How do you join audio clips in DaVinci Resolve?

You can join audio clips in DaVinci Resolve primarily by creating a compound clip or by linking and grouping the clips. Here's a breakdown of the methods:

1. Creating a Compound Clip:

This method merges multiple audio clips (and/or video clips) into a single, manageable unit within your timeline.

Select the clips: In your timeline, click and drag to select all the audio clips you want to join. Alternatively, you can hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) and click on each individual clip to select them.
Create the Compound Clip: Right-click on any of the selected clips.
Choose "New Compound Clip": From the context menu that appears, select "New Compound Clip."
Name the Clip: A window will pop up asking you to name the new compound clip. Type a descriptive name (e.g., "Podcast Intro Audio").
Click "Create": Click the "Create" button. DaVinci Resolve will then merge all the selected audio clips into a single compound clip. You can now move, edit, and treat this compound clip as if it were a single audio file. Double-clicking the compound clip opens it in its own nested timeline for individual edits if needed.

2. Linking and Grouping:

This method associates the clips without merging them into a single file. This can be useful when you want to maintain the individual clip structure but treat them as a unit for certain operations.

Select the clips: As before, select all the audio clips you want to join together.
Link the Clips (Optional but Recommended): Right-click on the selected clips and choose "Link Clips". This ensures that if you move one clip, the linked clips will move with it, maintaining their relative positions. If the clips are already linked to video tracks, this step might not be necessary.
Group the Clips: Right-click on the selected clips and choose "Group Clips".
Working with the Grouped Clips: Now, when you select one clip in the group, all the other clips in that group will also be selected. This allows you to move, copy, and apply certain effects to the entire group simultaneously. To ungroup them, right-click on one of the grouped clips and choose "Ungroup Clips."

Why Use Compound Clips vs. Linking/Grouping?

Compound Clips: Ideal when you want to simplify your timeline, treat multiple clips as a single asset, and/or apply effects to the entire combined audio as one unit. They're essentially "baked in" as a single object.
Linking/Grouping: Suitable when you need to keep the clips separate but want to move or edit them together temporarily. This provides more flexibility since you can ungroup them easily and work with the individual components later. Linking keeps audio and video synced.