Paste Clip Does Not Follow Active Target Track Anymore (Bug or Removed Feature?)

[eddy_qbulls6263]

Hello Adobe Team,

In earlier versions of Premiere Pro (e.g., 2021), when pasting clips between sequences, the pasted clip respected the active target tracks (e.g., V3, V4) — as long as `PasteClipMatchesTargetTrack` was enabled in the preferences file. This behavior was extremely useful for editing efficiency and avoiding accidental overwrites.

However, in the latest versions of Premiere Pro (2023–2024), this setting no longer works. Regardless of which target track is active, the pasted clips always go to their original source track (usually V1), even if that track is disabled.

This causes serious workflow issues, especially when pasting into complex timelines, because it can overwrite existing clips — and there's no longer any setting (GUI or XML) to control this.

Please clarify:
- Was this feature intentionally removed?
- If yes, could it be restored, or could you add a new preference to control paste behavior?
- If not, is there any workaround to force pasted clips to follow active target tracks?

This small feature made a huge difference for many editors — and its removal is a big step backward in terms of usability.

Thanks for your attention, and I hope this behavior can be addressed in upcoming updates.

[jamieclarke · Accepted solution]

Hi @eddy_qbulls6263  - yes, this has changed please see this article: https://helpx.adobe.com/nl/premiere-pro/using/whats-new/2022-5.html#paste-same-track

[Ishan Y · Accepted solution]

Hey eddy,

Sorry for the confusion. To add to Jamie's suggestion, you can map a keyboard shortcut for pasting to the target track. I've assigned the Ctrl + Shift + B keys on my system (Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts > Search for "Paste to Target Track"). I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Ishan

Please tag me (@) in your replies so that it notifies me and helps me respond promptly.

[eddy_qbulls6263]

thank you, I will try it later, because I am not in front of the computer
right now, hopefully it can be a solution

[Ishan Y]

Sure! Let us know how it goes.

[Stan Jones · Accepted solution]

@eddy_qbulls6263,

And I'll add a third response - all correct! When this change was made in release version 22.5, I didn't notice because I was using a custom keyboard setup. As soon as I changed to the "Adobe Premiere Pro Default" shortcuts, I saw what users were describing. And then I remembered I knew all about it from using the Beta version!

My post here describes the full change and a way to avoid the change if you wish:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/track-targeting-broken/m-p/13034226#M418688

Stan