If you want to speed up your editing time (and who doesn't?) you need to get used to Descript's hotkeys and keyboard shortcuts.

What are hotkeys?

Hotkeys are when - instead of clicking with your mouse - you press a key on your keyboard to activate a particular feature in Descript.

Why should I use hotkeys in Descript?

To take full advantage of Descript and save yourself tons of time!

How do I use hotkeys in Descript?

Almost every feature and function in Descript has a corresponding hotkey.

For example, to start and stop the playback of your video, you can press spacebar on your keyboard. To split a clip, press S on your keyboard with your playhead positioned at the point where you want to make the split.

Do I need to learn every hotkey?

Definitely not. Just focus on learning the hotkeys for the features you use most often.

For example, if you find yourself having to go into Range mode frequently, it would be useful for you to know that pressing the letter R will put you into Range mode. On the other hand, have you never needed to use Range mode before? Then don't bother learning the hotkey.

How can I learn the hotkeys?

The same way you learn anything: repetition.

Below is the complete list of all Descript hotkeys. Feel free to print it out or keep it up on your screen to reference as you're editing a project.

Then, every time you start using your mouse to click something, see if there is a hotkey for it.

If there is, use it!

Repeat until the hotkey becomes muscle memory. It won't take long at all to get in the habit of using hotkeys and once you do, it can save tons of time and effort on your editing projects.

Also, a quick tip to easily remember a lot of hotkeys: many hotkeys are the first letter of the feature it activates. For example, I mentioned the Range feature above. The hotkey for Range is R. For Blade, it's B. For Marker, it's M. You get the idea.

Happy editing!

The Complete List of Descript Hotkeys