How to use mouse buttons in Final Cut Pro on a Mac
InputConfig is completely free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
In Final Cut Pro the mouse buttons are not in the Command Editor, which is a keyboard editor, so you put a job on a button by making the button press the key Final Cut already uses. InputConfig, the free Mac app I make, scans any mouse button and sends a key or a whole shortcut, and it can follow Final Cut Pro as the front app. Blade is Command B, undo is Command Z, and both come from Apple's list of Final Cut Pro shortcuts, which I read on October 21, 2026.
Final Cut's skimmer follows the pointer, which makes the mouse a better editing tool than people expect: the cut lands where you point. For the knob and pad version, see a MIDI controller for Final Cut Pro and the video editing shuttle guide.
On this page: 10 sections
What Final Cut Pro and macOS give a mouse
Final Cut Pro uses the left button, the right button and the wheel, and it has one setting that matters for a mouse: skimming. With skimming on, the skimmer follows the pointer over the timeline, and Apple describes Blade as cutting at the skimmer or playhead location. That means a mouse button that sends Command B cuts under the pointer, with no click on the playhead first.
Apple does not give the mouse a button editor. Final Cut's Command Editor, opened with Option Command K, binds keys, and a mouse maker's software can send keys per app on a Mac, which is the same trick. A thumb button that presses Command B turns the mouse into a blade you can reach without moving your hand.
Find out what each button sends
Every extra button reaches the Mac as Button 4 or higher, and the wheel press is Middle click. Press Scan, then click the button. If Scan names a key instead of a mouse button, the mouse is sending a key, and the fix is on F13 to F19 on a Mac.
| Button | How it usually reports | A good Final Cut job |
|---|---|---|
| Left click and right click | Left click and Right click | Leave them. Final Cut needs them, and they cannot be blocked. |
| Wheel press | Middle click | Add Marker, or toggle Skimming. |
| Side buttons | Button 4 and Button 5 | Blade and Undo, or Previous and Next edit. |
| Thumb grid or extra buttons | Button 6 and higher | Append, Insert, Overwrite, Connect. |
| Tilt wheel | Sideways scroll | Zoom the timeline in and out. |
| DPI or profile button | Often nothing the Mac can read | Nothing. If Scan hears no press, no app can read it. |
Put the edit keys on the buttons
Apple's table lists each of these with its own key. I would start with the cut, undo and the three edits that get used most.
Step 1: Scan and give it Blade
- You: Add a row, set the device to This Mac's mouse or trackpad, the input to Mouse and the kind to Button, then press Scan and click the thumb button. Set the output to Keyboard Key, pick Command under Modifier Keys, click the plus button and add B.
- InputConfig: Presses Command B each time you press the button.
- Check: Hover over a clip in the timeline with skimming on and press the button. The clip splits under the pointer.
Step 2: Stop the old job
- You: For a side or middle button, open the row's Options and tick Block the button's own action in the Press box.
- InputConfig: While the preset runs, apps stop seeing that button.
- Check: Press the button once. Only the cut happens.
| Job | Final Cut key | Good home |
|---|---|---|
| Blade | Command B | Button 4 |
| Blade All, every clip at the skimmer or playhead | Shift Command B | Hold on Button 4 |
| Undo and redo | Command Z and Shift Command Z | Button 5 and a hold on it |
| Append to storyline | E | A thumb button |
| Insert | W | A thumb button |
| Overwrite | D | A thumb button |
| Connect to primary storyline | Q | A thumb button |
| Add marker | M | Wheel press |
| Range start and range end | I and O | Two thumb buttons |
| Zoom the timeline in and out | Command plus and Command minus | Tilt left and right, or two thumb buttons |
| Zoom to fit | Shift Z | A thumb button |
| Play and pause | Space bar | A thumb button |
| Play reverse and play forward | J and L | Two thumb buttons |
| Skimming on and off | S | A thumb button |
| Snapping on and off | N | A thumb button |
| Next and previous edit point | Down Arrow and Up Arrow | Two thumb buttons |
Macros and multi-step jobs
A macro is a row with Run a sequence of steps ticked, and each step is a key, a shortcut or a click with its own wait. In Final Cut a macro earns its place when one press replaces a chain of keys:
- Cut and mark. Blade with Command B, a short wait, then M to add a marker at the same spot. One press leaves a cut and a marker you can find again.
- Mark a range and play it. I for range start, a wait, O for range end, then the Space bar to play. It marks and previews in one press.
- Insert and move on. W to insert the selection at the skimmer or playhead, then Down Arrow to jump to the next edit point.
I have not run these in Final Cut myself, so try each one on a copy of a project first. A macro that cuts is worth testing on a throwaway project before a real one.
Hold, repeat, tap twice and switch by app
- A tap and a hold. Put Command B on the tap and Shift Command B on the hold, so one thumb button cuts one clip or every clip. A quick tap sends the normal output, and a hold sends the other.
- Repeat keys while held. For stepping through edit points or frames, this makes a held button keep sending the key. Leave it off for cuts.
- Double click. A row of the kind Double click fires on the second click of a pair. It suits a middle button used for something rare.
- Block the button's own action. Available for the middle button and the side buttons.
To keep the layout inside Final Cut Pro, open the preset's Automation & Gaming Utilities section, add Final Cut Pro under Activate when these apps are in front, and in Settings, Advanced, turn on Switch presets when the front app changes. Only one preset runs at a time, so a second preset can serve Safari or Pro tools, and the right one switches on with the front app.
The emergency stop is Control Option Command period. A thumb button that cuts is worth setting up only for Final Cut, so the layout should follow the app.
Layouts for the mouse you have
- A thumb grid mouse. Use the first row for the edit keys E, W, D and Q and the second row for Blade, Undo, Marker and Skimming. Nothing is left for the keyboard hand to do but Space and J K L.
- A trackball. The ball positions the skimmer, and the big thumb buttons do Blade and Undo. That is a calm way to cut for long sessions.
- A vertical mouse. Two side buttons: Blade and Undo. Add a hold on each for Blade All and redo.
- A mouse plus a Stream Deck or keypad. The mouse handles cuts under the pointer, and the other device handles the rest. See the USB macro keypad page.
Start small: Blade and Undo on the side buttons.
If a button does nothing in Final Cut Pro
Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check the preset is on. Click Activate, and make sure Final Cut Pro is the app the preset follows.
- Check Accessibility. In System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility.
- Check skimming. Blade cuts at the skimmer or the playhead. With skimming off, the playhead is the only place it can cut, so the cut may land somewhere you did not expect.
- Check the shortcut set. If you changed Final Cut's keys in the Command Editor, use your key in the row. Option Command K opens the editor to read it.
- Check the Scan. If the button scans as a key, set it to F13 to F20 in the maker's software first.
- Quit the maker's software. Logi Options+ and similar apps can take a button over.
What it cannot do
- Reach into Final Cut. InputConfig sends keys, clicks and scrolls. It cannot read the timeline or the clip under the pointer.
- Tell two mice apart. Every mouse connected counts as one device.
- Change pointer speed. Use the Mac's settings, the maker's app, or LinearMouse, Mac Mouse Fix or SteerMouse.
- Replace a jog wheel. A shuttle controller moves the playhead smoothly, and a mouse button only sends discrete keys.
The short version
- Keys, not buttons. Final Cut takes keys. Blade is Command B, undo is Command Z.
- Scan, then block. Scan the thumb button and block its old action.
- Follow the app. Add Final Cut Pro under Activate when these apps are in front.
Blade on a thumb button, cutting under the skimmer, is the one change I would make first.
Questions
Can I assign a mouse button to Blade in Final Cut Pro?
Yes. Scan the button in InputConfig and give it the output Keyboard Key with Command and B. With skimming on, it cuts under the pointer.
What is the Final Cut Pro shortcut for Blade?
Command B, and Shift Command B is Blade All, which cuts every clip at the skimmer or playhead, according to Apple's list.
Does Final Cut Pro support mouse side buttons?
Not in its Command Editor, which binds keys. A button can still press a key, and InputConfig does that for any mouse.
Can a mouse button zoom the Final Cut Pro timeline?
Yes. Command plus and Command minus are Final Cut's zoom in and zoom out, and Shift Z is zoom to fit, so put them on three buttons or on a tilt wheel.
How do I stop my mouse buttons doing other things in Final Cut Pro?
Tick Block the button's own action in the row's Options for the middle and side buttons. Left and right click cannot be blocked.
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