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NOVEMBER 26, 2003 Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #29 If you haven’t already done so by now, the waters seem safe enough to jump into the latest OS from Apple. The OS is faster, stable, and has a lot of cool new features. However for those who depend on Final Cut Pro, and more importantly the keyboard shortcuts, there is a change you should be aware of. Expose is one of the new features in OS X 10.3.1, with it you have quick access to your desktop (F11), a particular application window (F10), or all windows of an application (F9). [an error occurred while processing this directive]  Personally, I really like this feature of the application because it keeps me from having to go to the menu of any application I am working with and clicking on the Hide Application option. Since my Mac is not just used for editing, I often need to access After Effects, Photoshop, or other application during my editing session, and having Expose is wonderful.  The problem is F9, F10, and F11 are the keyboard shortcuts for Insert Editing, Overwrite Editing, and Replace Edit respectively. For those of us who work best with keyboard shortcuts, this can be a bit of a problem as every time you want to do an Insert Edit you get a window display. There are a couple of ways you can fix this. The first is to use the Command key with the Function key. So for an Insert Edit you would use Command+F9, Overwrite Edit Command+F10, etc. This may be the easiest solution for most users who don’t want to start fiddling with system settings. The second option is to go to System Preferences and alter Expose itself. From the Expose window, you can change the Keyboard shortcuts. For example, you can map the All Windows shortcut to one of your Left keyboard keys (Shift, Command, Option, Control). The problem with mapping to one of these keys is if you are like me you never got your mind wrapped around using the Right Keys in your high school typing class. If you hold down the Control, Option, or Command key (or combination of those keys), you can change how the Function key access Expose.  This is very handy as it allows you to customize this powerful feature to your best way of working. Just make sure you don’t map it to a shortcut that you need for something else (like capturing images off the screen). The final way you can solve your problem is to remap the Function Keys to another place on your keyboard. To do this, go to Tools>Keyboard Layout>Customize in Final Cut Pro.  This brings up Keyboard Remapping in Final Cut Pro. From here you can change any of the keys and functions to the way you work best. The nice thing about Keyboard Remapping is that you can save these customized layouts and carry them along with you to other edit facilities, send them to co-workers, etc. The greatest benefit of Keyboard Remapping is for those who are making the transition from one of the many flavors of Avid. Incidentally, if you belong to the Final Cut Pro mailing list, you can download a premapped Avid/FCP keyboard created by one of the members.  You can find a listing of all of the other Final Cut Pro Quick Tips here.  When not working deep in the labs of the DMN Central Division testing the latest and greatest software/hardware products Stephen Schleicher can be found at the local university teaching a few courses on video and web production. He can be reached at schleicher@mindspring.com. You can also visit him on the web at www.mindspring.com/~schleicher
Related sites: • AV Video • Corporate Media News • Creative Mac • Digital Post Production • Digital Producer • Digital Video Editing • Production Supplement • The WWUG Related forums: [an error occurred while processing this directive] 
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