────────── │
│ ▼ A1 [System Audio] 🔒 🔇 ⚡│
│ ▼ A2 [Voiceover / Mic] 🔒 🔇 ⚡│
└────────────────────────────────────┘
↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
Expand Track name Lock Mute Effects
| Icon | Function | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| 🔒 Lock | Prevent changes to track | Shift+L (active track) |
| 👁 Hide | Hide video track from view/render | Ctrl+Shift+H |
| 🔇 Mute | Mute audio track | Ctrl+Shift+H |
| ⚡ Effects | Enable/disable track effects | Click icon |
| ▼ Expand | Collapse/expand track height | Shift+LMB (all of same type) |
Adding Tracks
Right-click anywhere in track header area
→ Add Track
Dialog:
Type: Video / Audio
Position: Above / Below current track
Count: How many tracks to add
Keyboard shortcut: No default — assign via Ctrl+Alt+, → search "add track"
Recommended screencast track layout:
V3 [Webcam PiP] ← optional picture-in-picture
V2 [Title Overlays] ← lower thirds, chapter cards
V1 [Screen Recording] ← main content
─────────────────────────
A1 [System Audio] ← screen audio from recording
A2 [Voiceover / Mic] ← narration track
A3 [Background Music] ← ambient music (low volume)
Renaming Tracks
Double-click the track name in the track header
→ Type new name → Enter
Good track names for screencasts:
"Screen Recording" instead of "V1"
"Lower Thirds" instead of "V2"
"Voiceover" instead of "A2"
"Music" instead of "A3"
Selecting the Active Track
The active track determines where 3-point editing inserts clips and where single-track operations apply.
Click track header → make that track active
Up/Down Arrow → navigate between tracks
1–9 → select video track 1–9 directly
Alt+1 – Alt+9 → select audio track 1–9 directly
A → toggle active track (3-point editing)
Shift+T → toggle track as target (3-point editing)
Locking Tracks
Lock a track to prevent accidental edits:
Click 🔒 icon in track header → lock/unlock that track
Shift+L → lock/unlock active track
Ctrl+Shift+L → lock/unlock ALL tracks
Lock your music track (A3) before doing any cut editing. It prevents accidentally moving or trimming background music when you're working on video cuts.
Muting and Hiding
Mute audio track (audio only):
Click 🔇 icon in track header
Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+H (active track)
Hide video track (video only):
Click 👁 icon in track header
Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+H (active track)
Toggle track disabled (both audio+video hidden):
Shortcut: Shift+H
Resizing Tracks
Drag the divider between track headers → resize that track
Shift+drag → resize all video OR audio tracks simultaneously
Shift+double-click track divider → reset track to default height
Deleting Tracks
Right-click track header → Delete Track
→ Dialog shows which track to delete
→ Clips on deleted track are also deleted from timeline (not from bin)
Deleting a track removes all clips on it from the timeline. They remain in the Project Bin and can be re-added.
Keyboard Reference
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Navigate tracks | Up/Down |
| Select video track 1–9 | 1 – 9 |
| Select audio track 1–9 | Alt+1 – Alt+9 |
| Toggle active track | A |
| Toggle track as target | Shift+T |
| Lock active track | Shift+L |
| Lock all tracks | Ctrl+Shift+L |
| Mute/hide active track | Ctrl+Shift+H |
| Toggle track disabled | Shift+H |
| Expand/collapse all same type | Shift+LMB on header |
| Reset track height | Shift+double-click divider |
Hands-On Practice
1. Right-click track header → Add Track → Video → Above V1
→ Now you have V2
2. Double-click V2 track name → rename to "Lower Thirds"
3. Right-click → Add Track → Audio → Above A1
→ Rename A2 to "Voiceover"
4. Practice track navigation:
Press 1 → V1 selected (watch track header highlight)
Press 2 → V2 selected
Press Up/Down → navigate tracks
5. Lock the audio track:
Press Alt+1 → select A1
Press Shift+L → lock it
Try dragging a clip on A1 → it should be blocked
6. Resize V1 track:
Drag track header divider → make it taller
Shift+drag → all video tracks resize simultaneously
7. Press Ctrl+S to save