Little fix to make using Premiere CS6 a little bit better! :)

Like many, I have switched to Premiere CS6 from FCP 7. So far am loving it. The speed increase is immense, and I am currently using it on my new Retina MacBook Pro and it flies, even without the CUDA support which is coming soon.

One thing that bugs me though, is that when you zoom out on the timeline the icons are just too damn BIG. You are constantly zooming in to to do edits and tweaks due the icon size. My great friend, amazing shooter and English MacGyver has the same problem as I and has started work on reducing the size of the icons to make editing easier. 

You can download the necessary icons from here and follow James’ instructions below. Remember: be careful, backup and this is at your own risk!

What other icons would you like to be done? Be great to get them all done…what else would you like to see in an update or in CS7? One of the main ones for me is a global mute option for effects to see the original footage and play it without manually removing it all or using effect layers.

This is from James:

Changing Adobe Premiere CS6 Tool Icons:
As many others have done, I have been moving my edit workflow away from my beloved Final Cut Pro 7 to 64bit architecture of Adobe Premiere CS6. One thing I have found is that the size and shape of some to the tool icons seem very oversized, clunky, and don’t appear to have changed for years.
It may seem petty, but one thing I like about Photoshop is the ability to switch to precise icons. This is not what I have done here, but it does help make the switch from FCP a little more aesthetically pleasing.
So here are a few I have amended. The ‘Trim Head’, ‘Rolling Head’ & ‘Ripple Head’.
On a Mac to get into the Cursors folder you need to look inside the Applications Folder / Adobe Premiere CS6 then highlight the Application (.app) (not the folder in resides in) and right click (or Control click) to ‘Show Package Contents’ once inside navigate to:
Contents/Settings/Cursor
(You may want to copy the Cursor folder somewhere else first, just incase you want to go back to the old Icons)
Overwrite some of the icons inside this folder with these 9 amended icons – Download Link:
A word of warning is not to move or change files located inside the .app folder. Play at your own risk.

30 comments

  1. I’m super excited about this. For Windows users you can use this shortcut to find the cursor folder. Thanks Philip for sharing!

    C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Premiere Pro CS6\Settings\Cursor

  2. Thanks for the icons James! I too have made the adjustment from FCP7 to CS6. Having tried FCPX there are a lot of great features, but way the program is way too much of an overhaul in the way we edit. CS6 feels so natural and fast coming from 7. Another feature 7 had was the ability to paste attributes – BUT you could select specific ones. Adobe pastes everything if you do this. That would be a great feature to compliment the global mute button as well. Also, is there a way to have the blade tool have the snap function as well? I’m finding myself having to zoom in to get precise edits. There probably is a much easier way. Cheers!

    1. Hi Josh,

      If you have snapping on the razor will place its cut at the playhead as long as your in the action zone of about 1cm around the head. It does not snap to the playhead but the cut does, yes a bit strange but once you do it a few times it’s ok.
      Cheers, James

    2. Snap to cut: I don’t know if things have changed for CS6. In earlier versions, I found myself hitting page up or down (now up and down cursor keys) to go to next or previous edit point, then ctrl+k (command+K on Mac?) to cut across all selected tracks.

    3. Hey Josh,

      Press S to enable snaps and move the timeline indicator to the point you want to cut. The razor tool will snap to that. You can also hold down shift while cutting to slice every single clip on the timeline at that point, not just the one you are click on which is very handy with multi cam / multi audio sessions.

      1. Cheers to you guys for the information. If I’m zoomed out MillerMiller, it isn’t exact as I have to zoom in in order to get a precise cut. I should have mentioned I came from FCP7, so I’ve programmed the keyboard to be that layout.
        I’ve altered the next/previous edit points on the keyboard, but ctrl+K doesn’t seem to do anything Paper_Bag.
        S and I’m guessing because of the FCP7 keyboard switches to the Slip Tool in CS6 Kyron. I do like the shift trick to cut all of the tracks. I just remember in FCP7 whenever snapping was enabled and I came close to the playhead, it would always lock itself to that point. I use the JKL keys and then the arrow keys to get to a precise point, then I want to make my cut there. Thanks again for your time and help!

  3. Thanks! A nice improvent actually!

    they work for Windows 7 systems to, default install folder is “\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Premiere Pro CS6\Settings\Cursor

    thanks,
    Derrick

  4. “Join Through Edit” FCP7-style would be much appreciated. So glad transcoding to ProRes is in my past. Cut this in 2 hours last night because Premiere CS6 is so spontaneous and robust. Gave FCPX a try but could not get past some very odd behaviors.

    https://vimeo.com/45382238

    Thanks James & Philip for the new icons.

  5. As an FCP editor, there are a couple of things I’d like to see in CS7 (or updates on CS6):

    1. The ability to move clips up and down tracks. In FCP this was done using Alt + Up/Down Arrows, and was fantastic at keeping your clips in sync when you’re a stickler for what goes into your individual tracks. Currently this shortcut does nothing in APP, so it should be an easy fix.

    2. The ability to customise *which* attributes get pasted from clip to clip. For example, I adjust the aspect ratio on a clip and apply a quick colour-correction. I want to paste the aspect ratio changes to another clip, but not the colour-correction… in APP I can’t do this. In FCP7 you could do this easily, and is a big time saver when working on projects with multiple formats.

    3. The ability to export EDLs of single sequences, not the whole project, without having to create a new project and deleting everything bar the sequence and relevant media.

    4. Tying into point 3., the ability to export EDLs *and* transcode all relavant media to a single codec (like ProRes or DNxHD) so I can bring it into other NLEs or grading packages like DaVinci Resolve. This may not happen, as they will want to promote their own pipeline (including SpeedGrade), the problem is that SpeedGrade is not widely adopted yet.

    5. Better content management. I like arranging my projects in the List view, but I also like a reference thumbnail so I can quickly reach for a clip. Currently, I either have a list, thumbnail, or a new window with thumbnails side-by-side. I’d like an option in-between (again, like FCP7). Also, it’s ability to relink files is a pain.

    6. Being able to switch OFF auto-conforming for audio. I recently cut a project that consisted of around six one-hour clips from a live show on XDCAM. I had to wait around for nearly half-an-hour before I could start logging the footage, as the audio took so long to conform. I understand that it needs to be done, and on shorter clips it works much faster, but it’s a real pain on longer clips. It does, however, prioritise your conforms – if you load a clip and it’s working through the clips sequentially, that clip will jump the queue and conform first. I would like a little more customisability here.

    All that being said, I really love what they have done with APP CS6. One thing people don’t talk about much is the ability to really darken down the GUI. It makes it much easier on the eyes, and makes it easier to judge your colour as well. Another brilliant trick it can do is apply LUTs to Adjustment Layers. By simply switching the track on and off, you can change the look of the whole project. With nearly every camera having a LOG function these days, it kicks some serious derrière.

      1. After updating to 6.02 version, i re-overwritten icons files but icons still good on the right of clip in timeline (small) but not on left (back to original big icones).
        Is there a solution ? thanks.

        1. I just downloaded this and getting the same result – new icons working fine on the right side
          of a cut, but not on the left. Any update on fix? Running v. 6.0.2. Thanks!

  6. I have edited with Premiere Pro CS3, CS4, CS5. I have no idea why Adobe suddenly changed the icons to these massive inaccurate icons. It’s by far the worst thing about CS6. I’d almost stay with CS5.5. It was never like this before.

  7. I never click on those icons since I switch from fcp7 to premiere. and It’s been 2 month editing everyday very complex projects.
    Customise shortcuts is the best way to use premiere. I set all shortcuts as FCP except from zoom in/out that Im using it like protools R, T. It’s quicker.

    but what was really making me crazy was the colour of the icon showing in the finder. when you have lots of folders with some AE projects an Premiere projects on the same folders and it’s 2am in the morning AE icons and PRPRO icons are too similar. So I made a custom grey premiere icon.

    if anyone want to change it, you need to access inside the application “show package content” browse adobe premiere pro cs6.app>Contents>Resources> and replace the pr_app_icons.icns and the pr_proj_primary.icns icons

    if someone wants my already unsaturated premiere icons let me know

  8. Thanks so much for this, James. It’s the little things that make a big difference sometimes.

    Mine broke upon updating as well: right side works, left side doesn’t.

    Either way, it’s a great improvement.

    -Rocco

  9. I too keep looking for a place where Adobe might hear the great resources/insight professional FCP 7 editors have from their years with a great but now dead editing platform – that they can now share with Adobe to have at least some of these incorporated into Premiere CS 6 plus.

    Having spent 5 months now I believe I can now discern the difference between different paradigms in Premiere (like audio being more track based vs. FCP’s clip based approach – learn Audition, get over it) and the details we editors just need to work better than they currently do.

    ( Apologies in advance if any of these ARE here and i just have not found them yet.)

    PREMIERE CS 6 PLUS Feature Requests.:

    1. to begin – I am psyched to try this cursor trick and will do so today.

    2. the blade tool – why does snap turn off when i grab the blade tool? ( and not able to ever be ON with the blade tool?

    3. As others of have said – the ability to move link ( or even highlighted) video and audio tracks up and down the timeline. ( works with picture, but not audio tracks)

    4. yes you CAN copy and paste effects but I can only see how to do this in the VIEWER window – we should be able to highlight clips in the timeline and paste them there.

    5. Markers – just wrong Premiere – they should travel – EASILY and everywhere with clips, not only the timeline

    6. Render – should not need in/out points – I’m on the timeline – render it – If you feel the need to give me control – then the option to render only what’s highlighted.

    7. Play in to out ( loping) – just confusing and does not seem to be consistent.

    8. in general Premiere has been designed with the assumption that you are just going to make your timeline higher in each track. I get this but if you look at some of the visuals of their timelines folks like Walter Murch show – ours too can look like that – So…If I am in a time based editing tool – I need to be able to ‘see’ time on many tracks at once – but if I need 1 “ high tracks for each of my timelines – there is no monitor config large enough. I don’t have a specific ‘fix’ here but there is so much functionality built into both the right mouse click cursor And each track – maybe some way to control and or prioritize it – it is very hard to just grab tracks and move them around – you need more precision in the cursor of exactly which pixel you want to touch…but right now I am just building my story – the timeline is my canvas, I want to move stuff around on my canvas easily and quickly …later I want detail trimming etc..

    Thank you for doing the work you have done so far Adobe, and Phillip for diving quietly and professionally into the pool early, for I love so many features of CS6, from your multi cam, to everything that come so nicely with 64 bits.

    1. 5. Markers – just wrong Premiere – they should travel – EASILY and everywhere with clips, not only the timeline

      Reading the documentation can help sometimes….

      Add markers to clips (CS6)
      Markers can be added to clips in the Source Monitor, or selected clips in the Timeline.

      To add a marker to a clip in the Source Monitor, do the following:

      Open the clip in the Source Monitor from the Timeline or the Project panel.
      Place the Playhead where you want to place the marker.
      Choose Marker > Add Marker, or press M.
      The marker is added to the clip.

      To add a marker to a clip in the Timeline, do the following:

      Set up a keyboard shortcut for “Add Clip Marker” in Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows), or Premiere Pro > Keyboard Shortcuts (Mac OS).
      Select the clip.
      Place the Playhead where you want to place the marker.
      Press the keyboard shortcut you just created for “Add Clip Marker.”
      The marker is added to the clip.

      You can inspect the marker dialog box by double-clicking the marker in the Source Monitor.

  10. This is great. I JUST switched to CC and its pretty fluid. Of corse there are some things I miss… but sure its gonna be ok. The one thing that is REALLY frustrating is that I have the hardest time selecting clips some times. I get the “fast FX” menu. I wish that little button on the clips could be turned off. I also dont like that you cant make the tracks any smaller (less tall) in FCP you could make them really slim which was great for editing on a laptop.

    Thanks for everything PB… you’re dope.

    Rs

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