Using the Navigator Window

Another feature I find myself relying on is the Navigator window, shown in Figure 3.19. I think it is an underrated feature in Premiere that helps me save a great amount of time. You can use it to do the following:

• Get a bird's-eye view of your timeline, seeing all the clips and segments in your timeline, positioned by each track layer.

• Jump anywhere in your timeline with a simple click of the mouse. Just click in the Navigator window to jump to that particular area of your timeline, and watch the main Timeline window update to the position you just selected.

• Quickly zoom your view of the timeline in and out, allowing you to see more detail or see the entire timeline in one view. Drag the slider bar, or click the Zoom In or Zoom Out buttons next to the slider.

• Quickly identify the exact timecode location of the playback indicator. You can type in a timecode number and have the playback indicator jump directly to that timecode number.

• Stretch the Navigator window by dragging the bottom-right portion of the window to open it as wide as you want. This way, you can view more of your timeline without having to scroll.

Figure 3.19. The Navigator window.