Using Button Bars

Although there are many keyboard shortcuts in Final Cut Express, it's sometimes easier just to click a button to make something happen. In the upper-right corner of each window in the interface is a button bar. A button bar is an area where you can place representative buttons for Final Cut Express functions. In the Timeline button bar, two buttons always appear as a default: the Snapping button and Linked Selection. Let's add some editing buttons to the Canvas window.

1.	Choose Tools > Button List, or press Option-J. A window opens with a list of functions and commands organized first by main menu topics and then alphabetically by function.
2.	Below the main menu listings, find the Editing topic. Click once on Editing.
3.	When the Editing functions are revealed, scroll down until you see Insert Clip.
4.	Position the Button List so you can see the Canvas window. Drag the Insert Clip icon into the Canvas button bar and release it. The button bar brackets open up and bookend the new button.
5.	Now scroll down the Button List until you see the Overwrite Clip button. Drag it into the Canvas button bar next to the Insert Clip button and release it.
6.	Hover the mouse over it until you see the tooltip appear.
7.	To change the color of a button, Ctrl-click the Overwrite Clip button and choose Color > Red. Ctrl-click the Insert Clip button and choose Color > Yellow.
8.	To separate these buttons with spacers, Ctrl-click the Overwrite Clip button and choose Add Spacer. Repeat this to add additional spacers. Button bar layouts can be saved and recalled, just like window layouts. You can even use your own custom layouts and button bars on another computer by transferring that file to the other computer.
9.	Save this button layout by Ctrl-clicking the Canvas button bar and choosing Save All Button Bars. A Save window appears. The default is for you to save this layout as Custom Button Bars in the Button Bars folder. This folder is automatically created during the save process and resides in the Final Cut Express User Data folder.
10.	Enter a new name for your button bar, such as Edit Buttons, then click Save.
11.	To remove a button from a button bar, drag it away from the button bar and release it, just as you would drag an icon from the OS X Dock. Close the Button List. Note Layouts are personal to Users on OS X and can be found at the User level on your hard drive. Go to Macintosh HD > Users > (User Name) > Library > Preferences > Final Cut Express HD User Data > Button Bars to locate the saved layout.