DaVinci Resolve Keyboard Shortcuts: The Complete Cheat Sheet for Faster Editing
- Why Keyboard Shortcuts Matter More in DaVinci Resolve Than in Any Other NLE
- Top 20 DaVinci Resolve Shortcuts Every Editor Should Memorize First
- How DaVinci Resolve's Shortcuts Are Organized
- Universal and Global Shortcuts (Every Page)
- Media Page Shortcuts: Import, Organize, and Tag Faster
- Cut Page Shortcuts: Fast Rough-Cut Editing
- Edit Page Shortcuts: Professional Timeline Editing
- Trimming and JKL Playback: The Pro Editor's Superpower
- Fusion Page Shortcuts: VFX, Compositing, and Nodes
- Color Page Shortcuts: Nodes, Power Windows, Qualifiers, and Comparisons
- Fairlight Page Shortcuts: Audio Editing, Mixing, and Keyframes
- Deliver Page Shortcuts: Render Queue and Export
- Keyboard Layout Presets Compared
- How to Switch DaVinci Resolve to Premiere Pro Shortcuts
- How to Create Your Own Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
- Best Shortcuts for Beginners
- What Is New in DaVinci Resolve 20 Shortcuts
- Best Shortcuts for Intermediate Editors
- Best Shortcuts for Advanced Colorists and Finishers
- DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor Shortcuts (and Keyboard Equivalents)
- How to Troubleshoot Shortcuts That Do Not Work
- Printable DaVinci Resolve Shortcut Cheat Sheet (PDF Download)
- Related Reading from the Resolve Series
- Conclusion
This guide is the complete, up-to-date cheat sheet for DaVinci Resolve keyboard shortcuts in 2026. It covers Resolve 18, 19, and 20, every page in the app (Media, Cut, Edit, Fusion, Color, Fairlight, and Deliver), both Mac and Windows/Linux modifier keys, and how to customize the entire keyboard to match your old NLE if you are switching from Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro 7, or Avid. By the end, you will have a printable cheat sheet and a workflow that genuinely is faster.
We also threw in a few things most guides skip: the new Cut page JKL dynamic trim shortcut, hidden Fusion node hotkeys, color page shortcuts that compress hours of grading into minutes, and an honest comparison of keyboard layout presets so you can pick the right one for your brain.
When you are ready to put those new shortcuts to work on a real project, our Dramatic Movie Title Templates for DaVinci Resolve drop into your timeline in seconds, perfectly editable in Resolve, and pair beautifully with the speed you are about to gain.
Why Keyboard Shortcuts Matter More in DaVinci Resolve Than in Any Other NLE
Learning the shortcuts is therefore not optional polish. It is the difference between an editor who fights the app and one who flies through it. Studies of professional editors consistently show keyboard-driven workflows are two to four times faster than mouse-driven ones for the same tasks, and Resolve rewards that more than most NLEs because almost every action has a hotkey.
Here is the good news: you do not need to memorize all of them. You need the right 20 to start, the page-specific essentials for the work you actually do, and the custom shortcuts you set up yourself. We will get you there.
Top 20 DaVinci Resolve Shortcuts Every Editor Should Memorize First
How DaVinci Resolve’s Shortcuts Are Organized
- Global shortcuts that work anywhere, like switching pages, undo, save, full screen viewer, and JKL playback.
- Page-specific shortcuts that only work when that page is active. A node shortcut on the Color page will do nothing on the Edit page.
- Context-specific shortcuts that depend on what is selected. The Delete key on a selected clip ripples or lifts depending on whether you have a range marked.
Resolve also has two officially supported keyboard layout presets out of the box: DaVinci Resolve (the default) and DaVinci Resolve Cut (optimized for the Cut page and the Speed Editor hardware). On top of that, Resolve ships with importable presets for Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro 7, and Avid Media Composer. We compare all of them later in this guide.
One more thing to know: Mac and Windows use different modifier keys, but the logic is consistent. Anywhere you see Cmd on Mac, use Ctrl on Windows/Linux. Anywhere you see Option on Mac, use Alt on Windows/Linux. The rest is identical.
DaVinci Resolve’s Universal and Global Shortcuts (Every Page)
DaVinci Resolve’s Media Page Shortcuts: Import, Organize, and Tag Faster
DaVinci Resolve’s Cut Page Shortcuts: Fast Rough-Cut Editing
DaVinci Resolve’s Edit Page Shortcuts: Professional Timeline Editing
Source and Timeline Navigation
Editing Operations
Tools
Trimming and JKL Playback: The Pro Editor’s Superpower
DaVinci Resolve’s Fusion Page Shortcuts: VFX, Compositing, and Nodes
DaVinci Resolve’s Color Page Shortcuts: Nodes, Power Windows, Qualifiers, and Comparisons
Nodes
Power Windows, Qualifiers, and Tracking
Stills, Versions, and Comparison
DaVinci Resolve’s Fairlight Page Shortcuts: Audio Editing, Mixing, and Keyframes
DaVinci Resolve’s Deliver Page Shortcuts: Render Queue and Export
Keyboard Layout Presets Compared
How to Switch DaVinci Resolve to Premiere Pro Shortcuts
- Open DaVinci Resolve > Keyboard Customization (Cmd+Option+K on Mac, Ctrl+Alt+K on Windows).
- In the top-right Preset dropdown, choose Adobe Premiere Pro.
- Click Save As, name your preset something like “Premiere + my tweaks”.
- Edit any individual shortcut by clicking it and pressing the new combo.
- Click Save.
This instantly remaps Ctrl/Cmd+K to blade, V/A/C to tool keys, and dozens of other Premiere-flavored bindings. The Color and Fusion pages stay Resolve-native because Premiere has no equivalent, which is good because those are the pages where Resolve actually outclasses Premiere.
If you ever want to revert, just choose DaVinci Resolve from the same Preset dropdown.
How to Create Your Own Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
- Open Keyboard Customization (Cmd+Option+K / Ctrl+Alt+K).
- In the left pane, choose the page you want to customize (Edit, Color, Fairlight, and so on). Each page has its own shortcut layer.
- Type a command name into the search box (for example: “trim”, “node”, “render”).
- Click the command, then click the keyboard combo field on the right.
- Press your desired combo. If the combo is in use, Resolve will warn you and offer to reassign.
- Click Save As to create a new preset (do not overwrite the originals).
- Export the preset (gear icon) so you can carry it between machines.
A few high-leverage custom shortcuts most pros set:
- Single-key shortcut for Add Edit (default Cmd+\ is awkward). Map it to a function key.
- Single-key shortcut for Append at End (Shift+F12 by default).
- One-key Render Queue add.
- A modifier-free Render Cache toggle for big timelines.
- A custom “Reset all color grades” key (only useful for colorists, dangerous for editors).
For an external resource, the Blackmagic forum has long threads of community-shared keymaps, and a few editors share their .txt keymap files on GitHub for direct import.
What Is New in DaVinci Resolve 20 Shortcuts (and Unique Shortcuts from Earlier Versions)
New in Resolve 20
- Dedicated AI-assist shortcuts for the new generative panel (default Option+M / Alt+M, customizable).
- Improved per-track ripple shortcut grouping on the Cut page.
- New Fusion Quick Export macro shortcuts (still customizable, no defaults in some installs).
- Updated Fairlight Voice Isolation toggle hotkey.
Notable in Resolve 19
- Dynamic JKL Trim properly works on every edit point, not just the closest.
- A new Shift+W toggle for the Trim Preview viewer.
- Color page Magic Mask received a tracking shortcut (Option+T behavior expanded).
Unique to Resolve 18
- Several Object Mask shortcuts that were renamed in 19 and 20.
- A different default for the Render In Place command.
Resolve 17 and earlier
- Older Fairlight ADR shortcuts that were partially reassigned in 18.
- The Resolve 14 era PDF cheat sheets (often shared online via Logickeyboard) reference some shortcuts that no longer exist, including legacy Edit Index hotkeys. Be wary of those cheat sheets if you are on a modern version.
When in doubt, the source of truth is your own Keyboard Customization panel. If a key is listed there, it works in your version.
Best Shortcuts for Beginners
- Space (Play/Pause), J/K/L (Playback), I/O (Mark In/Out)
- Cmd/Ctrl+B (Blade), Shift+Delete (Ripple Delete), N (Snap)
- A (Selection), T (Trim), B (Blade), R (Range)
- F9/F10/F11 (Insert/Overwrite/Replace)
- Cmd/Ctrl+Z (Undo), Cmd/Ctrl+S (Save), Shift+1 through Shift+8 (Switch pages)
- Shift+Z (Zoom timeline to fit)
That is 15 to 20 keys. They will carry you through the entire foundational learning curve described in our DaVinci Resolve for Beginners pillar.
Best Shortcuts for Intermediate Editors
- U (cycle edit-side in trim), V (select nearest edit), W (dynamic JKL trim)
- Cmd/Ctrl+T (transition), Option/Alt+T (video-only transition), Shift+T (audio crossfade)
- Cmd/Ctrl+\ (add edit), Cmd/Ctrl+G (group), Cmd/Ctrl+Option/Alt+L (link)
- Option/Alt+S (new serial node), Cmd/Ctrl+D (disable node), Shift+D (bypass grades)
- Option/Alt+G (grab still), Cmd/Ctrl+W (wipe still)
- Cmd/Ctrl+E (Quick Export)
These shortcuts unlock real timeline performance and clean color work.
Best Shortcuts for Advanced Colorists and Finishers
- All node operations (Option/Alt+S, P, L, O, Y, Shift+S)
- Cmd/Ctrl+[ and Cmd/Ctrl+] (dynamic and static keyframes)
- Option/Alt+T and Option/Alt+Shift+T (Window tracking forward/back)
- Cmd/Ctrl+Option/Alt+Up/Down (apply grade from previous clips)
- Cmd/Ctrl+Y (new version), Option/Alt+N and Option/Alt+B (next/previous still)
- Shift+H (highlight qualifier selection)
- Fairlight: Option/Alt+\ (audio keyframe), R (record arm), Cmd/Ctrl+R (record)
Layer these with custom-mapped macros for your most repetitive looks and you will outpace any mouse-driven colorist in your timezone.
DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor Shortcuts (and Keyboard Equivalents)
How to Troubleshoot Shortcuts That Do Not Work
- You switched to a different page. Most shortcuts are page-specific. Check that you are on the right page (Shift+1 through Shift+8).
- You loaded a different keyboard preset. Open Keyboard Customization and confirm the preset name at the top.
- The focus is in a text field. If a clip name or search box has focus, your keystrokes go there. Click on the timeline first.
- The operating system claimed the combo. macOS Mission Control or Windows Game Bar can grab function keys. Reassign or disable the OS combo.
- A localized keyboard layout broke the combo. Some shortcuts assume a US QWERTY layout. Open Keyboard Customization and remap to keys that exist on your layout.
If none of these fix it, reset to defaults: Keyboard Customization > preset dropdown > DaVinci Resolve > Save. Then reapply your custom layer on top.
Printable DaVinci Resolve Shortcut Cheat Sheet (PDF Download)
If you want to add Pixflow’s title templates to your render workflow right after you build a great timeline, our Dramatic Movie Title Templates for DaVinci Resolve collection drops into the timeline in a single drag, and once you have a hotkey mapped to it, in a single keystroke.
- DaVinci Resolve Fairlight audio editing for a complete tour of the Fairlight page.
- DaVinci Resolve proxy workflow for editing 4K and 6K footage smoothly.
- DaVinci Resolve LUTs for color page workflow and importing.
- DaVinci Resolve transitions for cuts, dissolves, and creative effects.
- Multicam editing in DaVinci Resolve for live event and interview workflows.
- How to use Fusion in DaVinci Resolve for VFX and motion graphics fundamentals.
Conclusion
Print the cheat sheet. Tape it to the wall next to your monitor. Use it for a week, then put it away because you will not need it anymore. That is the goal.
And when you save those hours of fiddling, spend a few of them learning what to do with the time: build a better grade, refine your edit, polish your titles. We make a few of the templates that help you get there.
Disclaimer : If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission or have a sponsored relationship with the brand, at no cost to you. We recommend only products we genuinely like. Thank you so much.
Blog Label:
Write for us
Publish a Guest Post on Pixflow
Pixflow welcomes guest posts from brands, agencies, and fellow creators who want to contribute genuinely useful content.
Fill the Form ✏
