Professional Documents
Culture Documents
© 2020 Avid Technology, Inc., (“Avid”), all rights reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written
consent of Avid.
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Contents iii
Chapter 3. Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Mouse Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Global Key Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Keyboard Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Toolbar Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Numeric Keypad Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Contents v
Chapter 9. Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
MIDI Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Ethernet Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Mic Preamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
VENUE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Atmos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Contents vii
Track Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Setting Track Views in the Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Track Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Tracks List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Track Name Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Assigning Audio Inputs and Outputs to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Track Priority and Voice Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Assigning MIDI Inputs and Outputs to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Soloing and Muting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Making Tracks Inactive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Color Coding for Tracks, Clips, Markers, and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Contents ix
Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Task Manager Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Contents xi
Playing Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Transport Fade-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
Playing Timeline and Edit Selections with the Playhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
Playback Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
MIDI Beat Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
MIDI Beat Clock Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
Ableton Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
Part V Editing
Chapter 28. Editing Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600
Audio Clips and Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601
MIDI Clips and MIDI Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605
Naming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608
Displaying Clip Names, Clip Times, and Other Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609
Multiple Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610
Basic Editing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612
Editing Across Multiple Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616
Contents xiii
Chapter 29. Edit Modes and Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Edit Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Shuffle Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Slip Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
Spot Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
Grid Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
Edit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620
Zooming Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
Zoom Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
Zoomer Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623
Zoom Preset Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626
Zoom Toggle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
Zooming with a Scroll Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630
Using the Trim Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630
Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630
Time Compression/ Expansion Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632
Scrub Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 633
Loop Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
Tandem Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636
Using the Selector Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
Using the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638
Using the Smart Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638
Using the Scrubber Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
Numeric Keypad Set to Shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643
Using the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644
Edit/Tool Mode Keyboard Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
Contents xv
Matching Alternate Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
Matching Criteria Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723
Selecting Alternate Takes on Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724
Automatically Create New Playlists when Loop Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725
Expanding Alternate Takes to New Playlists or Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
Expanding Alternate Channels to New Playlists or Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727
Target Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
Track Compositing Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
Part VI MIDI
Chapter 35. MIDI Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763
MIDI Editing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763
Setting the Grid Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
Using the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766
Inserting MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768
Inserting a Series of Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769
Manually Editing MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770
Using the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773
Contents xvii
Cursor Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
Score Editor Window Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
Score Editor Window Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
Tracks List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831
Page Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832
Score Editor Zoom Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832
Notation Display Track Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833
Score Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835
Editing Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 837
Score Editor Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839
Key Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840
Meter Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841
Chord Symbols and Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842
Exporting Scores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843
Printing Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844
Contents xix
Sync Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
Shift Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 924
Locking Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925
Muting/Unmuting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926
Stripping Silence from Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926
Inserting Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929
Duplicating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930
Repeating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 931
Contents xxi
Quantizing Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1035
Quantizing Mixed Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1035
Restore Performance Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1035
Flatten Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1037
Change Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1039
Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1041
Select/Split Notes Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1043
Input Quantize Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045
Step Input Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1046
Part IX Mixing
Chapter 49. Basic Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059
Mixing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059
Metering and Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059
Signal Flow by Track Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1060
Audio Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1060
Auxiliary Input Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1061
Master Fader Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
Instrument Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1064
VCA Master Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065
Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068
Configuring Inserts View in the Mix and Edit Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068
HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069
Stereo Pan Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069
Views in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1070
Audio Input and Output Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1074
Sends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1076
Contents xxiii
Chapter 51. Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
Automation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
Automation Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1144
Automation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1146
Automation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1151
Viewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1153
Indication of Automation in Track View and Automation Lane Selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1156
Writing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1156
Automating Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1158
Automating Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1159
AutoMatching Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1162
Priming Controls for Writing Automation in Latch Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1163
Enabling and Suspending Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1165
Deleting Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1167
Thinning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1168
Drawing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169
Editing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1175
Glide Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1179
Trimming Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1180
Writing Automation to the Start, End, or All of a Track or Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182
Writing Automation to the Next Breakpoint or to the Punch Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1184
Guidelines for “Write To” Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1187
Overwriting or Extending Mute Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1188
Creating Snapshot Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1190
Previewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1193
Capturing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1195
VCA Master Track Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197
Coalescing VCA Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1198
Part X Surround
Chapter 53. Pro Tools Setup for Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1219
Surround Mixing in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1219
Pro Tools Audio Connections for 5.1 Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1219
7.1 and 7.0 Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1220
7.1.2 and 7.0.2 Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1220
Ambisonics Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1221
Configuring Pro Tools for Multichannel Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1221
Default I/O Selectors in I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1226
5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1227
Contents xxv
Configuring Session Setup for Dolby Atmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1259
Configuring the I/O Setup for Dolby Atmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1259
Mixing Bed Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1260
Mapping Busses to Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1261
Track Object Output Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1263
Monitoring Object Audio when not Connected to a Renderer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1264
Object View in the Edit and Mix Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1264
Object Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1265
7.0.2, 7.1.2, and Object Panner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1267
Object/Bus Toggle Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1271
Auto-Height Overrides Height Automation Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1271
Coalesce Pan Guide Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1272
Duplicating Object Track Pan Automation and Dolby Atmos Panner Plug-in Automation . . 1272
Object Controls Mix Attribute for Grouped Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1273
Importing Object-Related Track Data from Another Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1274
Import ADM files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1274
Dolby Atmos PEC/DIR Recorder Workflow Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1275
Configuring Pro Tools Using Core Audio with the Dolby Atmos Production Suite . . . . . . . 1276
Contents xxvii
Configuring Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1340
Preferences for Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1342
Playback in Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1343
Recording in Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1343
Track Arming in Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1343
Using a Paddle Device in Local Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1344
Connecting a Supported Third-Party Paddle Device to Your Pro Tools System. . . . . . . . . 1344
Allow Track Arm Commands in Local Mode Preference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1345
Configuring Ports for a Deck and a Supported Third-Party Paddle Device . . . . . . . . . . . . 1345
Deck Control Key Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1346
Machine IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1347
9-Pin Cable Pinouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1349
Contents xxix
Chapter 64. Avid Video Satellite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1423
Video Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1424
Supported Video Resolutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1425
Avid Video Satellite Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1425
Using a Video Satellite in a MediaCentral | Production Management Environment . . . . . . 1425
Connecting Pro Tools and a Video Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1425
Matching Media Composer and Pro Tools Settings in a Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . 1427
Linking or Unlinking Pro Tools and a Video Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1433
Capturing Audio and Video with a Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1435
Re-Digitizing an Existing Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1436
Digitizing from an EDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1436
Laying Back Audio and Video to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1436
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1439
Pro Tools tracks are where audio, MIDI, video, VCA Master tracks provide control of tracks in a
and automation data are recorded and edited. Mix Group that has been assigned to the VCA
Pro Tools tracks also provide audio channels for Master.
routing internal busses, and physical inputs and
Folder tracks let you organize both track layout
outputs for audio and MIDI.
and signal routing in your projects and sessions.
Pro Tools provides multiple types of tracks:
Video tracks support QuickTime movies (all
Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, VCA
Pro Tools systems) and VC-1 video files (Win-
Master, MIDI, Instrument, Folder, and Video.
dows only). Additionally, Pro Tools supports Avid
video using a the Avid Video Engine (AVE) either
natively or with a supported Avid video peripheral.
An individual video track can play back only one
type of video at a time.
Audio track in the Edit window (stereo track shown)
Routing Folder, Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master
Fader, and Instrument tracks can be mono, stereo,
or multichannel (Pro Tools Ultimate only). When
creating a new track, select from the list of channel
formats supported by your system.
Channels
The term channel is used to describe several re-
lated components of a Pro Tools system.
Pro Tools provides software-based mixing and Signal routing options include the following:
signal routing controls for audio and MIDI. These
Track Input and Output (I/O) Controls The most
controls are located in the Mix window. Some of
these controls can also be accessed from the Edit basic type of signal routing is track input and out-
window. put. A track needs to have an assigned input path to
record audio, and an assigned mapped output path
A common audio signal routing task is to submix in order to be audible through a hardware output.
multiple tracks to a single channel strip (such as an Signals can also be routed to or from other tracks in
Auxiliary Input) for shared processing and level Pro Tools (or hardware inputs and outputs) using
control. The following example shows two audio internal busses.
tracks submixed to a stereo Auxiliary Input.
Auxiliary Input, Routing Folder, and Master Fader
Tracks Auxiliary Inputs and Routing Folder tracks
can be used as returns, submixers, and bus masters.
Inserts Master Fader tracks are used as bus and output
master level controls. Auxiliary Input, Routing
Folder tracks, and Master Fader tracks can have
plug-in and hardware inserts.
Sends
MIDI Tracks MIDI tracks are generally used for
Input from routing MIDI from internal or external sources to
Outputs to
stereo bus
stereo external MIDI devices. MIDI data can also be
bus path
path routed to plug-ins on Auxiliary Inputs or Instru-
ment tracks.
Paths Paths are any routing option in Pro Tools, You can only collaborate with projects, never with
including internal or external inputs, outputs, bus- sessions. Otherwise, projects work just like ses-
ses, and inserts. Pro Tools lets you name these sions. Projects have all of the same recording, ed-
paths, and these path names appear in the Audio iting, mixing, and processing capabilities as do
Input and Output Path selectors and other menus. sessions (you can save a copy of a session as a
For more information, see Chapter 6, “I/O Setup.” project or a project as a session using the Save
Copy In command). Throughout this Reference
Mixing Formats Sessions can include combina-
Guide, “sessions” refers to session and projects un-
tions of mono, stereo, and greater-than-stereo mul-
less otherwise noted.
tichannel format tracks, busses, inputs, outputs,
and inserts. Greater-than-stereo multichannel for- Project data and media are bundled and cached on
mats are supported with Pro Tools Ultimate only. local storage, but you cannot open a project by
navigating through the file system. You can only
Grouping and VCA Tracks Tracks can be grouped
access projects through the Pro Tools Dashboard.
together for mixing so that their relative mix set-
Projects are differentiated from sessions by their
tings are maintained when changing a mix setting
file icon.
for any track in the group. For example, changing
the volume of one track affects the volume of all
the other tracks in the group. VCA Master tracks
control the relative mix settings for all tracks
within the selected group. Project icon (online, left; offline, right)
Media Composer
Pro Tools
MXF file icon (AAF or OMF)
Pro Tools can import and play back MXF audio session sequence
and video files created in Media Composer. whole file clip master clip
OMF is both a media file and sequence format. plug-ins real-time audio effects
OMF media files can be audio or video, and volume automation gain Media Composer key-
Pro Tools can import and play back OMF audio, frame volume
but not OMF video. Pro Tools can also export
OMF audio, but not OMF video.
Whole audio files in the Clips List normally
Pro Tools can import and play back OMF audio appear in bold type. However, master clip au-
files created in Media Composer or other applica- dio files imported from AAF or OMF into
tions. Pro Tools will not appear in bold type (indi-
cating clips) in the Pro Tools Clips List even
An OMF sequence cannot reference or have MXF
though they are audio files.
media embedded within it.
Embedded Media
Exporting to AAF or OMF with embedded media results in one large AAF or OMF file containing both the
metadata and all associated media files.
The main benefit to this approach is that fewer copies of media files may need to be made, so the
export and import process can be much faster. Using this approach, it is less likely that you will
encounter any file size limitations since the data is broken up into many smaller files.
The main disadvantage to this approach is that there are potentially many files (for example, one AAF or
OMF file and hundreds of media files) that must be transported between systems.
Linked to:
2 Click Pro Tools Shortcuts on the Contents page Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for the fol-
(in the left pane of Help). lowing track functions:
Scroll-wheel Functions
Command Mac Windows Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for moving
plug-in controls, faders and sliders, the Scrubber,
Apply action to all Option+ Alt+
and automation data.
channel strips/tracks action action
Pro Tools Custom Keyboard labeled with keyboard commands (Mac keyboard shown)
Clips List Keyboard Focus When selected, audio To set the Keyboard Focus, do one of the
clips, MIDI clips, and clip groups can be located following:
and selected in the Clips List by typing the first few Click the a–z button for the focus you want to
letters of the clip’s name. enable.
Groups List Keyboard Focus When selected, Mix While pressing Command+Option (Mac) or
and Edit Groups can be enabled or disabled by typ- Control+Alt (Windows), press one of the fol-
ing the Group ID letter (in either the Mix or Edit lowing keys: 1 (Commands), 2 (Clips List), or 3
window). (Groups List).
Toolbar Focus
In the Edit window, the MIDI Editor pane can be
displayed in addition to the Tracks pane (View >
Groups List Other Displays > MIDI Editor). When the MIDI Ed-
Keyboard Focus itor pane is displayed, there are two separate Tool-
bars and Timelines in the Edit window: one for the
Tracks pane and one for the MIDI Editor pane.
Only one Toolbar and Timeline can be focused for
Keyboard Focus buttons Menu and Toolbar commands (including the cor-
responding keyboard shortcuts) at a time. The fo-
cused Toolbar displays a yellow outline.
The Operation preference for Numeric Keypad The highest fast-forward Shuttle Lock speed
mode determines how the numeric keypad func- (key 9) can be customized.
tions for Transport.
For more information, see “Custom Shuttle
There are two Shuttle Lock modes (Classic and Lock Speed” on page 643.
Transport), and one Shuttle mode.
Classic Mode
No matter which Numeric Keypad mode is se-
This mode emulates the way Pro Tools worked in
lected, you can always use the numeric keypad to
versions lower than 5.0. With the Numeric Keypad
select and enter values in the Event Edit Area, Edit
mode set to Classic, you can:
Selection indicators, Main and Sub Counters, and
Transport fields. • Play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock
mode. Press the Control key (Mac) or the Start
To set the Numeric Keypad Mode: key (Windows), followed by 1–9 for different
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the play speeds.
Operation tab. • Press Plus or Minus to reverse direction.
2 In the Transport section, select a Numeric Key- • Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the num-
pad mode (Classic, Transport, or Shuttle). ber to resume Shuttle Lock speed.
The Pro Tools Help menu provides quick access to Guides Accessible in Pro Tools
installed PDF documentation and online Help. The
The following guides are available from the
Help system is HTML-based and launches in the
Pro Tools Help menu:
Pro Tools in-application browser. It also runs on
most common web browsers. Audio Plug-Ins Guide Describes the plug-ins in-
cluded free with Pro Tools, as well as additional
The Pro Tools Help menu also provides direct ac-
plug-ins available for purchase separately.
cess to the online Pro Tools Knowledge Base,
Avid Audio Forums, and the Avid Support Center Pro Tools Reference Guide Explains Pro Tools
using the in-application browser (an internet con- systems and software in detail.
nection is required).
Pro Tools Shortcuts Lists keyboard and
The Pro Tools in-application Web browser Right-click shortcuts for Pro Tools, including
is not available outside Pro Tools. To use those shown in Pro Tools menus.
Pro Tools Help while Pro Tools is not
running, use the default Web browser for
your operating system. Accessing the Help System
There are several ways to access the Help system.
Accessing Guides in • Open Help at its Welcome page from the Help
Pro Tools Software menu in Pro Tools
PDF (Portable Document Format) versions of the • Open Help at its Welcome page from within a
main Pro Tools guides are accessible from the Help browser in Pro Tools
Pro Tools Help menu. Adobe Reader is recom- • Open Help at its Welcome page outside of
mended for PDF documentation. Pro Tools
Using Help 31
To open Help within Pro Tools, do one of the
following: Using the Contents and Index
Choose Help > Pro Tools Help.
Tabs
The left pane of the Help browser is the display
From the Pro Tools Online browser window,
area for most of the Help system’s main navigation
choose Help.
tools, including the Contents and Index tabs.
To open Help outside of Pro Tools (or to select a
different version or language of Help): Contents Tab
1 Open your favorite online browser (such as
The Contents tab displays a complete hierarchical
Safari or Explorer).
list of all topics in the Help system. This lets you
2 Visit the Pro Tools Help launch page quickly see the overall organization of the Help
apps.avid.com/ProToolsHelp/ system.
3 Follow the on-screen instructions to open a You can expand and collapse the contents to view
version of Help. the logical organization of the Help system, and
you can move to any topic by clicking its entry in
To close the Help system: the Contents.
Click the Help viewer’s Close button.
When you move to a new topic, the contents ex-
pands to the level of that topic and highlights the
topic. This feature, like the hierarchy links at the
Help Display top of each topic, lets you see exactly where the
The Help system includes the following display el- current topic is positioned within the logical orga-
ements: nization of the Help system.
Topics Help topics open in the right pane of the To display a topic from the contents:
Help viewer. Click the Contents tab, and then click a topic’s
Navigation Tools Contents, Index, and Search tabs entry in the contents.
open in the left pane of the Help viewer.
To expand or close a section in the contents:
Hierarchy Links Use these links to verify the
Click the Contents tab, and then click a book
location of the currently displayed topic within its
icon to the left of a link.
chapter and to jump to relevant higher-level topics,
including the Main Topic.
The Index provides an alphabetized list of entries 1 Click the Search tab.
similar to the index of a printed book. 2 In the Search pop-up menu (located below the
Search text box), click whether you want to
If Java is enabled in your browser, the Index dis-
search in “All Available Books” or a specific
plays as a dynamic index where the listing scrolls
book (such as Pro Tools Shortcuts).
as you type a word in the text box. If you do not
have Java enabled in your browser, or if your 3 In the Search text box, type the word or words
browser does not support Java implementations, a that you want to find.
JavaScript version of the index displays, which lets
4 Click Go.
you scroll manually through the entries.
A list of topics and ranking numbers appears.
To find topics by using the Index tab:
Additional Search Information
1 Click the Index tab.
The Search feature provides the best combination
2 Click the first character of the topic in the
of usefulness and speed:
Numerics, Letters, Symbols list.
• The Search feature uses a database of valid
To view the topic associated with an index entry: words. This database includes all words that are
Click the index entry. significant for identifying topics and excludes
all other words. When you type words in the
search text box, the system ignores any invalid
words that you have typed and searches for valid
Using the Search Tab words.
The Search tab lets you search the entire text of the • The Search feature cannot search for words in a
Help system for one or more words and then lists certain order. For example, if you type “TIFF
the topics that include those words. The list of re- graphics import” as a search entry, Search dis-
sults is ranked, placing the topics that the Search plays all topics that contains these three words
feature considers most likely to be relevant at the regardless of their location in the topic. The re-
top of the list. sults include topics where the three words ap-
pear together as a phrase, and also topics where
When you search for text, the text string automati-
the three words are scattered throughout the
cally highlights by default. You can turn these
topic.
highlights off. You can also stop displaying high-
lights after a search by using the Back and Forward • The Search feature cannot distinguish between
buttons to go to a different topic. When you come words that are similar but not identical. For ex-
back to your searched topic, the highlights no lon- ample, if you type “capture” as a search entry,
ger display. Search displays topics that include that word,
but it does not find topics that include related
For more guidelines on using the Search feature ef- words such as “captures” or “capturing.” If a
fectively, see “Search Guidelines” on page 34. search for a word fails to produce useful results,
you might be more successful if you search
again using one of the related words.
Using Help 33
Search Guidelines Printing Help Topics
Use the following rules for formulating search You can print Help topics if you need to refer to
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There are three types of Pro Tools systems: Pro Tools | Ultimate Software with Avid or
Third-Party Hardware
Pro Tools Software with Avid or Third-Party
Hardware These systems include Pro Tools | Ultimate soft-
ware with any compatible non-HDX or non-
These systems include Pro Tools software with HD Native Avid audio interfaces (such as Mbox
Avid audio hardware (visit the Avid Knowledge Pro), or Core Audio (Mac), ASIO (Windows), or
Base online for the latest information on supported WASAPI hardware.
Avid interfaces). These systems also include
Pro Tools software using third-party audio inter-
faces with supported Core Audio (Mac, including Pro Tools Software
the built-in audio on Mac computers), ASIO (Win-
dows), or WASAPI (Windows). Pro Tools software provides the following
capabilities, depending on your hardware
For a list of qualified audio interfaces and configuration:
computers for all Pro Tools systems, visit
• Up to 32 channels of I/O depending on your sys-
www.avid.com/compatibility.
tem and audio hardware
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software with HDX or • Up to a total of 128 mono or stereo audio tracks
HD Native Hardware per session:
Hardware accelerated Pro Tools HD systems in- • Playback of up to 128 tracks, or a combina-
clude Pro Tools | Ultimate software with HDX or tion of playing back and recording up to 128
HD Native (PCIe or Thunderbolt) hardware. Hard- tracks, mono or stereo, at 44.1 kHz and
ware accelerated systems provide expanded I/O 48 kHz
capabilities and low latency monitoring. HDX sys- • Playback of up to 64 tracks, or a combination
tems also provide dedicated DSP for plug-in pro- of playing back and recording up to 64 tracks,
cessing and for large mixer configurations. mono tracks or stereo, at 88.2 kHz and
96 kHz
Pro Tools | Ultimate software (versions
2018.4 and higher) was previously • Playback of up to 32 tracks, or a combination
Pro Tools | HD software (versions of playing back and recording up to 32 tracks,
2018.3 and lower). mono or stereo, at 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz
• Up to 256 voices per HDX card HDX 1 256 voices at 48 kHz, 128 voices at 96 kHz,
• Up to 512 Auxiliary Input tracks and 64 voices at 192 kHz.
• Up to 64 Master Fader tracks HDX 2 512 voices at 48 kHz, 256 voices at 96 kHz,
and 128 voices at 192 kHz.
• Up to 128 VCA Master tracks
• Up to 1,024 MIDI tracks HDX 3 786 voices at 48 kHz, 384 voices at 96 kHz,
and 192 voices at 192 kHz.
• Up to 512 Instrument tracks
• Up to 64 video tracks per session Number of Voiced Audio Tracks
• 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point audio Pro Tools | Ultimate supports up to 1,024 voiced
resolution, at sample rates up to 192 kHz mono audio tracks. The number of simultaneous
• Up to 7.1.2 surround mixing capability tracks of audio recording or playback depends on
your system configuration and system resources.
• Automatic Delay Compensation (up to 16,348
samples at 48 kHz) Each HDX card increases the possible voiced
• Fixed RAM Disk Cache allocation options mono audio track count by the same amount:
• Audio processing with up to 10 inserts per track HDX 2 Up to 512 mono audio tracks at 48 kHz, 256
(any combination of real-time plug-in and hard- mono audio tracks at 96 kHz, and 128 mono audio
ware inserts), depending on your computer’s ca- tracks at 192 kHz.
pabilities HDX 3 Up to 786 mono audio tracks at 48 kHz, 384
• Up to 10 sends per track mono audio tracks at 96 kHz, and 192 mono audio
tracks at 192 kHz.
With HDX hardware accelerated systems, voice limits are dependent on the session sample rate and the
number of DSP chips dedicated to the system’s Playback Engine. With Pro Tools | Ultimate on HD Native,
Core Audio, and ASIO systems, voice limits are dependent on session sample rate and the number of
Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Packs installed. Pro Tools | Ultimate can open sessions with up to 1,024 audio
tracks on any system, but any audio tracks beyond that system’s voiceable track limit will be automatically
made inactive.
s
Pro Tools Ultimate audio playback, recording, and voice limits by hardware configuration
Playback and
Recording Voices
Sample Rate (number of channels
Core System Type Maximum I/O
(kHz) for simultaneous
Playback and
Recording)
88.2/96 128
176.4/192 64
88.2/96 256
176.4/192 128
88.2/96 384
176.4/192 192
Playback and
Recording Voices
Sample Rate (number of channels
Core System Type Maximum I/O
(kHz) for simultaneous
Playback and
Recording)
176.4/192 96
Add optional Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Packs to increase the voice count for Pro Tools | Ultimate on
non-HDX systems. See “Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Packs” on page 49.
HD OMNI Audio Interface • 4 analog TRS line level back panel inputs
(Channels 1–4)
HD OMNI is a professional digital audio interface
designed for use with Pro Tools HD systems. HD OMNI provides multiple analog input con-
HD OMNI provides a compact preamp, monitor- nections, but only provides up to four channels
ing, and I/O solution for music production and re- of simultaneous analog input for Pro Tools.
cording, and post production studios.
• Soft Clip and Curv limiting circuits to protect
HD OMNI Features against clipping on analog input
HD OMNI provides up to 8 discrete channels of • 8 channels of analog back panel output using a
Pro Tools input and output, with 4-segment LED DB-25 breakout cable (sold separately) with
meters for input or output (selectable). variable output gain
• 2 channels of analog back panel output using
Analog I/O TRS (Mirrors channels 1–2 or 7–8 on DB-25
• 24-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-an- connector)
alog (D/A) converters, with support for sample • Front panel stereo 1/4-inch headphone jack
rates up to 192 kHz
• 2 high-quality Mic/DI preamps (Channels 1–2) Digital I/O
• 2 combined XLR and 1/4-inch TRS front panel • 8 channels of AES/EBU output (up to 192 kHz
inputs for microphone and instrument level in- Single Wire) using a DB-25 breakout cable (sold
put separately)
• 2 XLR back panel microphone inputs • 2 channels of AES/EBU XLR input (up to
192 kHz Single Wire)
• 2 1/4-inch TRS Send and 2 1/4-inch TRS Return
back panel jacks for hardware inserts on chan- • 2 channels of S/PDIF RCA input and output (up
nels 1 and 2 to 192 kHz)
• 8 channels of ADAT TOSLINK input and output
• Input mixer for low latency direct monitoring of HD I/O provides up to 16 discrete channels of
a variety of incoming signals (configured in the Pro Tools input and output, with 4-segment LED
Pro Tools Hardware Setup) meters for input and output.
• Optional addition of I/O cards to expand analog • BNC Loop Sync I/O for synchronizing
or digital I/O HD MADI with additional Avid HD audio
interfaces and peripherals (such as HD I/O,
• Simultaneous use of multiple Avid HD audio in- HD OMNI, or SYNC HD)
terfaces to further expand system input and out-
put • Dedicated BNC Word Clock input and XLR
AES/EBU input (clock input only) for external
For more information, see the HD I/O Guide. MADI synchronization (when using SRC on
output)
• Clock support for the following formats: Inter-
nal, Loop Sync, Word Clock, AES/EBU, and
MADI
• Varispeed modes (supports both 64- and 56-
channel standards)
Pro Tools | MTRX is a multichannel digital audio • Sample rates of 44.1–384 kHz as well as
interface designed for use with Pro Tools | HDX DSD64/DSD 128 with high precision internal
and Pro Tools | HD Native systems. clock and PLL
• Sample rate can be adapted to the setting of an
Depending on installed analog expansion I/O external device
cards, MTRX features extremely high quality
24-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-ana- • Synchronization by Word Clock, AES11, Video,
log (D/A) converters, and supports sample rates of and all digital audio inputs
up to 192 kHz.
Remote Control
MTRX comes in three standard configurations: • Operation using DADman software—some set-
• 8 x 8 x 8 (8 analog in, 8 analog out, and 8 digital tings can be controlled on the front panel
in and out) • All settings are controlled over Ethernet
• 16 x 16 analog in and out
Pro Tools | MTRX I/O Expansion Options
• 16 x 16 digital in and out
• 2 to 48 analog channels depending on the in-
You can also add or remove analog and digital I/O stalled analog I/O cards (Mic/Line AD cards in-
expansion cards for custom configurations. clude microphone preamplifiers with relay-
based gain circuits):
MTRX Features • MTRX 8 Line Pristine AD Card
Pro Tools MTRX provides up to 64 discrete chan- • MTRX 2 Mic/Line Pristine AD Card
nels of audio for Pro Tools with two DigiLink Mini • MTRX 8 Mic/Line Pristine AD Card
ports (Primary and Primary/Expansion). • MTRX Pristine 8 DA Card
Digital I/O • Digital I/O Expansion Cards:
• Built-in 8 AES3 interfaces with 16 channels of • MTRX 8 AES3 I/O Card
I/O • MTRX Dual SDI/HD/3G Card
• Built-in MADI coax interface with 64 channels • MTRX Dante 128 Card
of I/O • MTRX 64-Channel IP Audio Dante Module
• Compliant with the Dante Controller and Dante • MTRX Dual MADI I/O Card
Virtual Sound Card
• MTRX DigiLink I/O Card
• Ethernet IP audio interface for 64 I/O channels
• MTRX SPQ Processing Card
using Dante® with configurable redundant net-
work For more information, see the MTRX In-
• Digital router and format converter between all stallation and the MTRX Operation guides.
analog and digital inputs and outputs
Analog I/O
• 2 Instrument/Microphone inputs (with mic pres) Pro Tools | Ultimate
• 16 analog line inputs (DB-25) Hardware Options
• 16 analog line outputs (DB-25) Pro Tools Ultimate also supports the following
• 2 monitor outputs (balanced 1/4-inch) Avid HD hardware options.
• 2 stereo headphone outputs • SYNC HD synchronization peripheral (HDX
and HD Native systems only):
Digital I/O
• Pro Tools | PRE (Eight-channel microphone
• 64x64 Dante I/O preamp)
• 16x16 ADAT I/O • Eleven Rack (guitar processor)
Synchronization
• Control surfaces (such as Avid S6, S3, S1, Dock,
Avid Control app, and Artist Series controllers)
• Sample rates of 44.1–192 kHz
• Synchronization by Internal, Word Clock, Loop
Sync, ADAT, or Dante IP Pro Tools Software Options
Control, Routing, and Processing
HEAT
• Operation using DADman software—some set-
tings can be controlled on the front panel HEAT (Harmonically Enhanced Algorithm Tech-
nology) is a software option that adds “analog
• All settings controlled over Ethernet
color” to your Pro Tools mixes. For more informa-
• 512x512 cross-point matrix tion, see Chapter 48, “HEAT.”
• 256x32 summing (Pro | Mon) with monitor pro-
files
• 256 filters for 16 channels of speaker EQ
Pro Tools | Ultimate software provides Machine- You can increase the voice count for any native-
Control™ with HDX and HD Native systems. Ma- based Pro Tools | Ultimate system (non-HDX)
chineControl enables serial communication with with Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Packs (available
Sony® 9-pin compatible synchronizers, and video for purchase separately).
or audio machines. For more information, see
Chapter 59, “MachineControl.” A single Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Pack license
provides an additional 128 voices at 48 kHz, 64
voices at 96 kHz, and 32 voices at 192 kHz for any
Pro Tools with VENUE Link native system (HD Native, Core Audio, or ASIO)
For Pro Tools systems that are connected to running Pro Tools | Ultimate software. Up to three
VENUE systems using Ethernet, VENUE Link Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Pack licenses can be
provides Pro Tools and VENUE system integra- used simultaneously to provide up to 768 voices at
tion and interoperability. 48 kHz, 384 voices at 96 kHz, and 192 voices at
192 kHz.
Voice counts with Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Packs running on non-HDX hardware
Number
Number of Voices at Number of Voices at Number of Voices at
of Voice
48 kHz 96 kHz 192 kHz
Packs
0 384 192 96
Depending on your system resources and session configuration (such as large mix sessions), not all
possible voices may be available. To ensure that you only purchase as many Pro Tools | Ultimate
Voice Packs as your system is capable of using, try trial versions of Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Packs
to determine your system capacity before making a purchase.
The I/O Setup provides tools to label, format, and assign Pro Tools input, output, insert, and bus audio sig-
nal paths both for individual sessions as well as for your specific Pro Tools system. I/O Setup also provides
controls for PRE (Mic Preamp) signal paths, and Delay Compensation settings for hardware inserts.
The I/O Setup displays a graphical representation (cross-point matrix) of the signal routing for physical in-
put and output paths for each connected audio interface. Like a virtual patchbay, I/O Setup controls let you
route physical inputs and outputs on audio interfaces to Pro Tools input and output channels. For HDX and
HD Native systems, some of these controls mirror the routing controls found in the Hardware Setup—
changes made to physical routing in one is always reflected in the other. The I/O Setup also includes con-
trols for creating internal mix busses and for creating and mapping output busses.
Active/Inactive
Status
Channel Grid
Import/Export Settings
To close the I/O Setup without saving changes: A sub-path represents a signal path within a main
path. For example, a default stereo output bus path
Click Cancel.
consists of two mono sub-paths, left and right.
Mono tracks and sends can be routed to either
Navigating in the I/O Setup mono sub-path of the stereo output bus path.
To scroll left or right in the I/O Setup:
Opening an I/O Setup Page Configure input signal path names, formats, and
source channel (analog or digital) on the Input
To open an I/O Setup page: page. Multichannel input paths (stereo or greater)
can have any number of sub-paths. Input channels
Click the corresponding tab at the top of the I/O
can have overlapping input paths. Input names,
Setup.
channel widths, and physical input mappings are
Hold the Command key (Mac) or the Control saved with the system and the session, and can be
key (Windows) and use the Left or Right Arrow recalled from either.
keys to cycle through the different pages of the
I/O Setup.
Active/Inactive
Status box
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the Compensation for Input Delays After
Import Settings button to import settings to all Record Pass
pages of the I/O Setup.
When enabled, this option provides automatic
Export Settings Button Lets you save I/O settings compensation for any analog or digital input delay
as a file that can be imported into other sessions or with Avid HD interfaces. Enable this option for all
used on other Pro Tools systems. Export Settings recording situations. When recording from a digi-
exports the settings for all pages of the I/O Setup. tal source, both the Compensation for Input Delays
After Record Pass and the Compensation for Out-
Show Last Saved Setup Appears in the I/O Setup
put Delays After Record Pass options must be en-
in certain session transfer situations. For details on
abled.
this feature, see “Show Last Saved or Current
Setup” on page 86. The Compensation for Input Delays After Record
Pass option is only available in the Input page of
Cancel Button Closes the I/O Setup without
the I/O Setup.
saving changes.
OK Button Closes the I/O Setup and saves any Compensation for Output Delays After
changes. Record Pass
Selecting None as the AFL/PFL Path disables To configure Low Latency Monitoring in the I/O
AFL and PFL Solo modes. When None is Setup:
selected, AFL and PFL cannot be used. 1 Open the I/O Setup dialog (Setup > I/O).
Setting AFL or PFL Path Levels 2 Click the Output tab.
You can set a separate master AFL/PFL Path level 3 Enable the Low Latency Monitoring option.
for all AFL solos and all PFL solos.
4 From the Low Latency Monitoring pop-up menu,
Tracks do not need to be soloed to have the select the Output path you want to use for Low
master AFL/PFL Path level adjusted. Latency Monitoring.
5 Click OK to save your changes and close the I/O
To set the AFL/PFL Path level for AFL or PFL
solos:
Setup.
The Default Format selector lets you select the de- The Path Order selector lets you specify the de-
fault format (Mono, Stereo, and all multichannel fault channel order for all new paths created. The
formats) for new paths and for when you click the selected Path Order setting determines the channel
Default button. order for the following:
The Default Format selector is available in the • Channels added to newly created path (first
Input, Output, and Insert pages of I/O Setup. The paths) when hitting the Default button.
Default Format settings on each page are set inde- • Channels added to empty paths when penciling
pendently of one another. The Input and Insert in channel assignments.
pages only provide Mono and Stereo options. The • Channels added when creating a new path and
Output page provides all available formats. selecting the Add default channel assignments
Depending on which page of the I/O Setup is cur- option.
rently shown, the Default Format setting deter- The Path Order selector is available in the Input,
mines the width of the first output (or input or in- Output, and Insert pages of I/O Setup. Setting the
sert) when clicking the Default button. If mono or Path Order on any page of I/O Setup affects the
stereo is selected, all outputs (or inputs or inserts) other pages.
are created accordingly.
To choose a new default path order (track layout):
To choose a Default Format:
1 Choose Setup > I/O.
Select the desired channel format from the De-
fault Format pop-up menu. 2 Click the Output tab.
3 Use the Default Path Order setting to select the
For more information about multichannel
channel order you want for the corresponding
mixing, see Chapter 53, “Pro Tools Setup for
channel width.
Surround.”
3 Set the Embed Setting From menu to the input To customize I/O Settings:
you plan to record through, such as Eleven Rig 1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O).
L/R.
2 Import I/O settings from an existing I/O settings
This same method applies when using Eleven .pio file or a Pro Tools session file (.ptx) (see
Rack as an insert with any Pro Tools system “Importing I/O Settings” on page 84).
4 Create an audio track, and set its input to the You can prepare a session for use on a differ-
corresponding input on your audio interface. ent system this way. Any paths for hardware
that is not present on the current system will
5 Record enable the track.
appear as inactive.
6 Record your part.
3 For HDX and HD Native systems, double-click
7 The settings of the currently loaded Rig will be the label above an interface and enter a name.
embedded in each audio clip that is recorded
from the input you select in the Embed Setting With systems using HDX or HD Native hard-
From menu. ware, the I/O Setup bases default Input and
Output path names on the custom name given
Audio clips with embedded Rig data are marked to the interface.
with a small Eleven Rack logo icon in both the Edit
Window and the Clips List in Pro Tools. 4 Click the Input tab and do the following:
• Create input paths and sub-paths with appro-
priate widths and physical input assignments
that match your studio configuration (see
“Signal Path Routing for Audio Output” on
page 68).
• Rename input paths and sub-paths to match
your studio configuration.
Output busses are automatically created and 3 Click the Input or Output selector for the first
mapped to outputs when new output paths are interface channel pair, located below the first
created. audio interface icon.
Routing a Pro Tools Output Pair The output name updates with a plus sign (“+”) be-
to Multiple Destinations fore it to indicate that multiple output ports are se-
lected. In the pop-up menu, each physical port pair
Pro Tools channel pairs can be routed to assigned to that Pro Tools output pair is indicated
multiple outputs on an audio interface through the by a check mark.
I/O Setup. For example, if you assign both Analog
1–2 and Analog 3–4 interface outputs to Pro Tools 6 Repeat the above steps to select additional
Output pair 1–2, when you send a signal to output destinations.
Pro Tools Outputs 1–2, that signal will be routed 7 Click OK to save changes and close the
simultaneously to both pairs of output ports on I/O Setup.
your audio interface.
Input signal path from an HD OMNI to the Pro Tools mixer as mapped in I/O Setup
(1) Physical Input For Avid HD interfaces, such as (2) Input Path Main input paths and sub-paths are
the HD OMNI, the physical inputs that are avail- routed (patched) to physical inputs using cross-
able to Pro Tools are set on the Main page of the point matrix mapping in the I/O Setup. In this ex-
Hardware Setup (this selector is mirrored in the In- ample, audio input is routed from HD OMNI phys-
put page of the I/O Setup). ical inputs Analog 1–2 to Pro Tools Input channels
A 1–2.
For Pro Tools systems such as the Mbox Pro
and the 003, physical inputs are fixed. For (3) Track Input Input paths and sub-paths are
third-party and built-in hardware, in the routed to track inputs in the Pro Tools mixer by se-
Hardware Setup click the Launch Setup App lecting the path (or sub-path) from the Track Input
button for available configuration options. selector. In this example, input sub-path A1 is
routed to the input of track “Audio 1.”
Chapter 6: I/O Setup 67
Signal Path Routing for Audio Output
The following example shows the signal path from the output of an audio track through an output bus
mapped to an output path that is routed to a physical output on an HD I/O audio interface:
Output signal path from an audio track to a physical output as mapped in I/O Setup
(1) Track Output Audio is played back from disk and routed from the Track Output to Output Bus “B 1–2.”
(2) Output Bus Path The Output Bus is defined on the Bus page of the I/O Setup. On the Bus page of the
I/O Setup, the Output Bus “B 1–2” is mapped to Output “B 1–2,” which is defined on the Output page of
the I/O Setup.
(3) Output Path On the Output page of the I/O Setup, the Grid is used to route the output path (to which the
output bus is mapped) to physical outputs.
Path Name Enter the path name. If you are creat- Mono N/A N/A
ing more than one path, the number of each new
Stereo 2 mono <main path
path will be appended to the path name (for exam- name > followed by
ple, Bus 1, Bus 2, Bus 3, and so on). channel designation
.L and .R
Add/Remove Rows Click the Add Row button to
add more paths, or click Click the Remove Row LCR 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
button to remove paths. 3 Mono (one for name >.LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
Move Row Icon Drag a Move Row icon up or name >.L, .C, .R
down to reorder paths. LCRS 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
4 Mono (one for name > .LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
name>.L, .C, .R, .S
7.0.2 1 each: 7.0, 5.0, multichannel sub- 4 Configure the New Sub-Paths dialog as desired
(Dolby Quad, LCR, Ste- paths: <main path and click Create.
Atmos reo, Overhead name >.<channel
only) (LR); format> 5 Click in the Grid to assign the new sub-path
and 9 Mono Mono: <main path channels to available main path channels.
(one for each name >.L, .C, .R,
channel) .Lss, .Rss, .Lsr, .Rsr,
.Lts, .Rts New Sub-Path Dialog
7.1.2 1 each: 7.1, 7.0, Stereo: <main path The New Sub-Path dialog lets you create new sub-
(Dolby 5.1, 5.0, Quad, name >.LR paths for main paths on the Input, Output, Bus, and
Atmos LCR, Stereo, Mono: <main path Insert pages of the I/O Setup.
only) Overhead (LR); name >.L, .C, .R,
and10 Mono .Lss, .Rss, .Lsr, .Rsr,
Number of new sub-paths Add/Remove Row
(one for each .LFE, .Lts, .Rts
channel) Sub-Path Format Sub-Path Name
Renaming Paths
Path names can be customized in the I/O Setup.
Individual and multiple paths can be selected in the Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
I/O Setup Path Name column. Selected paths and path name that is highlighted.
sub-paths can be reordered higher or lower in the
Path Name column to change their menu order in Reordering Paths
track Input, Output, Insert, and Bus selectors.
Selected paths and sub-paths can be reordered
Paths can also be deleted. Sub-paths follow their
higher or lower in the Path Name column to
main paths when they are moved in the I/O Setup.
change their menu order in track Input, Output,
To select a main path or sub-path: Insert, and Bus selectors.
Click the path name. To reorder paths in the I/O Setup and Track
selectors:
Deleting Paths
Selecting paths in the I/O Setup Path definitions can be deleted from the current
session to reflect changes to your hardware setup,
To select a range of paths:
or to clean up track selector menus by removing
1 Click the path name. unwanted or unnecessary path definitions. After
2 Shift-click an additional path name. deleting a path, any tracks or send assignments to
that path are reset to No Output.
All paths between the first selected path name and
the additional path name will also be To delete a main path or sub-path:
selected. 1 In the I/O Setup, select the path you want to
delete.
To select or deselect noncontiguous paths, do one
of the following: 2 Click Delete Path.
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click 3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
(Windows) path names that are unhighlighted to Setup.
select them.
To delete all paths:
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click
(Windows) path names that are highlighted to 1 Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
deselect them. path name.
2 Click Delete Path.
To select all paths and sub-paths:
3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
Setup.
path name that is unhighlighted.
Any tracks that were assigned to the now inactive Assigning channels
path will show that path's name in italics on the
Other channels for the path type, if any, fill to the
track's I/O selectors.
right. For example, when assigning a new stereo
path, clicking in the path row under output channel
1 fills both channel 1 and 2 (left to 1, right to 2).
Assigning Paths with the Surround Mixer Changing a path’s format erases any cur-
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) rent channel assignment.
When assigning multichannel paths, the left chan- Sub-Paths Follow Main Paths
nel (L) is assigned first to the clicked Grid box, and
When a main path is reassigned, its sub-paths (if
remaining channels fill immediately to the right
any) are reassigned automatically to maintain con-
according to the default path order.
sistent routing. For example, reassigning a stereo
Because some multichannel mixing formats use path to different hardware outputs results in any of
unique track layouts, Pro Tools lets you set the de- its sub-paths moving with it.
fault format in the I/O Setup (see “I/O Setup Op-
tions” on page 59).
Valid Paths and
Requirements
While configuring the I/O Setup, certain rules ap-
ply for path definition and channel assignment. All
Default Format and Path Order settings paths must be valid before the I/O Setup configu-
ration can be applied.
Reassiging Paths
Though it is possible to set up invalid assignments
You can move the individual assignments to dif- in the Channel Grid, Pro Tools will not accept an
ferent channels, to reorder the path’s definition I/O Setup configuration unless all paths meet the
(for example, changing a multichannel path to path definition and channel assignment require-
L-R-C-LFE-Ls-Rs). ments, as follows:
To reassign channels in a path: Minimum Path Definitions All paths must have a
name, be of a specific format, and have a valid I/O
Drag the channel to the new location in the
assignment.
Grid. Other channel assignments move (shuffle)
to accommodate dragged channels. Valid Paths Channel assignment follows certain
rules regarding overlapping paths.
• There can be no partial overlaps between any
two output paths.
Output Busses
Output busses are mapped (routed) to output paths,
Valid (complete) output path as configured on the Output page of the I/O Setup.
Output paths are then assigned to the system’s
physical audio outputs in the I/O Setups Grid (see
“Assigning Paths to Hardware I/O” on page 76).
Busses appear on the Bus page of the IO Setup. Physical outputs for output paths are configured on
Pro Tools provides two types of busses: the Outputs page of the I/O Setups (see “Assigning
• Output busses Paths to Hardware I/O” on page 76).
1 Do one of the following: 1 On the Bus page of the I/O Setup, click New
• Shift-click to select contiguous Output Path.
busses. 2 In the New Paths dialog, specify Mono channel
• Command-click (Mac) or Control-click width for the bus path, type a path name, and
(Windows) to select noncontiguous Output click Create.
busses.
3 Enable Mapping To Output for the path.
2 Option-Shift-click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-click
4 Select a multichannel output path from the Map-
(Windows) the Mapping To Output selector for
ping To Output selector. The mono bus indicator
one of the selected Output busses and select an
changes to “C” (Center) by default, and a pop-
output path (mono or stereo).
up menu becomes available.
Only the selected mapped output busses of the
same format (such as stereo) are assigned to the
same output path. For example, you can assign
only the selected stereo output busses to output
path A 1–2.
Selecting a multichannel output path
To map all busses of the same format to unique
ascending output paths (cascading): 5 To assign another channel, click the mono bus
Command-Option-click (Mac) or Control-Alt- indicator and select the channel from the pop-up
click (Windows) the Mapping to Output selec- menu.
tor of the top-most output path and select the
first output path.
Mapping Mono Busses to Surround To assign the same channel to all mono busses
Paths mapped to a multichannel output path:
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
mono bus indicator and select the channel from
You can map a mono bus to any channel of a sur-
the pop-up menu.
round output path. For example, route a dialogue
track to the center channel of 5.1 output path. (This
capability is available for all output channel widths
except Stereo and Quad outputs.)
Pro Tools creates 24 internal busses by de- Click to sort by Name Click to sort by map-
ping to output status
fault.
Click to sort by Format
To revert to the default bus configuration for your
system:
1 Open the I/O Setup.
2 Click the Bus tab in the upper left.
3 From the pop-up menu to the right of the Default
button, select one of the following: Sorting bus paths in the I/O Setup
Resetting busses to the default setting will re- To sort bus paths by Format:
name all busses to their default name (Bus 1– 1 In the Bus page, click the Format column
2, Bus 3–4, and so on). header.
5 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O 2 Click the Format column header again to toggle
Setup. between ascending and descending sort order.
The Bus page of the I/O Setup displays the number In the Bus page, click the Mapping To Output
of active internal mix busses. If the number of ac- column header.
tive busses exceeds the number of available bus-
ses, the display turns red. Delete or deactivate any
active busses in excess of the available number of
busses to be able close the I/O Setup and save your
settings.
Surround Mix Settings 3 Click the Mapping to Output column on the row
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) for the Output bus that you want to remap to a
lower or higher channel format (from the avail-
The Surround Mix setting provides additional, sur- able Output paths).
round-specific Output and Bus settings files.
Pro Tools lets you “downmix” session output Selecting a 5.1 Output path for an LCRS Output Bus
buses to physical output paths with channel for-
mats of a lesser width. For example, you can listen 4 Click OK to save your changes and close I/O
to a 5.1 mix on a stereo system without modifying Setup.
the actual session routing.
You can also import I/O paths and path To export and save an I/O Setup configuration as a
names, as well as other session data, from custom I/O Settings file:
a different session by using the Import Ses- 1 Configure the I/O Setup settings.
sion Data command (File > Import > Ses-
sion Data). For information, see “Import- 2 Click Export Settings.
ing Session Data” on page 432. 3 Name and save the settings file. The settings file
To import I/O Settings:
is appended with “.pio” to distinguish it as an
I/O settings file.
1 Click the tab for the page of the I/O Setup for
which you want to import settings. To start sessions with a blank or empty
I/O Setup, you can create and export an I/O
2 Click Import Settings.
Settings file in which all definitions have been
Enable the Apply to all tabs option or press deleted.
Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while click-
ing Import Settings to overwrite I/O Settings Restore from Session
in all pages with the settings imported from a
Pro Tools provides a Restore from Session button
session file or I/O settings file.
that only affects the currently viewed page in I/O
3 Select an I/O settings file (.pio) or a Pro Tools Setup. For example, if you are viewing the Output
session file (.ptx) in the Import Settings dialog page, only the Output settings are overwritten by
and click Import. the settings saved with the session.
4 A dialog appears asking whether you want to To restore I/O settings from the session:
delete existing paths. Do one of the following: 1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O).
• Click Yes to remove any unused paths and
2 Select the tab for the page that you want to re-
add the imported paths to the current I/O
store from the session.
Setup configuration.
• Click No to add the imported paths to the cur- 3 Click Restore from Session.
rent I/O Setup configuration.
Enable the Apply to all tabs option or press
If the import results in overlapping paths, the new Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while click-
paths will appear in the I/O Setup as Inactive. See ing Restore from Session to restore settings
“Making Paths Active or Inactive” on page 76. for all I/O Setup pages from the session.
After importing I/O Settings, you can then reassign 4 Click OK to save your changes and close I/O
path routing definitions in the I/O Setup by remap- Setup.
ping, renaming, and deleting paths. See “Pro Tools
Software Signal Paths” on page 52.
Once you save the session, the Show Last Saved To show the current I/O settings:
Setup button is grayed out. 1 If not already open, open the I/O Setup (Setup >
I/O).
Type Displays only the I/O Type (Interface or Bus) Session Notes with unmapped Output busses
as I/O categories in Track I/O menus.
To open the I/O Setup from the Session Notes
Width Displays only the I/O Channel Width (such dialog:
as stereo or 5.1) as I/O categories in Track I/O 1 If the Session Notes dialog reports unmapped
menus. bus paths, click the I/O Setup button.
Type and Width Displays both Type and Width as 2 In I/O Setup, reassign any unmapped bus paths
I/O categories in Track I/O menus. as necessary.
You can review and update the setup of your sys- 7 Do one of the following, depending on your
tem to ensure it is configured for your needs. Pro Tools system:
• For HDX and HD Native systems, with the
volume of all output devices lowered, turn on
Starting Up or Shutting Down your audio interfaces (such as HD OMNI).
Your System Wait at least fifteen seconds for your system
hardware to initialize.
To ensure that the components of your Pro Tools
system communicate properly with each other, you • For Pro Tools systems that use hardware re-
need to start them in a particular order. quiring external power (such as 003), with the
volume of all output devices lowered, turn on
Start up your Pro Tools system in this order: the hardware.
1 Make sure all your equipment (including your 8 Turn on your computer.
computer) is off.
9 Launch Pro Tools or any third-party audio or
2 Lower the volume of all output devices in your MIDI applications.
system.
Shut down your Pro Tools system in this order:
3 For systems with an expansion chassis, turn on
the chassis. 1 Quit Pro Tools and any other running applica-
tions.
4 Turn on any external hard drives. Wait approxi-
mately ten seconds for them to spin up to speed. To quit Pro Tools, choose Pro Tools > Quit
(Mac) or File > Exit (Windows).
5 Turn on any control surfaces (such as
D-Command® or Avid Artist Control). 2 Turn off or lower the volume of all output
6 Turn on any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or devices in your system.
synchronization peripherals. 3 Turn off your computer.
2 Select the sample rate from the Sample Rate 3 Click OK.
pop-up menu.
Your digital input device must be
3 Click OK. connected and powered on for Pro Tools to
synchronize to it. If your input device is not
powered on, leave the Clock Source set to
Internal.
6 Repeat the above steps for each additional audio 2 From the Peripherals list, select the audio
interface in your setup. interface connected to the first card in your
system. This will be the interface at the top of
the list.
Configuring Avid HD Audio
Interfaces 3 Click the Main tab.
HD OMNI supports up to eight channels of simul- Press Command+Left or Right Arrow keys
taneous I/O and multiple I/O formats (such as ana- (Mac) or Control+Left or Right Arrow keys
log, AES/EBU, ADAT Optical, and S/PDIF). (Windows) to move though the different
pages of the Hardware Setup.
HD I/O audio interfaces support sixteen channels
of simultaneous I/O and multiple I/O formats (such 4 From the Clock Source pop-up menu, select the
as analog, AES/EBU, ADAT Optical, S/PDIF, and appropriate clock source for the interface.
TDIF). HD MADI supports up to 64 channels of
MADI I/O. In many cases, you will use Internal. The other
choices are for resolving Pro Tools to external
The Main page of the Hardware Setup is where clock sources. Depending on your audio interface,
you define which physical inputs and outputs on Clock Source options can include: AES/EBU
your audio interface are routed to available inputs [Encl], S/PDIF, Optical [Encl], AES/EBU 1–8, TDIF,
and outputs in Pro Tools. You can think of this ADAT, and Word Clock (optional Word Clock rates
window as a patchbay that allows you to route any are available when operating at higher sample
of the inputs or outputs on your audio interfaces to rates).
channel assignments in the Pro Tools mixer.
5 If you want to send clock output to other de-
vices attached to the audio interface, select the
appropriate output from the Ext. Clock Output
pop-up menu.
6 Select which digital I/O port on your audio in-
terface enclosure is active by selecting the cor-
responding option under Digital Format.
Depending on the type of interfaces in your
system, choices include AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and
Optical (S/PDIF). Selecting Optical (S/PDIF) re-
Hardware Setup for HD I/O, Main page
sets the Optical I/O port (which is, by default,
eight channels of ADAT Optical I/O) to two
channels of S/PDIF Optical I/O.
Inputs and outputs of similar format are differenti- 3 Click the Monitor tab and configure the options.
ated in the input and output channel pop-up menus. When working with HD OMNI, you should al-
For example, the AES/EBU inputs and outputs in ways configure the Monitor page first.
the HD I/O enclosure are listed as AES/EBU [Encl],
while the AES/EBU inputs and outputs on the fac-
tory-installed Digital I/O card are listed (in pairs)
as AES/EBU 1–2, AES/EBU 3–4, AES/EBU 5–6,
and AES/EBU 7–8. For HD I/Os equipped with a
second Digital I/O Card, the additional AES/EBU
I/O ports on the optional card are listed as
AES/EBU 9–10, AES/EBU 11–12, AES/EBU 13–
14, and AES/EBU 15–16.
9 Configure any specific controls for your audio HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Monitor page
interface:
4 Click the Main tab and configure the options.
• “Configuring HD OMNI Controls” on
page 102.
• “Configuring HD I/O Controls” on page 103.
• “Configuring HD MADI Controls” on
page 104.
10 For additional audio interfaces, select them in
the Peripherals list, and repeat the above steps.
HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Mixer page 5 If you have two HD I/O AD cards, click the
Analog In 9–16 tab and configure the options.
8 When you are finished, click OK.
6 If you have at least one HD I/O Digital card,
click the Digital tab and configure the options.
Voices
Time Slots
DSP Usage
System Usage window (HDX shown)
Voices
These options determine how plug-in menus are These options determine how track I/O menus are
organized in the Insert selector or Plug-In selector. organized in the Track Input selector, and Send
and Track Output selectors.
Flat List Organizes plug-ins in a single list, in
alphabetical order. Type Displays only the I/O Type (Interface or Bus)
as I/O categories in Track I/O menus.
Category Organizes plug-ins by process category
(such as EQ, Dynamics, and Delay), with individ- Width Displays only the I/O Channel Width (such
ual plug-ins listed in the category submenus. Plug- as stereo or 5.1) as I/O categories in Track I/O
Ins that do not fit into a standard category (such as menus.
the Signal Generator), or third-party plug-ins that
Type and Width Displays both Type and Width as
have not had a category designated by their devel-
opers, appear in the Other category. Plug-Ins can I/O categories in Track I/O menus.
appear in more than one category.
Language Options
Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins by their manu-
You must have Administrator privileges for the
facturer (such as Bomb Factory, Focusrite, or TL
Pro Tools application Properties to change these
Labs), with individual plug-ins listed in the manu-
options.
facturer submenus. Plug-Ins that do not have a
Manufacturer defined will appear in the “Other” Language Sets the language to use in the
manufacturer folder. Pro Tools application, independently of what lan-
guage is used by your OS.
Category and Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins in
two levels of menus. The top menus display plug- Default Automatic Naming to English Causes au-
ins by process category (such as EQ, Dynamics, tomatically named session elements in a session to
and Delay), with individual plug-ins listed in the be named in English even when working with the
category submenus. The bottom menus display Pro Tools application set to another language.
plug-ins by manufacturer (such as Bomb Factory,
Focusrite, or TL Labs), with individual plug-ins Auto-Switch Input Language
listed in the manufacturer submenus.
When the Auto-Switch Input Language option is
enabled, the input language is switched automati-
cally from English to the current OS input lan-
guage when entering text. It automatically
switches back to English for using Keyboard com-
mands in Pro Tools. When disabled, English is
used when entering text regardless of the current
OS input language.
Always Display Marker Colors Lets you choose to None Turns off color assignment for clips. Clips
view Marker colors in the Markers ruler, regard- are drawn with black waveform or MIDI notes on
less of the settings you choose for Default Clip a light gray background.
Color Coding.
Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to each
MIDI Note Color Shows Velocity When enabled, clip in the Edit window according to its voice or
MIDI notes display varying shades of the assigned MIDI channel assignment.
track color in MIDI notes view in the Edit window
Tracks and MIDI Devices Assigns a color to each
and in MIDI Editor windows. Notes with high ve-
clip in the Edit window according to its voice as-
locities are darker and notes with lower velocities
signment or MIDI device assignment.
are lighter.
Groups Assigns a color to each clip according to
Default Track Color Coding Options the Group ID of its track. If groups are suspended
using the Suspend Groups command, all clips dis-
These color coding options determine the default
play black waveforms or MIDI notes on a light
color coding assignment for tracks in the Edit and
gray background.
Mix windows. The options are:
Track Color Assigns a clip color based on the color
None Turns off color assignment for tracks.
assigned to the track.
Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to each
Marker Locations Assigns a unique color to each
track in the Mix or Edit window according to its
marker area in the Marker ruler, including the area
voice or MIDI channel assignment.
preceding the first marker.
Tracks and MIDI Devices Assigns a color to each
Clips List Color Assigns a color to each clip based
track in the Mix or Edit window according to its
on its color in the Clips List.
voice assignment or MIDI device assignment.
When Pro Tools is installed, any included audio Enable Automation in Record When this option is
loops are stored in the Sound Libraries folder by de- enabled, automation can be written during record-
fault: ing as well as during playback. When this option is
disabled, automation can only be written during
Mac Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/
playback.
Documents/Pro Tools/Sound Libraries
Windows C:\Users\<username>\Documents\
Note that when the Enable Automation in Record
Pro Tools\Sound Libraries option is selected, the Link Record and Play Faders
option is automatically disabled and is unavailable.
Click the Change button to direct Pro Tools to ref-
erence another location for the Sound Libraries Link Record and Play Faders When selected,
folder and Loops content. Pro Tools does not remember separate fader levels
for tracks when they are record-enabled, allowing
Show Sound Libraries in Workspace Locations you to maintain the same monitoring level for
tracks during recording and playback.
Enable the Show Sound Libraries in Workspace/
Locations option to show Sound Libraries in the Audio Track RecordLock (Pro Tools | Ultimate
Locations pane of Workspace browsers. Only) This option configures Pro Tools tracks to
either emulate a digital dubber, or to maintain leg-
acy behavior for track record status.
Record Section
• When selected, the record-enabled audio tracks
Record Enable Buttons Options remain record-enabled when playback or re-
Latch Audio Tracks When selected, the Record cording stops.
Enable button on each audio track latches on (or • When not selected, record-enabled audio tracks
off) when you click it. are taken out of record enable when Pro Tools is
stopped. This prevents tracks from remaining
armed from pass to pass, emulating track record
behavior of a digital dubber.
Disable “Input” When Disarming Track • When not selected, the TrackInput button shows
(In “Stop”) (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) For flexi- the letter “I.” The button remains gray to indi-
bility, TrackInput monitoring can be customized to cate Auto Input mode and lights green to indi-
remain selected regardless of track record status, cate Input Only mode.
or to automatically switch to Auto Input monitor- • When selected, the TrackInput button remains
ing after a recording pass. This lets you optimize gray and shows the letter “D” to indicated Input
monitoring for a typical dubbing workflow (in Only mode (“Direct”); it lights green and shows
which you might want tracks to remain in Input the letter “P” to indicate Auto Input mode (“Pec”
Only mode until explicitly switched to Auto Input or playback).
monitoring) or a typical music tracking workflow
(in which leaving a track in Input Only monitoring Automatically Create New Playlists When Loop
Recording When selected, copies loop recorded
mode after recording can result in accidental dou-
ble-monitoring). alternate takes to new playlists in the track. This is
especially useful to prepare for track compositing
• When selected, taking an audio track out of re- in Playlists view after loop recording multiple al-
cord enable (any mode) takes it out of Input ternate takes.
Only mode, regardless of the global monitor
mode, and switches it to monitor audio from Online Options
disk only.
Record Online at Timecode (or ADAT)
• When not selected, audio tracks remain in Input Lock When selected, online recording begins as
Only monitoring mode until explicitly switched soon as Pro Tools receives and locks to incoming
to Auto Input monitoring. timecode.
Prevent Tearing
Diagnostics Section
Save Logs
Click Save Logs to save all log files as a .zip file Clips Section
that you can share with Avid Customer Support for
troubleshooting purposes. Clips List Selection Follows Edit Selection When
selected, selecting a clip in a track also selects it in
Reset Logging the Clips List.
Click Reset Logging to reset Pro Tools logs if re- Edit Selection Follows Clips List Selection When
quested by Avid Customer Support. selected, selecting a clip in the Clips List causes
Pro Tools to highlight that clip’s occurrence in a
Advanced Video Logging track.
Enable the Advanced Video Logging option to cap- Auto-Name Separated Clips When selected,
ture advanced logging options for the Avid Audio Pro Tools automatically names newly separated
Engine (AVE). clips by appending a number to the clip’s name.
Send Fully Overlapped Clips to Playlist while Suppress Name Dialog When Creating New
Editing Whenever a whole clip is fully overlapped Playlists Enable this option to automatically name
by another clip when editing it is moved from the new playlists without opening the Name New
main playlist to a new playlist (or the first available, Playlist dialog. This applies when creating both
empty playlist). This is true for editing on all play- new of duplicate playlists.
lists, not just the main playlist.
Show Target Playlist(s) After Sending Clip
Send Fully Overlapped Clips to Playlist while Selection Enable this option to show Target play-
Recording Whenever a whole clip is fully over- list(s) in the Main playlist after moving or copying
lapped by another clip when recording it is moved an Edit selection to that playlist.
from the main playlist to a new playlist (or the first
available, empty playlist).
Memory Locations Section
Clip Gain Nudge Value This setting specifies the
Auto-Name Memory Locations When
amount (from 0.1 dB to 6.0 dB) by which clip gain Playing When selected, Pro Tools gives new
settings are adjusted when nudging clip gain. Memory Locations default names based on their
Clip Matching Options Lets you assign number time location in the session. The time units cur-
keys 1–5 to control either Zoom Presets or Clip Ef- rently chosen in the View menu determine the
fects Presets. Press Control+1–5 (Mac) or units for the names.
Start+1–5 (Windows) to recall the corresponding Recall Memory Location at Original Track When
preset in your session or project for the selected selected, Memory Locations that recall a selection
option. If Commands Keyboard Focus is also en- also recall the track in which the selection was
abled in the Edit window, just press the number for made.
the preset you want (1–5).
Fade In Selects the default envelope shape for Separate Grid Settings When Zoomed In When
fade-ins when using the Smart Tool. selected, the Grid setting stored with Zoom toggle
is recalled when zoom toggling in. When this op-
Fade Out Selects the default envelope shape for tion is deselected, the same (current) grid setting is
fade-outs when using the Smart Tool. used whether zoom toggling in or out.
Default EQ
Sends Default to –INF When selected, the initial Insert Slot The specified Insert slot (none, or a–j)
fader level of newly-created sends is set to – (no is used (if it is available) when inserting the default
audible signal level). When not selected, the initial EQ plug-in from a S6 or S4 control surface. If the
fader level of newly-created sends is set to 0 dB. specified slot is not available, the next available
plug-in slot is used. When None is selected, S6 or
S4 control surfaces insert the selected default plug-
in in the first available insert slot.
118 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Default Dynamics Always Fill Channel Strips When Banking If you
are using an ICON controller (Pro Tools Ultimate
This preference lets you choose any installed Dy-
only), or other supported control surface, you can
namics plug-in as the default, which makes it
select this option to maximize the number of chan-
available for quick assignment, both on-screen and
nels displayed when banking. This setting opti-
on ICON controllers (Pro Tools Ultimate only).
mizes the Bank commands to prevent the display
On-screen, the plug-in appears at the top of the In-
of a small number of channels at the extremes of
sert selector pop-up menu. On ICON controllers,
the surface.
the plug-in appears first in the list of menu choices
on the rotary encoders. Touch Timeout If you are writing automation in
Touch mode and you stop moving a non-touch
Insert Slot The specified Insert slot (none, or a–j)
sensitive fader or encoder, Pro Tools continues to
is used (if it is available) when inserting the default
write automation for the Touch Timeout value.
Dynamics plug-in from a EUCON control surface.
If the specified slot is not available, the next avail- After the Touch Timeout period, writing of auto-
able plug-in slot is used. When None is selected, mation stops and the automation data returns to its
EUCON control surfaces insert the selected de- previous automation value at the rate specified in
fault plug-in in the first available insert slot. the AutoMatch Time setting.
Auto Insert Default Plug-Ins from EUCON EUCON Surfaces EQ Dyn cycling Starting at
Surfaces When selected, the default EQ and Insert (S6 and S4 Consoles Only) Lets you spec-
default Dynamics plug-ins are automatically avail- ify the starting slot for EQ/Dyn cycling with S6 or
able when creating new tracks from EUCON S4 consoles to optimize EQ and Dyn cycling (via
surfaces. repeated pressing of the EQ or Dyn switches) to
start from either a specific slot, or from the most
Controllers Section recently cycled slot. Choose <none> to have Pro
Tools begin cycling from most recently cycled
Edit Window Follows Bank Selection If you are slot.
using a supported control surface with Pro Tools,
this option scrolls the Edit window to display the
selected bank of tracks when you switch banks on Automation Section
the control surface, ensuring that the current bank Smooth and Thin Data After Pass When se-
is viewable on-screen. lected, Pro Tools automatically smooths and then
applies the specified amount of thinning to the au-
Mix Window Follows Bank Selection If you are
tomation data created in an automation pass.
using a supported control surface with Pro Tools,
this option scrolls the Mix window to display the Degree of Thinning Specifies the amount of thin-
selected bank of tracks when you switch banks on ning performed on automation data when you us-
the control surface, ensuring that the current bank ing the Thin Automation command, or if you have
is viewable on-screen. selected the Smooth and Thin Data After Pass op-
tion.
“Scroll to Track” Banks Controllers When using
a control surface (such as D-Control) you can se-
lect this option to bank control surface faders to a
numbered track when using the Scroll to Track
command.
Chapter 8: Preferences 119
Plug-In Controls Default to Auto-Enabled When Standard VCA Logic for Group Attributes This
selected, all applicable controls of newly added option determines which Mix group attributes may
plug-ins are enabled for automation. When not se- be selected in the Group dialog when the group is
lected, the controls of newly added plug-ins must assigned to a VCA Master.
be manually enabled for automation. • When selected, the Main Volume, Mute, Solo,
Suppress Automation “Write To” Warnings Record Enable, and Input Monitoring controls
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) When selected, on slave tracks follow the VCA Master only and
Pro Tools suppresses the warnings that appear af- are not available to be independently linked.
ter invoking any of the Write Automation To Start, (This emulates the behavior of analog console
Selection, End, or Punch commands and then stop- VCA masters.)
ping the transport. • When deselected, the Main Volume, Mute, Solo,
Record Enable, and Input Monitoring controls
Latching Behavior for Switch Controls in
“Touch” This option determines the behavior of follow the VCA Master, but also remain avail-
switch-type controls (such as mute or plug-in by- able for independent linking with groups.
pass) when writing automation in Touch mode. Include Sends in Trim Mode (Pro Tools | Ultimate
• When selected, controls in Touch mode will Only) This option determines the Trim status of
latch in their current state. If an existing break- Send faders when a track is put in Trim mode.
point is encountered, writing of automation • When selected, Send faders go into Trim mode
stops. If the transport is stopped while writing, along with the Main Volume fader.
the control will AutoMatch to the underlying
• When deselected, the Main Volume fader goes
value.
into Trim mode, but the Send fader stays in the
• When not selected, controls in Touch mode will corresponding standard Automation mode.
not latch.
Include Control Changes in Undo Queue This
Allow Latch Prime in Stop (Pro Tools | Ultimate option determines whether certain mixer control
Only) When selected and any tracks are in Latch changes, such as moving a fader or pan control, are
mode, any automation-enabled controls on those entered into the Undo queue.
tracks can be set to new values while the transport
is stopped by touching or moving controls, to pre- • When selected, mixer control changes appear in
pare for the next automation pass. the Undo queue, and are undone if any prior op-
eration is undone.
Coalesce when Removing Slaves from VCA • When deselected, mixer control changes will not
Group This option determines the behavior when
appear in the undo queue, allowing you to undo
removing slave tracks from a VCA-controlled
other types of operations without losing the cur-
group.
rent mixer settings.
• When selected, any automation on the VCA
Master is automatically coalesced (without con- Any set to default operations that affect mixer con-
firmation) to its slave tracks when the tracks are trols will be entered into the Undo queue.
removed from the group.
• When not selected, a confirmation dialog lets
you choose whether or not to coalesce the VCA
Master automation to the slave tracks.
The Advanced Meter Type settings let you adjust The Color Break High setting determines the high
the scale and ballistics of the selected Meter Type. point in dB where the color changes for metering.
These settings update automatically to match the Typically, this will be the ceiling level for the cur-
specifications of the selected Meter Type. In some rent Meter Type. When this level is exceeded clip-
system configurations you may want to make man- ping will occur. Levels registering on the meters
ual adjustments to these settings in order to ensure between the Color Break High setting and the Color
that Pro Tools metering matches the meter re- Break Low setting should be considered the “sweet
sponse your broadcast console (some broadcast spot” for the loudness of the program material.
consoles use variations from the standard Meter
Types that are provided in Pro Tools). However, in Color Break Low
most cases these settings should be left at the de- The Color Break Low setting determines the low
fault values. point in dB where the color changes for metering.
Typically, this will be the minimum level for the
Decay
current Meter Type. Use this setting to provide a
The Decay settings determine the decibel range visual indication in the meters for the lowest level
(dBs) that the meters fall at the specified rate in of the dynamic range of the program material for
seconds after peak level is registered. For some the intended delivery format (such as film, DVD,
Meter Types, these settings are not adjustable CD, MP3, or broadcast).
(such as VU).
Reset
0 dBFS
Click the Reset button to reset the Advanced Me-
The 0 dBFS setting determines the unity reference ter Type preferences to the default settings for the
level for the meter scale in decibels compared to selected Meter Type.
digital 0 dB. Exceeding this level should result in
clipping at the digital to analog converters or to the Peak/Clip Section
specified clipping level for broadcast. For some
Meter Types, this setting is not adjustable (such as Peak Hold Options
K-meters).
These options determine how long the peak indica-
Integration Time tors on track meters stay lit after a peak is detected.
The Integration Time setting determines the 3 Seconds When selected, track meters display
amount of time it takes, in milliseconds, to average the last peak level for three seconds.
the peak level as registered on the meter display. Infinite When selected, track meters display the
You can think of this as the attack time for regis- last peak level until you click them to clear them.
tering peak levels on the meters. For some Meter
Types, this setting is not adjustable (such as Peak). None When selected, track meters do not hold the
peak level.
Display Section
Gain Reduction Meter Type
Import REX Files as Clip Groups When selected, All Files When enabled, all audio files (including
REX flies are imported as clip groups, all the un- REX and ACID files) imported by drag and drop
derlying slices are imported as individual clips from Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder are im-
contained within the clip group. When this option ported as tick-based Elastic Audio and conform to
is not selected, importing REX files into a session the session tempo.
converts them to the session’s audio file format,
the individual slices are consolidated, and the slice Sample Rate Conversion Quality
information is used for Elastic Audio analysis.
The Sample Rate Conversion Quality pop-up menu
These files remain tick-based after import and con-
lets you select the default sample rate conversion
version.
quality for importing audio files by drag and drop
Automatically Create Fades When selected, from any Workspace browser, or Windows Ex-
crossfades are applied automatically to the sliced plorer or Mac Finder. The higher the quality of
clips within clip groups created by importing REX sample rate conversion you select, the longer
files. If the Import REX Files as Clip Groups option Pro Tools will take to process the audio file.
is not selected, the Automatically Create Fades op-
tion is not available. Commit Section
To change the default fade settings for REX files, Rendered File Bit Depth
click the REX button in the Default Fade Settings
section on the Editing Preferences page. The Rendered File Bit Depth options determine the
bit depth of new audio files created using the Track
Drag and Drop From Desktop Conforms to Commit command.
Session Tempo
Always Use 32-bit When selected, new audio files
The Drag and Drop From Desktop Conforms to created using Track Commit command are 32-bit
Session Tempo options determine whether or not files regardless of the session bit depth.
REX, ACID, and audio files are imported as tick-
based Elastic Audio and conformed to the session Follow Session Settings When selected, new au-
tempo. dio files created using Track Commit command are
the same bit depth as the session.
No Files When enabled, REX and ACID files, and
all other audio files are not conformed to the ses-
sion tempo when imported by drag and drop from
Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder. They are
imported as sample-based files and converted to
the sessions audio file format.
This option lets you set the default MIDI Thru in- MIDI Merge Release Mode
strument. You can select a predefined device from
your available MIDI instruments, or select First MIDI Merge Release mode determines how
Selected MIDI Track to use the assigned MIDI out- Pro Tools writes MIDI CC data when recording
put of the first selected MIDI or Instrument track. MIDI in MIDI Merge mode.
When multiple MIDI or Instrument tracks are se- Latch Continues writing the last value. Any exist-
lected, the instrument in the selected track that is ing events are overwritten until you stop recording.
closest to the top of the Edit window (or closest to
the left edge of the Mix window) is used. Select Latch Until Next Event Continues writing the last
None to only route MIDI Thru record enabled value until the next event even if you are still re-
MIDI and Instrument tracks. cording.
Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Touch Immediately stops writing any new values
Controller Data (only use this mode to add pedal-based control
data, not to modify existing data).
This option lets you set the default resolution for
MIDI controller data created with the Pencil tool.
Setting this to a lower resolution helps avoid creat- Note Display Options
ing controller data that is unnecessarily dense. The These options set the reference for middle C as C3,
value range is from 1 to 100 milliseconds. C4, or MIDI note number 60.
This option lets you specify what happens when MIDI Timecode When selected, Pro Tools applies
you double-click MIDI clips with the Grabber tool. Delay Compensation to Pro Tools-generated
MIDI Timecode (MTC). Enable this option when
MIDI Editor Opens the MIDI clip in a MIDI Editor synchronizing video to Pro Tools using MTC.
window.
MIDI Beat Clock When selected, Pro Tools applies
Score Editor Opens the MIDI clip in the Score Ed- Delay Compensation to Pro Tools-generated
itor window. MIDI Beat Clock.
File Extension
Pro Tools Track Collaboration The file extension for the temp file can be set to ei-
ther .tmp or .ptmp. It is recommended that you use
New Tracks Are Shared When enabled, new .tmp when working exclusively with NAS (Net-
tracks are automatically shared when they are cre- work Attached Storage) to ensure compatibility
ated. with any legacy Pro Tools systems (Pro Tools 10
First Invite Shares All Tracks When enabled, all to 2020.3) also operating on the same NAS. How-
tracks are automatically shared when you invite ever, you must use .ptmp when working with Mic-
anyone to join your project. rosoft OneDrive as OneDrive ignores .tmp files.
Satellite Link lets you link up to 12 Pro Tools HD Global and Local Preferences
systems, or 11 Pro Tools HD systems and an Avid
Video Satellite (Media Composer or Avid Sym- Pro Tools preferences are either global (system-
phony Nitris DX) or a Pro Tools Video Satellite wide) or local (for the current session or project
system, over an Ethernet network so that you can only).
cue, play, and stop the transport, make play selec-
Global (System-Wide) Preferences Global prefer-
tions, and solo tracks across any of the systems
ences are applied to all sessions. These preferences
from any linked workstation.
become the default preferences for any existing
Transmit Solos Causes a linked Pro Tools system sessions that you subsequently open or any new
to send the solo status of its tracks to all other sessions that are created.
linked Pro Tools systems. On other linked systems
Local (Current Session) Preferences Local pref-
that are set to receive solos, tracks follow solo be-
erences are applied to the current session (if one is
havior as if the solo were on the local system.
open). Local preferences are not applied to older
Receive Solos Causes a linked Pro Tools system sessions that are subsequently opened.
to receive solos from all other linked Pro Tools
Preferences and New Sessions
systems that are set to transmit solo status of their
tracks. Tracks on the receiving system follows solo New sessions use global preference settings, plus
behavior as if the solos were on the local system. the most recent local preference settings. The most
recent local settings refer to the last open session
Solo Independent of Linked State Causes a
(unless subsequent changes were made in the Pref-
Pro Tools system to send the solo status of its
erences from the application window).
tracks to other satellite systems even when it is un-
linked. This allows control of solo status across
systems even when transport control is not en-
abled.
• Always Display Marker Colors • Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Con-
troller Data
• Default Track Color Coding options
• Delay for External Devices Options
• Default Clip Color Coding options
• Collaboration Preferences
• Operation Preferences
• None
• Latch Forward/Rewind
• Synchronization Preferences
• Custom Shuttle Lock Speed
• None
• Custom FF/REW Speed
• Back/Forward Amount (Pro Tools Ultimate
only)
• PEC/Direct Style Input Monitoring
(Pro Tools Ultimate only)
• DestructivePunch File Length
(Pro Tools Ultimate only)
• Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length
(Pro Tools Ultimate only)
• Delay Comp Time Mode
• Compensate side chains
(HDX systems only)
• Editing Preferences
• None
• Mixing Preferences
• Coalesce When Removing Slaves from VCA
Group (Pro Tools Ultimate only)
• Metering Preferences
• None
• Processing Preferences
• Convert Imported “WAV” Files To
AES31/BroadcastWave
When this option is selected, VITC is inserted into This setting lets you select from the following op-
the outgoing video signal—assuming that a video tions for Bi-Phase or Tach wiring:
signal is present at a synchronization peripheral • Bi-Phase: FWD = A leads B
video input, and that the synchronization periph-
eral is in a valid mode for inserting VITC. • Bi-Phase: FWD = B leads A
• Tach:FWD = B is Low
Pitch Memory Enabled
• Tach: FWD = B is High
When this option is selected, the synchronization
peripheral will remain at a pitch (sample rate) that
corresponds to the last known incoming timecode
speed. When deselected, the Synchronization pe-
This button lets you set the Bi-Phase/Tach start Machine Control
frame from Pro Tools. Click the button to update
the Timecode Display on the synchronization pe- The Machine Control page lets you configure
ripheral to match the session timecode value. Pro Tools | Ultimate for use with MIDI Machine
Control or 9-Pin Machine Control.
Enable Dub Window
For information about using MachineControl
When this option is selected, you can insert a time- with Pro Tools | Ultimate, see Chapter 59,
code window into a video signal with the follow- “MachineControl.”
ing Window dub appearance settings:
Enable Enable
When the Enable option is selected, Pro Tools is When the Enable option is selected, Pro Tools is
the Master and it sends MMC commands to the the slave and it receives MMC commands from the
slave device and receives MTC information back master device and sends MTC information back to
from the slave device. the slave device.
The MIDI Out Port pop-up menu lets you select the The MMC ID setting lets you specify the MMC ID
MIDI Out port to which the slave device is con- number for which MMC information will be re-
nected. ceived.
MMC ID
9-Pin Machine Control (Deck
The MMC ID setting lets you specify the MMC ID Control)
number for which MMC information will be sent. (HDX and HD Native Systems with
MMC commands contain an ID number to identify MachineControl Only)
which machine should respond to the MMC com- The 9-Pin Machine Control (Deck Control) settings
mand. There are 128 MMC ID numbers, from 0– let you configure a Machine Control device for Se-
127. The default of ID #127 is a special setting that rial Deck Control mode with Pro Tools | Ultimate.
transmits to all 128 MMC IDs. With a setting of Serial Deck Control mode is available whenever
127, Pro Tools will transmit MMC commands to Machine Control is connected using the Serial
all MMC IDs. Deck Control cable. When connected for Serial
Deck Control mode, Machine Control enables all
Preroll
Pro Tools track arming, synchronization, and
The Preroll setting lets you specify a pre-roll time Transport features, as available on your system.
in frames for your MMC slave device. Pre-roll is Serial Deck Control mode also supports 9-pin se-
needed to provide the device with sufficient time rial timecode.
to lock to the timecode transmitted by Pro Tools.
This value will vary depending on the external de- Enable
vice. If the pre-roll time is insufficient, the device When the Enable option is selected, Pro Tools is in
may not be ready to lock until after the current Serial Deck Control mode.
timecode position has passed.
The Port setting lets you select the 9-pin Machine The Port setting lets you select the 9-pin Machine-
Control port. The available choices depend on Control port. The available choices depend on
your platform and configuration your platform and configuration
After you select a port, Pro Tools automatically The Machine Type setting lets you select the ma-
polls the port to see what kind of machine is con- chine description for specific machine controllers
nected. If the machine is recognized, Pro Tools (such as the Soundmaster ATOM). By default,
loads the corresponding Machine Type. This in- Pro Tools emulates a Sony BVW-75.
cludes the corresponding track layout and auto-
matically enters the name of that machine into the Chase LTC
Machine Track Arming window. However, if the
When Chase LTC is enabled, Pro Tools still re-
machine is not recognized, the “Generic 1” per-
sponds to track arming and record commands.
sonality is automatically loaded.
However, Pro Tools will chase incoming LTC in-
stead of behaving as a master or slave device with
Preroll
the machine controller. By slaving Pro Tools to the
The Preroll setting lets you specify a variable LTC source instead of slaving the machine to
amount of machine preroll to account for the time Pro Tools timecode, you can avoid the waiting
it may take the machine to achieve servo lock. (and tape wear) that occurs while a machine trans-
Shorter preroll values are usually better for non- port locates and bumps tape to the cue point.
linear machines. Longer preroll values are usually
better for older tape transports. The Machine pre-
roll value is added to any preroll specified in the MIDI Controllers
Transport window.
The MIDI Controllers page lets you configure up
to four different MIDI controllers for Pro Tools.
9-Pin Remote (Deck Emulation)
(HDX and HD Native Systems with
MachineControl Only)
Enable
Type
Receive From
Type
For more information about using Pro Tools
with EUCON, see the documentation for your The Type setting lets you select none or PRE.
controller. Select the PRE option to declare any connected
PRE.
Receive From
Send To
Defaults
Satellites
The Satellites page lets you configure synchroni- System Name
zation between multiple Pro Tools systems (in-
Type a name for the local system. This name
cluding an Avid Video Satellite system) using Sat-
appears in the list of available satellites in other
ellite Link.
connected systems with the Satellite Link option.
Satellite Link lets you link up to 12 HDX or
HD Native systems (or any combinations of 11 Mode
HDX or HD Native systems and an Avid Video The Mode settings let you configure the satellite
Satellite system or a Pro Tools Video Satellite sys- behavior of the local system.
tem) over an Ethernet network so that you can cue,
play, and stop the transport, make play selections, Administrator When enabled, the Administrator
and solo tracks across any of the systems from any option sets the local system to be the administrator
linked workstation. system for any satellite systems on the network.
Satellite systems can be declared from the admin-
Media Composer Video Satellite lets you link an istrator system.
HDX or HD Native system and a Media Composer
system for monitoring Avid video. Pro Tools Satellite When enabled, the Satellite option sets
Video Satellite lets you link an HDX or HD Native the local system to be a satellite system on the net-
system and a Pro Tools host-based system for work. When a system is in Satellite mode, it be-
monitoring Avid or QuickTime video. comes available to be declared as a satellite from
any administrator system on the network.
For more information, see Chapter 62,
“Satellite Link.” Administrator (HDX and HD Native Systems
Only)
Reset Network Lets you reset the entire satellite System Name
network. Click the Reset Network button to auto-
matically disconnect and reconnect all satellites on The System Name field lets you enter a name for
the network. your Pro Tools system.
VENUE System
Monitor Format
If you are using external MIDI devices with 2 If the MIDI Studio window is not showing,
Pro Tools (such as controllers or sound modules), choose Window > Show MIDI Studio.
you can customize your MIDI studio setup to dis-
play the names of your MIDI devices in Pro Tools.
The Instrument Name field shows the user-defin- The Output Port pop-up menu displays a list of
able instrument name for the currently selected in- available MIDI interface output ports. The port set
strument. and displayed here is the port through which MIDI
data is sent from your MIDI interface to the MIDI
Manufacturer device specified in the Instrument Name field.
The Manufacturer pop-up menu provides a list of If you set the output port to None, the defined
MIDI equipment manufacturers. This list is de- instrument will not appear as a choice in a
rived from the XML-based MIDI device files. MIDI Output Selector.
For more information, see “MIDI Patch Send Channels
Names” on page 790.
The Send Channels grid sets the send channels for
Model the MIDI device specified in the Instrument Name
field.
The Model pop-up menu provides a list of MIDI
devices, filtered by the manufacturer name. This
Receive Channels
list is derived from the XML-based MIDI device
files provided with your Pro Tools installation. The Receive Channels grid sets the receive chan-
nels for the MIDI device specified in the Instru-
For more information, see “MIDI Patch ment Name field.
Names” on page 790.
Input Port
Dashboard window
• Create a new blank session or project. Cancel Click to close the Dashboard window with-
out creating or opening a session or project.
• Open any of the last ten most recent sessions and
projects. Create/Open Click Create to close the Dashboard
• Open any other session on your system. and create a new session or project with the speci-
fied session or project settings (on the Create tab
• Open any projects you created or projects that
only). Click Open to open the selected session or
you are collaborating on.
project (on the Recent and Project tabs only). You
To open or close the dashboard window, do any of can also press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to
the following: Create or open a session or project.
Choose File > New or press Command+N (Mac) Show on Startup Disable to skip the Dashboard
or Control+N (Windows). when Pro Tools starts. To resume showing the
Dashboard when Pro Tools starts, enable the Show
Choose File > Open Project or press Com-
Dashboard window when Pro Tools starts option
mand+Option+N (Mac) or Control+Alt+N
(Settings > Preferences > Display).
(Windows).
Create Tab Settings
Dashboard Commands, Options,
and Settings To show the Create tab (if not already shown, do
one of the following:
The Dashboard provides several options for creat-
ing and opening sessions and projects. In the Dashboard, click the Create tab.
In the Dashboard, press Command+1 (Mac) or
Global Dashboard Commands and Control+1 (Windows).
Settings
In the Dashboard, press Command+Up/Down
Sign In/Out The Sign In/Out link is present in all Arrows to toggle through the tabs.
tabs. Click Sign In to sign in to your Avid Master
Account. Once you are signed in, your Display In Pro Tools, choose File > Create New, or press
Name will be shown and you will also see the per- Command+N (Mac) or Control+N (Windows).
centage of your Avid Cloud storage that you are In Pro Tools, choose File > Create New, or press
using all of the projects you own. Any media you Command+N (Mac) or Control+N (Windows).
post to a shared project that you do not own will
count against the project owner’s Cloud storage al- Local Storage (Session) Select this option to
location. To sign out, click your Display Name and create a session using local storage only.
choose Sign Out.
File Type Sets the File Type (WAV or AIFF) for In the Dashboard, click the Recent tab, or press
the session or project. Press Command+F (Mac) or Command+2 (Mac) or Control+2 (Windows) to
Control+F (Windows) to toggle between the two show the Recent tab. The Recent tab lists your 10
options. most recent sessions and projects, but otherwise it
has no unique commands, options, or settings.
Sample Rate Sets the sample rate for the session or Double-click any session or project in the list to
project. Press Command+R (Mac) or Control+R open it. Recent projects are not shown if you are
(Windows) to scroll not logged in.
Bit Depth Sets the Bit Depth (16-bit, 24-bit, or
Projects Tab
32-bit floating) for the session or project. Press
Command+B (Mac) or Control+B (Windows) to In the Dashboard, click the Projects tab, or press
toggle through the available options. Command+3 (Mac) or Control+3 (Windows) to
show the Projects tab. The Projects tab lists all
I/O Settings Sets which I/O Settings to use for the
projects stored in the cloud that you have created
session or project. Press Command+I (Mac) or
or collaborated on. Double-click any project in the
Control+I (Windows) to toggle through the avail-
list to open it. No projects are shown if you are not
able I/O Settings options.
logged in.
Interleaved Enable the Interleaved option to create
interleaved stereo (or greater) audio files in the ses-
sion or project. Press Command+G (Mac) or Con-
trol+G (Windows) to enable or disable the Inter-
leaved option.
When selecting a bit depth or sample rate for your To change the Bit Depth for the Pro Tools session
session or project, consider fidelity, any compati- or project:
bility issues with others systems, and storage 1 Choose Setup > Session.
space.
2 In the Session Setup window, select a bit depth
Bit depth and sample rate also have an effect on from the Bit Depth selector.
the amount of mixing power available in a session
or project. Fewer mixer channels are available
with 24-bit and 32-bit floating point sessions and
projects, and with sessions at higher sample rates.
4 Enable the Create From Template option. • For sessions only, select either the Prompt for
location option or the Location option. If you
5 From the Template Group pop-up menu, select select the Location option, you can specify the
the category of templates you want (for exam- default location for saving sessions by click-
ple, Guitar or Songwriter). ing the Location button.
6 Select the template you want to use from the list • For projects only, select the Backup to Cloud
(on the right). option to create an online project. Disable this
option if you want to create an offline project.
Opening a Session
When you open a session, Pro Tools looks in the
session folder for audio and fade files linked to the
session.
How the Save Copy In Command 32-bit float to 16-bit Yes Yes
Works
24-bit to 32-bit float No No
Unlike the Save As command, Save Copy In does
not close the original session, so subsequent edits 24-bit to 24-bit No No
are made to the original session. Session copies
can be used to archive important sessions, for ver- 24-bit to 16-bit Yes Yes
sioning, or as a means to prepare sessions for trans-
fer to another Pro Tools system. 16-bit to 32-bit float No No
Save Copy In can save only the audio being used in 16-bit to 24-bit No No
the session. Any audio that was recorded or im-
16-bit to 16-bit No No
ported and then later removed from the session, but
not deleted from disk, is not included in the new
session or project copy. The dither setting used for any conversion is the
Dither plug-in with Noise Shaping enabled.
To include all audio being used in the session
or project, select the All Audio Files option. For more information about using Dither,
see “Dither” on page 1107.
Using the Save Copy In command is the only way
to change the sample rate of a session or project.
The sample rate of each of the session or project
copied audio files is converted to the selected sam-
ple rate. When saving a session copy to a different
sample rate, Pro Tools uses the selected Sample
Rate Conversion Quality option in the Import sec-
tion of the Processing Preferences page (Setup >
Preferences).
When saving a copy of a session or project, the You can save the session or project at a Bit Depth
Save Copy In command provides the following of 16 Bit, 24 Bit, or 32 Bit Float.
options.
Pro Tools 10.0 and later sessions can use audio
Format files with different bit depths. If your original ses-
sion or project has mixed bit depths, they are not
When saving a copy of a session or project with the converted to the selected bit depth unless you spec-
Save Copy In command, you can save the session ify that they be converted by selecting the Convert
or project copy in the following formats: to Specified Format option in the Items To Copy
• Project; lets you save a copy of the session as a section (see “Items to Copy” on page 173).
project.
When saving to a Session Format lower than 10.0,
• Latest; supports Pro Tools 10.x and later if your session or project is in a different bit depth,
sessions (.ptx) audio files are converted to the new session bit
• Pro Tools 7.x -> 9.x Session (.ptf) depth, and copied to the specified location. Also,
32 Bit Float is not available for session formats
• Pro Tools 5.1 -> 6.9 Session (.pts)
lower than 10.0.
Session Parameters
For information on bouncing to disk and
When saving a copy of a session or project with the dither, see “Using Dither” on page 1202.
Save Copy In command, the following Session Pa-
Sample Rate
rameters are available:
You can save the session or project at various sam-
Audio File Type
ple rates depending on your system hardware. See
You can save the session or project to reference “Supported Hardware Configurations with
BWF (.WAV) or AIFF audio files. Pro Tools Software” on page 38.
When saving a Pro Tools 7.x or higher session to a When the Convert To Specified Format option is
lower version, enable the Enforce Mac/PC Com- selected, all copied audio files are converted to the
patibility option to force Windows or Mac versions specified audio file format settings in the Session
of Pro Tools to create sessions and audio files that Parameters section. When this option is not se-
are compatible on both platforms. lected, any copied audio files retain their original
audio file format settings (including sample rate
For more information, see “Saving Copies and bit depth), and are exactly copied, bit-by-bit.
of Mac Sessions to be Compatible with Win-
dows” on page 479. Note that copying formats bit-by-bit is much
faster than converting files.
Limit Character Set
This option is automatically selected if you do any
When saving a copy of a session or project to the
of the following:
current session or project format, you can choose
to limit the character set to a single language by se- • Save to a session format lower than 10.0.
lecting the Limit Character Set option. • Enable Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility.
When saving a copy of a session or project to a Don’t Copy Elastic Audio Rendered Files
lower session format, the Limit Character Set op-
tion is automatically selected. Select a language When this option is selected, Elastic Audio Ren-
from the Limit Character Set pop-up menu. dered files are not copied to the new session’s Ren-
dered Files folder or project bundle.
To choose the language encoding when saving a
copy of a session or project: When opening the new session or project,
Pro Tools opens the session or project with all
1 Choose File > Save Copy In.
available media and any missing Rendered files
2 Select the Limit Character Set option. are regenerated automatically.
3 Choose the language you want to use from the Main Playlist Only
Limit Character Set pop-up menu.
When this option is selected, only the main play-
Items to Copy lists are included with the copy. Any alternate
playlists are not included with the copy.
When saving a copy of a session or project with the
Save Copy In command, you can select which When this option is not selected, all playlists are
items are copied, as follows: included with the copy.
When this option is selected, all audio files are When this option is selected, only the selected
copied to the new location. This setting is automat- tracks in the source session or project are saved
ically selected if you select a Session Format lower with the copy. This option is automatically enabled
than 10.0. when choosing File > Export > Selected Tracks As
New Session.
3 Type any notes for this version of the project un- To open the revision history window, do one of the
der Project Notes. This is optional—you can al- following:
ways add or edit Project Notes for any given Choose File > Revision History.
version later (see “Project Notes” on page 183).
Press Command+Control+O (Mac) or
4 Click OK. Control+Start+O (Windows).
On the Project page of the Dashboard, choose
Open Revision History from the Project pop-up
menu.
You can import project data from any version into the For detailed information on the Import Session
currently active version of the project (much like Data dialog, see “Importing and Exporting
when importing data from another session into the Data to and from a Session or Project” on
current session). This can be useful if you only want page 413.
to use some of the data from another version of the
project and not have to restore that entire version. For
178 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Deleting a Version of a Project The more you can do to lighten up your session be-
fore saving it as a project, the better. It will save
You can delete any version (or manual or automatic
you and your collaborators both time and online
save) of a project in the Revision History window.
storage space.
To delete any version of a project:
To save a copy of a session as a project:
1 In the Version List, select the version you want to
delete. 1 Prepare the session for saving as a project (for
example, remove extraneous files from the ses-
2 Do one of the following: sion, consolidate clips that only reference part
• Click the Delete button. of large files, and so on).
• Press the D key.
2 Select only the tracks that you want in the proj-
• Right-click the version you want to delete and ect (optional).
choose Delete.
3 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
3 Click Delete. ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
The selected version of the project and its entire save click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
history are permanently deleted. When deleting one Dashboard).
of the automatically or manually saved histories for a
4 Choose File > Save Copy In.
version, only that one history of the version is de-
leted. 5 In the Save Copy In dialog, set the Format to
Project.
If you selected the Install Template In System op- The Name setting is only available if the Install
tion, your session template will be available in the Template In System option is enabled. This lets
Dashboard. you project a new name for the template file. From
the Name pop-up menu (to the right of the Name
If you selected the Select Location For Template field), you can select from a list of all of the tem-
option, you are prompted by the Save As Template plates available in the currently selected Category.
dialog to save the file to another location on your Selecting one places that name in the Name field,
system. letting you overwrite, or create a incremental ver-
sion of, an existing template.
When you are ready to use a template as the
basis for a new session, see “Creating a New
Select Location For Template
Session or Project from a Template” on
page 164. Select this option to save the template file to any
directory location on your system. Note that the
Save Session Template Dialog saved session template will not appear in the Dash-
board unless it is in a subdirectory (Category) in
The Save Template dialog provides the following
the Session Templates folder in the Pro Tools Root
options:
Settings folder. You can change the location of the
Root Settings Folder in the Operation Preferences
Install Template In System
(see “User Media and Settings Location” on
Select this option to save the template file in the page 112).
system folder referenced by the Dashboard (the
Session Templates in the Pro Tools application Include Media
folder).
Select this option to include any audio, MIDI, or
video media in the session with the template.
To remove the local cache for a project: You cannot undo the Delete Project command. If
you delete a project that you do not own, but are
1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
only collaborating on, you simple remove yourself
ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
as a collaborator for that project. The project re-
click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
mains available to the owner and other collabora-
Dashboard).
tors. However, once you delete a project that you
2 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects own, it is permanently deleted and is unrecover-
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools able.
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con- To delete a project:
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab 1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
in the Dashboard window. ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
3 To the right of the project list, click the pop-up click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
menu for the project whose local cache you Dashboard).
want to clear. 2 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con-
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab
in the Dashboard window.
Dashboard, Remove Local Cache 3 To the right of the Project list, click the pop-up
menu for the project you want to delete.
4 Choose Remove Local Cache.
5 When prompted, click Delete.
4 Choose Delete.
To restore a project from the cloud: 1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
Dashboard).\
click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
Dashboard). 2 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools
2 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con-
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con-
in the Dashboard window.
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab
in the Dashboard window. 3 To the right of the Project list, click the pop-up
menu for the project for which you want to open
3 To the right of the Project list, click the Cloud
the Revision History.
icon for the project you want to restore.
Using the Backup to Cloud option in the Projects 1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
tab in the Dashboard, you can take existing online ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
projects offline or put offline projects online at any click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
time. Since shared projects cannot be taken offline, Dashboard).
the Backup to Cloud option is grayed out and un- 2 Choose File > Open Project, or press Com-
available. mand+Option+O (Mac) or Control+Alt+O
For projects you are taking offline, all project data (Windows) to open the Dashboard showing the
and associated media is deleted from your Avid Projects tab.
Cloud Storage Account and the Project icon turns 3 In the list of projects list, deselect (or select)
gray. Backup to Cloud from the pop-up menu to the
right of the project you want to take offline (or
For projects you are putting online, all project data
put online).
and associated media are uploaded to your Avid
Cloud Storage Account and the Project icon turns
blue.
Pro Tools provides two complementary ways of Edit Window Shows tracks and track material
viewing tracks in a session: against the Timeline (see “Edit Window” on
page 192).
Mix Window Shows tracks as channel strips, like a
mixing board (see “Mix Window” on page 190). To toggle between the Mix and Edit windows,
press Control+Equals (=) (Windows), or
press Command+Equals (=) (Mac).
Edit window
Transport window
Plug-In window
In-App Web Browsers Let you access the Avid To display the Mix window:
Marketplace and Pro Tools Online (see “In-Appli- Choose Window > Mix.
cation Web Browser” on page 204).
To display all Mix window view options:
Instrument
Tracks List View
(page 249) (page 1071
Inserts View
(page 1071)
Sends View
(page 1072)
Solo/Mute
(page 263)
Volume
fader
(page 228)
Level meter
Voice selector (page 229)
(page 260)
AutoMatch
indicator Track Name
(page 1155) (page 238)
Universe view
Grid and
(page 664)
Nudge values
Zoom buttons (page 621) Collaboration (page 395) (page 194) Edit Window
Counters and Edit Toolbar and menu
Edit Mode Selection indicators
Edit tools (page 192)
buttons (page 662)
(page 617) (page 620)
Tracks List
(page 249)
Tracks
(page 217)
Edit
Groups
List
At the top of the Edit window is the Edit Window The Counters and Edit selection indicators provide
Toolbar and menu. This Toolbar provides access information where selections are in the Timeline.
to the editing modes, tools, options, indicators, and
displays for Pro Tools. You can customize the MIDI Selection
Toolbar in the Edit, MIDI Editor, or Score Editor Edit Selection
windows by re-arranging, showing, and hiding the Main and Sub Counters
available controls and displays.
Task Manager Status Lights and animates when The Grid and Nudge selectors let you set the Grid
the Task Manager is busy. When no tasks are in and Nudge values for editing in Pro Tools. For in-
progress, it is unlit. The indicator turns red if the formation on the Grid Value selector, see “Config-
Task Manager requires your attention. Click the uring the Grid” on page 619. For information on
Task Manager Status indicator to open or close the the Nudge Value selector, see “Defining the
Task Manager window. Nudge Value” on page 678.
The Edit window also provides Zoom buttons in Pro Tools also provides Audio and MIDI Zoom In
the lower right and upper right corners of the tracks and Out buttons in the upper-right corner of the
pane. Edit window. These controls function exactly the
same as the Audio and MIDI Zoom controls in the
Vertical and Horizontal Zoom In and Out Toolbar, and let you zoom in and out vertically on
Buttons audio waveforms and MIDI notes respectively.
In addition to the Zoom controls in the Toolbar,
In the Edit window, MIDI Vertical Zoom only
Pro Tools provides horizontal and vertical zoom
affects tracks not in Clips view.
buttons in the lower-right corner of the Edit win-
dow.
Choose Window > Transport. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans-
port, you can rewind by pressing 1.
Basic Transport Controls and
Counters Rewind and Fast Forward Increments
Increment
Transport Window menu Main Time Scale Format
Amount
Track Record Enable indicator
Go to End Min:Sec 1 second
Fast Forward Stop
Rewind Play Timecode 1 frame
Return to Zero Record
Online Bars|Beats 1 bar
Feet+Frames 1 foot
You can also begin playback by pressing the Right-clicking the Record button lets you select
Spacebar, or with the Numeric Keypad mode the record mode from a pop-up menu:
set to Transport, pressing 0. • Normal
You can press F11 to turn on Wait for Note, Tempo Ruler Enable (Conductor) When selected,
unless the MIDI preference for “Disable F11 Pro Tools uses the tempo map defined in the
for Wait for Note” is enabled. Tempo ruler. When deselected, Pro Tools switches
to Manual Tempo mode and ignores the Tempo
On Mac, the Desktop Keyboard Shortcut uses ruler.
the same key command that Pro Tools uses In Manual Tempo mode, you can enter a BPM
for Wait For Note (F11). To use F11 for Wait value in the tempo field, or tap in the tempo with
For Note in Pro Tools, be sure to disable the the T key on your alphanumeric keyboard.
Desktop Keyboard Shortcut in the Apple Sys-
tem Preferences. Current Meter Displays the session’s current me-
ter based on the play location. Double-click the
Metronome Click When selected, Pro Tools gen- Current Meter indicator to open the Change Meter
erates a metronome pulse that can be set to trigger window.
built-in sounds or MIDI instruments during play-
back and recording. Current Tempo Displays the session’s current
tempo based on the play location. In Manual
Tempo mode, you can enter a BPM value into this
field, or manually tap in a tempo with a computer
keyboard or an external MIDI keyboard.
Search Tools Let you search your system for files For detailed information about the Task win-
and folders by simple or advanced search criteria. dow, see “Task Manager Window” on
page 377.
Browser Menu Provides commands for file man-
agement.
Column Headers Display the type of metadata dis- Artist Chat Window
played in the Items List. Column Headers can be:
The Artist Chat window lets you chat with collab-
• Resized by dragging the column border, or rear- orators for your Pro Tools projects.
ranged by dragging the Column headers.
For detailed information about the Artist
• Dragged to either of two available panes, the
Chat window, see Chapter 19, “Artist Chat
Fixed or Scrolling panes.
and Avid Link.”
Soundbase Lets you tag audio files with descrip-
tive metadata that you can then use as search crite-
ria. In-Application Web Browser
Locations Pane Provides a view of Volumes (and Pro Tools provides easy access to web-based
folders and files), Catalogs, and the currently open Pro Tools Help, the Knowledge Base, and the
Session for your system. Avid Support Center using an in-application Web
browser.
Browser Pane Provides a view of items on your
system contained within the Volume (or folder), To launch the Pro Tools in-application Web
Catalog, or open session that is selected in the Lo- browser for online resources, choose one of the
cations pane. Alternatively, the Browser pane dis- following from the Help menu:
plays search results. Pro Tools Help
Go Backward
Go Forward Locations Open in external browser
Refresh
Window Configurations
Pro Tools provides a powerful means of managing
the configuration of windows in your session, as
well as the internal configurations of the Edit, Mix,
MIDI Editor, Score Editor, and Transport win-
dows. Use the Window Configuration List to cre-
ate (or delete) and manage stored Window Config-
urations. Pro Tools lets you store up to 99 Window
Configurations. Window Configurations are saved New Window Configuration dialog
with the session.
3 In the New Window Configuration dialog, do
Create a session template with your favorite one of the following:
Window Configurations. You can then use • Select Window Layout and whether or not to
the template when you start a new session, or include the Edit, Mix, Targeted MIDI Editor,
you can use Import Session Data to import Score Editor, and Transport window display
Window Configurations into your current settings.
session.
• Select a Window Display Settings option
from the pop-up menu (Edit Window, Mix
Creating New Window Window, MIDI Editor (Targeted), Score Editor
Configurations
Window, or Transport Window.
To create a new Window Configuration: • If there are any shown MIDI CC lanes that
1 Open the windows you want to include in the you want to save with the configuration, en-
Window Configuration and position them able Include MIDI Lanes in Display Settings.
where you want on the screen. 4 Name the Window Configuration.
2 Do one of the following: 5 You can type a different number for the new
• Choose Window > Configurations > New Con- Window Configuration. If the number you type
figuration. is already used by another Window Configura-
• If the Window Configuration List is open, tion, you are prompted to replace it or Cancel.
choose New Configuration from the Window Otherwise, Pro Tools automatically fills in the
Configuration List pop-up menu. first available number (1–99) for the Window
Configuration.
6 Type any comments for the new Window
Configuration.
7 Click OK to store the new Window Configura-
tion, or Cancel.
If a Window Configuration already exists On the numeric keypad, press Period (.), 0, and
at that numbered slot, the new Window then Asterisk (*).
Configuration overwrites it. If Auto-Update Active Configuration is enabled, un-
doing the Window Configuration reverts to the
Recalling Window previously stored Window Configuration without
Configurations automatically saving changes (see “Updating Win-
You can use the Window Configuration List to re- dow Configurations” on page 207).
call stored Window Configurations. You can also
use the Number Keypad on your computer key- Editing Window Configurations
board to recall a specific Window Configuration.
You can change which properties are stored with
To recall a Window Configuration, do one of the Window Configurations, as well as the number,
following: name, or comments.
Select the Window Configuration from Window
To edit a Window Configuration:
> Configurations.
1 In the Window Configuration List, select the
In the Window Configuration List, click the Window Configuration you want to edit.
Window Configuration to recall it.
2 From the Window Configuration List pop-up
On the numeric keypad, press Period (.), the menu, select Edit <Name>.
number of the Window Configuration (1–99),
and then Asterisk (*). 3 In the Edit Window Configuration dialog, edit
the configuration and click OK.
The Pro Tools session’s screen layout updates with
the stored Window Configuration.
Updating Window
Configurations
Undoing Window Configurations
After you recall a stored Window Configuration,
Pro Tools lets you revert to the previous Window you can make changes to the window layout and
Layout and Window Settings with a single level of window settings, and then update the stored Win-
undo. This is useful, for example, if you recall a dow Configuration with your changes. You can do
Window Configuration, but then decide you want this manually, or you can have Pro Tools automat-
to revert to the previous screen state. ically update the active configuration.
To have Pro Tools automatically update the active To delete a Window Configuration:
Window Configuration, do one of the following:
1 In the Window Configuration List, select the
Select Window > Configurations > Auto-Update Window Configuration you want to delete.
Active Configuration.
2 From the Window Configuration List pop-up
From the Window Configuration List pop-up menu, select Delete <Name>.
menu, select Auto-Update Active Configuration.
To delete all Window Configurations:
When Auto-Update Active Configuration is
From the Window Configuration List pop-up
selected, the active Window Configuration
menu, select Delete All.
updates with every change to the Window Layout
and Window Display Settings.
Importing Window
Window Configurations that do not include Win- Configurations
dow Layout and only store Window Display Set-
tings cannot be made active and thus won't auto- You can import Window Configurations from an-
matically update. If you want to update a Window other session using Import Session Data.
Configuration with changes to the Window Dis-
To import Window Configurations:
play Settings (such as the width of the Clips List in
the Edit window), use the Update command in the 1 Choose File > Import > Session Data.
Window Configuration List. 2 Select the Window Configurations option.
If you only want to import Window Configura-
Clearing Window Configurations
3
tions, click the Session Data to Import pop-up
Clearing a window configuration removes it and menu and select None.
its associated slot number while keeping the slot
4 Click OK.
numbers of other window configurations un-
changed. The Clear command is useful if you want
to insert another configuration in the same slot.
To show or hide Window Configurations in the Show Comments Lets you show or hide Com-
Window Configuration List, do one of the ments in the Window Configuration List.
following:
New Configuration Creates a new Window Con-
Click the View Filter icon to show or hide Win-
figuration. This command is also available from
dow Configurations that include that property
Window > Configurations.
(Window Layout, Edit Window Settings, Mix
Window Settings, Score Editor Window Set- Update <Name> Updates the selected Window
tings, MIDI Editor Window Settings, or Trans- Configuration with any changes to the layout and
port Window Settings). settings of windows depending on the Window
Select or deselect the View Filter item in the Configuration’s properties. This command is also
Window Configuration List pop-up menu. available from Window > Configurations.
3 Click OK.
Pro Tools provides different types of tracks for Master Fader Tracks Master Fader tracks control
working with audio, MIDI, and video in Pro Tools the overall level of audio paths that are routed to
sessions. physical output paths. For example, you could
have 24 tracks in a session with channels 1–8
routed to Analog Output 1–2, channels 9–16 to
Track Types Analog Output 3–4, and channels 17–24 to Analog
Output 5–6. You could then create three master
In a Pro Tools session, you can have several differ- faders, one to control each of these output pairs.
ent types of tracks. These can include audio, Aux-
iliary Input, Master Fader, VCA Master, MIDI, In- Master Fader tracks have additional uses (such as
strument, Folder, and video tracks. controlling submix levels). For more information,
see “Master Fader Tracks and Signal Flow” on
Video track features are described in page 1062.
Chapter 61, “Working with Video in
Pro Tools” VCA Master Tracks VCA Master tracks (or VCA
Masters) emulate the operation of voltage-con-
Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, and VCA trolled amplifier channels on analog consoles,
Master Tracks where a VCA channel fader would be used to con-
trol, group, or offset the signal levels of other chan-
Pro Tools provides mono, stereo, and multichan-
nels on the console.
nel format audio, Auxiliary Input, Routing Folder,
Master Fader, and VCA Master tracks. VCA Master tracks do not pass audio, so they do
not have inputs, outputs, inserts, or sends. A Mix
Audio Tracks Audio tracks let you record to disk
Group is assigned to a VCA Master track, which
and play back from disk recorded or imported au-
appears in the VCA track’s Assignment selector.
dio files.
Auxiliary Input Tracks Auxiliary Input tracks can The controls of the tracks in that Group, called the
be used as effects sends, destinations for submixes, slave tracks, are modified by the controls on the
as a bounce destination, as inputs to monitor or VCA Master. For more information, see “VCA
process audio (such as audio from external MIDI Master Tracks” on page 1065.
instruments), and for many other audio routing
tasks.
Pan knobs
Pan indicators
Audio Input/Output Paths
Output Window button Solo/Mute buttons
Automation Mode selector
Group ID
Pan knob
Volume fader
Pan indicator
TrackInput Monitor button Level meters
Track Record Enable button
Solo/Mute buttons
Volume fader
Level meter Peak/Delay and Headroom indicators
Track Type indicator
Track Name button
Delay Compensation view
Track Comments
Group ID
Automation Mode selector
Volume
fader
Level meter
Volume fader
Level meters
Volume indicator
Track Type indicator
Solo/Mute buttons
Patch Select
Volume fader
MIDI Volume indicator
Track Type indicator Level meters
Track Name button
Track Comments
Patch Select
Peak/Delay and Headroom indicators
Track Color Coding
Track Type indicator
Track Name
MIDI channel strip
Delay Compensation view
Each Instrument track has its own set of channel Track Color Coding
strip controls, including audio (like an Auxiliary
Stereo Instrument track channel strip, Instruments
Input track) volume, pan, automation mode, solo, view shown
and mute, and MIDI (like a MIDI track) record en-
able. Instrument tracks have an additional Instru-
ments view that provides controls for MIDI input,
output, mute, volume, and pan (like on a MIDI
track).
Solo/Mute buttons
Level meters
Open/Close Folder track
Track Name button
Track Comments
Each Routing Folder track has its own set of chan- Track Comments
nel strip controls and indicators, including volume,
pan, automation mode, solo and mute, audio and
Track Color Coding
MIDI signal indicators, and Open/Close Folder.
Stereo Routing Folder track channel strip
Timebase selector
Playlist
selector Show/Hide Automation lanes
Timebase selector
Track View
selector
Track Name
For more information on Comments view,
Playlist selector see “Adding Comments to Tracks” on
page 240.
Online button
Track View selector
Mic Preamps View
The Mic Preamps view shows controls for tracks
with physical audio inputs routed through PRE.
Video File Frame Rate indicator
Peak Indicator Functions as a headroom indicator Send Pan controls can be linked to the Main
based on the last peak playback level. To reset the Pan controls of a track by enabling the
peak counter, click anywhere in the meter. Values Follow Main Pan button in Send window.
range from – (no signal) to 0 dB.
Volume Fader
Pan Indicator
The Volume fader controls the playback level of a
The Pan indicator displays the current pan setting track when it is playing back, and the monitor level
of a track. Pan values range from <100 (full left) to of the track when it is recording. You can link the
100> (full right). Pan controls are only available record and monitor levels by enabling the Link Re-
for stereo tracks or for mono tracks routed to a ste- cord and Play Faders option in the Operation pref-
reo output. erences.
In I/O view (Edit window), click the Pan indicator The maximum fader gain for a volume fader is
to display the Pan pop-up slider, which can be used +12 dB.
to adjust panning.
MIDI Volume Fader
Track Level Meters Stereo audio track with Signal and Gain Reduction
On audio tracks, level meters indicate the level of meters in the Mix window
the signal being recorded or played back from the Fader Gain Scale
hard drive. When an audio track is record-enabled
or input monitoring–enabled, these meters indicate The Fade Gain scale indicates the amount of gain
record or input monitoring levels respectively. boost or attenuation of the signal by the Fader con-
trol.
On Auxiliary Input, Routing Folder, Master Fader,
and Instrument tracks, level meters indicate the Meter Type Scale Displays the meter scale for the
level of the signal being played through the chan- selected Meter Type (see “Advanced Metering” on
nel output. page 232).
To toggle track level metering between pre- fader To choose a Clip Indication setting:
and post-fader metering:
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the
Select Options > Pre-Fader Metering. Metering tab.
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the To clear all clip indicators, do one of the following:
Metering tab.
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
2 Select a Peak Hold option. meter.
3 Click OK. Choose Track > Clear All Clip Indicators.
Audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, and Master Fader To toggle Wide Meters View on or off:
tracks showing clipping Command-Option-Control-click (Mac) or Con-
Master Fader Track Clip Indicators trol-Alt-Start-click (Windows) any track level
meter in the Mix or Edit window.
Master Fader track clip indicators display red
when the audio signal exceeds 0 dBFS, causing
clipping at the output converters on your audio in-
terface. This behavior is mirrored in the Output
Meters in the Transport.
Meter Type
scale
Peak VU
Different Meter Type scales
5 Click OK.
Peak VU K-20 To set the Track Meter Type in the Mix or Edit
windows:
Different Gain Meter locations to Meter Type scale
1 Right-click on any Track meter.
Setting the Meter Type
2 From the Meter Type menu, select the desired
You can set the Meter Type either in the Pro Tools option.
Metering preferences or using the Right-click Me-
ter menu. Depending on the Track and Master Me- If the Track and Master Meter Types Linked
ter Types Linked setting, you can set the Track (au- option is enabled in the Pro Tools Metering
dio, Auxiliary Input, and Instrument tracks) or Preferences, Master meters are also set to the
Master (Master Fader tracks) Meter Type settings selected Meter Type
independently.
To set the Master Meter Type in the Mix or Edit
For details on the available Meter Types, see windows:
“Track and Master Meter Types” on 1 Right-click on any Master meter.
page 122.
2 From the Meter Type menu, select the desired
To set the Meter Type for Track and Master meters option.
in the Pro Tools Preferences:
If the Track and Master Meter Types Linked
1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
option is enabled in the Pro Tools Metering
2 Click the Metering tab. Preferences, all Track meters are also set to
the selected Meter Type
3 Enable or disable the Track and Master Meter
Types Linked setting as desired.
To configure Gain Reduction Meter Type, do one of To reduce the width of tracks in the Mix window:
the following:
Select View > Narrow Mix.
Choose Setup > Preference > Metering and se-
lect the desired Gain Reduction Meter Type op- To display tracks at normal width:
tion. Deselect View > Narrow Mix.
Right-click on any Track meter and select the
You can toggle track width by pressing
desired option from the Gain Reduction sub-
Command+Option+M (Mac) or
menu in the Gain Reduction Meter Type menu.
Control+Alt+M (Windows).
When new tracks are created, they are given a name that can be changed at any time.
To insert new tracks next to a specific track in a session, select that track by clicking the track’s name
in the Mix or Edit window before opening the New Tracks dialog. The new tracks are added immediately
after the selected track.
To insert new tracks after the last tracks in a session, make sure that no track names are selected on-
screen before opening the New Tracks dialog.
You can also add tracks to your session by importing them from preexisting sessions. See “Importing
Session Data” on page 432.
Enter the number of tracks of the specified type Select the timebase (samples or ticks) from the
and formate that you want to create. Track Timebase pop-up menu.
In the New Tracks dialog, press the Tab key to To auto-scroll the Track Timebase pop-up
move forward from the Number of tracks field menu, press Command+Option (Mac) or
to the Name field and down row by row. Press Control+Alt (Windows) and use the
Shift+Tab to move backward from the Name Up/Down Arrow keys.
field to the Number of tracks field and up row
by row. Track Name
If there are multiple rows for new tracks, press If desired, name the track something other than the
Option+Tab (Mac) or Control+Tab to move default name. If you are creating multiple tracks,
down the column for either the Number field each track name is appended with a number se-
or the Name field. Press Option+Shift+Tab quentially (for example, “name 1,” “name 2,”
(Mac) or Control+Shift+Tab (Windows) to “name 3,” and so on).
move up the column.
If you clear the track name for any row, the
Track Format new tracks are created and named with num-
Select the track format (mono, stereo, or one of the bers sequentially. For example, if you create
multichannel surround formats) from the Track 5 new mono audio tracks and clear the name
Format pop-up menu. Surround formats are only field, the resulting tracks are named 1, 2, 3, 4,
available with Pro Tools Ultimate. and 5 respectively.
To auto-scroll the Track Type pop-up menu To remove the last track from the New Tracks
in the New Tracks dialog, press Command dialog, press Command+Minus (–) (Mac) or
(Mac) or Control (Windows) and use the Control+Minus (–) (Windows).
Up/Down Arrow keys.
Adding New Tracks by Double- To add a new audio track of the same channel
Clicking in the Edit or Mix width as the last new track, do one of the
Windows following:
Double-click in the empty area of the Mix win- Command-double-click (Mac) or Control-dou-
dow below or to the right of any current tracks. ble-click (Windows) in the empty area below
any current tracks in the Tracks List.
Double-click in the empty area of the Edit win-
dow below any current tracks. If no tracks exist in the session, a stereo audio track
is created by default.
Double-click in the empty area below any cur-
rent tracks in the Tracks List.
4 Click OK.
1 Select the tracks you want to rename. 4 Configure the Batch Track Rename dialog as
desired.
2 Right-click any selected track name in the
Tracks List, Edit window, Mix window, Score 5 Click OK.
Editor window, or a MIDI Editor window.
All selected tracks are renamed accordingly.
3 Choose Batch Rename.
For details on batch renaming tracks or
Press Option+Shift+R (Mac) or Alt+Shift+R clips, see “Batch Renaming” on page 323.
(Windows) to open the Batch Track Rename
dialog.
With Track Number view enabled, each track is as- All tracks between the first track selected and the
signed a number corresponding to its position in additional track will also be selected.
the Mix and Edit Windows. When tracks are reor-
To select or deselect noncontiguous tracks, do
dered, they are renumbered to maintain positional
one of the following:
sequence.
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
To enable (or disable) Track Number view: dows) Track Name buttons that are unhigh-
Select (or deselect) View > Track Number. lighted to select them.
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
Selecting Tracks dows) Track Name buttons that are highlighted
to deselect them.
Tracks need to be selected for operations such as
duplicating tracks or adding tracks to a group. One To select all tracks:
or more tracks can be selected at a time.
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
To select a track: Track Name button that is unhighlighted.
Press Shift+T to toggle Link Track and Edit Control-Shift-click (Mac) or Start-Shift-click
Selection on and off. (Windows) the track name in the Edit window,
Mix window, or Track List.
Scrolling a Track into View
Deleting Tracks
The Scroll To Track dialog lets you type the name
of the track you want to scroll to. As you type a When you delete tracks, your audio or MIDI clip
track name, only those tracks whose names begin data remains in the Clips List, but your arrange-
with the letter you enter appear in the Scroll To ment of the clips on the deleted track (the track’s
Track list. You can also Right-click a track name in playlist) will be lost.
the Tracks List and choose Scroll Into View.
If the track contains playlists that are not assigned
To scroll to a track by name in the Edit or Mix to any track, you are prompted to delete or retain
window: them.
1 Choose Track > Scroll To Track. When deleting a Folder track, you are prompted to
Keep or Delete its member tracks.
Press Command+Option+F (Mac) or Con-
trol+Alt+F (windows) to open the Scroll to The Delete Track command cannot be undone.
Track dialog.
To delete a track:
2 In the Scroll To Track dialog, type the first few
1 Click the name of the track in its track channel
letters of the track name you want to scroll to.
strip to select it.
3 From the Scroll To Track list, select the track
name you want to scroll to using the Up and To select multiple tracks, Command-click (Mac)
Down Arrow keys. or Control-click (Windows) additional Track
Names.
To select a range of tracks, Shift-click additional
Track Names.
Track Views at the beginning of the list (such To toggle Track Views for all tracks, press
as Blocks for audio or MIDI tracks) cannot Option+Control+Minus (Mac) or
be changed to the previous Track View. Alt+Start+Minus (Windows) on the
Tracks Views at the end of the list (such as a alphanumeric keyboard.
MIDI controllers option) cannot be changed
to the next Track View.
ton.
Tracks can be viewed in the Edit window at any of
eight heights: Micro, Mini, Small, Medium, Large,
Jumbo, Extreme and Fit To Window. Larger track
heights are particularly useful for precise editing,
especially for MIDI. Smaller track heights are use-
ful for conserving screen space in a large session.
Track Show/Hide
Track Color Code
Track Type icon
Track name
Tracks List menu
Show/Hide Tracks List /Groups List, in Edit Window
Tracks List
Showing and Hiding Tracks To show a track that is currently hidden, do one of
the following:
The Mix and Edit windows are linked in terms of
Click the Track Show/Hide icon in the Tracks
which tracks are shown or hidden. However, the
List.
Score Editor window and MIDI Editor windows
are all unique in terms of which tracks are shown In the Tracks List (or on the track channel strip),
or hidden. For example, hiding a specific track in Right-click the track name and select Show (or
the Edit window also hides it in the Mix window, Show and Make Active if the track is inactive
but not in the Score Editor or MIDI Editor win- and you also want to make it active).
dows. Also, hiding a specific track in a MIDI Edi-
tor window hides it only in that MIDI Editor win-
dow.
Click the Tracks List menu and choose Show All Click the Show/Hide icon for the tracks you
Tracks. want to show or hide.
You can also show all tracks by Option-click- To restore previously shown tracks after using the
ing (Mac) or Alt-clicking (Windows) the Show All Tracks, Show Only Selected Tracks, or
Show/Hide icon of any track that is hidden. Show Only Tracks by <Track Type> commands:
The Input Path selector lets you route any audio in-
put or any of the Pro Tools internal busses to a
Routing Folder, audio, Auxiliary Input, or Instru-
ment track. The choices available in this pop-up
menu are determined by the Input Path configura-
tion in the I/O Setup. Inputs in use by another track
Input/output assignments for three mono audio tracks
appear bold in the Input Path selector pop-up
For stereo and multichannel surround tracks, in- menu.
puts and outputs appear as stereo pairs and multi-
Instrument tracks automatically assign the
channel groups. The available inputs, outputs, and
audio output from the instrument plug-in in-
busses are defined as paths in the I/O Setup dialog
serted on the track to the track audio Input.
(see Chapter 6, “I/O Setup”).
To automatically assign all track inputs (of the
Automatic Input and Output same type and channel width) to unique ascending
Assignments Input paths (cascading):
When adding tracks to a new session, inputs are Command-Option-click (Mac) or Control-Alt-
automatically assigned in ascending order. For ex- click (Windows) the Input Path selector of the
ample, if you have an audio interface with eight in- left-most Input Path selector and select the first
puts, creating four new mono audio tracks will au- Input Path (mono or stereo, depending on
tomatically add four audio tracks with inputs whether your tracks are mono or stereo).
assigned to the first four paths defined in the I/O All visible tracks of the same channel width (mono
Setup dialog. When creating stereo tracks, inputs or stereo) are auto-assigned to unique Input Path
are automatically assigned to subsequent input assignments in ascending order. For example,
pairs. Track 1 to A1, Track 2 to A2, Track 3 to A3, and so
The outputs automatically assigned to new tracks on.
are determined by the New Track Default Output
Bus specified in the I/O Setup dialog.
To make all selected tracks’ Inputs or Outputs Pro Tools | Ultimate running on non-HDX hard-
assigned to the same path inactive (or active), do ware provides a certain number of voices, depend-
one of the following: ing on whether any optional Pro Tools | Ultimate
In the Edit or Mix window, Option-Shift-Right- Voice Packs are installed. For information about
click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-Right-click (Windows) Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Packs, see
the Input selector or Output selector for a track, “Pro Tools | Ultimate Voice Packs” on page 49.
and choose Make Inactive (or Make Active) Pro Tools systems let you play or record up to 128
from the pop-up menu. simultaneous stereo or mono tracks in any combi-
Command-Option-Control-Shift-click (Mac) or nation. For details on system capabilities, see
Control-Alt-Start-Shift-click (Windows) the In- “Pro Tools Capabilities with Different Hardware
put or Output selector in the Mix or Edit win- Configurations” on page 38.
dow.
While your Pro Tools hardware allows a fixed You can also adjust the relative priority of tracks
number of voices, Pro Tools software allows for by freeing up the voices of individual tracks, mak-
additional audio tracks beyond that fixed number ing them available to other tracks in the session.
of voices. While all of these tracks can be recorded
to or imported, arranged, and cued for playback, To free up the voice of a track, do one of the
not all of them can be played back simultaneously. following:
Tracks that are higher-numbered (lower priority) MIDI ports in your system can be named and con-
than these tracks do not play back and you cannot figured for use in Pro Tools (for Windows, see
record to them. Their Dynamically Allocated Voic- “Configuring MIDI Studio Setup” and for Mac,
ing button are blue to indicate they are unavailable see “Configuring AMS”).
for playback or recording.
Assigning MIDI Track Input
Pro Tools lets you assign specific MIDI ports and
channels to a MIDI track input. The default selec-
No free voice available for a lower priority audio track tion of All receives all incoming MIDI data from
all ports on all channels. Use the MIDI Input selec-
Tracks do not play back when they are inac- tor to specify a MIDI port and channel for input.
tive or their voice assignment is set to Off.
For information on assigning MIDI input to
When working with more than the maximum num- Instrument tracks, see “Assigning MIDI In-
ber of voiced audio tracks allowed by your system, put and Output for Instrument Tracks” on
you can only play back audio from higher-num- page 263.
bered (lower priority) tracks by changing the track
priority by doing any of the following:
• Make a lower-numbered track inactive (click the
Track Name and select Track > Make Inactive).
• Set the voice assignment in a lower-numbered
track to Off (click the Voice selector and select
Off).
Select View > Mix Window > Instruments. To assign an Instrument track MIDI output:
Select View > Edit Window > Instruments. Click the track’s MIDI Output selector and as-
sign a port and channel for MIDI output. Chan-
nels already assigned to another track appear in
MIDI Input selector
MIDI Output selector
bold.
Soloing a Folder track leaves all member tracks With AFL, the level you hear is dependent on the
unmuted (except for any member tracks that were fader level for that track. Additionally, there is a
explicitly muted separately) while all other tracks separate master level setting for AFL that affects
that are not also soloed are muted. the output of any or all tracks you solo in AFL
mode (see “AFL/PFL Path” on page 61). This
To un-solo tracks: level setting is independent of the PFL level
Click the Solo button on soloed tracks. setting.
AFL/PFL is optimized for Pro Tools systems using To temporarily latch solos:
a D-Control or D-Command control surface, 1 Choose Options > Solo Mode > Momentary.
where the XMON automatically switches its mon-
itor source between the main output and the 2 Press the Solo button on the first track that will
AFL/PFL output from Pro Tools. be soloed.
3 While holding the first Solo button, press addi-
For more information on using XMON and
tional Solo buttons. Solo buttons remain soloed
AFL/PFL, see your control surface guide.
as long as one Solo button is held.
Solo Latch Options As long as at least one Solo button is held, all
the solos will remain latched.
Solos can be latched (where pressing subsequent
buttons adds them to the soloed mix of tracks), un-
latched, or temporarily latched
(Pro Tools Ultimate only).
Pro Tools lets you solo safe a track. This prevents The Mute button on a MIDI track mutes MIDI
the track from being muted even if you solo other data, not audio. Muting MIDI results in no MIDI
tracks. This feature is useful for tracks such as data being passed to the MIDI output. On Instru-
Auxiliary Inputs that are being used as a submix of ment tracks, the track’s Mute button mutes the au-
audio tracks, or effects returns, allowing the audio dio signal and the MIDI Mute button is only avail-
or effects track to remain in a mix even when other able in Instruments view.
tracks are soloed. It is also useful to solo safe MIDI
tracks so that their playback is not affected when
you solo audio tracks.
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- MIDI Mute button, Instruments view, Mix window
dows) the Solo button on the track. This pre-
vents the track from being muted even if you
solo other tracks. The Solo button changes to a
Making Tracks Inactive
transparent color in Solo Safe mode. Folder, audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, VCA
Master, Instrument, and MIDI tracks can be made
To return a solo safe track to normal: inactive. Inactive tracks use no DSP or voices.
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- Plug-Ins, sends, voices, and automation on inac-
dows) the Solo button on the track again. tive tracks are all disabled. Tracks may also be au-
tomatically made inactive if a session is opened on
a system with less DSP power than the system that
Mute Button
it was created on.
The Mute button silences a chosen track. More
than one track can be muted at one time. Making a Folder track inactive also makes all of its
member tracks inactive. Similarly, making a
Muting a Basic Folder track also mutes all member Folder track active also makes all its members ac-
tracks. However, muting a Routing Folder track tive (except for any that were explicitly made inac-
mutes only the output of the Routing Folder track. tive separately).
Member tracks of the Routing Folder are not
muted, so any tracks that are not routed to the input To toggle a track active/inactive:
of the Routing Folder track are potentially still au- Command-Control-click (Mac) or Control-
dible. Start-click (Windows) the Track Type indicator
in the Mix window.
To mute a track:
Click the Mute button on the track. Playlists for inactive tracks are dimmed and track
controls are grayed out.
To unmute a track:
Track Type Assigns a color to each track according Enabling any Default Clip Color Coding op-
to its type (audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, tion other than Clips List Color will override
VCA Master, MIDI, Instrument, or video). Clips List Color and reassign the parent track
color to copies of the clip placed in tracks.
Default Clip Color Coding Copies of the clip in the Clips List will retain
their unique color.
The Default Clip Color Coding options determine
how colors are assigned to the display of tracks,
Color Palette
clips in the track playlist and Clips List, and
Marker Locations. The Color Palette lets you make color selections
for tracks, clips, groups and markers.
None Turns off default color assignment for clips.
Clips are drawn as black waveforms or black MIDI Apply to Selected
notes on a light gray background. Apply to Channel Strip None
Saturation Default
Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to each Brightness
clip in the Edit window according to its voice or
MIDI channel assignment.
Pro Tools provides Folder tracks to help you orga- Routing Folder Tracks Let you organize and man-
nize both track layout and signal routing in your age tracks in your sessions, and they also provide
projects and sessions. Folder tracks essentially audio routing and processing. You can route audio
function as containers for other tracks of any type. from member tracks through its input, apply plug-
A Folder track can be closed to hide all of the ins, use sends, assign track automation, and output
tracks it contains, or opened to show all contained audio much like an Auxiliary Input track.
tracks (member tracks). Thus, Folder tracks are a
powerful tool for organizing tracks (by stems, in- Tracks do not need to be contained by a
struments, and so on) so that you can more easily Routing Folder track in order to route audio
navigate complex sessions from a high level over- through it. You can bus audio from any track
view. to the audio input of a Routing Folder track
as desired.
Folder tracks can hold other Folder tracks up to
nine layers deep. A Folder track that contains an-
other Folder track is a parent Folder, and the Folder Basic Folder Tracks
it contains is a child Folder. Folder tracks that are
Basic Folder tracks can contain multiple tracks of
in the same layer are sibling Folders.
any type (including other Folder tracks). Use Basic
There are two types of Folder tracks: Basic and Folder tracks to organize tracks in your session. In
Routing. the Edit window, Basic Folder tracks display an
Overview of clips on all member tracks. Any edits
Basic Folder Tracks Let you organize and manage you make on Folder tracks Overview apply to all
tracks in your sessions, but without any of the spe- member tracks (see “Editing Folder Tracks in
cial routing capabilities that Routing Folder tracks Overview” on page 282).
provide. A Basic Folder track is like a container for
other tracks (of any type). It is especially useful in
large sessions with many tracks. For example, if
you have sixteen drum tracks in a session, you can
add them to a Basic Folder track which you can
then close to free up screen space so you can view
other tracks in the Edit and Mix windows without
scrolling. The solo and mute buttons on Basic
Folder tracks affect all member tracks, but other-
wise Basic Folder tracks do not provide any audio
or MIDI routing for member tracks.
Basic Folder tracks provide Solo and Mute controls that apply to all member tracks. They also provide Au-
dio and MIDI signal indicators, which light when any member track is playing back audio or MIDI respec-
tively.
Mute button
Solo button
3 Select the desired channel width from the Track Format selector.
4 Select the desired Track Time Base.
5 Type a descriptive Name for the Folder track.
6 Click Create.
Routing Folder tracks provide the same controls and indicators as Basic Folder tracks as well as the same
controls as Auxiliary Input tracks. However, be sure to note the difference in Mute behavior between Basic
and Routing Folder tracks.
Audio Signal Indicator Lights green when any Track Freeze Button Lets you Freeze (or Un-
member track plays back audio (even if the track is freeze) the Routing Folder track. Only the audio
muted). If audio from any member track clips, the output of the Routing Folder track will be frozen
border of the indicator turns either amber or red. (or unfrozen); audio from member tracks that are
not routed through the Routing Folder track are not
MIDI Signal Indicator Lights amber when any
included.
member track plays back MIDI.
Open/Close Folder Click to open or close the
Mute When selected (lit), the output of the Routing
Folder track. When closed, all member tracks are
Folder track is muted. Unlike the Mute behavior
hidden. When open, all member tracks are shown.
with Basic Folder tracks, tracks contained by the
In the Edit window, member tracks are indented to
Routing Folder are not muted, so any tracks that
show that they are contained by the Folder track. In
are not routed to the input of the Routing Folder
the Mix window, member tracks are bracketed by
track are potentially still audible.
the Folder track’s track color.
Solo When selected (lit), all member tracks remain
Open/Close Automation Lanes Click to open or
unmuted (except for any member tracks that were
close Automation lanes for the Folder track. All
explicitly muted separately) while all other tracks
Routing Folder track automation applies only to
that are not also soloed are muted.
audio routed through the Routing Folder track.
Track View Selector Lets you select Overview or
Track Timebase Selector Lets you select the
Track Automation views.
Track Timebase (Samples or Ticks).
Automation Mode Selector Lets you select the
Automation mode for the Routing Folder track. To open or close any Folder tracks that
contain the Edit cursor or are included in
the Edit selection, press Shift+F.
Mix window, Routing Folder track open—output of contained audio tracks routed to input of Routing Folder track
A new Basic or Routing Folder track is created and the selected tracks are moved to the new Folder track.
If you created a new Routing Folder track, a new internal bus named after the new folder track is created
and assigned to its track input. If you selected the Route Tracks to New Folder option, the outputs of any
tracks you are moving to the new Routing Folder track are also assigned to that bus.
A new bus is always created for a new Routing Folder and assigned to its input. The outputs of new mem-
ber tracks are only automatically routed to that bus if the Route Tracks to New Folder option is enabled.
Pro Tools lets you create, save, overwrite, and re- To create and save a new Track Preset:
call Track Presets. A Track Preset captures the cur- 1 Create and configure one or more tracks for any
rent configuration of the selected track or tracks, of your common workflow scenarios (such as
and can include the track type, format, level, pan- “lead vocal input chain,” or “drums parallel
ning, plug-in and send configurations, and more. compression bus,” and so on).
You can recall Track Presets to create new pre-
configured tracks in your session. You can also re- 2 Do one of the following:
call Inserts or Sends configurations from Track • Select the track or tracks and choose Track >
Presets to tracks that are already in your session. Save Track Preset.
• Right-click the track name and choose Save
Track Presets are available for recall in the Track
Track Preset.
Type selector in the New Tracks dialog. Track Pre-
sets can also be recalled from a Workspace • Select the track or tracks and press Op-
browser to create new tracks. You can use Work- tion+Shift+P (Mac) or Alt+Shift+P (Win-
space browsers to organize, manage, and search dows).
your collection of Track Presets, so you always 3 Configure the Save Track Preset dialog as de-
have easy access to the perfect Track Presets for sired (see “Save Track Preset Dialog Settings”
any session or project. on page 285).
4 Click OK.
Creating and Saving Track
Presets Save Track Preset Dialog
Settings
You can save any selected track or tracks in your
session as a Track Preset. A Track Preset captures The Save Track Preset dialog lets you name the
the current configuration of the selected track or preset, assign it to a category, and include audio
tracks. and MIDI clips (all clips or only clips within the
current Edit selection). Add metadata tags to your
Track Presets to make searching for the perfect
Track Preset in a Workspace browser even easier.
You can rename and re-categorize Track Presets
later in any Workspace browser.
Category
Name
When saving a Folder track as a Track Preset, you Enable Auto-populate tags from Track Data to au-
can either save the Folder track as an empty folder tomatically create tags based on the following
or with all member tracks. To include all member Track Data: Plug-in Manufacturers, Plug-in
tracks with the Track Preset, enable the Include All Names, Plug-in Categories, Plug-in Preset (if un-
Member Tracks option in the Save Track Preset di- modified), Track Types, Track Names, and Track
alog. Folder track hierarchies are maintained when Width.
Track Presets are saved and recalled.
Press Command+T (Mac) or Control+T (Win-
Include Audio and MIDI Clips dows) to enable or disable the Auto-populate
Tags from Track Data option.
Enable Include Audio and MIDI Clips to include any
audio or MIDI clips on the track with the Track Tags Field
Preset. This can be useful if you often work with
Type descriptive tags for the Track Preset in the
loops, for example.
Tags field.
Press Command+I (Mac) or Control+I (Win-
To add a tag to a Track Preset:
dows) to enable or disable the Include Audio
and Media Clips option. 1 Click in the Tags filed and type the tag you want
(for example, “Strings,” “Synth,” or “Pad”).
Clips in Edit Selection Only
2 Press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to as-
Enable Clips in Edit Selection Only to include only sign each new tag that you type.
whole audio and MIDI clips, and any associated
automation data that is within the current Edit se-
lection. Use this option in conjunction with Track
Offset Options set in the Track Data To Recall di-
alog to place included media at any desired Time-
line location in any other session or project (see
“Track Data to Recall” on page 288).
Press Command+R (Mac) or Control+R (Windows) to open the Track Data To Recall dialog from the
Save Track Preset dialog.
When recalling a Track Preset by any means, press Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) to open and
edit the Track Data to Import dialog. You can then specify what Track Data you want to recall.
Clips and media will only be stored with a Track Preset if the Clips and Media option is enabled.
2 Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- Delete Current Settings File Permanently deletes
dows) the Presets button where you want to the current settings file from disk.
store the current Track Data to Recall settings.
Lock (Unlock) Settings File Locks (or unlocks)
To recall a Track Data to Recall preset: the selected Settings file so that it cannot (or can)
be edited.
Click the Presets button that contains the set-
tings you want to recall. Track Data
Librarian Menu Pro Tools lets you include (or exclude) Track Data
with Track Presets. For a complete list of Track
Use the Librarian menu to save and recall presets
Data options with descriptions, see “Track Data to
files (.ptpreset). These are usually saved to and re-
Import” on page 438.
called from the Track Data to Recall folder
(/Documents/Pro Tools/Pro Tools Presets/Track Session Data
Data to Recall/). However, you can save to and re-
call from any directory location on your system. Pro Tools lets you include (or exclude) the follow-
Preset files can be shared and used on any other ing Session Data with Track Presets: For a com-
Pro Tools system as well. plete list of Session Data options with descriptions,
see “Importing Session Data” on page 432.
The Librarian menu commands include:
4 Click Create.
The Track Preset is recalled into the session as a new track (or as new tracks) according to the current Track
Data to Recall settings.
2 From the Track Type selector, choose Track Presets and select the Track Preset Category (such as
“Avid”).
4 Click Create.
The Track Preset is recalled into the session as a new track (or as new tracks) according to the current Track
Data to Recall settings.
To recall Track Presets from the Workspace into a session and create new tracks, do one of the following:
Drag and drop a Track Preset to the Tracks List or to blank space in the Mix or Edit windows.
Double-click a Track Preset.
Right-click a Track Preset and choose Recall Track Preset.
For more information about the Track Data to Recall settings, see “Track Data to Recall” on page 288.
Dragging to Inserts All Track Presets are recalled to create new tracks
in your session or project.
Drag and drop a Track Preset from a Workspace
browser to a track’s Inserts view in the Edit or Mix To recall a selection of Track Presets:
window to recall Inserts from the Track Preset. See
1 Locate the Track Presets you want to recall in a
also “Recalling Inserts from Track Presets” on
Workspace browser.
page 293.
2 Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
Dragging to Sends dows) the Track Presets you want to import.
Drag and drop a Track Preset from a Workspace 3 Right-click one of the selected Track Presets
browser to a track’s Sends view in the Edit or Mix and choose Import Track Preset.
window to recall Sends configurations from the
Track Preset. See also “Recalling Track Presets to All selected Track Presets are imported to create
Sends” on page 294. new tracks in your session or project.
Pro Tools provides a relative grouping function for Mix Groups, Edit Groups, and
linking tracks and their controls. Mix/Edit Groups
Mix Groups only affect mixing functions and Edit
Groups only affect editing. Mix/Edit Groups link
Grouping Tracks the grouping functions of the Mix Group and the
Groups are useful for editing several tracks in ex- Edit Group.
actly the same way, or for mixing several tracks
(such as a pair of stereo tracks or a submix) while Edit Groups
keeping them at the same relative volume level. Edit Groups affect the following items in the Edit
and MIDI Editor windows:
Pro Tools provides the following grouping
features: • Track View
• Up to 104 different groups are available, ar- • Track Height
ranged in 4 banks of 26 Group IDs. • Track Timebase
• Groups can be nested (subgroups within • Audio and MIDI editing functions
groups).
• Automation editing functions
• Grouped faders or controllers preserve their lev-
els relative to each other.
• Groups are assignable to an available VCA Mas-
ter track.
Mix Groups can be set to affect the following Grouping does not affect these parameters:
items: • Voice assignment
• Main Mute • Output assignment
• Solo
• Inserting plug-ins
• Send Level
• Elastic Audio plug-ins
• Send Mute
• Main Volume Selectable Group Attributes
• Main Pan
You can select which parameters, or attributes, are
• Main LFE Level (Pro Tools Ultimate only) linked in groups by the following methods:
• Record Enable
• By making the group an Edit Group, a Mix
• Input Monitoring Group, or both (Mix/Edit Group).
• Automation Mode • With Mix and Mix/Edit Groups, by selecting
• Object Controls (Pro Tools Ultimate with Dolby from a list of attributes for the group.
Atmos only) • With Mix Groups in Pro Tools Ultimate only, by
• Send Pan choosing whether the selected attributes apply
• Send LFE Level (Pro Tools Ultimate only) globally to all groups or to individual groups.
• Plug-In Controls
• Plug-In Bypass
Group Controls
Colors Group IDs Show/Hide
Menus and commands for creating and modifying Groups List
groups are accessible in the following:
• Groups List Groups List
Hollow Circle
Filled In Circle
Group Dialog
Whether you are creating or modifying groups
with the Groups List, a track's Group ID indicator,
or the Track > Group menu command, you use the
Groups dialog.
2 Do one of the following: • To replace all tracks in the group with the tracks
that are currently selected in the session, click
• Choose Track > Group.
the Replace button at the bottom of the Group
• Choose New Group from the Groups List menu. dialog.
3 Type a name for the group. In either list, Shift-click to select a range of
4 Select the type of group to create: Edit, Mix, or track names. Command-click (Mac) or Con-
Mix/Edit. trol-click (Windows) to select discontiguous
track names.
5 Choose a Group ID from the ID pop-up menu.
Four banks of 26 are available: a–z, 2a–z, 3a–z, 7 If the group is a Mix Group or a Mix/Edit
4a–z. (If you do not choose a Group ID, Group, do the following:
Pro Tools automatically assigns the next avail-
• Set the Attributes for the Group (see “Setting
able ID to a new group.)
Group Attributes” on page 306).
• If you want to assign the group to an available
VCA, select the VCA Master track from the
VCA pop-up menu.
8 Click OK.
Track controls:
• Main Volume
• Main Mute
• Main Pan
• Main LFE Level (Pro Tools Ultimate only)
To disable a group:
Groups List Keyboard Focus enabled
In the Groups List, click the name of the group
To enable and disable groups using the Edit and
you want to disable. The name is unhighlighted
Mix Groups List Keyboard Focus:
to indicate that it is not enabled.
With Groups List Keyboard Focus enabled,
type the Group ID letter (a–z) to automatically
enable or disable the corresponding group.
The Edit Window displays all audio clips, MIDI Because clip information can become lengthy, the
clips, and clip groups in a single, comprehensive Clips List can be scrolled or resized as necessary.
Clips List.
Use the Clips List as a bin for storing your
Drag to resize width Keyboard Focus favorite audio loops and MIDI clips. Save
of Clips List the session as a template and the clips are
Clips List menu
available for future sessions (see “Session
Templates” on page 180).
Clips List
Click the Clips List menu (at the top of the Clips Displaying File Info for Audio
List) and choose Show. From the submenu, Clips
select or deselect the clip type you want to show
or hide. In addition to clip names, the Clips List can also
display information about the clip’s color coding,
Control-click (Mac) or Start-click (Windows) type (audio, MIDI, and clip group), timebase, Elas-
to select (or deselect) multiple items in the tic Audio processing, and parent file:
Show submenu without closing the menu.
Timebase Displays the timebase (samples or ticks)
Audio Shows or hides audio clips in the Clips List. for audio and MIDI clips, and clip groups.
MIDI Shows or hides MIDI clips in the Clips List. Color Displays Track Color Coding as assigned
with Default Clip Color Coding option in Display
Video Shows or hides video clips in the Clips List. Preferences page, or as assigned in the Color Pal-
Groups Shows or hides clip groups in the Clips ette.
List. Processing State Displays the Warp Indicator
Auto-Created Shows or hides automatically-cre- icon if Elastic Audio processing has been applied
ated clips (of all types) in the Clips List. These are to the clip.
clips that were created as a by-product of cutting, Guitar Settings (Eleven Rack Only) Displays the
pasting, and separating other clips. Since these Eleven Rack icon if guitar settings are embedded
auto-created clips can become numerous, hiding in the clip.
them (by deselecting the option) helps you to avoid
scrolling through an unnecessarily long Clips List. File Type Displays the File Type icon for audio
and MIDI clips, and clip groups.
Hiding Auto-Created clips can be useful
when importing clip groups (or REX files File Name Displays the parent file name.
as clip groups), because these file types can
Disk Name Displays the name of the hard drive on
contain so many separate clips that it be-
which referenced file resides.
comes difficult to read the Clips List.
Sort By Options
Clips with file information shown in the Clips List The Sort By options let you sort clips to help keep
track of large numbers of clips.
Pro Tools displays only the clip name in the Clips
List by default. Audio clips can be sorted by:
When editing, the Clips List can become • Clip Type
cluttered with auto-created clips. You can • Name
hide auto-created clips by choosing Show
• Length
in the Clips List menu, and deselecting
Auto-Created. • Original Time Stamp
• User Time Stamp
• Timebase
Sorting and Searching in the
Clips List • Start in Parent
Most sessions will contain many clips, which can • End in Parent
make it challenging to swiftly locate a particular • File Name
clip in the Clips List. Pro Tools lets you sort and • File Length
search clips in the Clips List to quickly locate any
clip you want. • File Creation Date
• File Modification Date
• Disk Name (audio and clip groups only)
• Track Format/Width
• By Channel Name
• By Scene and Take
• Guitar Settings
Finding Clips
Use the Find command to display all clips in a list
whose names contain a particular word or phrase. Found Clips in the Clips List
To find and display clips in the Clips List: Clips of any type whose name match the word or
phrase you searched are displayed in the Clips List.
1 Do one of the following:
The search string is displayed at the top of the
• Click the Clips List menu and choose Find. Clips List in brackets.
• Press Command+Shift+F (Mac) or
Text entered into the Find dialog is saved in
Control+Shift+F (Windows).
a Find History, letting you quickly
repeat previous searches with a minimum
of retyping.
3 Click OK.
1 Click the Clips List menu, and choose Find. In the Clips List, you can select clips so they can be
dragged to tracks, processed with AudioSuite
2 Click and hold the small arrow to the right of the plug-ins, or exported.
text field in the Find dialog and select the item
in the Found History list before which you want To select or deselect a clip in the Clips List, do the
to insert the new entry. following:
3 Type the name, or any portion of the name, for Click a clip name that is unhighlighted to
the clips you want to find. select it.
4 Click and hold the small arrow to the right of the Click a clip name that is highlighted to
text field in the Find dialog and choose deselect it.
Insert Entry from the pop-up menu.
To select a range of clips in the Clips List, do one
of the following:
Keyboard Selection of Clips From the Clips List menu, choose Select, and
then choose one of the Select options:
If Clips List Keyboard Focus is enabled, you can
type the first few letters of a clip’s name and All Selects all clips in the Clips List.
Pro Tools will automatically locate and select the
Unused Selects clips that have not been placed in a
clip in the Clips List.
track in the current session. Offline clips appear in
the Clips List italicized and dimmed.
The Preview Volume control in the Import 1 In the Clips List, make sure the stereo or multi-
Audio dialog also affects the preview channel clip is in expanded view (showing .L,
volume when auditioning clips in the .R, and other component channels).
Clips List.
2 Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
clip for the channel you want to audition.
Renaming Clips
In the course of a session you can rename clips to
give them more descriptive names, or to shorten or
simplify existing names. When renaming a clip
Stereo clips, expanded (top) and collapsed (bottom) that was auto-created during editing, the clip be-
comes a user-defined clip and is displayed in the
To expand or collapse all stereo and multichannel Clips List even when auto-created clips are hidden.
clips:
Press Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while If a clip resides in a track, you can easily rename it
clicking the expand/collapse triangle. by double-clicking it with one of the Grabber tools.
However, if the clip does not reside in a track, or if
you want to rename several clips, use the Rename
command in the Clips List.
If the Clips List Selection Follows Edit Selec- File Name Displays the file name of the parent file
tion option in the Editing Preferences page is for the clip.
enabled, you can highlight a clip in the Clips
List by selecting it in a track. Start Displays the start time of the selected clip ac-
cording to the main timebase.
3 Do one of the following:
Sync Displays the Sync point time of the selected
• From the Clips List menu, choose Rename. clip according to the main timebase.
• Right-click on any selected clip and select Re-
End Displays the end time of the selected clip ac-
name from the pop-up menu.
cording to the main timebase.
4 In the Name dialog, type a new name for the
Duration Displays the duration of the selected clip
clip. If a whole-file audio clip was selected,
according to the main timebase.
specify whether to rename just the clip, or both
the clip and the disk file. Original Time Stamp Displays the original time
stamp of the selected clip according to the main
timebase.
Name dialog
You can specify the auto-naming options for a clip 4 Click OK.
when new clips are created from it in the course of
editing. Batch Clip Renaming
Auto-naming of clips does not affect the names of The Batch Rename command for clips is only
parent audio files. Instead, it stores pointers to the available in the Clips List.
clips within the parent source file.
Clip Groups and clips contained within are
To set auto-naming options for a clip: ignored by Batch Clip Renaming.
2 Choose Auto Rename from the Clips List menu. 1 In the Clips List, select the clips you want to re-
name.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Clips List menu.
• Right-click a selected Clip in the Clips List.
The Clear command cannot be undone. Use this “power delete mode” with caution.
Deletion of these files cannot be undone.
To find and remove unused clips in a session:
2 After all unused clips are selected, choose Clear Clear Removes selected clips from the session.
from the Clips List menu. The Clear Selected
Rename Renames selected clips.
dialog opens.
3 In the Clear Selected dialog, select the Automat- Time Stamp Redefines the time stamp of selected
ically select all unused clips option if you want clips.
to ensure that all unused clips, including whole Replace Clip (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) Re-
file clips, are selected for deletion or removal. places multiple instances of a clip with another
Any selections previously made in the Clips clip.
List are ignored.
Compact Compacts selected clips.
Enable (or disable) the Trim option to remove the Enable (or disable) the Add option to add prefixes
specified number of characters from the beginning or suffixes to names. You can also insert text into
or end of names. the middle of names.
Batch Rename, Numbering options Clips List Sort Order Applies number according
to the current Clips List sort order for selected
Position Select whether you want numbers to be
clips.
added at the Beginning or End of names, or at the
specified character index (At Index) in names. If
Presets
you select At Index, also enter a number in the In-
dex field to specify after which character in names Pro Tools lets you store and recall common renam-
you want to insert the numbers. ing schemes best suited to your workflow in both
the Batch Track Renaming and Batch Clip Renam-
Starting Number Enter the number from which
ing dialogs. The Presets controls for Batch Renam-
you want to start.
ing work much like the Preset controls for Fades
Number of Places Enter the number of places you and Clip Effects.
want for numbering (for example, type 3 for three
places 000). Presets Buttons
Increment Enter the value by which you want the Both the Batch Track Renaming dialog and the
numbering to increment. Batch Clip Renaming dialog provide five preset
buttons that let you store and recall your most com-
Separate With Enable to separate added numbers monly used naming conventions. You can also
with a space or any other single character after (if save and import additional Batch Naming settings
placed at the beginning) or before (if placed at the using the Librarian menu.
end), or before and after the specified character in- \
Use the Librarian menu to save and recall Batch Delete Current Settings File Permanently deletes
Naming Settings files (.ptpreset). These are usu- the current settings file (.ptpreset) from disk.
ally saved to and recalled from the Batch Track Lock (Unlock) Settings File Locks (or unlocks)
Rename folder or the Batch Clip Rename folder the selected Settings file so that it cannot (or can)
accordingly (/Documents/Pro Tools/Pro Tools be edited.
Presets/Batch Track Rename/). Of course you can
save to and import from any directory location on
your system. Batch Name preset files can be Regular Expressions Workflow
shared and used on any other Pro Tools system as Examples
well. Regular expressions are standardized text strings
that describe search patterns. Use regular expres-
The Librarian menu commands include:
sions when batch renaming tracks or clips to find
<factory default> Restores the default settings for and replace text based on more advanced criteria
Batch Naming. than simple find and replace text operations.
Save Settings Saves the current settings. This For more information about regular expres-
command overwrites any previous version of the sions, visit https://www.regex101.com.
preset.
\-\ Lets the character following the second \ be considered differently. For
example, since . (period) is used to match any character, type \. to match an
actual . (period) in a search string.
\s Matches any instance of a single space (such as the space bar or tab).
+ Any of the above regular expressions or any literal character can be fol-
lowed with + to match one or more of the preceding characters (for exam-
ple, \w+ can be used to find any number of spaces created by the spacebar
or tab).
With Regular Expressions enabled, any number of text patterns can be matched and replaced when batch
renaming tracks or clips. In the Find field, type the pattern you want to match inside parentheses and then
separate patterns using | (the pipe symbol). For example:
find replace
(Audio)|(VCA)|(Aux) (?1)(?2)(?3)
The text following ?1 will replace the text Audio, the text following ?2 will replace VCA, and the text fol-
lowing ?3 will replace Aux—(?1Aud)(?2Group Master)(?Bus)
Use the following regular expressions to remove all instances of .dup1, .dup2, or up to any number of du-
plicates from track or clip names by replacing them with no character at all.
find replace
\.dup\d+
\. searches for literal periods—as opposed to the special token . (period) since . itself is used to match any
character—followed by dup, then \d (the regular expression for any number) followed by + (which matches
any number of digits that follow .dup) and replaces all matches with nothing (effectively deleting that text).
Use the following regular expressions to find text automatically added by common AudioSuite processes
and remove them or replace them with something more appropriately descriptive.
find replace
(-Norm)|(-EQ3-1B) (?1)(?2-HPF)
This replaces -Norm with nothing (effectively deleting that text), and replaces -EQ3-1B with -HPF to indi-
cate that the EQ3-1B AudioSuite processing on the selected clips was used to roll off low frequencies.
The Pro Tools Workspace combines an intuitive, When offline items are needed, Pro Tools lets you
browser-style interface with an integrated databas- find the correct matching files, then relink to on-
ing engine, optimized for metadata and media line media.
management.
The Workspace browser provides access to all
Workspace browsers provide extensive databasing your mounted volumes, as well as the folders and
tools for searching, sorting, auditioning, and im- files they contain.
porting of audio, MIDI, video, plug-in settings
(.tfx), Guitar Rig Settings (Eleven Rack only), and Using the Workspace browser, you can:
session files. Multiple browsers can be displayed • Use Soundbase to tag and find audio files with
and arranged, with custom display settings pro- musically descriptive metadata
vided to customize your work environment. • Access all mounted volumes
For information on dragging and dropping • Access all Catalogs
files from Workspace browsers to your • Search across multiple volumes and Catalogs
Pro Tools session, see “Importing Files with simultaneously
Drag and Drop” on page 416.
• Designate volumes for Record and Playback,
Playback Only, or Transfer
Workspace Browsers
• View, manage, audition, and import individual
Workspace browsers provide an intuitive user in- items in any catalog or mounted volume
terface to databases with many convenient features
for various file management tasks (such as search • Update databases for entire volumes
and sort functions).
Sound Libraries
Workspace browsers in Pro Tools are analogous to
At the top of the list in the Location pane of any
windows in your computer’s operating system, but
Workspace browser is the Sound Libraries direc-
are specifically designed for Pro Tools workflow.
tory. Sound Libraries provides easy access to
Multiple browsers can be displayed simultane-
tagged audio files, and search on criteria that in-
ously, and arranged independently with custom
cludes musically useful information about the au-
display settings for each.
dio content—especially Time Base, Duration
Workspace browsers let you search and sort audio (Min:Sec or Bars|Beats), Tempo, Key, Time Sig-
files, video files, and sessions. Audio, video, and nature, Favorites, Rating, and Tags. Use Sound-
session files displayed in browsers can be dragged base in Workspace browsers to find audio files us-
directly into the current Pro Tools session. ing tags (WAV and AIFF only). Tags are
Transfer Volumes These are volumes that are not When opening sessions created in previous ver-
supported for media playback in Pro Tools (such sions of Pro Tools in Pro Tools 12.7 or later, you
as shared network volumes or CD-ROMs), or stor- are prompted to update the database file and to
age volumes (hard drives) that have been desig- manually back up the database file from the
nated in the Workspace browser as Transfer (T) lower version of Pro Tools. This is important if
volumes. Transfer volumes cannot be used to re- you (or anyone else for that matter) expect to
cord or play back media in a Pro Tools session. continue to work on the session in a version of
Pro Tools lower than 12.7. Back up that database
Designated Transfer (T) volumes can be useful for
file to facilitate session interchange between dif-
transferring session and media files between dif-
ferent versions Pro Tools. This helps to maintain
ferent Pro Tools systems. things like Catalogs created in previous versions
of Pro Tools or Favorites and Ratings created in
For more information, see “Volume
Pro Tools 12.7 or later.
Permissions” on page 334.
When opening a session last saved in Pro Tools
12.7 in a lower version of Pro Tools, any
Databases Pro Tools 12.7 database file is backed up auto-
matically and appended with the version of the
The information displayed in Workspace browsers
backup starting with “.1” (Workspace.wksp.1).
is stored in the system-wide Pro Tools database.
The appended number increases incrementally
Pro Tools creates a centralized database automati-
for each subsequent backup.
cally for all mounted volumes, including Transfer
volumes, on your system drive. Pro Tools uses a With Pro Tools 11 and later, the database file is
single database file that maintains an index of all versioned and is not backward compatible with
volumes (hard drives, networked drives, and re- previous versions of Pro Tools. When using a
movable media) and catalogs. system where Pro Tools 11 or higher and
Pro Tools 10 are co-installed, there will be sepa-
On Mac, the database file is stored in
rate database files for each version of Pro Tools.
/Users/Shared/Pro Tools.
Database files of the same version are cross-
On Windows, the database file is stored in platform compatible (Mac and Windows).
<Systemdrive>/Users/Public/Pro Tools.
Pro Tools databases use two file types:
The waveform cache for audio files indexed by the
Workspace.wksp Stores media and session file
database are stored within the database file. This
metadata for a particular volume or catalog.
includes the mini thumbnail waveforms for pre-
viewing (waveform cache files for sessions con- Wavecache.wfm Stores waveform overviews for
tinue to be stored in the session folder). all audio files referenced by each session.
There is also the MiscSettings file which stores the
directory path for the Sound Libraries folder.
Toolbar
Column headers
Items List
Locations pane
Browser pane
Show/Hide
Pane split
To maximize processing speed and protect vital The main elements of a Workspace browser
components, Workspace browsers do not display include the following.
all folders. For example, in Windows, Workspace
Toolbar Provides the Browser menu, Search icon,
browsers do not display the WU Temp or System
Volume Information folders; and on Mac, Work- View Presets (numbered 1–5), Workspace browser
space browsers do not display the System folder. navigation tools, and preview tools.
This excludes them from being indexed, searched, Items List Displays the contents of a volume,
sorted, or affected in any way by Workspace tasks. folder, session, or Catalog database in rows.
You should not store Pro Tools session or media
files in any of these folders.
Choose Window > New Workspace > Sound- Select Sound Libraries, or a volume, folder, or
base. Catalog, and press the Right Arrow key to ex-
pand, or the left Arrow key to collapse.
Press Option+Control+I (Mac) or
Control+Alt+I (Windows). To move up one level in a browser:
To open a new Workspace browser focused Click the Browse Back arrow in the toolbar.
on the Project:
To move up one level in a browser,
Press Option+O (Mac) or Alt+O (Windows). press Command+Up Arrow key (Mac)
or Control+Up Arrow key (Windows).
To send all Workspace browsers to the T (Transfer) Can only be used for storing, transfer-
background, press Option+Shift+J (Mac) ring, or auditioning files, and cannot be used for re-
or Alt+Shift+J (Windows). cording or playback.
All open Workspace browsers are moved to the If you have a Pro Tools system with multiple
background, bringing the other windows to the drives, and you intend to record multiple
foreground. Nonetheless, all Workspace browsers tracks simultaneously, you may want to des-
remain open and accessible. ignate the System drive as a Playback only or
Transfer only drive for optimal performance.
To bring an open Workspace browser to the
To change a volume designator:
foreground:
1 Open a Workspace browser.
Choose Window > Browsers, and select an open
Workspace browser from the submenu. 2 In the Locations pane, select Volumes.
3 In the Browser pane, click and select the appro-
To cycle to the next or previous Workspace
priate permissions for any volume.
browser:
Press Command+Left/Right Arrow keys (Mac) You can also Right-click any volume in either
or Control+Left/Right Arrow keys (Windows). the Locations pane or the Browser pane and set
the desired permissions setting for the selected
volume.
Closing Workspace Browsers
To close all Workspace browsers:
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
Close box of any Workspace browser.
AAF and OMF sequences can be opened from To open a folder in the current Workspace
Workspace browsers. browser:
You can also drag and drop AAF and OMF se- Double-click the folder, or click the
quences from Workspace browsers into the current Expand/Collapse icon for the item.
session.
With a browser in the foreground and the
To open an AAF or OMF sequence from a folder selected, press Command+Down
Workspace browser: Arrow (Mac) or Control+Down Arrow
(Windows) to open a folder in the
1 Do one of the following:
current Workspace browser.
• With no Pro Tools session currently open, dou-
ble-click the AAF or OMF sequence in the
Browser pane of any Workspace browser.
• Drag the AAF or OMF sequence from the
Browser pane of any Workspace browser to the
Timeline in an open session.
2 Configure the Import Session Data dialog.
3 Click OK.
To scroll to the top or bottom of the active If a volume or folder has not been indexed, it is in-
pane: dexed automatically the first time it is opened in a
Workspace browser. Volumes or folders contain-
Press Home (for the top) or End (for the
ing a lot of media files can take a long time to in-
bottom).
dex. For this reason, you may want to manually in-
dex specific volumes or files prior to starting a
To move items up or down in the current
Workspace browser:
project to help expedite workflow.
Indexing while Browsing saves time because it To update the index for an entire volume:
only fills the database for items on the level of the
volume that you are currently browsing. For exam- Right-click the volume to update in the Work-
ple, if you are browsing the root level of the vol- space browser and choose Update Index.
ume, it indexes only the folders and files on the
Last Indexed Date Display
root level. If you open a folder, Pro Tools indexes
just the items in that folder. As a result, a database The Date Indexed column shows the date that the
is only indexed for the parts of the volume that you index for that folder and all of its sub-folders was
have browsed. However, searches are faster and updated. Keep in mind that individual sub-folders
more complete when a volume is already com- may have been updated more recently.
pletely indexed.
Automatic Updating for Pro Tools Actions
The following actions engage indexing:
Whenever Pro Tools adds, deletes, or modifies a
• Navigating to a folder cause a re-indexing of just
file on a volume or in a session, the appropriate da-
the top level items in that folder and for only the
tabase is immediately updated to reflect the
items with changed modified dates.
change.
• Click Update Index on a folder to look recur-
sively through the folder for any changed modi- Changes that are made with Windows Ex-
fied dates and update the index. plorer or the Mac Finder (such as copying or
moving files) are not tracked by Pro Tools and
• Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) Up-
are only indexed if the necessary folder is
date Index to force a recursive re-index of a
browsed or if a manual index is performed.
folder for all files, regardless of changed to mod-
ified date.
Create Catalog from Selection Creates a fully in- Calculate Elastic Analysis Calculates Elastic Au-
dexed catalog of all items selected in either the Lo- dio analysis data for all selected audio files. Ana-
cations or the Browser pane. lyzed files are indicated by a blue clock for sam-
ple-based files and by a green metronome for tick-
Reveal in Finder/Explorer Opens the correspond-
based files. Analyzed files where a tempo has been
ing parent window in the Finder (Mac) or Explorer
detected are also updated as tick-based, display
(Windows) for the currently selected file.
their duration in Bars|Beats, and display their na-
Open in New Workspace Opens the selected item tive tempo in the Tempo column. You can view the
in a new browser. The selected item is highlighted progress of Elastic Audio analysis in the Task win-
in the new browser. dow.
Tags Opens the Assign Tags popover window for Clear Elastic Analysis Clears Elastic Audio analy-
audio files (WAV or AIFF only). For details on the sis data for all selected audio files. Files cleared of
Assign Tags popover window, see “Soundbase and Elastic Audio analysis data revert to sample time-
Tags” on page 354). base, display their duration in minutes and sec-
onds, and do not report a tempo.
Recently Used Tags Lets you assign any of the
last 10 used tags to the selected audio file (WAV or For more information, see “Elastic Audio
AIFF only). Files in the Workspace” on page 361.
You can show or hide individual columns in To show the default set of columns:
Workspace browsers to fit your workflow. The de-
Right-click a column header and choose
fault column display includes the items you would
DEFAULT from the popover menu.
use in most sessions.
Sorting Columns Bit Depth Displays an audio file’s bit depth. This
field cannot be edited.
Columns can be sorted in ascending or descending
order, and multiple sorts can be applied (up to four Capacity Displays the total capacity of a volume.
levels). This field cannot be edited.
Free Displays the unused space on volumes. This Plug-In Name Displays the name of the plug-in for
field cannot be edited. Plug-In Settings files (.tfx).
ISRC Displays the ISRC (International Standard Project Displays the project name data embedded
Recording Code), if any, for the selected file. Click in audio files.
the ISRC field to add or edit the ISRC for a file.
Shoot Date Displays origination date and time in- Tape ID Displays tape ID information embedded in
formation embedded in audio files. However, audio files. This field cannot be edited.
many field recorders do not populate the Shoot
TC Rate This column displays the frame rate of the
Date field, relying instead on the file’s Creation
Date to indicate date of production. When item if the item is an AAF sequence or an OMF se-
Pro Tools imports a field recorder file, it checks to quence or file: 24, 25, 29.97, 30, drop or non-drop.
see if the Shoot Date field is populated. If it is For sequences, the frame rate at the start of the se-
empty, Pro Tools copies the Creation Date of the quence is displayed.
original source file to the Shoot Date field of the Tempo Displays the tempo associated with clip
new imported files. This field cannot be edited. group, MIDI, tick-based Elastic Audio files, REX,
Size Displays the size of a file. This field cannot be
and ACID files, and session files. This field cannot
edited. be edited.
Comments Fields Click the icon for an item. When selected, the
item is highlighted. The contents of the selected
Comments about individual files can be stored in item (volume, folder, session, or catalog) are
the database, and embedded with the file’s meta- displayed in the Browser pane.
data wrapper. There are two types of comments
fields: File Comments and Database Comments. If there is already a selection in the Locations
or Browser pane, you can also type the first
File Comments letters of the item you want to select.
File Comments are stored with the metadata of the To select multiple items in the Browser pane:
file itself. Not all file types support File Com-
ments. Indexing stores File Comments in the data- Drag to select a group of items, or Shift-click
base, allowing them to be searched and viewed additional items. Command-click (Mac) or
even if the file is offline. File Comments can be ed- Control-click (Windows) to select multiple non-
ited in Workspace browsers, as long as the files or contiguous items.
their parent media are not defined as read-only.
To select all items listed:
You can also add and edit File Comments to
Press Command-A (Mac) or Control-A
Pro Tools Session files. File Comments cannot be
(Windows).
edited in Catalogs.
Database Comments
To select all Transfer files in the current
window:
(Sessions and Catalogs Only)
Choose Select Transfer Files from the Browser
Database Comments, which can be up to 256 char- menu.
acters in length, are searchable, cross-platform,
and editable. To select all offline files:
Choose Select Offline Files from the Browser
Adding and Editing Comments
menu.
To add, view, or edit a comment:
To select all online files:
1 Click the Comments field. The field expands to
display the entire contents of the field if neces- Choose Select Online Files from the Browser
sary. menu.
You can drag items directly into the Time- 1 Select the current session in the Locations pane.
line or Clips List of the current session. 2 Select one or more items in the Browser pane.
See “Importing Files with Drag and
Drop” on page 416. 3 Choose Delete from the Right-click menu.
4 Do one of the following:
Copying Items
• Click Move to Trash (Mac) or Move to Recycle
To copy and move items: Bin (Windows) to remove the item from session.
• Click Delete to remove the items from your sys-
Select one or more items and Option-drag
tem.
(Mac) or Alt-drag (Windows) them to a new lo-
cation. • Click Cancel to leave selected items unchanged.
The top of every Workspace browser provides a set Click the Advance Search button to open the Ad-
of search tools for finding files on your system vanced search toolbar (see “Advanced Search” on
quickly and easily. page 350).
Simple Search
Number of items
in the Browser List Tags button Pro Tools provides a simple text search with the
Search tools Browser Search Field that lets you quickly search
all volumes for items by file name as well as any
Number of Items other text field available in the Workspace browser
The Number of items listed in the Browser pane is (such as File Comment, Database Comment,
displayed to the left of the Browser Search field in Scene, Take, Plug-In Name, and so on).
the Workspace Toolbar. If a search returns more Initiating a search with no search criteria re-
than 1,000 items you are notified that 1,000+ items
turns all items on the system.
are returned from the search. You can click this to
show all items returned in the search. To initiate a simple search:
1 In the Locations pane, select the Volume, Cata-
Browser Search Field
log, Session, or Folder that you want to search.
Type the names of files, dates, durations, and so If you do not make a selection, the entire system
forth into the Browser Search field. As soon as you is searched (including shown offline volumes).
start typing, Pro Tools initiates the search for
2 Do one of the following:
matches to the text you type. Results are displayed
in the Browser pane. • Click the Simple Search button.
• Press Command+F (Mac) or Control+F
Simple Search Button (Windows).
Click the Search button to initiate a simple search 3 Type in the Browser Search field.
before typing any text into the Browser Search
4 Click in the Browser Search field and type text
field. The Simple Search button changes from a
for the search.
magnifying glass icon to an “X” and immediately
initiates a search. Click the Search button again to
end the search (or press the Esc key).
Location selected for search Browser Search field Simple Search enabled
Search results
Volume selected for search Advanced Search settings Advanced Search enabled
Search Checked
option (disabled) Search results
6 Click in the Search Text field and type text for the search.
If you want to refine your search, click the Add Row button to add further constraints to the search.
Repeat steps 4–6 for each row you add.
Folders checked for search Advanced Search settings Advanced Search enabled
Search Checked
option (enabled) Search results
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) to select multiple criteria for an either/or search.
6 Click in the Search Text field and type text for the search. (Use spaces between text strings
for either/or searches and use quotes around text strings with spaces for and searches.)
7 Press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows).
Click the Simple Search button (“X”). Use the Search Text field to search the selected
column type according to the selected column type
Advanced Search Features and search criteria.
Once you have initiated an advanced search, the Add/Remove Row Buttons
Workspace browser displays additional advanced
search features. Pro Tools lets you refine your search by up to 8
rows of search criteria.
Add Row button
Add Row Button Click the Add button (“+”) to
Search Text field add another row to refine the advanced search.
Search Column selector
Press Shift + “+” (plus) or to add a new row.
Pro Tools lets you change the location of the An alias of that folder is added to Sound Libraries.
Sound Libraries folder in the Operation prefer- Directories (and all folders and files in that folder)
ences. However, you will have to manually copy or that are added as a Sound Library Location are col-
move any media to the new location. ored blue, whereas files and folders actually lo-
cated in the default (or assigned) Sound Libraries
To change the location of the Sound location are gray.
Libraries folder:
1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
2 Click the Operations tab.
3 Click the Change button for Sound Libraries un-
der User Media and Settings Location.
4 Navigate to the new location you want for the
Sound Libraries folder and click Open.
5 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.
Added folders that point to other locations are blue
3 Select the tags you want to add or type in a new Creating a new tag for the selected audio file
tag. You can add as many tags to any audio file
(WAV or AIFF only) as you like. If more than one Choose from the Recently Used Tags options
audio file is selected, you are prompted to confirm in the Right-click menu to quickly add any of
that you want to add the tag to all selected files. the last used tags to the selected audio files.
4 When done, press Enter.
To use the Favorites designation in an Waveform displays for stereo and multichannel
Advanced Search: files are summed.
1 Select Favorites for the Column type.
2 Select either Set or Not Set for the Search Crite-
ria.
3 Press Enter or Return.
On Mac, the WaveCache file is stored in • Preview the file with the Audio Files Conform to
/Users/Shared/Pro Tools. Session Tempo option enabled.
On Windows, the WaveCache file is stored in Analyzed files in which a regular tempo was de-
<Systemdrive>/Users/Public/Pro Tools. tected are updated as tick-based, display their du-
ration in Bars|Beats, and display their native tempo
in the Tempo column.
Elastic Audio Files in the Analyzed files in which no tempo was detected re-
Workspace main sample-based. These files typically contain
You can both calculate and clear Elastic Audio only a single transient (such as a snare hit) or they
analysis for selected audio files in Workspace are longer files without a readily identifiable regu-
browsers. Only AIFF and WAV files are supported lar tempo (such as entire songs).
for Elastic Audio analysis and processing. Any On Mac, if you do not see the Elastic Audio
other file format (such as MP3) must be converted Analysis icon or the duration does not
to AIFF or WAV for Elastic Audio analysis and change to tick-based during the preview pro-
processing. cess, check the permissions for the folder in
the Mac Finder. You must have write access
of the directory for this feature to work.
Multi-Mono Files
When selecting one of a pair of Split Stereo files, The Preview button starts and stops preview of au-
such as “Drums.L” and “Drums.R,” both files pre- dio files selected in Workspace browsers. You can
view together. To preview only the selected chan- also Right-click the Preview button to change the
nel of a split stereo pair, press the Shift key and Preview mode and set whether or not the Spacebar
start preview. toggles file preview.
3 Enable the Reserve Voices For Preview In • Files that reside on offline volumes must first
Context option. have their volumes mounted (brought online)
before they can be relinked.
4 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.
Catalogs have unique linking characteristics.
See “Relinking and Aliases in Catalogs” on
Linking and Relinking Files page 373.
Areas to Search
Files to Relink
Candidates
Menu and Toolbar Includes the Relink menu, Opening the Relink Window
View Presets, and relinking buttons. Status is dis-
played at the far right. When opening a session with missing files, use the
Manually Find and Relink option to open the Relink
Areas to Search Selects volumes on which to window. The Relink window can also be accessed
search for missing items. after a session is open.
OMF video clips can only be relinked to a To relink multiple missing files:
session if they have matching Unique IDs. 1 Configure Areas to Search. (See “Selecting Ar-
eas to Search” on page 371.)
QuickTime video clips can only be relinked to 2 Select one or more items in the Files to Relink
a session by file name and file format (Quick- list. The Find Links button becomes available.
Time).
3 Click Find Links.
To control matching and linking criteria 4 Configure criteria for relinking, if necessary, in
when relinking an individual missing file, the Linking Options dialog:
use the Find Links button. Find Links is ex- • By default, Find by Name and ID is enabled.
plained in “Relinking Multiple Missing • To add additional matching criteria, select an op-
Files” on page 372. tion from the Linking Options dialog. (Modifi-
cation Date is only applicable to Catalogs.)
4 Click the Link icon next to the appropriate Can-
didate to which you want to relink. A Link icon • If Match Duration is enabled, Pro Tools only se-
next to an item indicates it will be relinked to lects files of the same length or greater.
the item currently selected in the Files to Relink
list.
To force a relink:
Relinking and Aliases in
Catalogs
1 Select the items you want to relink.
Catalogs are collections of “aliases” or “shortcuts”
2 Choose Relink Offline from the Browser menu. to actual files. If the files are moved, an item in a
3 In the Relink window, select one item in the Catalog can become unlinked from the file it refer-
Files to Relink list. ences.
2 In the Browser pane, select one or more items in Metadata Metadata for all files found online, in-
the catalog that you want to remove. cluding File comments, are updated.
3 Choose Remove Selected Items from the Database Comments Database Comments are not
Browser menu. updated, because they are unique to each Catalog
and are not part of the file’s metadata.
4 When prompted, do one of the following:
• To remove the aliases for the selected items from
Relinking Catalog Items
the Catalog, click Remove.
If files are ever missing from a Catalog, use the
• To delete the selected items from disk (and re-
Relink window to locate, copy, and relink files.
move their aliases from the Catalog), click Move
For more information, see “Linking and Relinking
To Trash (Mac) or Move To Recycle Bin (Win-
Files” on page 367.
dows).
The Task window lets you monitor, pause and cancel ongoing tasks including file copying, fade regener-
ation, and indexing. You can also use the Task Manager to monitor upload and download progress with
projects.
Status
Active Tasks
Paused Tasks
Because the Task window is a floating window, it Quantification Shows percentage of progress of
does not interrupt current work. This allows you to the current task.
continue recording and editing, and postpone file
management until a more convenient time. Active Tasks Pane
Stored Tasks
Any task that imports files into a session is stored
with a session when it is closed, and resumes when
the session is re-opened. For example, if you Im-
port Session Data with Copy From Source Media
selected, then Save and Close the session before
the copy completes, the copy tasks resume when
the session is reopened.
Grouped Tasks
Some tasks consist of many smaller tasks. For in-
stance, Copy and Relink may require hundreds of
individual files to be copied. To help manage these
tasks, they are grouped under the originating com-
mand. So in the example of a Copy and Relink
command, one copy task would appear with an Ex-
pand/Collapse icon in the Task window. Clicking
the icon shows each of the individual sub-tasks.
In addition to using the standalone Avid Link To set up your Avid Profile:
application, you can access Avid Link within 1 If you are not already signed in to your Avid
Pro Tools using the Avid Link menu and the Artist Master Account in Pro Tools, choose File > Sign
Chat window. With Avid Link, you can create and In and sign in.
manage your Avid Community Profile, find col-
laborators using Find Talent, and engage the Avid 2 In Pro Tools, choose Avid Link > Profile.
creative community through Lounges. The Artist 3 To add or change your Profile Picture and Cover
Chat window lets you invite people from your list Photo, do the following:
of contacts to collaborate on a project and commu-
• Choose Edit Cover Photo from the gear icon
nicate with collaborators using Messages.
in the upper right corner of the window.
• Click Edit to browse for and add photos.
Your Avid Profile • Click Save Changes.
Set up and maintain your Avid Profile to promote 4 To add relevant information about you, such as
your work, and share your talents and skills with your Bio and Contact Information, do the fol-
the Avid Creative Community. Add tags for your lowing:
skills to helps people find you when they are • Click About Me.
searching for collaborators using Find Talent. • Click Add Bio.
• Select (or deselect) Make My Profile Public.
• Enter your personal information.
• Click Save when you are done.
5 To add (or remove) tags for your talents and
skills, do the following:
• Click About Me.
• Click Add Skill and select your skills in each
category (for example, select Instruments and
click Piano). Tags for each selected skill are
added to your Profile.
• For each added tag, set your Expertise.
• Click Save when you are done.
New Avid Profile
Find Talent 2 In Pro Tools, choose Avid Link > Find Talent.
Use Find Talent to search for other members of the 3 Click Filters.
Avid Creative Community to add to your contacts 4 Click a Category (such as Instruments).
for collaboration based on specific talents and
skills. You can also search for people by name. If 5 Click a skill in that Category (such as Cello).
you want to collaborate with someone who is not 6 To further refine your search, click Filters again
yet part of the Avid Creative Community, you can and select a Genre (such as Classical).
email them an invitation to join.
Show/Hide Collaboration
Transaction Logs
Invite Contacts
to Collaborate
Project Name Show/Hide Participants
Project Participants
Revoke an Invitation to
Collaborate
(Project Owner Only)
1 Click the Show/Hide Participants icon to show To add another project participant to your
project participants. contacts:
2 Click on the name of the participant you want to 1 Click the Show/Hide Participants icon to show
remove and choose Remove. project participants.
2 Click on the name of the participant you want to
The Remove command is not available if the
add to your contacts and choose Add to Con-
participant currently has the project open.
tacts.
s
To open a project:
Double-click the Project icon in the Project List.
Individual Chat
To chat with an individual contact:
1 Do one of the following:
• Start a new chat with one of your contacts.
• Continue an existing chat by clicking the
name of the Contact in the Messages list.
2 In the Write Message field, type your message
and then press Return (Mac) or Enter (Win-
Create New Message icon
dows), or click the Send icon.
• Create a new chat with multiple contacts. If you are invited to a group chat thread, you are
• Add one or more contacts to an existing chat. notified in the Artist Chat Messages window.
To add one or more contacts to an existing chat: To accept or decline an invitation to collaborate on
a project:
1 In the Messages list, select the chat you want to
1 In the Artist Chat Messages window, you will
add to.
see an invitation to join a group chat thread
2 Click the Add Contact to Message icon. from one of its participants.
2 Click Accept or Decline.
Anyone who has already join a group chat can re- Removing a participant from the group chat
voke the invitation to join for anyone else that has
not yet accepted the invitation. That participant is removed from the group chat
and it is no longer available to them.
To revoke an invitation to join a group chat:
Leave a Group Chat
1 Click the Show/Hide Participants icon to show
group chat participants. Any participant that has If you are participating in a group chat that you did
not yet accepted the invitation shows “Invited” not initiate, you can leave it at any time. When you
to the left of their name. leave a group chat, the other participants are noti-
2 Click on their name and choose Revoke Invita- fied and you are removed from their list of group
tion. chat participants. You now no longer have access
to that group chat, and it is removed from the Mes-
sages list in the Artist Chat window.
If there is a participant in a group chat with you To pin a project or chat thread:
who is not already in your contacts, you can add 1 Right-click the project or chat you want to pin
them. to the top of the list.
1 Click the Show/Hide Participants icon to show 3 The project or chat moves to the top of the list.
the group chat participants.
This item will also be pinned to the top of the list
2 Click on the name of the participant you want to for all participants the next time they go online
add to your contacts and choose Add to Con-
tacts. To unpin a project or chat thread:
1 Right-click the project or chat you want to un-
pin from the top of the list.
2 Choose Unpin.
3 The project or chat moves back to its original
Add a participant in a group chat to your contacts location on the list.
A contact request is sent to that participant. This item will also be unpinned to for all partici-
pants the next time they go online.
When you first get started with shared projects and Tracks and Rulers
collaboration, you may want to use an existing ses-
sion rather than create a new project from scratch. Tracks
In this case, open the session you want to work • Audio, MIDI, Instrument, and Master Fader
with and use the Save Copy In command to save it tracks
and its associated media (for more information, see
• Main Playlists
“Saving a Session as a Project” on page 179).
• Alternate Playlists
For in depth information about creating, • Clips Associated with Playlists
opening, and saving projects, among other
tasks, see “Pro Tools Projects” on page 162. • Clip Gain
• Clip Color
For information about using the Artist Chat • Elastic Audio Properties for Clips
window and Avid Link to invite and commu- • Media Associated with Clips
nicate with collaborators, see Chapter 19,
• Track Color
“Artist Chat and Avid Link.”
• Volume Automation Settings
• Pan Automation Settings
Chapter 20: Track Collaboration 395
• Mute Automation Settings to the collaborator’s system and they are notified
• Plug-In Assignments through the project notes when they first receive an
open the project. If this occurs, they may have to
• Plug-In Settings and Automation remap those busses manually.
• Sidechain Assignments
• HW Insert Assignments Items Shared Only when a
• Track Metadata
Project is First Downloaded
• Track I/O assignments Project Level
• Sample Rate
Routing Folder tracks can be shared, but they are
converted to Auxiliary Input tracks and all member • Bit Depth
tracks are moved to the top level. • File Format
Click the Show Artist Chat button to open the Art- Right-click the Upload All New Changes button
and choose Abandon Changes.
ist Chat window. The Show Artist Chat button
turns green when you receive a message from an-
other participant in the Project Chat for the open
project.
Upload All New Changes Click the lit Download All New Changes button
As soon as you have made any change on any track If other participants have made changes to tracks and
whose own Upload Track Changes control turns you decide that you do not want to receive these
green, the Upload All New Changes button also changes, you can choose Ignore Changes. The Up-
turns green. If you are busy working on the project load All New Changes light goes out and no changes
you probably won’t want to upload each change indi- are downloaded.
vidually, but rather wait until you feel ready to post
all of your changes at once. To ignore all changes other collaborators on the
project have made in the project since your last
complete download:
To post all the new changes you have made on
tracks in the project since the last complete Right-click the Download All New Changes but-
upload: ton and choose Ignore Changes
Click the lit Upload All New Changes button
Typically, the Download All Shared Tracks button The project owner sees the meter level rise or
turns green the first time you join a project with lower as more media is posted to or deleted from
tracks. As with all collaboration transaction activ- their Cloud Account. The tool tip informs you of
ity, you can monitor the progress of the download how much storage is being used (both as a percent-
in the Task Manger window (Window > Task Man- age and as a hard number) on your Cloud Account
ager). The Download All Tracks button turns and how much total storage you have allocated to
green again when any participant creates new your account.
tracks and shares them. Tracks that are unshared,
and then re-shared do not trigger the lighting of the
Download All Tracks button.
Enable the Share Track control to share a track There are three different states that the track can be
with other participants in the project. When a track in with sharing. The clearest is when a track is ei-
is shared, the Share Track icon is blue. When a ther shared or not shared. Anyone can click any
track is not shared, it is gray. Anyone can share or Share Track control to share it or unshare it just as
unshare any track in the project that has been long as they already have that track in their local
posted to the cloud and that they have downloaded copy of the project.
from the cloud. Any participant can create new
tracks and keep them private in their own local
copy of the project by not sharing them at all.
To share a track:
Track not Track
1 Create a new track (or use an existing one). shared shared
Upload Track Changes Right-Click Upload Track Uploading Track Track Shared
Menu as Frozen as Frozen as Frozen
Share Track as Frozen indicators
Download Track Changes Right-Click menu It is important to understand that the ownership of
shared tracks is not restrictive. Multiple partici-
The Download Track Changes control provides a pants can edit unowned tracks simultaneously, and
few additional options in its right-click menu as this can result in edit conflicts between the cloud
follows: copy of the project and collaborators’ local copies
(see “Conflicts Between Track Changes and the
Force Download
Cloud” on page 407).
The Force Download command is only available
Generally speaking, no collaborator should take
when the Download Track Changes control is not
lit. Choose Force Download to force download of ownership of any track for any longer than they
the entire track from the cloud, replacing the entire need to work on that track and upload their
local track. changes. This helps to avoid conflicting changes
between collaborators.
Accept Download
When any Upload Track Changes control or
The Accept Download command works just like Download Track Changes controls light yellow, it
clicking a green Download Track Changes control indicates that there are edit conflicts between vari-
and downloads all changes to the track from the ous participants’ local copies of the project and the
cloud copy of the project. cloud copy of the project. You can upload your
changes and overwrite the cloud copy for a track
Ignore Changes simply by clicking the Upload Track Changes con-
trol, even if it is yellow. Otherwise, you can click
Choosing the Ignore Changes command rejects
the Download Track Changes button, even if it is
any changes to that track in the cloud copy of the
yellow, and overwrite your local track with the
project and maintains your current version of the
version from the cloud.
track.
The you now own the track, and the Track Owner- The Track Ownership control on the track for
ship control displays your name and turns solid which ownership is being requested also highlights
green (or orange for every one else). and displays the text “Ownership Requested.”
To relinquish ownership of a track, do one of the The Track Ownership Request indicator turns or-
following: ange when you have ownership of a track and an-
If you took ownership of the track automati- other participant wants to take ownership of the
cally, click the Track Ownership control. track.
Showing only the requested track Track changes conflict with cloud copy
Click the Track Ownership Request indicator Likewise, you can click the Download Track
again to show all previously shown tracks in the Changes control, even if it is yellow, and overwrite
project. The Track Ownership Request indica- your local track with the version from the cloud.
tor again turns orange.
If you make changes to a track while another par-
To relinquish ownership or reject a request, ticipant uploads their changes to the cloud copy,
Right-click the Track Ownership control and when you are notified that changes are available
choose one of the following options: for download, the Download Track Changes con-
Relinquish If you have no track changes that have trol turns yellow indicating that your local track
not yet been uploaded, choose Relinquish to sur- changes will be overwritten by changes on the
render track ownership to the collaborator making cloud.
the request.
The Download Track Changes control turns red To download a track from the cloud, do one of the
when a download for that track is currently in following:
progress and the cloud copy is in conflict with the In the Tracks List, click the gray Cloud icon to
local track changes. Once the transfer is complete the left of the track name to download and im-
it changes to yellow. You can then choose to ig- port all track data.
nore those changes and keep your version of the
In the Tracks List, right-click the gray Cloud
track, or download those changes and overwrite
icon to the left of the track name and select on of
your version of the track.
the following options:
Download from cloud in progress that conflicts with Ignore for Future Download Does not download
local track changes or import the track data.
Force Upload
The Upload command works just like clicking a The Force Download command is only available
green Upload Ruler Changes control and posts all when the Download Ruler Changes control is not
of your changes on the ruler to the cloud copy of lit. Choose Force Download to force download of
the project. the entire ruler from the cloud, replacing the entire
local ruler.
Abandon Changes
Accept Download
Choosing the Abandon Changes command clears
the upload and resets all of your changes to how The Accept Download command works just like
the Conductor ruler was prior to you working on clicking the green Download Ruler Changes con-
the it. trol and downloads all changes on that ruler from
the cloud copy of the project.
Download Conductor Ruler
Changes Ignore Changes
When another participant makes a “share-able” Choosing the Ignore Changes command clears the
change to a Conductor ruler and they then upload download and keeps your Conductor ruler as is re-
their changes to the cloud copy of the project, the gardless of any changes in the cloud copy of the
corresponding Download Ruler Changes control project.
turns green for all other participants. They can
click the Download Ruler Changes control to Conductor Ruler Ownership
download the changes to the Conductor ruler from
The Conductor Ruler Ownership control lets you
the cloud copy of the project to their local copy.
take ownership of a Conductor ruler, release own-
To download Conductor ruler changes, do one of
ership of a Conductor ruler, request ownership of a
the following: Conductor ruler, and show you if another partici-
pant currently owns that Conductor ruler.
Click the Download Ruler Changes control.
Right-click the Download Ruler Changes con- Ruler Ownership Right-Click Menu
trol and choose Accept Download.
The Conductor Ruler Ownership control right-
click menu provides different commands depend-
Download Ruler Changes Right-Click
ing on whether or not the ruler is unowned, owned
Menu
by you, or owned by another, and whether or not
The Download Ruler Changes control provides a changes are pending upload or download.
right-click menu that offers similar controls to the
Download Track Changes control right-click
menu.
When no one owns a Conductor ruler, anyone is If any other participant wants to take ownership of
free to work on it and the Conductor Ruler Owner- that Conductor ruler, they must request ownership
ship control is gray. either by making a “share-able” change to that
Conductor ruler or by clicking the Conductor
Ruler Ownership control for that ruler in their local
copy of the project.
Unowned Conductor ruler
Ownership Pending
Pro Tools lets you import and export a variety of • Using the File menu Import commands:
data into and out of a session, including audio and • Session Data
MIDI files, clip groups, video files, track playlists,
• Audio
I/O configurations, and signal routing configura-
tions. • MIDI
• Video
You can import individual audio and MIDI files
• Clip Groups
into a session, or import entire audio or MIDI
tracks, along with all of their attributes, from an- • VENUE Channel Names as Track Names
other session. Additionally, with
Session or project data, audio files, and clips can
Pro Tools Ultimate, you have the option of import-
be imported to existing tracks, new tracks, the
ing any combination of track attributes from an-
Tracks List, or the Clips List in a Pro Tools session
other session, such as a track’s audio or MIDI play-
or project.
lists, signal routing, plug-ins, or automation (see
“Importing Session Data” on page 432). Exporting
When you are working with video, you can import Pro Tools lets you export audio, video, MIDI, clip
and export video files from a session (see groups, and session data by:
Chapter 61, “Working with Video in Pro Tools”).
• Using the Export to Sibelius or Send to Sibelius
command (MIDI only)
When files are added to a Pro Tools session, Audio files formats other than WAV and AIFF
they remain at their current hard drive location and must be converted on import. Pro Tools automati-
are not moved or copied. The session references cally converts these files to the current session or
the original files wherever they are on your system. project audio file format on import. Also, if the
Additionally, the files referenced by the session re- session or project is not enabled for Interleaved
tain their original file format, sample rate, and bit files, Pro Tools splits interleaved audio files into
depth. multiple mono files on import.
When files are copied into the session, the orig- If clip definitions are present in an audio file, you
inal files remain wherever they are on your system can convert and import the audio for a clip without
and are copied to the session’s Audio Files folder importing the entire parent audio file using the Im-
and are then added to the session. The session ref- port Audio command.
erences the copied files, not the original files. Ad-
ditionally, the copied files referenced by the Pro Tools 7.x and later does not support au-
session retain their original file format, sample dio file names that contain certain ASCII
rate, and bit depth. characters (see “Opening a Session that
Contains Audio File Names with Illegal
When files are converted into the session, the
Characters” on page 475).
original files remain wherever they are on your
system, converted to the session file format, sam-
Supported Audio File Formats
ple rate, and bit depth, and are written to the ses-
sion’s Audio Files folder. The session references Audio files of the following types can be
the converted files, not the original files. imported into Pro Tools sessions and projects
without conversion:
Files That Can Be Added to a Session or Project
Without Conversion • AIFF
• WAV or BWF (.WAV) (including support for
Any audio file of a supported file format (WAV
WAV Extensible, RF64, and BW64)
and AIFF) and bit depth (16, 24, and 32-bit float)
can be added to sessions and projects without con-
version. Audio files with sample rates that do not
match the session or project sample rate can be
When using the Import Audio command, inter- 1 Select audio, video, MIDI, clip group, REX, or
leaved stereo files are automatically imported to ACID files in a Workspace browser, or Win-
stereo tracks. With Pro Tools Ultimate, greater- dows Explorer, or Mac Finder.
than-stereo multichannel audio files are automati- 2 Drag the selected files onto the Clips List.
cally imported to tracks with the corresponding
multichannel audio file format. To import files into an existing track:
If the Interleaved option is enabled for the session, 1 Select the files you want to import in a Work-
or is enabled on import, interleaved files are im- space browser, or Windows Explorer or Mac
ported to the session and remain interleaved files. Finder.
If this option is not enabled, interleaved files are 2 Drag the selected file to a location on an exist-
split into multi-mono. ing, compatible track. The file is imported and
placed where it was dropped.
Conversely, split stereo (dual mono) audio files
can be automatically imported to stereo tracks. To import files as new tracks:
Split stereo audio files must have the channel iden-
tifiers “.L” and “.R” in their names (for example, 1 Select the files you want to import in a Work-
filename.L and filename.R), and the files must be space browser, or Windows Explorer or Mac
the same length. In Windows, or in Mac/PC Com- Finder.
patibility mode, these files will have a 3-letter file 2 Do any of the following:
extension appended after the “.L” or “.R” channel
• Shift-drag files and drop anywhere in the Edit
identifier.
window.
• Drop files to the Tracks List.
Importing Files with Drag • Drop files to empty space in the Edit window,
and Drop below or between tracks.
Pro Tools lets you import audio, MIDI, video, and Importing does not always convert or copy
session files by dragging and dropping files from a audio files. See “Audio Conversion on Im-
Workspace browser, Windows Explorer, or Mac port” on page 414.
Finder to the Pro Tools application icon, the ses-
sion Timeline, a track, the Tracks List, or the Clips
List. Importing using drag and drop does not
necessarily bring the Edit window to the
The following figure illustrates some of the foreground. For example, dragging and
options available to import files using drag and dropping a file from a browser into a track
drop from Workspace browsers. leaves the source browser in the fore-
ground (not the Edit window). Always
verify the active, foreground window or
browser before continuing.
Adjust the preview volume with the vertical slider. 5 When you have added all audio files and clips to
To navigate to a particular location in the file, use the Import list, you can apply sample rate con-
the horizontal slider under the Play and Stop but- version by doing the following:
tons.
• Enable Apply SRC.
The Preview Volume control in the Import • Specify the Source Sample Rate either by typ-
Audio dialog also affects the preview volume ing a number, or by selecting a sample rate from
when auditioning clips in the Clips List. the pop-up menu.
The audition output path defaults to channels 1–2. • Select the sample rate conversion quality from
For Pro Tools systems with more than 2 channels the Quality pop-up menu. This setting overrides
of output, the audition path can be changed in the the Sample Rate Conversion Quality setting in
I/O Setup (see “Audition Path” on page 60). the Processing Preferences page.
6 Click Done.
To import ACID and REX flies as sample-based To import REX files as tick-based clip groups:
clips: 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Pro- Processing tab.
cessing tab.
2 Select the Import REX Files as Clip Groups
2 Disable the Import REX Files as Clip Groups op- option.
tion.
3 To apply real-time crossfades to the files, enable
3 Select No Files as the Drag and Drop from the Automatically Create Fades option (see
Desktop Conforms to Session Tempo prefer- “Automatic Fades for Imported REX Files” on
ence. page 423).
4 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog. 4 Select REX and ACID Files Only or All Files as
the Drag and Drop from Desktop Conforms to
5 When importing by drag and drop from Work-
Session Tempo preference.
space browsers, make sure that the Audio Files
Conform to Session Tempo option is disabled. 5 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.
Depending on your edits or tempo changes When you import monophonic audio files that
after importing REX files, fades can be were recorded simultaneously, they are converted
deleted and you will have to recreate them to multichannel clips and displayed together in the
manually. Clips List. Any metadata is also imported with the
files.
Automatically Copy Files on Import When se- Automatically Create Fades When selected,
lected, all audio files that are imported by dragging crossfades are applied automatically to the sliced
and dropping are copied to the current session’s clips within clip groups created by importing REX
Audio Files folder, regardless of whether the files files. If the Import REX Files as Clip Groups option
need to be converted to the current session’s file is not selected, the Automatically Create Fades op-
type, bit depth, or sample rate. Additionally, when tion does not apply.
selected, the Import Session Data dialog defaults
To change the default fade settings for REX files,
to Copy from Source Media. The Automatically
click the REX button in the Default Fade Settings
Copy Files on Import preference does not affect the
section on the Editing Preferences page (see
Import Audio command.
“Fades Editing Preference” on page 426).
Exporting Audio
Pro Tools supports exporting audio clips as audio
files, exporting left and right audio files as stereo
interleaved files, and exporting clip information.
Additional Options
2 Drag the files onto an existing track in the Edit 1 Make sure to unmute any MIDI tracks in the
window of the current session. session that you want included in the exported
MIDI file. (Or, conversely, mute any MIDI
To import MIDI into new tracks: tracks you do not want included in the exported
1 Select MIDI files in a Workspace browser, Win- MIDI file.) For Instrument tracks, enable or dis-
dows Explorer or Mac Finder. able the MIDI mute button (Instruments view).
3 From the MIDI File Format pop-up menu, select Items Not Exported with MIDI Files
1 (multitrack) or 0 (single track).
Mute automation and muted clips do not affect ex-
4 If the Song Start time is different from the ported MIDI. As long as a MIDI track is not muted
Session Start time, select Session Start or by clicking its Mute button, or an Instrument track
Song Start from the Location Reference pop-up is not muted by clicking its MIDI Mute button (In-
menu. struments view), all of its MIDI data is exported.
5 Enable or disable the Apply Real-Time Chord symbols and chord diagrams are not ex-
Properties option. ported with MIDI files.
6 Click OK. When exporting MIDI files from Pro Tools, device
7 Specify a folder destination and name for the assignments for tracks are not retained (though
MIDI file. channel assignments are). If you export MIDI or
Instrument tracks from Pro Tools and later re-im-
Pro Tools automatically adds the “.mid” port them, you will need to reassign the tracks to
extension when exporting MIDI files. devices in your studio.
Using Undo after importing any files to the Time- Source Properties
line removes the files from the Timeline. However,
The Import Session Data dialog displays proper-
the files remain in the session or project (in the
ties for the source session. These properties in-
Clips List and Workspace browser) and are offline.
clude source session name, session type, start time
If you do not remove or delete the files from the
of the session, audio bit depth, and sample rate. For
session or project manually, Pro Tools will report
Pro Tools 5.1 or higher sessions, the program that
them as missing files the next time the session or
created the session and the session’s audio file type
project is opened.
are listed.
Select this option to import a video track with of- Adjust Session Start Time to Match Source
fline media. You will be able to see cuts and clip Start Time
names, but the video media remains offline. You
can view the video media on a connected Video When selected, the Adjust Session Start Time to
Satellite system. This option is only available Match Source Start Time option lets you automat-
when New Satellite Track is selected for the video ically set the start time of the current Pro Tools ses-
track. sion to match the start time of the session, or AAF
or OMF sequence you are importing.
Lock (Unlock) Settings File Locks (or unlocks) Main Playlist Options
the selected Settings file so that it cannot (or can)
In the Import Session Data dialog, you can select
be edited.
from the following options to control how the main
playlist from each source track is imported to the
Import Options destination track in the current session or project.
The following Import Options are available in the Import – Replace Existing Playlists Imports the
Import Session Data dialog: main playlist from the source track. When you im-
Import Tempo/Meter Map Imports the meter and
port the playlist into an existing track, the main
tempo maps, as they appear in the Tempo and Me- playlist in the destination track is deleted and re-
ter Conductor rulers, from the source session. Any placed with the imported playlist.
Tempo or Meter events in the destination session If you select this option and import all of the
or project are replaced. source track’s attributes, this is equivalent to im-
porting the entire track.
Import Key Signature/Chord Map Imports all key
signatures (if present) and chord markers into If you select this option and do not import any
Pro Tools with the imported session data. Any key of the source track’s attributes, you replace the au-
signatures and chord markers in the destination dio playlists while keeping your current mixer set-
session or project are replaced. tings.
Do Not Import Does not import the main playlist Pro Tools can import the following types of files
from the source track. No audio is imported; only sourced from Avid editors:
the attributes selected in the Track Data to Import
• AAF or OMF sequences (including those with
list are imported to the selected tracks. When se-
embedded audio)
lected, importing all of the source track’s input,
output, send, insert and plug-in attributes is equiv- • Individual Avid video files in the MXF or OMF
alent to importing a channel strip. format
• OMF and MXF audio files
Importing AAF and OMF Multi-channel import and export are only pos-
Sequences sible with AAF sequences.
During the import, if there are any errors, clip 1 Launch Pro Tools, and open an existing
name truncations, or other notes (such as miss- Pro Tools session or project.
ing effect renderings), a dialog appears asking
2 Choose File > Import > Session Data, and select
you if you want a detailed report of the changes.
the AAF or OMF sequence that you want to im-
Click Yes and choose where you want to save
port.
the log. The log is a text file that you can open in
any text editing application. You can also open an AAF or OMF sequence
by dragging it from any location on your com-
puter or the Workspace browser to the
Pro Tools Timeline.
Select this setting to copy all video files related to This option places tracks relative to their original
the imported tracks from the source media to a new session start time. For example, if the current ses-
specified location. sion starts at 00:01:00:00, and the session from
which you are importing starts at 10:00:00:00, you
Import as Offline Satellite Media can reset the start timecode to 00:01:00:00, to
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) avoid placing files 9 hours and 59 minutes from the
start of your session.
Select this option to import a video track with of-
fline media. You will be able to see cuts and clip Adjust Session Start Time to Match Source
names, but the video media remains offline. You Start Time
can view the video media on the connected Video
Satellite system. This option is only available This option changes the start time of the current
when New Satellite Track is selected for the video session to match the start time of the AAF or OMF
track. sequence being imported. When this option is en-
abled, the Map Start Timecode to hh:mm:ss:ff op-
tion (and its timecode entry box) are disabled.
Timecode Mapping Options
When importing AAF or OMF tracks into If the sequence being imported has a later start
Pro Tools, you can specify where the imported time than the current session or project, the
tracks are placed in the current session. Times are Maintain Absolute Timecode Values option is
indicated in timecode. disabled.
To import Markers based on marker color: To import plug-in settings when importing AAF
tracks or sequences:
1 Click the Markers to Import menu.
1 Open the Track Data to Import menu.
2 Select the colors of markers you want to import.
Check marks appear next to the selected colors. 2 Do one of the following:
9 Select other export options as desired. 16 Click Choose (Mac) or Use Current Folder
(Windows).
For more information, see “Export Options
when Exporting to AAF or OMF Sequences” on Pro Tools exports the composition and related
page 461. media to the appropriate folders.
10 Click OK.
The clip gain of Pro Tools clips with static volume Exporting Pro Tools Tracks
between -inf dB and +12 dB will translate directly as MXF Audio Files
to clip-based gain upon export. Dynamic clip gain You can export MXF audio files using the follow-
and values above 12 dB will be rendered for each ing commands:
clip in the resulting media, to optimize compatibil-
ity with Avid video editing applications. • Export Selected Tracks as OMF/AAF
• Bounce to Disk
Clip-based gain is not exported when
exporting to OMF format.
• Export Selected Clips as Files
9 Click OK.
11 Click OK.
7 Click Export.
If the Enforce Media Composer Compatibility op- The Quantize Edits to Frame Boundaries option al-
tion is enabled, all AAF and OMF files and se- lows Pro Tools to export your sample-accurate
quences will meet the specific requirements of Me- Pro Tools edits into an AAF or OMF file so they
dia Composer. Sample rates are limited to appear as frame-accurate.
44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Exported clips will be padded
to the nearest frame boundaries (Quantize Edits to The Quantize Edits to Frame Boundaries set-
Frame Boundaries). This padding ensures that the ting must be selected when you are translating
placement of a file in the Timeline will be the same your Pro Tools session or project for use in
on sample-accurate as well as frame-accurate sys- frame-accurate editing workstations. There-
tems. fore, it is automatically selected whenever you
export tracks with Enforce Media Composer
When exporting a sequence with multi-chan- Compatibility selected.
nel audio tracks, the Enforce Media Com-
poser Compatibility option must be enabled.
Because quantizing edits to frame boundaries ex- You might want to change the sample rate of a ses-
tends the clips, extra audio may be heard. To pre- sion or project if you are exporting to a system or
vent this extra audio from playing, special one- are at a stage in the process that requires a different
frame sound files are rendered to duplicate the sample rate.
original boundaries of the clip. In the exported se-
quence, these one-frame files are placed over the Check the Audio and Video pull options before
start and end frames of the extended clip so you applying a sample rate conversion to the entire
cannot hear the extension. session or project.
One-frame files (OFFs) are imported into Avid For example, your session or project contains au-
workstations as part of the AAF or OMF sequence dio media at 29.97 fps (NTSC video) at 48 kHz,
like any other sound file. In the Avid Timeline, while the film composer to whom you are export-
they appear as one-frame edits on either side of a ing your session or project requires audio media at
subclip.If you decide you need to extend the sub- 24 fps (film speed) at 48 kHz. To convert all the
clip at any point, discard the OFF and trim the sub- audio files and edits to play back at 24 fps (film
clip as needed. speed) at 48 kHz, you would set the Source Sam-
ple Rate setting to 48,048 (a pull up rate of 0.1%)
This solution is only available when you export a and the Destination Sample Rate to 48,000. These
sequence, not when you export individual files. settings tell Pro Tools that you want to fit 48,048
of the original video speed samples into 48,000 of
the new film speed samples. With these settings,
If Quantize Edits to Frame Boundaries is se-
you sample-rate convert the video material to film
lected, Pro Tools volume automation will not
speed.
be exported.
This setting allows you to specify the sample rate Select 16-bit or 24-bit as the target bit depth for the
of the material you are working with in Pro Tools, exported media. Pro Tools automatically applies
independent of the session or project sample rate dither, without noise shaping, when reducing bit
settings. depth from 24-bit to 16-bit.
This setting allows you to specify the sample rate When exporting tracks from Pro Tools to AAF or
for audio files after the AAF or OMF translation. OMF, there are three ways that Pro Tools can han-
dle source audio media (as set in the Export to
If this setting differs from the Source Sample Rate OMF/AAF dialog’s Audio Media Options pop-up
setting, audio is sample-rate converted digitally to menu).
the Destination Sample Rate.
Link To Source Media Creates an AAF or OMF
Sample Rate Conversion Quality file that refers to as many of the original media
files as possible. In this case, the AAF or OMF file
These settings correspond to Pro Tools sample rate
points to the BWF (.WAV), AIFF, or MXF from
conversion settings. It is not recommended that
the source project.
you use the Low (Fastest) setting. The Tweak Head
(Slowest) setting provides the highest quality sam- Copy From Source Media Copies audio to another
ple rate conversion. drive or folder. You can sample-rate convert the
audio during this translation.
Audio Media Options Consolidate From Source Media Copies only the
When exporting tracks to AAF or OMF, Pro Tools part of the files that are actually used by the session
provides the following Audio Media Options: or project. For example, you may only be using a
ten second clip of a ten-minute audio file in your
Audio Format session or project. Consolidating this audio saves a
great deal of disk space by copying only the audio
Choose whether you want the resulting AAF or
you use and discarding the rest.
OMF file to refer to BWF (.WAV), AIFF, MXF
(AAF only), or embedded files. The audio files Consolidate Source Audio Media is the only us-
will be converted accordingly. able option for a Pro Tools to AAF or OMF
translation when Quantize Edits to Frame
If you create AIFF or BWF (.WAV) audio, the
Boundaries is selected. See “Quantize Edits to
audio files have extra OMF data attached to
Frame Boundaries” on page 461.
them. Though most applications will not have
problems reading these audio files, they may Consolidate Handle Size (Milliseconds) Speci-
not be compatible with all applications. fies the number of milliseconds of the original au-
dio file to retain at the beginning and end of each
MXF is only available if you have selected audio clip that is created. This lets you extend clip
the Enforce Media Composer Compatibility boundaries even after you have consolidated, by
option. the amount you specify. It is a good idea to have at
least 1000 milliseconds (one second) of handle, so
Exporting Session
Information as Text
You can use the Export Session Info as Text com-
mand to create a text file that contains extensive in-
formation about your session or project.
7 You can also enable the Main Playlist Only 1 Choose File > Export > Session Info as Text.
option if you do not want to include any of 2 Select whether to include the File List, Clips
the alternate playlists associated with any of the List, and track EDLs.
selected tracks in the new session or project.
8 Click OK.
# OF AUDIO TRACKS: 19
Select this option to export a list of the session or For track EDLs, you can choose whether to show
project audio clips. The Clips List provides a list of crossfades, not to show them, or to combine cross-
all of the audio clips in the session or project, as faded clips. When clips are combined, their dura-
well as the source audio file for each clip. tions and locations are listed up to the center of the
crossfade (for the leading clip) and from the center
Include Markers of the crossfade (for the following clip).
Select this option to export a list of all markers in-
Time Format
cluded in the session or project.
You can select the appropriate time format that ex-
Include Plug-In List ported EDL information is based on. For example,
for post work, you might select SMPTE time, but
Select this option to export a list of the plug-ins
for music creation locked to a grid, you might se-
used in the session or project.
lect Bars:Beats.
Include Track EDLs (Playlists)
File Format
You can export track EDLs (playlists). Track
On Mac, you can to export to TextEdit, UTF-8, MS
EDLs can be used to spot-check clip placement
Excel, MS Word, Write Now, Word Perfect, and
and edits, or in a conforming program for post ap-
AppleWorks text formats. On Windows, you can
plications. In extreme circumstances the EDL can
export to either TextEdit or UTF-8.
be used to recreate the entire session or project.
You can export session text for All Tracks or for
Selected Tracks Only.
Importing and Exporting Clip
MIDI track EDLs are not exported. Group Files
When exporting track EDLs, the following options Pro Tools can export and import the clip group file
are available: format (.rgrp). This lets you do the following:
• Separate clip group metadata from audio files to
Show Subframes This option allows you to export
avoid unnecessary file copy operations when ex-
subframe time information with track EDLs, if
porting audio clip groups composed from multi-
used in your session or project.
ple source files.
Include User Timestamps You can include user • Export MIDI data as part of a clip group.
timestamps with track EDLs. User timestamps in-
• Create multitrack loops.
dicate a user-defined session or project location for
the clip, or the original location of the clip when re-
corded.
• Embedded fades and crossfades 1 Choose File > Import > Clip Groups and select
the clip group you want to import.
• Clip group names and format (single or multi-
track) 2 In the Clip Group Import Options dialog,
• All MIDI data present in the clip group (such as choose where the clip group will go:
notes, controllers, and Sysex) New Track Creates a new track where the clip
• Track names group will be imported.
• Elastic Audio Warp markers and TCE factor Clips List Imports the clip group into the Clips
• Clip timebase (samples or ticks) List, where it will be where it will be available to
place into tracks.
• Sync points
• Loops
• Tempo map
Pro Tools provides several ways to import clip 3 If you chose to create a new track, choose a lo-
groups into an open session: cation for the imported group in the track.
• “Importing Clip Groups with Pro Tools Menu Session Start Places the group at the start of the
Commands” on page 469 session or project.
• “Importing Clip Groups with Drag and Drop” on Song Start Aligns the beginning of the group to
page 470 the Song Start point.
1 Select one or more clip groups in a Workspace Export Clip Groups dialog
browser, or Windows Explorer or Mac Finder.
3 In the Export Clip Groups dialog, the Destina-
2 Drag the files onto the Clips List of the current tion Directory defaults to the auto-created Clip
session. Groups folder in the session folder. You can
change the Destination Directory by clicking
To import clip groups into an existing track: the Choose button, navigating to a new loca-
1 Select one or more clip groups in a Workspace tion, and clicking Open. Click Reset to reset the
browser, or from Windows Explorer or Mac Destination Directory to the default location.
Finder.
4 Enable one of the following options for resolv-
2 Drag the files onto an existing track in the Edit ing duplicate clip group file names:
window of the current session or project. • Prompting for Each Duplicate (default)
1 Select one or more clip groups in a Workspace • Replacing with New Files
browser, Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. 5 Click Export.
2 Do one of the following:
Exporting Clip Groups to Another Hard Drive
• From the Workspace browser, Shift-drag the
files anywhere in the Edit window of the current Generally, if you are exporting clip groups to an-
session or project. other hard drive, you should copy any referenced
audio files. This way you can move clip groups not
• Drag the files onto any empty space in the Edit
only from one session to another, but from one sys-
window of the current session or project.
tem to another.
• Drag the files to the Tracks List.
When working with Pro Tools, you will encounter In Pro Tools sessions, use the Disk Allocation
several different kinds of computer files. Pro Tools command to specify where you want newly re-
systems require that you keep certain files in spe- corded audio files to be stored (see “Working with
cific hard drive locations in order to function prop- Hard Drives for Recording” on page 530).
erly:
Although Pro Tools lets you record to your
• Pro Tools software files (such as the application
system drive, this is generally not recom-
and plug-ins files) should be located on your
mended. You should record to system drives
Startup drive (the drive that contains your oper-
only when necessary—for example, if your
ating system and other system-related files).
computer system has just one hard drive, or it
• Data files (such as session files, audio files, and your other hard drives are completely full.
video files) can be located on any compatible
drive connected to your computer’s internal or
If you have a system with multiple drives,
external SAS, SATA, IDE/ATA, FireWire, or
you can designate the System drive as a
Thunderbolt busses.
Playback only or Transfer only drive for op-
You can specify the location of new session files timal performance (see “Volume Permis-
when creating new sessions (see “Creating a New sions” on page 334).
Blank Session or Project” on page 165).
Pro Tools tags each audio file in a session with a Pro Tools classifies storage volumes according to
unique identifier that allows it to distinguish a par- their suitability for performance (recording or
ticular file even if its name or location has playback) or transfer (storage or copying) of audio
changed. This Unique ID is 8-bit and is used by and other media files. Audio files must be stored
versions of Pro Tools lower than 12.8. on suitable Performance volumes and be properly
linked in order to be playable in a Pro Tools
session.
SMPTE IDs
Pro Tools (version 12.8 and later) creates and When you open a session, if Pro Tools determines
reads 32-bit SMPTE IDs. SMPTE ID provides op- that audio files are not located on a Performance
timal compatibility and interchange with other ap- volume, or if it is unable to locate audio files con-
plications that utilize SMPTE IDs in media files tained in the session, you can locate or copy the
and AAF sequences (such as Avid Media Com- files in order to play back the session. This process
poser), and ensures truly unique IDs for all AIFF is called relinking.
and WAV files. When linking to WAV files, the For more information on storage volume
SMPTE ID is prioritized over any Unique ID. classifications, see “Performance and
ID linking priority is as follows: Transfer Volumes” on page 330.
1 SMPTE ID: Both Pro Tools and Media Com- Transfer Files
poser generate these.
Transfer files reside on volumes unsuitable for
2 Unique ID: Stored in the UMID Chunk. This is playback, such as CD or DVD discs, or network
the legacy Pro Tools ID. drives.
3 Unique ID: Stored in the OMF Chunk - This is
To open a session containing Transfer files:
the ID that you see in Wave files included with
an AAF from Media Composer. They are shown Open the Pro Tools session. If any files are on a
in the Unique ID field if there is no UMID volume unsuitable for playback, Pro Tools
Chunk ID, and they are only be used for linking prompts you to do one of the following:
if there is no SMPTE ID or UMID Chunk ID. • Click Yes to open the Copy and Relink
window.
• Click No to open the session with all
Transfer files offline.
Pro Tools 7.x and later does not support audio file
names that contain the following ASCII charac-
ters:
/ (Forward Slash)
\ (Backslash)
: (Colon)
Missing files warning when opening a session * (Asterisk)
? (Question mark)
2 Choose one of the following options:
“ (Quotation marks)
Skip All Ignores all missing files. Missing files ap- < (Less-than symbol)
pear offline in the session.
> (Greater-than symbol)
Manually Find and Relink Opens the Relink win- | (vertical line or pipe)
dow, where you can search, compare, verify, and
relink missing files.
Pro Tools supports the WAVE Extensible file for- Pro Tools lets you convert BW64 files on import,
mat for audio files. This file format specifies mul- as well as link to and play back BW64 files. BW64
tiple audio channel data (surround sound) along audio files are extensions to the WAV audio file
with speaker positions, which is stored within the format that address the 4 gigabyte size limitation
audio file header. These audio files are identified of other WAV audio file formats.
in Workspace browsers with the designation
“WAV (BWF EXT)” in the Attributes field. If Pro Tools creates or converts a 4 GB or
greater file to the WAV format, the resulting
If you are working with greater-than-stereo multi- file is formatted as RF64 even if the file
channel track formats in your Pro Tools sessions, it originated as BW64. While Pro Tools can
is recommended that you use the WAV file format. link to and play back BW64 files, it does not
acknowledge the ADM metadata that is
When using the WAV file format in Pro Tools unique to the format.
sessions, the corresponding channel order for
each channel of greater-than-stereo, inter-
leaved multichannel files is displayed in the Sharing Projects Offline
Clips List.
For Pro Tools projects, all media is stored in the
RF64 cloud and cached locally as specified in the Project
Media Cache setting in the Operation Preferences.
Pro Tools supports the RF64 audio file format.
RF64 is an extension to the WAV audio file format To share projects offline, you must save the project
that addresses the 4 gigabyte size limitation of as a session using the Save Copy In command, and
other WAV audio file formats. RF64 audio files then share the session.
are identified in Workspace browsers with the des-
ignation “MBWF” in the Attributes field.
1 Set the MacDrive Options to Backup/File To transfer Pro Tools Mac sessions from HFS+
Transfer. drives to NTFS drives:
There are specific steps for transferring files from Recording and Playback from
Mac-based HFS+ drives to Windows-based NTFS HFS+ Drives on Windows
drives.
Windows supports recording and playback of ses-
To save (or create) Mac sessions to be com- sions directly from Mac-formatted (HFS+) drives
patible on Windows systems, see “Saving using the MacDrive software application.
Copies of Mac Sessions to be Compatible
with Windows” on page 479. In older versions of Pro Tools, Mac-formatted
HFS+ drives could only be used as Transfer
volumes when connected to Windows systems
using MacDrive.
2 Choose Options > File Names and select the In- File Name Extensions
ternational Use option.
For cross-platform compatibility, all files in a ses-
3 Delete all options listed under “File Name sion must have a 3-letter file extension added to the
Maps.” file name. Pro Tools 5.1 to 6.9.x session files have
4 In Pro Tools, choose Window > Workspace and the extension “.pts,” and Pro Tools 5 sessions have
make sure that all Mac-formatted volumes are the extension “.pt5.” Wave files have the “.wav”
set to R (record) or P (playback) in the A (Au- file extension, and AIFF files have the “.aif” file
dio) and V (Video) columns. extension.
For details on transferring sessions between Windows and Mac systems, see “Sharing Sessions Created
on Different Computer Platforms” on page 477.
Maximum number of 512 Aux Input tracks 512 Aux Input tracks 128 Aux Input tracks
Auxiliary Input tracks
Maximum number of 512 Instrument tracks 512 Instrument tracks 512 Instrument tracks
Instrument tracks
When opening a Pro Tools Ultimate session in Pro Tools, the following occurs:
Tracks
• Any tracks beyond the first 128 are deleted.
• Any Auxiliary Input tracks beyond 128 are deleted.
• DSP plug-ins with Native equivalents are converted; those without equivalents are made inactive.
• Multichannel surround tracks are removed from the session.
• Unavailable input and output paths are made inactive.
• When opening sessions created in Pro Tools When opening a session in Pro Tools 10.x that was
12.6 or higher in Pro Tools 12.5 or earlier, clip created in Pro Tools 11.x or higher that uses more
effects will be dropped. than 4 GB of RAM (due to plug-in usage), the ses-
• When opening sessions created in Pro Tools sion will not open.
12.2 or higher that have VCA Master tracks in
Pro Tools 12.1 or earlier, those tracks will be Sharing Sessions with Video
dropped. When opening a session in Pro Tools 11.x or
• When opening sessions created in Pro Tools higher created in a lower version of Pro Tools that
12.1 or higher that have more than the maximum contains SD video, the aspect ratio must be reset.
number of audio tracks or instrument tracks in
When opening a session created in Pro Tools 11.x
Pro Tools 12.0 or earlier, those tracks will be
or higher that contains Avid video in a lower ver-
dropped.
sion of Pro Tools, the track will be inactive unless
the Avid video is an SD resolution and a Mojo or
Mojo SDI is attached.
Pro Tools 7.x and later sessions cannot be opened • Fader Gain levels and automation breakpoints
with Pro Tools versions 6.9.x through 5.1. higher than +6 dB are changed to +6 dB.
• Long names are shortened to 31 characters.
To save a Pro Tools 12.x–10.x session so it is com-
patible with Pro Tools version 6.9.x through 5.1, • The following attributes are dropped:
use the File > Save Copy In command to choose the • Clip groups
Pro Tools 5.1 -> 6.9 Session format. • Clip loops
Pro Tools 8.x and later supports file sizes up • Sample-based MIDI clips
to 3.4 GB, and Pro Tools 10 and later support • Sample-based MIDI tracks
file sizes over 4 GB. Pro Tools 5.1 through 6.9 • Inserts F–J and any associated automation
on Mac only supports file sizes up to 2 GB. If
• Sends F–J and any associated automation
your session references audio files larger than
2 GB, edit and consolidate clips to reference • Marker/Memory Locations 201–999
only files smaller than 2 GB.
• Group behavior of Solos, LFEs, Mutes, Send When saving a Pro Tools 12.x–10.x session to
Levels, Send Mutes is not preserved. Pro Tools 5.0 format, the following occurs:
• Solo Mode and Solo Latch settings are dropped. • All that occurs when saving a Pro Tools 12.x–
Video 10.x session to Pro Tools 5.0 format.
• Only the main video track is displayed. • Multichannel surround tracks are removed from
the session.
• Only the first QuickTime movie in the session is
displayed or played back. • Inactive tracks are removed from the session.
• If the session contains QuickTime movies in the • Tracks assigned to “No Output” are routed to
Clips List but no video track, the session opens busses 31 and 32.
with a new QuickTime Movie track containing • Tracks or sends assigned to busses 33–64 are
the first QuickTime movie from the Clips List. routed to busses 31 and 32.
• The Timeline displays and plays back only the • Tracks assigned to multichannel paths or sub-
video playlist that was last active. Alternate paths of multichannel paths are routed to busses
video playlists are not available. 31 and 32.
• Video clips and video clip groups are not shown • Sends assigned to multichannel paths or sub-
or saved. paths of multichannel paths are dropped.
Language Compatibility • Tracks or sends assigned to stereo paths refer-
• The Limit Character Set option must be enabled ring to even/odd channels (such as 2–3) are
and you must select a single language and char- routed to busses 31 and 32.
acter set. • Multi-mono plug-in instances are dropped.
After importing or recording audio or MIDI to To stop playback, do one of the following:
tracks, you will want to play back the material • Click Stop in the Transport.
when editing and mixing.
• Press the Spacebar.
• With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Transport
Starting and Stopping Playback
or Shuttle, press 0 on the numeric keypad.
To start playback, do one of the following: • If you have a control surface connected and con-
• Click Play in the Transport. figured, press the Stop switch.
• Press the Spacebar. • If Pro Tools is online and slaved to another deck,
press stop on the master deck (see “4% audio
• With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Transport
pull rates are not available in 176.4 and 192 kHz
or Shuttle, press 0 on the numeric keypad.
sample rate sessions.Putting Pro Tools Online”
• If the Numeric Keypad mode is set to Transport, on page 1301).
and the Use Separate Play and Stop Keys option
is enabled, press Enter on the numeric keypad.
Playing Back Audio
• If you have a worksurface or MIDI control sur-
face connected and configured, press the Play To play back audio:
switch. 1 Import or record audio to a track.
• If Pro Tools is online and slaved to another deck,
2 Assign the track’s Output selector to your main
press play on the master deck (see “4% audio
monitoring path.
pull rates are not available in 176.4 and 192 kHz
sample rate sessions.Putting Pro Tools Online” 3 To have playback start from the beginning of
on page 1301). the session, click Return to Zero in the Trans-
port.
For more information about the Numeric
Keypad modes, see “Numeric Keypad 4 Start playback.
Modes” on page 28. 5 The audio plays through the selected Output
Path. Adjust the track’s volume and pan faders
as necessary.
6 When you are finished, stop playback.
With the Timeline and Edit selections linked, you Setting Playback Location with
can click a clip or MIDI note with the Time Grab- Fast Forward/Rewind
ber tool to automatically update the Timeline with You can use the Fast Forward and Rewind buttons
the selection’s start time, letting you play from that in the Transport window to move the playback lo-
point. cation. If the Operation preference for Audio
During Fast Forward/Rewind is selected, the
Setting Playback Location with scanned audio is heard (similar to a CD player)
Basic Transport Controls when clicking the Fast Forward and Rewind but-
tons.
Transport controls in the Transport window and
top of the Edit window can be used to move the You can also fast forward or rewind incrementally
playback location. These include Rewind, Fast by repeatedly clicking the appropriate button. The
Forward, and Return to Zero (to move playback lo- size of these increments is determined by the Main
cation to the beginning of the session). For more Time Scale:
information, see “Basic Transport Controls and
Counters” on page 198. Bars|Beats Moves to the beginning of the previ-
ous or next bar.
You can also move the playback location in multi- • Select a preset amount in the Back/Forward
ple increments by repeating the command (See Amount pop-up menu.
“Repeating Back/Forward Commands” on • In the Back/Forward Amount field, enter a
page 499). custom amount.
Back/Forward commands also work when con- Using Back or Forward Commands
trolling a 9-pin device. For more information,
see Chapter 59, “MachineControl.” To move the playback location backward by the
Back/Forward Amount:
Back Moves the playback location backward by
Press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows),
the Back/Forward Amount.
and click Rewind in the Transport window.
Back and Play Moves the current playback loca-
To move the playback location forward by the
tion backward by the Back/Forward Amount and
Back/Forward Amount:
automatically begins playback.
Press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows),
Forward Moves the playback location forward by and click Fast Forward in the Transport win-
the Back/Forward Amount. dow.
Forward and Play Moves the current playback lo-
To move the playback location backward by the
cation forward by the Back/Forward Amount and Back/Forward Amount and then begin playback:
automatically begins playback.
Press Command+Option (Mac) or
Setting the Back/Forward Amount Control+Alt (Windows), and click Rewind in
the Transport window.
The length of the Back/Forward move is deter-
mined by the Back/Forward Amount preference in
the Operation page (Setup > Preferences).
No Scrolling The Edit window does not scroll To make the track display and the edit cursor
during or after playback. The playback cursor follow playback:
moves across the Edit window, indicating the play- Enable the Timeline Insertion/Play Start Marker
back location. Follows Playback button in the Edit window.
After Playback The playback cursor moves across
the Edit window, indicating the playback location.
When playback has stopped, the Edit window
scrolls to the final playback location.
Center Playhead Scrolling option Half-screen for Center Playhead Scrolling option
Moving the Playhead with these methods does not To play a selection:
update the Timeline selection. However,
1 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit
updating the Timeline selection automatically
Selection.
moves the Playhead to the Timeline insertion
point. 2 With the Selector or Time Grabber tool, make a
track selection.
With the Playhead enabled, you can jump to and
play an Edit or Timeline selection. For details, see 3 If you want to use pre-roll or post-roll, enable
“Playing Timeline and Edit Selections with the and set the pre-roll and post-roll amounts. For
Playhead” on page 503. details, see “Setting Pre- and Post-Roll” on
page 545.
4 Click Play in the Transport window, or press the
Spacebar.
Press Command+Right Arrow (Mac) or To audition a selection start point with pre-roll:
Control+Right Arrow (Windows).
Press Command+Option+Left Arrow (Mac) or
Control+Alt+Left Arrow (Windows).
Auditioning Start and End Points
for Selections To audition a selection end point:
There may be times when you want to audition the Press Option+Right Arrow (Mac) or Alt+Right
start or end of an audio selection without hearing Arrow (Windows).
the entire selection. This allows you to check, for
instance, whether the beginning or end of a selec- When auditioning the end of a selection, playback
tion includes any unwanted clicks or pops. begins before the end point by the pre-roll amount.
2 With the Selector tool, select the track range Dynamic Transport Mode
you want to loop.
Dynamic Transport mode lets you decouple the
3 Enable Loop Playback by doing one of the playback location from the Timeline selection.
following: This means that you can start playback from any-
where on the Timeline without losing your Time-
• Select Options > Loop Playback.
line or Edit selections. For example, you can use
• Right-click the Play button in the Transport win- Dynamic Transport mode in conjunction with
dow and select Loop from the pop-up menu. Loop Playback mode to quickly audition loop tran-
• Control-click (Mac) or Start-click sitions.
(Windows) the Play button in the Transport win-
When Dynamic Transport mode is enabled, the
dow.
Main Timebase ruler expands to double-height and
• Press Command+Shift+L (Mac) or reveals the Play Start Marker. The Play Start
Control+Shift+L (Windows). Marker determines where playback starts when the
• With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans- Transport is engaged. You can position the Play
port, press 4 on the numeric keypad. Start Marker independently of the Timeline Selec-
tion. The Play Start Marker can be repositioned
during playback and playback continues from the
new location.
Select or deselect Options > Dynamic With any Edit tool selected, click in the Play
Transport. Start Marker strip in the Main Timebase ruler.
Right-click the Play button in the Transport With any Edit tool selected, drag the Play Start
window and select Dynamic Transport from the Marker to a new location.
pop-up menu.
Click Fast Forward or Rewind in the Transport
Press Command+Control+P (Mac) or to relocate the Play Start Marker forward or
Control+Start+P (Windows) to toggle Dynamic backward by the standard Fast Forward and Re-
Transport mode on or off. wind increment amount.
Enabling Dynamic Transport mode automat- Double-click anywhere in the Play Start
ically disables Link Timeline and Edit Selec- Marker strip in the Main Timebase ruler to
tion, and automatically enables Loop Play- move the Play Start Marker to that location
back mode. and start playback.
2 Click the Operation tab. To nudge the Play Start Marker backward (rewind):
3 Select Transport for Numeric Keypad. Press 1 on the numeric keypad.
4 Select Use Separate Play and Stop Keys.
To nudge the Play Start Marker forward (fast
forward):
This option overrides using the Enter key to
add Memory Location markers. Press Pe- Press 2 on the numeric keypad.
riod (.) and then Enter on the numeric key-
pad to add a Memory Location marker.
5 Click OK.
2 In the MIDI Beat Clock dialog, select the 1 Choose Setup > MIDI > MIDI Studio.
Enable MIDI Beat Clock option. 2 In the MIDI Devices window of Audio MIDI
Setup, double-click the IAC Driver icon.
You can set an offset for MIDI Beat Clock on a 8 Enable both Snap to Grid and Show Grid.
port-by-port basis with your MIDI interface and 9 With the Selector tool, place the edit cursor on
external MIDI devices. This lets you adjust the the beat grid prior to a prominent transient in the
timing for each device where some devices sound waveform that is “on the beat.”
late due to different, fixed latencies. Where appro-
priate, enter negative offset values in samples for 10 Enable Tab to Transients and Shift+Tab to the
each port to correctly synchronize the audio sig- transient. The duration of this selection is the
nals from your external MIDI devices with approximate amount of latency for your exter-
Pro Tools playback. nal MIDI device.
11 Switch the Main Time Scale to Samples. The
Measuring Beat Clock Latency length of the selected clip in samples is the
MIDI Beat Clock latency for that device.
To determine the correct MIDI Beat Clock offset for
an external MIDI device: 12 In the MIDI Beat Clock dialog, enter the Sam-
ple Offset value as a negative number.
1 Ensure that your computer and external MIDI
device are correctly connected and configured
for MIDI, and that its audio output is correctly
connected to audio inputs on your Pro Tools au-
dio interface.
2 Ensure that your external MIDI device is con-
figured to receive MIDI Beat Clock, and that it
is correctly configured to play back a simple
rhythmic pattern “on the beat.”
Since MIDI is not sample accurate, you may want to make several measurements at different grid
locations and average them to come up with the best value for the MIDI Beat Clock Offset.
Once you have measured the latency for your MIDI Beat Clock-enabled devices, be sure to keep
a record of these values in case you need to re-enter the MIDI Beat Clock Sample Offset in other
sessions.
Ableton Link
Pro Tools supports Ableton Link, a synchronization technology from Ableton that keeps Link-enabled ap-
plications in time over a local network (LAN or WLAN). Link synchronizes musical beat, tempo, phase
and start/stop commands across multiple applications running on the same or different devices. Applica-
tions on devices connected to a local network discover each other automatically and form a musical session
in which each participant can perform independently:
• Anyone can start or stop while still staying in time.
• Anyone can change the tempo and the others follow.
• Anyone can join or leave without disrupting the session.
For more information about Ableton Link, To show (or hide) Ableton Link controls in the Edit
visit www.ableton.com. window toolbar:
1 Do one of the following:
To enable Ableton Link:
• Click the Edit Window Toolbar menu (in the
1 Ensure that your Pro Tools system is connected upper-right corner of the window).
to a local network (LAN or WLAN).
• Right-click in the Toolbar.
2 Ensure that any other devices running Link-en-
2 From the menu, select (or deselect) Ableton
abled applications (peers) are connected to the
Link.
same local network.
3 In Pro Tools, show the Ableton Link controls in
the Edit window toolbar or the Transport win-
dow.
4 Click the Link button so that it turns blue.
5 Enable Start/Stop if desired.
6 Select the desired Quantize value.
7 Start playback.
Start/Stop Sync
Click Start/Stop to toggle Pro Tools transport Launch Quantize determines the bar/beat cycle for
start/stop synchronization on and off. Start/Stop synchronizing playback with other peer applica-
lights green when enabled. When enabled, starting tions on the network. The selected Quantize value
and stopping the Pro Tools transport sends and re- determines at what point in the bar/beat cycle
sponds to start and stop messages to and from any Pro Tools playback starts when joining an active
other linked applications. Note that not all Link-en- multi-peer session. This ensures that Pro Tools
abled applications send or respond to start and stop synchronizes with other peers on the network in a
messages. For those that do, you may need to en- musically meaningful way.
able Start/Stop sync within the application itself.
If Pro Tools is the first peer on the network to start
Number of Connected Peers Display playback, playback starts immediately regardless
of the selected Quantize value and tick-based
The number of connected peers is displayed to the tracks follow the session tempo.
right of Start/Stop. Peers are other Link-enabled
applications connected over the network or run- If playback has already been started by another
ning on the host computer. For example, in addi- peer on the network, Pro Tools starts playback at
tion to your Pro Tools system, if there is a laptop the beginning of the next bar/beat cycle specified
on the network running Ableton Live and an iPad by the selected Quantize value, and tick-based
running two Link-enabled applications (such as a tracks follow the network tempo set by any peer on
synth app and a drum machine app), the number of the network. For example, with Quantize set to 1
peers displayed will be 3. Bar and you start playback after the downbeat
played by other peers on the network, Pro Tools
Note that peers can be on the same computer as waits to start playback until the next downbeat.
well as on other computers on the network.
Link Button
Before you start recording in Pro Tools, you need Session Setup for Recording
to set up your Pro Tools system, a session, and one • Configuring a new or existing session for
or more tracks for recording. You will also need to recording:
configure how Pro Tools monitors the input you
• “Working with Hard Drives for Recording”
intend to record.
on page 530
While some of the information here is relevant to • “Recording with a Click” on page 518
preparing to record MIDI, there are more specific • “Setting the Session Meter and Tempo” on
setup details for MIDI recording in Chapter 26, page 520
“MIDI Recording.”
• Setting a Record Mode. See “Record Modes”
For information on recording audio, see on page 523
Chapter 25, “Audio Recording.”
Track Setup for Recording
For information on digitizing (recording) • Configuring one or more tracks for recording:
video in Pro Tools, see Chapter 61, “Work-
• “Configuring Default Names for Audio Files
ing with Video in Pro Tools” or the Avid
and Clips” on page 526
Video Peripherals Guide.
• “Assigning Hardware I/O on a Track” on
page 527
Record Setup Overview • “Record Enabling Tracks” on page 528
Record setup includes the following: • “Recording with Multiple Hard Drives” on
page 531
Hardware Setup for Recording
Monitoring Setup for Recording
• “Configuring Pro Tools Hardware I/O for Re-
cording” on page 516 • “Selecting a Record Input Monitoring Mode” on
page 533
• “Connecting a Sound Source” on page 518
• “Setting Monitor Levels for Record and Play-
back” on page 535
• “Reducing Monitoring Latency” on page 535
• “Recording with Delay Compensation” on
page 536
003 Rack+ has eight inputs with preamps, to which Set Input Levels
you can connect low-level signals.
When you feed a signal into any audio recording
003 and 003 Rack have four inputs with preamps, system, including Pro Tools, make sure to adjust
to which you can connect low-level signals, and the input level to optimize the dynamic range and
four additional line-level inputs with switchable signal-to-noise ratio of the recorded file. If the in-
gain. put level is too low, you will not take full advan-
tage of the dynamic range of your Pro Tools sys-
Eleven Rack has one Mic input with a preamp and tem. If the input level is too high, the waveform
1 instrument-level Guitar input with a special vari- can clip and distort the recording. Set the input lev-
able-impedance circuit called True-Z (for more in- els high, but not high enough to clip.
formation, see the Eleven Rack User Guide.)
As a general rule of thumb, try to set levels so that
Mbox (3rd generation), Mbox 2, Mbox Pro, Mbox they peak within –3 dB to –12 dB on the input me-
2 Pro, Mbox Mini, and Mbox 2 Mini each have two ter without triggering the clipping indicator on
inputs with preamps, to which you can connect your audio interface. Depending on the type of ma-
low-level signals. terial you are recording and its dynamic range and
peak content, you may want to record with higher
or lower levels.
Headroom Indicator
Headroom indicator
Pro Tools provides a numeric display (in dB) of Audio Volume indicator
the available headroom on tracks based on the last
Audio Volume and Headroom indicators
registered sample peak level in relation to the ref-
erence level of the currently selected Meter Type. Calibration Mode
The Headroom indicator is just to the right of the (HDX and HD Native Systems Only)
Audio Volume indicator below the faders and me-
ters in the Mix window. Click the Headroom indi- You can use the Calibration mode in Pro Tools to
cator to reset the current value. adjust the input and output levels for your audio in-
terface so they match those of your mixing console
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) to and other audio devices in your studio.
reset all Headroom indicators. Shift-Option-
click (Mac) or Shift-Alt-click (Windows) to HD I/O has one set of adjustable trim pots for its
reset the Headroom indicators for only se- inputs. Additionally, the reference level for the in-
lected tracks. put can be set to +4 dBu or –10 dBV. For more in-
formation on calibrating HD I/O, see the HD I/O
If the Headroom indicator is displayed in blue, Guide.
it is measuring below the dB value of the lowest
scale marking for the currently selected Meter There are no input or output trims on the following
Type. audio interfaces: HD OMNI, HD MADI. Some
Pro Tools audio interfaces that do not have output
trims (such as the HD OMNI) offer software-con-
trollable input levels, adjustable from Setup >
Hardware (see the guide for your particular audio
interface).
If you intend to work with MIDI or Instrument To hear the click during playback and recording,
tracks in your session, or if the audio you’re work- configure the Click Options (see “Click Options”
ing with is bar and beat-oriented, you can record on page 520) and ensure that Click is enabled (see
your tracks while listening to a click. This ensures “Enabling the Click” on page 519).
that recorded material, both MIDI and audio,
aligns with the session’s bar and beat boundaries. To create a click track using MIDI:
• Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- Hearing the countoff before recording helps musi-
dows) the Expand/Collapse “+” button in the cians to start playing at the right time and in tempo.
Transport window to display the MIDI controls. The Count Off button in the Transport window dis-
plays the number of bars counted before the trans-
• Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the port starts.
Expand/Collapse “+” button in the Transport
window to display the MIDI controls and the The countoff is ignored when Pro Tools is on-
Counters. line and synchronized to SMPTE timecode.
d
• Choose Setup > Click/Countoff. 4 Select whether the click is heard During Play
and Record, or Only During Record, or Only
• Double-click the Metronome button in the
During Countoff.
Transport window.
5 If using a countoff, specify the number of Bars
2 In the Click/Countoff Options dialog, do one of
to be counted off. To hear the countoff only
the following:
when recording, select that option.
• If using the Click II plug-in, select None in the
Output pop-up menu. 6 Click OK.
To set the Manual Tempo with the Tempo slider: 2 In the Transport window, click the Tempo Ruler
Enable (Conductor) button so it becomes un-
1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport win-
highlighted. Pro Tools switches to Manual
dow, select View > Transport > MIDI Controls.
Tempo mode. In this mode, any tempo events in
2 In the Transport window, click the Tempo Ruler the Tempo ruler are ignored.
Enable button (Conductor) button so it becomes
3 Do one of the following:
unhighlighted. Pro Tools switches to Manual
Tempo mode. In this mode, any tempo events in • Click in the Tempo field so it becomes high-
the Tempo ruler are ignored. lighted and tap the “T” key on your computer
keyboard repeatedly at the new tempo.
Tempo Resolution selector • If the Use MIDI to Tap Tempo option is enabled
Tempo value in BPM in the MIDI Preferences, click in the Tempo
Tempo Ruler field so it becomes highlighted and tap in the
Enable button tempo by playing a note repeatedly at the new
Manual Tempo mode tempo on your MIDI keyboard controller.
3 To base the BPM value on something other than To compute the new tempo, Pro Tools averages
the default quarter-note, click the Tempo Reso- the last eight (or fewer) taps to determine the cor-
lution selector and select a different note value. rect tempo. The computed BPM value appears in
(For example, if you are in 6/8, select a dotted- the Transport window’s Tempo field.
quarter note.)
To lock in the new tempo:
4 To enter a new tempo, do one of the following:
Take Pro Tools out of Manual Tempo mode by
• Drag the Tempo value up or down. For finer res-
clicking the Tempo Ruler Enable (Conductor)
olution, press Command (Mac) or Control (Win-
button, then set the default tempo for the Song
dows) while dragging.
Start Marker to the new tempo.
• Click the Tempo value, type a new number, and
press Enter.
Unlike audio loop recording, the state of the MIDI QuickPunch, TrackPunch, and Destructive
Merge toggle determines whether existing material Punch modes use a different method for num-
is replaced or merged. bering clips. For details, see “TrackPunch
Audio Recording” on page 585.
Unless MIDI Merge is enabled, MIDI recording is
destructive (though you can undo a MIDI record When recording MIDI tracks, a similar naming
pass), either overwriting or adding to clip material. scheme is used, though with only one set of digits.
One exception to this rule is when Loop Record For example, after recording to a track called
mode is enabled; in this mode, existing track clips “Synth 1,” a clip is created called “Synth 1-01.”
are replaced with new clips when new material is Subsequent clips for that track, generating either
recorded. The old clips remain intact and available from additional record takes or clip edits, are num-
from the Clips List, and from the Matches pop-up bered sequentially (for example, “Synth 1-02”).
menu. In Loop Record mode, MIDI Merge has no
effect, so its button is dimmed. To rename a track:
LCRS L, C, R, S
5.0 L, C, R, Ls, Rs
Edit window
Mix window
To record enable MIDI and Instrument tracks using Latch Record Enable Buttons
the Up/Down Arrows: Preference
While pressing Command (Mac) or Control When the Latch Record Enable Buttons option is
(Windows), press the Up/Down Arrows to re- selected in the Operation Preferences, you can re-
cord enable the previous or next MIDI or Instru- cord enable additional audio tracks by clicking
ment track. The previous (or next) record track their Record Enable buttons. Previously record-en-
is no longer record-enabled. abled tracks remain enabled. The Latch
Record Enable Buttons option affects audio tracks
To keep the previous track record-enabled
only.
while enabling new tracks, press
Command+Shift+Up/Down (Mac) or When the Latch Record Enable Buttons option is
Control+Shift+Up/Down (Windows). deselected, record enabling a subsequent audio
track disables the previously record-enabled audio
To record enable (or disable) all audio, MIDI, and
Instrument tracks: track.
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any To enable the Latch Record Enable Buttons
Record Enable button to toggle record enable preference:
on or off for all audio, Instrument, and MIDI 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the
tracks. Operation tab.
Command-Option-Shift-click (Mac) or Con- Disk Usage window, selecting Text Only view
trol-Alt-Shift-click (Windows) the Record En-
able button on any of the selected tracks to
toggle them in and out of Record Safe mode.
If you are using Round Robin Allocation and want Workspace Volume Designation
audio to be recorded to your system’s start-up
The Workspace volume designation can alter disk
drive, do the following:
availability, thus affecting Disk Allocation. From
• Open the Workspace browser (Window > Work- the Workspace browser, you can designate vol-
space) and set the Volume Designator for your umes as Record, Playback, or Transfer. If you
system volume to R (Record and Playback). See change a drive’s designation, making it read-only
“Workspace Volume Designation” on page 532. (Play Only or Transfer), check the Disk Allocation
window for any tracks formerly allocated to that
Round Robin Allocation is not supported with drive. For more information, see “Volume Permis-
partitioned hard drives. sions” on page 334.
To enable recording, bring the volume online, For Pro Tools, the Input Monitor Enabled Status
change its volume designation to R (Play and Re- indicator (in the Transport window) lights green
cord), or change the allocation of the affected when Input Only mode is enabled.
tracks to a valid record volume.
To toggle between Auto Input and Input TrackInput Monitor button Off (Auto Input), in the Edit
Window
Only monitoring, press Option+K (Mac) or
Alt+K (Windows). To toggle the monitoring mode of audio tracks, do
one of the following:
Selecting Record Monitor Modes To toggle individual tracks, click the TrackInput
with TrackInput Monitoring Monitor button for each track you want to tog-
TrackInput monitoring lets you toggle individual gle.
audio tracks between Auto Input and Input Only To toggle all tracks in the session, Option-click
monitoring modes at any time, during playback, (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) a TrackInput
recording, while stopped, and even when a track is Monitor button.
not record-enabled. TrackInput monitoring pro-
vides the necessary monitoring flexibility for over- To toggle all selected tracks in the session,
dubbing and mixing, and is similar to input switch- Option-Shift-click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-click
ing on analog multitrack recorders and similar (Windows) a selected track’s TrackInput Moni-
machines. tor button.
In Pro Tools, you record audio to audio tracks. Au- Basic Recording Steps
dio tracks can be mono, stereo, or multichannel as
appropriate for the recording source. To record an audio track:
When recording a stereo audio source, record to a 3 Click the Record Enable button for the audio
single, stereo audio track in Pro Tools. A single, track. It lights red.
mono audio file is written to disk for each channel
of a stereo track: one for the left channel, and one
for the right channel. These files appear as a stereo
clip both in the track’s playlist and in the Clips
List.
7 Click Record in the Transport window to arm Undo or Cancel Audio Recording
Pro Tools for recording. The Record button Once you have recorded an audio track and the
flashes red to indicate that Pro Tools is ready to transport is stopped, you can undo the record take.
record.
To undo an audio recording:
8 Ensure that Normal Record mode is selected
(see “Record Modes” on page 523). Once the Transport has been stopped, choose
Edit > Undo Record Audio.
9 When you are ready to start recording, click
Play or press the Spacebar.
• When in Loop Record mode, all takes from each If you have a Pro Tools system with multiple
record pass are discarded. drives, and you intend to record multiple
• When using QuickPunch, TrackPunch, or tracks simultaneously, you may want to des-
DestructivePunch mode, all punches from the ignate the System drive as a Transfer only
last recording pass are discarded. drive for optimal performance.
Press Command+Period (.) (Mac) or • Press 3 on the numeric keypad (when the Nu-
Control+Period (.) (Windows) before the meric Keypad mode is set to Transport) to start
Transport is stopped. recording.
1 Click Record in the Transport. The Record but- 1 If you want to constrain the selection to the cur-
ton flashes. rent Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid.
2 Do one of the following: 2 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selec-
tion.
• Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) Play
in the Transport to put Pro Tools in Prime for 3 Do one of the following:
Record mode.
• With the Selector tool, select the record range in
• Right-click the Play button and select Prime for a track’s playlist.
Record.
The Stop button lights and both the Play and Re-
cord buttons flash.
3 To begin recording instantaneously, click Play.
4 Click Stop to stop recording.
Setting Punch and Loop You can also enter a start and end point
Points during playback. Press the Down Arrow to
set the start point, and press the Up Arrow to
The start and end points of a record range for
set the end points. Note that when in Grid
punch and loop recording can be set by the follow-
mode, start and end point when entered in
ing methods:
this manner do not snap to the grid.
• Select a range in a track’s playlist (with
Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selection
enabled).
Timeline selection
Memory Locations
You can store Edit selections as Memory Loca-
tions, which can also include current pre- and post-
roll values.
The start and end times and pre- and post-roll set-
tings stored with the Memory Location are re- Pre-roll enabled for 2 beats; Post-roll disabled
called.
5 To enable either pre- or post-roll, click the ap-
propriate button so it is highlighted.
Setting Pre- and Post-Roll Use the Period (.) or Left/Right Arrow keys to
Pre- and post-roll times appear as flags in the ruler move through the different time fields for pre
that represents the Main Time Scale. When pre- and post-roll. Use the Up/Down Arrow keys
and post-roll are enabled, the flags are green, oth- to increase or decrease the numerical values.
erwise they are gray.
To set and enable the pre- and post-roll by clicking To enable both pre/post-roll from the Options
in a playlist: menu:
1 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selec- Select Options > Pre/Post-Roll.
tion.
2 With the Selector tool, select the record range in Dragging Pre- and Post-Roll
the track’s playlist. Flags in the Timebase Ruler
3 With the Selector tool, Option-click (Mac) or The Pre- and Post-Roll Flags can be moved in the
Alt-click (Windows) in the track’s playlist be- Main Timebase ruler, either separately or at the
fore the selection to enable the pre-roll at that same time, to set their location.
location.
To set the pre- and post-roll amounts by dragging
4 With the Selector tool, Option-click (Mac) or in the Main Timebase ruler:
Alt-click (Windows) in the track’s playlist after 1 If you want the Pre- and Post-Roll flags to snap
the selection to enable the post-roll at that to the current Grid value, set the Edit mode to
location. Grid.
To disable the pre- and post-roll by clicking in a 2 Drag the Pre-Roll Flag to a new location in the
playlist: ruler.
1 With the Selector tool, Option-click (Mac) or
Alt-click (Windows) in the Edit selection near
the start to disable the pre-roll.
2 With the Selector tool, Option-click (Mac) or
Alt-click (Windows) in the Edit selection near Dragging a Pre-Roll Flag in a Timebase ruler
the end to disable the post-roll.
3 Drag the Post-Roll Flag to a new location in the
In the Timeline, you can reset the pre- and Timebase ruler.
post-roll to zero. First, drag the Pre-Roll
To set pre- and post-roll values to the same
Flag to the Timeline Selection In Point, then
amount, Option-drag (Mac) or Alt-drag
drag the Post-Roll Flag to the Timeline Se-
(Windows) either the Pre- or the Post-Roll
lection Out Point.
Flag in the ruler. The deselected flag will im-
3 Drag the Pre-Roll Flag to the Timeline mediately reset to the same value, and will
Selection In Point. adjust accordingly as you drag the
selected flag.
4 Drag the Post-Roll Flag to the Timeline
Selection Out Point.
have audio Input and Output selectors. These Devices that are assigned as a MIDI Controller
selectors are different than the Instrument track’s in the Peripherals dialog (Setup > Peripherals) are
selectors for MIDI Input and Output and are pri- ignored when MIDI tracks are recorded. This is to
marily used for monitoring audio from MIDI in- avoid recording data from MIDI control surfaces
struments or instrument plug-ins. (such as Command|8).
It is not necessary to use QuickPunch, Track- To record and play MIDI, the device must be
Punch, or DestructivePunch to punch in with MIDI enabled in the MIDI Input Enable dialog. For more
or Instrument tracks. This capability is available information, see “Enabling Input Devices” on
both in Normal (Nondestructive) Record mode and page 560.
Destructive Record mode.
MIDI Control Surfaces In order to use any MIDI MIDI Input Enable dialog
control surfaces (such as Command|8), they must
be enabled in the MIDI Input Enable dialog.
Devices do not need to be selected to receive
MMC In order for Pro Tools to synchronize to MIDI data from Pro Tools. For example, a
MIDI Machine Control (MMC), the MMC source device used exclusively as a sound module
must be enabled in the MIDI Input Enable dialog. does not need to be selected in the MIDI
For more information on using MMC with Input Enable dialog.
Pro Tools, see “Using MIDI Machine Control” on
page 1303. 4 Click OK.
2 In the MIDI Input Filter dialog, select the All Ex- For more information on Input Quantize, see
cept option. “Input Quantize Command” on page 1045.
3 Select the option for Program Changes. Leave
all other messages deselected.
Wait for Note
The Wait for Note button, located in the Transport
window, determines how Pro Tools begins record-
ing. When enabled, Pro Tools does not start re-
cording until a MIDI event is received. This en-
sures that recording begins only when you start
playing, and that the first note, or other MIDI data,
is recorded precisely at the beginning of the set re-
cord range (start time).
Latch Until Next Event Continues writing the last MIDI track Input selector
value until the next event even if you are still re-
cording.
• Make the necessary selections for program and You are now ready to record MIDI data to the re-
bank select. cord-enabled MIDI and Instrument tracks.
• Click Done.
To monitor audio from an external MIDI in-
Default program changes are sent whenever strument, select the corresponding audio In-
the track is played. For more information, put Path for your MIDI instrument on the In-
see “Patch Select (Program and Bank strument track (or use an Auxiliary Input
Changes)” on page 789. track). See “Signal Routing for Monitoring
and Submixing” on page 1092.
7 If recording to multiple MIDI or Instrument
tracks, repeat the preceding steps for each track,
then continue to the next step. Recording MIDI and
Instrument Tracks
8 To use a click, enable and configure the click,
and set a default tempo and meter for the ses- In Pro Tools, you can record one or more MIDI
sion (see “Recording with a Click” on and Instrument tracks (up to 32 in any combination
page 518). simultaneously). Recording simultaneously to
multiple tracks lets you:
9 Enable either Wait for Note or Countoff in the
Transport window. • Record from multiple MIDI devices at the same
time, such as when recording several perform-
10 To replace existing track material, disable MIDI ers.
Merge in the Transport window (see “MIDI
• Record multiple channels from the same device,
Merge/Replace” on page 563).
such as recording from a split keyboard.
11 To automatically quantize material as it is
• Transfer MIDI tracks from an external MIDI se-
recorded, enable Input Quantize (Event > Event
quencer.
Operations > Input Quantize). See “Input Quan-
tize” on page 562.
12 To start recording from the beginning of the ses-
sion, click Return to Zero in the Transport.
1. Start recording
2. Recording
3. Recorded
Recorded MIDI clip fits to nearest whole bars based on first and last recorded MIDI events
The recorded MIDI data plays back through each MIDI Input Display
track’s assigned Output device (port) and channel. The MIDI Input display in the Edit window toolbar
shows chord names as they are received by MIDI
To monitor audio from an external MIDI in-
and Instrument tracks.You can use this display to
strument, select the corresponding audio In-
ensure that you are playing the right chords for
put Path for your MIDI instrument on the In-
your music when recording MIDI.
strument track (or use an Auxiliary Input
track). See “Signal Routing for Monitoring The MIDI Input Display can also be shown in
and Submixing” on page 1092. MIDI Editor windows, see “MIDI Input Dis-
play” on page 809.
Editor Window toolbar, MIDI Input Display shows that 5 With the Selector tool, select the punch range in
a G augmented chord is received at an Instrument or the track’s playlist.
MIDI track input
For other methods of setting the record
range, see “Setting Punch and Loop Points”
MIDI Punch Recording Over a on page 542.
Specified Range
6 To hear existing track material up to the start
You can set Pro Tools to automatically punch re- point, or after the end point, enable and set pre-
cord over a specific range in a MIDI or Instrument and post-roll times (see “Setting Pre- and Post-
track. The range’s start (punch in) and end (punch Roll” on page 545).
out) points must be specified before recording. Re-
cording starts at the punch-in point and continues 7 Record enable the track containing the previous
until the punch-out point is reached. take.
8 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools
If pre-roll is enabled, the track material leading up
for recording. The Record button flashes.
to the punch-in point plays. You can start playing
during the pre-roll to get the “feel.” However, 9 Click Play to start recording.
MIDI is not recorded until the punch-in point is
reached. Only when that point is reached does 10 When you have finished recording, click Stop in
Pro Tools begin recording. Additionally, for any the Transport. The newly recorded MIDI data
note that is played before the punch-in point, but is appears in the track.
released after that point, it is recorded and the start
of the note is quantized to the punch-in point.
Footswitches are supported by 003 family in- Clip added after punch record
terfaces, Mbox Pro, and Mbox 2 Pro, as well When selecting an entire clip, or a section within a
as any Pro Tools system with a supported con- clip, before punching, no new clips are created. In
trol surface. this instance, only the material residing within the
existing clip changes, with no new material re-
The Record button in the Transport and the track’s
corded outside the clip.
Record Enable button stop flashing and stay lit
during recording. Unlike audio recording, MIDI recording in this
7 To punch out, click Record again (or press the scenario is destructive. Newly recorded MIDI data
footswitch). overwrites existing MIDI data while leaving the
existing clip boundaries intact.
Pro Tools exits Record mode and continues play-
ing. You can perform additional punches during
the same pass.
The Record button flashes during pre-roll. When To record MIDI in Loop Record mode:
the start point is reached, Pro Tools begins record-
1 Configure a MIDI or Instrument track for re-
ing. When the end point is reached, Pro Tools
cording (see “Configuring MIDI or Instrument
loops back to the start point and continues playing
Tracks for Recording” on page 564).
and recording.
2 Select Options > Loop Record. When Loop Re-
12 Play your MIDI controller. Newly recorded
cord mode is enabled, a loop symbol appears in
MIDI data appears as a clip in the record track.
the Record button.
On each successive take, recorded material
shows up in the clip, without replacing material
from previous takes.
13 To switch to a new record track, press Com-
mand (Mac) or Control (Windows), and press Loop Recording enabled
the Up/Down Arrow keys to record enable the
previous or next MIDI or Instrument track. 3 If you have not done so already, record enable
the MIDI or Instrument track by clicking its Re-
14 When you are finished recording, click Stop in cord Enable button. Make sure no audio tracks
the Transport. are record-enabled.
The newly recorded MIDI data appears as a MIDI 4 Disable Wait for Note and Countoff in the
clip in the track’s playlist, and in the Clips List. Transport window.
5 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit
Loop Recording Multiple Takes Selection.
When recording MIDI in Loop Record mode, new 6 With the Selector tool, select the loop range in
clips are created each time new material is received the track’s playlist.
during a record pass. This differs somewhat from
loop recording audio, where Pro Tools creates a For other methods of setting the record
single audio file that comprises all takes, which ap- range, see “Setting Punch and Loop Points”
pear as individual clips in the Clips List. on page 542.
For more information on Step Input, see 10 When the Sysex transfer is complete, click Stop
“Step Input Command” on page 1046. in the Transport.
Instrument track record-enabled, Transport not record-enabled, MIDI performance sounds during playback
Press Option+Shift+Z (Mac) or Alt+Shift+Z (Windows) to write your MIDI performance to the
record-enabled MIDI or Instrument track.
MIDI performance written to record enabled track using Retrospective Record command
Punch recording is used in many areas of audio TrackPunch (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) A nonde-
production for film, video, and music. structive Record mode that lets individual tracks
be punched in, punched out, and taken out of re-
cord enable without interrupting online recording
Introduction to Punch and playback.
Recording Modes DestructivePunch (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) A
Once basic track material has been recorded, it is destructive Record mode that maintains a single
often necessary to replace some, but not all, of the continuous audio file per punch track, and lets in-
audio that makes up each track. Punch recording dividual tracks be punched in, punched out, and
lets you manually punch one or more audio tracks taken out of record enable without interrupting
in and out of recording without stopping the Trans- online recording and playback.
port.
To automatically punch in and out on
You do not need to use QuickPunch or any record-enabled audio tracks over a specific
other audio punch recording mode to punch range, see “Audio Punch Recording Over a
record with MIDI tracks. MIDI tracks can be Specified Range” on page 547.
punched while in Normal (Nondestructive)
Record mode, and in Destructive Record
mode. Guidelines for Punch
Recording
Pro Tools Punch Recording This topic lists the basic settings and guidelines for
Modes Pro Tools punch recording, including the follow-
Pro Tools provides three different manual punch ing:
recording modes: • “Voice Requirements for Punch Recording” on
page 580.
QuickPunch A nondestructive Record mode that
lets record-enabled tracks be punched in and • “Delay Compensation and DestructivePunch
punched out during playback by clicking the Re- Mode” on page 581.
cord button in the Transport. QuickPunch mode is • “Audio Files, Clips and Takes” on page 581.
available on all systems.
• “Preferences for Punch Recording” on page 582
(for crossfades, as well as transport and monitor
configuration settings).
Choose Setup > Machine Track Arming 3 Click the track Record Enable button to record
Profiles to configure your system, and choose enable each track on which you want to punch
Window > Machine Track Arming to display in.
the Machine Track Arming window.
If you cannot record enable tracks due to
voice limitations, see “Voice Requirements
For information on remote track arming for Punch Recording” on page 580.
with MachineControl, see Chapter 57,
“MachineControl.” 4 Prepare to record by cueing Pro Tools to an ap-
propriate location. To use pre-roll, enable a pre-
roll value in the Transport window.
QuickPunch Audio Recording 5 Start playback by clicking Play in the Transport
QuickPunch is available on all systems and lets window.
you instantaneously punch in and out all record- 6 Do one of the following:
enabled audio tracks during playback by clicking
• When you reach the punch-in point, click Re-
the Record button in the Transport.
cord in the Transport.
Many Pro Tools systems also let you use a • For Pro Tools systems that support using a con-
footswitch to punch in and out. See the guide nected footswitch, step on the footswitch at the
that came with your Pro Tools audio inter- punch-in point.
face or control surface.
The Record button stops flashing and stays lit
Recording with QuickPunch during recording.
7 To punch out, click Record again (or step on the
To punch record with QuickPunch:
footswitch).
1 Do one of the following:
As Pro Tools continues playing, you can perform
• Select Options > QuickPunch.
additional punches (up to 200). When recording
• Right-click the Record button in the Transport multiple punches during a single pass, a single au-
and select QuickPunch. dio file is recorded from which Pro Tools creates
the appropriate clips.
When QuickPunch is enabled, a “P” appears in the
Record button in the Transport. After a QuickPunch recording pass, the punched
track’s playlist in the Edit window displays the
clips created by punching. You can use any of the
Trim tools after punch recording to open up the
head or tail of QuickPunch recorded clips, or to re-
veal the parent audio file that was recorded in the
background. This lets you compensate for any late
QuickPunch enabled or missed punches.
Option-Control-Shift-click (Mac) or
When TrackPunch mode is enabled: Alt-Start-Shift-click (Windows) a track’s
A “T” appears in the Record button in the Record Enable button.
Transport.
When TrackPunch enabled, Track record enable
If at least one track is TrackPunch-enabled, the buttons light solid blue.
Record button lights solid blue.
Create track groups for each stem or set of
tracks on which you plan to punch, then use
the Groups List to quickly select all tracks in
the group.
TrackPunch mode, with at least one TrackPunch- Track Record Status Display
enabled track
Each track’s Record Enable button indicates its
When TrackPunch mode is enabled and the
transport is armed for recording: TrackPunch and record enable status as follows:
If no tracks are TrackPunch-enabled, the Re- • When a track is TrackPunch-enabled but not re-
cord button in the Transport flashes gray and red. cord-enabled, its Record Enable button lights
solid blue.
If at least one track is TrackPunch-enabled, the
Record button flashes blue and red.
If at least one TrackPunch-enabled track is also
To TrackPunch enable one audio track: • When a track is both TrackPunch-enabled and
Control-click (Mac) or Start-click (Windows) record-enabled, its Record enable button flashes
the track’s Record Enable button. blue and red.
• When a track is record-enabled only, its Record
To TrackPunch enable or disable all audio tracks: Enable button flashes red.
Option-Control-click (Mac) or Alt-Start-click • While a track is recording (in any mode), its Re-
(Windows) a track’s Record Enable button. cord Enable button lights solid red.
Red (not flashing) indicates recording (all modes) 3 Click Record in the Transport to enter the
TrackPunch Record Ready mode. The Record
Monitoring and Levels button flashes blue and red.
To complete the setup for TrackPunch: 4 Click Play in the Transport to begin playback.
1 Configure monitoring for record-enabled tracks 5 During playback, punch in and out on individ-
by selecting a mode from the Track menu, or us- ual TrackPunch-enabled tracks by clicking their
ing the TrackInput button, as appropriate. respective Record Enable buttons.
Choices include: 6 While continuing local or remote playback, do
• Set Record Tracks to Auto Input any of the following:
• Set Record Tracks to Input Only • Punch in on other TrackPunch enabled tracks
individually.
Selecting either monitoring mode only affects
tracks that are record-enabled. • After punching out, take tracks out of record
enable then record enable different Track-
2 Start playback and compare levels of the input Punch enabled tracks.
source with audio on disk. Click the TrackInput • Repeat as needed to punch other stems,
button to toggle the track source. When lit tracks, or takes.
(green), the track is monitoring input. When un-
lit (gray), the track is monitoring from disk (see 7 Stop playback. When you are finished with the
“Selecting Record Monitor Modes with Track- record pass, track Record Enable status and
Input Monitoring” on page 534). transport Record Arm status follow the current
Audio Track RecordLock and Transport Record-
3 When you are satisfied with your levels, you are Lock preference settings.
ready to start punch recording.
After a TrackPunch recording pass, the punched
track’s playlist in the Edit window displays the
Using TrackPunch clips created by punching. You can use any of the
Trim tools after punch recording to open up the
After you have configured Pro Tools, tracks, and head or tail of TrackPunch recorded clips, or to re-
levels, you can record with TrackPunch in several veal the parent audio file that was recorded in the
ways. background. This lets you compensate for any late
or missed punches.
Punching In on Individual Tracks
For information on file and clip naming, see “Au-
To punch in on individual tracks: dio Files, Clips and Takes” on page 581.
1 Make sure Pro Tools is in TrackPunch mode.
In order for a track to be enabled for Destructive- To prepare a track for DestructivePunch
Punch recording, the track must contain a contigu- recording:
ous audio file that meets the following require- 1 Enable DestructivePunch mode (“Enabling De-
ments: structivePunch Mode” on page 589).
• The file must start at the beginning (sample 0) of
2 Make sure the tracks you want to prepare are
the session.
DestructivePunch-enabled (see “Destructive-
• The File Length must be equal to or greater than Punch Enabling Tracks without Record En-
the DestructivePunch File Length setting (see abling Them” on page 591).
“DestructivePunch File Length” on page 590).
3 Choose Options > Prepare DPE Tracks.
If a track does not contain a file that meets these re-
quirements, you can do any of the following to Pro Tools consolidates audio on all Destructive-
meet the requirements: Punch-enabled tracks from the beginning of the
session to the value specified in the Destructive-
• Move the current file in the track Timeline so Punch File Length preference.
that its beginning aligns with the session start.
• Use the Consolidate command to create a con- For clips with any clip gain settings other
tinuous file of the required length. than 0 dB, the Prepare DPE Tracks com-
mand automatically renders all clip gain and
• Change the DestructivePunch File Length set-
resets all clip gain to 0 dB.
ting so that the current file is equal to or greater
than the required length.
Enabling Tracks for
• Use the Prepare DPE Tracks command to con- DestructivePunch Recording
solidate audio on all DestructivePunch-enabled
You can enable tracks for DestructivePunch with-
tracks. (See “Using the Prepare DPE Tracks
out record enabling them. This lets you punch in on
Command” on page 590.)
individual tracks at any time after starting play-
DestructivePunch File Length back by clicking their respective Record Enable
buttons.
To use DestructivePunch on an audio track, the
track must contain a contiguous audio file of a You can also simultaneously DestructivePunch en-
minimum length, which is set in the Pro Tools Op- able tracks and record enable them. This lets re-
eration preferences page. cording begin as soon as the transport is record-
armed and playback begins. (See “Destructive-
To set DestructivePunch File Length: Punch-Enabling and Record-Enabling Tracks Si-
multaneously” on page 591.)
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the
Operation tab.
This method lets you use the Prepare DPE Tracks Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) a
command to consolidate files for Destructive- track’s Record Enable button. All tracks’ Re-
Punch recording. cord Enable buttons flash blue and red.
Use the Edit window in Pro Tools to edit and ar- Nondestructive Editing
range audio, video, and MIDI. Track material can
The vast majority of audio editing in Pro Tools is
be edited nondestructively and in real time during
nondestructive. Whether cutting, pasting, trim-
playback.
ming, separating, or clearing clips, you are only
The Edit window also lets you graphically edit performing these functions on a map of the actual
other data, as follows: media (such as audio files). The source files re-
main untouched. However, certain processes or
Editing Clips and Selections See Chapter 31, tools work destructively (can permanently change
“Editing Clips and Selections.” Also, see audio files on your hard disk), as noted in other
Chapter 41, “Arranging Clips.” topics.
Editing Fades and Crossfades See Chapter 32, While editing for MIDI tracks is in some instances
“Fades and Crossfades.” destructive, with a few precautions you can keep
Editing Elastic Audio See Chapter 45, “Elastic important MIDI tracks and clips safe when per-
Audio.” forming edits (see “Nondestructive MIDI Editing”
on page 608).
Editing MIDI See Chapter 35, “MIDI Editing.”
Track Material User-Defined Clips These are clips that are explic-
itly defined, such as when you record or import au-
Each time you record or import audio, video, and
dio or MIDI; capture, separate, or consolidate a se-
MIDI, Pro Tools creates clips for the new track
lection; trim a whole-file audio clip; or rename an
data, which not only indicate where the material
existing clip.
begins and ends, but also provides visual feedback
on its general character and content. When you re- Auto-Created Clips These clips are automatically
cord additional takes, or “punch in” on a specific created in the course of editing, and, in some in-
location within a track, Pro Tools creates addi- stances, when punch recording over existing clips.
tional clips. Since these clips can accumulate rapidly in a ses-
sion, you can hide them in the Clips List. Auto-cre-
Clips are also created by cutting and pasting, resiz-
ated clips can be turned into user-defined clips by
ing, separating, and re-capturing existing clips.
renaming them.
Clips in a session are listed in the Clips List, where
they can be dragged to existing tracks. A track can For more information, see “Naming and Dis-
contain any number of clips, in any arrangement. playing Clips in the Clips List” on page 318.
The order and location of clips in a track define its
playlist.
Peak When selected, the waveform display is cal- Peak view is always shown during recording.
culated based on the sample-by-sample peak level. Power waveform view is calculated and
Peak view is traditionally how Pro Tools calcu- shown only after you stop recording.
lates the waveform overview and can be used for
normal or rectified views. Peak view clearly dis-
plays any clipping in the waveform. Power view is not available in Destructive
Punch mode or when zoomed to the sample
level.
Rectified Waveforms
Rectified waveforms are displayed so that their
Normal Peak Waveform view with Outlines positive and negative waveform excursions (the
portions that fall above and below the center line)
When zoomed in to the sample level, are summed together and viewed as a single posi-
Pro Tools always displays Peak view. tive-value signal. This view lets you see more
waveform detail in normal or reduced track height
views. It can be particularly useful when editing
volume automation data, since it depicts waveform
levels as starting at the bottom of the track. Recti-
fied view is available in both Peak and Power
views.
Some important rules to keep in mind when Apply a crossfade between clips where a click
defining clips: or pop occurs. See “Creating a Crossfade” on
page 697 for details.
Whenever possible, begin a clip precisely
before a volume peak, and end it immediately be- With Pro Tools Ultimate, use the AutoFade fea-
fore another volume peak. ture to apply real-time fade-ins/outs to all clip
boundaries that do not touch or overlap other clips.
Whenever possible, make sure a clip starts and See “Using AutoFades” on page 698 for details.
ends on exactly the same part of a beat.
Use the following Pro Tools features to help Nondestructive Audio Editing
you edit rhythmic material or audio with clear tran-
sients into precise clips: When editing an audio track’s playlist in
Pro Tools, you are not actually cutting and moving
• Tab to Transients (see “Tabbing to Transients” pieces of sound as you would if you were cutting
on page 659.) and splicing analog tape. Instead, Pro Tools cre-
• Editing to a Grid (see “Grid Mode” on page 618) ates a map of the audio file on your hard disk,
• Beat Detective (see Chapter 34, “Beat Detec- which describes the order in which to play various
tive”) portions of the audio.
You can edit automation data by switching track Use Clips view to define clips that represent song
views or by revealing the automation lanes under sections and clips, or to rearrange or assemble
the track. track material.
For more information on automation, see In Clips view, the vertical zoom is automatically
Chapter 51, “Automation.” scaled to fit the entire range of pitches of MIDI
notes on a track.
MIDI Clips and MIDI Data You can double-click a MIDI clip to open it in
the MIDI Editor window. See Chapter 36,
The two most common Track Views you will use “MIDI Editors.”
for MIDI and Instrument tracks are Notes and
Clips: There are a few things to consider when selecting,
copying and cutting, and trimming MIDI clips:
Use Clips view for arranging clips.
When cutting or clearing a clip or clip group se-
Use Notes view for inserting and editing indi-
lection that includes a note’s start point, the entire
vidual MIDI notes, and for working with and af-
note is removed. This is even the case when only a
fecting groups of notes.
portion of the note (that includes its start point) is
For more information on setting Track View, selected.
see “Track Views” on page 243. When cutting or clearing a clip or clip group se-
lection that includes a note’s end point (but not its
To toggle the Track View between Notes and start point), the note remains and overlaps the edge
Clips, click in the track you want to toggle of the clip.
and press Control+Minus (Mac) or
Start+Minus (Windows) on the alphanu-
meric keyboard.
When moving and placing MIDI clips with over- For more information on editing MIDI con-
lapping notes, the notes always move with the troller data, see Chapter 35, “MIDI Editing.”
clips. When placing MIDI clips with overlapping
notes next to or near another clip, the overlapping MIDI Mute Automation
notes extend into the next clip on the track.
Unlike continuous controller events, which repre-
To separate MIDI notes, rather than leave sent nuances that are part of a MIDI performance,
them hanging, when separating, cutting or Mute in Pro Tools is an automation playlist that ac-
copying clips, make the Edit selection you tually mutes the MIDI engine. Mute automation
want, switch to Notes view and use the does not correspond to actual MIDI events and is
Separate At Selection command, then switch therefore not exported when saving as a Standard
back to Clips view and make the edit MIDI File.
(separating, cutting, or copying).
When a MIDI or Instrument track’s Track View is Click either the up or down arrow of the mini-
set to Notes, MIDI notes are displayed in a keyboard.
“piano roll” format. Each note is displayed as a
small rectangle with its vertical placement indicat-
ing pitch and its horizontal placement indicating
location in time (and duration).
To the left of the MIDI or Instrument track’s play- Scrolling Notes display by dragging
list is a vertical mini-keyboard, complete with oc-
tave numbering, for pitch reference. You can click If you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, move
the mini-keyboard to play pitches using the track’s the cursor over the track and Command-Option-
selected MIDI output. Arrows at the top and bot- Control-scroll (Mac) or Control-Alt-Start-scroll
tom of the mini-keyboard (not available in the (Windows) up or down to scroll the notes dis-
smaller track heights) are used to scroll the Notes play up or down.
display up and down.
Using the Edit tools, notes can be inserted, deleted,
Clicking the mini-keyboard clears the cur- transposed, trimmed, and moved. For more infor-
rent Edit selection. For more information, mation, see “Manually Editing MIDI Notes” on
see “Selecting MIDI Notes” on page 770. page 770.
However, if the Mirror MIDI Editing option is dis- For more information, see “Renaming
abled, when editing a MIDI clip that appears else- Clips” on page 318.
where in the session (either on the same track at an-
To rename a clip on a track:
other location or in a different playlist, or in
another track), editing is nondestructive and cre- 1 Do one of the following:
ates a new auto-created clip. To go back to the pre- • Select the clip you want to rename and then
vious material, drag the original clip from the Clips choose Clip > Rename.
List, or return to a previously saved playlist.
• With any of the Edit tools, Right-click the clip
One way to safely return to a track’s previous that you want to rename and select Rename
state is with playlists. Before you edit notes, from the pop-up menu.
trim clips, or rearrange the order of clips, • Press Command+Shift+R (Mac) or Con-
make a duplicate of the track’s existing play- trol+Shift+R (Windows).
list and then edit the duplicate (see “Play- • With the Grabber tool, double-click the clip you
lists” on page 709). want to rename. For MIDI clips, the Name Dia-
log option must be selected as the Double-Click-
To apply edits to all instances of a MIDI clip, ing a MIDI Clip Opens setting in the MIDI
enable Mirrored MIDI Editing mode (see Preferences.
“Mirrored MIDI Editing” on page 765). 2 In the Name dialog, type a new name for the
clip. If a whole-file audio clip was selected,
specify whether to rename just the clip, or both
the clip and the disk file.
3 Click OK to rename the clip.
Choose Edit > Redo. The operation you choose, as well as all the opera-
tions in the queue before it, are redone.
Press Shift+Command+Z (Mac) or Shift+Con-
trol+Z (Windows). To toggle display of creation times in the Undo
History window:
If no actions are available to redo, the menu
Click the Options pop-up menu and choose
displays Can’t Redo.
Show Creation Times.
Undo History Window To undo all the operations in the Undo Queue:
You can use the Undo History window to view the Click the Options pop-up menu and choose
queue of the undoable and redoable operations and Undo All.
return to any previous state. The Undo History can
show edit creation times, enabling you to revert to To redo all the operations in the Redo Queue:
the state a session held at a particular time.
Click the Options pop-up menu and choose
Redo All.
Options selector
Creation times
Undo History Window
3 Click OK.
You cannot cut or copy automation data Use the Copy command to place a copy of the se-
from an automation playlist unless that lection on the Clipboard so it can be pasted to an-
playlist includes at least one breakpoint in other track, or to the same track at a different loca-
it. The selection you are cutting or copying tion, while leaving the original intact and in place.
does not need to include any breakpoints,
To cut or copy a selection or clip:
but without at least one breakpoint on an
automation playlist, there is no automation 1 If you want to constrain the selection to the cur-
data to copy. rent Grid value, enable Snap to Grid.
2 Set the Track View for the tracks you want to
edit.
4 Do one of the following: • Place the insertion point in each of the destina-
tion tracks by Shift-clicking in them.
• If pasting audio clips to larger areas, the Batch
Fades dialog opens. Configure the dialog to cre- • Make a selection in one of the Timebase rulers.
ate crossfades between each pasted clip, then 2 Choose Edit > Paste.
click OK.
When you paste multiple types of data, whatever
• If you do not want crossfades for the pasted au-
data has been copied is pasted into the correct type
dio, click Cancel in the Batch Fades dialog.
of playlist. Automation data is pasted into the cor-
responding automation playlist. Audio or MIDI
data is pasted into the audio or MIDI playlist. You
Editing Across Multiple do not need to set target tracks to the specific type
Tracks of data being pasted for the paste to work correctly.
When working with data from multiple tracks,
If all destination tracks in a multitrack paste are
there are some important points to remember.
displayed as automation, the paste replaces any
For example, if any selected tracks are set to their
previous data on the target track without shuf-
master view (see “Master Views for Tracks” on
fling—regardless of whether Shuffle Clips is
page 247), edits affect not only audio and MIDI for
enabled.
the selected tracks, but all automation and control-
ler data as well.
Pro Tools provides four Edit modes and various then “shuffle” their order, but you cannot separate
Edit tools to help you successfully edit material. them from each other and you cannot make them
overlap as in Slip mode. However, if there is si-
lence between existing clips, and the clips are shuf-
Edit Modes fled, the silence is maintained, and not removed.
Pro Tools has four Edit modes: Shuffle, Spot, Slip, In Shuffle mode, adding another clip to the begin-
and Grid. Grid mode provides two modes of oper- ning of a track moves all subsequent clips to the
ation, Relative and Absolute, explained below. right (later in time) by the length of the added clip.
The Edit mode is selected by clicking the corre-
When using any of the Trim tools in Shuffle mode,
sponding button in the upper left of the Edit win-
changing a clip’s start or end point automatically
dow.
moves any subsequent clips as necessary. The
placement and insertion of MIDI notes is not af-
fected by Shuffle mode.
Shuffle Mode
In Shuffle mode, you can move, trim, delete, cut,
or paste clips freely within a track or to other Shuffle Lock enabled
tracks, but their movement is constrained by other
clips. That is, if you place several clips in a track,
they automatically snap to each other. You can
Spot Mode
Use Spot mode to place clips at precise locations.
In Spot mode you can specify a frame location (or
a location based on any of the other time formats),
capture an incoming Timecode address, or use a
clip’s time stamps as reference points for spotting.
This can be particularly useful when performing
Turning on Grid lines from a Timebase ruler
post production tasks around SMPTE frame loca-
tions.
Edit Tools
Grid Value indicator and pop-up menu Pro Tools provides the following Edit tools: the
Zoomer, Trim, Selector, Grabber, Scrubber, and
The current Grid value is also used for the Pencil tools, and the multifunctional Smart Tool.
Quantize to Grid command (see “Quantizing
Clips to Grid” on page 681) and Separated Zoomer Scrubber
Zoom buttons Smart Tool Pencil
Clip At Grid command (see “Separate Com-
mands” on page 672).
Selector Tool Use the Selector to make selections The Edit window, MIDI Editor windows, and the
on tracks. Score Editor window also provide Zoom buttons
above and below the right vertical scroll bar (see
Grabber Tools Use the Grabber tools to select, “Edit Window Zoom Buttons” on page 197,
separate, or move clips on tracks. “MIDI Editor Zoom Controls” on page 813, and
“Score Editor Zoom Controls” on page 832.)
Smart Tool Use the Smart tool to Trim, Select, or
Grab clips, or apply or adjust fades in tracks.
Horizontal Zoom In and Out
Scrubber Tool Use the Scrubber tool to scrub Buttons
through track material.
The Horizontal Zoom In and Out buttons let you
zoom in and out horizontally on track data.
Click the Horizontal Zoom In button. Click the Audio Zoom In button.
Drag on the Horizontal Zoom In button to zoom Drag on the Audio Zoom In button to zoom
in continuously. continuously.
Press Command+] (Mac) or Control+] (Win- Press Command+Option+] (Mac) or Con-
dows). trol+Alt+] (Windows).
To zoom out horizontally for all tracks, do one of To zoom out vertically for all audio tracks, do one
the following: of the following:
Click the Horizontal Zoom Out button. Click the Audio Zoom Out button.
Drag on the Horizontal Zoom Out button to Click the Audio Vertical Zoom buttons.
zoom out continuously.
Press Command+Option+[ or Command+Op-
Press Command+[ (Mac) or Control+[ (Win- tion+] (Mac) or Control+Alt+[ or Con-
dows). trol+Alt+] (Windows).
(Windows).
To return to the previous zoom level, do one of the Press Command+Control+[ (Mac) or Con-
following:
trol+Start+[ (Windows).
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
of the Horizontal, Audio, or MIDI Zoom but- To set horizontal zoom to “overview scale” (256
tons. samples per pixel):
Zoomer tool
• Right-click on any track and select Tools > Zooming horizontally with Zoomer tool
Zoomer Tools > Normal Zoom. The zoomed area fills the entire Edit window.
2 Click once with the Zoomer tool at a location
within the track. All tracks are zoomed in by Single Zoom Mode
one level and the Edit window is centered
around the zoomed location. Single Zoom mode returns you to the previously
selected tool after a zoom has been performed.
3 To zoom back to the previous level, Option-
click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) with the For example, when using the Smart Tool you can
Zoomer tool. click the Single Zoomer tool, and once the Zoom
operation has been performed, Pro Tools automat-
To zoom into a particular track area: ically switches back to the Smart Tool.
1 Do one of the following:
To use Single Zoom mode, do one of the following:
• Click the Zoomer tool pop-up menu and select
Click the Zoomer tool pop-up menu and select
Normal Zoom mode.
Single Zoom mode.
• Right-click on any track and select Tools >
Zoomer Tools > Normal Zoom. Right-click on any track and select Tools >
Zoomer Tools > Single Zoom.
2 Do one of the following:
Press the F5 key to toggle to Single Zoom
• To zoom horizontally only, drag with the
mode.
Zoomer tool in the track’s playlist.
• To zoom horizontally and vertically, press Com-
mand (Mac) or Control (Windows) while drag-
ging in the track’s playlist.
• Click once to zoom in one level around a certain Drag up or down on the Audio Zoom In or Out
point. button.
• Drag to zoom in around a particular ruler range.
To vertically zoom in or out of all MIDI and
Instrument tracks that are set to Notes view using
continuous zoom:
To set all audio track waveform heights to match Zoom Preset pop-up menu
the waveform height of the topmost audio track in
To recall a saved Zoom preset, do one of the
the Edit window:
following:
Command-Shift-click (Mac) or Control-Shift-
Click the appropriate Zoom Preset button (1–5).
click (Windows) the Audio Zoom button. All
waveform height offsets will be lost. Click and hold the Zoom Preset button and
choose Recall Zoom Preset from the Zoom Pre-
To set all MIDI and Instrument track note heights to set pop-up menu.
match the note height of the topmost MIDI or
Instrument track in the Edit window: If the 1–5 Number Keys Control Editing
Command-Shift-click (Mac) or Control-Shift- Preference is set to Zoom Presets, press
click (Windows) the MIDI Zoom button. All Control+1–5 (Mac) or Start+1–5 (Windows)
note height offsets will be lost. to recall the corresponding Zoom preset.
Last Used When selected, zoom toggling in When this option is selected, the Grid setting
changes all tracks containing an Edit Selection to stored with Zoom toggle is recalled when zoom
the last used Track Height. toggling in. When this option is deselected, the
same (current) grid setting is used whether zoom
Medium When selected, zoom toggling in changes
toggling in or out.
all tracks containing an Edit Selection to the Me-
dium Track Height. Zoom Toggle Follows Edit Selection
Large When selected, zoom toggling in changes When selected, this option ensures that zoom tog-
all tracks containing an Edit Selection to the Large gle automatically follows the current Edit selec-
Track Height. tion. When disabled, changing the Edit selection
Jumbo When selected, zoom toggling in changes
has no affect on the currently toggled-in track.
all tracks containing an Edit Selection to the
Jumbo Track Height. Using Zoom Toggle
Extreme When selected, zoom toggling in changes Depending on the Zoom Toggle preference set-
all tracks containing an Edit Selection to the Ex- tings, the Zoom Toggle button in the Edit window
treme Track Height. lets you define a zoom state and toggle between it
and the current zoom state, or it zooms to the set-
Fit To Window When selected, zoom toggling in tings in the Zoom Toggle preferences. When
changes all tracks containing an Edit Selection to Zoom Toggle is enabled, the Edit window displays
the Fit To Window Track Height. the stored zoom state. Additionally, any changes
made to the view while Zoom Toggle is enabled
Track View
are also stored in the zoom state.
Waveform/Notes When selected, zoom toggling in
When Zoom Toggle is disabled, the Edit window
changes the Track View for audio tracks to Wave-
reverts to the last zoom state.
form view, and changes the Track View for Instru-
ment and MIDI tracks to Notes view. To store a zoom state using Zoom Toggle:
Warp/Notes When selected, zoom toggling in 1 Set the Zoom Toggle preferences.
changes the Track View for audio tracks to Warp
2 Make an Edit selection.
view, and changes the Track View for Instrument
and MIDI tracks to Notes view. 3 Click the Zoom Toggle button. It lights to indi-
cate that Zoom Toggle is enabled and Pro Tools
Last Used When selected, zoom toggling in
zoom toggles in based on the settings of the
changes the Track View to the last used Track
Zoom Toggle preferences.
View that was stored with Zoom Toggle.
Zoom Toggle button in the Edit window To use Zoom Toggle without changing playlist
views:
If Last Used is selected for any of the following,
you can adjust the corresponding zoom, height, or 1 Make a selection on one or more tracks.
view in the Edit window to update the stored zoom
2 Do one of the following:
state:
• Press Option+Control+E (Mac) or Alt+Start+E
• Vertical Zoom
(Windows).
• Horizontal Zoom
• With Commands Keyboard Focus enabled (see
• Track Height “Keyboard Focus” on page 26), press Option+E
• Track View (Mac) or Alt+E (Windows).
1 Make sure the Zoom Toggle button is lit (en- Using the Zoom Toggle
abled).
2 Adjust the Track Height, Vertical Zoom, Track
View, or the Grid depending on which prefer-
ences are set to Last Used. Changes are stored
as the new Zoom Toggle state.
1 Select the Trim tool. The standard Trim tool trims the edges of all selected
clips (not just the one you click and trim).
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Trim tool pop-up menu and select
Standard.
Trim tool
Time Compression/Expansion Trim tool over a clip To set the AudioSuite plug-in for use with the TCE
Trim tool:
The TCE Trim tool unloops and consolidates 1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
looped clips.
2 Click the Processing tab.
3 From the TC/E Plug-In pop-up menu, select the
You can match an Edit selection to the length
AudioSuite plug-in to be used with the Time
of a Timeline selection by selecting Edit > TCE
Compression/Expansion Trim tool.
Edit to Timeline Selection command (see
“TCE (Time Compression and Expansion)
Edit To Timeline Selection” on page 684.
• Click the Trim tool pop-up menu and select 1 Set the Edit mode to Spot.
TCE. 2 Click the Trim tool pop-up menu and select
TCE.
3 Click the clip near its start or end point. The
Spot dialog opens. Using any Time Scale, enter
a new start or end time (or duration) for the clip,
Time Compression/Expansion Trim tool
then click OK.
• Right-click on any track and select Tools >
Trim Tools > TCE.
• Click the Trim tool pop-up menu and select 2 Position the cursor over the top half of an un-
Scrub. looped audio or MIDI clip, or clip group. The
cursor changes to indicate that you can loop
• Right-click on any track and select Tools >
trim the clip. (Positioning the cursor over the
Trim Tools > Scrub.
bottom half of the clip results in the Standard
The tool changes to a speaker with a bracket. Trim cursor.)
• Click at the end of the clip, and drag left or right 1 Select the Loop Trim tool.
to the point you want the loop to stop.
2 Move the cursor over the top half of the looped
• Click at the beginning of the clip, and drag left or clip (not over a Loop icon). The cursor indicates
right to the point you want the loop to start. the Loop Trim tool.
Loop Trim tool
Loop icon
Tandem trimming
Trimming a looped clip
When in Slip mode, Grid mode can be tempo-
The number of trimmed loop iterations increases
rarily enabled by holding the Command key
or decreases to fill the original length of the entire
after releasing the Control key (Mac) or by
looped clip.
holding the Control key after releasing the
Start key.
Using the Scrubber Tool The distance and speed with which you drag (with
either the mouse, or the scrub wheel on a control
The Scrubber tool lets you “scrub” up to two tracks
surface) determine the length and speed of the
of audio in the Edit Window. Scrubbing is a tech-
scrubbed audio. Audio from the scrubbed track is
nique that originated in tape editing, where the tape
routed to its output, along with any effects as-
was rocked back and forth past the playhead at
signed to the track.
slower than normal speeds to find a particular loca-
tion (usually for cutting and splicing).
To scrub multiple audio tracks, do one of the The distance and speed dragged determine the
following: speed for the scrubbed audio.
With the Scrubber selected, drag between two
adjacent tracks. Shuttle Lock Mode
Shuttle Lock mode lets you use the numeric key-
pad to shuttle up to two tracks forward or back-
wards at specific speeds: 5 is normal speed, num-
bers from 6 up to 9 provide increasingly faster fast-
forward speeds, and numbers from 4 down to 1
provide progressively faster rewind speeds (4 is
the slowest rewind Shuttle Lock speed, 1 is the
fastest). If multiple tracks are selected, only the
first two tracks are shuttled.
Scrubbing between two audio tracks
To play one or two tracks with the shuttle lock:
Scrub within a selection that contains multiple
1 With Pro Tools Ultimate, make sure the Opera-
tracks.
tion preference for Numeric Keypad mode is
When scrubbing multiple tracks, only the first two not set to Shuttle (see “Operation Preferences”
tracks are heard. on page 110).
2 With the Selector tool, click in the track where
The maximum number of channels scrubbed
you want playback to begin. To shuttle on two
in Pro Tools is eight, which lets you scrub a
tracks, Shift-click in a second track.
7.1 track, two stereo tracks (four channels),
but not two 5.1 surround tracks (12 chan- 3 Press the Control (Mac) or Start key (Windows)
nels). and a number on the numeric keypad: 0–9 (9 is
fastest, 5 is normal speed, and 0 stops shuttling).
Scrub/Shuttle Mode
Once Shuttle Lock mode is initiated, Fast Forward
When scrubbing normally, you can scrub at nor- and Rewind become highlighted in the Transport
mal playback speeds or slower. Scrub/Shuttle window.
mode, however, lets you scrub at several times nor-
mal speed, which is helpful in playing through 4 Press additional keys to change the playback
large ranges and locating material. speed, or press Plus (+) or Minus (–) to switch
the playback direction (plus for forward, minus
for backward).
1 In Pro Tools, select Setup > Preferences and 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the
click the Operation tab. Operation tab.
2 Be sure that the Numeric Keypad mode is set to 2 Set the Numeric Keypad mode to Shuttle and
Transport or Classic (see “Operation Prefer- click OK.
ences” on page 110). 3 With the Selector tool, click in the track where
3 Enter a percentage for the Custom Shuttle Lock you want playback to begin. To shuttle on two
Speed setting. The range for this setting is 50– tracks, Shift-click in a second track.
800%. You can use the Up and Down Arrow 4 Hold any of the following keys (or key combi-
keys to increase or decrease the setting. nations) on the numeric keypad to trigger play-
4 Click OK. back.
The Custom Shuttle Lock Speed setting is saved Shuttle Speed Rewind Key Forward Key
with your Pro Tools system preferences (not with 1 X Speed 4 6
the session).
4 X Speed 7 9
To enable Custom Shuttle Lock Speed:
1/4 X Speed 1 3
Press Control+ 9 (Mac) on the numeric keypad
1/2 X Speed 4+5 5+6
or Start+9 (Windows).
2 X Speed 7+8 8+9
• Audio waveforms (see “Waveform Repair with The Pencil tool is a destructive editing tool
the Pencil Tool” on page 644) that permanently modifies the audio file on
• MIDI data (see “Using the Pencil Tool” on disk and should be used with caution.
page 766)
• Tempo changes (see “Editing Tempo Events in For information about the AudioSuite Du-
the Tempo Editor” on page 869) plicate plug-in, see the Audio Plug-Ins
• Automation (see “Drawing Automation” on Guide.
page 1169). To destructively edit an audio waveform with the
Pencil tool:
When editing automation or MIDI control
data with the Pencil tool, you can switch be- 1 Locate the area you want to edit.
tween the current Pencil Tool shape (such as 2 Using the Zoomer tool or the Zoom buttons,
Line) and Free Hand pencil editing using the zoom down to the sample level so the waveform
Command key (Mac) or the Control key (Win- appears as a continuous thin line. Adjust the
dows). When editing with the selected Pencil Track Height, as necessary, to edit the wave-
shape, the Pencil cursor angles to the left. form with greater precision. You can also use
When editing in Free Hand with the key mod- vertical zoom for greater visual resolution.
ifier, the Pencil cursor angles to the right.
You can recall zoom levels with the Zoom
Waveform Repair with the Pencil Preset buttons (see “Zooming Options” on
Tool page 621), or with Memory Locations (see
“Recalling Memory Locations” on
On audio tracks, the Pencil tool lets you destruc-
page 903). The default setting for Zoom Pre-
tively “redraw” waveform data. This tool is most
set 5 is at the sample level for Pencil editing.
commonly used to repair a pop or click in an audio
file. A pop or click appears as a sudden sharp spike 3 Select the Pencil tool.
in a waveform. This tool only becomes active
when the Edit window is zoomed in to the sample
level.
Pencil tool
Pro Tools provides many tools for selecting To link or unlink the Timeline and Edit selections,
material in the Edit window. do one of the following:
When Track and Edit selections are linked, you When you make a selection, it appears as a high-
can make a selection within a track or across mul- lighted area of the tracks, and is also indicated by
tiple tracks for editing and each associated track is blue start and end arrows (Timeline Selection
selected (track names automatically highlight). Markers) in the Main Timebase ruler. If any track
This lets you quickly apply track-level commands (audio or MIDI) in the session is record-enabled,
(such as Track View toggle, change track heights) even if it is hidden, these markers appear red.
and have the command apply to all tracks you are
working on.
Select or deselect Options > Link Track and Edit Timeline Selection Markers indicating Edit selection
Selection.
If the Timeline and Edit selections are unlinked,
In the upper left of the Edit window, under the the Edit selection range is indicated by Edit Mark-
Edit tools, click the Link Track and Edit Selec- ers in the Main Timebase ruler. See “Linking or
tion button so it becomes highlighted (selected) Unlinking Timeline and Edit Selections” on
or unhighlighted (not selected). page 647 for details.
Link Track and Edit Selection enabled Selections and Hidden Tracks
Noncontiguous selection
Converting to a Time selection is useful if you To change an Object selection to a Time selection:
want to select all clips between a noncontiguous
1 Select any number of clips with the Object
Object selection.
Grabber tool.
2 Double-click the Selector tool in the toolbar.
The time range between the first and last clip
becomes selected.
Dragging a Timeline Selection Marker To move a selection start or end point by the
Nudge value:
If Link Timeline and Edit Selection is disabled,
drag the Edit Marker to change the selection 1 Configure the Nudge value. For details, see
length. “Defining the Nudge Value” on page 678.
2 Make the initial selection with the Selector tool.
3 Do one of the following:
Edit Markers • While pressing Option+Shift (Mac) or Alt+Shift
To make a long-length selection: (Windows), press Plus (+) or Minus (–) on the
numeric keypad to move the selection’s start
1 With the Selector tool, click at where you want point by the Nudge value.
the selection to start.
• While pressing Command+Shift (Mac) or Con-
2 Scroll to the end point and Shift-click at the trol+Shift (Windows), press Plus (+) or
point where you want the selection to end. Minus (–) on the numeric keypad to move the
selection’s end point by the Nudge value.
To verify the start and end points of a long selec-
tion, press the Left Arrow key to scroll to the be-
ginning of the selection, or press the Right Arrow
key to scroll to the end.
To extend the selection to include an adjacent clip: Doubling or Halving the Edit
1 Select the first clip with the Time Grabber tool. Selection
2 Do one of the following: Pro Tools lets you double or halve the current Edit
selection. This can be especially useful for music
• With Tab to Transients disabled, press Con-
production when working with audio loops and
trol+Shift+Tab (Mac) or Start+Shift+Tab (Win-
MIDI in Grid mode.
dows) to extend the selection to the next clip
boundary. To double the Edit selection, do one of the
• Press Option+Control+Shift+Tab (Mac) or Con- following:
trol+Start+Shift+Tab (Windows) to extend the Choose Edit > Selection > Double Selection.
selection to include the previous clip boundary.
Press Command+Option+Control+Shift+’
(Mac) or Control+Alt+Start+Shift+’
(Windows).
Moving the Edit Selection in 3 Type in the start point for the selection and press
Time the Forward Slash key (/) to enter the value and
automatically move to the end field.
Pro Tools lets you move the Edit selection earlier
or later by the selection amount. You can also 4 Type in the end point for the selection and press
move the Edit selection to the next track above or Enter to accept the value.
below the current Edit selection.
Numeric Entry Shortcuts for Selection
To move the Edit selection earlier by the selection Indicators
amount, do one of the following:
You can use the following shortcuts for entering
Choose Edit > Selection > Move Edit Left. values in the Edit Selection indicators:
Press Command+Option+Control+L (Mac) or • Press the Forward Slash (/) key to cycle through
Control+Alt+Start+L (Windows). the three Edit Selection indicators.
• Use Period (.) or the Left and Right Arrow keys
To move the Edit selection later by the selection
amount, do one of the following:
to move through the different time fields in each
Edit Selection indicator.
Choose Edit > Selection > Move Edit Right.
• Press the Up or Down Arrow keys to increase or
Press Command+Option+Control+’ (Mac) or decrease numerical values.
Control+Alt+Start+’ (Windows).
• Move the mouse scroll wheel up or down to in-
crease or decrease numerical values.
These shortcuts can also be used to enter start To extend a selection to another track:
and end values in the Transport window.
1 Using the Selector or Time Grabber tool, make
Calculator Entry Mode a selection in the first track or tracks.
You can perform calculator-style editing of values 2 Shift-click in additional tracks with the Selector
in the Edit Selection indicators. tool. An identical range is selected for each ad-
ditional track.
To subtract time values:
To shorten or lengthen the selection across each of
1 In the Edit Selection indicator, highlight the the tracks, press Shift while dragging to change the
time field you want to change. range of the selection.
2 Press Minus (–) on the numeric keypad.
To select across all tracks, do one of the following:
3 Type the amount you want to subtract from the
Enable the All Edit Group and make a selection
current time value, then press Enter.
in any track.
4 Press Enter again to apply the change.
Drag with the Selector tool in any Timebase
To add time values:
ruler (make sure the Timeline and Edit Selec-
tions are linked).
1 In the Edit Selection indicator, highlight the
time field you want to change. These selections include all tracks in the Edit win-
dow, but do not include the Conductor tracks (for
2 Press Plus (+) on the numeric keypad.
Tempo, Meter, and Markers).
3 Type the amount you want to add to the current
time value, then press Enter. To select across all tracks, including the
Conductor tracks (for Tempo, Meter, and Markers):
4 Press Enter again to apply the change.
Option-drag (Mac) or Alt-drag (Windows) with
the Selector tool in any Timebase ruler.
Extending (or Contracting) the Choose Edit > Selection > Remove Edit From
Edit Selection Over Multiple Bottom.
Tracks
Press Option+Control+; (Mac) or Alt+Start+;
To extend the Edit selection to the next track above (Windows).
the current selection, do one of the following:
Shift-click with the Selector tool (within the Moving and Extending
same time as the current Edit selection) on the Selections Between Tracks with
track just above the current Edit selection. Commands Keyboard Focus
Choose Edit > Selection > Extend Edit Up. With Commands Keyboard Focus enabled, Edit
selections can be moved or extended to adjacent
Press Control+Shift+P (Mac) or Start+Shift+P
tracks.
(Windows).
To move a selection to an adjacent track:
To extend the Edit selection to the next track below
the current selection, do one of the following: 1 Enable Commands Keyboard Focus (see “Key-
board Focus” on page 26).
Shift-click with the Selector tool (within the
same time as the current Edit selection) on the
track just below the current Edit selection.
Choose Edit > Selection > Extend Edit Down.
Press Control+Shift+; (Mac) or Start+Shift+;
(Windows).
Sliding an Edit selection in the Main Timebase ruler Command-Right-click (Mac) or Control-Right-
click (Windows) the object and choose a com-
3 Drag left or right to move the Edit selection
mand from the pop-up menu.
back or forward in time while preserving its
length.
Tabbing to Transients
If Link Timeline and Edit Selection is disabled
(Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selection), Op- With the Tab to Transients button enabled, you can
tion-drag (Mac) or Alt-drag (Windows) the Edit automatically navigate to transients in audio wave-
Markers instead. forms in Waveform view, placing the cursor just
before the detected transient peak. This lets you
define selections and play ranges, as well as start
and end points for new clips, without having to
zoom in on the waveform.
With MIDI and Instrument tracks when Tab to Tab to Transients Across Multiple
Transients is enabled, pressing Tab moves the Edit Tracks
insertion to the beginning of the next note or clip With the edit cursor inserted across multiple
boundary regardless of the track view (just like tracks, you can use Tab to Transients to tab to the
with audio transients), but does not make note se- next transient on any of those tracks. When tran-
lections. sients on multiple tracks are closely aligned, Tab to
Transients tabs to the first transient on any of those
For more information, see “Keyboard Short-
tracks.
cuts for Navigating MIDI” on page 785.
5 Press Shift+Tab until the cursor locates to the With Pro Tools Ultimate, when the Scrolling op-
end of the material you want to select. tion is set to Center Playhead, it determines where
playback begins (see “Playing Timeline and Edit
Selections with the Playhead” on page 503).
1 If you want to constrain the selection to the cur- 1 If necessary, resize the Transport window to Ex-
rent Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid. panded view so the start and end times are dis-
played (View > Transport > Expanded).
2 Drag with the Selector tool in any Timebase
ruler. 2 Do one of the following:
• In the Transport window, click in the start field.
• Press Option+Forward Slash (/) (Mac) or
Alt+Forward Slash (/) (Windows) on the nu-
meric keypad to select the start field in the
Transport window.
Making a Timeline selection with the Selector tool
3 Type in the new start location and press For-
The Timeline selection is indicated in the Main ward Slash (/) to enter the value and automati-
Timebase ruler by the blue Timeline Selection cally move to the end field.
Markers (or if a track is record-enabled, the Time-
4 Type in the new end location and press Enter to
line Selection Markers are red). The start, end, and
accept the value.
length for the Timeline selection is displayed in the
corresponding fields in the Transport window. Shortcuts for entering start and end values in
the Transport window are listed in “Numeric
To select all tracks, including Conductor
Entry Shortcuts for Selection Indicators” on
tracks, press Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows)
page 655.
while dragging in a Timebase ruler with the
Selector tool.
Sliding a Timeline Selection
To set the Timeline selection by dragging the
Timeline Selection Markers:
Like Edit selections, Timeline selections can be
slid in the Main Timebase ruler.
1 If you want to constrain movement to the cur-
rent Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid. To move a Timeline selection in the Main Timebase
ruler:
2 With the Time Grabber, drag the first Timeline
Selection Marker (down arrow) to set the start 1 While pressing Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows),
point. move the cursor over either of the Timeline Se-
lection Markers (the Time Grabber appears).
3 Drag the other Timeline Selection Marker (up
arrow) to set the end point. 2 Drag left or right to move the Timeline selection
back or forward in time, while preserving its
length.
This overview represents audio and MIDI material on all tracks in the session that are not hidden (including
tracks that are inactive, or that contain offline clips). The order in which material is displayed in the Uni-
verse view corresponds to the track order in the Edit window.
In the Universe view, audio, MIDI, and video clips on tracks are represented by horizontal lines that are the
same colors as the clips on the tracks. Each audio track is represented at the same height regardless of how
many channels it has. Additionally, tracks that show Automation, Controller, or Playlist lanes are repre-
sented with increasing height for each lane shown.
Since Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, and VCA Master tracks do not contain audio or MIDI clips, they are
displayed as blank areas in the Universe view.
2 Click anywhere in the Universe view to move Scrolling the Universe View
the framed area and the Edit window updates
accordingly. If you have more tracks in the session than are vis-
ible in the Universe view, you can scroll up or
down to show the other tracks.
1 With the Selector or the Grabber tool, make an Press Command+Option+Tab (Mac) or Con-
Edit selection. trol+Alt+Tab (Windows).
Press F7 for the Selector tool or F8 for the To navigate and extend selections forward with
Grabber tool. Tab to Transients:
To zoom to an Edit selection using Zoom Toggle: To navigate and extend selections backward with
Tab to Transients:
1 With the Selector or the Grabber tool, make an
Edit selection. • Press Option+Tab (Mac) or Control+Tab (Win-
dows) to move the Edit cursor to the previous
Press F7 for the Selector tool or F8 for the transient.
Grabber tool.
• Press Option+Shift+Tab (Mac) or Con-
2 Press Control+E (Mac) or Start+E (Windows) trol+Shift+Tab (Windows) to extend the selec-
to enable Zoom Toggle. tion to the previous transient.
3 Press the Down Arrow to place the Edit cursor Press Command+Control+Option+’ (single
at the current playback location and mark the quote) (Mac) or Control+Alt+Start+’ (single
beginning of the Edit selection. quote) (Windows).
4 Press the Up Arrow to mark the end point of the To move the selection backward by the selection
Edit selection. amount:
5 Stop playback. Press Command+Control+Option+L (Mac) or
Control+Alt+Start+L (Windows).
6 Do one of the following:
• Press the Left arrow to locate the beginning of To double the Edit selection:
the Edit selection.
Press Command+Control+Option+Shift+’ (sin-
• Press the Right arrow to locate the end of the gle quote) (Mac) or Control+Alt+Start+Shift+’
Edit selection. (single quote) (Windows).
Press Command+Option+Control+Shift+L
Pro Tools provides several keyboard shortcuts for
(Mac) or Control+Alt+Start+Shift+L
moving and extending or decreasing the range of
(Windows).
an Edit (or Timeline) selection.
To go to and select the previous clip, do one of the
To move the selection down to the next track:
following:
Press Control+; (semicolon) (Mac) or Start+;
Press Option+Control+Tab (Mac) or
(semicolon) (Windows).
Alt+Start+Tab (Windows).
To extend the Edit selection down across Press Command+Control+L (Mac) or
tracks, Press Control+Shift+; (semicolon) Control+Start+L (Windows).
(Mac) or Start+Shift+; (semicolon) (Win-
dows).
Press the Up Arrow. To change Track views for all tracks together:
Press Command+Option+Control+Left or
Right arrows (Mac) or Control+Alt+Start+Left
or Right arrows (Windows).
Clips are the basic building blocks for arranging Capture Clip Command
audio and MIDI in Pro Tools. Understanding how
The Capture Clip command defines a selection as a
clips are created, edited, and arranged is essential
new clip and adds it to the Clips List. From there,
to taking full advantage of the editing capabilities
the new clip can be dragged to any existing tracks.
of Pro Tools.
This chapter covers basic editing functions as they To capture a new clip:
apply to clips and clip groups, and selections, 1 With the Selector tool, drag in an existing clip to
which for the most part apply to both MIDI and au- select the material for the new clip.
dio data. For editing procedures more specific to
MIDI, see Chapter 35, “MIDI Editing.” For edit-
ing procedures specific to video, see “Video Clips”
on page 1395.
The Separate commands define a selection within • Choose Edit > Separate > At Selection.
an existing clip, or a partially selected clip, as a • With an Edit selection, Right-click near the cur-
new clip and separate it from surrounding material. sor position or selection and choose Separate
The Separate commands can also be applied to from the pop-up menu.
MIDI notes (see “Separating MIDI Notes” on
page 775). Press Command+E (Mac) or Control+E
(Windows) for Separate At Selection.
New clips appear in the tracks in which they are
created, separate from the data surrounding them. 3 If the Editing preference for Auto-Name Sepa-
They also appear in the Clips List. rated Clips is disabled, type a name for the new
clip when prompted, then click OK.
There are three different Separate commands:
To separate clips (or MIDI notes) according to the
At Selection (or Edit Cursor) Creates new clip current grid resolution:
boundaries at the selection start and end points. If
there is no selection and the edit cursor is placed 1 Make an Edit selection.
within the clip, the clip is split into two new clips at 2 Choose Edit > Separate > On Grid.
the insertion point. Likewise, MIDI notes can be
separated at the selection start and end points (or at 3 In the Pre-Separate Amount dialog, type a
the Edit cursor). pre-separate amount in milliseconds. This can
be useful to pad the beginnings of the new clips.
On Grid Creates new clips according to the se-
lected Grid value (see “Defining the Grid Value”
on page 919). Likewise, MIDI notes can be sepa-
rated on the grid.
This option helps you compare different sections Once separated, this material can be moved or cop-
from a group of related takes. For example, you ied to another location.
can quickly separate an entire group of related vo-
cal takes into sections, then audition and select the Separation Grabber Tool
best material from each section independently.
You can use the Separation Grabber tool to auto-
If this option is selected, make sure the Track matically separate an Edit selection and move it to
Name and Clip Start and End options are also se- another location or another track.
lected in the Matching Criteria window (see
“Matching Criteria” on page 723). If they are not, To separate a selection with the Separation
all clips in the session that have the same User Grabber tool:
Time Stamp will be affected. 1 With the Selector tool, make an Edit selection.
The selection can reside within a single clip,
In most instances, you will want to disable the
across adjacent clips within the same track, or
Separate Clip Operates On All Related Takes op-
across multiple tracks.
tion, to prevent a large number of clips from being
created when you use the Separate Clip command.
1 With the Selector tool, make an Edit selection. To heal a separation between two clips:
The selection can reside within a single clip,
1 With the Selector tool, make a selection that in-
across adjacent clips within the same track, or
cludes part of the first clip, the entire separation
across multiple tracks.
between the clips, and part of the second clip.
2 From the Grabber tools pop-up menu, choose
2 Choose Edit > Heal Separation.
the Separation Grabber tool.
Press Command+H (Mac) or Control+H
(Windows) to Heal Separation.
to the next or previous clip boundary depending on 1 Configure the Nudge value (see “Defining the
which command you use. Nudge Value” on page 678).
The Nudge value determines how far clips and se- Press Shift+Option+Equal (=) (Mac) or
lections are moved when nudging. Shift+Alt+Equal (=) (Windows)
Start and end points for selections can also be To decrease the nudge value incrementally:
moved by the Nudge value (see “Nudging Selec- Press Shift+Option+Minus (–) (Mac) or
tion Start/End Points” on page 653). In addition, Shift+Alt+Minus (–) (Windows)
clips can be trimmed by the Nudge value (see
“Trimming with Nudge” on page 677).
Nudging Clips by the Nudge
To set the Nudge value: Value
1 Do one of the following: To nudge one or more clips:
• From the View > Main Counter menu, select the 1 Configure the Nudge value (see “Defining the
Time Scale for the Nudge value. Nudge Value” on page 678).
• To keep the Main Time Scale and use a different 2 With the Time Grabber or Selector tool, select
time format for the Nudge value, deselect Follow the clip, clips, or clip groups you want to nudge.
Main Timebase in the Nudge Value pop-up The clips can reside on multiple tracks. Only
menu. clips that are completely selected are nudged.
2 Specify a Nudge value by doing one of the fol- 3 Do one of the following:
lowing:
• On the numeric keypad, press Plus (+) to move
• From the Nudge value pop-up menu in the Edit the selection forward by the Nudge value.
window, select the Nudge value.
• Press Minus (–) to move the selection back by
• To specify a Nudge value not listed in the Nudge the Nudge value.
Value pop-up menu, click the Nudge Value indi-
cator and type in the value. The Nudge command works the same regardless of
the Edit mode. Adjacent clips are overlapped in
Shuffle mode, the Spot dialog does not appear
when in Spot mode, and shifted material does not
snap to the Grid when in Grid mode.
Layered Editing button (enabled) Figure 1. Editing with Layered Editing enabled
For MIDI clips, only the clips are quantized and all
MIDI data contained within the clips (such as
notes) are moved equally, thereby retaining their
rhythmic relationships.
You can quickly and easily apply fade-ins, fade- The type of selection you make determines the
outs on audio clips, and crossfades between adja- character of the crossfade.
cent audio clips. Crossfading is the process of fad-
ing between two clips of audio to prevent pops, Since crossfades are created by fading between
clicks, or sudden changes in sound. Crossfades overlapping audio material, a crossfade cannot
have many applications, from smoothing transi- be performed on clips that do not contain audio
tions between clips to creating special audio ef- material beyond their clip boundaries.
fects. The crossfade duration, position, and shape
are all user-definable. If a clip references insufficient data to execute
a selected fade or crossfade, you are prompted
to either skip those fades or to adjust the
About Crossfades and Curves bounds of the selection to execute those fades.
Use the Fades dialog to select, view, and manipu- Centered crossfade
late the curves used to perform fades and cross-
fades. Different volume curves can be assigned to This type of selection creates a crossfade on both
the fade-out and fade-in portions of crossfades. sides of the splice point, which affects the volume
The Fades dialog can also be used to audition a of clip 1 and clip 2. It is the most common type of
fade or crossfade before applying it. crossfade.
splice
sp lice splice
point point
clip 11
clip clip 22
clip clip 1 clip 2
This type of selection creates a crossfade before This type of selection creates a crossfade after the
the splice point. This lets you maintain the volume splice point. It is useful if you want to maintain the
of the very beginning of clip 2 instead of fading amplitude of clip 1 until its very end. When mak-
across it, which is useful if there is a strong attack ing selections for crossfades that occur on the bor-
at the beginning of clip 2 that you want to preserve. der of two clips, you can use the Tab key to move
When making selections for crossfades that occur the cursor to the exact beginning or end of a clip.
on the border of two clips, you can use the Tab key
to move the cursor to the exact beginning or end of This crossfade type requires that clip 1 contain au-
a clip. dio material beyond its end point.
Fade Out dialog If you are cross-fading between more than one
track this button allows you to view and preview
the audio of the second in a pair of adjacent tracks.
Preset Curve 6
Preset Curve 7
Preset Curve 6
Preset Curve 7
Preset Curve 4 fades in with a linear fade curve. Equal Gain Recommended for material that is
This is the default curve. phase-coherent or nearly phase-coherent. With this
fade, you can Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click
(Windows) the fade curve to reset it to its default
shape.
Preset Curve 5
Fade Link
For more information on adjusting the fade Overlap Fade This combination of curves keeps
shape, see “Manually Adjusting Fade Shapes both clips at full amplitude throughout the cross-
in Fade Windows” on page 700. fade: clip 2 “jumps in” at the beginning and clip 1
“jumps out” at the end.
For information on adjusting the start and end
1. Out 2. In
points of fades in a crossfade, see “Adjusting
the Start and End Points of a Crossfade” on
page 700
<factory default> Restores the default settings for Clip with a fade-in
the Fades dialog.
Creating Fade-Ins and Fade-
Save Settings Saves the current settings. This Outs
command overwrites any previous version of the
Depending on how you make the selection, you
preset.
can position a fade-in or fade-out at the exact be-
Save Settings As Saves the current settings as a ginning or end of a clip, or position it so it extends
new preset under a different name. into a blank area of the track. The length of the se-
lection in the clip determines the length of the
Import Settings Imports a fade settings file (.fd- fade-in or fade-out.
preset) from a location other than the Root Settings
folder or Session folder. You can also fade to the beginning or end of a clip
from an insertion point.
Delete Current Settings File Permanently deletes
the current fade settings file (.fdpreset) from disk. Although fades appear to be discrete clips, they
cannot be separated from the clips in which they
Save Fade Settings To Selects the folder where were created.
Fades preset files (.fdpreset) are saved. If you se-
lect Session Folder, the settings are saved in a When changing tempo in a tick-based audio track,
folder named “Fades Presets” within the current fade-ins and fade-outs remain with their parent
Session folder. If you select Root Settings Folder, clips. Fades maintain their absolute duration and
the settings are saved in the Pro Tools Root folder are consequently recalculated after any tempo
specified in the Operation preferences. changes.
Selecting the beginning of a clip for a fade-in Selecting the end of a clip for a fade-out
To apply a Fade In using the Default Fade To apply the Fade Out using the Default
In setting (in the Editing Preferences page), Fade Out setting (in the Editing Preferences
and without opening the Fades dialog, page), and without opening the Fades dia-
press Command+Control+F (Mac) or log, press Command+Control+F (Mac) or
Control+Start+F (Windows). Control+Start+F (Windows).
3 Select the fade-in curve and configure the other 3 Select the fade-out curve and configure the
Fade settings. other Fade settings.
4 Click the Audition button to audition the fade. 4 Click the Audition button to audition the fade.
5 Adjust the curve by dragging it or by selecting a 5 Adjust the curve by dragging it or by selecting a
different shape from the In Shape pop-up menu. different shape from the Out Shape pop-up
menu.
6 Click OK.
6 Click OK.
The selected fade curve appears in the clip.
Pro Tools calculates the fade and the selected fade
curve appears in the clip.
• Choose Edit > Fades > Fade To End. • Drag the Fade-In and Fade-Out curves to a cus-
tom shape. By choosing None as the Linking op-
• Press Control+G (Mac) or Start+G (Windows).
tion, you can drag the beginning or end points of
The fade is applied based on the Fade Out prefer- a fade curve to adjust its beginning or end point.
ences (see “Fade and Crossfade Preferences” on 8 Click the Audition button to audition the cross-
page 694). fade again.
9 When the crossfade sounds right, click OK.
Creating a Crossfade Crossfade lengths can be resized with any of
the Trim tools, including Nudge Trim com-
To create a crossfade between two clips:
mands. See “Using the Trim Tools” on
1 With the Selector tool, click at the point where page 630 and “Trimming with Nudge” on
you want the crossfade to begin in the first clip page 677.
and drag to where you want it to end in the sec-
ond clip. Crossfade selections can begin and To remove a crossfade, do one of the following:
end anywhere in their respective clips. Select the area of the track containing any cross-
2 Do one of the following: fades you want to delete and choose Edit >
Fades > Delete.
• Choose Edit > Fades > Create.
• Press Command+F (Mac) or Control+F (Win- Select the crossfade with the Time Grabber tool
dows). and press Delete (Mac) or Backspace (Win-
dows).
To apply a Crossfade using the Default
Right-click the crossfade with any of the edit
Crossfade setting (in the Editing Prefer-
tools and select Delete Fades from the pop-up
ences), and without opening the Fades dia-
menu.
log, press Command+Control+F (Mac) or
Control+Start+F (Windows).
Pre and Post Crossfade Pro Tools | Ultimate can automatically apply real-
Selections time fade-ins and fade-outs to all clip boundaries
in the session on playback. Specify the duration (0
By making a selection that begins or ends precisely
to 10 ms) for automatic real-time fades with the
on the border of two clips, you can create “pre” or
Auto Clip Fade In/Out Length preference in the Op-
“post” crossfades. Use the Tab key to place the in-
eration Preferences page). These fade-ins and
sertion point at the exact beginning or end of a clip.
fade-outs are performed during playback and do
To create a pre- or post-crossfade:
not appear in the Edit window.
1 With the Selector tool, click in the track that AutoFades are not applied to AudioSuite
contains the clips you want to crossfade. processing.
2 Do one of the following: This feature is especially useful in post production
• Press Tab to move forward to the next situations such as dialogue tracking. For example,
clip boundary. you can assign both a dialogue track and a “room
• Press Option+Tab (Mac) or Control+Tab (Win- tone” track with matching background to the same
dows) to move back to the previous clip bound- voice. You can then set the AutoFade option to a
ary. moderate length (4 ms or so) so that whenever a si-
lence occurs in the dialog, playback switches
smoothly to and from the background track with-
out clicks or pops.
2 Type a value between 0 and 10 ms for the Clip • Press Command+F (Mac) or Control+F (Win-
Auto Fade In/Out Length. A value of zero (the dows).
default) means that no auto-fading will occur. 4 In the Batch Fades dialog, select whether you
3 Click OK. The AutoFade value is saved with the want to Create New Fades, Adjust Existing
session, and is automatically applied to all free- Shape & Slope, Adjust Existing Length, or a
standing clip boundaries until you change it. combination of these options for fade ins, cross-
fades and fade outs.
Fade lengths can subsequently be resized Manually adjusting the fade shape
with any of the Trim tools, including
Nudge Trim commands. See “Using the
For Crossfades, you can edit only the fade-in
Trim Tools” on page 630 and “Trimming
shape of the curve by pressing Option (Mac)
with Nudge” on page 677.
or Alt (Windows) while dragging left or right.
To edit only the fade-out portion of the curve,
press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows)
Manually Adjusting Fade while dragging.
Shapes in Fade Windows
If the Fade Shape setting for a Fade In, Fade Out, 4 Click OK.
or Crossfade is set to Standard or S-Curve, Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows)
Pro Tools lets you adjust the fade shape in the any the fade curve to reset it to its default shape.
of the corresponding Fade window (Fade In, Fade
Out, and Crossfade) using the mouse. This in-
cludes Batch Fades and Fade windows in the Edit-
Adjusting the Start and End
ing preferences.
Points of a Crossfade
To adjust the fade (or crossfade) shape: If the Link setting for a Crossfade is set to Standard
1 Create a new fade (or crossfade) or open the or None, Pro Tools lets you adjust the start and end
Fade (or Crossfade) window for an existing points of the fade in and fade out of the crossfade
fade (or crossfade). independently. This includes the Batch Fades and
Crossfade windows in the Editing preferences.
2 Ensure that the Fade Shape is set to either Stan-
dard or S-Curve, and not to one of the seven To adjust the start and end points of a crossfade:
preset Fade Shapes.
1 Create a crossfade or open the Crossfade win-
dow for an existing crossfade.
2 Ensure that the Link setting for the Crossfade is
set to None.
• Use the Time Grabber tool to select the fade. 1 Do one of the following:
• Use the Selector tool to select a range that in- • Click a clip with the Time Grabber tool (or dou-
cludes the fade. ble-click with the Selector tool) to select the clip
along with the fade (in or out).
• Select multiple clips that include the fades and
crossfades you want to move.
1 Select the clip, but not the fade. 5 Drag the selected clip with the Grabber.
If you nudge a clip beyond the boundary of avail- Where your selection overlaps any fade-ins or
able audio for the crossfade, the fade is removed. fade-outs, the fade is trimmed to fit the selection.
Playlist selector
To rename a track’s assigned playlist: To show the previous playlist in the main
playlist for tracks that contain the Edit
1 Double-click the track’s name. cursor:
2 Type a new name and click OK. Press Shift+Up Arrow.
You can also delete playlists in Playlists view. Two tracks, Audio 1 with main playlist only (gray) and
Audio 2 with multiple playlists (blue)
Right-click the Playlist Name on a lane or in
Playlists and Edit Groups
the Tracks List and choose Delete.
7 If you want to hear the .01 take on the first 1 Open an existing Pro Tools session or create a
group of tracks, you can switch any playlist in new one.
the group back to playlist .01.
2 Choose Setup > Preferences, and click the
All tracks in the group have playlists numbered Operation tab.
with .01 suffixes (even those tracks that were 3 On the Operation page, in the Record section,
added to the original group after the earlier takes). select the Automatically Create New Playlists
Empty playlists are automatically created on these When Loop Recording option.
newly-added members so that playlist numbers
match across all members of the group. 4 Click OK.
7 With the Selector tool, select the loop range on Playlists view showing multiple alternate playlists
the track.
8 Record enable the audio track by clicking its If the Automatically Create New Playlists
Record Enable button. When Loop Recording option was disabled
before you started loop recording, Right-
9 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools click the clip in the main playlist and choose
for recording. Matches > Expand Alternates to New Play-
10 Click Play to start recording. lists.
Right-click on the Playlist lane and choose 1 Once you have identified the best take, make
Hide. any changes to the Edit selection. This is the se-
lection that will be copied to the target playlist.
With the same Edit selection that you used for
loop recording intact, Right-click the Track 2 Do one of the following:
Name or any of the Playlist Lane Names and • Choose Edit > Copy Selection To > Target
choose Filter Lanes > Show Only Lanes With > Playlist.
Clips Within the Edit Selection.
• Right-click the selection and choose Copy
Selection to Target Playlist.
• Click the Copy Selection to Target Playlist but-
ton for the Playlist lane.
Copy Selection to
Main Playlist button
Selecting a preset size for a Playlist lane Tracks List showing Playlist lanes for “Audio 1” track
• Hide Only Lanes With > Clips Within The Edit • When duplicating playlists (audio or MIDI),
Selection there will be matching alternate clips between
playlists.
• Hide Only Lanes With > Clips Outside The Edit
Selection • When importing multichannel audio from a field
recorder, there will be matching alternate clips
• Hide Only Lanes With > “Clips Rated >= 1–5” between channels.
Playlist lanes are shown and hidden accordingly. Pro Tools also provides several ways to access and
audition multiple matching alternate clips:
• Use the Clip Right-click menu to select match-
ing alternate clips according to certain criteria.
• Use the Alternate Takes pop-up menu to select
matching alternate clips.
• Use the Expand Alternates to New Tracks com-
mand to copy matching alternate clips to new
tracks.
• Use the Expand Alternates to New Playlists
command to copy matching alternate clips to
new alternate playlists on the same track. Then
use Playlists view to access the alternate play-
lists.
The following In Addition To Match options are 1 Configure the Matching Criteria window if nec-
mutually exclusive. essary (see “Matching Criteria” on page 723).
2 Do one of the following:
All Any clips that include the time location of the
Edit cursor; or any clips that are either partly or • Right-click the clip with the Selector or the
fully within the current time range of the Edit se- Grabber tool, and select a matching alternate
lection. take from the Matches submenu in the pop-up
menu.
Clip Start Any clips that have the same start time
as the time location of the Edit cursor or Edit selec-
tion.
Clip Start and End Any clips that have the same
start and end times as the Edit selection.
Expanding alternate takes to new playlists readily • If the clip is selected, with the Selector tool,
facilitates track compositing. Once you have ex- Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
panded alternate takes to new playlists on a track, dows) anywhere on the selected clip and choose
you can audition and edit them in Playlists view to Matches > Expand Alternates To New Tracks.
assemble the best takes in the main playlist. • If the clip is not selected, with the Selector tool,
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
To expand alternate takes to new playlists: dows) at the precise beginning of the loop or
1 Identify the clip on the main playlist with punch range and choose Matches > Expand
matching alternate clips (takes). Alternates To New Tracks.
2 Do one of the following: 3 Then choose one of the following from the Ex-
• Right-click the clip and choose Matches > pand Alternates To New Tracks sub-menu:
Expand Alternates To New Playlists. By Track Name Names all new tracks after the
• If the clip is selected, with the Selector tool, source track name.
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
By Clip Name Names each new tracks after the
dows) anywhere on the selected clip and choose
corresponding original clip names that you see in
Matches > Expand Alternates To New Playlists.
the Matches list.
• If the clip is not selected, with the Selector tool,
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- By Track and Clip Name Names all new tracks af-
dows) at the precise beginning of the loop or ter the source track name, but with the correspond-
punch range and choose Matches > Expand ing original clip names in parenthesis.
Alternates To New Playlists.
All matching alternate clips are copied to new
All matching alternate clips are copied to new tracks.
playlists on the track. To view all playlists for the
track, select Playlists view. In any track view, you
can also select any available alternate playlist as
the main playlist from the Playlist selector.
2 Right-click the edited guide track audio file in • Copy or move an Edit selection to the Target
the browser and choose Relink Selected. playlist from Waveform view without having to
switch to Playlist view.
3 In the upper pane of the Relink window, navi-
• Composite Grouped tracks.
gate to the original unedited guide track audio
file that was recorded in Pro Tools. The Main playlist is the Target playlist by de-
fault.
If the original unedited file is not available,
you can relink to any of the source audio files
as long as they have the same start and end Designating the Target Playlist
times as the guide track. The designated Target playlist is the destination
for all edits whether you are editing in Playlist
4 In the Select Files To Relink pane, select the ed-
view or Waveform view. Editing to Target play-
ited guide track file.
lists in Waveform view is especially useful when
5 Drag the original unedited guide track audio file editing grouped tracks.
into the Candidates pane. If a dialog appears
stating that one or more files are shorter than the To designate any playlist as the Target playlist
from any track view:
media file you are trying to relink, click Yes to
select it for relinking anyway. 1 Click the Playlist selector.
6 Check the box to the left of the file in the Can- 2 Select Target Playlist > Main Playlist or <playlist
didates pane so that the Link icon appears. name> for any other available playlist.
If a Clip Group spans multiple tracks, the 1 Place the Edit cursor in the playlist you want to
Clip Group is broken if the any of the tracks target.
in the Clip Group are not also Edit grouped
2 Press Command+Shift+Right Arrow (Mac) or
when switching to Playlists view.
Control+Shift+Right Arrow (Windows).
After you have designated Target playlists for 1 In Playlists view, Option-click (Mac) or Alt-
tracks you can work quickly when comping from click (Windows) the Target button for the play-
different playlists using key commands. Key mod- list you want to target.
ifiers can also be used to target the same playlist in 2 Hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows), click on
all tracks of the same type or in all selected tracks the Playlist Selector menu, then click the Target
of the same type (audio, MIDI, Instrument, or Playlist sub-menu and click on the playlist you
Video). want to target.
To show the Target playlist as the Main Playlist: To target the same playlist in all selected tracks:
Press Shift+Right Arrow. 1 In Playlists view, Option-Shift-click (Mac) or
Alt-Shift-click (Windows) the Target button for
To toggle between the two most recently viewed the playlist you want to target.
Main playlists:
2 Hold Option-Shift (Mac) or Alt-Shift (Win-
Press Shift+Left Arrow.
dows), click on the Playlist Selector menu, then
To copy the current Edit selection to the Target
click the Target Playlist sub-menu and click on
playlist, do one of the following: the playlist you want to target.
Choose Edit > Copy To > Target Playlist. To focus the first playlist:
Right-click and choose Copy To > Target Play- Press Shift+Home (full-sized keyboard).
list.
Press fn+Shift+Left arrow (laptop).
Press Option+Shift+Up Arrow (Mac) or
Alt+Shift+Up Arrow (Windows). To focus the last playlist:
Home icon indicating that the audio selection cycled through all alternate playlists to its original playlist
When cycling through playlists, when you return to the starting playlist a “home” icon appears, no clip
edits are made, and any previous clip separation edits are healed.
• If you designate the playlist in the Main playlist view as the Target playlist (using either the keyboard
shortcut or the menu command), a blue target icon and light blue overlay the size of the Main playlist are
briefly displayed.
Blue target indicating that the Main playlist is the Target playlist
Gray target indicating that the Main playlist is no longer the Target playlist
Table 1. If you send a selection to the Target playlist from the Target playlist, a red “not allowed” icon is briefly
displayed at the center of the selection.
Move the Edit cursor up and down through Control+P and Control+ Start+P and Start+
Playlist lanes Semicolon (;) Semicolon (;)
Show the previous or next playlist in the Shift+Up Arrow/Shift+Down Shift+Up Arrow/Shift+Down
main playlist for tracks that contain the Edit Arrow Arrow
cursor
To designate the Target playlist for the Command+Shift+Right Arrow Control+Shift+Right Arrow
playlist containing the Edit insertion
To show the Target playlist as the Main Shift+Right Arrow Shift+Right Arrow
Playlist
To toggle between the current and most Shift+Left Arrow Shift+Left Arrow
recent Main playlists
Copy the selection to the Target playlist Option+Shift+Up Arrow or Alt+Shift+Up Arrow or
Option+Control+V Alt+Start+V
Focus the first playlist Shift+Home (full-sized key- Shift+Home (full-sized key-
(with Edit selection in the Main playlist) board) board)
fn+Shift+Left Arrow (laptop) fn+Shift+Left Arrow (laptop)
Focus the last playlist Shift+End (full-sized keyboard) Shift+End (full-sized keyboard)
(with Edit selection in the Main playlist) fn+Shift+Right Arrow (laptop) fn+Shift+Right Arrow (laptop)
Move ahead five playlists Shift+Page Down (full-sized Shift+Page Down (full-sized
(with Edit selection in the Main playlist) keyboard) keyboard)
fn+Shift+Down Arrow (laptop) fn+Shift+Down Arrow (laptop)
Move back five playlists Shift+Page Up (full-sized key- Shift+Page Up (full-sized key-
(with Edit selection in the Main playlist) board) board)
fn+Shift+Up Arrow (laptop) fn+Shift+Up Arrow (laptop)
Target the same playlist in all audio tracks Shift-click the Target button for Shift-click the Target button for
the playlist you want to target the playlist you want to target
To target the same playlist in all tracks of Shift-click the playlist you want Shift-click the playlist you want
the same type (audio, MIDI, Instrument, or to target in the Playlist selector to target in the Playlist selector
Video) menu menu
Target the same playlist in all selected In Playlists view, Option-Shift- In Playlists view, Alt-Shift-click
audio tracks click the Target button for the the Target button for the play-
playlist you want to target list you want to target
Target the same playlist in all selected Option-Shift-click the playlist Alt-Shift-click the playlist you
tracks of the same type (audio, MIDI, you want to target in the Play- want to target in the Playlist
Instrument, or Video) list selector menu selector menu
To open the Beat Detective window, do one of the The Beat Detective modes include the following:
following:
Operation Lets you choose to analyze either MIDI
Choose Event > Beat Detective.
or audio material.
Press Command+8 (Mac) or Control+8 (Win-
Bar|Beat Marker Generation Generates Bar|Beat
dows) on the numeric keypad.
Markers corresponding to transients detected in
Beat Detective is a floating window that can be left the audio selection or according to accent patterns
open while working. This lets you adjust the con- with MIDI notes.
trols in real time during playback, while viewing
Groove Template Extraction Extracts the rhyth-
the beat triggers that appear in your selection in the
mic and dynamic information from audio or MIDI,
Edit window.
and saves this information to the Groove Clip-
board, or as a DigiGroove template.
Beat Detective Modes Clip Separation (Audio Only) Separates and cre-
ates new clips based on transients detected in the
The Beat Detective window is divided into three audio selection.
sections: Operation, Selection, and Detection. De-
pending on the Operation mode, the controls in the Clip Conform (Audio Only) Conforms all sepa-
Action section change. The Selection options for rated clips within the selection to the current tempo
Beat Detective are available in each of the Opera- map. Beat Detective can conform audio clips to
tion modes. groove templates (such as DigiGroove templates)
in addition to standard quantization.
As long as the audio material is correctly Beat Detection Across Multiple Tracks
aligned with the session’s tempo map, use
When analyzing a selection with multiple tracks,
Capture Selection each time you make a new
Beat Detective analyzes each independently. Tran-
selection or make any changes to the tempo
sients that are detected in any track appear as Beat
map (such as changing tempo or meter).
Triggers across all selected tracks regardless of
whether or not the detected transient resides in any
The Selection definition is not retained when other track. However, for closely aligned events on
a session is closed and re-opened multiple tracks, Beat Detective only identifies the
first detected transient of a beat event.
4 To improve Beat Detective’s accuracy in ana-
lyzing swung notes, select the Contains option For example, if you have four drum tracks—kick,
that indicates the smallest sub-division of the snare, and a pair of overheads—transients in the
beat contained in the selection. The Contains overhead mics tracks occur a little later than the
option includes quarter-notes, eighth-notes, six- closely miked snare and kick tracks because it
teenth-notes (the default setting), thirty-second- takes more time for the sound to travel from the
notes, and a triplet modifier. The selected Con- source to the microphones. If you make a selection
tains option determines the groove template across all four tracks and analyze them using Beat
grid locations for DigiGroove templates. Detective, only the transients in the kick and snare
tracks will be identified as beat triggers because
the transients on overheads will be recognized as
being part of the same beat events (only a little bit
late). For information on individually analyzing
multiple tracks, see “Using Collection Mode” on
page 758.
10 To display the metric locations for the triggers, 7 If your MIDI track contains chords, choose one
select the Show Trigger Time option. of the following MIDI chord recognition algo-
rithms from the Analysis pop-up menu:
11 If you cannot get the beat triggers to appear at
• Last Note
the right locations, repeat steps 5–10, trying one
of the other Analysis algorithms (High or Low • First Note
Emphasis). • Loudest Note
• Average Location
• Highest Note
• Lowest Note
8 Click Analyze.
Beat Detective translates the amplitude of signals 6 In the Extract Groove Template dialog, enter
in audio tracks to MIDI velocity according to a lin- comments about the groove. You can enter a
ear scale. For example: maximum of 255 characters to describe the
groove. Comments can be viewed using the
• A 0 dBFS signal equals a MIDI velocity of 127.
Show Info button in the Beat Detective window.
• A –6 dBFS signal equals a MIDI velocity of 64.
• A –12 dBFS signal equals a MIDI velocity of
32.
• A –48 dBFS signal equals a MIDI velocity of 1.
2 Select Groove.
• Higher percentage values align the clips more • If necessary, select Edit > Undo, and repeat steps
tightly to the groove templates grid, with 100% 4–9 trying a different groove template or Groove
aligning precisely to the template grid. Conform settings.
• If the slider is set to 200%, clips move to a loca- • If necessary, apply Edit Smoothing (see “Edit
tion that is twice the difference between the orig- Smoothing” on page 755).
inal clip location and the position of the
referenced template event.
Edit Smoothing
For example, if a note was played at Bar 1|1|060 (a
(Audio Only)
16th note), and the corresponding template event is
at 1|1|073, a slider value of 100% results in the note After clips are conformed, there may be gaps be-
being shifted to 1|1|073; a slider value of 200% tween the clips. These gaps can cause the material
shifts the note to 1|1|086. to sound unnatural on playback.
8 To conform the material before applying the
groove template, enable the Pre-Process Using
Standard Conform option.
1. Beat triggers
detected in Kick track
added to collection
Overhead mic track displaying a collection of beat triggers containing unique triggers generated from the kick,
snare, and hi-hat tracks
11 Repeat steps 7–10 for each additional track you are analyzing.
The beat triggers stored in the Collection mode are saved with sessions. Therefore, when a session is
opened later, the previous collection material is still there (until it is cleared).
12 Once the beat triggers have been added to the collection, you can use them to generate Bar|Beat Markers
or groove template, or separate clips. However, this must be done from the Collection Mode section
(when the triggers are displayed in multiple colors).
To separate clips across multiple tracks, make sure to extend the selection to any additional tracks be-
fore separating.
The Default Note Duration setting updates to show Click the Default Note On Velocity setting in
the selected note value. the Edit window, a MIDI Editor window, or the
Score Editor window, type a new number and
press Enter.
• To make the selected Grid value a triplet, click Parabolic and S-Curve Pencil shapes are
the Grid Value selector again and select Triplet. used for drawing tempo events only in the
Tempo Editor. See “Drawing Tempo Events”
4 Verify the default session meter and tempo (see
on page 869.
“Setting the Session Meter” on page 520 and
“Setting the Session Tempo” on page 521). To select the Pencil tool shape:
For more information on Grid mode, see 1 Click the Pencil tool icon in the Toolbar for the
“Grid Mode” on page 618. Pencil tool shape pop-up menu.
Inserting a Series of Notes With these settings, the notes are inserted spaced
one quarter note apart.
In the Edit window and in MIDI Editor windows,
the Line, Triangle, Square, and Random Pencil 4 Click at the point to insert the first note and drag
tool shapes can be used to enter a series of identical to the right until the number of notes you want
pitches with varying velocities. The duration and have been inserted.
spacing for the inserted notes are determined by
the current Grid value and the Default Note Dura-
tion setting.
Use the mini-keyboard on MIDI and Instrument With any Edit tool selected, click a key and drag
tracks to select and play notes on that track. You up or down on the mini-keyboard.
can click on the mini-keyboard with any Edit tool.
With any Edit tool selected, click a key on the You can also Shift-click on the mini-keyboard
mini-keyboard. to extend or contract the range of notes.
The placement of MIDI notes can also be ad- Changing note end times with the Trim tool
justed with Shift (see “Shift Command” on
If the Edit mode is set to Grid, the dragged start or
page 924) or Nudge (see “Nudging Clips” on
end point snaps to the nearest Grid boundary. If the
page 677).
Edit mode is set to Spot, the Spot dialog opens,
where you can enter the new location for the note’s
Trimming Note Start and End start or end point.
Times
Like clips, start and end points for MIDI notes can When in Grid mode, use the Command key
be adjusted with the Trim tool. If several notes are (Mac) or Control key (Windows) to temporar-
selected when performing the trim, each note is ily disable Grid mode.
changed.
Notes can also be trimmed with the Trim Clip to Se-
The Trim tool can also be used on MIDI clips. lection command (see “Trim to Selection Com-
For more informations, see “Time Compres- mand” on page 675) and the Trim To Insertion
sion/Expansion Trim Tool Functionality on command (see “Trimming with Nudge” on
MIDI Clips” on page 779. page 677).
4 Move the cursor near the beginning of any of 2 With the Time Grabber tool, select the MIDI
the highlighted notes, so the Trim tool appears. notes you want to trim.
Drag right to shorten the notes, or drag left to
lengthen them.
With the Grabber or Pencil tool, Control-Shift- 1 Select the MIDI notes you want to consolidate.
click (Mac) or Start-Shift-click (Windows) on
2 Do one of the following:
the MIDI note at the location where you want
the separation. • Choose Edit > Consolidate.
• Right-click the selected notes and choose Con-
solidate.
To consolidate MIDI notes with the Consolidate To mute one or more MIDI notes:
tool:
1 Select the MIDI notes you want to mute.
With the Grabber or Pencil tool, Control-Shift-
click (Mac) or Start-Shift-click (Windows) be- 2 Do one of the following:
tween the separated MIDI notes. • Choose Edit > Mute Notes.
• Right-click the selected MIDI notes and choose
Mute Notes.
You can also use the Trim tool to scale the veloci-
ties for all selected notes. This is useful if you like
the velocity relationship between the notes, but
Revealing the Velocity Lane
want them all to be louder or softer.
2 Select any Grabber tool.
When in Velocity view, the Trim tool can be
3 Drag the top (diamond) of the velocity stalk up used to trim note durations in addition to
or down. changing velocities.
Pitch
Velocity Trim Tool Attack Velocity
To trim the velocity of one or more selected MIDI Release Velocity
notes:
A new value in the Start field moves the first note With the Pencil tool selected, Option-click
in the selection to that location, with all other notes (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the note. The
moving with it. Pencil tool changes to an Eraser when Option
(Mac) or Alt (Windows) is pressed.
Values entered in the pitch and velocity fields add Program change events and Sysex events can
to or subtract from the values for all selected notes. also be deleted by Option-clicking (Mac) or
For example, to transpose all selected notes down Alt-clicking (Windows) them with the Pencil
an octave, enter a value of –12 for pitch. tool.
Before trimming a MIDI clip with the Time 1 Set the Edit mode to Slip.
Compression/Expansion Trim tool
2 Set the MIDI or Instrument track to Clips view.
3 Select the TCE Trim tool.
4 With the TCE Trim tool, drag the MIDI clip’s
start or end point to compress or expand the clip
freely A new MIDI clip is automatically cre-
After trimming a MIDI clip with the Time Compression/ ated, and appears both in the playlist and in the
Expansion Trim tool
Clips List.
Using the Time Compression/
Expansion Trim Tool in Grid Using the Time Compression/
Mode Expansion Trim Tool in Spot
Mode
The Time Compression/Expansion Trim tool
(TCE Trim tool) can be used in Grid mode to In Spot mode, clicking with the TCE Trim tool in a
match a clip to the tempo of a session or a section clip opens the Spot dialog. You can specify the lo-
of a session, or to create “double time” or “half cation where you want the clip to start or end, or
time” performances. the duration of the clip, and the clip is automati-
cally compressed or expanded as specified.
To compress or expand MIDI clips in Grid mode:
To compress or expand MIDI clips in Spot mode:
1 Set the Edit mode to Grid.
1 Set the Edit mode to Spot.
2 If necessary, set the MIDI or Instrument track to
Clips view. 2 Set the MIDI or Instrument track to Clips view.
3 Select the TCE Trim tool. 3 Select the TCE Trim tool.
4 With the TCE Trim tool, drag the MIDI clip’s 4 Click the MIDI clip near its start or end point.
start or end point to compress or expand the clip The Spot dialog opens. Using any Time Scale,
to the Grid (for example, by quarter notes). A enter a new start or end time (or duration) for
new MIDI clip is automatically created, and ap- the clip, and then click OK. A new MIDI clip is
pears both in the playlist and in the Clips List. automatically created, and appears both in the
playlist and in the Clips List.
New controller events can be drawn in with the 1 Choose Setup > Preferences, then click the
Pencil tool to replace existing events. Events can MIDI tab.
be drawn with the Pencil tool (set to Free Hand, 2 Type a value (1 to 100 milliseconds) for Pencil
Line, Triangle, Square, or Random). Tool Resolution When Drawing Controller Data.
Controller events can be cut or copied and 3 Click OK.
pasted, as well as nudged or shifted.
Navigating Notes
To increase or decrease the velocities of selected If you do not know what bank select command
notes in increments of 5: your instrument uses, you can record MIDI to
Press Command+Up/Down Arrow (Mac) or Pro Tools while making a bank change from
Control+Up/Down Arrow (Windows). the instrument. Then review the bank select
information your instrument has recorded
To increase or decrease the velocities of selected into Pro Tools in the MIDI Event List.
notes in increments of 15:
Press Command+Shift+Up/Down Arrow (Mac) Some older MIDI devices (such as the Kurz-
or Control+Shift+Up/Down Arrow (Windows). weil K1000) use a program change instead of
a Bank Select message to switch banks. For
these devices you may find it necessary to send
two program change messages to access a
particular program, where the first sets the
bank and the second sets the program.
The placement of program changes can also 4 Type a value for the number of seconds that will
be adjusted with Shift (see “Shift Command” elapse between each program change.
on page 924) or Nudge (see “Nudging Clips” 5 Select the Increment Patch option.
on page 677).
After the specified number of seconds, Pro Tools
To delete a program change event: selects the next patch and transmits the program
1 With the Track View or Controller lane set to change to the track’s assigned MIDI output.
Program Change view, click the program
6 When you are finished auditioning settings, de-
change event with any Grabber tool to select it.
select the Increment Patch option and select the
If the clip contains other events you want to program number (or patch name) you want and
delete, you can delete the clip and the Pro- click Done.
gram Change event will also be deleted.
Auditioning Programs
When the Patch Select dialog is open, Pro Tools
can automatically scroll through the different
patches for a track’s assigned MIDI device.
Sysex event block, Sysex view shown
To audition patches: While the contents of recorded System Exclusive
1 If you want to audition patches for a MIDI track events cannot be directly edited in Pro Tools, the
or Instrument during playback, click Play in the events can be moved or nudged, copied and pasted,
Transport. or deleted.
2 Open the Patch Select dialog by clicking the
Patch Select button, or by inserting or editing a
program change event in a MIDI or Instrument
track.
Real-Time Properties can be adjusted in the Real- Real-Time Properties pop-up menu with Mini Track
Time Properties view in the Edit window, or in the Height
Real-Time Properties window.
Real-Time Properties Window
For MIDI Real-Time Properties to apply to
incoming MIDI data with MIDI Thru Using the Real-Time Properties window, you can
enabled, the corresponding MIDI and apply Real-Time Properties to selected tracks or
Instrument tracks must be record-enabled. clips.
Real-Time Properties
Settings
Quantize
Quantize either can be based on a grid or a groove
template. For grid quantize, additional tuplet and
grid offset settings are available in addition to the
standard MIDI quantize properties. For groove
Real-Time Properties window, expanded view
quantize, additional controls are provided to set the
extent to which the groove’s duration and veloci-
Enabling Real-Time Properties ties are applied. Both grid and groove quantize also
To enable Real-Time Properties: let you set a strength amount, an “include” range,
and a randomize amount.
1 Select a track, or make an Edit selection.
Quantize cannot be applied as a Real-Time
When using Real-Time Properties, enable
Property to MIDI Input and Thru.
Link Track and Edit Selection mode to make a
track selection from an Edit selection (see
“Linking or Unlinking Track and Edit Selec-
tions” on page 649).
Velocity
Velocity lets you change MIDI velocity by a per-
centage or by constant value. Enter a percentage
value in the Dynamics field to scale velocity
around the median velocity of 64. You can also en-
ter an offset by adding (+) or subtracting (–) values
between 1 and 127. You can also enter Minimum
Real-Time Properties Ticks/Notes pop-up menus
and Maximum Velocity value limits. The Mini-
mum (Min) and Maximum (Max) Velocity options
Minimum and Maximum Durations are only available in the expanded Real-Time
Enable either or both minimum and maximum du- Properties window.
rations and enter a value in quarter notes plus ticks Velocity can be applied as a Real-Time Prop-
or as a multiple of a note size. The Minimum (Min) erty to MIDI Input and Thru on record-en-
and Maximum (Max) Durations options are only abled MIDI and Instrument tracks.
available in the expanded Real-Time Properties
window.
Transpose
3 Click OK.
Pro Tools provides MIDI Editor windows for detailed MIDI editing.
Record enable
Solo Track Edit selector
Default Note Duration
Mute
Default Note Velocity
Notation Key Focus
View Play MIDI Notes While Editing
Edit Mirrored MIDI Editing MIDI Editor menu
Tools Link Timeline and Edit Selection
Edit modes Grid Chord Cursor Target
selector display location
Tracks List
Velocity, Controller and Superimposed MIDI Zoom controls
Groups List Automation lanes and Instrument tracks
MIDI Editor window
Notation View
In a MIDI editor window, the Record-enable, Solo,
and Mute buttons affect tracks in all windows. The Notation view button lets you view MIDI
They let you either audition the tracks shown in the notes in the MIDI Editor window as music nota-
current MIDI Editor window without the rest of tion. In Notation view, MIDI and Instrument tracks
the mix, or let you hear just the mix without the are not superimposed, but are shown as staves just
tracks shown in the MIDI Editor window. Addi- like in the Score Editor window.
tionally, these buttons provide a quick visual indi-
cation as to whether or not any MIDI or Instrument
tracks are record-enabled, soloed, or muted.
Record-Enable
Notation view enabled in a MIDI Editor window
The Record-enable button lets you record-enable
(or record-disable) all the tracks currently dis- You can access the Notation Display Track
played in the MIDI Editor window. Settings in a MIDI Editor window when in
Notation view. Select the Notation Display
Solo Track Settings option from the Tracks List
menu or Right-click in the Notes pane and se-
The Solo button lets you solo all the tracks cur-
lect the Notation Display Track Settings op-
rently displayed in the MIDI Editor window.
tion from the Right-click menu. For more in-
formation, see “Notation Display Track
Settings” on page 833.
Cursor Location Display To show (or hide) the MIDI Input display in a MIDI
Editor window:
The Cursor Location display in MIDI Editor win- 1 Click the MIDI Editor Window menu or Right-
dows functions exactly the same way in MIDI Ed- click anywhere in the MIDI Editor window
itor windows as in the Edit window. toolbar.
2 Select (or deselect) MIDI Input Display.
Edit Selection Display
The Edit Selection display in MIDI Editor win- Note names are displayed as the note letter
dows functions exactly the same way for MIDI name and register number (for example, C3
data in MIDI Editor windows as in the Edit win- or C4) or as the MIDI note number (for ex-
dow. The Selection display can be shown or hid- ample, 60) according to the specified Note
den in the Toolbar. Display option in the Pro Tools MIDI Prefer-
ences (Setup > Preferences > MIDI).
To show (or hide) the Edit Selection display in a
MIDI Editor window, do one of the following:
Target
Generally, the Target button for MIDI Editor win-
dows functions just like the Target button for Plug-
In, Output, and Send windows. Additionally, the
Target button in a MIDI Editor window synchro-
nizes its Timeline location view to the Timeline lo-
cation view in the Edit window. Any changes to
Untargeted MIDI Editor window
the Edit selection in the Edit window are reflected
in the Targeted MIDI Editor window. There can
MIDI Editor Window Menu
only be one targeted MIDI Editor window at a
time. The targeted MIDI Editor window can also The MIDI Editor Window menu provides access to
be stored in a Window Configuration. MIDI Editor Window Display options and Scroll-
ing options.
One or more untargeted MIDI Editor windows can
remain open and available at the same time, just MIDI Editor Window Display Options
like untargeted Plug-In windows. Targeting an un-
targeted MIDI Editor window disables any other Expanded Edit Tools
targeted MIDI Editor window.
When selected, the Expanded Edit Tools option
The front-most window, regardless of whether it is displays all of the Edit Tools in the MIDI Editor
targeted, always receives Commands Keyboard window toolbar.
Focus and control surface focus.
Tracks List
Scrolling Submenu
Expanded Grid/Nudge Display No Scrolling The MIDI Editor window does not
scroll during or after playback. The playback cur-
When selected, the Expanded Grid/Nudge Display sor moves across the MIDI Editor window, indi-
option displays the Nudge selector in addition to cating the playback location.
the Grid selector in the MIDI Editor window tool-
bar. After Playback The playback cursor moves across
the MIDI Editor window, indicating the playback
location. When playback has stopped, the MIDI
Editor window scrolls to the final playback loca-
tion.
Grid and Nudge selectors
Selection Display Page The playback cursor moves across the MIDI
Editor window, indicating the playback location.
When selected, the Selection Display option shows When the right edge of the MIDI Editor window is
the Edit Selection Display in the MIDI Editor win- reached, its entire contents are scrolled, and the
dow toolbar. playback cursor continues moving from the left
edge of the window.
Enable the Keep Window On Top option in the • Expanded Edit Tools
MIDI MIDI Editor window menu to ensure that • Expanded Grid/Nudge Display
the window remains in the foreground when work- • Selection Display
ing with other windows. When this option is dis-
abled, clicking on another window (such as the Rearranging Controls and Displays
Edit or Mix windows) brings that window to the
front and the MIDI Editor window may be hidden You can rearrange the controls and displays in the
behind it. MIDI Editor window toolbar just like in the Edit
window or the Score Editor window.
To keep the MIDI Editor window always in front of
all other windows: To rearrange controls and displays in a MIDI Editor
window toolbar:
From the MIDI Editor window menu, select the
Keep Window On Top option. Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
dows) the controls or displays you want to move
and drag them to the location in the Toolbar you
want.
Tracks List
MIDI Zoom In and Out Buttons Show/Hide Indicates which tracks are shown or
hidden in the MIDI Editor window.
Pro Tools provides MIDI Zoom In and Out buttons
in the upper-right corner of MIDI Editor windows. Track Color Displays the track color for each track
These controls function exactly the same as the by type or by track.
MIDI Zoom controls in the toolbar, and let you Name Displays the name for each track.
zoom in and out vertically on MIDI notes.
Pencil Lets you enable a track for manually enter-
ing MIDI notes with the Pencil tool.
To show MIDI, Instrument, and Auxiliary Input 1 In the Tracks List, select the MIDI, Instrument,
tracks in a MIDI Editor window: and Auxiliary Input tracks you want to hide.
Enable the Track Show/Hide icon in the Tracks 2 From the Tracks List menu, select Hide Se-
List for tracks you want to show in the MIDI lected Tracks.
Editor window.
To show all MIDI, Instrument, and Auxiliary Input Sorting Tracks in the Tracks List
tracks in a MIDI Editor window:
You can sort tracks in the Tracks List by the fol-
From the Tracks List menu, select Show All lowing criteria:
Tracks.
Name Sorts the order of tracks in the Tracks List
To show only selected MIDI, Instrument, and by Track Name.
Auxiliary Input tracks in a MIDI Editor window:
Type Sorts the order of tracks in the Tracks List by
1 In the Tracks List, select the MIDI, Instrument, Track Type.
and Auxiliary Input tracks you want to show in
the MIDI Editor window. Edit Group Sorts the order of tracks in the Tracks
List by Edit Groups.
2 From the Tracks List menu, select Show Only
Selected Tracks. Mix Group Sorts the order of tracks in the Tracks
List by Mix Groups.
To show all tracks of a single type (MIDI or
Instrument) in a MIDI Editor window: Voice Sorts the order of tracks in the Tracks List by
Voice allocations.
From the Tracks List menu, choose Show Only,
and select the track type you want.
Tracks List Right-Click Menu
To hide MIDI, Instrument, and Auxiliary Input
tracks in a MIDI Editor window:
In addition to common track management com-
mands, the Tracks List Right-click menu shares
Disable the Track Show/Hide icon for tracks commands with both the Tracks List menu and the
you want to hide in the MIDI Editor window. Notes Pane Right-click menu.
To hide all (but one) MIDI, Instrument, and To access the MIDI Editor Tracks List Right-click
Auxiliary Input tracks in a MIDI Editor window: menu:
From the Tracks List menu, select Hide All Right-click on any Track Name in the Tracks
Tracks. List.
You can also view and edit MIDI notes in Notation view in the Notes pane (see “Notation View”
on page 820).
MIDI Editor window, Notes pane with five superimposed Instrument tracks
When Color Coding by Track is enabled, tracks in the MIDI Editor are temporarily assigned one of
sixteen fixed colors, in the order they appear in the Tracks List.
When Color Coding by Velocity is enabled, MIDI notes are all the same red color (hue) on all tracks dis-
played, and MIDI notes vary in color saturation (from a light red to a dark red) based on the Note On ve-
locity. Notes with low velocities are lighter in color and those with high velocities are darker.
No Color Coding
When neither Color Coding by Track nor Color Coding by Velocity are enabled, notes are drawn in the
MIDI Editor in as the same color they are in the Edit window—using the color coding options as set in the
Track Color Coding settings in the Display Preferences.
The Tools submenu lets you select any Edit tools Merge
relevant to the Score Editor.
The Merge command pastes the clipboard to the
Zoomer Selects the Zoomer tool. current Edit selection or at the current Edit cursor
location and merges the pasted data with any MIDI
Trim Selects the Trim tool.
notes already present at the same location.
Selector Selects the Selector tool.
Clear
Grabber Selects the Grabber tool.
The Clear command clears (deletes) the current
Scrubber Selects the Scrubber tool. Edit selection.
Pencil Selects the Pencil tool. Separate
Smart Selects the Smart tool. The Separate command lets you separate MIDI
Zoomer Tools Lets you select Normal Zoom or notes at the Edit cursor location.
Single Zoom.
Consolidate
Pencil Tools Lets you select any of the Pencil
The Consolidate command lets you consolidate se-
tools.
lected multiple consecutive MIDI notes of the
Insert same pitch.
The Insert submenu lets you insert key changes, Mute Notes
meter changes, and chord symbols at the location
The Mute Notes (or Unmute Notes) command lets
of the Edit cursor.
you mute (or unmute) selected MIDI notes.
Key Inserts a key change.
MIDI Real-Time Properties
Meter Inserts a meter change.
Selecting the MIDI Real-Time Properties option
Chord Inserts a chord symbol. opens the MIDI Real-Time Properties window.
The Event Operations submenu lets you select any Selecting the Display Notation option changes the
of the Event Operations windows (such as Quan- MIDI Editor to Notation view. Deselecting this op-
tize or Change Velocity). tion reverts the MIDI Editor to Notes view.
Right-click in the Notes pane and select Notation View Right-Click Menu
Notation View.
When in Notation view, the Notes Pane Right-
Editing in Notation view in a MIDI Editor window click menu provides slightly different options than
works the same way as in the Score Editor win- when in Superimposed Notes view.
dow, but with the advantage of having access to
Velocity, Controller, and Automation lanes. In both views, the following options are available:
• Tools
In Notation view, the Trim tool functions as
• Insert
the Grabber tool when over a note and as the
Note Selector tool when not over a note. • Cut
• Copy
In Notation view, the Edit mode is • Paste
automatically set to Grid and cannot be
• Clear
changed.
• Separate
Double Bar in Notation View • Consolidate
The Double Bar button is only available in Nota- • Mute
tion view. When enabled, the Double Bar option • MIDI Real-Time Properties
shows the final double bar line in the MIDI Editor
• Event Operations
window. The double bar line is located at the end
of the last MIDI clip or event in the session. • Open In New MIDI Editor
• Open In Score Editor
• Open In MIDI Event List.
• Display Notation
Show/Hide lanes
Velocity lane
(2 tracks superimposed)
Remove lane
Add lane
Controller/Automation
Type selector
Paired Automation
lanes for separate
tracks
Velocity, Controller, and Automation lanes for two stereo Instrument tracks
The Score Editor window lets you view, edit, arrange, and print MIDI from your session as music
notation. MIDI notes are transcribed in real-time whether you record, import, draw (with the Pencil tool),
or Step Enter MIDI.
1 Ensure that there is no Edit selection. Normal Zoom The Zoomer tool remains selected
after zooming.
2 Right-click the Track name of an unselected
track in the Edit or Mix window, or in the Single Zoom The previously selected Edit tool is
Tracks List of the Edit, Mix, or MIDI Editor automatically reselected after zooming.
window.
Press the F5 key to select the Zoomer tool
3 From the Right-click menu, choose Open In and toggle between Normal and Single Zoom
Score Editor. modes.
If the Score Editor option is selected as the 2 Click once with the Zoomer tool at a location
“Double Clicking a MIDI Clip Opens” set- within the score. The score is zoomed in by one
ting in the MIDI Preferences page, you can level and is centered around the zoomed loca-
double-click a MIDI clip to open it in the tion.
Score Editor.
3 To zoom back to the previous level, Option-
click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) with the
Zoomer tool.
Note Selector
Use the Note Selector tool to select notes on one or
more staves in the Score Editor window. Selected
notes highlight blue. Selected notes can be deleted,
moved, transposed, and processed (using Event
Operations).
Use the Pencil tools to insert, select, move, or de- The Triangle Pencil tool lets you draw a series of
lete notes in the Score Editor window. The various MIDI notes on a single pitch whose velocities os-
Pencil tools differ in how they draw note durations, cillate between the defined Default Note Velocity
repeated notes, and velocities, but function the and 127 in a triangle pattern. The duration of each
same when drawing notes on tracks in Notes view note is determined by the current Grid value.
in the Edit window or in a MIDI Editor window.
The duration is determined by the selected Default
To select a Pencil tool: Note Duration (see “Default Note Duration” on
page 827).
Click the Pencil tool pop-up menu and select the
Pencil tool you want. The start time for each note is determined by the
selected Grid value (see “Grid” on page 828).
Press the F10 key repeatedly to cycle through
the different Pencil tools. Square
The following Pencil tools are available in the The Square Pencil tool lets you draw a series of
Score Editor: MIDI notes on a single pitch whose velocities al-
ternate between the defined Default Note Velocity
Free Hand and 127 in a square pattern. The duration of each
note is determined by the current Grid value.
The Free Hand Pencil tool lets you draw single
notes of varying duration. The duration is determined by the selected Default
Note Duration (see “Default Note Duration” on
Note velocities are determined by the Default Note
page 827).
Velocity setting (see “Default Note On Velocity”
on page 827). The start time for each note is determined by the
selected Grid value (see “Grid” on page 828).
The minimum duration of the note is determined
by the selected Default Note Duration (see “De- Random
fault Note Duration” on page 827).
The Square Pencil tool lets you draw a series of
Line MIDI notes on a single pitch whose velocities
change randomly within the range between the de-
The Line Pencil tool lets you draw multiple notes
fined Default Note Velocity and 127 in a square
of the same pitch and duration.
pattern. The duration of each note is determined by
Note velocities are determined by the Default Note the current Grid value.
Velocity setting (see “Default Note On Velocity”
The duration is determined by the selected Default
on page 827).
Note Duration (see “Default Note Duration” on
The duration is determined by the selected Default page 827).
Note Duration (see “Default Note Duration” on
The start time for each note is determined by the
page 827).
selected Grid value (see “Grid” on page 828).
The start time for each note is determined by the
selected Grid value (see “Grid” on page 828).
If you want dotted note values, also select the Dot- Link Timeline and Edit Selection enabled in the Score
ted option. Editor window
Play MIDI Notes When Select the Mirrored MIDI Editing button in the
Editing Edit window, MIDI Editor window, or Score
Editor window.
When enabled, the Play MIDI Notes When Editing
option causes MIDI notes to sound when you in-
sert them with the Pencil tool or drag them with the
Grabber tool.
Double Bar
Cursor Location indicator in the Score Editor window
When enabled, the Double Bar option shows the fi-
nal double bar line in the Score Editor window.
The double bar line is located at the end of the last Grid
MIDI clip or event in the session. Enable the Dou-
The Grid selector lets you define the Grid value for
ble Bar option when you are ready to print the
MIDI notes inserted and displayed in the Score Ed-
score.
itor window.
When the Double Bar option is disabled, there will
To set the Grid value for the Score Editor window:
be a number of empty bars at the end of the last
MIDI clip in the session. The number of empty From the Grid Value pop-up menu, select a note
bars is determined by the Additional Empty Bars In value.
The Score Editor setting in the Pro Tools MIDI
Preferences (Setup > Preferences). Disable the If you want dotted note values, also select the
Double Bar option to manually enter notes in the Dotted option.
Score Editor after the last MIDI clip. If you want triplet note values, also select the
Triplet option.
Selection Display
Inserting notes on the Grid
When selected, the Selection Display option shows
If the selected Grid value is shorter than the De- the Edit Selection Display in the MIDI Editor win-
fault Note Duration, the Grid value determines dow toolbar.
both the Note On location and note duration for
notes inserted with the Pencil tool. For example, if
the Default Note Duration is set to quarter notes
and the Grid is set to eighth notes, drawing with the
Line Pencil tool creates a sequence of eighth notes. Selection display
Tracks List
Score Editor Window Target When selected, the Tracks List option displays the
When the Target is enabled for the Score Editor Tracks List in the Score Editor window.
window, navigating the Edit window automati-
cally navigates the Score Editor window as well. Scrolling
For example, if in the Edit window you navigate to
bar 32, beat 3 in a MIDI track, when you view the The Scrolling submenu lets you select the scrolling
Score Editor window it too will show the same lo- options for the Score Editor window inde-
cation. pendently of the Edit window and any MIDI Editor
windows. The scrolling options include:
When the Target is disabled, the Score Editor does
not update to show the current Edit window selec- No Scrolling The Score Editor window does not
tion or Edit cursor location. scroll during or after playback. The playback cur-
sor moves across the Edit window, indicating the
playback location.
Page The playback cursor moves across the Score Customizable Toolbar
Editor window, indicating the playback location. You can customize the toolbar in the Score Editor
When the right edge of the current page shown in window by re-arranging, and showing or hiding
the Score Editor window is reached, it scrolls to the the available controls and displays just like in the
next page and the playback cursor continues mov- Edit window or MIDI Editor windows.
ing from the left edge of the window.
Changing Toolbar Display Options
Follow Edit Window When selected, the Score Ed-
itor window follows the scrolling option selected To change the toolbar display options in the Score
for the Edit window (Options > Edit Editor window toolbar:
Window Scrolling).
1 Do one of the following:
For Pro Tools HD systems, the Continuous • Click the Score Editor Window Toolbar
and Center Playhead scrolling options are menu.
not available in the Score Editor window. If • Right-click in the Toolbar.
the Score Editor window is set to the Follow
Edit Window scrolling option and the Edit 2 From the pop-up menu, select or deselect any of
window is set to either the Continuous or the following:
Center Playhead scrolling options, the Score • Selection Display
Editor window scrolls by page. • Expanded Edit Tools
The Tracks List lets you show and hide MIDI and From the Tracks List menu, select Show All
Instrument tracks in the Score Editor. It also pro- Tracks.
vides access to the Notation Display Track Set-
tings and Score Setup (see “Notation Display To show only selected MIDI and Instrument tracks
in the Score Editor:
Track Settings” on page 833 and “Score Setup” on
page 835). 1 In the Tracks List, select the MIDI and Instru-
ment tracks you want to show in the score.
To show or hide the Tracks List in the Score Editor
window: 2 From the Tracks List menu, select Show Only
Selected Tracks.
From the Score Editor Window menu, select or
deselect Tracks List. To hide MIDI and Instrument tracks in the Score
Editor:
Showing and Hiding Tracks Disable the Track Show/Hide icon in the Tracks
List for tracks you want to hide in the score.
Use the Tracks List to show and hide MIDI and In-
strument tracks as staves in the score.
To hide all MIDI and Instrument tracks in the Score
Editor:
To show MIDI and Instrument tracks in the Score
Editor: From the Tracks List menu, select Hide All
Tracks.
Enable the Track Show/Hide icon in the Tracks
List for tracks you want to show in the score.
To hide selected MIDI and Instrument tracks in the
Score Editor:
1 In the Tracks List, select the MIDI and Instru-
ment tracks you want to hide in the score.
2 From the Tracks List menu, select Hide Se-
lected Tracks.
To display the previous page of the score: To zoom out one level:
Click the Page Back button. Click the Zoom Out button.
Clef
Globals
Score Setup
The Score Setup window lets you set up the page
layout and staff spacing. You can enter the Title
and Composer for the score. You can also select
what elements of the score to display. Changes to Score Setup window
the Score Setup update instantly in the Score Edi-
Information
tor.
Title Enter the Title for the score. This appears at
To open the Score Setup, do one of the following: the top of the first page.
Choose File > Score Setup.
Composer Enter the Composer for the score. This
From the Tracks List menu in the Score Editor appears in the upper right-hand corner of the first
window, select Score Setup. page.
Right-click in the Score Editor window and se-
lect Score Setup.
The Display options determine which score ele- Between Staves Enter the spacing you want
ments you want displayed in the score. Deselect between staves.
the elements you do not want displayed in the
Between Systems Enter the spacing you want be-
score.
tween systems.
Title and Composer Select to display the Title and
Composer on the score. On pages where the music is vertically justi-
fied, the distance between staves and systems
Page Numbers Select to display Page Numbers at will be larger than the numbers specified.
the bottom of each page.
Below Title and Composer Enter the spacing you
Bar Numbers Select to display Bar Numbers at the want between the Title and Composer and the first
beginning of each system above the top staff. staff of the score.
Track Names Select to display Track Names for Below Chord Symbols and Diagrams Enter the
each staff at the beginning of the score. spacing you want between Chord Symbols and Di-
agrams and the top stave of each system.
Chord Symbols Select to display chord symbols in
the score.
Layout
Chord Diagrams Select to display Chord Dia-
Page Size Select the page size (Letter, Legal, Tab-
grams (guitar tablature) in the score (see “Chord loid, or A4).
Symbols and Diagrams” on page 842).
Portrait Select to set the page orientation to Por-
Disable the Chord Diagrams option when trait.
printing charts and lead sheets where you just
want to see chord symbols. Landscape Select to set the page orientation to
Landscape.
MIDI note editing in the Edit window, MIDI Edi- 1 Click the Grabber tool.
tor windows, and the Score Editor window all af- 2 Drag in the score to highlight the notes you
fect the same MIDI data. When editing in one win- want to select.
dow, your edits are reflected in all other windows.
You can use either the Note Selector tool or the 1 Click the Grabber tool.
Grabber tool to select notes on one or more staves. 2 Drag the note you want to transpose up or down.
Entering a single longer note with the Pencil tool Score Editor Right-Click
To manually insert multiple notes of the same
Menu
pitch: The Score Editor Right-click menu provides sev-
1 Select the Default Note Duration setting (see eral useful commands for editing, exporting, and
“Default Note Duration” on page 827). formatting the score and MIDI data.
2 Select the Grid setting (see “Grid” on To access the Score Editor Right-click menu:
page 828).
Right-click anywhere on the score.
3 Select the Default Note On Velocity (see “De-
fault Note On Velocity” on page 827).
Score Editor Right-Click Menu
4 Click the Pencil tool and select any of the fol- Items
lowing shapes:
Tools
• Line
The Tools submenu lets you select any Edit tools
• Triangle
relevant to the Score Editor.
• Square
Zoomer Selects the Zoomer tool.
• Random
Note Selector Selects the Note Selector tool.
5 Click at the time location and pitch and drag to
the right. Repeated notes of the selected Default Grabber Selects the Grabber tool.
Note Duration are entered on the selected Grid.
The Note On velocities for each note are deter- Pencil Selects the Pencil tool.
mined in part by the Default Note On Velocity
Insert
setting and the selected Pencil tool shape (see
“Pencil” on page 826). The Insert submenu lets you insert key changes,
meter changes, and chord symbols into the score at
the location of the Edit cursor.
The Cut command cuts the current Edit selection. Choosing the Notation Display Track Settings op-
tion opens the Notation Display Track Settings di-
Copy alog (see “Notation Display Track Settings” on
page 833).
The Copy command copies the current Edit selec-
tion.
Score Setup
Clear
To delete a Key Signature: 3 If you want the inserted meter event to fall
cleanly on the first beat of the nearest measure,
With the Grabber tool, Option-click (Mac) or
select the Snap To Bar option.
Alt-click (Windows) the Key Signature you
want to delete. 4 Select a note value for the number of clicks to
sound in each measure. For a dotted-note click
value, select the dot (.) option in addition to the
Meter Changes note value.
You can add, edit, and delete Meters in your score. For some meters, it may be desirable to use a
Meter changes affect the number of bars in the dotted value for the click. For instance, if us-
score (and in your session). When changing meter, ing a meter of 6/8, a dotted quarter note click
notes are not moved, but the barlines will be re- (yielding two clicks per measure) is generally
drawn. more suitable than a straight eighth note click
(six clicks per measure).
You can also add and delete Meters in the
Meter ruler in the Edit window and in MIDI 5 Click OK to insert the new meter.
Editor windows.
To edit a Meter change:
To add a Meter change:
1 With the Grabber tool, double-click the Meter
1 Do one of the following: event you want to edit.
• Choose Event > Time Operations > Change 2 Enter values in the Meter Change dialog and
Meter. click OK.
• With the Note Selector, Grabber, or Pencil
tool, Right-click at the location in the score To delete a Meter change:
where you want to change meter and select With the Grabber tool, Option-click (Mac) or
Insert > Meter Change. Alt-click (Windows) the Meter event you want
2 In the Meter Change dialog, enter the Location to delete.
and Meter for the meter change.
Chord symbol and diagram in the score To export a score from Pro Tools:
To edit a chord symbol: 1 Configure the score for your session in Score
Editor window.
1 With the Grabber tool, double-click the chord
symbol you want to edit. 2 Choose File > Export > To Sibelius.
2 Make changes in the Chord Change dialog, and 3 Select a destination and click Save.
click OK.
To send the score from your Pro Tools session to
To move a chord symbol: Sibelius, do one of the following:
With the Grabber tool, drag the chord symbol to 1 Configure the score for your session in the
a new location. Score Editor window.
2 Do one of the following:
To delete a chord symbol:
• Choose File > Send to Sibelius.
With the Grabber tool, Option-click (Mac) or
• Right-click in the Score Editor and choose
Alt-click (Windows) the chord symbol you
Send to Sibelius.
want to delete.
Pro Tools exports all Instrument and MIDI tracks
To display or hide chord symbols in the score: shown in the Score Editor to Sibelius as a .sib file
In the Score Settings dialog (File > Score and launches Sibelius if it is installed on your com-
Setup), enable or disable the Chord Symbols puter. You can then further edit the notation in Si-
option. belius and print the score or parts from Sibelius.
Track Selector
The Track selector in the MIDI Event List both in-
dicates the currently displayed MIDI or Instrument
track and can be used to choose a different MIDI or
Instrument track to be displayed.
Number of Events
The number of MIDI events on the selected track
MIDI Event List are displayed at the top of the MIDI Event List.
Columns in the MIDI Event List View Filter for MIDI Event List
Information for the events in the MIDI Event List You can use the View Filter to specify which event
is displayed in the following three columns: types are displayed in the MIDI Event List. This
Start Column Displays the start location, using the can help you zero in on only the events you want to
Main Time Scale, for each event. Locations can affect; it also protects MIDI events from being ed-
also be displayed in the Sub Time Scale when the ited or deleted. Events not displayed in the MIDI
Show Sub Counter option is selected in the Op- Event List still play back.
tions pop-up menu.
The View Filter can be set to display “all” mes-
The playback cursor appears as a blue arrow (red, sages, “only” the specified messages, or “all ex-
when tracks are record-enabled) in the Start col- cept” the specified messages.
umn.
When inserting an event type that has been
When several events reside at the same location, filtered from the MIDI Event List, that event
the location is only indicated for the top event, with type will no longer be filtered.
the others dimmed. The dimmed locations can be
Example: To filter the display of aftertouch and
edited by double-clicking them. System Exclusive Messages in the MIDI Event
List:
• Double-click to edit a value. 3 If using Timecode, you can select the Use Sub-
• Press Tab or the Down Arrow to move to the frames option.
next event (with or without the edit field se- 4 Enter the location you want to go to, then click
lected). OK.
Any or all of the following Conductor rulers can be Drag a ruler’s name up or down to a new
displayed: location.
Displaying Rulers
To display all rulers:
The Main Time Scale determines the time format Main Counter selector (in the Edit window)
used for: If a Timebase ruler is displayed, click its name
• The Main Counter in the Transport so it becomes highlighted.
• The Main Counter at the top of the Edit window Setting the Main Time Scale to the timebase
or MIDI Editor window currently displayed in the Sub Counter
• Start, End, and Length values switches the two Time Scales, setting the Sub
• Pre- and post-roll amounts Time Scale to the previous timebase of the
Main Time Scale.
• Grid and Nudge values
From the Transport Window menu, ensure that When the Main Time Scale is set to
the Counters and Expanded Transport options Bars|Beats, and you are using tempo
are enabled. changes, set the Linearity Display Mode to
Linear Tick Display (see “Changing the
To set the Time Scale for the Sub Counter: Linearity Display Mode” on page 874).
This will keep the Bars|Beats ruler fixed (at
Click the Sub Counter selector and select a
the selected zoom level) and sample-based
Time Scale.
rulers such as Minutes:Seconds will scale
to fit any tempo changes while bar lengths
remain constant.
Pro Tools is a sample-based program with an inter- 1/4 note 960 1440 640
nal MIDI resolution of 960,000 pulses per quarter 1/8 note 480 720 320
note (ppq). However, when the Time Scale is set to
Bars|Beats, the display resolution in Pro Tools is 1/16 note 240 360 160
960 ppq and the Timebase is tick-based. 1/32 note 120 180 80
Groups
When you change the timebase for an audio track
Timebase selector (samples)
that is part of an active Edit group, all the tracks in
.
You can use Beat Detective to generate 2 Click the Add Tempo Change button at the left
Bar|Beat markers (tempo map). For more in- of the Tempo ruler.
formation, see “Generating Bar|Beat Mark-
ers with Beat Detective” on page 748.
As tempo events are encountered during playback, 4 To place the inserted tempo event cleanly on the
the session’s current tempo is displayed in the first beat of the nearest measure, select the Snap
To Bar option.
Transport window.
5 To base the BPM value on something other than
the default quarter note, select a different note
value.
In the Tempo ruler, drag the triangle for the 3 Click in the Tempo ruler at the point where you
tempo event left or right. want to paste the tempo events.
4 Choose Edit > Paste. The contents of the Clip-
board are pasted from the insertion point, re-
placing any existing tempo events.
Tempo at 92 bpm
1 Select the clip you want to conform to the ses- Displaying the Tempo Editor
sion tempo.
The Tempo Editor is an expansion of the Tempo
2 Do one of the following: ruler, opening in the rulers section of the Edit Win-
• Choose Clip > Conform to Tempo. dow.
• Right-click the clip you wan to conform to
tempo and select Conform to Tempo. Tempo Editor expand/collapse triangle
Tempo Resolution
Pro Tools analyzes the clip’s entire file for Elastic Tempo Density
Audio events and tempo. If a tempo is detected, Add Tempo Change
Tempo events
and a duration in bars and beats is determined, the
clip conforms automatically to the session tempo.
If a tempo and duration is not detected (such as
with a clip that is a single drum hit or with a long
clip with no clear tempo), the clip is not conformed
to the session tempo.
Click the Tempo Editor Zoom In button (“+”). New tempo events can be drawn in with the
Pencil tool to replace existing ones.
To zoom out vertically in the Tempo Editor:
Tempo events can be copied and pasted,
Click the Tempo Editor Zoom Out button (“–”). nudged, and shifted.
All the new tempo events under the curve will To adjust the location of the tempo change:
change as you move the Tempo Curve Adjust-
With the Grabber tool, drag a tempo event to the
ment Handles. To adjust the curve shape
left or right.
without the track data adjusting immediately,
press Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) To remove a tempo event:
while adjusting the curve. Tempo events will
change to fit the new curve when you release With the Grabber tool, Option-click (Mac) or
the mouse button. Alt-click (Windows) the tempo event.
Using the Selector tool or any Grabber tool, 1 With the Selector tool, select a range of tempo
double-click between two tempo events. The events.
first event is selected.
2 Do one of the following:
• Press Shift+Tab to extend the selection to the
next tempo event.
• Press Shift+Option+Tab (Mac) or Shift+Con-
trol+Tab (Windows) to extend the
selection to the previous tempo event.
Tempo Edit Density and Linear Lets you create tempos that change evenly
Linearity Display Mode over a selected range of time.
When the Tempo Edit Density setting (in the Parabolic Lets you create tempos that accelerate or
Tempo Editor) and the Linearity Display Mode decelerate following a tempo curve that changes
setting are both set to either a Bars|Beats Time the tempo more rapidly or less rapidly over the se-
Scale or to an absolute Time Scale, Tempo edits lection time.
appear evenly spaced. When the Tempo Edit Den-
sity setting and the Linearity Display Mode setting S-Curve Lets you create tempos that accelerate or
are set so that one is set to an absolute Time Scale decelerate following a tempo curve with a defin-
and the other is set to a Bars|Beats Time Scale, the able breakpoint that determines mid-curve times
number of Tempo edits appear to increase or de- and tempo values.
crease over time (against absolute time). Scale Lets you scale tempos within the selection
by a percentage amount.
To define tempo events over a range of time: Advanced When this option is selected, the
selection range changes to the Main Time Scale
1 Make a selection in the Timebase or in a track.
format, and additional and modified options be-
2 Choose Event > Tempo Operations > Tempo come available.
Operations Window.
Calculate (Advanced Option) Calculates either
3 Select a Tempo Operation page from the pop-up the tempo, or the selection end time.
menu at the top of the Tempo Operation win-
dow. Selection Start and End Specifies the start and
end point for the tempo change in Bars|Beats.
4 Change the settings for the page you have cho- When an Edit selection is made, the Start and End
sen, as necessary. fields will display the selection boundaries.
5 Do one of the following:
End Time (Advanced Option) Displays the selec-
• Click Apply. tion end time. When the Main Time Scale is set to
• Press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to Bars|Beats, the end time is displayed in the Sub
automatically apply the values and close the Time Scale. When the Main Time Scale is set to
window. any absolute timebase, the end time is calculated
and displayed in Bars|Beats. Changing the end
time value causes the tempo to change.
Advanced When this option is selected, the Selecting “Follow Metronome Click” will set
selection range changes to the Main Time Scale the tempo BPM note value to mirror the click
format, and additional and modified options be- value set in the meter markers.
come available.
Density (Advanced Option) Lets you specify the
Calculate (Advanced Option) Calculates the se- density of the tempo change events written to the
lection end time, the start tempo, the end tempo, or Tempo ruler.
the curvature of the tempo change.
Preserve Tempo after Selection If selected, the
Selection Start and End Displays the start and end previous tempo setting that was in effect at the se-
points for the tempo change in the currently se- lection end point is preserved after the selection. If
lected Main timebase. When an Edit selection is unselected, the last tempo event created by the
made, the Start and End fields will display the se- tempo operation continues to the end of the ses-
lection boundaries. Changing start or end values sion, or until the next tempo event beyond the se-
changes the selection range. lected range.
2 Select either Tempo Events or Bar|Beat 5 If necessary, specify a time signature for the
Markers from the pop-up menu. start and end range.
6 Click OK to automatically calculate the new
tempo and insert the necessary Bar|Beat Mark-
ers and meter events. Any existing tempo and
meter events residing within the selection are
Tempo ruler pop-up menu deleted.
Identifying Beats
Identifying the beat of a one-bar drum loop and
creating Bar|Beat Markers for it:
3 Select the audio clip with the Time Grabber tool When working with a selection, the Identify Beat
and choose Event > Identify Beat. command only calculates a single tempo for the se-
lected range. If the tempo varies from measure to
measure, or beat to beat, you’ll need to use the
Identify Beat command for each tempo variance
(making sure to accurately define a precise selec-
tion range or beat location for the tempo change).
With the Grabber tool, Option-click (Mac) or To display the Meter ruler:
Alt-click (Windows) the Bar|Beat Marker. Select View > Rulers > Meter.
1 If you want to constrain the selection to the cur- If the Time Operations window is already
rent Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid. open, you can select any Time Operation
from the pop-up menu at the top of the win-
2 Drag in the Meter ruler to select the meter
dow.
events you want to remove.
3 Choose Edit > Clear to delete the selected meter
events.
Start, End, and Length Sets the start and end If your Main Time Scale is sample-based,
points for the selection, and the selection length. Realign Meter Ruler Only is not available.
Set Meter If your Main Time Scale is Bars|Beats, Meter, Tempo, Key, and Chord Rulers, Tick-Based
Markers and Tracks, and Sample-Based Markers
Set Meter lets you specify a new meter for the in-
and Tracks Lets you insert time into the Meter,
serted time. The selection is quantized to the near-
Tempo, Key, and Chord rulers, and all tick-based
est bars, and the previous meter is inserted after the
markers and tracks. Events after the start point of
selection. If your Main Time Scale is sample-
the selection are shifted past the end point by the
based, Set Meter is not available.
length of time inserted.
Move
Move Song Start Example Song Start Only Moves the Song Start Marker
only.
To move the Song Start Marker to 15 seconds on
the Timeline: Meter, Tempo, Key, and Chord Rulers, all Tick-
1 Choose Event > Time Operations > Move Song Based Markers and Tracks, and Sample-Based
Markers and Tracks Moves the Song Start
Start.
Marker, events in the Meter, Tempo, Key, and
2 Select Minutes:Seconds from the Timebase Chord rulers, all tick-based markers and tracks,
pop-up menu. and your choice of all or no sample-based markers
and tracks.
3 In the Move Song Start To field, enter
“0:15:000” to move the song start forward by 15
seconds.
Pitched Tracks
Pitched tracks are MIDI or Instrument tracks that
can be affected by transpositions due to key
changes (including constrain to key). MIDI and In-
strument tracks are “pitched” by default. However,
if you have MIDI or Instrument tracks assigned to
drum machines or samplers, you do not want those
tracks to be affected by key changes because of
key mappings. You can deselect the Pitched option
for specific MIDI and Instrument tracks so that
they will not be affected by key changes.
Click the track’s Playlist selector and select (or Import Session Data
deselect) the Pitched option.
The Import Session Data dialog includes the Im-
port Key Signature/Chord Map option. When se-
lected, key signatures (if present) and chord mark-
ers (if present) are imported into the current
session with the imported session data.
Chord Diagrams
Chord Change dialog
Pro Tools adds Chord Symbol markers to the Chord Symbols ruler for all chords detected in the selected
MIDI clips.
Chord Symbol markers added to the Chord Symbols ruler for all chords detected in the selected MIDI clips
Memory Locations provide a powerful way to nav- When creating Memory Locations, the next avail-
igate your session while editing and arranging. able number is assigned to it (1–999). This number
is used in recalling the Memory Location from the
Each session can save up to 999 Memory Loca- numeric keypad.
tions that can be used to recall:
• Markers to important locations in the session To create a Marker Memory Location:
• Edit selections across one or more tracks 1 Configure any session settings you will save
with the Marker Memory Location, such as
• Record and play ranges, along with pre- and
zoom settings, pre- and post-roll times,
post-roll times
Show/Hide status for tracks, Track Heights, and
• Track settings that include Show/Hide status, Edit and Mix Group enables.
Track Heights, and zoom values
2 If necessary, enable Options > Link Timeline and
• Edit and Mix Groups enables Edit Selection.
• Window Configurations
3 Ensure that the Markers ruler is displayed (View
Memory Locations are viewed and sorted in the > Rulers > Markers).
Memory Locations window, where they can be re- 4 Do one of the following:
called by clicking the Memory Location.
• Click with the Selector tool in any track or
ruler at the location where you want to place
the Marker. To place a Marker at the begin-
Creating Memory Locations ning of a clip, select the clip with the Time
Memory Locations can be created in different Grabber tool. Click the Add Marker/Memory
ways, based on the type of Memory Location: Location button (or press Enter on the nu-
meric keypad).
Marker Memory Location Refers to a specific
point in the timeline.
In the Memory Locations windows, Memory Lo- View Filter Submenu Provides commands to show
cations are listed with assigned number, name, and or hide specific memory location properties:
View Filter icons. Locations can be recalled or ed- • Show Icons
ited from this window.
• View Markers
• View Selections
• View Locations with Zoom Info
• View Locations with Pre/Post Roll Info
• View Locations with Track Show/Hide Info
• View Locations with Track Height Info
• View Locations with Group Info
Memory Locations window with View Filter icons
• View Locations with Window Configuration
To recall a Memory Location from the Memory Info
Location window:
• Show Markers Only
Click the Memory Location.
• View All
With the Numeric Keypad mode set to
Classic, press the Memory Location number
followed by Period (.). With the Numeric
Keypad mode set to Transport or Shuttle,
press Period (.), the Memory Location
number, and Period (.) again.
Pro Tools provides several ways of arranging clips If dragging multiple clips, the clips are placed on
on tracks including, but not limited to, moving adjacent tracks left to right or on multiple tracks
them with the Grabber tool, nudging, cutting or from top to bottom depending on the selected
copying and pasting, spotting them to a time loca- Timeline Drop Order option (see “Setting Timeline
tion, and so on. The exact placement of clips in a Drop Order” on page 910). If dragging a stereo au-
track depends on whether the Edit mode is set to dio clip, it must be placed in a stereo track or in two
Shuffle, Slip, Spot, or Grid (see “Edit Modes” on mono tracks.
page 617).
Clips are placed according to the current Edit
mode:
Placing Clips from the Clips • In Shuffle mode, existing track clips are slid as
List on to Track Playlists necessary to make room for the new clip.
• In Spot mode, you are prompted by the Spot di-
Once you have created a clip, it appears in the
alog to enter a location for the dragged clip (see
Clips List. From the Clips List you can drag it to a
“Spotting Clips” on page 917).
track to add to an existing arrangement of clips on
a track, or you can create a new track and start add- • In Grid mode, the dragged clip snaps to the near-
ing clips from scratch. est Grid boundary.
You can locate clips in the Clips List by You can temporarily disable Grid mode while
typing the first few letters of their name dragging a clip by holding down the Com-
(see “Keyboard Selection of Clips” on mand key (Mac) or Control key (Windows)
page 316). after clicking with the mouse.
To place a clip from the Clips List on a track: • In Slip mode, the clips are placed exactly where
1 In the Clips List, select the clip or clips you they are dropped in the destination track.
want to place.
2 Drag the selected clips from the Clips List to a
location in a track.
To drag and drop multiple items from the Clips List 1 From the Clips List menu, choose Timeline
to multiple new tracks: Drop Order > Left to Right.
1 From the Clips List menu, choose Timeline 2 Search and sort the Clips List to configure the
Drop Order > Top to Bottom. order in which items will be placed.
2 Search and sort the Clips List to configure the 3 Select multiple items in the Clips List and do
order in which items will be placed. one of the following:
3 Select multiple items in the Clips List and do • To create a new track and spot the first item to
one of the following: a specific location, drop at the location in the
• To create new tracks and place items to a spe- area below the last track shown in the Edit
cific location, drop items at the location along window.
the area below the last track. • To create a new track and have the first item
• To create new tracks and have items placed at placed at the start of the session, drop the
the start of the session, drop the items on the items on the Tracks List.
Tracks List. • To place items in an existing track, drop the
items in the Edit playlist for the track.
910 Pro Tools Reference Guide
2 Do one of the following:
• While pressing Control (Mac) or Start (Win-
dows), drag the clip from the Clips List, or
from another track, to the destination track.
• If the clip is already in the track, Control-
A new track created by dropping multiple Clips List click (Mac) or Start-click (Windows) the clip
items with Timeline Drop Order set to Left to Right with the Time Grabber tool.
mode
To place the end of a clip at the Edit insertion point:
If the selected items include mixed types of clips
(such as audio and MIDI, or clip groups and MIDI) 1 With the Selector tool, click in the track at the
the appropriate track types will be created and each time location where you want to place the end
corresponding item will be placed in them. Simi- of the clip.
larly, if the selected items include multiple formats 2 Do one of the following:
(mono, stereo, or other) new tracks of each format
• While pressing Command+Control (Mac) or
will be created and those clips placed in them.
Control+Start (Windows), drag the clip from
the Clips List, or from another track, to the
destination track.
Placing Clips at the Edit
Insertion Point • If the clip is already in the track, Command-
Control-click (Mac) or Control-Start-click
You can drag a clip from the same track, from an- (Windows) the clip with the Time Grabber
other track, or from the Clips List, and align its tool.
start, end, or sync point to the Edit insertion point.
This technique is useful in post production since it To place the sync point of a clip at the Edit
lets you set an Edit selection point during playback insertion point:
or while stopped and then quickly place sound ef- 1 With the Selector tool, click in the track at the
fects at the edit insertion point. time location where you want to place the sync
point of the clip.
With Pro Tools Ultimate, when the Scrolling
option is set to Center Playhead, clips snap to 2 Do one of the following:
the playhead, instead of the Edit insertion point. • While pressing Control+Shift (Mac) or
Start+Shift (Windows), drag the clip from the
To place the start of a clip at the Edit insertion
Clips List, or from another track, to the desti-
point:
nation track.
1 With the Selector tool, click in the track at the
• If the clip is already in the track, Shift-Con-
time location where you want to place the start
trol-click (Mac) or Shift-Start-click (Win-
of the clip.
dows) the clip with the Time Grabber tool.
Time Grabber and Object Moving a selection with the Separation Grabber
Grabber
If you are moving audio data, the Time Grabber Layered Editing
and Object Grabber tools overlay only the audio
Pro Tools provides the option to enable layered edit-
data on the destination track.
ing so that you don’t lose partially overlapped clips
while editing. This is true for both audio and MIDI.
1
2
The selected clip snaps to the preceding clip on the The selected clip snaps to the following clip on the
track so that the two clips are “butt-spliced.” track so that the two clips are “butt-spliced.”
Spotting Clips
Spot mode is useful for sessions in which you want
to spot clips to precise locations based on any of
the Time Scales. This is useful when performing
post production tasks. In Spot mode you can spot a
clip by specifying a SMPTE frame or bar and beat
location, by capturing an incoming timecode ad- Spot dialog
dress, or by using the clip’s time stamps.
4 If the Time Scale is set to Timecode, select the
For even quicker spotting, if you are using Use Subframes option to display subframes in
VITC, use the Auto-Spot Clips command to spot the fields for improved accuracy.
a clip to the current SMPTE frame location
with the Time Grabber tool. For more informa-
tion, see “Auto-Spotting Clips” on page 1310.
Defining the Grid Value Grid value pop-up menu showing Bars|Beats
In addition to affecting the placement of clips, the • To define a Grid based on the session’s Mark-
Grid value also constrains Timeline and Edit selec- ers, selections, and clip boundaries, select
tions, and determines how the Clip > Quantize to Clips/Markers from the Grid value pop-up
Grid command works. menu.
Click the Grid mode selector and select Abso- The beginning of the moved or pasted clip (or se-
lute Grid or Relative Grid. lected MIDI data) maintains its relative offset from
the nearest Grid location.
To temporarily suspend Grid mode and
switch to Slip mode while dragging a clip,
hold the Command key (Mac) or Control key
(Windows).
Sync points in audio clips may displayed or 1 If you want the sync point to snap to the current
hidden. Grid value when you finish scrubbing, set the
Edit mode to Grid (see “Edit Modes” on
To disable the display of sync points in audio clips: page 617).
Deselect View > Clip > Sync Point. 2 Select the Scrubber tool.
3 Drag the sync point to a new location. The sync
To enable the display of sync points in audio clips:
point scrubs the audio as you move it.
Choose View > Clip > Sync Point.
Locking Clips
In many cases you may want to “lock” clips or clip Edit Lock icon
groups to a specific time location to keep them
from being moved or otherwise edited inadver- When Edit-locked, a small Edit Lock icon appears
tently. Pro Tools provides two different commands in the clip and it cannot be moved, deleted, or ed-
for locking clips: Edit locking and Time locking. ited. If you attempt to perform edits on a locked
clip, Pro Tools alerts you (see “Allowing Editing
of Edit-Locked Clips” on page 926).
Edit Locking Clips
In Shuffle mode, Edit-locked clips, and all clips
If you have a clip or group of clips that you want to
occurring after the locked clip, are not displaced
protect from being inadvertently edited, you can
when other neighboring clips are moved.
Edit lock them. Clips that are Edit-locked cannot
be edited (such as cutting, deleting, separating, On tick-based Elastic Audio-enabled tracks, Edit-
trimming, or adjusting clip gain) or moved to a dif- locked clips conform to tempo changes, but not
ferent time location. Copied edit-locked clips can other Elastic Audio processing (such as Quantize
be pasted to any other track or time location, but or manual warping) can be applied.
the copy will also be Edit-locked at the new time
location.
Time Locking Clips
Edit locking takes precedence over Time For clips that you want to lock to a particular loca-
locking. You can Edit lock a Time locked clip, tion in a track (a beat, SMPTE frame, or sample lo-
but you cannot Time lock an Edit locked clip cation), you can lock it in place so it cannot be
without unlocking it first. moved accidentally. Time-locked clips cannot be
moved. However, they can be edited in ways that
do not move the clip to a different time location
(such as separating, trimming, AudioSuite pro-
Zeros Specifies the number of zeroes that occur Strip Silence rectangles
before the appended auto numbers.
For finer resolution on these controls, press Com-
Suffix Specifies text appended to the end of the mand (Mac) or Control (Windows) while adjusting
name, after the auto numbering. them.
For example, if you set these naming options to: 5 To retain material before and after the new clips,
adjust the settings for Clip Start Pad and Clip
• Name = SFX End Pad.
• Auto Number Start = 23
• Leading Zeros = 1
• Suffix = .Reel1
To separate clips using Strip Silence: Strip Threshold Sets the amplitude threshold
(from –96 dB to 0 dB) for Strip Silence. Audio
1 Make an Edit or Timeline selection.
falling below this threshold is considered silence
2 Choose Edit > Strip Silence. and removed. Audio above the threshold is re-
tained and defined as new clips.
3 To set the naming scheme for clips created with
Strip Silence, click Rename to open the Re-
name Selected Clips dialog (see “Auto-Naming
for Strip Silence” on page 927).
Extract Clears the audio and leaves the silent por- If all selected tracks are displayed as automa-
tions of the track (in other words, an “inverse” strip tion data, the selected range is cleared of automa-
silence feature that is ideal for generating room tion data only of the type visible on each track.
tone or ambience to use elsewhere). Clips are not shuffled. Instead, a blank gap appears
equal to the length of the selection.
Rename Opens the Rename Selected Clips dialog
(see “Auto-Naming for Strip Silence” on If all selected tracks are displayed as automa-
page 927). tion data, press the Control (Mac) or Start key
(Windows) while choosing the Insert Silence com-
Separate Separates clips based on the boundaries mand to inserts silence on all automation playlists
detected by Strip Silence. for all selected tracks. Clips are not shuffled.
1 Make a selection in a track or tracks. The length In Shuffle mode, the duplicated data is placed di-
of the selection determines the duration of the rectly after the end of the selection. Clips occurring
silence inserted. after it slide to accommodate the duplicated mate-
rial. In Slip mode, the duplicated material overlaps
2 Choose Edit > Insert Silence. any adjacent data.
In Shuffle mode, Pro Tools inserts the selected When using Duplicate (or Repeat) with MIDI
amount of silence. In the process, it splits the clips notes that were selected with the Time Grabber
at the beginning of the insertion point, and moves tool, material is always duplicated one measure
the new clips later in the track by an amount equal later, and is merged with existing track material
to the length of the selection. (instead of replacing it).
As with the Copy and Paste commands, certain If, on the other hand, you want to Duplicate (or Re-
rules apply when duplicating material on multiple peat) audio that is not bar- and beat-based, set the
tracks (see “Editing Across Multiple Tracks” on Time Scale to any format except Bars|Beats. This
page 616). ensures that the duplicated audio material has the
correct number of samples and is accurately
To duplicate a selection or clip: placed.
1 If working with material that is bar- and beat-
based, such as loops, set the Main Time Scale to
Bars|Beats.
2 If you want to constrain the selection to the cur-
rent Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid.
When working on music using audio loops and 1 If working with material that is bar- and beat-
MIDI sequences, you may want to duplicate the based, such as loops, set the Main Time Scale to
track content of an Edit selection and include both Bars|Beats.
the original and the duplicate in a new selection. 2 If you want to constrain the selection to the cur-
This can be especially useful when working with rent Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid.
repeating material in Grid mode with the Main
Timebase ruler set to Bars|Beats. For example, you 3 Make an Edit selection.
might have a 2 bar audio loop or MIDI sequence 4 Choose Edit > Repeat. In the Repeat dialog, en-
that you want to extend to 4 and then 8 bars, and ter the number of times you want the material to
then copy and paste to another location. repeat, then click OK.
Pro Tools lets you loop clips and group clips Looped clips (all iterations) display a Loop icon in
(called a clip group). the lower, right corner or each loop iteration.
Looped clip
To unloop and ungroup a selection down to its To select a looped clip as a group (all loop
individual clips: iterations), do one of the following:
1 Select a looped clip that contains one or more With the Grabber tool or Smart Tool, single-
clip groups. click the looped clip.
2 Choose Clip > Ungroup All. With the Selector tool, double-click the looped
clip.
Unlooping and Flattening Looped Clips with
Separate Clips Menu Commands The source clip and all its loop iterations are
The Separate Clips commands (At Selection, On selected.
Grid, and At Transients) automatically unloop and
flatten looped clips before separating.
Tabbing to Transients and Clip Boundaries 2 Choose Edit > Trim Clip and one of the Trim Clip
commands (To Selection, To Fill Selection, Start
With Tab to Transients enabled you can tab both to to Fill Selection, or End to Fill Selection).
transients and clip boundaries in a looped clip.
Normal Tab (Tab to Transients disabled) tabs to
the start and end boundaries of the entire looped Automation and Looped Clips
clip. For more information, see “Tabbing to Tran- Looping an audio clip does not loop any automa-
sients” on page 659. tion associated with the source clip. This lets you
apply automation across an entire looped clip. For
Trimming Looped Clips example, you may want to have a long volume fade
across part or all of a looped clip that is indepen-
Trimming looped clips can be done using the Trim dent of any one single loop iteration.
tool, the Loop Trim tool, or one of the Trim Clip
commands. The Loop Trim tool trims the entire You can also repeat automation on each loop iter-
looped clip. The Trim tool trims only the individ- ation. For looped audio clips, use the Copy Special
ual loop iteration while increasing or decreasing and Paste Special Repeat to Fill Selection com-
the number of loop iterations to fill the total length mands to copy and paste any or all automation data
of the looped clip. from the source clip to some or all of its loop iter-
ations.
For information on trimming looped clips us-
ing the Loop Trim tool, see “Loop Trim
Tool” on page 634.
The size of the selection determines the size of the Clip groups are created in the same timebase for-
clip group. The selection can start and end on any mat (samples or ticks) as the tracks on which they
clip boundary, empty space, or even in the middle are created. Multitrack clip groups can include
of a clip. Selections starting or ending within a clip both sample-based and tick-based tracks.
will separate the clip at the selection boundary
when you create a clip group. Clip groups created
from object-based selections include all selected
and unselected clips between the first and last se-
lected clip on the track.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose Clip > Group. Audio Clip Group icon on an audio track
• Right-click the Edit selection and choose
Group.
The Group and Ungroup Clip menu MIDI Clip Group icon on a MIDI track
commands apply to any Edit selection
regardless of the current Track View.
Clip groups can be created from empty
selections. This can be useful when working
in Shuffle mode to preserve the gaps between
clips.
If a MIDI clip within a clip group is modified in For more information, see “Tabbing to Tran-
any way, a new clip copy is created and placed sients” on page 659.
over the clip group. For example, if you record,
draw in a new note, edit MIDI controller data, or
quantize a Timeline selection, a new clip is created
over the clip group.
Recording
Clip groups that contain clips with fades are
When recording audio or MIDI, new clips are cre-
not allowed on Elastic Audio-enabled tracks.
ated over (in front) of clip groups instead of being
included in the clip group. To record into a clip
group, first ungroup the clip group, then record, When changing tempo with clip groups on
and then regroup the clip group. The clip group tick-based tracks, you may need to Ungroup,
will be recreated intact with the newly recorded redo or create new fades, and then Regroup
material. in order to maintain the fades.
AudioSuite Menu
AudioSuite plug-ins are accessed through the Au-
dioSuite menu. Plug-ins can be organized in the
AudioSuite menu in Pro Tools by Flat List (with
plug-ins in alphabetical order), Category, Manu- AudioSuite window, EQ III 1-Band shown
facturer, or Category and Manufacturer.
The Handle Length field lets you set the Handle Undo is not available when a plug-in is
Length for rendering from 0.00 to 60.00 seconds. configured for destructive editing since
This means that you trim clips out past the ren- the process has already overwritten the
dered selection after processing up to the set Han- source audio file.
dle Length. For more information, see “Audio-
Suite Handles” on page 955. Automatic File Naming of AudioSuite-
Processed Audio
Render Button When new audio files are created as a result of Au-
dioSuite processing, Pro Tools will auto-name
Clicking the Render button in the AudioSuite win- these files according to the type of plug-in used.
dow begins AudioSuite processing of the selected The name of the clip determines the prefix, while
audio. Processing can occur during playback the type of AudioSuite plug-in determines the suf-
(though it may take slightly longer). Processed fix.
files are auto-named with the clip or audio file’s
name and include an acronym for the chosen Au-
dioSuite process.
To compensate for this, place the clip in a track and Handle Length field in the AudioSuite plug-in window
select the audio plus an amount of blank space at
• Select the Whole File option to render the
the end of the clip equal to the amount of delay or
whole file. Note that only the current edit se-
reverb decay that you have added in the plug-in.
lection will appear in the Timeline.
The plug-in will then have space at the end of the
clip in which to write the final delay or decay. If
you select more time than needed, you can trim it
after applying AudioSuite processing.
4 Click OK.
Rendering Handle
File Mode Whole File Fades Clip Gain Metadata
Mode Behavior
Some plug-ins that rely on the Edit selection for processing (including plug-ins that require an anal-
ysis pass) may not work as expected when using handles. In this case, it is recommended that the han-
dle length be set to zero.
Destructive recording and Destructive Punch recording are not supported with AudioSuite rendered
clips with handles.
Clip Gain Fader Icon Right-Click Menu Show/Hide Clip Gain Line
You can Right-click the Clip Gain Fader icon for Select Show/Hide Clip Gain Line in the Right-click
any individual clip to access relevant clip gain menu to show or hide the Clip Gain Line for all
commands for that clip. clips.
Clip Gain Lines after applying a crossfade Clip Gain fader, adjusting all breakpoint clip gain
values
Editing Clip Gain
Press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows)
Pro Tools lets you adjust the gain settings for a clip
while adjusting the Clip Gain fader for fine
using the Clip Gain Fader for quick and easy ad-
control.
justments, or using breakpoint editing on the Clip
Gain Line for detailed clip gain control.
To add clip gain breakpoints with the Pencil tool: Using the Trim tool to boost or attenuate clip gain
breakpoints
1 Ensure that the Clip Gain Line option is enabled.
To trim the selected clip gain settings up or down:
2 Select the Pencil tool.
1 Ensure that the Clip Gain Line option is enabled.
3 Do one of the following:
2 Make an Edit selection that includes the clip
• Click once on the Clip Gain Line to add a single gain settings that you want to adjust.
breakpoint.
3 Select the Trim tool.
• Drag on the Clip Gain Line to draw breakpoints.
4 Drag up or down over the Clip Gain Line within
To delete a clip gain breakpoint with the Pencil the Edit selection.
tool:
1 Ensure that the Clip Gain Line option is enabled. Nudging Clip Gain
2 Select the Pencil tool. Pro Tools lets you nudge the selected clip gain set-
tings up or down by the Nudge Clip Gain By
3 Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
amount specified in the Pro Tools Editing Prefer-
breakpoint you want to delete.
ences. You can also nudge the selected clip gain
settings back or forward in the clip by the specified
nudge amount.
To nudge the selected clip gain up: To clear clip gain, do one of the following:
Press Control+Shift+Up Arrow (Mac) or Right-click a clip or Edit selection and choose
Start+Shift+Up Arrow (Windows). Clip Gain > Clear Clip Gain.
To nudge the selected clip gain backward, do one Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Clip Gain
of the following:
Pro Tools lets you cut, copy, and paste clip gain
Press Control+Shift+“–” (Minus) (Mac) or
settings, so that you can apply the clip gain settings
Start+Shift+“–” (Minus) (Windows).
from one clip to any other. Clip gain settings can-
Press Control+Shift+M (Mac) or not be cut, copied, or pasted across clip boundar-
Start+Shift+M (Windows). ies.
1 Select a clip or make an Edit selection. 1 Select a clip or make an Edit selection.
2 Choose Edit > Automation > Convert Clip Gain 2 Choose Edit > Automation > Coalesce Volume
to Volume Automation. to Clip Gain.
Any clip gain settings above +12 dB are lost Any clip gain settings above +12 dB are lost
when converted to volume automation. Also, when it is coalesced to volume automation.
clip gain settings within crossfades are cross- Also, clip gain within crossfades is cross-
faded as part of the volume automation. faded as part of the volume automation.
When coalescing track-based volume automation The clip gain settings for any whole clips within
to clip gain, the volume automation is cut from the the Edit selection are bypassed (or unbypassed).
track volume automation playlist and coalesced
with the selected clip gain settings. Once volume Rendering Clip Gain
automation has been coalesced to clip gain, vol-
ume automation is set to 0 dB for the selection. Pro Tools lets you render the current clip gain set-
tings for any selected whole clip. Rendering clip
To coalesce clip gain settings to track-based gain applies the current clip gain settings to a new
volume automation: clip and sets the clip gain settings for the new clip
1 Select a clip or make an Edit selection. to 0 dB.
Both Pro Tools Ultimate and Pro Tools software Clip effects are applied after elastic audio and be-
let you render the current clip effects settings for fore clip gain. The signal chain from an audio clip
selected whole clips. Rendering clip effects applies on a track to the track fader is as follows:
the current clip effects settings to a new whole-file Audio File > Elastic Audio > Clip Effects > Clip
clip and clears the clip effects settings. Gain > AudioSuite > Fades > Inserts > Fader
To render clip effects for a clip: Rendering always leaves down-stream processing
1 Select one or more whole clips. in place while rendering upstream elements. The
following examples show what is rendered in the
2 Adjust the Clip Effects settings as desired signal chain depending on which commit or render
(Pro Tools Ultimate only). command is used.
3 Do one of the following:
• Choose Clip > Clip Effects > Render Clip Ef-
fects.
• Right-click and choose Clip Effects > Render
Clip Effects.
By default the signal chain order for clip effects is You can independently enable or disable EQ, Fil-
EQ > Filters > Dynamics. However, you can reor- ter, and Dynamics processing in the Clip Effects
der this signal chain however you like. For exam- display. For example, you may want to apply Dy-
ple, maybe you want your dynamics processing namics processing, but not EQ or filtering; or, you
before the EQ and Filters. may want to apply only EQ.
Copying clip effects copies the clip effects settings To clear clip effects:
for selected whole clips to the clipboard while
1 Select one or more whole clips with clip effects.
leaving the settings for those clips intact.
2 Do one of the following:
To copy clip effects:
• Choose Edit > Clear Special > Copy Clip Ef-
1 Select one or more whole clips with clip effects. fects.
2 Do one of the following: • Right-click the edit selection and choose Clip
Effects > Clear Clip Effects.
• Choose Edit > Copy Special > Copy Clip Ef-
fects. • Press Command+Option+Control+B (Mac)
or Control+Alt+Start+B (Windows).
• Right-click the edit selection and choose Clip
Effects > Copy Clip Effects.
• Press Command+Option+Control+C (Mac)
or Control+Alt+Start+C (Windows).
EQ controls
Frequency Graph
Gain
(y-axis)
Frequency
(x-axis)
Figure 2. Frequency Graph
Frequency Dragging a control point to the right in- Q Click within the curve of an EQ control point
creases the Frequency setting. Dragging a control and drag up or down to increase or decrease the Q
point to the left decreases the Frequency setting. setting. For the Low and High Frequency Bands,
the Q control is only available when the EQ Type
Press the Shift key while clicking and drag- is set to Peak. For Filter control points, drag it up or
ging an EQ control point up or down to adjust down to adjust the Q for that filter. The Q control is
the Gain setting without changing the Fre- only available when the Filter Type is set to Band
quency. Likewise, press the Shift key while Pass or Notch.
clicking and dragging an EQ control point left
or right to adjust the Frequency setting with- You can also Control-click (Mac) or Start-
out changing the Gain setting. click (Windows) and drag a control point up
or down to increase or decrease the Q setting.
Gain Dragging a control point up increases the
Gain setting. Dragging a control point down de-
creases the Gain setting.
Clip Effects let you view the gain scale on the Fre- Enable the HF button for the high frequency band
quency Graph display either in 3 dB increments of the EQ and the LF button for the low frequency
from –12 dB to +12 dB or in 6 dB increments from band. The both the high and low frequency band
–24 dB to +24 dB. can be set to be either a Peak or Low Shelf EQ.
Frequency Graph Gain Resolution toggle Q Sets the width of the EQ band. Higher Q values
represent narrower bandwidths. Lower Q values
To change the Frequency Graph Gain resolution:
represent wider bandwidths. The Q control is only
Click the Graph Resolution toggle. available when the EQ Type is set to Peak.
Enable/Disable EQ Bands and Filters High Mid and Low Mid Frequency EQ
Controls
Click the Enable/Disable button for an EQ fre-
quency band (HF, HMF, LMF, or LF) or a filter (1 or Enable the HMF button for the high mid–frequency
2) to enable or disable that frequency band or filter. band of the EQ and the LMF button for the low
Buttons are lit when enabled, and unlit when dis- mid–frequency band. Both bands are peak EQs.
abled.
Frequency Sets the center frequency for the fre-
quency band.
Dynamics controls
Dynamics Graph
Filter 1 and 2 controls
Type Lets you select from the following Filter The Dynamics Graph display shows a curve that
Type options: High Pass, Low Pass, Band Pass, represents the level of the input signal (on the hor-
and Notch. izontal x-axis) and the amount of gain reduction
applied (on the vertical y-axis). The display shows
Freq (Frequency) Sets the center frequency for the two vertical lines representing the Threshold set-
selected Filter Type (from 20 Hz to 21.0 kHz). ting for the Expander/Gate and the Compres-
sor/Limiter, respectively. Use this graph as a visual
Slope Sets the slope for the filter from the selected
guide to see how much dynamics processing you
Frequency to –INF (12 dB/O or 24 dB/O). The
are applying to the incoming audio signal.
Slope control is only available when the Filter
Type is set to Low Pass or High Pass. Expander/Gate Threshold
Compressor/Limiter Threshold
Q Sets the width of the filter around the center fre- Knee
quency band. Higher Q values represent narrower
bandwidths. Lower Q values represent wider band-
widths. The Q control is only available when the
Filter Type is set to Band Pass or Notch.
Output Signal
(y-axis)
Input Signal
(x-axis)
Dynamics Graph
• Expander/Gate Knee Attack Sets the attack time, or the rate at which
gain is reduced after the input signal crosses the
• Expander/Gate Threshold
threshold. Use this along with the Ratio setting to
• Gate Depth control how soft the Expander gain reduction
• Hysteresis curve is.
• Compressor/Limiter Ratio Ratio Sets the amount of expansion. For example,
• Compressor/Limiter Knee if this is set to 2:1, it will lower signals below the
threshold by one half. At higher ratio levels the Ex-
• Compressor/Limiter Threshold
pander/Gate functions like a gate by cutting off
• Limiter Depth signals that fall below the threshold. As you adjust
the ratio control, refer to the Dynamics Graph dis-
play to see how the shape of the expansion curve
changes.
The Detection options include Peak or Avg (Aver- To enable (or disable) Listen on the Side Chain:
age).
Click the Listen button (speaker icon) in the
Peak Applies side-chain processing according to Side Chain section so that it is highlighted.
the detected peak amplitude. Click it again so that it is not highlighted to dis-
able it.
Average Applies sidechain processing according
to the detected average amplitude.
Filter Frequency
Clip Effects Presets and
Settings Files
The Filter Frequency control lets you set the fre- (Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
quency for the selected Filter Type.
In addition to the stored settings named in the Clip
Filter Type Effects Settings menu, clip effects provides five
preset buttons so that you can easily store and re-
Four Filter Type options are available for side-
call your most commonly used settings. You can
chain processing:
also save and import Clip Effects settings using the
Low Pass Applies a low pass filter to the side- commands in the Clip Effects Settings menu.
chain processing at the selected frequency.
To store a Clip Effects preset:
High Pass Applies a high pass filter to the side- 1 Configure the clip effects settings as you like.
chain processing at the selected frequency.
2 Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
Notch Applies a notch filter to the side-chain pro- dows) the Preset button where you want to store
cessing at the selected frequency. the current clip effects settings.
Band Pass Applies a band pass filter to the side-
chain processing at the selected frequency.
Elastic Audio provides track-based Real-Time and you like, drag it from the browser and drop it into
Rendered Time Compression and Expansion the session. The loop automatically conforms to
(TCE) and clip-based pitch shifting (transposi- the session tempo map and Bar|Beat grid. You can
tion). Pro Tools Elastic Audio uses exceptionally then further manipulate its timing and also trans-
high-quality transient detection algorithms, beat pose the clip to match the pitch of other loops in
and tempo analysis, and real-time TCE and pitch your session.
shifting processing algorithms. Elastic Audio lets
you quickly and easily transpose the pitch of audio Correcting Performances
clips and tempo conform (beat match) audio to the
Elastic Audio lets you quantize audio to tighten up
session’s Tempo map. It also provides an unprece-
a performance or even manually re-align that one
dented degree of control over transient detection
note that was played just a little late. Or, you might
and TCE processing on an event-by-event basis.
decide that the performance is excellent, but just a
With Elastic Audio, Pro Tools analyzes entire au- little under tempo. Tick-based Elastic Audio auto-
dio files for transient events. For example, an event matically warps audio to conform to tempo
can be a drum hit, a sung note, or chord played by changes. When you change your tracks to tick-
a guitar. These detected events can then serve as based and increase the session tempo, the audio au-
control points for warping the audio. Pro Tools can tomatically time compresses to match.
warp (TCE) audio events automatically, such as
Remixing
automatically conforming audio to the session
tempo or quantizing audio events, or you can warp Elastic Audio lets you quickly beat match an entire
audio manually using standard editing tools in song to the session tempo and Bar|Beat grid. You
Warp view. can also transpose clips to match pitch.
Elastic Audio is useful in several common work- Sound Design and Special Effects
flows: working with loops, correcting perfor-
mances, remixing, sound design and special ef- Use Elastic Audio to achieve special effects with
fects, and film scoring. extreme or widely variable TCE or pitch manipu-
lation. Use the Varispeed algorithm to achieve
Working with Loops tape-like effects for speed and pitch change.
If you work with loops, Elastic Audio lets you pre-
view your loops in Workspace browsers at their
native tempo (BPM) or at the session tempo
(BPM). You can even preview the loop while the
session is playing back. When you find the loop
If you are scoring a film scene, use Elastic Audio 1 Create a new Pro Tools session or project.
to fit the music to the required duration. You can 2 Set the session’s Main Timebase ruler to
even use tempo changes to achieve accelerandos Bars|Beats.
and ritardandos.
3 Be sure to display the Tempo and Meter rulers.
Remember, when using tempo adjustments
4 Use the default tempo of quarter-note equals
for sessions that include multiple cues, tempo
120 BPM.
changes may affect the timecode position of
other cues later on the Timeline. Locate and preview a loop in a Workspace browser
at the session tempo:
Elastic Audio is not recommended for pull up 1 Open the Workspace (Window > Workspace).
and pull down workflows. Use the Session
2 Navigate to the folder where you keep your
Setup window real time pull up or pull
drum loops. Double-click the folder name to
downs, or the presets included with Time
open a browser window showing just the
Shift or X-Form AudioSuite plug-ins.
folder’s contents.
3 Select the loop you want to preview.
Example Elastic Audio
Workflow Audition Paths for previewing are selected in
the I/O Setup window (Choose Setup > I/O
In this workflow, you will be introduced to some and click the Output tab).
common Elastic Audio tasks for working with
loops: 4 Click the Preview button to preview the loop at
its native tempo.
• Create and configure a new session for this
workflow.
Audio Files Conform
• Locate and preview a loop in a Workspace Preview button to Session Tempo button
browser at the session tempo.
• Import the loop at the session tempo on a tick-
based, Elastic Audio-enabled track.
• Change the session tempo to change the tempo
of the clip on tick-based, Elastic Audio-enabled
tracks.
• Quantize the audio to apply a Groove Template
to the rhythm.
• Transposition the clip to match the pitch of the Preview and Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo
imported audio to other audio and MIDI in the buttons in a Workspace browser
session.
Dragging and dropping a tick-based audio file from a Workspace browser to the Tracks List
Warp indicators
The Polyphonic plug-in provides a single control The Decay Rate control determines how much of
for adjusting the analysis window size for TCE the decay from a transient is heard in the processed
processing. Experiment with adjusting the Win- audio when time stretching. When the Rhythmic
dow size for different types of material until you plug-in is selected, any gaps between transients re-
achieve the best results. The following table pro- sulting from time stretching are filled in with au-
vides some recommended Window sizes for dif- dio. The Decay Rate determines how much of this
ferent types of material. audio is heard by applying a fade out rate. Adjust
the Decay Rate up to 100% to hear the audio that is
If you frequently work with distinct types of filling the gaps created by the time stretching with
material, you may want to find the best Win- only a slight fade, or adjust down to 1.0% to com-
dow settings for each type of material and pletely fade out between the original transients.
save them as plug-in settings for quick and
easy recall.
Monophonic Plug-In
The Monophonic plug-in is best suited to mono-
Recommended
Type of Material
Window Size
phonic material where you want to keep the for-
mant relationships intact, such as with vocals. The
General purpose 30–40 ms Monophonic plug-in is also well suited to mono-
Percussive 20 ms or lower
phonic instrumental lines, such as a bass track. The
Monophonic plug-in provides no plug-in specific
Pads and other legato 60 ms or higher parameters.
material
Rhythmic Plug-In
The Rhythmic plug-in is best suited to material
with clear attack transients, such as drums. The
Rhythmic plug-in supports clip-based pitch shift-
ing.
Elastic Audio plug-in: Monophonic
Varispeed Plug-In
Elastic Audio plug-in: X-Form
Use the Varispeed plug-in to link time and pitch
changes for tape-like speed change effects, and Quality
post production workflows. The Varispeed plug-in Select either Maximum or Low (Faster) from the
provides no plug-in specific controls. Quality pop-up menu. Maximum is the slowest pro-
cessing algorithm, but provides the highest quality
results. Low (Faster) produces relatively good re-
sults and is much faster than the Maximum setting.
Formant
• With the Pencil tool, click anywhere in the 2 Do one of the following:
clip to add a Warp marker at that location. If • With the Grabber tool, double-click a Warp
you click on an Event marker, a Warp marker marker.
is created on top of the Event marker.
• With the Grabber or the Pencil tool, Option-
• With the Grabber tool, Control-click (Mac) or click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) a Warp
Start-click (Windows) anywhere in the clip to marker.
add a Warp marker at that location. If you
• With any Edit tool, Right-click a Warp
click on an Event marker, a Warp marker is
marker and select Remove Warp Marker from
created on top of the Event marker.
the pop-up menu.
• With the Grabber tool, if no Warp markers are
present in the clip, or if Warp markers are To delete all Warp markers in a selection:
only present prior to the location where you 1 In Warp view, make an Edit selection that in-
want to add a new Warp marker, double-click cludes only the Warp markers you want to de-
an Event marker to add a Warp marker on top lete (and none of the Warp markers you want to
of the Event marker. keep).
• With the Grabber tool, double-click any-
2 Do one of the following:
where in the clip where an Event marker is
not present to add a Warp marker at that loca- • Press Delete or Backspace on your computer
tion. keyboard.
• With the Grabber tool, single-click any Event • With any Edit tool, Right-click the Edit selec-
marker prior to another existing Warp marker tion and select Remove Warp Marker from
in the clip to add a Warp marker on top of that the pop-up menu.
Event marker.
• With any Edit tool, Right-click anywhere in
the clip and select Add Warp Marker from the
pop-up menu to add a Warp marker at that lo-
cation. If there is an Edit selection, Warp
markers are added at the selection start and
end.
Telescoping Warp
Telescoping Warp can be applied to any audio clip
before or after a Warp marker as long as no other
Warp marker precedes or follows it accordingly.
The audio can be on a sample- or tick-based track.
Telescoping Warp is especially useful for adjust-
ing audio files to match the session tempo map and Before and after warping, applying Telescoping Warp
with the clip start fixed
Bar|Beat grid.
(Tick-Based Tracks Only) 1 Open the Elastic Properties window for the clip.
The Source Length property in the Elastic Proper- 2 Select the correct note value for the beat from
ties window displays the length of the clip based the Tempo Resolution pop-up menu. For exam-
on the source file in bars and beats. If the length of ple, if the source file is in 5/8, select 1/8 note.
the source file was analyzed incorrectly, you can 3 Do one of the following:
change it.
• Type the tempo in the Source Tempo field.
To change the Source Length of a clip: • If the tempo was incorrectly analyzed as be-
1 Open the Elastic Properties window for the clip. ing half the tempo of the source file, click the
x2 button.
2 Do one of the following:
• If the tempo was incorrectly analyzed as be-
• Type the correct bar, beat, and tick values in ing twice the tempo of the source file, click
the Source Length field. the 1/2 button.
• If the duration was incorrectly analyzed as
being half the duration of the source file, click Meter Field
the x2 button. (Tick-Based Only)
• If the duration was incorrectly analyzed as
being twice the duration of the source file, Elastic Audio analysis does not calculate meter
click the 1/2 button. and assumes all files are in 4/4. If you work with
meters other than 4/4, use the Meter property to
Changing the duration of a clip on an Elastic correctly identify the source meter.
Audio-enabled track using the TCE Trim tool
updates the Source Length in the Elastic To change Meter of a clip:
Properties window. 1 Open the Elastic Properties window for the clip.
2 Click in the Meter nominator field and type the
correct number of beats per measure. For exam-
ple, if the clip is in 3/4, type 3.
3 Click the Meter denominator field and type the
correct note value. For example, if the meter is
in 6/8, type 8.
Event Sensitivity Property When you change the Event Sensitivity prop-
The Event Sensitivity property in the Elastic Prop- erty, Pro Tools writes temporary filtered
erties window lets you filter Event markers based Elastic Audio analysis files (.aan) to the ses-
on the analysis confidence level. The confidence sion’s Rendered Files folder. Any unused
level for any detected transient event is based, in temporary filtered analysis files are purged
part, on the clarity of the transient. For example, if when you close the session.
the file is a drum loop, loud accented hits will be
analyzed with a higher degree of confidence than a Reset Button
soft, unaccented hit.
Click the Reset button in the Elastic Properties
The Event Sensitivity acts like a threshold for window to reset event analysis data for the clip to
showing only the transient events that were de- match the original file. The Event Sensitivity prop-
tected with a high degree of confidence. In Warp or erty is reset to 100%.
Analysis track views you will see the number of
Event markers decrease or increase as you lower or Input Gain Property
raise the Event Sensitivity.
It is possible to encounter clipping when time com-
Lowering the event sensitivity can help reduce the pressing audio. Real-Time Elastic Audio plug-ins
number of erroneously detected transients. In turn, provide a Clip indicator to let you know when clip-
this can result in better sounding Elastic Audio ping has occurred and the Elastic Audio plug-in
processing. Pro Tools preserves the detected tran- button turns red. Rendered Elastic Audio clips dis-
sients when applying TCE in order to avoid flam- play a Clip indicator on the clip when clipping has
ming and granulation of the transients. Conse- occurred (see “Clipping Indicator” on page 993).
quently, false transients are also preserved and the
If you encounter clipping when processing Elastic
resulting sound quality can be less than desirable.
Audio, use the Input Gain property in the Elastic
If you are working with audio material that does
Properties window to attenuate the gain of the au-
not have clearly defined transients, you may want
dio signal before it is processed.
to lower the Event Sensitivity in the Elastic Prop-
erties, or you may want to even edit the Event
markers in Analysis view.
(Polyphonic, Rhythmic, and X-Form Only) To transpose the pitch of an audio clip in the
Transpose window:
In addition to Pro Tools Elastic Audio time com-
pression and expansion capabilities, you can also 1 Make sure the clip, or clips, you want to Trans-
change the pitch of whole audio clips in semitones pose are on Elastic Audio-enabled tracks (using
and cents in the range of +/– 2 octaves. the Polyphonic, Rhythmic, or X-Form algo-
rithm).
Elastic Audio pitch transposition is not sup-
2 With the Grabber or Selector tool, select the au-
ported with the Monophonic algorithm. How-
dio clip you want to transpose. Only clips that
ever, if you switch to the Monophonic plug-in
are completely selected will be affected.
after pitch shifting with another plug-in, the
pitch metadata for the clip is maintained. 3 Choose Event > Event Operations > Transpose.
Real-time Elastic Rendered Elastic Render clip with destination track’s Elastic Audio plug-in
Audio–enabled track Audio–enabled track
Real-time Elastic Audio track Render clip with source track’s Elastic Audio plug-in and
Audio–enabled track (no Elastic Audio) commit the clip to the destination track
Rendered Elastic Real-time Elastic Apply real-time Elastic Audio processing using the
Audio–enabled track Audio–enabled track destination track’s Elastic Audio plug-in
Audio track Real-time Elastic Calculate Elastic Audio analysis and apply real-time
(no Elastic Audio) Audio–enabled track Elastic Audio processing using the destination track’s
Elastic Audio plug-in
Audio track Rendered Elastic Calculate Elastic Audio analysis and render the clip
(no Elastic Audio) Audio–enabled track using the destination track’s Elastic Audio plug-in
Pitched Elastic Audio– Audio track Render clip pitch shift with source track’s Elastic Audio
enabled track (no Elastic Audio) plug-in and commit the clip to the destination track
Clips that are committed, either by disabling Elastic Audio on a track or by moving a clip to a track with-
out Elastic Audio enabled, are written to disk as new audio files (see “Committed Clips” on page 989.)
Elastic Audio Preferences The Elastic Properties window inherits the Default
Input Gain preference. To apply further clip-based
The Elastic Audio settings in the Processing Pref- Input Gain for Elastic Audio processing, select the
erences page determine which Elastic Audio plug- clip and adjust the Input Gain setting in the Elastic
in is used for preview and import, and whether or Properties window (see “Elastic Properties Win-
not new tracks are created with Elastic Audio en- dow” on page 1006).
abled using the selected default plug-in.
Enable Elastic Audio on New Tracks When se-
lected, new tracks are created with Elastic Audio
enabled. The selected default Elastic Audio plug-
in is used.
Select either Selected Tracks or Edit Selection to The Copy options determine whether or not sends
determine what is committed. or Group assignments are copied to committed
tracks.
Selected Tracks Commits all selected tracks from
the beginning of the first clip on the track to the Sends Select to copy sends from the source track
end of the last clip on the track. If the Consolidate to the committed track.
Clips option is disabled, all clip boundaries are
‘
Consolidate Clips Select the Insert After Last Selected Track option
to have new committed tracks placed after the last
Select to consolidate all clips on a track (or all clips selected track. When disabled, each committed
in the edit selection) into a single new complete track is placed immediately following the source
file clip. track.
If Pan automation is not rendered, and the source Follow Session Settings
track is assigned to multiple output paths, the track When this option is selected, new audio files cre-
output assignments are copied to a single commit- ated using Track Commit command are the same
ted track. bit depth as the session. If you select the Follow
Session Settings option, it is possible the commit-
ted audio may clip (since you are truncating from
32-bit floating point to 24- or 16-bit). However,
you may want to select this option if you need to
have all audio generated by the session follow a
particular bit-depth.
Pro Tools lets you “freeze” audio, Auxiliary Input, Select one or more tracks and choose Track >
and Instrument tracks. When you freeze a track, Freeze (or Unfreeze).
the source material (audio and MIDI) on the track
Click the Track Freeze icon in the Track con-
is replaced with audio that has been processed by
trols so that it is highlighted (or unhighlighted).
all of the plug-ins on the track (or only up to a spec-
ified insert), including instrument plug-ins. This Right-click on the track name and select Freeze
process is reversible, so you can “unfreeze” frozen (or Unfreeze).
tracks.
Option-Shift-Click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-Click
Freezing tracks is useful for freeing up processing (Windows) to freeze all selected tracks. Op-
power in your session for other tracks and process- tion-Click (Mac) or Alt-Click (Windows) to
ing tasks. It is especially useful for exchanging ses- freeze all audio, Auxiliary Input, and Instru-
sions with other systems that may not have all of ment tracks.
the same plug-ins as your system. Rather than
committing tracks as final print tracks, you can When a track is frozen, any plug-ins on the track
freeze tracks that you want to share but might want are made inactive. On Instrument tracks, the wave-
to keep editing while that track is shared or out for form of the frozen audio is superimposed over the
review. MIDI data on the track as a visual cue.
1 Ensure that Inserts view is shown in either the • Editing clips or clip contents is disallowed.
Edit or Mix window. • Elastic Audio is disallowed.
2 Right-click on the insert up to which you want • Clip gain and clip effects are disallowed on fro-
to freeze the track and choose Freeze Up To zen tracks.
This Insert. • AudioSuite rendering is disallowed on frozen
tracks.
• Tempo changes, Song Start changes, and en-
abling or disabling the Conductor Track are not
allowed when there are frozen tracks in the ses-
sion.
• Insert and Cut Time operations are disallowed in
a session if there are frozen tracks.
• HEAT is unavailable for frozen Auxiliary Input
Freeze Up To This Insert (Freezing up to insert B)
and Instrument tracks.
When any plug-in processing on a track is frozen, • Instrument Tracks are removed from the MIDI
frozen inserts are italicized and grayed out. The Editor window while frozen and MIDI parame-
also display the Track Freeze icon. ters including Real Time Quantize settings can-
not be adjusted until the track is unfrozen.
• Clips used on a source playlist for a frozen track
cannot be removed from the session until the
Track Freeze icon
track is unfrozen.
The Global Freeze Tracks icon lights when one or 1 Right-click the Global Freeze icon and select (or
more tracks in the session are frozen. You can use the deselect) which track types you want to include
Global Freeze Tracks icon to freeze (or unfreeze) all (or exclude):
audio, Auxiliary Input, and Instrument tracks in the • Include all Audio Tracks
session or project. You can also specify which track • Include all Aux Tracks
types you want (or don’t want) to freeze. • Include all Instrument Tracks
Bounce Track
Pro Tools lets you bounce individual tracks from
your session or project. Track Bounce is useful for
delivering audio files from tracks in the session
without having to re-route sub-master stems or in-
dividual tracks for bus recording. You can just se-
lect the desired source tracks and Bounce them to
disk.
Various events in Pro Tools (such as groups of The Event Operations window can be left open,
MIDI Notes, audio clip start times or sync points, This provides quick access to apply a command or
and whole clips) can be transformed with Event try out different options for a particular command.
Operations.
You can also apply quantize, duration, delay,
and transpose to MIDI nondestructively us-
What to Quantize
The What to Quantize settings determine what as-
pects of any selected MIDI notes are quantized:
Note Ons (attacks), Note Offs (releases), or both.
You can also select whether to quantize audio clips
or Elastic Audio events. Depending on what type
of track material is selected, not all options will be
available. If only MIDI is selected, the Audio Clips
and Elastic Audio Events options are unavailable.
If only audio is selected, the Note On, Note Off, and
Before quantizing, followed by two examples showing
Preserve Note Duration options are not available. the results of different What To Quantize settings
Note On When selected, MIDI note start points are Audio Clips When selected in the What to Quan-
quantized. tize pop-up menu, Quantize is applied to clip start
times (or sync points if present) for selected audio
Note Off When selected, MIDI note end points are
clips. MIDI clips are not affected. Typically, you
quantized.
will only want to apply quantization to sliced audio
Preserve Note Duration When selected, MIDI clips or clip groups (such as imported REX files or
note durations are preserved. clips created using the Separate Clips at Transients
command or Beat Detective). Quantization can be
When deselected with the Note On option selected, applied to mixed selections of MIDI notes and au-
note end points are not moved. dio clips.
When deselected with the Note Off option selected, Elastic Audio Events When selected in the What
note start points are not moved. to Quantize pop-up menu, Quantize is applied to
detected transient events within the Edit selection
If the options for both Note On and Note Off are se-
on Elastic Audio-enabled tracks. Quantization can
lected, the Preserve Note Durations option is un-
be applied to mixed selections of MIDI notes and
available.
Elastic Audio events. Warp markers are created
The following figure shows how MIDI notes are automatically on top of Event markers nearest the
adjusted by the different What To Quantize op- quantize grid. Quantize then uses these Warp
tions. markers to apply quantization.
Show Comments The Comments field displays Beat Detective does not extract duration infor-
any comments saved with the groove template mation from audio performances. DigiGroove
from Beat Detective. The Comments field cannot templates created using Beat Detective contain
be edited in the Quantize page, but can be edited a fixed duration value that is 50% of the se-
when saving a groove template from the Groove lected template resolution (see “Defining a
Quantize page. Beat Detective Selection” on page 740).
Pre-Quantize Enable to hard quantize the Velocity Enable to influence the velocities of the
selected MIDI notes to a sixteenth-note grid selected MIDI notes. The Velocity option does not
before applying Groove Quantize. apply to audio selections. If the slider is set to 0%
there is no change to the selected velocities, a set-
Groove Quantize Options ting of 100% sets all velocities to match the current
groove template. A velocity setting of 200% typi-
Timing Enable to apply Groove Quantize to the se-
cally results in over-exaggerated velocities—loud
lected MIDI notes, Elastic Audio events, or audio
notes increasing and soft notes decreasing in vol-
clips. Use the slider to change the amount of quan-
ume.
tization applied to the selection. If the slider is set
to 0%, there is no change in timing. A setting of For example, if two adjacent notes have equal ve-
100% moves notes to the underlying template lo- locities of 80, and the two corresponding template
cations. If the slider is set to 200%, events move to velocities are 70 and 90, setting the slider to 200%
a tick location that is twice the difference between changes the velocities to 60 and 100.
the original event location and the position of the
referenced template event. The default value for the Velocity slider is 100%.
A DigiGroove template (derived from the audio shown) applied to a series of sixteenth-notes with Timing and
Velocity both set to 100%
Pro Tools applies groove templates relative to the In cases where the Groove Templates and track se-
song start. For example, a two-bar groove template lections are based on different meters, the template
repeats starting at every odd-numbered bar in the will be repeated or truncated to match the number
session (bar 1, 3, 5, 7…). of beats in the selection.
If a selection starts on an even bar, only the appro- 4/4 1-bar selection
priate portion of the groove template will be used.
For example, if the selection is two bars long and
starts on an even bar, the template applies bar 2 be-
fore bar 1. 6/4 bar 1 (beats 3–6
not used)
4/4 1-bar selection
Applying a 1-bar groove template in 6/4 to a 1-bar
selection in 4/4
4/4 bar 1 (not used) 4/4 bar 2
Fading Velocities
Event Operations window, Flatten Performance page To change velocities smoothly over time:
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be edited.
The Flatten Performance command can be
2 Choose Event > Event Operations > Change
undone.
Velocity.
To flatten the performance:
3 Select the Change Smoothly option with the
1 With the Grabber or Selector tool, select the range set from 127 to 0.
MIDI notes you want to flatten.
4 Click Apply.
2 Choose Event > Event Operations > Flatten Per-
formance to open the Flatten Performance page.
Preserving Existing Velocity
3 Select the note attributes to flatten. (For descrip- Relationships
tions of these attributes, see “Restore Perfor- To partially preserve the existing velocity relation-
mance Command” on page 1035). ships and still achieve velocity fades, use the op-
4 Click Apply. tion for Change Smoothly by Percentage. The fol-
lowing figures illustrates the difference between
the two Change Smoothly options
Original velocities
Scaling Velocities
Many times existing note velocities already have
the relationship between them that you want, but
are either too soft or too loud overall. In these in-
Event Operations window, Change Velocity page
stances, use the Scale By option.
For example, to make velocities 20% louder: Velocity values usually affect the loudness of
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be edited. MIDI notes. Depending on how velocity is
mapped with any MIDI instrument, velocities
2 Choose Event > Event Operations > Change may also affect other aspects of an
Velocity. instrument’s sound (such as filter cutoff,
3 Select the Scale By option with the percentage envelopes, and modulations).
value set to 120.
4 Click Apply. The settings in the Change Velocity window
are saved with each session. To store your fa-
vorite settings as the default for use in future
sessions, save them as part of a session tem-
plate (see “Session Templates” on page 180).
Change Smoothly Allows velocities to change For example, if a note with a velocity 64 is scaled
smoothly from one value to another over time. by 200%, the new velocity would be 127.
Attempting to scale or increase the velocity any
Change Smoothly by Percentage Allows veloci-
further yields no further change.
ties to change smoothly from one percentage value
to another over time.
The curve for this change can be adjusted (+/– 99) Change Duration
to affect how gradually the change occurs.
The Change Duration command in the Event Op-
Limit To When selected, restricts the Change erations window adjusts durations for selected
Velocity command to a minimum and maximum MIDI notes. Use it to affect the articulation of the
range after the selected Change Velocity option selected notes by making them more staccato or
has been applied (and also after any randomization legato.
has been applied).
You can also change note duration non-
Randomize When selected, the selected Change destructively in real-time using MIDI
Velocity option is randomized by the specified Real-Time Properties. See “MIDI Real-
percentage value after the selected Change Veloc- Time Properties” on page 798.
ity option has been applied. For example, with the
Remove Overlap
Add Adds to the durations by a specified number The Change Continuously option lets you change
of quarter notes and ticks. the duration of notes continuously in ticks or by
percentage. Adjust the Curve slider to modify the
Subtract Subtracts from the durations by a speci-
shape of the change.
fied number of quarter notes and ticks.
Change Continuously in Ticks Allows note
Scale by Shortens or lengthens durations based on
lengths to change smoothly from one duration to
a percentage value (1–400%).
another over time. Duration values are specified in
quarter notes and ticks.
3 Select the option for Scale By with a percentage The Transpose command can also be applied to
value of 50. whole clips on Elastic Audio-enabled tracks using
the Polyphonic, Rhythmic, or X-Form plug-ins.
4 Click Apply. The durations for the selected notes
are reduced by 50%. For information on Transposing Elastic
Audio clips, see “Elastic Audio Clip-Based
With this option you may have to experiment with Pitch Shifting” on page 1009.
the percentage value to achieve the desired effect.
To make notes more legato: Elastic Audio pitch transposition is not sup-
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be edited. ported with the Monophonic algorithm.
Transpose All Notes To Transposes all selected 1 Select the MIDI notes you want to transpose.
notes to the same pitch. Use the slider or the num- 2 Choose Event > Event Operations > Transpose.
ber entry box to enter the pitch to which to trans-
pose all selected notes. This option is not applica- 3 Select Transpose in Key.
ble to Elastic Audio clips. 4 Adjust the slider (or type a number) for the
Transpose In Key Transposes selected notes in number of scale steps (+ or –) by which you
key up or down by scale steps (based on the Key want to transpose the selection. For example, to
Signature ruler). This option is not applicable to transpose down a third, enter “–2.”
Elastic Audio clips. 5 Click Apply.
The Transpose All Notes To and the Trans- Event Operations window, Select/Split Notes
pose In Key settings can only be applied to
MIDI notes. When only audio clips are se-
Select/Split Notes Settings
lected, these options are unavailable. Pitch Criteria
2 Choose Event > Event Operations > Select/Split 1 Choose Event > Event Operations > Input Quan-
Notes. tize.
3 Select the Bottom option and leave the number 2 In the Input Quantize page, select Enable Input
of notes set to 1. Quantize.
Step Input in the Event Operations window lets 1 Make certain your external MIDI device is
you use a MIDI controller to enter notes individu- properly connected and working with
ally, one step at a time. This gives you precise con- Pro Tools.
trol over note placement, duration, and velocity. 2 Choose Event > Event Operations > Step Input.
With MIDI step input you can also create musical
passages that might be difficult to play accurately, 3 Select the Enable option.
or at a fast tempo.
When Step Input is enabled, each previously
record-enabled MIDI or Instrument track is
taken out of record enable, and if the
Default Thru Instrument preference is
defined, it is disabled.
The controls in the Step Increment section let you Enable Numeric Keypad Shortcuts When se-
set the spacing and duration of MIDI events en- lected, Step Input options can be selected from the
tered using the Step Input operation. You can se- numeric keypad. See “Numeric Keypad Shortcuts
lect any size from whole notes to sixty-fourth notes for Step Input” on page 1048.
(including dotted values).
Undo Step, Next Step, and Redo Step
Tuplet Lets you input irregular note groupings
(such as triplets or quintuplets). The tuplet length Use the Undo Step and Next Step buttons to do the
is calculated from the note spacing selection and following:
the Tuplet values. For example, an eighth note • Move the step insertion point, by either remov-
equals 480 ticks, so tuplet eighth notes with 3 in ing the previous note or by advancing the inser-
time of 2 would yield a note spacing of 320 ticks tion point by the Step Increment value.
(480 ticks / 3 * 2). • Lengthen and shorten notes that are being held
Note Length Lets you select the note length as a on the MIDI controller, by adding or removing
percentage of the spacing value. For example, an Step Increment values. The Step Increment
eighth note equals 480 ticks, so an eighth note with value can be changed mid-note to create a note
an 80% duration would be 384 ticks long. with a hybrid note length.
Undo Step When the previous note has been re- If you use a continuous controller as a
leased from the MIDI keyboard, and the insertion trigger (such as Pitch Bend), you should
point has moved forward to the next note, Undo make certain to use an extreme controller
Step removes the entire last note. value to avoid erroneous data input.
When a note is being held on the MIDI keyboard, 5 Press Enter to confirm the MIDI trigger assign-
Undo Step changes to read “Decrement,” and re- ment.
moves the last Step Increment length that was
added to the held note.
Numeric Keypad Shortcuts for
Next Step (or Increment) When no note is being Step Input
held on the MIDI keyboard, Next Step moves the When Enable Numeric Keypad Shortcuts is se-
insertion point by the Step Increment value, essen- lected, you can apply many of the controls in the
tially inserting a musical rest. Step Input page, as well as several selection con-
When a note is being held on the MIDI keyboard, trols, using your computer’s numeric keypad.
:
While the note is being held, the Step Increment 1/2 note 2
value can be changed, allowing you to create notes 1/4 note 4
of any musical length.
1/8 note 5
Redo Step Reinserts the last note that was
removed by the Undo Step operation. 1/16 note 6
1/32 note 7
Triggering the Undo Step, Next
Step, or Redo Step Buttons
1/64 note 8
To set Undo Step, Next Step and Redo Step MIDI Undo step 0
triggers:
Nudge forward +
1 Place the Edit insertion on a track at the location
where you want to enter the first MIDI note. Nudge back –
2 Choose Event > Event Operations > Step Input. Select Main Counter =
3 Locate the button you want to assign a MIDI Edit Selection indicators /
event to, and click in the field below the button.
HEAT (Harmonically Enhanced Algorithm To enable (or disable) HEAT in a session, do one of
Technology) is a software option that adds “analog the following:
color” to Pro Tools | Ultimate (included) and Select (or deselect) Options > Activate HEAT.
Pro Tools (purchased separately) software. HEAT
is available in both DSP and Native formats. To Select (or deselect) the HEAT On/Off button in
use HEAT, iLok authorizations are required for the Mix window in HEAT view.
both HEAT and Pro Tools | Ultimate or Pro Tools. You can also enable the Enable HEAT in New Ses-
HEAT is applied to all active audio tracks in your sions option in the Pro Tools Preferences to have
session, emulating magnetic recording tape com- HEAT automatically enabled for all new sessions.
bined with harmonic coloration commonly experi-
To enable (or disable) HEAT for new sessions:
enced with analog mixing consoles. Use HEAT to
open up your mixes with warm, analog-modeled 1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
soft-saturated distortion. 2 Click the Processing tab.
3 In the DSP Management section, select (or de-
Enabling HEAT select) the Enable HEAT in New Sessions op-
tion.
When enabled, HEAT is applied to all active audio
4 Click OK.
tracks in your session, emulating the effect of an
analog mixing console. HEAT is supported with
all mono, stereo, and surround formats.
About HEAT Processing
With HDX systems, HEAT uses DSP resources on
all active audio tracks. This is important to know HEAT provides global controls for Drive and
because as you increase (or decrease) the number Tone. These affect all audio tracks where HEAT is
of audio tracks in the session, you also increase (or not bypassed.
decrease) the amount of DSP resources required to
keep HEAT hot. Note that HEAT does not use Drive
DSP resources on inactive audio tracks.
The Drive control introduces non-linear processing
With Pro Tools | Ultimate Software on Native sys- that emulates magnetic recording tape combined
tems or Pro Tools software, HEAT uses the host- with harmonic information commonly found in an-
processor. alog gear.
HEAT Master Controls HEAT Master controls can be viewed in the Mix
window.
The HEAT Master controls let you adjust the
amount and color of HEAT processing for all au- To show (or hide) HEAT Master controls:
dio tracks. Take some time to experiment with dif-
Click the Show/Hide HEAT View button in the
ferent settings until you get the desired tone color
lower right corner of the Mix window.
for your mix.
Drive Adjusts the amount of Drive for HEAT, HEAT Track controls
which emulates the distortion you get when over-
Bypass (BYP) Bypasses HEAT processing for the
driving an analog channel strip on a console. At the
individual audio track. Note that bypassing HEAT
default 12 o’clock position, no HEAT processing
on individual tracks does not free up the DSP re-
is applied. Turn the knob counter-clockwise to add
sources used by HEAT for that track.
odd harmonics to the mix (a magnetic tape satura-
tion–like effect). Turn the knob clockwise to add Pre/Post Insert (PRE) Sets HEAT processing to be
even harmonics to the odd harmonic series for the Pre or Post inserts on the individual track. HEAT
effect of simulating a triode tube circuit. processing is Pre Inserts when the PRE button is
lit.
Select (or deselect) HEAT in the Mix Window HEAT Track and Master controls with bypassed track
View selector.
When the Master Bypass is enabled, it is bright or-
ange and any explicitly bypassed track BYP but-
tons also remain bright orange. For any implicitly
bypassed track, the BYP button changes to dark or-
ange.
Master Controls
Press the Soft Keys switch in the Channel Bar. To exit, press the Soft Keys switch again.
HEAT Master Controls are mapped to the encoder and encoder switches of channel strips 21–24, as shown
in Table 1 on page 1056.
When HEAT is enabled in a session, each channel strip provides HEAT Bypass and Pre/Post. You can ac-
cess these channel settings directly from C|24 channel strips. Channel HEAT controls follow Do To All
and Do to All Selected modifiers.
Rotate the channel encoder, or press the encoder switch, and choose Pre or Post.
Table 1. HEAT Master Controls on C|24
Encoder: 21 22 23 24
Routing Folder tracks provide the same signal Common Uses for Auxiliary
routing options as Auxiliary Input tracks. Inputs
Auxiliary Inputs can be used to:
Input • Apply real-time plug-ins or an external proces-
Source: bus or
hardware input path sor to a submix, using the Auxiliary Input as an
effects return (such as reverb or bus line com-
Inserts pression)
(plug-ins or
hardware
inserts) Sends, pre-fader • Input audio from external MIDI instruments and
other audio sources into the mix, to monitor or
route to audio tracks for recording to disk (such
as from the audio outputs of a MIDI synthesizer)
Solo Mute
• Consolidate volume control of any submix un-
der a single fader
Volume
• Mix multiple outputs from an instrument
plug-in.
Master Fader track audio signal flow When a Master Fader track is inactive, its associ-
ated plug-ins, I/O assignments, and their resources
Master Faders do not consume any of your sys-
are made inactive.
tem’s audio processing power. Master Faders pro-
vide up to five post-fader inserts and no sends. When a Master Fader output assignment (path as-
Also, Master Fader tracks do not have Pan sliders, signment) is made inactive, the Master Fader no
or Mute and Solo buttons. longer controls the master gain of that path.
• Monitor and meter an output (such as a bus or 1 Create a stereo Master Fader track.
hardware output) to guard against clipping 2 Set the outputs of all audio tracks in the session
• Control submix levels to the main output path (for example, outputs 1–
2 of your primary audio interface) and set the
• Control effects sends levels
panning for each track.
• Control submaster (bussed tracks) levels
3 Set the output of the Master Fader to the main
• Apply dither or other inserts to an entire mix output path.
• Control the monitoring path with a EUCON
control surface To use a Master Fader to trim the input to a submix:
1 Create an Auxiliary Input track.
Use Master Faders to control submix levels, send
level masters, and other outputs. Master Faders can 2 Bus the signal from audio tracks in your session
control either output or internal busses. You can to the input of the Auxiliary Input track.
use a Master Fader track assigned to an Output
3 Create a stereo Master Fader track and assign
path as a master volume control. You can also use
the Output to the bus path that feeds the Auxil-
a Master Fader track assigned to a bus to trim the
iary Input track.
inputs to Auxiliary Input tracks for submixes to
avoid clipping.
VCA Master track • Control the output levels of all the VCA group’s
member tracks without the need to bus them to
an Auxiliary Input track or to the same output
path
The VCA Solo button controls the solo state of au- Level Meter
dio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, MIDI, and other On VCA Master tracks, level meters indicate the
VCA Master tracks in a VCA-controlled group. highest level occurring on any of its individual
• Soloing a VCA Master will implicitly mute all tracks, not a summed level of all slave tracks.
tracks except its slave tracks, thereby indirectly
soloing the slave tracks.
Displaying Views
To display all views in the Mix or Edit window, do
one of the following:
HEAT View
I/O View (Edit Window Only) Shows Input and Object view (Edit window)
Output selectors, and Volume and Pan indicators
Real-Time Properties View (Edit Window
in each track.
Only) Shows controls for Real-Time Properties for
MIDI and Instrument tracks. For more information
on Real-Time Properties, see “MIDI Real-Time
Properties” on page 798.
To make an output path inactive, do one of the About the “No Output” Option
following:
Track outputs can be set to No Output. Assigning a
Command-Control-click (Mac) or Control- track output to No Output causes any panning au-
Start-click (Windows) the Output selector. tomation associated with the track to be lost.
Right-click the Output selector and select Make Tracks assigned to No Output will not be audible,
Inactive. but they do not free their associated DSP
resources.
When opening sessions, outputs will be made inac-
tive automatically if the required hardware or other
resources are not available.
Sends
Inactive outputs retain all associated automation
Pro Tools lets you insert up to ten sends (A–E and
playlists. Edits made in the session also affect the
F–J) on each audio track, Auxiliary Input, Routing
inactive track’s output automation playlists.
Folder, or Instrument track.
See “Making Tracks Inactive” on page 266.
Sends provide the following features:
To make an inactive output path active, do one of • Sends can be set as pre- or post-fader.
the following:
• Sends can show level meters.
Command-Control-click (Mac) or Control-
• Send level, pan, mute, and LFE controls can be
Start-click (Windows) the Output selector.
configured to follow Groups.
Right-click the Output selector and select Make
Active.
To search for a path in a Send: 3 Select the desired path with the mouse, or use
the Up and Down arrow keys to select the path
1 Click the path selector for the send you want to
name.
assign and do one of the following:
• Type the first character of the path name you
want.
• Click Search.
• Press Tab.
You can also search Track Presets by name To mute (or unmute) a sends from the Send
from the Sends selector. (Track Presets are window or in the Mix window in Expanded Send
not available from the Track Input or Output view:
selectors.) Click the Mute button for the send.
To search for and assign multiple paths (Sends
To mute (or unmute) sends from the Track menu:
and Track Outputs only):
1 Select the tracks on which you want to mute
1 Type to search for each additional path assign-
sends. Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Win-
ment, do one of the following:
dows) to select all tracks shown in the session.
• Tab to confirm current tag that you are typing.
2 Select one of the following:
• Press Shift+Return.
• Track > Mute Sends > All.
• Click the entry.
• Track > Mute Sends > A–E.
2 Press Return to close the selector menu and as-
• Track > Mute Sends > F–J.
sign the outputs.
Key Commands for Muting Sends
Pro Tools lets you expand any combination of in- Choose View > Expanded Sends > All.
dividual send assignments views. Expanded Send
Command-Option-click (Mac) or Control-Alt-
Views provide send level, pan, and mute controls
click (Windows) a send selector to expand or
for a single send across all tracks. Send controls
collapse all sends within the send group
can be adjusted directly from these Send Views.
(Sends A–E or Sends F–J).
Sends can also be opened for control or metering in
Send windows. See “Output Windows for Tracks To collapse all sends:
and Sends” on page 1088.
Choose View > Expanded Sends > None.
To move a send:
To toggle sends in the same position (A–J) and Send Format and Track Compatibility
assigned to the same path on all tracks active or
inactive: Sends can only be copied to other tracks with a
compatible send output format (mono, stereo, or
Command-Control-Option click (Mac) or Con-
other). In addition, the following conditions apply
trol-Start-Alt click (Windows) a send button in
when moving or copying sends among tracks:
the position you want to toggle.
• When copying a stereo send from a mono track
to a stereo track, Send pan automation (if any)
will be dropped without warning.
Inverse icon
Link icon
Path Meter
selector
4 Click OK.
Delay Compensation
Pro Tools provides automatic Delay Compensa- Delay Compensation indicator
tion for managing DSP and host-based delays from
plug-in inserts, and mixer routing (bussing and The Delay Compensation indicator in the
sends). With Delay Compensation enabled, Edit window turns red if you have any delays
Pro Tools maintains phase coherent time align- in the session that exceeds the maximum
ment between tracks that have plug-ins with differ- available delay compensation (see “Delay
ing delays, tracks with different mixing paths, that Exceeds the Compensation Limit” on
tracks that are split off and recombined within the page 1103).
mixer, and tracks with hardware inserts.
Red can also indicate that you have created a
When Delay Compensation is enabled, Pro Tools feedback loop that cannot be compensated
allocates 16,383 samples at 44.1/48 kHz, 32,767 for. For example, if the output of a track is
samples at 88.2/96 kHz, or 65,534 samples at routed to the input of the same track. Mouse
176.4/192 kHz of Delay Compensation for each over the Delay Compensation indicator in the
mixer channel. Edit window to see if the tooltip identifies this
as a problem.
To maintain phase coherent time alignment, Delay
Compensation should always be enabled during The Delay Compensation View for tracks can be
playback and mixing. Delay Compensation should displayed in the Mix Window (see “Delay Com-
also be used in most recording situations. pensation View” on page 1101).
Delay Compensation View To change track delay using the User Offset field:
Indicators and Field 1 In the Delay Compensation View, click in the
User Offset edit field.
Delay (dly) Indicator
2 To set your delay value (in samples or millisec-
The Delay (dly) indicator reports the total plug-in onds depending on your current preferences),
and hardware insert delay on the track. The Delay do one of the following:
indicator’s report to Pro Tools Delay Compensa-
• Enter a positive number (with or without the
tion Engine can be bypassed when Delay Compen-
“+” modifier) for a positive delay (later in
sation is enabled. This is useful for manually time-
time) or negative number (with the “–” mod-
aligning a track when the total delay on a track ex-
ifier) for a negative delay (earlier in time).
ceeds the Delay Compensation limit. See “Delay
that Exceeds the Compensation Limit” on • Drag in the User Offset field to scroll to a new
page 1103. value. For finer resolution, Command-drag
(Mac) Control-drag (Windows).
The display color indicates reported track delay, as • Press the Up and Down Arrow keys to in-
follows: crease or decrease the numerical values.
Green Indicates that track delay reporting is en- 3 Press Enter.
abled and the track does not exceed the available
amount of Delay Compensation. To bypass the user delay:
Orange Indicates that this is the track reporting the Command-Control-click (Mac) or Start-Con-
longest plug-in and hardware insert delay in the trol-click (Windows) the User Offset field. The
session. user-defined delay appears grayed out and does
not apply to the track.
Red Indicates that the amount of plug-in and hard-
ware insert delay on the track exceeds the available Track Compensation (cmp) Indicator
amount of Delay Compensation (see “Delay that
Exceeds the Compensation Limit” on page 1103). This indicator shows the amount of Delay Com-
pensation Pro Tools applies to each track.
Gray Track delay report is bypassed.
The display color indicates the amount of Delay
Compensation applied, as follows:
Gray Indicates that Delay Compensation for the To compensate for delay that exceeds the
track is bypassed and no delay is applied to the compensation limit:
track. 1 Bypass the reported delay for the track by doing
one of the following:
Delay Compensation for • Command-Control-click (Mac) or Control-
Side-Chains Start-click (Windows) the Delay indicator.
(HDX Systems Only)
• Right-click the Delay indicator and select
HDX systems let you automatically compensate Disable Plug-In Delay.
for signal delays in side-chain processing. In some
cases, you may want to disable automatic delay The track information is grayed out once it is by-
compensation for side-chains (such as for sessions passed.
created on previous versions of Pro Tools where 2 Manually nudge any audio data on the track ear-
you have manually compensated for side-chain de- lier by the amount of delay reported in the
lays). track’s Delay indicator.
To enable (or disable) automatic delay Use the Time Adjuster plug-ins to manually
compensation for side-chains: offset tracks in real-time. For more informa-
1 Choose Setup > Preferences. tion, see the Audio Plug-ins Guide.
4 Click OK.
EUCON
Noise Shaping
Pro Tools supports Avid control surfaces using
Noise shaping can further improve audio perfor-
EUCON (Extended User Control) control (see the
mance and reduce perceived noise inherent in dith-
Pro Tools EUCON Guide). EUCON is an innova-
ered audio. Noise shaping uses filtering to shift
tive high-speed Ethernet protocol developed by
noise away from frequencies in the middle of the
Avid to allow hardware control surfaces to directly
audio spectrum (around 4 kHz), where the human
communicate with software applications (such as
ear is most sensitive.
Pro Tools).
Noise Shaping is available in the Dither and
Avid Control
POW-r Dither plug-ins.
The Avid Control app lets you control Pro Tools
For more information on using Noise Shaping,
over a wireless network from an Apple iPad using
see the Audio Plug-Ins Guide.
EuControl. When combined with S1, S6, or
Pro Tools | Dock, Avid Control provides addi-
tional touch workflows for recording and mixing.
Using an Ethernet Control
Surface with Pro Tools For more information about Avid Control,
Avid offers several Ethernet-based control surface visit www.avid.com/products/avid-control.
options for Pro Tools.
Enabling an Ethernet Control
Pro Tools | S6 Surface in Pro Tools
Pro Tools | S6 is a modular, ergonomically de- To enable an Ethernet control surface in Pro Tools:
signed control surface for Pro Tools and EUCON- 1 Choose Setup > Peripherals and click the Ether-
compatible digital audio workstations (DAWs). S6 net Controllers tab.
uses the EUCON Ethernet protocol to provide fast,
reliable data transmission. S6 is flexible and scal- 2 Select Enable.
able. Modules can be arranged in many ways, and 3 If your Ethernet control surface consists of
can be added to address new workflows or increase more than one unit, select the units in numerical
the number of strips. order as you want them arranged left to right.
1108 Pro Tools Reference Guide
4 Click OK. MIDI Control Surface
Personalities
For more information, see the documentation
that came with your Ethernet control surface. MIDI Control Surface Personalities are files that
allow Pro Tools to communicate with the MIDI
To enable EUCON control in Pro Tools: control surface. When you install Pro Tools, these
1 Choose Setup > Peripherals. files are installed by default in the Controllers
folder inside the Pro Tools application folder. If
2 Select the Ethernet Controllers tab. the files are not present, run the Pro Tools installer
3 Select the EUCON option. to install the personality files.
4 Click OK.
Connecting a MIDI Control
When the EUCON option is selected, Pro Tools is Surface
enabled for control by one or more EUCON-com- If your Pro Tools hardware includes MIDI ports,
patible controllers. you can connect a MIDI control surface directly to
your system. If it does not include MIDI ports, you
For more information about using Pro Tools
will need to use a MIDI Interface. USB MIDI con-
with EUCON, see the Pro Tools EUCON
trol surfaces (such as the Command|8) and Fire-
Guide.
Wire control surfaces (such as the 003) do not re-
quire an additional MIDI connection to your
computer.
Using a MIDI Control Surface
with Pro Tools To connect a (non-USB or FireWire) MIDI control
MIDI Control Surfaces add hands-on control to surface:
many Pro Tools functions, allowing you to adjust 1 Using a standard 5-pin MIDI cable, connect the
faders and knobs, activate transport controls, or MIDI Out port on your MIDI control surface to
edit plug-in parameters. the MIDI In port on your Pro Tools hardware or
MIDI interface.
Command|8
2 Using a standard 5-pin MIDI cable, connect the
Command|8 is a compact USB-based MIDI con- MIDI In port on your MIDI control surface to
trol surface for Pro Tools systems. the MIDI Out port on your Pro Tools hardware
or MIDI interface.
The Command|8 driver is only installed with
Pro Tools 10.x. 3 If you have a multi-port MIDI interface, note
which MIDI port the control surface is con-
nected to.
For complete instructions on connecting
and configuring Command|8, see the
Command|8 Guide.
A Pro Tools insert routes the signal from the track Inserts on audio tracks and Auxiliary Inputs and
to an effect of your choice and automatically re- Instrument tracks are pre-fader. You can cause
turns it to the same track. Inserts do not alter the clipping if you boost their gain to extremes, espe-
original audio source files, but process audio in cially on tracks recorded at high amplitude. Watch
real time, during playback. You can permanently on-screen metering for indication of clipping. (In-
apply real-time effects to tracks by recording or serts on Master Faders are post-fader.)
bouncing the effect to disk (see Chapter 52, “Mix-
down” for more information).
Types of Inserts
h
Insert selector
An insert can be either a software DSP plug-in or a
hardware insert.
Insert button
Plug-In Inserts
Plug-In inserts are software inserts that process au-
dio material on a track in real time. For example,
Insert button and selector on a track the EQ, compressor, and delay plug-ins supplied
with your Pro Tools system can be used as real-
Pro Tools provides up to ten unity-gain inserts on
time plug-in inserts.
each audio, Auxiliary Input, Routing Folder, Mas-
ter Fader, and Instrument track. Audio, Auxiliary For more information about the plug-ins
Input, and Instrument track inserts are pre-fader, included with your Pro Tools system, see the
and Master Faders inserts are post-fader. Audio Plug-Ins Guide.
When more than one plug-in or hardware insert is Additional real-time plug-ins are available from
used on a track, they are processed in series. Each Avid and from many third-party developers.
effect is added to that of any previous inserts
(flowing from top to bottom in the Mix window In- For information about optional plug-ins,
serts View, and left to right in the Edit window In- choose Avid Link > Marketplace.
serts View).
HDX Systems
DSP and Native plug-ins can be used on audio, Sends (F–J) View
Auxiliary Input, Routing Folder, Master Fader,
and Instrument tracks.
I/O View
With HDX systems, Native plug-ins may
use additional voices and introduce extra inserts and Sends in the Mix window
latency based on the HW Buffer Size. See
“Inserting Native and DSP Plug-Ins on Select Inserts A–E or Inserts F–J from the Edit
Tracks” on page 1116. Window or Mix Window View selector.
The current controller focus, if any, is indicated To make an insert inactive, do one of the following:
with a color outline around its name:
Command-Control-click (Mac) or Control-
Start-click (Windows) the Insert button.
Right-click the Insert button and select Make In-
active.
Command-Control-Option-Shift-click (Mac) or
Control-Start-Alt-Shift-click (Windows) an In-
sert button in the position you want to toggle.
• Specific plug-ins located in the plug-in subfold- The Effects subfolder organizes special effects,
ers (such as EQ III in the EQ subfolder) are indi- multi-effect processors, and other plug-ins. All
cated in green text. plug-ins that specify their plug-in category as an
“Effects” type will be displayed within the Effects
Control surfaces with single-color displays (such subfolder.
as Command|8) do not indicate plug-in view
choices. They display contents of a plug-in folder If no plug-ins within a certain category are in-
as a single list of plug-ins. stalled on your system, the subfolder named
for that category will not appear in the menu.
“Organize Plug-In Menus By” Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins by their manu-
Setting
facturer, with individual plug-ins listed in the man-
Flat List Organizes plug-ins in a single list, in al- ufacturer submenus. Plug-Ins that do not have a
phabetical order. Manufacturer defined will appear in the “Other”
manufacturer folder.
Category Organizes plug-ins by process category
(such as EQ, Dynamics, and Delay), with individ- If no plug-ins by a certain manufacturer are in-
ual plug-ins listed in the category submenus. Plug- stalled on your system, the subfolder named for
Ins that do not fit into a standard category (such as that manufacturer will not appear in the menu.
the Signal Generator), or third-party plug-ins that
have not had a category designated by their devel-
opers, appear in the Other category. Plug-Ins can
appear in more than one category.
The Organize Plug-In Menus By setting is saved 3 Select the desired plug-in with the mouse, or
with Pro Tools preferences (it is not saved with the use the Up and Down arrow keys to select the
Pro Tools session file). plug-in name.
Favorite
plug-ins
Plug-In
categories
Default plug-in display in the Insert selector menu
To move an insert:
Moving a plug-in
To duplicate an insert:
Track selector
Map Options Menu Lets you create, rename, save, Multi-Mono Controls in the
delete, import, export, and set default plug-in
Plug-In Window
maps.
Link Enable buttons
Map Presets Menu Lets you choose from avail-
able custom Plug-In Maps for the plug-in.
Master Link button
Learn Button Puts the plug-in in Learn mode, Channel Selector
where you can map plug-in parameters to a
control surface. Plug-In window (multi-mono 1-Band EQ shown)
Channel Selector Accesses a specific channel To close all currently open plug-in windows:
within a multichannel track for plug-in control ed-
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
iting. This menu appears only on multi-mono plug-
close box of any currently open plug-in win-
ins inserted on tracks with more than one channel.
dow.
Shift-clicking this selector opens a separate Plug-
In window for each channel of the multichannel
track on which the plug-in is
inserted. Using Plug-In Window
Controls
All plug-ins provide standard Pro Tools controls
Opening Plug-In Windows for track and insert selection, bypass, and other
controls, in addition to the EQ, dynamics, and
To open a plug-in window: other processor-specific controls.
Click the plug-in button in Inserts view in the
Mix or Edit window. To select a different plug-in on the same track:
For finer adjustments, Command-drag (Mac) or In fields that support values in kilohertz, typ-
Control-drag (Windows) the control. ing “k” after a number value will multiply the
value by 1,000. For example, type “8k” to en-
To return a control to its default value, Option- ter a value of 8,000.
click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the control.
You can use the Plug-In Settings dialog to au- Lock Settings File Prevents the current preset
dition and select plug-in settings (see “Plug- from being overwritten by the Save command. If
In Settings Dialog” on page 1129). you attempt to save any changes to the plug-in set-
tings, you will be prompted to save them using a
Plug-In Settings Menu different name or disk location.
Use the Plug-In Settings menu commands to save, Set As User Default Defines the current preset as
copy, paste, and manage plug-in settings as presets the User Default for the selected plug-in.
(plug-in settings files).
Settings Preferences
The Settings Preferences submenu provides com-
mands for configuring preferences for saving and
importing presets. They include:
Plug-In Settings menu commands include: Save Plug-In Settings To Selects the folder where
presets (plug-in settings files) are saved. If you se-
Save Settings Saves the current settings. This lect Session Folder, the settings are saved in a
command overwrites any previous version of the folder named “Plug-In Settings” within the current
preset. Session folder. If you select Root Settings Folder,
the settings are saved in the folder you specified
Save Settings As Saves the current settings as a
with the Set Root Settings Folder command. You
new preset under a different name.
can change the location of the Root Settings Folder
in the Operation Preferences (see “User Media and
Settings Location” on page 112).
2 Select the folder you want to use as your Root To import a preset:
folder and click Select. 1 Choose Import Settings from the Plug-In Set-
tings menu.
Creating Subfolders for Settings
2 Locate the settings file you want to import and
To make it easier to find specific types of settings, click Open. Pro Tools loads the setting and cop-
you can subdivide settings files by creating sub- ies it to the root destination folder.
folders for them.
To copy plug-in settings:
To create a settings subfolder:
Choose Copy Settings from the Plug-In Settings
1 From the Plug-In Settings menu, choose Save menu.
Settings.
Press Command+Shift+C (Mac) or Con-
2 Click the New Folder button and type a name for trol+Shift+C (Windows) to copy plug-in
the subfolder. settings.
2 Choose Paste Settings from the Plug-In Set- When a multi-mono plug-in is unlinked, import-
tings menu. ing, copying, pasting, or bypassing settings affects
only the currently selected channel.
Press Command+Shift+V (Mac) or Con-
trol+Shift+V (Windows) to paste plug-in
settings. Plug-In Settings Dialog
To create a custom User Default preset: The Plug-In Settings dialog lists the presets for the
1 Create and save a plug-in settings file. current plug-in type. From this list, you can audi-
tion and select presets.
2 Select Set As User Default from the Plug-In Set-
tings menu. Use the Folder pop-up menu at the top of the Plug-
In Settings dialog to switch between plug-in set-
To make a plug-in default to your custom preset: tings subfolders, or root and session settings fold-
ers.
From the Plug-In Settings menu, select Settings
Preferences > Set Plug-In Default To > User
Setting.
Map Options Menu Lets you create, rename, save, When you first put a plug-in into Learn mode, a
delete, import, export, and set default plug-in new plug-in map is created (with the default name
maps. “Custom Map”), and the plug-in is focused on the
control surface, but with a blank page of controls,
Map Presets Menu Lets you choose from avail- ready for mapping.
able custom Plug-In Maps for the plug-in.
Only one plug-in can be in Learn mode at a time.
Learn Button Puts the plug-in in Learn mode,
where you can map plug-in parameters to a control To put a plug-in into Learn mode, do one of the
surface. following:
Select (or deselect) View > Plug-In > Map Close the plug-in window.
Controls. Click the Learn button in a different plug-in
window.
2 Put the plug-in into Learn mode. The plug-in is 3 Put the plug-in into Learn mode. The plug-in is
focused on the control surface, but with a blank focused on the control surface.
page of controls, ready for mapping. 4 Do the following for each parameter mapping
3 In the plug-in window, click the plug-in param- you want to remove:
eter you want to map. The parameter name ap- • Make sure the Parameter menu displays No
pears in the Parameter menu. Control.
4 On the control surface, do one of the following: • On the control surface, page to the encoder or
switch where you want to remove the map-
• Turn the encoder or press the channel Select
ping, and turn the encoder or press the switch.
switch where you want to map the parameter.
• If the control surface is in Flip mode, move 5 Take the plug-in out of Learn mode.
the fader or press the channel Select switch
where you want to map the parameter. Saving Plug-In Maps
5 Repeat steps 3-4 for each parameter you want to You can save plug-in maps as presets for reuse on
map. the same Pro Tools system.
6 Take the plug-in out of Learn mode. Plug-In maps are saved as global preferences on a
Pro Tools system, so they are available to all ses-
To change parameter mapping in a plug-in map:
sions created on the system.
1 Open the plug-in whose custom map you want
to change. When you create a map for a plug-in, that map be-
comes available to all other plug-ins of the same
2 Choose the map you want to change from the type and channel format.
Map Preset pop-up menu.
If you want to map the same plug-in in
3 Put the plug-in into Learn mode. The plug-in is
different channel formats (such as mono,
focused on the control surface.
stereo and 5.1 surround) you need to create
4 Do the following for each parameter mapping a separate plug-in map for each format.
you want to change:
You can also export plug-in maps for use on other
• In the plug-in window, click the new plug-in
Pro Tools systems with a similar control surface
parameter you want to map. The parameter
(see “Exporting and Importing Plug-In Maps” on
name appears in the Parameter menu.
page 1136.
• On the control surface, page to the encoder or
switch where you want to change the map-
ping, and turn the encoder or press the switch.
5 Take the plug-in out of Learn mode.
1134 Pro Tools Reference Guide
To save a copy of a custom plug-in map: 3 From the Map Options pop-up menu, choose
1 Open the plug-in whose map you want to copy. Delete Current Map.
2 Choose the map you want to copy from the Map 4 Click Delete.
Presets pop-up menu.
To delete all plug-in maps from the system:
3 From the Map Options pop-up menu, choose
1 Open any plug-in in the session.
Save Map As.
2 From the Map Options pop-up menu, choose
4 Enter a name for the plug-in map.
Delete All Maps.
5 Click OK. The new copy becomes the active
3 Click Delete.
plug-in map.
Default map settings are stored as global (system- 1 Open the plug-in whose default plug-in map
wide) Pro Tools preferences, so they are applied to pages you want to hide.
all sessions that you subsequently open or create 2 From the Map Options pop-up menu, choose
on that system. Hide Factory Default Pages.
2 From the Map Options pop-up menu, choose bypassed (blue) not bypassed
Export All Plug-In Maps.
3 Locate the plug-in map (.pim) file you want to 1 Select the tracks on which you want to bypass
import. inserts. Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) to select all tracks shown in the session.
4 Click Open.
2 Choose Track > Bypass Insert.
3 Select (or deselect) one of the following:
Bypassing Plug-Ins
All Bypasses all Inserts on all selected tracks in the
Plug-Ins can be bypassed from their Plug-In win- session.
dow, or from the Mix and Edit window Inserts
View. Inserts A–E Bypasses Inserts A–E on all selected
tracks in the session.
To bypass a plug-in, do one of the following:
Inserts F–J Bypasses Inserts A–E on all selected
Click the Plug-In window’s Effect Bypass but- tracks in the session.
ton.
EQ Bypasses all EQ plug-ins on all selected tracks
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- in the session. For those plug-ins that are available
dows) the plug-in’s Insert button in the Mix or in multiple categories (such as Channel Strip),
Edit window. only the EQ portion of the plug-in is bypassed.
HDX and HD Native systems can receive external If you set the Optical Format to S/PDIF,
clock through any of the digital inputs on any Avid Pro Tools will watch the Optical port for
HD audio interface (including AES/EBU, S/PDIF, external clock, and ignore any clock input
and Optical). on the S/PDIF RCA jacks.
For details on audio interface connections, Pro Tools Systems with Eleven Rack
see the guide for your audio interface.
Pro Tools can receive external clock from the
To select an external clock source for HDX or AES/EBU input or S/PDIF input.
HD Native systems:
To select an external clock source for Eleven
1 Choose Setup > Hardware. Rack:
2 Select the appropriate audio interface in order to 1 Choose Setup > Hardware.
display its settings in the Main page.
2 Set the Clock Source to match the type of
3 If necessary, enable the appropriate Digital For- input.
mat (if you have not already done so, according
to the instructions in your User Guide or I/O Pro Tools Systems with Mbox Pro or Mbox (3rd
Guide). generation)
4 Set the Clock Source to match the type of Pro Tools can receive external clock from the
input. S/PDIF input on these interfaces.
5 Configure input routing of the digital source, To select an external clock source from Pro Tools
using the Input and Output pop-up menus, if with an Mbox Pro or Mbox (3rd generation):
necessary.
1 Choose Setup > Hardware.
6 Click OK to close the Hardware Setup dialog.
2 Select SPDIF/RCA (Mac) or SPDIF (Windows)
from the Clock Source pop-up menu.
Pro Tools Systems with 003, 003 Rack+, or
003 Rack 3 Click OK.
Pro Tools can receive external clock from the Op- Your digital input device must be connected
tical input or S/PDIF input. and powered on for Pro Tools to synchronize to
it. If your input device is not powered on, leave
the Clock Source set to Internal.
• mono aftertouch
Automation Playlists with Audio
• program change and MIDI Clips
• sysex
Pro Tools handles audio clips and their automation
• controllers playlists differently from MIDI clips and their au-
• Audio Volume tomation playlists.
• Mute
Trim Automation Playlists
You can display and edit each of these automatable (Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
playlists individually from Pro Tools, even during Separate Trim automation playlists are available
playback. for Volume trim and Send Level trim. Volume trim
is available on all track types except MIDI tracks.
Send Level trim is available on audio tracks only.
Touch mode writes automation only while a fader See also “Writing Automation to the Start,
or switch is touched or clicked with the mouse. End, or All of a Track or Selection” on
When the fader is released, the writing of automa- page 1182.
tion stops and the fader returns to any previously
automated position, at a rate determined by the Au- AutoJoin with Latch Mode
toMatch and Touch Timeout settings. See “Auto- (Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
mation Preferences” on page 1151.
Pro Tools provides two different methods to
In Touch mode, certain control surfaces start writ- resume writing automation on controls that were
ing automation as soon as you touch them. These active at the point where the transport stopped:
include touch-sensitive fader controllers, such as
D-Control, D-Command, C|24, 003, or Com- AutoJoin Lets you automatically resume writing
mand|8. automation in Latch mode.
With other control surfaces in Touch mode, writ- Join Lets you manually resume writing automa-
ing of automation does not begin until the fader tion in Latch mode. To Join, Command-click
hits the pass-through point, or the previously auto- (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) the Auto Join
mated position. Once you reach the pass-through button in the Automation window (Window > Au-
point with the fader, or a non-touch sensitive rotary tomation). Join is also available with supported
control, writing of automation begins and contin- control surfaces.
ues until you stop moving the fader.
AutoJoin Enable button in the Automation window AutoJoin indicator in the Edit window
Trim Mode Trim Off turns off reading and writing of all auto-
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) mation (main and trim) for a track. All automation
moves are ignored during playback. Trim faders
Pro Tools Ultimate can adjust (or trim) existing
are temporarily set to zero when a track is set to
track volume and send level automation data in
Trim Off mode.
real time. Pan, mute and plug-in automation cannot
be trimmed in this manner. Trim mode works in Depending on the Coalesce Trim Automation pref-
combination with the other Automation modes erence setting, changing a track to Trim Off can
(Read, Touch, Latch, Touch/Latch, and Write) and coalesce Trim automation on that track. See “Co-
is useful when you want to preserve all of your vol- alescing Trim Automation” on page 1181.
ume automation moves, but need to make levels a
bit louder or softer to balance a mix. For more in- Automation can be switched from Trim Off to an-
formation, see “Trim Automation Modes” on other Automation mode during playback or record.
page 1149.
In Read Trim mode, Volume and Send level Trim In Latch Trim mode, Volume and Send level Trim
faders are disengaged from the main automation faders are disengaged from the main automation
playlist and follow any existing Trim automation. playlist and follow any existing Trim automation.
You can move a Trim fader during playback to au- When a Trim fader is touched, writing of Trim au-
dition new trim values, but no automation is writ- tomation begins. Writing of Trim automation con-
ten. When the Trim fader is released, it returns to tinues until playback stops, or until you punch out
any previously written Trim automation values. of writing automation.
If a track does not contain Trim automation, you When this mode is enabled, non-trimmable con-
can move a Trim fader during playback to audition trols (all controls other than track volume and send
new trim values, but no automation is written. The level) behave as if they are in regular Latch
Trim fader retains its position until the track is re- mode—they follow the previously written automa-
moved from Trim mode, or if you manually co- tion until touched. When they are touched, their
alesce the Trim level. absolute positions are written until playback is
stopped.
When this mode is enabled, non-trimmable con-
trols (all controls other than track volume and send Touch/Latch Trim
level) behave as if they are in regular Read mode—
no automation data is written. In Touch/Latch Trim mode, Volume and Send
level faders are disengaged from the main automa-
Touch Trim tion playlist and follow any existing Trim automa-
tion. The main Volume Trim fader follows Touch
In Touch Trim mode, Volume and Send level Trim Trim behavior, and Send level Trim faders follow
faders are disengaged from the main automation Latch Trim behavior.
playlist and follow any existing Trim automation.
When a Trim fader is touched, writing of Trim au- Write Trim
tomation begins. When the fader is released, writ-
ing stops and the fader returns to any previously In Write Trim mode, as soon as playback begins,
written Trim automation values. writing of Trim automation begins for Volume and
Send levels, and continues until playback stops, or
The rate of the fader’s return to previous trim val- until you punch out of writing automation.
ues is determined by the AutoMatch Time speci-
fied in the Automation Preferences page. See “Au-
toMatch Time” on page 1152 for more
information.
AutoMatch Time
AutoMatch Time is the amount of time it takes for
Automation Follows Edit indicator in the Edit window
a fader to return (by ramping up or down) to the
level of automation still on the track as the automa- Automation Safe
tion pass ends. This time value is set in the Auto-
mation Preferences page (see “Automation Prefer- Outputs, sends, and plug-ins can be placed in Au-
ences” on page 1151). tomation Safe mode. In Automation Safe mode,
any automation associated with an Output window
AutoMatch is automatically applied to all Touch (such as track or send level, panning, or mute), or
mode passes, and can be applied to Latch or Write plug-in on that track, is protected from being over-
passes. written while automating other items on that track.
The AutoMatch Time also determines the rate at
which delta values written with the Trim will re-
turn to 0 dB (delta value of zero).
Track Views
You can view automation data by type by selecting
the corresponding Track View. Trim automation playlist
Show/Hide
Lanes button
Displaying a standard automation playlist
Remove Lane
Add Lane
Automation Type
selector
Revealing an Automation lane
To add a lane:
To remove lanes:
To reorder lanes:
To display the Trim automation playlist along with Display of Trim automation and the composite playlist
in a main Volume playlist
main automation playlist on tracks:
After the first automation pass, you can write addi- In this initial state, only a single automation break-
tional automation to the track without completely point appears at the beginning of each automation
erasing the previous pass by choosing Touch mode playlist. If you move the control without writing
or Latch mode. These modes add new automation automation, this breakpoint will move to the new
only when you actually move a control. (See “Au- value.
tomation Modes” on page 1146.)
You can permanently store the initial position of
To write additional automation to a previous pass: an automatable control by doing any of the follow-
ing:
1 Enable Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selec-
tion. • Place the track in Write mode and press Play to
write a few seconds of automation data to the
2 In the Edit window, make a selection or place
track
the cursor in the location where you want to
start writing automation. • Manually place a breakpoint on the automation
playlist somewhere after the initial breakpoint.
3 In the Mix or Edit window, click the Automa- (See “Graphical Editing of Automation Data” on
tion Mode selector on each of the tracks you page 1171 for more information.)
want to automate, and set the Automation mode
to Touch or Latch mode.
2 In the Mix or Edit window, set the Automation 2 Choose Edit > Automation > Copy to Send.
mode for each track containing sends you want
to automate. For each track, click the Automa-
tion Mode selector and set the Automation
mode. For the initial automation pass, choose
Write mode.
3 If sends are not currently visible on your tracks,
select View > Mix Window (or Edit Window) >
Sends A–E (or Sends F–J).
AutoMatching Individual
Automation Types
AutoMatch button in the Automation window You can invoke AutoMatch on individual automa-
tion types across a session.
AutoMatching All Controls
To AutoMatch all controls of one automation type:
You can AutoMatch all currently writing controls
to their existing automation levels. In the Automation window, Command-click
(Mac) or Control-click (Windows) the button
To AutoMatch all currently writing controls: for the automation type (Volume, Pan, Mute,
1 Choose Window > Automation. Plug-In, Send level, Send pan, or Send mute).
To prime controls for writing automation in Latch 8 Stop playback to finish the automation pass. All
mode while the transport is stopped: tracks are taken out of their Latch Prime state.
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click Mixing. You can use the Write to Punch command at
2 Under Automation, select Allow Latch Prime in the end of your automation pass to write the
Stop. current value back to the start of the pass.
You can take individual tracks or automation types Option-Command-Shift-click (Mac) or Alt-
out of their Latch Prime state before or during an Control-Shift-click (Windows) the Automation
automation pass. Mode selector on a track.
When you take a track or automation type out of Alt-Shift-click (Windows) Option-Shift-click
Latch Prime before starting playback, it stays in (Mac) the AutoMatch button in the Automation
Latch mode but the corresponding controls are not window.
primed to write when playback starts.
To take an automation type out of Latch Prime on
When you take a track or automation type out of all tracks, do one of the following:
Latch Prime during an automation pass, the corre- In the Automation window, Command-click
sponding controls AutoMatch to their currently (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) the button
written values. for the automation type (Volume, Pan, Mute,
If you AutoMatch a control that is in a Latch Plug-In, Send level, Send pan, or Send mute).
Prime state, the control will no longer be primed.
Enabled
Not Enabled
To remove several breakpoints at once: 1 Select the track where you want to clear the
Trim automation.
Use the Selector tool to select a range that con-
tains the breakpoints, and press Delete (Mac) or 2 Do one of the following:
Backspace (Windows). • Choose Track > Clear Trim Automation.
• Right-click the track name and choose Clear
To remove all automation data of the displayed
type: Trim Automation.
1 In the Edit window, click the Track View selec- Triangle Draws a sawtooth pattern that repeats at a
tor to display an automation type you want to rate based on the current Grid value. In audio
thin, or reveal the corresponding Automation tracks, the pattern has a single breakpoint at each
lane. extreme. In MIDI tracks, the controller value
changes in steps according to the resolution setting
2 With the Selector tool, highlight the automation
in the MIDI Preferences page. Amplitude is con-
data you want to thin. To thin automation for the
trolled by vertical movement of the Pencil tool.
entire track, click in the track with the Selector
tool and choose Edit > Select All. Square Draws a square pattern that repeats at a
rate based on the current Grid value. Amplitude is
controlled by vertical movement of the Pencil tool.
For more information on MIDI continuous MIDI Data drawn with resolution of 100 ms
controller data, see “Continuous Controller For better performance, consider selecting a
Events” on page 781. smaller value for MIDI controls that need higher
resolution (such as MIDI volume), and a larger
Resolution of MIDI Controller value for controls that may not require a high reso-
Data lution (such as Pan).
When using the Pencil tool to draw MIDI automa-
tion, the data is drawn as a series of discrete steps.
You can control the resolution (or density) of these Editing Automation
steps to help manage the amount of MIDI data sent
For all tracks in a session, Pro Tools provides sev-
for a given MIDI controller move.
eral ways to edit automation data—including Trim
To set the resolution for the Pencil tool:
automation if it has not been coalesced
(Pro Tools Ultimate only). You can edit automa-
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click MIDI. tion data graphically by adjusting breakpoints in
2 Enter a value for Pencil Tool Resolution When any automation playlist. You can also cut, copy,
Drawing Controller Data. The value can range and paste automation data in the same manner as
from 1 to 100 milliseconds. audio and MIDI data.
Automation breakpoint
Using the Grabber tool to create a new breakpoint
By dragging these breakpoints, you can modify the
Using the Pencil Tool
automation data directly in the Edit window and
MIDI Editor windows. When you drag an automa- The Pencil tool lets you create new breakpoints by
tion breakpoint up or down, the change in value is clicking once on the graph line. Option-click
numerically or textually indicated. (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) breakpoints with
the Pencil tool to remove them.
Dragging an automation breakpoint to the left or The Trim tools let you adjust all selected break-
right adjusts the timing of the automation event. points up or down by dragging anywhere within
that selection.
To view the breakpoint automation type on any
track, either select the corresponding Track View
or reveal the corresponding Automation or Con-
troller lane under the track.
Each automatable control has its own automation Drag the breakpoint down to mute a section. Drag
playlist, that can be displayed by choosing it from a breakpoint up to unmute the section. Drag a
the Track View selector. “Viewing Automation” breakpoint to the left or right to adjust the timing of
on page 1153. the mute.
When you use a Trim tool to edit a selection Hold Command+Option (Mac) or Control+Alt
containing breakpoints, new anchor break- (Windows) while writing a breakpoint (by
points are created before and after the se- clicking with any Grabber tool in a track’s auto-
lected area. To suppress creation of anchor mation playlist).
breakpoints while using a Trim tool, hold Op-
The Smart Tool cannot be used to write a
tion (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while trimming.
new breakpoint to the next or previous
To edit all breakpoint values in a clip: automation value.
• Edit automation and MIDI controller data only Pan Automation Copies only pan automation or
(without associated audio or MIDI notes). MIDI pan data whether it is shown or not.
• Edit automation and MIDI controller data with- Plug-In Automation Copies only the plug-in auto-
out having to change Track Views mation that is shown.
In addition, the Paste Special command lets you Paste Special
copy one data type to another (for example, Left
Pan data into the Right Pan playlist) The Paste Special commands let you paste auto-
mation data into another clip (without affecting as-
You cannot paste MIDI controller data to au- sociated audio or MIDI notes) in the following
tomation data nor automation to MIDI. ways:
Cut Special Merge Lets you add the pasted data to any existing
automation data of the same type in the destination
The Cut Special commands let you cut just auto-
selection. This can be useful for consolidating
mation data from the current selection (without as-
MIDI data from several tracks into a single MIDI
sociated audio or MIDI notes) and place it in mem-
track. For example, you like the pitch bend on the
ory to paste elsewhere, as follows:
synth trombones and want to apply it to the synth
All Automation Cuts all automation or MIDI con- guitar.
troller data whether it is shown or not.
Repeat to Fill Selection Pastes multiple iterations
To cut all automation, press Option+Shift+X of the automation data to the entire selection range.
(Mac) or Alt+Shift+X (Windows). If you select an area that is not an exact multiple of
the copied clip size, the remaining selection area is
Pan Automation Cuts only pan automation or filled with a trimmed version of the original selec-
MIDI pan data whether it is shown or not. tion. This lets you easily create drum loops and
other repetitive effects. Before the data is pasted,
Plug-In Automation Cuts only the plug-in automa-
Pro Tools prompts you to specify a crossfade to
tion that is shown.
smooth transitions between clips.
For MIDI automation, Glide To commands 4 In each track you want to automate, change the
only apply to MIDI Volume, MIDI Pan, and automation parameter to the value you want at
MIDI Mute. MIDI parameters cannot use the the end of the selection.
Write To commands. 5 Choose Edit > Automation > Glide to All En-
abled.
To apply a Glide Automation to the current
automation parameter type:
You can also press Option+Shift+Forward
1 In the Automation window, make sure the Slash (/) (Mac) or Alt+Shift+Forward Slash
automation type is write-enabled. (/) (Windows).
2 Click the Track View selector to choose the To apply a Glide Automation to pan only:
automation type you want to automate.
1 In the Automation window, make sure that Pan
3 Drag with the Selector tool in the track to automation is write-enabled.
select the area you want to write the glide to.
2 Click the Track View selector to choose Pan au-
4 Change the automation parameter to the value tomation.
you want at the end of the selection. For exam-
ple, to glide automation volume to –Infinity, 3 Drag with the Selector tool in the track to
move the Volume fader to –Infinity. select the area you want to write the glide to.
5 Choose Edit > Automation > Glide to Current. 4 Change the pan automation to the value you
want at the end of the selection.
You can also press Option+Forward Slash
5 Choose Edit > Automation > Glide Pan Only.
(/) (Mac) or Alt+Forward Slash (/) (Win-
dows). You can also press Control+Shift+Forward
Slash (/) (Mac) or Start+Shift+Forward
Slash (/) (Windows).
After Every Pass Trim moves are automatically 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click Mixing.
applied when the transport is stopped at the end of 2 Under Coalesce Trim Automation, select On
an automation pass. Trim automation playlists are Exiting Trim Mode.
cleared, and Trim faders are returned to zero.
3 Click OK to close the Preferences window.
On Exiting Trim Mode Trim moves are stored sep-
arately in the Trim automation playlist until they 4 Make sure the Pro Tools transport is stopped.
are coalesced. Trim automation is automatically 5 On the track where you want to coalesce Trim
coalesced on a track only when you take the track automation, click the Automation Mode selec-
out of Trim mode. You can repeat an automation tor and deselect Trim.
pass, edit Trim automation manually on any of the
Trim playlists, or clear Trim automation before co- The Trim automation is applied to the main auto-
alescing with this method. mation playlist, Trim automation playlists are
cleared, and Trim faders are returned to zero.
Even when automation is set to coalesce on
exiting Trim mode, you can use the If transport is playing and you are writing
Coalesce Trim Automation command to com- automation, you cannot directly enter or exit
mit Trim moves at any time. Trim mode. You must AutoMatch before exit-
ing Trim mode. This prevents any abrupt
Manually Trim moves are stored separately in the jumps in automation values.
Trim automation playlist until they are coalesced.
With this setting, the only way to coalesce Trim To manually coalesce Trim automation on a track:
moves is with the Coalesce Trim 1 Select the track where you want to coalesce the
Automation command. You can repeat an automa- Trim automation.
tion pass, edit Trim automation manually on any of
the Trim playlists, or clear Trim automation before 2 Do one of the following:
coalescing with this method. • Choose Track > Coalesce Trim Automation.
• Right-click the track name and choose
Coalesce Trim Automation.
or Selection
Pan, and MIDI Mute. MIDI parameters can-
not use the Write To commands.
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
Pro Tools lets you write current automation values Requirements for Standard
from any insertion point forward (or backward) to Write Automation Commands
the end (or beginning) of a track or Edit selection For automation data to be written for a specific pa-
in a track, or to an entire track or Edit selection, rameter, the associated track must be in one of the
while performing an automation pass. following Automation modes and meet the follow-
ing conditions:
Write Automation to Start, End, and All buttons in the 2 Make sure that the automation type is write-
Automation window enabled.
The standard Write Automation to Start, All, or End 3 Do one of the following:
commands do not operate when the Pro Tools • Click in a track at an insertion point.
transport is stopped. It only affects automation for
• Drag with the Selector tool to select a portion
those parameters that are currently write-enabled
of the track.
and currently writing automation data.
4 Start playback.
5 Make sure you are actively writing on the
appropriate track if you are in Latch or Touch
mode.
Write Automation to Punch Point lets you fill 1 Choose Window > Automation.
back an automation value within a track after find- 2 Make sure that the automation type is write-en-
ing the right level or setting during an automation abled.
pass, without having to go back and repeat the
pass. 3 Click in a track to define an insertion point.
4 Start playback.
5 Make sure you are actively writing on the ap-
propriate track if you are in Touch, Latch, or
Touch/Latch mode.
7 Stop Playback.
A mute event can be overwritten when the automa- Original mute automation
tion pass begins before the first mute event and (mute off, mute on, mute off)
Original mute automation Mute off event extended (up to automation pass end)
(mute off, mute on, mute off)
Extending a mute automation event
Mute Overwrite/Extend is
Supported in Touch and Latch
Mode, as follows:
Touch Mode Writes the current state as long as the
Mute button is held.
Mute on event overwritten Latch Mode Writes the current state until you stop
Overwriting a mute automation event or AutoMatch out.
3 In the Mix or Edit window, click the Automa- Stopping automation pass after the end of a mute
tion Mode selector of the track where you want event
to overwrite the mute state, and set the Automa-
9 When you have finished the automation pass,
tion mode to Touch or Latch mode.
stop playback.
To overwrite mute states on multiple tracks,
set all tracks to the same Automation mode.
Creating Snapshot
Automation
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
2 In the Edit window, click the Track View selec- If you do not want the Write Automation command
tor to show the automation you want to edit. to write the selected automation value to the entire
playlist, you can:
3 Write a breakpoint in the playlist if none cur-
rently exists, as follows: • Anchor the automation data by placing the cur-
sor at the end of the session (or any other end
• Place the cursor in the playlist (or make an
point) and choosing Write to Current.
Edit selection), then press Command+For-
ward Slash (/) (Mac) or Control+Forward • Click with any Grabber tool on each side of the
Slash (/) (Windows). selection.
• Select the Grabber tool and click anywhere in This lets the Write Automation command write
the playlist. only to the selected area.
4 Do one of the following:
• Select an area in the track’s playlist (or within Writing Snapshot Automation
multiple tracks) where you want to apply the over Existing Automation Data
automation. When you move the playback cursor, the auto-
• Place the cursor at an Edit insertion point. mated controls in Pro Tools update to reflect the
automation data that is already on the track. To
5 Adjust the controls you want to automate. You
keep the settings you have made for a snapshot,
can also change a plug-in preset.
you can suspend automation parameters to prevent
6 Choose Edit > Automation and do one of the them from updating.
following:
To write snapshot automation over existing data:
• To write the current value to only the
currently displayed automation parameter, 1 In the Automation window, make sure that the
choose Write to Current. automation parameters you want to edit are
• To write the current settings for all automa- write-enabled. Deselect any parameters whose
tion parameters enabled in the Automation automation you want to preserve.
window, choose Write to All Enabled. 2 Adjust the controls for the parameters you want
to automate.
Adding Snapshot Automation to 3 Click the Automation Mode selector and select
Empty Automation Playlists Off mode for the tracks where you want to apply
When you use a Write Automation command on an the automation.
automation playlist with no previously written au-
4 With the Selector, select the range where you
tomation data, the selected value is written to the
want to apply the automation.
entire playlist and not just the selected area.
you want to capture automation. All automated 1 In the Automation window, make sure that the
controls update to reflect the automation at that automation parameters you want to edit are
location. (If you make a selection, the controls write-enabled. Deselect any parameters whose
update to reflect the automation at the begin- automation you want to preserve.
ning of the selection.)
2 Select the area of the track you want to edit. All
5 In each track you want to apply the captured au- automated controls update to reflect the auto-
tomation, click the track’s Automation Mode mation at the beginning of the selection.
selector and set the Automation mode to Off.
3 Move the controls for the parameter up or down
by the amount you want to change the data.
When you reach a location where you want to Punch Capture and “Write To”
capture the current automation states, Option- Commands
Shift-click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-click (Windows) After issuing a Punch Capture command, the af-
the Capture button. fected controls are writing automation (in Latch
mode), so any of the Write Automation To com-
Punching Automation Values for mands can be used to extend the punched value in
All Controls the same manner as other automation.
3 Capture an automation value that you want to The Punch Capture button in the Automation win-
preview in another location on a track. (See dow lights to indicate a captured value is available
“Capturing Automation Values” on page 1195.) to punch.
6 Stop playback.
When a track is a VCA slave, you can display a
composite automation playlist that shows the con- Automation is written on the excluded slave track
tribution of the VCA Master to the Volume or such that the fader moves on the VCA Master track
Mute automation data on the slave track. This are canceled out, and the fader on the excluded
composite playlist reflects the actual position of slave track does not move on subsequent playback.
the Volume fader on the slave track.The composite
playlist display cannot be directly edited.
included slave
To display the composite playlist on VCA slave
tracks: excluded slave
Select View > Automation > Composite Playlist.
VCA Master
Volume
automation
playlist
Automation for excluded VCA slave track, canceling
Composite VCA Master automation
playlist
1 Select the slave track whose automation you 1 Select the VCA Master track whose automation
want to coalesce. you want to coalesce.
2 Choose Track > Duplicate. 2 Make an Edit selection in the VCA Master track
that includes the range of automation you want
3 In the Duplicate Track dialog, deselect Group
to coalesce.
Assignments.
3 Do one of the following:
4 Click OK.
• Hold Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) and
The composite Volume level and Mute state are choose Track > Coalesce VCA Master Auto-
coalesced to the duplicate track. The original slave mation.
track is preserved, and the VCA group is un- • Hold Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) and
changed. Right-click the VCA Master track name and
choose Coalesce VCA Master Automation.
9 Select audio to record. The start, end, and length You can use the Bounce to Disk command to ex-
of the recording can be based on the cursor lo- port loops, sub-mixes, stems or any other session
cation or Timeline and Edit selections. audio. You can use it to create a final mono, stereo,
• Selection-based recording automatically or multichannel master files in any of several audio
punches in and out of recording at the selec- file formats. Bounce to Disk also provides conver-
tion start and end. Be sure to include time at sion options for sample rate, bit resolution, and
the end of a selection for reverb tails, delays, format. It will even let you automatically import
and other effects. bounced files after the bounce is complete.
• If you do not make a selection, recording will To Bounce to Disk (basic instructions):
begin from the location of the playback cur-
1 Make a Timeline selection to define the range to
sor. Recording will continue until you press
be bounced.
Stop.
2 Choose File > Bounce to > Disk.
10 Record enable the new tracks and click Record
in the Transport. 3 Configure the Bounce options (see “Bounce
Options” on page 1206).
11 Click Play to begin recording the submix.
4 Click Bounce.
12 If recording a selection, recording will stop au-
tomatically. If performing an open-ended re- When you bounce to disk, the resulting file in-
cording, click Stop, or punch out of recording. cludes the following:
13 When the recording has finished, you can ex- Audible Tracks All audible tracks that are routed
port the bus recorded clip using the Export Clips to the output which is selected as the source of the
as Files command (see “Exporting a Clip as a
bounce are included in the bounce. Any muted
New Audio File” on page 426). tracks are not included in the bounce. If you solo
one or more tracks, only the soloed tracks are in-
cluded in the bounced mix.
To set the bounce source: 4 In the Bounce dialog, click the “+” button to the
right of the Bounce Source selector.
Select a bus path, output path, or physical out-
put from the Bounce Source selector. On Mac, press Command+Shift + “+” (plus)
or Command+Shift+Down arrow or Com-
mand+Shift+N to add a new Bounce Source
row. On Windows, press Control+Shift + “+”
(plus) or Control+Shift+Down arrow or Con-
trol+Shift+N to add a new Bounce Source
row.
Delivery Format
Pro Tools lets you bounce multiple stems to sepa-
rate files or to a single, interleaved WAV (BWF)
file. The later lets you export multiple delivery for- Selecting the Delivery Format
mats to a single multichannel file for optimized file
transfer workflows. For example, you can combine 6 Configure other options as desired.
separate stereo and 5.1 stems in a single, inter- 7 Click Bounce.
leaved 8-channel BWF file for delivery.
The Bounce Source stems are bounced and embed-
The Delivery Format selector only appears if you ded in a single WAV file (BWF) in the order they
have more than one Bounce Source specified. are listed at the top of the Bounce dialog. The re-
sulting file includes each stem in WavEXT chan-
To bounce multiple stems to a singe BWF:
nel order with an additional iXML stem/channel
1 Choose File > Bounce To > Disk. definition embedded in the file. When Pro Tools
2 For Bounce Source, add and select the stems imports one of these files, it remains a single inter-
you want to bounce. leaved file as long as the channel count is below
32. If there are more than 32 channels, they are all
Stems are written to channels in the bounced split out into mono files. In all cases, each stem ap-
file in the order they appear in the Bounce di- pears in the Clips List as its own autonomous
alog from top to bottom. You can reorder multi-channel clip (just as if they were each their
source stems by dragging them up or down. own file).
Sample Rate 44.1 kHz This is the standard sample rate for com-
pact discs (CD), and is supported by DA-88/98,
This option lets you save to any of several sample DAT, and ADAT decks.
rates. Choices are dependent on your Pro Tools
system and audio interfaces. Options can include Additional sample rate options include 8 kHz,
sample rates from 8 kHz to 192 kHz, including 11.025 kHz, 16 kHz, 22.050 kHz, and 32 kHz.
sample rates with Pull Up and Pull Down options.
Custom For a custom sample rate, click in the
Common Sample Rates sample rate window and manually enter in a value
from 4,000 to 200,200 samples.
The following are the more common sample rates,
and their applications. Higher sample rates provide Pull Up and Pull Down Rates All available sam-
better audio fidelity for recording and playback, ple rates support pull up and pull down rates, or
and also for processing with dynamics, dither other specialized rates.
(with noise shaping), and analog emulation plug-
ins.
Cancel
The Cancel button closes the Bounce to Disk dia-
log without initiating the bounce to disk conver-
sion.
You can also create a submix by recording to new Drag and drop the bounced files from a Work-
tracks. For details, see “Sample Rate Conversion space browser or the desktop.
and Bit Depth Reduction” on page 1203.
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software lets you work with In the following table, it is assumed that surround
surround formats up to 7.1, and up to 7.1.2 with channels are assigned to outputs 1–6 of a Pro Tools
Dolby Atmos. audio interface. Use channels 7–8 to monitor a ste-
reo mix for a stereo version, or for cue mixes and
monitoring.
Surround Mixing in Pro Tools Track Layouts for 5.1 Formats
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) Formats Track Layout
1 2 3 4 5 6
Pro Tools supports mixing in the following multi-
channel (greater than stereo) formats: LCR, Quad, Film L C R Ls Rs LFE
LCRS, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.1, 7.0, 7.0 SDDS (Sony Dy- (Pro Tools
default)
namic Digital Sound), 7.1, and 7.1 SDDS. With
Dolby Atmos, Pro Tools also supports 7.0.2 and SMPTE/ITU L R C LFE Ls Rs
7.1.2 formats. for Dolby
Digital (AC3)
For information on fundamental surround DTS L R Ls Rs C LFE
concepts, see the Pro Tools Sync & Surround
C|24 L C R Ls Rs Lf
Concepts Guide.
The following table shows the X-MON mono track
routing for a 7.1 SDDS mix. A 5.1 mix should use
Pro Tools Audio Connections the same routing, excluding outputs 2 and 4 (Lc
for 5.1 Mixing and Rc).
While all 5.1 mixing formats provide the same Default Track Layout for 7.1 SDDS Format
speaker arrangement, there are three primary stan- Formats Track Layout
dards in use for the track layout of the individual
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
channels that comprise the 5.1-format multichan-
nel mix. X-MON L Lc C Rc R Ls Rs LFE
7.1 and 7.0 Format Default Track Layout for 7.1 SDDS Format
Track Layout
HD-DVD and Blu-Ray systems use the following
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
track layout for 7.1 and 7.0 surround formats:
L Lc C Rc R Ls Rs LFE
3 front channels Left (L), Center (C), Right (R)
You can customize and redefine existing paths in 1 Choose File > New Session.
the I/O Setup dialog. For more information, see 2 Select the Create Blank Session option.
“Custom Multichannel Paths” on page 1224.
3 Select the Audio File Type, Sample Rate, and
Importing Session Data Bit Depth.
C24 Mix L C R Ls Rs Lf
All available 5.1 format (and greater) I/O Settings I/O Setup, Bus page, default 5.1 (Film) Output Bus
(Film, SMPTE/ITU, DTS, C24 Mix, or ICON X- assignments
MON Mix) provide the following default output Default Input and Insert Paths with 5.1 Settings
and bus paths for the new session:
The 5.1 Mix settings files provide default stereo
main paths and mono sub-paths for inputs and in-
serts. If you need multichannel input paths or in-
serts, you can create them in the I/O Setup (see
“Custom Multichannel Paths” on page 1224).
Pro Tools internal (on-screen) metering of 5.1 for- Monitor Path Selects the monitor path for the main
mat paths always follows the Film track layout: mix output of your Pro Tools sessions.
L C R Ls Rs LFE
Audition Path Selects the monitoring path for pre-
Pro Tools track layout of 5.1 format audio tracks in viewing audio in the Clips List, Import Audio dia-
the Edit window also conforms to the Film layout logs, and a Workspace browser. Only outputs on
(arranged top to bottom). See “5.1 Track Layouts, your primary interface can be used as your Audi-
Routing, and Metering” on page 1227. tion path.
In the I/O Setup dialog, you can route these signals Object Fold Down Path Selects the Output path
out of your audio interfaces according to any track for monitoring Object audio when not connected to
layout (such as DTS or SMPTE/ITU). a Dolby Atmos Renderer.
Film
(Pro Tools Standard,
and C|24 Mix)
L C R Ls Rs LFE
L C R Ls Rs LFE
L C R Ls Rs LFE
same same
SMPTE/ITU
L C R Ls Rs LFE L C R Ls Rs LFE
(Control|24 Mix) (top to bottom)
L R C LFE Ls Rs (left to right)
L R C LFE Ls Rs
DTS
same same
L R Ls Rs C LFE L C R Ls Rs LFE L C R Ls Rs LFE
L R Ls Rs C LFE
same same
ICON X-MON L C R Ls Rs LFE L C R Ls Rs LFE
(8-channel 7.1) (top to bottom) (left to right)
L x C x R Ls Rs LFE
L x C x R Ls Rs LFE
Surround sessions typically include a combination Multichannel audio tracks can be:
of mono, stereo, and multichannel audio, Auxiliary • Recorded directly into Pro Tools, using multiple
Input, Routing Folder, Master Fader, and Instru- microphones or microphone arrays, or routed to
ment tracks, and inserts and busses. appropriate multichannel Pro Tools Input paths
Multichannel surround mixing is supported • Imported from other Pro Tools sessions
with Pro Tools Ultimate only. • Edited, processed, and mixed in combination
with mono and stereo tracks
Once the appropriate I/O Setup has been imported
or configured, audio, Auxiliary Input, Routing
Folder, Master Fader, and Instrument tracks can be
mixed in multichannel for surround using
Pro Tools mixing features.
To do so, the number of channels being dragged For discrete control of signals, multichannel tracks
must match the destination track format. For ex- can be converted into individual mono tracks. For
ample, you can only drag a stereo pair or two mono discrete level and phase adjustment, you can insert
clips onto a stereo audio track. Similarly, you can and unlink a multi-mono Trim plug-in. Both of
only place audio into an LCR track when you have these techniques are explained below.
selected three clips. With 5.1 tracks, you must se-
lect six mono files or clips. Once converted to mono, multichannel tracks
cannot be relinked into their original multi-
When dragged into a multichannel track, au- channel format. However, a multichannel
dio files are placed from top to bottom in the track can be reassembled by dragging the
exact order that they appear in the Clips List corresponding number of mono files (with the
or playlist from which they came (Top to Bot- appropriate file suffixes) into a multichannel
tom must be selected for in the Clips List track, although some automation data may
menu > Timeline Drop Order). For this rea- be lost. As an alternative, record the submix
son, you may want to rename audio files be- of the mono tracks to disk on a multichannel
fore dragging them, so that they are placed in track.
the preferred order. Rename them so that
sorting them By Clip Name in the Clips List To convert a multichannel track into discrete mono
tracks:
results in the preferred order. (For example,
with a 5.1-format track, you can rename the 1 Select the multichannel track.
audio tracks so that the arrangement of the 2 Choose Track > Split Into Mono.
tracks corresponds to L, C, R, Ls, Rs, and
LFE.) To have discrete control of gain on individual
channels of a multichannel track:
Mono meter
Multichannel tracks can be used to monitor and Multi-mono plugs-ins can also be inserted on ste-
route multichannel instrument plug-ins or multi- reo tracks, to apply unlinked plug-ins on the left
channel external MIDI instruments. and right channels.
Master Link button 1 Deselect the Master Link button if it is not al-
ready deselected.
2 Click the Link Enable buttons for the channels
whose controls you want to link.
Channel selector
Link Enable buttons
To help simplify large sessions, use sub-paths to route static (or, stationary) elements directly to the out-
put channel or channels.
For example, film dialog is often mixed to the center channel to anchor this essential sound element to the
picture. Instead of assigning a six-channel panner to dialog tracks and panning the tracks to the center
speaker only, you can route the dialog track’s main output to a mono (Center) sub-path.
Effect
bus routing
Outputs to
sub-paths
Stereo Sub-Path The forward stereo sub-path. Use Extending Stereo Mixing Conventions to
this type of sub-path routing to mix music stems Surround Mixing
and effects to the front left and right speakers. Stereo mixing sets the precedent for active and
Center Sub-Path The front center-channel sub- static panning, and surround mixing can benefit
path provides a discrete mono path for the center from the same basic principles.
channel. Panning a sound back-and-forth between the left
Ls/Rs Sub-Path The surround, rear left and right and right speakers is best used as a special effect.
stereo sub-path. Use this type of sub-path to mix In a typical music mix, the basic tracks are placed
surround effects. in the stereo sound field and remain there.
LFE Path The LFE sub-path provides a discrete Surround mixes can become incoherent if too
mono path for the LFE channel. many elements are continuously moving, For spe-
cial effects, some tracks can be panned dynami-
5.0 Sub-Path The 5.0 path is a 5-channel sub-path. cally, bouncing between speakers or sweeping
Use this type of sub-path routing to conserve mix- from one side to the other.
ing resources with tracks you want to keep out of
the LFE channel.
FX stem
Music stem
LFE Examples
LFE tracks and other audio can contribute to the
LFE output in two ways:
• Using the LFE fader in Output windows. This
LFE signal is post-fader.
• Using a custom sub-path to route channels dis-
cretely.
LFE fader
Show meters
Track selector Path selector Target icon
This section identifies all the controls and features found in Pro Tools multichannel panners.
LFE fader
Pan Location
cursor
Track Automation.
Solo, and Mute
X/Y Grid
Position
(knob panners)
Divergence
Center %
The Position controls let you set the positions of Front, Rear, and F/R Divergence Provide sepa-
the panner. rate, automatable divergence control over front
speakers, rear speakers, and between front/rear,
Front Displays and controls the current front X- respectively.
axis (left/right) position of the panner.
For examples of how divergence settings
Rear Displays and controls the current rear X-axis
affect output panning, see “Divergence and
(left/right) position of the panner. In default X/Y Center Percentage” on page 1251.
Panning mode, Rear is linked to Front position and
cannot be controlled independently.
LFE Fader
Rear Inverse
The LFE fader determines how much of the current Panning Modes
track’s signal will be routed to the LFE channel.
The Panning Mode button provides access to four
LFE faders in Track and Send windows can follow
panning modes: X/Y mode, Divergence Editing,
groups. The Pro Tools LFE channel is always full-
3-Knob mode, and AutoGlide mode. Panning con-
bandwidth. For more information on how to use
trols can be automated in all four modes.
the LFE fader, see “LFE Faders in Multichannel
Panners” on page 1253. Pro Tools provides the following Panning Modes:
It is not necessary to click exactly on the Pan 3-Knob mode lets you do the following:
Location cursor. Clicking anywhere in the • Pan in straight lines, moving the Pan Location
Grid will move the Pan Location cursor rela- cursor using the Position rotary knobs with full
tive to where you click or take over with a movement of front, rear, and front-rear position
hardware panner. Panning does not jump to • Pan discretely between pairs of speakers.
the click position.
For example, when panning front-left to rear-right
To snap the Pan Location cursor to a location in in 3-Knob mode, audio will be heard from just
the Grid:
those two speakers (assuming full divergence is in
Command-Shift-click (Mac) or Control-Shift- effect).
click (Windows) at the location in the X/Y Grid.
Snap Pan to Speaker Click one of the Snap Pan to 3-Knob mode
Speaker icons to force the panner to that speaker Panning and metering in 3-Knob mode
location.
By comparison, in X/Y mode a diagonal pan may
result in audio being heard in some or all channels.
1 Adjust the Front and Rear Position knobs to set To do an AutoGlide automation pass:
the trajectory line. 1 Click the Panning Mode button until the
2 Rotate the Front/Rear Position knob to pan AutoGlide mode icon is displayed.
along the trajectory. The Pan Location cursor is
constrained to the white trajectory line.
Drag either end point (Front or Rear) of the tra- Panner Mode button set to AutoGlide mode
jectory line.
The Panning Mode button displays a slanted dotted
Adjust the Front or Rear Position controls. line that ends with a filled in dot (representing a
cursor) at its top right corner.
To change the current trajectory position (left-to-
right) and retain its current angles: 2 In the Mix or Edit window, click the Automa-
Drag the trajectory line (not its end points) to a tion Mode selector and select an Automation
new position. mode for the track you want to automate.
3 Press Play to begin playback.
Divergence
AutoGlide mode
In the Panner Grid, the current divergence values
Panning Mode button (AutoGlide mode shown) are displayed using a purple outline.
Pan Location
cursor Panner Mode button set to Divergence Editing
Center % (Percentage)
In LCR, LCRS, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.1 7.0, 7.0 SDDS,
7.1, and 7.1 SDDS surround formats, the Center %
Front
Divergence controls whether there is a discrete center channel
for the track or a phantom center channel.
Adjust the Center Percentage knob. Adjust the Side Percentage knob.
As you reduce the Center Percentage value, the As you reduce the Side Percentage value, the
center speaker at the top of the Grid becomes less speakers at the sides of the Grid become less visi-
visible. At 0, the center speaker is completely in- ble. At 0, the side speakers are completely invisi-
visible, reflecting the setting for fully phantom ble, reflecting the setting for fully phantom center.
center.
LFE Enable
Some multichannel plug-ins, including the multi-
channel Dynamics III Compressor/Limiter, pro-
vide LFE Enable. This lets you enable or bypass
processing of the LFE channel if present.
[DigiLink] [MADI]
Pro Tools | HDX system
Figure 1. Example Pro Tools and Dolby Atmos hardware components and connections
Dolby also provides software-only solutions for 7.0.2 and 7.1.2 formats work in Pro Tools just like
rendering and mastering a Dolby Atmos mix, such any other multichannel surround format, but with
as the Dolby Atmos Renderer application that is the addition of two overhead channels. Because of
part of the Dolby Atmos Production Suite. the overhead channels, additional automatable
panning controls are provided (see “7.0.2, 7.1.2,
Contact Dolby for complete information and Object Panner” on page 1267).
about Dolby Atmos product solutions.
When mixing for Dolby Atmos, assign the output
of mono or stereo source tracks to a 7.1.2 (or 7.0.2)
7.0.2 and 7.1.2 Surround audio or Auxiliary Input track using a 7.1.2 (or
Formats in Pro Tools 7.0.2) bus to feed a bed mix. Use volume and pan
automation on the source tracks to mix them into
Pro Tools lets you create 7.0.2 and 7.1.2 surround
the final 7.1.2 (or 7.0.2) bed mix.
format input, output, insert, and bus paths in the
I/O Setup. Pro Tools can likewise create tracks
with 7.0.2 and 7.1.2 channel widths.
Configuring the Network
Once 7.0.2 or 7.1.2 paths have been created, they Connection for Pro Tools and
are available in any path input or output selector, a Dolby Atmos Renderer
such as track input and output assignments, sends,
The Atmos page in the Peripherals dialog lets you
and so on. configure the network connections required for send-
ing Dolby Atmos metadata between Pro Tools and
7.0.2 or 7.1.2 paths can also be used for internal
the Dolby Atmos Renderer. When properly config-
busses, monitoring, auditioning, and output meter-
ured, Pro Tools and the Renderer communicate with
ing. Dolby Atmos metadata over the network.
4 Specify the Renderer host in the RMU Host field Only Use a Supported Session Timecode Rate
by doing one of the following (if there is more For home theater workflows, the Dolby Atmos Ren-
than one Renderer on the network, make sure derer supports mixing and creating masters at the fol-
you specify the correct one for the Pro Tools lowing timecode rates: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 29.97
system): drop frame, and 30 frames per second (fps).
• Enter the IP Address for the RMU (or rendering
For cinema workflows, the Dolby Atmos Renderer
and mastering workstation) on the network that
supports creating masters at 24 fps only. If mixing
has a MADI connection to your Pro Tools sys-
with a 24 fps session, set Audio Rate Pull Up/Down
tem. and Video Rate Pull Up/Down to None.
• Click the RMU Host drop-down selector to see
a list of RMUs (or other Dolby Atmos render- Set the Hardware Buffer Size to 1,024 Samples
ing and mastering workstations) identified on (Recommended)
the network and select one that has a MADI
connection to your Pro Tools system. Sessions used to author Dolby Atmos mixes tend to
be very large and processor intensive. Using the
• If your Pro Tools machine is using a software
highest available Hardware Buffer Size setting is rec-
Renderer (such as the Dolby Atmos Renderer ommended for optimal performance and reliability
application that is part of the Dolby Atmos on your Pro Tools system.
Production Suite), type localhost or select it
from the drop-down selector.
The Connection Status indicator lights solid if the
connection is successful. It flashes on and off if the
connection is not successful. You can still work on
the session even if not connected to the Renderer, but
Enable must be selected.
5 Enable Link Object and Audio Rendering if de-
sired (see “Link Object and Audio Recording” on
page 146).
1 Configure the Dolby Atmos Renderer. 4 Create a new 7.1.2 audio track.
2 In Pro Tools, ensure that Dolby Atmos is en- 5 Assign the 7.1.2 track Output to the 7.1.2 Out-
abled (Setup > Peripherals > Atmos). put path (“Bed Monitor”).
3 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O) and click the 6 Assign the 7.1.2 track Input to the 7.1.2 internal
Bus tab. bus (“Bed Mix”).
4 Delete any existing busses. 7 Create as many new tracks as needed for source
audio.
This reserves each physical MADI output to the If you need to make a mapped Object available, lo-
RMU (or rendering and mastering workstation) for cate it in the Mapping to Object column and deselect
the checkbox for the currently mapped bus.That bus
the mapped Object paths. These steps are not nec-
is no longer mapped to that Object, making it avail-
essary if you are working with the Dolby Atmos
able for another bus.
Renderer application since Pro Tools uses the
Dolby Atmos Send plug-in inserted on object Object Names and Properties
tracks to stream audio to the Dolby Atmos Ren-
derer application. Object descriptions defined on the Renderer are dis-
played in the Object selector in the Mapping to Ob-
7 Click OK. ject column as the name of the Object. Additionally:
The mono (or stereo) bus is now defined as an object • Only one mono bus can be mapped to one object
output path. Any one mono (or stereo) audio, Auxil- path at a time. A stereo bus requires that its two
iary Input, or Instrument track can now be assigned mono sub-paths (left and right) each be mapped to
to this object output path in the track Object view. a pair of individual Objects.
• Objects that are grayed out are already mapped to
To change the Object mapping of a bus: other busses and are unavailable.
1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O) and click the • Object mappings persist in session files and in the
Bus tab. current I/O Settings file, similar to Pro Tools Out-
put Mappings.
2 Click the name of the Object the bus is currently
mapped to in the Mapping to Object column and • Object mappings are made by Renderer Input
select another available Object (unless all 118 Ob- channel, not Object name or description. If a ses-
jects are already mapped, another one should be sion is opened with Object mappings to a given
available). Objects in the list that are grayed out Renderer Input channel that exists in the network it
are not available because another bus is already will be mapped regardless of name or description.
mapped to it. If an Renderer Input channel is no longer available
for any reason, it will be deactivated in the Bus
page and a warning dialog is displayed.
1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O) and click the Select (or deselect) View > Edit Window Views >
Output tab. Object.
2 In the Output page, ensure that there is an avail- From the Edit Window View selector, enable
able output path with the channel format that you (or disable) Object.
want. If not, create one.
3 From the Object Fold Down Path selector, output
path you want to use to monitor panned object au-
dio
Master Object assigned, Set by default if no other tracks are already assigned to this
sending metadata object, use this mode to control an object on the renderer.
Record Object assigned, Use this mode in a re-recording workflow to record pan
record mode automation sent from a Master panner on the network.
Off/bypass Object assigned, no Use this mode to mix multiple tracks of audio to the same
metadata being sent object output path. In this workflow, one track set as Master
controls the panning, while one or more other tracks with
the same object output path assignment but set to
Off/bypass feed audio to the object output path but without
sending pan metadata.
Figure 2. Output window in standard (2D) view for a mono track assigned to a 7.1.2 bus (left) and an Object (right)
Theater Mode
The Pro Tools Panning Mode selector provides the Theater option, which is only available with the 7.0.2, 7.1.2,
and Object panners. When this mode is selected, the panner displays a 3D/Theater view.
Height Mode
Sets the Height mode for the track. Choices include
FreeForm mode (manual height adjustment), and
Wedge, Sphere, and Ceiling modes (automatic height
modes). Height mode can be automated.
Zones
The Zones selector sets the speaker Zone (Zone
Mask). Choices include All, F/S (front and side), F/R
(front and rear), FC/R (front, center and rear), Front,
and Rear. Speaker icons surrounding the panner grid
appear as appropriate for the current Zone.
Size indicator in standard 2D view
Speaker Snap
You can toggle Dolby Atmos Speaker Snap on or
Zones selector off for tracks assigned to an Object.
To select the Zone:
To enable (or disable) Speaker Snap:
Right-click, or click and hold on the Zones selec-
tor and set the Zone. Click the Speaker Snap icon to toggle on/off.
Speaker Snap
Speaker Snap icon (shown disabled)
Across the top of the Output window are the Audio The Pan Dot control in Output windows, and in the
Output Path selector, the Object Output Path selec- graphic panner in I/O view on tracks in both the Edit
tor, and the Object Control button. and Mix windows changes color to show whether
track audio follows the selected output bus path
Object Control Mode button shown in the I/O view or the selected object output
path shown in the Object view as well whether the
Object Output Path selector
Track Automation mode is set to Read, any Write
mode, or is Off.
Pan Dot Color Indication
Pan Dot Automation
Object/Bus
Color Mode
Height mode and Height Enable
Bus Read
Available only on tracks assigned to an object output Green
path, these controls let you assign the track to a dif-
Object Read
ferent Object and configure its Object Control mode,
respectively. These controls are also available in Ob- Orange
ject view in the Edit and Mix windows. Any Any Write mode
Red
Object Output Path Selector
Any Off
Click the Object Output Path selector to assign the
Yellow
track to an Object (see “Object Path Selector” on
page 1265). Object, but
Gray off/bypassed
Toggling Object/Bus Assignment
About Object Bypass
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows)
the Object Output Path selector or the pan dot to tog- Bypass can be used to establish a workflow where
gle the track audio output between the selected Ob- multiple source tracks are assigned to the same object
ject path or selected track output (output bus). Tog- but only one of them is sending pan metadata to con-
gling between object output and bus output trol the panning on the Renderer. For more informa-
assignments can be automated (see “Bus/Object Tog- tion, see “Dolby Atmos PEC/DIR Recorder Work-
gle” on page 1265). flow Example” on page 1275.
Object Control
To import object tracks from another Pro Tools can import a .wav (ADM BWF) file cre-
session: ated by the Dolby Atmos Conversion Tool into a
1 Choose File > Import > Session Data. session with all audio and metadata converted to
pan automation.
2 Navigate to the session from which you want to
import object tracks, select it and click Open.
To import an ADM file into Pro Tools:
3 In the Tracks section of the Import Session Data
1 Create a new session.
dialog, identify the tracks you want to import
(Source) and specify the Destination for each 2 Choose File > Import > Session Data.
track (either create a new object track or replace 3 Navigate to and select the .wav (ADM BWF) file
an existing object track). you want to import.
4 In the Track Data to Import selector, ensure that 4 Click Open.
the Object Assignment and Toggle Setting op-
tion is enabled (this option is selected by default).
5 Configure the rest of the Import Session Data dia-
log as desired and click OK.
You can also import audio from .wav (ADM Configuring the Pro Tools
BWF) files using the Import Audio command
Recorder
or by dragging and dropping the file into a To configure the Pro Tools recorder system:
session. However, only the audio is imported.
1 Choose Setup > Peripherals, click to display the
Atmos tab, then do the following:
For more information about .wav (ADM • If necessary, establish communication with the
BWF) files, contact Dolby. Dolby Atmos Renderer (see “Configuring the
Network Connection for Pro Tools and a Dolby
Atmos Renderer” on page 1257).
• Disable Link Object and Audio Recording only
if you do not want to record object metadata
along with object audio.
When PEC/Direct Style Input Monitoring is 5 When ready, punch in/out on the record tracks.
enabled, the Pro Tools Input Monitor switch
label lights green and shows P (for PEC,
playing back from disk), or is unlit and shows Configuring Pro Tools Using
D (for Direct, input monitoring). When this Core Audio with the Dolby
setting is not enabled, the Input Monitor Atmos Production Suite
switch label shows I (Input) either lit green (macOS only)
when Input mode is active, or unlit when
playing back from disk. Pro Tools supports up to 130 outputs with Core
Audio when used in conjunction with the Dolby
3 Enable DestructivePunch, TrackPunch, or Quick- Atmos Production Suite (input support with Core
Punch. (For details, see the Pro Tools Reference Audio remains at 32 channels).
Guide.)
12 The recommended Hardware Buffer Size is de- Use Renderer Settings to configure your session
pendent on the session sample rate: 1,024 sam- and IO to match your Renderer configuration:
ples for a 48 kHz session or 2,048 samples for a • Choose Setup > I/O.
96 kHz session.
• In the Bus Pane, select Use Atmos Renderer
13 Click OK to save your changes and close the and click the Default button.
Playback Engine dialog. • Configure the rest of the I/O Setup dialog as
14 Choose Setup > Peripherals and click the At- desired, then click OK to save your changes
mos tab. and close the I/O Setup dialog.
• Create a new session.
15 Connect to the Renderer application.
16 Click OK to save your changes and close the Pe-
ripherals dialog.
Selecting 1st Order Ambisonics as the format for a new bus path
4 Click Create.
5 Click OK to close the I/O Setup.
Figure 5. Ambisonics bus paths with standard channel orders in the I/O Setup
The individual channels of Ambisonics formats do not correspond to speaker signal mappings like other
surround formats (such as 5.1—L C R Ls Rs LFE). In most cases, use Ambisonics panning, encoder and
decoder plug-ins to accurately mix and monitor Ambisonics mixes over headphones. However, even
though Ambisonics formats do not directly map to common channel-based surround speaker configura-
tions, various alternate speaker configurations can be used for the playback of Ambisonics mixes.
Do not use multi-mono plug-ins following any Ambisonics plug-ins. Likewise, any plug-in processing
of source tracks should only be inserted before Ambisonics plug-ins.
Figure 6. Mono audio mixed in 2nd Order Ambisonics to stereo for headphone monitoring
Synchronization allows one system to output time- SMPTE Trigger Resolved with a
code and the other device to chase (follow) that SYNC HD
timecode. Pro Tools is synchronized to other de- (HDX and HD Native Systems Only)
vices using SMPTE/EBU timecode or MIDI Time-
code. You can use SYNC HD to resolve Pro Tools re-
cording and playback speed with any of the follow-
ing clock reference sources while slaving
Pro Tools to timecode:
Pro Tools Synchronization
Options • LTC
• Video source
There are several options for synchronizing
Pro Tools to an external source or using Pro Tools • House video reference (SD or HD)
as the master device. • VITC
• 1x Word Clock
SMPTE Trigger Only
• AES/EBU “null” clock
This solution is useful for short projects if both • Pilot Tone
systems are extremely close in speed, but even the
best systems will rarely stay perfectly synchro- • Bi-Phase
nized for longer than a couple of minutes. This enables long-term, high-fidelity synchroniza-
tion when all transports within the system are re-
solved to this common synchronization source, or
by resolving to any variations in incoming time-
code while slaving to timecode.
The Session Setup window is organized into three sections. The Format section is at the top of the window.
The SYNC Setup & Timecode Offsets section and the Timecode Settings section can be shown or hidden.
Format Section
SYNC Setup
& Timecode Offsets
section
External Timecode
SYNC Setup settings Offset settings
Timecode Reader
Timecode section offset
Freewheel settings
From a Pro Tools session, choose Setup > Click the Timecode Settings expand/collapse
Session. triangle.
Press Command+2 (Mac) or Control+2 The controls in this section provide timecode gen-
(Windows) to open the Session Setup window. eration and freewheel options, and separate pull up
and down selectors for audio and video rates.
To expand SYNC Setup & Session Offset section:
The SYNC Setup and Timecode Offsets section of Video Ref Format
the Session Setup window includes displays and
menus for timecode-related settings on your sys- Sets the video reference format for the SYNC HD.
tem.
Video In Format
This menu lets you set the Pro Tools clock refer- Varispeed maximum sample rate limits
ence. Nominal Channel Maximum
sample rate Count Frequency
When using a SYNC HD, the Clock Reference
selector lists all supported clock types. 44.1/48 kHz 64 48.8 kHz
When using HDX or HD Native systems with- 44.1/48 kHz 56 55.6 kHz
out a SYNC HD, choices include any currently-en- 88.2/96 kHz 32 97.5 kHz
abled digital format or source available from your
Avid HD audio interface (such as AES, S/PDIF, or 88.2/96 kHz 28 111.5 kHz
1x Word arriving at the HD audio interface’s Word 176.4/192 kHz 16 194.9 kHz
Clock In port).
176.4/192 kHz 14 223.0 kHz
Freewheel
The choices in the Freewheel section let you con-
figure how Pro Tools will freewheel, or continue
playback if timecode is interrupted or corrupted.
Use these options to protect against errors that can
occur if your SMPTE timecode source has “drop
Redefine External Timecode Offset dialog outs” or temporary lost signals.
2 In the Redefine External Timecode Offset None No freewheel is applied.
dialog, enter the offset you want in the Desired
Timecode Position field. Frames Sets a number of frames to freewheel,
from 1 to 120 frames. This value defaults to 8
3 Click OK. frames, which is the recommended setting for most
applications.
Sample Offset (Sync Offset)
Jam Sync Lets Pro Tools trigger synchronization
This field creates an offset that lets you fine-tune to incoming timecode, and continue to play back
the point at which Pro Tools synchronizes relative even if timecode input is completely interrupted. It
to incoming timecode. Use this to compensate for can be useful if timecode is damaged, or has been
timing differences between various SMPTE-to- accidentally erased from your source tape.
MIDI Timecode converters or analog-to-digi-
tal/digital-to-analog converters. For example, a
value of –50 makes an event in Pro Tools occur 50 Pull Up/Down
samples before the same event in incoming LTC, When Pro Tools is used in conjunction with a
MTC, VITC, or Serial Timecode. However, this SYNC HD, this option lets you “pull up” or “pull
does not apply to synchronization for Satellite sys- down” the current sample rate.
tems.
For more information on applying pull factors in
The Sample Offset field allows a range of plus or Pro Tools, see “Pull Up and Pull Down” on
minus roughly one frame's length in samples. For page 1297.
instance, if the session is at 48 kHz and the Time-
code Rate is 24 FPS, the range is +/–2002 samples Pull up and pull down are applied differently
(1 frame). in different workflows. Make sure you check
each project’s specific workflow before you
begin your work.
Synchronization and MachineControl system set- If you are generating timecode, it is a good practice
tings are enabled in the Pro Tools Peripherals dia- to stripe your timecode beginning at 01:00:00:00
log (Setup > Peripherals). These settings are sys- (subtracting time for the head format, such as ini-
tem settings, and remain constant regardless of the tial black, bars and tone, or logos). This prevents
particular session you are working on. Configure problems that can occur with some synchronizers
these settings before opening a session. when the striped timecode crosses from
23:59:59:29 to 00:00:00:00 (commonly referred to
MachineControl is supported on HDX and as the “midnight” boundary).
HD Native systems only.
To set a SMPTE Start Time for your session:
Other settings are configured in the Session Setup
1 Choose Setup > Session.
window, such as the session Timecode rate, the
Feet+Frames rate, the session start frame, and time 2 Enter a SMPTE frame number in the Session
display format. These settings are session-specific Start field.
settings. These settings can only be configured
when a session is open. To capture an incoming SMPTE address as the
session start time:
Pro Tools displays timecode values in the cur- Press Command+2 (Mac) or Control+2
rently selected SMPTE frame rate. (Windows) to open the Session Setup
window.
Sub Counter and Sub Time Scale Display
2 From the Timecode Settings section of the Ses-
You can display a Sub Time Scale in the Sub sion Setup window, select a Pull Up/Down
Counter. For example, if the Main Time Scale is Rate.
set to Timecode, and you want to compare SMPTE
time to “wall clock,” when you are using 29.97
Non-Drop frame rate, click the Sub Counter selec-
tor and select Min:Secs as the Sub Time Scale.
Video Frame Rate Pull Up and With no video hardware, Pro Tools supports 0.1%
Down pull up and pull down at all project frame rates
when monitoring video in the Pro Tools Video
The Video Pull Up/Down setting lets you change
window.
the frame rate of video playback independently
from the audio pull up/down rate. Note that video However, when monitoring with video hardware,
pull rates are saved with the session. certain frame rates only support pull in certain di-
rections (as follows):
See also “Auto Match Pull Factors” on
page 1298. • 23pNTSC can only pull up by 0.1%
• 24pNTSC can only pull down by 0.1%
The choices available for Video Rate Pull Up/Down
depend on the file format and frame rate of the • 24pPAL can only pull up by 4%
video, and whether or not you are using video • 25pPAL can only pull down by 4%
hardware.
* Suggested pull rates for any given project frame rates appear highlighted in the Video Rate Pull Up /Down
selector.
1300 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Higher Sample Rates and Pull
Effect of Using Pull Up or Pull Factors
Down
4% audio pull rates are not available in 176.4 and
This topic describes how related Pro Tools fea- 192 kHz sample rate sessions.Putting Pro Tools
tures are affected by pull up and down rates. Online
Plug-Ins and Pull Up and Pull Clicking the Online button in the Transport
Down
The Online button flashes while Pro Tools waits
For proper operation at larger (4%) pull rates, for a SMPTE frame to trigger playback. When
plug-ins must utilize sample clock instead of an timecode is received, playback begins and the On-
absolute time clock. All Pro Tools audio plug-ins line button becomes highlighted. The Edit Selec-
are based on sample clock. tion indicators in the Edit window, and the Incom-
ing Time field in the Session Setup window
display the incoming timecode.
To generate MIDI Timecode from Pro Tools: 5 Click OK to close the Peripherals dialog.
1 Choose Setup > Peripherals and click the 6 Choose Setup > Session, and choose the appro-
Synchronization tab. priate frame rate for the Timecode Rate setting.
2 From the MTC Generator Port setting, select the 7 In the SYNC Setup section of the Session Setup
MIDI output port on which you want to transmit window, choose a clock reference from the
MIDI Timecode (MTC). Clock Reference selector. Not all clock choices
are available at all sample rates. See “External
Clock Sources” on page 1290.)
8 From the Transport Window menu (or the Edit
Window menu), select Synchronization.
To slave Pro Tools to an external device using MIDI Pro Tools will now respond to MMC commands
Machine Control: from the external device.
1 Connect a MIDI In port on your Pro Tools MIDI
interface to an appropriate port on the master Operating MMC Devices with the
device. Pro Tools Transport
2 Connect a MIDI Out port on your Pro Tools You can use the Pro Tools Transport window as
MIDI Interface to the MTC in port on the mas- the remote controller for all your enabled devices
ter device. (such as a nonlinear video deck). To do so, set the
enabled devices to listen to the address you enter
3 In Pro Tools, choose Setup > Session. for MMC. The Transport window will then drive
4 In the Timecode Settings section of the Session the Pro Tools transport and any slaved devices.
Setup window, select Using MTC.
5 Choose Setup > Peripherals and click the Syn-
chronization tab.
Spot Mode
In Spot mode, a clip in a track can be quickly spot-
ted by simply clicking it with the Time Grabber Spot dialog
tool.
A highlighted numeric field indicates the current
You can also drag a clip from a Workspace active field for numeric entry editing. Entering a
browser, or from the Clips List, to a track while in value in a field allows you to move a selected ele-
Spot mode. ment to the time location that you enter. The Start,
Sync Point, and End fields are accessible when the
Time Grabber tool is active. Only the Start or End
The Spot Dialog (depending on where you click the mouse) and Du-
ration fields are active when one of the Trim tools
The Spot dialog appears when you drag a clip to a is active (see “Using the Trim Tools in Spot Mode”
track or click a clip with the Time Grabber tool in on page 1310).
Spot mode. The numeric fields function as both
data displays and editing controls for the currently To increase or decrease SMPTE values in the
selected clips. Spot dialog by a specific number of frames,
press Plus (+) or Minus (–) on the numeric
keypad, enter a number, and press the Enter
key.
Additional time field with “Use Subframes” enabled 4 With the Time Grabber tool, click a clip in a
track, or in the Clips List, and drag it into a
track. The Spot dialog appears.
Subframe measurements are not available in
the Current Time field. 5 Enter the SMPTE frame location by doing one
of the following:
• If you are using VITC, you can press the
Capturing Timecode Equal (=) key on the numeric keypad, or click
Pro Tools also allows you to easily capture frame Current Timecode to enter a paused VTR’s
locations on the fly in the Spot dialog by pressing current SMPTE location.
the Equal key, or by clicking the Current Timecode • If you are using LTC, when Timecode is se-
button while valid timecode is being received by lected for the Time Scale, press the Equal (=)
Pro Tools. With VITC, you can accurately capture key on the numeric keypad to capture the in-
a paused or crawling VTR’s SMPTE location. coming timecode. When Bars|Beats is se-
lected for the Time Scale, press the Equal key
When Timecode is selected for the Time Scale, to capture the nearest measure.
pressing the Equal key captures the incoming time-
code. When Bars|Beats is selected for the Time
Scale, pressing the Equal key will capture to the
nearest measure.
Chapter 58: Working with Synchronization 1309
6 If you recorded the clip while online, you can
use the Original Time Stamp button to recall and Auto-spotted clips are spotted by their start
enter the SMPTE frame location at which the times, unless you have identified a Sync Point
clip was originally recorded. You can also ac- (see “Identifying a Synchronization Point”
cess a user-defined Time Stamp by clicking the on page 1312). If the clip contains a Sync
User Time Stamp button. See “Time Stamping” Point, the clip is spotted to it.
on page 1310 for more information.
7 Click OK to close this dialog. The clip spots to Using the Trim Tools in Spot
the chosen SMPTE frame location. When the Mode
session is online, this frame number will trigger
playback of the clip. You can use the Spot dialog to trim your clips, in-
cluding start/end/duration times and referencing
incoming timecode addresses. If you click a clip
with any of the Trim tools in Spot mode, the Spot
Auto-Spotting Clips
dialog will appear, allowing you to enter a value in
The Pro Tools Auto-Spot Clips option simplifies the Start or End and Duration fields to specify ex-
the task of spotting clips even further. If you are actly where you want to trim the clip’s beginning
using VITC with this option enabled, or Machine- or end. Use this to edit the length of a clip to corre-
Control, you can pause your video at an appropri- spond to a particular visual “hit point.”
ate SMPTE frame location, click a clip with the
Time Grabber tool, and the clip will be automati- Trimming a clip that contains a sync point (see
cally spotted to the current timecode location. “Identifying a Synchronization Point” on
page 1312) does not affect the SMPTE location of
You can also use MachineControl’s serial time- the sync point, unless the clip is trimmed past the
code ability to auto-spot by enabling MachineCon- sync point.
trol and enabling serial timecode in the peripheral.
To Auto-Spot a clip:
Time Stamping
1 Choose Options > Auto-Spot Clips.
Pro Tools time stamps every clip recorded online
2 If you are using VITC, identify the SMPTE with the original SMPTE time at which audio was
frame location where you want to trigger play- recorded. You can recall this original SMPTE time
back of your clip by pausing your video deck on for a clip by clicking the Original Time Stamp but-
that frame. ton in the Spot dialog.
3 Click the clip with the Time Grabber tool. The You can also spot a clip to a separate user-defined
clip will be automatically spotted to the current SMPTE time stamp, defined using the Time Stamp
timecode location (or machine location). command in the Clips List menu. Once the clip is
time stamped using this command, you can click
Clicking a clip with any of the Trim tools will
the User Time Stamp button to re-spot a clip to its
allow you to trim the clip to the current time-
user-defined SMPTE location.
code location.
Select (or deselect) View > Clip > Original Time User Time Stamp dialog
Stamp. 3 Enter a new SMPTE time by doing one of the
following:
Creating a User Time Stamp • Enter the numbers manually (with the help of
the arrow keys).
If you want to create a separate user-defined
SMPTE time stamp, you can use the Time Stamp • To capture the incoming timecode address,
command in the Clips List menu. This command click the Current Timecode button (or press
lets you select a clip (or clips) and redefine its the Equal key).
SMPTE time stamp. The Original Time Stamp and • To enter the start time of the current on-screen
the User-Time Stamp are then stored with your selection, click the Current Selection button.
session.
4 Click OK.
When audio is first recorded, the User Time Stamp
This command can be used in “batch mode” to set
will match the Original Time Stamp, but you can
new time stamps for several clips at a time. To do
change the User Time Stamp at any time using the
this, select several clips and choose the Time
Time Stamp command. This feature is particularly
Stamp command. One after another, a dialog will
useful in post production situations where the
open for each clip, allowing you to quickly enter
SMPTE timecode on video “work prints” often
new values.
changes from one edit revision to another.
Once entered, the user time stamps can be dis-
To time stamp a clip (or clips) with a new SMPTE
played in all clips currently placed in tracks.
frame number:
1 In a track, select the clip that you want to time To show (or hide) User Time Stamps in clips:
stamp.
Select (or deselect) View > Clip > User Time
2 From the Clips List menu, choose the Time Stamp.
Stamp command.
faster
25 fps
slower
NTSC PAL +0.1% then 45983 50050 91967 100100 n/a n/a
Video +4.1667%
PAL NTSC –4.0% then 42294 46034 84587 92068 n/a n/a
Video 0.1%
Sample Rate Conversion Using Destination Sample Rates at Pull Up and Pull Down Setting
NTSC PAL +0.1% then 42294 46034 84587 92068 n/a n/a
Video +4.1667%
PAL NTSC –4.0% then 45983 50050 91967 100100 n/a n/a
Video 0.1%
Pro Tools | Ultimate software with HDX and Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation
HD Native systems provides MachineControl™, Requirements
which enables serial communication with Sony®
A SYNC peripheral is required when running Ma-
9-pin compatible synchronizers, and video or au-
chineControl 9-Pin Remote Deck Emulation
dio machines.
mode, as it provides frame-accurate LTC.
While in Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation mode, To connect a deck to a Windows computer:
Pro Tools always generates timecode, and can be Do one of the following:
either the timecode master or a slave device.
• Connect the computer’s COM port to the ma-
On Mac systems, use the Remote 9-Pin Emula- chine, using the provided 9-pin RS-322 to
tion Mode cable. This mode requires a supported RS-422 cable.
serial adapter connected to a computer USB port, • Use a supported USB serial adapter (not pro-
and a properly wired configuration. See “Remote vided) for computers that do not have a 9-pin
9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode” on page 1339 for serial connector to connect the machine to
details. any available USB port on the computer.
On Windows systems, Remote 9-pin Deck Em-
ulation mode uses an RS-232 to RS-422 cable and For Limited Serial Deck Control (Non-Linear
Decks Only)
a Turnaround adapter connected to an available se-
rial or COM port on the computer. • Connect a standard 9-pin cable from one of the
9-pin Out ports on the SYNC peripheral to the 9-
pin input of the machine. Due to performance
limitations, this configuration should be used
Connecting Machines
primarily with non-linear decks.
This section describes how to connect machines
for Serial Control Mode or Remote 9-Pin Deck Connecting Machines for Remote 9-Pin
Emulation Mode. Deck Emulation Mode
Do not use the Serial port on your HDX card, Start up your Pro Tools system in this order:
HD | Native card, HD | Native Thunderbolt, or the
1 For systems with an expansion chassis, turn on
9-pin ports on the SYNC peripheral for Remote
the chassis.
9-Pin Deck Emulation mode. The Serial port
should only be used for SYNC peripheral connec- 2 Turn on any external hard drives. Wait approxi-
tions. mately ten seconds for them to come up to
speed.
Using a Rosetta Stone Adapter 3 Turn on any external machines (VTR, ATR,
with MachineControl synchronizer, and monitors).
(Windows Only)
4 Turn on any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices and
Using the Rosetta Stone adapter with Machine- synchronization peripherals.
Control on Windows lets you increase reliability
for long cable runs for Serial Deck Control mode 5 Lower the volume of all output devices in your
or Remote mode. system.
6 Turn on Pro Tools audio interfaces. Wait at least
A Rosetta Stone RS-232 to RS-422 adapter
fifteen seconds for your system hardware to ini-
(model 2/8 or 2/9) and additional RS-232 and
tialize.
RS-422 cables are required.
7 Turn on your computer.
To increase reliability in long cable runs in Remote
mode: 8 Launch Pro Tools.
Follow the instructions as described above
for setting up a Rosetta Stone converter for Machine Local and Remote
an edit controller. Modes
Be sure to set your machine-controllable device to
To increase reliability in long cable runs in Serial
Deck Control mode:
“remote” or “ext” mode to receive the 9-pin infor-
mation (not “local” or front-panel mode). With
1 Connect the RS-232 cable from your com- some supported machines, if all other communica-
puter’s COM port into the RS-232 side of the tion is established and the machine is not in remote
Rosetta Stone adapter. mode, Pro Tools will indicate machine “local”
2 Connect the RS-422 cable from the RS-422 side mode.
of the Rosetta Stone to the deck or 9-pin patch
bay. If a longer run is needed, add more 9-pin
cable on the RS-422 end.
When using MachineControl in Local mode with In Remote Deck Emulation mode, you can arm
or without an external synchronizer, you can use a Pro Tools tracks from an external machine.
supported third-party paddle device to issue the
following Pro Tools track commands: Features include remote control of individual re-
cord enables for up to 112 tracks, with selectable
• Input monitoring record protocol and mode. Included factory and
• Record Enable user programmable profiles let you configure track
• Record Safe arming for any machine type.
• Choose Options > Transport Online. You can also press Control+backslash (\) to
• Press Command+J (Mac) or Control+J (Win- toggle between Pro Tools, the Machine,
dows). and Remote transport (or, on a Pro Tools
control surface, press EXT TRANS).
• Press Option+Spacebar (Mac) or Alt+Spacebar
(Windows).
The Incoming Time display in the Session Setup In this mode, the controls in the Transport window
window always shows absolute incoming time- are focused on the machine connected and enabled
code, without any offsets. for Serial Deck Control mode. Record commands
are sent to the machine only.
To put a device online (or offline): • When set to 9-pin Deck mode, the Online button
icon updates to show a 9-pin icon.
Right-click the Online button in the Transport
and select (or deselect) Online > Pro Tools or
Online > Machine. Remote Mode
In Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation mode, you put
Device choices depend on the current Transport
Pro Tools in Remote mode to enable Machine
Master and which devices have been set up in
Control operation.
Pro Tools.
When you put Pro Tools in Remote mode, it re-
sponds to commands sent by the master 9-Pin ma-
chine. Many Pro Tools commands, including
transport controls, are inactive in the Transport
window.
1 Choose View > Transport > Synchronization. 2 Set up a MachineControl device. (See “Config-
uring a MachineControl Device for Deck Con-
2 Click the Remote button in the Transport
trol” on page 1325.)
window.
3 Configure Pro Tools Machine Control prefer-
ences and Online Options in the Preferences di-
alog. (See“Preferences for Serial Deck Control
Mode” on page 1327.)
4 Configure Pro Tools session settings in the Ses-
sion Setup window. (See“Session Setup Win-
Remote button in the Transport window
dow and MachineControl” on page 1329.)
For more information on Remote mode in 5 In the Pro Tools Transport window, select
Pro Tools, see “Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Pro Tools or Machine as the Transport Master.
Mode” on page 1339. (See “Selecting Pro Tools or the Machine as the
Transport Master” on page 1333.)
Serial Deck Control Mode 6 Use the Transport window to play back mate-
rial. (See “Playback in Serial Deck Control
Serial Deck Control mode is available whenever Mode” on page 1334.)
MachineControl is connected using the Serial
Deck Control cable. For more information about
connecting Pro Tools for Serial Deck Control Configuring a
mode, see “Cables and Connections” on MachineControl Device for
page 1318. Deck Control
When connected for Serial Deck Control mode, To set up a MachineControl device:
MachineControl enables all Pro Tools track arm-
ing, synchronization, and Transport features, as 1 In Pro Tools, choose Setup > Peripherals.
available on your system. Serial Deck Control 2 If you are using a SYNC peripheral, click the
mode also supports 9-pin serial timecode (see “Us- Synchronization tab and select Enable
ing Serial Timecode for Positional Reference” on SYNC HD.
page 1327). Some features require a SYNC pe-
ripheral, as noted throughout this chapter. 3 Click the Machine Control tab in the Peripherals
dialog.
For information on track arming, see “Re-
mote Track Arming” on page 1335.
Clock Source
Session Format
and settings
Show/Hide button
External
Timecode
SYNC Setup Offsets
Sample
Show/Hide button offset
Pull Up/
Timecode Pull Down
Settings settings
Freewheel settings
Figure 1. Session Setup window
The Session Setup window has three sections. To show SYNC Setup and Timecode Offsets:
Use the steps in this section to quickly configure 4 In the SYNC Setup section, set the appropriate
the basic session settings for MachineControl. Video Reference and Video In formats.
Unique values can be defined for each of these External Timecode Offsets in the Session Setup
window
types of offsets, or you can link all to adjust in uni-
son. To apply the same timecode offset to all devices:
Positive and negative offset values can be entered In the Session Setup window, select Link to ap-
to offset Pro Tools timecode display later or ear- ply the same offset value to all devices.
lier, respectively.
Timecode Settings
Sample Offset The Timecode settings control timecode genera-
This field lets you set an offset value for incoming tion, Freewheel, and session Pull Up and Pull
timecode (up to the equivalent of plus or minus one Down options.
frame at the current session sample rate). This lets Configure these settings as appropriate for the cur-
you create a permanent offset to fine-tune the point rent project and situation (refer to the SYNC HD
at which Pro Tools synchronizes relative to incom- Guide).
ing timecode. For example, a value of –50 makes
an event in Pro Tools occur 50 samples before the
same event in the incoming timecode. Use this to
compensate for timing differences between vari- Additional Pro Tools
ous SMPTE-to-MIDI Timecode converters or ana- MachineControl Commands
log-to-digital/digital-to-analog converters. The following commands are available in all
MachineControl operating modes.
Offsets and SYNC Timecode Display
Current Timecode Position
The timecode display on the front panel of the
SYNC peripheral continues to display actual in- Use this command to redefine the current timecode
coming timecode, regardless of any External position and session start time. By creating an in-
Timecode Offset applied in Pro Tools. sertion point (or Edit selection), and then entering
the desired new timecode position for that loca-
tion, the session start time will be recalculated
based on the new, relative timecode
location.
2 Click the Grid mode selector. This ensures that To set a relative frame position for a session
your selection is on a frame boundary. (Feet+Frames):
3 Locate Pro Tools to the beginning of the rele- 1 Enable Link Edit/Timeline.
vant material (usually the first audio of a scene, 2 Click the Grid mode selector. This ensures that
a 2 pop, or similar). your selection is on a frame boundary.
4 If appropriate, cue the external timecode source 3 With the Selector tool, click in a track (or make
to the location where you want to align the cur- a selection) where you want to redefine the po-
rent Pro Tools insertion point. Note the time- sition.
code location, or copy it to the clipboard.
4 Choose Setup > Current Feet+Frames Position.
5 Choose Setup > Current Timecode Position.
5 Enter a Feet+Frame position in the Desired
6 Type the new timecode position in the Desired Feet+Frames Position text box.
Timecode Position text box, or paste the time-
code position into the text box, if you copied it 6 Click OK.
to the clipboard.
Create Machine Track Arming Profile
7 Click OK.
The Create Machine Track Arming Profile com-
Current Feet+Frames Position mand lets you create and save machine descrip-
tions as Machine Profiles. Profiles are provided for
Use this command to redefine the Feet+Frames po- an ever-increasing list of common machines, or
sition at the current insertion point (or the Timeline you can customize profiles for specific situations
Selection In Point). and requirements. Options include the ability to
Redefining Feet+Frames does not redefine
emulate a different machine type, remap and re-
the session start time.
name audio tracks, and choose to include or ex-
clude the video and timecode tracks, when avail-
able. For more information, see “Creating a Track
Arming Profile” on page 1336.
In this mode, the Transport window controls the When Auto-Spot is turned on, clips are spotted
Pro Tools Timeline position (playback and record- to the current machine time, and the Trim tool
ing). When you click Play in the Transport window trims to the current machine time.
while it is online, the deck locates relative to the When the Transport is offline, the Pro Tools
current Pro Tools Timeline. Transport window controls the machine only.
When the Transport window is online, the ma-
To select a Transport Master:
chine locates to a position ahead of the current
Timeline insertion point. This location ahead is 1 In Pro Tools, Right-click the Online button in
equal to the sum of the machine pre-roll and the the Transport to display the Transport Master
Transport pre-roll. Once the machine has located pop-up menu.
to this total pre-roll position, it plays, sending
timecode to Pro Tools, which chases that incoming
timecode. The machine follows the Preferences
settings for Serial Deck Control. (See “Preferences
for Serial Deck Control Mode” on page 1327.)
When the Transport window is offline, the
Pro Tools Transport window controls Pro Tools
only. Online button in the Pro Tools Transport window
All record commands are sent to Pro Tools, not 2 From the Transport Master pop-up menu, select
the machine. Pro Tools or Machine.
When the Online button is highlighted, toggling If the Transport Master selector will not stay set to
the Transport Master between Pro Tools and Ma- Machine, or if it switches to Pro Tools from Ma-
chine also toggles their master/slave relationship. chine, check your machine’s Local/Remote set-
ting. It should be set to Remote to receive com-
mands from the Pro Tools Transport.
Playback in Serial Deck
Control Mode Machine Cueing
To play or cue your machine independently of MachineControl provides two Cue modes for re-
Pro Tools: mote machine operation: Search and Hi-speed.
1 Make sure Pro Tools is not online (the Online In Search mode, the tape remains laced during
button in the Transport window is not flashing). Fast Forward or Rewind.
2 Right-click the Online button in the Pro Tools In Hi-speed mode, the tape is unlaced before
Transport and select Transport > Machine. fast-forward/rewind. The Transport window indi-
3 Click any of the buttons in the Pro Tools Trans- cates the status of the tape as described below.
port window to control your machine.
Search Mode
Pro Tools always displays incoming LTC or 9-pin
In Search mode, the tape is laced against the heads
time in the incoming time field in the Session
when the machine is paused or searching, and the
Setup window during fast-wind, and switches
Stop button stays lit (it does not flash) and the Play
during playback to display the current positional
button flashes. When cueing in this mode, the Fast
reference.
Forward or Rewind button also lights when search-
To automatically locate your deck to pre-roll into ing in either direction.
your current Timeline insertion time each time you
play back: To fast forward and rewind in Search mode:
1 Make sure Pro Tools is not online (the Online 1 Right-click the Online button in the Pro Tools
button in the Transport window is not flashing). Transport and select Transport > Machine.
2 Right-click the Online button in the Pro Tools 2 Click Play in the Transport window or press the
Transport and select Transport > Pro Tools. Spacebar to begin machine playback, then press
the Spacebar again to pause the machine (this is
3 Put Pro Tools online.
to ensure that the tape is laced).
4 Click Play in the Transport window.
3 Click Fast Forward or Rewind in the Transport
If the tape in the machine is striped with timecode window to search the tape.
that matches your Session time, the machine will
Some devices, including several popular
locate to the total pre-roll position ahead of the
VHS decks, do not support a shuttle mode in
Pro Tools on-screen selection/insertion point or
which the tape stays laced. These decks un-
memory location, and begin playing back.
lace the tape before shuttling. Refer to your
Pro Tools will chase its timecode output.
tape machine’s guide for more information.
When you configure Pro Tools for MachineCon- 1 Choose Setup > Machine Track Arming Profiles.
trol, it automatically loads the track arming profile
When you create a new Track Arming
for the identified machines.
Profile, a Stop command is sent to any
For more information on basic Pro Tools connected machine to protect elements on
settings for MachineControl, see “Config- tape.
uring a MachineControl Device for Deck
Control” on page 1325. Choosing a Machine ID
If Pro Tools does not recognize your machine, or if To recognize your machine:
you want your machine to emulate a different type In the Create Machine Track Arming Profile di-
of device (for example, to use a different track lay- alog, click Identify Machine.
out), you can load a generic machine profile.
MachineControl queries the connected machine
If you are using a generic machine profile, for its machine ID, which is then displayed below
be sure to double-check record behavior the Identify Machine button.
using non-essential tapes before using Ma-
chineControl’s remote track arming func- You can edit or replace the ID manually if needed.
tions. See “Entering a New Byte Code” on page 1337 for
more information.
For maximum flexibility, use Track Arming Pro-
files to create, customize, and manage multiple Configuring a Profile
machine descriptions (see “Creating a Track Arm-
ing Profile” on page 1336). The Create Track Arming window lets you specify
track names and track mapping.
Use the Create Track Arming Profile feature to 1 In the Create Machine Track Arming Profile di-
create profiles for machines that may not be in- alog, double-click the Track Arm button you
cluded with Pro Tools, and to manage multiple want to rename.
profiles.
2 Enter a new track name in the dialog, and click
OK.
You can remap track buttons to target different As the Sony P2 protocol continues to expand, more
tracks on the machine. manufacturers add specific byte code commands
that may be listed in the current byte code list.
To remap tracks: Pro Tools lets you create entirely new, custom byte
1 In the Create Machine Track Arming Profile di- codes. This lets you enter additional byte com-
alog, click the Track button you want to remap mands as needed to support new features as they
to display its remap pop-up menu. are added to decks.
Punch In/Out
In Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation mode, when When Chase LTC is enabled, Pro Tools can still
Pro Tools is in Remote mode and Chase LTC is not respond to track arming and record commands.
enabled, Pro Tools is in one of the two following However, Pro Tools will chase incoming LTC in-
states: stead of behaving as a master or slave device with
the machine controller. By slaving Pro Tools to the
• When the Delay after Play Command preference
LTC source instead of slaving the machine to
is set to zero, Pro Tools is set to function as the
Pro Tools timecode, you can avoid the waiting
timecode master. Pro Tools locates, then plays
(and tape wear) that occurs while a machine trans-
when it gets a play command.
port locates and bumps tape to the cue point.
• When the Delay after Play Command preference
is set towards 30 frames, another machine is the In Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation mode, when
timecode master. Pro Tools locates, sends time- Pro Tools is in Remote Mode and Chase LTC is
code position responses, and when its timecode enabled, it communicates record status to the ma-
lines up with the timecode master device, goes chine.
into play in sync with the timecode master de-
vice. Receiving Commands While Chase LTC is
Enabled or Disabled
To set the timecode master in Full Remote mode:
When Chase LTC is enabled, Pro Tools waits until
1 Choose Setup > Preferences, and click the it receives only specific transport record and track
Synchronization tab. record commands from the machine.
2 In the Remote Mode section, do one of the When Chase LTC is not enabled, Pro Tools listens
following: to all transport commands coming through the se-
• Set the Delay after Play Command preference rial connection, including bump and crawl com-
to zero, to set Pro Tools to behave as the time- mands necessary for a tape machine to locate.
code master.
Scrubbing and Chase LTC
• Set the Delay after Play Command preference
towards 30 frames, to set Pro Tools to behave The Chase LTC option does not affect scrubbing.
as a timecode slave device, by delaying play- Pro Tools video playback will always respond to
back until its timecode can properly synchro- locate and scrubbing command, even if Chase LTC
nize. is enabled.
Set Servo Lock Bit At Play Enable this option 2 Select or set Machine Control options in the Re-
when using a synchronizer to control Pro Tools in mote mode section:
Remote mode to minimize lock-up times during 3 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.
recording.
Cue to Selection Out Point Minus Preroll Option+Right Arrow Alt+Right Arrow
The first 0x signifies hex value. The next four 0xF019 AJ-D350 (D3)
numbers signify the machine ID. The name of the 0x3011 DVR-2100
associated machine follows.
0x3000 DVR-1000
Machines, by ID number
0x0010 BVH-2000
ID number Machine
0x0011 BVH-2000
0x0000 Generic 1
0x0110 BVH-2000 PS
0x0001 Generic 2
0x0111 BVH-2000 PS
0x1000 BVU-800
0x0018 BVH-2180
0x101C BVU-950
0x0020 BVH-2500
0x1019 BVU-920
0x0120 BVH-2500 PS (UI wrong)
0x1080 BVU-900
0x0030 BVH-2700
0x104C VO-9850
0x0040 BVH-2800
0x1048 VO-9800
0x0048 BVH-2830
0x102C SVO-9600
0x0050 BVH-3000
0x2000 BVW-10
0x0060 BVH-3100
0x2001 BVW-40
0x0150 BVH-3000 PS
0x2002 BVW-11
0x0160 BVH-3100 PS
0x2003 BVW-15
0x2041 PVW-2800
0x2010 BVW-35
0x1211 ASC Virtual Recorder
0x2020 BVW-60
0x1011 Fostex D-10
0x2021 BVW-65
0xF027 Otari R-DAT
0x2022 BVW-95
0x7001 PCM-7030
0x2023 BVW-96
0x7001 TASCAM DA-88
0x2024 BVW-70
0x7003 PCM-800
0x2025 BVW-75
0x7000 PCM-7000
0x1021 SVP-5600
0x2124 BCB-70
0x2101 BVW-40P
0x8017 DSR-1500A
0x6007 3348HR
0x6005 3348HRV
0x6003 3324
0x20E0 HDW-500
0x20A0 SRW-5000
Shielding
The outside shielding of the D-Sub 9-pin (female) should be wired to the outside shielding of the Mini DIN
8-pin (male).
Pro Tools Ultimate lets you import multichannel Digital Field Recorders
audio files and metadata recorded by field record-
A field recorder, also known as a hard disk loca-
ers.
tion audio recorder, is a device used by a produc-
tion sound mixer during a film or video shoot to
make a multichannel recording of multiple micro-
Field Recorder and phone inputs recorded simultaneously.
Production Workflow
Terminology Depending on the capabilities and settings of a
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) field recorder, multichannel recordings can in-
clude one or more tracks (up to 32) and are saved
Before working with field recorders in as monophonic or polyphonic audio files on a hard
Pro Tools Ultimate, you may want to review a drive, DVD-RAM, or Flash media.
brief glossary of common field recorder and pro-
duction terms. Multichannel recordings made by a field recorder
should be encoded with start and end time stamps
representing SMPTE timecode or linear timecode
Field Recorder Terminology
(also known as LTC). Most field recorders also al-
The following terminology applies to field record- low manual entry of additional types of metadata,
ers in general: including Channel Name/Number, Scene, Take,
Circled Take, User Bits, and more.
Metadata
Pro Tools can import monophonic and polyphonic
Metadata is used to describe the following: files and certain types of metadata entered on field
• Information embedded in a media file. This may recorders.
include scene, take, sample rate, bit depth, exter-
nal clip names, the name of the videotape from Production Sound Mix
which the media file was captured, and even For each multichannel recording made by a field
timecode values. recorder, the production sound mixer may desig-
• Information embedded in Pro Tools sessions or nate a production sound mix comprising either a
other sequences, including what files are used, representative channel or a mixdown of other se-
where they appear in a timeline, and automation. lected channels in the recording.
• For AAF or OMF sequences, information about
automation or clip-based gain.
BEXT and iXML Chunks SMPTE Timecode Also known as LTC or linear
timecode. The generating clock of this timecode
BEXT and iXML chunks are sets of metadata can be based on the time of day or can be set to as-
found within a Broadcast WAV file. cend beginning from a certain starting time of day.
Limitations Minutes:Seconds Timecode based on minutes and
seconds.
The following limitations apply to handling of im-
ported metadata from field recorders. Wild No timecode. Most consumer digital video
• The BEXT specification as described here adds recorders do not have the ability to generate time-
some features that conform to standards used by code.
Avid video editing applications and Pro Tools—
Production Sound Mixer
specifically, Description metadata is interpreted
differently. The production sound mixer uses a field recorder
• When you import multiple files in which the to record multichannel audio during a shoot, and
same metadata are populated with different val- later delivers those source files to one or more par-
ues, Pro Tools imports the value that is first pres- ties:
ent based on the following order: • Telecine operator (film workflow only)
• Avid OMF-wrapped media or MXF media • Avid video editor
• Any iXML chunk metadata in a BWF • Pro Tools editor
• Any BEXT chunk metadata in a BWF
• Raw Production source files representing multi- Production Source Audio in Timeline Auto-
channel recordings from a field recorder Synced to Edited Production Sound Mix The
production source audio in the Avid Bin has been
You will receive these files either separately (from auto-synced to the edited located sound mix, and
the Avid video editor and production sound mixer) all audio channels reside in the Avid Timeline.
or together as part of an AAF or OMF sequence ex-
port including raw production source audio (from When you import this type of sequence into
the Avid video editor). Pro Tools, the edited video, edited production
sound mix, and all production source audio will be
available to import directly into the Timeline.
Separate Deliveries of Source
Files Production Source Audio Auto-Synced and Re-
sides Only in the Avid Bin In an Avid video edit-
When you receive an AAF or OMF sequence from
ing application, the raw production source audio
the Avid editor and raw production source audio
has been auto-synced to the edited production
from the production sound mixer, you import the
sound mix, but all audio channels reside only in the
sequence, then either import the raw production
Avid Bin.
source audio, or instruct Pro Tools to search for
matching audio outside the session. In this case, the AAF or OMF sequence does
not contain or reference the production
Once the production audio is imported or
source audio when imported into Pro Tools.
located, Pro Tools will be able to match them
The Avid editor must deliver the production
together.
files to Pro Tools separately. The Avid editor
See “Importing an AAF or OMF Sequence may either deliver the production audio files
into Pro Tools” on page 1359 and “Import- from the Avid or OMFI Media Files folder, or
ing Raw Production Source Audio Directly they may deliver the raw production source
into Pro Tools” on page 1360. audio files, which have not passed through
Media Composer.
When you use Pro Tools to import raw production 2 Select the Processing tab.
source audio that was not exported from an Avid 3 In the Import section, find the Don’t Convert
video editing application—such as audio delivered Sample Rates on Import preference setting.
separately from an AAF or OMF sequence—that
audio may be offset with the audio in the AAF or 4 Enable that preference to activate real-time pull
OMF sequence by as much as half a frame. down for 48.048 kHz audio files.
2 Click Field Recorder Guide Track. • Same clip name prefix (such as Audio File or
Audio File_01)
3 Repeat for each field recorder track in the
• Consecutively-numbered clip name suffix, from
session.
A1 through A8
Each mono field recorder track must be
For example, the clips Audio File_01.A1 and Au-
designated to enable the special Pro Tools
dio File_01.A2 would be grouped as a multichan-
field recorder features for that track.
nel clip in the Clips List.
This option lets you set the method Pro Tools uses The Reset button toggles all criteria to their
to name and sort the audio files created by expand- default values.
ing matching field recorder channels.
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows)
any item to select or deselect all criteria in
the dialog.
By default, Pro Tools searches for matching field • Click Save to close the Select Areas to
recorder files in the Audio Files folder for the cur- Search dialog and save the new search area
rent session. Because field recorders often accu- settings.
mulate large amounts of audio data, importing the • Click Save & Index to save the new search
necessary files into your Pro Tools session can be a area settings and re-index the selected fold-
slow and complex task. ers. For more information, see “Re-Indexing”
on page 1365.
The Select Areas to Search option lets you specify
additional locations (such as alternate folders or Re-Indexing
hard drives) for Pro Tools to search for matches.
When new audio is added to one of the designated
To select areas to search for matching field search areas, Pro Tools must index the contents of
recorder tracks: that folder before the new audio can be accessed.
1 Right-click the name of a field recorder track.
To re-index all alternate search areas:
2 Click Select Areas to Search. 1 In the Field Recorder Channels Match dialog,
click Select Areas to Search.
2 Click Save & Index to save the current settings
and re-index all search areas in the list.
5 The original source audio files and unedited 5 Drag the original unedited guide track audio file
guide track are also imported into the session. into the Candidates pane. If a dialog appears
stating that one or more files are shorter than the
6 The original unedited guide track is relinked to media file you are trying to relink, click Yes to
the session (see “Relinking the Original Uned- select it for relinking anyway.
ited Guide Track” on page 1369).
6 Check the box to the left of the file in the Can-
7 The Pro Tools editor Right-clicks the name of didates pane so that the Link icon appears.
the guide track and selects Expand Channels to
New Tracks > By Timecode Only. The original 7 Click Commit Links at the top of the Relink win-
source tracks expand to new tracks with edits dow and then close the Relink window.
and fades that match the guide track.
You can now Right-click the name of the guide
and select Expand To New Tracks > By Timecode
Only. All expanded tracks should be synchronous
with the guide track.
Following these steps ensures that timecode meta- • The camera assistant keeps a written record
data are preserved from the moment shooting be- (called a shootlist) documenting each scene
gins to the final delivery of source files to the and take with a corresponding keycode posi-
Pro Tools editor. tion.
• The production sound mixer also keeps a
written record (also called a sound log) docu-
Setting Up Before Shooting
(Film Workflow) menting each scene and take with a corre-
sponding timecode position.
Before each day’s shooting begins, the production
sound mixer should decide on a unique name— 4 The slate operator claps the slate to indicate the
preferably ascending by day—and enter that exact beginning of the take. The field recorder records
name in the Tape BEXT or iXML metadata field the audio of the clap, and the film camera cap-
inside the Broadcast WAV file. tures the following images:
• Scene and take number (written on the slate)
For example, the production sound mixer might
• Exact moment the slate closes
use T001 for the first day’s shooting, T002 for the
second day’s shooting, and so forth. • Timecode position of the slate closing
5 Shooting ends and the take is complete.
• Multichannel location audio 8 Insert a blank videotape into the VTR con-
nected to the telecine, and manually assign lin-
• Written shootlist and sound log
ear timecode (LTC) information to the
The telecine operator generates the dailies (a vid- videotape.
eotape containing the day’s shots) by transferring 9 Begin the telecine capture. During the telecine
the film and audio to a videotape. The shootlists capture, the following occurs:
will be used as a guide.
• The telecine begins capturing the synchro-
To use a telecine to create dailies: nized film and audio to the videotape, with
linear timecode (LTC) assigned to the video-
1 Load film and audio into the telecine.
tape beginning from where you entered the
2 Enter the Tape name or Sound Roll name start timecode.
(whichever was used during the production) • A FLEx file is created, where scene and take
character for character into the telecine. information is automatically written and as-
sociated to the film keycode and telecine vid-
To ensure that metadata are preserved for
eotape timecode relative to audio timecode.
the Pro Tools editor, it is critical to enter the
Tape name or Sound Roll name character for 10 When the telecine transfer is complete, deliver
character. For example, if the metadata was the following to the Avid editor:
T001 (with two zeroes), enter T001 with two • Telecine videotape
zeroes—not T01 with one zero or T0001 with
• FLEx file
three zeroes.
• Shootlist
3 Using the camera assistant’s shootlist, locate the • Sound log
film frame representing the first keycode posi-
• Location audio media
tion of the film in the shootlist (which should be
just before the slate is clapped).
4 Locate the film to the first frame where the slate
clap occurs, and note the timecode position dis-
played on the slate.
5 Locate the audio to the exact timecode position
listed on the slate in the film frame (which lines
up the audio with the film).
In a film workflow, the Avid editor batch digitizes 7 When you are finished editing, export the edited
the telecine videotape to digital video and audio sequence as an AAF or OMF sequence so that it
files in order to edit them. can be imported into Pro Tools.
When you are finished editing, export the edited 4 Use the Avid video editing application to edit
sequence as an AAF or OMF sequence so that it audio and video.
can be imported into Pro Tools.
5 When you are finished editing, export the edited
sequence as an AAF or OMF sequence so that it
can be imported into Pro Tools.
Pro Tools lets you do the following: eral. AVE provides support for a wide range of
• Create a single video track and import Avid or QuickTime and Avid HD and SD MXF video for-
QuickTime video to the Timeline mats on Pro Tools video tracks without transcod-
ing (including Avid DNxHD).
• Group video clips in the Timeline much like au-
dio clips To enable the Avid Video Engine for Pro Tools:
• Lock video tracks 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
• Extract audio from QuickTime 2 Enable the Video Engine option to use Pro Tools
• Scrub audio in tandem with video with the Avid Video Engine.
• View video in the Video window or output it 3 Click OK.
through an Avid supported video peripheral to
an external monitor
• Bounce the video track to QuickTime QuickTime Movie Support in
Pro Tools
Pro Tools Ultimate also lets you do the following:
Pro Tools supports the import, playback, and edit-
• Import multiple video files into the Timeline
ing of QuickTime movies.
• Create and edit up to 64 video tracks with Quick-
Time and Avid video in the Timeline
QuickTime Required
• Select from multiple video playlists on each
video track QuickTime must be installed if you plan to include
movie files, or import MP3 or MP4 (AAC) files in
• Organize, group, and edit video clips with audio
your Pro Tools sessions. QuickTime for Windows
clips
is available as a free download from the Apple
• Manage multiple video clips in the Clips List website (www.apple.com).
• Undo multiple video operations
For information on which version of Quick-
Time is compatible with your version of
Pro Tools, visit www.avid.com.
Avid Video Engine (AVE)
Pro Tools uses the Avid Video Engine (AVE) for
video playback. AVE lets you simultaneously
view desktop video (native video) and video mon-
itored using an Avid or third-party video periph-
Separate Video-Only and Audio-Only Drives For Pro Tools video processing is done on the GPU
best results, always use separate video-only and (Graphics Processing Unit) in order to free up the
audio-only drives. For complete information on CPU for Pro Tools audio and MIDI. If you are us-
hard drive requirements, visit www.avid.com. ing a slower GPU and encounter poor video play-
back, you may want to disable this option and have
Frame Rate Before receiving video, find out the
the video processing done on the CPU.
frame rate. Use this frame rate when setting the
frame rate of your Pro Tools sessions and when Prevent Tearing
capturing video.
When enabled, Pro Tools buffers video to prevent
Creator Application and Codec Before receiving visual artifacts with horizontal movement in situa-
video as media files, find out the application and tions where video sync does not match the screen
codec used to create those files. Then confirm that refresh rate. This options is not available when the
you can play those files in Pro Tools. It is always a Enable GPU option is disabled.
good idea to get a sample file in advance.
Video Tracks
Video tracks let you add or import video to the
Timeline, as follows:
• Pro Tools lets you add or import one video track
per session, with a limit of one video playlist and Empty video track
one MXF or QuickTime video file on that track.
• Pro Tools Ultimate lets you add multiple video Multiple Video Tracks in the
tracks to the Timeline, with multiple video play- Timeline
lists and multiple video files per track. (Pro Tools Ultimate Only)
• Pro Tools Ultimate lets you mix QuickTime and You can add multiple video tracks to the Timeline,
MXF video tracks in the Timeline (but not on the but only one video track can be played back at a
same video track). time. This track is known as the main video track.
Click the Video Online button of any track that Video track in Frames View
is offline (gray) to put it online (blue), making
that track the main video track. Frames do not display properly if you change
zoom settings during playback. Blank frames are
drawn until playback is stopped. You should stop
playback before changing zoom settings if you
want to view frames.
When using Frames View to view video content in Click the Video Online button of any track that
the video track, your computer may exhibit re- is offline (gray) to put it online (blue), making
duced or sluggish performance. If this happens on that track the main video track.
your computer, hide the video track or switch to Click the Video Online button of the main video
Blocks View. track to take it offline, and Pro Tools will not
output video.
Blocks View
With Pro Tools Ultimate, press Shift+J to cy-
In Blocks View, video frames are replaced by col- cle through all shown video tracks to deter-
ored blocks. mine which one is online.
Frame Rate
Raster Size
Video Quality
Output Settings
The engine Frame Rate and Raster Size selectors While Pro Tools does not allow mixed frame rates,
determine how a video file is processed and output it does allow different resolutions. The Frame Rate
by the video engine. In most cases, the engine set- selector lets you set the Frame Rate to best match
tings should match the attributes of the video file mixed resolutions for the session. In general, you
for optimal playback performance. In some cases, will not need to change the Frame Rate.
however, there can be mixed file raster sizes, or the
video may be a non-standard frame rate or raster For Avid MXF video, Frame Rate is set automati-
size, in which case real time frame rate or raster cally. However, when you are working with mixed
size conversion must be done to match the file to resolutions, Pro Tools lets you set the closest
the selected engine settings. matching resolution for the session using the
Frame Rate setting.
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click
If a file is imported that does not match any stan-
(Windows) to override Pro Tools and select
dard Frame Rate, Pro Tools uses the closest possi-
the desired Frame Rate or Raster Size.
ble Frame Rate. Note that you can select any other
Default Engine Settings for Imported standard Frame Rate, in which case Frame Rate
Video conversion is unavoidable, so be sure to select the
Frame Rate that works best for your project.
The video engine Frame Rate and Raster Size set-
tings are set slightly differently when importing an Raster Size
AAF containing a sequence versus an individual
video file (such as a QuickTime file). Pro Tools can accept almost any Raster Size as
long as the dimension of each side of the video file
AAF/OMF is a multiple of 2. Video plays back at its native
size and aspect ratio in the Pro Tools Video win-
When importing an AAF, the engine settings are
dow. Hardware display is limited only by the capa-
determined by the Project Type set in the AAF
bilities of the hardware.
(which is defined in Media Composer). For AAFs
that come from other applications, Pro Tools uses While Pro Tools does not allow mixed frame rates,
the Single File logic, and the engine settings are it does allow different resolutions. If two or more
based on the first file on the timeline. files with different resolutions are imported, the
options in the Raster Size selector increase to
Single File match the attributes of the files in the session.
When importing a single video file, QuickTime or If a file is imported that does not match a standard
MXF, Pro Tools picks the optimal video engine Raster Size, Pro Tools plays back the file at the na-
Frame Rate and Raster Size based on the file attri- tive Raster Size. Note that you can select any other
butes. If the file attributes perfectly fit in a standard standard Raster Size.
Frame Rate and Raster Size, that Frame Rate and
Raster Size are used. QuickTime Media
Synchronizing a
single system with
Pro Tools Ultimate a video peripheral.
Synchronizing a
single system with
Clock Source: a video peripheral.
Sync HD Pro Tools Ultimate
Pro Tools and the Synchronizing one
Pro Tools HD
video engine will or more systems
Clock Reference: Hardware
with analog gear
External Digital use same top-of-
and a video periph-
Clock (e.g., Word Clock Source: frame to begin Sync HD
eral.
Clock or AES) * Video Reference playback in sync.
Video peripheral
Synchronizing mul-
Video Reference: Playback will not capable of
tiple systems that
Connected and drift. external video
interchange digital
matching Video Ref reference
audio with each
Format
other, as well as a
video
peripheral.
Audio or video
Pro Tools and the
peripheral is not
video engine will
capable of exter-
begin playback
nal reference. This
within +/–1 frame
includes using the
of each other. The
built-in computer
offset will vary
audio.
within this range
by a different
If one peripheral
amount with the
does not/cannot
start of each play-
have an external
back pass.
clock source,
Clock Source: there is no benefit
Playback will drift
Audio Interface to applying an
Clock Source: over time because
Video peripheral external clock
Internal the engines are
Clock Reference: source to the other
not resolved to the
Internal peripheral, in
same clock. The
regards to A/V
video engine will
sync. However, it
detect if the clock
may be beneficial
has drifted by a 1/2
to apply external
a frame more. If
clock reference to
this is the case, it
one peripheral for
will drop or
other reasons,
duplicate a frame,
such as the inter-
depending on the
change of digital
direction of the
audio signal with
drift, to keep up
another audio
(slewing).
interface.
The following video resolutions are available with Avid Mojo and Nitris DX hardware (depending on your
media and the session setup):
Supported video formats with Mojo and DX hardware
1440x1080
23.976 fps P 1080p - 23.976 N/A
(HD TR)
1440x1080 1080i – 50 /
25 fps I PAL
(HD TR) 1080psf – 25
1080i – 50 /
25 fps 1920x1080 (HD) I PAL
1080psf – 25
1080i – 59.94 /
29.97 fps 1920x1080 (HD) I NTSC
1080psf – 29.97
The Sync Lock setting locks your video peripheral The options for HDMI Color Space are dynamic
to an external reference or an internal clock. depending on whether a Mojo DX or Nitris DX is
connected, as well as other settings. The HDMI
Color Space setting determines the color standard
(either YCbCr or Convert to RGB) to use for your
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)
output. You must have HDMI-compatible Avid
video hardware attached to your system.
HDMI Format
If a SYNC HD is installed and enabled, and Clock In the Video Output Tool window, click the Cali-
Reference is set to Video Reference in the Session bration tab to configure the calibration settings for
Setup window, and suggested formats are high- video output.
lighted in the Video Ref Format selector of the Ses-
sion Setup window.
The Output selector lets you select either Compo- Pr Gain—Lets you adjust the gain of the Pr color-
nent, Composite, S Video for non-HD projects. difference signal (a scaled version of the RY sig-
nal) of an analog component system.
On some systems, all outputs on your video hard-
ware are active. Select an analog signal from the System Phase
Output menu to calibrate the output.
Some Avid video hardware configurations let you
Hue Lets you adjust an attribute of color percep- modulate the timing of the output signal and a ref-
tion based on varying proportions of red, green, erence signal. This option is available for S Video,
and blue in the video signal (also known as color Component, or Composite output.
phase). Available for S Video or Composite out-
put. SubPixel HPhase
Sat Lets you adjust saturation, a measurement of The SubPixel HPhase setting provides a fine ad-
chrominance or the intensity of color in the video justment of Horizontal phase. Available for
signal. Available for S Video or Composite out- S Video, Component, or Composite output.
put.
When you use this method to import video into 2 In any Edit mode, drag the selected video files
Pro Tools, the Video Import Options dialog ap- to a blank area in the Timeline (to create a new
pears. This dialog contains multiple options for video track) or an existing video track (to place
customizing how files are imported. it within that track).
See “Bypassing the Video Import Options Di- Original Time Stamp (Avid Video Only) Places
alog” on page 1394 for details on bypassing Avid video in the Timeline at a timecode location
the Video Import Options dialog when drag- that corresponds to the timestamps from the origi-
ging and dropping video files. nal source tape. With multiple video files, this
places all video files in the Timeline at their re-
spective original timestamps.
Destination Section
The Destination section of the Video Import Op-
Additional Video Import Options
tions dialog lets you choose a general destination
for imported video in Pro Tools. Gaps Between Clips (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only)
Main Video Track The video file is imported di- When you import more than one video file into a
rectly to the track that is currently online (known track, they will be shuffled together by default.
as the main video track) and into the Clips List. If This option lets you indicate the number of sec-
no track is currently online, the video file will be onds by which each video clip will be separated
imported to the last existing video track that was when imported into the video track.
online.
Remove Existing Video Tracks When selected, all Importing Audio from a
existing video tracks will be deleted before QuickTime Video Clip
Pro Tools imports video into the session. For QuickTime Video clips, Pro Tools lets you
Remove Existing Video Clips When selected, all right-click on selected clips to import the audio
existing video clips will be removed from the from the QuickTime movie clips even if you im-
Timeline and the Clips List before Pro Tools im- ported QuickTime video without its associated au-
ports video into the session (but left on disk). This dio.
option is useful if you want to import a video file
To import audio from a QuickTime video clip:
into the session with a video frame rate that does
not match the current video engine rate. 1 Right-click on a QuickTime video clip in a
video track or in the Clips List.
See “Video Engine Rate” on page 1390 for
more information. 2 Choose Import Audio From Movie.
3 In the resulting dialog, specify the location
Clear Main Video Track Playlist When selected,
where you want to save the audio and click
all existing video clips in the currently-selected
Open.
playlist on the main video track will be removed
from the track before Pro Tools imports video into 4 In the Audio Import Options dialog, select
the session. No other playlists, video tracks, or whether you want to import the audio to the
video clips will be affected. (This option is only Clips List or to a New Track.
enabled if the main video track is selected as the
5 If you selected New Track, select the Location
Destination option.)
for the audio:
• Session Start
Bypassing the Video Import
Options Dialog • Song Start
• Selection
You can bypass the Video Import Options dialog
when dragging video files into Pro Tools. The • Spot
video files are added exactly where you drop them 6 Click OK to import the audio (or click Cancel to
in the Timeline following the current Pro Tools ed- cancel the import).
iting mode.
There are five possible settings, ranging from Low When using Pro Tools, the following limitations
(lowest quality) to Tweak Head (highest quality). apply to video clips:
The higher the quality of sample rate conversion,
• You can add only one video clip to a session. It
the longer it takes to convert the bounced file.
can be played back, but cannot be edited and will
not be listed in the Clips List.
To set the sample rate conversion quality:
• When you import video or open a session cre-
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the
ated by Pro Tools Ultimate, only the main or
Processing tab.
first available video track containing QuickTime
2 Click the Conversion Quality pop-up menu and clips will be imported. You can play back and
select a conversion setting. view multiple clips, and tab through clip bound-
aries. However, you cannot edit them.
Stretch
You can resize the Video window by dragging or When the Pillarbox/Letterbox option is selected,
using the Video window pop-up menu. the picture scales to create the largest possible im-
age without cropping, while maintaining the origi-
To resize the Video window by dragging: nal aspect ratio of each video clip. When this op-
tion is selected and you have video media with
Place the cursor at any corner of the Video win-
mixed aspect ratios on the online video track, or
dow, and drag the window to the size you want.
video that does not match the aspect ratio of the
To resize the Video window by using the Video video window, there will be visible black borders
window pop-up menu: around video that uses a smaller aspect ratio than
the Video window. Additionally, this option can
Right-click (Windows or Mac) or Control-click
result in a significant increase in CPU usage. If you
(Mac) the Video window, and choose from the
encounter performance problems, consider using
following resize options:
the Stretch option.
• Quarter Size
• Half Size Quality
• Actual Size The Full Quality, Full Quality 10-bit, Draft, and Best
• Double Size Performance options are available from the Right-
• Full Screen click menu (see “Video Quality” on page 1389).
Shuttle Lock mode lets you use the numeric key- To exit Shuttle Lock mode, do one of the following:
pad to shuttle a video track and one or two audio
tracks forward or backwards at specific speeds. Click Stop in the Transport.
Numbers 0 through 9 provide progressively faster Press the Spacebar.
speeds, as follows:
• To stop shuttling, press 0.
• To increase the speed progressively towards nor- Browsing Video in the Video
mal speed, press numbers 1 through 4. Universe Window
(Pro Tools Ultimate Only)
• To shuttle at normal speed, press 5.
• To increase the speed progressively faster than The Video Universe window lets you view, navi-
normal speed, press numbers 6 through 9. gate, zoom, and select video clips on the main
video track.
Only the main video track is shuttled. When multi-
ple audio tracks are selected, only the first two The Video Universe window displays the center
tracks are shuttled. video frame of each video clip in the main video
track. Video frames are ordered sequentially ac-
To play the video track with the shuttle lock: cording to their order in the Timeline, and the col-
1 With Pro Tools Ultimate, make sure the Opera- ored strip under each frame represents the color
tion preference for Numeric Keypad mode is coding for that clip.
not set to Shuttle (see “Operation Preferences”
on page 110).
To use the Video Universe window to select and Optimized Video Playback
zoom simultaneously in the Edit window:
Certain video codecs provide optimal playback
1 Move the cursor over any area of any video
performance with Pro Tools using sample map-
frame in the Video Universe window until it be-
ping (such as DNxHD, Apple Pro Res, and DV25).
comes a selector or zoom tool.
Video clips using these codecs appear with a
2 To select a range of video clips while simultane- check-mark icon in the Pro Tools Clips List and on
ously zooming to fill the Edit window, Option- the timeline.
drag (Mac) or Alt-drag (Windows) multiple
video frames.
1 Choose Setup > Video Sync Offset. Bouncing the Video Track to
2 In the Set Video Sync Offset dialog, enter a
a QuickTime Movie
value in the QuickTime Video Offset field or When you have finished your final mix and syn-
Windows Media Video Offset field that is ap- chronized your audio events to the movie, you can
propriate to compensate for the delay caused by bounce the main video track and a mono, stereo, or
your video monitor chain. greater-than-stereo (Pro Tools Ultimate only)
mixdown of your session to a new QuickTime
movie. Pro Tools Ultimate also lets you bounce
multiple stems to QuickTime.
Video Sync Offset dialog To bounce video and audio in the video track to a
QuickTime movie:
Once this value is set, it should not need to be up-
1 Finalize your mix (or stems).
dated unless you change components in your video
monitoring chain (such as projectors or plasma 2 Make sure the video track you want to bounce is
screens). currently the main video track. (The track’s
Video Online button must be highlighted blue.)
3 Make sure that all of the audio tracks you want
Playing Video to an External to include in the bounce are audible (not muted
Monitor Using a Video or inactive).
Peripheral
4 Assign the output of each of the tracks you want
With a qualified video peripheral, Pro Tools can to include in your bounce to the same stereo
play and display MXF and QuickTime video files output or bus path.
with frame edge-locked HD image output to a va-
riety of professional HD monitors. 5 Do one of the following:
• To bounce the entire session, click Return to
Zero in the Transport to go to the beginning of
the session.
QuickTime Settings
Movie Settings dialog
Pro Tools lets you transcode video to QuickTime
5 Click OK.
using the QuickTime Settings options (the encoder
plug-in for QuickTime must be installed). When 6 In the QuickTime Bounce dialog, configure the
bouncing to QuickTime, if the video in the session other settings as desired.
is not a valid video resolution or codec for Quick-
7 Click Bounce.
Time, you are prompted to use the QuickTime Set-
tings to transcode the video to a valid QuickTime When bouncing to QuickTime from Pro Tools,
resolution and codec. the Sounds settings in the Movie Settings dia-
log are ignored.
Avid Satellite Link lets you link up to twelve On systems with a D-Control or D-Command con-
Pro Tools HD systems over an Ethernet network sole, Satellite Link can work in conjunction with
so that you can cue, play, and stop the transports, ICON Multi-mode. This lets you operate the trans-
make play selections, and solo tracks across any of port selectively for up to four networked
the systems from any linked workstation. Pro Tools HD systems from a single D-Control
console, or up to two Pro Tools HD systems from a
Alternatively, you can link up to eleven D-Command.
Pro Tools HD systems and one of the following:
• A Pro Tools Video Satellite system, which uses a
separate Pro Tools system for video playback. Satellite Link Requirements
• An Avid Video Satellite system, which uses an and Compatibility
Avid Media Composer or Avid Symphony sys-
tem for video playback, capture, and conversion. Satellite System Requirements
For more information, see Chapter 63, The following is required for each Pro Tools HD
“Pro Tools Video Satellite” and system on the network:
Chapter 64, “Avid Video Satellite.” • Avid-qualified computer
From each linked Pro Tools HD system, Satellite • Pro Tools | Ultimate Software
Link lets you link and unlink networked systems • HDX or HD Native hardware
and see the link status of other connected systems.
• Pro Tools | SYNC HD
By setting Satellite Link preferences, you can con- • Ethernet connection to a Local Area Network
figure linked Pro Tools HD systems for single- or (LAN)
multi-operator workflows.
All Pro Tools systems in a Satellite Link
Satellite Link can be used simultaneously with network must be resolved to a common
MachineControl, allowing one linked video reference, or “house sync,” using
Pro Tools HD system to go online and drive a SYNC HD.
9-pin capable device.
Other systems on the network are configured as 3 In the Video Satellite Settings window, select
satellite systems, and are added to the network Video Satellite Mode.
from the administrator system.
4 Click OK.
Configuring Satellite Systems To configure a non-HD Pro Tools System system
as a video satellite:
Do the following for each Pro Tools system you
want to configure as a Satellite Link satellite: 1 On the satellite Pro Tools system, choose Setup
> Peripherals and click Satellites.
1 Choose Setup > Peripherals and click Satellites.
2 In the System Name text box, enter a name for
2 In the System Name text box, enter a name for
the system.
the system.
3 Under Mode, choose Enable Satellite Mode.
3 Under Mode, choose Satellite.
4 Click OK.
4 Click OK.
Configuring a satellite in the Satellites page of the Configuring a Pro Tools Video Satellite system in the
Peripherals dialog Satellites page of the Peripherals dialog
1 Choose Setup > Peripherals and click Satellites. 2 Under Administrator, declare the systems you
want to use as satellites from the System 2-12
2 In the System Name text box, enter a name for pop-up menus.
the system.
3 Click OK.
3 Under Mode, choose Administrator.
The administrator and declared satellite systems
4 Under Administrator, choose the current system
appear in the Synchronization section of the Trans-
from the System 1 pop-up menu.
port. The display resizes to show all available sys-
5 Click OK. tems.
Clearing Errors on Linked Systems If one or more satellite systems on the network en-
counters a problem and the network becomes un-
By default, linked systems continue to operate if stable, Pro Tools lets you reset all Satellites on the
one of the systems experiences an error and its network to get back up and running as quickly as
transport stops. The Satellite Link button for the possible.
remote system reporting the error highlights red on
all other systems in the network. Any error mes- To reset all satellite systems on a network, do one
sage on a linked system appears in the tool tip for of the following:
the corresponding Satellite Link button in the Command-Option-Control-Click (Mac) or
Transport. Control-Alt-Start-Click (Windows) the Satellite
Link button in the Transport of any Pro Tools
You can set each system independently to stop
Satellite system on the network.
playback when it encounters an error.
In the Satellite page of the Peripherals window
To clear an error dialog on a remote linked system: (Setup > Peripherals > Satellite), click the Re-
In the Transport on any other system in the net- set Network button, and then click OK.
work, Shift-click the Satellite Link button for
the affected system.
Using Satellite Link with
To set a linked system to stop the transport on all MachineControl
systems when an error occurs:
MachineControl Deck Control Mode can be used
Make sure the AAE Errors Stop All Linked Sys-
to operate a 9-pin synchronization device (such as
tems option is selected in the Synchronization
a Soundmaster ATOM or a CB Electronics 9-Pin
Preferences.
synchronizer), allowing Pro Tools to act as a “code
To set all systems to stop the transport when an er- only master” for systems controlled by the syn-
ror occurs, make sure this option is selected on all chronizer.
linked systems.
Satellite Link lets you use MachineControl on one
Playback and Modal Dialogs
linked Pro Tools system at a time.
When one linked Pro Tools system is already
Linked systems stop playback (or prevent play-
online and you go online with another linked
back from starting) if a modal dialog (such as the
Pro Tools system, Satellite Link will automatically
I/O Setup, Hardware Setup, or Playback Engine di-
take the first system offliine.
alog) is opened on any linked system.
Any linked Pro Tools systems set to
To avoid interrupting playback on another “Transport=Pro Tools” will follow Satellite Link
system when opening a modal dialog, transport commands.
unlink the system before opening the dialog.
Any linked Pro Tools systems set to
“Transport=Machine” cannot transmit Satellite
Link transport commands, but will follow Satellite
Link transport commands if they are offline.
To set up the Pro Tools Video Satellite system: The administrator Pro Tools system does not
See “Configuring Satellite Systems” on respond to playback commands from the
page 1411. Pro Tools Video Satellite system. Transport
commands must originate from the main
Pro Tools system.
Declaring the Pro Tools Video
Satellite System
Link Controls
When the Pro Tools Video Satellite system has
When a Pro Tools system has been declared as a
been configured as a satellite, it becomes available
satellite, the following controls appear in the
on the administrator system. The satellite system is
Transport window:
then declared by the Administrator.
Link Button Controls the link status of the local
To declare the satellite system on the
system.
administrator system:
See “Adding Satellites to the Network” on Satellite Link Buttons control the link status of the
page 1412. other satellite systems. On every system, one of
these buttons corresponds to that system’s main
The systems appear, in order, from left to right, in Link button.
the Synchronization section of the Transport win-
dow. Link buttons highlight to indicate linked status.
Linked systems will stop playback if a modal dia- 1 In Pro Tools, go to Setup > Session. The
log box (such as the I/O Setup, Hardware Setup, or Session Setup window appears.
Playback Engine dialog) is opened on any linked 2 In the Timecode Offsets section, compensate
system. The corresponding Satellite Link button for the offset between Pro Tools and a Pro Tools
for that system highlights red on all other systems. Video Satellite as follows:
.
A system cannot play back when a modal • If the start time of the video clip in video sat-
dialog box is open. ellite falls before the start time of the admin-
istrator Pro Tools session, type a positive
timecode value into the Satellite Offset field.
Spotting Video to the Pro Tools
Timeline • If the start time of the video clip in video sat-
ellite falls after the start time of the adminis-
Once a session is created (or an existing session
trator Pro Tools session, type a negative
opened) on the satellite Pro Tools system, and the
timecode value into the Satellite Offset field.
video has been imported, the video must be set to
the correct start time so that it runs in sync with the
audio on the main Pro Tools system. Video can be Compensating for Monitor-
spotted to the desired start time by matching time- Induced Output Delay
code or feet+frames values. Many monitors add a delay to the video output of
one or more frames. You can compensate for this
Compensating for Different delay by advancing the video output by the neces-
Start Times in Pro Tools and a sary number of frames.
Pro Tools Video Satellite
To set the number of frames to offset video output:
In some cases, you may want the Pro Tools Video
Satellite system to be offset from the administrator 1 On the video satellite system, choose Setup >
system to accommodate for external deck offsets Video Sync Offset.
or differences in session start time. 2 In the Video Sync Offset field, type a positive
value that matches the amount of delay in the
You can control the amount of offset by changing
monitors. You may need to try a few different
the Timecode Offset parameters on the Pro Tools
settings.
Video Satellite system.
When working with 24p and 23.976 projects, The Project Type is also established when
Media Composer defaults to displaying frames creating a new project in Media Composer.
mapped to 29.97 fps timecode. In order to keep the
3 In Pro Tools, choose Setup > Session.
Pro Tools and Media Composer or Symphony
timecode displays in sync when working in 24p or 4 Select a timecode setting from the Timecode
23.976 projects, click the timecode display above Rate pop-up menu that is compatible to the
the Record monitor and choose Sequence > Time- Media Composer Project Type setting.
code > 24 > Mas.
5 Make sure that a compatible clock source is
To avoid sync problems during later stages of available and connected correctly.
post production, it is strongly recommended 6 Select the connected clock reference from the
in most cases to change the settings in Clock Reference pop-up menu.
Pro Tools to match those of the sequence
open in Media Composer. 7 Select a compatible video format from the
Video Ref Format pop-up menu.
The following table describes compatibility between Avid Project Format and Edit Play Rate, and
Pro Tools Timecode Rates, Audio Pull Up/Down Rate, Clock Reference, and Video Format.
Rate and Sync Ref Compatibility between Avid and Pro Tools
25 PAL 25 4% Up PAL
*Although Media Composer standalone supports locking the video peripheral to black burst or tri-level
sync at these HD rates, Video Satellite will only support locking the Media Composer video peripheral to
tri-level sync when using these HD rates.
In almost all cases, the first frame of video is You can compensate for any offsets that might oc-
located at the start of the Media Composer se- cur if the start times of an Avid sequence differ be-
quence. However, Pro Tools sessions often have tween Media Composer and Pro Tools.
silence at the head to create countoffs or silence.
To compensate for different sequence start times:
For example, a Media Composer sequence may
1 In Pro Tools, go to Setup > Session. The Ses-
start at 01:00:00:00 while the matching Pro Tools
sion Setup window will appear.
session starts at 00:59:55:00—allowing five sec-
onds of silence before the audio starts. 2 In the External Timecode Offset section, com-
pensate for the offset between Pro Tools and
In some cases, starting playback from Video Satellite as follows:
Media Composer at a point which is more
• If the start time of the video satellite sequence
than a minute earlier than the start of the
falls before the start time of the Pro Tools se-
Pro Tools session may fail. Change the
quence, type a positive timecode value into
Pro Tools session start time to be earlier.
the Satellite Offset field.
To set the default start time for new sequences in • If the start time of the video satellite sequence
Media Composer: falls after the start time of the Pro Tools se-
1 In the Project window, click the Settings tab and quence, type a negative timecode value into
then double-click the General setting. the Satellite Offset field.
Click the corresponding Satellite Link button in Video Satellite and EUCON Control and
the Transport window. Work Surfaces
Since video and audio are streamed in one signal 1 In Pro Tools, choose Setup > Session, and en-
over FireWire, it is not necessary to connect any sure the following:
audio inputs. • Clock Source pop-up menu is set to SYNC.
If you are capturing video using FireWire, you • Clock Reference pop-up menu is set to Video
must capture both audio and video into Reference.
Media Composer, because a single FireWire cable • If Clock Reference pop-up menu is set to an-
provides both video and audio. This audio can then other source, like Word Clock, make sure that
be exported over to Pro Tools. the Ref Present LED is lit, and that the clock
reference that the SYNC is locked to matches
that of the VTR.
Source Record
Track Track Record Enable Preview
button button
Index 1439
Artist Chat AudioSuite menu 213
Messages 389 AudioSuite plug-ins 947, 948, 954, 1113
Pro Tools Projects list 389 Bypass button 952
Artist Chat window 381 Clip by Clip mode 950
Pro Tools Projects 384 Clips List command 948
ASIO 8 Create Continuous File command 950
aspect ratios (Video window) 1399 Create Individual Files command 949
Assemble mode 1338 Default Handle Length preferences 126
Assign Tags popover window 359 Entire Selection mode 950
Assignments View (Sends View option) 1082 File Mode selector 949
Attributes (Groups List) command 302 Handle Length setting 953
attributes (groups) 306 multichannel processing 953
Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind option 110, 497 Overwrite File command 949
audio file formats 160, 1207 Playlist command 948
audio files 11 Preview 952
compacting 684 Preview Volume 952
default names 526 Render button 953
importing 414 Reverse button 953
mixed file types 172 Selection Reference selector 948
Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo 338 Target button 951
Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo button 364 Use in Playlist button 949
Audio Files folder 161 using 954
audio format 463, 1291 Whole File button 953
Audio Media options 436 AudioSuite window 947
on export 463 Audition Paths selector 60
on import 447 auditioning
Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) (Mac) 97, 147 clips in the Clips List 60, 317
Audio Pull Up and Pull Down 1297, 1427 fades 689
Audio Pull Up/Down setting 1428 in browsers 362
Audio Pull-Up and Edit Play Rate 1428 MIDI notes 771
audio signal paths 52 pre/post-roll 502
Audio Track RecordLock option 112, 583 programs 793
audio tracks 10 selection start and end points 502
5.1 format 1219 takes 552
and Output format 1231 Auto Accept Adjust Bounds option 117
and surround sessions 1229 Auto Backup option 111
bouncing to disk 1204 Auto button (plug-ins) 1122
channel strips 219 Auto Edit 1337, 1343
creating a tempo map for 881 Auto Input Monitoring mode 533, 534
disabling Elastic Audio 989 Auto Insert Default Plug-Ins preference 119
enabling Elastic Audio 988 Auto Match Pull Factors 1298
loop recording 550 Auto Rename Clips List command 320
placing audio in multichannel tracks 1230 auto-created clips 600
punch recording 547 hiding 321
recording multiple 541 renaming 318
signal flow 1060 AutoFades 698
track controls 223 AutoGlide mode 1250
Waveform View 601 AutoGlide Time preference 121, 1250
Audio Zoom In button 622 Auto-Height Overrides Height Automation
Audio Zoom Out button 622 option 1271
Index 1441
QuickPunch clips 581 Batch Rename Tracks command 253
separated clips 673 batch renaming 323
takes 526 Batch Track Renaming dialog 323
Auto-Spot 1324, 1333, 1335 Beat Detective 737, 738, 739
Auto-Spot Clips command 1310 beat triggers
Auxiliary Input track deleting 746
convert to Routing Folder track 279 generating 742
Auxiliary Inputs 14, 217 inserting 746
channel strips 219 moving 746
monitoring and mixing 1092 promoting 747
signal flow 1061 Collection Mode 757
track controls 223 conforming clips 752
Avid Audio Engine (AAE) 8 defining a selection 740
Avid Link 4, 381 detecting transients 742
Profile 381 DigiGroove templates 749
Avid Link menu 213 edit smoothing 755
Avid Master Account 156 extrapolation 750
signing in 156 generating Bar|Beat Markers 748
signing out 156 groove templates 749
Avid Profile 381 Scroll Next 747
Avid Video Engine (AVE) 96, 1375 separating clips 751
Avid Video Satellite 1423 system requirements 738
templates 749
B Trigger Pad 751
Back and Play command 498 window 739
Back command 498 with multiple tracks 752
Back/Forward Amount 111, 498 Bed Audio (or Bed Material) 1255
Back/Forward commands 498 Big Counter window 495
backing up sessions automatically 111, 162 Bi-Phase/Tach
Backup to Cloud 163, 186 pulses-per-frame setting 139
bank select 789 Wiring setting 138
Bar|Beat Markers bit depth 159, 463, 1290
and tempo events 883 Blocks View
audio with varying tempos 884 audio track 244
editing 883 video track 1379
from Identify Beat command 882 Bounce
generated with Beat Detective 748 track 1021
moving 883 Bounce to Disk
bars bounce multiple stems to separate files 1210
renumbering 892 bounce multiple stems to single file 1210
Bars|Beats Time Scale 855 Delivery Format 1210
Basic Folder tracks 218, 271 Bounce to Disk command 1201, 1204, 1206, 1214
channel strips 222 bit depth options 1210
track controls 225 channel format options 1209
Batch Clip Renaming dialog 323 Choose directory 1212
Batch Rename dither 1202
clips 320 File Type 1207
tracks 239 Format 1209
Batch Rename Clips 320 Offline option 1212
Batch Rename Tracks 239 Output Path selector, from the 1205
Index 1443
applying 969 ungrouping 939
bypassing 969 video 1398
rendering 970 Clip Groups folder 161
Clip Effects display 968 Clip Hold options 125, 230
Clip Effects Status 610 Clip Info dialog 1431
clip gain 959 Clip information 319
adjusting with the Clip Gain Fader 961 Clip Matching Options setting 116
breakpoint editing 962 Clip menu 213
bypassing 966 Bring to Front command 868
clearing 964 Capture command 671
Clip Gain Info view 959 Identify Sync Point command 1312
Clip Gain Line 960 Lock command 925
clip groups 944 Mute/Unmute command 926
coalescing clip gain to volume automation 966 Quantize to Grid command 681
coalescing volume automation to clip gain 966 Remove Sync Point command 923
converting clip gain to volume automation 966 Send to Back command 868
converting volume automation to clip gain 966 Ungroup All Clips command 939
copying 965 Ungroup Clips command 939
cutting 964 Unlock command 925
Default Handle Length preferences 126 Unloop Clips command 935
dynamic 959 Clip Name
editing 961 Right-click menu 214, 322
editing with the Grabber tool 962 View option 609
editing with the Pencil tool 962 Clip Time View option 609
pasting 965 Clip Transparency view 912
rendering 966 Clip Views
static 959 Transparency 912
static clip gain value display 959 clip-based effects 967
Clip Gain Fader 961 clip-based gain 451, 959
Clip Gain Fader icon 959 clipping 516
Clip Gain Info view 959 clips 12, 243, 601
Clip Gain Line 960 aligning to clip start points 912
Clip Gain Nudge Value setting 116 auto-created 600
clip group file format (.rgrp) 468, 944 automation 605
clip groups 601, 937 auto-naming options 320
changing timebase format 941 auto-spotting 1310
creating 938 bringing to front 868
editing 942 capturing 671
exporting to different hard drives 470 clearing 615
fades and crossfades 943 clearing Real-Time Properties 803
importing 469 clip effects 967
importing and exporting 468 Conform to Tempo 868
mixed 939 conforming with Beat Detective 752
multitrack 939 consolidating 683
regrouping 939 copying 613
separated 940 creating 671
tick-based 941 crossfading between 697
timebase format 938 cutting 613
trimming 943 default names 526
displaying names 609
Index 1445
closing plug-in windows 1123 Compensation for Output Delays After Record Pass
Cloud Storage Usage Meter 400 option 59
Coalesce Clip Gain to Volume Automation compositing 712
command 966 Conductor button 201
Coalesce Pan Guide Automation command 1272 Conductor Ruler Ownership control 410
Coalesce Trim Automation options 121 Conductor Ruler Ownership control right-click
Coalesce Trim Automation Track command 253 menu 410
Coalesce VCA Master Automation Track command Conductor rulers 857
253 including in selections 656
Coalesce Volume to Clip Gain command 966 configuring
Coalesce when Removing Slaves from VCA Group MMC 1304, 1305
option 120 SMPTE 1295
coalescing configuring a paddle device 1345
Trim automation 1181 Conform to Tempo command 868
VCA automation 1198 connecting
Collaboration external audio devices 1140
undownloaded shared tracks 408 Consolidate command
collaboration audio 683
inviting contacts to collaborate 385 MIDI notes 776
responding to an invitation 386 Consolidate From Source Media 463
Collaboration Preferences 131 Consolidate Handle Length 448, 464
collaboration transaction logs 387 Consolidate Handle Size 464
Collection Mode (Beat Detective) 757 Consolidate Source Audio Media 448
Color Coding consolidating media 375
Apply to Channel Strip 270 Constant command (Tempo Operations) 876
options 109, 267 Contacts
Color Palette window 269 invite to collaborate 385
Color setting (for window dub) 139 inviting 383
Column 204 respond to invitation 383
Command|8 1109 Continuous Scroll with Playhead option 501
Commands Keyboard Focus 26 Continuous Scrolling During Playback option 501
Comments View 240, 1071 continuous zoom 622
Commit Track 1013 control surfaces
Commit Tracks dialog 1014 C|24 1108
Commit Up To This Insert 1016 Command|8 1109
Committing Elastic Audio 989 D-Command 1108
Compact command 683 D-Control 1108
Compact Selected command 322 control track 1338
compacting audio files 684 controller events 781
Compare button (plug-ins) 1121 and MIDI clips 606
compatibility 3, 1429 editing 782
Compensate Side Chains option 121 editing with Smart Tool 640
compensating inserting 782
for monitor delay 1422, 1432 Controller lanes 781, 1153
for video satellite offsets 1422 in MIDI Editor windows 822
compensating for signal delays in side-chain in the Edit window 1153
processing 1103 Controllers folder (controller personalities) 1109
Compensation for Input Delays After Record Pass Conversion Quality option 415, 1395
option 59 Convert Aux To Routing Folder command 253
Convert Aux to Routing Folder command 279
Index 1449
E Trim Clip End to Fill Selection command 676
Edit commands 612, 613, 614, 615 Trim Clip End to Insertion command 675
edit cursor 496 Trim Clip Start to Fill Selection command 676
and scrubbing 641 Trim Clip Start to Insertion command 675
moving to clip boundaries 658 Trim Clip to File commands 677
placing with the Selector tool 637 Trim Clip to Fill Selection command 676
Edit Groups 304 Trim Clip to Selection command 675
and selections 649 Undo command 611
Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle option 110, 641 Write Automation commands 1191, 1192
Edit insertion point Edit mode buttons 193, 617
placing clips at 911 Edit modes 617
trimming clips to 675 and placing clips 909
Edit Markers 648 Grid 618
and selection length 653 Relative Grid 619
Edit menu 213 Shuffle 617
Change Edit to Match Timeline command 662 Shuffle Lock 617
Change Timeline to Match Edit command 662 Slip 618
Clear command 615 Spot 618, 1308
Clear Special commands 1178 Edit Play Rate setting 1427, 1428
Consolidate command 683 edit playlists 709
Copy command 613 Edit selection
Copy Special commands (automation) 1177 doubling 654
Copy to Send command 1159 duplicate and extend 655
Create Fades command 697, 698 extend to track above 657
Cut command 613 extend to track below 657
Cut Special commands 1177 halving 654
Delete Fades command 697 move earlier by selection amount 655
Duplicate command 930 move later by selection amount 655
Fade To End command 697 removing bottom track from multitrack
Fade To Start command 697 selection 657
Fades command 689 removing top track from multitrack selection
Heal Separation command 674 657
Identify Sync Point command 923 Edit Selection Follows Clips List Selection option
Insert Silence command 929 115, 650
Paste command 614 Edit Selection indicators 655
Play Edit Selection command 503 Edit selections
Play Timeline Selection command 503 auditioning with Playhead enabled 503
Redo command 611 copied from Timeline selection 662
Repeat command 931 copied to Timeline selection 662
Repeat to Fill Selection command 615 making with the Selector tool 637
Select All command 650 sliding in the Ruler 659
Separate Clip commands 672 edit smoothing (Beat Detective) 755
Shift command 924 Edit tools 620
Strip Silence command 926, 927 Grabber 620, 651
TCE Edit to Timeline Selection command 684 Pencil 620, 644
Thin All Automation command 1169 Scrubber 620, 641
Thin Automation command 1169 Selector 496, 620
Trim Automation to All Enabled command 1193 Smart Tool 620
Trim Automation to Current command 1193 Trim 620, 630
Zoomer 620, 621
Index 1451
Rhythmic plug-in 995 All MIDI Notes Off command 797
TCE algorithms 993 Beat Detective command 739
Telescoping Warp 999 Change Meter command 884
tempo detection 991 Event commands 1023
Tempo Event–generated Warp markers 999 Identify Beat command 881
tempo-based warping 867 MIDI commands 1023
track controls 990 MIDI Event List 845
track views 990 MIDI Track Offsets command 796
tracks 988 Remove Duplicate Notes command 797
transpose 1009 Renumber Bars command 892
Varispeed plug-in 996 Tempo commands 875
Warp indicator 1002 Time commands 886
Warp markers 997 Event Operations commands 1023
Warp view 990, 997 Change Duration command 1039
warped clips 1002 Change Velocity command 1037
workflows 983, 984 Flatten Performance command 1037
X-Form plug-in 996 Input Quantize command 1045
Elastic Audio Plug-In Selector 990 Quantize command 1024
Elastic Audio preferences 128 Restore Performance command 1035
Elastic Audio-enabled tracks 988 Select/Split Notes command 1044
Elastic Properties window 1006 Step Input command 1046
Embed Eleven Setting From selector 64 Transpose command 1041
embedded media 22 Event Operations window 1023, 1024
Enable 131 Exit command (Windows) 187
Enable “Track Notes” Dialog option 131 Expand Channels to New Playlists 727
Enable Dub Window option 139 Expand to New Tracks command 253
Enable Elastic Audio on New Tracks preference Expanded Transport View 211, 543
128 Export
Enable GPU option 115 Audio Media options 463
Enable Session File Auto Backup option 111 OMF/AAF Options 461
Enable SYNC Peripheral option 138 Sample Rate Conversion options 462
enabling Selected Tracks to Sequence in Production
Auto Backup option 111 Management 465
automation 1165 Export Clip Definitions command 322, 428
groups 309 Export Clip Groups command 470
MIDI input devices 560 Export Clips as Files command 323, 426
plug-in automation 1125 Export MIDI command 431
End To Insertion command 675 Export MIDI Settings dialog
Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility option 173, 479 Apply Real-Time Properties option 431
Enforce Media Composer Compatibility option 461 MIDI File Format pop-up menu 431
EQ Curve view 1072 Export Selected As Files command 460
EQ plug-ins 1111 Export Selected Tracks as OMF/AAF command
equal gain crossfades 693 455, 457
equal power crossfades 693 Export Selected Tracks to Sequence in Production
error suppression 94 Management 465
Ethernet Controllers 142 Export Session Info as Text command 466
EUCON 143, 1108, 1143 Export Settings button (I/O Setup) 85
EUCON Control 253 exporting 413
Event Edit Area 778 AAF files 455, 463
Event menu 213 audio 426
Index 1453
adding tracks to 280 Grid mode 618, 920
Basic 218, 271 Absolute 619, 920
channel strip 222 Clips/Markers option 620
track controls 225 configuring 619
drag and drop 281 Draw Grids in Edit Window option 618
editing 282 Relative 619, 920
importing 434 setting the Grid value 919
muting 266 suspending 920
opening and closing 278 with Slip, Shuffle, or Spot enabled 619
Overview 243, 282 Grid value 765, 919
removing tracks from 281 setting for MIDI editing 765
Routing 271, 275 Grid Value selector 619
channel strip 222 Groove Quantize 1030
track controls 226 groove templates 749, 1030
save as Track Preset 287 applying 1032
soloing 264 mapping 1033
Tracks List 252 Group Assignment selector 1065
footswitch 100 group chat
Force Audio Media to Target Session Format 448 renaming 393
Force Upload command 403, 404 group chats 391
Forward and Play command 498 Chat
Forward command 498 group chats 391
frame rate Group ID indicator 302
and refresh rate 1424 Group Name 302
pull up and pull down 1297 Group Track command 304
Frames 1378 groups
Frames View (video tracks) 1378 attributes 306
frame-tearing 1424 automation editing 1174
freewheeling timecode 1294 control offsets 310
Freeze Track 1018 creating 304
Front Divergence 1251 deleting 305
Front/Rear Divergence 1251 duplicating 306
Edit Groups 304
G enabling 309
Gain Reduction meter 233 hidden tracks 251
generating timecode 1302 keyboard selection 309
Glide Automation commands 1179 Mix Groups 304
global (system-wide) preferences 134 modifying 305
Global Freeze Tracks indicator 194 renaming 305
Global MIDI Playback Offset preference 130, 796 Groups dialog 303
Global Track Collaboration 398 Groups List 301
Go to End button 199 Keyboard Focus 27
Grabber tools 620, 638, 651, 773 menu 302
editing breakpoints with 871, 1171 guitar tablature 896
editing clip gain breakpoints with 962
Object Grabber tool 638, 651
selecting MIDI notes with 770
Separation Grabber tool 638, 673
Time Grabber tool 638
Index 1457
plug-in controls 1138 Low Latency Monitoring path 62
stereo panners 1089, 1248 LTC Output Level setting 138
local (current session) preferences 134
Local Control 561 M
Local Waveform Cache Versions preference 114 Mac sessions
Local/Remote 1334 compatibility with Windows 479
locating machine
the playback cursor 496 pre-roll 1326
with Fast Forward/Rewind 497 profiles 1336, 1347
with Location indicators 662 Transport Master 1323, 1333
Location indicators 662 Machine Chases Memory Location option 132,
locations 1306, 1327
dragging MIDI notes 773 Machine Control (Peripherals dialog) 139
quantizing MIDI notes 1028 Machine Cues Intelligently option 133, 1327
randomizing MIDI notes 1027, 1029 Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub option 132,
Locators to Import 451 1306, 1327
Lock Clip command 925 machine IDs 1347
AudioSuite rendering 954 Machine Track Arming window 1307
Lock Settings File command 1127 MachineControl 49
Locked indicator 1293 Main Counters 858
Locked Track command 253 main paths 52
Loop Playback option 505 Main Time Scale 858, 1297
and Touch mode 1157 Main Timebase ruler 858
loop points 542 Make (Track) Inactive command 252, 267
Timeline Selection Markers 543 managing clips 318
Loop Record mode 524, 551 Manual Ownership 405
loop recording Manual Tempo mode 201, 522
and pre/post-roll 550 Manually Find and Relink 475
audio 550 mapping busses to Objects 1261
MIDI 571 mapping paths in I/O Setup 76
multiple takes (MIDI) 572 Mapping to Object column 1261
Loop Trim tool 634 Markers 451, 901
looped clips 933 creating 899, 900
copying and pasting automation 937 deleting 905
creating 934 editing 904
editing 935 exporting 431
selecting 935 extending selections to 654
trimming with Loop Trim tool 635, 636 importing 428, 442
unlooping 935 moving 905
looping sorting 907
clips 933 tick-based and sample-based 902
playback 505 viewing options 906
selections 505 Markers ruler 857, 902
loops Master Fader
creating with the Loop Trim tool 634 EUCON Monitor path control 253
Loop Trim tool 634 Master Faders 1062
recording with reverb or delay 1204 as a stereo master volume control 1063
Low Latency Monitoring as master send level control 1099
Bounce to Disk 537 channel strips 220
Low Latency Monitoring option 536 inactive 1062
1458 Pro Tools Reference Guide
inserts 1111 meter
meters pre/post fader 1062 current 884
multichannel 1233 default 520
post-fader inserts 1062 display 201
signal flow 1062 Meter button 521
track controls 223 meter events 884
trimming the input to a submix 1063 editing 885
Master Link button 1123 inserting 884
in multi-mono plug-ins 1234 meter map 442
Master View for tracks 247, 1176 Meter Ruler
mastering 1215 displaying 884
Matches 724 extending an Edit selection to 886
Matches (alternate takes) 552, 724 Meter Type 233
Matching Criteria window 553, 723 Metering Preferences 122
Media Composer metering, advanced 232
Edit Play Rate 1427 Advanced Meter Type settings 124
linking and unlinking from 1434 Digital VU option 123
linking to Pro Tools 1433 Fader and Meter scales 232
Project Type 1427 Gain Reduction meter 233
Starting TC Timecode setting 1427 K options 123
Timecode Format 1427 Linear (Extended) option 122
troubleshooting satellite connections 1426 Linear option 122
Video Satellite 144, 1423 Meter Type setting 233
media data 19 PPM options 123
MediaCentral | Production Management Pro Tools Classic option 122
export to 465 RMS option 122
import sequence from 453 Sample Peak option 122
Memory Locations 899, 902 VENUE options 123
creating 899, 900 VU option 122
deleting 905 meters 1101
editing 904 follow delay compensation values 1101
extending selections to 654 for MIDI tracks 229
importing 442 pre/post fader levels 230
Markers 901 Sends View 1084
recalling 903 Meters and Faders View 1073
recalling Edit selections 545 Metronome button 519
renaming 904 Metronome Click button 201
Selection Memory Locations 902 Mic Preamps
storing Edit selections 544 configuring 143
Memory Locations window 901, 903 I/O Setup 57
View Filter 908 Mic Preamps View 1071
viewing options for Markers 906 MIDI 8
Memory meter 105 assigning channels 262
Merge mode (see MIDI Merge mode) configuring MIDI setup 97
Messages list consolidating notes 776
pinning chats 394 controller events 781
unpinning chats 394 Default Thru Instrument 561
metadata 20, 1353 editing in a MIDI Editor window 818
Metadata Inspector window 182 editing with Arrow Keys 787
import by drag and drop 430
Index 1459
importing 428 MIDI Machine Control (MMC) 1303
loop recording 571 configuring in Pro Tools 1304, 1305
muting notes 776 controlling external devices with 1303
offsets 795 Master settings 140
patch name files (.midnam) 790 Slave settings 140
patch names 790 MIDI Merge mode 201, 525, 563
playing back 494 MIDI Merge Release mode 130, 563
Retrospective Record 576 MIDI meter 229
select and split notes 1043 MIDI Note Color Shows Velocity option 109
separating notes 775 MIDI Note Display options 130
setting the Grid value for editing 765 MIDI notes 771
setup (Mac) 147 attributes 778
setup (Windows) 149 chasing 794
MIDI Beat Clock 509 deleting 779
offsets 510 duplicating selected 930
transmitting 509 editing 770
transmitting over IAC 509 durations 1039
MIDI clips 605 pitch 773
and Clips List 311 velocities 777, 1037
and controller events 606 inserting 768
and punch recording 570 lengths in ticks 859
created on barlines 567 mini-keyboard 771
guidelines for editing 605 moving 773
MIDI controller devices 559 quantizing 1030
Local Control 561 scrolling 607
MIDI controller events selecting 770
chasing 795 splitting 1043
MIDI Controllers 141 transposing 773, 1041
MIDI Editor trimming start/end points 774
Automation lanes 822 MIDI Operations window 1023
Controller lanes 822 MIDI Output selector 227, 262
editing MIDI notes 818 Instrument track 263
Notation view 820 MIDI Preferences 128
Superimposed Notes View 816 Global MIDI Playback Offset preference 796
Velocity lane 822 Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing
MIDI Editor view (in the Edit window) 203 Controller Data option 130, 782, 1170
MIDI Editor windows 805 MIDI Preferences page 128
MIDI Event List 845 MIDI program changes
deleting events 851 chasing 795
editing events 850 MIDI Real-Time Properties 798
inserting events 848 on tracks and clips 802
navigating in 847 settings 799
Options menu 852 MIDI recording 559
selecting events 850 canceling takes 568
View Filter 846 enabling input devices 560
MIDI File Format pop-up menu 431 Input Filter 562
MIDI files (see Standard MIDI Files) Merge/Replace mode 563
MIDI Input Display 809 monitoring with MIDI Thru 561
MIDI Input selector 227, 262 quantizing on input 562, 1045
Instrument track 263 System Exclusive data 574
Index 1461
multilingual application support 489 Nondestructive Record mode 523
multi-mono nondestructive recording 548
plug-in Channel selector 1234 recording to a new playlist 549
plug-ins 1233 with QuickPunch 581
multi-mono audio files 160 Non-Linear Transport Error Suppression option
multiple tracks 133, 1328
and Beat Detective 752 non-real-time plug-ins 947
audition takes 553, 725 Normal Zoom mode 624, 824
editing across 616 Notation Display Track settings 833
extending selections to 656, 658 Notation view 820
fitting audio clips to Edit selection 685 Note Chasing option 794
nudging clips in 678 Note Selector tool 771
pasting to 616 notes (see MIDI notes)
selecting 656 Notes View 243, 244, 607
separating clips on 673 Nudge value 678
shuffling clips on 916 trimming clips by 677
Mute Audio Inputs in Auto Input option 595 trimming MIDI notes by 774, 775
Mute automation 1172 nudging 677
Mute button 266 by next Nudge value 679
Mute Overwrite/Extend 1188 clip contents 679
Mute Record-Armed Tracks While Stopped option clips with fades 703
113, 595 fades 703
Mute/Unmute Clip command 926 multiple clips 678
muted clips and AudioSuite processing 954 selection range 653
muting selection start/end points 653
clips 926 selections and clips 678
MIDI notes 776 setting the Nudge value 678
sends 1079 Number of Voices setting 95
tracks 266 numeric entry
MXF format 415, 1209 shortcuts 655
Numeric Keypad modes 28, 111
N Classic 28, 111
Narrow Mix View option 234 Shuttle 29, 111, 643
navigating Workspace browsers 333 Transport 29, 111
New Group (Groups List) command 302 Use Separate Play and Stop Keys 111
New Memory Location dialog 544
New Paths dialog 70 O
New Session command 85 Object Assignment and Toggle Setting 1274
New Subpath dialog 71 Object Audio (or Objects) 1255
New Track command 235, 253 Object controls 1265
New Track Default Output selector 61 Object Fold Down Path 1264
New Tracks Are Shared option 131 Object Grabber tool 638, 651, 652
New Tracks Default To Tick Timebase option 116, object output path 1263
426 Object panner 1267
Next Setting button (plug-ins) 1121 Object Path selector 1265
No Output option 1076 Object Select in Edit Window command 323
no scrolling during playback 500 Object selections 651
noncontiguous selections 651 Object View 1073
nondestructive editing (audio) 604 Object/Bus Toggle 1271
nondestructive editing (MIDI) 608
1462 Pro Tools Reference Guide
offline Link Track and Edit Selection 241, 649
clips 601 Low Latency Monitoring option 536
files, selecting in Workspace 340 Options menu 213
Offline (faster-than-real-time) Bounce 1212 Auto-Spot Clips command 1310
offline projects 163 Delay Compensation option 1100
offset Destructive Record mode 549
setting for video satellite start time 1422 Link Track and Edit Selection option 241, 649
OMF 455 Loop Playback option 505
embedded media 22 Loop Record mode 551
exporting 461 MIDI Thru command 561
import translation settings 451 Mirror MIDI Editing command 765
importing 443 Pre/Post Roll option 546
linked media 23 Pre-Fader Metering option 230
media data 19 Scrolling options 500
metadata 20, 1353 Solo Latch options 265
opening in Pro Tools 444 Transport Online command 1301
publishing options 464 Organize Plug-In Menus By option 108, 1117
Online (Transport window) 1322 Original Time Stamp 918, 1311
Online button 198 Other Playlists menu 710
online help 1425 Output Meter Path selector 60, 61
Online options 113, 1328 Output Options
online project 163 Sample Rate 1211
online recording 1302 Output Path selector 227, 255
Only Include Clips on Timeline option 451 Output Window button 1245
On-Screen Selections 1338 Output windows 1075
on-the-fly punch recording outputs
QuickPunch 525, 584 assigning multiple outputs 1075
Open in New Workspace 339 default 5.1 paths and sub-paths 1223
Open Revision History 185 format and tracks 1231
Open Session command 166 to multichannel paths 1232
Open Unresourced DSP Plug-Ins as Native overlap crossfades 693
preference 128 Overlap Shadows 609
Opening an AAF sequence in Pro Tools 444 overlapping paths 77
Opening an OMF sequence in Pro Tools 444 Overview
opening plug-in windows 1123 Folder tracks 243
Operation Preferences 110 Overview track view 282
Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind option 497 Overwrite Indicator 610
Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length preference 699
Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle option 641 P
Link Record and Play Faders option 535 P (Playback Only volumes) 334
Machine Chases Memory Location option paddle device 1345
1306
configuring ports for 1345
Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub option connecting to a Pro Tools system 1344
1306 Page Scrolling option 500, 811, 830
Record Online option 1302 Pan automation 1172
Use F11 for Wait for Note 563 Pan Depth 1069
Operation/Destination Track pop-up menus 438 Pan indicator 228
Operations menu Pan Odd Tracks Left/Even Tracks Right 451
Calibration Mode command 517 Pan slider 228
Link Timeline and Edit Selection option 647
Index 1463
panning overlapping 77
3-knob 1249 reordering 75
automation and groups 1174 selecting 75
fine-adjust mode 1249 sub-path surround examples 1238
grids 1244 sub-paths 52
guidelines 1237, 1238 Peak Hold options 124, 230
Height 1269 Peak indicator 228
Height mode 1268 Peak view 602
linked stereo 1089, 1248 PEC/Direct Style Input Monitoring option 113
multichannel automation playlists 1254 Pencil tool 620, 644, 766
Size 1269 as Eraser 779
Speaker Snap 1269 drawing automation 1169
take over in grid 1249 editing breakpoints 1171
Theater mode 1267 editing clip gain 962
trajectory 1250 editing Tempo 869
Use Absolute Pan Linking option 118 Free Hand 766
X/Y mode 1249 inserting MIDI notes 768
Zones 1269 Line 767, 869
Parabolic command (Tempo Operations) 878 Random 767
Parallel Task Optimization preference 128 repairing waveforms with 644
Participant menu 393 resolution for inserted controller events 782
pass-through point 1147 selecting the Pencil tool shape 766
Paste command 614 shapes 766, 1169
Paste Settings command 1127 Square 767
Paste Special commands (automation) 1177 Triangle 767
pasting Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Controller
automation 1178 Data option 130, 782, 1170
multiple data types 616 pending tasks 379
plug-in settings 1129 Performance Volume 331
selections and clips 614 Peripherals
to multiple tracks 616 Atmos 146, 1257
with Repeat to Fill Selection command 615 Ethernet controllers 142
Patch Select button 790 Machine Control 139
Path Order selector 63 MIDI Controllers 141
paths 52 PRE 143
active and inactive 76 Satellites 144
audition 60 Synchronization 137
creating 69 VENUE 145
creating multichannel 1224 Peripherals dialog 137, 559
customizing 73 Peripherals list 100, 101
default mono and stereo 73 personalities 1109
default order 63 PFL (Pre Fader Listen) 264
default output 61 pitch (MIDI notes)
deleting 75 transposing 773
editing 73 Pitch Memory Enabled option 138
for surround 1235 pitch shifting 1009
last used 85 pitch, for MIDI notes
main 52 transposing with Transpose command 1041
mapping 76 Play button 199
multichannel example 77 Play Edit Selection command 502, 503
Index 1465
Plug-In Settings menu 1121 Preserve Folder Hierarchy command 174
Plug-In Settings Select button 1121 presets
presets 1127 plug-in maps 1132
Previous Setting button 1121 plug-ins 1127
removing from tracks 1115 Prevent Others from Overwriting Open Session File
post crossfades 688, 698 Extension option 131
Post-Roll button 200 Prevent Tearing option 115
Power view 602 preview
PRE 48 AudioSuite processing 952
configuring 143 in context 366
I/O Setup 57 reserving voices 366
pre crossfades 688, 698 voice requirements 366
Pre Fader Listen (PFL) mode 264 Preview Volume
PRE settings 442 AudioSuite 952
Pre/Post Fader button 1090 previewing
Pre/Post Roll option 546 audio in browsers 362
pre/post-fader inserts 1111 clips in the Clips List 317
pre/post-roll Previous Setting button (plug-ins) 1121
and loop recording 550 Prime for Playback mode (Play Pause) 504
and punch recording 547 Prime for Record mode (Record Pause) 542
auditioning 502 Print Score 844
setting 545 Pro Tools
Pre/Post-Roll Flags 546, 648 Audio Pull Up and Pull Down 1427
Pre-Fader Metering option 230 Clock Reference setting 1427
preferences configuring for Dolby Atmos Production Suite
Automatically Copy Files on Import option 435 with Core Audio 1276
changing 107 Drop Frame setting 1427
DestructivePunch 583 file management 473
DestructivePunch File Length 590 Help 214
global 134 Knowledge Base 214
local 134 link controls 1433
Mute Audio Inputs in Auto Input 595 displaying 1434
Mute Record-Armed Tracks While Stopped linking and unlinking systems 1434
595 main menus 213
Pause during Playback 380 Non-Drop Frame setting 1427
Project Media Cache setting 112 session file 161
Remote mode 1342 session file icon 9
Tool Tips Display 215 Session Start setting 1427
TrackInput 535 systems 37
TrackPunch 583 Timecode Rate setting 1427
Zoom Toggle 117 Transport Master 1323, 1333
Preferences dialog 107 Video Format setting 1427
Prepare DPE Tracks command 590 Video Satellite 1425
Pre-Process using Standard Conform 755 Video Satellite settings 1427
pre-roll video track 1378
compensating 1326 Web browsers 204
machine 1326 Pro Tools | MTRX 47
setting for machine from Pro Tools 1326 Pro Tools | MTRX Studio 48
Pre-Roll button 200 Pro Tools | S6 1108
Preserve Fades when Editing option 117 Pro Tools and Avid terms 21
Index 1467
R Record Online at Timecode (or ADAT) Lock option
R (Record and Playback volumes) 334 113, 1328
randomizing Record Online option 1302
note durations 1041 record protocol 1337
note locations 1027 Auto Edit 1337
Read automation mode 1146 Punch In/Out 1337
Read Trim automation mode 1150 Record Safe mode 530
real-time plug-ins 1111 recording 539
Real-Time Properties a mono audio track 539
clearing 803 a stereo audio track 539
clip-based 802 a submix to disk 1203
Delay 801 additional takes 548
Display Events as Modified by Real-Time at half-speed 557
Properties option 129 bouncing to disk 1204
Duration 800 canceling takes 541
enabling 799 destructively 549
in the Edit window 804 from a digital source 555
in the MIDI Event List 803 from Record Pause mode 542
on tracks and clips 802 Instrument tracks 564
Quantize 799 keyboard shortcuts 541
settings 799 Loop Record 551
track-based 802 MIDI clips 567
Transpose 801 MIDI tracks 564
Velocity 801 multichannel tracks 539
View 798 multiple audio tracks 541
viewing 798 nondestructively 548
writing to clips 803 online 1302
writing to tracks 802 QuickPunch mode 584
Real-Time Properties View 798, 1073 record enabling tracks 528
Real-Time Properties window 798 Remote mode 1343
Rear Divergence 1251 status LED 586
Recalculate Waveform Overviews command 323 System Exclusive data 574
Recall Memory Location Selection at Original Track to a new playlist 550
option 116 to the system volume 533
Recent tab 158 undoing a take 540
Record button (Transport) 199 with a count off 519
Record Enable button 528, 586 with Round Robin Allocation 532
Record Enable Buttons with the click 518
Cancel Previous on All Tracks preference 112 Rectified view 602
Cancel Previous on Audio Tracks preference ReCycle 415
112 Redefine Current Timecode Position 1331
Latch Audio Tracks preference 112 redefining
record modes 523, 1338 Feet+Frames position 1296
and MIDI 525 timecode position 1296
Destructive Record mode 524 Redo command 611
Loop Record mode 524 Ref Present indicator 1293
Nondestructive Record mode 523 Refer to Source Audio Media Where Possible 447
QuickPunch 525 Refer To Source Media 463
Record Online at Insertion/Selection option 114, refresh rate 1424
1328 Regenerate Missing Rendered Files 475
Index 1469
S scroll wheel
S6 1108 and MIDI track Note display 607, 630
safing automation 1152 scrolling a Pro Tools window 663
Sample Offset (Sync Offset) 1294, 1331 zooming in the Edit window 630
Sample Rate Conversion options 438, 450, 462 zooming in the Edit windows 630
Sample Rate Conversion Quality 127, 415, 425, scrolling
450, 463, 1395 a track into view 241
Sample Rate Convert Audio 450 in the ruler 662
Sample Rate setting 1211 MIDI Notes View 607
Hardware Setup dialog 99 Mix and Edit windows to tracks 663
Playback Engine dialog 96 Notes View up or down 630
sample-based timing 859, 902 Pro Tools window vertically or horizontally 663
Samples Time Scale 856 Scrolling options 500
Satellite Link After Playback 500
option 144 Center Playhead 501
preferences 134 Continuous Scrolling During Playback 501
Satellites 144 No Scrolling 500
Save As command 170 Page 500, 811, 830
Save command 169 Scrub Trim tool 633
Save Copy In command 170, 480 Scrubber tool 620, 641
Save History 176 in Shuttle mode 642
Save Logs 115 selecting with 658
Save Track Preset dialog 285 scrubbing 641
saving a copy of a session 170 a single audio track 641
saving Fades settings and edit cursor 641
Save Settings As command 695 on two audio tracks 642
Save Settings command 695 playback speed and direction 641
saving plug-in settings 1128 resolution 642
Save fade settings to command 695 video tracks 1400
Save Plug-In Settings To command 1127 with Scrub Trim tool 634
Save Settings As command 1127 with the Selector 642
Save Settings command 1127 S-Curve command (Tempo Operations) 879
saving sessions with a new name 170 SD II files
Scale command (Tempo Operations) 880 convert on import 423
scaling note velocities 777, 1038 SDDS surround formats 1220
Scan Audio File(s) for Irregularities 340 Search
Score Editor and assign multiple Send paths 1079
chord symbols and diagrams 842 Plug-in Insert menu 1118
editing in 837 Send selector 1078
exporting a score 843 tags 356
opening 824 Track Input selector 257
page controls 832 Track Output and assign multiple paths 258
printing 844 Track Output selector 257
rests 839 search mode 1334
zoom controls 832 Secondary Timecode Ruler 856
Score Setup window 835 Select All command 650
Scroll Into View command 241, 252 Select Clips List options 316
Scroll to Track Banks Controllers option 119 Select Parent in Workspace option 315
Scroll To Track dialog 241 Select Tracks in Group command 302
Select Unused Clips command 322
Index 1471
Separate Clip Operates On All Related Takes Set Record Tracks to Input Only command 535
option 116, 673 Set Record Tracks to Input Only option 534
Separate MIDI notes 775 Set Servo Lock Bit at Play option 133
Separation Grabber tool 638, 673 setting
Serial Deck Control mode 1320 punch/loop points 542
serial timecode 1327 satellite start time offset 1422
servo lock 1326 settings
session choosing a destination for 1128
save as a project 179 copying 1128
session data creating 1129
importing 432 creating subfolders 1128
Session Data Online Status indicator 194 pasting 1129
Session Data to Import menu 438 saving 1128
session file 161 Settings Preferences command 1127
Session File Backups folder 162 Setup menu 213
Session Length 1291 Click/Countoff Options dialog 520
session parameters 172 Disk Allocation 531
Session Setup I/O Setup 52
Session Length 1291 MIDI Studio 791
Session Setup window 1289 Preferences command 107
Session Start setting 1427 Session Setup 1289
sessions 9 Video Sync Offset command 1404
audio format 1291 Share Track control 402
backups 111, 162 Shared as Frozen option 403
bit depth 159, 1290 Shared track, unowned 405
closing 183 Shared Tracks Conflict 178
creating for surround mixing 1221 Shift command 924
files 9 shortcuts for keyboard input 1124
frame rate 1291 Show All Tracks Group command 303
interleaved 160, 1291 Show Artist Chat button 399
interleaved multichannel audio files 160 Show Auto-Created option 321
mixed audio formats 160, 172 Show Offline Volumes 338
mixed bit depths 172 Show Only Tracks in Group command 302
multi-mono audio files 160 Show/Hide Clips List button 311
opening 166 Show/Hide Tracks in Group command 302
opening from a Transfer volume 167 Show/Hide Tracks List/Groups List View button
opening Pro Tools | Ultimate sessions in Pro 249, 301
Tools 481 Shuffle Lock mode 617
sample rate 159, 1290 Shuffle mode 617
sharing between different versions 482 and locked clips 925, 926
sharing between Pro Tools | Ultimate and Pro and moving clips 916
Tools 481 shuttle
start frame 1291 fixed mode option 643
templates 180 Shuttle Numeric Keypad mode 29, 111, 643
Set As User Default command 1127 Sibelius (.sib) file 843
Set Plug-In Default To command 1127 Side % (Percentage) 1251
Set Record Tracks to Auto Input command 535 side-chain 1125
Set Record Tracks to Auto Input option 534 filters 1125
processing 1121
Index 1473
start time for Media Composer sequences 1432 swing 1027, 1029
Start To Insertion command 675 Sync Offset 1294, 1331
Start, End, and Length display 543 SYNC peripherals
Starting TC Timecode setting generating timecode with 1302
matching to Session Start setting 1427 resolving with 1287
Steep Breakpoint Smoothing Time preference 121 sync options 1288
Step Input command 1023, 1046 Sync Point View option 924
stepped control automation 1172 sync points 1312
stereo interleaved files, exporting 427 for clips 923
stereo tracks from Beat Detective 756
dragging clips to 683 identifying 923, 1312
names for 527 synchronization 137
replacing clips in 921 black burst 1312
splitting 682 MIDI Beat Clock 509
Stop at Shuttle Speed Zero option 133, 1328 MMC 1303
Stop button 199 options 1287
Stretch command (Tempo Operations) 881 resolving 1312
Strip Silence command 926, 927, 928 troubleshooting 1312, 1425, 1427
stuck notes 797 Synchronization Device settings 138
stutter 1424 synchronization peripherals 48
Sub Counter selectors 859 Synchronization Preferences 132
Sub Time Scale 859, 1297 Sysex View 793
subfolders, creating for settings 1128 System Exclusive data 793
subframes 1309 deleting 794
submixes moving 794
applying an insert to 1096 recording 574
bouncing to disk 1203 system resources 17
soloing tracks in 1099 system settings
sub-paths 52, 71 Cache Size 96
examples for surround 1236 Clock Source system setting 99
Suppress Automation “Write To” Warnings option Hardware Buffer Size 92, 94
120 Hardware Setup 99
surround Host Engine 94
5.1 format paths 1226 Number of Voices 95
and sends 1232 Playback Engine 93
basic signal routing 1232 Sample Rate 96
center percentage (%) 1252 System Usage window 104, 106
configuring Pro Tools 1221, 1229
discrete level, solo, mute 1230 T
importing I/O Settings 1224 T (Transfer volumes) 334
pan playlists and automation 1254 Tab to Transients button 499, 659
panning grids 1244 Tags
settings files 1222 adding 358
side center percentage (%) 1253 Assign Tags popover window 359
using paths 1235 editing 358
using sub-paths, examples 1236 excluding from search 357
Suspend All Groups (Groups List) command 302 searching 356
suspending take over (surround pan) 1249
automation 1165, 1166
writing automation 1165
Index 1475
timecode 1427 track arming
and Jam Sync 1294 112-track IDs 1348
and Pro Tools Drop Frame limitations 1431 and Remote mode 1343
capturing 1309 create machine profile 1336
compensating for start time offsets 1422, 1432 IDs 1347
forcing a match on a satellite system 1431 ignore 1344
freewheeling 1294 remapping tracks 1337
generating 1302 Track Bounce 1021
matching between Pro Tools/satellite 1432 Track Bounce dialog 1022
matching format for 1431 Track Collaboration controls 401
quick signal test 1330 Track Collaboration tools 398
redefine current 1331 Track Color View 1074
redefining position 1296 Track Commit 1013
track 1338 Track Compensation (cmp) indicator 1102
Timecode 2 Rate setting 1291 track compositing 712
Timecode 2 ruler 856 track controls
Timecode Format 1427 audio tracks 223
Timecode Mapping options 437 Auxiliary Input tracks 223
on import 449 Basic Folder tracks 225
Timecode Rate setting 1291, 1427 Edit window 223, 224, 225, 226
Timecode Time Scale 856 Elastic Audio 990
Timeline and Edit selection, unlinked 647 Instrument tracks 225
Timeline Data Online Status indicator 194 Master Fader tracks 223
Timeline Drop Order option 910 MIDI tracks 224
Timeline Insertion/Play Start Marker Follows Routing Folder tracks 226
Playback option 500, 507 VCA Master tracks 224
Timeline Selection Markers 543, 648 video tracks 226
and Edit selections 649 track data 600
selection length 653 Track Freeze 1018
Timeline selections 661 Track Height 247
Timeline selections 660 resizing 248
auditioning with Playhead enabled 503 track layout
copied from Edit selection 662 default path order 63
copied to Edit selection 662 track level meters 229
in Timebase rulers 661 Track menu 213
making with the Selector tool 638 Clear All Clip Indicators command 230, 1084
sliding in the Ruler 661 Delete command 242
start, end, and length fields 200 Duplicate command 242, 1146
Timeline Selection Markers 661 Group command 304
Time-locking clips 926 Make Inactive command 267
toggling New Track command 235
track height 247 Set Record Tracks to Auto Input 534, 535
Track View 246 Set Record Tracks to Input Only 534, 535
Tool Tips 107, 215 Split Into Mono command 682, 1230
Toolbar focus 28 Write MIDI Real-Time Properties command
Touch automation mode 1147 803
Touch Timeout option 119 Track Name commands 252
Touch Trim automation mode 1150 Track Name/Comments dialog 238
Touch/Latch automation mode 1149 Track Number command 240
Track and Master Meter Types Linked option 122 Track Offset options 437, 449
Index 1477
Transfer files 474 Start to Fill Selection 676
selecting in Workspace 340 Start to Insertion 675
Transfer volume 331 To File 677
transients 601 To Fill Selection 676
detecting with Beat Detective 742 To Selection 675
tabbing to 499, 659 Trim Clip to File Boundaries command 677
Transparency 609 Trim Clip to File End command 677
transparent clip overlays 912 Trim Clip to File Start command 677
Transport 198 Trim to All Enabled Automation command 1193
Count Off 519 Trim to Current Automation command 1193
Meter 521 Trim tool
Metronome 519 when Transport = Machine 1324, 1333
Transport Master 1306, 1321, 1323, 1333 trim tool
machine 1323, 1333 tandem trimming 636
Pro Tools 1323, 1333 Trim tools 620, 630
Remote 1324, 1341 Loop Trim tool 634
Remote LTC 1324, 1341 Scrub Trim tool 633
selecting 1323 Time Compression/Expansion Trim tool 128,
toggling 1324 632, 779
transport master 1333 trimming automation 872, 1171
Remote LTC 1341 trimming clip gain 963
toggling 1334 trimming
Transport Numeric Keypad mode 29, 111 automation breakpoints 872, 1171, 1180
Transport Online option 1301 clip gain breakpoints 963
Transport RecordLock option 113, 583, 593 clip start/end points 631
Transport View options 201, 495, 544, 545 clips by Nudge value 677, 774, 775
Transport window 198 clips to Edit insertion point 675
MIDI controls 200 clips with Scrub Trim tool 634
pre/post-roll 200, 545 crossfades 698
record status display 586 note start/end points 774
start, end, and length fields 200, 543 unwanted clip and track data 675
transport controls 198 Tweak Head setting (Conversion Quality) 1395
Transpose
Elastic Audio 1009 U
MIDI notes 1041 unavailable resources 167
Real-Time Properties 801 Undo command 540, 611
Transpose command 1023, 1041 Undo History window 611
transposing 1041 Undo Queue 611
by octave 1042 Ungroup All Clips command 939
key 1042 Ungroup Clips command 939
MIDI notes 773 Unicode language support 489
tracks 1041 Unique ID 447, 474
Trim automation Universe view 664
coalescing 1181 unlinked Timeline and Edit selection 647
Trim Automation commands 1193 unlinking plug-in controls 1138, 1234
Trim to All Enabled 1193 Unlock Clip command 925
Trim to Current 1193 Unloop Clips command 935
Trim Clip commands Upload All New Changes button 399
End to Fill Selection 676 Upload command 403
End to Insertion 675 Upload Ruler Changes control 409
1478 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Upload Ruler Changes Right-click menu 409 Video Media options 437
Upload Track Changes control 402 Video Online button 1378, 1379
Use Absolute Pan Linking option 118 Video Pull Up and Pull Down 1297
Use F11 for Wait for Note option 129, 563 Video Satellite
Use MIDI to Tap Tempo option 129 avoiding sync issues 1427
Use Separate Play and Stop Keys option 111 connecting 1425
Use Subframes option 1309 Media Composer 144, 1423
User Default setting 1129 quitting Pro Tools 1426
User Offset (+/–) field 1102 settings 1427
User Time Stamp 918, 1311 troubleshooting satellite connections 1426
user-defined clips 318, 321, 600 video satellite offset 1422
video stutter 1424
V Video Sync Offset command 1404
VCA Masters video track 1338
assigning groups 1067 video tracks 218, 1377
channel strips 220 Frame Rate 1380
clearing 1198 locking 1390
controls 1066 main video track 1378
deleting 1199 Output Settings 1385
displaying automation 1197 Raster Size 1380
mixing 1065 scrubbing 1400
track controls 224 settings 1379
track type 217, 1065 shuttling 1400
velocities (MIDI) track controls 226
drawing with Pencil 777 Video Quality 1389
editing 777, 1037 viewing as blocks 1379
fading 1037 Video Universe window 1400
Real-Time Properties 801 Video window 1399
scaling 777, 1038 mixed aspect ratios 1399
Velocity Trim tool 778 Video Window command 1399
Velocity View 777 View Filter (Memory Locations window) 908
VENUE 145 View Filter (MIDI Event List) 846
VENUE Link 49, 145 View menu 213
version conflicts 177 Clip Name View option 609
Version List 176 Clip Sync Point View option 924
Vertical Position setting 139 Clip Time View options 609
video Edit window View options 192, 1070
importing 1391 Mix window View options 190, 1070
Pillarbox/Letterbox option 1399 Narrow Mix View option 234
playback 1424 Track Number command 240
Stretch option 1399 Transport View options 201, 495, 544, 545
Video Clip Groups 1398 viewing blocks in the video track 1379
video clips 1395 views
Video Engine option 96 Delay Compensation 235
video engine rate 1390 I/O View 227
Video File Rate indicator 1391 Inserts View 1071
Video Files folder 162 Sends View 1072
Video Format setting 1427 Wide Meters View 231
Video Import Options dialog 1393
Index 1479
VITC Window Configurations 206
Generate Lines setting 138 importing 442
Read Lines setting 138 window dub
Read Lines, defaults 138 horizontal position 139
VITC Insertion Enabled option 138 setting color 139
Voice Packs 49 size 139
Voice selector 261 vertical position 139
voices 580 Window menu 213
and track priority 260 Automation Enable command 1156
Voices meter 106 Big Counter command 495
volume Color Palette 269
Performance 331 Disk Space command 530
Transfer 331 Edit command 192
Volume automation 1172 Machine Track Arming command 1307
Volume fader 228 Memory Locations command 903
Volume indicator 227 Mix command 190
Volume permissions 334 System Usage command 106
Task Manager command 421
W Transport command 198
Wait for Note 201, 562 Undo History command 611
Warp indicator 1002 Workspace command 532
Warp markers 997 windows
adding 998 arranging 209
deleting 998 Cascade 209
relocating (without applying warping) 998 closing 209
Warp view 990, 997 hiding all floating windows 209
warped clips (Elastic Audio) 601 Tile 209
warping audio (Elastic Audio) 999 Tile Horizontal 209
WAV file format 476, 1207 Tile Vertical 209
AES31/Broadcast compliant 476 Windows sessions
WAVE Extensible file format 477 compatibility with Mac 479
WaveCache 361 Word Clock 101, 1435
WaveCache.wfm file 162, 331 workflows 593
Waveform View 601 Workspace 329
Waveform View options 602 Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo 338
Outlines 603 auditioning 362
Peak 602 Automatically Find and Relink 369
Power 602 Auto-Preview mode 365
Rectified 602 browser display options 340
waveforms 601 browser menu 338
and zero-crossing 604 Calculate Waveform 361
avoiding clicks and pops 604 candidates for relinking 370
guidelines for editing 604 Catalogs 330, 374, 375
repairing with Pencil tool 644 Comments 345
WaveCache 361 Copy and Relink 368
Workspace 360 copying database items 346
Whole File button (AudioSuite) 953 Create Catalog from Selection 339
whole-file clips 600 database 331
Wide Meters View 231 database items 342, 344
Window Configuration List 210 Delete Index for All Offline Volumes 338
Index 1481
1482 Pro Tools Reference Guide
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