Feature Request: Middle Mouse Time Line Scroll

[Jamsballs]

Please Add the following functionality to Premiere Pro

- Middle Mouse Button shortcut to drag and through your timeline

This will speed up the navigation of the timeline while editing. Other programs like Davinci Resolve offer this as a standard feature.

Currently, the workaround people have used is the HAND tool or "H" shortcut. 

The problem is pressing and switching tools is incredibly time consuming.

Please add a feature for the middle mouse button that lets a user drag and navigate their timeline.

[R Neil Haugen]

Just to get specificity, your request would be to middle-click/drag a timeline asset, correct? And the timeline panel would move if you went either left or right of the current location/view?

Neil

[Ann Bens]

Middel mouse as in scroll?

As of now you can set the scroll to vertical of horizontal timeline scroll.

I have to admit the scroll is not as fast as the Hand tool for horizontal movement.

Moved post to Ideas board.

[Jamsballs]

Hello,

Yes.

That is correct.

Thank you,

James

[Abraham Offline]

This is one of those great ideas that will save professionals and assistants a lot of time, especially during conforms. It's not a new request. I've seen this idea floated around on many forums for many years including this one. I remember one of the early requests got shut down by a staff-level person without due consideration, their reply was to the effect of "Nobody does this, nobody wants this, I am shutting this request down" (I just tried to find it on here but might have been deleted)

By now we can safely assume most people gave up on the notion that it will happen and just found workarounds to this already since it is not enough to hop back down to the other NLEs.

My own fix was to buy a Logitech gaming mouse and add a macro to the middle mouse button. When I click and hold the middle mouse it executes a "H", then "left click (pressed down)". This simulates the Hand dragging tool that we all want. When I let go of the middle mouse button, it executes a "V" to return to my normal mouse pointer.

[Abraham Offline]

@Jamsballshave a look at this conversation as well

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-ideas/give-momentary-keypress-functionality-to-hand-and-...

[Ahmet26047475ozev]

Btw the hand tool doesn't work on the effect control window. So the only way to horizontal scroll there is by holding the left mouse button on the scroll bar and dragging it. Problem with that if you're zoomed in working on keyframes, the slightest mouse movement will scroll too far away.

Audition and AE solved that problem years ago by having middle mouse button scrolling. What's taking Premiere Pro so long to catch up and add the same feature?

[Warren Heaton]

Have you tried hovering over the picture in the Program tab or the Source tab and then using the scroll wheel?

Or over the Time ruler in the Program tab or the Source tab?

When over picture, the scroll should be faster.  When over the Time Ruler, it should be slower.

[mats4d]

Hi, no, this is not the same, what the request is, basically, is to mimic what DaVinci Resolve does , it's buttery smooth timeline panning while holding the middle mouse button (not stepped and clunky that it feels you can actually see the refresh in between steps, sorry but that's how the scroll feels in Premiere)

It would be amazing if we can do that in Premiere as well.

There are a lot of clunky UI issues, very simple ones as well, like using the enter key to enter a folder in the bin, ie: creating a folder, type the folder name, hit enter once (seals the name), hit enter twice (enters the folder), like any other Windows app does.

Currently you hit enter, then have to grab the mouse, hover to the folder, double click.

There is also a TON of functions that cannot be mapped to keyboard shortcuts, I use a stream deck and a touch portal to control everything I can with macros and shortcuts, and missing out on a ton of automation power due to this, much appreciated !

BTW (all these suggestions have been posted years ago, nothing was done, so I did not bother to copy/paste them) in case someone mentions I should request them, as usual.

Thanks !

[Abraham Offline]

@Ahmet26047475ozevIf I were to hazard a guess it's probably beyond their skills to make it happen quickly without bugs. It just seems so obvious and straightforward for us users that this should be a feature but it clearly isn't on adobe's to-do list. This post only got 5 votes - our voice is not loud enough.

EDIT (2024 OCT):
As of the 2024 May update, we can now middle mouse click and hold to drag the program window around. Maybe there's hope?

[Abraham Offline]

I got it to work on any of my mouse on a Mac. Here's how I did it:

1) Download and install Karabiner-Elements

2) "Devices" tab > Toggle on "Modify events" on your mouse

3) "Complex Modifications" tab > Add your own rule >  Copy and paste this code in and click Save and you should be good to go

{
    "description": "Middle mouse button triggers H, holds left click, then V in Premiere Pro 24,25 & Photoshop",
    "manipulators": [
        {
            "conditions": [
                {
                    "bundle_identifiers": [
                        "^com\\.adobe\\.PremierePro\\.24$",
                        "^com\\.adobe\\.PremierePro\\.25$",
                        "^com\\.adobe\\.Photoshop$"
                    ],
                    "type": "frontmost_application_if"
                }
            ],
            "from": { "pointing_button": "button3" },
            "to": [
                {
                    "key_code": "h",
                    "lazy": true
                },
                { "pointing_button": "button1" }
            ],
            "to_after_key_up": [
                {
                    "key_code": "v",
                    "lazy": true
                }
            ],
            "type": "basic"
        }
    ]
}

Toggle on for your mouseAdd new rulePaste code and save

[PowersFilms]

Hello, 

Any chance that this function could work on a PC running Windows?

[Christian.Z]

Please submit a Bug report / Feature request at the Adobe User Voice: https://adobe-video.uservoice.com/

[Warren Heaton]

@Christian.Z 

While some Adobe applications still use the user-voice pages for feature requests, the user-voice for Premiere Pro has been discontiued and feature requests from those pages with a high vote count migrated to the Adobe Community Forums.  This Premiere Pro forum with the conversation type set to "Idea" is the correct place for this feature request.    Unfortunately, though, this idea only has 8 votes as of Dec. 10, 2024.

- Warren

[Abraham Offline]

Check this one out it's the same request from 2022 but with more votes. Somebody suggested autohotkey which I think it would work for a PC but I can't test it

@PowersFilms 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-ideas/middle-mouse-to-navigate-the-timeline/idi-p/130358...

[tonycstech]

Here is a code for windows PC using free script editor called AUTOIT.
This will do the following.
When premiere pro window is active and middle mouse is pressed, it will press H to activate hand tool.
It will then HOLD left click so you can pan the timeline.
All that is happening while you hold middle mouse.
Once you release the middle mouse, it will press W to select.

Basically this will do what Davinci Resolve does by default.
Super usefull for editing a lot of small clips.
I cannot live without this.

#RequireAdmin
Opt("TrayAutoPause", 0)
Opt("MouseCoordMode", 0) ; relative to active window
Opt("WinTitleMatchMode", 2) ; partial match for window titles

Global $middleDown = False

While True
    ; Check if active window has "Adobe Premiere Pro" in its title
    If WinActive("Adobe Premiere Pro") Then
        ; Check if middle mouse button is pressed
        If _IsPressed("04") Then
            If Not $middleDown Then
                ; Middle button was just pressed
                $middleDown = True
                Send("h")               ; Press H
                MouseDown("left")       ; Hold left mouse button
            EndIf
        Else
            If $middleDown Then
                ; Middle button was just released
                $middleDown = False
                MouseUp("left")         ; Release left mouse button
                Send("w")               ; Press W
            EndIf
        EndIf
    Else
        ; Reset state if Premiere is not active
        If $middleDown Then
            ; Release left mouse if app loses focus
            $middleDown = False
            MouseUp("left")
        EndIf
    EndIf

    Sleep(25) ; slight delay to avoid excessive CPU usage
WEnd

; Helper function to detect key/mouse press
Func _IsPressed($hexKey)
    Local $dll = DllOpen("user32.dll")
    Local $aRet = DllCall($dll, "short", "GetAsyncKeyState", "int", Dec($hexKey))
    DllClose($dll)
    Return BitAND($aRet[0], 0x8000) <> 0
EndFunc