Any way to change hotkey/behaviour for duplicating clips?

frank-b wrote on 8/9/2023, 1:08 AM

Vegas Pro 20/Windows 11.

I used to use Vegas many years ago, but spent quite some time trying out other software which other people told me was much better. I disagree because of the way that Vegas handles crossfades and cutting. I've no idea why every other programme seems to think it's better to make these things less quick and easy.

However, one thing that I used to think was superior about Vegas is something that I can't find any more - the way it handled duplicating clips. It used to be the case that you'd select a clip or clips and hit Ctrl + D and that would create a duplicate immediately after the selected clips. There was also a command (from the right-click menu, IIRC) where you could input a number and it'd create that many copies one after another. Now it seems that the only way to copy a clip is to select it and drag it while holding down Ctrl.

This is worse for two reasons. Firstly, if you're copying a clip multiple times it's a much more slow and laborious process. Secondly, if you're trying to select multiple clips by holding down Ctrl while you select it's easy to accidentally create copies, which you then have to undo and start the process of selecting all over again.

I've tried looking in the "customise keyboard" menu, but unless I'm missing something obvious there's no option to assign duplicating a clip to any hotkey, no option to have a command to duplicate a clip more than once, and no option to change or deactivate the behaviour of Ctrl + drag.

Is there any way to customise the editor's behaviour back to how it used to be?

Comments

Dexcon wrote on 8/9/2023, 1:34 AM

It used to be the case that you'd select a clip or clips and hit Ctrl + D and that would create a duplicate immediately after the selected clips

In Vegas Pro 13, the procedure is to hit Ctrl+C (or Ctrl+Insert) on the selected events and then hit Ctrl-V (or Shift+Insert) elsewhere on the timeline to paste the copy.

There was also a command (from the right-click menu, IIRC) where you could input a number and it'd create that many copies one after another.

Ctrl+B (Paste Repeat) allows for the selection of the number of copies as well as spacing options.

In Vegas Pro 13. Ctrl-D is 'Switch to normal editing tool'.

All of these same keyboard shortcuts are available in Vegas Pro 20. Under the Help menu, click on the 'Keyboard Shortcuts' option and then scroll down to the section titled 'General editing' for all the keyboard shortcuts.

frank-b wrote on 8/9/2023, 1:57 AM

In Vegas Pro 13, the procedure is to hit Ctrl+C (or Ctrl+Insert) on the selected events and then hit Ctrl-V (or Shift+Insert) elsewhere on the timeline to paste the copy.

Copy and paste is standard across Windows as a platform, but it's not the same thing as duplication. It's less efficient. It makes the workflow slower.

Ctrl+B (Paste Repeat) allows for the selection of the number of copies as well as spacing options.

That's better than normal paste, but it's still not as efficient as the old way.

All of these same keyboard shortcuts are available in Vegas Pro 20. Under the Help menu, click on the 'Keyboard Shortcuts' option and then scroll down to the section titled 'General editing' for all the keyboard shortcuts.

That's the help file. It doesn't allow me to replicate the old duplication command, or to prevent Ctrl-drag from duplicating clips. What I want to know is how to replicate the old duplication command and to prevent Ctrl-drag from duplicating clips.

EricLNZ wrote on 8/9/2023, 3:40 AM

@frank-b I'm confused. What do you want Ctrl+drag to do?

frank-b wrote on 8/9/2023, 5:14 AM

@frank-b I'm confused. What do you want Ctrl+drag to do?

Nothing. It's too easy to trigger by accident when you're selecting multiple clips with Ctrl-click. And when that happens you have to not only undo what you've just done, but then start the process of selecting the clips all over again. I want Ctrl-drag to have zero functionality.

But there seems to be no way to stop clips being duplicated with Ctrl-click, and no way to enable clips to be duplicated with Ctrl-D (or any other simple, single command like that).

Let me give an example of a task and how the different methods have different levels of efficiency. Say you have a clip that you want to have play 20 times in a row.

Method 1: Select the clip. Hold down Ctrl and press "D" 19 times.

Method 2: Select the clip. Right-click. Select the correct option from the menu. Type in "19". Hit Enter.

Method 3: Select the clip. Press Ctrl-C. Make sure the timeline is zoomed in enough that you can be sure the cursor will snap to the end of the clip. Position the cursor at the end of the clip. Press Ctrl-B. Type in "19". Hit Enter.

Method 4: Select the clip. Press Ctrl-C. Make sure the timeline is zoomed in enough that you can be sure the cursor will snap to the end of the clip. Position the cursor at the end of the clip. Press Ctrl-V. Scroll the timeline to the end of the new clip. Position the cursor at the end of the clip. Press Ctrl-V. Repeat another 17 times.

Method 5: Select the clip. Make sure the timeline is zoomed in enough that you can be sure the cursor will snap to the end of the clip, but zoomed out enough that you can fit two copies of the clip on it end to end. Hold down Ctrl and drag the clip until the start of the copy snaps to the end of the original. Scroll the timeline to the end of the new clip. Repeat another 18 times.

Method 6: Select the clip. Make sure the timeline is zoomed in enough that you can be sure the cursor will snap to the end of the clip, but zoomed out enough that you can fit two copies of the clip on it end to end. Hold down Ctrl and drag the clip until the start of the copy snaps to the end of the original. Select both clips. Zoom the timeline out enough so that you can still be sure the cursor will snap to the end of the clip, but so that you can fit 4 copies of the clip on it end to end. Hold down Ctrl and drag both clips until the start of the first copy snaps to the end of the two clips you're copying. Repeat 2 more times, each time selecting every clip on the timeline. Then select just 4 clips and repeat once more.

They're all perfectly doable ways of accomplishing the same thing, but I don't think it's a particularly controversial statement to say that the first two are the most efficient and easy methods and that numbers 3-6 get progressively less efficient, more fiddly, and more time-consuming.

And what I'm finding frustrating is that methods 1 & 2 were possible as standard back in the day. It's not even something unique to Vegas. Every DAW I've ever used has had Ctrl-D as "duplicate". Photoshop does, too. It's a very common command, and I don't know why it would have been not only changed in Vegas, but seemingly made impossible to implement again.

Dexcon wrote on 8/9/2023, 5:21 AM

.... methods 1 & 2 were possible as standard back in the day

In which version/s of Vegas Pro did you get this to occur?

frank-b wrote on 8/9/2023, 5:28 AM

.... methods 1 & 2 were possible as standard back in the day

In which version/s of Vegas Pro did you get this to occur?

I don't remember off the top of my head. I don't understand why that would matter for the purposes of explaining how it's possible to accomplish in 20, or for confirming that it's not.

relaxvideo wrote on 8/9/2023, 5:29 AM

In Method4 i don't think this is needed:

"Scroll the timeline to the end of the new clip. Position the cursor at the end of the clip. "

relaxvideo wrote on 8/9/2023, 5:33 AM

Also:

"Now it seems that the only way to copy a clip is to select it and drag it while holding down Ctrl."

No, ctrl+c, ctrl+v is also a method.

"when that happens you have to not only undo what you've just done, but then start the process of selecting the clips all over again"

Again, NO. After undo, clip selections remain.

Dexcon wrote on 8/9/2023, 5:34 AM

I don't understand why that would matter for the purposes of explaining how it's possible to accomplish in 20, or for confirming that it's not.

For the reason that many on the forum have older versions of Vegas Pro still installed - going back to early versions in some cases - and they may be able to check the process that you describe in that earlier version.

frank-b wrote on 8/9/2023, 5:44 AM

I don't understand why that would matter for the purposes of explaining how it's possible to accomplish in 20, or for confirming that it's not.

For the reason that many on the forum have older versions of Vegas Pro still installed - going back to early versions in some cases - and they may be able to check the process that you describe in that earlier version.

I've described the process. I don't see how attaching a number to it would help with what's possible in 20.

Marco. wrote on 8/9/2023, 5:47 AM

Closest approach I can find is similar to method 3 with no need for zooming the timeline nor moving the cursor with the mouse:

Select the clip, press Ctrl+C.
Press Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow.
Press Ctrl+B, type in "19". Hit Enter.

Both a script or a macro could merge/automate the three keystroke commands Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow, Ctrl+B.

Edit:
Btw, I was curious, too, when that function might have changed in Vegas Pro but according to what I found (I went back two decades until Sony Foundry Vegas 3.0), key commands D, Strg+D and Shift+D never has been different than it is now, it's always been dedicated to toggling through the edit tools. Also no way to duplicate an Event via keystroke without having it copied before.
I also looked if we already had a script to simplify that workflow but I could not find one in the archives. It's not in Excalibur and not in Vegasaur, not in any script collection. Not sure about Ultimate S.

jetdv wrote on 8/9/2023, 7:52 AM

However, one thing that I used to think was superior about Vegas is something that I can't find any more - the way it handled duplicating clips. It used to be the case that you'd select a clip or clips and hit Ctrl + D and that would create a duplicate immediately after the selected clips.

Ctrl-D has always been 'Switch to normal editing tool' as far back as I can remember and I started with Version 2. If you used CTRL-D for something else, you had to reassign it's function under Customize Keyboard.

There was also a command (from the right-click menu, IIRC) where you could input a number and it'd create that many copies one after another. Now it seems that the only way to copy a clip is to select it and drag it while holding down Ctrl.

I don't ever recall a right-click menu option for duplicating multiple times. CTRL-Drag is my go to method of copying an event. I use it nearly every time I edit! So simple to select one or more events and then CTRL-Drag to create a new copy. If I need to copy a bunch of events - select them, press CTRL-C, click on the destination location, and press CTRL-V. So simple.