First of all, I have to point out that Premiere Pro’s interface is divided into panels. The active panel is distinguished from the others by the blue color with which it is framed. This is really important, because the menu options available to you and the way the keyboard shortcuts work depend to a large extent on which panel is active. You can expand any panel to the entire screen surface with one stroke, but also reduce it to its original size. To this end, it is enough to press what is called the accent button. If you use an Apple computer, this key will probably be located in the lower left corner of the keyboard, but this does not have to be the case. You can achieve the same effect by quickly double-clicking on the name of the panel, and to show you how it works, I will use this method to enlarge the panel called Source Monitor. To return to normal size, it is enough to repeat the same procedure, and all segments will become available to you again. Premiere Pro also uses the so-called workspaces. Their shortcuts are located at the top of the screen, and I often use them to switch to modes that work with colors (Color) and sound (Audio). You can access the same options by opening the Window menu and looking for the Workspaces option.

If you do not need one of the existing panels, simply click on it with the right mouse button and select the option Close Panel from the auxiliary menu. In this way, you will get more useful space for other content. In the Window menu there are shortcuts to all existing panels, so if you really need one of them, you will find it in this list. Most panels also contain their own special menu, which is presented in the form of a small icon with three lines next to the name of the panel. Unfortunately, the Program and Source panel doesn’t have many options, but if you look at the menu belonging to the Timeline panel, you’ll be able to display some really important options that we’ll discuss later. Many panels, of course, also include buttons. This especially applies to the Timeline panel, although similar elements can be seen on other panels as well. The authors of Premiere Pro did not add these buttons by chance, and you will soon see for yourself that they give you access to some very important functions. Of course, there are normal menus at the top of the screen, which means that you can access many functions in several different ways.

Finally, I would like to highlight the icons that represent individual tools. The most important of them is, of course, the one used for selecting elements (Selection Tool). In the past, these tools were linked exclusively to the timeline, but now there are functions such as the Pen Tool or the Text Tool icon that you can use directly in the monitor panel. These icons often contain additional menus, which means that it is enough to click on one of them and hold the left mouse button for new options to appear on the screen.

One of the most important shortcuts on the interface is the right click. By using it, you can open auxiliary menus that contain a large number of different functions, and many of them are also in the extended part that appears if you move the cursor down.

Speaking of different options, it wouldn’t be amiss to mention that Premiere Pro allows you to create your own workspaces. It is also worth noting that it does not matter whether you are working on Mac OS or Windows, because all functions are completely identical. Of course, there are several differences that come from the operating system itself, which means that on Mac OS there is a Premiere Pro menu that includes both settings functions (Preferences) as well as keyboard shortcuts (Keyboard Shortcuts). In the Windows version of the program, these options are located in the Edit menu. You’ll also notice that some of the keyboard shortcuts, especially those that use the option key on Mac OS, are different from those on Windows. This is inevitable because the Alt key in Windows, which normally corresponds to the Option function, has a completely different purpose and is used to navigate through menus. So, if you use both versions of the program at the same time, you will notice a few differences, but this should not interfere with your daily work.

Since I’m currently talking about keyboard shortcuts, I’ll take the opportunity to show you how to use them. As you can see, the Pen function is currently active and I cannot use it on the timeline. The solution is to return to the Select function, and you can start it most easily if you press the V key. I assume that the authors of the program associated this sign with something small and pointed, so they decided to use this letter for a tool used to select elements. If you notice that the timeline is not working as you expected, I advise you to press the V key and see if that is enough to solve your problem. So, this was an overview of the key elements on the Premiere Pro interface, and you really need to get to know them well.