PLAYLIST
The Playlist is the place where all the individual elements of a musical piece are arranged into a complete song. The upper Playlist window (15) is comprised of multi-purpose 'Clip Tracks', these can host Patterns Clips, Audio Clips and Automation Clips. The lower Playlist window (18) is comprised of 'Block tracks', these host only Patterns Blocks.
NOTE: Pattern Clips & Pattern Blocks are different representations of the same 'Pattern' data, that is, MIDI notes
and/or continuous controller movements. The lower Block Track area is provided for backward compatibility with older FL Studio projects, or for those who like to view their song in a Block Pattern arrangement.
We recommend using the upper Clip Track area since the data inside the Patterns is displayed (as shown below), making arrangement more intuitive. A 
video tutorial is available on the FL Studio website.
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Playlist Menu Button & 
Playlist Snap Selector.
Draw (
Shift+P);
Paint ( Shift+B);
Erase ( Shift+D);
Slip ( Shift+S);
Cut ( Shift+C);
Select ( Shift+E);
Zoom to selection ( Shift+Z).
Ctrl+Left-click) & drag in the bar-count area to make a vertical selection across all tracks.
(Shift+Left-click) & drag to copy-move selection. Vertical Selections will play in loop mode or render as a single section. Actually we cheated a bit with the screen shot,
while only the selected portion of the Playlist will play, any portions of a Clip outside the selected area will also turn red (i.e. be selected), however these out-of-bounds clip-parts won't play.
Alt+T) or ' > Add time marker' .
Left-click, hold & drag a marker to reposition it. Once the first Time marker is added to a project, it can be right-clicked to Add a new marker, Delete it or Rename. Time markers can also be used for selections & live jumping (see below).
Set icon - Choose from an icon list.
NOTE: Drag an audio file (from the Browser, for example) and drop it on the Track label area to auto-create an Audio Clip and auto-name the Clip track to match the file.
This section covers general editing and Playlist operations. For specific details on using Audio Clips, Automation Clips and Patterns (Clips & Blocks), please see the following pages:
NOTE: Audio, Automation and Pattern Clips can share the same Playlist tracks, as shown above and will overlap, with transparency, to aid with the grouping of related Clips.
The clip focus selector (10), is used to focus clip types. This is particularly useful when Clips are stacked, the focused clip is brought to the top for selection and editing. Selecting CTRL+left-click will focus all layered Clips so they can be moved together.
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These control the color display for Pattern Clips.
Time is displayed horizontally in the Playlist (in bars displayed along the top of the window). The grid resolution is determined by:
). Alternatively, select 'Main' to apply the global snap value (for all windows where snap applies) defined in the Recording panel.
Timeline markers (11) can be used to label parts of your song (such as 'chorus' for example) and also as 'jump to' locators OR to quickly select a region (between markers), as described below:
(1) and select Add Time Marker. Type a name for the marker and press Enter.
If the project already has markers, then right-click a marker and select Add new marker from the pop-up menu.
Most of the time you will be in Draw () or Paint () mode,
if so, holding the ( Ctrl) key will temporarily enable Select mode:
Ctrl) & drag to define the selection area with the left
mouse button. Ctrl + Shift) while making a rectangular selection to add to the existing selection. Ctrl) & drag up/down inside the pattern name are on the left side of the screen. Ctrl) & drag left/right inside the timeline (6) area.) - Snap controls how Clips move against the background grid and many of the other
editing functions below. Set this to 'line' if you want the Clips to snap to bar boundaries or to 'none' if you want to freely position & slice Clips.
) or
paint () mode, left-click on an empty area of a Clips track where you want to place the Clip. Paint mode
allows you to draw multiple instances of the Clip at once (hold the mouse button & drag).
Select tool and click and drag a rectangle around the clips to be
selected. To add clips to this selection hold the ( Shift) key and make further selections. OR
if you are in Draw or Paint mode, hold ( Ctrl) key and you will drop into Select
mode while the Ctrl key is held. Holding the ( Ctrl + Shift) keys will allow you to add Clips to an
existing selection.
) mode.
Shift)
key, then click on the selection and drag. A copy of the selection will follow the mouse cursor. Release the selection when the Clips are in the alternative location. OR Make a selection, press ( Ctrl + C)
to copy, then scroll the Playlist so that the starting bar for the paste location is at the left edge of the Playlist and press ( Ctrl + V)
), go to a Clip, click and hold the left mouse button, then drag vertically
through the Clip/s to be sliced. NOTES: For Audio Clips the Zero-cross setting on the Clip
Focus selector and Snap () setting will influence precisely
where the Clip will slice. Hold the ( Alt) key to temporarily disable snap for precision slicing.
If you don't feel the maximum zoom provides enough resolution, increase the PPQ setting in the Project > General options.
( Shift+S) button, then left-click & drag on the start and/or end of the Clip OR inside the Clip and move
the mouse left/right. NOTE: The Snap settings will determine how the data slips. Holding down the ( Alt)
key will temporarily disable snap for fine-tuning. Perfect for aligning vocals to the beat.
Shift+G) - Grouping functions so that selecting,
moving or deleting any Clip from a group will cause all others notes in the group to be selected, moved or deleted, etc. Any number of groupings may be created. To group Clips: make a selection
using the Select tool, then use the Group function. Activated / deactivate grouping: Use the Note / Pattern Grouping switch on the
Recording Panel. Deselecting the Grouping switch will disable Clip grouping behavior until the switch is reactivated.
Audio Clips have a few unique properties, as discussed on the Audio Clip page.
Automation Clips have a range of unique properties, as discussed on the Automation Clip page.
Pattern Clips have a few unique properties, as discussed on the Pattern Clip page.
Under the menu icons at the top left corner of each Clip you will find a menu with the following options, depending on the Clip type selected:
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The Playlist menu button (1) displays many useful commands for managing the Playlist.
Ctrl+X) - Cuts all selected pattern bars and Audio Clips to
the clipboard. Ctrl+C) - Copies all selected pattern bars and Audio Clips
to the clipboard. Ctrl+V) - Pastes pattern bars and Audio Clips from the clipboard. Del) - Deletes all selected pattern bars and Audio Clips. Shift + Left arrow) / ( Shift + Right arrow) - Shifts the selected Pattern Block/s left / right by 1 snap-unit. Ctrl+Ins) - Creates an empty space that matches the
current selection ( Ctrl + Click & Drag) on the bar numbers at the top of the Playlist) by shifting all the following pattern Blocks forward. Ctrl+Del) - Erases all pattern Blocks in the current
selection and shifts Blocks to the right of the deleted section, left to close the gap. Ctrl+Q) - Aligns all selected patterns to the snap
setting set in the Snap Selector.These options relate to the Patterns in the lower Block Track area.
F2) - Opens the Pattern naming dialog. To rename click in the name area and type a new name. To change Clip color left-click on the color square (shown below) to open the color
selector OR right-click to randomly assign a color from a pallet pre-approved by the Image-Line Aesthetics Committee: 
Alt+P)
- Expands the Project Browser folders to show the selected pattern. Shift+Ctrl+Ins)
- Inserts a blank pattern before the currently selected one. Shift+Ctrl+C)
- Inserts a clone of the current pattern immediately after it. The cloned pattern has the same note events (with their velocity, pan, etc. properties) in the Step Sequencer as
the original, however the current events are not copied into the new pattern. Shift+Ctrl+Del)
- Deletes the current pattern. Alt+Up)
- Moves all selected patterns one step up. Alt+Down)
- Moves all selected patterns one step down. Ctrl + Click & Drag)
vertically on the Block Track labels to select a group of Block Tracks. All selected patterns will be merged into the uppermost pattern of the selection. This can be used to reverse a 'Split' function. To select patterns for merging - Ctrl + Click and
drag down across the patterns you wish to merge in the name area of the Playlist. Alt+G) - Opens a dialog box that lets you choose
a color for the Playlist grid.Snap determines how events will move relative to the Playlist grid and how quantization aligns events (NOTE: holding the Alt key temporarily sets snap to 'none'). The options are:
Ctrl+D) - Undo any selection.
Ctrl+A) - Selects all Blocks and Clips.
Shift+C) - Selects all Pattern Blocks and Clips associated
with the currently selected source Clip.
Shift+I) Inverts the selection (what was selected is now deselected and what was deselected is now selected).Ctrl+Enter) - Selects the time-line range occupied by the Clips currently selected in the Playlist.
Ctrl+Left arrow) - Shifts a selection (made by Ctrl+left-click and swiping the time-bar) by its own width to the right.
Ctrl+Right arrow) - Shifts a selection (made by Ctrl+left-click and swiping the time-bar) by its own width to the left.
Shift+G) - Group selected notes. Grouping functions so that selecting, moving or deleting any Clip in a group will cause all others notes in the group to be selected, moved or deleted, etc. Any number of groupings may be created.
To group Clips: make a selection using the Select tool, then use the Group function. Activated / deactivate grouping: Use the
Note / Pattern Grouping switch on the Recording Panel. Deselecting the Note / Pattern Grouping switch will disable note grouping behavior until the switch is reactivated.
Alt+G) - Ungroup selected notes. Select one Clip in the group then use this
function to ungroup all Clips in the group.
Contains a submenu with a set of quick zooming levels:
Far ( 1);
Medium ( 2);
Close ( 3);
Best fit ( 4);
On Selection ( 5).
On Selection zooms the time line to fit the selection (the command will be disabled if no time region is selected in the timeline).
Shows the list of Clips available in the project. The currently selected Clip will be highlighted.
Live mode switches work only with the pattern Block area. In live mode, a series of switches appear next to the name of each pattern track (16). It is these switches, rather than the placement of pattern Blocks that instructs FL Studio to play a given pattern.
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To use live mode:
NOTE: When the Playlist is in Live Mode the song marker will only jump to the next bar/time marker when the end of the current bar is reached, keeping timing intact. This differs from standard mode where the jump is immediate.
Type a name for the marker and press Enter. The marker can be dragged into the correct location after naming. If the project already has markers, then right-click a marker and select Add new marker from the pop-up menu. NOTE: Time markers are used to annotate the Playlist and can also serve as jump-to points.
0)Center (grid) centers the Playlist's grid so the play position marker is in the middle. Useful when you want to see the playing position in a long sequence.
Detached - Detaches the Playlist from the FL Studio workspace, allowing it to be dragged to another monitor.
| Playlist action |
|---|---|
| Alt | Bypass snap (very useful when combined with other modifiers) |
| Alt+Up Arrow | Move selected pattern Up |
| Alt+Down Arrow | Move selected pattern Down |
| Alt+G | Grid Color |
| Alt+C | Color selected clip/pattern |
| Alt+P | Open the 'Current project' folder in the Browser |
| Alt+Q | Quick quantize |
| Alt+/* and Ctrl+Alt+/* | Jump to Next/Previous song marker (if present) |
| Ctrl+A | Select All |
| Ctrl+C | Copy selection |
| Ctrl+V | Paste selection |
| Ctrl+X | Cut selection |
| Ctrl+Left-click | Select |
| Ctrl+Shift+Left-click | Add to selection |
| Ctrl+Shift+Right-click | Zoom to selected Clip |
| Ctrl+Right-click | Zoom on selection / Drag to make zoom selection (zoom on release) |
| Double Left-click on clip/pattern | Open clip/pattern properties (e.g. Channel settings, Piano roll) |
| Left-shift+Left-click (on Playlist) | Add and resize clip/pattern (move mouse L/R after click and hold to resize). Must be in pencil mode. |
| Left-shift+Right-click | Pan view |
| Middle mouse button | Pan view (hold & drag left/right) |
| Right-click | Delete selected clip/pattern |
| Right-shift+Left-click | Slice clip/pattern (click above/below clip/pattern & drag vertical) |
| Right-shift+Right-click | Slice clip/pattern & delete smallest part (click above/below clip/pattern & drag vertical) |
| Right-Alt+Right-click | Quantize selected |
| Shift+Ctrl+Del | Delete selected clip/pattern source data |
| Shift+Left-click (on clip/pattern) | Clone (drag while holding clip/pattern) |
| 0 (zero) | Center playback to playing position |
| PgUp / PgDown | Zoom in / Zoom out |