How to Use the Track Select Forward Tool in Premiere Pro (Beginner Guide)
When your timeline gets crowded with clips and layers, moving everything forward manually becomes frustrating. That’s where Premiere Pro’s Track Select Forward Tool comes in. With one shortcut, you can select every clip after your playhead and shift your whole edit forward instantly.
In this beginner guide, you’ll learn how to use this tool to save time, prevent timeline mistakes, and speed up your workflow.
What Does the Track Select Forward Tool Do?
This tool allows you to:
Select every clip forward of the playhead
Shift multiple layers at once
Avoid accidental gaps or overlaps when adjusting your timeline
Keep your audio and video tracks in sync when making room
Step 1: Activate the Tool
You can activate the Track Select Forward Tool two ways:
Press A on your keyboard
Or, go to the Toolbar and manually select the icon that looks like two arrows pointing right
Once active, your cursor changes to a directional arrow.
Step 2: Select All Clips Ahead of the Playhead
With the tool active:
Click once on the timeline where you want the selection to begin
Premiere will instantly highlight all clips forward of that point
You can then drag the entire group forward or backward to adjust timing
This is much faster than manually selecting each clip or dragging with the selection tool.
Step 3: Move Clips Without Breaking Audio
One thing to note:
If your audio clip does not have a cut at the selection point, it may behave differently
The tool will only select clips that are split at the playhead location
To make it work properly across all layers, consider cutting your audio clip at the same point
Once synced, everything can be moved together cleanly.
Step 4: Use It for Faster Editing
The Track Select Forward Tool is perfect for:
Inserting new scenes into an existing timeline
Shifting your entire edit forward to make space
Preventing ripple errors or desyncs
Working on complex multi-layer projects without losing your place
Once you start using this tool regularly, it becomes a major part of faster, more confident editing.
You now know how to use one of Premiere Pro’s most useful timeline tools. The Track Select Forward Tool is a simple shortcut that can save you hours across large projects.
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