# DaVinci Resolve Source Viewer vs Timeline Viewer: The Difference > **Quick answer:** DaVinci Resolve source viewer vs timeline viewer: the Source Viewer is where you inspect and mark source media before editing; the Timeline Viewer shows the frame at the timeline playhead and the edited program. Use the Source Viewer to choose material, the Timeline Viewer to judge the cut, and Q to switch focus. *Published by [TryUncle](https://tryuncle.com) — the on-screen assistant that teaches DaVinci Resolve on your own screen.* *Updated 2026-08-12 · DaVinci Resolve 21.0.3 (July 2026) · Canonical: https://tryuncle.com/learn/davinci-resolve/davinci-resolve-source-viewer-vs-timeline-viewer* The two viewers look similar enough to confuse almost everybody once. They are not duplicates. They sit on opposite sides of the editing decision. One helps you decide what material should enter the edit. The other shows what is already in the edit. As of August 2026, this explanation applies to DaVinci Resolve 21.0.3. Blackmagic Design released the final DaVinci Resolve 21 line in June 2026, lists 21.0.3 in its July 2026 support updates, and published the DaVinci Resolve 21 manual on July 10, 2026. ([Blackmagic Design support](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/it/support), [DaVinci Resolve 21 manual](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/welcome/en/W-DRE-03)) This is also one of the recurring questions in our 100,000+ member professional video-editing community. The confusion usually isn't about what a "viewer" is. It's about why clicking one clip makes one playhead move while your actual edit stays put. That's the distinction we're going to make concrete. ## What is the difference between the DaVinci Resolve Source Viewer vs Timeline Viewer? The **Source Viewer** displays source material you are considering or preparing for an edit. The **Timeline Viewer** displays the edited sequence at the position of the timeline playhead. Blackmagic describes the Edit page as supporting traditional three-point editing, and its current Edit documentation tells you to double-click a Media Pool clip to load that clip into the Source Viewer on the left. The same documentation identifies the Timeline Viewer on the right as the place where timeline edit overlays appear when you drag source material toward it. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) That's the formal distinction. The practical distinction is easier: - Source Viewer: "Which frames from this media do I want?" - Timeline Viewer: "What does my edited program look like here?" - Source playhead: moves through the loaded source. - Timeline playhead: moves through the edit. - Source In and Out: describe material you want to take. - Timeline In and Out: describe where that material should go. - Match Frame: connects an edited timeline frame back to its source. - Insert, overwrite, replace, and related edits: move selected source material into the timeline. **The Source Viewer answers "what part of the source do I want," while the Timeline Viewer answers "what does my edit look like now."** That single sentence handles most of the confusion. If you double-click a 12-minute interview clip and scrub to 08:14 in the Source Viewer, you have not moved the timeline playhead to 08:14. You have moved through the source interview. If your timeline playhead is sitting at 00:01:27:12, the Timeline Viewer continues to represent whatever the edited program contains at 00:01:27:12. Two different pieces of media context. Two different positions. Two different jobs. ### Source Viewer vs Timeline Viewer at a glance | Decision | Source Viewer | Timeline Viewer | | --- | --- | --- | | Primary job | Preview and prepare source material | Preview the edited sequence | | Typical content | A Media Pool clip, Source Tape, or source timeline | The active edit timeline | | Main playhead means | Position inside the loaded source | Position inside the edited sequence | | In/Out points usually mean | Portion of source you want to use | Destination range in the timeline | | Double-clicking Media Pool media | Loads it here | Does not replace the active timeline | | Match Frame from timeline | Matching source is revealed here | Supplies the frame you are matching from | | Insert/overwrite workflow | Supplies frames | Receives frames | | Best question to ask | "What do I want to use?" | "Where should it go, and how does the edit look?" | | Audio waveform use | Useful for finding words, pauses, breaths, beats | Useful for judging edit timing in sequence context | | Focus matters for shortcuts | Yes | Yes | | Can disappear in a compact layout | Yes | The remaining single viewer represents the active context | | Is it the timeline itself? | No, although a timeline can be loaded as source material | It represents the active timeline output | One detail matters in that final row. A timeline can now be used as *source material*. That makes the modern Source Viewer more capable than the old mental model of "left screen equals one raw camera clip." But its role is still source-side. ## What exactly loads into the Source Viewer in DaVinci Resolve? The Source Viewer loads material you want to inspect before or while editing it into your active timeline. A normal source clip is the simplest case, but modern Resolve can also use broader source-side browsing workflows. Start with the ordinary case. Blackmagic's current Edit-page instructions say to **double-click a clip** to load it into the Source Viewer. You can then position its playhead and use the `I` and `O` shortcuts to mark the part of the clip you want. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) Say you imported a 40-second B-roll shot of a coffee shop. The shot contains: - 0:00-0:05: camera settling - 0:05-0:13: wide shot of the room - 0:13-0:18: someone walks in front of the lens - 0:18-0:29: clean barista action - 0:29-0:40: camera tilts away Double-clicking that file does not add all 40 seconds to your edit. It simply opens the source so you can examine it. You might park the source playhead at 0:18, press `I`, move to 0:24, and press `O`. You now have six seconds of useful source material marked for an edit. Your active timeline can remain exactly where it was. That separation is the point. ### The Source Viewer is a preparation space You use the Source Viewer to answer questions such as: - Where does the useful action start? - Where should the shot end? - Is there a cleaner take later in the file? - Does the speaker finish the sentence before the camera moves? - Where is the clap or transient I need? - Is there enough handle before the action for a dissolve? - Can I use video without its audio? - Can I use audio without its video? - Is this the same original frame I already used elsewhere? Blackmagic specifically documents audio waveform overlays in the Source Viewer. The waveform can help you navigate interview and dialogue clips by spotting speech, silence, and other audio changes, while tape-style scrubbing can make dialogue easier to understand at slower playback speeds. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) That feature makes sense precisely because source preparation is often about finding the useful few seconds inside a much longer recording. ### The Source Viewer is not a second copy of your edit This sounds obvious until the same clip exists in both places. Imagine a 30-second interview clip has already been cut into your timeline. The timeline uses source frames from 00:10 to 00:16. You can still open the original source clip and move its Source Viewer playhead to 00:25. Nothing in the timeline has changed. The timeline instance still uses 00:10 to 00:16 until you perform an edit, trim the timeline clip, slip it, replace it, or use another operation that actually changes the sequence. This is why it helps to stop thinking in terms of "left monitor" and "right monitor." Think in terms of **source** and **record/program**. Screen location can change. Single-viewer layouts can collapse the interface. A source timeline can complicate what appears on the left. But the conceptual roles remain useful. Blackmagic-certified DaVinci Resolve trainer Jana Johnston puts the normal Source Clip mode plainly: > “By default, Resolves’ source viewer is set to Source Clip mode, in which it lets you preview and work with one clip at a time.” Her 2026 workflow article also covers Source Tape and using a timeline as a source. ([Digital Production](https://digitalproduction.com/2026/04/03/switching-to-davinci-resolve-your-first-cut/)) **A source playhead navigates loaded media; a timeline playhead navigates the edited sequence.** ## What exactly does the Timeline Viewer show in DaVinci Resolve? The Timeline Viewer shows the active edited sequence at the current timeline playhead position. It is where you judge the cut in program context rather than deciding which raw source frames to select. Suppose your timeline is: 1. Wide establishing shot 2. Interview sentence 3. Coffee-pour B-roll 4. Interview reaction 5. Exterior closing shot When the timeline playhead sits over item 3, the Timeline Viewer shows the coffee-pour section as it exists in the edit. Move the timeline playhead to item 4 and the Timeline Viewer follows the edited sequence. The important word is **edited**. The Timeline Viewer represents the program structure you are building. Timing, cuts, track order, titles, transitions, compositing choices, and the arrangement of clips all belong to timeline context. Blackmagic's current Edit page explicitly calls the viewer on the right the timeline viewer when describing drag-and-drop editing. Dragging source material toward that viewer can expose seven editing choices: insert, overwrite, replace, fit to fill, place on top, append at end, and ripple overwrite. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) Those seven choices tell you something fundamental about the viewer. It isn't merely a television displaying your video. It represents the *destination side* of an editing operation. ### The Timeline Viewer is where timing becomes context A source shot can look perfect by itself and still be wrong for your cut. Maybe the source clip contains a clean seven-second reaction. In the Source Viewer, seven seconds feels fine. Put the same reaction between two fast lines of dialogue and seven seconds suddenly feels glacial. That's why you need both sides. The Source Viewer lets you find the strongest raw moment. The Timeline Viewer lets you judge that moment against everything around it. ### The Timeline Viewer and timeline panel are different things Another beginner trap: "Timeline Viewer" does not mean the horizontal track area at the bottom of the Edit page. The **timeline panel/editor** is where clips are arranged on video and audio tracks. The **Timeline Viewer** is the image viewer that displays the timeline's current visual output at the playhead. You often interact with them together: - Move the timeline playhead in the track area. - The Timeline Viewer updates. - Trim a clip edge. - The timeline changes. - Play across the edit. - The Timeline Viewer shows the result. - Drag source media toward the Timeline Viewer. - Resolve can offer edit overlays. The words are similar, but the objects are not. If someone says, "drag it to the timeline," they may mean the track area. If a tutorial says, "drag it over the Timeline Viewer to get the edit overlay," it means the viewer, not the tracks. Blackmagic's documentation specifically describes dropping clips on the Timeline Viewer to expose those edit choices. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) That distinction has confused Resolve users for years because dragging to the timeline panel and dragging to the Timeline Viewer can produce different interactions. ## Why do the Source Viewer and Timeline Viewer have different playheads? The viewers have different playheads because they navigate different time domains. The source playhead locates a frame within source material, while the timeline playhead locates a moment within the edited sequence. This is the part that makes the system click. Take a source file named `Interview_A_003.mov`. The camera recorded it continuously for 18 minutes. Its source playhead might be sitting on the frame at source timecode `10:17:43:08`. Your edited documentary timeline might be only 12 minutes long. Its timeline playhead might currently sit at `01:04:22:15`, depending on the timeline's starting timecode and current position. Those numbers do not need to match. They describe different things. The source position answers: > Which frame inside the original media am I looking at? The timeline position answers: > Which moment inside the edited program am I looking at? Now imagine that exact source frame appears in the timeline. Resolve can relate the two. That's where Match Frame becomes useful. But until you explicitly invoke a relationship or perform an edit, moving one playhead doesn't mean you're moving the other. ### A worked example with one source and one timeline You have a 60-second source clip. You find a good moment: - source In: 00:00:21:00 - source Out: 00:00:26:00 Your timeline playhead is parked between two clips at the place where you want that material to go. You perform an insert edit. Resolve takes the marked source range and places it at the timeline destination. After that edit, the same visual frames now exist in two contexts: 1. They remain part of the original 60-second source clip. 2. A selected portion is now used as a timeline clip instance. The source media did not become the timeline. The timeline references a range from that source. That distinction explains a huge amount of editing behavior, including trimming, slipping, Match Frame, handles, reconforming, relinking, and source timecode. ### Why this matters when you're trimming Suppose your timeline contains five seconds from the middle of a 60-second source file. You want the shot to begin two seconds earlier. If those earlier source frames exist, you have handles. A ripple trim or roll can expose more of the same source without changing the underlying media file. The source has more material than the timeline instance currently uses. That's why experienced editors constantly think in two spaces at once: - What source media exists? - What portion has the timeline chosen to use? You don't need to say those questions out loud after a while. The Source Viewer and Timeline Viewer simply become visual representations of the distinction. ## How do In and Out points work between the Source Viewer and Timeline Viewer? Source In and Out points define which source frames you want, while timeline In and Out points define where material should be placed or what timeline range an operation should affect. Three-point editing combines these marks so Resolve can calculate the missing boundary. Blackmagic explicitly describes the Edit page as supporting traditional three-point editing. It also documents `I` and `O` as the shortcuts for marking the beginning and end of a source selection in the Source Viewer. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) Here's the important model. A conventional edit can involve four possible boundaries: 1. Source In 2. Source Out 3. Timeline In 4. Timeline Out You often don't need all four. Give the NLE three meaningful points and it can infer the fourth. Hence "three-point editing." **Three-point editing works because source marks define the material and the timeline defines the destination.** ### Example 1: Source In + Source Out + timeline destination This is the easiest three-point workflow to learn. You load a source clip. You mark: - Source In at the beginning of a sentence. - Source Out after the sentence ends. Then you position the timeline playhead where the sentence should enter the program. Now perform an insert or overwrite. Resolve already knows: - what source frames you want, - how long that range is, - where the edit should begin. You didn't need to mark a Timeline Out. Duration came from the source range. This is probably the cleanest mental model for beginners. ### Example 2: Source In + Timeline In + Timeline Out Now imagine you have an exact five-second hole in the timeline. You don't care exactly where the source should end. You care that it starts on a particular source moment and fills that five-second destination. Mark: - Source In - Timeline In - Timeline Out Resolve can determine the required source duration from the timeline range. This is useful when destination timing matters more than preserving a preselected source endpoint. ### Example 3: Source Out + Timeline In + Timeline Out Sometimes the source ending is the critical frame. Maybe a door must slam exactly at the end of the destination range. You can define: - Source Out on the door slam. - Timeline In. - Timeline Out. The NLE can work backward from the chosen source endpoint. The concept is the same. Three known boundaries determine the fourth. ### Why beginners accidentally mark the wrong thing The `I` and `O` keys are simple. Context is not. If the Source Viewer has focus, `I` and `O` are marking source material. If the timeline context is active, you may be marking a range in the timeline instead. That can make Resolve feel unpredictable when it is actually being very literal about focus. A common sequence goes like this: 1. You open a source clip. 2. You set an In. 3. You click somewhere in the timeline. 4. You press `O`, expecting to finish the source selection. 5. The Out mark appears in timeline context instead. Now the edit behaves differently from what you expected. The problem wasn't the `O` key. The focus changed between step 2 and step 4. ### When you should use no marks at all Not every edit needs a formal three-point setup. For rough assemblies, you can drag clips directly. For a quick append workflow, you may mark only a useful source section and append it. For some actions, the timeline playhead provides all the destination information you need. And on the Cut page, Resolve deliberately offers smarter edit behaviors that reduce the need to manage destination marks manually. Blackmagic describes the Cut page's smart indicator as a way to make many edits without timeline In and Out points. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/cut)) But if you're trying to understand the Edit page's Source Viewer versus Timeline Viewer design, three-point editing is the key. The two-viewer layout exists for a reason. One side prepares material. The other side establishes context and destination. ### Why an Out point can look one frame too long Editors coming from other software sometimes get confused by how endpoint conventions are displayed and how the next frame appears around marked ranges. Don't solve that confusion by randomly moving an Out point one frame earlier every time. First identify which viewer owns the mark, which editing command you're using, and whether you're judging a marked range, a clip boundary, or the frame after an edit point. Resolve has enough context-sensitive behavior that "one extra frame" symptoms can come from several different misunderstandings. If your specific problem is that DaVinci Resolve seems to include the following clip when you mark an Out, we cover that separately in the site's dedicated marking guide rather than turning this viewer comparison into a different troubleshooting page. ## Why does Match Frame open the Source Viewer in DaVinci Resolve? Match Frame opens the corresponding source because its job is to connect a frame already used in the timeline with the original media behind that edit. With the default Resolve mapping, `F` is the Match Frame shortcut. A Blackmagic Design product manager described the Match Frame hotkey as `F` on the company's forum when discussing metadata workflows, noting that it can synchronize the timeline and selected media position. ([Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=95560)) The beginner-friendly version is simpler. Put your timeline playhead on a clip. Press `F`. Resolve finds the source frame represented by the frame under your timeline playhead and brings the corresponding source into source context. Now you can see where that edited frame came from. **Match Frame is the bridge between an edited frame and the original source media.** ### Why would you need Match Frame? Because a timeline clip is only one chosen section of a source. You may want to: - find extra handles before or after the current edit, - locate another moment from the same take, - inspect the original source timecode, - cut another piece of the same interview, - recover video corresponding to audio already in the timeline, - find where a B-roll shot came from, - understand whether a timeline shot is a subclip, compound clip, multicam source, or ordinary media, - compare the source around an existing cut. A classic use case is an interview. You already used: > "...and that's when we knew the project had changed." Later, while tightening the sequence, you decide you need the speaker's two-second pause immediately before that sentence. You could hunt through the bin manually. Or place the timeline playhead over the existing sentence and Match Frame. Now you're back at the relevant source location. ### Match Frame does not mean "make both viewers identical forever" It performs a relationship-finding operation. After Resolve reveals the matching source frame, you can move the source playhead somewhere else. That doesn't automatically drag the timeline playhead around with it in ordinary source-clip editing. The connection helped you navigate from one context to the other. The contexts remain distinct. ### What if F does not Match Frame? First, remember that DaVinci Resolve lets you customize keyboard shortcuts. Blackmagic says virtually every command and tool can be assigned a shortcut, and Resolve can save custom keyboard presets. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) So `F` is only useful as a universal instruction when you're using the default Resolve mapping or a preset that retains it. If `F` does something unexpected: 1. Open Keyboard Customization. 2. Search for Match Frame. 3. Check what key is assigned. 4. Check whether you imported an Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Avid, or personal mapping. 5. Verify which panel has focus before testing again. If you use Match Frame often, our separate [How to Use Match Frame in DaVinci Resolve](https://tryuncle.com/learn/davinci-resolve/how-to-use-match-frame-in-davinci-resolve) guide covers the command in more depth without mixing it into the broader viewer comparison. ## Why do I only see one viewer in DaVinci Resolve? You usually see one viewer because Resolve is using a single-viewer layout, you're on a page designed around one viewer, or the available interface space is too constrained for the dual-viewer arrangement you expected. First check the page. The **Edit page** is the page associated with the traditional source/record dual-viewer model. The **Cut page** is deliberately different. Blackmagic describes the Cut page around a single Viewer that can show sources or timeline content, paired with its own fast-editing tools such as Source Tape and the dual timeline. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/cut)) That distinction alone explains a lot of "my Source Viewer disappeared" questions. A user follows an Edit-page tutorial. They are actually on the Cut page. The tutorial shows two viewers. Their screen shows one. Nothing is broken. They're in a different editing workspace. ### Why the Edit page may also show one viewer Even on the Edit page, Resolve can operate with one viewer. Interface space matters. In a Blackmagic Design forum answer to a user who could not get the dual-viewer arrangement shown in training material, DaVinci Resolve product manager Peter Chamberlain said the user needed to change monitor resolution or use a monitor with higher resolution. The same thread also discusses switching between source and timeline with `Q` when only one viewer is visible. ([Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=204035)) Panels matter too. Open the Media Pool. Open Effects. Open the Inspector. Open the Mixer. Make the application window narrower. At some point the interface has to choose where to spend the available pixels. Depending on your display, scaling, current version, and layout, Resolve can give more room to one viewer instead of maintaining two tiny viewers that are hard to use. ### Single viewer does not erase the source/timeline distinction This is crucial. When Resolve collapses to one visible viewer, source and timeline do not become the same thing. The single viewer changes context. Open a source clip and it can show source content. Return focus to the timeline and it can show timeline content. The underlying question remains: > Am I looking at source context or timeline context? **Single Viewer Mode changes the layout, not the underlying source-versus-timeline logic.** ### Why Q becomes especially useful in a one-viewer layout With two visible viewers, you can simply click left or right. With one, your eyes can't use physical position to remind you which side is active. `Q` becomes the conceptual toggle. With the default mapping, it switches Source/Timeline Viewer focus. The Blackmagic forum thread above specifically notes using `Q` to move between source and timeline when a single viewer is displayed. ([Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=204035)) But remember: shortcuts are customizable. If a tutorial says "press Q" and your system doesn't behave the same way, don't assume your Resolve installation is broken. Check the mapping. ### A five-step check when the left viewer is missing If you expected two viewers but have one: 1. Confirm you're on the **Edit** page, not the Cut page. 2. Check whether you've enabled a single-viewer layout. 3. Close or reduce the Inspector and other wide panels temporarily. 4. Maximize the Resolve window and check your display scaling. 5. Test `Q` with the default keyboard mapping to confirm source and timeline contexts still exist. This resolves the conceptual problem even when the exact interface control differs slightly by display configuration. If you are stuck on the actual layout control, Uncle can point at the exact button in your own Resolve project while you work. ## Why is my Source Viewer showing Source Tape instead of one clip? The Source Viewer can participate in more than a one-clip-at-a-time workflow. Source Tape presents multiple clips as a continuous browsing experience, so seeing many clips on the source side does not mean Resolve has confused your timeline and source viewers. This is where older tutorials can make the terminology feel messy. Historically, many editors learned a simple model: - left = source clip - right = timeline That model is still useful for learning three-point editing. But it isn't complete anymore. Blackmagic's Source Tape workflow lets clips appear end to end for browsing, rather than forcing you to open each item separately. Blackmagic explains the idea on its Cut-page documentation and on its editing-keyboard page: Source Tape is meant to let editors scroll through media more like a continuous tape. ([Blackmagic Design Cut page](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/cut), [Blackmagic Design Edit Keyboards](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/keyboard)) In 2026, Jana Johnston's DaVinci Resolve editing walkthrough also describes switching the source side from Source Clip to Source Tape and browsing the current bin as continuous media. ([Digital Production](https://digitalproduction.com/2026/04/03/switching-to-davinci-resolve-your-first-cut/)) So separate two ideas: - **Source Viewer** describes the role or viewer side. - **Source Tape** describes a way of browsing source material. They are not competing definitions. ### When Source Tape is better than opening one source clip Source Tape is useful when the hard part is finding a shot. Suppose your B-roll bin contains 180 clips. Opening clip 1, closing it, opening clip 2, closing it, then opening clip 3 gets tedious fast. Source Tape changes the browsing problem. Instead of thinking: > Which file should I open? you can think: > Let me scan everything visually until I see the shot. That can be faster for documentary B-roll, event footage, travel footage, observational footage, and any shoot where filenames tell you very little. ### When Source Clip is still better Use normal Source Clip behavior when you already know which source you want and need precise work inside it. Examples: - marking a clean interview sentence, - finding the exact frame where a hand enters, - checking handles, - finding a slate, - examining timecode, - locating an audio transient, - preparing a split edit, - Match Framing from an existing timeline clip. Source Tape is broad browsing. Source Clip is focused inspection. Both are source-side jobs. ### Why tutorials can seem inconsistent A tutorial recorded in an older Resolve release may show a simpler source viewer. A newer Resolve tutorial may show Source Tape controls on the Edit page. Another teacher may use the Cut page, where Source Tape has long been central to the design. Someone else may use a source timeline. If you copy the instructor's physical button positions without understanding source versus destination, every version change feels like Resolve rearranged reality. If you understand the roles, a changed icon is much easier to decode. You still ask: 1. What source material am I browsing? 2. What timeline am I editing into? That pair survives UI changes. ## Why is my Source Viewer showing another timeline? DaVinci Resolve can use a timeline as source material, which lets you edit from one sequence into another. This is useful for selects, string-outs, assemblies, scene reels, and other source-timeline workflows. This is the modern wrinkle that makes "Source Viewer equals raw clip" technically incomplete. Imagine you have two timelines: - `Interview_Selects` - `Documentary_Master` `Interview_Selects` contains 45 minutes of material you've already reduced from several hours of interviews. Instead of reopening the camera originals one by one, you can use the selects timeline as a source for the master timeline. Jana Johnston's 2026 editing guide describes dragging a preselection timeline into the Source Viewer, or opening it as a timeline with the source viewer, then editing from that timeline into the main edit. She also notes the blue playhead used to identify source-timeline context. ([Digital Production](https://digitalproduction.com/2026/04/03/switching-to-davinci-resolve-your-first-cut/)) DaVinci Resolve 20-era Blackmagic forum discussions document this newer "View and Edit Timelines in the Source Viewer" workflow and the `Toggle Source Timeline` command. ([Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=219115)) ### Why would anybody edit from a timeline into another timeline? Because a source doesn't have to mean "camera file." For editorial purposes, source can mean "material I want to draw from." A selects timeline might contain: - the best interview answers, - favorite reactions, - usable B-roll, - approved takes, - synced dailies, - string-outs by scene, - selects organized by topic. The master timeline contains the actual program structure. So the conceptual roles remain clean: `Selects timeline -> source side -> edit operation -> master timeline` The source happens to be another edited sequence. ### Is a source timeline the same as your active timeline? No. That's the important part. The timeline being treated as source is there to supply material. Your active record/program timeline is the destination you are building. In a source/record workflow, two timelines can therefore play two different roles at the same time. Editors coming from Avid Media Composer may recognize the general source/record idea immediately, although implementations and commands differ. Editors coming from simpler single-timeline tools may need a minute. ### Why the playhead color can help Modern source-timeline workflows use visual cues to distinguish the source timeline from the active editing timeline. Johnston's 2026 walkthrough describes the source timeline with a blue playhead. ([Digital Production](https://digitalproduction.com/2026/04/03/switching-to-davinci-resolve-your-first-cut/)) The color cue is useful, but don't make color your only mental model. Ask what the timeline is doing. If it is supplying material, treat it as source. If it is receiving and arranging the final edit, treat it as the active timeline. ### When not to use source timelines Don't add complexity because a professional workflow sounds impressive. If you're editing a three-minute YouTube video from 12 clips, ordinary Media Pool clips and the Source Viewer may be all you need. A source timeline earns its keep when organization is the bottleneck. For example: - 30 interview clips become a 20-minute selects timeline. - Six hours of event footage become a chronological string-out. - Multiple scenes become scene-specific selects. - Hundreds of B-roll clips become a curated sequence. - Assistant editors prepare selects for another editor. The better your source organization, the more useful source/record editing becomes. But if you're still learning what an In point is, you do not need to build a source-timeline architecture on day one. Learn normal source clips first. Then add the more powerful mode when it solves a real problem. ## What changed between older Resolve versions and DaVinci Resolve 20 or 21? The basic Source Viewer versus Timeline Viewer distinction is old, but the source side became more flexible in the Resolve 20 era. DaVinci Resolve 21 retains a modern Edit page where the old source/record mental model coexists with Source Tape, source timelines, customizable layouts, and newer editing tools. The stable part is the most important: - source media is prepared on the source side, - the edited program is judged on the timeline side, - source and timeline playheads represent different positions, - edit commands move selected source ranges into the timeline, - Match Frame bridges the two. Blackmagic's current Resolve 21 Edit page still explicitly describes double-clicking a clip to load the Source Viewer on the left and using the Timeline Viewer on the right for timeline editing interactions. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) So if you're watching a Resolve 18 or 19 tutorial explaining traditional Source Viewer and Timeline Viewer logic, the core concept has not suddenly become useless. What changed is how much the source side can do. ### Resolve 20 expanded the source-side workflow During DaVinci Resolve 20's development, Blackmagic forum discussions document the new ability to use Source Tape and timelines in the Edit page's source workflow. Users specifically discussed the newer "View and Edit Timelines in the Source Viewer" approach and `Toggle Source Timeline`. ([Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=219115)) By April 2026, Johnston's editing guide described three relevant ideas together: - normal Source Clip mode, - Source Tape, - using a preselection timeline in the Source Viewer. ([Digital Production](https://digitalproduction.com/2026/04/03/switching-to-davinci-resolve-your-first-cut/)) So a tutorial that says "the Source Viewer only ever contains a single raw clip" is now too narrow. ### Resolve 21 did not eliminate the traditional viewer model Blackmagic's current 2026 product page still uses the traditional workflow language. The Edit page documentation tells users to mark source clips in the Source Viewer, then edit them into the timeline or Timeline Viewer. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) That's useful because it gives us a stable teaching model: 1. Learn source clip versus timeline. 2. Learn source marks versus timeline marks. 3. Learn three-point edits. 4. Learn Match Frame. 5. Then learn Source Tape and source timelines. Trying to learn all five at once is why the viewer system can feel harder than it is. ### Current version context for August 2026 Blackmagic's support listings identify DaVinci Resolve 21.0.3 as the current 21.0.x update in July 2026, and Blackmagic published the full DaVinci Resolve 21 manual on July 10, 2026. ([Blackmagic Design support](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/it/support), [Blackmagic Design manual page](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/welcome/en/W-DRE-03)) That date matters because viewer tutorials age. A 2023 video can still teach correct source/record fundamentals while showing buttons that no longer occupy the same place. Don't throw out good editorial concepts because the chrome moved. And don't copy old UI instructions blindly because the editorial concept stayed the same. Use both filters. ## How do I know which viewer has focus in DaVinci Resolve? The active viewer is the one receiving viewer-specific commands and shortcuts. If a shortcut seems to affect the wrong place, focus is one of the first things to check. This is where Resolve goes from "logical" to "why did it do that?" You have: - a source viewer, - a timeline viewer, - a timeline panel, - a Media Pool, - an Inspector, - other panels, - context-sensitive shortcuts, - fully customizable keyboard mappings. Clicking changes context. That means the same physical key can participate in different workflows depending on what is active. ### The Q key is the shortcut to remember first With Resolve's default mapping, `Q` is used for Source/Timeline Viewer switching. A Blackmagic forum discussion of missing dual viewers explicitly recommends `Q` for switching source and timeline when using a single visible viewer. ([Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=204035)) Older Resolve reference documentation has also long described `Q` as the Source/Timeline Viewer command, and the shortcut remains discussed in Resolve 20 source-timeline workflows. ([Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=219115)) If you remember only one viewer-management shortcut at first, make it `Q`. ### But Q is not sacred Blackmagic's current Edit documentation says keyboard shortcuts are customizable and that users can save presets or use presets modeled after other editing applications. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) So every shortcut table needs one giant mental footnote: > Default Resolve mapping assumed. If you switched to a Premiere-like keyboard preset six months ago and forgot, a tutorial's shortcut instructions may be technically correct and still wrong on your machine. ### Useful default shortcuts around the two-viewer workflow | Action | Typical default shortcut | Viewer/workflow role | | --- | --- | --- | | Switch Source/Timeline Viewer | `Q` | Moves focus between source and timeline contexts | | Mark In | `I` | Marks an In point in the active context | | Mark Out | `O` | Marks an Out point in the active context | | Match Frame | `F` | Connects timeline/source frame context | | Play backward | `J` | Transport in active viewer/timeline context | | Stop | `K` | Transport | | Play forward | `L` | Transport | | Insert edit | `F9` | Sends source material into timeline using insert behavior | | Overwrite edit | `F10` | Sends source material into timeline using overwrite behavior | Blackmagic's current Edit page explicitly documents `I` and `O` for source marking, while Blackmagic forum guidance from the DaVinci Resolve product team identifies `F` for Match Frame. Blackmagic also documents the Insert and Overwrite edit types themselves on the current Edit page. ([Blackmagic Design Edit page](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit), [Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=95560)) Because keyboard presets can change assignments, search Keyboard Customization before assuming a missing shortcut means a missing feature. ### The focus debugging trick When Resolve does something weird, stop and narrate the state in plain English: > I have Interview_04 loaded as my source. My source playhead is on the sentence. My timeline playhead is on the destination. The timeline is active. I need the source active before I change the source Out. That sounds slow. For ten seconds, it is. Then the interface starts making sense. Eventually you stop narrating. Your hands know. **If you know which viewer has focus, most DaVinci Resolve shortcut confusion disappears.** ## How does an insert edit use the Source Viewer and Timeline Viewer? An insert edit takes the chosen source material and places it at the timeline destination while pushing later timeline material forward to make room. Blackmagic defines Insert on the current Edit page this way in functional terms: the new clip enters at the timeline playhead and existing material is pushed down the timeline to create space. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) Let's make that concrete. Your timeline contains: `A | B | C` You want to put source clip `X` between A and B. In the Source Viewer: 1. Load X. 2. Mark the useful section. In timeline context: 3. Park the timeline playhead at the A/B cut. Perform Insert. Result: `A | X | B | C` The important part isn't the key you pressed. It's the division of responsibility. Source Viewer chose `X`. Timeline chose the destination between `A` and `B`. Insert defined the relationship between them. ### What happens if the timeline playhead is in the middle of a clip? Blackmagic says an insert at a playhead in the middle of a timeline clip splits the existing clip and places the new clip in the middle while making room. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) So: `AAAAAA` with the playhead here: `AAA|AAA` can become: `AAA|XXX|AAA` depending on track targeting and the material being inserted. This is why the Timeline Viewer matters during an insert. You aren't only choosing *what* enters. You need to see *where* it enters. ### Why insert feels safer for assembly edits When building a rough story, you often don't want new material to destroy what comes later. Insert preserves later material by moving it. That makes it natural for: - first assemblies, - interview string-outs, - adding a missing shot between existing shots, - building a sequence in story order. But "safer" doesn't mean "always correct." An insert can knock music, titles, sound effects, and other synchronized elements later if track targeting or sync relationships aren't what you intended. The viewers show you source and program. The timeline's track controls determine which timeline material actually participates. Viewer knowledge is necessary. It isn't the whole editing system. ## How does an overwrite edit use the Source Viewer and Timeline Viewer? An overwrite edit places the selected source material at the timeline destination without pushing later material forward. It replaces the timeline content occupying the destination range. Blackmagic describes Overwrite as placing a new clip at the timeline playhead and writing over material already there. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) Imagine: `AAAA | BBBB | CCCC` You want four seconds of source `XXXX` to replace the beginning of `BBBB`. Source Viewer: - choose four seconds from X. Timeline: - park at the target position. Overwrite: `AAAA | XXXX | CCCC...` The exact visible result depends on durations and track targeting, but the conceptual contrast with Insert is simple. Insert makes room. Overwrite uses existing timeline time. ### Why overwrite depends heavily on timeline context An overwrite can be exactly what you want when the overall sequence duration must remain stable. Examples: - replacing B-roll under a voice-over, - changing a reaction shot without shifting dialogue, - replacing one visual while music timing stays fixed, - cutting alternate coverage into a locked-duration section. Source Viewer still answers: > Which frames should I use? Timeline Viewer answers: > What program moment am I replacing? ### Insert versus overwrite decision table | Situation | Usually start with | Why | | --- | --- | --- | | Adding a new shot between existing shots | Insert | Makes room for new material | | Replacing B-roll without shifting later timing | Overwrite | Uses existing timeline duration | | Building a first rough assembly | Insert | Keeps later material rather than covering it | | Replacing coverage under fixed narration | Overwrite | Preserves program timing | | Filling a precisely marked destination | Overwrite or another fit-oriented edit | Destination duration matters | | Unsure which operation you need | Pause and identify whether later material should move | The movement of downstream timeline content is the key decision | There are more edit types, of course. Blackmagic's current Timeline Viewer overlay exposes seven: Insert, Overwrite, Replace, Fit to Fill, Place on Top, Append at End, and Ripple Overwrite. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) But if you understand source versus timeline plus Insert versus Overwrite, the others are easier to learn because you already know where the source comes from and where the result is going. ## Why does dragging a clip onto the Timeline Viewer show editing options? The Timeline Viewer can act as a destination for drag-and-drop edits, so Resolve displays an edit overlay when source material is dragged over it. This is not the same as dragging a clip directly onto a timeline track. Blackmagic explicitly documents the Timeline Viewer overlay and its seven choices: 1. Insert 2. Overwrite 3. Replace 4. Fit to Fill 5. Place on Top 6. Append at End 7. Ripple Overwrite ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) That gives beginners a useful mouse-driven way to understand editing operations before memorizing shortcuts. ### Why the overlay is educational A shortcut like `F9` is fast once you know what Insert means. Before that, it's just a mysterious function key. The overlay exposes the verbs. You drag source material toward the destination and Resolve asks what relationship you want. Insert? Overwrite? Replace? Place on top? That's the real decision. ### Why dragging directly to a track is different When you drag directly into the timeline panel, you are manipulating track placement more explicitly. You're choosing a physical timeline position with the mouse. When you use the Timeline Viewer overlay, you're choosing an edit command. Neither approach is universally better. Mouse-oriented beginners may prefer direct dragging at first because they can see the clip land. Keyboard-oriented editors often move toward source marking plus edit commands because it's faster and more precise once learned. ### When to stop using the overlay You don't have to. There is no prize for avoiding the mouse. But once you perform hundreds of Insert and Overwrite edits, reaching for the overlay every time can become slower than: 1. mark source, 2. set destination, 3. press the edit shortcut. The bigger lesson is not "professionals use F-keys." It's that the Source Viewer and Timeline Viewer form an editing relationship. The overlay simply makes that relationship visible. ## Which viewer should I use when editing interviews? Use the Source Viewer to find and mark the exact sentence, pause, breath, or reaction you want. Use the Timeline Viewer to judge how that selection works against the surrounding interview, B-roll, music, and pacing. Interview editing is where the two-viewer model becomes especially obvious. You may have a 45-minute interview source. Your finished film may use 90 seconds of it. The hard work is selecting. ### Use the Source Viewer for language-level decisions Blackmagic's Source Viewer audio waveform overlay is particularly useful for dialogue because visible waveform changes can help locate speech and silent areas. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) You might use source context to: - find the real beginning of a sentence, - skip a false start, - include a breath because the edit needs humanity, - remove a long pause, - locate a specific word, - find the cleanest version of a repeated answer, - extend beyond the visible timeline instance after Match Frame. Then you edit the selected source into the program. ### Use the Timeline Viewer for story-level decisions The perfect isolated answer can still be wrong in context. Maybe it repeats the previous line. Maybe the pause is too long after the preceding speaker. Maybe cutting directly from one interview angle to another creates a jump. Maybe a reaction needs two more frames. Maybe the sentence works only if B-roll covers the cut. Those are timeline questions. ### Worked interview example Source interview: > "I started the company in 2018. [pause] At first, it was just me and a laptop. [pause] Then the first client called." You want the middle sentence. In the Source Viewer: - find "At first." - mark In just before the phrase. - mark Out after "laptop." In the timeline: - place the playhead after your narrator's setup. - overwrite or insert, depending on your structure. Then play the cut in the Timeline Viewer. You discover the breath before "At first" is too long. Now you can trim it in timeline context or return to the source and change the source range. This back-and-forth is editing. Source, destination, review, adjustment. ### What about text-based editing? DaVinci Resolve now has transcription and text-based workflows that can reduce the amount of manual scrubbing required for dialogue-heavy work. That does not make source-versus-timeline thinking obsolete. Text search helps you locate content. The source still supplies media. The timeline still contains the edit. If you want to go deeper into transcript-driven selection, our [DaVinci Resolve text-based editing guide](https://tryuncle.com/learn/davinci-resolve/davinci-resolve-text-based-editing-tutorial-search-footage-by-spoken-words) covers that separate workflow. ## Which viewer should I use for B-roll and fast visual editing? Use the source side to browse and select promising B-roll, then use the Timeline Viewer to judge shot order, continuity, rhythm, and whether each insert supports the surrounding story. B-roll often shifts the balance from precise dialogue search toward fast visual discovery. That's where Source Tape can make more sense than opening every clip individually. ### A normal Source Clip workflow You know exactly which shot you want. Open it. Mark the strongest action. Edit it in. Review the result. Simple. ### A Source Tape workflow You know you need "something of the city at night," but your bin has 80 city shots. Source Tape lets you scan broadly. You spot: - traffic reflection, - wide skyline, - person crossing street, - neon sign, - train arriving. You mark and edit promising sections as you go. The source side handles discovery. The timeline handles structure. ### Why source selection alone cannot determine B-roll length A six-second shot may look beautiful in isolation. Your edit may only need 1.2 seconds of it. Or it may need eight seconds because a narration sentence needs space. That's why "best part of the source" and "right duration in the program" are different decisions. The Source Viewer helps answer the first. The Timeline Viewer helps answer the second. ### The action-matching example You have three shots: 1. hand reaches for a cup, 2. coffee pours, 3. cup lands on table. Each source contains extra lead-in and tail frames. If you choose all three ranges purely by looking at them separately, your sequence may feel sluggish. In the Timeline Viewer, you can shape the action across cuts: - cut later into the reach, - leave the pour long enough to read, - cut to the landing just before contact. Now the shots behave as a sequence rather than three independent nice clips. That's the editor's job. ## Should I use the Source Viewer for audio-only or video-only edits? Yes. The Source Viewer is still the natural place to choose source material when you intend to edit only its audio or only its video. The timeline determines where that chosen component lands. Blackmagic's current source-marking documentation notes that audio and video can be marked separately to create split edits where audio begins before or after video. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) That leads to two important concepts. ### J-cuts Audio from the incoming shot begins before its picture appears. You hear the next scene before you see it. Example: - Timeline Viewer shows a person closing an office door. - Audio from the next scene begins: street noise. - Then picture cuts outside. The source audio begins earlier than the source video in timeline context. ### L-cuts Audio from the outgoing shot continues after the picture changes. Example: - Interview subject finishes a sentence. - Picture cuts to B-roll. - The subject's voice continues underneath. The visual edit and audio edit happen at different times. ### Why the viewers still matter For an L-cut, the Source Viewer may help you choose exactly how much dialogue or room tone exists in the original source. The Timeline Viewer helps you judge whether the overlapping audio works with the new picture. Again: source availability versus program result. ### A common audio-only recovery workflow Imagine you cut only interview audio into the timeline. Later you decide you need the matching camera picture. Match Frame can help reconnect that timeline material to its source. Blackmagic forum users have documented using Match Frame from timeline audio to locate corresponding source media before performing an overwrite of the required component. ([Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=95560)) The exact track patching depends on your project. The conceptual route is the useful part: timeline instance -> Match Frame -> source -> edit needed component back to timeline. ## Why does my source clip look different from the edited timeline? The source and timeline contexts can represent different stages of the edit, so you should judge the finished program in timeline context rather than assuming a source preview must always look identical to the edited result. Several things can make two views feel different: - timeline effects, - Fusion work, - reframing, - compositing, - titles or graphics, - adjustment clips, - transitions, - track stacking, - timeline-level context, - color-management or monitoring choices. The safest mental rule is straightforward: The Source Viewer helps you judge source material. The Timeline Viewer helps you judge the edited sequence. ### Example: adjustment clip Blackmagic documents adjustment clips as timeline elements whose effects can apply to clips beneath them. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit)) Imagine your raw source clip is clean. In the timeline, an adjustment clip above it adds a stylized effect. Open the raw clip as a normal source and you are evaluating the source. Park the timeline playhead under the adjustment clip and you are evaluating the edited context. Expecting those contexts to behave like duplicate monitors creates confusion. ### Example: transform or crop Your source is 16:9. In the timeline you've reframed it for a vertical composition. The source's intrinsic framing still matters when choosing a moment. But the timeline result is what your audience will eventually see. So use the Timeline Viewer when making the final composition decision. ### Don't use the Edit page viewers as a substitute for a proper color workflow The Source Viewer versus Timeline Viewer distinction is useful for editorial decisions. Color-critical monitoring has additional concerns: color management, display transforms, video I/O, monitoring hardware, calibration, output standards, and page-specific tools. Don't turn a basic viewer mismatch into a color-management diagnosis without first checking whether the difference comes from ordinary timeline processing. The right diagnostic order is: 1. Confirm source versus timeline context. 2. Check timeline effects and transforms. 3. Check adjustment clips and compositing. 4. Check project color management. 5. Then investigate monitoring or color-pipeline issues if the mismatch remains. That order prevents a simple editorial-context difference from becoming a two-hour color-management detour. ## Why does a tutorial show two viewers when my MacBook shows one? Tutorial authors may be using a larger display, a different panel arrangement, a different Resolve page, a different UI scaling setting, or an older version. The lesson can still be valid even if your physical layout is not identical. This is a major source of unnecessary frustration for new Resolve users. The instructor says: > "Go to the Source Viewer on the left." You have no left viewer. Now every instruction after that feels impossible. But if you're on the Edit page and your layout has collapsed to one viewer, you may still have the same source and timeline contexts. Use the concept, not just the coordinates. ### Screen size changes presentation Blackmagic Design product manager Peter Chamberlain has directly pointed users toward higher monitor resolution when they could not reproduce a dual-viewer layout shown in training material. ([Blackmagic Design Forum](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=204035)) That makes intuitive sense. Two useful viewers plus a Media Pool plus an Inspector plus a timeline need width. A laptop cannot display every panel at desktop size simultaneously. ### The Inspector is often the tipping point You may have dual viewers. Then you open the Inspector. One viewer disappears or the layout rearranges. Close the Inspector. The dual-viewer arrangement returns. Don't read this as Resolve "forgetting" your clip. Resolve is managing interface space. ### macOS versus Windows versus Linux The conceptual behavior is the same across desktop platforms: source material and active timeline context remain distinct. The details around function keys can differ because the operating system or keyboard hardware may intercept certain keys. Jana Johnston specifically notes that Mac users may need to configure their function keys as standard function keys for Resolve's F-key edit shortcuts to behave as expected. ([Digital Production](https://digitalproduction.com/2026/04/03/switching-to-davinci-resolve-your-first-cut/)) So if `F9` changes screen brightness instead of inserting a clip, you have not discovered a new editing mode. Your keyboard is doing keyboard things. Check the macOS function-key behavior or hold the appropriate `fn` modifier, depending on your settings. ### Don't redesign your whole workspace just to match YouTube There is value in matching a tutorial while learning. There is no value in assuming the instructor's layout is the only correct one. Once you understand: - where source lives, - where timeline context lives, - how to switch focus, - how to Match Frame, - how to perform an edit, you can adapt the workspace to your display. That is a better skill than memorizing pixel coordinates. ## What are the most common Source Viewer vs Timeline Viewer mistakes? The most common mistakes come from confusing source selection with timeline context, losing track of viewer focus, or following a tutorial recorded in a different page or layout. Here's the diagnostic table I would keep beside Resolve until the distinction becomes automatic. | Symptom | Likely cause | What to check first | | --- | --- | --- | | "I scrubbed but my edit didn't move" | You scrubbed the source playhead | Check which viewer is active | | "I pressed I/O and marked the wrong place" | Focus changed between source and timeline | Click or switch to the intended viewer before marking | | "My left Source Viewer is missing" | Single-viewer layout, Cut page, or constrained screen | Confirm Edit page and viewer layout | | "Q doesn't switch viewers" | Custom shortcut preset | Check Keyboard Customization | | "F doesn't Match Frame" | Custom mapping or wrong context | Search Match Frame in Keyboard Customization and activate the relevant timeline/source context | | "The tutorial has two viewers and I have one" | Layout, display resolution, panel width, or page difference | Close Inspector, maximize Resolve, confirm Edit page | | "Source Viewer shows many clips" | Source Tape is active | Switch back to Source Clip if you want one clip | | "Source Viewer shows another timeline" | Source timeline mode | Switch source mode or load a normal Media Pool clip | | "Dragging to viewer gives an overlay" | You are using the Timeline Viewer edit overlay | Pick an edit type or drag directly to timeline tracks | | "Source and timeline show different moments from the same clip" | Independent playheads | Use Match Frame if you need to reconnect them | | "Insert moved everything later" | Insert edit did exactly that | Use Overwrite if downstream timing should remain | | "Overwrite erased existing picture" | Overwrite uses existing timeline time | Undo and decide whether Insert or another edit type fits | | "F9/F10 trigger laptop controls" | OS/function-key behavior | Check keyboard settings or `fn` behavior | | "A clip looks different after it is in the timeline" | Timeline processing or context differs | Check effects, transforms, track stack, adjustment clips, then color management | ### Mistake 1: Using viewer position instead of viewer role "Left equals source" works until it doesn't. It fails in single-viewer mode. It gets fuzzy with source timelines. It doesn't transfer to the Cut page. Instead remember: source = material I am selecting from. timeline = program I am building. ### Mistake 2: Assuming opening source media changed the edit Opening a clip for inspection isn't an edit. Scrubbing a clip isn't an edit. Marking a source isn't an edit. The timeline changes when you actually perform an edit operation or manipulate timeline content. This distinction is reassuring once you trust it. You can browse source footage aggressively without fearing that every click is rewriting your timeline. ### Mistake 3: Thinking Match Frame duplicates the clip Match Frame is navigation between related media contexts. It doesn't mean you've added another copy to the timeline. It helps locate the source corresponding to an edited frame. ### Mistake 4: Fighting a one-viewer workspace If your laptop is comfortable with one viewer, use it. Learn `Q`. Close panels when you don't need them. Give the timeline enough vertical space to edit. Two simultaneous viewers are convenient, especially for source/record work, but squeezing the interface until both become postage stamps is not a victory. ### Mistake 5: Copying a tutorial's shortcuts without checking the preset Resolve supports customized mappings. Your friend's keyboard may not match yours. A course may use Premiere Pro mappings. An editor may have spent ten years building a custom preset. When one key behaves differently, verify the command name rather than arguing with the keyboard. ### Mistake 6: Skipping source selection and trimming everything later You *can* throw giant source ranges into the timeline and clean them up later. Sometimes that is even the fastest rough-cut strategy. But learning to mark useful source ranges makes larger projects easier to reason about. A timeline packed with 20-minute source clips is not inherently more professional than a timeline built from intentional selections. Choose the workflow that keeps the story clear. ### Mistake 7: Overcomplicating source timelines too early Source timelines are powerful. So are bins. So is Source Tape. So are metadata and smart bins. You do not need every organizational feature at once. If your project has eight clips, the most efficient setup may be: - one bin, - normal Source Viewer, - one timeline. Complex tools are valuable when they remove complexity from the project. Not when they add ceremony. ## Should I use dual viewers or Single Viewer Mode? Use dual viewers when you benefit from seeing source and program simultaneously. Use a single viewer when screen space is more valuable than simultaneous comparison. Neither layout makes you a better editor. The best choice depends on the job and display. ### Choose dual viewers if: - you perform a lot of three-point editing, - you're cutting long-form interviews, - you constantly compare source and program, - you Match Frame frequently, - you're working with source timelines, - you have enough horizontal screen space, - you like source/record editing conventions, - you're learning traditional editing and want both contexts visible. Seeing both playheads at once reduces mental context switching. It is especially useful while learning because the source/timeline distinction is physically visible. ### Choose a single viewer if: - you're editing on a smaller laptop, - the Inspector is open most of the time, - you need more room for the timeline, - you already switch source/timeline context comfortably, - you're doing trim-heavy work where timeline space matters more, - you rarely need both images visible at once. A 16-inch screen has a fixed number of pixels. Giving more space to one thing means taking it from another. Sometimes one large viewer plus a usable timeline is better than two small viewers plus a cramped timeline. ### What about two computer monitors? More screen area gives you more layout options, but don't confuse Resolve's source/timeline viewers with dedicated video monitoring. A second computer display can help spread panels and workspace elements. Professional program monitoring is a separate subject involving video output and color-accurate monitoring. For ordinary editorial workflow, the point is simpler: more usable screen area can make a dual-viewer arrangement easier to maintain. ### A decision rule that actually works Ask yourself this: > Am I spending more time wishing I could see the source and program together, or more time wishing the timeline were larger? If you want simultaneous comparison, favor dual viewers. If you want space, favor one. That's a better decision criterion than copying somebody else's workspace. ## How should Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Avid editors think about the two viewers? Editors moving from another NLE should map Resolve's viewers to familiar editing concepts rather than assuming every button has a one-to-one equivalent. ### If you're coming from Premiere Pro The source/program monitor idea will feel familiar. Think: - Resolve Source Viewer roughly occupies the source-monitor role. - Resolve Timeline Viewer roughly occupies the program-monitor role. The workflows aren't identical, and newer Resolve source-timeline features add their own behavior, but the source-versus-program distinction transfers well. If you're making the broader move, our [Switching From Premiere Pro to DaVinci Resolve](https://tryuncle.com/learn/davinci-resolve/how-to-switch-from-premiere-pro-to-davinci-resolve) guide handles the full transition. ### If you're coming from Avid Media Composer Source/record editing is already part of the vocabulary. Resolve's ability to treat another timeline as source material will also feel conceptually familiar, even though the exact commands, track behavior, and UI are Resolve's own. This is one reason source timelines are so useful for selects-heavy long-form workflows. ### If you're coming from Final Cut Pro The mental shift may be larger if you primarily think in skimming, browser selection, and magnetic-timeline terms. Don't try to force Resolve to behave exactly like Final Cut. Instead learn: - source selection, - source marks, - timeline destination, - three-point edit, - timeline review. Once the distinction is comfortable, you can decide which parts of your old workflow you actually want to recreate. ### If you're coming from iMovie, CapCut, Filmora, or a simpler editor The two-viewer system can initially look like extra complexity. It becomes useful once source volume grows. When you have three clips, opening one source and dragging it may seem unnecessarily formal. When you have 300 clips, a dedicated source-selection workflow starts to make sense. Professional NLE conventions exist partly because projects get large. You do not need to use every convention on a small edit, but learning them gives you somewhere to grow. ## What is the fastest way to practice Source Viewer vs Timeline Viewer editing? The fastest practice is a tiny three-point-editing exercise where you deliberately keep the source and timeline playheads at different positions. That forces you to understand their roles instead of relying on screen position. Use five short clips. Anything works. Phone footage is fine. ### Exercise 1: Build three shots without dragging Create a blank timeline. For clip 1: 1. Open it as source. 2. Mark In. 3. Mark Out. 4. Put the timeline playhead at the start. 5. Insert. For clip 2: 1. Open it as source. 2. Mark a different range. 3. Park the timeline playhead after clip 1. 4. Insert. Repeat for clip 3. Then play the sequence in the Timeline Viewer. The key constraint is **don't drag the clips into the track area** for this exercise. You're not proving keyboard editing is superior. You're isolating the source/destination relationship so you can feel it. ### Exercise 2: Replace the middle shot Open clip 4. Mark a source range approximately as long as clip 2. Park the timeline playhead on clip 2. Perform an overwrite. Watch what changes. Undo. Perform an insert at the same location. Watch what changes now. The contrast between Insert and Overwrite will teach more than reading another definition. ### Exercise 3: Match Frame Place the timeline playhead in the middle of clip 1. Press the Match Frame command. Verify that the corresponding source appears. Move around that source. Find a slightly earlier start. Mark a new source range. Edit it back into the timeline. Now you've completed a full source-record loop: timeline -> source -> new selection -> timeline. ### Exercise 4: Make focus fail on purpose This sounds silly, but it works. Load source. Press `I`. Click timeline. Press `O`. Observe where the mark goes. Undo or clear the mark. Do the workflow correctly. You'll remember the lesson because you deliberately triggered the mistake. ### Exercise 5: Switch to a one-viewer layout Once dual viewers make sense, collapse the layout. Use `Q` to move between source and timeline context. Do the same three edits. Now you are learning the role rather than depending on the viewer's physical position. If you want more drills after this one, our DaVinci Resolve practice exercises for beginners page gives you larger editing tasks. ## What is the best way to learn DaVinci Resolve viewer workflows in 2026? The best way to learn DaVinci Resolve viewer workflows is to combine accurate instruction with immediate practice inside Resolve. Use Blackmagic's official training for the canonical workflow, strong educators for alternate explanations, and project-based repetition until source-versus-timeline decisions become automatic. There is good free material already. Pretending otherwise would be silly. ### Blackmagic Design's official training Blackmagic publishes free DaVinci Resolve training material, including dedicated editing training. Its current training catalog includes two Introduction to Editing parts and specifically says the second part covers Edit-page features including Match Frame and replacing shots. ([Blackmagic Design](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/training)) For canonical terminology and workflows, start there. The official material has another advantage: it is tied closely to the application Blackmagic actually ships. ### YouTube educators such as Casey Faris Casey Faris is one of the names beginners repeatedly encounter when learning Resolve on YouTube. YouTube's strength is searchability. If one explanation of three-point editing doesn't click, you can watch another person demonstrate it from a different angle. Its weakness is version drift. A useful three-year-old tutorial may show a layout that looks different from Resolve 21. That is not automatically a reason to discard it. Separate the enduring editing concept from the version-specific UI. ### Courses from Udemy and similar platforms Structured courses can be better when you need sequence. You don't have to decide what to learn next after every five-minute video. The trade-off is speed. If your immediate problem is "why is this viewer showing the wrong thing," starting a 20-hour course from lesson one is not the fastest way to get unstuck. Courses are good for curriculum. Search is good for isolated questions. Practice is what converts either one into skill. ### What about an app that helps you while using DaVinci Resolve? This is where contextual help can be useful because the problem is often not lack of information. The problem is that the tutorial and your screen do not match. TryUncle is the on-screen assistant for DaVinci Resolve on macOS — ask in plain words and Uncle points at the exact control on your screen. That makes the [TryUncle](https://tryuncle.com/) app useful for a different moment than a course or a YouTube lesson: when you already have Resolve open and need to locate the control in *your* current workspace. It doesn't replace learning the source-versus-timeline model. The point is to connect the explanation to the interface you're actually looking at. ### What's the best way to learn DaVinci Resolve fast? "Fast" should mean fewer loops of forgetting and relearning, not consuming the most videos per day. After 7+ years of professional, commercial video editing and teaching 100,000+ students on Udemy, we'd use a tighter loop: 1. Learn one concept. 2. Perform it in Resolve immediately. 3. Break it intentionally. 4. Fix it. 5. Use it in a tiny real edit. 6. Repeat tomorrow without the tutorial. For this topic, one concept is enough: > source supplies material, timeline receives and evaluates it. Practice that until it stops feeling like information. Then add Insert versus Overwrite. Then Match Frame. Then Source Tape. Then source timelines. That order keeps each new feature attached to something you already understand. **Good Resolve training teaches the editing decision first and the button second.** ## Should I choose the Source Viewer or Timeline Viewer for each editing task? Choose the Source Viewer whenever the question is about the media you may use. Choose the Timeline Viewer whenever the question is about the sequence you are building. Here's the final decision matrix. | If you are asking... | Use first | | --- | --- | | "Where is the good part of this raw clip?" | Source Viewer | | "Where does this sentence start?" | Source Viewer | | "Does this source clip have more handles?" | Source Viewer | | "What original frame produced this timeline frame?" | Timeline Viewer, then Match Frame to Source Viewer | | "Where should the new shot go?" | Timeline Viewer / timeline context | | "Does this cut feel too early?" | Timeline Viewer | | "Does this B-roll work with the narration?" | Timeline Viewer | | "Which six seconds of this 20-minute interview should I use?" | Source Viewer | | "Should the edit be Insert or Overwrite?" | Timeline context, based on whether later material should move | | "Why did I/O mark the wrong range?" | Check viewer focus | | "Why do I see only one viewer?" | Check page, layout, screen space, and Single Viewer Mode | | "Why do I see hundreds of clips in source?" | Check Source Tape | | "Why is a whole timeline on the source side?" | Check source-timeline mode | | "How do I get back to the original clip from my edit?" | Match Frame | | "Which viewer shows what the finished cut is doing here?" | Timeline Viewer | There is one exception worth remembering. Sometimes you need both. A reaction shot might require finding the right expression in the Source Viewer while repeatedly checking its timing in the Timeline Viewer. An interview edit might require Match Frame, extending a source range, then watching the new cut. A selects timeline might live on the source side while the master sequence sits on the timeline side. That's not ambiguity. That's the workflow doing what it was designed to do. The two viewers are a conversation between available material and editorial intent. Source asks, "What could I use?" Timeline asks, "What did I choose, where did I put it, and does it work?" Once those questions feel different in your head, the DaVinci Resolve Source Viewer vs Timeline Viewer distinction stops being a UI fact you have to memorize. It becomes editing. ` ## FAQ ### What is the difference between the Source Viewer and Timeline Viewer in DaVinci Resolve? The Source Viewer is for examining and marking source media before you edit it. The Timeline Viewer shows the edited sequence at the timeline playhead. Think of the Source Viewer as where you choose what to use, and the Timeline Viewer as where you see what your edit currently contains. ### Why do I only see one viewer in DaVinci Resolve? You may be in Single Viewer Mode, using the Cut page, working on a display where Resolve has reduced the layout, or have another panel such as the Inspector consuming enough space to collapse the dual-viewer layout. On the Edit page, check the viewer layout controls and Workspace settings. ### How do I switch from the Source Viewer to the Timeline Viewer in DaVinci Resolve? With the default DaVinci Resolve keyboard mapping, press Q to switch Source/Timeline Viewer focus. You can also click the viewer you want. Because Resolve shortcuts are customizable, check Keyboard Customization if Q does something different on your system. ### Why is my Source Viewer showing a timeline instead of a clip? DaVinci Resolve can load a timeline into the Source Viewer as a source timeline. That lets you select material from a string-out, selects timeline, or other sequence and edit it into your main timeline. Switch the source-side mode or load a normal Media Pool clip if you want Source Clip behavior again. ### Why does Match Frame open the Source Viewer in DaVinci Resolve? Match Frame connects a frame already used in the timeline with its corresponding source media. With the timeline active and the default keyboard mapping, pressing F loads the matching source frame into the Source Viewer so you can inspect the original clip, find alternate handles, or make another edit. ### Should I mark In and Out points in the Source Viewer or Timeline Viewer? Mark source In and Out points in the Source Viewer when you are choosing the section of a source clip you want. Mark timeline In and Out points when you need to define a destination range. Three-point editing combines source marks and timeline marks so Resolve can calculate the remaining boundary. ## Sources - [Blackmagic Design - DaVinci Resolve Edit](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit) - [Blackmagic Design - DaVinci Resolve Training](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/training) - [Blackmagic Design - DaVinci Resolve 21 Manual](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/welcome/en/W-DRE-03) - [Blackmagic Design Support Center - DaVinci Resolve 21.0.3](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/it/support) - [Blackmagic Design - DaVinci Resolve Edit Keyboards](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/keyboard) - [Blackmagic Design Forum - Help with Source/Timeline Viewer](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=204035) - [Blackmagic Design Forum - Swap Timeline and Source Viewer](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=219115) - [Blackmagic Design Forum - Clip Metadata Workflow](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=95560) - [Digital Production - Switching to DaVinci Resolve: Your First Cut](https://digitalproduction.com/2026/04/03/switching-to-davinci-resolve-your-first-cut/) - [Blackmagic Design - DaVinci Resolve Cut](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/cut)