PowerDirector Keyboard Shortcuts, and How to Change Them
The shortcuts worth learning, grouped by what you are doing, plus how to set your own.
Updated Aug. 29, 2026 · 4 min read
In a hurry? Use the keyboard shortcuts quick guide instead.
Editing is thousands of small repeated actions, and every one you move off the mouse and onto the keyboard saves a second you spend hundreds of times. These are PowerDirector's defaults, grouped by what you are doing rather than alphabetically, and they can all be reassigned.
- Ctrl + S saves. Use it constantly.
- Ctrl + T splits at the playhead.
- Space bar plays and pauses.
- Ctrl + Delete removes a clip and closes the gap; Shift + Delete leaves the gap.
- Ctrl + Mouse Wheel zooms the timeline.
Keyboard Shortcuts in PowerDirector
Prefer to watch? Here is the whole thing in about four minutes.
Importing, Saving and Moving Around
The first group covers getting material in and finding your way around the timeline.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Q | Import media files |
| Ctrl + W | Import a media folder |
| Ctrl + S | Save project |
| + | Zoom in on timeline ruler |
| - | Zoom out on timeline ruler |
| Mouse Wheel | Scroll timeline horizontally |
| Alt + Mouse Wheel | Scroll timeline vertically |
| Ctrl + Mouse Wheel | Zoom timeline in/out |
Save anyway. PowerDirector saves the project periodically on its own, and the video still recommends pressing Ctrl + S regularly. Autosave is a safety net for a crash, not a substitute for saving at the points you would want to come back to.
Editing Clips
This is the group that earns its keep, because these are the actions you repeat all day.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + C | Copy |
| Ctrl + V | Paste |
| D + Drag | Duplicate |
| Ctrl + T | Split clip at current playhead position |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo |
| Alt + left arrow key | Move timeline selected object one frame left |
| Alt + right arrow key | Move timeline selected object one frame right |
| Shift + Delete | Remove and leave gap |
| Ctrl + Delete | Remove and move clips on the same track |
| Ctrl + A | Select all |
Two of these repay a closer look. Ctrl + T behaves differently depending on what is selected: with no clip selected it splits every clip at the playhead, and with one selected it splits only that clip.
And the two delete shortcuts do genuinely different things. Shift + Delete takes the clip out and leaves a hole where it was; Ctrl + Delete takes it out and pulls the rest of the track forward to close up.
Playing and Previewing
The playback group is where the biggest surprise lives, in the comma and period keys.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Space bar | Play and pause |
| , | Previous unit, seeking by frame, second or another unit |
| . | Next unit, seeking by frame, second or another unit |
| Alt + up arrow key | Next second |
| Alt + down arrow key | Previous second |
| Home | Go to the beginning of clip or project |
| End | Go to the end of clip or project |
| Ctrl + F | Fast forward |
| F | Full screen, and F again to leave it |
The comma and period keys do not always move one frame. PowerDirector calls them previous and next unit, and the unit can be a frame, a second or something else. If the playhead is jumping further than you expect, the unit is the reason rather than the shortcut.
F is doing two jobs, which is worth knowing before it confuses you. On its own it toggles full screen. Held with Ctrl it fast forwards, and pressing F again while fast forwarding steps the playback speed up.
Change Them to Suit You
None of these are fixed. Open the Edit menu and click Customize under Keyboard Hotkeys. Select the function you want and press the combination you would rather use.
The Result
Click Save As and give the set a name. It then sits in the Hotkey set dropdown at the top of the window alongside the defaults, so you can move between your layout and the standard one whenever you need to.
Haven't got PowerDirector yet? Shortcuts only pay off on your own keyboard, and you can remap any of them once you are in.
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