Video and audio tracks are available in video documents and can contain sequences of one or more media clips. Tracks are visible in the timeline as layers.
A blank video track and audio track are automatically added when you create a new video ad. You can populate these tracks with clips, or add additional tracks.
Add video or audio tracks
Media tracks are automatically added when you add a video or audio asset using one of the following methods:
- Use the File > Import assets… menu command
- Drag a media asset from your file system onto the Google Web Designer stage
- Drag a media asset from the Library panel onto the stage
If a video asset includes audio, both a video and audio track are created.
You can also manually add video and audio tracks. To add a media track:
- Right-click a layer name in the timeline.
- Select Add video track or Add audio track from the pop-up menu.
There's no limit to the number of audio or video tracks in your document.
Select tracks
You may want to select tracks in order to change their properties, move them or delete them.
Video tracks
You can select a video track in the following parts of the Google Web Designer interface:
- on the stage
- in the timeline (select the track name on the left side)
- in the Outliner
Audio tracks
You can select an audio track in the following parts of the Google Web Designer interface:
- in the timeline (select the track name on the left side)
- in the Outliner
Because audio tracks have no visual element, they're not shown on the stage.
Copy and paste tracks
When you copy and paste tracks, all the clips, transitions and variant bindings contained in those tracks are also included. You can paste tracks to another video document, which will also import the source assets for contained clips.
Use one of the following methods to copy and paste a track:
-
Select the track to copy, then press Control+C (Windows) or ⌘+C (Mac). Press Control+V (Windows) or ⌘+V (Mac) to paste.
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Right-click the track to copy, then select Copy from the pop-up menu. Right-click the destination timeline and select Paste from the pop-up menu.
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Right-click the track to copy, then select Duplicate from the pop-up menu. This method only works within a document.
Rename tracks
Renaming tracks may make them easier to distinguish. To rename a track, use one of the following methods:
- Right-click the track that you want to rename in the timeline, then select Rename.
- Double-click the empty space in the timeline next to the Video track label.
- Select the track that you want to rename, then go to the Properties panel and enter an ID.
Move tracks
You can drag tracks on the timeline to rearrange their stacking order. This may affect the appearance of video tracks, which can overlap other elements on the stage. Timeline position doesn't affect how audio tracks play.
You can also reposition video tracks on the stage to change where they appear.
Resize tracks
You can resize video and audio tracks in the timeline so that you can better see their contents or reduce the space that they take up in the timeline. Use the following methods to resize a track:
- To adjust a track's height, drag the bottom edge of the track.
- To minimise a track's height or to revert it to its previous height before minimising, double-click the bottom edge of the track.
- To minimise all tracks, click the Settings
icon in the timeline, then select Minimise all layers. You can still manually resize tracks.
- To revert all tracks if they're currently minimised (indicated by a tick mark next to 'Minimise all layers' in the Settings menu), untick Minimise all layers.
If you reduce the height of a track, the track may become too small to display peak meters, volume controls, waveforms or thumbnails. You can make them visible again by expanding the track height. At their minimum height, audio tracks will still display clip filenames, while video tracks will always display video clip filenames and animation keyframes.
Delete tracks
If you no longer need a track, you can delete it. To delete a track:
- Right-click the track.
- Select Delete.
Any clips on the track are removed from the timeline but their source assets remain available in the Library.
Animate tracks
Video tracks support animation keyframes, which appear along the bottom of the track. To add a keyframe, use one of the following methods:
- Right-click the video track where you want to add a keyframe and select Insert keyframe from the pop-up menu.
- Click the timeline where you want to add the keyframe and press F6.
- Click the timeline where you want to add the keyframe and select Timeline > Add keyframe from the Edit menu.
Learn more about creating animation.
If a keyframe is positioned at the end of the preview range, the playback duration is extended by one frame. For example, if the preview range ends at 06:00 (six seconds) and a keyframe is also placed at that mark, playback will continue for one frame past six seconds.
Wrap or group tracks
You can wrap or group tracks along with other elements in order to treat them all as a single object. Groups also allow you to easily maintain identical sets of elements, as an edit to one group instance is reflected in all copies of that group.
Learn more about wrapping and grouping elements.
Wrapping or grouping a track that contains a linked clip will unlink the clip unless the track that contains the other linked clip is also included.