Tired of Premiere Pro automatically playing your timeline every time after you render your sequence? You’re not alone. Many editors find this feature not only annoying but also disruptive as a time-waster in their editing workflow. Fortunately, we’re going to introduce you to a simple way to disable it through your timeline preferences.

How to Stop Autoplay After Rendering

The good news is that disabling autoplay in Premiere Pro is straightforward and only takes a few seconds.

Simply follow this step-by-step guide:

1. Open Premiere Pro Preferences

• Navigate to the top menu and click [Edit] (Windows) or [Premiere Pro] (Mac).

• Select [Preferences], then click on [Timeline].

2. Disable Auto-Playback After Render

• In the [Timeline Preferences] window, locate the "Play work area after rendering" setting.

• Uncheck this option to stop Premiere Pro from automatically playing your timeline after a render.

3. Click OK and Restart Premiere Pro

• Once you've unchecked the option, click [OK] to save your settings.

• Restart Premiere Pro to ensure the changes take effect.

Additional Tips for Smoother Editing

Other ways to speed up your editing workflow include the following:

• Use Proxies for Faster Editing – If your timeline lags even after rendering, consider using ProRes or DNxHD proxies. You can read more about the best file formats for editing in Premiere Pro on our Cutback blog.

• Adjust Playback Resolution – Lowering playback resolution to ½ or ¼ can improve performance.

• Optimize Your Cache Settings – Go to Preferences > Media Cache and clear old cache files to free up system resources.

Take control of your editing workflow and avoid unnecessary interruptions by disabling autoplay after rendering. It’s a simple but effective setting that can help speed up your editing process and improve your efficiency in Premiere Pro.

For more Premiere Pro editing tips and tricks, explore our latest content on the Cutback blog or Cutback’s official YouTube channel.