Version 12.5
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Contents
Contents iii
Chapter 4. Using Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Accessing Guides in Pro Tools Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Accessing the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Help Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using the Contents and Index Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using the Search Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Search Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Copying from a Help Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Printing Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Chapter 8. Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Display Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Operation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Editing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Mixing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Metering Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Processing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
MIDI Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Collaboration Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Synchronization Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Global and Local Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Contents v
Chapter 9. Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
MIDI Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Ethernet Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Mic Preamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
VENUE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Contents vii
Assigning MIDI Inputs and Outputs to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Soloing and Muting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Making Tracks Inactive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Color Coding for Tracks, Clips, Markers, and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Contents ix
Chapter 19. Importing and Exporting Session Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Importing and Exporting Data to and from a Session or Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Audio Conversion on Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Importing Files with Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Importing Audio Files and Clips Using the Import Audio Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Importing Audio from Audio CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Importing ACID and REX Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Importing Multichannel Audio Files from a Field Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Import Options and Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Exporting Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Importing MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Exporting MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Exporting Sibelius Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Importing Session Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Import Session Data Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Importing AAF and OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Import Options when Importing AAF or OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Media Composer | Software Export Options for Audio and Video Mixdowns . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Audio File Format Compatibility Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Exporting Pro Tools Tracks as AAF or OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Exporting Pro Tools Tracks as MXF Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Export Options when Exporting to AAF or OMF Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Export Selected Tracks as New Session or Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Exporting Session Information as Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Export Session Information as Text Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Importing and Exporting Clip Group Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Contents xi
Loop Recording Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Alternate Takes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Recording from a Digital Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Half-Speed Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Contents xiii
Chapter 28. Making Selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
Linking or Unlinking Timeline and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
Linking or Unlinking Track and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
Selecting Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
Timeline Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Auto-Scrolling Tracks in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
Universe View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Navigating a Pro Tools Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
Contents xv
Part VI MIDI
Chapter 33. MIDI Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671
MIDI Editing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671
Setting the Grid Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
Using the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
Inserting MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
Inserting a Series of Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677
Manually Editing MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
Using the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680
Time Compression/Expansion Trim Tool Functionality on MIDI Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687
Continuous Controller Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
Patch Select (Program and Bank Changes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
System Exclusive Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
Note and Controller Chasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
Offsetting MIDI Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
Remove Duplicate Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
MIDI Real-Time Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
Real-Time Properties Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
Real-Time Properties on Tracks and Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
Writing Real-Time Properties to Tracks or Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705
Real-Time Properties In the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
Display of Real-Time Properties Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
Contents xvii
Part VII Arranging
Chapter 37. Time, Tempo, Meter, Key, and Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
Timebase Rulers and Conductor Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
Main Time Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
The Sub Counter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760
Tick-Based Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
Tick- and Sample-Based Timebases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
Song Start Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
Graphic Tempo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 771
Editing Tempo Events in the Tempo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 771
Changing the Linearity Display Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
Tempo Operations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778
Identify Beat Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784
Meter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787
Time Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 789
Change Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 789
Insert Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
Cut Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792
Move Song Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793
Renumbering Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 794
Key Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 794
Chord Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
Contents xix
Part VIII Processing
Chapter 41. AudioSuite Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 847
AudioSuite Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 847
AudioSuite Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 847
AudioSuite Window Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 848
AudioSuite Window Footer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 852
Using AudioSuite Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 854
Conditions for AudioSuite Rendering with Handles, Fades, Clip Gain, and Metadata . . . . . 857
Contents xxi
Part IX Mixing
Chapter 46. Basic Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934
Mixing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934
Metering and Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934
Signal Flow by Track Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935
Audio Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935
Auxiliary Input Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 936
Master Fader Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 937
Instrument Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938
VCA Master Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939
Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943
Configuring Inserts View in the Mix and Edit Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943
HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943
Stereo Pan Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 944
Views in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 944
Audio Input and Output Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 948
Sends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950
Configuring Sends View in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 954
Sends View Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 954
Editing Sends in the Mix and Edit Windows (Individual Send Views) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 956
Bus Interrogation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 959
Output Windows for Tracks and Sends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 960
Output Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 964
Signal Routing for Monitoring and Submixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965
Delay Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972
Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 979
Using an Ethernet Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 980
Using a MIDI Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 981
Contents xxiii
Glide Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1049
Trimming Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1050
Writing Automation to the Start, End, or All of a Track or Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1052
Writing Automation to the Next Breakpoint or to the Punch Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1054
Guidelines for “Write To” Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1056
Overwriting or Extending Mute Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1057
Creating Snapshot Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1060
Previewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
Capturing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1064
VCA Master Track Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
Coalescing VCA Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068
Part X Surround
Chapter 50. Pro Tools Setup for Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1086
Surround Mixing in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1086
Pro Tools Audio Connections for 5.1 Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1086
7.1 and 7.0 Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
Configuring Pro Tools for Multichannel Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
Default I/O Selectors in I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1092
5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1093
Contents xxv
Auto-Spotting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1145
Using the Trim Tools in Spot Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1145
Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1145
Identifying a Synchronization Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1147
Troubleshooting SMPTE Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1147
Speed Correction for Film, NTSC Video, and PAL Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1149
Contents xxvii
Chapter 58. Avid Video Satellite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1220
Video Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1221
Supported Video Resolutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1222
Avid Video Satellite Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1222
Using a Video Satellite in an Avid Interplay Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1222
Connecting Pro Tools and a Video Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1222
Matching Media Composer and Pro Tools Settings in a Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . 1224
Linking or Unlinking Pro Tools and a Video Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1230
Capturing Audio and Video with a Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1232
Re-Digitizing an Existing Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1233
Digitizing from an EDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1233
Laying Back Audio and Video to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1233
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1236
Convention Action
Before you begin to use Pro Tools, you may find it Nonlinear editing provides significant advantages
helpful to review Pro Tools concepts. These con- over dubbing (re-recording), and cutting and splic-
cepts are the foundation of Pro Tools operation ing magnetic tape. It gives you the greatest possi-
and functionality. ble flexibility for editing and arranging, and it is all
nondestructive and “undoable.” Additionally, with
nonlinear editing in Pro Tools, you will never in-
Hard Disk Audio Recording troduce any degradation of audio fidelity as you
would with tape.
Hard disk recording is a nonlinear (or random ac-
cess) medium—you can go immediately to any
spot in a recording without having to rewind or fast
Audio Engines
forward.
Pro Tools can stream audio between the applica-
This differs from tape-based recording, which is a tion and your audio hardware using the Avid Au-
linear medium—where you need to rewind or fast dio Engine (Avid audio hardware only), Core Au-
forward to hear a particular spot in a recording. To dio (Mac only with third-party audio hardware), or
rearrange or repeat material in a linear system, you ASIO (Windows only with third-party audio hard-
need to re-record it, or cut and splice it. ware).
Nonlinear systems have several advantages. You
Avid Audio Engine
can easily rearrange or repeat parts of a recording
by making the hard disk read parts of the recording The Avid audio engine (AAE) is a real-time oper-
in a different order or multiple times. In addition, ating system for digital audio recording, playback,
this re-arrangement is nondestructive, meaning and processing with Pro Tools and Avid audio
that the original recorded material is not altered. hardware. When you install Pro Tools, AAE is au-
tomatically installed on your system. AAE pro-
vides the foundation for much of the hard disk re-
Nonlinear Editing cording, digital signal processing, and mix
automation required by Pro Tools and other prod-
Pro Tools is a nonlinear editing system that lets
ucts from Avid and its Development Partners.
you rearrange and mix recorded material nonde-
structively. Nonlinear editing simply means that
you can cut, copy, paste, move, delete, trim, and
otherwise rearrange any audio, MIDI, or video in
the Pro Tools Edit window.
Audio track in the Edit window (stereo track shown) Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, and Instru-
ment tracks can be mono, stereo, or multichannel
(Pro Tools HD only). When creating a new track,
select from the list of channel formats supported
by your system.
Media Files
Pro Tools sessions create, import, export, and ref-
erence media files. Media files are audio, MIDI,
and video files. Audio and video media files are
stored separately from the Pro Tools session file. MIDI file icon
MIDI data is stored in the session file.
Video Files
Audio Files When you record or import video into a Pro Tools
session, all video data is stored as the correspond-
When you record audio into a Pro Tools session,
ing video file type (such as QuickTime). Video
audio files are created.
files can be created in (or copied to) the Video
Files folder in the session folder. However, in most
cases, Pro Tools references video files that have
been captured by another application, such as Avid
Media Composer® | Software.
MIDI clip
Clip group (Mixed audio and MIDI multitrack clip You can create any number of alternate edit play-
group) lists for a track. This lets you assemble different
versions of performances or edits on a single track
and choose between them from the Playlists menu
on the track.
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 and Master Fader Tracks Auxil-
iary Inputs can be used as returns, submixers, and
bus masters. Master Fader tracks are used as bus
Inserts and output master level controls. Both Auxiliary
Input and Master Fader tracks can have plug-in and
hardware inserts.
Paths Paths are any routing option in Pro Tools, Project data and media are bundled and cached on
including internal or external inputs, outputs, bus- local storage, but you cannot open a project by
ses, and inserts. Pro Tools lets you name these navigating through the file system. You can only
paths, and these path names appear in the Audio access projects through the Pro Tools Dashboard.
Input and Output Path selectors and other menus. Projects are differentiated from sessions by their
For more information, see Chapter 7, “I/O Setup.” file icon.
Mixing Formats Sessions can include combina-
tions of mono, stereo, and greater-than-stereo mul-
tichannel format tracks, busses, inputs, outputs,
and inserts. Greater-than-stereo multichannel for- Project icon
mats are supported with Pro Tools HD only.
You must be online and logged in to your Avid
Grouping and VCA Tracks Tracks can be grouped Master Account the first time you create a project,
together for mixing so that their relative mix set- but after that you can work offline. Pro Tools and
tings are maintained when changing a mix setting the Avid Application Manager will synchronize
for any track in the group. For example, changing your local project with your account the next time
the volume of one track affects the volume of all you online. This process runs in the background
the other tracks in the group. VCA Master tracks and can be monitored in Pro Tools by checking the
control the relative mix settings for all tracks Task Manager (Window > Task Manager).
within the selected group.
If a project is downloaded on another system when
you log in to your Avid Master Account, all asso-
ciated media is downloaded inside of the project
Pro Tools Projects bundle. This does not affect the location of the me-
Projects are similar to sessions, but projects are dia on the originating system. Each system main-
cloud enabled. Projects are stored in a similar for- tains its own unique placement of media without
mat to that of a session, but all media and project duplication.
data is automatically backed up to your Avid
You can save a copy of a session as a project or a
Cloud account.
project as a session using the Save Copy In com-
Projects also let you collaborate on a track-by- mand.
track basis with anyone in the Avid Artist Commu-
nity anywhere in the world; or, if you prefer, you
can choose your collaborators privately and invite
them to join a project by email.
Inactive
track
Pro Tools can import an OMF sequence with em- volume automation gain Avid keyframe volume
bedded audio, but not embedded video.
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:
Toggle item and set Control-click Command- Commands Keyboard Focus When selected in
all others to opposite item click item the Tracks pane in the Edit window or in the Notes
state pane of any MIDI Editor window, this provides a
wide range of single key shortcuts from the com-
Controls and Editing Tools puter keyboard for editing and playing. The front-
Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for most Edit or MIDI Editor window always receives
moving plug-in controls, faders and sliders, the Commands Keyboard Focus when it is enabled.
Scrubber, and automation data. With Commands Keyboard Focus disabled, you
can still access any of its key shortcuts by pressing
Command Windows Mac
the Start key Control (Mac) or (Windows) along
Fine adjustment Hold Control Hold Command with the key. See the Shortcuts Guide for a com-
of sliders, while clicking while clicking plete list of Commands Keyboard Focus shortcuts.
knobs, and the item the item
breakpoints Clip List Keyboard Focus When selected, audio
For extra-fine Hold Control Hold Command
clips, MIDI clips, and clip groups can be located
adjustment of +Shift while +Shift while and selected in the Clip List by typing the first few
breakpoints in adjusting adjusting auto- letters of the clip’s name.
Grid mode automation mation break-
breakpoints points Group List Keyboard Focus When selected, Mix
and Edit Groups can be enabled or disabled by typ-
ing the Group ID letter (in either the Mix or Edit
window).
Keyboard Focus buttons To enable Toolbar focus for the Tracks pane, do
one of the following:
To set the Keyboard Focus, do one of the
following: Click the Toolbar at the top of the Edit window.
Click the a–z button for the focus you want to Press Command+Option+4 (Mac) or
enable. Control+Alt+4 (Windows).
While pressing Command+Option (Mac) or
To enable Toolbar focus for the MIDI Editor pane,
Control+Alt (Windows), press one of the fol-
do one of the following:
lowing keys: 1 (Commands), 2 (Clip List), or 3
(Group List). Click the Toolbar right above the MIDI Editor
pane.
Although multiple plug-in windows can have a
keyboard focus enabled, only the front-most Press Command+Option+5 (Mac) or
window receives any keyboard input. Control+Alt+5 (Windows).
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
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 32. search for a word fails to produce useful results,
you might be more successful if you search
again using one of the related words.
• Punctuation marks (such as the period, colon, 1 Click the topic pane within the browser window
semicolon, comma, and hyphen) are ignored that you want to print.
during a search, unless they are part of the topic 2 Do one of the following:
(such as .WAV).
• Click the Print button in the Topic pane.
• You can search for a literal phrase by using quo-
tation marks. You cannot search for quotation • Right-click in the Topic pane and select Print.
marks. • Select File > Print.
3 Select the print options.
You can copy information from a Help topic for Topics that you print from Help have limited
use in another document (such a text file). page layout and formatting features. If you
want to print a higher quality version of Help
To copy information from a Help topic to another information, Avid recommends that you print
document: all or part of the PDF version of the appro-
1 Open or click the topic to make it active. priate guide.
There are three types of Pro Tools systems: Pro Tools HD Software with Avid or Third-Party
Hardware
Pro Tools Software with Avid or Third-Party
Hardware These systems include Pro Tools HD software
with any compatible non-HDX or non-HD Native
These systems include Pro Tools software with Avid audio interfaces (such as Mbox Pro), or Core
Avid audio hardware (such as Pro Tools | Quartet, Audio (Mac) or ASIO (Windows) hardware.
Pro Tools | Duet, Pro Tools | Fast Track family,
Pro Tools | Mbox® family (third generation),
Pro Tools | Eleven® Rack, or Avid 003™ family Pro Tools Software
audio interfaces). These systems also include
Pro Tools software using third-party audio inter- Pro Tools software provides the following
faces with supported Core Audio (Mac, including capabilities, depending on your hardware
the built-in audio on Mac computers), ASIO (Win- configuration:
dows), or WASAPI (Windows). • Up to 32 channels of I/O depending on your sys-
tem and audio hardware
For a list of qualified audio interfaces and
computers for all Pro Tools systems, visit • Up to a total of 128 mono or stereo audio tracks
www.avid.com/compatibility. per session:
• Playback of up to 128 tracks, or a combina-
Pro Tools HD Software with HDX or HD Native
tion of playing back and recording up to 128
Hardware
tracks, mono or stereo, at 44.1 kHz and
Hardware accelerated Pro Tools HD systems in- 48 kHz
clude Pro Tools HD software with HDX or • Playback of up to 64 tracks, or a combination
HD Native (PCIe or Thunderbolt) hardware. Hard- of playing back and recording up to 64 tracks,
ware accelerated systems provide expanded I/O mono tracks or stereo, at 88.2 kHz and
capabilities and low latency monitoring. HDX sys- 96 kHz
tems also provide dedicated DSP for plug-in pro- • Playback of up to 32 tracks, or a combination
cessing and for large mixer configurations. of playing back and recording up to 32 tracks,
mono or stereo, at 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz
• Up to 128 Auxiliary Input tracks
• Up to 64 Master Fader tracks
• Up to 512 MIDI tracks
• Up to 512 Instrument tracks
For more information about the I/O For details on transferring session material
capabilities of your audio interface with between Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools sys-
Pro Tools, see the documentation that came tems, see “Sharing Sessions Created on
with your audio interface. Different Pro Tools Systems” on page 406.
Supported Hardware
Configurations with Pro Tools Pro Tools | HD Software with
Software Pro Tools | HDX Hardware
Pro Tools Software works seamlessly with Each system requires at least one Avid HD audio
non-HD Avid audio hardware (such as interface (sold separately). HDX systems can be
Pro Tools | Quartet). For the latest information on expanded by adding HDX cards to increase track
supported hardware configurations with Pro Tools count and the amount of plug-in and mixer
Software, visit: processing, and by adding additional audio
http://www.avid.com/compatibility interfaces.
• FPGA-based low latency monitoring (LLM) • HD OMNI (only 1 HD OMNI interface is sup-
ported in a single HD Native system)
• Audio processing with up to 10 inserts per track
(in any combination of real-time, host-based • HD I/O (up to 4 HD I/O interfaces can be used
plug-in and hardware inserts), depending on simultaneously)
your computer’s capabilities, and the number • HD MADI (full connectivity with 1 HD MADI
and type of installed audio interfaces interface is possible when both DigiLink ports
• Up to 10 sends per track of the HD MADI are connected to both Dig-
iLink ports on the HD Native PCIe card or
Thunderbolt interface)
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. Pro Tools HD can open sessions with up
to 768 audio tracks, but any audio tracks beyond that system’s voiceable track limit will be automatically
set to Voice Off.
s
Pro Tools HD audio playback, recording and voice limits by hardware configuration
Playback and
Recording
Voices Total
Sample
Core System Type Maximum I/O (Mono Tracks of Voiceable
Rate (kHz)
Simultaneous Tracks
Playback and
Recording)
176.4/192 64 768
176.4/192 64 768
Playback and
Recording
Voices Total
Sample
Core System Type Maximum I/O (Mono Tracks of Voiceable
Rate (kHz)
Simultaneous Tracks
Playback and
Recording)
176.4/192 64 768
HD OMNI is a professional digital audio interface • 8 channels of AES/EBU output (up to 192 kHz
designed for use with Pro Tools HD systems. Single Wire) using a DB-25 breakout cable (sold
HD OMNI provides a compact preamp, monitor- separately)
ing, and I/O solution for music production and re- • 2 channels of AES/EBU XLR input (up to
cording, and post production studios. 192 kHz Single Wire)
• 2 channels of S/PDIF RCA input and output (up
HD OMNI Features
to 192 kHz)
HD OMNI provides up to 8 discrete channels of • 8 channels of ADAT TOSLINK input and output
Pro Tools input and output, with 4-segment LED
• Support for ADAT S/MUX Optical for sample
meters for input or output (selectable).
rates of 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and
Analog I/O
192 kHz
• 24-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-an- • Support for two channels of S/PDIF Optical
alog (D/A) converters, with support for sample with sample rates of up to 96 kHz
rates up to 192 kHz • Real-time sample rate conversion (SRC) on Dig-
• 2 high-quality Mic/DI preamps (Channels 1–2) ital Inputs 1–2 of either AES/EBU, S/PDIF, or
Optical (S/PDIF)
• 2 combined XLR and 1/4-inch TRS front panel
inputs for microphone and instrument level in- SRC is not supported with ADAT S/MUX.
put
Monitoring
• 2 XLR back panel microphone inputs
• An additional stereo “CUE” output path in
• 2 1/4-inch TRS Send and 2 1/4-inch TRS Return
Pro Tools for headphone monitoring from the
back panel jacks for hardware inserts on chan-
front panel headphone jack
nels 1 and 2
• Front panel Control Room (MAIN/ALT) and
• 4 analog TRS line level back panel inputs
Headphone monitoring volume control
(Channels 1–4)
• Flexible monitoring with fold-down from all ste-
HD OMNI provides multiple analog input con- reo and surround formats (up to 7.1 surround)
nections, but only provides up to four channels
• Input mixer for low latency direct monitoring of
of simultaneous analog input for Pro Tools.
a variety of incoming signals (configured in the
• Soft Clip and Curv limiting circuits to protect Pro Tools Hardware Setup)
against clipping on analog input
Synchronization
• 8 channels of analog back panel output using a • Loop Sync input and output for connecting
DB-25 breakout cable (sold separately) with additional HD peripherals
variable output gain
• External Clock input and output for synchroniz-
• 2 channels of analog back panel output using ing HD OMNI with external Word Clock de-
TRS (Mirrors channels 1–2 or 7–8 on DB-25 vices
connector)
• Front panel stereo 1/4-inch headphone jack For more information, see the HD OMNI Guide.
HD I/O is a multichannel digital audio interface • Up to sixteen channels of 24-bit digital I/O, us-
designed for use with Pro Tools HD systems. ing AES/EBU, TDIF DB-25, or Optical at sam-
HD I/O features extremely high quality 24-bit an- ple rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and
alog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) 192 kHz with a Digital HD I/O card
converters, and supports sample rates of up to • Real-time sample rate conversion on digital in-
192 kHz. puts with a Digital I/O card (up to sixteen chan-
nels of AES/EBU, Optical, or TDIF)
HD I/O comes in three standard configurations:
• Support for S/MUX Optical for sample rates of
• 8 x 8 x 8 (8 analog in, 8 analog out, and 8 digital 88.2 kHz and higher
in and out)
• Support for 2 channels of S/PDIF Optical
• 16 x 16 analog in and out (enclosed) with sample rates of up to 96 kHz
• 16 x 16 digital in and out • 2 channels of AES/EBU I/O (enclosed) with
You can also add or remove HD I/O Analog Ex- support for sample rates up to 192 kHz
pansion cards (ADC and DAC) and HD I/O Digi- • 2 channels of 24-bit-capable S/PDIF I/O
tal Expansion cards for custom configurations. (enclosed) with support for sample rates up to
192 kHz
HD I/O Features
Synchronization
HD I/O provides up to 16 discrete channels of
• Loop Sync input and output for connecting addi-
Pro Tools input and output, with 4-segment LED
tional Avid HD audio interfaces and peripherals
meters for input and output.
• External Clock input and output for synchroniz-
Analog I/O ing HD I/O with external Word Clock devices
• Up to sixteen channels of 24-bit D/A and A/D
Expandability
converters for superior analog input and output
at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, • Optional addition of I/O cards to expand analog
96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and 192 kHz with Analog In or digital I/O
and Analog Out HD I/O cards • Simultaneous use of multiple Avid HD audio in-
• Soft Clip and Curv limiting circuits to protect terfaces to further expand system input and out-
against clipping on analog input put
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 vol-
ume of all output devices lowered, turn on your
Starting Up or Shutting Down audio interfaces (such as HD OMNI). Wait at
Your System 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 requir-
need to start them in a particular order. ing external power (such as 003), with the vol-
ume of all output devices lowered, turn on the
Start up your Pro Tools system in this order: 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 >
5 Turn on any control surfaces (such as Quit (Mac) or File > Exit (Windows).
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.
• For third-party audio interfaces with compatible You can configure the Input and Output options
Core Audio (Mac) or ASIO (Windows), select for Pro Tools Aggregate I/O in the Mac Audio
the name of the corresponding Core Audio Setup, which can be accessed from the Pro Tools
(Mac) or ASIO (Windows) compatible audio in- Hardware Setup.
terface.
If you need simultaneous input (recording)
• On Mac systems, if you are using built-in audio, and output (playback and monitoring) with
select any of the available built-in options for Pro Tools using the built-in audio options on
playback or select Pro Tools Aggregate I/O for Mac, use the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O option.
simultaneous input and output with the built-in If you only need to play back audio for editing
I/O hardware options. and mixing, select the appropriate built-in
3 Click OK. audio output option.
3 Click OK.
Configuring MIDI Setup
Cache Size
If you plan to use any external MIDI devices with
The Cache Size setting in the Playback Engine de- Pro Tools (such as controllers, keyboards, synthe-
termines the amount of memory AAE allocates to sizers, drum machines, samplers, sequencers, or
pre-buffer audio for playback and recording. In sound modules), you may want to configure your
most cases, the default setting of Normal is the op- MIDI setup using Audio MIDI Setup (Mac) or
timum Cache Size for most sessions. MIDI Studio Setup (Windows).
Pro Tools can also load audio files used in For more information, see Chapter 10,
Pro Tools sessions into RAM for cached playback. “Configuring MIDI.”
Pro Tools prioritizes files closest to the current
play head location. This way, when you start play-
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 56.
• “Configuring HD I/O Controls” on page 57.
• “Configuring HD MADI Controls” on page 58.
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.
CPU Meters
The settings for HD MADI Port 1 and
HD MADI Port 2 are linked. Any changes are The CPU Total meter displays session performance
global regardless of which is selected in the for Elastic Audio processing, Clip Gain process-
Peripherals list. ing, and Native plug-in and mixer processing.
3 When you are finished, click OK. The individual CPU meters provide a general indi-
cation of how much Pro Tools is using each of the
processors in your computer.
The Activity section of the System Usage window The Memory meter displays how much of the in-
display meters for disk usage and memory usage. stalled physical RAM in the system is being used
by Pro Tools. This includes RAM used by the au-
Disk Meter dio engine, the video engine (if enabled), plug-ins,
and the disk cache. Other than Pro Tools, it does
As in previous versions of Pro Tools, the Disk me-
not show any other RAM usage by the system. If
ter displays the amount of hard disk processing ac-
the Memory meter approached 100%, install more
tivity.
physical RAM or lower the Disk Cache setting in
the Playback Engine dialog.
Disk Cache Meter
(Pro Tools HD Only)
DSP Usage Meters
Pro Tools HD provides a meter in the System Us- (HDX Systems Only)
age window for monitoring the Disk Cache. This
meter is only present if a fixed Cache Size is se- HDX systems provide additional meters below the
lected in the Playback Engine dialog. Activity meter:
Voices
Time Slots
System Usage window showing Disk Cache meter
The Time Slots meter displays the total number of
The Disk Cache meter indicates the amount of al- DSP Time Slots available and the number of DSP
located memory being used to cache audio in the Time Slots currently used.
timeline (up to the amount of RAM selected for the
Disk Cache setting in the Playback Engine). An
additional peak-meter style indicator is included to
show how much of the allocated RAM is needed
for caching the session.
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
Options
Path tools
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:
Configure input signal path names, formats, and Configure output signal path names and formats on
source channel (analog or digital) on the Input the Output page. Output channels can have over-
page. Multichannel input paths (stereo or greater) lapping output paths. Multichannel Output paths
can have any number of sub-paths. Input channels (stereo or greater) can have any number of sub-
can have overlapping input paths. Input names, paths. Output names, channel widths, and physical
channel widths, and physical input mappings are output assignments are saved with the system and
saved with the system and the session, and can be the session, and can be recalled from either.
recalled from either.
I/O Setup, Bus page For more information, see “Using Hard-
ware Inserts” on page 1010.
For more information, see “Configuring
Busses” on page 87.
Expand/Collapse
Mic Preamps page triangle Channel Grid
Channel Grid Assigns paths to specific interfaces Apply to All Tabs Applies imported I/O settings to
and channels. all pages of the I/O Setup.
Compensation for Input Delays After Pro Tools automatically downmixes or upmixes
Record Pass the session Monitor path to the system Monitor
path so that you always hear session playback re-
When enabled, this option provides automatic gardless of name and width of the Output path on
compensation for any analog or digital input delay either system.
with Avid HD interfaces. Enable this option for all
recording situations. When recording from a digi- The Monitor path is graphically indicated by a
tal source, both the Compensation for Input Delays speaker icon in track and send Output selectors,
After Record Pass and the Compensation for Out- Output paths, and in the Output and Bus pages of
put Delays After Record Pass options must be en- the I/O Setup.
abled.
Audition Paths Submenus Each path format The Default Output Bus can be set for
choice has a submenu listing Output paths of that internal mix bus paths, as well as for
given format. (The mono submenu lists Output output bus paths.
paths of any format.)
To specify a default output for new tracks in the
I/O Setup:
To configure an Audition Path:
Click the Default Output Bus pop-up menu and
Select a path from the Audition Paths pop-up
select a format and output bus path.
menu or submenus.
Tracks soloed in AFL (After Fader Listen) or PFL You can set a separate master AFL/PFL Path level
(Pre Fader Listen) Solo mode are routed to the cur- for all AFL solos and all PFL solos.
rent AFL/PFL Path, as set with the AFL/PFL Path
selector. Tracks do not need to be soloed to have the
master AFL/PFL Path level adjusted.
Pro Tools provides a combined AFL/PFL Path set-
ting that can use any available Output path, regard- To set the AFL/PFL Path level for AFL or PFL
solos:
less of channel width. For mismatched channel
widths, the AFL/PFL path is automatically down- 1 Choose Options > Solo Mode, and select a Solo
mixed or upmixed to the selected Output path. mode:
• To set the level for AFL solos, select AFL.
Note that if you assign the AFL/PFL Path to a phys-
ical output used for monitoring, that signal is • To set the level for PFL solos, select PFL.
muted when soloed and the solo path is used for 2 In the Mix or Edit window, Control-click Com-
monitoring instead. However, if the AFL/PFL Path mand-click (Mac) or (Windows) a Solo button
is assigned to a different output, the main output on any track.
continues to pass signal even when the AFL/PFL
path is soloed. This lets you use XMON “Broad- 3 Adjust the AFL/PFL Path fader.
cast Mode” without XMON (ICON) hardware. 4 Click on the new fader position (or press Esc) to
The AFL/PFL Path selector is available in the Out- close the fader display.
put page of the I/O Setup.
To set the AFL/PFL Path level to 0 dB,
See “Solo Modes” on page 240 for more in- Command-Control-click (Mac) or
formation on using AFL or PFL Solo modes. Control-Start-click (Windows) any Solo
button.
To select the AFL/PFL Path output:
Select a path from the AFL/PFL Path pop-up AFL/PFL Mutes (Output Path)
menu. (Systems without a D-Control or D-Command
Control Surface)
Selecting None as the AFL/PFL Path disables
If you are not using a D-Control™ or D-Command
AFL and PFL Solo modes. When None is
console, your regular Pro Tools output path can be
selected, AFL and PFL cannot be used.
muted when you send a signal to the AFL/PFL
Path. The muted path is set with the AFL/PFL
Mutes (Output Path) selector.
1 Open the I/O Setup dialog (Setup > I/O). The Path Order pop-up menu lets you specify the
default channel order for all new paths created.
2 Click the Output tab. The selected Path Order setting determines the
3 Enable the Low Latency Monitoring option. channel order for the following:
4 From the Low Latency Monitoring pop-up menu, • Channels added to newly created path (first
select the Output path you want to use for Low paths) when hitting the Default button.
Latency Monitoring. • Channels added to empty paths when penciling
in channel assignments.
5 Click OK to save your changes and close the I/O
Setup. • Channels added when creating a new path and
selecting the Add default channel assignments
option.
Default Format
(Pro Tools HD Only) The Path Order selector is available in the Input,
Output, and Insert pages of I/O Setup. Setting the
The Default Format pop-up menu lets you select
Path Order on any page of I/O Setup affects the
the default format (Mono, Stereo, and all multi-
other pages.
channel formats) for new paths and for when you
click the Default button.
• Rename input paths and sub-paths to match your 11 Export your I/O settings to create a backup of
studio configuration. your current settings (see “Exporting I/O Set-
tings” on page 95).
5 Click the Output tab and do the following:
12 Click OK. You should not have to open the I/O
• Create output paths with appropriate widths and
Setup again unless you add or remove hardware
physical output assignments that match your stu-
to or from your system, or if you open a session
dio configuration.
created on a different system (see “Session or
• Rename output paths to match your studio con- Project Interchange and I/O Mapping” on
figuration. page 95).
6 If you plan on using hardware inserts, click the
Insert tab and do the following:
• Create insert paths with appropriate widths and
Configuring Hardware in
physical input and output assignments that
I/O Setup
match your studio configuration. (Pro Tools HDX and HD Native Systems Only)
• Name insert paths to match your studio configu- With HDX and HD Native systems, you can define
ration. Name insert paths using standard indus- which physical ports on your audio interface are
try terminology if possible, such as routed to available input and output channels in the
“Compressor,” “Reverb,” “EQ,” and so on. I/O Setup. Any changes made here are also re-
• Click the H/W Insert Delay tab and enter the cor- flected in the Hardware Setup, and vice-versa (see
rect insert delay in milliseconds for each in- “Configuring Hardware Settings in Pro Tools” on
put/output pair that you are using for hardware page 51).
inserts. (See “H/W Insert Delay (Compensation)
HD MADI and Pro Tools systems such as
Page” on page 67.)
Mbox Pro and 003 are “hard-wired” and
7 If you are using one or more PRE peripherals, cannot be changed. For third-party and built-
click the Mic Preamps tab and configure it ac- in hardware, in the Hardware Setup click the
cordingly (see the PRE Guide). Launch Setup App button to for available
configuration options.
8 Click the Bus tab.
To configure I/O routing in I/O Setup:
9 Create internal mix bus paths and sub-paths.
Ensure that output busses are mapped to the cor- 1 Choose Setup > I/O.
rect output paths (see “Output Busses” on
2 Click the Input or Output tab to display the
page 88).
corresponding path type.
Output busses are automatically created and
mapped to outputs when new output paths are
created.
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.”
76 Pro Tools Reference Guide
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 (3) Output Path On the Output page of the I/O
and routed from the Track Output to Output Bus Setup, the Grid is used to route the output path (to
“B 1–2.” which the output bus is mapped) to physical out-
puts.
(2) Output Bus Path The Output Bus is defined on
the Bus page of the I/O Setup. On the Bus page of (4) Physical Output For Avid HD audio interfaces,
the I/O Setup, the Output Bus “B 1–2” is mapped such as the HD OMNI, the physical outputs that
to Output “B 1–2,” which is defined on the Output are available to Pro Tools are set on the Main page
page of the I/O Setup. of the Hardware Setup (this selector is mirrored in
the Output page of the I/O Setup).
Add/Remove Rows Click the Add Row button to LCR 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
add more paths, or click Click the Remove Row 3 Mono (one for name >.LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
button to remove paths.
name >.L, .C, .R
Move Row Icon Drag a Move Row icon up or
down to reorder paths.
5.1 – 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path Number of New Sub-Paths Enter the number of
6.1 – 6–8 Mono name >.LR new sub-paths you want to create for the selected
7.1 (one for each Mono: <main path main path.
channel) name >.L, .C, .R,
.Ls, .Rs, and so on, Sub-Path Format Select the channel width from
and LFE the Path Format selector.
Enable Add Default Channel Assignments option if LCRS 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
you want Pro Tools to automatically assign input, 4 Mono (one for name > .LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
output, and insert sub-paths to physical inputs and
name>.L, .C, .R, .S
outputs in the Grid (from the first available channel
to the maximum number of channels available). If Quad 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
the number of new sub-paths of a certain width ex- 4 Mono (one for name > .LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
ceeds the number of available channels, Pro Tools
name>.L, .R, .Ls, .Rs
wraps around and starts over at channel 1.
5.0 – 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
6.0 – 5–7 Mono name >.LR
Create Default Sub-Paths Option 7.0 (one for each Mono: <main path
(Bus Sub-Paths Only) channel) name >.L, .C, .R,
.Ls, .Rs, and so on
Pro Tools lets you create the default sub-paths for
busses in the New Sub-Path dialog when accessed 5.1 – 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
from the Bus page. Enable the Create Default Sub- 6.1 – 6–8 Mono name >.LR
7.1 (one for each Mono: <main path
Paths option to have Pro Tools automatically cre- channel) name >.L, .C, .R,
ate the default set of sub-paths for the path format .Ls, .Rs, and so on,
(channel width) of the selected main bus path, as and LFE
follows:
Default Sub-Paths When the Create Default Sub-Paths option is en-
abled, all other custom options in the New Sub-
Main
Sub-Paths Sub-Path Name Paths dialog are grayed-out and unavailable.
Path
Input Names, formats, and source 4 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
channel (physical input) Setup.
Path names can be customized in the I/O Setup. 1 Double-click the label above an interface.
Reordering Paths
Selected paths and sub-paths can be reordered
Selecting paths in the I/O Setup
higher or lower in the Path Name column to
To select a range of paths: change their menu order in track Input, Output,
1 Click the path name. Insert, and Bus selectors.
2 Shift-click an additional path name. To reorder paths in the I/O Setup and Track
selectors:
All paths between the first selected path name and
1 Drag one or more selected path names up or
the additional path name will also be
down.
selected.
2 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
Setup.
Path definitions can be deleted from the current 1 Choose Setup > I/O.
session to reflect changes to your hardware setup, 2 Select a path type using the tabs at the top of the
or to clean up track selector menus by removing window.
unwanted or unnecessary path definitions. After
deleting a path, any tracks or send assignments to 3 Set the Active/Inactive control for the path.
that path are reset to No Output.
3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O Any tracks that were assigned to the now inactive
Setup. path will show that path's name in italics on the
track's I/O selectors.
To delete all paths:
4 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
1 Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
Setup. Path status is displayed as follows:
path name.
Italics Indicates the path is inactive.
2 Click Delete Path.
3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O Non-Italics Indicates the path is active.
Setup. With overlapping output paths of different
channel widths, if the widest path is made in-
Making Paths Active or Inactive active, all other overlapped output paths will
not pass audio from Pro Tools.
Pro Tools paths can be Active (on) or Inactive (off,
or unavailable). Paths can be globally activated or
deactivated in the I/O Setup. Making a signal path
inactive will turn off the signal path on any and all
tracks currently assigned to it.
Reassiging Paths
You can move the individual assignments to dif-
Assigning channels ferent channels, to reorder the path’s definition
(for example, changing a multichannel path to
Other channels for the path type, if any, fill to the
L-R-C-LFE-Ls-Rs).
right. For example, when assigning a new stereo
path, clicking in the path row under output channel To reassign channels in a path:
1 fills both channel 1 and 2 (left to 1, right to 2).
Drag the channel to the new location in the
To reassign channels in a path, see Grid. Other channel assignments move (shuffle)
“Reassiging Paths” on page 86. to accommodate dragged channels.
Output busses are mapped (routed) to output paths, 1 On the Bus page of the I/O Setup, click New
as configured on the Output page of the I/O Setup. Path.
Output paths are then assigned to the system’s 2 In the New Paths dialog, specify the number of
physical audio outputs in the I/O Setups Grid (see new paths you want to create, the channel width
“Assigning Paths to Hardware I/O” on page 86). for each path, and the path name.
When you create a new output path on the Output
page of the I/O Setup, a new output bus of the same
width is automatically created and mapped to that
output path. Output busses are also created and
mapped according to default settings when creat-
ing a new session or restoring defaults (see “Re-
storing Default Paths and Path Names” on New Paths dialog
page 82).
3 Click Create to create the new paths.
Physical outputs for output paths are configured on
the Outputs page of the I/O Setups (see “Assigning
Paths to Hardware I/O” on page 86).
• Output Busses
• Internal Busses
4 Click Default.
Pro Tools lets you import I/O Settings from session 1 Click the tab for the page of the I/O Setup for
files (.ptx) I/O settings files (.pio) before or after which you want to import settings.
you open a session. I/O Settings are only imported 2 Click Import Settings.
for the current page of the I/O Setup. For example,
if you are viewing the Output page and import I/O Enable the Apply to all tabs option or press
Settings, only the settings for the Output page are Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while click-
imported. This helps to avoid overwriting your ing Import Settings to overwrite I/O Settings
custom I/O Settings on other pages. in all pages with the settings imported from a
session file or I/O settings file.
When you import I/O Settings, you can choose to
delete any unused path definitions before import- 3 Select an I/O settings file (.pio) or a Pro Tools
ing the new paths, or leave unused path definitions session file (.ptx) in the Import Settings dialog
intact and add the new paths to the current I/O and click Import.
Setup configuration.
4 A dialog appears asking whether you want to
To import I/O settings for your Pro Tools system
delete existing paths. Do one of the following:
from a Pro Tools session file: • Click Yes to remove any unused paths and add
1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O). the imported paths to the current I/O Setup con-
figuration.
2 Select the tab for the page where you want to
import settings. • Click No to add the imported paths to the current
I/O Setup configuration.
3 Click Import Settings.
If the import results in overlapping paths, the new
Enable the Apply to all tabs option or press paths will appear in the I/O Setup as Inactive. See
Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while click- “Making Paths Active or Inactive” on page 85.
ing Import Settings to overwrite I/O Settings
in all pages with the settings imported from a After importing I/O Settings, you can then reassign
session file. path routing definitions in the I/O Setup by remap-
ping, renaming, and deleting paths. See “Pro Tools
4 In the Open dialog, navigate to and select the Software Signal Paths” on page 62.
session file from which you want to import I/O
settings.
5 Click Open.
6 Click OK to save your changes and close I/O
Setup.
Additionally, a Previous Output Mappings column Show Last Saved Setup button in the Input page
appears to the right of the Output Mappings col- When showing the I/O Setup last saved with the
umn. This lets you take note of the output map- session, any unavailable hardware Inputs or Out-
pings that the session used the last time it was puts are displayed in italics.
saved.
Chapter 8: Preferences 99
Flat List Organizes plug-ins in a single list, in Type Displays only the I/O Type (Interface or Bus)
alphabetical order. as I/O categories in Track I/O menus.
Category Organizes plug-ins by process category Width Displays only the I/O Channel Width (such
(such as EQ, Dynamics, and Delay), with individ- as stereo or 5.1) as I/O categories in Track I/O
ual plug-ins listed in the category submenus. Plug- menus.
Ins that do not fit into a standard category (such as
Type and Width Displays both Type and Width as
the Signal Generator), or third-party plug-ins that
have not had a category designated by their devel- I/O categories in Track I/O menus.
opers, appear in the Other category. Plug-Ins can
Language Options
appear in more than one category.
You must have Administrator privileges for the
Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins by their manu-
Pro Tools application Properties to change these
facturer (such as Bomb Factory, Focusrite, or TL
options.
Labs), with individual plug-ins listed in the manu-
facturer submenus. Plug-Ins that do not have a Language Sets the language to use in the
Manufacturer defined will appear in the “Other” Pro Tools application, independently of what lan-
manufacturer folder. guage is used by your OS.
Category and Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins in Default Automatic Naming to English Causes au-
two levels of menus. The top menus display plug- tomatically named session elements in a session to
ins by process category (such as EQ, Dynamics, be named in English even when working with the
and Delay), with individual plug-ins listed in the Pro Tools application set to another language.
category submenus. The bottom menus display
plug-ins by manufacturer (such as Bomb Factory, Auto-Switch Input Language
Focusrite, or TL Labs), with individual plug-ins
When the Auto-Switch Input Language option is
listed in the manufacturer submenus.
enabled, the input language is switched automati-
“Organize Track I/O Menus By” Options
cally from English to the current OS input lan-
guage when entering text. It automatically
These options determine how track I/O menus are switches back to English for using Keyboard com-
organized in the Track Input selector, and Send mands in Pro Tools. When disabled, English is
and Track Output selectors. 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
Clip List Color Assigns a color to each clip based
track in the Mix or Edit window according to its
on its color in the Clip List.
voice assignment or MIDI device assignment.
Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind When se- For more information, see “Custom Shuttle
lected, audio is audible during fast forward or Lock Speed” on page 560.
rewind.
Custom FF/REW Speed Sets the speed for fast for-
ward and rewind in relation to normal playback.
The range for this setting is 100–3,200%.
Default EQ
Send Pans Default to Follow Main Pan When se- This preference lets you choose any installed Dy-
lected, newly created sends have Follow Main Pan namics plug-in as the default, which makes it
turned on, so the Send Pan controls follow the pan available for quick assignment, both on-screen and
controls of the track. When not selected, newly on ICON controllers (Pro Tools HD only). On-
created sends have Follow Main Pan turned off. screen, the plug-in appears at the top of the Insert
selector pop-up menu. On ICON controllers, the
Link Mix and Edit Group Enables When selected, plug-in appears first in the list of menu choices on
this option links enabling and disabling of Mix and the rotary encoders.
Edit Groups. For example, enabling Group A in
the Mix Window automatically enables Group A Auto Insert Default Plug-Ins from EUCON
in the Edit window. Surfaces When selected, the default EQ and
default Dynamics plug-ins are automatically avail-
able when creating new tracks from EUCON
surfaces.
When selected and any tracks are in Latch mode, This option determines the Trim status of Send
any automation-enabled controls on those tracks faders when a track is put in Trim mode.
can be set to new values while the transport is • When selected, Send faders go into Trim mode
stopped by touching or moving controls, to prepare along with the Main Volume fader.
for the next automation pass.
• When deselected, the Main Volume fader goes
Coalesce when Removing Slaves from VCA into Trim mode, but the Send fader stays in the
Group This option determines the behavior when corresponding standard Automation mode.
removing slave tracks from a VCA-controlled
group. Include Control Changes in Undo Queue This
option determines whether certain mixer control
• When selected, any automation on the VCA
changes, such as moving a fader or pan control, are
Master is automatically coalesced (without con-
entered into the Undo queue.
firmation) to its slave tracks when the tracks are
removed from the group. • When selected, mixer control changes appear in
the Undo queue, and are undone if any prior op-
• When not selected, a confirmation dialog lets
eration is undone.
you choose whether or not to coalesce the VCA
Master automation to the slave tracks. • When deselected, mixer control changes will not
appear in the undo queue, allowing you to undo
Standard VCA Logic for Group Attributes This other types of operations without losing the cur-
option determines which Mix group attributes may rent mixer settings.
be selected in the Group dialog when the group is
assigned to a VCA Master. Any set to default operations that affect mixer con-
trols will be entered into the Undo queue.
• When selected, the Main Volume, Mute, Solo,
Record Enable, and Input Monitoring controls AutoMatch Time If you are writing automation in
on slave tracks follow the VCA Master only and Touch mode, when you release a fader or control,
are not available to be independently linked. writing of automation stops and the automation
(This emulates the behavior of analog console data returns to its previous value. The rate of return
VCA masters.) to the previous value is the AutoMatch Time.
• When deselected, the Main Volume, Mute, Solo,
AutoGlide Time (Pro Tools HD Only) Specifies
Record Enable, and Input Monitoring controls
how quickly Pro Tools transitions (glides) from
follow the VCA Master, but also remain avail-
one automation value to another, when AutoGlide
able for independent linking with groups.
mode is used.
On Exiting Trim Mode Sets Trim Automation to Track and Master Meter Types
coalesce on a track when the track is taken out of
The Track Meters section of the Mixing prefer-
Trim mode. A Composite Playlist can be viewed
ences let you set the Meter Type and associated
before committing Trim moves.
metering ballistics and displays settings for audio,
Manually Trim Automation can be coalesced only Auxiliary Input, and Instrument tracks. The Master
with the Coalesce Trim Automation command. A Meters sections let you configure these settings in-
Composite Playlist can be viewed before commit- dependently for Master Fader tracks.
ting Trim moves.
Track and Master Meter Types Linked
Delay Compensation Section Enable the Track and Master Meter Types Linked
option to ensure that Track (audio, Auxiliary Input,
Delay Compensation Time Mode and Instrument tracks) and Master (Master Fader)
When Delay Compensation is enabled (Options > meters always use the same Meter Type setting.
Delay Compensation), this option lets you choose Disable this option if you want the Track and Mas-
whether information in the Delay Manager is dis- ter meters to use different Meter Type settings (for
played in milliseconds or samples. example, you may want to use VU metering for
your Track meters, but Peak for your Master me-
Compensate Side Chains ters).
(HDX Systems Only)
K-14 Use K-14 for mastering when working in a The Decay settings determine the decibel range
calibrated mastering suite. (dBs) that the meters fall at the specified rate in
seconds after peak level is registered. For some
K-20 Using K-20 during mix encourages a clean- Meter Types, these settings are not adjustable
sounding mix that is advantageous to the mastering (such as VU).
engineer. At that point, the producer and mastering
engineer should discuss whether the program 0 dBFS
should be converted to K-14, or remain at K-20. If
mixing to analog tape, work at K-20, and realize The 0 dBFS setting determines the unity reference
that the peak levels off tape will not exceed about level for the meter scale in decibels compared to
+14. digital 0 dB. Exceeding this level should result in
clipping at the digital to analog converters or to the
K-scale meters are RMS based scales with an specified clipping level for broadcast. For some
integrated sample peak meter as a secondary Meter Types, this setting is not adjustable (such as
value. For more information about K-scale K-meters).
metering, see the paper “An Integrated Ap-
proach to Metering, Monitoring, and Leveling Integration Time
Practices” by Bob Katz, Digital Domain, Inc. The Integration Time setting determines the
amount of time it takes, in milliseconds, to average
VENUE Peak Provides the same ballistics as Sam-
the peak level as registered on the meter display.
ple Peak, but with VENUE meter scaling to
You can think of this as the attack time for regis-
+20 dB.
tering peak levels on the meters. For some Meter
VENUE RMS Provides the same ballistics as RMS, Types, this setting is not adjustable (such as Peak).
but with VENUE meter scaling to +20 dB.
The Color Break High setting determines the high These options determine how long the clip indica-
point in dB where the color changes for metering. tors on plug-in, send, and track meters stay lit after
Typically, this will be the ceiling level for the cur- a clip is detected.
rent Meter Type. When this level is exceeded clip-
3 Seconds When selected, meters display the last
ping will occur. Levels registering on the meters
between the Color Break High setting and the Color clip indication for three seconds.
Break Low setting should be considered the “sweet Infinite When selected, meters display the last clip
spot” for the loudness of the program material. indications until you click them to clear them.
Color Break Low None When selected, meters do not hold the clip
indication.
The Color Break Low setting determines the low
point in dB where the color changes for metering.
Typically, this will be the minimum level for the Display Section
current Meter Type. Use this setting to provide a The Display section of the Metering preferences
visual indication in the meters for the lowest level provides options for configuring the display of the
of the dynamic range of the program material for new Gain Reduction meters on tracks and in sends.
the intended delivery format (such as film, DVD,
CD, MP3, or broadcast). Show Send Assignment Level Meter
Processing Preferences
Gain Reduction Meter Type
Convert Copied Files to Session Format When The Drag and Drop From Desktop Conforms to
selected, files that have different file formats from Session Tempo options determine whether or not
the current session file format are copied and con- REX, ACID, and audio files are imported as tick-
verted to the current session audio file format on based Elastic Audio and conformed to the session
import. For example, if the session file format is tempo.
WAV and you import an AIF, the files is copied No Files When enabled, REX and ACID files, and
and converted to WAV on import. When this op- all other audio files are not conformed to the ses-
tion is not selected, copied files retain their original sion tempo when imported by drag and drop from
format (unless that file format is incompatible with Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder. They are
Pro Tools, in which case it must be converted). imported as sample-based files and converted to
Do Not Convert Sample Rate on Import When se- the sessions audio file format.
lected, files with different sample rates than the REX and ACID Files Only When enabled, only
session sample rate are not automatically con- REX and ACID files are conformed to the session
verted when imported into the session. This means tempo when imported by drag and drop from Win-
that files with mis-matched sample rates playback dows Explorer or the Mac Finder. REX files are
at a different speed (and pitch transpositions than imported either as tick-based Elastic Audio or, if
when they were originally recorded (or converted). the Import REX Files as Clip Groups option is en-
abled, as tick-based clip groups.
This option lets you set the default MIDI Thru in-
strument. You can select a predefined device from
your available MIDI instruments, or select First
Selected MIDI Track to use the assigned MIDI out-
put of the first selected MIDI or Instrument track.
When multiple MIDI or Instrument tracks are se-
lected, the instrument in the selected track that is
closest to the top of the Edit window (or closest to
the left edge of the Mix window) is used. Select
None to only route MIDI Thru record enabled
MIDI and Instrument tracks.
Global MIDI Playback Offset MIDI Timecode When selected, Pro Tools applies
Delay Compensation to Pro Tools-generated
This option lets you set an offset in samples to MIDI Timecode (MTC). Enable this option when
compensate for MIDI latency. Entering a value synchronizing video to Pro Tools using MTC.
here has the same effect as setting an offset with
the MIDI Track Offsets command. Offset values MIDI Beat Clock When selected, Pro Tools applies
can be positive (later) or negative (earlier). Delay Compensation to Pro Tools-generated
MIDI Beat Clock.
Double-Clicking a MIDI Clip Opens
MIDI Notes and Controllers When selected,
This option lets you specify what happens when Pro Tools applies Delay Compensation to MIDI
you double-click MIDI clips with the Grabber tool. notes and MIDI controller data. This is useful
when monitoring playback or when recording in-
MIDI Editor Opens the MIDI clip in a MIDI Editor
put from external MIDI devices.
window.
Score Editor Opens the MIDI clip in the Score Ed- MIDI/Score Editor Display
itor window.
Additional Empty Bars in the Score Editor
MIDI Event List Opens the MIDI clip in the MIDI
Event List. This setting lets you specify the default number of
empty bars that appear in the Score Editor window
Name Dialog Opens the Name dialog for the MIDI after the end of the last MIDI clip in the session.
clip.
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
• Synchronization Preferences
• Operation Preferences
• None
• Latch Forward/Rewind
• Custom Shuttle Lock Speed
• Custom FF/REW Speed
• Back/Forward Amount (Pro Tools HD only)
• PEC/Direct Style Input Monitoring
(Pro Tools HD only)
• DestructivePunch File Length
(Pro Tools HD only)
• Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length
(Pro Tools HD 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 HD 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 for use with MIDI Machine Control or
9-Pin Machine Control.
Enable Dub Window
For information about the MachineControl
When this option is selected, you can insert a time- Software Option for Pro Tools, see the
code window into a video signal with the follow- MachineControl Guide.
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 let you configure a Machine Control device for Se-
0–127. The default of ID #127 is a special setting rial Deck Control mode with Pro Tools. Serial
that transmits to all 128 MMC IDs. With a setting Deck Control mode is available whenever Ma-
of 127, Pro Tools will transmit MMC commands chine Control is connected using the Serial Deck
to all MMC IDs. 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.
Port
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
Port
Type
Receive From
Ethernet Controller
Click the Name button to enter a name for the se- The Type setting lets you select none or PRE.
lected Ethernet controller. Select the PRE option to declare any connected
PRE.
Enable EUCON (Extended User Control)
Receive From
When selected, Pro Tools is enabled for control by
one or more EUCON-compatible controllers. EU- The Receive From setting lets you specify the
CON is an innovative high-speed Ethernet proto- MIDI In port to which the PRE is connected.
col developed by Avid to allow hardware control
surface to directly communicate with a software Send To
application.
The Send To setting lets you specify the MIDI Out
For more information about using Pro Tools port to which the PRE is connected.
with EUCON, see the documentation
Defaults
included with your controller.
Click the Reset button reset the corresponding
PRE to its default settings.
Mic Preamps
Retain Current Settings
The Mic Preamps page lets you configure up to
nine different Mic Preamps (PRE) for Pro Tools. Select the Retain Current Settings option to retain
PRE channel settings when an existing session
For information about the PRE, see the with different settings is loaded. New sessions will
PRE Guide. automatically retain the current settings.
Satellite Link lets you link up to 12 HDX or The Mode settings let you configure the satellite
HD Native systems (or any combinations of 11 behavior of the local system.
HDX or HD Native systems and an Avid Video
Administrator When enabled, the Administrator
Satellite system or a Pro Tools Video Satellite sys-
tem) over an Ethernet network so that you can cue, option sets the local system to be the administrator
play, and stop the transport, make play selections, system for any satellite systems on the network.
and solo tracks across any of the systems from any Satellite systems can be declared from the admin-
linked workstation. istrator system.
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 > MIDI Studio.
you can customize your MIDI studio setup to dis-
play the names of your MIDI devices in Pro Tools.
Making MIDI input and output connections For Manufacturer and Model names, AMS
refers to one or more files with the suffix
6 Click the arrow for the appropriate input port of “.middev” in the directory Root/Library/
the device and drag a cable to the output arrow Audio/MIDI Devices. Pro Tools installs a file
of the corresponding port of the MIDI interface. that contains information for many commer-
cially available MIDI devices, named
To remove a connection, select the cable and
“Digidesign Device List.middev.” If the
press Delete.
Manufacturer or Model names for any of
7 Repeat steps 3–6 for each MIDI device in your your external MIDI devices is not available in
MIDI setup. the AMS Manufacturer and Model pop-up
menus, you can add them by editing the
To customize an external MIDI device in AMS: .middev file in any text editor (such as
TextEdit).
1 Select the external device icon and click Show
Info (or double-click the new device icon).
For more information, see “MIDI Patch
Names” on page 693.
Interface Controls
MSS also supports XML-based patch file names
for storing and importing patch names for your ex- Create Adds a new instrument to the Instrument
ternal MIDI devices. Name list.
Entire MIDI Studio Setup configurations created Delete Deletes the instrument or instruments
within MSS can be imported and exported. selected in the Instrument Name list.
To configure your MIDI studio with MSS: Import Imports an existing MIDI Studio Setup file.
1 In Pro Tools, choose Setup > MIDI > MIDI Export Exports the current MIDI Studio Setup file.
Studio.
Show Duplicate Emulated Ports When this option
2 Configure the MIDI Studio Setup windows. is selected and you are using a MIDI interface that
3 When you are finished configuring the MIDI supports time-stamping, the MIDI Studio setup
Studio Setup, close the MIDI Studio Setup window shows both the DirectMusic time-stamped
window. output ports, and non-stamped duplicate emulated
output ports.
MIDI Studio Setup Window Some MIDI Interfaces will not properly load
The MIDI Studio Setup window is organized into or unload their drivers unless you quit and
three sections. Interface controls are at the top of re-launch Pro Tools. Refer to the documenta-
the window. All the currently defined instruments tion that came with your MIDI interface for
are displayed in the Instrument Name list on the more information.
left side of the window. A detailed view of MIDI Instrument List
parameters is shown in the Properties section on
the right. The Instrument list contains all the currently de-
fined instruments. Selecting an instrument in the
list displays that instrument’s properties in the
Properties section of the window.
The Properties section lets you edit information for The Instrument Name field shows the user-defin-
new instruments, or instrument currently selected able instrument name for the currently selected in-
in the Instrument list. strument.
6 From the Output pop-up menu, choose the out- If you set the input port to None, the defined
put port on your MIDI interface that is con- instrument will not appear as a choice in a
nected to the MIDI In of your instrument. MIDI Input Selector.
Send Channels
Receive Channels
Pro Tools presents the Dashboard window on Choose File > New or press Command+N (Mac)
launch. The Dashboard lets you quickly and easily or Control+N (Windows).
create a new session or project, or open an existing
Choose File > Open Project or press Com-
one. You can choose to show or hide the Dash-
mand+Option+N (Mac) or Control+Alt+N
board on launch in the Pro Tools Display Prefer-
(Windows).
ences (Settings > Preferences > Display).
Name Type a name for your session or project. In the Dashboard, click the Recent tab, or press
Command+2 (Mac) or Control+2 (Windows) to
Create from Template Enables the options to cre- show the Recent tab. The Recent tab lists your 10
ate a session or project from a template. most recent sessions and projects, but otherwise it
has no unique commands, options, or settings.
Template Group Select the Template Group you
Double-click any session or project in the list to
want to review. Press Option+Up/Down Arrows
open it. Recent projects are not shown if you are
(Mac) or Alt+Up/Down Arrows (Windows) to
not logged in.
scroll through the available Template Groups.
To enable (or disable) interleaved audio files for When you record a new audio track, the track is
the Pro Tools session or project: saved as a new audio file to the Audio Files folder.
You can also import other audio files into the ses-
1 Choose Setup > Session.
sion, and work with them as well.
2 In the Session Setup window, select (or dese-
lect) the Interleaved option. For details on allocating audio tracks to
different hard drive locations, including
shared media volumes, see “Recording with
Multiple Hard Drives” on page 453.
The Clip Groups folder is the default directory for For more information, see “Renamed Audio
any clip groups that you export from your Files” on page 401.
Pro Tools session.
You can hover the cursor over a project icon in the Creating a New Session or
Dashboard and a tooltip identifying the project Project from a Template
name and the project owner appears. To create a new session or project from a template:
1 In the Dashboard, click the Create tab if it is not
already shown, or press Command+1 (Mac) or
Control+1 (Windows).
When saving a copy of a session or project with the You can save the session or project at various sam-
Save Copy In command, the following Session Pa- ple rates depending on your system hardware. See
rameters are available: “Supported Hardware Configurations with
Pro Tools Software” on page 36.
Audio File Type
If your session or project is at a different sample
You can save the session or project to reference rate, audio files are converted to the new session or
BWF (.WAV) or AIFF audio files. project sample rate, and copied.
Using Mixed File Types
Fader Gain
Sessions and projects can use mixed audio file
When saving a Pro Tools 7.x or higher session to a
projects. If your original session or project has
lower version that supports +12 dB fader gain, you
mixed file projects, they are not converted to the
can save the new session with either a +6 dB or a
selected file project unless you specify that they be
+12 dB maximum fader gain. When saving a
converted by selecting the Convert to Specified
+12 dB session as a +6 dB session, any automation
Format option in the Items To Copy section (see
over +6 dB will be lowered to +6 dB.
“Items to Copy” on page 160).
Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility
Bit Depth
When saving a Pro Tools 7.x or higher session to a
You can save the session or project at a Bit Depth
lower version, enable the Enforce Mac/PC Com-
of 16 Bit, 24 Bit, or 32 Bit Float.
patibility option to force Windows or Mac versions
Pro Tools 10.0 and higher sessions can use audio of Pro Tools to create sessions and audio files that
files with different bit depths. If your original ses- are compatible on both platforms.
sion or project has mixed bit depths, they are not
converted to the selected bit depth unless you spec- For more information, see “Saving Copies
ify that they be converted by selecting the Convert of Mac Sessions to be Compatible with Win-
to Specified Format option in the Items To Copy
dows” on page 404.
section (see “Items to Copy” on page 160). Limit Character Set
When saving to a Session Format lower than 10.0, When saving a copy of a session or project to the
if your session or project is in a different bit depth, current session or project format, you can choose
audio files are converted to the new session bit to limit the character set to a single language by se-
depth, and copied to the specified location. Also, lecting the Limit Character Set option.
32 Bit Float is not available for session formats
lower than 10.0. When saving a copy of a session or project to a
lower session format, the Limit Character Set op-
For information on bouncing to disk and tion is automatically selected. Select a language
dither, see “Using Dither” on page 1071. from the Limit Character Set pop-up menu.
Convert To Specified Format When this option is selected, only the selected
tracks in the source session or project are saved
When the Convert To Specified Format option is with the copy. This option is automatically enabled
selected, all copied audio files are converted to the when choosing File > Export > Selected Tracks As
specified audio file format settings in the Session New Session.
Parameters section. When this option is not se-
lected, any copied audio files retain their original When this option is not selected, all tracks in the
audio file format settings (including sample rate source session or project are saved with the copy.
and bit depth), and are exactly copied, bit-by-bit. This option is automatically disabled when choos-
ing File > Save Session Copy.
Note that copying formats bit-by-bit is much
faster than converting files. Session Plug-In Settings Folder
(Sessions Only)
This option is automatically selected if you do any
of the following: When this option is selected, the session’s Plug-In
Settings folder is copied to the new location. The
• Save to a session format lower than 10.0.
references to these plug-in settings in the session
• Enable Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility. are redirected to the copied settings files.
1 Create a new Pro Tools session and configure it If you selected the Install Template In System op-
for the session template you want. tion, your session template will be available in the
Dashboard.
For example, if you are a songwriter you
might simply want a session consisting of a If you selected the Select Location For Template
stereo Instrument track with an instrument option, you are prompted by the Save As Template
plug-in (such as Xpand! 2 with a piano pre- dialog to save the file to another location on your
set), a mono audio track (for tracking vocals), system.
a stereo Auxiliary Input track (for an effects
bus), and a stereo Master Fader track. You When you are ready to use a template as the
can then use this template every time you sit basis for a new session, see “Creating a New
down to work on a new song. Session or Project from a Template” on
page 150.
2 Choose File > Save As Template.
Save Session Template Dialog
The Save Template dialog provides the following
options:
Select this option to save the template file to any Choose Window > Metadata Inspector.
directory location on your system. Note that the
saved session template will not appear in the Dash-
board unless it is in a subdirectory (Category) in
the Session Templates folder in the Pro Tools Root
Settings folder. You can change the location of the
Root Settings Folder in the Operation Preferences
(see “User Media and Settings Location” on
page 104).
Include Media
Project Owner (Projects Only) Displays the name To close a session or project:
Location Enter the location where the session or 2 To the right of the project list, click the pop-up
project was recorded. menu for the project you want to rename.
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 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects
only collaborating on, you simple remove yourself
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools
as a collaborator for that project. The project re-
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
mains available to the owner and other collabora-
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con-
tors. However, once you delete a project that you
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab
own, it is permanently deleted and is unrecover-
in the Dashboard window.
able.
2 To the right of the project list, click the pop-up
menu for the project whose local cache you To delete a project:
want to clear. 1 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.
2 To the right of the Project list, click the pop-up
Dashboard, Remove Local Cache menu for the project you want to delete.
3 Choose Remove Local Cache.
4 When prompted, click Delete.
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 172).
Mix Window Shows tracks as channel strips, like a
mixing board (see “Mix Window” on page 170). To toggle between the Mix and Edit windows,
press Control+Equals (=) (Windows), or
press Command+Equals (=) (Mac).
Plug-In window
Edit window
Mix window
Workspace browser
Transport window
Instrument
Track List View
(page 226) (page 946)
Inserts View
(page 946)
Sends View
(page 946)
Solo/Mute
(page 239)
Volume
fader
(page 208)
Level meter
Voice selector (page 209)
(page 236)
AutoMatch
indicator Track Name
(page 1026) (page 217)
Universe view
Grid and
(page 579)
Nudge values
Zoom buttons (page 540) (page 174) Edit Window
Counters and Edit Toolbar and menu
Edit Mode
Edit tools Selection indicators Transport controls (page 172)
buttons
(page 535) (page 539) (page 576) (page 177)
Track List
(page 226)
Tracks
(page 197)
Edit Group
List
(page 763)
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
The Grid and Nudge selectors let you set the Grid
and Nudge values for editing in Pro Tools. For in- Edit Window Toolbar menu
formation on the Grid Value selector, see “Config-
uring the Grid” on page 538. For information on
the Nudge Value selector, see “Defining the
Nudge Value” on page 592.
Transport Window
The Transport window can be set to show basic
transport controls, counters, MIDI controls, and
expanded features. The counters in the Transport
window mirror the controls and counters at the top
of the Edit window.
MIDI Zoom button (Edit window)
To display the Transport window:
Sample 1 second
Pre-
Roll
Fast Forward Fast forwards from the Timeline in-
Post-
Roll sertion point. You can also click repeatedly to fast
forward incrementally (by an amount based on the
Start, End, and Length Main Time Scale).
Selection indicators
TrackInput Monitor
indicator
With Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans-
port, you can fast forward by pressing 2.
Transport window showing basic transport controls
and counters (Main and Sub Counters and MIDI not Go to End Locates to the end of the session.
shown)
Online Puts Pro Tools online so that playback and You can press Option+Return (Mac) or Con-
recording is triggered by an external timecode trol+Enter (Windows) on the alphanumeric
source. keyboard to locate to the end of the session.
You can Right-click the Return to Zero but- You can also stop the transport by pressing
ton to access the Write to Start and Write to the Spacebar, or with the Numeric Keypad
All automation commands. mode set to Transport, pressing 0.
Rewind Rewinds from the current play location. Play Starts playback or (if the Record button was
You can also click repeatedly to rewind incremen- clicked first) recording from the Timeline insertion
tally, by an amount based on the Main Time Scale, point or the Play Start Marker location if Dynamic
as follows: Transport mode is enabled.
With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans- You can also begin playback by pressing the
port, you can rewind by pressing 1. Spacebar, or with the Numeric Keypad mode
set to Transport, pressing 0.
Double-click the Count Off button, to open the 1 Do one of the following:
Click/Count Off Options dialog. • Select View > Transport > Output Meters.
• Click the Transport Window menu (in the
With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans-
upper-right corner of the window) and select or
port, press 8 to enable the Count Off.
deselect Output Meters.
MIDI Merge When selected (Merge mode), • Right-click in the Transport window and select
recorded MIDI data is merged with existing track or deselect Output Meters.
material. When deselected (Replace mode), re-
corded MIDI data replaces existing track material.
In Manual Tempo mode, you can enter a BPM Transport Window menu
value in the tempo field, or tap in the tempo with 2 From the menu, select or deselect Output Me-
the T key on your alphanumeric keyboard. ters.
To view the Output Meters in the Transport: To show (or hide) the MIDI Editor view in the Edit
window, do one of the following:
1 Do one of the following:
Select (or deselect) View > Other Displays >
• Select View > Transport > Output Meters. MIDI Editor.
• Click the Transport Window menu (in the
Click the MIDI Editor Show/Hide icon in the
upper-right corner of the window) and select or
lower left corner of the Tracks pane in the Edit
deselect Track Collaboration.
window.
• Right-click in the Transport window and select
or deselect Track Collaboration. Double-click the divider below the Tracks pane
in the Edit window.
From the Edit Window menu, select (or dese-
lect) MIDI Editor.
Avid Marketplace To access the Avid online store for support and
training, do one of the following:
The Marketplace menu in Pro Tools lets you ac-
Choose Marketplace > Avid Support Center.
cess your Avid Account, the Avid online store (to
shop for plug-ins, or Avid support). Choose Help > Avid Support and Training.
To redo a Window Configuration: Choose Window > Configurations > Update Ac-
tive Configuration. The active Window Config-
On the numeric keypad, press Period (.), 0, and
uration updates to include any changes to its
then Asterisk (*).
included properties (Window Layout and Win-
If Auto-Update Active Configuration is enabled, un- dow Display Settings).
doing the Window Configuration reverts to the From the Window Configuration List pop-up
previously stored Window Configuration without menu, choose Update <Name>. The selected
automatically saving changes (see “Updating Win- Window Configuration updates with any
dow Configurations” on page 188). changes to its included properties.
Editing Window Configurations To have Pro Tools automatically update the active
Window Configuration, do one of the following:
You can change which properties are stored with
Select Window > Configurations > Auto-Update
Window Configurations, as well as the number,
Active Configuration.
name, or comments.
From the Window Configuration List pop-up
To edit a Window Configuration: menu, select Auto-Update Active Configuration.
1 In the Window Configuration List, select the
When Auto-Update Active Configuration is
Window Configuration you want to edit.
selected, the active Window Configuration
2 From the Window Configuration List pop-up updates with every change to the Window Layout
menu, select Edit <Name>. and Window Display Settings.
3 In the Edit Window Configuration dialog, edit Window Configurations that do not include Win-
the configuration and click OK. dow Layout and only store Window Display Set-
tings cannot be made active and thus won't auto-
matically update. If you want to update a Window
Configuration with changes to the Window Dis-
play Settings (such as the width of the Clip List in
the Edit window), use the Update command in the
Window Configuration List.
There are three main types of Window Configura- Click the View Filter icon to show or hide Win-
tion commands and options dow Configurations that include that property
(Window Layout, Edit Window Settings, Mix
• View Filter icons
Window Settings, Score Editor Window Set-
• Window Configuration List pop-up menu items tings, MIDI Editor Window Settings, or Trans-
• Active Window configuration options port Window Settings).
Select or deselect the View Filter item in the
View Filter Icons Window Configuration List pop-up menu.
For more information, see “Track Name 2 In the Basics section, enable the Tool Tips op-
Right-Click Menu” on page 229. tions you want displayed.
Clip Name Right-Click Menu (Edit Window Only) Function Shows the functional name of different
Pro Tools items (such as specific buttons, indica-
Right-clicking a clip name in the Clip List pro-
tors, modes, selectors, and Edit tools).
vides commands to clear, rename, time stamp, or
replace clips (Pro Tools HD software only). The Details Shows abbreviated or hidden Pro Tools
pop-up menu also lets you export clip definitions names or values for different Pro Tools items
or selected clips as files, recalculate waveform (such as insert names, gain levels, settings, and
overviews, select the parent file of selected clips in routing assignments).
a Workspace Browser, or select a clip as an object
in the Edit window. To turn off Tool Tips, leave both options
deselected.
For more information, see Chapter 15,
“The Clip List.” 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, and video tracks. controlling submix levels). For more information,
see “Master Fader Tracks and Signal Flow” on
Video track features are described in page 937.
Chapter 55, “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, 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 939.
instruments), and for many other audio routing
tasks.
Volume fader
Level meter
Voice selector
Peak/Delay and Headroom indicators
Track Type indicator
Track Name button
Delay Compensation view
Track Comments
Group ID Group ID
Pan knobs
Pan indicators
Solo/Mute buttons
Volume fader
Volume fader
Level meters
Level meters
Solo/Mute buttons
Record
TrackInput Enable MIDI Volume fader
Solo Mute
MIDI Velocity meter
Volume
fader
Level meter Patch Select
MIDI Volume indicator
Track Type indicator
Track Name button
Volume indicator
Track Type indicator Track Comments
Pan knobs
Pan indicators
Record Enable
Solo/Mute buttons
Volume fader
Level meters
Patch Select
Peak/Delay and Headroom indicators
Track Type indicator
Track Name
Delay Compensation view
Track Comments
Timebase selector
Playlist
selector Show/Hide Automation lanes
Timebase selector
Playlist
Playlist selector selector
Track View
selector
Track View selector
Instruments View
Edit window track controls for a video track (medium
track height) Instruments view provides MIDI controls for In-
strument tracks: MIDI Input selector, MIDI Output
selector, MIDI Volume, MIDI Pan, and MIDI
Edit Window Views Mute.
In addition to track controls and playlists (of clips For more information, see “Assigning MIDI
of events on the Timeline), the Edit window pro- Input and Output for Instrument Tracks” on
vides the following views that correspond to chan- page 239.
nel strip controls in the Mix window:
• Comments Inserts View (A–E and F–J)
• Mic Preamps Inserts view provides up to ten inserts (software
• Instruments plug-ins and hardware I/O inserts for generating
and processing audio) on each audio, Auxiliary In-
• Inserts (A–E and F–J)
put, Master Fader, and Instrument track.
• Sends (A–E and F–J)
For more information on inserts, see
• I/O
Chapter 47, “Plug-In and Hardware
• Real-Time Properties Inserts.”
• Track Color
• Track Collaboration (projects only) Sends View (A–E and F–J)
• All Sends view shows send assignments in each audio,
• Minimal Auxiliary Input, and Instrument track.
See also “Views in the Mix and Edit For more information, see “Configuring
Windows” on page 944. Sends View in the Mix and Edit Windows” on
page 954.
Input Path selector Edit window I/O view, Volume pop-up fader (audio
Output Window button track)
Volume indicator
Pan indicator
Peak Indicator Functions as a headroom indicator
Output Path selector
based on the last peak playback level. To reset the
peak counter, click anywhere in the meter. Values
Edit window I/O view (audio track)
range from – (no signal) to 0 dB.
To show the I/O View in the Edit window:
Pan Indicator
Select View > Edit Window > I/O.
The Pan indicator displays the current pan setting
Channel strips in the Mix window always dis- of a track. Pan values range from <100 (full left) to
play Input and Output selectors as well as 100> (full right). Pan controls are only available
volume and pan values, so there is no I/O for stereo tracks or for mono tracks routed to a ste-
view display option for the Mix window. reo output.
To toggle the Volume indicator display: Edit window I/O view, Pan pop-up slider (audio track)
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
dows) the indicator to toggle it between the fol- Greater-than-stereo multichannel tracks do
lowing modes: not provide a Pan indicator in I/O view. You
can view and adjust multichannel panning in
Volume Indicator (and Pop-Up Fader) Shows the the track’s Output window or in the Mix win-
current volume, or input level of a track as set by dow.
the track Volume fader. In I/O view (Edit win-
dow), click the Volume indicator to display the
Volume pop-up fader, which can be used to adjust
the volume.
Pro Tools meters provide a Peak Hold feature with 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the
three options: 3 Second, Infinite, or None. Metering tab.
Clip Indication
Because Pro Tools uses 64-bit floating point calcu-
lations for the mixer, there will never be any inter-
nal clipping in the mixer. However, it is possible to
clip at the converters on your audio interface. It is
also possible to clip when writing audio to disk in
fixed point audio files (16-bit or 24-bit files only,
32-bit floating point files will not clip).
Audio track clip indicators display red under the Command-Option-Control-click (Mac) or Con-
following circumstances, otherwise they display trol-Alt-Start-click (Windows) any track level
yellow: meter in the Mix or Edit window.
Meter Type
Mix Window View selector 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 112.
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).
To add a new track of the same type and channel Control-double-click (Mac) or Start-double-
width as the last new track, do one of the click (Windows) on the empty area of the Edit
following: window below any current tracks.
Double-click in the empty area of the Mix win- Control-double-click (Mac) or Start-double-
dow below or to the right of any current tracks. click (Windows) in the empty area below any
Double-click in the empty area of the Edit win- current tracks in the Tracks list.
dow below any current tracks.
If no tracks exist in the session, a stereo Auxiliary
Double-click in the empty area below any cur- Input track is created by default.
rent tracks in the Tracks list.
4 Click OK.
unselected track
selected track
Notes View
(MIDI Only)
To change to the previous or next Track View: To toggle Track Views for all tracks with
1 Click in the track you want to change. To Command Focus enabled, press
change views on multiple tracks, Shift-click or Option+Minus (Mac) or Alt+Minus
drag the Selector tool to select additional tracks, (Windows) on the alphanumeric keyboard.
or select a group.
Audio tracks are toggled between Waveform and
2 Do one of the following: Volume view. MIDI and Instrument tracks are tog-
• To change to the previous or next Track View on gled between Notes and Clips view.
all selected tracks, press Control+Command
(Mac) or Control+Start (Windows) and the Left Master Views for Tracks
or Right Arrow key.
Audio, MIDI, and Instrument tracks have Track
• To change to the previous or next Track View on Views that act as “master.” When a track is dis-
all tracks, press Command+Option+Control played in its Master view, any edits performed ap-
(Mac) or Control+Alt+Start (Windows) and the ply to all data in the track. For instance, when an
Left or Right Arrow key. audio track is set to Waveform, copying and past-
ing affects not just the waveform information, but
Toggling Common Track Views all of the automation data as well.
The most common editing view for audio tracks
The Master view is based on the type of track, as
are Waveform and Volume view. The most com-
follows:
mon editing views for MIDI and Instrument tracks
are Notes and Clips view. Pro Tools provides an • Audio tracks: Waveform and Blocks
easy way to toggle these views. • MIDI and Instrument tracks: Clips, Blocks, and
Notes (when using the Selector tool)
Track List
Click the Track Show/Hide icon in the Track Click the Track List menu and choose Hide All
List. Tracks.
In the Track List (or on the track channel strip), You can also hide all tracks by Option-clicking
Right-click the track name and select Hide (or (Mac) or Alt-clicking (Windows) the
Hide and Make Inactive if the track is active and Show/Hide icon of any track that is shown.
you also want to make it inactive).
Hidden track icon in the Track List To show or hide a range of tracks in the Track List
with the Marquee:
To show a track that is currently hidden, do one of
the following: 1 Move the cursor to the left of a track name until
Click the Track Show/Hide icon in the Track the Marquee with a small “+” symbol appears.
List. 2 Click on the track in the list and drag up or down
In the Track List (or on the track channel strip), over the Show/Hide icons (to show or hide the
Right-click the track name and select Show (or track and the tracks immediately above or be-
Show and Make Active if the track is inactive low it).
and you also want to make it active).
To show or hide non-contiguous tracks:
To show all tracks: Click the Show/Hide icon for the tracks you
Click the Track List menu and choose Show All want to show or hide.
Tracks.
To restore previously shown tracks after using the
You can also show all tracks by Option-click- Show All Tracks, Show Only Selected Tracks, or
Show Only Tracks by <Track Type> commands:
ing (Mac) or Alt-clicking (Windows) the
Show/Hide icon of any track that is hidden. From the Track List menu, choose the Restore
Previously Shown Tracks option.
In the Mix and Edit windows, Track Position Scroll Into View Scrolls the track to the top of the
Numbers can either include hidden tracks in their Edit window or to the left of the Mix window.
numbering sequence, or ignore them
Export MIDI (MIDI and Instrument Tracks
• When Track Position Numbers Stay with Hidden Only) Exports the MIDI data from one or more
Tracks is not selected in the Display Preferences MIDI or Instrument tracks to a standard MIDI file.
page, numbers are only assigned to tracks that For more information, see “Exporting MIDI Files”
are shown. In this case, active tracks are then on page 360.
numbered sequentially. Hidden tracks are un-
numbered. Coalesce VCA Master Automation (VCA Master
Tracks Only) Coalesces the VCA automation to
• When Track Position Numbers Stay With Hidden the slave tracks of the VCA.
Tracks is selected in the Display Preferences
page, tracks keep their Track Position Numbers Coalesce Trim Automation (Pro Tools HD
even when hidden. Only) Coalesces Trim automation on the track (or
selected tracks if any).
Open in Score Editor (MIDI and Instrument Tracks For stereo and multichannel surround tracks, in-
Only) Opens the track in the Score Editor window. puts and outputs appear as stereo pairs and multi-
channel groups. The available inputs, outputs, and
Open in MIDI Event List (MIDI and Instrument
busses are defined as paths in the I/O Setup dialog
Tracks Only) Opens the track in the MIDI Event
(see Chapter 7, “I/O Setup”).
List.
Notation Display Track Settings (MIDI and Instru- Automatic Input and Output
ment Tracks Only) Opens the Notation Display Assignments
Track Settings window for the track. Music nota-
tion can only be viewed in the Score Editor or in When adding tracks to a new session, inputs are
MIDI Editor windows set to Notation view. automatically assigned in ascending order. For ex-
ample, if you have an audio interface with eight in-
Expand Channels to New Tracks Expands multi- puts, creating four new mono audio tracks will au-
channel audio files imported from a field recorder tomatically add four audio tracks with inputs
to new tracks, such that every channel resides on assigned to the first four paths defined in the I/O
its own mono audio track. Pro Tools also automat- Setup dialog. When creating stereo tracks, inputs
ically conforms all expanded tracks to the edits in are automatically assigned to subsequent input
the guide (expanded) track. You can expand multi- pairs.
channel files to new tracks ordered by channel
name, by channel number, by channel name and The outputs automatically assigned to new tracks
number, or by Timecode only. are determined by the New Track Default Output
Bus specified in the I/O Setup dialog.
choose Rename from the pop-up menu. In the Edit or Mix window, Right-click the In-
put selector or Output selector for a track, and
2 In the Rename I/O dialog, type a name for the
choose Make Inactive (or Make Active) from the
I/O Path, and click OK.
pop-up menu.
‘
You can also adjust the relative priority of tracks Click the Voice selector and set the track to Dyn,
by freeing up the voices of individual tracks, mak- Off.
ing them available to other tracks in the session.
In the Edit window, select View > Edit Control-click (Mac) or Right-click (Mac or
Window > I/O to access any track’s Output Windows) the MIDI Output selector and select
selector. additional channels from any device.
2 Click the Solo button on another track. The but- With AFL, the level you hear is dependent on the
tons for both tracks are highlighted and all other fader level for that track. Additionally, there is a
tracks are muted. separate master level setting for AFL that affects
the output of any or all tracks you solo in AFL
To un-solo tracks: mode (see “AFL/PFL Path” on page 71). This
Click the Solo button on soloed tracks. level setting is independent of the PFL level
setting.
For information on creating and modifying
groups for track soloing and muting, see PFL (Pre Fader Listen) The Solo button routes the
“Grouping Tracks” on page 247. track’s pre-fader/pre-pan signal to the AFL/PFL
Path output. The AFL/PFL Path is configured in
the Output page of the I/O Setup dialog (see
Solo Button
“AFL/PFL Path” on page 71).
The Solo button normally mutes other tracks so
that the selected track can be auditioned inde- With PFL, the fader level and pan are ignored, and
pendently. the level you hear is dependent on the signal’s re-
corded level. Additionally, there is a separate mas-
With Pro Tools HD, this behavior is selected as a ter level setting for PFL that affects the output of
Solo mode, called “Solo In Place.” Additional Solo any or all tracks you solo in PFL mode (see
modes are provided to change how the Solo button “AFL/PFL Path” on page 71). This level setting is
works. See “Solo Modes” on page 240. independent of the AFL level setting.
Switching the Solo mode for all soloed tracks 1 Configure the output path for AFL or PFL so-
to PFL clears all previously soloed tracks loed tracks.
before entering PFL mode. This prevents 2 Select the main output path that will mute when
potentially large boosts in level. you solo a track in AFL or PFL mode (see
“AFL/PFL Mutes (Output Path)” on page 71).
DSP Usage when Using AFL or PFL Mode
3 Set up your hardware to monitor both the main
AFL and PFL are accomplished by Pro Tools cre- and AFL/PFL paths simultaneously.
ating a “behind the scenes” mixer to route the sig-
nal to the chosen AFL/PFL Path. Depending on the When AFL or PFL is selected as a Solo mode and
size of your main mixer, Pro Tools will devote a a track is soloed, the main output path will mute
substantial portion of its available DSP when using and the AFL/PFL signal will appear at the
AFL/PFL mode. AFL/PFL Path for monitoring.
To make one or more tracks inactive or active, do Track List Track colors are displayed in vertical
one of the following: color bars that appear to the left of each track
Select the track and select Track > Make Inac- name.
tive/Active. Group List Track colors are displayed in vertical
Right-click the Track Name in the Track List, or color bars that appear to the left of each Group
Mix or Edit windows and choose Make Inac- Name.
tive/Active.
Default colors are automatically assigned to tracks,
To select multiple tracks, Command-click but you can override those colors by choosing
(Mac) or Control-click (Windows) additional from a color palette of 96 possible colors. For more
Track Names. information, see “Color Palette” on page 245.
7 Select a Default Clip Color Coding option. Track Type Assigns a color to each track according
to its type (audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader,
8 Click OK.
VCA Master, MIDI, Instrument, or video).
Always Display Marker Colors
Default Clip Color Coding
This option lets you view Marker colors in the
The Default Clip Color Coding options determine
Markers ruler, regardless of the option you choose
how colors are assigned to the display of tracks,
for the Default Clip Color Coding option.
clips in the track playlist and Clip List, and Marker
Locations.
MIDI Note Color Shows Velocity
None Turns off default color assignment for clips.
When this option is enabled, MIDI notes display
varying shades of the assigned track color in MIDI Clips are drawn as black waveforms or black MIDI
notes view in the Edit window and in MIDI Editor notes on a light gray background.
windows. Notes with high velocities are darker Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to each
and notes with lower velocities are lighter. clip in the Edit window according to its voice or
MIDI channel assignment.
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.
Group Controls
Group List
Menus and commands for creating and modifying
groups are accessible in the following: Show/Hide Track List/Group List View
Button
• Group List
• Group name in the Group List To show the Group List (and Track List):
The Pro Tools track grouping functions are located To the left of each name in the Group List is a letter
at the left side of the Mix, Edit, and MIDI Editor denoting its Group ID (“a” through “z”).
windows in the Group List. This scrolling window
contains the names of all the groups in your ses-
sion, as well as a pop-up menu for accessing
grouping commands. From this menu, you can se-
lect and enable groups.
Hollow Circle
Filled In Circle
Circle with a Dot Indicates that all members of the Modify Opens Group dialog to modify existing
group are currently selected, plus additional mem- groups only.
bers outside the group. Duplicate Opens Group dialog for duplicated
group.
Group List Menu
Delete Deletes a single group.
The pop-up menu at the top of the Group List pro-
vides the following commands: Select Tracks in Group Selects tracks in the
group.
New Group Executes the Track > Group com-
mand. Show/Hide Tracks in Group Shows or hides tracks
in the current group.
Display Provides commands to show Edit groups
only, Mix groups only, or all groups (Edit, Mix, Show Only Tracks in Group Shows only the
and Mix/Edit). tracks in the group and hides all other tracks.
Suspend All Groups Suspends group behavior for
all Mix and Edit groups.
Group Dialog
Whether you are creating or modifying groups
with the Group 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 Group 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 254).
• 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.
The “All” group cannot be deleted. 1 While creating or modifying a group, click Glo-
bals in the Group dialog.
Duplicating Groups
You can duplicate a group and modify its settings
in order to quickly set up a mix.
To duplicate a group:
1 Do one of the following:
• Click the Group ID indicator on a track and
choose Duplicate from the pop-up menu.
• Right-click the Group name in the Group List
and choose Duplicate from the pop-up menu.
2 Change any of the following for the current
group:
• Group name
• Group type (Edit, Mix, or Mix/Edit)
• VCA status (Pro Tools HD only)
• Follows Global status (Pro Tools HD only)
• Track membership
• Attributes (Pro Tools HD only) Globals page of Group dialog
• Linked Within Group items (Pro Tools HD only) 2 Select the base set of attributes for groups in
3 Click OK. your session.
3 Click OK to save the group and the new Globals
settings.
Setting Group Attributes
For information on selecting attributes, see
When creating a Mix Group or a Mix/Edit Group, “Selecting Group Attributes” on page 255.
you can select the Mix window parameters that
will be linked for that group. These linked param- To select attributes for an individual group:
eters are the attributes of the group. 1 While creating or modifying a Mix Group or a
Mix/Edit Group, do one of the following:
You can select attributes in the Globals page and
then set individual groups to follow the Global set- • Click Attributes in the Group dialog, and select
tings, or you can select attributes for groups indi- the attributes you want to link.
vidually.
Mix Attributes:
• Record Enable
• Input Monitoring
• Solos
• Automation Mode
• HEAT Pre/Post (Pro Tools HD only)
• HEAT Bypass (Pro Tools HD only)
To disable a group:
Selecting a Group Settings Location
In the Group List, click the name of the group
you want to disable. The name is unhighlighted
To save the current attribute settings
to indicate that it is not enabled.
directly to a preset location, Command-
click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) the
preset button. Keyboard Selection of Groups
The Group List Keyboard Focus lets you type a
To recall a Group preset:
Group ID letter to automatically toggle that
Click the corresponding Preset button (1–6) in group’s enable status.
the Groups dialog. (Follow Globals must be de-
selected to recall a setting in the Attributes In the Mix window, the Group List Keyboard
page.) Focus is always enabled.
In the Edit window, you need to enable the
Group List Keyboard Focus to use it.
The Edit Window displays all audio clips, MIDI Because clip information can become lengthy, the
clips, and clip groups in a single, comprehensive Clip List can be scrolled or resized as necessary.
Clip List.
Use the Clip List as a bin for storing your
Drag to resize width Keyboard Focus favorite audio loops and MIDI clips. Save
of Clip List the session as a template and the clips are
Clip List menu
available for future sessions (see “Session
Templates” on page 163).
Clip List
2 From the submenu, select a basis for sorting. • User Time Stamp
Different options are available for audio and • Timebase
MIDI clips. See “Sort By Options” on page 261. • Start in Parent
3 To set whether clips are listed in ascending or • End in Parent
descending order, click the Clip List menu,
choose Sort By, and select Ascending or Clips can also be sorted by Clip Type (Audio and
Descending. MIDI), or in Ascending or Descending order.
Unused Except Whole Files Selects clips that To preview a clip in the Clip List:
have not been placed in a track in the current ses-
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
sion, but do not include Whole-file clips. Whole-
clip name.
file clips are clips that were created when record-
ing or importing audio, consolidating existing Audio clips and clip groups play back through the
clips, and when nondestructively processing with specified Audition Path (see “Audition Path” on
an AudioSuite plug-in. Whole-file audio clips ref- page 69).
erence an entire audio file that resides on your hard
drive. Whole-file audio clips are displayed in bold Sample-based clips play back at their native
in the Clip List tempo. Tick-based MIDI and Elastic Audio pro-
cessed clips play back at the session tempo (based
Offline Selects clips whose parent files cannot be on the location of the playback cursor). You can
located, or are not available, when opening a ses- also preview clips from the Clip List during ses-
sion or importing a track. Offline clips appear in sion playback.
the Clip List as italicized and dimmed; they appear
in playlists as light blue clips with italicized MIDI clips play back using the Default Thru In-
names. strument selected in the MIDI Preferences page
(see “The Default Thru Instrument” on page 483).
“Select Unused” Ignores Parent Clip Enabling
the “Select Unused” Ignores Parent Clip option af-
fects the behavior of the Select Unused command.
When it is enabled, all unused clips are selected ex-
cept for any unused whole clips that have related
sub-clips currently on tracks in the session.
When auditioning a mono component of a mono Stereo clips, expanded (top) and collapsed (bottom)
component clip, the clip can be routed equally to To expand or collapse all stereo and multichannel
all outputs of the parent clip’s Audition Path. clips:
in the Clip List • From the Clip List menu, choose Rename.
A typical session can become cluttered with doz- • Right-click on any selected clip and select Re-
ens of tracks and hundreds of clips. There are a name from the pop-up menu.
number of things you can do to keep track of and 4 In the Name dialog, type a new name for the
manage a session’s clips, including: clip. If a whole-file audio clip was selected,
• Renaming existing clips specify whether to rename just the clip, or both
the clip and the disk file.
• Specifying how auto-created clips are named
• Hiding auto-created clips
• Removing unused clips
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
that was auto-created during editing, the clip be- Name dialog
comes a user-defined clip and is displayed in the 5 Click OK to rename the clip. If renaming multi-
Clip List even when auto-created clips are hidden. ple clips, you are prompted, successively, to re-
If a clip resides in a track, you can easily rename it name each clip.
by double-clicking it with one of the Grabber tools. You can resize the Name dialog by dragging
However, if the clip does not reside in a track, or if the boundaries of the dialog.
you want to rename several clips, use the Rename
command in the Clip List.
The Name dialog provides the option to view in- In the Name dialog, click the show/hide triangle
formation about the selected clip. This information for Clip Info.
is not editable from the Name dialog. The follow-
ing clip information is available:
Suffix Specifies text to be appended to the end of • Clips created by trimming whole-file
the name, following the auto numbering. audio clips
The Pro Tools Workspace combines an intuitive, Workspace browsers let you search and sort audio
browser-style interface with an integrated databas- files, video files, and sessions. Audio, video, and
ing engine, optimized for metadata and media session files displayed in browsers can be dragged
management. directly into the current Pro Tools session.
Workspace browsers provide extensive databasing When offline items are needed, Pro Tools lets you
tools for searching, sorting, auditioning, and im- find the correct matching files, then relink to on-
porting of audio, MIDI, video, plug-in settings line media.
(.tfx), Guitar Rig Settings (Eleven Rack only), and
session files. Multiple browsers can be displayed The Workspace browser provides access to all
and arranged, with custom display settings pro- your mounted volumes, as well as the folders and
vided to customize your work environment. files they contain.
Workspace browsers provide file management for Catalogs provide the highest level of Pro Tools file
local and network volumes. Volumes are formatted management. Catalogs make it easy to organize
partitions on a physical drive (hard drive). Any files from multiple sources into libraries of favorite
changes made in the Workspace (such as copying, files. Catalogs can be sorted and searched, even
or moving files and folders) is mirrored on the vol- when the files they reference are offline.
umes themselves. Volumes include mounted hard
drives, network storage, and removable media Using Catalogs, you can:
(such as CD-ROMs). • Collect and organize files from any combination
of volumes
When Volumes are focused in the Locations pane
you can: • Create catalogs of complete volumes to view
and search even if a volume is offline
• View, manage, audition, and import individual
items on the volume • View, manage, audition, and import individual
items in the catalog
• Update a database for contents of the volume
• Update a database for contents of catalog
Session
For more information, see “Catalogs” on
Workspace browsers provide powerful search and page 306.
management tools for the files referenced in your
current session, regardless of where they are Task Manager Window
stored.
The Task Manager window is a utility for viewing
When the currently open session is focused in the and managing all of the background tasks that you
Locations pane you can: initiate with Pro Tools. Use the Task Manager
window to monitor, pause, or cancel background
• Show all the media files associated with the cur-
tasks such as file copies, searches, and indexing.
rent session, including any missing files
• View, manage, audition, and spot individual For more information, see “Task Manager
items Window” on page 309.
Relink Window
The Relink window provides tools and features for
relinking sessions and catalogs to media files. Use
Relink tools to search and reacquire missing files
for use in the current session.
Toolbar
Column headers
Items List
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.
Each row of data in a Workspace browser rep- Press Option+O (Mac) or Alt+O (Windows).
resents an Item (such as a file or folder). Data
To open a new Workspace browser from a selected
about each item is displayed in columns. volume, catalog, or folder, do one of the following:
Locations Pane Used to navigate the volumes (lo- Command-double-click (Mac) or Control-dou-
cal and networked drives) on your system, the cur- ble-click (Windows) a volume, catalog, or
rently open session, indexed Catalogs of media, folder in the currently open Workspace browser.
and the system User directory.
Press Option+Down Arrow (Mac) or
Browser Pane Displays the contents of items se- Alt+Down Arrow (Windows) to open the cur-
lected in the Locations pane or search results. rently selected volume, catalog, or folder in a
new Workspace browser.
Opening Workspace Browsers
Viewing the Contents of a
There are several ways to open, close, and navigate
Volume, Folder, or Catalog
one or more Workspace browsers.
To expand or collapse the currently selected
To open the Workspace browser if no workspace folder, do one of the following:
browser is currently open, do one of the following:
Click the Expand/Collapse icon next to the vol-
Choose Window > Workspace. ume, folder, session, or catalog in either the
Press Option+; (Mac) or Alt+; (Windows). to Browser pane or the Locations pane.
open and close a single Workspace browser. If Select a volume, folder, or Catalog, and press
multiple Workspace browsers are open, these the Right Arrow key to expand, or the left
key commands bring successive Workspace Arrow key to collapse.
browsers to the foreground.
To move up one level in a browser:
These key commands also close the Work-
space browser if the selection in the Loca- Click the Browse Back arrow in the toolbar.
tions pane is on the Volumes root folder. If
To move up one level in a browser, press
another item is selected in the Locations
Command+Up Arrow key (Mac) or Con-
pane, these key commands will open a new
trol+Up Arrow key (Windows).
browser focused on that item.
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
foreground: To change a volume designator:
Choose Window > Browsers, and select an open 1 Open a Workspace browser.
Workspace browser from the submenu.
2 In the Locations pane, select Volumes.
To cycle to the next or previous Workspace 3 In the Browser pane, click and select the appro-
browser:
priate permissions for any volume.
Press Command+Left/Right Arrow keys (Mac)
or Control+Left/Right Arrow keys (Windows). You can also Right-click any volume in either
the Locations pane or the Browser pane and set
the desired permissions setting for the selected
Closing Workspace Browsers volume.
To close all Workspace browsers:
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 To open a folder in its own new Workspace
browser:
Browser pane of any Workspace browser.
• Drag the AAF or OMF sequence from the Command-double-click (Mac) or Control-dou-
Browser pane of any Workspace browser to the ble-click (Windows) the folder. The previous
Timeline in an open session. (parent) Workspace browsers window remains
open.
2 Configure the Import Session Data dialog.
With a browser in the foreground and the
3 Click OK.
folder selected, press Command+
Option+Down Arrow (Mac) or
Control+Alt+Down Arrow (Windows) to
open a folder in its own new browser.
Many text fields can be edited to replace or update The next time you open that browser, metadata for
data for an item. items that have already been indexed is visible im-
mediately. If the browser or folder was closed be-
To enter an edit to a text field and exit, and return fore indexing was complete, or if the contents of
to the previous display state: the folder have changed since the last time it was
Press Enter. browsed, Pro Tools automatically updates the da-
tabase the next time it is opened. This way, the da-
To revert to the previous text and cancel a text edit: tabase is always up to date for the folder you are
browsing. (View the Task Manager to see current
Press Esc.
activity.)
For details on column editing, see “Column
Indexing while Browsing saves time because it
Data” on page 283.
only fills the database for items on the level of the
volume that you are currently browsing. For exam-
ple, if you are browsing the root level of the vol-
Indexing Workspace ume, it indexes only the folders and files on the
Databases root level. If you open a folder, Pro Tools indexes
Indexing is the process of reading media files, ex- just the items in that folder. As a result, a database
tracting just the metadata for each file, then storing is only indexed for the parts of the volume that you
that data in an associated database so that it may be have browsed. However, searches are faster and
displayed in the columns of a Workspace browser. more complete when a volume is already com-
Once a volume or folder has been fully indexed, it pletely indexed.
can be searched very quickly because all of the
metadata has already been sorted and organized.
Load Guitar Rig Settings (Eleven Rack Delete Lets you delete selected files, folders, and
Only) Loads the Guitar Rig Settings for selected catalogs from disk, or move selected items to the
audio files with embedded Guitar Rig Settings Trash (Mac) or to the Recycle Bin (Windows).
from an Eleven Rack.
To recall a saved preset: Size Displays the size of a file. This field cannot be
edited.
Click the appropriate View Preset button.
Waveform Displays a graphical overview of an au-
Sorting Columns dio file. See “Waveforms” on page 292 for more
information.
Columns can be sorted in ascending or descending
order, and multiple sorts can be applied (up to four Duration Displays the duration of a file in absolute
levels). time (minutes and seconds), regardless of the time-
code format. For clip groups, MIDI, tick-based
To sort by columns: Elastic Audio files, REX, and ACID files, Dura-
Click the column title header. tion displays Bars and Beats. This field cannot be
edited.
To toggle the current sort order between
Date Indexed Displays the last indexed date for the
ascending and descending:
item. This field cannot be edited.
Click the column title header a second time.
Capacity Displays the total capacity of a volume.
To sort by multiple columns: This field cannot be edited.
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) suc- Free Displays the unused space on volumes. This
cessive column headers. field cannot be edited.
Chapter 16: Workspace Browsers 283
File Comment Displays any embedded comments Tempo Displays the tempo associated with clip
associated with the file. File comments are sup- group, MIDI, tick-based Elastic Audio files, REX,
ported with BWF and SD II files, but are not sup- and ACID files, and session files. This field cannot
ported with AIFF files. File Comments always re- be edited.
main with the file when copied, converted, or
Video Compression Displays the compression ra-
transferred. See “Comments Fields” on page 285
for more information. tio of video files where applicable.
Circled Indicates if the status of a take is set to “cir- 1 Click the Comments field. The field expands to
cled” (No or Yes) in audio files. This is usually for display the entire contents of the field if neces-
indicating which take should be used. sary.
Plug-In Name Displays the name of the plug-in for 2 Enter or edit a comment.
Plug-In Settings files (.tfx). 3 Press Enter, or click outside the text box to close
it.
Volume selected for search Advanced Search settings Advanced Search enabled
Folders checked for search Advanced Search settings Advanced Search enabled
Search Checked
option (enabled) Search results
Add Row button Pro Tools lets you refine your search by up to 8
Search Text field rows of search criteria.
Search Column selector
Add Row Button Click the Add button (“+”) to
add another row to refine the advanced search.
1 In a Workspace browser, select the files you Files cleared of Elastic Audio analysis data revert
want to analyze. to sample timebase, display their duration in min-
utes and seconds, and do not report a tempo.
2 Do one of the following:
• Right-click one of the selected files and choose
Calculate Elastic Analysis from the pop-up
menu.
• Preview the file with the Audio Files
Conform to Session Tempo option enabled.
Multi-Mono Files
4 Click the Preview button in the Workspace Pro Tools provides an option to reserve voices for
browser and the file plays at the session tempo. preview in context. The number of reserved voices
is determined by the channel width of the selected
Audition Paths in the I/O Setup. Voices reserved
Preview in Context for preview in context are unavailable for disk
Pro Tools lets you preview audio files in Work- tracks.
space browsers while playing back a Pro Tools
session. Tick-based audio files (those with tempo To reserve for voices for preview in context:
detected Elastic Audio analysis, as well as REX 1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
and ACID files) can play back in tempo, and at the
corresponding bar and beat location, with session 2 Select the Operation tab.
playback. Tick-based audio files audition at the 3 Enable the Reserve Voices For Preview In
session tempo when the Audio Files Conform to Context option.
Session Tempo option is enabled.
4 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.
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.
search for missing items.
The Relink window can also be accessed after a
Files to Relink Lists missing files. session is open.
Candidates Lists files that match the “relinking To access the Relink window from an open
criteria” for a particular missing file. The Link icon session:
next to the candidate can be toggled on or off to
1 In the Workspace browser, select the item you
link (or unlink) the proposed candidate to the se-
want to relink.
lected missing file.
2 Choose Relink Offline from the Browser menu.
The Relink window controls each phase of the
relinking process.
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 303.)
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.
4 Configure criteria for relinking, if necessary, in
To control matching and linking criteria
the Linking Options dialog:
when relinking an individual missing file,
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 304. 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
the Catalog, click Remove.
Relinking Catalog Items
• To delete the selected items from disk (and re- If files are ever missing from a Catalog, use the
move their aliases from the Catalog), click Move Relink window to locate, copy, and relink files.
To Trash (Mac) or Move To Recycle Bin (Win- For more information, see “Linking and Relinking
dows). Files” on page 299.
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
The Task window provides a maximized and min- The upper Active Tasks pane shows the tasks that
imized view. are in progress or waiting to start. The currently ex-
ecuting task is at the top. Tasks in this pane will be
To toggle between maximized and minimized processed.
views:
As tasks complete, they disappear from the queue.
Click the View Toggle icon in the top of the
Task window. Any task that fails to complete successfully is
moved to the Paused Tasks pane (see below). The
Status column displays a description of the failure.
The following data is always displayed in the Task Pausing and Canceling Tasks
window (both views):
The Task window lets you pause, resume, and can-
Item Name Indicates affected item, whether a file, cel tasks.
database, or other supported item.
To pause a task:
Status Action being taken (for example, copying,
Drag the appropriate task from the Active Tasks
processing, indexing and so on).
pane to the Paused Tasks pane.
Progress Indicates the progress of the task or its
sub-tasks, which include assessing the size of the To pause all tasks:
items and the estimated amount of time necessary Choose Pause All from the Task window menu.
to complete the task.
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.
Use the Artist Chat window to find and invite other Pro Tools users to collaborate on projects. Use text chat
to communicate during the collaboration process. The Artist Chat window is a floating window.
3 Click Save.
Add Contacts
To add a contact:
1 Click Contacts in the left column of the Artist
Chat window. Send a contact request
Add Contact
Notifications
When you receive and invitation to collaborate on
a project, you are notified in the Notifications tab.
You can choose to accept or reject the request to
collaborate.
My Contacts
Accepting or rejecting an invitation to collaborate
3 You can double-click one of your contacts to
on a project:
start a text chat with them.
1 When you receive a notification, a number ap-
To delete a contact: pears to the right of the Notifications tab in the
left column of the Artist Chat window.
1 Click Contacts in the left column of the Artist
Chat window.
2 The My Contacts tab should be shown, but if
not, click it.
One notification
3 Click Edit in the upper-right corner of the My
2 Click the Notifications tab in the left column of
Contacts pane. It will turn blue.
the Artist Chat window to review your notifica-
4 Move the mouse cursor over the far right of the tions.
contact you want to delete. A “–” (minus) sym-
3 Review the notification and then decide to ac-
bol appears.
cept or reject the request.
5 Click the “–” (minus) symbol.
Projects
The Projects tab shows all of the projects that you
are currently own or collaborating on. In the Proj-
ects pane, you can show or hide the collaboration Projects view, Quartet_Andante project selected
transaction log, review the collaboration transac-
tion logs for the selected project, invite contacts to 3 The chat for the selected project appears and
collaborate on the project, and chat with users who shows who is working on the project, the col-
are collaborating on the project. You can also laboration transaction logs, and lets you invite
“pin” projects to the top of the list or leave a proj- collaborators to the project from your contacts.
ect.
Use the Chat field to enter text chat to be commu- Use the Participant menu to message an individual
nicate with all participants on the project. For more participant on the project without messaging all
information about chat, see “Chat” on page 320. participants.
You can also add emoticons and music notation
symbols to your chat (for more information, see
“Emoticon and Notations Panel” on page 324).
Project chat
To leave a project:
1 Right-click the project in the Projects list that
you want to leave.
2 From the right-click menu, choose Leave.
Chat list
Text Chat field Show emoticons
Chat pane and notation panel
Leave a project
Chat view
When you leave a project, it is removed from the To view the Chat list in the Artist Chat window:
Projects lists from both the Artist Chat window
and from the Dashboard. 1 Click the Chat tab in the left column of the Art-
ist chat window. If the Chat list was collapsed, it
is revealed to show all projects that you own or
are collaborating on. You can reveal or collapse
Chat the Chat list by click the reveal/collapse triangle
The Chat section of the Artist Chat window keeps to the left of Chat.
track of all of your of your individual and group 2 Select the Chat thread you want.
chats that are independent of project chats. You
can collapse and reveal the Chat list in the left col-
umn of the Artist Chat window just like you can
with the Projects list. Also, when you are not view
a specific chat thread, a number shows up to the
right of the chat thread name in the list if you have
received any messages or actions have taken place
with the chat thread while you were not viewing it.
As soon as you select that chat thread in the list, the
number will disappear as you will be able to re-
view all messages and transactions in the chat sec-
tion.
Chat view, group chat shown
Individual Chat
Emoticons pane
Edited message identifies by pencil icon
Selecting Offline
While “Read” and “None” are continually shared, • Track Voice assignments
“Write” modes are not (as this could cause prob-
lems for other project participants). Sending and Receiving Tracks
and Updates
I/O Setup
A track must be shared to send or receive updates
New projects are received with the bus settings with other project participants. If a track is not
from the project owner. All existing busses on col- shared, it is usable only on the local system. This
laborator systems are cleared for the new project. can be desirable if you want to keep certain tracks
from being changed by other participants in the
Any received bus follows the standard I/O Setup project, or if you want to share only mixdowns of
mapping logic. Output mapped busses look for a the full mix rather than the entire mix (this can ac-
unique ID, followed by the assigned monitor path tually save time and online storage space).
(if any), followed by the name and channel format
of tracks. If none are found, the bus does not map A track must be shared by at least one user to show
to the collaborator’s system and they are notified up as “available for download” in the Tracks list.
through the project notes when they first receive an
open the project. If this occurs, they may have to
remap those busses manually.
• HEAT settings
• Video Track Collaboration Tools in
the Edit Window
Project Ownership The Edit Window toolbar is host to the global
Track Collaboration tools.
The owner of the project is the one who creates the
project and invites others to collaborate on the To show (or hide) the Track Collaboration tools in
project. All media posted to the shared project the Edit window toolbar, do one of the following:
counts only against the project owner’s storage al- Select (or deselect) View > Track Collaboration.
location. Be sure to communicate using the Artist
Chat window to make sure all participants manage From the Edit Window menu, select (or dese-
the amount of media they post to the project so as lect) Track Collaboration.
to not overburden the project owner. Only the proj-
ect owner can invite participants to collaborate on
the project and delete participants from the project.
When the project owner deletes the project, it is de-
leted for all participants. When a participant who is
not the project owner deletes the project, it is the
same as if they simply leave the project and all
other participants will be able to continue collabo-
rating on the project.
Automatically
Show Artist Upload, Download,
Selecting Track Collaboration view from the Transport Chat or Download All
window menu
Track Collaboration tools in the Edit window toolbar
Invite User
Click the Invite User button to open the Artist Chat
window and invite one or more of your contacts to
participate on the project (see “Invite Contacts to
Collaborate” on page 318).
Track Collaboration view in the Transport window (in
Expanded view on top and non-Expanded view on the Show Artist Chat
bottom)
Click the Show Artist Chat button to open the Art-
ist Chat window (see Chapter 17, “Artist Chat
Window”). The Show Artist Chat button turns
green when you receive a message from another
participant in the Project Chat for the open project.
Cloud Storage Meter and tool tip for the project owner
Cloud Storage Meter and tool tip for the project owner
Select (or deselect) View > Mix Window Views > Download Track Changes
Track Collaboration.
Track Owner
From the Mix Window View selector, enable
(or disable) Track Collaboration.
Track Collaboration Track view, Edit window
Share Track
Enable the Share Track control to share a track
with other participants in the project. When a track
is shared, the Share Track icon is blue. When a
track is not shared, it is gray. Anyone can share or
unshare any track in the project that has been
posted to the cloud and that they have downloaded
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.
Selecting Track Collaboration Track view, Mix window
When a track is shared, the Share Track control is The Upload command works just like clicking a
blue. When a track is shared, anyone can take own- green Upload Track Changes control and posts all
ership of the track and make changes to it. of the changes on that track to the cloud copy of the
project.
However, when another participant deletes a
shared track, the Share Track control turns red. In Abandon Changes
this case, you can choose to unshare the track and
Choosing the Abandon Changes command clears
keep it in your local copy of the project, or allow it
the upload and resets all of the changes to how the
to be deleted.
track was prior to you working on the track.
When any participant makes a “share-able” change Enable the Manual Uploads Only option to ensure
to a shared track, they take ownership of that track, that the Upload All New Changes button does not
even if only temporarily, and the Upload Track automatically upload any of your changes on this
Changes control on that track lights green. When track. Your changes will only be uploaded if you
that person clicks the Upload Track Changes con-
Share as Frozen
When no one owns a shared track, the Track Own- When you manually take ownership of the track by
ership control is gray and anyone is free to work on clicking the Track Ownership control, it turns solid
it. green, shows your Display Name in the Track
Ownership control, and no other participant can
take ownership of the track simply by changing
their copy of the track.
If any other participant wants to take ownership of It is possible for more than one participant to make
the track, they must request ownership either by changed to a shared, but unowned track. Other par-
making a “share-able” change to the track or by ticipants may not know that you are making
clicking the Track Ownership control for that track changes to a track until you upload your changes.
in their local copy of the project. In this case another participant may also be making
changes to that track. If either of you upload your
changes to the cloud copy of the project the other
will encounter a red Upload Track Changes control
on that track indicating a conflict.
Track Ownership Requested
Track Owned by Another Participant Similarly, if you make local changes to a track
while another participant uploads their changes to
When another participant owns a track, you see
the cloud copy, when you are notified that changes
their Display Name shown in the Track Ownership
are available for download, the Download Track
control and the Track Ownership control lights or-
Changes control may turn red indicating that your
ange.
changes will be overwritten by changes on the
cloud.
Ownership Pending Cloud track changes conflict with local track changes
It is important to understand, that unlike tracks in a Upload Ruler Changes Right-Click menu
shared project (which can be shared or not), all Upload
Conductor rulers in a shared project are always
shared. The Upload command works just like clicking a
green Upload Ruler Changes control and posts all
Download Ruler Changes of your changes on the ruler to the cloud copy of
Ruler Owner the project.
Abandon Changes
When another participant makes a “share-able” Enable the Manual Downloads Only option to en-
change to a Conductor ruler and they then upload sure that the Download All New Changes button
their changes to the cloud copy of the project, the does not automatically download any changes
corresponding Download Ruler Changes control from the cloud copy of the project to this Conduc-
lights green for all other participants. They can tor ruler. Cloud changes to the ruler will only be
click the Download Ruler Changes control to downloaded if you click its Download Ruler
download the changes to the Conductor ruler from Changes control. Disable this option to return to al-
the cloud copy of the project to their local copy. lowing the Download All New Changes button to
automatically download all changes on this Con-
Download Ruler Changes Right-Click ductor ruler.
Menu
Download Ruler Changes Right-Click menu When no one owns a Conductor ruler, anyone is
free to work on it and the Conductor Ruler Owner-
Download
ship control is gray.
The Download command works just like clicking
the green Download Ruler Changes control and
downloads all changes on that ruler from the cloud
copy of the project. Unowned Conductor ruler
Ignore Changes
You can take ownership of a Conductor ruler either
by making “share-able” changes on that ruler (in
Choosing the Ignore Changes command clears the this case you automatically own the ruler for the
download and keeps your Conductor ruler as is re- time being) or you can click the Ruler Ownership
gardless of any changes in the cloud copy of the control and manually take ownership of the ruler.
project. For whoever takes ownership of a ruler, the Con-
ductor Ruler Ownership control turns either dim
green or solid green. For all other participants, the
Conductor Ruler Ownership control turns orange
in their local copy of the project.
You Automatically Own the Conductor ruler Conductor ruler owned by another participant
When you manually take ownership of a Conduc- If you want to take control of a Conductor ruler
tor ruler by clicking its Conductor Ruler Owner- owned by another participant, you can make a
ship control, it turns solid green and no other par- “share-able” change on the Conductor ruler or
ticipant can take ownership of that Conductor ruler click the Conductor Ruler Ownership control. The
simply by making a “share-able” change to their other participant is notified that the ownership of
copy of that Conductor ruler. the Conductor ruler is being requested and you will
see that the request is pending. If they relinquish
ownership of thAT Conductor ruler, you will take
ownership of it.
You Manually Own the Conductor ruler
Ownership Requested
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 Pro Tools HD,
Session data, audio files and clips can be imported
you have the option of importing any combination
to existing tracks, new tracks, the Track List, or the
of track attributes from another session, such as a
Clip List in a Pro Tools session or project.
track’s audio or MIDI playlists, signal routing,
plug-ins, or automation (see “Importing Session Exporting
Data” on page 362).
Pro Tools lets you export audio, video, MIDI, clip
When you are working with video, you can import groups, and session data by:
and export video files from a session (see
• Using the Export to Sibelius or Send to Sibelius
Chapter 55, “Working with Video in Pro Tools”).
command (MIDI only)
• Using the File menu Export commands:
Importing and Exporting • Selected Tracks as New AAF/OMF
Data to and from a Session or • Selected Tracks as New Session
Project • MIDI
Importing • Sibelius
• Session Info As Text
Pro Tools lets you import audio, video, MIDI, clip
groups, or session files into the current Pro Tools • Using the Tracks Right-click menu:
session or project by: • Send To Sibelius command (Score Editor
• Dragging and dropping from: only)
• A Workspace browser • Export MIDI command
• Mac Finder or Windows Explorer
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 higher does not support
session retain their original file format, sample audio 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 401).
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 and RF64)
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 HD, greater-than- dows Explorer, or Mac Finder.
stereo multichannel audio files are automatically 2 Drag the selected files onto the Clip List.
imported to tracks with the corresponding multi-
channel 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 Track 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 344.
Finder to the Pro Tools application icon, the ses-
sion Timeline, a track, the Track List, or the Clip
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
the horizontal slider under the Play and Stop but- conversion 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 Clip 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 69). 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 353).
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.
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.
Exporting a Clip as a New Audio 3 In the Export Selected dialog, set the File Type,
File Format, Bit Depth, and Sample Rate. In addi-
You can export clips as audio files with the tion, specify the Conversion Quality, and choose
Export Clips as Files command. Use this the Destination Directory.
command if you intend to use a clip in other ses-
sions (or other audio applications) without using
its parent source file.
Additional Options
Pro Tools exports all unmuted MIDI and Instru- Exporting Individual MIDI and
ment tracks in the current session to a Standard Instrument Tracks
MIDI File and writes it to your hard drive. Ex-
You can also export individual MIDI and Instru-
ported MIDI information includes notes, controller
ment tracks as MIDI files. This can be useful for
events, program changes, and System Exclusive
storing libraries of your favorite MIDI sequences
data, as well as events for tempo, meter, and mark-
or Sysex data (such as bulk or individual patch
ers.
dumps for your external MIDI devices), or for im-
The SMPTE start time for the session or the song porting MIDI into notation applications (other than
(depending on the selection from the Location Ref- Sibelius).
erence pop-up menu) is also exported. This en-
To export a single MIDI or Instrument track as a
sures that the exported tracks, when played from
MIDI file:
another MIDI application, will align with the cor-
rect SMPTE frames, and also synchronize cor- 1 Do one of the following:
rectly to tape and video devices, or Pro Tools. • Right-click the Track name of an unselected
track in the Edit or Mix window, or in the Track
See your third-party MIDI sequencer documenta-
List.
tion to determine whether it supports importing
SMPTE start times from MIDI files. • In the Track List, or Mix or Edit window, Com-
mand-Right-click (Mac) or Control-Right-click
Items Not Exported with MIDI Files (Windows) the track name.
Mute automation and muted clips do not affect ex- 2 From the Right-click menu, select Export MIDI.
ported MIDI. As long as a MIDI track is not muted 3 Set the Export MIDI settings in the Export
by clicking its Mute button, or an Instrument track MIDI Settings dialog.
is not muted by clicking its MIDI Mute button (In-
struments view), all of its MIDI data is exported. 4 Click OK.
2 Right-click the Track name of one of the se- To import tracks or their attributes:
lected tracks in the Edit or Mix window, or in 1 Open or create a new session or project.
the Track List.
2 Do one of the following:
3 From the Right-click menu, select Export MIDI.
• Choose File > Import > Session Data, select the
4 Set the Export MIDI settings. session to import data from, and click Open.
5 Click OK. • Drag the session file whose tracks or attributes
you want to import from a Workspace browser,
6 In the Save dialog, type a name for the MIDI
Windows Explorer, or Mac Finder into empty
file, specify where you want to save it, and click
space in the Edit window or to the Track List.
Save.
3 If the Fader Gain setting of the session is differ-
Option-Shift-Right-click (Mac) or Alt-Shift- ent, you will be prompted to keep or change the
Right-click (Windows) to export all selected Fader Gain before the Session Data dialog
tracks as a single MIDI file. opens.
4 In the Source section, select tracks to import by
Exporting Sibelius Files clicking the pop-up menu to the right of each
track name and selecting New Track.
Pro Tools can export the score of your session or
project as a Sibelius file (.sib). You can choose to To select multiple tracks, Opt-click
export the score as a Sibelius file for later use or (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) on any
score transfer, or to open the score in Sibelius im- track pop-up menu and select Import As
mediately (if Sibelius) is installed on your com- New Track.
puter. Sibelius uses the Pro Tools transcription of
MIDI in your session as seen in the Pro Tools
If the destination Pro Tools system does not
Score Editor window (for more information, see
support surround mixing, surround tracks
“Exporting Scores” on page 746).
are not displayed in the Source Track List.
Sibelius 5.x or higher is required to open .sib
files exported from Pro Tools.
Link to Source Media (Where Possible) This op- Force to Target Session Format This option cop-
tion lets you avoid duplicating audio files by refer- ies and converts all source media files to the cur-
ring to the original files when possible. If the rent session or project file format, bit depth, and
source files do not reside on supported playback sample rate. Files are copied even if they already
media (such as a CDs or DVDs), or if they require match the current session or project format.
bit depth or sample rate conversion, the source
files are copied instead. This option allows the cur-
rent session or projhect to refer to files that do not
match the current session or project audio file for-
mat.
Chapter 19: Importing and Exporting Session Data 365
Video Media Options Timecode Mapping Options
In the Import Session Data dialog, you can either In the Import Session Data dialog, you can specify
choose to leave video media files in their original where the imported tracks are placed in the current
locations or copy them to a new location. This is session. Times are indicated in timecode.
useful if you are importing tracks from a source
such as CDs or DVDs or shared storage, and you The following Timecode Mapping Options are
want to place video files on a different drive. available:
In the Import Session Data dialog, you can make You can select All, None, or any combination of the
sure track names match when you are importing listed track data to import. The following are avail-
playlists from source tracks with the same name as able for import:
destination tracks in the current session or project
All Imports all of the source track’s playlists, ac-
(such as a new cut of a scene). Click Matching
cording to the Main Playlist Option setting, and all
Tracks to automatically match the track names.
of the attributes in the Track Data to Import list.
Tracks must have the same name, track type, and
channel format to be automatically matched. None Imports only the source track’s main play-
list, according to the Main Playlist Options setting,
Track Data to Import and no other attributes of the source track.
In the Import Session Data dialog, the Track Data Alternate Playlists Imports all of the alternate
to Import pop-up menu is where you select which playlists from source track. The alternate playlists
attributes of the selected tracks you want to import appear in the playlist pop-up menu of the destina-
into the current session or project. tion track.
Selected attributes are applied to all tracks that you Clips and Media Imports all of the audio files or
choose to import into the current session or project. clips in the source track, and places them in the
Clip List.
Replacing Track Attributes
Clips Gain Imports the clip gain settings for all im-
When you import an attribute of the source track ported audio clips.
into an existing track in the current session or proj-
ect, it replaces the corresponding attribute in the Volume Automation and Setting Imports the
destination track. If you choose not to import an at- source track’s Volume fader setting and any auto-
tribute of the source track, the corresponding attri- mation data on the track’s Volume Automation
bute in the destination track is retained. playlist. The Volume fader setting and any Vol-
ume automation data in the destination track are re-
Replacing Track Path Names placed.
When you import a track’s input, output, send out- Pan Automation and Setting Imports the source
put or hardware insert assignments, any custom track’s Pan Slider settings and any automation data
path names and I/O configurations from the source on the track’s Pan Automation playlist. The Pan
session are not imported. You can import path Slider setting and any Pan automation data in the
names and I/O configurations by importing I/O destination track are replaced.
Setup settings. For more information, see “Factory
Mute Automation and Setting Imports the source
I/O Settings” on page 92.
track’s Mute setting and any automation data on
the track’s Mute automation playlist. The Mute
setting and any Mute automation data in the desti-
nation track are replaced.
Plug-In Assignments Imports the source track’s Track Comments Imports the track comments as-
plug-in assignments. Any plug-ins in the destina- sociated with the source track. Any comments in
tion track are removed, and their associated set- the destination track are replaced.
tings and automation are lost.
Track Colors Imports the track color associated
If the source track uses a plug-in that is not avail- with the source track. Any color for the destination
able on the destination system, it appears in the track is changed.
destination track and is made inactive.
Record Safe/Solo Safe Settings Imports the re-
Plug-In Settings and Automation When the cord safe and solo safe settings of the source track
source track’s plug-in assignments are imported, from the source session. Any record safe or solo
this option imports the track’s plug-in settings and safe settings in the destination track are replaced.
any automation data associated with the plug-ins.
Track View Settings Imports the track height and
If no plug-in assignments are imported, this option
playlist view of the source track from the source
has no effect.
session.
Elastic Audio Track State Imports the source
Mix/Edit Groups Imports track groups from the
track’s Elastic Audio track state. Any Elastic Au-
source session.
dio settings in the destination track are replaced.
ICON Custom Fader Groups (Pro Tools HD
HW Insert Assignments Imports the source
Only) Imports any ICON Custom Fader Groups
track’s hardware Insert assignments. Any Insert
from the source session.
assignments in the destination track are replaced.
ICON Automation Snapshots (Pro Tools HD
Voice Assignments Imports the source track’s Only) Imports any ICON Automation Snapshots
voice assignment from the source session. Any from the source session.
voice assignments in the destination track are re-
placed. HEAT Switch Settings (Pro Tools HD with the
HEAT Software Option Only) Imports any stored
Input Assignments Imports the source track’s HEAT switch settings from the source session.
channel input assignment. The Input assignment in
the destination track is replaced.
Import Marker/Memory Locations Imports mark- If you select this option and do not import any
ers and Memory Locations as they appear in the of the source track’s attributes, you replace the au-
Marker ruler, from the source session. Any mark- dio playlists while keeping your current mixer set-
ers and Memory Locations in the destination ses- tings.
sion or project are retained. Imported marker and Import – Overlay New On Existing Playlists Im-
Memory Locations are assigned the next available ports the main playlist from the source track. When
Marker/Memory Location numbers. you import the playlist into an existing track, any
Import Window Configurations Imports the Win- existing playlist data that overlaps data imported
dow Configurations from the source session. from the source track is trimmed and replaced with
the imported data. Any playlist data in the destina-
Import Mic Pre Settings Imports any Pro Tools tion track that does not overlap remains in the des-
Mic Pre settings from the source session. Any Mic tination track.
Pre settings in the destination session or project are
replaced. Do Not Import Does not import the main playlist
from the source track. No audio is imported; only
Import HEAT Master Settings (Pro Tools HD with the attributes selected in the Track Data to Import
the HEAT Software Option Only) Imports any list are imported to the selected tracks. When se-
HEAT Master settings from the source session, in- lected, importing all of the source track’s input,
cluding Bypass, Drive, and Tone settings. The output, send, insert and plug-in attributes is equiv-
HEAT Master settings in the destination session or alent to importing a channel strip.
project are replaced.
When opening and importing an AAF or OMF se- Use the File > Import > Audio command.
quence, a modified version of the Dashboard win- Drag and drop them from any Workspace
dow opens and prompts you to name and save the browser or the desktop.
sequence as a new session or project. Once you
name and save the new session or project, the Im-
port Session Data dialog opens. For more informa- Importing an AAF or OMF
tion, see “AAF/OMF Source Track Translation
Sequence as a Pro Tools
Session
Settings” on page 379.
The easiest way of using Pro Tools to edit a
Pro Tools can import the following types of files sequence exported from an Avid application (such
sourced from Avid editors: as Media Composer) is to open it as a new session
• AAF or OMF sequences (including those with or project.
embedded audio)
Pro Tools cannot play video files embedded
• Individual Avid video files in the MXF or OMF within an AAF or OMF sequence.
format
• OMF and MXF audio files
A1<01:00:02:00–01:00:07:01>ignoring render-
ing for effect: EFF_AUDIO_EQMB;using bypass Exporting Pro Tools Tracks
clip. as AAF or OMF Sequences
This indicates that the user has selected “Ignore Pro Tools lets you export individual tracks in AAF
Rendered Audio Effects” in Pro Tools. This note is or OMF format. Use the Export Selected Tracks as
a convenience so that if something is odd in the AAF/OMF command.
translated sequence, the user can determine if an
effect that was ignored is actually required. AAF and OMF sequences exported from
Pro Tools do not support video files. They also do
Incomplete Rendering not retain information about plug-in assignments,
parameters, markers, routing, or grouping. It is rec-
A1<00:00:28:29-00:00:31:17>incomplete ommended that you render any effects prior to ex-
rendering for effect Audio MultiBand EQ;using port.
bypass clip.
Pro Tools can export AAF or OMF se-
This indicates that an effect was not rendered com- quences linked to RF64 audio files, which are
pletely at a fade boundary in an Avid system. On special WAV files that can be larger than 2
import, Pro Tools bypassed the incomplete render- GB (normal WAVs must be under 2 GB).
ing and imported the audio without the effect. If However, Avid video editing applications
you need the effect, re-render the effect and fade cannot open WAV files larger than 2 GB.
on the Avid system, and export again.Miscella- Keep file size in mind when exporting
neous Errors (Misc Errors) AAF/OMF for Avid video users.
Example
A1<01:00:00:00–01:00:16:06>“Jag film to
Whirl.01.Sub.06.new.01”; insufficient source
material for clip;shortening clip by 1 sample.
• Export Selected Clips as Files 6 Under the Audio Media Options section, select
MXF from the Audio Format pop-up menu.
Exporting AAF Sequences 7 Verify the Audio Bit Depth setting is acceptable
Containing MXF Audio for the recipient of this export.
Use Export Selected Tracks as OMF/AAF to export 8 If you’re exporting a sequence that contains ste-
individual tracks or an entire Pro Tools session as reo, 5.1 or 7.1 tracks and want to export those
an AAF sequence referring to MXF audio files. tracks as multi-channel audio files, enable the
Export Stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 Tracks as Multi-
Tracks are exported in their entirety and time
Channel option.
selections are ignored.
9 Click OK.
Volume and pan automation is not exported if 10 In the Publishing Options dialog, type the
Quantize Edits to Frame Boundaries or Avid Pro Tools Comment and Sequence Name.
Compatibility Mode are enabled.
Pro Tools exports the AAF sequence to the se- Enforce Avid Compatibility creates frame-
lected folder, and exports the related media to the accurate edits, wraps the files as OMFI (unless
OMFI MediaFiles folder (OMF files) or the Avid you choose MXF), and limits the sample rate
MediaFiles folder (MXF files). options to 44.1 or 48 kHz. Dither without noise
shaping will be applied to files being exported
16 If you are ready to import the files into the Avid from 24-bit to 16-bit.
video application, exit Pro Tools.
11 Click OK.
OMF/AAF Options
When exporting tracks to AAF or OMF, Pro Tools
provides the following OMF/AAF Options:
You can use the Export Session Info as Text com- The session text file starts with basic information
mand to create a text file that contains extensive in- about the session or project. This information in-
formation about your session or project. cludes the session or project name, sample rate, bit
depth, timecode format, and number of audio
This text file can contain a list of audio files, audio tracks, audio clips, and audio files, as shown in the
clips, audio track EDL (Edit Decision List) infor- following example.
mation, extended timestamp information, and in- Session Information example
formation about crossfades.
SESSION NAME: Ripleys II-092700
Track EDLs are exported as tab-delimited text,
SAMPLE RATE: 48000.000000
with tabs between each column heading, and tabs
between each event parameter. You can use this BIT DEPTH: 24-bit
data in a program for reading EDLs, or you can
TIMECODE FORMAT: 30 Frame
format the EDL data into tables using a word pro-
cessor or spreadsheet application. # OF AUDIO TRACKS: 19
2 Select whether to include the File List, Clip File List and Clip List
List, and track EDLs.
Next, if you choose to include them, are the lists of
3 If you choose to include track EDLs, select audio files and clips.
whether to show subframes, and whether to in-
clude user timestamps. Also select an option for
crossfade handling.
The final item, if exported, is the list of track Select this option to export a list of the session or
EDLs. A track EDL lists the track name, and all ed- project audio files. The File List provides a list of
its, including the event number, the clip name, clip all the audio files in the session (and their hard
start and end time, and clip duration. The clip time- drive locations) or project.
stamp is also exported, if you select this option.
Subframes are shown in each time field if you se- Include Clip List
lect this option.
Select this option to export a list of the session or
project audio clips. The Clip List provides a list of
all of the audio clips in the session or project, as
Export Session Information well as the source audio file for each clip.
as Text Options
Include Markers
Session Start Places the group at the start of the To import clip groups into new tracks:
session or project. 1 Select one or more clip groups in a Workspace
browser, Windows Explorer or Mac Finder.
Song Start Aligns the beginning of the group to
the Song Start point. 2 Do one of the following:
Selection Aligns the beginning of the group to the • From the Workspace browser, Shift-drag the
edit cursor or to the beginning of a selection in the files anywhere in the Edit window of the current
Timeline. session or project.
• Drag the files onto any empty space in the Edit
Spot Displays the Spot dialog, which lets you spot
window of the current session or project.
the group to a precise location based on any of the
Time Scales. • Drag the files to the Track List.
To export a clip group: Generally, if you are exporting clip groups to an-
other hard drive, you should copy any referenced
1 Select one or more clip groups in the Clip List.
audio files. This way you can move clip groups not
2 From the Clip List menu, choose Export Clip only from one session to another, but from one sys-
Groups. tem to another.
Transfer Files
This variant complies with standards set by the Lower versions of Pro Tools cannot read
AES (Audio Engineering Society) and EBU (Eu- RF64 files. These files have to be manually ed-
ropean Broadcasters Union). Choose this option to ited and consolidated so that they are no
ensure compatibility with other workstations that larger than 4 GB in order to be available to
recognize this file type. systems running lower versions of Pro Tools.
2 Do one of the following: To transfer Pro Tools Mac sessions from HFS+
drives to NTFS drives:
• Drag the session folder from the NTFS drive to
the HFS+ drive. 1 Set the MacDrive Options to Normal Use.
• Open the Windows session on the NTFS drive, 2 Do one of the following:
choose Save Copy In, and save a copy of the ses- • Drag the session folder from the HFS+ drive to
sion to the HFS+ drive. the NTFS drive.
• Open the Mac session on the HFS+ drive, and
when prompted, choose Save Copy In and save a
copy of the session to the HFS+ drive.
To record or play back from HFS+ drives with When saving (or creating) a copy of a Pro Tools
Windows using MacDrive: session that you want to be compatible on both
1 In Windows, go to the MacDrive Control Panel. Mac and Windows, keep in mind the following
limits and how Pro Tools deals with them:
2 Choose Options > File Names and select the In-
ternational Use option. Audio File Types
3 Delete all options listed under “File Name The recommended file format for cross-platform
Maps.” interoperability is BWF (.WAV). To support opti-
mal session interchange, Pro Tools defaults to
4 In Pro Tools, choose Window > Workspace and
BWF format for new sessions.
make sure that all Mac-formatted volumes are
set to R (record) or P (playback) in the A (Au- Pro Tools lets you save, bounce, and export in a
dio) and V (Video) columns. variety of audio file formats, including WAV,
AIFF, MP3, and QuickTime.
For cross-platform compatibility, all files in a ses- To save an existing session to Pro Tools 6.9.x or
sion must have a 3-letter file extension added to the lower and maintain Mac and Windows
file name. Pro Tools 5.1 to 6.9.x session files have compatibility:
the extension “.pts,” and Pro Tools 5 sessions have 1 Choose File > Save Copy In.
the extension “.pt5.” Wave files have the “.wav”
file extension, and AIFF files have the “.aif” file 2 In the Save Session Copy dialog, choose a des-
extension. tination and type a name for the new session
file.
Incompatible ASCII Characters
3 Set the Audio File Type to AIFF or BWF
Clip names, track names, file names, and plug-in (.WAV). These file formats are compatible with
settings cannot use ASCII characters that are in- either platform.
compatible with either system. 4 Set the Sample Rate and Bit Depth for the
When importing files into a session, incompatible session.
characters are converted to underscores (“_”) and 5 Select Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility. This op-
the renamed files are placed in the tion must be selected to make the session cross-
Renamed Files folder. platform compatible.
The following characters cannot be used in 6 Select the Items to Copy options for the new
Windows sessions: session.
/ (Forward Slash) 7 Click Save.
\ (Backslash)
If the session previously used SD II files, the files
: (Colon)
are converted to the new audio file format.
* (Asterisk)
? (Question mark) Pro Tools can convert a file created on a
“ (Quotation marks) Mac and saved without the “Enforce Mac/PC
compatibility” option selected to a Windows
< (Less-than symbol)
compatible file. For more information, see
> (Greater-than symbol) “Sharing Sessions Created on Different
| (vertical line or pipe) Computer Platforms” on page 403.
Any “high order” ASCII character (created with
a key combination)
For details on transferring sessions between Windows and Mac systems, see “Sharing Sessions Created
on Different Computer Platforms” on page 403.
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 HD 12.x session in Pro Tools 12.x, 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.
• HEAT (if present) is removed.
Pro Tools makes it easy to share sessions between When opening a session in Pro Tools 10.x that was
different software versions of a particular created in Pro Tools 11.x or higher that uses more
Pro Tools system. than 4 GB of RAM (due to plug-in usage), the ses-
sion will not open.
Pro Tools 10.x sessions and higher cannot be
opened with lower versions of Pro Tools. To save Sharing Sessions with Video
a Pro Tools 10.x session or higher so it is compat-
When opening a session in Pro Tools 11.x or
ible with a lower version of Pro Tools, use the File
> Save Copy In command to select the appropriate
higher created in a lower version of Pro Tools that
session format. contains SD video, the aspect ratio must be reset.
When saving a Pro Tools 12.x–10.x session to Opening Pro Tools 9.0 Sessions
Pro Tools 7 –> 9 format, the following occurs: with Pro Tools 8.0
• Any audio tracks beyond 256 are made inactive A Pro Tools 9.0 session can be opened with
• Clip gain settings are dropped. If you want to ap- Pro Tools 8.0, but certain session components
ply any clip gain settings prior to saving the ses- open differently or not at all.
sion copy, you will need to manually render clip
When opening a Pro Tools 9.0 session with
gain settings.
Pro Tools 8.0, you are warned that you are
• Fades have to be rendered when the session is opening a session created with a newer
opened in a lower version of Pro Tools. version of Pro Tools and that not all session
• Sessions with mixed file formats and bit depths components will be available.
must convert all files to the same file format and
When opening a Pro Tools 9.0 session with
bit depth.
Pro Tools 8.0, the following occurs:
• Sessions with files that have a bit depth of 32-bit • All that occurs when opening a Pro Tools 9.0
floating point must be converted to 24-bit or 16- session with Pro Tools 8.1.
bit.
• Output bus assignments are removed.
• For sessions with RF64 files larger than 4 GB,
these files will be unavailable to lower versions • HEAT (if present) is removed.
of Pro Tools. (You will need to manually edit
and consolidate these files so that the audio can Opening Pro Tools 9.0 Sessions
be available to lower versions of Pro Tools.) with Pro Tools 7.4.x
A Pro Tools 9.0 session can be opened with
Opening Pro Tools 9.0 Sessions Pro Tools 7.4.x, but certain session components
with Pro Tools 8.1 and 8.5 open differently or not at all.
A Pro Tools 9.0 session can be opened with
When opening a Pro Tools 9.0 session with
Pro Tools 8.1 and 8.5, but certain session compo-
Pro Tools 7.4.x, you are warned that you are
nents open differently or not at all.
opening a session created with a newer ver-
When opening a Pro Tools 9.0 session with sion of Pro Tools and that not all session
Pro Tools 8.1 or 8.5, you are warned that you components will be available.
are opening a session created with a newer
version of Pro Tools and that not all session
components will be available.
Opening Pro Tools 7.4 or Higher Sessions created with Pro Tools HD 7.2–9.x
Sessions with Pro Tools 7.3.x or that contain video tracks or VCA Masters can
7.2 only be opened with Pro Tools HD 7.1cs3
and higher.
A Pro Tools 7.4–9.x session can be opened with
Pro Tools 7.3.x or 7.2, but certain session compo- When opening a Pro Tools 7.4–9.x session with
nents open differently or not at all. a version of Pro Tools 7.1 or 7.0 the following
occurs:
When opening a Pro Tools 7.4–9.x session
• All that occurs when opening a Pro Tools 7.4 or
with Pro Tools 7.3.x, you are warned that
higher session with Pro Tools 7.3.x or 7.2.
you are opening a session created with a
newer version of Pro Tools and that not all Tracks
session components will be available. • VCA Master tracks are removed and any unco-
alesced VCA automation is dropped.
When opening a Pro Tools 7.4.x or higher
session with Pro Tools 7.3.x or 7.2, the • Any uncoalesced Trim automation is dropped.
following occurs:
Groups
• All that occurs when opening a Pro Tools 8.x or
• All groups beyond the first 26 (Bank 1, Groups
higher session with Pro Tools 7.4.x.
a–z) are dropped.
• Elastic Audio-enabled tracks open without Elas-
• Mix Groups keep only Main Volume informa-
tic Audio and clip durations revert to the timing
tion.
of the original source file.
• Mix/Edit Groups keep only Main Volume and
• Sessions with mixed language characters sup-
Automation Mode information.
ported in Unicode may not open or, if they do
open, Pro Tools displays “garbage” text. • Automation overflow information for grouped
controls is not preserved.
• Group behavior of Solos, LFEs, Mutes, Send
Levels, Send Mutes is not preserved.
• Solo Mode and Solo Latch settings are dropped.
• 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
Video 12.x–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
Clip 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 Clip 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 1136).
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 1136). 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 26. 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 178. Bars|Beats Moves to the beginning of the previous
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 423). custom amount.
You can audition and play just the pre-roll or post- To audition a selection start point:
roll material for a selection. Press Command+Left Arrow (Mac) or
Control+Left Arrow (Windows).
To play from the pre-roll point to the start of a
selection, or to the current Cursor location: When auditioning the beginning of a selection, the
Press Option+Left Arrow (Mac) or Alt+Left selection plays from the start point for a duration
Arrow (Windows). equal to the post-roll amount.
To play to the post-roll point from the end of a To audition a selection start point with pre-roll:
selection, or from the current Cursor location: Press Command+Option+Left Arrow (Mac) or
Press Command+Right Arrow (Mac) or Control+Alt+Left Arrow (Windows).
Control+Right Arrow (Windows).
To audition a selection end point:
Auditioning Start and End Points Press Option+Right Arrow (Mac) or Alt+Right
for Selections Arrow (Windows).
There may be times when you want to audition the When auditioning the end of a selection, playback
start or end of an audio selection without hearing begins before the end point by the pre-roll amount.
the entire selection. This allows you to check, for
instance, whether the beginning or end of a selec- To audition a selection end point with post-roll:
tion includes any unwanted clicks or pops. Press Command+Option+Right Arrow (Mac)
or Control+Alt+Right Arrow (Windows).
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.
4 Click OK.
2 Ensure that Loop Playback mode is enabled. 2 Click the Operation tab.
4 Reposition the Play Start Marker before the 4 Select Use Separate Play and Stop Keys.
Timeline Selection Out Point.
This option overrides using the Enter key to
add Memory Location markers. Press Pe-
riod (.) and then Enter on the numeric key-
pad to add a Memory Location marker.
5 Click OK.
5 Start playback.
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.
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 453
While some of the information here is relevant to • “Recording with a Click” on page 440
preparing to record MIDI, there are more • “Setting the Session Meter and Tempo” on
specific setup details for MIDI recording in page 442
Chapter 24, “MIDI Recording.”
• Setting a Record Mode. See “Record Modes”
For information on recording audio, see on page 445
Chapter 23, “Audio Recording.”
Track Setup for Recording
For information on digitizing (recording) • Configuring one or more tracks for recording:
video in Pro Tools, see Chapter 55, “Work-
• “Configuring Default Names for Audio Files
ing with Video in Pro Tools” or the Avid
and Clips” on page 448
Video Peripherals Guide.
• “Assigning Hardware I/O on a Track” on
page 449
Record Setup Overview • “Record Enabling Tracks” on page 450
Record setup includes the following: • “Recording with Multiple Hard Drives” on
page 453
Hardware Setup for Recording
Monitoring Setup for Recording
• “Configuring Pro Tools Hardware I/O for Re-
cording” on page 438 • “Selecting a Record Input Monitoring Mode” on
page 456
• “Connecting a Sound Source” on page 440
• “Setting Monitor Levels for Record and Play-
back” on page 458
• “Reducing Monitoring Latency” on page 458
• “Recording with Delay Compensation” on
page 459
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).
When your track material lines up with the beats, To create a click track using MIDI:
you can take advantage of some very useful editing
1 Create a new (mono) Auxiliary Input or Instru-
functions in Pro Tools, such as quantizing MIDI
ment track.
and audio events or clips, quantizing individual
MIDI notes, and copying and pasting measures 2 Do one of the following:
and song sections in Grid mode.
• From the track’s Input selector, select the path to
Material that is recorded without listening to which the MIDI device is connected.
a click can still be aligned to bar and beat • Insert an instrument plug-in on the track (such as
boundaries in Pro Tools with Beat Detective TL Metro or Xpand2).
(see Chapter 32, “Beat Detective”), or by us-
3 Configure the Click/Countoff options, and be
ing the Identify Beat command to determine
sure to select the port for the MIDI device or in-
the tempo (see “Identify Beat Command” on
strument plug-in from the Output pop-up menu
page 784).
(see “Click Options” on page 442).
4 Enable Click (see “Enabling the Click” on
page 441).
Selecting MIDI Controls from the Transport window Count Off button, enabled
menu
Hearing the countoff before recording helps musi-
• Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- cians to start playing at the right time and in tempo.
dows) the Expand/Collapse “+” button in the The Count Off button in the Transport window dis-
Transport window to display the MIDI controls. plays the number of bars counted before the trans-
port starts.
• Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
Expand/Collapse “+” button in the Transport The countoff is ignored when Pro Tools is on-
window to display the MIDI controls and the line and synchronized to SMPTE timecode.
Counters.
• 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 TL Metro or Click 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 504.
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 Clip 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:
Monitoring Drive Space By default, Pro Tools records audio files to the Au-
dio Files folder inside the session folder. If you
Pro Tools lets you check how much drive space is have multiple hard drives for recording, you can
available. The Disk Usage window shows the use the Disk Allocation window to specify other
available drive space for each drive connected to hard drive locations to record audio files on a
your system as text and as a gauge display. track-by-track basis.
To monitor available space on your drive during a Hard drives that are full do not appear in the Disk
Pro Tools session: Allocation window.
Choose Window > Disk Space.
To increase system performance, Pro Tools can re-
cord and play each track from a different hard
drive. You can also automatically distribute any
newly created tracks to multiple audio drives with
Round Robin Allocation.
5 When you are finished, click OK. Record to system drives only when absolutely nec-
essary, such as if your computer system has only
one hard drive, or if your other hard drives are
Saving Disk Allocation Settings completely full.
To save Disk Allocation settings for use with fu-
By default, the system volume is not included in
ture sessions, save the session as a template. For
Round Robin Allocation (regardless of volume
details, see “Session Templates” on page 163.
designation in the Workspace browser). To include
the System Volume in Round Robin Allocations,
Disk Allocation and Cross- see “Allocating Audio Drives in Your System” on
Platform Sessions page 454.
To ensure cross-platform operation, it is required
If you have a Pro Tools system with multiple
that Mac Pro Tools sessions and their associated
drives, and you intend to record multiple
audio files be on Mac-formatted (HFS or HFS+)
tracks simultaneously, you may want to
drives. Windows Pro Tools sessions and their as-
designate the System drive as a Playback only
sociated audio files must be on Windows-format-
or Transfer only drive for optimal
ted NTFS drives.
performance.
See “Saving Copies of Mac Sessions to be
Compatible with Windows” on page 404 and
“Sharing Sessions Created on Different
Computer Platforms” on page 403.
When in Auto Input mode, the switch back to Select Track > Input Only Monitoring.
monitoring track material on punch-out is
To toggle between Auto Input and Input
not instantaneous.
Only monitoring, press Option+K (Mac) or
Alt+K (Windows).
TrackInput monitoring lets you toggle individual To toggle individual tracks, click the TrackInput
audio tracks between Auto Input and Input Only Monitor button for each track you want to tog-
monitoring modes at any time, during playback, gle.
recording, while stopped, and even when a track is To toggle all tracks in the session, Option-click
not record-enabled. TrackInput monitoring pro- (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) a TrackInput
vides the necessary monitoring flexibility for over- Monitor button.
dubbing and mixing, and is similar to input switch-
ing on analog multitrack recorders and similar To toggle all selected tracks in the session,
machines. Option-Shift-click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-click
(Windows) a selected track’s TrackInput Moni-
When the TrackInput button in a track is enabled tor button.
(green), the track monitors audio in Input Only
mode. Press Shift+I to enable the TrackInput
Monitor button for any track containing the
Edit cursor on an Edit selection.
TrackInput Monitor button On (Input Only), in the Edit To change all record-enabled tracks to Input
Window Only monitoring, select Track > Set Record
Tracks to Input Only.
When the TrackInput button in a track is disabled,
the track monitors in Auto Input mode. To toggle record-enabled tracks between
Auto Input and Input Only monitoring, press
Option+K (Mac) or Alt+K (Windows).
Pro Tools keeps track of these two states for fader With Pro Tools, latency occurs as follows:
levels automatically. If you adjust a fader when a • All Pro Tools systems can have Virtual Instru-
track is record-enabled and then turn off record en- ment plug-in MIDI-to-audio latency (such as
able for the track, the fader returns to its playback when playing a virtual instrument live and mon-
level. itoring the instrument’s output).
When audio tracks are record-enabled, their vol- • Pro Tools systems have input-to-output moni-
ume faders in the Mix window turn red, indicating toring latency on any record-armed tracks or
that the record monitor level is active. Auxiliary Inputs with live inputs.
• HDX systems have monitoring latency on tracks
Link Record and Play Faders that have one or more host-based plug-ins.
When the Link Record and Play Faders option is The latency amount is related to the H/W Buffer
selected in the Operation Preferences, Pro Tools Size setting—the larger the buffer size, the greater
does not keep track of record and play levels for the latency. You can reduce the amount of moni-
audio tracks. In this case, record enabling an audio toring latency by reducing the H/W Buffer Size set-
track has no effect on the fader level for the track. ting. However, even at the smallest buffer size,
This lets you maintain a consistent mix regardless there is still some latency.
of whether you are recording or just listening.
In addition, reducing the buffer size limits the
number of simultaneous audio tracks you can re-
cord without encountering performance errors.
Reducing Monitoring Latency
While there may be times when you want a larger
There will inevitably be some audio delay, or
buffer size, such as when you have higher track
latency, in the monitoring signal (even if only a
counts with more plug-ins, you will generally want
few samples) due to the process of converting an
the smallest possible buffer size when latency is
analog signal to a digital signal (input) and back
present during recording and monitoring.
again (output). There may be additional latency
due to mixer configurations and processing. If you are monitoring the recording source with an
external mixer before it is routed to Pro Tools, you
HDX systems have additional latency when using
will not hear any latency.
Native plug-ins because these plug-ins also use
your computer’s host processor.
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:
8 Ensure that Normal Record mode is selected 3 To start playback, click Play in the Transport or
(see “Record Modes” on page 445). press the Spacebar.
The track’s playlist is restored to its previous state For each record-enabled track, a new audio file is
and material is discarded as follows: written to disk, and a new clip is created that ap-
pears both in the track’s playlist and in the Clip
• When in normal Record mode, only the most re-
List.
cent take is discarded.
• 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
tracks simultaneously, you may want to
• When using QuickPunch, TrackPunch, or
designate the System drive as a Transfer only
DestructivePunch mode, all punches from the
drive for optimal performance.
last recording pass are discarded.
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.
Memory Locations
Transport window with Start, End, and Length fields You can store Edit selections as Memory Loca-
displayed tions, which can also include current pre- and post-
You can enter locations in the start and end fields roll values.
to set the record or play range. The Timeline Selec- For more information on Memory Locations,
tion Markers in the Main Timebase ruler are up- see Chapter 38, “Memory Locations.”
dated accordingly.
To save an Edit selection with a Memory Location:
To set the record range by entering start and end
times in the Transport window: 1 Ensure that Options > Link Timeline and Edit
Selection is selected.
1 To see the start, end, and length times, do one of
the following: 2 Set the record range by making an Edit or Time-
line selection, or by entering start and end times
• Select View > Transport > Expanded.
in the Transport window.
• Shift-click the Expand/Collapse “+” button in
the Transport window.
The start and end times and pre- and post-roll set-
tings stored with the Memory Location are re-
called.
7 Click OK.
Setting Pre- and Post-Roll in the To set and enable the pre- and post-roll by clicking
Transport Window in a playlist:
Pre- and post-roll can be enabled and set in the 1 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selec-
Transport window. tion.
Pre-roll enabled for 2 beats; Post-roll disabled 2 With the Selector tool, Option-click (Mac) or
Alt-click (Windows) in the Edit selection near
5 To enable either pre- or post-roll, click the ap- the end to disable the post-roll.
propriate button so it is highlighted.
In the Timeline, you can reset the pre- and
Use the Period (.) or Left/Right Arrow keys to post-roll to zero. First, drag the Pre-Roll
move through the different time fields for pre Flag to the Timeline Selection In Point, then
and post-roll. Use the Up/Down Arrow keys drag the Post-Roll Flag to the Timeline Se-
to increase or decrease the numerical values. lection Out Point.
To record a specific track range, with precise To record a specific track range, with precise
start and end points, see “Audio Punch Re- start and end points, see “Audio Punch Re-
cording Over a Specified Range” on cording Over a Specified Range” on
page 469. page 469.
4 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools 4 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools
for recording. for recording.
5 Click Play to start recording. 5 Click Play to start recording.
6 Click Stop to stop recording. 6 When finished, click Stop to stop recording.
An audio file for the new take is written to disk and The audio for the new take is written to disk, per-
appears as an audio clip both in the track’s playlist manently overwriting the original. The new mate-
and in the Clip List. rial replaces the original material within the exist-
ing clip and the clip is not renamed.
The audio from the original take remains on your
hard drive, and is still available as a clip in the Clip
List.
2 From there, begin recording. 2 Type a name for the new playlist.
Pro Tools adds the new material to the end of the 3 Click OK.
track. If using Destructive Record mode, the new
When a new playlist is created, its name replaces
audio is appended to the audio file and clip from
the track name. Names for new audio files and
the first take. In Nondestructive Record mode, a
clips are based on the track name.
new file and clip are created.
4 Record enable the track.
Recording to a New Playlist 5 To start from the beginning of the session, click
Instead of recording over existing audio clips, Return to Zero in the Transport.
there is another way to nondestructively record 6 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools
new takes to the same track. Do this by creating a for recording.
new playlist for the track, then record just as be-
fore. 7 Click Play to start recording.
8 Click Stop to stop recording.
Tracks can have multiple edit playlists, each of
which stores a list of clips strung together in a par- An audio file for the new take is written to disk and
ticular order. Also, since playlists follow groups, appears as an audio clip both in the track’s new
duplicating or selecting alternate playlists for a playlist and in the Clip List.
track in an enabled group will affect all tracks in
the group. Selecting a previous playlist from track’s Playlist
selector recalls its clips as they previously ap-
peared in the track. At any time, all clips from all
playlists are available in the Clip List, and can be
mixed and matched between playlists and tracks.
When loop recording audio, Pro Tools creates a 5 To hear track material up to the start point of the
single audio file that includes all takes. Takes ap- loop, enable pre-roll and set the pre-roll time
pear as individual clips in the Clip List and are (see “Setting Pre- and Post-Roll” on page 467).
numbered sequentially. Once you stop recording, 6 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools
you can audition any of the recorded takes. for recording.
To use alternate takes created with Loop 7 Click Play to start recording.
Record in other sessions (such as when us-
ing Import Session Data), export clip defi- The Record button flashes during the pre-roll.
nitions (see “Exporting Clip Definitions” When the start point is reached, Pro Tools begins
on page 358). If clip definitions are not ex- recording. When the end point is reached,
ported, alternate takes created with Loop Pro Tools loops back to the start time and contin-
Record will be inaccessible when im- ues recording.
ported into another session. 8 To cancel all recorded takes while loop record-
ing, press Command+Period (.) (Mac) or Con-
trol+Period (.) (Windows).
9 When finished, click Stop to stop recording.
When loop recording, Pro Tools creates a single Selecting Alternate Takes from the Clip
file containing all recording passes where each re- List
cording pass is a clip in the file. On the track, only
the last recording pass is present as a clip in the To select a take from the Clip List:
main playlist. All other clips (recording passes) are 1 In the Edit window, select the current clip (take)
hidden and can only be recalled as matching alter- with the Time Grabber tool.
nate clips (takes). When enabled, the new Auto-
2 Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) dif-
matically Create New Playlists When Loop Record-
ferent clips in the Clip List to audition them.
ing option in the Operation Preferences page
automatically copies each clip (take) to a new play- 3 Control-drag (Mac) or Start-drag (Windows)
list in the track. This facilitates using Playlists the clip you want from the Clip List into the
view for auditioning and selecting alternate takes. playlist.
To automatically create new playlists when loop The clip replaces the previous take and snaps pre-
recording: cisely to the correct location.
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Op-
eration tab. Selecting Alternate Takes on a Track
2 In the Recording section, enable the Automati- Each clip resulting from a punch or loop record
cally Create New Playlists When Loop Record- pass has an identical start time (the User Time
ing option. Stamp). You can select and audition alternate takes
from the Right-click Matches submenu or the Al-
ternate Takes pop-up menu—even during play-
back.
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.
Pro Tools lets you copy alternate takes to new Expanding alternate takes to new tracks readily fa-
playlists or tracks. This is especially useful for au- cilitates auditioning, editing, and mixing alternate
ditioning, editing, and mixing multiple alternate takes, each on separate tracks.
takes or channels. Alternate takes are created when
punch and loop recording. To expand alternate takes to new tracks:
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 482.
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 1138. 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 920.
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).
Instrument track MIDI Input selector • Make the necessary selections for program and
bank select.
• Click Done.
4 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit 1 Configure a MIDI or Instrument track for re-
Selection. cording (see “Configuring MIDI or Instrument
Tracks for Recording” on page 486).
5 With the Selector tool, select the punch range in
the track’s playlist. 2 Ensure that Normal Record mode is selected
(see “Record Modes” on page 445).
For other methods of setting the record
range, see “Setting Punch and Loop Points” 3 In the Transport window, disable Wait for Note
on page 464. and Countoff.
4 Record enable the track containing the previous
6 To hear existing track material up to the start
take.
point, or after the end point, enable and set pre-
and post-roll times (see “Setting Pre- and Post- 5 Click Play in the Transport to start playback.
Roll” on page 467).
6 When you reach the punch-in point, do one of
7 Record enable the track containing the previous the following:
take. • Click Record in the Transport.
8 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools • For Pro Tools systems that support a connected
for recording. The Record button flashes. footswitch, press the footswitch at the punch-in
point.
9 Click Play to start recording.
10 When you have finished recording, click Stop in Footswitches are supported by 003 family in-
the Transport. The newly recorded MIDI data terfaces, Mbox Pro, and Mbox 2 Pro, as well
appears in the track. as any Pro Tools system with a supported con-
trol surface.
3 Select Options > Loop Playback. When Loop 13 To switch to a new record track, press Com-
Playback is enabled, a loop symbol appears in mand (Mac) or Control (Windows), and press
the Play button. the Up/Down Arrow keys to record enable the
previous or next MIDI or Instrument track.
14 When you are finished recording, click Stop in
the Transport.
Loop Playback enabled The newly recorded MIDI data appears as a MIDI
clip in the track’s playlist, and in the Clip List.
4 Record enable the MIDI or Instrument track.
Ensure that no audio tracks are record-enabled.
Loop Recording Multiple Takes
5 In the Transport window, click the MIDI Merge
When recording MIDI in Loop Record mode, new
button so it is highlighted.
clips are created each time new material is received
6 Disable Wait for Note and Countoff in the during a record pass. This differs somewhat from
Transport window. loop recording audio, where Pro Tools creates a
single audio file that comprises all takes, which ap-
7 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selec-
pear as individual clips in the Clip List.
tion.
To record MIDI in Loop Record mode: The Record button flashes during the pre-roll.
When the start point is reached, Pro Tools begins
1 Configure a MIDI or Instrument track for re-
recording. When the end point is reached,
cording (see “Configuring MIDI or Instrument
Pro Tools loops back to the start point and contin-
Tracks for Recording” on page 486).
ues playing and recording.
2 Select Options > Loop Record. When Loop Re-
10 Play your MIDI controller. A new MIDI clip
cord mode is enabled, a loop symbol appears in
containing the newly recorded material is auto-
the Record button.
matically created and appears in the track’s
playlist, replacing the previous clip.
3 If you have not done so already, record enable 11 When you are finished recording, click Stop in
the MIDI or Instrument track by clicking its Re- the Transport.
cord Enable button. Make sure no audio tracks
The recorded takes appear as clips in the Clip List
are record-enabled.
and are numbered sequentially. The takes, which
4 Disable Wait for Note and Countoff in the are the same length and easily interchangeable, can
Transport window. be selected from the Matches pop-up menu—even
while the session plays or loops.
5 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit
Selection.
Punch recording is used in many areas of audio Pro Tools Punch Recording
production for film, video, and music. Modes
Pro Tools provides three different manual punch
recording modes:
Introduction to Punch
Recording Modes QuickPunch A nondestructive Record mode that
lets record-enabled tracks be punched in and
Once basic track material has been recorded, it is punched out during playback by clicking the Re-
often necessary to replace some, but not all, of the cord button in the Transport. QuickPunch mode is
audio that makes up each track. Punch recording available on all systems.
lets you manually punch one or more audio tracks
in and out of recording without stopping the Trans- TrackPunch (Pro Tools HD Only) A nondestruc-
port. tive Record mode that lets individual tracks be
punched in, punched out, and taken out of record
You do not need to use QuickPunch or any enable without interrupting online recording and
other audio punch recording mode to punch playback.
record with MIDI tracks. MIDI tracks can be
punched while in Normal (Nondestructive) DestructivePunch (Pro Tools HD Only) A de-
Record mode, and in Destructive Record structive Record mode that maintains a single
mode. continuous audio file per punch track, and lets in-
dividual tracks be punched in, punched out, and
taken out of record enable without interrupting
online recording and playback.
• Tracks with assigned voices that are record-en- Command-Control-click (Mac) or Control-
abled. Start-click (Windows) the Track Compensation
indicator on the track.
• Tracks with Dynamically Allocated Voicing that
are not record-enabled. To apply Delay Compensation to all selected
• Tracks with Dynamically Allocated Voicing that tracks where Delay Compensation was
are record-enabled. suspended, do one of the following:
Transport and Record preferences for punch re- Punching out of record by pressing Record
cording appear on the Operation Preferences page. on the Transport takes the transport out of re-
These preferences specify how track and Transport cord enable.
record status respond during, between, and after
Destructive Recording and Transport RecordLock
punches and passes.
As a precaution against accidentally recording
over previous material, the Transport RecordLock
option is automatically disabled and grayed out
when Destructive record mode is enabled.
Audio Track RecordLock
Choose Setup > Machine Track Arming • Select Options > QuickPunch.
Profiles to configure your system, and choose • Right-click the Record button in the Transport
Window > Machine Track Arming to display and select QuickPunch.
the Machine Track Arming window.
When QuickPunch is enabled, a “P” appears in the
Record button in the Transport.
For information on remote track arming
with MachineControl, see the Machine-
Control Guide.
QuickPunch enabled
Before each pass, you must TrackPunch enable all Each track’s Record Enable button indicates its
tracks that you intend to punch (you can Track- TrackPunch and record enable status as follows:
Punch enable tracks without record enabling • When a track is TrackPunch-enabled but not re-
them). cord-enabled, its Record Enable button lights
solid blue.
To TrackPunch enable one audio track:
Option-Control-Shift-click (Mac) or
Alt-Start-Shift-click (Windows) a track’s
Record Enable button.
When TrackPunch enabled, Track record enable Record Enable button, enabled
buttons light solid blue.
• When a track is both TrackPunch-enabled and
Create track groups for each stem or set of record-enabled, its Record enable button flashes
tracks on which you plan to punch, then use blue and red.
the Group List to quickly select all tracks in • When a track is record-enabled only, its Record
the group. Enable button flashes red.
• While a track is recording (in any mode), its Re-
cord Enable button lights solid red.
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 508).
• 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 510).
“DestructivePunch File Length” on page 509).
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 509.)
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 510.)
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the
Operation tab.
6 Stop playback. When you are finished with the Because Pro Tools can be networked, TrackPunch
record pass, track Record Enable status and (and all other) audio files and whole sessions can
transport Record Arm status follow the current be available for secure transfer to other systems for
Audio Track RecordLock and Transport Record- review, editing, and archiving.
Lock preference settings.
Film Dubbing and Mixing
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 29, tools work destructively (can permanently change
“Editing Clips and Selections.” Also, see audio files on your hard disk), as noted in other
Chapter 39, “Arranging Clips.” topics.
Editing Fades and Crossfades See Chapter 30, 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 42, “Elastic important MIDI tracks and clips safe when per-
Audio.” forming edits (see “Nondestructive MIDI Editing”
on page 526).
Editing MIDI See Chapter 33, “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 Clip 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 Clip 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 Clip List” on page 267.
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.
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 619 for details.
Whenever possible, begin a clip precisely
before a volume peak, and end it immediately be- With Pro Tools HD, use the AutoFade feature to
fore another volume peak. apply real-time fade-ins/outs to all clip boundaries
that do not touch or overlap other clips. See “Using
Whenever possible, make sure a clip starts and AutoFades” on page 620 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 574.) and splicing analog tape. Instead, Pro Tools cre-
• Editing to a Grid (see “Grid Mode” on page 537) ates a map of the audio file on your hard disk,
• Beat Detective (see Chapter 32, “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 48, “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 34,
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 221. 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 33, “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 678. page 678.
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 267.
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 Clip 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 627). 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 673). 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.
Display enabled for clip names, Overlap, and times Clip Transparency When enabled, this option
shows transparent clip overlays when moving clips
Displaying Clip Data on All Channels on the timeline. This can be useful for visually
For stereo and greater-than-stereo multichannel aligning clips over other clips when arranging. See
tracks, clip data can be shown on all channels. “Arranging with Transparent Clip Overlays” on
page 815.
Click the Options pop-up menu and choose Levels of Undo preference
Clear Undo Queue. 3 Click OK.
Other operations that clear the Undo Queue in-
clude:
• Deleting a track, or clearing a clip from the Clip
List
• Selecting Select > Unused, or Select > Unused
Audio Except Whole Files in the Clip List menu
Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear When a track is displaying automation data or con-
troller data, only that data is placed on the Clip-
Use the Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear commands to
board. Also, whenever you cut or copy automation
rearrange and edit track material. Edits can operate
data, bounding breakpoints are created at each end
on entire clips selected with the Time Grabber tool,
of the selected area, in order to preserve the slope
or on track ranges selected with the Selector tool.
of the automation both inside and outside the se-
Edits can also work across multiple tracks (see
lection.
“Editing Across Multiple Tracks” on page 533).
Use the Cut command to remove the selection When Shuffle Clips is enabled, any subsequent
from the track and place it on the Clipboard. clips slide over to fill any empty space.
Use the Copy command to place a copy of the se- Deleting Underlying Clip Data
lection on the Clipboard so it can be pasted to an-
other track, or to the same track at a different loca- When removing a clip or selection, you can choose
tion, while leaving the original intact and in place. to remove or keep the underlying clip data.
To cut or copy a selection or clip: To delete a clip or selection along with the
underlying clip data:
1 If you want to constrain the selection to the cur-
rent Grid value, enable Snap to Grid. Choose Edit > Cut.
2 Set the Track View for the tracks you want to To delete a clip or selection without removing the
edit. underlying clip data:
Edit mode buttons When using any of the Trim tools in Shuffle mode,
changing a clip’s start or end point automatically
The Edit mode affects the movement and place-
moves any subsequent clips as necessary. The
ment of audio and MIDI clips (and MIDI notes),
placement and insertion of MIDI notes is not af-
how commands like Copy and Paste function, and
fected by Shuffle mode.
also how the various Edit tools (Trim, Selector,
Grabber, and Pencil tools) work. Press F1 to enable Shuffle mode.
While in any Edit mode other than Shuffle Press F3 to enable Spot mode.
mode, Command-click (Mac) or Control-click
(Windows) the Shuffle button on-screen. A lock
icon appears in the Shuffle button.
Slip Mode
In Slip mode, clips can be moved freely within a
track or to other tracks. In this mode, it is possible
to place a clip so that there is space between it and
other clips in a track. When the track is played
back, this space is silent. It is also possible to move
a clip so that it overlaps or completely covers an-
other clip.
To show (or hide) the Grid lines in the Edit window In Relative Grid mode, clips can be moved by
or in a MIDI Editor window, do one of the following: Grid (or Nudge) units. If a clip’s start point falls
between beats and the Grid is set to a 1/4 note (as-
Select (or deselect) the Grid button.
suming the 1/4 note gets the beat), dragging the
clip will be constrained to 1/4 notes, preserving the
clip’s relative position to the nearest beat. For more
information on Relative Grid mode, see “Arrang-
ing Clips in Grid Mode” on page 819.
Grid button selected in the Edit window To select Absolute or Relative Grid mode:
Click the Name of the currently selected Time- Click the Grid mode selector and choose Abso-
base ruler. lute or Relative.
2 Select (or deselect) Options > Edit/Tool Mode The Zoomer, Trim, Grabber, and Pencil tools have
Keyboard Lock. multiple modes, which you can select from a pop-
up menu when you click the tool.
For information on using the Edit tools in Horizontal Zoom Out and In buttons
Notes view on MIDI and Instrument tracks, To zoom in horizontally for all tracks, do one of the
see Chapter 33, “MIDI Editing.” following:
The Audio and MIDI Zoom buttons let you zoom Press Command+Option+Control+[ (Mac) or
in and out vertically on audio and MIDI data Control+Alt+Start+[ (Windows).
respectively.
To zoom in vertically for all MIDI and Instrument
tracks, do one of the following:
MIDI Vertical Zoom only affects tracks in not To zoom in or out vertically for a single MIDI or
Instrument track:
in Clips view.
1 Make sure the Track View is not set to Clips.
To zoom in vertically for all audio tracks, do one of
the following: 2 Select the Zoomer tool.
Click the Audio Zoom In button. 3 Hold Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) and
drag upwards to zoom in, or downward to zoom
Drag on the Audio Zoom In button to zoom
out.
continuously.
Press Command+Option+] (Mac) or Con- Additional Zoom Key Commands
trol+Alt+] (Windows).
To return to the previous zoom level, do one of the
To zoom out vertically for all audio tracks, do one following:
of the following:
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
Click the Audio Zoom Out button. of the Horizontal, Audio, or MIDI Zoom but-
Click the Audio Vertical Zoom buttons. tons.
Press Option+Control+A (Mac) or Alt+Start+A 2 Click once with the Zoomer tool at a location
(Windows). within the track. All tracks are zoomed in by
one level and the Edit window is centered
Press Command+Control+[ (Mac) or Con- around the zoomed location.
trol+Start+[ (Windows).
3 To zoom back to the previous level, Option-
To set horizontal zoom to “overview scale” (256 click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) with the
samples per pixel): Zoomer tool.
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
dows) the Zoomer tool.
Zooming in a Ruler
To zoom horizontally in a ruler:
1 Press Command+Control (Mac) or Con-
trol+Start (Windows) and move the cursor into
the ruler area, so the Zoomer tool appears.
• Track Height
• Track View
• Grid setting
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
has no affect on the currently toggled-in track.
Jumbo When selected, zoom toggling in changes
all tracks containing an Edit Selection to the
Jumbo Track Height.
3 Click the Zoom Toggle button. It lights to indi- To modify the stored Zoom Toggle state if Last
cate that Zoom Toggle is enabled and Pro Tools Used is selected:
zoom toggles in based on the settings of the 1 Make sure the Zoom Toggle button is lit (en-
Zoom Toggle preferences. 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.
Trim Tool
With the Trim tool, you can quickly shorten or ex-
pand a clip (up to the entire length of the source au-
dio file). The first time you trim a clip, Pro Tools Trim tool
automatically adds it to the Clip List as a new clip
To reverse the direction of the Trim tool, press Op-
(with a name derived from the original) in order to
tion (Mac) or Alt (Windows).
differentiate it from the original.
4 Do one of the following:
The Trim tool is a nondestructive tool and does not
actually modify the original audio or MIDI data • If trimming the end, drag left to shorten the clip,
(when working on clips). To return to the length of right to lengthen.
the original clip, drag it from the Clip List, or re- • If trimming the start, drag right to shorten the
size the edited clip with the Trim tool to its original clip, left to lengthen.
length.
When working with audio, you cannot trim
Use of the Trim tool is affected by the current Edit past the boundaries of adjacent clips.
mode: Shuffle, Slip, Spot, or Grid (see “Edit
Modes” on page 535). When trimming clips in a stereo or multichannel
track, all channels are trimmed.
The Trim tool can also be used to lengthen
and shorten MIDI notes (see “Trimming Note
Start and End Times” on page 681), and also
to scale automation and controller data up or
down. See “Drawing Automation” on
page 1039.
Time Compression/Expansion
Plug-In Preferences
Time Compression/Expansion Trim tool over a clip You can select which AudioSuite plug-in is used
for trimming with the TCE Trim tool on non-Elas-
The TCE Trim tool unloops and consolidates tic Audio-enabled audio tracks.
looped clips.
To set the AudioSuite plug-in for use with the TCE
Trim tool:
You can match an Edit selection to the length
1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
of a Timeline selection by selecting Edit > TCE
Edit to Timeline Selection command (see 2 Click the Processing tab.
“TCE (Time Compression and Expansion)
3 From the TC/E Plug-In pop-up menu, select the
Edit To Timeline Selection” on page 606.
AudioSuite plug-in to be used with the Time
Compression/Expansion Trim tool.
TC/E Preferences
• 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
Trim Trim
tool Selector tool tool
(start) (end)
Grabber tool
When the Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle op- With the Scrubber selected, drag between two
tion is enabled in the Operation Preferences page, adjacent tracks.
the edit cursor automatically locates to the point
where scrubbing stops.
When scrubbing normally, you can scrub at nor- Once Shuttle Lock mode is initiated, Fast Forward
mal playback speeds or slower. Scrub/Shuttle and Rewind become highlighted in the Transport
mode, however, lets you scrub at several times nor- window.
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
To scrub in Shuttle mode (at several times normal
speed): for backward).
Shuttle Lock mode lets you use the numeric key- Use the Custom Shuttle Lock Speed preference to
pad to shuttle up to two tracks forward or back- customize the highest fast-forward Shuttle Lock
wards at specific speeds: 5 is normal speed, num- speed (key 9) to better match your editing and au-
bers from 6 up to 9 provide increasingly faster fast- ditioning needs.
forward speeds, and numbers from 4 down to 1
To configure Custom Shuttle Lock Speed:
provide progressively faster rewind speeds (4 is
the slowest rewind Shuttle Lock speed, 1 is the 1 In Pro Tools, select Setup > Preferences and
fastest). If multiple tracks are selected, only the click the Operation tab.
first two tracks are shuttled. 2 Be sure that the Numeric Keypad mode is set to
Transport or Classic (see “Operation Prefer-
ences” on page 102).
To enable Custom Shuttle Lock Speed: 5 Press a different key to switch the playback
Press Control+ 9 (Mac) on the numeric keypad direction or speed. Release to stop.
or Start+9 (Windows).
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the On audio tracks, the Pencil tool lets you destruc-
Operation tab.
tively “redraw” waveform data. This tool is most
commonly used to repair a pop or click in an audio
2 Set the Numeric Keypad mode to Shuttle and file. A pop or click appears as a sudden sharp spike
click OK. in a waveform. This tool only becomes active
3 With the Selector tool, click in the track where when the Edit window is zoomed in to the sample
you want playback to begin. To shuttle on two level.
tracks, Shift-click in a second track.
4 Hold any of the following keys (or key combi-
nations) on the numeric keypad to trigger play-
back.
For information about the AudioSuite Du- The Pencil tool can independently edit different
plicate plug-in, see the Audio Plug-Ins channels of a multichannel track.
Guide.
Try to limit editing to smoothing over a very small
To destructively edit an audio waveform with the problem area, and keep the “fixes” in character
Pencil tool: with the shape of the surrounding waveform.
1 Locate the area you want to edit.
Using the Zoomer tool or the Zoom buttons,
Edit/Tool Mode Keyboard
2
zoom down to the sample level so the waveform
appears as a continuous thin line. Adjust the Lock
Track Height, as necessary, to edit the wave- Enable Options > Edit/Tool Mode Keyboard Lock
form with greater precision. You can also use to lock the currently selected Edit Tools (Zoom,
vertical zoom for greater visual resolution. Trim, Grabber, and Pencil only) in place and pre-
vent them from being inadvertently changed when
You can recall zoom levels with the Zoom
using keyboard shortcuts. However, even when
Preset buttons (see “Zooming Options” on
Edit/Tool Mode Keyboard Lock is enabled, Edit
page 540), or with Memory Locations (see
Tool types can still be changed using the mouse or
“Recalling Memory Locations” on
by using the Right-click menu. You can also
page 805). The default setting for Zoom Pre-
switch between tools (such as switching from the
set 5 is at the sample level for Pencil editing.
Grabber to the Trim) using keyboard shortcuts.
3 Select the Pencil tool.
To lock (or unlock) the current Edit Tool modes:
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 563 for details.
Link Track and Edit Selection enabled When editing tracks that are part of an active Edit
Group, any tracks within the group that are hidden
are not affected by the edits. To edit all members of
a group, make sure they are visible by highlighting
their names in the Track List.
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 592.
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 a selection to include an adjacent clip: To make a selection with the Edit Selection
indicators:
1 Select the first clip with the Time Grabber tool.
1 Click with the Selector tool in the track you
2 Do one of the following: want to select.
• With Tab to Transients disabled, press Con- 2 Click in the Start field at the top of the Edit win-
trol+Shift+Tab (Mac) or Start+Shift+Tab (Win- dow.
dows) to extend the selection to the next clip
boundary. 3 Type in the start point for the selection and press
the Forward Slash key (/) to enter the value and
• Press Option+Control+Shift+Tab (Mac) or Con-
automatically move to the end field.
trol+Start+Shift+Tab (Windows) to extend the
selection to include the previous clip boundary. 4 Type in the end point for the selection and press
Enter to accept the value.
To extend a selection to a Marker or Memory
Location: Numeric Entry Shortcuts for Selection
1 Do one of the following: Indicators
• Click in a track with the Selector tool at the start You can use the following shortcuts for entering
or end point. values in the Edit Selection indicators:
• Make a selection with the Selector or Time • Press the Forward Slash (/) key to cycle through
Grabber tool. the three Edit Selection indicators.
2 Do one of the following: • Use Period (.) or the Left and Right Arrow keys
to move through the different time fields in each
• Shift-click a Marker in the Markers ruler.
Edit Selection indicator.
• Shift-click a Memory Location in the Memory
• Press the Up or Down Arrow keys to increase or
Locations window.
decrease numerical values.
example, to add 10 to a current field value, press With the Selector tool, drag vertically to include
Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) and adjacent tracks in a selection (drag horizontally
Plus (+) key, type “10,” and press Enter. to define the time range).
• Press Escape to exit the Edit Selection indicators
To extend a selection to another track:
without entering any values.
1 Using the Selector or Time Grabber tool, make
These shortcuts can also be used to enter start a selection in the first track or tracks.
and end values in the Transport window.
2 Shift-click in additional tracks with the Selector
Calculator Entry Mode tool. An identical range is selected for each ad-
ditional track.
You can perform calculator-style editing of values
in the Edit Selection indicators. To shorten or lengthen the selection across each of
the tracks, press Shift while dragging to change the
To subtract time values: range of the selection.
1 In the Edit Selection indicator, highlight the
time field you want to change. To select across all tracks, do one of the following:
2 Press Minus (–) on the numeric keypad. Enable the All Edit Group and make a selection
in any track.
3 Type the amount you want to subtract from the
current time value, then press Enter. Drag with the Selector tool in any Timebase
ruler (make sure the Timeline and Edit Selec-
4 Press Enter again to apply the change. tions are linked).
To add time values: These selections include all tracks in the Edit win-
1 In the Edit Selection indicator, highlight the dow, but do not include the Conductor tracks (for
time field you want to change. Tempo, Meter, and Markers).
2 Press Plus (+) on the numeric keypad. To select across all tracks, including the
Conductor tracks (for Tempo, Meter, and Markers):
3 Type the amount you want to add to the current
time value, then press Enter. Option-drag (Mac) or Alt-drag (Windows) with
the Selector tool in any Timebase ruler.
4 Press Enter again to apply the change.
To move a selection to an adjacent track: In either instance, the original Edit selection re-
1 Enable Commands Keyboard Focus (see “Key- mains selected.
board Focus” on page 24).
With Commands Keyboard Focus dis-
abled, press Control+Shift+P (Mac) of
Start+Shift+P (Windows) to extend the se-
lection to the previous track, or Con-
trol+Shift+Semicolon (;) (Mac) or
Start+Shift+Semicolon (;) (Windows) to
extend the selection to the next track.
Commands Keyboard Focus button enabled To remove the bottom track from a selection:
2 With the Selector or Time Grabber tool, make a Press Option+Control+Semicolon (;) (Mac) or
selection. Alt+Start+Semicolon (;) (Windows) to remove
the bottom track.
3 Do one of the following:
• Press P on your computer keyboard to move the Other Useful Selection
selection to the previous track. Techniques
• Press semicolon (;) to move the selection to the Following are some additional selection tech-
next track. niques.
In either instance, the original Edit selection be-
To position the edit cursor precisely at a clip start,
comes deselected. end, or sync point:
With Commands Keyboard Focus disabled, 1 Make sure the Tab to Transients button is not
press Control+P (Mac) or Start+P (Win- enabled. (See “Tabbing to Transients” on
dows) to move the selection to the previous page 574.)
track, or Control+Semicolon (;) (Mac) or
2 Click with the Selector tool in the track.
Start+Semicolon (;) (Windows) to move the
selection to the next track. 3 Do one of the following:
• Press Tab to move the cursor to the next clip or
To extend a selection to an adjacent track:
clip group start, end, or sync point.
1 Enable Commands Keyboard Focus (see “Key-
• Press Option+Tab (Mac) or Control+Tab (Win-
board Focus” on page 24).
dows) to move the cursor to the previous clip or
2 With the Selector or Time Grabber tool, make a clip group start, end, or sync point.
selection.
4 While pressing Shift, scrub to an appropriate 3 Drag left or right to move the Edit selection
end point for the selection, then release. The back or forward in time while preserving its
range between the initial and final scrub be- length.
comes selected. If Link Timeline and Edit Selection is disabled
(Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selection), Op-
To move a selection to an adjacent clip on the
same track: tion-drag (Mac) or Alt-drag (Windows) the Edit
Markers instead.
1 Select a clip with the Time Grabber.
2 Do one of the following: Right-Click Commands and
• Press Control+Tab (Mac) or Start+Tab (Win- Selection Preservation
dows) to move the selection to the next clip. You can use Right-click commands with key com-
• Press Option+Control+Tab (Mac) or Con- binations to perform operations on objects while
trol+Start+Tab (Windows) to move the selection maintaining selections in the Edit and Mix win-
to the previous clip. dows. For example, you can maintain selections in
the following areas while carrying out certain com-
In either instance, the original clip becomes dese- mands:
lected.
• Clip selections in the Timeline
To slide an Edit selection in the Main Timebase • Clip name selections in the Clip List
ruler:
• Track selections
1 With the Selector or Time Grabber tool, make a
selection. To apply a command to an object while keeping the
current selection:
2 While pressing Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows),
move the cursor over either of the Timeline Se- Command-Right-click (Mac) or Control-Right-
lection Markers in the ruler (the Time Grabber click (Windows) the object and choose a com-
appears). mand from the pop-up menu.
When Tab to Transients is enabled, the Tabbing Tab to Transients Across Multiple
function also locates the cursor to clip start and end Tracks
points, but not to sync points. With the edit cursor inserted across multiple
tracks, you can use Tab to Transients to tab to the
To toggle Tab to Transients on and off,
next transient on any of those tracks. When tran-
press Command+Option+Tab (Mac) or
sients on multiple tracks are closely aligned, Tab to
Control+Alt+Tab (Windows).
Transients tabs to the first transient on any of those
tracks.
You can scroll the contents of the Edit window by 1 Place the mouse over the window you want to
dragging in a ruler. While this does not actually up- scroll (for example, in the Edit window you
date the session’s Current Location, it does let you might want to scroll either the track display or
conveniently shift the display left or right for the the Clip List).
sake of finding and editing material. 2 Shift-scroll the scroll wheel up or down to scroll
This method of scrolling is especially useful when the window to the left or right.
using the Continuous Scrolling option, which does
not update or follow Timeline selections.
Scrolling in a ruler
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.
Selecting Universe view from the Edit window pop-up Navigating with the Universe
menu View
Click the Show/Hide Universe view button. By clicking in the Universe view, you can scroll
the material displayed in the Edit window horizon-
tally, vertically, or both. This provides a conve-
nient method of focusing the Edit window any-
where in the session.
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+Control+Option+Shift+L
Pro Tools provides several keyboard shortcuts for
(Mac) or Control+Alt+Start+Shift+L (Win-
moving and extending or decreasing the range of
dows).
an Edit (or Timeline) selection.
You can also press Command+Option+Z To change Track views for all tracks together:
(Mac) or Control+Alt+Z (Windows) to restore Press Command+Option+Control+Left or
the previous selection. 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 Clip 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 33, “MIDI Editing.” For edit-
ing procedures specific to video, see “Video Clips”
on page 1190.
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 682). 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 Clip 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 820). 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 638). 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 592).
Start and end points for selections can also be 1 Configure the Nudge value (see “Defining the
moved by the Nudge value (see “Nudging Selec- Nudge Value” on page 592).
tion Start/End Points” on page 569). In addition, 2 With the Time Grabber or Selector tool, select
clips can be trimmed by the Nudge value (see the clip, clips, or clip groups you want to nudge.
“Trimming with Nudge” on page 591). The clips can reside on multiple tracks. Only
clips that are completely selected are nudged.
To set the Nudge value:
3 Do one of the following:
1 Do one of the following:
• On the numeric keypad, press Plus (+) to move
• From the View > Main Counter menu, select the
the selection forward by the Nudge value.
Time Scale for the Nudge value.
• Press Minus (–) to move the selection back by
• To keep the Main Time Scale and use a different
the Nudge value.
time format for the Nudge value, deselect Follow
Main Timebase in the Nudge Value pop-up The Nudge command works the same regardless of
menu. the Edit mode. Adjacent clips are overlapped in
2 Specify a Nudge value by doing one of the fol- Shuffle mode, the Spot dialog does not appear
lowing: when in Spot mode, and shifted material does not
snap to the Grid when in Grid mode.
• From the Nudge value pop-up menu in the Edit
window, select the Nudge value.
Nudging Clips on Multiple
• To specify a Nudge value not listed in the Nudge Tracks and in Multichannel
Value pop-up menu, click the Nudge Value indi- Tracks
cator and type in the value.
When nudging a selection of multiple clips within
a single track or across multiple tracks, that also
contains silence, any automation data residing
within the silence is also nudged.
For MIDI clips, only the clips are quantized and all
MIDI data contained within the clips (such as Split Selected Tracks
notes) are moved equally, thereby retaining their To edit a specific channel within a stereo or multi-
rhythmic relationships. channel track without affecting the other channels,
you can split the track into separate mono tracks.
Once the edits have been made to the separated
material, you can then drag or copy it back to the
original multichannel track.
Select Show/Hide Clip Gain Line in the Right-click Right-click any clip and choose Clip Gain >
menu to show or hide the Clip Gain Line for all Show Clip Gain Line or Clip Gain > Hide Clip
clips. Gain Line.
Clip gain is applied on a clip-by-clip basis. When You can adjust clip gain using the Clip Gain Fader
cross-fading between clips, the Clip Gain Line for icon for quick and easy clip gain adjustments.
the first clip carries through the fade out segment
of the crossfade and the Clip Gain Line for the sec- To boost or attenuate the current clip gain settings
ond clip carries through the fade in segment of the for a single clip:
crossfade. Consequently, crossfades can display 1 Ensure that the Clip Gain Info option is enabled.
two Clip Gain Lines, one for the first clip and one
2 Click the Clip Gain Fader icon on the clip and
for the second clip.
drag the Clip Gain fader up or down to boost or
attenuate the clip gain settings for the clip.
Using the Pencil tool (Free Hand) to draw clip gain 2 Make an Edit selection that includes the clip
settings bound by the Edit selection gain settings that you want to adjust.
To add clip gain breakpoints with the Pencil tool: 3 Select the Trim tool.
1 Ensure that the Clip Gain Line option is enabled. 4 Drag up or down over the Clip Gain Line within
2 Select the Pencil tool. the Edit selection.
Pro Tools lets you convert clip gain settings to Pro Tools lets you coalesce clip gain settings to
track-based volume automation, as well as letting track-based volume automation, as well as letting
you convert track-based volume automation to clip you coalesce track-based volume automation to
gain settings. clip gain settings.
When converting clip gain settings to volume au- When coalescing clip gain settings to volume auto-
tomation, the clip gain settings are cut from the clip mation, the clip gain settings are cut from the clip
and pasted to track-based volume automation at and coalesced with track-based volume automa-
the same timeline locations as the clip. tion at the same timeline locations as the clip.
When converting track-based volume automation When coalescing track-based volume automation
to clip gain, the volume automation is cut from the to clip gain, the volume automation is cut from the
track volume automation playlist and pasted to the track volume automation playlist and coalesced
clip. Once volume automation has been converted with the selected clip gain settings. Once volume
to clip gain, the clip gain settings stay with the clip automation has been coalesced to clip gain, vol-
when moved, cut, copied, or pasted. ume automation is set to 0 dB for the selection.
To convert clip gain settings to track-based To coalesce clip gain settings to track-based
volume automation: volume automation:
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 Clip Gain
to Volume Automation. to Volume Automation.
Any clip gain settings above +12 dB are lost To coalesce track-based volume automation to
when converted to volume automation. Also, clip gain settings:
clip gain settings within crossfades are cross- 1 Select a clip or make an Edit selection.
faded as part of the volume automation.
2 Choose Edit > Automation > Coalesce Volume
To convert track-based volume automation to clip to Clip Gain.
gain:
1 Select a clip or make an Edit selection. Any clip gain settings above +12 dB are lost
when it is coalesced to volume automation.
2 Choose Edit > Automation > Convert Volume to Also, clip gain within crossfades is cross-
Clip Gain. faded as part of the volume automation.
• Using the Time Grabber or Selector tool, select 1 In the Clip List, select the clip or clips you want
the clips you want to consolidate. to compact.
• To select all clips in a track, triple-click in its 2 From the Clip List menu, choose Compact.
playlist with the Selector tool. 3 Enter the amount of padding in milliseconds
2 Choose Edit > Consolidate. that you want for each clip in the file.
4 Click Compact to compact the file or Cancel to
Press Option+Shift+3 (Mac) or Alt+Shift+3
cancel the command.
(Windows) to Consolidate.
Once the Compact command has been completed,
the session is saved automatically.
Compacting an Audio File
The Compact command deletes unused portions of
audio files to conserve disk space, and to prepare Processing Audio with
for cleaner hard drive back-ups. The Compact Se- AudioSuite Plug-Ins
lected command also deletes any audio files for
The AudioSuite plug-ins included with your
which there are no clips on tracks referencing those
Pro Tools system can be used to process and mod-
files.
ify audio clips or even entire audio files. Do this in
Because it permanently deletes audio data, the order to apply a specific AudioSuite process (such
Compact command should be used only after you as Normalization or DC Offset Removal) to any
have completely finished your editing and are sure number of audio clips in your session.
that you have no further use for the unused audio
For more information about AudioSuite
data.
plug-ins, see Chapter 41, “AudioSuite Pro-
cessing.”
To rate a clip:
1 Select the clip.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose Clip > Rating, and select a ranking of
1 to 5.
• Right-click the clip, choose Rate, and select a
ranking of 1 to 5.
Pro Tools calculates fades and crossfades in RAM The type of selection you make determines the
in real-time. You can quickly and easily apply a character of the crossfade.
fade-in or fade-out on a audio clip, as well as apply
crossfades between adjacent audio clips. Crossfad- Since crossfades are created by fading
ing is the process of fading between two clips of between overlapping audio material, a
audio to prevent pops, clicks, or sudden changes in crossfade cannot be performed on clips
sound. Crossfades have many applications, from that do not contain audio material
smoothing transitions between clips to creating beyond their clip boundaries.
special audio effects. The crossfade duration, posi-
tion, 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
About Crossfades and Curves or to adjust the bounds of the selection to
execute those fades.
To create a crossfade between two clips, use the
Selector tool to select across the end point of the
first clip and the start point of the second. The
Standard Crossfade (Centered)
length of the selection determines the length of the splice
crossfade. Though fades may appear to be discrete fade-out curve point fade-in curve
clips, they cannot actually be separated from the
clips in which they were created. You can, how-
ever, create fade-ins and fade-outs for individual clip 1 clip 2
Use the Fades dialog to select, view, and manipu- crossfade selection
late the curves used to perform fades and cross- Centered crossfade
fades. Different volume curves can be assigned to
the fade-out and fade-in portions of crossfades.
The Fades dialog can also be used to audition a
fade or crossfade before applying it.
Pre Crossfade
crossfade selection
splice
sp lice
point Post crossfade
Click this button to scale the view of the wave- Preset Curve 1
form’s amplitude downwards. Command-click
(Mac) or Control-click (Windows) for the default
view scale.
Preset Curve 7
Preset Curve 2
Fade-In Shape Settings
Preset Curve 3 fades out slightly faster, keeping
the volume slightly lower during the fade. The Shape setting lets you define the shape of the
fade-in to a clip for a fade, or to clip 2 for a cross-
fade.
Preset Curve 5
Preset Curve 1 fades in at full volume immedi-
ately at the beginning of the fade and keeps it there
Preset Curve 6 drops the volume even more throughout the fade.
quickly at the beginning of the fade.
Preset Curve 1
Preset Curve 6
Preset Curve 7
Preset Curve 2
Link Settings
Preset Curve 3 fades in moderately fast.
(Crossfades Only)
Preset Curve 3
Fade Link
1. Out 2. In
2 Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- Save Fade Settings To Selects the folder where
dows) the Preset button where you want to store Fades preset files (.fdpreset) are saved. If you se-
the current Fades dialog settings. lect Session Folder, the settings are saved in a
folder named “Fades Presets” within the current
To recall a Fade preset: Session folder. If you select Root Settings Folder,
the settings are saved in the Pro Tools Root folder
Click the Preset button that contains the settings
specified in the Operation preferences.
you want to recall.
To create a fade-in:
To apply a Fade In using the Default Fade 3 Select the fade-out curve and configure the
In setting (in the Editing Preferences page), other Fade settings.
and without opening the Fades dialog, 4 Click the Audition button to audition the fade.
press Command+Control+F (Mac) or
Control+Start+F (Windows). 5 Adjust the curve by dragging it or by selecting a
different shape from the Out Shape pop-up
3 Select the fade-in curve and configure the other menu.
Fade settings.
6 Click OK.
4 Click the Audition button to audition the fade.
Pro Tools calculates the fade and the selected fade
5 Adjust the curve by dragging it or by selecting a curve appears in the clip.
different shape from the In Shape pop-up menu.
Fade lengths can be resized with any of the
6 Click OK.
Trim tools, including Nudge Trim
The selected fade curve appears in the clip. commands. See “Using the Trim Tools” on
page 549 and “Trimming with Nudge” on
page 591.
• 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 Alt+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 616). 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 549 and “Trimming with Nudge” on
you want the crossfade to begin in the first clip page 591.
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 HD can automatically apply real-time
Selections fade-ins and fade-outs to all clip boundaries in the
session on playback. Specify the duration (0 to
By making a selection that begins or ends precisely
10 ms) for automatic real-time fades with the Auto
on the border of two clips, you can create “pre” or
Clip Fade In/Out Length preference in the Opera-
“post” crossfades. Use the Tab key to place the in-
tion Preferences page). These fade-ins and fade-
sertion point at the exact beginning or end of a clip.
outs are performed during playback and do not ap-
To create a pre- or post-crossfade:
pear 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: The automatic fade-in/out option also has an effect
• Press Tab to move forward to the next on Voice borrowing in a session. Whenever a
clip boundary. lower-priority virtual track “pops thru” a silence in
• Press Option+Tab (Mac) or Control+Tab (Win- a higher-priority track on the same voice, a fade-in
dows) to move back to the previous clip bound- and fade-out is applied to the transition.
ary.
5 Drag the selected clip with the Grabber. Nudging Clips Adjacent to
Crossfades
When you nudge either of the clips that contributes
to a crossfade, the fade stretches to preserve the
relative position of the crossfade start and end
points. The amount of stretch depends on the
Separating clips while preserving fades amount of overlap between the contributing clips.
2 Type a new name and click OK. Using this method, you can add new tracks to the
existing group and the suffixes for their playlist
Both the track and playlist names are updated. names are synchronized with the original tracks.
1 Click the track’s Playlist selector and choose For more information on grouping tracks,
Delete Unused. see “Grouping Tracks” on page 247.
2 Select the unassigned playlists you want to 2 Make sure the group is enabled.
delete. Shift-click (Windows or Mac), Control-
3 Create a new playlist (by clicking the Playlist
click (Windows), or Command-click (Mac) to
selector in one of the tracks in the group and
select multiple playlists.
choosing New). The default suffix will now be
3 Click OK to delete the selected playlists. This “.01”—signifying take 1.
operation cannot be undone.
4 Record take 1, then create a new playlist. The
You can also delete playlists in Playlists view. playlists on all tracks in the group increment to
Right-click the Playlist Name on a lane or in “.02.”
the Track List and choose Delete. 5 Create new tracks (for example, for an addi-
tional musician or microphone), then add these
When deleting a track from a session, you tracks to the group (or create a new group with
have the option of deleting or keeping its all the tracks).
playlists, so they can be used on other tracks. 6 Increment all the playlists by clicking the Play-
list selector in one of the tracks in the group and
choosing New.
All tracks in the group have playlists numbered • Copy the best take to the main playlist.
with .01 suffixes (even those tracks that were
To configure a session:
added to the original group after the earlier takes).
Empty playlists are automatically created on these 1 Open an existing Pro Tools session or create a
newly-added members so that playlist numbers new one.
match across all members of the group.
2 Choose Setup > Preferences, and click the
Operation tab.
Elastic Audio and Alternate
Playlists 3 On the Operation page, in the Record section,
select the Automatically Create New Playlists
Alternate playlists on Elastic Audio-enabled, tick- When Loop Recording option.
based tracks are only affected by tempo changes.
Otherwise, alternate playlists are not affected by 4 Click OK.
editing Warp or Event markers in the main playlist.
To loop record multiple takes:
1 Create a new audio track (stereo or mono), or
use an existing track.
Track Compositing
2 Make sure the source you want to record is cor-
Pro Tools provides track compositing tools for au-
rectly connected and routed to the track input.
dio tracks. Track compositing is the process of as-
sembling various selections from alternate takes, 3 From the Track View selector, select Playlists.
or playlists, to construct the best possible version
4 To hear track material up to the start point of the
of a performance from multiple recording passes.
loop, enable pre-roll and set the pre-roll time.
Using Playlists view for an audio track, you can se-
lect the best parts from the track’s alternate play- 5 Enable Loop Recording by doing one of the fol-
lists and copy them to the main playlist. This lets lowing:
you quickly and easily create the “perfect take”
• Select Options > Loop Playback.
from multiple alternate playlists.
• Right-click the Play button in the Transport and
select Loop.
7 With the Selector tool, select the loop range on Right-click on the Playlist lane and choose
the track. Hide.
8 Record enable the audio track by clicking its With the same Edit selection that you used for
Record Enable button. loop recording intact, Right-click the Track
Name or any of the Playlist Lane Names and
9 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools choose Filter Lanes > Show Only Lanes With >
for recording. Clips Within the Edit Selection.
10 Click Play to start recording.
11 When finished, click Stop to stop recording.
12 If you do not want to make another loop record
pass, record disable the audio track.
• Choose Edit > Copy Selection To > Main You can edit alternate playlists in Playlists view
Playlist. just like the main playlist in Waveform view. In
• Right-click the selection and choose Copy Playlists view, edits that are applied to range selec-
Selection to Main Playlist. tions are applied to all shown alternate playlists.
Alternate playlists that are not shown are not af-
• Click the Copy Selection to Main Playlist button fected.
for the Playlist lane.
Before starting work with Track Composit-
Copy Selection to ing, duplicate the track’s Main Playlist to
Main Playlist button
keep it intact as a backup alternate playlist.
Copy Selection to New Playlist Creates a new, Making a selection in an alternate playlist
empty main playlist and copies and pastes the se-
2 Do one of the following:
lection to the new main playlist
• Click the Copy Selection To Main Playlist but-
Copy Selection to Duplicate Playlist Duplicates ton in the Playlist Lane controls.
the current main playlist and copies and pastes the
• Choose Edit > Copy Selection to Main Playlist.
selection to the duplicate of the main playlist. The
previous main playlist moves to a new Playlist • Right-click the selection and choose Copy
lane. Selection To Main Playlist.
When an audio track is set to Playlists view, all of • Show Only Lanes With > Clips Outside The Edit
its associated playlists appear listed under the track Selection
name in the Track List. The names of associated al- • Show Only Lanes With > “Clips Rated >= 1–5”
ternate playlists are indented to distinguish Playlist
• Hide All Lanes
lanes from tracks. From the Track List you can
show and hide alternate playlists. You can also ac- • Hide Only Lanes With > Clips Within The Edit
cess the Right-click menu for alternate playlists, Selection
which lets you apply Show or Hide, Scroll Into • Hide Only Lanes With > Clips Outside The Edit
View, Rename, Delete, and Filter Lanes com- Selection
mands.
• Hide Only Lanes With > “Clips Rated >= 1–5”
Clip Start and End Any clips that have the same
Matching Criteria settings are saved with
start and end times as the Edit selection.
your Pro Tools session.
Within Selection Any complete clips that are en-
tirely within the Edit selection.
Matching Criteria Options
None No other criteria in addition to the selected
Alternates Match Options Alternates Match options are used to filter match-
ing alternate clips.
The following Alternates Match options can be se-
lected in any combination:
Track ID Any clips recorded to the same track are Selecting Alternate Takes on
considered matching. Use this option for selecting Tracks
alternate takes from loop or punch recording. Each clip resulting from a punch or loop record
Track Name Any clips that share the same root
pass has an identical start time (the User Time
name with the track or playlist are considered Stamp). You can select and audition alternate takes
matching. For example, the Matches for a track from the Right-click Matches submenu or the Al-
named “Gtr.L” would show the clips “Gtr.L_01” ternate Takes pop-up menu—even during play-
and “Gtr.L_02-01,” but not “Guitar.L_01.” back.
When enabled, the new Automatically Create New 2 Do one of the following:
Playlists When Loop Recording option in the Oper- • Right-click the clip and choose Matches >
ation Preferences page automatically copies each Expand Alternates To New Playlists.
clip (take) to a new playlist in the track. This facil-
• If the clip is selected, with the Selector tool,
itates using Playlists view for auditioning and se-
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
lecting alternate takes.
dows) anywhere on the selected clip and choose
To automatically create new playlists when loop Matches > Expand Alternates To New Playlists.
recording: • If the clip is not selected, with the Selector tool,
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
Operation tab. dows) at the precise beginning of the loop or
punch range and choose Matches > Expand
2 In the Recording section, enable the Automati-
Alternates To New Playlists.
cally Create New Playlists When Loop Record-
ing option. All matching alternate clips are copied to new
playlists on the track. To view all playlists for the
3 Click OK.
track, select Playlists view. In any track view, you
For more information on loop recording, see can also select any available alternate playlist as
“Loop Recording Audio” on page 473. the main playlist from the Playlist selector.
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 666.
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 663).
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.
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.
When using a Grabber tool, if any portion of the You can also select notes in the Select/Split
rectangle touches a note (either its start or end Notes window. See “Select/Split Notes Com-
point), the note is included in the selection. How- mand” on page 918.
ever, selections made with a Grabber tool are ob-
ject selections and do not include underlying con- Selecting and Auditioning MIDI
troller and automation data for the MIDI track. Notes with the Mini-Keyboard
With the Selector tool, drag across a range of Use the mini-keyboard on MIDI and Instrument
notes. tracks to select and play notes on that track. You
can click on the mini-keyboard with any Edit tool.
Moving Notes
Like clips, MIDI notes can be dragged left or right
with the Pencil tool or any Grabber tool to change
their start point. If several notes are selected before
dragging, they are all moved together.
The Shift key ensures that the transposed note 1 Set the MIDI or Instrument track to Notes view.
maintains its original start point. 2 With the Pencil tool or any Grabber tool, drag
the note left or right (press Shift while dragging
to preserve the note’s pitch).
In Notes view in the Edit window and in MIDI Ed- With the Grabber or Pencil tool, Control-Shift-
itor windows, both the Pencil and Grabber tools click (Mac) or Start-Shift-click (Windows) be-
can be used to separate MIDI notes and to consol- tween the separated MIDI notes.
idate MIDI notes.
The Mute command lets you mute individual MIDI 1 Do one of the following:
notes. If entire clips are selected, the Mute com- • Set the MIDI or Instrument track to
mand prompts you to either mute clips or MIDI Velocity view.
notes. • Reveal the Controller lane for the MIDI or In-
strument track and show Velocity.
To mute one or more MIDI notes:
1 Select the MIDI notes you want to mute.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose Edit > Mute Notes.
• Right-click the selected MIDI notes and choose
Mute Notes.
1 Select the MIDI notes you want to unmute. 2 Select any Grabber tool.
2 Do one of the following: 3 Drag the top (diamond) of the velocity stalk up
or down.
• Choose Edit > Unmute Notes.
• Right-click the selected MIDI notes and choose
Unmute 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
want them all to be louder or softer.
Editing simultaneous velocities
When in Velocity view, the Trim tool can be
Drag up to increase the velocity value, or down to
used to trim note durations in
decrease it. While dragging, the diamond turns
addition to changing velocities.
blue and the associated note becomes selected. The
To scale velocities with the Trim tool: dragged velocity values are reflected in the Cursor
Location Value indicator (in the Edit window).
1 Set the MIDI or Instrument track to Velocity
view. If two notes have the same start time (with ve-
locity stalks on top of each other), Command-
2 Using the Selector tool or any Grabber tool, se-
drag (Mac) or Control-drag (Windows) the
lect the range of notes to be edited.
actual note up or down to adjust its velocity.
3 With the Trim tool, click near the range of se-
lected notes and drag up or down. Dragging up Auditioning Velocity Changes
increases the velocities for each note and drag-
ging down decreases them. If the Play MIDI Notes When Editing option is en-
abled, Pro Tools plays the note at the new velocity
when editing velocities for MIDI notes with the
Grabber tool. This lets you hear when you have the
velocity setting you want for a MIDI note.
With the Pencil tool selected, Option-click After trimming a MIDI clip with the Time Compression/
(Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the note. The Expansion Trim tool
Pencil tool changes to an Eraser when Option
(Mac) or Alt (Windows) is pressed. Using the Time Compression/
Expansion Trim Tool in Grid
Mode
The Time Compression/Expansion Trim tool
(TCE Trim tool) can be used in Grid mode to
match a clip to the tempo of a session or a section
of a session, or to create “double time” or “half
Deleting a note with Pencil tool
time” performances.
Change button
Patch Select dialog
To insert a program change with the Pencil tool: The placement of program changes can also
1 Do one of the following: be adjusted with Shift (see “Shift Command”
on page 824) or Nudge (see “Nudging Clips”
• Set the MIDI or Instrument track to Program on page 591).
Change view.
• Reveal the Controller lane for the MIDI or In- To delete a program change event:
strument track and show Program Change. 1 With the Track View or Controller lane set to
Program Change view, click the program
2 If you want the inserted event to snap to a Grid
change event with any Grabber tool to select it.
value, enable Grid mode.
3 Click with the Pencil tool in the track’s playlist If the clip contains other events you want to
at the point where you want to insert the pro- delete, you can delete the clip and the Pro-
gram change. gram Change event will also be deleted.
6 When you are finished auditioning settings, de- 3 Configure your MIDI device to send Sysex
select the Increment Patch option and select the (such as a bulk dump).
program number (or patch name) you want and 4 Start recording in the Transport.
click Done.
To begin recording the Sysex transfer from
your MIDI device at the Timeline insertion
point, enable Wait For Note.
Choose Event > All MIDI Notes Off. For MIDI Real-Time Properties to apply to
incoming MIDI data with MIDI Thru
Press Command+Shift+Period (.) (Mac) or
enabled, the corresponding MIDI and
Control+Shift+Period (.) (Windows) for the
Instrument tracks must be record-enabled.
All MIDI Notes Off command.
Duration Amount
Duration
If the Ticks/Notes pop-up menu is set to ticks, en-
Duration can be used to increase or decrease the
ter a duration as a number of quarter notes plus a
duration of MIDI notes by a fixed amount or by a
number of ticks, such as 4|000. If the Ticks/Notes
percentage. This is useful for creating legato or
pop-up menu is set to a note size, enter a number to
staccato passages.
by which to multiply that note size, such as seven
Duration cannot be applied as a Real-Time 16th notes.
Property to MIDI Input and Thru.
Ticks/Notes Pop-Up Menu
Duration Mode Pop-Up Menu
The Ticks/Notes pop-up menu lets you select ei-
Select one of the following options from the Dura- ther Ticks or a note size for Note Durations. There
tion Mode pop-up menu: Set, Add, Subtract, is also a Ticks/Notes pop-up menu for the Mini-
Scale, Legato/Gap, or Legato/Overlap. mum and Maximum Durations options.
Set Select to set notes to the specified duration. Minimum and Maximum Durations
Add Select to add the specified duration to the cur- Enable either or both minimum and maximum du-
rent duration of each note. rations and enter a value in quarter notes plus ticks
or as a multiple of a note size. The Minimum (Min)
Subtract Select to subtract the specified duration and Maximum (Max) Durations options are only
from the current duration of each note. available in the expanded Real-Time Properties
window.
Scale Select to scale the current duration of each
note by a percentage from 1 to 400%.
Velocity
Real-Time Properties on
Velocity lets you change MIDI velocity by a per- Tracks and Clips
centage or by constant value. Enter a percentage
Real-Time Properties can be configured to apply to
value in the Dynamics field to scale velocity
an entire track (all clips on that track), or on a clip-
around the median velocity of 64. You can also en-
by-clip basis. Track-level properties also provide
ter an offset by adding (+) or subtracting (–) values
real-time MIDI input processing of velocity and
between 1 and 127. You can also enter Minimum
transposition.
and Maximum Velocity value limits. The Mini-
mum (Min) and Maximum (Max) Velocity options The presence of track-based Real-Time Properties
are only available in the expanded Real-Time are indicated by a “T” displayed in the upper right-
Properties window. hand corner of MIDI clips. Clip-based Real-Time
Properties are indicated by an “R” displayed in the
Velocity can be applied as a Real-Time Prop-
upper right-hand corner of the clip. Clips boundar-
erty to MIDI Input and Thru on record-en-
ies including the “T” and the “R” displays are indi-
abled MIDI and Instrument tracks.
cated in Notes view and in MIDI Editor windows,
but not in the Score Editor window.
Clip-based Real-Time Properties can only be ap- 2 Select one or more tracks to which you want to
plied using the Real-Time Properties window apply Real-Time Properties.
(Event > MIDI Real-Time Properties). Real-Time 3 Open the Real-Time Properties window (Event
Properties can be applied to multiple clips. Once > MIDI Real-Time Properties).
Real-Time Properties have been assigned to a clip,
the clip can be moved or copied and pasted and re- 4 Select Tracks from the Real-Time Properties
Apply To pop-up menu.
tain its Real-Time Properties.
5 Configure the Real-Time Property settings.
Track-Based Real-Time Properties
6 Do one of the following:
All track-based Real-Time Properties consistently
• Click the Write to Track button in the Real-Time
apply to MIDI data throughout the entire track.
Properties window.
However, clips with clip-based Real-Time Proper-
ties will take precedence over any track-based • Choose Track > Write MIDI Real-Time Proper-
Real-Time Properties. You can clear clip-based ties.
Real-Time Properties by selecting the clip and
To write Real-Time Properties to clips:
clicking the Clear Clip Properties button in the
Real-Time Properties window (see “Writing Real- 1 Select one or more clips to which you want to
Time Properties to Tracks or Clips” on page 705). apply Real-Time Properties.
For greater flexibility, when Real-Time Properties 2 Open the Real-Time Properties window (Event
are assigned on a track basis they are actually con- > MIDI Real-Time Properties).
tained in a track playlist. This lets you create mul- 3 If Link Track and Edit Selection is enabled, se-
tiple playlists containing different Real-Time lect Clips from the Real-Time Properties Apply
Property settings. To pop-up menu.
4 Click the Clear Clip Properties button. Real-Time Properties Effects Displayed in the
MIDI Event List
Pro Tools provides MIDI Editor windows for detailed MIDI editing.
Solo
Notation view enabled in a MIDI Editor window
The Solo button lets you solo all the tracks cur-
rently displayed in the MIDI Editor window. You can access the Notation Display Track
Settings in a MIDI Editor window when in
Notation view. Select the Notation Display
Track Settings option from the Track List
menu or Right-click in the Notes pane and se-
lect the Notation Display Track Settings op-
Mute tion from the Right-click menu. For more in-
formation, see “Notation Display Track
The Mute button lets you mute all the tracks cur-
Settings” on page 736.
rently displayed in the MIDI Editor window.
Scrolling Submenu
Customizable Toolbar
The Scrolling submenu lets you select the scrolling
options for the MIDI Editor window inde- You can customize the toolbar in MIDI Editor
pendently of other MIDI Editor windows and the windows by rearranging, and showing and hiding
Edit window. The scrolling options include: the available controls and displays just like in the
Edit window or the Score Editor window.
No Scrolling The MIDI Editor window does not
scroll during or after playback. The playback cur- Changing Toolbar Display Options
sor moves across the MIDI Editor window, indi-
cating the playback location. To change the toolbar display options in a MIDI
Editor window toolbar:
After Playback The playback cursor moves across 1 Do one of the following:
the MIDI Editor window, indicating the playback
location. When playback has stopped, the MIDI • Click the MIDI Editor Window Toolbar menu.
Editor window scrolls to the final playback loca- • Right-click in the toolbar.
tion.
2 From the pop-up menu, select or deselect any of
Page The playback cursor moves across the MIDI the following:
Editor window, indicating the playback location. • Expanded Edit Tools
When the right edge of the MIDI Editor window is
• Expanded Grid/Nudge Display
reached, its entire contents are scrolled, and the
playback cursor continues moving from the left • Selection Display
edge of the window.
You can rearrange the controls and displays in the Pro Tools provides MIDI Zoom In and Out buttons
MIDI Editor window toolbar just like in the Edit in the upper-right corner of MIDI Editor windows.
window or the Score Editor window. These controls function exactly the same as the
MIDI Zoom controls in the toolbar, and let you
To rearrange controls and displays in a MIDI Editor zoom in and out vertically on MIDI notes.
window toolbar:
Track List
The Track List menu lets you show and hide MIDI, Disable the Track Show/Hide icon for tracks
Instrument, and Auxiliary Input tracks in the MIDI you want to hide in the MIDI Editor window.
Editor window (see “Showing and Hiding Tracks”
on page 715). To hide all (but one) MIDI, Instrument, and
Auxiliary Input tracks in a MIDI Editor window:
The Track List menu also lets you sort tracks in the From the Track List pop-up menu, select Hide
Track List by Name, Type, Edit Group, Mix All Tracks.
Group, or Voice (see “Sorting Tracks in the Track
List” on page 716). All but the top MIDI or Instrument track in the
Track List are hidden. MIDI Editor windows re-
Showing and Hiding Tracks quire that at least one MIDI or Instrument track al-
ways be shown in the window.
To show MIDI, Instrument, and Auxiliary Input
tracks in a MIDI Editor window: To hide selected MIDI, Instrument, and Auxiliary
Input tracks in a MIDI Editor window:
Enable the Track Show/Hide icon in the Track
List for tracks you want to show in the MIDI 1 In the Track List, select the MIDI, Instrument,
Editor window. and Auxiliary Input tracks you want to hide.
2 From the Track List pop-up menu, select Hide
To show all MIDI, Instrument, and Auxiliary Input
Selected Tracks.
tracks in a MIDI Editor window:
You can sort tracks in the Track List by the follow- Rename Renames the selected track.
ing criteria:
Duplicate Duplicates the selected track.
Name Sorts the order of tracks in the Track List by
Split into Mono Splits the selected stereo Instru-
Track Name.
ment or Auxiliary Input track into two mono
Type Sorts the order of tracks in the Track List by tracks.
Track Type.
Delete Deletes the selected track.
Edit Group Sorts the order of tracks in the Track
MIDI Real-Time Properties Opens the MIDI Real-
List by Edit Groups.
Time Properties window for the selected track.
Mix Group Sorts the order of tracks in the Track
Open in New MIDI Editor Opens the tracks dis-
List by Mix Groups.
played in the current MIDI Editor window in a new
Voice Sorts the order of tracks in the Track List by MIDI Editor window. The new MIDI Editor win-
Voice allocations. dow will be untargeted.
You can also view and edit MIDI notes in Notation view in the Notes pane (see “Notation View”
on page 722).
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 track 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.
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.
Inserting a MIDI note on track “Inst 3” The Tools submenu lets you select any Edit tools
relevant to the Score Editor.
To pencil-enable multiple contiguous Zoomer Selects the Zoomer tool.
tracks, Shift-click in the Pencil column of
the range of tracks you want. To pencil-en- Trim Selects the Trim tool.
able multiple discontiguous tracks, Com- Selector Selects the Selector tool.
mand-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
dows) in the Pencil column of any Grabber Selects the Grabber tool.
additional tracks. Option-click (Mac) or
Scrubber Selects the Scrubber tool.
Alt-click (Windows) to pencil-enable all
tracks. Manually inserted notes are written Pencil Selects the Pencil tool.
to all pencil-enabled tracks.
Smart Selects the Smart tool.
The Insert submenu lets you insert key changes, The Consolidate command lets you consolidate se-
meter changes, and chord symbols at the location lected multiple consecutive MIDI notes of the
of the Edit cursor. same pitch.
The Paste command pastes the clipboard to the Open In New MIDI Editor
current Edit selection or at the current Edit cursor
Selecting the Open In New MIDI Editor option
location. Any MIDI notes already present at the
opens all shown tracks in a new MIDI Editor win-
same location are overwritten.
dow.
Merge
Open In Score Editor
The Merge command pastes the clipboard to the
The Open In Score Editor option opens the shown
current Edit selection or at the current Edit cursor
tracks in the Score Editor window.
location and merges the pasted data with any MIDI
notes already present at the same location.
Open in MIDI Event List
Clear The Open In MIDI Event List option opens the se-
lected track in the MIDI Event List.
The Clear command clears (deletes) the current
Edit selection. Display Notation
In MIDI Editor windows, notation is displayed as a To enable Notation view, do one of the following:
continuous timeline and not in page view as in the Enable the Notation view button in the MIDI
Score Editor window. Editor window toolbar.
For information on editing notation, see
“Editing Notes” on page 739.
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 Track Single Zoom The previously selected Edit tool is
List of the Edit, Mix, or MIDI Editor window. automatically reselected after zooming.
3 From the Right-click menu, choose Open In Press the F5 key to select the Zoomer tool
Score Editor. and toggle between Normal and Single Zoom
modes.
To open the Score Editor window with the current
Edit selection shown:
1 In the Edit window or in a MIDI Editor window, Also see “Score Editor Zoom Controls” on
make an Edit selection on one or more tracks page 735
that includes what you want shown in the Score
Normal Zoom Mode
Editor window.
2 Right-click the Edit selection and choose Open To zoom around a certain point in the score:
In Score Editor. 1 Click the Zoomer tool pop-up menu and select
Normal Zoom mode.
If the Score Editor option is selected as the
“Double Clicking a MIDI Clip Opens” set- 2 Click once with the Zoomer tool at a location
ting in the MIDI Preferences page, you can within the score. The score is zoomed in by one
double-click a MIDI clip to open it in the level and is centered around the zoomed loca-
Score Editor. tion.
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 729).
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 731).
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 729).
Velocity setting (see “Default Note On Velocity”
on page 729). The start time for each note is determined by the
selected Grid value (see “Grid” on page 731).
The minimum duration of the note is determined
by the selected Default Note Duration (see “De- Random
fault Note Duration” on page 729).
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 729).
Note Duration (see “Default Note Duration” on
The duration is determined by the selected Default page 729).
Note Duration (see “Default Note Duration” on
The start time for each note is determined by the
page 729).
selected Grid value (see “Grid” on page 731).
The start time for each note is determined by the
selected Grid value (see “Grid” on page 731).
If you want dotted note values, also select the Dot- Play MIDI Notes When Editing enabled in the Score
ted option. Editor window
When inserting MIDI notes with the Pencil tool When the Target is disabled, the Score Editor does
(using the Line, Triangle, Square, or Random not update to show the current Edit window selec-
shapes), the Grid value determines the Note On lo- tion or Edit cursor location.
cation and the Default Note Duration value deter-
mines the note duration (see “Default Note Dura-
tion” on page 729).
2 From the pop-up menu, select or deselect any of Use the Track List to show and hide MIDI and In-
the following: strument tracks as staves in the score.
Display Transposition
Information
On pages where the music is vertically justi- The Score Editor provides simple score editing
fied, the distance between staves and systems tools for entering, moving, and transposing MIDI
will be larger than the numbers specified. notes as music notation:
Below Title and Composer Enter the spacing you • The Trim tool lets you lengthen or shorten the
want between the Title and Composer and the first duration of notes.
staff of the score. • The Note Selector tool lets you make object se-
lections of notes in the score.
Below Chord Symbols and Diagrams Enter the
spacing you want between Chord Symbols and Di- • The Grabber tool lets you select and move notes
agrams and the top stave of each system. to another time or pitch location on the same
track.
Layout • The Pencil tool lets you insert notes and move
them to another time or pitch location on the
Page Size Select the page size (Letter, Legal, Tab-
same track.
loid, or A4).
Page Margins Enter the size for the top, bottom, 1 Click the Note Selector tool.
left, and right page margins.
2 Drag in the score to highlight the notes you
Inches Select to enter Stave Size and Page Mar- want to select.
gins in inches.
Moving Notes
Use the Grabber tool to move selected notes from
one time location to another time location on the
Selecting notes with the Grabber tool same staff. When moving notes in the Score Edi-
tor, the underlying MIDI notes maintain their posi-
Transposing Notes tion relative to the Grid.
You can use the Grabber tool or the Pencil tool to To move notes to another time location:
manually transpose a note up or down. You can
1 Click the Grabber tool.
also use the Transpose Event Operation (Event >
Event Operations > Transpose) to transpose se- 2 If you want to move more than one note, drag
lected notes. around the notes you want to move to select
them.
To transpose a single note:
3 Drag any of the selected notes to another time
1 Click the Grabber tool. location on the same staff.
2 Drag the note you want to transpose up or down.
Cut
Entering multiple note of the same pitch with the Line
Pencil tool The Cut command cuts the current Edit selection.
Rests Copy
The Score Editor automatically adds rests as nec- The Copy command copies the current Edit selec-
essary. Rests cannot be moved or inserted manu- tion.
ally.
Paste
Chord Quality
selector
Chord selector Bass selector
To export a score from Pro Tools: 1 Open the Score Editor window and configure
your score.
1 Configure the score for your session in Score
Editor window. 2 Choose File > Print Score.
2 Choose File > Export > To Sibelius. 3 Configure the Print dialog as necessary and
click Print (Mac) or OK (Windows).
3 Select a destination and click Save.
Press Command+P (Mac) or Control+P
To send the score from your Pro Tools session to (Windows) to print the score.
Sibelius, do one of the following:
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
MIDI Event List The number of MIDI events on the selected track
are displayed at the top of the MIDI Event List.
Events in the MIDI Event List can be copied and
pasted, selected, or deleted. Any MIDI event (ex-
cept Sysex data) can be inserted and edited in the Target
list. Certain MIDI event types can be hidden with The Target button for the MIDI Event List deter-
the View Filter. mines whether or not the MIDI Event List follows
the Edit cursor and Edit selections in the Edit win-
Unlike playlists in the Edit window, you can
dow and MIDI Editor windows. For example,
insert and display polyphonic aftertouch in
when the Target is enabled, the Events shown in
the MIDI Event List.
the MIDI Event List update to show the event in
The playback cursor appears as a blue arrow (red, When inserting an event type that has been
when tracks are record-enabled) in the Start col- filtered from the MIDI Event List, that event
umn. type will no longer be filtered.
When several events reside at the same location, Example: To filter the display of aftertouch and
the location is only indicated for the top event, with System Exclusive Messages in the MIDI Event
List:
the others dimmed. The dimmed locations can be
edited by double-clicking them. 1 In the MIDI Event List, choose View Filter from
the MIDI Event List menu.
• Press Tab or the Down Arrow to move to the 4 Enter the location you want to go to, then click
next event (with or without the edit field se- OK.
lected).
• Press Option+Tab (Mac) or Control+Tab (Win-
dows) or the Up Arrow to move to the previous
event (with or without the edit field selected).
With the MIDI Event List as the front-most To insert a controller event in the MIDI Event List:
window, press Command+N (Mac) or Con- 1 From the MIDI Event List menu, choose Insert
trol+N (Windows) to Insert a note. > Controller.
2 Enter the location, pitch, attack (Note On) and With the MIDI Event List as the front-most
release (Note Off) velocities, and length for the window, press Command+L (Mac) or Con-
new note. To move between the Event Entry trol+L (Windows) to Insert a controller
fields, use the Left and Right Arrow keys. event.
To edit an event in the MIDI Event List: Selecting Events in the MIDI
1 Do one of the following: Event List
• Double-click the event field you want to edit. To select a range of events in the MIDI Event List,
do one of the following:
• To edit a selected event, press Command+Enter
(Mac) or Control+Enter (Windows). Click the event at the beginning of the selection
and drag to the ending event.
Shift-click the event at the beginning of the se-
lection, then Shift-click the ending event.
Displaying Rulers
To display all rulers:
If a Timebase ruler is displayed, click its name From the Main Counter selector, select (or dese-
so it becomes highlighted. lect) the Show Sub Counter option.
Setting the Main Time Scale to the timebase To show the Sub Counter in the Transport window:
currently displayed in the Sub Counter
From the Transport Window menu, ensure that
switches the two Time Scales, setting the Sub
the Counters and Expanded Transport options
Time Scale to the previous timebase of the
are enabled.
Main Time Scale.
Pro Tools is a sample-based program with an inter- Note Value Normal Dotted Triplet
nal MIDI resolution of 960,000 pulses per quarter
note (ppq). However, when the Time Scale is set to 1/2 note 1920 2880 1280
Bars|Beats, the display resolution in Pro Tools is 1/4 note 960 1440 640
960 ppq and the Timebase is tick-based.
1/8 note 480 720 320
In the Bars|Beats Time Scale, Pro Tools is
1/16 note 240 360 160
tick-based (960 ticks to a quarter note). Some
amount of sample-rounding may occur when 1/32 note 120 180 80
placing events at certain locations (see
1/64 note 60 90 40
“Sample Rounding and Edit Operations” on
page 764).
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
.
Tempo Events
Tempo events can be assigned to the Song Start Add Tempo Change button
Marker to replace the default tempo (of 120 BPM),
3 In the Tempo Change window, enter the Loca-
and they can be inserted anywhere else within the
tion and BPM value for the tempo change.
session to change tempo.
If the Edit mode is set to Grid, the dragged event 1 With the Selector or Grabber tool, make a Time-
snaps to the current Grid value. line selection.
2 Shift-click in the Tempo ruler.
3 Choose Edit > Clear to delete the selected tempo 1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport win-
events. dow, select View > Transport > MIDI Controls.
2 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the MIDI
Tap Tempo tab.
You can manually set the tempo for a Pro Tools 3 Ensure that Use MIDI to Tap Tempo is selected.
session by tapping on your computer keyboard.
You can also use a connected MIDI keyboard to 4 In the Transport window, click the Tempo Ruler
tap tempo. Enable (Conductor) button so it becomes un-
highlighted. Pro Tools switches to Manual
To set the Manual Tempo by tapping on a computer Tempo mode. In this mode, any tempo events in
keyboard: the Tempo ruler are ignored.
1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport win- 5 Click in the Tempo field so it becomes high-
dow, select View > Transport > MIDI Controls. lighted and tap in the tempo by playing a note
2 In the Transport window, click the Tempo Ruler repeatedly at the new tempo on your MIDI key-
Enable (Conductor) button so it becomes un- board controller.
highlighted. Pro Tools switches to Manual To compute the new tempo, Pro Tools averages
Tempo mode. In this mode, any tempo events in the last eight (or fewer) taps to determine the cor-
the Tempo ruler are ignored. rect tempo. The computed BPM value appears in
the Transport Tempo field.
Select View > Rulers > Tempo, then select A group of selected tempos can be scaled up or
View > Rulers > Tempo > Tempo Editor. down with the Trim tool.
Click the Tempo Editor expand/collapse New tempo events can be drawn in with the
triangle. Pencil tool to replace existing ones.
Tempo events can be copied and pasted,
Zooming and Scrolling in the nudged, and shifted.
Tempo Editor
To zoom in vertically in the Tempo Editor:
click to release. Tempo values change in steps ac- Click the Tempo Resolution selector and select
cording to the Tempo Edit Density and Resolution. the appropriate note value from the pop-up
menu. The Tempo Resolution for tempo events
Parabolic The Parabolic shape draws the best pos-
created by drawing with the Pencil tool are set
sible curve to fit your freehand drawing. The shape
to the specified note value for the BPM rate.
is reproduced as a series of steps according to the
Tempo Edit Density setting. Click the Tempo Resolution selector and select
Follow Metronome Click. The Tempo Resolu-
S-Curve The S-Curve shape draws a best possible tion for tempo events created by drawing with
fit of an S-Curve to your freehand drawing. The the Pencil tool automatically mirror the click
shape is reproduced as a series of steps according values set by meter events in the Meter ruler.
to the Tempo Edit Density setting.
A tempo curve can have different BPM values if
The Triangle, Square, and Random Pencil there are meter click changes within the selected
tool shapes do not apply to tempo events. range.
With the Grabber tool, drag a tempo event up or Selecting a single tempo event
down. To Select a tempo curve in the Tempo Editor:
To adjust the location of the tempo change: Using the Selector tool or any Grabber tool, tri-
ple-click on a horizontal tempo line in the curve
With the Grabber tool, drag a tempo event to the that you want to select.
left or right.
You can extend Tempo selections to the next or the 1 Open the Tempo Editor.
previous tempo event. 2 With the Selector tool, select the area you want
to edit.
To extend a tempo selection:
3 With the Trim tool, click within the selected
1 With the Selector tool, select a range of tempo
area, and drag up or down. Dragging up in-
events.
creases the tempo values of the selection in
2 Do one of the following: BPM; dragging down decreases them.
• 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.
The Tempo Operations window lets you define Choose Event > Tempo Operations, followed
tempo events over a range of time (or measures). by one of the Tempo Operations page com-
The time range is specified in the time format cho- mands (such as Constant).
sen for your Main Time Scale. In addition, the
Tempo Operations window lets you: If the Tempo Operations window is already
open, you can select any of the pages from the
• Fit a specific number of Bars|Beats into a precise pop-up menu at the top of the window.
time range.
To open the last active Tempo Operations window
• Create tempos that speed up or slow down, both
page:
linearly and over various curves.
Choose Event > Tempo Operations > Tempo
• Scale and stretch existing tempos.
Operations Window.
The Tempo Operations window is not
Press Option+2 (Mac) or Alt+2 (Windows)
available in Manual Tempo mode.
on the number keypad to open the Tempo Op-
The Tempo Operations window has six pages, one erations window and display the last active
for each type of tempo operation. Tempo Operations page.
Constant Lets you create a constant tempo over a To define tempo events over a range of time:
selected range of time. 1 Make a selection in the Timebase or in a track.
Linear Lets you create tempos that change evenly 2 Choose Event > Tempo Operations > Tempo
over a selected range of time. Operations Window.
Parabolic Lets you create tempos that accelerate or 3 Select a Tempo Operation page from the pop-up
decelerate following a tempo curve that changes menu at the top of the Tempo Operation win-
the tempo more rapidly or less rapidly over the se- dow.
lection time.
4 Change the settings for the page you have cho-
S-Curve Lets you create tempos that accelerate or sen, as necessary.
decelerate following a tempo curve with a defin- 5 Do one of the following:
able breakpoint that determines mid-curve times
and tempo values. • Click Apply.
• Press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to auto-
Scale Lets you scale tempos within the selection
matically apply the values and close the window.
by a percentage amount.
Preserve Tempo after Selection If selected, the Calculate (Advanced Option) Calculates either
previous tempo setting that was in effect at the se- the selection end time, the start tempo, the end
lection end point is preserved after the selection. If tempo or the curvature of the tempo change.
unselected, the last tempo event created by the
Selection Start and End Displays the start and end
tempo operation continues to the end of the ses-
points for the tempo change in the currently se-
sion, or until the next tempo event beyond the se-
lected Main timebase. When an Edit selection is
lected range.
made, the Start and End fields will display the se-
lection boundaries. Changing start or end values
changes the selection range.
Resolution (Advanced Option) Lets you select the Scale page (Advanced Option)
BPM note value for your tempo setting. Advanced When this option is selected, the
selection range changes to the Main Time Scale
Select “Follow Metronome Click” will set the
format, and additional and modified options be-
tempo BPM note value to mirror the click
come available.
value set in the meter markers.
Calculate (Advanced Option) In combination with
Density (Advanced Option) Lets you specify the
settings chosen in the Scale pop-up menu, the Cal-
density of the tempo change events written to the culate pop-up menu lets you calculate the selection
Tempo ruler. end time, the average tempo, the start tempo, or the
end tempo.
Average Tempo Displays the Average Tempo, in Stretch To End Specifies a new end point for the
beats per minute (BPM), across the selected range. clip to which you want to apply the selected tempo
Changing the Average Tempo changes the Scale events. Changing the end point causes the Stretch
percentage. percentage to change.
Scale Displays the percentage by which the tempo Stretch To Start (Advanced Option) Specifies a
is scaled, in beats per minute (BPM), across the se- new start point for the clip to which you want to
lected range. Changing Scale changes Average apply the selected tempo events. Changing the end
Tempo. point causes the Stretch percentage to change.
Preserve Tempo after Selection If selected, the Stretch Specifies the percentage of time for the se-
previous tempo setting that was in effect at the se- lected tempo events to cover.
lection end point is preserved after the selection. If
unselected, the last tempo event created by the
tempo operation continues to the end of the ses-
sion, or until the next tempo event beyond the se-
lected range.
Chapter 37: Time, Tempo, Meter, Key, and Chords 783
Preserve Tempo after Selection If selected, the Choosing Bar|Beat Markers or
previous tempo setting that was in effect at the se- Tempo Events
lection end point is preserved after the selection. If
Because tempo events are tick-based, and Bar|Beat
unselected, the last tempo event created by the
Markers are sample-based, they cannot be mixed.
tempo operation continues to the end of the ses-
If a session contains tempo events and you attempt
sion, or until the next tempo event beyond the se-
to insert Bar|Beat Markers, existing tempo events
lected range.
are converted to Bar|Beat Markers (and vice
versa).
The Identify Beat command analyzes a selection 1 Press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows)
range (usually with a distinct number of beats or and click the Add Tempo Change button.
measures) and calculates its tempo based on the
2 Select either Tempo Events or Bar|Beat
specified meter. In doing this, Bar|Beat Markers
Markers from the pop-up menu.
for the calculated tempo are inserted and appear in
the Tempo ruler at the beginning and end of the se-
lection; in addition, meter events are inserted into
the Meter ruler.
Bar|Beat Marker
Current Meter
As meter events are encountered during playback,
the session’s current meter is displayed in the
Current meter displayed in Transport window
Transport window.
2 In the Meter Change window, enter the Loca-
tion and Meter for the meter change.
3 If you want the inserted meter event to fall
cleanly on the first beat of the nearest measure,
select the Snap To Bar option.
5 Click OK to insert the new meter event. The Press Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while
new meter event is inserted and appears in the dragging to select across all Conductor tracks.
Meter ruler.
3 Choose Edit > Copy.
4 Click in the Meter ruler at the point where you
want to paste the meter events.
5 Choose Edit > Paste. The contents of the Clip-
Inserted meter event board are pasted from the insertion point, re-
placing any existing meter events.
Each meter event has a small yellow triangle next
to it that indicates its location. These triangles can To extend an Edit selection in a track to the Meter
be selected for copying and pasting, and they can ruler:
be double-clicked to edit the meter event. 1 Using the Selector tool or any Grabber tool, se-
lect a track range.
Editing Meter Events 2 Shift-click in the Meter ruler.
Existing meter events can be edited, deleted, cop-
Shift-click again in the Meter ruler to remove it
ied, and pasted.
from the selection.
To edit a meter event:
To select all meter events:
1 In the Meter ruler, double-click the meter event.
With the Selector tool, double-click in the Me-
2 In the Meter Change dialog, enter a new Loca- ter ruler.
tion or Meter for the event.
To clear a range of selected meter events:
3 Click OK.
1 If you want to constrain the selection to the cur-
To delete a meter event: rent Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid.
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the 2 Drag in the Meter ruler to select the meter
meter event. events you want to remove.
3 Choose Edit > Clear to delete the selected meter
events.
As necessary, Pro Tools will create a partial mea- Choose Event > Time Operations > Time Oper-
sure to accommodate the inserted meter event. ations Window.
When a meter event is preceded by a partial mea-
Press Option+1 (Mac) or Alt+1 (Win-
sure, the meter event is displayed in italics in the
dows) on the number keypad to open the
Meter ruler.
Time Operations window and display the
last active Time Operations window.
Change Meter
Partial measure of 4/4
Change Meter in the Time Operation window lets
Partial measures can also occur when pasting me- you specify complex meter changes for Bar|Beat-
ter events to locations other than the first beat of a based material. You can enter meter changes at a
measure. particular bar, make a meter change over a selected
To insert meter events while avoiding partial area of time, or add meter changes sequentially one
bars, use the Change Meter command in the bar at a time.
Time Operations window. See “Change Me-
ter” on page 789.
Time Operations
The Time Operations window lets you:
• Change Meter
• Insert Time
• Cut Time
• Move Song Start
Pitched tracks are MIDI or Instrument tracks that The Import MIDI dialog includes the Import Key
can be affected by transpositions due to key Signature from MIDI File option. When selected,
changes (including constrain to key). MIDI and In- key signatures (if present) are imported into
strument tracks are “pitched” by default. However, Pro Tools with any other MIDI data.
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.
Select View > Rulers > Chord Symbols. To delete a chord symbol, do one of the following:
From the Ruler View selector in the Edit win- Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
dow or in a MIDI Editor window, select Chords. Chord Symbol marker in the Chords ruler.
Make a selection in the Chords ruler that in-
cludes the chord symbols you want to delete and
choose Edit > Clear or press Delete.
Chord Diagrams
Chord Change dialog
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 beginning of a
Creating Memory Locations clip, select the clip with the Time Grabber tool.
Memory Locations can be created in different Click the Add Marker/Memory Location button
ways, based on the type of Memory Location: (or press Enter on the numeric keypad).
• In the Marker ruler, double-click the Marker to 2 Select a range of material in one or more tracks.
open the Edit Memory Location dialog and relo-
3 In the Memory Locations window, Control-
cate the insertion point at the marker location.
click (Mac) or Right-click (Windows) the
• In the Marker ruler, Control-click (Mac) or Memory Location that you want to redefine.
Start-click (Windows) the Marker to open the
4 Enter a name for the Memory Location and
Edit Memory Location dialog without locating
click OK.
the insertion point at the marker location.
4 Enter a name for the Marker and click OK. If the beginning of the selection includes a Marker,
press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) so
the Selector tool appears.
Deleting Memory Locations Press Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while
To delete a Memory Location, do one of the dragging to select across all Conductor
following: tracks.
Select the Memory Location and choose Delete 3 Choose Edit > Copy.
Memory Location from the Memory Locations
Window menu. 4 Click in the Markers ruler at the point where
you want to paste the tempo events.
In the Memory Locations window, Option-click
(Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the Memory Lo- 5 Choose Edit > Paste. The contents of the Clip-
cation. board are pasted from the insertion point, re-
placing any existing Markers.
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.
Main/Sub Counters in the Memory Locations window Sort by Time When selected, Markers are sorted
by their order in the Timeline, followed by Selec-
You can click at the top of the Main Time Scale tion and General Properties Memory Locations,
column for a pop-up menu that lets you change the which are listed in the order in which they were
Main Time Scale. created.
Delete <Name> Slot Deletes the selected Memory Marker Window Configuration
Zoom Show/Hide
Location, and renumbers all subsequent Memory Settings Track Heights
Locations.
Auto-Name Memory Location When selected, Memory Locations View Filter icons
Memory Locations are created automatically with- To show or hide Memory Locations containing a
out encountering the New Memory Location dia- specific property:
log. If the Default To Marker option is selected, a
Marker Memory Location is auto-created. Other- Click the appropriate icon.
wise, the Memory Location type is determined by
Color and Properties
whatever type (Marker, Selection, or None) was
created last. When a view icon is enabled, it appears in color.
When it is disabled, it appears gray.
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 812). 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 535).
Clips are placed according to the current Edit
mode:
Placing Clips from the Clip • 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 Clip
alog to enter a location for the dragged clip (see
List. From the Clip List you can drag it to a track to
“Spotting Clips” on page 818).
add to an existing arrangement of clips on a track,
or you can create a new track and start adding clips • In Grid mode, the dragged clip snaps to the near-
from scratch. est Grid boundary.
You can locate clips in the Clip 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 264). after clicking with the mouse.
To place a clip from the Clip List on a track: • In Slip mode, the clips are placed exactly where
1 In the Clip List, select the clip or clips you want they are dropped in the destination track.
to place.
2 Drag the selected clips from the Clip List to a
location in a track.
1 With the Selector tool, click in the track at the 1 With the Time Grabber tool, select the clip you
time location where you want to place the sync want to align to by clicking it.
point of the clip.
2 If the Scrolling option is set to Center Playhead
2 Do one of the following: (Pro Tools HD only), move the playhead to the
• While pressing Control+Shift (Mac) or start of the selected clip (see “Moving the Play-
Start+Shift (Windows), drag the clip from the head” on page 428).
Clip List, or from another track, to the destina- 3 Do one of the following:
tion track.
• Command-Control-drag (Mac) or Control-Start-
• If the clip is already in the track, Shift-Control- drag (Windows) a clip from the Clip List to an-
click (Mac) or Shift-Start-click (Windows) the other track.
clip with the Time Grabber tool.
• If the clip is already in the track, Command-
Control-click (Mac) or Control-Start-click
(Windows) the clip you want to move with the
Aligning Clip Start Points Time Grabber tool.
The start, end, and sync point of one clip can be
To align the sync point of a clip to the start of
aligned to the start of a different clip on another
another clip (on a different track):
track.
1 With the Time Grabber tool, select the clip you
In Pro Tools HD, when the Scrolling want to align.
option is set to Center Playhead, clip start,
2 If the Scrolling option is set to Center Playhead
end, and sync points align to the playhead.
(Pro Tools HD only), move the playhead to the
To align the start points of clips on different tracks: start of the selected clip (see “Moving the Play-
head” on page 428).
1 With the Time Grabber tool, select the clip you
want to align to by clicking it. 3 Do one of the following:
2 If the Scrolling option is set to Center Playhead • Control-Shift-drag (Mac) or Start-Shift-drag
(Pro Tools HD only), move the playhead to the (Windows) a clip from the Clip List to another
start of the selected clip. For details, see “Mov- track.
ing the Playhead” on page 428. • If the clip is already in the track, Control-Shift-
3 Do one of the following: click (Mac) or Start-Shift-click (Windows) the
clip you want to move with the Time Grabber
• Control-drag (Mac) or Start-drag (Windows) a tool.
clip from the Clip List to another track.
• If the clip is already in the track, Control-click
(Mac) or Start-click (Windows) the clip you
want to move with the Time Grabber tool.
The selected clip snaps to the preceding clip on the You can also use the Snap To commands with
track so that the two clips are “butt-spliced.” an Edit selection that includes multiple clips
on one or more tracks.
To snap to the next clip on a track:
Do one of the following:
Arranging Clips in Shuffle
1
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-
dress, or by using the clip’s time stamps. Spot dialog
For even quicker spotting, if you are using 4 If the Time Scale is set to Timecode, select the
VITC, use the Auto-Spot Clips command to Use Subframes option to display subframes in
spot a clip to the current SMPTE frame loca- the fields for improved accuracy.
tion with the Time Grabber tool. For more in- 5 Do one of the following:
formation, see “Auto-Spotting Clips” on
page 1145. • Click in the field for Start, Sync Point, or End
and type in a new location. Changing one of
these locate points automatically updates the
For more information on using SMPTE with other locate points.
Pro Tools, see Chapter 53, “Working with
• Click one of the up arrows next to Original Time
Synchronization.”
Stamp or User Time Stamp to enter the associ-
To spot a clip: ated values into the currently selected field.
1 Enable Spot mode (see “Edit Modes” on • If you are using an external SMPTE timecode
page 535). source, click the down arrow next to the Current
Timecode display—or press Equal (=) on the nu-
2 Do one of the following: meric keypad—to capture an incoming time-
• Drag a clip from the Clip List, or drag audio files code address.
or sessions from a Workspace browser to an
6 Click OK. The clip is moved to the new location
existing track.
specified for its start, end, or sync point.
• Click a clip already in a track with the Time
Grabber tool. If a clip does not have a sync point defined, the
Sync Point field in the Spot dialog functions the
same as the Start field.
Grid value pop-up menu showing Bars|Beats • With the Time Grabber tool, drag a clip already
in a track to a new location.
• To define a Grid based on the session’s Markers,
selections, and clip boundaries, select The clip’s start point snaps to the closest Grid
Clips/Markers from the Grid value pop-up menu. boundary. If the clip has a sync point defined, the
sync point snaps to the Grid boundary.
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 535).
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 826).
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.
For example, if you set these naming options to: For finer resolution on these controls, press Com-
• Name = SFX mand (Mac) or Control (Windows) while adjusting
them.
• Auto Number Start = 23
• Leading Zeros = 1
• Suffix = .Reel1
Inserting Silence
The Insert Silence command is a simple and con-
Strip Silence rectangles
venient way to insert silence on audio, MIDI, and
Strip Threshold Sets the amplitude threshold Instrument tracks. This command lets you make a
(from –96 dB to 0 dB) for Strip Silence. Audio selection on a track (or tracks) and insert precisely
falling below this threshold is considered silence that amount of silence.
and removed. Audio above the threshold is re-
tained and defined as new clips. The Insert Silence command also affects
markers in any selected Conductor Rulers
Minimum Strip Duration Sets the minimum dura- (such as the Tempo or Meter rulers).
tion (from 0 to 4,000 ms) that the material above
the threshold must last to be considered silence. In Shuffle mode, all data on the track is shuffled
Use this control to avoid countless small clips that later in the track by an amount equal to the
may occur within a selection. selection.
Clip Start Pad Specifies a time value to be added In Grid mode, the Insert Silence command works
to the beginning of each new clip created with just like the Clear command.
Strip Silence. This is useful for preserving musical
material that falls below the threshold, such as the Shuffle Mode When inserting silence on multiple
breath before a vocal phrase, or the finger slide be- tracks in Shuffle mode, the following conditions
fore a guitar chord. apply:
If any track is displayed as audio or MIDI data,
Clip End Pad Specifies a time value to be ap-
the selected duration of silence is inserted into the
pended to the end of each new clip created with
audio or MIDI data and all underlying automation
Strip Silence, thereby preserving the nuances in
data on all selected tracks. All subsequent clips are
the decay of the material.
shuffled by the amount of silence inserted. On
Strip Clears the detected silence, but leaves the MIDI tracks, only notes that are selected from the
clips containing audio on the track. beginning are affected, so if you have selected the
tail of a note and you Insert Silence, the note will
Extract Clears the audio and leaves the silent por- remain unchanged.
tions of the track (in other words, an “inverse” strip
silence feature that is ideal for generating room If all selected tracks are displayed as automa-
tone or ambience to use elsewhere). tion data, the selected range is cleared of automa-
tion data only of the type visible on each track.
Clips are not shuffled. Instead, a blank gap appears
equal to the length of the selection.
tion data, press the Control (Mac) or Start key Duplicating Clips
(Windows) while choosing the Insert Silence com- The Duplicate command copies a selection and
mand to inserts silence on all automation playlists places it immediately after the end of the selection.
for all selected tracks. Clips are not shuffled. Though this is similar to using Copy and Paste,
Duplicate is more convenient and faster, particu-
Slip Mode When inserting silence on multiple
tracks in Slip mode, the following conditions ap- larly when working with data on multiple tracks.
ply: To make more than one copy of a selection, use the
If any track is displayed as audio or MIDI data, Repeat command (see “Repeating Clips” on
the selected range is cleared of audio or MIDI data page 831). You can also loop clips (see “Clip
and all underlying automation data on all selected Looping” on page 833).
tracks.
As with the Copy and Paste commands, certain
If all selected tracks are displayed as automa- rules apply when duplicating material on multiple
tion data, silence is inserted only into the automa- tracks (see “Editing Across Multiple Tracks” on
tion type visible on each track. page 533).
If all selected tracks are displayed as automa-
To duplicate a selection or clip:
tion data, press the Control (Mac) or Start key
(Windows) while choosing the Insert Silence com- 1 If working with material that is bar- and beat-
mand to insert silence on all automation playlists based, such as loops, set the Main Time Scale to
for all selected tracks. Bars|Beats.
2 If you want to constrain the selection to the cur-
To insert silence into a track: rent Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid.
1 Make a selection in a track or tracks. The length
3 Make an Edit selection.
of the selection determines the duration of the
silence inserted. 4 Choose Edit > Duplicate. The material is placed
immediately after the selection’s end point.
2 Choose Edit > Insert Silence.
Press Command+D (Mac) or Control+D
In Shuffle mode, Pro Tools inserts the selected
(Windows) to Duplicate any selected clips.
amount of silence. In the process, it splits the clips
at the beginning of the insertion point, and moves In Shuffle mode, the duplicated data is placed di-
the new clips later in the track by an amount equal rectly after the end of the selection. Clips occurring
to the length of the selection. after it slide to accommodate the duplicated mate-
rial. In Slip mode, the duplicated material overlaps
any adjacent data.
Pro Tools lets you loop clips or a group of clips Looped clips (all iterations) display a Loop icon in
(called a clip group). the lower, right corner or each loop iteration.
Looped clip
Clip Ungroup functions on loops the same as Manually warping any part of a looped clip
using the Unloop command and choosing in Warp view separates only that iteration
Flatten. from the 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
selected.
The Separate Clips commands (At Selection, On
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 574. 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 552.
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.
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 574.
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.
From this menu you can select any AudioSuite Clip List Applies AudioSuite processing only to
plug-in installed in your Plug-Ins folder. Plug-Ins selected clips in the Clip List. Processing is not be
are listed in the Plug-In selector pop-up menu ac- applied to clips on the Timeline (playlists on audio
cording to the Organize Plug-Ins Menu By setting tracks).
in the Display Preferences page.
If the Use In Playlist option is enabled in ad-
dition to Clip List being selected in the Selec-
tion Reference pop-up menu, the processing
will be applied to the selected clip in both the
playlist and the Clip List.
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.
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
• Create and configure a new session for this its native tempo.
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 Track 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 clip 2 Do one of the following:
to add a Warp marker at that location. If you • With the Grabber tool, double-click a Warp
click on an Event marker, a Warp marker is cre- marker.
ated on top of the Event marker.
• With the Grabber or the Pencil tool, Option-click
• With the Grabber tool, Control-click (Mac) or (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) a Warp marker.
Start-click (Windows) anywhere in the clip to
• With any Edit tool, Right-click a Warp marker
add a Warp marker at that location. If you click
and select Remove Warp Marker from the pop-
on an Event marker, a Warp marker is created on
up menu.
top of the Event marker.
• With the Grabber tool, if no Warp markers are To delete all Warp markers in a selection:
present in the clip, or if Warp markers are only 1 In Warp view, make an Edit selection that in-
present prior to the location where you want to cludes only the Warp markers you want to de-
add a new Warp marker, double-click an Event lete (and none of the Warp markers you want to
marker to add a Warp marker on top of the Event keep).
marker.
2 Do one of the following:
• With the Grabber tool, double-click anywhere in
the clip where an Event marker is not present to • Press Delete or Backspace on your computer
add a Warp marker at that location. keyboard.
• With the Grabber tool, single-click any Event • With any Edit tool, Right-click the Edit selection
marker prior to another existing Warp marker in and select Remove Warp Marker from the pop-
the clip to add a Warp marker on top of that 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 location. 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. Before and after warping, applying Telescoping Warp
Telescoping Warp is especially useful for adjust- with the clip start fixed
ing audio files to match the session tempo map and
Bar|Beat grid.
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 being
1 Open the Elastic Properties window for the clip. half the tempo of the source file, click the x2 but-
ton.
2 Do one of the following:
• If the tempo was incorrectly analyzed as being
• Type the correct bar, beat, and tick values in the twice the tempo of the source file, click the 1/2
Source Length field. button.
• If the duration was incorrectly analyzed as being
half the duration of the source file, click the x2 Meter Field (Tick-Based Only)
button.
Elastic Audio analysis does not calculate meter
• If the duration was incorrectly analyzed as being
and assumes all files are in 4/4. If you work with
twice the duration of the source file, click the 1/2
meters other than 4/4, use the Meter property to
button.
correctly identify the source meter.
Changing the duration of a clip on an Elastic
To change Meter of a clip:
Audio-enabled track using the TCE Trim tool
updates the Source Length in the Elastic 1 Open the Elastic Properties window for the clip.
Properties window.
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 869).
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.
• Adjust the Transpose By settings by an amount 1 Select the clip for which you want to remove
in Semitones and Cents. warping.
• Adjust the Transpose From and To settings by 2 Do one of the following:
an amount in Semitones and Cents.
• Choose Clip > Remove Pitch Shift.
The Transpose All Notes To and the Trans- • With any Edit tool, Right-click the clip and se-
pose In Key settings can only be applied to lect Remove Pitch Shift.
MIDI notes. When only audio clips are se-
lected, these options are unavailable. Remove Pitch Shift can only be applied to
clips and cannot be applied to clip groups. To
5 Click Apply. remove pitch shifting from clip groups you
must first ungroup the clip, then apply Re-
Varispeed and Pitch Shifting move Pitch Shift to the underlying clips, and
then regroup those clips.
When using the Varispeed algorithm, pitch trans-
position and time compression/expansion are al-
ways linked. If you apply pitch transposition to an AudioSuite Processing and
audio clip using the Polyphonic or Rhythmic algo- Elastic Audio Clips
rithms, that transposition data is stored in the meta-
data for the clip. Consequently, if you then switch Real-Time Elastic Audio processing is non-de-
to Varispeed, change the TCE factor, and then structive. However, since AudioSuite plug-ins pro-
switch back to the original Elastic Audio algo- cess the entire clip and write a new audio file (or
rithm, the clip will revert to the original amount of actually apply destructive processing), when ap-
pitch shifting while maintaining the amount of plying AudioSuite processing to clips on Elastic
time compression/expansion applied by the Vari- Audio-enabled tracks, any Elastic Audio process-
speed algorithm. ing is rendered first, the rendered file is then pro-
cessed by AudioSuite, and the resulting new audio
file is analyzed for Elastic Audio processing.
Removing Clip Pitch Shifting
If you have applied any pitch shifting to a clip, you
can remove pitch shifting and revert the clip to its
original pitch. This can be useful if you are not sat-
isfied with the results and want to revert to the
pre–pitch shifted clip.
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 track Render clip pitch shift with source track’s Elastic Audio
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 865.)
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 882).
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.
You can commit the following track types: audio, The following source track data is always copied to
Auxiliary Input, MIDI (only when routed to an In- the new track when committed:
strument plug-in), and Instrument tracks. Commit- • Timebase
ting a track is undo-able. • Elastic Audio Algorithm
To commit one or more tracks: • Solo Safe
1 Select one or more tracks and do one of the fol- • Track Input assignment (unless the channel
lowing: width changes)
• Choose Track > Commit. • Track Output assignment
• Right-click a track and choose Commit Tracks. • HEAT settings (Pro Tools HD only)
• Press Option+Shift+C (Mac) or Alt+Shift+C. The following source track data can optionally be
2 Configure the resulting Commit Tracks dialog rendered if selected in the Commit Tracks dialog:
as desired (see “Commit Tracks Dialog” on • Pan automation
page 890). • Volume automation
3 Click OK.
The following source track data can optionally be
copied if selected in the Commit Tracks dialog:
• Sends
• Group assignments
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 end Sends Select to copy sends from the source track to
of the last clip on the track. If the Consolidate Clips the committed track.
option is disabled, all clip boundaries are main-
‘
Pro Tools lets you “freeze” audio, Auxiliary Input, Select one or more tracks and choose Track >
and Instrument tracks. When you freeze a track, the Freeze (or Unfreeze).
source material (audio and MIDI) on the track is re-
Click the Track Freeze icon in the Track controls
placed with audio that has been processed by all of
so that it is highlighted (or unhighlighted).
the plug-ins on the track (or only up to a specified
insert), including instrument plug-ins. This process Right-click on the track name and select Freeze
is reversible, so you can “unfreeze” frozen tracks. (or Unfreeze).
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 to • AudioSuite rendering is disallowed on frozen
freeze the track and choose Freeze Up To This tracks.
Insert. • 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
and Instrument tracks.
• Instrument Tracks are removed from the MIDI
Freeze Up To This Insert (Freezing up to insert B)
Editor window while frozen and MIDI parame-
When any plug-in processing on a track is frozen, ters including Real Time Quantize settings can-
frozen inserts are italicized and grayed out. The not be adjusted until the track is unfrozen.
also display the Track Freeze icon. • Clips used on a source playlist for a frozen track
cannot be removed from the session until the
track is unfrozen.
Track Freeze icon The following editing actions are allowed on fro-
zen tracks:
• Editing and writing of all basic track automation
parameters including sends.
• Editing and writing of automation on unfrozen
Track frozen through inserts A and B plug-ins as well as addition and removal of
plug-ins on unfrozen inserts (when using the
Freeze Up to This Insert functionality)
• Changing the track output path.
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 nondestruc-
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
any comments saved with the groove template information from audio performances. Di-
from Beat Detective. The Comments field cannot giGroove templates created using Beat De-
be edited in the Quantize page, but can be edited tective contain a fixed duration value that
when saving a groove template from the Groove is 50% of the selected template resolution
Quantize page. (see “Defining a Beat Detective Selection”
on page 648).
Pre-Quantize Enable to hard quantize the
selected MIDI notes to a sixteenth-note grid Velocity Enable to influence the velocities of the
before applying Groove Quantize. selected MIDI notes. The Velocity option does not
apply to audio selections. If the slider is set to 0%
Groove Quantize Options there is no change to the selected velocities, a set-
ting of 100% sets all velocities to match the current
Timing Enable to apply Groove Quantize to the se-
groove template. A velocity setting of 200% typi-
lected MIDI notes, Elastic Audio events, or audio
cally results in over-exaggerated velocities—loud
clips. Use the slider to change the amount of quan-
notes increasing and soft notes decreasing in vol-
tization applied to the selection. If the slider is set
ume.
to 0%, there is no change in timing. A setting of
100% moves notes to the underlying template lo- For example, if two adjacent notes have equal ve-
cations. If the slider is set to 200%, events move to locities of 80, and the two corresponding template
a tick location that is twice the difference between velocities are 70 and 90, setting the slider to 200%
the original event location and the position of the changes the velocities to 60 and 100.
referenced template event.
The default value for the Velocity slider is 100%.
For example, if an event was played at Bar 1|1|060
(a 16th note), and the corresponding template
Recalling Options Slider
event is at 1|1|073, a slider value of 100% results in Settings
the event being shifted to 1|1|073 (a slider value of
200% shifts the note to 1|1|086). To Save the groove template with the current
Options Slider Settings:
The default value for the Timing slider is 100%.
1 In the Quantize window, select Recall with Tem-
Duration Enable to influence the durations of the plate if you want to restore all Groove Quantize
selected MIDI notes. The Duration option does not Options to the settings that are saved with the
apply to audio selections. At a setting of 100%, du- current template.
rations are changed to match the current groove
2 Click the Save button.
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
Restore Performance can be used to remove quan- 1 With the Grabber or Selector tool, select the
tization on input for MIDI notes. For example, if MIDI notes you want to flatten.
you recorded a performance with Input Quantize 2 Choose Event > Event Operations > Flatten Per-
on, you can still restore the performance as it was formance to open the Flatten Performance page.
actually played.
3 Select the note attributes to flatten. (For descrip-
For information on Input Quantize, see tions of these attributes, see “Restore Perfor-
“Input Quantize Command” on page 920. mance Command” on page 911).
4 Click Apply.
Flatten Performance
Change Velocity
The Flatten Performance command in the Event
Operations window “locks in” the current perfor- The Change Velocity command in the Event Oper-
mance for selected notes, creating a new “restore ations window automatically adjusts Note On (at-
to” state for the specified note attributes when us- tack) and Note Off (release) velocities for selected
ing Restore Performance. MIDI notes. Use it to make notes louder or softer,
or to create crescendos or decrescendos.
Original velocities
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 700.
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 885.
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.
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.
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 Tech- To enable (or disable) HEAT in a session, do one of
nology) is a paid software option that adds “analog the following:
color” to Pro Tools | HD systems. HEAT is avail- Select (or deselect) Options > Activate HEAT.
able in both DSP and Native formats. To use
HEAT, iLok authorizations are required for both Select (or deselect) the HEAT On/Off button in
Pro Tools | HD Software and HEAT. the Mix window in HEAT view.
HEAT is applied to all active audio tracks in your You can also enable the Enable HEAT in New Ses-
session, emulating magnetic recording tape com- sions option in the Pro Tools Preferences to have
bined with harmonic coloration commonly experi- HEAT automatically enabled for all new sessions.
enced with analog mixing consoles. Use HEAT to
To enable (or disable) HEAT for new sessions:
open up your mixes with warm, analog-modeled
soft-saturated distortion. 1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
2 Click the Processing tab.
With HDX systems, HEAT uses DSP resources on About HEAT Processing
all active audio tracks. This is important to know
because as you increase (or decrease) the number HEAT provides global controls for Drive and
of audio tracks in the session, you also increase (or Tone. These affect all audio tracks where HEAT is
decrease) the amount of DSP resources required to not bypassed.
keep HEAT hot. Note that HEAT does not use
DSP resources on inactive audio tracks. Drive
With Pro Tools | HD Software on Native systems, The Drive control introduces non-linear processing
HEAT uses the host-processor. that emulates magnetic recording tape combined
with harmonic information commonly found in an-
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 931.
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
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.
This ensures that even when a VCA Master track is • Automate a submix by automating its VCA
not visible, the true state of its slave tracks is accu- Master track
rately displayed.
VCA Master Track Controls
VCA Slave Track Controls and The controls on a VCA Master track affect the cor-
Group Behavior responding controls on the slave tracks in its as-
When a group is assigned to a VCA Master, the signed Mix group. VCA Master tracks have the
VCA-modifiable controls (Volume, Mute, Solo, following controls:
Record Enable and TrackInput) on its slave tracks,
Volume
by default, do not follow any grouped behavior
that may be set in the Attributes page of the Groups The VCA Volume fader controls the Volume fader
dialog. This lets you control the output levels of the on audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, Master
group’s member tracks while retaining the ability Fader, and other VCA Master tracks in a VCA-
to adjust individual member track levels. controlled group. (Volume faders on MIDI tracks
are not affected.) Volume faders on slave tracks
Slave tracks can be set to follow normal grouped
move to show the composite level, or the level on
behavior. See “Assigning Groups to VCA Mas-
each track resulting from the position of the VCA
ters” on page 942.
Master Volume fader.
The VCA Mute button controls the mute state of The VCA TrackInput button toggles the input
audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, MIDI, and monitor status of only those audio tracks in a
other VCA Master tracks in a VCA-controlled VCA-controlled group that are record-enabled.
group. Muting a VCA-controlled group does not You can toggle input monitor status for those
change the underlying mute state of slave tracks. tracks using the VCA Master TrackInput button.
(Mute buttons on slave tracks that were previously
unmuted show an implicit mute.) To temporarily force all slave tracks to toggle their
input monitoring status:
Solo Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
The VCA Solo button controls the solo state of au- VCA Master TrackInput button on the VCA
dio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, MIDI, and other Master.
VCA Master tracks in a VCA-controlled group.
Level Meter
• Soloing a VCA Master will implicitly mute all
tracks except its slave tracks, thereby indirectly On VCA Master tracks, level meters indicate the
soloing the slave tracks. highest level occurring on any of its individual
tracks, not a summed level of all slave tracks.
• Soloing a VCA Master will clear any explicit so-
los on its slave tracks, leaving them indirectly The channel format of level meters on the VCA
soloed, and implicitly mute all other tracks. Master is set according to the channel formats of
• Explicitly soloing a slave track while its VCA its slave tracks, as follows:
Master track is soloed will override the VCA • If all slave tracks are the same channel format
Master solo. (mono, stereo or a multichannel format), the
number of level meters on the VCA Master track
Record Enable is identical to that of the slave tracks.
The VCA Record Enable button toggles the Re- • If the slave tracks are different formats, the num-
cord Enable status of only those audio, Instrument, ber of level meters on the VCA Master track is
and other VCA tracks that have already been re- set to one.
cord-enabled individually. You can then toggle re-
cord enable on and off for those tracks using the
VCA Master Record Enable.
The Surround Mixer requires slightly more For greater than stereo formats (such as 5.1),
DSP resources than the Stereo Mixer. Conse- all surround output panning is fixed at
quently, if you plan to regularly mix in stereo –3.0 dB. The variable pan depth options are
and use a Pan Depth of –2.5, you may want to only available for stereo outputs.
use the Stereo Mixer plug-in.
To set the stereo pan depth: Views in the Mix and Edit
1 Choose Setup > Session to open the Session Windows
Setup window. The Mix and Edit windows can be configured to
2 Select an option from the Pan Depth selector. show or hide various mixing controls, using menu
commands or view selectors.
HEAT View
I/O View
Instruments View
Track Compensation
indicator Input Path selectors determine the source input for
audio, Auxiliary Input, and (optionally) Instrument
Delay Compensation View tracks. Track inputs can be set from hardware in-
Delay values can be specified in either samples or puts or internal bus paths or subpaths. For detailed
milliseconds, as selected in the Operation Prefer- information on assigning track inputs, see “As-
ences page. For more information on Delay Com- signing Audio Inputs” on page 231.
pensation, see “Delay Compensation” on
Hardware input and bus paths can be configured in
page 972.
the I/O Setup. For more information, see
Track Color View Shows track color in each track. Chapter 7, “I/O Setup.”
For detailed information, see “Color Coding for
You can also define what physical ports are routed
Tracks, Clips, Markers, and Groups” on page 243.
to Pro Tools input ports in the Hardware Setup di-
Track Collaboration View (Projects Only) .Shows alog. For more information, see “Configuring
the collaboration controls for tracks. For more in- Pro Tools Software System Settings” on page 46.
formation about collaboration, see “Track Collab-
oration Track View in the Edit and Mix Windows” Output Audio Path
on page 333.
Track Output Path selectors route the post-fader
signals to the assigned output or bus paths. The
Output Path selector routes the main track output
to the chosen main or sub-path. Tracks can be
routed directly to hardware output or internal bus
paths and subpaths for submixing (main or sub-
paths).
Track Collaboration View (Edit window)
The track format (mono, stereo, or multichannel)
determines the available main and sub-path
choices for track output. For detailed information
on assigning track outputs, see “Assigning Audio
Outputs” on page 231.
Track Collaboration View (Mix window)
2 Click the Send selector on the track and choose • Adjust the Send Level fader.
a path from the pop-up menu. • Set the send level to unity gain (0 dB) by Op-
tion-clicking (Mac) or Alt-clicking (Windows)
the Send Level fader.
Click the Mute button for the send. To create a new track from a send:
1 On an existing track, click the Send selector and
To mute (or unmute) sends from the Track menu:
select New Track.
1 Select the tracks on which you want to mute
sends. Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Win- 2 In the resulting New Track dialog, select the
dows) to select all tracks shown in the session. Width, Type, and Time Base for the new track.
Multichannel Sends (Pro Tools HD Only) When To display sends in the Mix window:
you click the Sends button on a track, you can Select any of the following:
choose from a list of multichannel output or bus
• View > Mix Window > Sends A–E.
paths.
• View > Mix Window > Sends F–J.
To show (or hide) meters in Send Assignments, do Send level and mute can follow Mix groups, to ad-
one of the following: just multiple send controls from a single set of con-
trols.
Choose Setup > Preferences > Metering and se-
lect (or deselect) the Show Send Assignment
Level Meter option (see “Show Send Assign- Individual Send Views and
ment Level Meter” on page 115). Meters
Right-click on a track meter and select (or dese- When you display the controls for an individual
lect) the Show Send Assignment Level Meter send, you also have the option of displaying send
option. level meters.
To move a send:
Copying Track Settings to Sends
Drag the send name to a new position in the (Pro Tools HD Only)
original track or in a different track.
Sometimes you need send settings to match the
To copy a send: settings in the track itself—for example, to provide
a headphone mix based on the main mix. You can
Option-drag (Mac) or Alt-drag (Windows) the
copy the current values or the entire automation
send to a new position.
playlist from selected tracks to any of their sends.
Moving or copying a send maintains all routing as-
For more information, see “Copying Track
signments, automation, level/pan/mute settings,
Automation to Sends” on page 1029.
and output format.
To show all tracks based on the track Input or To open a track Output window:
Output assignment, Send assignment, or
Hardware Insert assignment: Click the Output Window button in the channel
strip.
Right-click the assignment selector and choose
Show Assignments To for the bus you want.
Any hidden tracks with the corresponding as-
signment are shown.
Inverse Pan Reflects one side’s panning location Path Meter View in a Send window
and direction in the other side (for example, left-
and right-channel Pan controls).
The audio paths monitored in the Output meters For all Pro Tools systems using stereo output
are determined by the Output Meter Path setting in paths, stereo meters are shown (L/R).
the Output page of the I/O Setup.
Selecting the Output Meter Path in the I/O Setup Selecting the Output Meters option in the Transport
Window menu
4 Click OK.
Monitoring and Mixing Audio 3 Select an instrument plug-in from the first Insert
with Auxiliary Input Tracks selector on the Instrument track (such as
Xpand2).
Use Auxiliary Input tracks to monitor and mix au-
dio from external sources, such as MIDI instru- 4 The virtual MIDI node (port) for the instrument
ments, tape, or microphone inputs, in a Pro Tools plug-in should be automatically selected for the
mix. Instrument track’s MIDI Output. If not, select
the MIDI channel and corresponding port for
To use an Auxiliary Input track to monitor and mix the instrument plug-in from the MIDI Output
external audio sources: selector.
1 Connect the audio outputs of your audio source
5 Assign the track audio output to the appropriate
(such as a MIDI synthesizer or tape output) to
path or paths for monitoring.
available inputs on your Pro Tools audio inter-
face. 6 Adjust the Instrument track fader to mix the au-
dio input.
2 If necessary, configure the I/O Setup dialog for
the input paths you plan to use (see Chapter 7, 7 If you are controlling the Instrument plug-in
“I/O Setup.”) from the Instrument track, you can also mix
using the MIDI Volume and Pan controls in the
3 Use an existing or create a new Auxiliary Input
Instrument View.
track with a channel format that corresponds to
the channel format of your audio source (mono, For information on configuring audio and
stereo, or multichannel). MIDI signal routing for controlling and mon-
4 Set the input of the Auxiliary Input track to the itoring ReWire client applications, see the
corresponding input path. Audio Plug-Ins Guide.
Discrete Submix Output You can also bounce a submix to disk to free up the
voices for use by other tracks. See Chapter 49,
Pro Tools lets you discretely route source audio “Mixdown” for more information.
through a submix. This is preferred for dither or
other mastering processing, where you do not want
unprocessed audio heard in addition to the pro- Send and Return Submixing for
cessed signals. Use track outputs (not sends) to as- Effects Processing
sign tracks to a bus path for discrete submixing. In When you are submixing for reverb, delay, and
this arrangement, the balance of processed and un- similar effects processing, use sends to achieve tra-
processed signal is controlled by plug-in wet/dry ditional send/return bussing. You can use a real-
settings. time plug-in or a hardware insert as a shared re-
source for all tracks included in a submix. The
To create a discrete submix: wet/dry balance in the mix can be controlled using
1 Set the output of the tracks you want to include the track faders (dry level) and Auxiliary Input
in the submix to a stereo bus path. fader (effect return, or wet, level).
2 Pan each track. See Chapter 47, “Plug-In and Hardware
3 Choose Track > New. Inserts” for more information.
1 Assign each track’s main output to your main Send to external device
mix outputs.
Controls level of send
to external device
2 Assign a send (mono or stereo) and set the send
destinations on the source tracks to the output
path connected to the external device. Config-
ure the sends for pre- or post-fader, as needed.
Input set to device’s return
3 Choose Track > New. Output set to main mix outs
2 Specify the track type (Master Fader), and To create a “stereo” effect from a mono source,
mono, stereo, or any of the supported multi- you must use reverb, delay, or other time domain
channel formats for surround mixing. effects.
3 Click Create.
4 Do one of the following: Delay Compensation
• Set the output of the Master Fader to the same
Pro Tools provides automatic Delay Compensa-
path that you are using to send to an Auxiliary
tion for managing DSP and host-based delays from
Input track.
plug-in inserts, and mixer routing (bussing and
• Set the output of the Master Fader to match the sends). With Delay Compensation enabled,
path that you have chosen for your effects send. Pro Tools maintains phase coherent time align-
ment between tracks that have plug-ins with differ-
You can then adjust send levels to balance the
ing delays, tracks with different mixing paths,
source tracks, and use the Master Fader as a master
tracks that are split off and recombined within the
level control for the entire submix.
mixer, and tracks with hardware inserts.
To solo safe an Auxiliary Input: To maintain phase coherent time alignment, Delay
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- Compensation should always be enabled during
dows) the Solo button on the Auxiliary Input playback and mixing. Delay Compensation should
track. also be used in most recording situations.
Delay Compensation view only shows the in- This field lets you adjust track delays manually
sert delay for each track. To view the com- while Delay Compensation is enabled. The User
plete system delay, including mixer delays, Offset is added to or subtracted from the amount of
check the System Delay in the Session Setup delay applied by Track Compensation. The User
window (see “System Delay” on page 973). Offset is useful for the following cases:
When an audio track is armed for recording (re- Command-Control-click (Mac) or Control-
cord-enabled), TrackInput-enabled, Destructive- Start-click (Windows) the Track Compensation
Punch-enabled, or punched in, the track’s Delay indicator. Delay Compensations is applied to
Compensation is automatically suspended (and the the track and the Track Compensation indicator
Track Compensation indicator displays 0). This re- displays in blue.
duces monitoring latency on those track outputs.
When the track is played back (with both record- Command-Control-Shift-click (Mac) or Con-
enable and TrackInput disabled) it is correctly trol-Start-Shift-click (Windows) the Track
time-aligned with the other delay-compensated Compensation indicator to override Low La-
tracks. tency Monitoring for all selected tracks.
Refer to the documentation for your external hard- With dither there is a trade-off between signal-to-
ware to see if it identifies the hardware noise performance and less-apparent distortion.
latency, or use the following procedure in Proper use of dither lets you get better subjective
Pro Tools to determine the latency for hardware performance when reducing the bit depth of audio.
inserts.
For more information on using Noise Shaping, 3 If your Ethernet control surface consists of
see the Audio Plug-Ins Guide. more than one unit, select the units in numerical
order as you want them arranged left to right.
Click OK.
Using an Ethernet Control
4
Surface with Pro Tools For more information, see the documentation
that came with your Ethernet control surface.
Avid offers several Ethernet-based control surface
options for Pro Tools. To enable EUCON control in Pro Tools:
MIDI Control Surfaces add hands-on control to To connect a (non-USB or FireWire) MIDI control
many Pro Tools functions, allowing you to adjust surface:
faders and knobs, activate transport controls, or 1 Using a standard 5-pin MIDI cable, connect the
edit plug-in parameters. MIDI Out port on your MIDI control surface to
the MIDI In port on your Pro Tools hardware or
Command|8
MIDI interface.
Command|8 is a compact USB-based MIDI con- 2 Using a standard 5-pin MIDI cable, connect the
trol surface for Pro Tools systems. MIDI In port on your MIDI control surface to
the MIDI Out port on your Pro Tools hardware
For complete instructions on connecting
or MIDI interface.
and configuring Command|8, see the
Command|8 Guide. 3 If you have a multi-port MIDI interface, note
which MIDI port the control surface is con-
Other MIDI Control Surfaces
nected to.
Pro Tools supports some MIDI control surfaces
that use HUI controller personalities. Configuring Your System for a
MIDI Control Surface
MIDI Control Surface A MIDI Control Surface is configured in the same
Personalities way as any other MIDI device in Pro Tools, using
MIDI Control Surface Personalities are files that Audio MIDI Setup (Mac) or MIDI Studio Setup
allow Pro Tools to communicate with the MIDI (Windows).
control surface. When you install Pro Tools, these
For complete instructions on configuring
files are installed by default in the Controllers
your MIDI studio, see the User Guide that
folder inside the Pro Tools application folder. If
came with your system.
the files are not present, run the Pro Tools installer
to install the personality files.
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 49, “Mix-
down” for more information).
Insert selector
Types of Inserts
An insert can be either a software DSP plug-in or a
Insert button hardware insert.
Plug-In Inserts
Plug-In inserts are software inserts that process au-
Insert button and selector on a track dio material on a track in real time. For example,
the EQ, compressor, and delay plug-ins supplied
Pro Tools provides up to ten unity-gain inserts on
with your Pro Tools system can be used as real-
each audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, and In-
time plug-in inserts.
strument track. Audio, Auxiliary Input, and Instru-
ment track inserts are pre-fader, and Master Faders For more information about the plug-ins
inserts are post-fader. included with your Pro Tools system, see the
Audio Plug-Ins Guide.
When more than one plug-in or hardware insert is
used on a track, they are processed in series. Each Additional real-time plug-ins are available from
effect is added to that of any previous inserts Avid and from many third-party developers.
(flowing from top to bottom in the Mix window In-
serts View, and left to right in the Edit window In- For information about optional plug-ins,
serts View). visit www.avid.com.
HDX Systems
DSP and Native plug-ins can be used on audio, Sends (F–J) View
Auxiliary Input, 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 989. 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
as a single list of plug-ins. installed on your system, the subfolder
named for that category will not appear in
“Organize Plug-In Menus By” the menu.
Setting
Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins by their manu-
Flat List Organizes plug-ins in a single list, in al- facturer, with individual plug-ins listed in the man-
phabetical order. ufacturer submenus. Plug-Ins that do not have a
Manufacturer defined will appear in the “Other”
Category Organizes plug-ins by process category
manufacturer folder.
(such as EQ, Dynamics, and Delay), with individ-
ual plug-ins listed in the category submenus. Plug- If no plug-ins by a certain manufacturer are
Ins that do not fit into a standard category (such as installed on your system, the subfolder
the Signal Generator), or third-party plug-ins that named for that manufacturer will not
have not had a category designated by their devel- appear in the menu.
opers, appear in the Other category. Plug-Ins can
appear in more than one category.
Default plug-in display in the Insert selector menu When selecting the plug-in favorite to change, you
can select the plug-in from the list of favorites at
the top of the plug-in menu, or in its plug-in cate-
gory (where the plug-in appears in bold).
To move an insert:
Moving a plug-in
To duplicate an insert:
Track selector
Map Options Menu Lets you create, rename, save, Link Enable buttons
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:
Editing Plug-In Parameters 2 Change the value by doing one of the following.
Using a Mouse • To increase a value, press the Up Arrow on your
You can adjust rotary controls by dragging hori- keyboard.
zontally or vertically. Parameter values increase as • To decrease a value, press the Down Arrow on
you drag upward or to the right, and decrease as your keyboard.
you drag downward or to the left.
• Type the value.
Keyboard Shortcuts
In fields that support values in kilohertz, typ-
For finer adjustments, Command-drag (Mac) or ing “k” after a number value will multiply the
Control-drag (Windows) the control. value by 1,000. For example, type “8k” to en-
ter a value of 8,000.
To return a control to its default value, Option-
click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the control.
Side-Chain Input
The side-chain input is the split-off signal used by
a plug-in's detector to trigger dynamics processing,
and is generally drawn internally from the input Selecting a Key Input
signal. However, some plug-ins let you switch be-
tween internal and external side-chain processing. 2 Click the External Key to activate external side-
chain processing.
With external side-chain processing, a plug-in's
3 Press the Spacebar to begin playback. The plug-
detector is triggered by an external signal (such as
in uses the input or bus that you chose as a key
a separate reference track or audio source) known
input to trigger its effect.
as the key input.
Set As User Default Defines the current preset as To select a destination folder:
the User Default for the selected plug-in. From the Plug-In Settings menu, choose
Settings Preferences > Save Plug-In Settings
Settings Preferences To, and select Session Folder or Root Settings
Folder.
The Settings Preferences submenu provides com-
mands for configuring preferences for saving and If you selected Root Settings Folder, Pro Tools
importing presets. They include: saves to the default Root Plug-In Settings folder
unless you have specified a different location for
Set Plug-In Default To Sets the default preset to ei-
the Root Settings folder.
ther Factory Default (the standard default setting
for that plug-in) or User Default (your custom set- To select a different Root Settings folder:
ting).
1 From the Plug-In Settings menu, choose Set-
Save Plug-In Settings To Selects the folder where tings Preferences > Set Root Settings Folder.
presets (plug-in settings files) are saved. If you se-
2 Select the folder you want to use as your Root
lect Session Folder, the settings are saved in a
folder and click Select.
folder named “Plug-In Settings” within the current
Session folder. If you select Root Settings Folder,
the settings are saved in the folder you specified Creating Subfolders for Settings
with the Set Root Settings Folder command. You To make it easier to find specific types of settings,
can change the location of the Root Settings Folder you can subdivide settings files by creating sub-
in the Operation Preferences (see “User Media and folders for them.
Settings Location” on page 104).
To create a settings subfolder:
To save plug-in settings to any location other
than the default Plug-In Settings folder, you 1 From the Plug-In Settings menu, choose Save
must first create a folder named “Plug-In Settings.
Settings” in the new location and then save to 2 Click the New Folder button and type a name for
that folder. the subfolder.
3 Name the preset and click Save. The plug-in
settings file is saved within the subfolder.
Use the Plug-In Settings menu to manage plug-in 1 Open the destination plug-in.
presets. 2 Choose Paste Settings from the Plug-In Set-
tings menu.
Unlinked multi-mono plug-ins have specific
rules for settings. See “Linking and Unlink- Press Command+Shift+V (Mac) or Con-
ing Controls on Multi-Mono Plug-Ins” on trol+Shift+V (Windows) to paste plug-in
page 1010. settings.
To save a preset: To create a custom User Default preset:
1 Choose Save Settings from the Plug-In Settings 1 Create and save a plug-in settings file.
menu.
2 Select Set As User Default from the Plug-In Set-
2 Type a name and click OK. The setting appears tings menu.
in the Plug-In Librarian menu.
To make a plug-in default to your custom preset:
Press Command+Shift+S (Mac) or Con-
trol+Shift+S (Windows) to save plug-in From the Plug-In Settings menu, select Settings
settings. Preferences > Set Plug-In Default To > User
Setting.
To load a plug-in preset:
Choose the name of the preset from the Plug-In Changing Presets with the Next
Librarian menu. (+) and Previous (–) Setting
Buttons
To import a preset:
These buttons let you select the next or previous
1 Choose Import Settings from the Plug-In Set- preset in the Plug-In Librarian menu.
tings menu.
To change plug-in presets using the +/– buttons:
2 Locate the settings file you want to import and
click Open. Pro Tools loads the setting and cop- Click the Plus (+) or Minus (–) buttons to select
ies it to the root destination folder. the next or previous preset. The next (or previ-
ous) preset is enabled, and the Plug-In Librarian
To copy plug-in settings: menu changes to show the name of the new pre-
set.
Choose Copy Settings from the Plug-In Settings
menu. You will lose the current plug-in settings if
they are not saved before you use the Next
Press Command+Shift+C (Mac) or Con-
and Previous Setting buttons. Always save
trol+Shift+C (Windows) to copy plug-in
your plug-in settings to the selected Root Set-
settings.
tings folder.
3 Click Done.
When you create a custom plug-in map, its param- Map Presets menu
eters are arranged in pages that correspond to the Learn button
controls on the control surface. The size of a page
depends on the type of control surface. Each cus-
Parameter menu
tom plug-in map allows up to 200 pages of mapped
Plug-In Map controls in the plug-in window
parameters.
Map Options Menu Lets you create, rename, save,
Plug-In mapping is stored according to the follow- delete, import, export, and set default plug-in
ing types of control surfaces: maps.
• 003
Map Presets Menu Lets you choose from avail-
• C|24 able custom Plug-In Maps for the plug-in.
• Command|8
Learn Button Puts the plug-in in Learn mode,
• D-Control where you can map plug-in parameters to a control
• D-Command surface.
• EUCON-compatible controllers Parameter Menu When in Learn mode, lets you
• M-Audio controllers select a parameter on the plug-in for mapping. If
you click a parameter in the plug-in window while
If you import a plug-in map that was created in Learn mode, this menu shows the name of the
on a different type of control surface, it will parameter.
appear as an inactive choice in the Map Pre-
sets menu. Plug-In Map controls can be shown or hidden.
When you first put a plug-in into Learn mode, a 4 On the control surface, do one of the following:
new plug-in map is created (with the default name • Turn the encoder or press the channel Select
“Custom Map”), and the plug-in is focused on the switch where you want to map the parameter.
control surface, but with a blank page of controls,
• If the control surface is in Flip mode, move the
ready for mapping.
fader or press the channel Select switch where
Only one plug-in can be in Learn mode at a time. you want to map the parameter.
5 Repeat steps 3-4 for each parameter you want to
To put a plug-in into Learn mode, do one of the
following:
map.
Click the Learn button in the plug-in window. 6 Take the plug-in out of Learn mode.
From the Map Options pop-up menu, choose To change parameter mapping in a plug-in map:
New Map.
1 Open the plug-in whose custom map you want
to change.
To take a plug-in out of Learn mode, do one of the
following: 2 Choose the map you want to change from the
Click the active Learn button in the plug-in win- Map Preset pop-up menu.
dow. 3 Put the plug-in into Learn mode. The plug-in is
Close the plug-in window. focused on the control surface.
Click the Learn button in a different plug-in 4 Do the following for each parameter mapping
window. you want to change:
• In the plug-in window, click the new plug-in pa-
Plug-Ins are automatically taken out of Learn
rameter you want to map. The parameter name
mode when moved to a different insert
appears in the Parameter menu.
position, made inactive, or converted
between DSP and Native formats. • On the control surface, page to the encoder or
switch where you want to change the mapping,
and turn the encoder or press the switch.
Saving Plug-In Maps 4 Enter a new name for the plug-in map.
You can save plug-in maps as presets for reuse on 5 Click OK.
the same Pro Tools system.
Deleting Plug-In Maps
Plug-In maps are saved as global preferences on a
Pro Tools system, so they are available to all ses- From the plug-in window, you can delete individ-
sions created on the system. ual plug-in maps.
When you create a map for a plug-in, that map be- You can also delete all custom plug-in maps on the
comes available to all other plug-ins of the same system, reverting all plug-ins to their Factory De-
type and channel format. fault plug-in maps.
If you want to map the same plug-in in On D-Control and D-Command systems,
different channel formats (such as mono, when you delete all plug-in maps, you are
stereo and 5.1 surround) you need to create also deleting all Custom Fader Plug-In
a separate plug-in map for each format. mappings.
You can also export plug-in maps for use on other To delete a custom plug-in map:
Pro Tools systems with a similar control surface 1 Open the plug-in whose map you want to delete.
(see “Exporting and Importing Plug-In Maps” on
page 1008. 2 Choose the map you want to delete from the
Map Presets pop-up menu.
Setting a Custom Plug-In Map as To set a custom plug-in map as the default plug-in
the Default Map map:
You can set a custom plug-in map as the default 1 Open the plug-in whose default plug-in map
map for a plug-in, instead of the Factory Default you want to change.
map. 2 Choose the map you want to use as the new
default from the Map Presets pop-up menu.
When you set a custom plug-in map as the default,
it applies across the entire session. All instances of 3 From the Map Options pop-up menu, choose
that plug-in that were set to the Factory Default Set As Default.
map, or to another custom default map, change to
the new default. Hiding Default Plug-In Map
If you change parameter mapping in the custom Pages
plug-in map that has been set as the default, the When you create a custom plug-in map, its param-
changes will propagate to all instances of the plug- eters are arranged in pages that correspond to the
in using that default. groups of controls that appear on a control surface.
When you export a plug-in map, the default When you page through the controls for a plug-in
map setting for that plug-in is also exported. on a control surface, the pages for custom plug-in
When that map is imported, the default setting maps appear first, and the pages for the Factory
is also updated, and all instances of the plug- Default map appear after the custom pages.
in change to the new default.
You can hide the Factory Default pages of a plug-
in, so that only the custom pages appear on the
control surface. This applies to all instances of the
plug-in.
Deselect the Master Link button. 1 Choose Setup > I/O, then click the Insert tab.
2 Select an insert path, or click New Path to create
To access controls for a specific channel:
a new Insert path.
Select the channel from the Channel selector.
3 Double-click the Path Name to enter a custom
To link the controls of specific channels: path name for the insert.
1 Deselect the Master Link button if it is not al- 4 Make sure the insert path is set to the correct
ready deselected. format (mono, stereo, or other).
2 Click the Link Enable buttons for the channels 5 Map inserts in the Channel Grid as needed. In-
whose controls you want to link. sert and Output paths have special rules regard-
ing channel mapping (see “Valid Paths and
Requirements” on page 87).
Pro Tools can receive external clock from the Op- Pro Tools can receive external clock from the
tical input or S/PDIF input. S/PDIF input on these interfaces.
To select an external clock source for a Pro Tools To select an external clock source from Pro Tools
system with 003, 003 Rack+, or 003 Rack: with an Mbox Pro or Mbox (3rd generation):
On MIDI tracks and Instrument tracks, all control- When you copy or cut audio data from a track
ler automation data except for MIDI Mute data, or while it is in Waveform view, the underlying auto-
audio mute (Instrument tracks only), is stored in mation data is cut or copied with it.
the MIDI clip that contains it. Each edit playlist on If you paste audio data from other locations or
the track is separate, and represents a distinct per- tracks into an edit playlist, you may change the un-
formance, complete with controller automation. derlying automation data on the track.
MIDI Mute data is independent of the When you trim clips using Edit > Trim, the un-
MIDI data in a MIDI clip. This lets you derlying automation data remains unchanged.
mute playback of individual MIDI or
Instrument tracks in Pro Tools without For more information, see “Editing
altering the controller data. Automation” on page 1040.
Automation can be switched from Off to another In Touch mode, certain control surfaces start writ-
Automation mode during playback or record. ing automation as soon as you touch them. These
include touch-sensitive fader controllers, such as
D-Control, D-Command, C|24, 003, or Com-
Read Mode mand|8.
Read mode plays any automation that was previ-
ously written for a track. With other control surfaces in Touch mode, writ-
ing of automation does not begin until the fader
hits the pass-through point, or the previously auto-
Write Mode mated position. Once you reach the pass-through
Write mode writes automation from the time play- point with the fader, or a non-touch sensitive rotary
back starts to the time it stops, erasing any previ- control, writing of automation begins and contin-
ously written automation for the duration of the au- ues until you stop moving the fader.
tomation pass.
Latch mode works in the same way as Touch 1 Choose Window > Automation.
mode, writing automation only if you touch or 2 Click the AutoJoin button.
move a control. However, unlike Touch, writing of
automation continues until you stop playback or
“punch out” of the automation pass by changing
the Automation mode to Read or Touch.
AutoJoin with Latch Mode AutoJoin Enable button in the Automation window
(Pro Tools HD Only)
Pro Tools provides two different methods to See your control surface guide for details on
resume writing automation on controls that were using Join and AutoJoin with a control surface.
active at the point where the transport stopped:
To use Join or AutoJoin to resume writing Pro Tools HD can adjust (or trim) existing track
on controls that were writing when the volume and send level automation data in real
transport stopped, restart the transport be- time. Pan, mute and plug-in automation cannot be
fore the AutoJoin indicator. trimmed in this manner. Trim mode works in com-
bination with the other Automation modes (Read,
Touch, Latch, Touch/Latch, and Write) and is use-
ful when you want to preserve all of your volume
automation moves, but need to make levels a bit
louder or softer to balance a mix. For more infor-
mation, see “Trim Automation Modes” on
page 1020.
Write Trim
Track Views
Automation Follows Edit indicator in the Edit window
You can view automation data by type by selecting
Automation Safe the corresponding Track View.
Outputs, sends, and plug-ins can be placed in Au- To display an automation playlist in the Track
tomation Safe mode. In Automation Safe mode, View:
any automation associated with an Output window Click the Track View selector and select from
(such as track or send level, panning, or mute), or the automation type you want to view.
plug-in on that track, is protected from being over-
written while automating other items on that track.
To add a lane:
To remove lanes:
Show/Hide
Lanes button
Remove Lane
Add Lane
Automation Type
selector
Revealing an Automation lane
To resize the height of a single Automation or The composite playlist is shown in both the main
Controller lane for a track: automation playlist and the Trim automation play-
list.
Press Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) while
selecting the Lane Height setting.
To reorder lanes:
AutoMatch Indicators
There are triangular AutoMatch indicators at the
bottom left of each channel strip in the Mix win-
dow. When lit, these indicate the direction the
fader will automatically move when Auto-Match-
ing.
Automation window
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).
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.
To remove all automation data of the displayed • Right-click the track name and choose Clear
type: Trim Automation.
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 689. 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 HD only). You can edit automation
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click MIDI. data graphically by adjusting breakpoints in any
2 Enter a value for Pencil Tool Resolution When automation playlist. You can also cut, copy, and
Drawing Controller Data. The value can range paste automation data in the same manner as audio
from 1 to 100 milliseconds. 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 1023. the mute.
• 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
Pan Automation Cuts only pan automation or of the automation data to the entire selection range.
MIDI pan data whether it is shown or not. If you select an area that is not an exact multiple of
the copied clip size, the remaining selection area is
Plug-In Automation Cuts only the plug-in automa- filled with a trimmed version of the original selec-
tion that is shown. tion. This lets you easily create drum loops and
other repetitive effects. Before the data is pasted,
Pro Tools prompts you to specify a crossfade to
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).
Manually Trim moves are stored separately in the 1 Select the track where you want to coalesce the
Trim automation playlist until they are coalesced. Trim automation.
With this setting, the only way to coalesce Trim
2 Do one of the following:
moves is with the Coalesce Trim
Automation command. You can repeat an automa- • Choose Track > Coalesce Trim Automation.
tion pass, edit Trim automation manually on any of • Right-click the track name and choose
the Trim playlists, or clear Trim automation before Coalesce Trim Automation.
coalescing with this method.
The Trim automation is applied to the main auto-
To set the method by which Trim Automation is mation playlist, Trim automation playlists are
coalesced: cleared, and Trim faders are returned to zero.
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click Mixing.
For MIDI automation, the Write To com- The current values of all write-enabled automation
mands only apply to MIDI Volume, MIDI at that point are written to the corresponding area
Pan, and MIDI Mute. MIDI parameters can- of the track/selection.
not use the Write To commands.
Write To Next Breakpoint buttons in the Automation Write To Punch Point buttons in the Automation
window window
Mute off event extended (up to automation pass end) 3 In the Mix or Edit window, click the Automa-
Extending a mute automation event tion Mode selector of the track where you want
to overwrite the mute state, and set the Automa-
Mute Overwrite/Extend is tion mode to Touch or Latch mode.
supported in Touch and Latch
mode, as follows: To overwrite mute states on multiple tracks,
set all tracks to the same Automation mode.
Touch Mode Writes the current state as long as the
Mute button is held. 4 In each track you want to automate, click the
Latch Mode Writes the current state until you stop Track View selector and select mute.
or AutoMatch out. 5 Place the cursor before the start of the mute
event you want to overwrite.
To overwrite a mute state on one or more tracks:
1 Choose Window > Automation.
2 Make sure Mute is write-enabled.
6 Start playback.
7 Press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows)
and the track Mute button before the start of the
Stopping automation pass after the end of a mute
event
mute event you want to extend.
9 When you have finished the automation pass, To extend mute states on multiple tracks,
stop playback. press Option+Command (Mac) or Alt+Con-
trol (Windows) and the Mute button on the
track.
When you move the playback cursor, the auto- To capture and apply automation:
mated controls in Pro Tools update to reflect the 1 In the Automation window, make sure that the
automation data that is already on the track. To automation parameters you want to edit are
keep the settings you have made for a snapshot, write-enabled. Deselect any parameters whose
you can suspend automation parameters to prevent automation you want to preserve.
them from updating.
2 Click the Automation Mode selector and select
To write snapshot automation over existing data: Read mode for the tracks that have automation
1 In the Automation window, make sure that the you want to capture.
automation parameters you want to edit are 3 Ensure that Options > Link Timeline and Edit
write-enabled. Deselect any parameters whose Selection is selected.
automation you want to preserve.
4 With the Selector tool, select the location where
2 Adjust the controls for the parameters you want you want to capture automation. All automated
to automate. controls update to reflect the automation at that
3 Click the Automation Mode selector and select location. (If you make a selection, the controls
Off mode for the tracks where you want to apply update to reflect the automation at the begin-
the automation. ning of the selection.)
4 With the Selector, select the range where you 5 In each track you want to apply the captured au-
want to apply the automation. tomation, click the track’s Automation Mode
selector and set the Automation mode to Off.
Snapshot Automation and When you put Pro Tools in Automation Preview
Trimming of Automation Data mode, you can preview values for automation-en-
abled controls on any track that is in a writable au-
Pro Tools lets you use trim values as snapshots and
tomation mode.
apply the relative changes (delta values) to the se-
lected automation by using the Trim Automation While in Automation Preview mode, when you
command. This works in much the same way as the touch or move a control, it isolates the control, dis-
Write Automation command, except that it writes engaging it from its automation playlist. The con-
delta values instead of absolute values to automa- trol stops reading or writing automation, allowing
tion data. you to freely audition changes.
You can use trim values in writing snapshot When you have found a level or state that you want
automation to any automatable parameter. to use, you can then commit or punch the pre-
viewed value to the automation playlist for the iso-
To create a snapshot of relative changes in lated controls.
automation data:
1 In the Automation window, make sure that the If you punch during playback, the automation
automation parameters you want to edit are mode is set to Latch and writing begins at the pre-
write-enabled. Deselect any parameters whose view value.
automation you want to preserve. If you punch while the transport is stopped, the
2 Select the area of the track you want to edit. All automation mode is set to Latch and the control is
automated controls update to reflect the auto- primed at the preview value.
mation at the beginning of the selection. It is not necessary for the Allow Latch Prime
3 Move the controls for the parameter up or down in Stop preference to be enabled for Preview
by the amount you want to change the data. to put a control into Latch Prime.
4 To isolate a control, touch or move an automa- To isolate all currently write-enabled controls:
tion-enabled control.You can isolate controls Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
during playback or while the transport is Preview button.
stopped.
To isolate all write-enabled controls on all selected
tracks:
You can capture the current automation values of 1 Move to a location where you want to apply the
actively writing controls. captured automation states. You can do this
during playback or while the transport is
To capture automation values: stopped.
1 Make sure all tracks whose automation values 2 Click the Punch Capture button in the Automa-
you want to capture are in a write-enabled state tion window to apply the captured automation
(Write, Touch, Latch, Touch/Latch or Latch). states. The captured states are applied to all au-
tomation types that are currently enabled in the
2 Make sure the automation types you want to
Automation window.
capture are enabled in the Automation window
(Volume, Pan, Mute, Send level, Send pan,
Send mute, or Plug-In). Capturing Automation Values for
All Controls
3 Start playback. When you reach a location
where you want to capture the current automa- You can capture the state of all automatable con-
tion states, click the Capture button in the Auto- trols (except on tracks with their Automation
mation window. Mode set to Off) in a session, regardless of whether
they are currently writing automation.
The Punch Capture button in the Automation win-
dow lights to indicate a captured value is available To capture the automation values of all controls:
to punch. When you reach a location where you want to
capture the current automation states, Option-
Punching Captured Automation click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the Capture
Values button.
After automation values are captured, they can be
To capture the automation values of all controls on
punched (written) to another location in the track. selected tracks only:
Any tracks set to Read or Off are unaffected.
When you reach a location where you want to
If you punch during playback, the automation capture the current automation states, Option-
mode of any track set to Touch is set to Latch and Shift-click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-click (Windows)
writing begins at the captured value. the Capture button.
If you punch while the transport is stopped, the
automation mode of any track set to Touch is set to
Latch and the control is primed at the captured
value.
To punch the automation values of all controls: To capture an automation value and use it to
preview:
When you reach a location where you want to
1 Make sure the track where you want to preview
apply the captured automation states, Option-
the value is enabled for automation (Touch,
click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the Punch
Latch, Touch/Latch or their corresponding
Capture button. Any track set to Read or Touch
Trim modes).
are set to Latch. Any tracks set to Off are unaf-
fected. 2 Make sure the automation type you want to pre-
view is enabled in the Automation window
To punch the automation values of all controls on (Volume, Pan, Mute, Send level, Send pan,
selected tracks only:
Send mute, or Plug-In).
When you reach a location where you want to
3 Capture an automation value that you want to
apply the captured automation states, Option-
preview in another location on a track. (See
Shift-click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-click (Windows)
“Capturing Automation Values” on page 1065.)
the Punch Capture button. Any selected tracks
set to Read or Touch are set to Latch. Any se- 4 Go to a location where you want to preview the
lected tracks set to Off are unaffected. captured automation states, and click the Pre-
view button in the Automation window.
Capture and Trim Mode 5 Click the Punch Capture button.
The Capture and Punch Capture commands work The affected controls are isolated and updated to
with Trim automation in the same way as regular the captured values. The Punch Preview button in
automation. Pro Tools saves Trim status when the Automation window lights to indicate the pre-
capturing, so if you attempt to punch captured view value is available to punch.
Trim values while displaying a non-Trim automa-
tion playlist, Pro Tools will automatically apply 6 Start playback and adjust the isolated control to
the values to the corresponding Trim playlist. audition the changes.
7 When you are ready to punch the preview value
Punch Capture and “Write To” to the automation playlist, click the lit Punch
Commands Preview button.
After issuing a Punch Capture command, the af-
fected controls are writing automation (in Latch
mode), so any of the Write Automation To com-
mands can be used to extend the punched value in
the same manner as other automation.
• Volume trim (Pro Tools HD only) 2 Write-enable the slave track you want to ex-
clude for automation (Write mode).
• Mute
The slave track is removed from the VCA group, 3 Do one of the following:
and the composite Volume level and Mute state are • Hold Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) and
coalesced to the track. choose Track > Coalesce VCA Master Automa-
tion.
Duplicating a Slave Track • Hold Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) and
Right-click the VCA Master track name and
When you duplicate a slave track without duplicat-
choose Coalesce VCA Master Automation.
ing its group assignments, the VCA automation is
coalesced to the duplicate track. The coalesced du- The composite Volume level and Mute state are
plicate plays back exactly as if it were in the VCA committed to each of the slave tracks over the Edit
group. selection. The VCA Master Volume is set to zero,
the VCA Mute state is set to unmuted, and any au-
To coalesce automation from a VCA Master to a
tomation on the VCA Master is cleared for the se-
single slave track by duplicating the track:
lected area only.
1 Select the slave track whose automation you
want to coalesce.
Selection or Track Length If you make a selection Track Output Right-Click menu in the Mix window
in a track, the bounced mix will be the length of the
selection. If there is no selection in any track, the
bounce will be the length of the longest audible
track in the session.
Bounced Files Are Delay-Compensated Send Right-Click menu in the Mix window
Pro Tools compensates for any bus and plug-in de- To Bounce an Output or Send path to disk:
lays when bouncing to disk. This means that if a 1 Right-click the Output Path selector or the Send
bounced file is imported back into a session, and Path selector for the desired track Output or
placed directly in time against the source mix, it is Send.
time-aligned with the original source mix.
2 From the right-click menu, choose Bounce
Record-Enabled Tracks and TrackInput- <path>.
Enabled Tracks Cannot Be Bounced
3 The Bounce dialog opens with the Output or
Pro Tools does not include tracks that are either re- Send path selected as the Bounce Source.
cord-enabled or in Input Only monitoring mode in 4 Configure the other Bounce settings as desired
the bounce. and click Bounce.
To set the resolution of the bounced file: 44.1 kHz This is the standard sample rate for com-
pact discs (CD), and is supported by DA-88/98,
Select a bit depth from the Bit Depth selector. DAT, and ADAT decks.
1079 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Additional sample rate options include 8 kHz, To export your mix to your iTunes library:
11.025 kHz, 16 kHz, 22.050 kHz, and 32 kHz. 1 Choose File > Bounce to > Disk.
Custom For a custom sample rate, click in the 2 In the Bounce to Disk dialog, select the Bounce
sample rate window and manually enter in a value Source and set the other options.
from 4,000 to 200,200 samples.
3 Enable the Add to iTunes Library option.
Pull Up and Pull Down Rates All available sam-
ple rates support pull up and pull down rates, or The Add to iTunes Library option is only
other specialized rates. available if the Bounce Source is set to a
mono or stereo path, and Format is set to
Mono (Summed) or Interleaved.
Enforce Avid Compatibility
Enable this option in the Bounce to Disk dialog to 4 Click Bounce.
create a bounced file with frame-accurate edits,
wrapped as OMFI (unless File Type is MXF), and Import After Bounce
with the sample rate options limited to 44.1 kHz or
The Import After Bounce option automatically im-
48 kHz. Dither without noise shaping will be ap-
ports the newly bounced files into the Clip List so
plied to files being exported from 24-bit to 16-bit.
you can place them in tracks. If your newly
bounced files are split stereo files (Multiple
Add to iTunes Library Mono), they are listed together in the Clip List.
Pro Tools lets you bounce your mix to your iTunes
The Import After Bounce option is only avail-
library using the Add to iTunes Library option in
able if the target file type and sample rate for
the Bounce to Disk dialog. When this option is se-
the bounce is the same as the file type and
lected, the bounced file is copied to your local
sample rate of the current session, and the
iTunes library. You can specify the location of
target resolution (bit rate) is the same or
your iTunes library using the new iTunes Library
lower than the resolution of the session. In
Folder setting in the Pro Tools Operation prefer-
addition, tracks bounced to a Stereo Inter-
ences.
leaved file cannot be automatically imported
If the Add to iTunes Library option is enabled when after a bounce.
bouncing to disk, the resultant audio file is auto-
matically imported into iTunes the next time you Bounce File Name
launch the iTunes application. If iTunes is not in- Pro Tools provides a File Name text entry field for
stalled on your computer, this option does not do Bounce to Disk. In the Bounce dialog, type the File
anything. Name you want for the bounced file. For multi-
source bounces, the entered file name is appended
with the name of the Bounce Source and a number
(incremented for each source): “<file
name>_<source name>_<n>.”
Click the Choose button to specify a different di- The speed of offline bounce can be affected by the
rectory for bounced files than the default location. following:
• CPU Usage—The speed of your CPU and how
Offline Bounce much CPU is in use by the system and other ap-
plications. You can monitor CPU usage in the
Pro Tools provides an Offline option for Bounce to
System Usage window.
Disk and Bounce to QuickTime. This lets you
bounce faster-than-real-time in most cases (de- • Disk Usage—For example, if the Disk meter in
pending on the session mixer size and DSP plug-in the System Usage window reads 50% when you
complement). are playing back the session, offline bounce will
max out at two times the speed of real-time sim-
To bounce audio to disk offline: ply because it is physically impossible to read
1 Make a Timeline selection to define the range to the disk data from the drive fast enough. If you
be bounced. can increase the Disk Playback Cache Size
(Setup > Playback Engine) to cache all audio on
2 Choose File > Bounce to > Disk. the timeline, this should not be an issue
3 In the Bounce dialog, enable the Offline option. (Pro Tools HD only).
• If there is an unbalanced use of your computer’s
4 Configure the Bounce options as desired.
core processors due to large mixers and Native
5 Click Bounce. plug-in usage, you can check to see if the indi-
vidual core CPU meters are unbalanced in the
Limitations of Offline Bounce CPU section of the System Usage window. Re-
moving or making Native plug-ins inactive on
When using the Offline Bounce option, the follow-
Auxiliary Input and Master Fader tracks may
ing are not included in the bounce:
help alleviate this problem.
• Hardware Inserts
• Some third-party plug-ins may slow down off-
• External MIDI driven audio (such as outboard line bounce due to their CPU requirements.
MIDI synthesizers or samplers).
Note that for some sessions that use very
• External audio sources monitored by Auxiliary
large mixer configurations with lots of DSP-
Input tracks.
based plug-ins and automation, it is possible
• DSP only plug-ins (Offline Bounce always uses that Offline Bounce may actually be slower
the Native version of DSP plug-ins, but only if than bouncing in real time.
they are available).
• Any audio source that is synchronized exter- Cancel
nally.
The Cancel button closes the Bounce to Disk dia-
On Pro Tools HD systems with HDX hard- log without initiating the bounce to disk conver-
ware, any HEAT processing in the bounce sion.
path is included with offline bounce.
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 1072.
Pro Tools | HD Software lets you work with sur- Track Layouts for 5.1 Formats
round formats up to 7.1.
Formats Track Layout
1 2 3 4 5 6
C|24 L C R Ls Rs Lf
For information on fundamental surround
concepts, see the Pro Tools Sync & Surround The following table shows the X-MON mono track
Concepts Guide. routing for a 7.1 SDDS mix. A 5.1 mix should use
the same routing, excluding outputs 2 and 4 (Lc
and Rc).
Pro Tools Audio Connections
for 5.1 Mixing Default Track Layout for 7.1 SDDS Format
Formats Track Layout
While all 5.1 mixing formats provide the same
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
speaker arrangement, there are three primary stan-
dards in use for the track layout of the individual X-MON L Lc C Rc R Ls Rs LFE
channels that comprise the 5.1-format multichan-
To connect your audio interfaces for 5.1 format
nel mix. mixing and monitoring:
In the following table, it is assumed that surround 1 Determine the 5.1 format and track layout you
channels are assigned to outputs 1–6 of a Pro Tools want to use.
audio interface. Use channels 7–8 to monitor a ste-
2 Connect the output channels of your audio in-
reo mix for a stereo version, or for cue mixes and
terface to the corresponding input channels of
monitoring.
your monitoring system according to the assign-
ments listed in the tables above.
The surround mix I/O Settings provide output and • One 5.1 main output bus path, with sub-paths for
bus paths for six specific track layout standards in 5.0 (no LFE), left/right (stereo), LCR, and center
the new session. (For information on inputs and in- (mono).
sert paths, see “Default Input and Insert Paths with • One stereo main output bus path with two mono
5.1 Settings” on page 1089.) sub-paths.
Settings Files and Track Layouts
5.1 Settings Track Layout
C24 Mix L C R Ls Rs Lf
Importing Multichannel
I/O Setups
The I/O Setup dialog can import and export set-
tings files. This is useful when you want to remix a
stereo session in surround. You can also use this
I/O Setup, Output page, default 5.1 (Film) Output feature to prepare a session for transfer to a differ-
assignments ent Pro Tools system, or to save and exchange
I/O Settings.
8 Select the new LCRS path and click the Reveal Pro Tools track layout of 5.1 format audio tracks in
Sub-paths triangle. the Edit window also conforms to the Film layout
(arranged top to bottom). See “5.1 Track Layouts,
Routing, and Metering” on page 1093.
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, Master Fader, and Instrument tracks, and in- microphones or microphone arrays, or routed to
serts and busses. appropriate multichannel Pro Tools Input paths
Multichannel surround mixing is supported • Imported from other Pro Tools sessions
with Pro Tools HD 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, Master
Fader, and Instrument tracks can be mixed in mul-
tichannel for surround using Pro Tools mixing fea-
tures.
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 Clip 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 Clip List menu track, although some automation data may
> Timeline Drop Order). For this reason, be lost. As an alternative, record the submix
you may want to rename audio files before of the mono tracks to disk on a multichannel
dragging them, so that they are placed in the track.
preferred order. Rename them so that sorting
them By Clip Name in the Clip List results in To convert a multichannel track into discrete mono
tracks:
the preferred order. (For example, with a
5.1-format track, you can rename the audio 1 Select the multichannel track.
tracks so that the arrangement of the tracks 2 Choose Track > Split Into Mono.
corresponds to L, C, R, Ls, Rs, and LFE.)
To have discrete control of gain on individual
channels of a multichannel track:
Multichannel send
Multichannel output
path
Multi-mono plugs-ins can also be inserted on ste- Channel selector and Link controls
reo tracks, to apply unlinked plug-ins on the left
and right channels. Channel Selector Accesses a specific channel
within a multichannel track for plug-in parameter
Multichannel Plug-Ins Are designed for use on editing. This menu appears only on multi-mono
stereo and multichannel tracks that require cor- plug-ins inserted on tracks with more than two
related processing, including stereo and multi- channels.
channel limiting, compression, and similar effects.
Master Link Button When enabled, links the con-
trols on all channels of a multi-mono plug-in so
that they can be adjusted in tandem.
Deselect the Master Link button. It is lit when The following figure illustrates an example of how
linked, unlit when unlinked. panning and signal routing can be combined in a
multichannel mix.
To access controls for a specific channel:
See “Extending Stereo Mixing Conventions
Select the channel from the Channel selector.
to Surround Mixing” on page 1103 for re-
To open a plug-in window for all channels of a lated information.
multi-mono plug-in:
When to Use Assign Multichannel Outputs
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
Assign 5.1 paths only to those tracks that need
Channel selector.
to be panned to all six channels.
To link the controls of specific channels:
For example, a sound effects track with a jet fly-
1 Deselect the Master Link button if it is not al- over should be assigned a 5.1 path to fly the sound
ready deselected. from front-to-back. In a music mix, you can fly a
solo instrument or make a synth pad swirl around
2 Click the Link Enable buttons for the channels
the room as a special effect.
whose controls you want to link.
Elements that need to be heard in all speakers si-
multaneously can also be assigned to the multi-
Paths in Surround Mixes channel output, whether or not they require active
panning in the sound field.
Because Pro Tools provides a flexible routing and
submixing environment, you can maximize your
system’s available resources by first identifying
the elements that you want to pan dynamically and
those that can be placed in certain channels only
(see “Mixing with Paths and Sub-Paths” on
page 1100).
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 %
Yellow The track is in automation Off mode (or For examples of how divergence settings
Automation Suspend) mode. affect output panning, see “Divergence and
Center Percentage” on page 1116.
Rear Displays and controls the current rear X-axis The LFE fader determines how much of the current
(left/right) position of the panner. In default X/Y track’s signal will be routed to the LFE channel.
Panning mode, Rear is linked to Front position and LFE faders in Track and Send windows can follow
cannot be controlled independently. groups. The Pro Tools LFE channel is always full-
bandwidth. For more information on how to use
F/R (Front/Rear) Displays and controls the current the LFE fader, see “LFE Faders in Multichannel
Y-axis position of the panner. Panners” on page 1119.
Link
To pan in X/Y mode:
Front Inverse
1 Click on the Panning Mode button until the X/Y
mode icon is displayed.
Front/Rear Inverse
2 Drag the Pan Location cursor, or click any-
Rear Inverse where in the Grid and drag to pan the track. The
Stereo multichannel panner controls showing default location of the Pan Location cursor determines
linking the pan position of the signal. For example, to
pan something to the left rear speaker, move the
Pan Location cursor to the lower-left corner of
Panning Modes the Grid.
The Panning Mode button provides access to four
It is not necessary to click exactly on the Pan
panning modes: X/Y mode, Divergence Editing,
Location cursor. Clicking anywhere in the
3-Knob mode, and AutoGlide mode. Panning con-
Grid will move the Pan Location cursor rela-
trols can be automated in all four modes.
tive to where you click or take over with a
Pro Tools provides the following Panning Modes: hardware panner. Panning does not jump to
the click position.
X/Y Mode Joystick-style panning by dragging the
Pan Location cursor within the X/Y Speaker Grid.
See “X/Y Panning” on page 1113 for more infor-
mation.
Display Automation in Edit Window Control- By comparison, in X/Y mode a diagonal pan may
Command-Control-click (Mac) or Start-click result in audio being heard in some or all channels.
(Windows) a control to display that control’s play-
list in the Edit window. The difference is that 3-Knob mode pans discretely
between the front and rear position of the panning
All Pan controls can be automated, including trajectory, while X/Y mode panning takes place in
pan position and divergence. See Chapter 48, the full 360° Panning Grid. Divergence and Center
“Automation” for details. Percentage are variable in both Panning modes.
Pro Tools provides 3-Knob mode as an additional Click on the Panning Mode button until the 3-
way to input pan moves. Knob mode icon is displayed.
To change the current trajectory position (left-to- 2 In the Mix or Edit window, click the Automa-
right) and retain its current angles: tion Mode selector and select an Automation
mode for the track you want to automate.
Drag the trajectory line (not its end points) to a
new position. 3 Press Play to begin playback.
4 Set a new destination for the cursor by doing
AutoGlide Mode one of the following:
AutoGlide mode lets you quickly write Surround • Click a Snap Pan to Speaker icon to glide to its
Panner automation by clicking new locations in the speaker location.
Surround Panner window, instead of manually • Click in the pan window to glide to a specific lo-
moving the Surround Panner controls. cation in the X/Y Grid.
When writing automation in AutoGlide
Snap Pan to
mode, the Pan Location cursor cannot be Speaker
dragged from its location. icons
The time it takes to glide from point to point (from Pan Location
cursor
the Pan Location cursor to the new destination) is
called the AutoGlide Time. This time is set in the
Mixing Preferences page and has a range of
10 msec to 10000 msec (10 seconds).
2 Set the AutoGlide Time in the Automation Panning Mode button (AutoGlide mode shown)
section.
Pan Location
cursor
To adjust divergence:
Adjust the LFE fader in any “.1” surround for- LFE Enable in the multichannel Dynamics III
Compressor/Limiter
mat Output window.
To process the LFE channel in a multichannel
LFE Faders and Groups
plug-in:
Pan Playlists
Multichannel panners have an automation playlist
for each position and divergence control.
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
Timecode. 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
To show the Session Setup window: The controls in this section configure SYNC HD
From a Pro Tools session, choose Setup > settings. Settings are provided for Clock and Posi-
Session. tional Reference, Video Ref Format, Video In For-
mat, and Variable Speed Override.
Press Command+2 (Mac) or Control+2
(Windows) to open the Session Setup win- To show Timecode Settings section:
dow. Click the Timecode Settings expand/collapse
triangle.
To expand SYNC Setup & Session Offset section:
Click the SYNC Setup & Timecode Offsets ex- The controls in this section provide timecode gen-
pand/collapse triangle. eration and freewheel options, and separate pull up
and down selectors for audio and video rates.
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 lets you set a trigger offset for incoming to incoming timecode, and continue to play back
MIDI Timecode (anywhere from –100000 to even if timecode input is completely interrupted. It
+100000 samples). This lets you create a perma- can be useful if timecode is damaged, or has been
nent offset to fine-tune the point at which accidentally erased from your source tape.
Pro Tools synchronizes relative to incoming time-
code. For example, a value of –50 makes an event
in Pro Tools occur 50 samples before the same Pull Up/Down
event in the incoming MIDI Timecode. Use this to When Pro Tools is used in conjunction with a
compensate for timing differences between vari- SYNC HD, this option lets you “pull up” or “pull
ous SMPTE-to-MIDI Timecode converters or ana- down” the current sample rate.
log-to-digital/digital-to-analog converters.
For more information on applying pull factors in
Pro Tools, see “Pull Up and Pull Down” on
page 1132.
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 1133. • 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.
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 1125.)
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.
Machine Chases Memory Location When se- To set up MIDI devices, see “Enabling MIDI
lected, navigating to a specific location in a session Machine Control in Pro Tools” on
with a Memory Location causes a connected trans- page 1139.
port to chase to that location. To set up machine devices, see the Machine-
Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub When se- Control Guide.
lected, navigating to a specific location in a session
by moving the selection point or by scrubbing a
track causes a connected transport to chase to that Setting Minimum Sync Delay
location. Lock-up time delay is the initial amount of prime
time your system’s devices need to achieve syn-
chronization “lock.” This amount varies for each
device. Pro Tools lock up delay is set by entering a
value for Minimum Sync Delay in the Synchroniza-
tion preferences. The lowest value available is 15
frames. Find the shortest possible lock-up time that
your equipment can operate at consistently, and set
1141 Pro Tools Reference Guide
this as the Minimum Sync Delay. On systems utiliz-
ing MachineControl, enabling the Use Serial Choose Setup > Machine Track Arming
Timecode setting in the Session Setup window will Profiles to configure your system, and choose
make machines lock up much faster. (Serial time- Window > Machine Track Arming to display
code requires both the SYNC HD and external de- the Machine Track Arming window.
vices to be locked to house video reference.)
Press Command+Option+Control+J (Mac)
To set a Minimum Sync Delay:
or Control+Alt+Start+J (Windows) to en-
1 Choose Setup > Preferences, and click the able (or disable Remote mode. If using a
Synchronization tab. D-Command or D-Control work surface,
press the 9-pin Remote button.
2 Enter a number of frames in the Minimum Sync
Delay field.
For information on remote track arming with
3 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.
MachineControl, see the MachineControl
Configuring Minimum Sync Delay for External Guide.
MMC Devices Locked to House Sync
Spot dialog
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 HD lets you import multichannel audio Digital Field Recorders
files and metadata recorded by field recorders.
A field recorder, also known as a hard disk loca-
(Field recorder workflows are not available with
tion audio recorder, is a device used by a produc-
Pro Tools Software.)
tion sound mixer during a film or video shoot to
make a multichannel recording of multiple micro-
phone inputs recorded simultaneously.
Field Recorder and
Production Workflow Depending on the capabilities and settings of a
Terminology 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 HD, you may want to review a brief
drive, DVD-RAM, or Flash media.
glossary of common field recorder and production
terms. Multichannel recordings made by a field recorder
should be encoded with start and end time stamps
Field Recorder Terminology representing SMPTE timecode or linear timecode
(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
About Shoot Date Metadata 4 Replace edits from the production sound mix
with audio from different takes of the same
Many field recorders do not populate the Shoot scene (“Selecting a Matching Field Recorder
Date field, relying instead on the file's Creation Channel to Replace a Clip” on page 1161).
Date to indicate date of production. When
Pro Tools imports a field recorder file, it checks to
see if the Shoot Date field is populated. If it is
Ensuring Metadata of Source
empty, Pro Tools copies the Creation Date of the
Files Have Been Preserved
original file to the Shoot Date field of the new files.
Before you receive source files, it is important to
ensure that the files have been prepared properly at
Editing the Channel Name
each phase of the production process so that their
The Channel Names field in the Workspace dis- original metadata is preserved.
plays the channel name, followed the by channel
number in parentheses. You can edit the Channel If the original metadata has not been preserved,
name for BWF files. When editing the channel you can use other types of data (such as File Cre-
name, anything you enter in parentheses will be ation Date or File Name) to find related channels.
discarded. However, the channel number will al- However, the matching process will be easier if
ways be preserved. metadata has been preserved.
• 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 1158 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 1159. 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 Clip List.
Replacing a Clip with a Matching 3 From the Matching Field Recorder Channels
Segment from a Matching Field pop-up menu, select the name of the matching
Recorder Channel clip that you want to use to replace the original
clip.
You can replace a mono clip (or selected portion of
a mono clip) with a matching segment of a match- You can hold Command-option (Mac) or
ing field recorder channel that was recorded simul- Control-alt (Windows) and use the up and
taneously. Any fades performed on the original down arrow keys to step through the list of
clip are automatically applied to the replacement available matches for the selection.
clip, and any pre-existing automation on that track
is unchanged.
The first time you open the Matching Field
Using this feature is especially useful when Recorder Channels menu for a certain clip,
combining it with duplicating the production Pro Tools must search for matching chan-
sound mix track. For example, you could re- nels, and displays “Searching for metadata in
place the audio from a boom microphone the background.” Close and open the menu
with the audio from a lavalier microphone— again once the search is complete to see the
while preserving any edits or fades from the found matches.
original edited production sound mix in the
AAF or OMF sequence. If the production sound mixer entered the
channel name (or some other descriptive
reference) during shooting, the Matching
Field Recorder Channels pop-up menu dis-
plays this information.
Name and Sort Tracks By The Reset button toggles all criteria to their
default values.
This option lets you set the method Pro Tools uses
to name and sort the audio files created by expand-
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows)
ing matching field recorder channels.
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 Search
recorder files in the Audio Files folder for the cur- dialog and save the new search area settings.
rent session. Because field recorders often accu- • Click Save & Index to save the new search area
mulate large amounts of audio data, importing the settings and re-index the selected folders. For
necessary files into your Pro Tools session can be a more information, see “Re-Indexing” on
slow and complex task. page 1164.
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 1168).
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.
• 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 synchronized
To use a telecine to create dailies: film and audio to the videotape, with linear time-
code (LTC) assigned to the videotape beginning
1 Load film and audio into the telecine.
from where you entered the start timecode.
2 Enter the Tape name or Sound Roll name • A FLEx file is created, where scene and take in-
(whichever was used during the production) formation is automatically written and associ-
character for character into the telecine. ated to the film keycode and telecine videotape
timecode relative to audio timecode.
To ensure that metadata are preserved for
the Pro Tools editor, it is critical to enter the 10 When the telecine transfer is complete, deliver
Tape name or Sound Roll name character for the following to the Avid editor:
character. For example, if the metadata was
• Telecine videotape
T001 (with two zeroes), enter T001 with two
zeroes—not T01 with one zero or T0001 with • FLEx file
three zeroes. • Shootlist
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.
The following describes an overview of the steps After loading the digital video storage into the
that are necessary in these workflows: camera, the camera operator gives it a unique
name. The production sound mixer must enter that
1 Set up before shooting.
exact name in the Tape BEXT or iXML metadata
2 Shoot. field inside the Broadcast WAV file.
3 Digitize video in Avid video editing application To ensure that metadata are preserved for
(video workflow only) or import digital video the Pro Tools editor, it is critical to enter the
files directly into Avid video editing application Tape name character for character. For ex-
(fully non-linear workflow only). ample, if the metadata was T001 (with two
Following these steps ensures that timecode and zeroes), enter T001 with two zeroes—not T01
other metadata are preserved from the moment with one zero or T0001 with three zeroes.
shooting begins to the final delivery of source files
to the Pro Tools editor. Shooting (Video and Fuly Non-
Linear Workflows)
Shooting proceeds as follows:
Setting Up Before Shooting 1
In a video workflow, the Avid editor digitizes the To import video into the Avid video editing
videotape to digital video and audio files in order application:
to edit them. Before doing so, however, the Avid
1 In the Avid video editing application, create a
editor must name the tape.
Bin.
To digitize a videotape to digital source files: 2 Import the video files directly into the Bin.
1 Load the videotape into the Avid system. 3 When the Disk Label Import dialog appears, en-
2 When prompted to name the videotape, enter ter the exact Tape name used by the camera op-
the exact Tape name used by the camera opera- erator and the production sound mixer.
tor and the production sound mixer.
To ensure that metadata are preserved for
To ensure that metadata are preserved for the Pro Tools editor, it is critical to enter the
the Pro Tools editor, it is critical to enter the Tape name character for character. For ex-
Tape name character for character. For ex- ample, if the metadata was T001 (with two
ample, if the metadata was T001 (with two zeroes), enter T001 with two zeroes—not T01
zeroes), enter T001 with two zeroes—not T01 with one zero or T0001 with three zeroes.
with one zero or T0001 with three zeroes.
4 Use the Avid video editing application to edit
3 Digitize the videotape loaded into the Avid. audio and video.
4 When the digitize is complete, use the Avid 5 When you are finished editing, export the edited
video editing application to edit audio and sequence as an AAF or OMF sequence so that it
video. can be imported into Pro Tools.
When working with someone who is preparing Separate Video-Only and Audio-Only Drives For
QuickTime movies for use with Pro Tools, ensure best results, always use separate video-only and
that you communicate the following: audio-only drives. For complete information on
hard drive requirements, visit www.avid.com.
Consolidated and Referenced Media QuickTime
DV movies can be either complete (consolidated)
QuickTime files (where media is copied into a
QuickTime file) or QuickTime reference files
(where just a small composition is in the Quick-
Time file which references the original media
files).
Video Tracks
Video tracks let you add or import video to the
New Video options in the Pro Tools Operation Timeline, as follows:
preferences • Pro Tools lets you add or import one video track
The Video section of the Pro Tools Operation per session, with a limit of one video playlist and
Preferences provides the following options: one Avid or QuickTime video file on that track.
• Pro Tools HD lets you add multiple video tracks
Enable GPU to the Timeline, with multiple video playlists
Pro Tools video processing is done on the GPU and multiple video files per track.
(Graphics Processing Unit) in order to free up the • Pro Tools HD lets you mix QuickTime and Avid
CPU for Pro Tools audio and MIDI. If you are us- video tracks in the Timeline (but not on the same
ing a slower GPU and encounter poor video play- video track).
back, you may want to disable this option and have
the video processing done on the CPU. To create a video track in Pro Tools, do one of the
following:
Prevent Tearing Use File > Import to import a video file.
When enabled, Pro Tools buffers video to prevent Drag a video file to the Timeline.
visual artifacts with horizontal movement in situa-
tions where video sync does not match the screen Use File > Import > Session Data to import a
refresh rate. This options is not available when the session or AAF sequence containing a video
Enable GPU option is disabled.
track.
Frames do not display properly if you change Video tracks displaying a QuickTime icon
zoom settings during playback. Blank frames are
You can add any supported video to an empty
drawn until playback is stopped. You should stop
video track.
playback before changing zoom settings if you
want to view frames.
Project Type
Video Quality
Output Settings
Project Type
While Pro Tools does not allow mixed frame rates,
Video Online button (offline (top) and online (bottom)
it does allow different resolutions. The Project
To switch a video track online or offline: Type selector lets you set the Project Type (resolu-
tion) to best match mixed resolutions for the ses-
Click the Video Online button of any track that
sion. In general, you will not need to change the
is offline (gray) to put it online (blue), making
Project Type.
that track the main video track.
Click the Video Online button of the main video For Avid MXF video, Project Type is set automat-
track to take it offline, and Pro Tools will not ically. However, when you are working with
output video. mixed resolutions, Pro Tools lets you set the clos-
est matching resolution for the session using the
With Pro Tools HD, press Shift+J to cycle Project Type setting.
through all shown video tracks to determine
which one is online.
Pro Tools provides an Output Settings window for In the Video Output Tool window, click the Op-
configuring your Avid or Avid-qualified third- tions tab to configure the options for video output
party video peripheral. The Output Settings are that are relevant to your video hardware and proj-
saved with the system. The Output Settings button ect type.
is unavailable when working with video without a
video peripheral.
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
Pro Tools automatically detects the type of Avid connected, as well as other settings. The HDMI
video hardware you have and displays the appro- Color Space setting determines the color standard
priate options from the following: (either YCbCr or Convert to RGB) to use for your
• Mojo DX options: HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)
output. You must have HDMI-compatible Avid
• Internal
video hardware attached to your system.
• Reference
• Nitris DX options: HDMI Format
If a SYNC HD is installed and enabled, and Clock Output PSF or True Progressive
Reference is set to Video Reference in the Session
Setup window, suggested formats are highlighted When working with HD video, this setting lets you
in the Video Ref Format selector of the Session toggle the hardware between PSF and Progressive
Setup window for Avid DX and DNxIO hardware. output formats:
• PSF Output
• True Progressive
The Sub Pixel H Phase setting lets you adjust the Select the Best Performance option to process and
horizontal blanking interval used to synchronize play back the full image raster for the project using
the timing of two or more video signals. The Sub 1/16 of the image information. The Best Perfor-
Pixel H Phase setting is available on some systems mance option uses a bit depth of 8 bits. This option
for S Video, Component, or Composite output. subsamples 25% of the raster width. For interlaced
projects, this option uses 50% of the lines in one
field. For progressive projects, this option uses
Video Quality 25% of the scan lines. This option is only available
Use the Video Quality selector to set the video with Avid Mojo and Nitris DX.
quality for the track on playback. You can choose
from options that range from best performance
(lower video quality) to full quality.
Remove Existing Video Tracks When selected, all To bypass the Video Import Options dialog when
importing video into Pro Tools:
existing video tracks will be deleted before
Pro Tools imports video into the session. Option-drag (Mac) or Alt-drag (Windows) one
or more video files from a Workspace browser,
Remove Existing Video Clips When selected, all
Windows Explorer, or Mac Finder into the Clip
existing video clips will be removed from the
List or the Timeline.
Timeline and the Clip List before Pro Tools im-
ports video into the session (but left on disk). This
option is useful if you want to import a video file
into the session with a video frame rate that does Importing Audio from a
not match the current video engine rate. QuickTime Video Clip
For QuickTime Video clips, Pro Tools lets you
See “Video Engine Rate” on page 1185 for
right-click on selected clips to import the audio
more information.
from the QuickTime movie clips even if you im-
Clear Main Video Track Playlist When selected, ported QuickTime video without its associated au-
all existing video clips in the currently-selected dio.
playlist on the main video track will be removed
To import audio from a QuickTime video clip:
from the track before Pro Tools imports video into
the session. No other playlists, video tracks, or 1 Right-click on a QuickTime video clip in a
video clips will be affected. (This option is only video track or in the Clip list.
enabled if the main video track is selected as the 2 Choose Import Audio From Movie.
Destination option.)
3 In the resulting dialog, specify the location
where you want to save the audio and click
Open.
The Clip List menu provides commands that let • Selecting within video frame boundaries (see
you show or hide video clips in the Clip List. “Selecting within Video Frame Boundaries” on
page 1193)
To show or hide video clips in the Clip List: • Selecting and editing across multiple tracks (see
1 In the Edit window, click the Clip List menu, “Selecting and Editing Across Multiple Audio
and choose Show. and Video Tracks” on page 1192)
2 Select the Video option to show or hide video • Link or unlink track and Edit selections
clips. • Auto-scroll video tracks
• Loop playback
• Video Universe window (see “Browsing Video
in the Video Universe Window” on page 1196)
• Nudging (quantized to frame boundaries) • Waveform Repair with the Pencil tool
Managing Clips
• Insert space (see “Using the Insert Silence Com-
mand to Insert Space in Video Tracks” on
page 1193)
• Compact Selected (nothing happens to the
video, and at least one audio track must be se-
lected)
• All naming and displaying of clip commands
Pro Tools does not let you select, play back, or edit To insert space into a video track:
a partial video frame. The following rules apply
1 Make a selection in a track or tracks. The length
when selecting or editing video:
of the selection determines the duration of the
• When you make a selection in a video track, the space inserted.
selection boundaries follow the current Grid set-
2 Choose Edit > Insert Silence.
ting but round to the nearest video frame bound-
ary, as follows:
• If the selection includes more than half of a
video frame, the full video frame is included
Renaming Video Disk Files
within the selection. When renaming audio clips in either the Timeline
• If the selection includes less than half of a or the Clip List, you have the option of also renam-
video frame, that video frame is not included ing the audio files on disk. However, this does not
in a video selection. apply to video files on disk.
• When you paste a selection containing video to a To rename video files on disk, you must rename
video track, the insertion point automatically them in a Workspace browser or in Windows Ex-
aligns with the closest video frame boundary. plorer or Mac Finder.
When you paste audio and video simultane- Changes made in the operating system will
ously, this video frame re-alignment may re- not automatically update the information
sult in the audio not being positioned displayed in the Workspace browser.
exactly where you placed it. A warning
dialog displays when this occurs.
Video Clip Groups
Using the Insert Silence (Pro Tools HD Only)
Command to Insert Space in
Video Tracks You can include video clips within clip groups for
the following operations:
The Insert Silence command lets you make a selec-
tion on a track (or tracks) and insert precisely that • Creating clip groups
amount of space. You can also select across video • Creating multitrack clip groups (including audio
and audio tracks, and use the Insert Silence com- tracks)
mand to insert audio silence and space simultane-
• Editing clip groups
ously.
• Creating fades and crossfades for audio files in
clip groups
• Importing and exporting clip group files
For information on enabling (or disabling) 3 With the Selector tool, click in the audio track
video scrubbing with video hardware, see where you want playback to begin. To shuttle on
“Enable Hardware During Scrub” on two tracks, Shift-click in a second audio track.
page 1176.
4 Press the Control (Mac) or Start key (Windows)
To scrub a video track: and a number on the numeric keypad: 0–9 (9 is
fastest, 5 is normal speed, and 0 stops shuttling).
1 Select the Scrubber tool.
Once Shuttle Lock mode is initiated, Fast Forward
2 Click in the video track and drag the Scrubber.
and Rewind become highlighted in the Transport
To scrub with finer precision, press the Com- window.
mand key while scrubbing. 5 Press additional keys to change the playback
speed, or press Plus (+) or Minus (–) to switch
the playback direction (plus for forward, minus
for backward).
To exit Shuttle Lock mode, do one of the following: To increase or decrease the size of video frames in
the Video Universe window:
Click Stop in the Transport.
Right-click (Windows or Mac) or Control-click
Press the Spacebar. (Mac) anywhere in the Universe, and select In-
crease or Decrease.
1 Move the cursor over the top half of any video 1 Move the cursor over the bottom half of any
frame until it becomes a zoom tool. video frame until it becomes a selector tool.
2 Do one of the following: 2 Do one of the following:
• To move the beginning of a video clip to the far • To place the cursor at the beginning of a video
left of the Timeline while maintaining the cur- clip, click the video frame representing the video
rent zoom resolution in the Edit window, click clip.
the video frame representing the clip once. • To select an entire video clip from start to end,
• To zoom in on a video clip so that it fills the en- double-click the video frame representing that
tire Edit window, double-click the video frame clip.
representing the clip. • To select one or more entire clips from start to
• To zoom a range of selected clips so that they fill end, drag the video frames representing the
the Edit window, drag on the video frames that video clips.
represent the clips.
If the Edit window does not display the
selected video clips, it will automatically
Selecting Ranges in the Video scroll to show the beginning of the selection.
Universe
When you move the cursor over the bottom half of Selecting Zoom Resolutions and
a video frame in the Video Universe, it displays Ranges Simultaneously in the
and behaves as a selector tool. This tool lets you Video Universe
select ranges within one or more video clips in the
When you move the cursor over a video frame in
Edit window.
the Video Universe while pressing Option (Mac)
or Alt (Windows), the cursor appears as a selector
tool. This tool lets you zoom and select ranges si-
multaneously.
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 57, The following is required for each Pro Tools HD
“Pro Tools Video Satellite” and system on the network:
Chapter 58, “Avid Video Satellite.” • Avid-qualified computer
From each linked Pro Tools HD system, Satellite • Pro Tools | HD 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
Avid 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.
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 DAE 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 1208. 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 1209. 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 satellite
dialog box is open. falls before the start time of the administrator
Pro Tools session, type a positive timecode
Spotting Video to the Pro Tools value into the Satellite Offset field.
Timeline • If the start time of the video clip in video satellite
falls after the start time of the administrator
Once a session is created (or an existing session
Pro Tools session, type a negative timecode
opened) on the satellite Pro Tools system, and the
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
You can control the amount of offset by changing value that matches the amount of delay in the
the Timecode Offset parameters on the Pro Tools monitors. You may need to try a few different
Video Satellite system. settings.
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 the
Pro Tools session start time to be earlier.
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 the
then double-click the General setting. Satellite Offset field.
2 Type in the desired starting timecode in the De-
fault Starting TC field. Compensating for Monitor-
Induced Output Delay
To change the start time of an existing sequence in
Media Composer:
Many monitors add a delay to the video output of
one or more frames. You can compensate for this
1 In Media Composer, open the bin containing delay by advancing the video output by the neces-
the existing sequence. sary number of frames.
2 If needed, re-size the bin window so that you
can see the Start column of the bin window. To set the number of frames to offset video output:
1 In Media Composer, choose Settings > Video
3 In the Start column for the sequence for which
Satellite Settings.
you want to set a new start time, type the new
start time using semi-colons (for Drop Frame) 2 In the Video Satellite Offset field, type a posi-
or colons (for Non-Drop Frame), and press En- tive value that matches the amount of delay in
ter. the monitors. You may need to try a few differ-
ent settings.
4 Click OK to confirm.
To link or unlink other satellite systems: 3 The softkeys corresponding with each machine
can then be pressed to link or unlink that ma-
Click the corresponding Satellite Link button in
chine.
the Transport window.
Video Satellite and EUCON Control and
To link or unlink the video satellite system from
Work Surfaces
within Media Composer, do one of the following:
Click the Satellite Link button to change it to a A selection of system linking controls have been
linked (green) or unlinked (grey) state. EUCONized. For more information on controlling
Video Satellite functions from EUCON devices,
Press Shift-Alt-L (Windows) to toggle the link see the Pro Tools EUCON Guide.
state between linked and unlinked.
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 ref-
erence that the SYNC is locked to matches that
of the VTR.
Source Record
Track Track Record Enable Preview
button button
Index 1236
Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) (Mac) 50, 135 clips in the Clip List 70, 265
Audio Pull Up and Pull Down 1132, 1224 fades 611
Audio Pull Up/Down setting 1225 in browsers 294
Audio Pull-Up and Edit Play Rate 1225 MIDI notes 678
audio signal paths 62 pre/post-roll 426
Audio Track RecordLock option 104, 501 programs 696
audio tracks 7 selection start and end points 426
5.1 format 1086 takes 474
and Output format 1096 Auto Accept Adjust Bounds option 107
and surround sessions 1094 Auto Backup option 103
bouncing to disk 1073 Auto button (plug-ins) 994
channel strips 199 Auto buttons
creating a tempo map for 784 upload, download, and download all shared
disabling Elastic Audio 865 tracks 332
enabling Elastic Audio 864 Auto Input Monitoring mode 456
loop recording 473 Auto Insert Default Plug-Ins preference 109
placing audio in multichannel tracks 1095 Auto Match Pull Factors 1133
punch recording 469 Auto Rename Clip List command 269
recording multiple 463 auto-created clips 518
signal flow 935 hiding 269
track controls 203 renaming 267
Waveform View 519 AutoFades 620
Audio Zoom In button 541 AutoGlide mode 1115
Audio Zoom Out button 541 AutoGlide Time preference 111, 1115
AudioSuite menu 195 AutoJoin
AudioSuite plug-ins 847, 848, 854, 986 command 1018
Bypass button 852 indicator 1019
Clip by Clip mode 850 AutoMatch
Clip List command 848 all controls 1032
Create Continuous File command 850 button 1032
Create Individual Files command 849 indicators 1026
Default Handle Length preferences 116 individual automation types 1032
Entire Selection mode 850 individual controls 1032
File Mode selector 849 AutoMatch Time preference 111, 1022
Handle Length setting 853 Automatic Ownership 337
multichannel processing 853 Automatically Copy Files on Import option 117, 354,
Overwrite File command 849 364
Playlist command 848 Automatically Create Click Track in New Sessions
Preview 852 option 119
Preview Volume 852 Automatically Find and Relink 400
Render button 853 automating
Reverse button 853 plug-ins 1029, 1030, 1031
Selection Reference selector 848 sends 1028
Target button 851 switched controls 1028
Use in Playlist button 849 VCA Masters 1067
using 854 automation 1014
Whole File button 853 and multichannel pan 1119
AudioSuite window 847 and multiple output assignments 1096
Audition Paths selector 69 breakpoints 1042
auditioning capturing and applying elsewhere 1061, 1064
Index 1240
sorting 261 Conform to Tempo 770
Clip List Keyboard Focus 264 conforming with Beat Detective 660
Clip List menu 1146 consolidating 605
Auto Rename command 269 copying 531
Clear command 270 creating 585
Compact command 605 crossfading between 619
Export Clip Definitions command 358 cutting 531
Export Selected As Files command 388 default names 448
Find command 262 displaying names 527
Rename command 267 displaying times 527
Select options 265 dragging from Clip List 811
Selected Unused command 270 dragging to multichannel tracks 595
Show Auto-Created option 269 duplicating 830
Sort By options 261 Edit-locking 825
Time Stamp Selected command 819 exporting as audio files 356
Timeline Drop Order option 812 extending selections to include 570
Clip List Selection Follows Edit Selection option finding 262
107, 260, 566 fitting to an Edit selection 606
Clip menu 195 gain 596
Bring to Front command 770 healing separations 588
Capture command 585 hiding auto-created 269
Identify Sync Point command 1147 inserting silence into 829
Lock command 825 locking 825
Mute/Unmute command 826 looping 833
Quantize to Grid command 594 managing 267
Remove Sync Point command 823 MIDI 488
Send to Back command 770 moving clips with fades 623
Ungroup All Clips command 839 moving in Grid mode 820
Ungroup Clips command 839 multichannel 519
Unlock command 825 muting 826
Unloop Clips command 835 nudging 592
Clip Name nudging clips with fades 623
Right-click menu 196, 270 offline 519
View option 527 Original Time Stamp 819
Clip Time View option 527 pasting 532
Clip Transparency view 815 placing at Edit insertion point 813
Clip Views placing in tracks 811
Transparency 815 quantizing 594, 910
clip-based gain 379, 596 removing pitch shift (Elastic Audio) 886
clipping 438 removing silence from 827
clips 9, 221, 519 removing unused 270
aligning to clip start points 814 removing warp (Elastic Audio) 879
auto-created 518 renaming in the Clip List 267
automation 523 renaming on a track 526
auto-naming options 269 repeating 831
auto-spotting 1145 replacing 821
bringing to front 770 Select options 265
capturing 585 selecting 555, 566
clearing 532 selecting all in a track 566
clearing Real-Time Properties 706 sending to back 770
Index 1242
editing 690 Fades dialog 611
editing with Smart Tool 558 in batches 621
inserting 690 linear 615
Controller lanes 689, 1024 overlap 616
in MIDI Editor windows 724 Overlapping Waveforms view 610
in the Edit window 1024 pre/post 620
Controllers folder (controller personalities) 981 removing 619
Conversion Quality option 345, 1190 TrackPunch 500
Convert Clip Gain to Volume Automation command trimming 620
603 Current Feet+Frames command 1131
Convert Plug-In selector 994 Current Meter indicator 181, 787
Convert Volume to Clip Gain command 603 current tempo 181, 765
Convert WAV files to AES31/BroadcastWave Current Time display 1126
option 117, 354, 402 Current Timecode Position command 1131
converting sessions 157 Custom FF/REW Speed preference 102
Copy Clip Gain command 602 Custom Note Duration
Copy command 531 Follow Grid 672
Copy From Source Media 391 custom session templates 163
Copy from Source Media (Video) 366, 376 Custom Shuttle Lock Speed preference 102, 560
Copy Settings command 998 Cut Clip Gain command 602
Copy Source Audio Media 376 Cut command 531
Copy Special commands 1047 Cut Special commands 1047
Copy to Send command 1029 All Automation 1047
copying Pan Automation 1047
MIDI notes with the Split command 918 Plug-In Automation 1047
plug-in settings 1000 Cut Time command 789, 792
selections and clips 531 cutting
track automation to sends 1029 automation 1045
track control settings to sends 958 MIDI notes with the Split command 918
Core Audio 6 selections and clips 531
count off 441
Countoff button 181 D
Create Click Track command 440 Dashboard
Create Fades command 619, 620 Show on startup option 146
Create tab 145 Dashboard window 144
creating DAT recorder, recording from 479
clip groups 838 D-Command 980
clips 585 D-Control 980
crossfades 619 default
fade-ins/outs 617 audition path 69
Mac and PC compatible sessions 404 meter 442
Markers and Memory Locations 801 output path 70
settings subfolders 999 path order 72
Crossfade Preference for Pre/Post-Roll option 107, paths 82
616
program change 692
crossfades start time for Media Composer sequences
creating with Smart Tool 557 1229
DestructivePunch 501 tempo 443
equal gain 614 Default (Paths) 82
equal power 614, 615 Default Automatic Naming to English option 100
1243 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Default Clip Color Coding options 101 Delete Track command 219, 230
Default Dynamics preference 109, 991 deleting
Default EQ preference 109, 991 automation 1037, 1045
Default Fade Settings 108 groups 253
Default Format selector 72 Memory Locations 807
Default Handle Length options 116 MIDI Event List items 753
Default Input Gain preference 118 MIDI notes 687
Default Note Duration 672 paths in I/O Setup 85
Default Note On Velocity setting 672 playlists 629
Default Plug-In preference 118 program changes 695
Default Settings, for TC/E plug-in 118 sysex events 697
Default Thru Instrument 483 tracks 219
Default Thru Instrument preference 119 unused clips 270
Default Track Color Coding options 101 Destination Audio Sample Rate 378, 390
Degree of Thinning preference 110 destination folder for plug-in settings 999
delay 1219, 1229 destructive editing 605
MIDI Track Offsets 699 Destructive Record mode 446, 471
Delay (dly) indicator 974 destructive recording 471
Delay After Play Command preference 123 DestructivePunch 507
Delay Before Locking to LTC option 122 crossfades 501
Delay Before Locking to Timecode option 122 Prepare DPE Tracks command 509
Delay Compensation 972 preparing for 509
applying to automatically bypassed tracks 499, DestructivePunch File Length preference 106, 509
976 DigiGroove templates 657
bypassing 975 Digital Cut Tool (Media Composer) 1234
changing track delay 974 DigiTest 46
Delay (dly) indicator 974 Disable “Input” When Disarming Track (In “Stop”)
enabling 972 option 105
exceeding compensation limit 975 discrete signal control 1095
H/W Insert 67 Disk Allocation 454
hardware insert delays 67, 978 and cross-platform sessions 455
MIDI Beat Clock 120 and system volume 455
MIDI Timecode 120 Disk Space window 453
mode 973 Display (Group List) command 250
Time Mode option 112 Display Events as Modified by Real-Time
User Offset (+/–) field 974 Properties option 119, 706
viewing 215, 948 Display Preferences 99
Delay Compensation Status indicator 174 Clip Hold options 115
Delay Compensation Time Mode option 112, 973 Draw Grids in Edit Window option 537
Delay Compensation View 215, 948, 974 Language options 100
Delay Compensation View option 974 Peak Hold options 115
Delay for External Devices options 120 displaying
Delay plug-ins 984 all rulers 759
Delay setting (Real-Time Properties) 704 clip names 527
Delete Active Groups (Group List) command 250, clip times 527
254 file info for audio clips 260
Delete Current Settings File command 998 Meter Ruler 787
Delete Current Settings File command (fades) 617 Original Time Stamps 1146
Delete Fades command 619 Tempo ruler 765
Delete Group command 250, 253 User Time Stamps 1146
Index 1244
dither Dynamic Transport mode 429
and Bounce to Disk 1071 Dynamics plug-ins 984
on Master Faders 1071
resolution and Bounce to Disk 1079 E
divergence Edit commands 530, 531, 532
drawing 1117 edit cursor 420
using 1116 and scrubbing 559
Documentation and Settings setting 104 moving to clip boundaries 572
Double-Clicking a MIDI Clip Opens option 120 placing with the Selector tool 554
Download All New Changes button 332 Edit Groups 252
Download All Shared Tracks button 332 and selections 565
Download command 336 Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle option 102, 559
Download Ruler Changes control 340 Edit insertion point
Download Ruler Changes Right-click menu 340 placing clips at 813
Download Track Changes control 336 trimming clips to 589
Download Track Changes Right-click menu 336 Edit Markers 564
drag and drop and selection length 569
from the Clip List to tracks 812, 813 Edit menu 194
importing audio files 346 Change Edit to Match Timeline command 576
importing MIDI files 360 Change Timeline to Match Edit command 576
Drag and Drop From Desktop Conforms to Session Clear command 532
Tempo options 117, 354 Clear Special commands 1048
Draw Grids in Edit Window option 537 Consolidate command 604
DSP Copy command 531
active and inactive items 15 Copy Special commands (automation) 1047
and inactive inputs and outputs 234 Copy to Send command 1029
and inactive outputs 950 Create Fades command 619, 620
and inactive sends 957 Cut command 531
and no output 950 Cut Special commands 1047
and overall resources 15 Delete Fades command 619
and Send meters 956 Duplicate command 830
DSP usage meters 60 Fade To End command 619
dubber emulation 105, 501 Fade To Start command 619
Duplicate command 830 Fades command 611
Duplicate Group command 250 Heal Separation command 588
Duplicate Track command 220, 230, 1016 Identify Sync Point command 823
duplicating Insert Silence command 829
inserts 992 Paste command 532
MIDI note selections 830 Play Edit Selection command 427
playlists 628 Play Timeline Selection command 427
selections and clips 830 Redo command 528
sends 958 Repeat command 831
Duration Repeat to Fill Selection command 533
Real-Time Properties 703 Select All command 566
durations, for MIDI notes Separate Clip commands 586
editing with Change Duration command 914 Shift command 824
making more legato 916 Strip Silence command 826, 827
making more staccato 916 TCE Edit to Timeline Selection command 606
randomizing 916 Thin All Automation command 1039
Dynamic Plug-In Processing option 49 Thin Automation command 1039
1245 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Trim Automation to All Enabled command Edit window View options 945
1062 Edit Window View selector 945
Trim Automation to Current command 1062 Edit Window Views
Trim Clip End to Fill Selection command 590 Track Collaboration 333
Trim Clip End to Insertion command 589 Edit/Tool Mode Keyboard Lock 562
Trim Clip Start to Fill Selection command 590 editing
Trim Clip Start to Insertion command 589 across multiple tracks 533
Trim Clip to File commands 591 and Edit modes 535
Trim Clip to Fill Selection command 590 automation 1040
Trim Clip to Selection command 589 Bar|Beat Markers 786
Undo command 528 breakpoints 1042
Write Automation commands 1060, 1061 controller events 690
Edit mode buttons 173, 535 during playback 518
Edit modes 535 Edit modes 535
and placing clips 811 Grid mode 537, 538, 539
Grid 537 Grid modes 820
Relative Grid 537 hidden tracks 229
Shuffle 535 Markers 806
Shuffle Lock 536 Memory Locations 806
Slip 536 meter events 788
Spot 536, 1142 MIDI clips 523
Edit Play Rate setting 1224, 1225 MIDI Event List 752
edit playlists 627 MIDI notes 678
Edit Selection Follows Clip List Selection option nondestructively 517
107, 566 nondestructively (audio) 522
Edit Selection indicators 570 nondestructively (MIDI) 526
Edit selections note attributes 686
auditioning with Playhead enabled 427 note durations 914
copied from Timeline selection 576 note velocities 684, 912
copied to Timeline selection 576 program changes 695
making with the Selector tool 555 Shuffle Lock mode 536
sliding in the Ruler 573 Shuffle mode 535
edit smoothing (Beat Detective) 663 Slip mode 536
Edit tools 539 Spot mode 536
Grabber 539, 567 tempo events 766
Pencil 539, 561 Track View 530
Scrubber 539, 559 waveforms 522
Selector 420, 539 Editing Preferences 107
Smart Tool 539 Auto-Name Memory Locations While Playing
Trim 539, 549 option 802
Zoomer 539, 540 Auto-Name Separated Clips option 587
Edit window 171, 172 Clip List Selection Follows Edit Selection
All View option 945 option 260, 566
half-screen 425 Conversion Quality option 345
None Views option 945 Crossfade Preference for Pre/Post-Roll option
scrolling from the Ruler 577 107, 616
Universe view 579 Edit Selection Follows Clip List Selection
View options 172 option 566
Edit Window Default Length preference 99, 177 QuickPunch Crossfade Length preference 500
Edit Window Follows Bank Selection option 110
Index 1246
Separate Clip Operates On All Related Takes transpose 885
option 587 Varispeed plug-in 872
Edit-locking clips 825 Warp indicator 878
Effect Bypass button 994 Warp markers 873
Elastic Audio 859 Warp view 866, 873
Accordion Warp 876 warped clips 878
adding Event markers 880 workflows 859, 860
analysis 867 X-Form plug-in 872
analysis in Workspace 293 Elastic Audio Plug-In Selector 866
Analysis view 866, 880 Elastic Audio preferences 118
AudioSuite processing 886 Elastic Audio-enabled tracks 864
batch analysis 293 Elastic Properties window 882
Clipping indicator 869 Embed Eleven Setting From selector 73
committing 865 embedded media 20
Conform to Tempo 770 Emoticon and Notations pane 324
creating new tracks 865 Enable 121
deleting Event markers 881 Enable “Track Notes” Dialog option 121
disabling 865 Enable Dub Window option 127
Edit Groups 879 Enable Elastic Audio on New Tracks preference 118
enabling on tracks 864 Enable GPU option 104
event confidence 867 Enable Hardware During Scrub option 104
Event markers 873 Enable Session File Auto Backup option 103
Individual Range Warp 878 Enable SYNC Peripheral option 126
Monophonic plug-in 871 enabling
moving clips between tracks 887 Auto Backup option 103
moving Event markers 880 automation 1035
out of range processing 879 groups 256
pitch shift 885 MIDI input devices 482
Plug-In selector in browsers 296 plug-in automation 997
plug-ins 869 End To Insertion command 589
Polyphonic plug-in 870 Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility option 159, 404
preview at session tempo 298 Enforce Media Composer Compatibility option 388
processing types 868 EQ plug-ins 984
promoting Event markers 881 equal gain crossfades 614
properties 882 equal power crossfades 614, 615
quantizing 909 error suppression 48
Range Warp 877 Ethernet Controllers 130
removing pitch shift 886 EUCON 131, 980, 1014
removing warp 879 Event Edit Area 686
Rendered files 869 Event menu 195
regenerating 301, 400 All MIDI Notes Off command 700
Rhythmic plug-in 871 Beat Detective command 647
TCE algorithms 869 Change Meter command 787
Telescoping Warp 875 Event commands 898
tempo detection 867 Identify Beat command 784
Tempo Event–generated Warp markers 875 MIDI commands 898
tempo-based warping 769 MIDI Event List 747
track controls 866 MIDI Track Offsets command 699
track views 866 Remove Duplicate Notes command 700
tracks 864 Renumber Bars command 794
Index 1252
plug-in controls 1010 M
stereo panners 962, 1113 Mac sessions
local (current session) preferences 123 compatibility with Windows 404
Local Control 483 Machine Chases Memory Location option 121, 1141
locating Machine Control (Peripherals dialog) 127
the playback cursor 420 Machine Cues Intelligently option 122
with Fast Forward/Rewind 421 Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub option 121,
with Location indicators 577 1141
Location indicators 576, 577 Machine Track Arming window 1142
locations MachineControl option 44
dragging MIDI notes 680 Main Counters 760
quantizing MIDI notes 903 main paths 62
randomizing MIDI notes 902, 904 Main Time Scale 759, 760, 1132
Locators to Import 379 Main Timebase ruler 759
Lock Clip command 825 Make (Track) Inactive command 229, 243
AudioSuite rendering 854 managing clips 267
Lock Settings File command 999 Manual Downloads Only option 336
Locked indicator 1128 Manual Ownership 337
Locked Track command 229 Manual Tempo mode 181, 444
Loop Playback option 429 Manual Uploads Only option 335
and Touch mode 1027 Manually Find and Relink 400
loop points 464 mapping paths in I/O Setup 86
Timeline Selection Markers 465 Markers 379, 803
Loop Record mode 446, 473 creating 801, 802
loop recording deleting 807
and pre/post-roll 473 editing 806
audio 473 exporting 361
MIDI 491 extending selections to 570
multiple takes (MIDI) 492 importing 358, 370
Loop Trim tool 552 moving 807
looped clips 833 sorting 809
copying and pasting automation 837 tick-based and sample-based 804
creating 834 viewing options 808
editing 835 Markers ruler 759, 804
selecting 835 Marketplace menu 185
trimming with Loop Trim tool 553, 554 Master Faders 937
unlooping 835 as a stereo master volume control 938
looping as master send level control 972
clips 833 channel strips 200
playback 429 inactive 937
selections 429 inserts 984
loops meters pre/post fader 937
creating with the Loop Trim tool 552 multichannel 1098
Loop Trim tool 552 post-fader inserts 937
recording with reverb or delay 1073 signal flow 937
Low Latency Monitoring track controls 204
Bounce to Disk 460 trimming the input to a submix 938
Low Latency Monitoring option 459 Master Link button 995
Low Latency Monitoring path 72 in multi-mono plug-ins 1099
LTC Output Level setting 126 Master View for tracks 224, 1046
Index 1254
created on barlines 488 quantizing 905
guidelines for editing 523 scrolling 525
MIDI controller devices 481 selecting 678
Local Control 483 splitting 918
MIDI controller events transposing 680, 916
chasing 698 trimming start/end points 681
MIDI Controllers 129 MIDI Operations window 898
MIDI Editor MIDI Output selector 207, 238
Automation lanes 724 Instrument track 239
Controller lanes 724 MIDI Preferences 119
editing MIDI notes 719 Global MIDI Playback Offset preference 698
Notation view 722 Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing
Superimposed Notes View 717 Controller Data option 120, 690, 1040
Velocity lane 724 MIDI Preferences page 119
MIDI Editor view (in the Edit window) 182 MIDI program changes
MIDI Editor windows 707 chasing 698
MIDI Event List 747 MIDI Real-Time Properties 700
deleting events 753 on tracks and clips 704
editing events 752 settings 702
inserting events 750 MIDI recording 481
navigating in 749 canceling takes 489
Options menu 754 enabling input devices 482
selecting events 752 Input Filter 484
View Filter 748 Merge/Replace mode 485
MIDI File Format pop-up menu 360 monitoring with MIDI Thru 483
MIDI files (see Standard MIDI Files) quantizing on input 484, 920
MIDI Input selector 207, 237 System Exclusive data 494
Instrument track 239 undoing a take 489
MIDI Machine Control (MMC) 1138 Wait for Note 484
configuring in Pro Tools 1139, 1140 MIDI Replace mode 181, 447, 485
controlling external devices with 1138 MIDI Setup commands
Master settings 128 Input Devices command 482
Slave settings 128 Input Filter command 484
MIDI Merge mode 181, 447, 485 MIDI Beat Clock command 433
MIDI meter 209 MIDI Studio Setup (MSS) (Windows) 50, 138, 693
MIDI Note Color Shows Velocity option 101 MIDI Thru command 483
MIDI Note Display options 120 MIDI Timecode (MTC)
MIDI notes 678 Idle MTC Output 126
attributes 686 MIDI Track Offsets command 699
chasing 697 MIDI tracks
deleting 687 and MIDI offsets 698
duplicating selected 830 assigning to multiple channels 486
editing 678 channel strips 201
durations 914 Clips View 221, 222, 523
pitch 680 default program change 692
velocities 684, 912 input 237
inserting 676 loop recording 491
lengths in ticks 761 note chasing 697
mini-keyboard 678 Notes View 221, 222, 525
moving 680 output 238
Index 1256
N Numeric Keypad modes 26, 103
Narrow Mix View option 214 Classic 26, 103
navigating Workspace browsers 275 Shuttle 27, 103, 561
New Group (Group List) command 250 Transport 27, 103
New Memory Location dialog 467 Use Separate Play and Stop Keys 103
New Paths dialog 79
New Session command 95 O
New Subpath dialog 80 Object Grabber tool 556, 567, 568
New Track command 215, 229 Object Select in Edit Window command 270
New Track Default Output selector 70 Object selections 567
New Tracks Are Shared option 121 offline
New Tracks Default To Tick Timebase option 107, clips 519
356 files, selecting in Workspace 281
Next Setting button (plug-ins) 993 Offline (faster-than-real-time) Bounce 1081
Nitris DX 1174 offset
No Output option 950 setting for video satellite start time 1219
no scrolling during playback 424 OMF 382
noncontiguous selections 567 embedded media 20
nondestructive editing (audio) 522 exporting 388
nondestructive editing (MIDI) 526 import translation settings 379
Nondestructive Record mode 445 importing 371
nondestructive recording 471 linked media 21
recording to a new playlist 472 media data 17
with QuickPunch 499 metadata 18, 1152
Non-Linear Transport Error Suppression option 122 opening in Pro Tools 372
non-real-time plug-ins 847 publishing options 392
Normal Zoom mode 542, 726 Online button 178
Notation Display Track settings 736 online help 1222
Notation view 722 Online options 106
Note Chasing option 697 online recording 1137
Note Selector tool 679 on-the-fly punch recording
notes (see MIDI notes) QuickPunch 447, 502
Notes View 221, 222, 525 Open Latest Auto-Backup 167
Notifications 316 Open Session command 153
Nudge value 592 Open Unresourced DSP Plug-Ins as Native
trimming clips by 591 preference 119
trimming MIDI notes by 681, 682 Opening an AAF sequence in Pro Tools 372
nudging 591 Opening an OMF sequence in Pro Tools 372
by next Nudge value 593 opening plug-in windows 995
clip contents 593 Operation Preferences 102
clips with fades 623 Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind option 421
fades 622 Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length preference 621
multiple clips 592 Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle option 559
selection range 569 Link Record and Play Faders option 458
selection start/end points 569 Machine Chases Memory Location option 1141
selections and clips 592 Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub option
setting the Nudge value 592 1141
Number of Voices setting 49 Record Online option 1137
numeric entry Use F11 for Wait for Note 485
shortcuts 570 Operation/Destination Track pop-up menus 367
1257 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Operations menu grids 1109
Calibration Mode command 439 guidelines 1102, 1103
Link Timeline and Edit Selection option 563 linked stereo 962, 1113
Link Track and Edit Selection 219, 565 multichannel automation playlists 1119
Low Latency Monitoring option 459 take over in grid 1113
Options menu 195 trajectory 1115
Auto-Spot Clips command 1145 Use Absolute Pan Linking option 109
Delay Compensation option 973 X/Y mode 1113
Destructive Record mode 471 Parabolic command (Tempo Operations) 780
Link Track and Edit Selection option 219, 565 Participant menu 323
Loop Playback option 429 pass-through point 1017
Loop Record mode 473 Paste command 532
MIDI Thru command 483 Paste Settings command 998
Mirror MIDI Editing command 673 Paste Special commands (automation) 1047
Pre/Post Roll option 469 pasting
Pre-Fader Metering option 209 automation 1048
Scrolling options 424 multiple data types 534
Solo Latch options 241 plug-in settings 1000
Transport Online command 1136 selections and clips 532
Organize Plug-In Menus By option 99, 990 to multiple tracks 534
Original Time Stamp 819, 1146 with Repeat to Fill Selection command 533
Other Playlists menu 628 Patch Select button 692
Output Meter Path selector 70 Path Order selector 72
Output Options paths 62
Sample Rate 1079 active and inactive 85
Output Path selector 207, 232 audition 69
Output Window button 1110 creating 78
Output windows 949 creating multichannel 1090
outputs customizing 82
assigning multiple outputs 949 default mono and stereo 82
default 5.1 paths and sub-paths 1089 default order 72
format and tracks 1096 default output 70
to multichannel paths 1097 deleting 85
overlap crossfades 616 editing 82
overlapping paths 87 for surround 1100
Ownership Pending 338 last used 95
Ownership Requested 338 main 62
mapping 86
P multichannel example 86
P (Playback Only volumes) 276 overlapping 87
Page Scrolling option 424, 713, 732 reordering 84
Pan automation 1042 selecting 84
Pan Depth 944 sub-path surround examples 1103
Pan indicator 207 sub-paths 62
Pan Odd Tracks Left/Even Tracks Right 379 Peak Hold options 115, 210
Pan slider 208 Peak indicator 207
panning Peak view 520
3-knob 1114 PEC/Direct Style Input Monitoring option 105
automation and groups 1044 Pencil tool 539, 561, 674
fine-adjust mode 1114 as Eraser 687
Index 1258
drawing automation 1039 playback cursor 419
editing breakpoints 1041 Playback Cursor locator 420
editing clip gain 600 Playback Engine 46
editing Tempo 772 Cache Size 50
Free Hand 675 Hardware Buffer Size 48
inserting MIDI notes 676 Host Engine 48
Line 675, 772 Number of Voices 49
Random 675 Sample Rate 50
repairing waveforms with 561 Playback Engine setting 47
resolution for inserted controller events 690 Playhead 425, 713
selecting the Pencil tool shape 674 and Edit selections 427
shapes 674, 1039 and Timeline selections 427
Square 675 moving to clip boundaries 428
Triangle 675 playing
Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Controller and making selections 567
Data option 120, 690, 1040 at half-speed 428
pending tasks 311 audio 417
Performance Volume 273 Edit selections with Playhead enabled 427
Peripherals from a track point 421
Ethernet controllers 130 MIDI 418
Machine Control 127 selections 425
MIDI Controllers 129 Timeline selections with Playhead enabled 427
PRE 131 tracks 417, 462
Satellites 132 Playlist lanes 632
Synchronization 125 Playlist selector 10, 627
VENUE 133 playlists 10, 627
Peripherals dialog 125, 481 adding 628
Peripherals list 54, 55 and groups 629
personalities 981 and multichannel tracks 1044
PFL (Pre Fader Listen) 240 and nondestructive MIDI editing 526
pitch (MIDI notes) assigning 628
transposing 680 automation playlists 627, 1015, 1023
Pitch Memory Enabled option 126 auto-naming 627
pitch shifting 885 changing timebase of 763
pitch, for MIDI notes deleting 629
transposing with Transpose command 916 duplicating 628
Play button 178 edit playlists 627
Play Edit Selection command 426, 427 Playlist selector 627
Play MIDI Notes When Editing option 671 recalling 628
Play Start Follows Timeline Selection option 102 recording to new 472
Play Start Latency setting 104 renaming 629
Play Start Marker Follows Timeline Selection option setting pre/post-roll in 468
431 Playlists view 632
Play Timeline Selection command 426, 427 plug-in controls
playback adjusting 996
audio 417 linking 1010
MIDI 418 Plug-In Controls Default to Auto-Enabled option 110
no scrolling 424 plug-in inserts 984
starting 417 plug-in maps 1003
stopping 417 creating 1005
Index 1260
Pro Tools project
Audio Pull Up and Pull Down 1224 chat controls 317
Check For Updates 195 save as a session 162
Clock Reference setting 1224 Project Media Cache 104
Drop Frame setting 1224 project messages
file management 399 filtering 323
Help 195 Project Notifications 319
Knowledge Base 195 project ownership 329
link controls 1230 Project Type (Media Composer) 1224
displaying 1231 projects 13, 149, 317
linking and unlinking systems 1231 deleting 166
main menus 194 leaving 320
Non-Drop Frame setting 1224 renaming 165
session file 148 restore from cloud 167
session file icon 7 sharing 327
Session Start setting 1224 Projects list 319
systems 35 pinning items 324
Timecode Rate setting 1224 unpinning items 324
Video Format setting 1224 Projects tab 146
Video Satellite 1222 pull up and pull down 1132, 1136
Video Satellite settings 1224 pulses-per-frame
video track 1178 Bi-Phase/Tach 127
Web browsers 184 Punch Capture button 1065
Pro Tools and Avid terms 19 Punch In Frame Offset preference 123
Pro Tools HD Punch Out Frame Offset preference 123
capabilities with HD Native hardware 38 punch points 464
capabilities with HDX hardware 36 Timeline Selection Markers 465
Pro Tools Help command 186 Punch Preview button 1064
Pro Tools Knowledge Base command 186 punch recording
Pro Tools menu and monitoring 470
Quit command (Mac) 167 and pre/post-roll 469
Pro Tools Online browser 185 audio 469
Pro Tools software capabilities 35 MIDI 489
Pro Tools systems MIDI tracks 490
QuickPunch 498
Process Mode selector 850 Q
processing Quantize
AudioSuite 853 audio clips 901, 910
multichannel for AudioSuite 853 Elastic Audio events 901, 909
processing bandwidth 58 quantizing clips to grid 594
Processing Preferences 116 Real-Time Properties 702
Program Change dialog 693, 694 Quantize Clips to Grid command 820
program changes 692 Quantize command 898, 899
and bank select 692 Quantize Edits to Frame Boundaries option 389
auditioning 696 Quantize to Grid command 594
default, for MIDI tracks 692 Quantize window 902
deleting 695 quantizing
editing 695 MIDI notes 901, 905
inserting 695 MIDI on input 484, 920
moving 695 QuickPunch 447, 498, 502
1261 Pro Tools Reference Guide
clip/take numbering 500 and MIDI 447
crossfades 500 Destructive Record mode 446
Pro Tools HD systems 498 Loop Record mode 446
QuickPunch Crossfade Length preference 107, 500 Nondestructive Record mode 445
QuickTime file formats 1077 QuickPunch 447
QuickTime movies Record Online at Insertion/Selection option 106
importing audio from 1189 Record Online at Timecode (or ADAT) Lock option
optimizing for playback 1199 106
requirements 1175 Record Online option 1137
sync 1199 Record Safe mode 452
Quit command (Mac) 167 recording 461
a mono audio track 461
R a stereo audio track 461
R (Record and Playback volumes) 276 a submix to disk 1072
randomizing additional takes 470
note durations 916 at half-speed 480
note locations 902 bouncing to disk 1073
Read automation mode 1017 canceling takes 463
Read Trim automation mode 1020 destructively 471
real-time plug-ins 984 from a digital source 478
Real-Time Properties from Record Pause mode 464
clearing 706 Instrument tracks 486
clip-based 705 keyboard shortcuts 463
Delay 704 Loop Record 473
Display Events as Modified by Real-Time MIDI clips 488
Properties option 119 MIDI tracks 486
Duration 703 multichannel tracks 461
enabling 702 multiple audio tracks 463
in the Edit window 706 nondestructively 471
in the MIDI Event List 706 online 1137
on tracks and clips 704 QuickPunch mode 502
Quantize 702 record enabling tracks 450
settings 702 status LED 504
track-based 705 System Exclusive data 494
Transpose 704 to a new playlist 472
Velocity 704 to the system volume 455
View 700 undoing a take 463
viewing 700 with a count off 441
writing to clips 705 with Round Robin Allocation 454
writing to tracks 705 with the click 440
Real-Time Properties View 700, 947 Rectified view 521
Real-Time Properties window 701 ReCycle 345
Rear Divergence 1116 redefining
Recalculate Waveform Overviews command 270 Feet+Frames position 1131
Recall Memory Location Selection at Original Track timecode position 1131
option 107 Redo command 528
Recent tab 145 Ref Present indicator 1128
Record button (Transport) 179 Refer to Source Audio Media Where Possible 375
Record Enable button 450, 504 Refer To Source Media 391
record modes 445 refresh rate 1221
Index 1262
Regenerate Missing Rendered Files 400 Root Settings folder 617, 998, 999
Regroup Clip command 839 Round Robin Allocation 454
related takes Ruler View options 759
and Separate Clip command 587 Bars|Beats Time Scale 757
Relative Grid mode 537, 820 Feet+Frames Time Scale 758
relinking Minutes:Seconds Time Scale 758
Find Links 304 Samples Time Scale 758
Linking Options 304 Timecode Time Scale 758
Remote Mode options 122 Ruler View selector 759
Remove Duplicate Notes command 700 rulers
Remove Local Cache 166 changing display order 759
Remove Sync Point command 823 Conductor rulers 758
removing displaying all 759
crossfades 619 pull up and pull down 1136
plug-ins from tracks 988 scrolling in 577
sends 952 Timebase rulers 757
Rename command (Clip List) 267, 270 zooming in 543
Rename Track command 229
Renamed Audio Files S
save copy in 401 safing automation 1023
renaming Sample Offset (Sync Offset) 1129
auto-created clips 267 Sample Rate Conversion options 367, 378, 390
clips in the Clip List 267 Sample Rate Conversion Quality 118, 345, 355,
clips on tracks 526 378, 390, 1190
Memory Locations 806 Sample Rate Convert Audio 378
playlists 629 Sample Rate setting 1079
Render Clip Gain command 604 Hardware Setup dialog 53
Rendered File Bit Depth options 118, 893 Playback Engine dialog 50
Rendered Files folder 149, 869 sample-based timing 761, 804
Renumber Bars command 794 Samples Time Scale 758
Repeat command 831 Satellite Link
Repeat to Fill Selection command 533 option 132
repeating selections and clips 831 preferences 123
Replace Clip command 270, 821 Satellites 132
and multichannel tracks 821 Save As command 156
Replace Clip dialog 822 Save command 156
Replace mode (see MIDI Replace mode) Save Copy In command 157, 405
Reserve Voices For Preview In Context option 102, saving a copy of a session 157
298
saving Fades settings
Reset Bi-Phase button 127 Save Settings As command 617
Restore Performance command 898, 911 Save Settings command 617
rests (Score Editor) 742 saving plug-in settings 1000
Return to Zero button 178 Save fade settings to command 617
Reveal in Explorer command (Windows) 270 Save Plug-In Settings To command 999
Reveal in Finder command (Mac) 270 Save Settings As command 998
Revert to Saved command 156 Save Settings command 998
Rewind 421 saving sessions with a new name 156
Rewind button 178 Scale command (Tempo Operations) 782
REX files 345 scaling note velocities 685, 913
importing 352 Score Editor
1263 Pro Tools Reference Guide
chord symbols and diagrams 744 Select Unused Clips command 270
editing in 739 Select/Split Notes command 898, 918, 919
exporting a score 746 Split notes action 919
opening 726 selecting
page controls 734 a pitch range of notes 919
printing 746 across all tracks 571
rests 742 across multiple tracks 571
zoom controls 735 clips 566
Score Setup window 737 during playback 567
Scroll Into View command 219, 229 in MIDI Event List 752
Scroll to Track Banks Controllers option 110 items in browsers 286
Scroll To Track command 218, 578 MIDI notes 678
scroll wheel noncontiguous clips 567
and MIDI track Note display 525, 548 notes in a chord 920
scrolling a Pro Tools window 577 track material 565
zooming in the Edit window 548 with Edit Selection indicators 570
zooming in the Edit windows 548 with Scrubber 573
scrolling selecting tracks for AudioSuite processing 855
a track into view 219 Selection Changes Alternate Playlists option 763
in the ruler 577 Selection commands
MIDI Notes View 525 Play Edit Selection 426
Mix and Edit windows to tracks 578 Play Timeline 426
Notes View up or down 548 Selection Memory Location 804
Pro Tools window vertically or horizontally 577 moving stored selection 806
Scrolling options 424 selections
After Playback 424 across multiple tracks 566, 571
Center Playhead 425 and Bounce to Disk 1074
Continuous Scrolling During Playback 424 and Edit Groups 565
None 424 and hidden tracks 565
Page 424, 713, 732 and Timeline Selection Markers 565
Scrub Trim tool 551 auditioning start and end points 426
Scrubber tool 539, 559 changing length 569
in Shuttle mode 560 clearing 532
selecting with 573 consolidating 605
scrubbing 559 copying 531
a single audio track 559 cutting 531
and edit cursor 559 duplicating 830
on two audio tracks 559 during playback 567
playback speed and direction 559 extending 570, 775
resolution 559 extending to the Meter Ruler 788
video tracks 1195 extending to the Tempo ruler 766, 808
with Scrub Trim tool 552 including Conductor rulers 571
with the Selector 559 looping 429
S-Curve command (Tempo Operations) 781 moving to adjacent tracks 572
SDDS surround formats 1087 moving to the next/previous clip 573
Secondary Timecode Ruler 758 non-contiguous 567
Select All command 566 nudging 569, 592
Select Clip List options 265 nudging start/end points 569
Select Parent in Workspace command 270 Object 567
Select Tracks in Group command 250 pasting 532
Index 1264
playing 425 importing 362
removing a track from 572 Session Data Online Status indicator 174
repeating 831 Session Data to Import menu 368
shifting 824 session file 148
storing with Memory Locations 804 Session File Backups folder 149
Selector tool 420, 539, 554 Session Length 1126
making a Timeline selection 555 session parameters 159
making an Edit selection 555 Session Setup
placing the edit cursor 554 Session Length 1126
scrubbing with 559 Session Setup window 1124
selecting an entire clip 555 Session Start setting 1224
selecting an entire track 555 sessions 7
selecting MIDI notes with 678 audio format 1126
Send level 951 backups 103, 149
Send mute 951 bit depth 146, 1125
Send pan 951 closing 165
Send Pans Default to Follow Main Pan option 109 creating for surround mixing 1087
Send to Back command (Clip menu) 770 files 7
Send To Sibelius command 746 frame rate 1126
sends 950 interleaved 148, 1126
adding 951 interleaved multichannel audio files 148
and multichannel mixing 1098 mixed audio formats 147, 159
Assignments View 954 mixed bit depths 159
automating 1028 multi-mono audio files 148
changing default setting 952 opening 153
copying track automation to 1029 opening from a Transfer volume 153
default level 951 sample rate 146, 1125
displaying controls for 956 start frame 1126
for hardware I/O 954 templates 163
for mix busses 954 Set As User Default command 999
labeling 1010 Set Plug-In Default To command 999
mono or stereo 954 Set Record Tracks to Auto Input command 457
multichannel 1098 Set Record Tracks to Input Only command 457
removing 952 Set Servo Lock Bit at Play option 122
view options 954 setting
Sends Default to -INF option 109 punch/loop points 464
Sends View 946 satellite start time offset 1219
Separate Clip commands 586 settings
and multiple tracks 587 choosing a destination for 999
and related takes 587 copying 1000
At Selection 586 creating 1000
At Transients 586 creating subfolders 999
On Grid 586 pasting 1000
Separate Clip Operates On All Related Takes saving 1000
option 107, 587 Settings Preferences command 999
Separate MIDI notes 682 Setup menu 195
Separation Grabber tool 555, 587 Click/Countoff Options dialog 442
session Disk Allocation 454
save as a project 161 I/O Setup 62
session data MIDI Studio 693
Index 1266
trimming clips in 1145 panning grids 1109
spotting settings files 1088
auto-spotting 1145 side center percentage (%) 1118
clips 818, 1142, 1144 using paths 1100
SRC (Sample Rate Conversion) options 367 using sub-paths, examples 1101
Standard MIDI Files 358 Suspend All Groups (Group List) command 250
exporting 360 suspending
importing 358 automation 1035, 1036
Standard VCA Logic for Group Attributes option 111 writing automation 1035
start frame (sessions) 1126 swing 902, 904
start time for Media Composer sequences 1229 Sync Offset 1129
Start To Insertion command 589 SYNC peripherals
Start, End, and Length display 466 generating timecode with 1137
Starting TC Timecode setting resolving with 1122
matching to Session Start setting 1224 sync options 1123
Step Input command 898, 921 Sync Point View option 824
stepped control automation 1042 sync points 1147
stereo interleaved files, exporting 357 for clips 823
stereo tracks from Beat Detective 664
dragging clips to 595 identifying 823, 1147
names for 448 synchronization 125
replacing clips in 821 black burst 1147
splitting 595 MIDI Beat Clock 433
Stop at Shuttle Speed Zero option 122 MMC 1138
Stop button 178 options 1122
Stretch command (Tempo Operations) 783 resolving 1147
Strip Silence command 826, 827, 828 troubleshooting 1147, 1222, 1224
stuck notes 700 Synchronization Device settings 126
stutter 1221 synchronization peripherals 43
Sub Counter selectors 761 Synchronization Preferences 121
Sub Time Scale 761, 1132 Sysex View 696
subfolders, creating for settings 999 System Exclusive data 696
subframes 1143 deleting 697
submixes moving 697
applying an insert to 968 recording 494
bouncing to disk 1072 system resources 15
soloing tracks in 972 system settings
sub-paths 62, 80 Cache Size 50
examples for surround 1101 Clock Source system setting 53
Suppress Automation “Write To” Warnings option Hardware Buffer Size 46, 48
110 Hardware Setup 53
surround Host Engine 48
5.1 format paths 1091 Number of Voices 49
and sends 1098 Playback Engine 47
basic signal routing 1097 Sample Rate 50
center percentage (%) 1118 System Usage window 58, 60
configuring Pro Tools 1087, 1094
discrete level, solo, mute 1095
importing I/O Settings 1089
pan playlists and automation 1119
Index 1268
compensating for start time offsets 1219, 1229 track compositing 630
forcing a match on a satellite system 1228 track controls
freewheeling 1129 audio tracks 203
generating 1137 Auxiliary Input tracks 203
matching between Pro Tools/satellite 1229 Edit window 203, 204, 205, 206
matching format for 1228 Elastic Audio 866
redefining position 1131 Instrument tracks 205
Timecode 2 Rate setting 1126 Master Fader tracks 204
Timecode 2 ruler 758 MIDI tracks 205
Timecode Format 1224 VCA Master tracks 204
Timecode Mapping options 366 video tracks 206
on import 377 track data 518
Timecode Rate setting 1126, 1224 Track Freeze 894
Timecode Time Scale 758 Track Height 225
Timeline and Edit selection, unlinked 563 resizing 225
Timeline Data Online Status indicator 174 track layout
Timeline Drop Order option 812 default path order 72
Timeline Insertion/Play Start Marker Follows track level meters 209
Playback option 102, 424, 431 Track List 226
Timeline Selection Markers 465, 564 hiding 227
and Edit selections 565 pop-up menu 227
selection length 569 showing 227
Timeline selections 575 Track menu 195
Timeline selections 575 Auto Input Monitoring mode 456
auditioning with Playhead enabled 427 Clear All Clip Indicators command 210, 957
copied from Edit selection 576 Delete command 219
copied to Edit selection 576 Duplicate command 220, 1016
in Timebase rulers 575 Group command 252
making with the Selector tool 555 Input Only Monitoring mode 456
sliding in the Ruler 576 Make Inactive command 243
start, end, and length fields 180 New Track command 215
Timeline Selection Markers 575 Scroll to Track 218
Time-locking clips 826 Scroll to Track command 578
toggling Set Record Tracks to Auto Input 457
track height 225 Set Record Tracks to Input Only 457
Track View 224 Split Into Mono command 595, 1095
Tool Tips 99, 196 Write MIDI Real-Time Properties command
Toolbar focus 25 705
Touch automation mode 1017 Track Name commands 229
Touch Timeout option 110 Track Name/Comments dialog 217
Touch Trim automation mode 1020 Track Number command 218, 578
Touch/Latch automation mode 1019 Track Offset options 367, 377
Track and Master Meter Types Linked option 112 Track Ownership control 331, 337
Track Bounce 897 Track Ownership Request indicator 331
Track Bounce dialog 897 Track Position Numbers Stay with Hidden Tracks
Track Collaboration controls 334 option 99
Track Collaboration tools 329 Track Record Enable indicator 179
Track Color View 948 Track selector 993
Track Commit 889 Track View 221
Track Compensation (cmp) indicator 975 Blocks 221
Index 1270
Trim Clip commands Use Absolute Pan Linking option 109
End to Fill Selection 590 Use F11 for Wait for Note option 119, 485
End to Insertion 589 Use MIDI to Tap Tempo option 119
Start to Fill Selection 590 Use Separate Play and Stop Keys option 103
Start to Insertion 589 Use Subframes option 1143
To File 591 User Default setting 1000
To Fill Selection 590 User Offset (+/–) field 974
To Selection 589 User Time Stamp 819, 1146
Trim Clip to File Boundaries command 591 user-defined clips 267, 269, 518
Trim Clip to File End command 591
Trim Clip to File Start command 591 V
Trim to All Enabled Automation command 1062 VCA Masters
Trim to Current Automation command 1062 assigning groups 942
Trim tools 539, 549 channel strips 201
Loop Trim tool 552 clearing 1068
Scrub Trim tool 551 controls 940
Time Compression/Expansion Trim tool 118, deleting 1068
550, 687
displaying automation 1067
trimming automation 775, 1041 mixing 939
trimming clip gain 600 track controls 204
trimming track type 197, 939
automation breakpoints 775, 1041, 1050 velocities (MIDI)
clip gain breakpoints 600 drawing with Pencil 684
clip start/end points 549 editing 684, 912
clips by Nudge value 591, 682 fading 912
clips to Edit insertion point 589 Real-Time Properties 704
clips with Scrub Trim tool 552 scaling 685, 913
crossfades 620 Velocity Trim tool 685
note start/end points 681 Velocity View 684
unwanted clip and track data 589 VENUE 133
Tweak Head setting (Conversion Quality) 1190 VENUE Link 44, 133
Vertical Position setting 127
U video
unavailable resources 154 importing 1186
Undo command 463, 528 Pillarbox/Letterbox option 1195
Undo History window 528 playback 1221
Undo Queue 529 Stretch option 1194
Ungroup All Clips command 839 Video Clip Groups 1193
Ungroup Clips command 839 video clips 1190
Universe view 579 Video Engine option 50
unlinked Timeline and Edit selection 563 video engine rate 1185
unlinking plug-in controls 1010, 1099 Video Engine Rate indicator 1186
Unlock Clip command 825 Video Format setting 1224
Unloop Clips command 835 Video Import Options dialog 1188
Upload All New Changes button 331 Video Media options 366
Upload command 335 Video Online button 1177, 1179
Upload Ruler Changes control 339 Video Pull Up and Pull Down 1132
Upload Ruler Changes Right-click menu 339 Video Satellite
Upload Track Changes control 335 avoiding sync issues 1224
Upload Track Changes Right-click menu 335 connecting 1222
1271 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Media Composer 132, 1220 Performance 273
quitting Pro Tools 1223 Transfer 273
settings 1224 Volume automation 1042
troubleshooting satellite connections 1223 Volume fader 208
video satellite offset 1219 Volume indicator 207
video stutter 1221 Volume permissions 276
Video Sync Offset command 1199
video tracks 198, 1176 W
locking 1185 Wait for Note 180, 484
main video track 1177 Warp indicator 878
Output Settings 1181 Warp markers 873
Project Type 1179 adding 874
scrubbing 1195 deleting 874
settings 1179 relocating (without applying warping) 874
shuttling 1195 Warp view 866, 873
track controls 206 warped clips (Elastic Audio) 519
Video Quality 1184 warping audio (Elastic Audio) 875
viewing as blocks 1178 WAV file format 402, 1076
Video Universe window 1196 AES31/Broadcast compliant 402
Video window 1194 WaveCache 292
mixed aspect ratios 1194 WaveCache.wfm file 149, 273
Video Window command 1194 Waveform View 519
View Filter (Memory Locations window) 810 Waveform View options 520
View Filter (MIDI Event List) 748 Outlines 521
View menu 194 Peak 520
Clip Name View option 527 Power 520
Clip Sync Point View option 824 Rectified 521
Clip Time View options 527 waveforms 519
Edit window View options 172, 945 and zero-crossing 522
Mix window View options 170, 945 avoiding clicks and pops 522
Narrow Mix View option 214 guidelines for editing 522
Track Number command 218, 578 repairing with Pencil tool 561
Transport View options 180, 419, 466, 468 WaveCache 292
viewing blocks in the video track 1178 Workspace 292
views Whole File button (AudioSuite) 853
Delay Compensation 215 whole-file clips 518
I/O View 207 Wide Meters View 211
Inserts View 946 Window Configuration List 191
Sends View 946 Window Configurations 186
Wide Meters View 211 importing 370
VITC window dub
Generate Lines setting 126 horizontal position 127
Read Lines setting 126 setting color 127
Read Lines, defaults 126 size 127
VITC Insertion Enabled option 126 vertical position 127
Voice selector 236 Window menu 195
voices 498 Automation Enable command 1026
and track priority 236 Big Counter command 419
Voices meter 59 Color Palette 245
volume Disk Space command 453
Index 1272
Edit command 172 preferences 312
Machine Track Arming command 1142 previewing 294, 295, 298
Memory Locations command 805 Quick Search 287
Mix command 170 Regenerate Missing Rendered Files 301
System Usage command 60 Relink window 272, 302
Task Manager command 351 relinking 299
Transport command 177 Right-click menu 280
Undo History command 528 saving a search as a Catalog 292
Workspace command 455 searching 287
windows session 272
arranging 189 Skip All 301
Cascade 189 sorting columns 283
closing 190 suitable volumes (see Transfer files) 300
hiding all floating windows 190 Task Manager window 272
Tile 189 Tasks 310
Tile Horizontal 189 Transfer files 299, 300
Tile Vertical 189 Transfer Volume 273
Windows sessions volume permissions 276
compatibility with Mac 404 Volumes 272
Word Clock 55, 1232 WaveCache 273
workflows 512 waveform display 292
Workspace 271 Workspace browsers 182, 271, 455
auditioning 294 Workspace.wksp file 273
Automatically Find and Relink 301 Write 1061
Auto-Preview mode 297 Write Automation commands 1060, 1061
browser display options 282 Write automation mode 1017
browser menu 279 Write Automation To commands 1064
Calculate Waveform 292 Write Automation to Next Breakpoint command
candidates for relinking 302 1054
Catalogs 272, 306, 307 Write Automation to Next Breakpoint on Stop
Comments 285 command 1056
Copy and Relink 300 Write Automation to Selection/Selection
copying database items 286 Start/Selection End buttons 1052
database 273 Write MIDI Real-Time Properties command 705
database items 283, 284, 285 Write Trim automation mode 1021
deleting database items 286 writing
Elastic Audio analysis 293 automation 1026
Elastic Audio Plug-In selector 296 automation on stop 1053
Failed Tasks 311 automation to next breakpoint 1054
Find Links 304 automation to selection, selection start or end
indexing 278 1052
Linking Options 304 snapshot automation 1060
links 299
Loop Audition mode 297 X
Manually Find and Relink 301 XML (MIDI patch names) 693
Missing files 299, 301 X–OR (Cancels Previous Solos) Solo Latch option
moving database items 286 241
navigating 275
Paused Tasks 310
Performance Volume 273
Index 1274
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