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Timelines can be edited like any other clip, you can select one or more timelines and drag and drop them into another timeline, drag them onto the Timeline Viewer editing overlay, or use the toolbar editing buttons or keyboard shortcuts to edit them, just as you would any other clip.
Additionally, you can select multiple timelines in the Media Pool, right-click them, and choose Create Timeline Using Selected Clips to quickly assemble a group of timelines into a nested sequence.
The one exception is that you must drag and drop a timeline into the Viewer if you want to use it to set In and Out points, since double-clicking a timeline, or selecting a timeline and pressing Return simply opens it into the Timeline Editor. However, you can set In and Out points for timelines in the Filmstrip of the Media Pool, or you can edit a timeline into another timeline in its entirety, and then trim the head and tail down to just what you need. Double-clicking a nested timeline opens it into the Source Viewer for trimming, exactly like any other clip.
Re-Editing a Nested Timeline
If you want to edit the contents of a nested timeline, you can right-click it and choose Open in Timeline. Unlike compound clips, no path control appears when you do this, because you’ve simply opened the original timeline. To go back to the previous timeline, find and double-click it in the Media Pool, or choose it from the Timeline drop-down at the top of the Timeline Viewer.
Editing an original timeline does nothing to change the duration of nested instances of that timeline inside other timelines. If you trim or delete clips in the original timeline that appear in nested instances of that timeline, then those areas of the nested timeline simply go black.
Swapping the Contents of the Source Viewer and Timeline
When editing the partial contents of one timeline into another, it can be useful to see the contents of a timeline that’s open in the Source Viewer in the Timeline Editor. To do so, choose Timeline > Swap Timeline and Source Viewer (Command-Page Up). This puts the timeline that was open in the Source Viewer into the Timeline Editor, and the timeline that was in the Timeline Editor into the Source Viewer. This makes it easier to mark In and Out points while seeing the exact boundaries of clips, prior to pressing Command-Page Up to swap the contents of the Source Viewer and Timeline Editor once again in preparation for executing the next edit.
Editing Source Media From a Timeline or Compound Clip
If you have a timeline that has clips you want to edit into another timeline, but as source clips and not as nested timeline segments, you can turn on Edit > Decompose Compound Clips on Edit.
This a mode determines whether a timeline is edited into another timeline as a nested timeline, or immediately decomposed into its constituent source clips. Turning this mode on lets you edit source clips from a timeline using drag and drop, 3-point edits, or whatever other method you find convenient. To go back to editing nested timelines, turn Edit > Decompose Compound Clips on Edit off.
This mode is especially useful for workflows where you’re assembling “selects” timelines with the best moments of various interviews or performances, which you later want to edit as sources into the actual program you’re editing.