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Megaman1571
Participant
February 28, 2017
Answered

Is there any way to keep playing while moving the scrub marker?

  • February 28, 2017
  • 6 replies
  • 11370 views

I'm coming from Vegas Pro 13, and in vegas when you move the playback head, the video doesn't pause. Is there any way to replicate this in Premiere? I find it really hard to get used to it pausing all the time.

Correct answer eikonoklastes

This doesn't exist in Premiere yet, unfortunately. Submit a feature request, and hopefully it'll show up soon. It's a basic and much needed feature.

6 replies

Participant
June 5, 2020

Use this autohotkey script. Will only work when you right click the grey area on time line, so you could left click when you don't want to play after repositioning. Credits to Taran from LinusTechTips for this script, I just added L key to it after repositioning.

#SingleInstance force ; only 1 instance of this script may run at a time.
#InstallMouseHook
#InstallKeybdHook

CoordMode, Mouse, screen
CoordMode, Pixel, screen

Menu, Tray, Icon, imageres.dll, 90

;THIS IS A GREAT FIRST SCRIPT FOR AHK NOOBS! IT WORKS WITH VERY LITTLE SETUP. JUST READ THE STUFF BELOW! YAY! 
;VIDEO EXPLANATION:  https://youtu.be/O6ERELse_QY?t=23m40s

; +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
; NOTE THAT YOU MUST ASSIGN \ (backslash) to "Move playhead to cursor" in Premiere's keyboard shortcuts panel!
; YOU SHOULD ALSO ASSIGN CTRL ALT D to "DESELECT ALL" 
; +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

;NOTE: I use the right mouse button for this because my current mouse does not have macro keys on it. I could use the middle mouse button, but it requires too much pressure to push down so often, and you have to be careful not to accidentally scroll it.
;But if you want to use a button other than the right mouse button, the script becomes a lot simpler. Scroll down to the bottom for that script.

;NOTE: This does not, and cannot work on the timeline where there are no tracks visible.
;Explanation: https://twitter.com/boxrNathan/status/927371468371103745
;That is color 0x212121, and last I checked, it shows up in many other places in premiere, not just that part of the timeline.
;The easy solution is to just fill up your timeline with tracks; have no blank space.

;---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

;First, we define all the timeline's DEFAULT possible colors.
;(Note that your colors will be different if you changed the UI brightness inside preferences > appearance > brightness.)
;I used Window Spy (it comes with AHK) to detect the exact colors onscreen.
timeline1 = 0x414141 ;timeline color inside the in/out points ON a targeted track
timeline2 = 0x313131 ;timeline color of the separating LINES between targeted AND non targeted tracks inside the in/out points
timeline3 = 0x1b1b1b ;the timeline color inside in/out points on a NON targeted track
timeline4 = 0x202020 ;the color of the bare timeline NOT inside the in out points
timeline5 = 0xDFDFDF ;the color of a SELECTED blank space on the timeline, NOT in the in/out points
timeline6 = 0xE4E4E4 ;the color of a SELECTED blank space on the timeline, IN the in/out points, on a TARGETED track
timeline7 = 0xBEBEBE ;the color of a SELECTED blank space on the timeline, IN the in/out points, on an UNTARGETED track


#IfWinActive ahk_exe Adobe Premiere Pro.exe ;exact name was gotten from windowspy
;--------EVERYTHING BELOW THIS LINE WILL ONLY WORK INSIDE PREMIERE PRO!----------

Rbutton::
MouseGetPos X, Y
PixelGetColor colorr, %X%, %Y%, RGB
if (colorr = timeline5 || colorr = timeline6 || colorr = timeline7) ;these are the timeline colors of a selected clip or blank space, in or outside of in/out points.
	send {ESC} ;in Premiere 13.0, ESCAPE will now deselect clips on the timeline, in addition to its other uses. i think it is good ot use here, now. But you can swap this out with CTRL SHIFT D if you like.
;send ^!d ;in Premiere, set CTRL ALT D to "DESELECT ALL"
if (colorr = timeline1 || colorr = timeline2 || colorr = timeline3 || colorr = timeline4 || colorr = timeline5 || colorr = timeline6 || colorr = timeline7) ;alternatively, i think I can use "if in" for this kind of thing..
{
	;BREAKTHROUGH -- it looks like a middle mouse click will BRING FOCUS TO a panel without doing ANYTHING ELSE like selecting or going through tabs or anything. Unfortunately, i still can't know with AHK which panel is already in focus.
	click middle ;sends the middle mouse button to BRING FOCUS TO the timeline, WITHOUT selecting any clips or empty spaces between clips. very nice!
	; tooltip, % GetKeyState("Rbutton", "P") ;<----this was essential for me to figure out EXACTLY how AHK wanted this query to be phrased. Why should i need the quotation marks?? Why does it return a 1 and 0, but for the other method, it returns U and D? Who the hell knows...
	; if GetKeyState("$Rbutton") = D ;<--- see, this line did not work AT ALL.
	if GetKeyState("Rbutton", "P") = 1 ;<----THIS is the only way to phrase this query.
		{
		;tooltip, we are inside the IF now
		;sleep 1000
		;tooltip,
		loop
			{
			Send \ ;in premiere, this must be set to "move playhead to cursor."
			Send l ;
			Tooltip, Right click playhead mod! ;you can remove this line if you don't like the tooltip. You don't need it!
			sleep 16 ;this loop will repeat every 16 milliseconds.
			if GetKeyState("Rbutton", "P") = 0
				{
				;msgbox,,,time to break,1 ;I use message boxes when debugging, and then just comment the out rather than deleting them. It's just like disabling a clip in Premiere.
				tooltip,
				goto theEnd
				break
				}
			}
		}
	;tooltip,
	Send {escape} ;in case you end up inside the "delete" right click menu from the timeline
	;MouseClick, left ;notice how this is commented out. I deemed it inferior to using ESCAPE.
}
else
	sendinput {Rbutton} ;this is to make up for the lack of a ~ in front of Rbutton. ... ~Rbutton. It allows the command to pass through, but only if the above conditions were NOT met.
theEnd:
Return


;If you don't want to use Rbutton (the right mouse button), then you don't need to check for colors and things. This simplifies the script siginificantly.
;In the following script, You can change "Mbutton" to anything else. like "Xbutton1", or  even "F12" if you wanted.
;So, assuming you've mapped "move playhead to cursor" to the \ key, the problem is that it fires once, waits 1 second, and only then does it continue to fire.
;that's why I use a loop - to send constant keypresses, for a smooth experience.
;SCRIPT HAS NOT YET BEEN TESTED BY ME.

;;;;;Mbutton::\ ;<----this would be the STUPID way of doing this. BAD BAD BAD! do not want!

; Mbutton::
; if GetKeyState("Mbutton", "P") = 1
		; {
		; loop
			; {
			; Send \ ;in premiere, this must be set to "move playhead to cursor."
			; Tooltip, Middle click playhead mod!
			; sleep 16 ;this loop will repeat every 16 milliseconds.
			; if GetKeyState("Mbutton", "P") = 0
				; {
				; ;msgbox,,,time to break,1
				; tooltip,
				; goto theEnd2
				; break
				; }
			; }
; }
; theEnd2:
; Return

 

 

Participating Frequently
July 28, 2024

The upper part of the script doesn't do anything for me in Premiere Pro CC 2018. 

The lower part you put behind ; doesn't keep the video playing while moving the scrub marker, but at least it does allow for dragging the marker from anywhere within that timeline area, not just the top part.

Participating Frequently
July 29, 2024

Actually, the bottom part of the script isn't that useful for me, either, because I bound it to leftclick, which intereferes with everything else you do with leftclick while in Premiere Pro.

Inspiring
June 1, 2020

Good point but we are at adobe premire 14.2 and we still dont have this basic feature yet.. Every other video editor does it...

Participating Frequently
August 13, 2017

I also really want this feature. So, here is my feature request, I think it outlines the preferred behavior. But, I would also like other thoughts on each of the use cases. And without a forum post, there really is no room for discussing features anywhere....

I am posting to this thread because it was the first google return.

--------

How would you like the feature to work?

--

This feature should be implemented as an OPTION, not a forced change for all users. A checkbox/mark labeled: Continue playback after seek.   (or something of that nature)

In any of APP's timelines:  If the video or audio is currently playing, and the playhead is moved independently of realtime playback, playing should continue as expected.

Use cases (all while in 'play' state):

1.No interaction: playing continues until end, or out point. Identical to current behavior.

2.Using keyboard 'back 1 frame': This moves the playhead back 1 frame when the signal is received. So, the actual result will depend on keyboard type (ps2/usb), repeated key rate (OS setting), and playback framerate. i.e. if playing @ 60fps and key repeat rate is only 30 times per second, would have the effect of halving playback speed.

3.Using keyboard 'forward 1 frame': This moves the playhead forward 1 frame when the signal is received. Effectively increasing playback speed for the duration of the key press.

4.Using mouse to drag playhead: this would behave similarly to how mouse behaves now. Except, if we were in a play-state onDragStart, then re-enter play-state onRelease.

5.Using UI buttons: Clicking buttons for 'In', 'Out', previous, or next frames, should jump the playhead to any of those positions, exactly as it does now. Except, if we were in a play-state onButtonDown, re-enter play-state on enterFrame.

Why is this feature important to you?

--

It saves time and an innumerable amount of repetitive user actions (hitting space bar over and over and over). Ideally, I would be able to enter a play-state, that would allow me to quickly make playhead adjustments, and set in/out points without have to hit another button or key to go back to what I was already doing, playing through a video.

--------

Hopefully is describes what others are looking for. But, unless people actually request the feature, it will never be implemented.

Link: Feature Request/Bug Report Form

Participant
January 22, 2020

Cheers and thank you! I'd like to revive this feature request- would be extrememly useful as an option for me when nearing the completion of an edit and just doing last-minute fine tuning and adjustment for the 'flow' of a piece.

 

Ann Bens
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 28, 2017

Megaman1571  wrote

I'm coming from Vegas Pro 13, and in vegas when you move the playback head, the video doesn't pause. Is there any way to replicate this in Premiere? I find it really hard to get used to it pausing all the time.

As a longtime Premiere user this would drive me crazy.

I dont like this in FCPx either.

Legend
February 28, 2017

Premiere Pro does not assume anything, which is good.  It will do only what you tell it to do, so if you want to continue playing, you need to tell PP to do so by hitting the spacebar again.

Legend
February 28, 2017

I think the issue is that it is assuming that you want to pause when you haven't told it to pause.

Legend
February 28, 2017

It's not assuming anything.  You moved the playhead to a new frame.  It correctly stays there until you move it again, in this case with the Play command.

eikonoklastesCorrect answer
Legend
February 28, 2017

This doesn't exist in Premiere yet, unfortunately. Submit a feature request, and hopefully it'll show up soon. It's a basic and much needed feature.