Markers
A marker is a flag on the ruler that remembers a moment in the project: a beat to cut on, a line to come back to, the start of a chapter.
- Menu
- Mark ▸ Add MarkerMark ▸ Next MarkerMark ▸ Previous Marker
- Keys
- M
- Where
- The bookmark button in the timeline barDocument tab ▸ Markers
- Agent tools
add_markerset_markerremove_marker
Add a marker
Section titled “Add a marker”Move the playhead to the moment and press M. The bookmark button in the timeline bar and Mark ▸ Add Marker do the same. M is a single-letter key, so the menu shows no shortcut beside the item, and it doesn’t fire while you’re typing in a field.
A new marker is red and is called Marker 1, Marker 2 and so on. Markers sit on whole frames, and two can’t share one, so pressing M on a frame that already has one adds nothing. Frame Job beeps and says at the foot of the inspector which marker is already there.
A marker draws on the ruler as a small flag with a thin line down the ruler, in its colour. An ordinary marker’s flag is an outline, and a chapter marker’s is filled. A project can hold up to 1,024 markers.
Move, rename and remove a marker
Section titled “Move, rename and remove a marker”| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Move a marker | Drag its flag along the ruler. You can grab it within 6 points of its line. It snaps as the playhead does, and it won’t land on a frame that already has a marker. |
| Rename a marker | Double-click its flag, or type in its row in the Document tab. |
| Remove a marker | Choose Delete in its row in the Document tab. |
Each of these is one undo step: Move Marker, Rename Marker or Remove Marker.
Double-clicking a flag opens a field on the ruler. Return, Tab or a click elsewhere saves the name. Esc closes the field and keeps the old name, and saving an empty field does nothing. The name field in the Document tab is different: empty it and the marker has no name, and the field shows Marker in grey.
Jump between markers
Section titled “Jump between markers”Mark ▸ Next Marker and Mark ▸ Previous Marker pause playback and move the playhead to the marker. Neither has a keyboard shortcut. They beep when there’s no marker further in that direction, and they’re dimmed when the project has no markers.
You can also choose Go in a marker’s row in the Document tab.
The Markers list
Section titled “The Markers list”The Markers section of the Document tab lists every marker in time order, with its time, its name, Chapter, Go and Delete. With no markers it reads “No markers. Press M to add one.”
Make a chapter
Section titled “Make a chapter”Tick Chapter in a marker’s row, and its flag fills. It’s one undo step, Chapter Marker, and unticking the box makes it an ordinary marker again.
Chapter markers become chapters in exported MP4, MOV, M4A and WebM files, in time order. A chapter takes the marker’s name, or “Chapter 1”, “Chapter 2” and so on when the marker has no name. See Chapters for how a range export treats them.
Marker colours
Section titled “Marker colours”Markers are red unless an agent changes them, because a colour can only be set with add_marker or set_marker. The Document tab has no colour control. The colours are names, not hex values: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, the same six as clip labels. Any other name draws the marker in the neutral text colour.
Good to know
Section titled “Good to know”Markers belong to the whole timeline, and a nest has none of its own. While a nest is open:
- The ruler shows no markers, and drags don’t snap to them.
- The three marker commands in the Mark menu are off, and pressing M beeps.
- Go is disabled, because the playhead inside a nest counts from the nest’s own start. Leave the nest with ⌘↑ to use it.
- The Document tab’s list still shows every marker, and its name field, Chapter and Delete still work.
With an agent
Section titled “With an agent”add_marker adds a marker at the playhead or at a time you give it, with its name, colour and chapter setting in the same call. set_marker moves a marker or changes any of those, and anything you leave out keeps its value. remove_marker removes one. See Tools: tracks, markers and canvas.
An agent works to the same rule as you do inside a nest. With a nest open it can’t add a marker or move one, but it can rename one, change its colour or chapter setting, or remove it. Sending any of the three with an explicit scope fails, because a nest has no markers. See Editing inside a nest.