Linked Clips

A linked clip is a copy that stays in sync with the original. Edit the notes, the part of the sample it plays, the fades, or the gain on any one of them, and every linked copy changes with it. It’s the same idea as clip aliases in Bitwig or reused patterns in FL Studio, tailored to Gridshift: linking is same-track only, and there’s nothing to name or manage. Two things are always per-copy, no matter what:

• Where it sits — its position on the timeline, plus its mute and quantize state.

Everything else is shared between linked copies: the MIDI notes, the audio sample and the part it plays, time-stretch, fades, length, and clip gain. Linking works for MIDI, audio, and automation clips alike.

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Creating Linked Clips

By default, duplicating a clip keeps it linked to the original. Duplicate (⌘D) drops a linked copy directly after the original; stamp (⌘+click an empty area with a clip selected) places one at the click position; and copying then pasting on the same track (⌘C then ⌘V) puts a linked copy at the cursor. Duplicating a group clip carries the link down — each child clip is duplicated as a linked copy. Edit any one of them afterwards — paint a note, drag a fade, move the gain slider — and the change shows up on every linked copy right away, including during playback.

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Creating an Unlinked Copy

When you want a copy that evolves on its own, make it unlinked instead. Duplicate Unlinked (⌘⇧D) makes a copy that starts identical but isn’t linked, and Unlink Clip (⌘I, or the clip picker) detaches the selected clip so its edits no longer carry to the others.

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Operations That Unlink Automatically

Some edits change a clip so much that it can’t sensibly stay linked. These quietly unlink the affected clip:

• Slicing or splitting a clip (⌘E, ⌘⇧E, or a mouse slice)
• Duplicating only part of a clip (for example across a partial marquee selection)
• Moving or pasting a clip to a different track — linking is same-track only, so the destination copy is always unlinked

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Re-linking Identical Clips

Already have copies that aren’t linked — recorded in a row, duplicated unlinked, pasted, or built by hand — but are exactly the same? Link Identical Clips (⌘⇧I) joins them back together: clips whose body matches — same notes or sample window, fades, gain, and length — become one linked group, so editing any of them edits them all. It’s the bulk inverse of Unlink. What gets linked follows your selection:

• One clip focused or selected — every clip on that track identical to it joins its group.
• A marquee — the clips the marquee touches, just like duplicate or delete would resolve it.
• Several clips selected — the selected clips are grouped by identical content and each group is linked. Clips already linked to a selected clip follow along — linking never breaks up an existing group. Separate copies outside the selection are left alone, so you can link the chorus copies while an intro copy stays free.
• Nothing selected — the selected track is swept whole: every set of identical clips on it becomes a linked group in one go. Selecting a group track sweeps all of its member tracks; automation lanes are only swept when you select the lane itself.

Like every linked-clip operation it stays on one track — groups never span tracks, even when a sweep covers several. Clips that differ in any way are left untouched, and the whole pass is a single undo step.

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Visual Identity

Linked clips share a shade of the track color so you can see groupings at a glance:

• An unlinked clip uses the plain track color.
• Linked clips are tinted with the same shade. A different set of linked clips on the same track gets a different shade, so you can tell groups apart.

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The Clip Picker

When you enter Focus Mode on a clip, the floating bar starts with a clip picker — a colored swatch, a count of how many clips are linked together, and a chevron. Open it to see every distinct clip on the track as a row with a live mini-preview — a waveform for audio, note blocks for MIDI, the curve for automation — plus how many copies are linked to each one:

• Click a row to switch the focused clip to that one. It immediately plays and displays the clip you picked.
• Unlink (footer) detaches the focused clip so its edits stop carrying to the others. It’s disabled when the clip isn’t linked to anything.
• Link Identical (footer) merges every clip on the track whose body is exactly the same as the focused one into a single linked group. It’s disabled when there’s nothing identical to link.

Press Escape to close the picker; a second Escape exits Focus Mode.

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Things to Know

• Linking is same-track only. A clip can only link to other clips on its own track. This is why moving a clip to another track always unlinks it.
• Position, mute, and quantize stay per-copy. Only the clip body is shared — each linked clip keeps its own spot on the timeline and its own mute state.
• Clip-gain number keys aren’t shared. The 0–9 clip-gain keys on the timeline change exactly the clips you selected and leave linked copies alone. Use the gain slider in Focus Mode (or the inspector) if you want a gain change to carry across the link.

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Shortcuts

The keys for linking and unlinking clips are below. The Timeline Shortcuts reference has the complete grid.