Ctrl-Shift-Drag - Not working as per manual

Hi there, so, I have reported this as something that changed between beta 6 and 7. After describing through the forum, and support, I have been told 'this is working as designed'. However, I see other people have also reported this. So, I will have another go here, now on v 15 Release...

What the Manual Says
The correct action is described in the new v 15 manual on page 422, where the important wording is "...press and hold Command and Shift keys down and drag... Adjacent clips switch places with the selected clips you're dragging, until you drop it in the desired location."

The Problem
In Edit, shuffling clips left or right using Ctrl-Shift-Drag no longer moves whole clips at a time, but instead ripples between clips and, if snapping is on, snaps at each clip boundary.

Detailed Description
Here are two GIFs that show the TWO modes of operation we had prior to beta 7: -

1. Ctrl-Shift-Drag - Full clip ripple move - Place your clip between other clips

This makes it very easy to shuffle clips along the timeline to different positions without splitting other clips. Requires low precision and is fast.

1 - Ctrl-Shift-Drag.GIF (998.59 KiB) Viewed 978 times

2. Ctrl-Alt-Drag - Partial clip ripple with snapping on - Place anywhere and snap between clips

This is used for finer control, zoomed in, to shuffle clips to any position along the timeline, but will split clips or snap between clips if snapping is turned on. Requires high precision and is slow.

2 - Ctrl-Alt-Drag.GIF (751.3 KiB) Viewed 978 times

The Current Status
From v 15 beta 7 onwards, as now in the current version, this is the situation: -

1. We have lost entirely feature 1, now only one mode that needs more care to use.
2. Ctrl-Shift-Drag is changed to replicate what we had before with Ctrl-Alt-Drag.
3. Ctrl-Alt drag now does nothing.

So, basically the ability to shuffle whole clips along the timeline without splitting other clips is gone. And yet, the reference manuals for version 14 and 15 says the function is there.

This was such a useful feature to have; it is a shame if it is lost forever. And if it is lost forever, then I guess the manual will need updating, and I shall not mention it again. But I really hope we get this feature back, as advertised...

A little disappointing; not one reply. Perhaps not many people move clips around the timeline as I do.

I would love even just a one line reply from Blackmagic, if even just to let me know if this is indeed a bug, if the manual wording is just not right, or if I should just live with the downgraded feature set.

For someone that was used to using the deleted feature, it is quite frustrating, since every time I shuffle a clip on the time line, there is a chance that when it gets dropped it might split a clip instead of neatly slotting between whole clips. It is such a shame when it was all working great previously.

Yes, a little frustrated

Many thanks,
Cass.

Here's to hoping that BMD will resurrect this one!

the ability to shuffle whole clips along the timeline without splitting other clips is gone.

Not really. Clips will still Snap to edges and provide that result.

Not really. Clips will still Snap to edges and provide that result.

Ahh, slight wording difference. I did not say lost the ability 'to snap to edges'. I said we lost the ability to shuffle whole clips 'without splitting others'. This means shuffling with 'no possibility' of splitting others; that is the key here.

Now, in order to do it successfully, one must be very careful where to drop a clip. In fact, now, even with snapping on, when working quickly, it is easy to drop a clip thinking it was at a clip boundary, and later, when you zoom in, you see it in fact has cut a clip. With the previously available method, you were guaranteed not to split a clip. This loss of function slows down the process a lot. Just look at the two GIFs above to see the relative difference...

Honestly, I am just saying that before we had the two methods, each serving a purpose, and now we only have one. Why is this so; to what advantage?

I reckon the best analogy I can give is this...

Before, we had two options, a spoon and a fork: -

1. The spoon is good for the chunky stuff, and really easy to use.
2. The fork is good for small stuff, and can do chunky stuff too, but takes more effort to use.

Now we have lost the spoon... Yep, we can still use the fork, but man, was it sometimes much easier with that spoon

I reckon the best analogy I can give is this...

Before, we had two options, a spoon and a fork: -

1. The spoon is good for the chunky stuff, and really easy to use.
2. The fork is good for small stuff, and can do chunky stuff too, but takes more effort to use.

Now we have lost the spoon... Yep, we can still use the fork, but man, was it sometimes much easier with that spoon

I would say it's more like the 1970s invention, the Spork, which was a combination spoon/fork. It never really caught on, I wonder why? Oh, that's right, it did both jobs poorly!

I would say it's more like the 1970s invention, the Spork, which was a combination spoon/fork. It never really caught on, I wonder why? Oh, that's right, it did both jobs poorly!

Yep, exactly! I had one; looked good, just what everyone thought would be great. And never used it...