Pro Tools 5.1 Reference Guide PT_51_Reference_Guide PT 51

PT_51_Reference_Guide PT_51_Reference_Guide

Pro Tools - 5.1 - Reference Guide PT_51_Ref Free User Guide for Pro Tools Software, Manual - page1

User Manual: PT_51_Reference_Guide

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Digidesign Inc.
3401-A Hillview Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA
tel: 650·842·7900
fax: 650·842·7999
Technical Support (USA)
650·842·6699
650·856·4275
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800·333·2137
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1·888·USE·DIGI (873·3444)
International Offices
Visit the Digidesign Web site
for contact information.
World Wide Web
www.digidesign.com
Digidesign FTP Site
ftp.digidesign.com
Pro Tools
Reference Guide
Version 5.1 for Macintosh and Windows
Copyright
This User’s Guide is copyrighted ©2001 by Digidesign, a
division of Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with
all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this manual may not
be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of
Digidesign.
DIGIDESIGN, AVID and PRO TOOLS are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Digidesign and/or Avid Technology,
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
All features and specifications subject to change without
notice.
PN 932708437-00 REV A 01/01
Contents
iii
Contents
Part I Introduction
Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The Pro Tools Guides
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Compatibility Information
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Digidesign Registration
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 2. Pro Tools System Configurations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
TDM-equipped systems
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
TDM System Playback, Recording and Voice Limits
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Audio Interfaces for TDM Systems
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Pro Tools LE Systems
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Pro Tools LE System Capabilities
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 3. Pro Tools Concepts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Hard Disk Recording
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Digidesign Audio Engine
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Pro Tools Sessions and Concepts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
System Resources
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
MIDI Concepts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 4. Pro Tools Windows
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The Mix Window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The Edit Window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Transport Window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Pro Tools Reference Guide
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Chapter 5. Keyboard Shortcuts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Global Key Commands
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Keyboard Focus
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Numeric Keypad Modes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Part II Sessions & Tracks
Chapter 6. Sessions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Starting Up Your System
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Configuring Your System
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Changing the Pro Tools Playback Engine
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Changing DAE Playback Buffer Size
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Creating a New Session
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Opening a Session
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Saving a Session
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Creating Custom Session Templates
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Closing a Session
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Quitting Pro Tools
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Sharing Sessions between Pro Tools TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE Systems
. . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter 7. I/O Setup
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Understanding Paths and I/O Setup
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
The I/O Setup Dialog
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Creating and Editing Paths
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
I/O Settings Files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Default Output, Metering, Audition, and Path Order
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Contents
v
Chapter 8. Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Track Types
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Creating Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Hiding Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Assigning Inputs and Outputs to Audio Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Assigning Voices and Track Priority
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Setting MIDI Channels
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Soloing and Muting Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Making Tracks Inactive
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Adjusting Track Width
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Color Coding Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Grouping Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Chapter 9. Importing and Exporting Audio and MIDI
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Importing Audio
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Importing Tracks from Other Sessions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Loading Audio Files with Drag & Drop
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Exporting Audio
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Transferring Audio from CD
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Conversion Quality
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Exporting Session Text
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Importing MIDI Files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Exporting MIDI Files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Chapter 10. File Management and Compatibility
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Locating Audio Files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
WAV File Compatibility
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Avid File Compatibility
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Creating Mac and PC Compatible Sessions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Pro Tools Reference Guide
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Part III Recording
Chapter 11. Record Setup
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Input Connections and Audio Levels
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Record Enabling Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Monitoring Modes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Monitoring Latency
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Low Latency Monitoring
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Track Names
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Disk Allocation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Allocating Hard Drive Space for Recording
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Record Modes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Recording with the Click
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Chapter 12. Basic Audio Recording
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Recording a Mono Audio Track
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Recording a Stereo Audio Track
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Recording Multiple Audio Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Record Pause Mode
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Recording Additional Takes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Punch Recording Audio
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Loop Recording Audio
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Auditioning Record Takes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Setting Punch/Loop Points
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chapter 13. MIDI Recording
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Recording from MIDI Devices
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Enabling Input Devices
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
MIDI Thru
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
MIDI Input Filter
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Input Quantize
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Wait for Note
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Contents
vii
MIDI Merge/Replace
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Recording a Single MIDI Track
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Recording Multiple MIDI Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Punch Recording MIDI
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Loop Recording MIDI
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Recording System Exclusive Data
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Chapter 14. Advanced Recording
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Using QuickPunch
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Recording from a Digital Source
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Half-Speed Recording and Playback
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Part IV Editing
Chapter 15. Editing Basics
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Pro Tools Editing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Track Material
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Displaying Region Names and Times
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Audio Regions and Waveforms
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
MIDI Regions and MIDI Data
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Playlists
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Multiple Undo
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
The Audio and MIDI Regions Lists
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Edit Modes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Zooming
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
The Universe Window
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Rulers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Time Scale
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Tick-Based Timing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
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Chapter 16. Playing and Selecting Track Material
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Playing Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Scrolling Options
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
The Scrubber
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Separate Edit and Timeline Selections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Selecting Track Material
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Playing Selections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Timeline Selections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Playing Edit and Timeline Selections with the Playhead
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Chapter 17. Working with Regions and Selections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Creating New Regions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Healing a Separation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Placing Regions in Tracks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
The Trimmer Tool
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Sliding Regions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Nudging
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Shift Command
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Quantizing Regions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Locking Regions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Muting/Unmuting Regions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Edit Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Duplicate Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Repeat Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Merge Paste Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Editing Stereo and Multi-Channel Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Processing Audio with AudioSuite Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Waveform Repair with the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Chapter 18. Advanced Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Replacing Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Repeat Paste To Fill Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Compress/Expand Edit To Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
The Time Trimmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Contents ix
Chapter 19. Fades and Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Using Crossfades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Creating a Crossfade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Creating Fades at the Beginnings and Ends of Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Using AutoFades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Creating Fades and Crossfades in Batches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Chapter 20. Managing Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Stripping Silence from Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Inserting Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Consolidate Selection Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Managing Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Compacting an Audio File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Chapter 21. Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Tempo Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Default Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Identify Beat Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Meter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Renumbering Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Memory Locations and Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Memory Locations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Chapter 22. Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Beat Detective Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
About Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
The Beat Detective Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Defining the Selection for Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Detecting Transients with Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Generating Bar|Beat Markers with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Separating and Conforming Regions with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Beat Detective and Collection Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Pro Tools Reference Guidex
Part V MIDI Editing
Chapter 23. MIDI Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Inserting MIDI Notes with the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Manually Editing MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Continuous Controller Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Program Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
System Exclusive Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Note and Controller Chasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Offsetting MIDI Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Chapter 24. MIDI Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
MIDI Operations Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Select Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Change Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Change Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Chapter 25. MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
The MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Inserting Events in the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Editing in the MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
MIDI Event List Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Part VI Mixing
Chapter 26. Basic Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Audio Signal Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Viewing I/O, Sends, and Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Track Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Track Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Contents xi
Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Output Windows for Tracks and Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Submixing for Signal Routing and Effects Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Mixing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Using a Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Chapter 27. Plug-Ins and Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Inserting Plug-Ins on Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
The Plug-In Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Hardware I/O Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Connecting and Integrating External Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Chapter 28. Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Automation Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Automation Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Automation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Automation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Viewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Writing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Enabling and Suspending Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Deleting Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Thinning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Drawing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Editing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Writing Automation to the Start, End or All of a Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Trimming Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Creating Snapshot Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Chapter 29. Mixdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Recording to Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Bounce to Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Bounce Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Recording a Submix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Final Mixdown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Mastering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Pro Tools Reference Guidexii
Part VII Surround
Chapter 30. Surround Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Mixing Formats and Surround Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Pro Tools Mixing Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Speaker Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Surround Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Formats and Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Surround Mixing Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Chapter 31. Pro Tools Setup for Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Pro Tools Audio Connections for 5.1 Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Configuring Pro Tools for Multi-Channel Sessions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Default Path Order, Metering, Output, and Audition Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Chapter 32. Multi-Channel Tracks and Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Multi-Channel QuickStart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Multi-Channel Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Multi-Channel Signal Routing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Paths in Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Example Paths and Signal Routing for a Surround Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Chapter 33. Surround Panning and Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Introduction to Pro Tools Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Output Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Standard Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Surround Panner Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Panning Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
LFE Faders in Multi-Channel Panners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
Divergence and Center Percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
SurroundScope Metering Plug-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Contents xiii
Part VIII Synchronization
Chapter 34. Synchronization Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Your Sync Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Aspects of Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Syncing Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
SMPTE Frame Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
Working with Film-Originated Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Chapter 35. Time Code Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
Pro Tools Sync Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
The Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
Preparing to Work with SMPTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
Configuring Pro Tools for SMPTE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
Putting Pro Tools Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Generating Time Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Syncing a Sequencer to Pro Tools on the Macintosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
Syncing a Sequencer to Pro Tools in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Using MIDI Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Remote Track Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Syncing Pro Tools to an OMS-Compatible Sequencer using MMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
MIDI Beat Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Spotting Regions to SMPTE Frame Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
Identifying a Sync Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Troubleshooting Sync. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
Chapter 36. Working with QuickTime Movies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
About QuickTime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Movie Playback Quality Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Importing a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Setting the Movie Start Time: Movie Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Spotting Audio to a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
Importing QuickTime Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Bouncing to a new Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502
Pro Tools Reference Guidexiv
Part IX Pro Tools Menus
Chapter 37. File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Chapter 38. Edit Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
Chapter 39. AudioSuite Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
Chapter 40. MIDI Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
Chapter 41. Movie Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Chapter 42. Operations Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
Chapter 43. Setups Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Chapter 44. Display Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Chapter 45. Windows Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
Appendix A. DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
Appendix B. TDM Mixing and DSP Usage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
Appendix C. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
1
Part I: Introduction
2
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 3
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools
Welcome to Pro Tools®. Pro Tools integrates
powerful multitrack digital audio and MIDI se-
quencing features, giving you everything you
need to record, arrange, edit, mix, and master
professional-quality music.
The Pro Tools Guides
Your Pro Tools System includes the following
guides:
Pro Tools Installation Guides Instructions for in-
stalling Pro Tools software and hardware, and
connecting your studio.
Pro Tools Reference Guide Instructions for cre-
ating sessions, recording, editing, and mixing
with Pro Tools.
DigiRack™ Plug-Ins Guide Instructions for using
the DigiRack Plug-Ins for both real-time and file-
based audio processing in Pro Tools.
Pro Tools MIDI Control Surfaces Guide Instruc-
tions for operating Pro Tools with various MIDI
control surfaces.
Keyboard Shortcut Cards (TDM Systems only)
Separate cards for Macintosh and Windows that
list the many keyboard shortcuts not shown in
the Pro Tools menus.
Online PDF versions of the Keyboard Shortcut
cards are included for Pro Tools LE systems.
Conventions Used in These Guides
The Pro Tools guides use the following conven-
tions to indicate menu choices and key com-
mands:
:
The following symbols are used to highlight im-
portant information:
Convention Action
File > Save Session Choose Save Session
from the File menu
Control+N Hold down the Control
key and press the N key
Option-click Hold down the Option key
and click the mouse but-
ton
Right-click (Windows) Click with the right
mouse button
User Tips are helpful hints for getting the
most from your Pro Tools system.
Important Notices include information that
could affect your Pro Tools session data or
the performance of your Pro Tools system.
Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or
mouse shortcuts.
Cross References point to related sections in
the Pro Tools Guides.
Pro Tools Reference Guide4
Choose and Select
The words “choose” and “select” are often inter-
changeable in conversational english. In this
guide, however, there is a distinction between
the two terms.
Select When the guide instructs you to select
something, it stays selected. This is the case with
dialog box options and menu items that enable
or disable an option.
Choose When the guide instructs you to choose
something, a one-time action is performed. This
is the case with most menu commands; they
perform their chosen action only once.
Compatibility Information
Digidesign can only assure compatibility and
provide support for hardware and software it
has tested and approved. For a list of Digidesign-
qualified computers, operating systems, and
third-party devices, refer to the latest compati-
bility information on the Digidesign Web site:
www.digidesign.com/compato/
Digidesign Registration
Make sure to complete and return the registra-
tion card included with Pro Tools. Registered us-
ers are entitled to one year of free technical sup-
port, and will receive periodic software updates
and upgrade notices.
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 5
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System
Configurations
TDM-equipped systems
Pro Tools TDM-equipped systems are available
in the following configurations:
Pro Tools 24 MIX
A core system includes:
• MIX Core card
• Pro Tools software
• Digidesign audio interface
(sold separately)
Pro Tools 24 MIXplus
A core system includes:
• MIX Core card
• MIX Farm card
• Pro Tools software
• Digidesign audio interface
(sold separately)
Pro Tools 24
A core system includes:
• d24 Audio card
• DSP Farm card
• Pro Tools software
• Digidesign audio interface
(sold separately)
Supported Audio Interfaces
You can use the following audio interfaces with
Pro Tools TDM systems:
◆The 888/24 I/O and 882/20 I/O (as well as
888 I/O and 882 I/O) Audio Interfaces work
with Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus and
Pro Tools 24 systems.
◆The 1622 I/O Audio Interface works with
Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus and Pro Tools 24
systems.
◆The ADAT Bridge I/O Interface works with
Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus and Pro Tools 24.
Pro Tools system performance depends on
factors such as computer processor speed,
amount of system memory, and hard drive
performance. Contact your Digidesign
dealer or visit Digidesign’s Web site for the
latest system requirements and compatibil-
ity information.
Pro Tools Reference Guide6
TDM System Playback, Recording and Voice Limits
The following table lists the audio playback, recording, and voice limits of each type of Pro Tools
TDM system. The term virtual voice refers to the maximum number of audio tracks that can share the
available voices on your system. TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems can open sessions with up to 128
audio tracks, but any audio tracks beyond that system’s virtual voice limit will be automatically set to
Voice Off.
All TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems provide a total of 64 internal mix busses. TDM systems also pro-
vide 5 inserts and 5 sends per track, up to the DSP capacity of your system.
Audio Interfaces for TDM Systems
The following table lists the input and output capabilities of the various audio interfaces for TDM-
equipped Pro Tools systems. In expanded TDM systems, audio interfaces can be combined for up to
72 audio inputs and outputs.
Table 1. Pro Tools TDM system audio playback, recording and virtual voice limits
Core System Type Voices (Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous Playback)
Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous
Recording
Virtual Voices
Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus 32 or 64 32 or 64 86
Pro Tools 24 32 32 43
Table 2. Pro Tools audio interface channel capabilities
Interface Type Number of I/O
Channels
A/D
Conversion
D/A
Conversion Digital I/O
888/24 I/O 8 in/8 out 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
882/20 I/O 8 in/8 out 20-bit 20-bit 24-bit
888 I/O 8 in/8 out 18-bit 18-bit 24-bit
882 I/O 8 in/8 out 18-bit 18-bit 24-bit
1622 I/O 16 in/2 out 20-bit 24-bit 24-bit
ADAT Bridge I/O 16 in/16 out 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 7
Pro Tools LE Systems
Pro Tools LE-based systems are available in the
following configurations.
Digi 001
A Digi 001 system includes:
• Digi 001 PCI card
• Digi 001 I/O box
• Pro Tools LE software
Digi ToolBox XP
An Digi ToolBox system includes:
• Audiomedia III card
• Pro Tools LE software
Pro Tools LE System Capabilities
The following table lists the playback, recording, and input and output capabilities of each Pro Tools
LE-based system. All Pro Tools LE systems are limited to 24 mono audio tracks. If you open a
Pro Tools session containing more than 24 mono audio tracks on an LE-based system, only the audio
tracks assigned to the first 24 voices will open; if you save the session using Pro Tools LE, any audio
tracks beyond the first 24 will be lost.
All Pro Tools LE systems provide a total of 16 internal mix busses. Pro Tools LE also provides up to 5
inserts and 5 sends per track, depending on your computer’s processing capacity.
For details on transferring session material between Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools TDM systems, see
“Sharing Sessions between Pro Tools TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE Systems” on page 57.
The total processing capacity of a
Pro Tools LE-based system depends on the
processing power of your computer. Contact
your Digidesign dealer or visit Digidesign’s
Web site for the latest system requirements
and compatibility information.
Table 3. Pro Tools LE System Audio Playback, Recording, and Channel Capabilities
System Type
Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous
Playback
Number of
Recording/Playback
Channels
A/D
Conversion
D/A
Conversion
Digital
I/O
Digi 001 24 up to 18 in/18 out 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
Audiomedia III 24 up to 4 in/4 out 18-bit 18-bit 24-bit
Pro Tools Reference Guide8
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 9
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts
This chapter is an overview of essential digital
audio, MIDI, and digital signal processing con-
cepts, and an introduction to many of these
same concepts in Pro Tools.
Hard Disk Recording
Tape-based recording is a linear medium—you
need to rewind or fast forward a tape to hear a
particular spot in a recording. To rearrange or re-
peat material in a linear system, you need to re-
record it.
Hard disk recording is a non-linear (or random
access) medium—you can go immediately to
any spot in a recording without having to re-
wind or fast forward.
Non-linear systems have several advantages.
You can easily rearrange or repeat parts of a re-
cording by making the hard disk read parts of
the recording in a different order. In addition,
this re-arrangement is non-destructive, meaning
that the original recorded material is not al-
tered.
Pro Tools is a non-linear recording system that
let you rearrange and mix recorded material
non-destructively.
The Digidesign Audio Engine
When you start Pro Tools, an application called
DAE automatically launches in the background.
DAE, or the Digidesign Audio Engine, is Digide-
sign’s real-time operating system for digital re-
cording systems. When you install Pro Tools,
DAE is automatically installed on your system.
In the same way that a computer’s operating
system provides the foundation for programs
that run on the computer, DAE provides much
of the hard disk recording, digital signal process-
ing, mix automation, and MIDI functionality re-
quired by Pro Tools and other products from
Digidesign and its Development Partners.
Pro Tools also takes advantage of your com-
puter’s host processor, sharing certain tasks and
processing. Performance is determined by your
system and its Playback Engine settings.
See also “System Resources” on page 13.
Pro Tools Reference Guide10
Playback Engine
All Pro Tools systems let you choose the Play-
back Engine for a session at any time.
The Playback Engine dialog lets you reconfigure
Pro Tools to use different Digidesign hardware,
and to re-allocate certain system resources. For
more information, see “Configuring Your Sys-
tem” on page 45.
Pro Tools Sessions and
Concepts
When you start a project in Pro Tools, you cre-
ate a session. Some basic elements of sessions are
explained in this section.
Session File
A session file is the document that Pro Tools cre-
ates when you start a new project. The session
file contains maps of all elements associated
with a project, including audio files, MIDI data,
and all your edit and mix information. You can
make changes to a session and save those
changes in a new session file. This lets you cre-
ate multiple versions of a project or back up
your editing and mixing work.
Audio File
When you record audio into a Pro Tools session,
audio files are created.
Audio files for each session are stored in a folder
named “Audio Files.” Audio files are listed in the
Audio Regions List and can appear in a track. A
section of an audio file can be defined as a re-
gion (see “Regions and Loops” on page 11).
Audio and MIDI Tracks
Pro Tools Tracks are where audio, MIDI, and au-
tomation data are recorded and edited.
Audio and MIDI tracks can be edited into re-
gions to create loops, re-arrange sections or en-
tire songs, or to assemble tracks using material
from multiple takes.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools TDM system
Pro Tools session file icon
Audio file icon
Audio tracks in the Edit window
MIDI track in the Edit window
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 11
Audio tracks can be mono, stereo, or any sup-
ported multi-channel format (depending on
your type of Pro Tools system).
Regions and Loops
A region is a piece of audio or MIDI data that may
have associated automation data. A region
could be a loop, a guitar riff, a verse of a song, a
sound effect, a piece of dialog, or an entire
sound file. In Pro Tools, regions are created from
audio or MIDI files, and can be arranged in au-
dio and MIDI track playlists.
Playlist
A playlist is a group of regions arranged on an
audio or MIDI track. You can maintain multiple
edit playlists on a single track. This lets you as-
semble different versions on a single audio or
MIDI track and choose among them with a pop-
up menu on the track.
On audio tracks, a playlist tells the hard disk
which audio files to read in what order. By using
several copies of an audio region in a playlist,
you can repeat a section of a recording without
using any additional disk space.
A playlist can be made up of a single region or
many separate regions. It can be made up of
similar elements, such as regions from several
different takes of a solo, or dissimilar elements,
such as several sound effects.
Channel
The term channel is used to describe several re-
lated components of a Pro Tools system. The
first example of channel refers to a physical in-
put or output of your Pro Tools system.
For example, an 888/24 I/O Audio Interface pro-
vides eight channels of analog input and output
to a TDM-equipped system. A Digi 001 system
provides up to 18 channels of input and output
to a Pro Tools LE system.
The second use of the term channel refers to a
mixer strip in the Pro Tools Mix window. The
term channel strip refers to the mixer strip of any
track (audio or MIDI track, Auxiliary Input, or
Master Fader) in a session.
Audio region
Playlist selector pop-up menu
Rear view of 888/24 I/O Interface
Channel strip in the Mix window
Computer 1
ANALOG OUTPUT ANALOG INPUT AES/EBU OUTPUT AES/EBU INPUT
Computer 2
8 CH Mode
2 x 4 CH Mode
S/PDIF
IN
S/PDIF
OUT
SLAVE CLOCK
IN
SLAVE CLOCK
OUT
7
8
5
6
3
4
1
2
7
8
5
6
3
4
1
2
5/6
7/8
1/2
3/4
5/6
7/8
1/2
3/4
Pro Tools Reference Guide12
Audio and MIDI channel strips have similar
controls, but those controls have slightly differ-
ent effects. For example, audio and Auxiliary In-
put channel strip faders control the Pro Tools
mixer, while MIDI channel strip faders send
MIDI volume data (MIDI controller 7).
Signal Routing
Pro Tools provides software-based mixing and
signal routing controls. These include the Mix
window and its familiar console-like faders and
switches, as well as inserts, sends, and plug-ins.
Signal Routing Example
A common signal routing task is to submix mul-
tiple tracks to a single channel strip for shared
processing and level control. The following ex-
ample shows three tracks of drums submixed to
a stereo Auxiliary Input.
Signal routing options include the following:
Track I/O Controls The most basic type of signal
routing is track input and output. A track needs
to have an assigned input path to record audio,
and an assigned output path in order to be audi-
ble through a hardware output.
Auxiliary Inputs and Master Faders Auxiliary In-
puts are tracks that can be used as returns, sub-
mixers and bus masters. Master Faders are used
as bus and output master level controls. Both
Auxiliary Inputs and Master Faders can have in-
serts or plug-ins.
Sends Sends route audio to internal busses to
send to other tracks in Pro Tools, or to hardware
outputs.
Plug-Ins and Inserts Plug-ins and hardware In-
serts process the audio on their associated track.
Plug-in processing occurs completely within
Pro Tools. Hardware Inserts utilize audio inter-
face inputs and outputs, for traditional insert
routing to (and from) external effects and other
devices.
Paths Pro Tools lets you define paths that name
and customize audio inputs, outputs, busses,
and inserts. You can customize Pro Tools paths
using the I/O Setup dialog. See Chapter 7, “I/O
Setup” for more information.
Mixing Formats Sessions can include combina-
tions of mono, stereo, and multi-channel for-
mat tracks, busses, inputs, outputs, and inserts.
(Multi-channel formats are supported on
Pro Tools MIX and MIXplus only.)
The term channel also describes a separate
aspect of MIDI operation. See “System Re-
sources” on page 13.
Submixing to an Auxiliary Input
Audio Tracks Auxiliary Input
Input from
stereo
Bus path
Stereo
plug-in
Output to a
Stereo Output
path
Outputs to
stereo Bus
path
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 13
System Resources
Track count, plug-in processing, signal path and
routing options, and voice availability are ulti-
mately limited by the combined resources avail-
able from the host computer, and from your
Pro Tools hardware.
Pro Tools provides several ways to manage and
conserve resources to maximize the perfor-
mance of your system. As you begin working
with Pro Tools sessions and tracks, you can take
advantage of the following features to extend
the effectiveness of your available DSP and
other resources:
◆System usage settings let you balance the dis-
tribution of work between your computer and
any Digidesign audio hardware. See “Playback
Engine” on page 10.
◆Active and inactive switching lets you selec-
tively toggle certain items between active (on)
and inactive (off). This lets you precisely allo-
cate DSP and other resources when developing
playlists, tracks, and mixes. See “Active and In-
active Items” on page 13.
◆TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems provide
flexible voice options for disk tracks. For more
information on voice management and options,
see “Virtual Tracks and Track Priority” on
page 82.
Active and Inactive Items
You can make inputs, outputs, inserts, side
chains, plug-ins, and tracks active or inactive to
manage available DSP and time slot resources.
In addition, Pro Tools will automatically make
things inactive if there are insufficient or un-
available resources.
When active, items are fully engaged and opera-
tional.
When inactive, items are:
• Silent
• “Off,” consuming no associated DSP, mixer, or
system resources (making those resources
available for other uses in the session)
• Saved, including associated media, voices, sig-
nal path assignments, insert assignments, au-
tomation data, levels, and other parameters
Items in Pro Tools that support Active and Inac-
tive modes include the following.
◆Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs and Master
Faders (TDM systems only)
◆Track Inputs and Outputs
◆Sends
◆Side-chain inputs
◆Plug-Ins
◆Hardware Inserts
◆Paths (session-wide)
Inactive Items and Resources
Different items affect available system resources
in specific ways.
Plug-Ins When a plug-in is inactive on a track, its
DSP is made available for other plug-ins and
processing. Plug-in assignments can be made in-
active manually, or automatically (see “Auto-
matic and Manual Inactive Mode” on page 14).
Paths and Path Assignments When a path or
path assignment is inactive, its mixer resources
are made available for other signal routing pur-
poses in the session. Paths and assignments can
be made inactive manually, or automatically
(see “Automatic and Manual Inactive Mode” on
page 14).
MIDI tracks cannot be made inactive.
Pro Tools Reference Guide14
Tracks (TDM systems only) When an
audio track, Auxiliary Input, or Master Fader is
made inactive, its plug-ins, inserts, sends, and
I/O assignments become inactive.
Display of Inactive Items
When items are inactive, their names appear in
italics, and their background becomes dark grey.
When a track is inactive (TDM systems only),
the entire channel strip darkens.
Automatic and Manual Inactive Mode
Active and Inactive modes are powerful options
for session transfer, and system resource man-
agement. Pro Tools provides automatic and
manual Inactive mode switching. You can man-
ually make items inactive (or active) to selec-
tively manage system resources while editing
and mixing.
Automatically Inactive Items
When opening a session, it is possible that not
all signal paths, plug-ins, or audio interfaces
used in the session will be available as defined
on the current system. Whenever this occurs,
the session will open as it was last saved. All
items that are unavailable, or cannot be loaded
due to insufficient resources, are made inactive.
Manual Inactive Switching
You can manually apply Active or Inactive
modes to manage system resources. By making
an item inactive, its associated resources are
made available elsewhere in the session.
The following are basic instructions for manu-
ally making items inactive. Throughout the
Pro Tools Reference Guide, instructions are pro-
vided whenever an item can be made inactive.
To toggle an item active or inactive:
■Command-Control-click (Macintosh) or Con-
trol-Start-click (Windows) the item.
You can apply to all or all selected tracks using
standard Pro Tools modifiers (Option and Op-
tion+Shift on the Macintosh, Alt and Alt+Shift
in Windows). Side Chain inputs support direct
active and inactive switching, but do not follow
switching to all or all selected.
Active and inactive items and tracks
Active Inactive plug-in
Inactive track
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 15
MIDI Concepts
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a
communication protocol for musical instru-
ments. This industry standard enables connec-
tions between a variety of devices from different
manufacturers. Examples of MIDI-compatible
equipment include synthesizers, sound mod-
ules, drum machines, patch bays, effects proces-
sors, MIDI interfaces, and sequencers.
MIDI devices are equipped with 5-pin DIN con-
nectors, labeled as either IN, OUT, or THRU.
The MIDI OUT port transmits messages; the
MIDI IN port receives messages; and, MIDI
THRU echoes whatever is received from the IN
port. MIDI devices are connected with MIDI ca-
bles that are available at most music stores.
A single MIDI cable can transmit a separate set
of messages for each of 16 channels. These 16
channels correspond to separate MIDI devices or
to multiple channels within a single device (if
the device is multi-timbral). Each channel repre-
sents a discreet instrument sound; for instance,
bass on channel 1, piano on channel 2 and
drums on channel 10. Similar to a multitrack
tape recorder, a MIDI sequencer can record com-
plex arrangements—even using a single multi-
timbral keyboard.
MIDI Terms
The following are some basic MIDI terms:
MIDI Interface Hardware that lets computers
connect to and communicate with MIDI de-
vices.
MIDI Device Any keyboard, sound module, ef-
fects device or other equipment that can send or
receive MIDI information.
MIDI Controller Any MIDI device that transmits
MIDI performance data. These include key-
boards, MIDI guitar controllers, MIDI wind in-
struments, and others. Controllers transmit
MIDI from their MIDI OUT ports.
MIDI Control Surface Any device, such as the
Mackie HUI, that uses a MIDI connection to
send control messages to a software program,
but is not generally used to record MIDI infor-
mation.
MIDI Sound Source Any MIDI instrument that
plays back in your arrangements. Sound sources
receive MIDI from their MIDI IN ports.
Multi-timbral The capability of playing several
different instrument sounds (such as piano,
bass, and drums) simultaneously on separate
channels. This makes it possible for a single
MIDI sound source to play back entire arrange-
ments.
MIDI Channel Up to 16 channels of MIDI perfor-
mance data can be transmitted on a single MIDI
cable. The channel number separates the differ-
ent messages so your sound sources can receive
the right ones.
Program Change Event A MIDI command that
tells a sound source which sound patch to use.
The MIDI protocol lets you choose from a range
of 128 patches.
MIDI signal flow
Not all devices will have all three MIDI
ports (IN, OUT and THRU).
echoed from IN
Pro Tools Reference Guide16
Bank Select Message A MIDI command that
specifies the bank of patches from which to
choose. Many devices have more than 128
patches and Bank Select messages provide a
means of accessing them.
Local Control A controller setting found on most
MIDI keyboards that let them play their own
sound source. Disabling “local control” ensures
that a device’s internal sound source is only
played by external MIDI messages.
When using Pro Tools, “local control” should
usually be disabled. When “local control” is off,
your keyboard still transmits data to its MIDI
OUT port.
Continuous Controller Events MIDI instructions
that allow real-time changes to notes that are
currently sounding. These include pitch bend,
modulation, volume, pan, and many others.
System Exclusive Data MIDI data commonly
used for sending and retrieving patch parameter
information for storage purposes.
Common Misconceptions about
MIDI
MIDI is not audio. The messages that travel
down a MIDI cable are only numbers that trans-
late to specific instructions. For instance, when
you strike a key on your MIDI keyboard it sends
a message to its MIDI OUT port telling another
device (if connected and set to the same MIDI
channel) to play that particular note.
However, to actually hear that second device
(sound source) you’ll need to connect its audio
outputs to a sound system. Your MIDI instru-
ments have two signal paths, one for audio and
another for MIDI.
MIDI does not allow you to use your devices be-
yond their capabilities. Particular instruments
have their own sound generation, polyphony,
and multi-timbral limitations.
Signal paths for MIDI instruments
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 17
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows
Pro Tools provides two complementary ways of
viewing a project: the Mix window and the Edit
window. Pro Tools also allows you to control
many functions from the Transport window.
The main elements of these windows are ex-
plained in the following sections.
The Mix Window
In the Mix window, tracks appear as mixer mod-
ules, with controls for inserts, sends, input and
output assignments, volume, panning, record-
enable, automation mode, and solo/mute. The
following section explains each of these track
controls.
To display the Pro Tools input/output controls,
inserts, sends, and comments, select Display >
Mix Window Shows > All.
Show/Hide Tracks List
This scrolling window lists all tracks in the cur-
rent session. It allows you to show or hide a
track by selecting or deselecting its name in the
list. Inactive tracks appear in italics in the
Show/Hide Tracks List.
You can also use this list to reorder tracks by
dragging a track name to a new position within
the list. This track ordering effects voice priority
for TDM systems. See Chapter 8, “Tracks” for de-
tails.
The pop-up menu at the top of this list provides
commands that allow you to show or hide all
tracks, or only tracks currently selected on
screen.
To toggle between the Mix and Edit win-
dows, press Command+equal (Macintosh)
or Control+equal (Windows) on the alpha
keyboard.
Show/Hide Tracks List
Pro Tools Reference Guide18
About Groups and Show/Hide Tracks
Even if a track is hidden, if it is a member of an
enabled group, all Mix window operations per-
formed on other members of the group will also
affect the hidden track—with the exception of au-
dio or MIDI record-enabling. If you solo, mute,
or automation write-enable a grouped track, any
group members that are hidden will be soloed,
muted, or automation write-enabled as well.
These functions are not applied to hidden
tracks.
In the Edit window, however, editing operations
performed on members of an enabled group will
not affect hidden tracks that are also members of
the enabled group.
On TDM systems, even if a track is hidden from
view, its position relative to other tracks still af-
fects its virtual track playback priority (see “Vir-
tual Tracks and Track Priority” on page 82 for
details).
Mix Groups List
The Mix Groups list shows all groups in the ses-
sion. It allows you to activate a group by select-
ing its name in the list. A group is only enabled
(meaning that its members are linked for mix-
ing purposes), when its name is highlighted in
this list.
You can also use this list to select grouped tracks
on-screen by clicking to the left of the dotted
vertical line next to a group name. The pop-up
menu at the top of this list provides commands
to create, delete or suspend groups. You can link
groups in the Mix Groups and Edit Groups lists.
For more information on grouping, see “Group-
ing Tracks” on page 85.
Audio Track/Channel Strip
Each audio track has its own set of controls for
volume, pan, panner window, record-enable,
automation mode, solo, mute, comments, and
(on TDM systems) voice assignment.
Mix Groups List
Audio channel strip
Inserts
Sends
Input/Output
Record Enable/Solo/Mute/Voice
Automation Mode
Track Name
Pan Slider
Level Meter
Volume Fader
Group ID
Opens Output window
Track Comment
Track Type
Selector
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 19
Figure 1. Pro Tools Mix window
Inserts
View
Sends
View
Show/Hide
Tracks List
Mix Groups
List
Channel
Volume
Channel Pan
Level Meter
Group ID
Indicator
Stereo
Audio Track
Auxiliary
Input
Track Name
Track
Comments
View
Master
Fader
AutoMatch
Indicator
I/O View
Real-Time Plug-In
Send with
Send Controls
Rec Enable,
Solo, Mute
buttons
Automation
Mode Selector
Output window
button
MIDI
Track
Mono
Audio Track
Pro Tools Reference Guide20
MIDI Track/Channel Strip
Each MIDI track has its own set of controls for
volume, pan, record enable, automation mode,
solo, mute, MIDI patch assignment, and MIDI
channel assignment. MIDI tracks can be added
to a session with the New Track command.
Mix Window Track Controls
Record Enable Button
The Record Enable button puts audio and MIDI
tracks into record-ready mode. Once a track is
record-enabled, click the Record and Play but-
tons in the Transport window to start recording.
When the Operation Preference for Latch
Record Enable Buttons is selected, you can
record enable more than one track at the same
time by clicking the Record Enable button on
each track. If the Latch Record Enable Buttons
preference is deselected, Shift-click to record en-
able multiple tracks.
Record Safe Mode
Pro Tools provides a Record Safe mode that al-
lows you to disable recording capability on any
track in a session. This prevents you from inad-
vertently record enabling a track. To toggle
Record Safe mode, Command-click (Macintosh)
or Control-Click (Windows) the track’s Record
Enable button.
Solo Button
The Solo button mutes all other tracks so a track
can be auditioned alone. More than one track
can be soloed at the same time.
MIDI channel strip
MIDI Channel
MIDI Volume
MIDI Pan
Record Enable/Solo/Mute/Patch
Track Name
MIDI Velocity Meter
Automation Mode
Mix window, controls for audio and MIDI tracks
Automation Mode Selector
Solo button
Mute button
Record Enable button
Voice Selector
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 21
When the Operation Preference for Latch Solo
Buttons is selected, you can solo more than one
track at the same time by clicking the Solo but-
ton for each track. If the Latch Solo Buttons
preference is deselected, you can Shift-click to
solo multiple tracks.
Solo Safe Mode
Pro Tools also allows you to solo safe a track.
This prevents the track from being muted even
if you solo other tracks. This feature is useful for
tracks such as Auxiliary Inputs that are being
used as effects returns (for example, a reverb
send), allowing the effects track to remain in a
mix even when other tracks are soloed. It is also
useful to solo safe MIDI tracks so that their play-
back is not affected when you solo audio tracks.
To toggle Solo Safe mode, Command-click
(Macintosh) or Control-Click (Windows) the
Solo button on the track. Do this again to turn
off Solo Safe on a track.
Mute Button
The Mute button silences a track. More than one
track can be muted at the same time. On TDM
systems, if the Mute Frees Assigned Voice option
is selected, muting a track will free up any voices
allocate its voice to the next highest priority vir-
tual track allocated to that voice in your session.
Automation Mode Selector
The Automation Mode selector allows you to
choose a track’s automation mode. Once a track
is automation write-enabled, starting playback
will start writing automation (depending on the
mode you have chosen). Any automation
moves that you make on the track can then be
played back exactly as you performed them.
Voice Selector
(TDM Systems Only)
On TDM systems, the Voice Selector is used to
set the voice assignment for audio tracks. Tracks
can be assigned to a specific voice number, or
they can be assigned to Auto. When tracks are
auto-voiced, Pro Tools automatically assigns
tracks to the next available voice that is not in
use. Auto-voiced tracks are especially useful
when working with stereo and multi-channel
tracks, where Pro Tools can conveniently han-
dle the voice allocations for these multi-voice
tracks.
To ensure that a track will be heard, assign it to
a specific voice (or voices). For stereo and multi-
channel surround tracks, voices appear in pairs
and multi-channel groups. Tracks with assigned
voices take priority over auto-voiced tracks.
When more than one track is assigned to the
same voice (voices in use by another track ap-
pear bold in the Voice Selector), track priority is
determined by the track’s position in the Mix or
Edit window, with the track farthest to the left
Audio track Voice Selector
Pro Tools Reference Guide22
in the Mix window, or closest to the top in the
Edit window, being given priority. This track
priority scheme also applies to tracks that are
auto-voiced.
For more information on voices and track prior-
ity, see “Assigning Voices and Track Priority” on
page 80.
Input/Output View
The I/O View shows Input and Output Selectors
on audio and MIDI tracks. Both types of tracks
show volume and pan values in this view. To
show the I/O View, select Display > Mix Win-
dow Shows (or Edit Window Shows) > I/O View.
Input Selector
(Audio and Auxiliary Input Tracks)
The Input Selector allows you to route any audio
input or any of the Pro Tools internal busses to
an audio track or an Auxiliary Input track. The
choices available in this pop-up menu are deter-
mined by the I/O Setup configuration. Inputs in
use by another track appear as bold in the Input
Selector.
Output Selector
(Audio Tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master
Faders)
The Output Selector allows you to route a track
to any configured audio output or internal bus.
The choices available in this pop-up menu are
determined by the I/O Setup configuration.
Outputs in use by another track appear as bold
in the Input Selector.
MIDI Input Selector
(MIDI Tracks)
This selector allows you to choose which MIDI
device and channel a MIDI track is receiving in-
put from. This allows you to set up Pro Tools to
record multiple MIDI tracks in the same record
pass. Channels in use by another track input ap-
pear as bold in the MIDI Input Selector.
Inputs/Outputs view in channel strip
‘
Audio track Input Selector
Input Selector
Level/Peak/Delay Indicator
Pan Indicator
Output Selector
Audio track Output Selector
MIDI Input Selector
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 23
MIDI Device/Channel Selector
(MIDI Tracks)
The MIDI Device/Channel Selector allows you
to route the MIDI track to a device and channel.
Channels in use by another track output appear
as bold in the MIDI Device/Channel Selector.
Default Program
(MIDI Tracks)
The Default Program button opens the Program
Change window, where you can specify a de-
fault program for the track. The track’s default
program is transmitted each time the track
plays.
Level/Peak/Channel Delay Indicator
The Level Indicator on an audio track has three
modes: Level Indicator, Peak Indicator, and
Channel Delay Indicator. Command-click
(Macintosh) or Control-Click (Windows) this
button to toggle between these modes.
Level Indicator Shows the current volume/input
level of a track as set by the track level fader.
Peak Indicator Functions as a headroom indica-
tor based on the last peak playback level. To re-
set the peak counter, click anywhere in the
meter. Values range from +6 dB (highest level
signal), to ∞ (no signal).
Channel Delay Indicator Shows the delay, in
samples, incurred by any TDM plug-ins on that
channel.
Pan Indicator
The Pan Indicator displays the current pan set-
ting of a track. Pan values range from <100 (full
left) to 100> (full right). Pan controls are only
available for stereo tracks or mono tacks routed
to a stereo output.
Pan Slider
The Pan slider controls the balance of a track be-
tween the assigned output pair. It only appears
if you are using stereo tracks or mono tacks
routed to a stereo output.
The Pan slider on a MIDI track is only effective if
you are controlling a sound module that sup-
ports MIDI panning.
MIDI Device/Channel Selector
Default Program button in channel strip
Pro Tools Reference Guide24
Output Window
The Output window contains visual controls for
track panning and volume. This window ap-
pears differently for mono, stereo, and multi-
channel tracks. For multi-channel mixing, there
is also an X/Y panner Output window available.
For more information on using multi-channel
Output windows, see Chapter 33, “Surround
Panning and Mixing.”
Track Level Fader
The track level fader controls the volume of a
track when it is in playback, and the monitor
level of the track when it is in record. You can
link the record and monitor levels by enabling
the Operation Preference for “Link Record and
Play Faders.”
The level fader on a MIDI track is only effective
if you are controlling a sound module that sup-
ports MIDI volume.
Track Level Meter
On audio tracks, level meters indicate the level
of the signal being recorded or played back from
the hard drive. Green indicates nominal levels;
Yellow indicates pre-clipping (–6 dB below full
scale); and Red indicates clipping. When a track
is record-enabled, these meters indicate record
levels.
You can globally set level meters to indicate pre-
or post-fader levels by selecting or de-selecting
Operations > Pre-Fader Metering. When pre-
fader metering is selected, the level meters show
levels independent of fader position. With post-
fader metering, the level meters respond to fader
position.
If clipping occurs, the topmost LED will stay lit
(red). In addition, Pro Tools meters provide a
peak hold feature with three options:
To choose a peak hold setting, choose Setups >
Preferences, click Display, and select one of the
Peak Hold options: 3 Second Peak Hold, Infinite
Peak Hold, or No Peak Hold.
You can clear a meter’s clipping or peak hold in-
dicator by clicking anywhere on the meter. To
clear all meters, Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-
click (Windows) any meter.
On MIDI tracks, the level meter shows the MIDI
velocity of the most recent MIDI event.
Track Name
When new tracks are created with the New
Track command, they are given a default name
which can be changed at any time by double-
clicking the track name or choosing File > Re-
name Selected Tracks.
Output windows (mono and stereo tracks)
Pan controls
Level Faders
Mono Stereo
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 25
Insert Controls
Pro Tools provides up to five pre-fader inserts
per audio track or Auxiliary Input. The inserts
can be either hardware inserts or software plug-
ins. To assign an insert, click the Insert Selector
in the inserts section of a track.
Send Controls
Pro Tools provides up to 5 mono or stereo sends
per audio track or Auxiliary Input, for sending
signals to external signal processors or any of
the Pro Tools internal busses. Sends can be ei-
ther pre- or post-fader. To assign a send to a
track, click the Sends Selector in the sends sec-
tion of the track.
Send level, pan and mute controls can be ad-
justed from the Send window, or directly from
the sends section of a track by showing individ-
ual send controls.
When you display the controls for an individual
send, you also have the option of displaying
Send Level Meters.
Track Comments View
The Comments View shows any comments en-
tered in the Track Name/Comments dialog. You
can also type directly in the Comments area for
each track when it is displayed. To display the
Comments View, select Display > Mix Window
Shows (or Edit Window Shows) > Comments.
The Edit Window
The Edit window provides a timeline display of
audio and MIDI data and mixer automation for
editing and arranging tracks. As in the Mix win-
dow, each track has controls for record enable,
solo, mute and automation mode.
To display the input and output controls, in-
serts, sends, and comments, select Display > Edit
Window Shows > All.
Inserts view in channel strip
Sends View in channel strip
Click Insert Selector to assign an insert
Click Insert button open the
Plug-In or Insert window
Click Send Selector to assign a send
Click Send button to open the
Sends window
Sends View showing individual send controls
Send Pan
Send Level
Send Level Meter
Pre/Post button
Send Mute
Pro Tools Reference Guide26
Figure 2. Pro Tools Edit window
Rulers
Audio
Waveform
View
Audio
Regions
List
MIDI Regions List
Show/Hide
Tracks List
Edit Mode
Buttons
Event Edit Area
Editing Tools
Zoom Buttons
Location Indicators
Grid and
Nudge Values
MIDI Notes View
Volume
Automation
View
MIDI Velocity View
Selected Region
Audio Track
MIDI Track
Tab to Transients,
C
ommands Focus,
Link Selections
Edit Groups
List
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 27
Edit Window Track Controls
Record Enable Button
See “Record Enable Button” on page 20.
Solo Button
See “Solo Button” on page 20.
Mute Button
See “Mute Button” on page 21.
Automation Mode Selector
See “Automation Mode Selector” on page 21.
Voice Selector
(TDM Systems Only)
See “Voice Selector” on page 21.
Playlist Selector
Tracks have edit playlists and automation play-
lists. You can create any number of edit playlists
for a track, and assign them by clicking the Play-
list Selector in the track and choosing from the
pop-up menu. Each track has a single set of au-
tomation playlists, according to the type of
track and any send or plug-in assignments. You
choose the automation playlist to display with
the Track View Selector.
Track Height Selector
Tracks can be viewed in the Edit window at any
of six heights: Mini, Small, Medium, Large, Jumbo,
and Extreme. The appearance of track controls
varies with track height. You can adjust track
height by clicking either the Track Height Selec-
tor or in the area just to the right of the track
controls.
Track Name
See “Track Name” on page 24.
Edit window track controls (medium track height)
Automation Mode Selector
Mute button
Voice Selector
Track Height Selector
Playlist Selector
Track Name
Track View Selector
Record Enable button
Solo button
Playlist Selector
Track Height Selector
Pro Tools Reference Guide28
Track View Selector
The Track View for each track determines which
data is displayed and edited in the track’s playl-
ist area.
The Track View for audio tracks can be set to
Blocks, Waveform, Volume, Pan, Mute, Send Level,
Send Mute, Send Pan, or any plug-in parameters
that have been automated. Except when editing
automation data, audio tracks are usually set to
Waveform view.
Auxiliary input tracks can be set to Volume, Pan,
Mute, or any plug-in parameter that has been au-
tomated. Master Fader tracks can be set to Vol-
ume, or any plug-in parameter that has been au-
tomated.
MIDI tracks can be set to Blocks, Regions, Notes,
Volume, Pan, Mute, Velocity, Pitch Bend, After
Touch, Program, Sysex, and any continuous con-
troller type. Except when editing controller
data, program changes, or sysex events, MIDI
tracks are usually set to Notes or Regions.
Edit Modes, Tab to Transients,
Commands Focus, and Linked
Selections
Shuffle Sets the Edit mode to Shuffle, which re-
stricts the placement of regions so that they
snap to each other and are placed end to end.
Spot Sets the Edit mode to Spot, which causes
the Spot dialog to open when moving or trim-
ming regions and notes. The Spot dialog lets you
enter a precise start, end, or length (in any time
format) for the event.
Slip Sets the Edit mode to Slip, which allows re-
gions and notes to be moved and trimmed
freely. Regions can placed so that there is space
between them, or so that they overlap.
Grid Sets the Edit mode to Grid, which con-
strains edits and selections to the current Grid
value.
Track View Selector
Edit mode buttons in Edit window
You can press F1 to set the Edit mode to
Shuffle, and on the Macintosh, you can
press Option+1 on the alpha keyboard.
You can press F2 to set the Edit mode to
Spot, and on the Macintosh, you can press
Option+2 on the alpha keyboard.
You can press F3 to set the Edit mode to
Slip, and on the Macintosh, you can press
Option+3 on the alpha keyboard.
You can press F4 to set the Edit mode to
Grid, and on the Macintosh, you can press
Option+4 on the alpha keyboard.
Commands Focus
Edit Mode
Link SelectionsTab to Transients
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 29
Tab to Transients Enables navigation to tran-
sients in audio waveforms, placing the cursor
just before the detected transient peak when
pressing the Tab key.
Commands Focus (TDM Systems only) Enables
the Commands Focus, which provides a wide
range of single-key shortcuts from the alpha
keyboard for editing and playing.
Link Selections Links the Edit and Timeline se-
lections, allowing you to set play and record
ranges by selecting in a track’s playlist. When
unlinked, you can make Edit selections without
disturbing the Timeline selection.
Zoom Buttons
Horizontal Zoom In/Out Zooms in and out hori-
zontally for all tracks. Option-click (Macintosh)
or Alt-click (Windows) either of the Horizontal
Zoom buttons to return to the previous zoom
level.
Vertical Zoom In/Out (Audio) Zooms in and out
vertically for audio tracks. Option-click (Macin-
tosh) or Alt-click (Windows) either of the Verti-
cal Zoom buttons to return to the previous
zoom level.
Vertical Zoom In/Out (MIDI) Zooms in and out
vertically for MIDI tracks. Option-click (Macin-
tosh) or Alt-click (Windows) either of the Verti-
cal Zoom buttons to return to the previous
zoom level.
Zoom Presets Recalls horizontal zoom values
for audio and MIDI tracks. Command-click
(Macintosh) or Control-click (Windows) a Zoom
Preset button to store the current horizontal
zoom values.
You can press Command+Option+1 (Mac-
intosh) or Control+Alt+1 to enable the
Commands Focus.
You can press Shift+slash to link and un-
link the Edit and Timeline selections.
Zoom buttons in Edit window
While pressing Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows), you can use the bracket
keys to zoom in and out horizontally.
Zoom Preset Buttons
Horizontal
Zoom In
Horizontal
Zoom Out
Vertical Zoom
In/Out (Audio)
Vertical Zoom
In/Out (MIDI)
While pressing Command+Option (Macin-
tosh) or Control+Alt (Windows), you can
use the bracket keys to zoom in and out ver-
tically for all audio tracks.
While pressing Command+Shift (Macin-
tosh) or Control+Shift (Windows), you can
use the bracket keys to zoom in and out ver-
tically for all MIDI tracks.
While pressing Control (Macintosh) or the
Start key (Windows), you can recall a Zoom
Preset by typing its number on the alpha
keyboard.
On TDM systems, with the Commands Fo-
cus enabled, you can recall a Zoom Preset
by typing its number on the alpha key-
board.
Pro Tools Reference Guide30
Edit Tools
Zoomer Click or drag with the Zoomer tool to
zoom in horizontally for a track or Ruler. Press
Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows)
while dragging to zoom horizontally and verti-
cally.
To go back to the previous zoom level, Option-
click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) with
the Zoomer.
To zoom a selection so it fills the Edit window,
Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) the Zoomer tool. To zoom out so that all
regions are visible in the Edit window, double-
click the Zoomer tool.
Standard Trimmer To resize regions or MIDI
notes, drag or click near their start/end points
with the Trimmer tool. To reverse the direction
of the Trim cursor, which determines whether
the start or end point is edited, press Option
(Macintosh) or Alt (Windows).
The Trimmer can also be used to scale the values
for note velocities, controller events, and auto-
mation breakpoints.
For TDM systems, choose Trimmer tools from
the Trimmer pop-up:
• Scrub Trimmer, scrubs audio material to find
the trim point before performing the trim.
• TCE Trimmer, expands or compresses audio
material to fit within a time range.
Selector Drag with the Selector in a track’s play-
list for an Edit selection, or in a Timebase Ruler
for a Timeline selection.
To adjust the length of a selection, Shift-click or
Shift-drag with the Selector. To extend an Edit
selection to other tracks, Shift-click with the Se-
lector in the desired tracks.
To temporarily switch the Selector to the Scrub-
ber, press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key
(Windows).
Time Grabber Use the Grabber to select or move
entire regions, MIDI events, and Conductor
events. The Grabber can also be used to edit and
insert automation breakpoints.
Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) with the Grabber to delete tempo and
meter events, Markers, and automation break-
points.
Edit tools in Edit window
To select the Zoomer tool, press F5, or press
Command+1 (Macintosh) or Control+1
(Windows) on the alpha keypad.
Zoomer
Trimmer
Selector
Grabber
Scrubber
Pencil
Smart Tool Trimmer pop-up menu
To select and toggle through the three Trim-
mer tools, press F6, or press Command+2
(Macintosh) or Control+2 (Windows) on
the alpha keypad.
To select the Selector tool, press F7, or press
Command+3 (Macintosh) or Control+3
(Windows) on the alpha keypad.
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 31
Choose these Grabber tools from the Grabber
pop-up:
• Separation Grabber, separates selections into
new regions.
• Object Grabber (TDM systems only), allows
selection of discontiguous regions, which can
even be on different tracks.
Scrubber Drag with the Scrubber to scrub up to
two audio tracks—right for forward, left for re-
verse. The resolution for the Scrubber is deter-
mined by the zoom level, and the distance and
speed dragged determine the speed and length
for the scrubbed audio.
For finer resolutions without zooming, press
Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows)
while scrubbing.
Pencil Use the Pencil tool to insert MIDI notes,
edit velocities for a range of MIDI notes, draw
automation and controller events, and repair
audio waveforms (when zoomed down to the
sample level).
Press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows) and
the Pencil changes to an Eraser, which can be
used to delete notes, program changes, and
sysex events.
Choose from the Pencil pop-up any of the five
shapes, which can be used to affect a range of
note velocities, controller events, or automation
breakpoints.
Smart Tool The Smart Tool lets you use the Se-
lector, Grabber, and Trimmer, as well as create
fades, without switching tools. Depending on
where the cursor is placed in relation to a region
or note, the Smart Tool automatically switches
to the appropriate tool. For details, see “Using
the Smart Tool” on page 32.
To temporarily switch the Smart Tool to the
Scrubber, press Control (Macintosh) or the Start
key (Windows).
Grabber pop-up menu
To select and toggle through the three Grab-
ber tools, press F8, or press Command+4
(Macintosh) or Control+4 (Windows) on
the alpha keypad.
To select the Scrubber tool, press F9, or
press Command+5 (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+5 (Windows) on the alpha keypad.
Pencil pop-up menu
To select and toggle through the five Pencil
shapes, press F10, or press Command+6
(Macintosh) or Control+6 (Windows) on
the alpha keypad.
To select the Smart Tool, press F6+F7, or
press Command+7 (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+7 (Windows) on the alpha keypad.
Pro Tools Reference Guide32
Using the Smart Tool
With the Smart Tool you can instantly access
the Selector, Grabber, and Trimmer, and you can
also perform fades and crossfades. The position
of the cursor in relation to a region or note, or
within an automation playlist, determines how
the Smart Tool functions.
To select the Smart Tool, click its icon in the up-
per left of the Edit window, or press F6+F7 (or
F7+F8).
The Smart Tool in Waveform View
The following capabilities are available with the
Smart Tool when working with audio tracks in
Waveform or Blocks view, or MIDI tracks in Re-
gions view:
◆For the Selector, position the cursor over the
middle of the region, in the upper half.
◆For the Grabber, position the cursor over the
middle of a region, in the lower half.
◆For the Trimmer, position the cursor near the
region’s start or end point.
◆For a fade-in or fade-out, position the cursor
near an audio region’s start or end point, near
the top. Once the Fade cursor appears, drag into
the region to set the fade length. The fade is cre-
ated automatically with the Default Fade Set-
tings (in the Editing Preferences).
◆For a crossfade, position the cursor between
two adjacent audio regions, near the bottom.
Once the Crossfade cursor appears drag left or
right to set the crossfade length. The crossfade is
created automatically with the Default Fade Set-
tings (in the Editing Preferences).
The Smart Tool in Notes View
The following capabilities are available with the
Smart Tool when working with MIDI tracks in
Notes view:
◆For the Selector, position the cursor so it
doesn’t cover any notes.
To get the Selector while positioning the cursor
over notes, press Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows).
◆For the Grabber, position the cursor over the
note, near its middle.
Smart Tool in Edit window
Smart Tool in Waveform view
Fade-In Fade-Out
Selector
Grabber
Trim
Start
Trim
End
Crossfade
To temporarily switch the Smart Tool to the
Scrubber, press Control (Macintosh) or the
Start key (Windows).
Smart tool in Notes view
Selector
Grabber
Trim
Start
Trim
End
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 33
To get the Marquee so you can select a group of
notes, position the cursor so it doesn’t cover any
notes and press Command (Macintosh) or Con-
trol (Windows).
◆For the Trimmer, position the cursor near the
note’s start or end point.
The Smart Tool in Automation and
Controller Views
The following capabilities are available with the
Smart Tool when working in automation and
controller views:
◆For the Selector, move the cursor so it is posi-
tioned anywhere in the bottom 75% of the play-
list.
◆For the Grabber, press Command (Macintosh)
or Control (Windows) to insert breakpoints.
Continue pressing Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows) after you begin editing for
fine control, otherwise release for coarse con-
trol.
Press Command+Shift (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+Shift (Windows) to vertically constrain
movement.
◆To edit existing breakpoints, move the cursor
near a breakpoint and the Grabber will appear.
Press Shift to vertically constrain movement.
◆For the Trimmer, position the cursor in the
top 25% of the playlist to trim breakpoints. Press
Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows)
after you begin trimming for fine control.
The Smart Tool with Stereo and Multi-
Channel Tracks
When using the Smart Tool on stereo and multi-
channel tracks, individual channels cannot be
independently edited. All edits affects all chan-
nels as a whole.
The tool switching for the Smart Tool in stereo
and multi-channel tracks is determined by the
position within the entire track, and not within
individual channels.
Event Edit Area
Start Displays the start point for a selected re-
gion or note, or for an Edit selection. To move
the start point, enter a new value in this field.
End Displays the end point for a selected region
or note, or for an Edit selection. To move the
end point, enter a new value in this field.
Length Displays the length for a selected region
or note, or for an Edit selection. To change the
length of the region, note, or Edit selection, en-
ter a new value in this field. This will move the
end point later to extend the length to the new
value.
Pitch Displays the pitch (including octave num-
ber) for a selected note. To change the pitch, en-
ter a new value in this field, or select the field
and play a note on your MIDI controller.
To temporarily switch the Smart Tool to the
Pencil, press Control (Macintosh) or the
Start key (Windows), for the Eraser, press
Control+Option (Macintosh) or Start+Alt
(Windows).
Event Edit Area showing MIDI track information
Note
Attributes
Pitch
Attack Velocity
Release Velocity
Selection
Indicators
Pro Tools Reference Guide34
Attack Displays the attack velocity for a selected
note. To change the velocity, enter a new value
in this field, or select the field and play a note on
your MIDI controller.
Release Displays the release velocity for a se-
lected note. To change the velocity, enter a new
value in this field, or select the field and play a
note on your MIDI controller.
Location Indicators, Grid/Nudge
Values, Current Cursor Display
Location Indicators Displays the current play po-
sition in the Main and Sub Time Scales. To move
the Timeline insertion point to a different loca-
tion, click in either field, type in the new loca-
tion and press Enter.
To change the time format for the Main or Sub
Time Scale, choose from the pop-up menu to
the right of the fields.
Grid Value Defines the Grid boundaries used in
Grid mode, and when quantizing regions. The
Grid value, selected from the pop-up menu to
the right of this field, can be based on the Main
Time Scale or any of the other time formats.
Nudge Value Displays the time value used when
nudging. The Nudge value, which can be based
on the Main Time Scale or any other time for-
mat, can be selected from the pop-up menu to
the right of this field, or by typing in any value
you want.
In addition to nudging regions and notes, you
can also nudge start and end points for regions
and notes, start and end points for selections,
and region contents. See Chapter 17, “Working
with Regions and Selections.”
Cursor Location Provides feedback on the cur-
rent cursor location. This location is displayed
in the time format for the Main Time Scale.
Cursor Value Provides feedback on the current
cursor value. The type of value displayed de-
pends on the Track View: for example, note
number for Notes view, velocity value for Veloc-
ity view, and dB value for Volume view.
Press slash (/) on the numeric keypad to au-
tomatically select the Start field, and to
navigate from one field to the next. Press
Enter on the numeric keypad to accept a
value.
Edit window display showing MIDI track information
Cursor Location
Grid/Nudge Values
Location Indicators
Cursor Value
To highlight the Main Location Indicator,
press Equal (=) on the numeric keypad.
Press period (.) to navigate the different
time fields in an indicator, press Enter to go
to the new location.
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 35
The Edit Groups List
The Edit Groups list shows all groups in the ses-
sion. It allows you to activate or deactivate a
group by selecting or deselecting its name in the
list. A group is only enabled (meaning that its
members are linked for editing purposes), when
its name is highlighted in this list.
You can also use this list to select grouped tracks
on-screen by clicking to the left of the dotted
vertical line next to a group name. The pop-up
menu at the top of this list provides commands
to create, delete or suspend groups. You can link
groups in the Edit Groups and Mix Groups lists.
For more information on grouping, see “Group-
ing Tracks” on page 85.
Audio Regions List and Pop-up
Menu
All audio regions that are recorded, imported, or
created by editing appear in the Audio Regions
List. Regions can be dragged from the list to
tracks and arranged in any order.
Using the Audio Regions List pop-up menu (at
the top of the list) you can sort this list by a va-
riety of attributes. You can also select, rename
and clear regions from the session, and import
and export audio from the session.
MIDI Regions List and Pop-up
Menu
All MIDI regions that are recorded, imported, or
created by editing appear in the MIDI Regions
List. Regions can be dragged from the list to
tracks and arranged in any order.
Using the MIDI Regions List pop-up menu (at
the top of this list), you can sort this list by a va-
riety of attributes. You can also rename and
clear regions from the session, as well as import
MIDI from this menu.
Edit Groups List
mono
region
stereo
region
selected
region
Pro Tools Reference Guide36
The Transport Window
The Transport window can be set to show basic
transport controls, counters, and MIDI controls.
The counters in the Transport window mirror
the Location Indicators at the top of the Edit
window.
Online Puts Pro Tools online so that playback
and recording is triggered by an external time
code source.
Return to Zero Locates to the beginning of the
session.
Rewind Rewinds from the current play location.
You can also click repeatedly to rewind incre-
mentally (by an amount based on the Main
Time Scale).
Stop Stops playback or recording.
You can also stop the Transport with the follow-
ing shortcuts:
• Press the Spacebar.
• With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-
port, press 0.
Play Starts playback or (if the Record button was
clicked first) recording from the Timeline inser-
tion point.
With the Transport stopped, Control-click
(Macintosh) or Right-click (Windows) Play to
toggle Loop Playback mode. When enabled, a
loop symbol appears in the Play button.
You can also initiate playback with the follow-
ing shortcuts:
• Press the Spacebar.
• With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-
port, press 0.
You can play at half-speed with the following
shortcuts:
• Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) the Play button.
• Press Shift+Spacebar.
Fast Forward Fast forwards from the Timeline in-
sertion point. You can also click repeatedly to
fast forward incrementally (by an amount based
on the Main Time Scale).
Go to End Locates to the end of the session.
Transport window showing basic transport controls
You can press Return (Macintosh) or Enter
on the alpha keyboard (Windows) to locate
to the beginning of the session.
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to
Transport, you can rewind by pressing 1.
Start, End, and Length
for Timeline Selection
Online
Rewind
Fast Forward
Stop
Play
Record
Return to Zero
Go to End
Pre-Roll
Transport Master
Post-Roll
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to
Transport, you can fast forward by pressing
2.
You can press Option+Return (Macintosh)
or Control+Enter on the alpha keyboard
(Windows) to locate to the end of the ses-
sion.
Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 37
Record Arms Pro Tools for recording (the button
flashes). Clicking Play then initiates recording.
With the Transport stopped, Control-click
(Macintosh) or Right-click (Windows) Record to
cycle through the four record modes. The
Record button changes to indicate the currently
selected mode: blank for Nondestructive, “D”
for Destructive, a loop symbol for Loop Record,
and “Q” for QuickPunch.
You can also begin recording with the following
shortcuts:
• Press F12.
• Press Command+Spacebar (Macintosh) or
Control+Spacebar (Windows).
• With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-
port, press 3.
Pre-Roll Specifies the amount that plays before
the beginning of a play or record range. Pre-roll
is particularly useful in punch recording since it
provides you with time to “catch the beat” be-
fore reaching the punch-in point. To set the pre-
roll amount, enter a new value in this field, or
drag the Pre-Roll flag in the Main Timebase
Ruler.
To enable pre-roll, click the Pre-Roll button to
the left of the pre-roll field so it becomes high-
lighted.
Post-Roll Specifies the amount that plays after
the end of a play or record range. Post-roll is use-
ful in punch recording since playback continues
after the punch-out point so you can check for a
smooth transition to previously recorded mate-
rial. To set the post-roll amount, enter a new
value in this field, or drag the Post-Roll flag in
the Main Timebase Ruler.
To enable post-roll, click the Post-Roll button to
the left of the post-roll field so it becomes high-
lighted.
Start Specifies the beginning of the play or
record range. You can set the start point by en-
tering a location in this field, or by dragging the
corresponding Playback Marker in the Main
Timebase Ruler.
End Specifies the end of the play or record range.
You can set the end point by entering a location
in this field, or by dragging the corresponding
Playback Marker in the Main Timebase Ruler.
Length Specifies the length for the play or record
range. You can set the length by entering a loca-
tion in this field, or by selecting a range in any
Timebase Ruler.
Transport Master Specifies the “master” for
transport functions. Click this button and
choose from the pop-up menu to select the
Transport Master, which can be set to Pro Tools,
Machine, MMC, and Remote. See “Using MIDI
Machine Control” on page 479 for details.
To initiate recording at half-speed, press
Command+Shift+Spacebar (Macintosh) or
Control+Shift+Spacebar (Windows).
When the Edit and Timeline selections are
linked, you can drag in a track’s playlist to
set the play and record range.
Pro Tools Reference Guide38
MIDI Controls
Wait for Note When selected, recording does not
begin until a MIDI even is received. This ensures
that you begin recording when you’re ready to
play, and that the first note, or other MIDI data,
is recorded precisely at the beginning of the
record range.
Click When selected, a metronome sounds dur-
ing playback and recording (as specified by the
settings in the Click/Countoff Options dialog).
Double-click the Click button to open the
Click/Count Options dialog.
Countoff When selected, Pro Tools counts off a
specified number of measures (indicated in the
button) before playback or recording begins.
Double-click the Countoff button, to open the
Click/Countoff Options dialog.
MIDI Merge When selected (Merge mode), re-
corded MIDI data is merged with exiting track
material. When deselected (Replace mode), re-
corded MIDI data replaces existing track mate-
rial.
Conductor When selected, Pro Tools uses the
tempo map defined in the Tempo Ruler. When
deselected, Pro Tools switches to Manual Tempo
mode and ignores the Tempo Track.
In Manual Tempo mode, you can enter a BPM
value in the tempo field, or tap in the tempo by
clicking the Tap button.
Meter Displays the session’s current meter based
on the play location. Double-click the Meter
button to open the Change Meter window.
Tempo Displays the session’s current tempo
based on the play location. In Manual Tempo
mode, you can enter a BPM value into this field.
In addition, when the tempo field is selected,
you can tap in a tempo from a MIDI controller.
Transport window showing MIDI controls
You can press F11 to turn on Wait for Note,
unless the Operation Preference for “Dis-
able F11 for Wait for Note” is selected.
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to
Transport, you can press 7 to enable the
Click.
Conductor
Wait for Note
Meter
Countoff
Tempo
Click MIDI Merge
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to
Transport, you can press 8 to enable the
Countoff.
You can press Option+A (Macintosh) or
Alt+A (Windows) to enable MIDI Merge, or
with the Numeric Keypad Mode set to
Transport, press 9.
Chapter 5: Keyboard Shortcuts 39
Chapter 5: Keyboard Shortcuts
Global Key Commands
This section shows keyboard shortcuts that ap-
ply to many functions in Pro Tools.
Channel Strip/Track Functions
• Changing Automation mode
• Enabling playlists
• Adding plug-ins
• Record enabling, soloing, and muting tracks
• Record safing and solo safing tracks
• Assigning inputs, outputs, and sends
• Toggling volume/peak/delay display
• Clearing meters
• Changing track heights
List and Parameter Selection
• Selection of tracks in Show/Hide List
• Enabling of groups in Groups List
• Automation Enable window parameters
• Setting memory location parameters
Controls and Editing Tools
◆Use to move plug-in controls, faders and slid-
ers, the Scrubber, and automation data
Command Macintosh Windows
Apply action to all
channel
strips/tracks
Option +
action
Alt +
action
Apply action to
selected channel
strips/tracks
Option +
Shift +
action
Alt + Shift
+ action
Command Macintosh Windows
Toggle item & set all
others to same new
state
Option-click
item
Alt-click item
Toggle item & set all
others to opposite
state
Command-
click item
Control-click
item
Command Macintosh Windows
Fine adjustment of
sliders, knobs &
breakpoints
Command-
click item
Control-
click item
Pro Tools Reference Guide40
Keyboard Focus
The Keyboard Focus in Pro Tools determines
how the alpha keys function. Depending on
which Keyboard Focus is enabled, you can use
the keys on your alpha keyboard to select re-
gions in the Audio or MIDI Regions List, enable
or disable groups, or perform an edit or play
command (TDM systems only).
To set the Keyboard Focus:
■Click the a-z button for the focus you want to
enable.
– or –
While pressing Command+Option (Macintosh)
or Control+Alt (Windows), press
1 (Commands), 2 (Audio Regions List), 3 (MIDI
Regions List), or 4 (Groups List).
You can only enable one Keyboard Focus at a
time. Enabling a Keyboard Focus will disable the
one previously selected.
Commands Focus (TDM Systems Only)
When selected, this provides a wide range of
shortcuts from the alpha keyboard for editing
and playing.
With the Commands Focus disabled, you can
still access any of its key shortcuts by pressing
Control (Macintosh) or the Start key (Windows)
along with the key.
Audio Regions Focus When selected, audio re-
gions can be located and selected in the Audio
Regions List by typing the first few letters of the
region’s name.
MIDI Regions Focus When selected, MIDI re-
gions can be located and selected in the MIDI
Regions List by typing the first few letters of the
region’s name.
Groups List Focus When selected, Edit and Mix
Groups can be enabled or disabled by typing the
Group ID letter.
Keyboard Focus buttons
Commands
Key focus
Audio Regions List
Key focus
Groups List
Key focus
MIDI Regions List
Key focus
Refer to the Keyboard Shortcut Card that
came with your Pro Tools package (TDM
systems only) for a complete list of key-
board shortcuts. This card is also available
in PDF format in the Release Notes and
Documentation folder.
Chapter 5: Keyboard Shortcuts 41
Numeric Keypad Modes
The Operation preference for Numeric Keypad
Mode determines how the numeric keypad
functions.
No matter which Numeric Keypad Mode is se-
lected, you can always use the numeric keypad
to select and enter values in the Event Edit Area,
Location Indicators, and Transport fields.
To set the Numeric Keypad Mode:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Opera-
tion.
2 Under the option for Numeric Keypad Mode,
select on of the following modes, then click
Done.
Classic
This mode emulates the way Pro Tools worked
in versions earlier than 5.0. With the Numeric
Keypad Mode set to Classic, you can:
• Play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock
mode. Press Control (Macintosh) or the Start
key (Windows), followed by 0-9 for different
play speeds. Press Plus or Minus to reverse di-
rection.
• Recall Memory Locations by typing the Mem-
ory Location number, followed by period.
Transport
This mode allows you to set a number of record
and play functions, and also operate the Trans-
port from the numeric keypad.
:
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-
port, you can also:
• Play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock
mode. Press Control (Macintosh) or the Start
key (Windows), followed by 0-9 for different
play speeds. Press Plus or Minus to reverse di-
rection.
• Recall Memory Locations by typing period,
the Memory Location number, and period
again.
Function Key
Click on/off 7
Countoff on/off 8
MIDI Merge/Replace mode 9
Loop Playback mode on/off 4
Loop Record mode on/off 5
QuickPunch mode on/off 6
Rewind 1
Fast Forward 2
Record 3
Play/Stop 0
Pro Tools Reference Guide42
Shuttle
(TDM Systems Only)
Pro Tools offers another form of shuttling, dif-
ferent from that of Shuttle Lock Mode. With the
Numeric Keypad Mode set to Shuttle, playback
of the current Edit selection is triggered by press-
ing and holding the keys on the numeric key-
pad—playback stops once the keys are released.
Various playback speeds are available in both
forward and reverse. In this mode, pre/post-roll
are ignored.
:
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Shuttle,
you can also:
• Recall Memory Locations by typing period,
the Memory Location number, and period
again.
Function Key
1 X Forward 6
1 X Rewind 4
4 X Forward 9
4 X Rewind 7
1/4 X Forward 3
1/4 X Rewind 1
1/2 X Forward 5+6
1/2 X Rewind 5+4
2 X Forward 8+9
2 X Rewind 8+7
1/16 X Forward 2+3
1/16 X Rewind 2+1
Loop Selection (1 X) 0
Shuttle Lock mode is not available when the
Numeric Keypad Mode is set to Shuttle.
43
Part II: Sessions & Tracks
44
Chapter 6: Sessions 45
Chapter 6: Sessions
This chapter covers some of the basics of start-
ing a project in Pro Tools, including how to set
up and save a Pro Tools session.
Starting Up Your System
In order for the components of your Pro Tools
system to communicate properly with each
other, you need to start them up in a specific or-
der.
Start your Pro Tools system in this order:
1 For TDM systems with an expansion chassis,
turn on the expansion chassis.
2 Turn on external hard drives, if any. Wait ap-
proximately ten seconds for them to spin up to
speed.
3 Turn on any MIDI interfaces and devices.
4 For TDM systems, turn on Pro Tools audio in-
terfaces. Wait at least ten seconds for them to
initialize.
If you launch Pro Tools without turning on your
audio interfaces, you will be prompted to turn
them on. Allow about ten seconds for audio in-
terfaces to power-up cycle before clicking OK.
5 Turn on your computer.
Once you have quit Pro Tools, shut down your
Pro Tools system in this order:
1 For TDM systems, turn off audio interfaces.
2 For TDM systems with an expansion chassis,
turn off the expansion chassis.
3 Turn off your computer.
4 Turn off any MIDI interfaces and devices.
5 Turn off external hard drives.
Configuring Your System
When you first use Pro Tools, or when you
change the physical input and output scheme
for your system, you must configure the Hard-
ware Setup in Pro Tools. This ensures that your
audio hardware is appropriately configured and
available in Pro Tools.
Host and RTAS Processing
Pro Tools LE uses host (CPU) processing to pro-
vide audio track recording, playback, mixing,
and effects processing. Pro Tools TDM can also
use host processing to run RTAS plug-ins for ef-
fects processing.
Pro Tools hardware setup allows you to set a
hardware buffer and allocate a percentage of
CPU resources for these tasks.
Pro Tools Reference Guide46
RTAS on Pro Tools TDM Systems
On TDM systems, it is recommended that you
set the hardware buffer size at 128 samples, and
the CPU usage percentage at 65%. These settings
are the system minimums, and they should al-
low you to get good processing power from your
RTAS plug-ins without slowing down the on-
screen response of Pro Tools. These settings will
work best on a fast computer (e.g. G4 or Blue &
White G3).
On a slower TDM system like a Power Macintosh
9600 or a beige G3, you should increase these
settings. The Hardware Buffer size can be set as
high as 1024 samples, and the CPU usage per-
centage can be set as high as 85%. This will in-
crease the amount of processing you can get
from RTAS plug-ins on slower systems.
RTAS on Pro Tools LE Systems
On LE systems, it is recommended that you set
the Hardware Buffer size to 128 samples, and the
CPU Usage Limit to 65%. These settings are the
system minimums, and they should allow you
to get good processing power from your RTAS
plug-ins without slowing down the on-screen
response of Pro Tools. These settings will work
best on a fast computer (such as a Power Macin-
tosh G4 or fast Pentium III).
However, on a slower system, to get maximum
track count and processing power, you should
use a higher Hardware Buffer size and CPU Us-
age Limit. At the maximum settings of 1024
samples and 85%, on most qualified systems,
you should be able to get 24 audio tracks with
plug-ins at these settings.
Pro Tools TDM Hardware Setup
To configure the Hardware Setup:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware.
2 For systems with multiple interfaces con-
nected to multiple cards, select the Digidesign
card type from the Card pop-up.
The following steps should be repeated for any
additional cards with connected interfaces.
3 From the Interface port pop-up, select the port
to which your audio interface is connected (port
A or port B).
Choose port A if only one audio interface is con-
nected to the card. If two audio interfaces are
connected to the selected card, follow the steps
below for each port and interface.
4 From the Sample Rate pop-up, select a sample
rate.
In addition to slower screen redraws and
and UI responsiveness, larger Hardware
Buffer sizes can affect automation accuracy
for plug-in parameters and mute data.
Hardware Setup dialog (Pro Tools TDM)
Chapter 6: Sessions 47
5 From the Sync Mode pop-up, select the appro-
priate sync mode on the currently selected inter-
face (Internal or Digital). In most cases you will
use Internal. Digital is used primarily for input-
ting digital audio from DAT or other digital
sources.
6 From the Ch 1–2 Input pop-up, select the in-
put format of Channels 1–2 of the currently se-
lected interface.
7 From the H/W Buffer pop-up, select the audio
buffer size, in samples, for host processing tasks
such as RTAS plug-in processing. Select larger
buffer sizes for slower computers.
8 From the CPU Usage Limit pop-up, select the
maximum percentage of CPU resources to allo-
cate to host processing tasks. Select higher CPU
usage percentages for slower computers.
9 Click Other Options for additional configura-
tion options specific to the audio interface.
These include:
• Setting the input format (analog or digital) of
each pair of input channels on a 888/24 I/O
• Configuring the level sensitivity and peak
hold settings for the output level meters on
the front panel of the 888/24 I/O
• Enabling DAC Muting (mutes the 888/24 I/O
digital-to-analog convertors when its output
level falls below a certain threshold, to reduce
noise)
• Setting the input and output levels on an
882/20 I/O or a 1622 I/O
• Selecting S/PDIF compatibility with Tascam
DA30 DAT recorders
10 Configure the Other Options parameters and
click Done.
11 Click OK to close the Hardware Setup dialog.
Pro Tools LE Hardware Setup
To configure the Hardware Setup:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware.
2 From the Sample Rate pop-up, select a sample
rate.
3 From the Sync Mode pop-up, select the appro-
priate sync mode on the currently selected inter-
face. In most cases you will use Internal. S/PDIF
(RCA) is used primarily for inputting material
from a DAT or other digital sources. Optical (on
Digi 001 systems only) is used primarily for in-
putting material from an ADAT or other ADAT-
lightpipe-equipped device.
4 From the H/W Buffer pop-up, select the audio
buffer size, in samples, for host processing tasks
such as audio and MIDI track playback, mix au-
tomation, and RTAS plug-in processing. Select
larger buffer sizes for slower computers.
Hardware Setup dialog (Pro Tools LE)
Pro Tools Reference Guide48
5 From the CPU Usage Limit pop-up, select the
maximum percentage of CPU resources to allo-
cate to host processing tasks. Select higher CPU
usage percentages for slower computers.
6 Click Other Options for additional configura-
tion options specific to your system. These in-
clude:
• Setting the input gain for analog inputs 3-8
on a Digi 001
• Setting the input gain for the analog inputs
on an Audiomedia III
• Boosting the output gain for an
Audiomedia III
• Enabling the Mic/Line High-Pass Filter for a
Digi 001
• Selecting S/PDIF compatibility with Tascam
DA30 DAT recorders
7 Configure the Other Options parameters and
click Done.
8 Click OK to close the Hardware Setup dialog.
Changing the Pro Tools
Playback Engine
Pro Tools allows you to select different Playback
Engines depending on your system configura-
tion. The Playback Engine determines which
Pro Tools card is used to for Pro Tools recording
and playback features. Supported Digidesign
cards include the Pro Tools MIX card, d24 card,
Digi 001, or Audiomedia III card.
On TDM systems, the Playback Engine is also
used to change the audio interface assignments
for each card.
To change an audio interface assignment:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 Choose the card you want to configure from
the Card pop-up menu.
3 If available, choose the port to which your au-
dio interface is connected from the Interface
port pop-up.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools MIX system
Chapter 6: Sessions 49
4 Choose the audio interface connected to the
currently displayed card or port.
5 Set the Sample Rate, Sync Mode, and Channel
1–2 format for the audio interface.
6 Select the audio buffer size, in samples, for
host processing tasks.
7 Select the maximum percentage of CPU re-
sources to allocate to host processing tasks.
8 Click Other Options to configure additional
options for the audio interface.
A Pro Tools session created on one Pro Tools
system configuration can be opened and used
on a different Pro Tools system configuration.
When you change the Playback Engine while a
session is open, the session will be saved, closed
and reopened to enable your new Playback En-
gine choice.
If you change from a TDM-based Playback En-
gine (MIX 64 Voice, MIX 32 Voice, or d24) to a
Pro Tools LE -based Playback Engine (Digi 001
or Audiomedia III), you will lose any tracks, bus-
ses, or I/O assignments that exceed the limits of
the Pro Tools LE system. Any TDM plug-ins that
do not have RTAS equivalents will also be made
inactive.
Changing DAE Playback
Buffer Size
The DAE Playback Buffer size determines the
amount of memory allocated within DAE to
manage disk buffers, which affects system per-
formance.
Though DAE automatically selects the optimal
Playback Buffer for your system, you may want
to adjust this parameter to modify your system’s
performance:
◆Allocating a larger buffer can sometimes allow
for a higher density of edits. This can be useful if
you experience system performance problems
in sessions with a large number of edits in rapid
succession.
◆Allocating a smaller buffer can sometimes im-
prove playback/recording initiation speed. This
can be useful if you are experiencing a time lag
when you initiate playback/recording.
You should also note the following:
◆Choosing a smaller buffer can make it difficult
for slower hard drives to play or record tracks re-
liably.
◆Choosing a larger buffer can cause a time lag
to occur before playback or recording begins. It
can also cause a time lag to occur when you are
editing during playback.
DAE Playback Buffer Size dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide50
Macintosh
To change DAE’s Playback Buffer size:
1 If you are running Pro Tools, quit Pro Tools.
2 Locate and open DAE by double-clicking it. (It
is inside the DAE folder within your System
Folder.)
3 From the DAE File menu, choose Set Playback
Buffer Size.
4 Adjust the buffer size and Click OK.
5 Quit DAE. The next time you open Pro Tools,
it will use the playback buffer size you have se-
lected.
Windows
In Windows, you can change the DAE Buffer
size from the Pro Tools application.
To change the DAE Buffer Size:
■Choose Setups > DAE Buffer Size and adjust
the Buffer Size. Restart your computer for this
change to take effect.
Creating a New Session
The first step in beginning a Pro Tools project is
creating a new session. When you do this,
Pro Tools automatically creates a new folder
named for your session. Within this folder is the
session file and two other folders, an Audio Files
folder, and a Fade Files folder.
The Audio Files folder contains all audio re-
corded during the session. The Fade Files folder
contains any crossfaded audio data generated by
the session.
When you record a new audio track, the track is
saved as a new audio file to the Audio Files
folder. You can also import other audio files into
the session, and work with them as well.
For details on allocating audio tracks to different
hard drive locations, including shared media
volumes, see “Disk Allocation” on page 117.
To create a new session:
1 Choose File > New Session.
2 Choose the drive where you want to save the
session. The session should be created on a ded-
icated audio drive.
Typical session folder
New Session dialog
Chapter 6: Sessions 51
3 Select “Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility” (Mac-
intosh) or “Enforce PC/Mac Compatibility”
(Windows) if you want to create session and au-
dio files that can be used in either Macintosh or
Windows versions of Pro Tools. See “Creating
Mac and PC Compatible Sessions” on page 107
for more information.
4 Select the audio file format for the session.
For optimum compatibility between Windows
and Macintosh sessions, set the file type to
WAV. SDII sessions are not supported on Win-
dows systems, and Pro Tools prevents you from
choosing SDII as the file type if Enforce Mac/PC
Compatibility is selected.
5 Select the bit depth (16 bit or 24 bit) and the
sample rate.
6 Select the I/O Settings to use for the session.
Several pre-configured I/O Settings are included
with your system, or you can select a custom I/O
Setting that you have created. See Chapter 7,
“I/O Setup” for more information.
7 Name the Session.
8 Click Save.
Choosing a Bit Depth
When choosing a bit depth for your session,
consider the disk space and DSP mixing power
your selection will require. 24-bit sessions oc-
cupy about 50% more disk space. Fewer mixer
channels are available with 24-bit sessions on
TDM systems (see Appendix B, “TDM Mixing
and DSP Usage”). On LE systems, 24-bit sessions
require more processing power as well. It is not
possible to combine different bit depths within
a single session.
Opening a Session
When you open a session, Pro Tools looks in the
session directory for associated audio and fade
files.
To open an existing session:
1 Choose File > Open Session.
2 Locate the session you want to open and click
Open.
Opening a Session that Contains
Unavaliable Items
You are prompted (see Figure 3) when opening a
session that contains unavailable I/O, DSP re-
sources, plug-ins, or unsupported tracks. This is
common when transferring sessions to systems
with different Digidesign hardware.
Open Session dialog
Figure 3. Opening a session with unavailable items
Pro Tools Reference Guide52
The dialog contains a summary of the missing
session components. To save a text file contain-
ing a more detailed report, along with the result-
ing action, click OK in the dialog.
Following are some actions that may occur
when opening a session with unavailable items:
◆Unsupported tracks for the current system are
discarded. These could be Movie tracks or multi-
channel surround tracks.
◆Inserts assigned to unavailable plug-ins are
made inactive.
◆Inputs, outputs, and sends that are assigned to
unavailable paths, are dropped.
Saving a Session
You should save regularly while working on
your session to ensure that your work is pre-
served on your hard drive.
Speeding up Saves by Reducing the
Disk Cache Size
(Macintosh Only)
To speed up session saves and disk bounces, it is
recommended that you reduce the Cache Size
(in the Memory Control panel) for your Macin-
tosh to 512k.
Saving the Session File
The Save Session command saves the changes
you have made to your session and writes them
over the previously saved version of the file. The
Save Session command cannot be undone.
To save a session:
■Choose File > Save Session.
If you have made changes to a session since you
last saved it, you can discard the changes and re-
vert to its previously saved state.
To revert to the last saved version of a session:
■Choose File > Revert to Saved.
Save Session As Command
The Save Session As command is useful for sav-
ing a copy of the current session under a differ-
ent name, or to a different hard drive location.
Because the Save Session As command closes the
current session and lets you keep working on
the renamed copy, it is particularly useful if you
are experimenting and want to save successive
stages of the session.
By working this way, you can quickly retrace
your steps should you want to go back to an ear-
lier version of your session. By using the Save
Session As command you are saving a new ver-
sion of the session file only—not duplicate ver-
sions of the audio or fade files.
To save a session under another name:
1 Choose File > Save Session As.
2 Enter a new name for your session and click
Save to save the session.
The renamed session document is saved in the
session folder along with the original session.
Any new audio files that you record in your re-
named session will be placed into the same Au-
dio Files folder that was created for your original
session.
Chapter 6: Sessions 53
Saving a Copy of the Session
You can use the Save Session Copy In command
to save a copy of the current session, along with
a its audio files, to a different file and hard drive
location. In addition, you can specify a session
file format, audio file format, bit depth, and
sample rate for the session copy.
Unlike the Save Session As command, Save Ses-
sion Copy In does not close the original session,
so subsequent edits are made to the original ses-
sion. Session copies can be used to archive im-
portant sessions, or as a means to prepare ses-
sions for transfer to another Pro Tools system.
Session Format
You can save the session copy in the following
formats:
• Pro Tools 5.1
• Pro Tools 5
• Pro Tools 4. 16-bit
• Pro Tools 4, 24-bit
When saving 5.1 sessions to Pro Tools 5 or ear-
lier, multi-channel tracks and multi-mono plug-
ins are lost. When saving a 5.1 session to an ear-
lier session format, make sure to first separate
the tracks and plug-ins to individual mono
tracks.
Session Parameters
Audio File Type
You can save the session as a WAV or AIFF ses-
sion. You can also save a session as SDII format
on the Macintosh.
NOTE: SDII sessions are not supported for
Pro Tools in Windows. For this reason, you cannot
set the session audio file type to SDII on the Mac-
intosh if Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility is selected.
Using Mixed File Types
A session can use mixed audio file types. If your
original session has mixed file types, they are
not converted to a different file type unless you
specify that they be converted. However, when
using mixed file types, audio performance will
be reduced (due to additional file handling re-
quired for some file formats).
Bit Depth
You can save the new session at 16-bit or 24-bit
depth. If your session is in a different bit depth,
audio files are converted to the new session bit
depth, and copied to the location you specify.
Save Session Copy dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide54
Sample Rate
You can save the new session at 44.1 kHz or
48 kHz sample rate. If your session is at a differ-
ent sample rate, audio files are converted to the
new session sample rate, and copied to the loca-
tion you specify.
Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility (Macintosh)
Enforce PC/Mac Compatibility (Windows)
This setting forces Macintosh or Windows ver-
sions of Pro Tools to create sessions and audio
files that are usable on both platforms. For more
information, see “Creating Mac and PC Com-
patible Sessions” on page 107.
Items to Copy
Audio Files and Session Plug-In Settings Folder
When this option is selected, all audio files and
the session’s Plug-In Settings Folder are copied
to the new location. The references to these
plug-in settings in the session are redirected to
point to the copied files.
This setting is automatically selected if you are
changing bit depth or sample rate, or copying a
session on the Macintosh from SDII format to
AIFF or WAV format with Enforce Mac/PC Com-
patibility selected.
Force Audio Files to Native Session Type
This option ensures that all files in the new ses-
sion are in the session file type you select, by
converting files of different types to the session’s
file format. Use this setting to avoid the reduced
performance of a session with mixed file types.
This setting is automatically selected if you are
changing bit depth or sample rate, or copying a
session on the Macintosh from SDII format to
AIFF or WAV format with Enforce Mac/PC Com-
patibility selected.
Don’t Copy Fade Files
With this option selected, Fade Files are not cop-
ied to the new session Fade Files folder. When
the session is launched, the Find Files dialog will
prompt you to locate Fade Files. You can either
locate the existing fades using the find file dia-
log, or Skip All to let Pro Tools recreate the fades
from the session document.
Root Plug-In Settings Folder
When this option is selected, the contents of the
root-level Plug-In Settings Folder are copied into
a folder named Place in Root Settings Folder, indi-
cating that these files will need to be moved to
the root level plug-in settings folder on the des-
tination system before you can use them. The
references to these settings files in the session
are not redirected to point to the copied files.
Movie/Video Files (Macintosh Only)
When this option is selected, session movie files
(QuickTime video files or AVoption or
AVoption XL video files) are copied to the new
location, and session references are updated to
point to the copied movie files.
To save a session copy in a new location:
1 Choose File > Save Session Copy In.
2 Select “Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility” (Mac-
intosh) or “Enforce PC/Mac Compatibility”
(Windows) if you want to create session and au-
dio files that can be used in either Macintosh or
Windows versions of Pro Tools. See “Creating
Mac and PC Compatible Sessions” on page 107
for more information.
3 Choose a destination and type a name for the
new session file.
4 Select the session file type for the session copy.
Chapter 6: Sessions 55
5 Select the session parameters (audio file for-
mat, bit depth, and sample rate) for the session
copy.
6 Select the Items to Copy to the new session.
7 Click Save to save the session in the new loca-
tion.
Creating Custom Session
Templates
You can create custom session documents that
are pre-configured to the track setups, mixer set-
ups, window arrangements, and zoom level
memory locations that you use most frequently.
Doing this will save you the trouble of having to
create your studio setup from scratch every time
you start a new session.
Creating Macintosh Templates
You can create a session template on the Macin-
tosh by saving a session file as a Stationery pad
document. Once a session is saved as stationery,
it acts as a template that you can open and then
resave as a normal session.
To create a custom session template:
1 Create a session and arrange the Pro Tools as
desired. You can also define the parameters
within these windows, such as signal routings,
insert and send configurations, track views,
Ruler settings, and Preference settings.
2 Choose File > Save Session.
3 Name the session and click Save.
4 Close the session.
5 Locate the session file that you just saved.
6 Click once on the file to select it.
7 Choose File > Get Info. A file information win-
dow appears.
8 Click the Stationery Pad check box to save the
file as a template, then close the information
window.
To use this template, double-click it or open it
with the Open Session command if you are al-
ready running Pro Tools. You can create several
custom templates for studio setups that you fre-
quently use.
When you open a session saved as a Stationery
pad, Pro Tools gives you the option of editing
the template or starting a new session using the
template settings. If you choose New Session,
Pro Tools will create a new folder containing a
copy of your session template and Audio and
Fades folders.
Saving a session as a Stationery pad (Macintosh)
Pro Tools Reference Guide56
Creating Windows Templates
In Windows, you can create a session template
by making a session file a Read Only document.
To create a custom session template in Windows:
1 Create a session and arrange the Pro Tools as
desired. You can also define the parameters
within these windows, such as signal routings,
insert and send configurations, track views,
Ruler settings, and Preference settings.
2 Choose File > Save Session.
3 Name the session and click Save.
4 Close the session.
5 Locate the session file that you just saved.
6 Right-click the file and choose Properties.
7 Under Attributes, deselect Archive and select
Read Only.
8 Click OK.
To use this template, double-click it or open it
with the Open Session command. When you
first save the session, Pro Tools will ask you to
give the session a new name. Your original ses-
sion template will remain unchanged.
To modify the session template, you will need to
reopen its Properties, deselect the Read Only op-
tion and select the Archive option, make your
modifications, then change it back to a Read
Only file.
Closing a Session
Because Pro Tools allows you to work on just
one session at a time, you must close the current
session if you want to work on another. The
Close Session command closes your current
Pro Tools session but leaves the Pro Tools appli-
cation open. You can save your work using the
Save Session or Save Session As command before
closing the current session.
To close a session:
■Choose File > Close Session.
Quitting Pro Tools
Although Pro Tools will warn you before allow-
ing you to quit without saving changes, you
should generally save your work before quitting.
To quit Pro Tools on the Macintosh:
■Choose File > Quit.
To exit Pro Tools in Windows:
■Choose File > Exit.
Making a session a Read Only file (Windows)
Chapter 6: Sessions 57
Sharing Sessions between
Pro Tools TDM Systems and
Pro Tools LE Systems
Pro Tools makes it easy to share sessions be-
tween Pro Tools LE and TDM-equipped systems.
There are some important differences between
the two types of systems that can affect how ses-
sion material is transferred.
When opening a TDM session in Pro Tools LE,
the following rules apply:
◆Any tracks beyond the first 24, as well any in-
active tracks, are discarded.
◆Multi-channel surround tracks are discarded.
◆Any assignments to busses beyond 16 are
made inactive.
◆Input and output paths not available are dis-
carded.
◆TDM plug-ins with RTAS equivalents are re-
tained; those without equivalents are made in-
active.
Differences between TDM and LE systems
Feature TDM Systems LE Systems
Number of
Tracks
up to 128 limited to 24
Number of
mix busses
64 busses 16 busses
Inserts per
Track
up to 5 inserts up to 5 inserts
Sends per
Track
up to 5 sends up to 5 sends
Pro Tools Reference Guide58
Chapter 7: I/O Setup 59
Chapter 7: I/O Setup
The I/O Setup dialog provides tools to label, for-
mat, and map Pro Tools input, output, insert,
and buss signal paths.
What is I/O Setup?
During sessions, audio is routed using the track
input, output, insert, plug-in, and send selec-
tors. The selectors let you assign tracks to hard-
ware outputs and inputs, internal busses, and
other Pro Tools signal paths. The signal path
choices available in Pro Tools sessions are based
on the current I/O Setup.
The I/O Setup dialog lets you name and define
input, output, insert, buss, and SampleCell path
so that Pro Tools best suits the needs of your
projects. For example, renaming Input 1 to Kick
In. (SampleCell paths are available on TDM-
equipped systems only.)
Understanding Paths and
I/O Setup
A path is a logical grouping of multiple inputs,
outputs or busses that has a single name and
(channel) format. In Pro Tools, paths are similar
to stems, known to the film and video industries
(see “Stems and Stem Mixes” on page 61 for
more information).
Each Pro Tools system can have a different
I/O Setup configuration, determined by:
• Whether it is a Pro Tools LE system, or a TDM-
equipped Pro Tools system
• The number and types of audio interfaces
(TDM systems only)
• The Mixer plug-in currently installed (Sur-
round, 24-bit, or 16-bit)
Each Pro Tools session retains its path configu-
rations as I/O Settings. The I/O Settings saved
with the session are loaded into Pro Tools auto-
matically when the session is opened. Unavail-
able items, including hardware, paths, or re-
quired resources) remain in the session as
inactive items (see “Active and Inactive Paths”
on page 68).
Pro Tools Reference Guide60
When you create new sessions you can specify a
default I/O Setup configuration, including pre-
sets s for stereo or multi-channel mixing formats
(multi-channel mixing requires a Pro Tools 24
MIX system)
The I/O Setup dialog lets you customize signal
path, as well as save and load I/O Settings files.
Paths in Sessions
Paths comprise the lists of available choices in
track I/O selectors and other menus.
Paths and I/O Setup
The signal routing choices available in track se-
lectors are defined in the I/O Setup dialog.
Track Input and Output selectors, Digi 001
Track Input and Output selectors, TDM
I/O Setup dialog, Output paths, on a Digi 001 system
I/O Setup dialog, Output paths, on a TDM system with
two interfaces
Chapter 7: I/O Setup 61
Main Paths and Sub-Paths
Paths in the I/O Setup dialog include main and
sub-paths.
Main Paths
Main paths are logical groupings of inputs, in-
serts, busses or outputs. For example, Main Out
is often the name of a master stereo output.
Sometimes appended with “L/R” for left/right,
this is an example of a signal path named by its
content (the main stereo mix).
Sub-Paths
A sub-path represents a signal path within a
Main Path. For example, a default stereo output
path consists of two mono sub-paths, left and
right. Mono tracks and sends can be routed to
either mono sub-path.
Preset I/O Settings
Default path definitions are installed automati-
cally by Pro Tools, so you can begin recording
and mixing without requiring any configura-
tion of the I/O Setup dialog. Default I/O Settings
files configure the I/O Setup dialog with a com-
bination of mono and stereo path definitions of
all types, depending on your system and hard-
ware configuration. As mixing and signal rout-
ing needs require, you can customize the
I/O Setup configuration in numerous ways (see
“The I/O Setup Dialog” on page 62).
Multi-channel settings files are available for
Pro Tools 24 MIX systems. These settings pro-
vide specialized path definitions for surround
mixing. See “Configuring Pro Tools for Multi-
Channel Sessions” on page 426.
Defaults
Default names for input, output, and insert
paths are based on your audio interfaces.
Pro Tools LE Default path names are based on
hardware and operating mode. Digi 001 pro-
vides several I/O modes for selecting from its va-
riety of analog and digital input and outputs.
Pro Tools TDM Systems Default path names are
based on audio interface names and channels.
Stems and Stem Mixes
The use of stems and stem mixes originated in
the post-production industry as ways to orga-
nize and manage elements of a mix by type or
content.
For example, a film mix often requires a stem
mix for Foley, a stem mix for sound effects, a
stem mix for dialog, another for music, and so
on. The dialog stem (for just one example) con-
tains all the dialog elements, mixed relative to
each other. Dialog can then be mixed with the
other stems during the final mix of the scene or
reel. The final mix is simplified (somewhat) by
the ability to control the level of each each stem,
rather than the multitude of individual tracks
that comprise a typical film mix.
In Pro Tools, you can work with main and sub-
paths as you would stem mixes. These can be as-
signed as needed, including the ability to assign
multiple outputs to tracks and sends. See “Mul-
tiple Output Assignments” on page 337 for
more information.
Main and sub-paths in the I/O Setup Channel Grid
Stereo main path
mono sub-path
mono sub-path
Pro Tools Reference Guide62
The I/O Setup Dialog
The I/O Setup dialog defines Pro Tools input, output, insert, and buss paths.
To open the I/O Setup dialog:
1 Make sure your audio interfaces are enabled
and configured properly in the Playback Engine
dialog.
2 Choose Setup > I/O Setup.
To open the Input, Output, Insert, Buss or
SampleCell window in I/O Setup:
■Click the appropriate tab at the top of the I/O
Setup dialog.
Closing the I/O Setup Dialog
You can click Cancel at any time to close the
I/O Setup dialog. However, when you click OK
Pro Tools must check several settings for routing
validity (to prevent feedback loops and other
possible dangers). If there are any overlapping
or otherwise invalid settings, you will be re-
quired to correct them before the I/O Setup dia-
log will close. For more information, see “Initial-
izing I/O Setup” on page 67.
Figure 4. I/O Setup dialog on a Digi 001 system
Channel Grid
Path Type selector
Expand/Collapse
Active/Inactive
Path Tools
Main and Sub-Paths
Format Selector
Chapter 7: I/O Setup 63
Controls in I/O Setup
This section provides an overview of the con-
trols available in the I/O Setup dialog.
Path Type Tabs Selects the type of I/O to config-
ure. Choices are Inputs, Outputs, Busses, Inserts
or SampleCell. (SampleCell paths are available
on TDM-equipped systems only.)
Path Selection Column (Shows paths that are
currently selected.
Expand/Collapse Paths Shows/hides the Sub-
paths associated with a Main Path.
Path Name Column Shows the user-defined
names of each defined path.
Active/Inactive Column Shows the active/inac-
tive status of each path.
Path Format Popup Shows the selected type/for-
mat (mono, stereo, 5.1, etc.) of each defined
path.
Channel Grid Maps paths to specific I/O units
and channels.
Path Tools The New Path, New Sub-Path, Delete
Path, and Default buttons are used to customize
the I/O Setup configuration.
Show Original Setup An additional button (Show
Original Setup) is displayed in the I/O Setup di-
alog in certain session transfer situation. For de-
tails on this feature, see “Show Original and
Show Current Setup” on page 70.
Default Options These four popup menus select
default Metering Path, Audition Path (Regions
List previewing), Output Path (for new tracks),
and default channel order. See “Default Output,
Metering, Audition, and Path Order” on
page 72.
Creating and Editing Paths
The I/O Setup dialog lets you create and custom-
ize signal path definitions.
Paths can be:
• Renamed, for easier identification after
changing or renaming audio interfaces
• Remapped, to or from different sources or des-
tinations
• De-activated (or re-activated) to manage un-
available or unnecessary I/O resources
• Deleted
In addition, you can import and export your
I/O Setup configurations as I/O Settings files, as
well as set numerous default path parameters
The following table lists the available path at-
tributes for each path type.
Path Options by Type
Path Type Path Attributes
Input Names, formats, and source
channel (analog or digital audio
interface, or CPU input)
Output Names, formats, and destination
(audio interface output channel or
internal send bus)
Insert Names, formats and destination
(audio interface channels)
Buss Names and formats
SampleCell Input names
Pro Tools Reference Guide64
Creating a Default Main or Sub-Path
You can add default paths to your current
I/O Setup at any time.
To add default mono or stereo paths:
1 Select a main or sub-path.
2 Click Default.
Pro Tools creates all possible stereo main paths.
Mono sub-paths are also auto-created for every
stereo main path. The path names are appended
with their associated format (mono or stereo) in
parenthesis.
Creating New Paths
You can create new main and sub-paths with
custom names, format and mapping.
To create a new path:
1 Choose Setups > I/O Setup.
2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, Buss or Sam-
pleCell tab to display the appropriate path win-
dow.
3 Click New Path, or press Command+N (Mac-
intosh) or Control+N (Windows). Or, select a
Main Path and click New Sub-Path.
4 Double-click in the Name field and enter a
name for the path. (The path name is what is
listed in Pro Tools track routing selectors.) Press
Tab to move to the next editable field, or press
Enter to set the new path name (pressing Return
will close the I/O Setup dialog).
5 Choose a format from the Path Format selec-
tor. (Path format controls whether the path is
mono or stereo, or multi-channel):
6 Configure other Path types (Input, Output, In-
sert, Bus, or SampleCell) and configure them us-
ing the same techniques described in the
previous steps.
7 Click OK (or press Return) to close the
I/O Setup dialog. If there are any overlapping or
identically named paths, you will be instructed
to correct them before the I/O Setup dialog will
close. For more information, see “Initializing
I/O Setup” on page 67.
Selecting and Editing Paths
Individual and multiple paths can be selected in
the I/O Setup dialog Path Name column. Once
selected, paths and sub-paths can be moved
higher or lower to sort their listing in track Path
selectors, renamed, remapped, or reformatted.
Paths can also be deleted. Sub-paths follow their
main paths when editing in the I/O Setup dia-
log.
Default stereo output paths
To optimize mixer and DSP resources, it’s
best to create mono Sub-Paths for Outputs
and Busses, rather than create mono main
Paths.
Path Format selector
Multi-channel paths and mixing are ex-
plained in Chapter 31, “Pro Tools Setup for
Surround.”
Chapter 7: I/O Setup 65
To select a main or sub-path:
■Click the Path Name.
To select multiple main and/or sub-paths:
■Shift-click the desired Path Names.
To rearrange the Path Column:
■Drag the path name to a new column.
Reset Paths
The Default button in the I/O Setup dialog pro-
vides two primary functions:
• Creates new, default paths up to the capacity
of your system’s available audio interfaces and
resources. See “Creating a Default Main or
Sub-Path” on page 64.
• Resets selected path names to matching or
corresponding paths in the current I/O Setup
configuration. For example, if you change
modes on Digi 001, or replace an audio inter-
face on a Pro Tools 24 MIX system, you can
use the Default switch to update your
I/O Setup definitions with the new hardware
configuration (for path naming).
To reset path names:
1 Select paths in the Input or Output windows
of the I/O Setup dialog.
2 Click Default.
Assuming there are matching paths available
with the new system configuration, existing
paths will be updated to include new audio in-
terfaces (TDM systems), or I/O mode selection
(Digi 001 only).
TDM Audio Interface Names
With TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems, audio
interfaces can be custom named in the
I/O Setup dialog. The I/O Setup dialog bases de-
fault path names on the name shown above the
graphic representation of each interface.
To rename an audio interface in the I/O Setup
dialog:
■Double-click the text above an interface, enter
a new interface name, and press Enter.
Selecting paths in the I/O Setup dialog
On TDM systems, audio interface names
can be customized. See “To reset path
names:” on page 65.
Interface name
Interface name
Pro Tools Reference Guide66
Deleting Paths
Path definitions can be deleted from the current
session to reflect changes to your hardware
setup, or to clean up track selector menus by re-
moving unwanted or unnecessary path defini-
tions. After deleting a path, any tracks or send
assignments to it are reset to No Output.
To delete a main or sub-path:
1 In the I/O Setup dialog, select the path you
want to delete.
2 Click Delete Path.
Channel Mapping
Once a path has been created and formatted, it
can be mapped to specific audio interface, bus,
or SampleCell channels in the grid.
To map channels:
1 Select a main or sub-path.
2 In the row for the selected path, click in the
grid column under the desired audio interface
and channel. Other channels, if any, fill to the
right.
For example, when mapping a new stereo path,
clicking in the path row under output channel 1
fills both channel 1 and 2 (left to 1, right to 2).
Channel and I/O Status Display
The channel grid uses different shades of gray to
highlight different I/O status:
White Indicates channels available for the path.
Medium Gray Indicates I/O that overlaps with
other path definitions (possible with Output
and Bus path arrangements, though with limita-
tions as described below).
Dark Gray Indicates channels that are unavail-
able for sub-path assignment.
Light Gray Indicates extra space beyond recog-
nized audio interfaces.
Note for Session Transfer
Pro Tools shows paths for unavailable I/O until
they are explicitly re-assigned to valid paths, or
deleted. See “Active and Inactive Paths” on
page 68 for more information.
Mapping channels
See “Valid Paths and Requirements” on
page 67 for details.
Chapter 7: I/O Setup 67
Surround Mixer Example
(Pro Tools 24 MIX Systems Only)
When mapping multi-channel paths, L is
mapped first to the clicked grid box, and re-
maining channels fill immediately to the right
according to the default path order. Because
some multi-channel mixing formats use unique
track layouts, Pro Tools lets you set the default
format in the I/O Setup dialog (see “Default
Output, Metering, Audition, and Path Order”
on page 72).
Re-Mapping Channels
You can move the individual assignments to dif-
ferent channels, to re-order the path’s definition
as L-R-C-Sub-LS-RS, for example.
To re-map channels in a path:
■Drag the channel to the new location in the
grid. Other channel assignments will move
(shuffle) to accommodate dragged channels.
Channel Shuffling
Moving a signal from right to left results in a
shuffle of other signals after the new destination
channel. Moving a signal from left to right shuf-
fles any and all signals after the new destination
channel and leave the previous channel empty.
Sub-Paths follow Main Paths
When a main Path is remapped, its sub-paths (if
any) will remap automatically to maintain con-
sistent routing. For example, remapping a stereo
path to different hardware outputs results in
any of its sub-paths moving with it.
Initializing I/O Setup
To set the current I/O Setup configuration:
■Click OK in the I/O Setup dialog.
All paths must be valid before the I/O Setup con-
figuration can be applied.
Valid Paths and Requirements
While configuring the I/O Setup window, cer-
tain rules apply for path definition and channel
mapping.
Though it is possible to set up invalid mappings
in the channel grid, Pro Tools will not accept
(OK) an I/O Setup configuration unless all paths
meet the path definition and channel mapping
requirements described below.
Minimum Path Definitions
All paths must have a name, be of a specific for-
mat, and have a valid I/O mapping.
Overlapping Channels and Valid Paths
Channel mapping follows certain rules regard-
ing overlapping paths.
◆There can be no partial or complete overlaps
between any two main Output Paths, any two
Insert Paths, or any two main Bus Paths.
Customized Output Paths for a 5.1 mix?
Changing a Path’s format erases any cur-
rent channel mapping.
Pro Tools Reference Guide68
◆A newly created Output or Bus Path must ei-
ther be completely independent (mapped to
any other available I/O interface/channels) of
other paths, or it must be a sub-path completely
contained within a larger path (for example, an
LCR sub-path within a larger 5.1 path).
◆Output and Insert Paths can overlap in I/O
Setup, but only one or the other can be used at
any given time in a session. (Inputs and Sample-
Cell paths, however, can be routed to multiple
tracks.)
Active and Inactive Paths
Pro Tools paths can be Active (on) or Inactive
(off, or unavailable). You can manually switch
paths between Active or Inactive on a per track
or session-wide basis. In addition, Pro Tools sets
paths to Inactive automatically when I/O is un-
available.
Track Path Assignments Track input, output
and buss path assignments can be switched to
Inactive using the appropriate selector on the
desired track. Doing so leaves track playlists in-
tact, while disconnecting that particular track
from the output or buss path. Use this to remove
a track from a signal path.
Session-Wide Paths can be globally activated or
de-activated in the I/O Setup window. Use this
to turn off a signal path on any and all tracks
currently assigned to it. Pro Tools also sets un-
available paths to inactive. Paths can be unavail-
able when hardware or other system resources
are unavailable, such as when opening a session
last saved on a different system.
Active and Inactive Path Assignments
To toggle a track path assignment to Active or
Inactive:
■In the Mix (or Edit) window, Command-Con-
trol-click (Macintosh) or Control-Start-click
(Windows) the track’s Input, Output, Insert, or
Send Selector.
Inactive track path assignments are indicated
with an asterisk (*) in its track selector menu.
(Paths set to globally inactive in the I/O Setup
window are listed in italics.)
Toggling All or All Selected
The Option/Option + Shift modifiers apply the
path toggle to all or all selected tracks, respec-
tively. However, Pro Tools will only apply the
change to identical path assignments, if any, in
the current track or tracks. In other words, tog-
gling multiple tracks only affects tracks that
have the same path assignment as the one you
are explicitly toggling.
Toggling Multiple Paths
If a track has only one main output assignment,
you can Command-Control-click (Macintosh)
or Control-start-click (Windows) the track’s
Output Selector to toggle the main output to in-
active. When there are multiple assignments,
the track selector will be displayed for you to
specify the input, output, insert, or bus path.
If a Send (A - E) has multiple output assignments
and one of those is toggled, then all of the out-
put assignments for that Send (A - E) will be tog-
gled.
Chapter 7: I/O Setup 69
Session-Wide Inactive Paths
Path can be globally configured for Active or In-
active status in the I/O Setup Dialog.
Display of Active and Inactive Status
Unhighlighted Indicates that the path is inactive.
The text associated with this Path becomes ital-
icized.
Highlighted (non-italics) When highlighted, and
when the Path name is listed in plain text (non-
italics), indicates the path is active.
Highlighted (italics) When highlighted, but the
that Path name is italicized, it indicates that the
path is active, but not enough system resources
are available.
To globally de-activate or activate a path:
1 Choose Setup > I/O Setup.
2 Select the appropriate Path type using the tabs
at the top of the window.
3 For the desired (or, undesired) path, set the Ac-
tive/Inactive control to the appropriate choice.
Inactive paths are displayed in italics in the
track path selectors.
Hardware Setup and Session Transfer
Sessions created in Pro Tools 5.1 and later store
the type and order of audio interfaces connected
and active when the session was last saved.
Unavailable I/O
When opening any session, Pro Tools checks to
see if the hardware configuration has changed
since the session was last saved. If the current
hardware configuration differs from that saved
in the session, paths associated with the un-
available I/O are made inactive.
Remapping
Remapping occurs when a session’s original
I/O Setup does not match that of the current
system and session paths are remapped to cur-
rent hardware.
Systems of equivalent I/O capability are
remapped directly. For example, a session
tracked to a Pro Tools 24 MIX system through
two 888/24 I/0 Audio Interfaces would include
16 Input paths spread across the two 8-channel
interfaces. Later, the session is taken to a differ-
ent Pro Tools system that has a single 1622 Au-
dio Interface (a 16-channel I/O unit) for addi-
Active and inactive path settings in I/O Setup
Any track path assignment can also be de-
activated on a per-track basis. See “Active
and Inactive Paths” on page 68
Inactive
Active
Active and inactive paths in a track output selector
Pro Tools Reference Guide70
tional editing. When the session is first opened
on the 1622-equipped system, Pro Tools maps
those input paths to the most appropriate in-
puts of the 1622, left-to-right. (Mapping will de-
pend on mono and stereo track format and ar-
rangement in the Mix and Edit windows.)
When hardware is unavailable to a session being
opened, assignments can either be replaced us-
ing the remap option, or opened as Inactive.
Any tracks left assigned to an unavailable path
will not be audible. This can beneficial, how-
ever, when you want to re-assign tracks into
your system’s mix one at a time.
Show Original and Show Current Setup
When a session is opened that contains path
definitions for unavailable I/O modules, the
I/O Setup dialog lists those paths in italics.
The Show Original Setup button displays the au-
dio interfaces used in the original session. This
temporary display lets you check the original
I/O configuration for reference while configur-
ing the session for your system.
Once a session has been opened with unavail-
able I/O retained, you can then re-assign tracks
to available I/O paths.
I/O Settings Files
I/O Settings can be managed when transferring
sessions, and when developing I/O Setup con-
figurations over the course of multiple sessions
and projects.
Defaults, Settings Files, and Last
Used Settings for New Sessions
When creating new sessions, you can select the
session’s I/O Setup configuration from among
numerous options:
Default I/O Setups The Pro Tools Installer pro-
vides factory presets for stereo and surround I/O
Setups (surround mixing is only supported on
Pro Tools 24 MIX systems). See “Factory I/O Set-
tings Files” on page 71 for more information.
Custom Presets You can store and recall custom
presets using the export and import features of
the I/O Setup dialog.
Last Used The most recent (or, last used)
I/O Setup configuration is saved as a Last Used
settings file. See “Last Used” on page 71 for
more information.
Default I/O Settings at First Launch
The first time you create a session, you can
choose default Stereo Mix or Surround Mix set-
tings, depending on your system and installa-
tion choices. See “Factory I/O Settings Files” on
page 71.
See “Active and Inactive Paths” on page 68
for more information.
To redefine the paths, see “Creating and
Editing Paths” on page 63.
Chapter 7: I/O Setup 71
Importing and Exporting I/O Settings
Files
You can export and import I/O Setup configura-
tions as I/O Settings files. This lets you save set-
tings for different projects, import settings for
quick reconfiguration, and manage Path defini-
tions and signal routing setups.
To export and save an I/O Setup configuration:
1 Click the Export Settings button.
2 Name and save the settings file.
Importing I/O Settings
I/O Settings can be imported into the current
session. When doing so, you can choose to de-
lete your system’s existing (last used) path defi-
nitions and replace them with settings being im-
ported. Or, you can retain both your current and
imported settings. Imported paths are added to
the current configuration.
To import an I/O Settings file:
1 Click Import Settings in the I/O Setup dialog.
2 Select the desired settings file in the dialog.
3 You will be asked whether you want to delete,
or retain, existing paths:
Delete Existing Paths Pro Tools remaps the orig-
inal session path definitions to your current
hardware setup of audio interfaces, left to right.
The session will no longer have any references
to or record of the original I/O assignments.
When old path definitions are deleted, associ-
ated assignment and automation data is also de-
leted.
Do Not Delete Existing Paths Pro Tools adds ses-
sion paths to the current system’s I/O Setup If
you cancel the remap option, the original I/O
assignments remain in the session. Unavailable
I/O results in paths opening as Inactive. In the
session, you can then re-assign tracks to avail-
able paths as needed, based on their original
(and inactive) I/O Setup and hardware configu-
ration. See “Active and Inactive Paths” on
page 68 for more information on utilizing inac-
tive paths.
Last Used
If any changes are made to the I/O Setup dialog
during a session, these changes are saved to the
Last Used settings file when the I/O Setup dialog
is closed.
Changes to I/O Setup are only saved in the cur-
rent session, when the session is saved. User Pre-
sets files will not contain recent changes unless
you explicitly export an updated settings file.
The Last Used settings are available as a choice
(or default) when creating or opening sessions,
in addition to the factory presets described be-
low.
Factory I/O Settings Files
Pro Tools provides I/O Settings files for Stereo
and Surround mixing. These files provide ge-
neric Main and Sub-Path definitions for either
mixing format.
Stereo Mix Settings File
The Stereo Mix preset consists of all possible ste-
reo and mono paths for your session.
To start sessions with a blank or empty
I/O Setup dialog, you must create and ex-
port a user setting file in which all defini-
tions have been deleted.
Using the “Stereo Mix” preset has the same
effect as hitting the Default Button for every
individual tab in I/O Settings. See “Creating
and Editing Paths” on page 63 for details.
Pro Tools Reference Guide72
Specifically, the Stereo Mix preset will create the
maximum number paths of each type, as deter-
mined by the available system’s I/O Setup and
hardware configuration.
Surround Mix Settings File
The Surround Mix provides additional, sur-
round-specific Output and Bus presets: See “Sur-
round Mix Settings Files” on page 427 for more
information.
About Direct Out Mode
Direct Outputs mode, as found in previous ver-
sions of Pro Tools, has been replaced by the de-
fault mono sub-paths available through all valid
I/O in the I/O Setup dialog.
The Default switch creates main Output paths
with appropriate mono sub-paths. These sub-
paths provide discrete monophonic routing.
When a session is opened that was saved in Di-
rect Outputs mode, Pro Tools maps all the out-
put assignments to equivalent mono sub-paths
(as available). See “Hardware Setup and Session
Transfer” on page 69 for more information on
remapping.
To convert a session so that it emulates Direct
Outs mode, use the Auto Assign Ascending Out-
puts feature:
To Auto Assign track outputs for Direct Out:
1 Make sure that all tracks are visible if desired
(because the hidden tracks will not be affected).
2 Select all desired tracks (Shift-click each track
name).
3 Command-Option-click (Macintosh) or Con-
trol-Start-click (Windows) the Output Selector
of the left-most track and assign it to the sub-
path for Output #1. All visible tracks will be
auto-assigned to unique mono sub-path outputs
in ascending order.
Default Output, Metering,
Audition, and Path Order
Pro Tools systems running the Surround mixer
have additional I/O Setup features. These in-
clude default signal routing for metering and au-
ditioning, and default track layout for multi-
channel mix formats.
Default Output Path
You can specify the default Output path assign-
ment for new tracks, in each available format.
To specify a default Output:
■Select a format and Output path from the De-
fault Output selector.
Audition Path
The Audition Path is the output path through
which file and regions are previewed in the Re-
gions List.
To audition regions in the Regions List:
■Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) the region in the list.
Selecting default Output paths
Chapter 7: I/O Setup 73
Using Default Audition Path
When you audition a file or region in the Re-
gions List, Pro Tools routes the audition
through the Audition path. Pro Tools assigns a
default Audition Path to the first main Output
Path of the given format available. As an alter-
native, you can pre-configure Region List pre-
viewing using the Audition Path selector in the
I/O Setup dialog.
Configuring Audition Paths
You can specify the monitoring outputs for Re-
gions List auditioning on a per-format basis us-
ing the Audition Paths menu.
Audition Path Main Menu The main menu con-
sists of all Path format choices available on the
current system (Mono and Stereo on all systems,
LCR and greater on surround-capable systems).
Audition Path Submenus Each Path format
choice has a submenu listing Output Paths of
that given format. (The mono submenu lists
Output Paths of any format.)
To configure Audition Paths:
■Select the desired path from the Audition
Paths menu or submenus.
Auditioning Discrete Signals in Multi-Channel
Items
In the Audio Regions List, multichannel regions
are auditioned through the current Audition
Path. Signals can be auditioned “in-place,” or
through all outputs as described below.
Audition In-Place
When auditioning a mono component of a
multi-channel region, that mono component
will by default be auditioned in place. That is, it
will play out the corresponding speaker channel
of its parent multi-channel region.
To audition in-place:
1 In the Regions List, make sure the stereo or
multi-channel region is in expanded view
(showing.L,.R and other component channels).
2 Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) the region for the desired channel.
Audition to All Outputs
Mono regions can be routed equally to all out-
puts of the parent region’s Audition Path.
To audition through all channels of the main
audition path:
■Shift-Option-click (Macintosh) or Shift-Alt-
click (Windows) on the signal in the Regions
List.
Selecting default Audition Paths
Pro Tools Reference Guide74
Default Path Order
The Default Path Order selector lets you select
the default track layout you want Pro Tools to
follow when creating and mapping 5.1-format
main or sub-paths in the I/O Setup dialog.
This setting does not affect existing Path defini-
tions or metering—it only specifies channel
mapping in new 5.1-format paths.
To choose a Default Path Order:
■Select the channel mapping from the Default
Path Order menu.
For more information about multi-channel mix-
ing, see Chapter 31, “Pro Tools Setup for Sur-
round.”
Metering
(ProControl Users Only)
The Meter Path selector determines the path dis-
played across the ProControl Output meters. See
the ProControl Addendum for Pro Tools 5.1 for
more details.
Default Path Order selector
Chapter 8: Tracks 75
Chapter 8: Tracks
This chapter covers basic track management
tasks such as creating and deleting tracks, as-
signing voices and output channels, and group-
ing tracks.
Track Types
In a Pro Tools session, you can have several dif-
ferent types of tracks. These can include audio
tracks, Auxiliary Input tracks, MIDI tracks, and
Master Fader tracks. On a Macintosh system, a
session can have a QuickTime, AVoption, or
AVoption XL Movie track.
Audio Tracks, Auxiliary Input Tracks,
and Master Fader Tracks
Pro Tools provides mono, stereo, and multi-
channel format audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs,
and Master Faders.
Audio Track
Audio tracks contain arrangements of recorded
(or imported) audio files.Audio tracks can be
mono, stereo, or multi-channel surround
(Pro Tools 24 MIX systems only).
Auxiliary Input Track
Auxiliary Input tracks can be used as effects
sends, destinations for alternate mix, as a
bounce destination, and for many other audio
routing tasks.
Master Fader Track
Master Fader tracks control the overall level of
the audio tracks that are routed to the session’s
main outputs.
MIDI Tracks
MIDI tracks store MIDI note, instrument, and
controller data. There is no option for selecting
the track format when you create a MIDI track,
because audio does not pass through it.
QuickTime Movie track features are de-
scribed in Chapter 36, “Working with
QuickTime Movies.”
Pro Tools Reference Guide76
Track Formats
Mono
A mono audio track, Auxiliary Input, or Master
Fader track controls volume, and, in some cases,
panning, for a single channel of audio. A mono
track uses a single voice.
Stereo
A stereo audio track, Auxiliary Input, or Master
Fader track is a single channel strip that plays
two channels of audio as a stereo pair. Stereo
tracks use two voices.
Multi-Channel Surround (Pro Tools 24 MIX
Systems Only)
A multi-channel track is a single channel strip
that plays multiple channels of audio (from 3–8
channels at a time). This allows Pro Tools to
support multi-channel mixing formats includ-
ing 3+1, 5.1, 6.1, and others.
For more information on surround mixing with
Pro Tools, see the following chapters:
• Chapter 31, “Pro Tools Setup for Surround”
• Chapter 32, “Multi-Channel Tracks and
Signal Routing”
• Chapter 33, “Surround Panning and Mixing”
With slight variations, audio track channel
strips in the Mix window look like the following
mono audio track. Stereo audio tracks have two
level meters and two pan controls, and multi-
channel tracks (3–8 channels) have one level
meter for each audio channel.
Audio track channel strip
Inserts
Sends
Input/Output
Record Enable/Solo/Mute/Voice
Automation Mode
Track Name
Pan Slider
Level Meter
Volume Fader
Group ID
Open Output window
Track Comment
Track Type
Indicator
Chapter 8: Tracks 77
Creating Tracks
On all systems, you can create mono and stereo
tracks with the New Tracks command. In addi-
tion, on Pro Tools MIX or MIXplus systems, you
can create multi-channel tracks.
Before you create new tracks:
◆For new tracks to appear next to a specific
track in a session, select that track by clicking its
name. The new tracks are added immediately af-
ter the selected track.
◆For new tracks to appear as the last tracks in a
session, make sure that no track names are se-
lected on-screen.
To create a new track:
1 Choose File > New Track.
2 Select from the Track Type pop-up menu the
type of track you want to add. For explanation
of track types, see “Track Types” on page 75.
3 Select Mono or Stereo (or one of the multi-
channel surround formats) from the Track For-
mat pop-up menu. Surround formats only ap-
pear for Pro Tools 24 MIX systems.
4 Enter the number of new tracks, then click
Create.
5 To configure which track controls appear in
the Mix window or Edit window, select from
Display > Mix Window Shows and Display >
Edit Window Shows.
Naming Tracks and Adding Track
Comments
Track names are used to auto-name recorded au-
dio files and regions (see “Track Names” on
page 116).
To rename a track or add comments:
1 In the Edit window or Mix window, double-
click the Track Name button for the track you
want to rename.
2 In the Track Name/Comments dialog, type a
new track name.
New Track dialog (audio track)
To auto-scroll the Track Type pop-up in the
New Track dialog, press Command (Macin-
tosh) or Control (Windows) and use the
Up/Down Arrow keys.
Track Format
Track Type
# of new tracks
Track Name/Comments dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide78
3 Click Previous or Next to rename another dis-
played track.
4 If desired, type comments for the track in the
Comments text box.
5 When you are finished, click OK.
Deleting Tracks
When you delete tracks, your audio or MIDI re-
gion data will remain in the Regions List, but
your arrangement of the regions on the deleted
track (the track’s playlist) will be lost. The Delete
Selected Tracks command cannot be undone.
To delete a track:
1 Click the name of the desired track to select it.
If you wish to select multiple tracks, hold down
the Shift key and click additional track names to
select them as well.
2 Choose File > Delete Selected Tracks.
3 Click OK to remove the selected tracks from
the session.
Hiding Tracks
The Show/Hide Tracks List (at the left of both
the Mix and Edit windows) shows all tracks in
the session. It allows you to show or hide a track
by selecting or deselecting its name. Even
though a track is hidden, the material on the
track will still play as part of the session.
To show a track, click to highlight its name. To
hide a track, deselect its name.
The pop-up menu at the top of Show/Hide
Tracks List provides commands that allow you
to show or hide all tracks, or only tracks cur-
rently selected on screen.
When a track that is a member of an active
group is hidden from view, editing operations
performed on other members of the group in
the Edit window will not affect the hidden track.
In the Mix window, however, all operations
other than record-enable will affect a hidden
track that is a member of an active group.
To switch tracks in the Track Name/Com-
ments dialog, you can press Command
(Macintosh) or Control (Windows) and use
the Up/Down Arrows.
To enter a carriage return in the Track Com-
ments text box, type Shift+Return (Macin-
tosh) or Shift+Enter (Windows) on the al-
pha keyboard.
The Show/Hide Tracks List
On TDM systems, even if a track is hidden
from view, its position relative to other
tracks still affects virtual track playback
priority. See “Virtual Tracks and Track Pri-
ority” on page 82.
Chapter 8: Tracks 79
To hide a track:
■Click the highlighted name of a track in the
Show/Hide Tracks List.
To show a track that is currently hidden:
■Click the unhighlighted name of a track in
the Show/Hide Tracks List.
To show all tracks:
1 Click the Show/Hide button at the top of the
Show/Hide Tracks List.
2 From the pop-up menu, choose Show All
Tracks.
To hide all tracks:
1 Click the Show/Hide button at the top of the
Show/Hide Tracks List.
2 From the pop-up menu, choose Hide All
Tracks.
Assigning Inputs and Outputs
to Audio Tracks
Inputs for audio tracks and Auxiliary Input
tracks can be assigned to audio interface chan-
nels or busses. Outputs for audio tracks, Auxil-
iary Input tracks, and Master Fader tracks can be
assigned to audio interface channels or busses.
For stereo and multi-channel surround tracks,
inputs and outputs appear as stereo pairs and
multichannel groups. The available inputs, out-
puts, and busses are defined as paths in the
I/O Setup dialog (see Chapter 7, “I/O Setup”).
Automatic Input and Output
Assignments
When adding tracks to a new session, outputs
are automatically assigned in ascending order.
For example, if you have an audio interface with
eight outputs, creating four new mono audio
tracks will automatically add four audio tracks
with outputs assigned to Output 1, Output 2,
Output 3, and Output 4. When creating stereo
tracks, outputs are automatically assigned to as-
cending output pairs.
The inputs automatically assigned to new tracks
is determined by the Default Output defined in
the I/O Setup dialog.
To reorder tracks on screen, drag the track
names to new positions within the
Show/Hide Tracks List.
Input/output assignments for three mono audio tracks
Track set to
Audio Input 2
Track set to
Bus 2
Track set to
No Input
Pro Tools Reference Guide80
Assigning Audio Track Inputs
To assign an audio track input:
1 To display inputs and outputs in the Edit win-
dow, select Display > Edit Window Show > I/O.
2 In the Mix or Edit window, click the track In-
put Selector and choose from the available au-
dio interface channels and busses. Stereo and
multi-channel surround tracks have inputs
available as pairs and multi-channel groups.
3 To remove an input assign, select No Input
from the Input Selector.
Assigning Audio Track Outputs
To assign an audio track output:
1 To display inputs and outputs in the Edit win-
dow, select Display > Edit Window Show > I/O.
2 In the Mix or Edit window, click the track Out-
put Selector and choose from the available au-
dio interface channels and busses. Stereo and
multi-channel surround tracks have outputs
available as pairs and multi-channel groups.
3 To remove an output assign, select No Output
from the Input Selector. Playlists become
dimmed for tracks with no output assignment.
Assigning Voices and Track
Priority
(TDM Systems Only)
Pro Tools 24 MIX systems provides up to 64 si-
multaneous voices of audio playback.
Pro Tools 24 systems provide up to 32 voices of
audio playback.
While your Pro Tools hardware allows a fixed
number of voices, Pro Tools software provides
for up to 128 virtual tracks—tracks that can be re-
corded or imported, arranged, and cued for
playback, but cannot all be played back simulta-
neously.
For these situations, Pro Tools assigns priorities
for tracks that compete for the available voices.
Pro Tools provides two ways of adjusting play-
back priority to audio tracks.
Tracks do not use up voices when:
• Their Voice Selector is set to Off.
• They are made inactive.
• They do not have an output and send assign-
ment.
In addition, you can temporarily free a track’s
voice during playback by muting it (see “Mute
Frees Assigned Voice” on page 84).
Assigning an audio track, Auxiliary Input,
or Master Fader to “No Output” will cause
its automation data for pan and plug-in pa-
rameters to be lost.
Chapter 8: Tracks 81
Voice Assignment
Tracks can be assigned to a specific voice, or
they can be set to Auto. When a tracks are auto-
voiced, Pro Tools automatically takes care of
voice management in the background—assign-
ing voices not in use by other tracks.
Tracks assigned to a specific voice number take
priority over auto-voiced tracks. To ensure a
track is heard, or that it is available for Quick-
Punch recording, assign it a voice.
To set the voice assignment for a track:
■Click the Voice Selector and select a voice
number, or set the track to Auto.
For stereo and multi-channel tracks, voices ap-
pear in pairs and multi-channel groups. Voices
already assigned to another track appear in bold
in the Voice Selector pop-up menu.
Automatic Assignment of Ascending
Voices
You can automatically assign all tracks or all se-
lected tracks to successive voices. For example,
you may want to select eight audio tracks and
reassign them to voices 9–16.
To assign all audio tracks to successive voices:
■While pressing Command+Option (Macin-
tosh) or Control+Alt (Windows), select the start-
ing voice number from the Voice Selector for the
track at the top of the Edit window, or at the far
left of the Mix window.
The voice is assigned to the clicked track, with
successive voices assigned to tracks (with the
same format) of lower priority.
To assign all selected audio tracks to successive
voices:
1 Select the desired audio tracks by Shift-click-
ing their names.
2 While pressing Command+Shift (Macintosh)
or Control+Shift (Windows), select the starting
voice number from the Voice Selector for the
top (Edit window) or left (Mix window) selected
track.
The voice is assigned to the clicked track, with
successive voices assigned to currently selected
tracks (with the same format) of lower priority.
Changing a Track’s Playback
Priority
When more than one track is assigned to the
same voice, the track with the higher priority
(left-most in the Mix window or topmost in the
Edit window) has priority over others assigned
to that voice. Moving another track of the same
voice to a higher position will then give that
track priority.
This track priority scheme is also used for auto-
voiced tracks. When the tracks in the session ex-
ceeded the number of available voices, tracks
with lower priority may not be heard.
Voice Selector for stereo audio track
Pro Tools Reference Guide82
To increase a track’s priority, do any of the
following:
■In the Edit window, drag the Track Name but-
ton above other tracks in the session. Tracks at
the top of the Edit window have higher priority
than those below.
■In the Mix window, drag the Track Name but-
ton to the left of other tracks in the session.
Tracks at the left of the Mix window have higher
priority than those to the right.
■In the Show/Hide Tracks List, drag the track
name to a higher position in the list. Tracks at
the top of this list have higher priority than
those below.
By experimenting with track priority, voice as-
signment, and arranging regions so that they are
positioned to “pop through” holes in higher pri-
ority tracks, you will find many useful ways to
apply virtual tracks and dynamic voice alloca-
tion.
Virtual Tracks and Track Priority
Pro Tools features dynamic voice allocation, so
that when a hole opens up in a higher-priority
track, its voice is temporarily available, and the
track with the next highest priority “pops
through” and begins to play. When the original
track returns, the track that had popped
through relinquishes the voice to the higher pri-
ority track.
The following example demonstrates the con-
cept of dynamic voice allocation:
In the above illustration, the two visible tracks
are assigned to the same voice. There is an open
area in the top track where no region appears. At
this point, the voice is free since it is not being
used, and the next highest priority track as-
signed to that voice (the bottom track) will pop
through the open area and play. In order for a
lower priority region to pop through, it must be
placed so that its beginning occurs after a higher
priority track’s region has ended.
Setting MIDI Channels
MIDI tracks can be assigned to one or more
MIDI channels with the Device/Channel selec-
tor. When assigned to multiple channels, all
material in the track is sent to all assigned chan-
nels.
MIDI tracks in Pro Tools can not contain multi-
ple channels of MIDI data.
To assign all regions on a MIDI track to a specific
MIDI channel:
1 Click on the track’s MIDI Device/Channel Se-
lector and assign a device and channel from the
pop-up menu. Channels already assigned to an-
other track appear bold in this menu.
To assign multiple destinations to a single MIDI
track, Shift-click the MIDI Device/Channel Se-
lector and select additional channels from any
device.
For details on recording and importing MIDI
data, see Chapter 13, “MIDI Recording”.
The “Lead Guitar” region will pop through
MIDI Device/Channel selector
Chapter 8: Tracks 83
Soloing and Muting Tracks
The Solo and Mute buttons can be engaged at
any time during playback. The Solo and Mute
buttons affect MIDI as well as audio tracks. It is
possible to have more than one track soloed or
muted at the same time in a session.
Grouping affects mute and solo behavior as
well. Normally, muting or soloing a track that is
a member of an active mix group will mute or
solo all other tracks that are a member of that
active mix group as well. However, by changing
the Mute and Solo settings in the Pro Tools Pref-
erences dialog, you can disable this behavior.
To disable group muting of tracks:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences, and click Auto-
mation.
2 Deselect the Mutes Follow Mix Groups op-
tion, and click OK.
With this option deselected, muting a track that
is a member of an active group does not affect
other members of the group.
To disable group soloing of tracks:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences, and click Auto-
mation.
2 Deselect the Solos Follow Mix Groups option,
and click OK.
With this option deselected, soloing a track that
is a member of an active group does not affect
other members of the group.
Solo Button
The solo button mutes other tracks so that the
chosen track can be auditioned alone. Normally
solos are “latched,” that is, pressing subsequent
solo buttons adds them to the soloed mix of
tracks. Pro Tools allows you to “unlatch” solos,
so that pressing a solo button will mute all
tracks except the track you have just soloed.
To solo a track:
1 Click the Solo button on the track. The button
is highlighted and all other tracks are muted.
2 Click the Solo button again to turn off the solo
function.
To unlatch solo buttons:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Opera-
tion.
2 Deselect the Latch Solo Buttons option and
click Done. With this option disabled, pressing a
Solo button mutes all tracks except the track you
have just soloed.
Solo Safe Mode
Pro Tools also allows you to solo safe a track.
This prevents the track from being muted even
if you solo other tracks. This feature is useful for
tracks such as Auxiliary Inputs that are being
used as effects returns, allowing the effects track
to remain in a mix even when other tracks are
soloed. It is also useful to solo-safe MIDI tracks
so that their playback is not affected when you
solo audio tracks.
Pro Tools Reference Guide84
To solo safe a track:
■Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) the Solo button on the desired track.
This prevents the track from being muted even
if you solo other tracks.
To return a solo safe track to normal:
■Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) the Solo button on the track again.
Mute Button
The mute button silences a chosen track. More
than one track can be muted at one time. If Op-
erations > Mute Frees Assigned Voice is enabled,
muting a track will allocate its voice to the next
highest priority virtual track (assigned to the
same voice).
To mute a track:
■Click the Mute button on the track. The track
will appear grayed-out and be muted.
To unmute a track:
■Click the Mute button again.
Mute Frees Assigned Voice
(TDM Systems Only)
Selecting Operations > Mute Frees Voice and
muting a track disables playback of that track,
and surrenders control of its voice to the next
highest priority track with the same voice as-
signment.
With this option enabled, there may be a delay
(ranging in length from one to several seconds
depending on the processing power of your sys-
tem) between the time you mute or unmute a
track and when you hear the effect on playback.
To avoid this delay, make sure that the Mute
Frees Assigned Voice option is disabled. Another
factor than can cause delays is your DAE Play-
back Buffer Size setting. Playback Buffer Size is
set from DAE’s File menu (Macintosh), or by
choosing Setups > DAE Buffer Size (Windows).
The larger the playback buffer you choose, the
longer the potential lag time between the time
you click the Mute button and the onset of mut-
ing.
Making Tracks Inactive
(TDM Systems Only)
A track can be made inactive. Inactive tracks use
no DSP or voices. Plug-ins, sends, voices, and au-
tomation on inactive tracks are disabled. Tracks
may also be automatically made inactive if a ses-
sion is opened on a system with less DSP power
than the system it was created on. Audio, Auxil-
iary Input, and Master Fader tracks can be made
inactive.
To toggle a track Active/Inactive:
■Command-Control-click (Macintosh) or Con-
trol-Start-click (Windows) the track type icon in
the Mix window.
Playlists for inactive tracks are dimmed.
Muting a track with Mute Frees Assigned
Voice enabled does not free up the voice for
QuickPunch recording.
MIDI tracks cannot be made inactive.
Toggling a track Active/Inactive
Click here to toggle
a track active or inactive
Chapter 8: Tracks 85
Adjusting Track Width
The Narrow Mix Window command allows you
to view all tracks/channels in the Mix window
at a reduced width to conserve screen space in a
large session.
To reduce the width of tracks in the Mix window:
■Select Display > Narrow Mix Window.
To display tracks at normal width:
■Deselect Display > Narrow Mix Window.
Color Coding Tracks
The Display Preference for Edit Window Color
Coding determines how colors are assigned to
waveforms and MIDI data in the Edit window.
Colors can be based on groups, voice assign-
ment for audio tracks, and channels or devices
for MIDi tracks.
Color coding of voices is especially useful when
keeping track of tracks assigned to the same
voice. Since tracks assigned to the same voice
share the same color, you can easily identify and
arrange regions so that they do not overlap or
conflict with other regions on tracks assigned to
the same voice.
To configure the Edit Window Color Coding:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click the Dis-
play tab.
2 Select one of the following color coding op-
tions:
None This option turns off color assignment for
tracks in the Edit window.
Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to
each track in the Edit window according to its
voice and MIDI channel assignment.
Tracks and MIDI Devices Assigns a color to the
track in the Edit window according to its voice
and MIDI device assignment.
Groups Assigns a color to each track in the Edit
window according to its group ID. If groups are
suspended using the Suspend Groups com-
mand, all waveforms are displayed in black.
3 Click Done to close the Preferences dialog.
Grouping Tracks
Pro Tools provides a relative grouping function
for linking channels and their controls. Groups
can be applied to either the Mix or Edit window,
or both.
Groups are useful for editing several tracks in ex-
actly the same way, or for mixing several tracks
(such as a pair of stereo tracks or a submix) while
keeping them at the same relative volume level.
Pro Tools provides the following grouping fea-
tures:
• Up to 26 different groups
• Nested groups (subgroups within groups)
• Grouped faders/controllers preserve their lev-
els relative to each other
Pro Tools Reference Guide86
Grouping can affect the following track param-
eters:
• Volume levels
• Solos
• Mutes
• Automation modes
• Send levels
• Send mutes
• Track view
• Track height
• Editing functions
Grouping does not affect these parameters:
• Record enables
• Panning
• Send panning
• Voice assignment
• Output assignment
• Creating Plug-In instances
Using the Groups List
The Pro Tools grouping functions are located at
the left side of your screen in the Groups List.
This scrolling window contains the names of all
the groups in your session, as well as a pop-up
menu for accessing grouping commands. From
this menu, you can select and enable groups.
By default, every session has a group named All,
which includes every track and channel in the
session. The All group cannot be edited or de-
leted.
To the left of each name in the Groups List is a
letter denoting its Group ID (“a” through “z”),
and to the left of that, a symbol indicating
whether that group is selected in the currently
active window (either the Edit or Mix window).
These symbols indicate the following:
The filled-in circle symbol indicates that all
members of the group are currently selected.
Groups List
Group pop-up menu Click to
select a
group by
typing its
letter
Click to
activate a
group
Click to
select group
members
on-screen
Click to hide
Groups List
Chapter 8: Tracks 87
The hollow circle symbol indicates that only
some members of the group are currently se-
lected.
The circle with a dot symbol indicates that all
members of the group are currently selected,
plus additional members outside the group.
The Groups Pop-up Menu
The Groups pop-up menu contains commands
that allow you to create, delete and suspend
groups. These commands are as follows:
New Group This command allows you to create a
new group. You must first select two or more
tracks/channel strips on screen to do this.
Display This command allows you to toggle the
Groups List display to either Mix Groups or Edit
Groups. If all of your groups apply to both Edit-
ing and Mixing, the Groups List will be the same
for both.
Suspend All Groups This command allows you
to temporarily toggle all active groups off.
Delete Selected Groups This command allows
you to permanently remove a group from the
Groups List. You must first select a Group Name
in the Groups List to do this.
Creating a Group
To create a group:
1 Hold down the Shift key and select the tracks
you want to include in the group.
2 Choose File > Group Selected Tracks.
3 Enter a name for the group and choose a
Group ID (“a” - “z”).
4 Choose the type of group to create: Edit
Group, Mix Group, or Edit and Mix Group.
5 Click OK to add the new group to the Groups
List.
Group pop-up menu
Selecting tracks to be grouped
New Group dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide88
Changing the Members of a Group
You can add or remove members from a group
at any time.
To change the members of a group:
1 Hold down the Shift key and select the tracks
to include in the group.
2 Choose New Group from the Group pop-up
menu.
3 In the dialog that appears, select the Group ID
that you want to update.
4 Click OK. The new group definition over-
writes the original definition.
Renaming a Group
You can rename a group at any time.
To rename a group:
1 In the Groups List, double-click to the left of
the group’s name (in the area with the circular
symbols).
2 In the dialog that appears, enter a new name
for the group. (If you wish to change the group’s
type, you can also do so here.)
3 Click OK. The group is renamed in the Groups
List.
Deleting a Group
You can delete a group at any time.
To delete a group:
1 In the Groups List, select the name of the
group (or groups) you wish to delete.
2 Click the Group pop-up menu and choose De-
lete Selected Groups. You cannot undo this ac-
tion.
Linking Mix and Edit Groupings
The “Link Mix and Edit Group Enables” option
links group enabling between the Mix and Edit
windows.
Pro Tools allows you to create groups that are
both Mix and Edit groups. but in some cases you
may prefer not to link enabling of Mix and Edit
groups. For example, when you are using the
Mix window for mixing, you may prefer to work
with large, nested groups. However, in the Edit
window, you may want to perform editing tasks
within a smaller group. You could disable the
Link Mix and Edit Group Enables preference.
This would allow you to work with different
groups in the two windows.
To unlink mix and edit groups:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Opera-
tion.
2 Deselect the “Link Mix and Edit Group En-
ables” option and click Done.
Enabling Groups
Editing operations are not applied to members
of a group that are hidden with the Show/Hide
Tracks List. Mix operations (with the exception
of Record-enable) are applied to hidden tracks.
Pro Tools allows you to create separate groups
for editing and mixing. You set this option
when you use the New Group command.
Groups that apply to both editing and mixing
can be decoupled.
Chapter 8: Tracks 89
To enable a group:
■In the Groups List, click the name of the
group you want to enable. The group name is
highlighted to indicate that it is enabled.
To enable additional groups, click their names
in the Groups List. It is not necessary to Shift-
click to enable or disable multiple groups.
Moving a fader of a group member will cause all
other group members to move relative to it. If a
fader belongs to multiple groups, and the
groups conflict when faders are moved, the
fader will follow the topmost or “parent” group
that it belongs to.
To disable a group:
■In the Groups List, click the name of the
group you want to disable. The group name is
unhighlighted to indicate that it is not enabled.
Keyboard Selection of Groups
If the Groups List Key focus is enabled, you can
type a Group ID letter and Pro Tools will auto-
matically enable that group.
To enable and use the Groups List Key focus:
1 Click the a-z button in upper right of the
Groups List.
– or –
Press Command+Option+4 (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+Alt+4 (Windows).
2 Type the Group ID letter (a-z) to automatically
enable it.
Groups List Key focus enabled
Pro Tools Reference Guide90
Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Audio and MIDI 91
Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting
Audio and MIDI
Importing Audio
In Pro Tools you can import previously recorded
audio files and regions from other sessions or
other applications. You can also import tracks
from other Pro Tools sessions (see “Importing
Tracks from Other Sessions” on page 94), and
convert the audio while importing.
Audio files and regions can be imported to new
tracks, or they can be imported into the Audio
Regions List, where they can be dragged to exist-
ing tracks.
Audio files in the following formats can be im-
ported:
• AIFF
•WAV
• SDII
• SDI
• MP3
• Sound Resource (AIFL—Macintosh only)
• WMA (Windows Media—Windows only)
Supported files and regions can be auditioned
before importing.
If region definitions are present in an audio file,
you can convert and import selected regions
without importing the entire parent audio file.
When importing into a session, choose
File > Import Audio to Track to place the audio
into a new track. To import into the Audio Re-
gions List, choose Convert & Import Audio from
the Audio Regions pop-up menu. Both com-
mands open the same Import Audio dialog (see
Figure 5 on page 93).
Files that don’t match the session’s supported
files types, must be converted when importing.
If you import an audio file with a sample rate
that doesn’t match the current session’s sample
rate, and you do not convert it, the file will not
play back at the original pitch.
Pro Tools Reference Guide92
Copying, Adding, and Converting Audio
Depending on the properties of the audio files
you are importing, you can add, copy, or con-
vert the files.
Add
Audio files that are of the same bit depth and file
type can be added directly to a session. Use this
option when you don’t want to use extra hard
drive space for audio files that are already of the
same bit depth and sample rate as your session.
Note that added files remain in their original
folder locations.
Pro Tools allows audio files that are not in the
native session type to be added to a session.
Macintosh sessions allow SDII, AIFF, or WAV
files to be added to any session, and Windows
sessions allow AIFF or WAV files to be added to
any session. However, sessions with mixed file
types will have reduced performance.
Audio files that are of a different bit depth must
be converted.
Copy
If a file can be added to your session, you will
also be given the option to copy it. This option
creates a copy of the audio file and places it in a
folder you choose.
Use Copy when the file you are importing is of
the correct bit depth and file type, but it is at the
wrong sample rate, and you want it to play back
correctly. You can also use Copy to move audio
from an unsupported or removable drive to an
audio drive, or to consolidate audio files for a
session to a specific location.
Convert
Audio files that are not of the same bit depth or
audio files that are of an incompatible file type
(SDII files in Windows or on the Macintosh in a
Mac/PC compatible session) must be converted
to be used with a session. When audio files are
converted, a new file with the correct bit depth,
file type, and sample rate is created and placed
in a folder you choose.
The quality of sample rate conversion used by
Pro Tools is determined by the Preference for
Conversion Quality. For details, see “Conver-
sion Quality” on page 99.
Importing Stereo Files
When using the Import Audio to Tracks com-
mand, stereo files (“interleaved”) are automati-
cally imported to stereo tracks.
Split stereo (dual mono) audio files can be auto-
matically imported to stereo tracks. The files
must both be the same length, and they must be
named “filename.L” and filename.R”. In Win-
dows, or in Mac/Windows compatibility mode,
these files will have a 3-letter file extension ap-
pended after the “.L” or “.R.”
Pro Tools allows you to add files to a ses-
sion that are at a different sample rate than
your session (48 kHz or 44.1 kHz). In the
comments field of the Import Audio dialog,
a warning is posted that these files will play
back at the wrong speed if they are not con-
verted.
Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Audio and MIDI 93
Using the Import Audio Command
To import audio files or regions into a session:
1 Choose File > Import Audio to Track to import
audio files or regions to their own separate
tracks.
– or –
Choose Import Audio from the Audio Regions
List menu to import audio into the Audio Re-
gions List without automatically creating tracks.
2 At the top of the Import Audio dialog, select
an audio file to display its properties and associ-
ated regions.
You can choose to display only a certain file
type (AIFF, for example) by selecting it from the
Show pop-up menu. To display all supported file
types, select All from the Show pop-up menu.
3 To audition a selected file or region before you
import it, use the Play and Stop buttons.
Adjust playback volume with the vertical slider.
To navigate to a particular location in the file,
use the horizontal slider under the Play and Stop
buttons.
4 To place a file or region in the import list (in
the lower right of the dialog on a Macintosh, or
on the right in Windows), select the file (Shift-
click to select multiple files) and click Add or
Convert. You can also click Add All or Convert
All to import all regions and files in the current
directory.
In the import list, audio files are distinguished
from regions by their icons.
5 To remove a file or region from the import list
on the right, select it and click Remove. To re-
move all regions or files, click Remove All.
6 Once the audio files and regions have been
added to the import list, click Done.
7 If you are copying or converting files, you are
prompted to choose a location for the new au-
dio files. Choose a folder on a valid audio drive.
If you chose File > Import Audio to Track, the
files and regions are imported to separate audio
tracks, and also appear as regions in the Audio
Regions List.
If you chose Import Audio from the Audio Re-
gions List, the files and regions appear as regions
in the Audio Regions List.
Figure 5. Import Audio dialog
On the Macintosh, Sound Resource files
must have an “.SFIL” extension to be im-
ported by Pro Tools.
File and Region icons in the Import Audio dialog
Audio File icon
Audio Region icon
Pro Tools Reference Guide94
Importing Tracks from Other
Sessions
You can import tracks from a different Pro Tools
session into a current Pro Tools session using
the Import Tracks command. On the Macin-
tosh, you can Import tracks from Pro Tools 3.2
sessions and later. On Windows, you can Import
tracks from Pro Tools 4.2.5 sessions or later.
You can import audio tracks, MIDI tracks, Aux-
iliary Input tracks, and Master Fader tracks. Dur-
ing the import process, you can force the file
type of the imported files to the current session
file type, and you can change the bit depth and
sample rate.
Import Tracks also lets you set time code loca-
tion options, sample rate conversion options,
and audio and video media translation options.
Import Tracks Dialog
The Import Tracks dialog allows you to select
tracks to import, view source session properties,
and configure settings that affect the way tracks
are imported. The elements of this dialog are de-
scribed below.
Source Properties
The Import Tracks dialog displays properties for
the source session.These properties include
source session name, session type, start time of
the session, audio bit depth, and sample rate.
For Pro Tools 5.1 sessions, the program that cre-
ated the session, and the session’s audio file type
are listed.
Source Tracks
You can select source tracks to Import in this
area of the dialog. To select multiple contiguous
tracks, Shift-click. To select multiple non-contig-
uous files, Command-click (Macintosh) or Alt-
click (Windows).
Time Code Mapping Options
You can specify where Pro Tools places the im-
ported tracks in your session using the Time
Code Mapping Options. Times are indicated in
time code for TDM systems, and minutes:sec-
onds for Pro Tools LE systems.
Maintain Absolute Time Code Values
This option places tracks at the locations where
they were located in the source session. This
means that if your session starts at 00:01:00:00,
and the session from which you are importing
starts at 10:00:00:00, the earliest imported tracks
can appear in your session is 9 hours and 59
minutes after the start of the session.
Import Tracks dialog
Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Audio and MIDI 95
Maintain Relative Time Code Values
This option places tracks at the same offset from
session start as they had in the source session.
For example. if the session start was 01:00:00:00
in the source session and a track started at
01:01:00:00, then if the current session start is
02:00:00:00 the track will be placed at
02:01:00:00.
Map Start Time Code to hh:mm:ss:ff
This option places tracks relative to their origi-
nal session start time. This means that if your
session starts at 00:01:00:00, and the session
from which you are importing tracks starts at
10:00:00:00, you can set the start time code to
00:01:00:00, and avoid placing files 9 hours and
59 minutes from the start of your session.
Sample Rate Conversion Options
This dialog allows you to set options for sample-
rate conversion of imported audio files. If the
source session and your target session have the
same sample rate, this portion of the dialog is
dimmed.
Source Sample Rate
Although your audio files are from a 44.1 kHz or
48 kHz session, you can have the sample rate
conversion process treat them in several ways to
compensate for pull-up, pull-down, and NTSC
or PAL frame rates. This setting allows you to
choose the sample rate from which you want
the sample rate conversion process to start.
Destination Sample Rate
The destination sample rate is always set to the
sample rate of your session.
Conversion Quality
With this setting you can change the quality of
the sample-rate conversion process. At lower
quality settings audio is processed faster; at
higher settings audio processing is slower.
“Best” runs at approximately real time on a fast
machine. See “Conversion Quality” on page 99.
Audio Media Options
Consolidate from Source Media
This option lets you copy audio while consoli-
dating it. In this way you can copy only the used
portions of the media, without copying unused
audio in the source files.
When you choose this option, you should also
choose an amount of handle. Handle is an
amount of the original audio file that is pre-
served before and after each region in case you
need to make any edits to the new regions.
Copy from Source Media
This option copies all audio files related to the
imported tracks from the source media to a new
specified location. This is useful if you are im-
porting tracks from a source such as CD-ROM or
shared storage, and you want to place the audio
files on a different hard drive.
Refer to Source Media (Where Possible)
This setting lets you avoid duplicating audio
files by referring to the original files when possi-
ble. If the source files do not reside on “play-
able” media (such as a CD-ROM), or if they re-
quire bit depth or file conversion, the files are
instead copied.
Pro Tools Reference Guide96
Force Audio Media to New Format
This forces all imported audio files to the audio
media format you select.
Format for New Audio
Choose whether you want new media files to be
SDII, WAV, or AIFF files.
Video Media Options
You can either choose to leave video media files
in their original locations or copy them to a new
location. This is useful if you are importing
tracks from a source such as CD-ROM or shared
storage, and you want to place video files on a
different drive.
Import Tempo/Meter Map
Select this option to import the meter and
tempo tracks from the source session.
Using the Import Tracks Command
To import tracks:
1 Open or create a new session.
2 Choose File > Import Tracks.
3 Navigate to and select the session to import
tracks from and click Open. The Import Tracks
dialog opens and displays the tracks that can be
imported.
If the current Pro Tools system does not support
surround mixing, surround tracks are not dis-
played in the Import Tracks dialog.
4 Select the tracks to import. Shift-click to select
multiple contiguous files. Command-click
(Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) to select
multiple non-contiguous files.
5 Choose the time code mapping option for im-
ported audio files.
6 If the sample rates of the sessions are different,
choose the sample rate for the source session.
7 If applicable, choose options for imported au-
dio and video media files.
8 To import the meter and tempo tracks from
the source session, select that option.
9 Click OK when you are finished.
10 If you chose to copy or consolidate media,
choose a location to place the media files.
Loading Audio Files with Drag
& Drop
Pro Tools provides you with a convenient
method of batch loading audio files into an
open session.
To batch load audio files into a session:
1 Open the Pro Tools session.
2 From the desktop, locate the audio files you
want to import. Make sure the files match the
session’s file type, bit depth, and sample rate.
3 Drag the audio files onto the Pro Tools icon.
The audio files are automatically imported and
appear in the Audio Regions List.
Imported tracks are made inactive if their
source media is unavailable, of if the cur-
rent session does not contain an equivalent
output path.
Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Audio and MIDI 97
Exporting Audio
The following sections discuss exporting regions
as audio files, exporting left and right audio files
as stereo interleaved files, and exporting region
information.
You can also export audio from Pro Tools by
bouncing or consolidating audio tracks. For
more information, see “Bounce to Disk” on
page 400 and “Consolidate Selection Com-
mand” on page 256.
Exporting a Region as a New
Audio File
You can export regions as audio files with the
Export Selected As Files command. Use this
command if you intend to use a region in other
sessions (or other audio applications) without
using its parent source file.
This command also provides a way to convert
regions to a different audio format, sample rate,
or bit depth.
To export regions as new audio files:
1 In the Audio Regions List, select the regions
you want to export.
2 From the Audio Regions List pop-up menu,
choose Export Selected As Files.
3 In the Export Selected dialog, set the file type,
format, bit resolution, and sample rate. In addi-
tion, specify the Conversion Quality, and
choose the destination directory.
4 Select an option for how Pro Tools should re-
solve duplicate file names. Prompting for Each
Duplicate will prompt you for a file name for
any file that has the same name as a file in your
destination directory. Auto Renaming automat-
ically changes the name of any duplicate file by
adding a number at the end (e.g. file-01). Replac-
ing with New Files replaces files with the same
name with the new files.
5 Once the Output Options are configured, click
OK to export the new audio files.
Exporting Stereo Interleaved Files
You can use the Export Selected As Files com-
mand to export audio regions to stereo inter-
leaved files for use in other applications.
(Pro Tools sessions do not support stereo inter-
leaved files.) For this to work, the selected re-
gions must have identical names with “.L” and
“.R” suffixes (for instance, vocals-01.L and vo-
cals-01.R). These regions appear as a stereo re-
gion in the Audio Regions List.
Export Selected dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide98
To export regions as a stereo interleaved file:
1 Select the stereo audio region in the Audio Re-
gions List or in the track playlist. If the regions
appear on mono tracks in the session, select the
two mono regions.
2 From the Audio Regions List pop-up menu,
choose Export Selected As Files.
3 In the Export Selected dialog, select “Inter-
leaved” in the Format pop-up menu.
4 Configure any other output parameters, then
click OK to export the new stereo interleaved
file.
Exporting Region Definitions
Pro Tools stores region definitions for audio files
within each session. If you want to use an audio
file’s regions in another session, or with another
application that supports them, you can export
the region information.
The Export Region Definitions command does
not export regions as audio files (unlike the Ex-
port Selected As Files command). Instead, it
stores pointers to the regions within the parent
source file.
To export region definitions for an audio file:
1 In the Audio Regions List, select any regions
for which you want to export definitions. You
do not have to select the parent file audio re-
gion.
2 Choose Export Region Definitions from the
Audio Regions List pop-up menu.
3 Click Export.
Transferring Audio from CD
(Macintosh Only)
Pro Tools allows you to transfer audio tracks
from an audio CD with the Import Audio From
Other Movie command. Since the transfer is
made in the digital domain, there is no signal
loss.
The sample rate for audio CDs is 44.1 kHz.
Therefore, if your session’s sample rate is set to
48 kHz, Pro Tools will convert the sample rate
for the imported audio. Before importing CD
audio, set the Conversion Quality Preference ac-
cordingly. See “Conversion Quality” on page 99
for details.
When importing a CD audio track, Pro Tools
first imports it as QuickTime movie. The im-
ported movie is then converted to audio files in
your session file format. Before importing CD
audio, make sure your hard drive has enough
space for both the imported movie file and the
converted audio files.
To import a CD audio track:
1 Insert the audio CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2 Choose Movie > Import Audio From Other
Movie.
3 Locate and select the audio track to be im-
ported, then click Convert.
4 When the Save dialog appears, click the Op-
tions button.
Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Audio and MIDI 99
5 In the Options dialog, select the sample rate,
bit resolution, and stereo format.
6 At the bottom of the Options dialog, set the
range of the audio track to be imported by ad-
justing the Start and End times, then click OK.
7 Specify the destination for the imported audio
track and click Save. Pro Tools imports the CD
audio track as a QuickTime movie and writes it
to your hard drive.
8 When the Track Import window appears, click
OK.
Pro Tools converts the audio track to your ses-
sion’s sample rate and bit resolution and im-
ports the selected audio tracks into the Audio
Regions List. From there you can drag the re-
gions to existing tracks.
Conversion Quality
The Conversion Quality Preference determines
the quality of sample rate conversion used when
converting and importing audio into a session,
and when importing CD audio tracks (Macin-
tosh only). There are five possible settings, rang-
ing from Low to Tweak Head. The higher the
quality, the longer it will take for the sample
rate conversion.
To set the sample rate conversion quality:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences, and click Edit-
ing.
2 From the Conversion Quality pop-up menu,
select the desired quality.
For most applications, the Good or Better set-
ting will yield very good results. Because the
Best and Tweak Head settings take significantly
longer, use them only when higher fidelity is ab-
solutely essential.
3 Click Done.
Slower computers can take an extremely long
time to perform sample rate conversion, espe-
cially at higher-quality settings. The Tweak
Head setting, for instance, can take as long as
several hours to process an audio file of moder-
ate length.
Audio CD Import Options dialog (Macintosh)
Conversion Quality preference
Pro Tools Reference Guide100
Exporting Session Text
(TDM Systems Only)
You can use the Export Session as Text com-
mand to create a text file that contains extensive
information about your session.
This text file can contain a list of audio files, au-
dio regions, audio track EDL (edit decision list)
information, extended timestamp information,
and information about crossfades.
Track EDLs are exported as tab-delimited text—
that is, with tabs between each column heading,
and tabs between each event parameter. You
can use this data in a program for reading EDLs,
or you can format the EDL data into tables using
a word processor or spreadsheet application.
Export Session Text Options
Include File List/Region List
You can choose to export a list of the session’s
audio files and regions. The file list provides a
list of all the audio files and fades in the session,
and their hard drive locations. The region list
displays all audio regions in the session, and the
source audio file for each region.
Include Track EDL’s
You can also export track EDLs. Track EDLs can
be used to spot-check region placement and ed-
its, or in a conforming program for post applica-
tions. In extreme circumstances the EDL can be
used to recreate the entire session.
Show Subframes
This option allows you to export subframe time
information, if used in your session.
Include User Timestamps
You can include user timestamps. User times-
tamps indicate a user-defined session location
for the region, or the original location of the re-
gion when recorded.
Fade Handling
You can choose whether to show crossfades, not
to show them, or to combine crossfaded regions.
When regions are combined, their durations
and locations are listed up to the center of the
crossfade (for the leading region) and from the
center of the crossfade (for the following re-
gion).
Export Session Text dialog
MIDI track EDLs are not exported.
Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Audio and MIDI 101
Time Format
You can select an appropriate time format to ex-
port to the text files. All EDL information is
based on this time format. For example, for post
work, you might export SMPTE time, but for
music creation locked to a grid, you might ex-
port Bars & Beats.
File Format
You can choose to export to any of several differ-
ent text formats. These include standard text
formats, and Microsoft Word and Excel formats.
The Exported Session Text
Session Information
At the start of the session text file, basic informa-
tion about the session is included. This informa-
tion includes the session name, sample rate, bit
depth, time code format, and number of audio
tracks, audio regions, and audio files, as shown
in the following example.
File List and Region List
Next, if you choose to include them, are the lists
of audio files and regions.
Track EDLs
The final item, if exported, is the list of track
EDLs. A track EDL lists the track name, and all
edits, including the event number, the region
name, region start and end time, and region du-
ration. The region timestamp is also exported, if
you select this option. Subframes are shown in
each time field if you select this option.
Exporting a session as text:
1 Choose File > Export Session as Text.
2 Select whether to include the file list, region
list, and track EDLs.
3 If you choose to include track EDLs, select
whether to show subframes, and whether to in-
clude user timestamps. Also select an option for
crossfade handling.
4 Select the Time Format for the exported ses-
sion text from the pop-up menu.
5 Select the File Format for exported text using
the pop-up menu.
6 When you have set your options, click OK.
7 Select a location and enter a filename for the
exported text file. In Windows, Pro Tools adds
the correct 3-letter filename extension, while on
the Macintosh, the file extension “.txt” is added.
SESSION NAME: Ripleys II-092700
SAMPLE RATE: 48000.000000
BIT DEPTH: 24-bit
TIME CODE FORMAT: 30 Frame
# OF AUDIO TRACKS: 19
# OF AUDIO REGIONS: 203
# OF AUDIO FILES: 54
Pro Tools Reference Guide102
Importing MIDI Files
You can import Standard MIDI Files into your
Pro Tools sessions. Use the Import MIDI to Track
command to place the imported MIDI onto new
tracks; or use the Import MIDI command in the
MIDI Regions List pop-up menu to place the
data in the MIDI Regions List, where it can be
dragged to existing tracks.
Pro Tools does not import proprietary sequence
files. To use sequences from other MIDI applica-
tions in a Pro Tools session, you’ll need to first
save them as Standard MIDI Files. Refer to the
manufacturer’s documentation for details on
saving Standard MIDI Files.
There are two types of Standard MIDI Files, both
of which are supported by Pro Tools:
◆Type 0 MIDI files store data for all MIDI chan-
nels in a single track. When importing these
files, Pro Tools separates the data by channel
and places them in separate regions and tracks.
◆Type 1 MIDI files, sometimes referred to as
multitrack MIDI files, contain multiple tracks of
MIDI data. When importing these files, each
track’s data is placed on its own new MIDI track
in the Pro Tools session.
To import a Standard MIDI File to new tracks:
1 Choose File > Import MIDI to Track.
2 Select the MIDI file you want to import.
3 To import the MIDI file’s tempo and meter
tracks, select the option for Import Tempo From
MIDI File.
This option overwrites existing meter and
tempo events in the current session. If you don’t
want this, make sure to instead select Use Exist-
ing Tempo From Session.
4 Click Import (Macintosh) or Open (Win-
dows). If prompted, specify whether you want
to Keep or Discard existing MIDI tracks and re-
gions in the current session.
The MIDI data is imported to new MIDI tracks,
and also appears as regions in the MIDI Regions
List.
5 In the Mix window, click on the MIDI De-
vice/Channel selector for each new track and as-
sign a MIDI instrument and channel.
Import MIDI dialog
If the Standard MIDI File contains markers,
they are only imported if the current session
does not contain any markers.
Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Audio and MIDI 103
To import a Standard MIDI File into the MIDI
Regions List:
1 Choose Import MIDI from the MIDI Regions
List pop-up menu.
2 Select the MIDI file you want to import.
3 To import the MIDI file’s tempo and meter
tracks, select the option for Import Tempo From
MIDI File.
This option overwrites existing meter and
tempo events in the current session. If you don’t
want this, make sure to instead select Use Exist-
ing Tempo From Session.
4 Click Import (Macintosh) or Open (Win-
dows). If prompted, specify whether you want
to Keep or Discard existing MIDI tracks and re-
gions residing in the current session.
Pro Tools imports the MIDI data as regions and
places them in the MIDI Regions List.
5 Drag the new MIDI regions, as desired, to ex-
isting MIDI tracks.
Exporting MIDI Files
To export a session’s MIDI tracks for use in an-
other MIDI application, or for playback with an
external (hardware) MIDI sequencer, you can
save the tracks as a Standard MIDI File.
When exporting, the session tracks can be
merged to a single, multi-channel track
(Type 0), or they can be saved as multiple tracks
(Type 1).
To export all MIDI tracks in the current session:
1 Make sure to unmute any MIDI tracks in the
session that you want to export.
2 Choose File > Export MIDI.
3 Specify a folder destination and name for the
MIDI file.
4 Select whether the Standard MIDI File will be
Type 0 (merged, single track) or Type 1 (multi-
track).
5 Click Export. Pro Tools exports all MIDI tracks
in the current session to a Standard MIDI File
and writes it to your hard drive. Exported MIDI
information includes notes, controller events,
program changes, and System Exclusive data, as
well as events for tempo, meter, and markers.
The SMPTE start time for the session is also ex-
ported. This ensures that the exported tracks,
when played from another MIDI application,
will align with the correct SMPTE frames, and
also sync correctly to tape and video devices, or
Pro Tools.
Refer to your third-party MIDI sequencer docu-
mentation to determine whether it supports im-
porting SMPTE start times from MIDI files.
If the Standard MIDI File contains markers,
they are only imported if the current session
does not contain any markers.
Export MIDI dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide104
Not Exported with MIDI Files
Mute automation and muted regions do not af-
fect exported MIDI. As long as a track is not
muted by clicking its Mute button, all of its
MIDI data is exported.
When exporting MIDI files from Pro Tools, de-
vice assignments for tracks are not retained
(though channel assignments are). If you there-
fore export MIDI tracks from Pro Tools and later
re-import them, you’ll need to reassign the
tracks to the desired devices.
All playlist information for MIDI tracks is lost
when exporting. For example, tracks that previ-
ously contained dozens of MIDI regions will be
flattened and only contain single regions after
exporting and re-importing.
Chapter 10: File Management and Compatibility 105
Chapter 10: File Management and
Compatibility
The various Pro Tools systems require that you
keep certain files on specific hard drives in order
for these systems to function properly. Observe
the following file management rules:
◆On Macintosh Pro Tools Systems, Pro Tools
software should reside on your startup drive (the
drive that contains your System folder and other
System-related files).
◆On Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 sys-
tems, data files (such as session files, audio files
and fade files) can be located on any compatible
drive connected to the internal SCSI bus or the
external SCSI bus of your computer, or to a SCSI
accelerator card in your computer.
◆On Pro Tools LE systems, data files can be lo-
cated on any compatible hard drive connected
to your computer’s internal or external ATA/IDE
or SCSI busses.
Locating Audio Files
When you open a session, if Pro Tools is unable
to locate audio files contained in the session, it
will post a Find File dialog. You can choose to
search for replacement files based either on file
name or on unique file ID.
Unique File IDs
Pro Tools 5.1 tags each audio file in a session
with a unique identifier that allows it to distin-
guish a particular file even if its name or loca-
tion have changed.
In cases where the unique identifier is not
present, Pro Tools can identify an audio file us-
ing other file attributes, such as sample rate, bit
depth, file length, and creation or modification
date. Pro Tools will search for files with similar
attributes, and list potential matches in the Can-
didate Files list.
Find File dialog (Macintosh)
Pro Tools Reference Guide106
To locate an audio file:
1 In most cases, you can find files created or
modified by Pro Tools by selecting Current
Folder or Current Volume under “Search In.” To
search in all subfolders of the current folder, se-
lect Look in Subfolders. If this search does not
provide adequate results, you can select All Vol-
umes to search all available drives and parti-
tions.
2 Select whether you want to search for the file
by Matching Name or Matching Unique ID. It is
faster to search for a file by File Name; however,
this search could be less useful if you are search-
ing for a common file name, for example, “Au-
dio-01.”
3 If Pro Tools is unable to find the target file, it
will list a number of exact matches for the files,
as well as candidate files. These are files that
have the right file name but do not have the cor-
rect Unique File ID.
Exact matches in the Find dialog are indicated
in the candidate list with a “->” before the file
path.
4 Select a candidate file to view its attributes in
the File Info area. To audition a selected audio
file, click Play and adjust the Play Position slider
to choose the playback location in the file.
5 If you determine that a file in the Candidate
Files list is not the target file, click Skip. To elim-
inate all files in the list, click Skip All.
6 When you have located the target file, click
Open.
If you do not locate the target file, the whole file
region and regions based on it appear as offline
media in the Audio Regions List and in tracks in
the Edit window.
WAV File Compatibility
Convert all imported WAV files to
AES31/BroadcastWave
Pro Tools always creates AES31/Broadcast com-
pliant WAV files when the file originates in
Pro Tools. This option, accessed by choosing
Setups > Preferences > Compatibility, makes im-
ported WAV files, compliant with the
AES31/EBU Broadcast standard.
AES31/BroadcastWave is a variant of the stan-
dard audio WAV file type. The AES31 format
contains additional information beyond the
raw PCM audio data such as SMPTE time
stamps.
This variant complies with standards set by the
EBU (European Broadcasters Union), and the
AES (Audio Engineering Society). Choose this
option to ensure compatibility with other work-
stations that recognize this file type.
Candidate file (exact match)
Chapter 10: File Management and Compatibility 107
Avid File Compatibility
When Avid Compatibility preference is enabled,
Pro Tools adds additional “metadata” when
bouncing to disk, or when recording from a bus.
This metadata includes the name of session, and
the name of the source of the bounce (bus or
track output). When the bounced file is opened
from an Avid system, the metadata information
will help identify the source of the file compo-
nents.
In addition, when this Avid Compatibility is en-
abled, it forces all OMF media to be treated as
Read Only within Pro Tools
Creating Mac and PC
Compatible Sessions
The Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility option al-
lows you to create and save Pro Tools sessions
that are compatible on both Macintosh and
Windows. This option is available when creat-
ing a new 5.1 session, or when saving a copy of
a 5.1 session.
Cross-Platform Session Limits
Audio File Types
Sound Designer II (SDII) files cannot be read by
Windows systems. Therefore, when creating
Mac and Windows compatible session files, the
audio file type for the session must be either
AIFF or WAV.
File Name Extensions
For cross-platform compatibility, all files in a
session must have a 3-letter file extension added
to the file name. Pro Tools 5.1 session files have
the extension “.pts,” and Pro Tools 5 sessions
have the extension “.pt5.” WAV files have the
“.wav” file extension, and AIFF files have the
“.aif” file extension.
Incompatible ASCII Characters
Region names, track names, file names, and
Plug-In settings cannot use ASCII characters
that are incompatible with either system.
When creating a new name, if an incompatibil-
ity is detected when Mac/PC Compatibility
mode is enabled, a dialog will appear that
prompts you to type a new name. When you im-
port files into a session that is set for Mac/Win-
dows compatibility, incompatible characters are
converted to underscores (“_”).
The following characters cannot be used in
Mac/Windows compatible sessions:
/ (slash)
\ (backslash)
: (colon)
* (asterisk)
? (question mark)
“ (quotation marks)
< (less-than symbol)
> (greater-than symbol)
| (vertical line or pipe)
Any character typed with the Command key
Pro Tools Reference Guide108
To create a session that is compatible with
Macintosh and Windows:
1 After launching Pro Tools, choose File > New
Session.
2 Choose the drive where you want to save the
session. The session should be created on a ded-
icated audio drive.
3 In the New Session dialog, set the Audio File
Type to AIFF or WAV. These file formats are com-
patible with either platform.
4 Set the Bit Depth and Sample Rate for the ses-
sion.
5 Select “Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility” (Mac-
intosh) or “Enforce PC/Mac Compatibility”
(Windows). This option must be selected to
make the session cross-platform compatible.
6 Select the I/O Settings to use for the session.
Several pre-configured I/O Settings are included
with your system, or you can choose custom I/O
Settings that you have created. See Chapter 7,
“I/O Setup” for more information.
7 Enter a name for the session and click Save.
To save an existing session that is compatible
with Macintosh and Windows:
1 Choose File > Save Session Copy In.
2 In the Save Session Copy dialog, set the Audio
File Type to AIFF or WAV. These file formats are
compatible with either platform.
3 Set the Bit Depth and Sample Rate for the ses-
sion, as well as any options Items To Copy.
4 Select “Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility” (Mac-
intosh) or “Enforce PC/Mac Compatibility”
(Windows). This option must be selected to
make the session cross-platform compatible.
5 Choose a destination and enter a name for the
new session file. then click Save.
If the session previously used SDII files, the files
are converted to the new audio file format.
109
Part III: Recording
110
Chapter 11: Record Setup 111
Chapter 11: Record Setup
Before you start recording, make sure your
Pro Tools system is connected and configured
properly. For details on connecting Pro Tools to
your studio, refer to the Pro Tools Installation
Guide that came with your system.
While some of the information in this chapter is
relevant to recording MIDI, there are more spe-
cific setup details for MIDI recording in
Chapter 13, “MIDI Recording.”
Input Connections and Audio
Levels
Most Digidesign audio interfaces operate as line-
level devices and offer no pre-amplification.
You must therefore adjust the level of an input
signal to line level before it reaches Pro Tools.
Low-level sources like microphones and electric
guitars need to be pre-amplified. You can do this
with a quality mixing board or dedicated
preamp.
NOTE: The Digi 001 is an exception to this rule.
Its I/O Box has two inputs with preamps, to which
you can connect low-level signals, and six addi-
tional inputs with “input gain.”
Volume and pan controls for tracks in Pro Tools
only affect monitoring levels—not the record-
ing input gain. The LED indicators on audio in-
terfaces indicate both full-code (highest level be-
fore clipping) and true clipping of Pro Tools
output signals. The on-screen meters in the
Pro Tools application indicate only true clip-
ping.
Digital Clipping
Clipping occurs when you feed a signal to a re-
corder or mixer that is louder or “hotter” than
the device allows. On many analog tape decks, a
little clipping adds a perceived warmth to the
sound due to tape compression. In digital re-
cording, however, clipping causes digital distor-
tion, which is undesirable and should always be
avoided.
Set Input Levels High But Don’t Clip
When you feed a signal into any audio record-
ing system, including Pro Tools, you need to ad-
just the input level to optimize the dynamic
range. Adjust the input signal to register as high
as possible on your input meter without trigger-
ing the clipping indicator. If the input level is
too low, you will not take full advantage of the
dynamic range of your Pro Tools system. If the
input level is too high, however, it will be
clipped.
Pro Tools Reference Guide112
Calibration Mode (TDM Systems Only)
You can use the Calibration Mode in Pro Tools
to adjust the input and output levels for your
audio interface so they match those of your
mixing console and other audio devices in your
studio.
For more information on Calibration Mode, see
the TDM Installation Guide.
Record Enabling Tracks
To record to a track you must first record enable
it. To record simultaneously to multiple tracks,
you can record multiple audio or MIDI tracks.
Unlike audio tracks, MIDI tracks can be record
enabled on the fly while recording.
To record enable an audio or MIDI track:
■From either the Edit or Mix window, click the
track’s Record Enable button.
Click again to take the track out of record-en-
abled mode.
To record enable all audio or MIDI tracks:
■Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) the Record Enable button for any audio or
MIDI track.
Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) again to take each of those tracks out of
record-enabled mode.
To record enable all selected tracks:
■Shift-Option-click (Macintosh) or Shift-Alt-
click (Windows) the Record Enable button for
any track.
Shift-Option-click (Macintosh) or Shift-Alt-click
(Windows) any selected track to take all selected
tracks out of record-enabled mode.
To record enable a different MIDI track on the fly:
■While pressing Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows), press the Up/Down Arrows
to record enable the previous or next MIDI
track. The previous record track is taken out of
record-enabled mode.
– or –
■Click the Record button of the MIDI track you
want to record enable. The previous record track
is taken out of record-enabled mode.
Record-enabled audio track
Multiple tracks are selected by Shift-clicking
their track names.
While record enabling does not affect audio
tracks that are grouped, you can select all
tracks in a group by clicking directly to the
left of the group’s name in the Groups List.
Then you can Shift-Option-click (Macin-
tosh) or Shift-Alt-click (Windows) to record
enable all selected tracks.
To keep the previous track record-enabled,
press Shift+Command+Up/Down (Macin-
tosh) or Shift+Control+Up/Down (Win-
dows).
Chapter 11: Record Setup 113
Latch Record Mode
When the option for Latch Record Enable But-
tons is selected (in the Operations Preferences),
you can record enable (latch) additional tracks
by clicking their Record Enable buttons. Previ-
ously record-enabled tracks remain record-en-
abled.
When Latch Record Enable Buttons is dese-
lected, record enabling a subsequent track takes
the previously record-enabled track out of
record-enabled mode.
Record Safe Mode
When tracks are in Record Safe mode, it is not
possible to record enable them, and therefore
not possible to record to them. Use Record Safe
mode to protect important track recordings.
To put an audio or MIDI track in Record Safe mode:
■Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) the track’s Record Enable button.
Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) again to take the track out of Record
Safe mode.
To put all tracks in Record Safe mode:
■Command-Option-click (Macintosh) or Con-
trol-Alt-click (Windows) the Record Enable but-
ton on any track.
Command-Option-click (Macintosh) or Con-
trol-Alt-click (Windows) again to take all tracks
out of Record Safe mode.
To put all currently selected tracks into Record
Safe mode:
■Command-Option-Shift-click (Macintosh) or
Control-Alt-Shift-click (Windows) the Record
Enable button on any of the selected tracks to
toggle them in and out of Record Safe mode.
Monitoring Modes
Pro Tools offers two modes of input monitoring,
Auto Input Monitoring or Input Only Monitoring
(chosen from the Operations menu), which de-
termine how input signals are monitored while
recording audio.
Auto Input Monitoring
In this mode, when session playback is stopped,
Pro Tools monitors audio input. When playback
is started for a punch-in, Pro Tools monitors ex-
isting track material up until the punch point.
While punched in, the input signal is moni-
tored. On punch-out, monitoring switches back
to the existing track material. This is similar to
the auto-switching logic found on digital and
analog multitrack tape machines.
When Auto Input Monitoring is enabled, the
Record button in the Transport window appears
normally gray.
NOTE: When using Auto Input Monitoring, the
switch back to monitoring track material on punch-
out is not instantaneous. To get instantaneous
monitor switching on punch-out, use QuickPunch
(see “Using QuickPunch” on page 155).
When the option for Latch Record Enable
Buttons is deselected, you can still Shift-
click the Record Enable buttons on multiple
tracks to record enable them.
Pro Tools Reference Guide114
Input Only Monitoring
In this mode, when a track is record-enabled,
Pro Tools monitors audio input only, regardless
of any punch in/out selection.
When Input Only Monitoring is enabled, the
Record button in the Transport window appears
green.
Monitor Levels for Record and
Playback
Pro Tools remembers two different fader levels
for each audio track: one for when the track is
record-enabled, and one for when it is not
record-enabled. This lets you adjust levels for
playback and configure a different set of levels
for monitoring while recording.
Pro Tools remembers these two states for fader
levels automatically. If you adjust a fader when
a track is record-enabled and then take the track
out of record-enabled mode, the fader updates
accordingly.
When audio tracks are record-enabled, their vol-
ume faders in the Mix window turn red, indicat-
ing that the record monitor level is active.
Link Record and Play Faders
When the Operation Preference for “Link
Record and Play Faders” is selected, Pro Tools
does not keep track of record and play levels for
audio tracks. In this case, record enabling an au-
dio track has no effect on the fader level for the
track.
Monitoring Latency
(Pro Tools LE Only)
Because Pro Tools LE uses the host processor in
your computer for audio processing, playback,
and recording, there is a small amount of audio
delay, or latency, in the system. This latency
amount is related to the Hardware Buffer Size—
the larger the buffer size, the larger the latency.
While there may be times when you want a
larger Buffer Size, for the sake of higher track
counts with more plug-ins, you’ll generally
want a smaller Buffer Size when recording audio
that is monitored through your Digi 001 or
Audiomedia III.
If you are monitoring the audio material you’re
recording with an external mixer, you will not
hear any latency.
To set the Hardware Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware.
2 Choose the number of samples from the Hard-
ware Buffer Size pop-up.
3 Click OK.
Transport window
Green Record button when
Input Only Monitoring is enabled
Hardware Buffer Size
Computers with slower CPUs may not be
able to use the 128 Buffer Size without en-
countering performance errors.
Chapter 11: Record Setup 115
The following table lists the amount of monitor-
ing latency (in milliseconds) you can expect
from the four Buffer Sizes.
Low Latency Monitoring
(Pro Tools LE Only)
You can reduce the amount of monitoring la-
tency for Pro Tools LE systems by reducing the
Hardware Buffer Size. However, even at the
smallest Buffer Size, there is still some latency.
In addition, reducing the Buffer Size limits the
number of simultaneous audio tracks you can
record without encountering performance er-
rors.
Digi 001 and Audiomedia III systems can use
the Low Latency Monitoring option to record
with an extremely small amount of monitoring
latency, to as many tracks as each system sup-
ports.
To use Low Latency Monitoring:
1 Record enable the desired audio tracks (or
Auxiliary Inputs) by clicking their Record En-
able buttons. Only tracks with inputs set to an
audio interface (not a bus) use Low Latency
Monitoring.
2 From the Output Selector, assign each track to
either Output 1 or Output 2. Only tracks as-
signed to these outputs use Low Latency Moni-
toring.
3 Select Operations > Low Latency Monitoring.
When Low Latency Monitoring is enabled, any
plug-ins and sends assigned to record-enabled
tracks (routed to Outputs 1–2) are automatically
bypassed, and must remain bypassed. Also,
these tracks will not register on meters for Mas-
ter Faders.
If you have a SampleCell II Plus card, a
buffer size of 128 should not be used when
running the SampleCell Editor at the same
time as Pro Tools LE. Use a larger buffer
setting to avoid performance errors.
How Hardware Buffer settings affect latency
Sample
rate
(kHz)
Buffer
Size
(samples)
Latency
Amount
(ms)
Use for:
44.1 128 2.9 recording drums
and other timing-
critical instru-
ments
256 5.8 recording vocals
and instruments
with slower
attacks (bass,
guitar, etc.)
512 11.6 mixing with 24
tracks
1024 23.2 final mixdown or
many plug-ins
48 128 2.7 recording drums
and other timing-
critical instru-
ments
256 5.3 recording vocals
and instruments
with slower
attacks (bass,
guitar, etc.)
512 10.7 mixing with 24
tracks
1024 21.3 final mixdown or
many plug-ins
Pro Tools Reference Guide116
Low Latency Monitoring and
Bounce To Disk
With Low Latency Monitoring Enabled, only
audio tracks are included with the Bounce To
Disk command—Auxiliary Input tracks are ig-
nored.
To record Auxiliary Inputs with Low Latency
Monitoring enabled, you must record the mate-
rial in real time.
Track Names
When creating new audio and MIDI tracks,
Pro Tools names them as either “Audio” or
“MIDI” and numbers them consecutively. For
example, when you create 2 new audio tracks,
their default names are “Audio 1” and
“Audio 2.” You can rename tracks and also log
comments for each track.
To rename a track:
1 In the Edit or Mix window, double-click the
Track Name.
2 In the Track Name/Comments dialog, type a
new track name.
3 If desired, type comments for the track in the
Comments text box. Click Previous or Next to
rename another displayed track.
4 When you are finished, click OK.
Default Names for Audio Files and
Regions
When recording to an audio track, the resulting
file and region names are based on the name of
the track. For example, after recording for the
first time on a track called “Electric Gtr,” an au-
dio file is written to your hard drive with the
name “Electric Gtr-01.” In addition, a region ap-
pears in the Audio Regions List with the name
“Electric Gtr-01-00.”
Subsequent record takes on the same track are
named identically but with the first set of digits
(indicating the take number) incremented. The
second set of digits is only used for region nam-
ing and indicate a region auto-created from an
edit.
When recording MIDI tracks, a similar naming
scheme is used, though with only one set of dig-
its. For example, after recording to a track called
“Synth 1,” a region is created called “Synth 1-
01.” Subsequent regions for that track, generat-
ing either from additional record takes or region
edits, are numbered sequentially.
Track Name/Comments dialog
To switch tracks in the Track Name/Com-
ments dialog, you can press Command
(Macintosh) or Control (Windows) and use
the Up/Down Arrows.
The QuickPunch record mode uses a
slightly different method for numbering re-
gions. For details, see “Region and Take
Numbering with QuickPunch” on
page 157.
Chapter 11: Record Setup 117
Names for Stereo Audio Tracks
When recording to stereo audio tracks, audio
file and region names for the left and right
channels are appended with an “.L” and “.R”
suffix.
Names for Surround Tracks
(MIX/MIXplus Systems Only)
When recording to multi-channel surround
tracks, audio file and region names for each
channel are appended with the following suf-
fixes.
Disk Allocation
By default, Pro Tools records audio files to the
Audio Files folder inside the session folder. You
can use the Disk Allocation dialog to specify
other locations for your audio files for each au-
dio track.
To increase system performance, Pro Tools can
record 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.
To allocate the audio drives in your system:
1 Choose Setups > Disk Allocation.
2 In the Disk Allocation dialog, assign a hard
drive for each track by clicking in the Record Lo-
cation column. A folder with the session name
is created on each hard drive, containing sub-
folders for audio and fade files.
To assign all tracks to the same hard drive, press
Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows) while se-
lecting a drive name.
3 To automatically distribute any newly created
tracks among the drives connected to your sys-
tem, select “Use Round Robin Allocation for
New Tracks.”
If you are using Round Robin Allocation and
want audio to be recorded to your system’s star-
tup drive, select Include System Volume (see
“Recording to the System Volume” on page 118
for details).
4 To save recorded audio files to an existing
folder (without creating another session folder),
select Customize Allocation Options, then click
the Change button and choose the folder. To
create subfolders in this folder, select “Create
Subfolders for audio, video, and fade files.”
5 When you are finished, Click OK.
Multi-Channel
Format File and Region Suffix
LCR L, C, R
Quad L, R, Ls, Rs
5.0 L, C, R, Ls, Rs
5.1 L, C, R, Ls, Rs, LFE
6.0 L, C, R, Ls, Cs, Rs, LFE
6.1 L, C, R, Ls, Cs, Rs
7.0 L, Lc, C, R, Rc, Ls, Rs
7.1 L, Lc, C, R, Rc, Ls, Rs, LFE
Disk Allocation dialog
Round Robin Allocation is not supported
with partitioned hard drives.
Pro Tools Reference Guide118
Customizing Allocation Options
To save Disk Allocation settings for use with fu-
ture sessions, save the session as a template. For
details, see “Creating Custom Session Tem-
plates” on page 55.
Disk Allocation and Cross-Platform
Sessions
Pro Tools for Windows supports recording and
playback of audio from multiple hard drives, but
to ensure cross-platform operation, it also re-
quires that Macintosh Pro Tools sessions and
their associated audio files be on Macintosh-for-
matted (HFS) drives.
Similarly, Windows sessions and their associ-
ated audio files must reside on Windows-for-
matted (FAT16) drives. If you want to share ses-
sions between Windows and Macintosh
platforms, consider these restrictions when allo-
cating tracks to drives.
Reallocating Tracks
When opening a session where some of the pre-
viously assigned hard drives are no longer avail-
able (or don’t match the current session plat-
form), Pro Tools automatically reassigns tracks
to the volume where the session file is stored. In
such cases, Pro Tools gives you the option of re-
allocating tracks to other drives.
Recording to the System Volume
Though Pro Tools will let you record to your sys-
tem hard drive, this is generally not recom-
mended. Performance for audio recording and
playback on system drives is worse than on non-
system hard drives.
You should record to system drives only when
absolutely necessary—if your computer system
has just the one hard drive, or if your other hard
drives are completely out of space.
Allocating Hard Drive Space
for Recording
The Operation Preference for Open Ended
Record Allocation determines how much of
your available hard drive space is allocated for
recording.
When this preference is set to Use All Available
Space, the drive’s entire available space is allo-
cated. This can slow down the recording process
for hard drives that use certain file systems, in-
cluding HFS+ and NTFS.
In such cases, you can reduce the time it takes to
begin recording by allocating only a portion of
your hard drive.
To allocate a portion of your hard drive for
recording:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Opera-
tion.
2 Under the Open Ended Record Allocation op-
tion, select Limit To and enter a number of min-
utes to be allocated.
The number of minutes specified is allocated for
each record-enabled track. You may find it nec-
essary to experiment with this number to
achieve the desired performance for recording.
3 When you are finished, click Done.
Open Ended Record Allocation, Operation Preference
Chapter 11: Record Setup 119
Record Modes
For recording audio, Pro Tools has four record
modes:
•Normal Nondestructive Record
• Destructive Record
• Loop Record
• QuickPunch
To enable Destructive Record, Loop Record, or
QuickPunch, select them from the Operations
menu. If none of these record modes are se-
lected, Pro Tools is in normal Nondestructive
Record mode.
The record mode can also be switched by Con-
trol-clicking (Macintosh) or Right-clicking
(Windows) the Record button in the Transport
window. This cycles through the four modes
with the Record button changing to indicate the
currently selected mode: blank for Nondestruc-
tive, “D” for Destructive, a loop symbol for Loop
Record, and “Q” for QuickPunch.
Nondestructive Record Mode
In normal Nondestructive Record mode,
Pro Tools records audio non-destructively,
which means that if you record over a track’s ex-
isting regions, the audio is not erased from your
hard drive. Both the new and old audio remain
on your hard drive, available as regions from the
Audio Regions List.
In Nondestructive Record mode, the record
range is defined by selecting a range in the Ruler
or in a track’s playlist, or by specifying start and
end points in the Transport window. If there is
no selection, recording begins from the current
cursor location and continues until the Trans-
port’s Stop button is clicked.
NOTE: To set a record range by selecting within a
track’s playlist, the Edit and Timeline selections
must be linked.
The pre/post-roll settings allow material to be
heard up to and after the start and end points,
which is useful when punch recording (see
“Punch Recording Audio” on page 131).
Destructive Record Mode
In Destructive Record mode, recording over ex-
isting regions replaces the original audio perma-
nently, which allows you to preserve hard drive
space. However, if you have sufficient drive
space, it is usually best to use Pro Tools in Non-
destructive Record mode, to avoid losing any
previously recorded material.
When defining the record range and setting pre-
and post-roll, Destructive Record mode works
the same as Nondestructive mode.
Unlike the other record modes, it is not possible
to cancel record takes when using Destructive
Record mode (see “Canceling a Record Take” on
page 127).
Destructive Record mode enabled
When working in normal Nondestructive
Record mode, you can preserve disk space by
removing unwanted record takes (see “Re-
moving Unwanted Regions” on page 258)
and compacting audio files (see “Compact-
ing an Audio File” on page 259).
Pro Tools Reference Guide120
Loop Record Mode
Loop Record mode allows you to record take af-
ter take (non-destructively) while the same sec-
tion of audio repeats. This is a convenient tech-
nique for quickly recording multiple takes of a
part without losing spontaneity.
The time range that is looped and recorded—
which must be at least one second in length—is
defined by selecting a range in the Ruler or in a
track’s playlist, or by specifying start and end
points in the Transport window. The pre-roll
setting, if enabled, is used during the first record
pass, but on each successive loop the pre/post-
roll times are ignored.
NOTE: To set a record range by selecting within a
track’s playlist, the Edit and Timeline selections
must be linked.
When using Loop Record mode, each successive
take appears as a region in the Audio Regions
List and each is numbered sequentially. The var-
ious takes, which are identical in length and
start time, are easily auditioned and placed in
the track at the correct location with the Takes
List pop-up menu (see “Auditioning Record
Takes” on page 133).
QuickPunch
QuickPunch gives you the ability to instanta-
neously punch in (initiate recording) and punch
out (stop recording) on record-enabled audio
tracks during playback by clicking the Trans-
port’s Record button. Recording with Quick-
Punch is nondestructive.
When using QuickPunch, Pro Tools begins re-
cording a new file when playback begins, auto-
matically generating regions in that file at each
punch in/out point. Up to 100 of these “run-
ning punches” can be performed in a single
pass.
Though you can punch record in the other
record modes by manually specifying the record
range, only QuickPunch provides instantaneous
monitor switching on punch-out.
The Record Modes and MIDI
In addition to the four record modes, there is
also a MIDI Merge button in the Transport win-
dow that determines how MIDI is recorded.
When enabled (Merge mode), recording over ex-
isting MIDI regions results in the new data being
merged with the old. When the MIDI Merge
button is disabled (Replace mode), the new ma-
terial replaces the old.
MIDI recording works the same whether using
Nondestructive or Destructive Record mode. In
addition, QuickPunch does not need to be en-
abled to punch on the fly with MIDI—this capa-
bility is available in Nondestructive and De-
structive Record modes.
Unlike audio, MIDI can be loop recorded when
Operations > Loop Playback is enabled. In this
mode, the state of the MIDI Merge toggle deter-
mines whether existing material is replaced or
merged.
MIDI Merge enabled
MIDI Merge button
Chapter 11: Record Setup 121
In almost all instances, recording MIDI is de-
structive (though you can undo a MIDI record
pass), either overwriting or adding to region ma-
terial. One exception to this rule is when Loop
Record mode is enabled; in this mode, existing
track regions are replaced with new regions
when new material is recorded. The old regions
remain intact and available from the MIDI Re-
gions List, and from the Takes List pop-up. In
Loop Record mode, MIDI Merge has no effect, so
its button is dimmed.
Recording with the Click
If you intend to work with MIDI tracks in your
session, or if the audio you’re working with is
bar- and beat-oriented, you can record your
tracks while listening to the click. This ensures
that recorded material, both MIDI and audio,
will align with the session’s bar and beat bound-
aries.
When your track material lines up with the
beats, you can take advantage of some useful ed-
iting functions in Pro Tools, such as quantizing
MIDI and audio regions, quantizing individual
MIDI notes, and copying and pasting measures
and song sections in Grid mode.
To enable the click in the Transport:
1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport
window, select Display > Transport Window
Shows > MIDI Controls.
2 In the Transport window, click the Click but-
ton so it becomes highlighted.
3 To use a countoff when recording or playing,
click the Countoff button in the Transport win-
dow so it too becomes highlighted.
Hearing the countoff before recording is helpful
in getting the feel for the tempo before you be-
gin playing. The Countoff button in the Trans-
port window displays the number of bars to be
counted off.
NOTE: The countoff is ignored when Pro Tools is
Online and syncing to SMPTE time code.
Material that is recorded without listening
to the click can still be aligned to bar and
beat boundaries in Pro Tools with the Iden-
tify Beat command (see “Identify Beat
Command” on page 264), or with Beat De-
tective (see Chapter 22, “Beat Detective”).
Transport Window with MIDI Controls
Click enabled
Countoff enabled
Click button
Countoff button
Pro Tools Reference Guide122
To configure the click options:
1 Choose MIDI > Click Options.
– or –
Double-click the Click or Countoff button in the
Transport window.
2 In the Click/Countoff Options dialog, choose
from the Output pop-up the port number (de-
vice) and channel that will play the click.
3 For the accented and unaccented notes, spec-
ify the note, velocity, and duration.
When listening to the click in your Pro Tools
sessions, the accented note sounds on the first
beat of each measure and the unaccented note
sounds on the remaining beats. Make sure the
sound assigned to these notes has a sharp, per-
cussive attack.
4 Select whether the click is heard “During play
and record” or “Only during record.”
5 If using a countoff, specify the number of Bars
to be counted off. To hear the countoff only
when recording, select that option.
6 Click OK.
Wait for Note and Countoff
Wait for Note and Countoff are mutually exclu-
sive and cannot both be enabled at the same
time. If, for instance, Countoff is enabled and
you click the Wait for Note button, Countoff be-
comes disabled.
Setting the Default Meter
When opening a new session in Pro Tools, the
meter defaults to 4/4. If you intend to record
with the click and are working with a different
meter, make sure to set the default meter accord-
ingly.
If a session’s meter does not match the music
you’re recording, the accented clicks will not
line up with what you’re playing, and, as a re-
sult, the recorded material may not align with
the bars and beats in the Edit window.
Meter events, which can occur anywhere within
a Pro Tools session, are stored in the Meter Track
and appear in the Meter Ruler. Inserting and ed-
iting for meter events is discussed in “Meter
Events” on page 267.
To set the default meter for a session:
1 Choose Windows > Show Tempo/Meter.
– or –
Double-click the Meter button in the Transport
window.
Click/Countoff Options dialog
Meter button
Chapter 11: Record Setup 123
2 Enter the Meter you will use for the session
and set the Location to 1|1|000 (so the inserted
meter event replaces the default one).
3 Choose a note value for the number of clicks
to sound in each measure.
4 Click Apply to insert the new meter event.
Setting the Default Tempo
When opening a new session in Pro Tools, the
tempo defaults to 120 BPM. If you intend to
record with the click and are working with a dif-
ferent tempo, make sure to set the default tempo
accordingly. If you know the tempo you will use
for the session, you can insert a tempo event at
the beginning of the Tempo Track.
Tempo events, which can occur anywhere
within a Pro Tools session, are stored in the
Tempo Track and appear in the Tempo Ruler. In-
serting and editing for tempo events is discussed
in greater detail in “Tempo Events” on
page 261.
To insert a default tempo event:
1 Choose Windows > Show Tempo/Meter.
2 At the top of the Tempo/Meter Change win-
dow, choose Tempo Change from the pop-up
menu.
3 Enter the BPM value you will use for the ses-
sion and set the Location to 1|1|000 (so the in-
serted tempo event replaces the default tempo).
4 To base the BPM value on something other
than the default quarter-note, select the desired
note value.
5 Click Apply to insert the new tempo event.
See “Default Tempo” on page 264 for more in-
formation on the default tempo.
Using Manual Tempo Mode
In Manual Tempo mode, Pro Tools ignores the
tempo events in the Tempo Track and instead
plays back at the tempo displayed in the Trans-
port window. The manual tempo can be set with
the Tempo slider, or, if you’re not sure of the ac-
tual tempo, by tapping in the tempo.
While you can adjust the Manual Tempo during
playback, doing so will momentarily interrupt
playback.
Tempo/Meter Change window
Tempo/Meter Change window
Pro Tools Reference Guide124
To set the manual tempo with the Tempo slider:
1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport
window, select Display > Transport Window
Shows > MIDI Controls.
2 In the Transport window, click the Conductor
button so it becomes unhighlighted.
Pro Tools switches to Manual Tempo mode. In
this mode, any tempo events in the Tempo
Track are ignored.
3 To enter a new tempo, drag the horizontal
Tempo slider in the Transport window.
For finer resolution with the Tempo slider, press
Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows)
while dragging.
4 To base the BPM value on something other
than the default quarter-note, make the change
in the Beat Value pop-up menu (just to the left
of the Tap button).
5 To exit Manual Tempo mode and enable the
Tempo Track, click the Conductor button in the
Transport window so it becomes highlighted.
To set the manual tempo with the Tap button:
1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport
window, select Display > Transport Window
Shows > MIDI Controls.
2 In the Transport window, click the Conductor
button so it becomes unhighlighted. Pro Tools
switches to Manual Tempo mode. In this mode,
any tempo events in the Tempo Track are ig-
nored.
3 Click the Tap button repeatedly at the desired
tempo.
– or –
Click in the Tempo field so it becomes high-
lighted and tap in the tempo by playing a note
on your MIDI keyboard controller.
To compute the new tempo, Pro Tools requires
at least four taps (each of which is displayed in
the Tap area when received). The computed
BPM value appears in the Transport’s Tempo
field.
To lock in the new tempo, take Pro Tools out of
Manual Tempo mode by clicking the Conductor
button, then insert a tempo event (with the new
tempo) at the beginning of the Tempo Track.
Manual Tempo mode enabled
Tempo slider
Conductor button
Tap button
Tempo Taps as reflected in Transport
Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 125
Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording
Recording a Mono Audio Track
When recording from a mono source, record to
a single, mono audio track in Pro Tools.
To configure a mono audio track for recording:
1 Connect a mono sound source to the appro-
priate input of your audio hardware.
2 From the Session Setup window, select the
sample rate for your session.
If using inputs 1 or 2 of an audio interface, make
sure to specify the format (analog or digital) in
the pop-up menu for Ch 1–2.
3 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 Mono
Audio Track, then click Create.
4 Rename the new track as desired. Track names
are used to auto-name recorded audio files and
regions. For more information, see “Track
Names” on page 116.
5 In the Mix Window, click the audio track’s
Record Enable button to record enable the track.
Volume faders for record-enabled tracks turn
red.
6 In the Mix window, use the track’s Input Se-
lector to assign a hardware input.
7 In the Mix window, click on the track’s Out-
put Selector and assign a hardware output.
8 Adjust the output level of your sound source
(instrument, mixer, or preamp). Monitor the
track’s meter levels in Pro Tools to ensure that
you get the highest possible signal without clip-
ping.
9 In the Mix window, adjust the track’s volume
and pan faders as desired. These settings are for
monitoring purposes only and do not affect the
recorded material.
New Track dialog
To auto-scroll the Track Type pop-up in the
New Track dialog, press Command (Macin-
tosh) or Control (Windows) and use the
Up/Down Arrow keys.
Input Selector
Pro Tools Reference Guide126
To record to a mono audio track:
1 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive
Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect
Destructive Record, Loop Record, and Quick-
Punch.
2 If desired, enable the click and countoff in the
Transport window. Also, make sure to specify
the session’s default meter and tempo. For de-
tails, see “Recording with the Click” on
page 121.
3 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero
so the start and end times are cleared. This en-
sures that you’ll start recording from the begin-
ning of the track.
4 Click Record in the Transport window. The
Record button flashes.
5 When you are ready to begin recording, click
Play. If using a countoff, Pro Tools counts off the
specified number of measures and then begins
recording.
6 When you have finished recording, click Stop
in the Transport window.
The newly recorded audio is written to disk and
appears as an audio region in the track’s playlist.
The new audio region also appears in the Audio
Regions List.
To play back the mono audio track:
1 Click the Record Enable button for the audio
track to take it out of record-enabled mode. The
track’s volume fader now functions as a play-
back level control.
2 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero.
3 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
playback. Adjust the track’s volume and pan fad-
ers as necessary.
Record Shortcuts
In addition to clicking the Record button in the
Transport window, you can also begin recording
with the following keyboard shortcuts:
• Press F12
• Press Command+Spacebar
• Press 3 on the Numeric Keypad (when the Nu-
meric Keypad Mode is set to Transport)
Undo and Audio Recording
After recording an audio track and the Transport
is stopped, you can undo the previous record
take.
To undo an audio recording:
■Once the Transport has been stopped, choose
Edit > Undo MIDI Recording.
The track’s playlist is restored to its previous
state. However:
◆If you punched in and out several times be-
fore stopping the Transport, only the last punch
is undone.
◆When using Loop Record mode, all takes from
each record pass are discarded.
Record button
To initiate recording at half-speed, press
Command+Shift+Spacebar (Macintosh) or
Control+Shift+Spacebar (Windows). For
details, see “Half-Speed Recording and
Playback” on page 159.
Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 127
Canceling a Record Take
While recording, it is possible to discard the cur-
rent record take. This removes the audio (re-
corded up to that point) from your hard drive
and deletes the region from the track’s playlist.
This capability is not available in Destructive
Record mode.
To cancel a record take while recording:
■Press Command+period (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+period (Windows) before the Transport is
stopped.
If using Loop Record mode, all takes from each
record pass are discarded.
Recording a Stereo Audio
Track
To record a stereo audio source in Pro Tools,
record to a single, stereo audio track.
To record audio in stereo:
1 Connect the left and right outputs from your
sound source to the appropriate inputs of your
audio hardware.
2 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 Stereo
Audio Track, then click Create.
3 Rename the new track as desired. Track names
are used to auto-name recorded audio files and
regions. For more information, see “Track
Names” on page 116.
4 In the Mix Window, click the audio track’s
Record Enable button to record enable the track.
Volume faders for record-enabled audio tracks
turn red.
5 In the Mix window, use the Input Selector to
assign the stereo input pair for the track’s left
and right channels.
6 In the Mix window, click on the track’s Out-
put Selector and assign a stereo hardware out-
put.
7 Adjust the output level of your sound source
(instrument, mixer, or preamp). Monitor the
track’s meter levels in Pro Tools to ensure that
you get the highest possible signal without clip-
ping.
8 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero
so the start and end times are cleared. This en-
sures that you’ll start recording from the begin-
ning of the track.
9 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
10 When you have finished recording, click
Stop in the Transport window.
A single, mono audio file is written to disk for
the track’s left and right channels; regions ap-
pear in the playlists for both channels. In addi-
tion, a multi-channel (stereo) region appears in
the Audio Regions List.
New track dialog
Input Selector
Pro Tools Reference Guide128
Recording Surround Tracks
(Pro Tools 24 MIX Systems Only)
Recording multi-channel surround tracks is very
similar to recording stereo audio tracks. A single,
mono audio file is written for each channel in
the track, and regions appear in the playlists for
each channel. In addition, a multi-channel re-
gion appears in the Audio Regions List.
Recording Multiple Audio
Tracks
Pro Tools can record multiple audio tracks si-
multaneously, up to the track recording limits of
your system. To record to multiple audio tracks,
record enable each track you want to record.
To record multiple audio tracks:
1 Connect the outputs from your sound source
to the appropriate inputs of your audio hard-
ware.
2 Choose File > New Track. Specify the number
of audio tracks you want to record, then click
Create.
3 Record enable the audio tracks you want to
record by clicking their Record Enable buttons.
As long as the preference for Latch Record En-
able Buttons is enabled, you can record enable
subsequent tracks by clicking their Record En-
able buttons. Other tracks already record-en-
abled will remain so.
4 In the Mix window, assign an audio input and
output for each record track.
5 Adjust the output level of your sound sources
(instruments, mixer, or preamp). Monitor the
tracks’ meter levels in Pro Tools to ensure that
you get the highest possible signal without clip-
ping.
6 In the Mix window, adjust the tracks’ volume
and pan faders as desired. These settings are for
monitoring purposes only and do not affect the
recorded material.
7 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero
so the start and end times are cleared. This en-
sures that you’ll start recording from the begin-
ning of the track.
8 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
9 When you have finished recording, click Stop
in the Transport window.
For each record-enabled track, a new audio file is
written to disk and a new region is created and
appears in the playlist. The new audio regions
appear in the Audio Regions List.
You can create an Edit and Mix Group for
the recorded tracks so that edits, fader
movements, and mutes are automatically
applied to the tracks.
Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 129
Record Pause Mode
When recording a large number of tracks or
channels, or playing back a large number of
tracks while recording, Pro Tools may take a lit-
tle longer to begin recording. To avoid this de-
lay, put Pro Tools in Record Pause mode before
beginning to record.
To record from Record Pause mode:
1 Click Record in the Transport window. The
Record button flashes.
2 Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) Play in the Transport window to put
Pro Tools in Record Pause mode. The Play and
Record buttons flash.
3 To begin recording instantaneously, click Play.
When you have finished recording, click Stop in
the Transport window.
You can also use Pause mode when recording or
playing large numbers of tracks to speed up
lock-up time when syncing to time code.
Recording Additional Takes
After recording to an audio track, you can record
additional takes to the same track. However, if
you record these additional takes in Destructive
Record mode, the audio residing on your hard
drive from the previous takes will be perma-
nently lost.
To keep the audio from previous takes, record
the new takes non-destructively in normal Non-
destructive Record mode.
To non-destructively record a new take on the
same track:
1 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive
Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect
Destructive Record, Loop Record, and Quick-
Punch.
2 Make sure the track containing the previous
take is still record-enabled.
3 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection. This lets you set the record
start time by clicking anywhere in the track’s
playlist.
4 To record from the beginning of the track,
click Return to Zero in the Transport window.
– or –
Click anywhere in the track’s playlist to be gin
recording from that point.
5 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
6 When you have finished recording, click Stop
in the Transport window.
An audio file for the new take is written to disk
and appears as an audio region in the track’s
playlist. The new audio region appears in the
Audio Regions List.
The audio from the original take remains on
your hard drive, and is still available as a region
in the Audio Regions List.
For details on audio file and region names
for new takes, see “Track Names” on
page 116.
To record a specific track range, with precise
start and end points, see “Punch Recording
Audio” on page 131.
Pro Tools Reference Guide130
To destructively record over a previous take:
1 Select Operations > Destructive Record. When
using Destructive Record mode, a “D” appears in
the Record button.
2 Make sure the track containing the previous
take is still record-enabled.
3 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection. This lets you set the record
start time by clicking anywhere in the track’s
playlist.
4 To record from the beginning of the track,
click Return to Zero in the Transport window.
– or –
Click anywhere in the track’s playlist to be gin
recording from that point.
5 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
6 When you have finished recording, click Stop
in the Transport window.
The audio for the new take is written to disk,
permanently overwriting the original. The new
material replaces the original material within
the existing region.
Appending New Material to the End of a
Track
You can also append new material to the end of
a track. To do this, locate to the end of the track
with the Go to End button in the Transport win-
dow. From there, simply begin recording and
Pro Tools will add the new material to the end
of the track. If using Destructive Record mode,
the new audio is appended to the audio file and
region from the first take. In Nondestructive
Record mode, a new file and region are created.
Recording to a New Playlist
Instead of recording over existing audio regions,
there is another way to non-destructively record
new takes to the same track. Do this by creating
a new playlist for the track, then record just as
before.
Tracks can have multiple edit playlists, each of
which stores a list of regions strung together in a
particular order.
To record to a new playlist for a track:
1 From the track’s Playlist Selector pop-up,
choose New. Enter a name for the new playlist
and click OK.
When a new playlist is created, its name replaces
the track name. With this playlist active, names
for new audio files and regions are based on its
name.
2 Make sure the track is still record-enabled.
Destructive Record mode enabled
To record a specific track range, with precise
start and end points, see “Punch Recording
Audio” on page 131.
Playlist Selector
Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 131
3 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero.
4 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
5 When you have finished recording, click Stop
in the Transport window.
An audio file for the new take is written to disk
and appears as an audio region in the track’s
playlist. The new audio region appears in the
Audio Regions List.
6 To audition the new take, click Play in the
Transport window.
7 To go back to a previous playlist to compare it
to the new take, select the playlist from the
track’s Playlist Selector.
Selecting a playlist recalls its regions as they pre-
viously appeared in the track. At any time, all re-
gions from all playlists are available in the Re-
gions List, and can be mixed and matched
between playlists and tracks.
For more information on playlists and playlist
editing, see “Playlists” on page 172.
Punch Recording Audio
To replace a portion of a recorded track, you can
punch in by specifying the record range before
recording.
Though there are several ways to set record and
play ranges (see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on
page 135), perhaps the easiest is to select within
the track’s playlist the material to be replaced.
NOTE: To set a record or play range by selecting
within a playlist, the Edit and Timeline selections
must be linked.
You can listen to track material up to and after
the punch record range by enabling pre-and
post-roll. Listening to pre-roll is helpful in get-
ting the feel for playing in the new material.
During the recording process, playback begins
at the pre-roll time (if enabled) and proceeds to
the start time (the punch-in point), where re-
cording begin. When the end time (the punch-
out point) is reached, Pro Tools automatically
switches out of record mode and continues play-
ing through the specified amount of post-roll.
This automated punch-in/out feature is a pow-
erful and precise way of re-recording a portion
of a track.
NOTE: If you are recording in normal Nondestruc-
tive Record mode, punches do not permanently re-
place the source material. If you actually want to
write over the previous data, erasing it forever, use
Destructive Record mode.
Monitoring during Punch-Ins
When punch recording, you may want to en-
able Auto Input Monitoring (by selecting it in
the Operations menu). For details, see “Auto In-
put Monitoring” on page 113.
To punch record on an audio track:
1 To record non-destructively, make sure that
Operations > Destructive Record is not selected.
If you do want to permanently record over the
punched record range, select Operations > De-
structive Record.
2 Make sure the track containing the previous
take is still record-enabled.
3 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
Pro Tools Reference Guide132
4 With the Selector, drag in the track’s playlist
until the selection encompasses the desired
punch range.
For other methods of setting the record range,
see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 135.
5 To hear existing track material up to the start
point, or after the end point, enable and set
pre/post-roll times. For details, see “Setting
Pre/Post-Roll” on page 137.
6 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
If pre-roll is enabled, the track material leading
up to the punch-in point plays. You can start
playing during the pre-roll to get the “feel.” Ma-
terial is not recorded until the start point is
reached.
When the start point is reached, Pro Tools be-
gins recording. Recording continues until the
end point is reached, unless Stop is clicked in
the Transport window. If post-roll is enabled,
playback continues for the specified post-roll
amount.
If recording non-destructively, a new audio file
is written to your hard drive and a new audio re-
gion appears in the record track and Audio Re-
gions List.
If recording in Destructive Record mode, the
new audio overwrites the previous material in
the existing audio file and region.
Loop Recording Audio
Pro Tools provides a loop recording feature that
allows you to record take after take while the
same section of audio repeats over and over.
This is a convenient technique for quickly re-
cording multiple takes of a part without losing
spontaneity.
When loop recording, you must first specify the
start and end points for the loop. Though there
are several ways to set record and play ranges
(see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 135),
perhaps the easiest is to select within the track’s
playlist the material to be looped.
NOTE: To set a record or play range by selecting
within a playlist, the Edit and Timeline selections
must be linked.
The pre-roll setting, if enabled, is used during
the first record pass, but on each successive
loop, the pre- and post-roll times are ignored. To
compensate for this, you may want to make the
loop range slightly longer. Later, you can trim
back the recorded takes to the desired length
with the Trimmer tool (see “The Trimmer Tool”
on page 215).
When loop recording audio, Pro Tools creates a
single audio file that comprises all takes. Takes
appear as individual regions in the Audio Re-
gions List and are numbered sequentially. Once
you stop recording, you can audition any of the
recorded takes.
Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 133
To loop record an audio track:
1 Select Operations > Loop Record. When Loop
Record mode is enabled, a loop symbol appears
in the Record button.
2 Record enable the audio track by clicking its
Record Enable button.
3 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
4 With the Selector, drag in the track’s playlist
until the selection encompasses the desired loop
range.
For other methods of setting the record range,
see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 135.
5 To hear track material up to the start point of
the loop, enable and set the pre-roll time. For
details, see “Setting Pre/Post-Roll” on page 137.
6 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
The Record button flashes during the pre-roll.
When the start point is reached, Pro Tools be-
gins recording. When the end point is reached,
Pro Tools loops back to the start time and con-
tinues playing and recording.
7 To cancel all recorded takes while loop record-
ing, press Command+period (Macintosh) or
Control+period (Windows).
8 When you have finished recording, click Stop
in the Transport window.
If you stop recording before you reach the mid-
point of the loop, Pro Tools discards that take. If
you record more than half of the looped take,
Pro Tools will leave the take in the track when
you stop recording.
The recorded takes appear as regions in the Au-
dio Regions List and are numbered sequentially.
The most recently recorded take is left in the
record track. For details on auditioning the var-
ious takes from the Takes List pop-up, see “Au-
ditioning from the Takes List Pop-up Menu” on
page 134.
Loop Playback and Audio Recording
When Loop Playback is enabled, Pro Tools will
not loop when attempting to record audio
tracks with QuickPunch, Destructive Record, or
Nondestructive Record mode.
NOTE: To loop record audio tracks in Pro Tools,
you must enable Loop Record mode.
Auditioning Record Takes
After recording multiple takes with loop or
punch recording, you can replace the take cur-
rently residing in the track with previous takes
to audition them.
To place and audition previous takes:
1 In the Edit window, select the current take
with the Grabber.
2 Command-drag (Macintosh) or Control- drag
(Windows) the take from the Audio Regions List
(all takes are numbered sequentially).
The region replaces the previous take and snaps
precisely to the correct location.
3 Repeat the above steps as desired to audition
other takes.
Loop Recording enabled
Pro Tools Reference Guide134
Auditioning from the Takes List
Pop-up Menu
Each region resulting from a punch or loop
record pass has an identical start time (the User
Time Stamp). This allows you to easily select and
audition takes from the Takes List pop-up
menu—even while the session plays or loops.
To select a take from the Takes List pop-up:
1 Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) with the Selector at the precise be-
ginning of the loop or punch range.
– or –
If the take currently residing in the track is se-
lected, Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-
click (Windows) it with the Selector.
A pop-up menu appears containing a list of re-
gions that share the same User Time Stamp.
2 Choose a region from the Takes List pop-up
menu. The region replaces the previous take and
snaps precisely to the correct location.
3 Repeat the above steps as desired to audition
other takes.
One way to ensure that future takes have the
same User Time Stamp (and appear in the Takes
List pop-up) is to store punch and loop record
selections as Memory Locations. Then if you
later need to record additional takes, simply re-
call the Memory Location. For more informa-
tion, see “Recalling Punch/Loop Points with
Memory Locations” on page 138.
To change the User Time Stamp of other regions
so that they appear in the Takes List pop-up for
a certain location, use the Time Stamp Selected
command in the Regions List pop-up menu. For
more information, see “Time Stamping” on
page 488.
Takes List and Multiple Tracks
If you have recorded a group of tracks and each
contains takes with identical User time Stamps,
you can use the Takes List pop-up menu to re-
place all takes simultaneously.
To replace the takes for multiple tracks:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Editing
and enable the following options:
• Take Region Region(s) That Match Track
Names
• Take Regions Lengths That Match
2 Click Done to close the Preferences dialog.
3 With the Selector, select the take range for
each track you want to replace.
4 Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) any of the select takes with the Selec-
tor.
A pop-up menu appears containing a list of re-
gions that share the same User Time Stamp for
that track.
5 Choose a region from the Takes List pop-up
menu. The region replaces the previous take and
snaps precisely to the correct location. The same
take numbers for the other selected tracks are
also automatically selected.
Takes List pop-up
Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 135
Editing Preferences and Take
Regions
In addition to having the same User Time
Stamp, regions that appear in the Takes List
pop-up are also restricted according to the fol-
lowing options in the Editing Preferences:
Take Region Name(s) That Match Track Names
When selected, only regions that share the same
root name with the track/playlist appear in the
Takes List pop-up menu. For example, the Takes
List for a track named “Gtr.L” would show the
regions “Gtr.L-01” and “Gtr.L-02-01,” but not
“Guit.L-01.”
Take Region Lengths That Match When selected,
only regions that match the length of the current
selection (even if it is not an entire region) appear
in the Takes List pop-up menu. If there is no se-
lection, all takes with the same User Time Stamp
are displayed.
Separate Region Operates On All Related Takes
When selected, editing a region with the Sepa-
rate Region command also affects all other re-
lated takes with the same User Time Stamp.
This option helps you compare different sec-
tions from a group of related takes. For example,
you can quickly separate an entire group of re-
lated vocal takes into sections, then audition
and select the best material from each section
independently.
If this option is selected, make sure the “Take
Region Names That Match Track Names” and
“Take Region Lengths that Match” options are
also selected. If they are not, all regions in the
session that have the same User Time Stamp will
be affected.
In most instances, you’ll want to deselect the
“Separate Region Operates On All Related
Takes” option, to prevent a large number of re-
gions from being created when you use the Sep-
arate Region command.
Setting Punch/Loop Points
The start and end points of a record range for
punch and loop recording can be set by the fol-
lowing means:
• Select a range in a track’s playlist
• Select a range in a Timebase Ruler
• Drag the Playback Markers in the Ruler
• Enter start and end times in the Transport
window
• Recall a Memory Location
To set the record range with an Edit selection:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid so the se-
lection is constrained to the current Grid value.
2 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
3 With the Selector, drag in a track’s playlist un-
til the selection encompasses the desired record
range.
– or –
If a region’s start and end points define the
record range, click on the region with the Grab-
ber.
Playlist selection
Pro Tools Reference Guide136
To set the record range with a Timeline selection:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid so the se-
lection is constrained to the current Grid value.
2 Drag with the Selector in any Timebase Ruler
until the selection encompasses the desired
record range.
Playback Markers
When tracks are record-enabled, Playback Mark-
ers for start and end times appear as red
up/down arrows in the Ruler. If no tracks are
record-enabled, the Playback Markers are blue.
The Playback Markers can be dragged, either
separately or at the same time, to set record and
play ranges.
To set the record range by dragging the Playback
Markers:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid so the
dragged Playback Markers snap to the current
Grid value.
2 Drag the first Playback Marker (down arrow)
to the start point of the range.
3 Drag the second Playback Marker (up arrow)
to the end point of the range.
Start and End Fields
The Transport window can be resized to display
start, end, and length times, and pre- and post-
roll settings. When setting a record or play
range, it is reflected in these fields.
You can enter locations in the start and end
fields to set the record or play range. The Play-
back Markers in the Ruler are updated accord-
ingly.
To set the record range by entering start and end
times in the Transport window:
1 If necessary, resize the Transport window by
clicking in the upper right so the start and end
times are displayed.
2 In the Transport window, click in the start
field.
– or –
Press Option+slash (Macintosh) or Alt+slash
(Windows) to select the start field in the Trans-
port window.
Timeline selection
Playback Markers in Ruler
Dragging a Playback Marker (start time) in Ruler
If the current record range is already the
right length and the range needs only to be
moved, Option-drag (Macintosh) or Alt-
drag (Windows) either Playback Marker to
move both to a new location (while keeping
the same length).
Transport window with start/end displayed
Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 137
3 Type in the start location and press slash to
enter the value and automatically move to the
end field.
4 Type in the end location and press Enter to ac-
cept the value.
Setting Pre/Post-Roll
Pre- and post-roll times appear as flags in the
Ruler. When pre- and post-roll are enabled, the
flags are green, otherwise they are gray.
Pre- and post-roll amounts can be entered in the
Transport window, set from a track’s playlist or
Timebase Ruler, or by recalling a Memory Loca-
tion.
Setting Pre- and Post-Roll in the
Transport Window
Pre- and post-roll can be enabled and set from
the fields in the Transport window.
To enable and set the pre- and post-roll times in
the Transport window:
1 If necessary, resize the Transport window by
clicking in the upper right so the start and end
times are displayed.
2 In the Transport window, click in the pre-roll
field.
3 Type in the pre-roll amount and press slash to
enter the value and automatically move to the
post-roll field.
4 Type in the post-roll amount and press Enter
to accept the new value.
5 To enable either pre- or post roll, click the ap-
propriate button so it becomes highlighted.
Setting Pre- and Post-Roll in a Playlist
You can use the Selector to enable and disable
pre- and post-roll by clicking in a track’s playlist.
To enable and set the pre- and post-roll by clicking
in a playlist:
1 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
2 With the Selector, drag in the track’s playlist
until the selection encompasses the desired
record range.
Use the period (.) or Left/Right Arrow keys
to move through the different time fields for
start/end. Use the Up/Down Arrow keys to
increase or decrease the numerical values.
Green Pre/Post-Roll Flags (enabled) in the Ruler
For TDM systems, recording with pre/post-
roll requires two voices for each record-en-
abled track. In addition, to simultaneously
record on 32 tracks with pre/post-roll on a
Pro Tools 24 MIX system (which allocates
voices to either of two DSP engines, 1–32
and 33–64), the tracks must be evenly dis-
tributed between the two DSPs (for in-
stance, tracks 1–16 assigned to voices 1–16
and tracks 17–32 assigned to voices
33–48).
Use the period (.) or Left/Right Arrow keys
to move through the different time fields for
pre/post. Use the Up/Down Arrow keys to
increase or decrease the numerical values.
Pro Tools Reference Guide138
3 With the Selector, Option-click (Macintosh)
or Alt-click (Windows) in the track’s playlist be-
fore the selection to enable the pre-roll at that
location.
4 With the Selector, Option-click (Macintosh)
or Alt-click (Windows) in the track’s playlist af-
ter the selection to enable the post-roll at that
location.
To disable the pre- and post-roll by clicking in a
playlist:
1 With the Selector, Option-click (Macintosh)
or Alt-click (Windows) within a track selection
near the start to disable the pre-roll.
2 With the Selector, Option-click (Macintosh)
or Alt-click (Windows) within a track selection
near the end to disable the pre-roll.
Enabling Pre- and Post-Roll from the
Operations Menu
Pre- and post-roll (as a pair) can be enabled and
disabled from the Operations menu.
To enable both pre- and post-roll from the
Operations menu:
■Select Operations > Pre/Post Roll Playback.
Dragging Pre- and Post-Roll Flags in the
Ruler
The Pre- and Post-Roll Flags can be dragged in
the Ruler, either separately or at the same time,
to set their location.
To set the pre- and post-roll amounts by dragging
in the Ruler:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid so the
dragged flags snap to the current Grid value.
2 Drag the Pre-Roll Flag to the desired location
in the Ruler.
3 Drag the Post-Roll Flag to the desired location
in the Ruler.
Recalling Punch/Loop Points with
Memory Locations
Since Memory Locations recall Edit selections,
you can use them to recall record and play
ranges—that is, as long as the Edit and Timeline
selections are linked. Memory Locations can
also store and recall pre- and post-roll settings.
For more information on Memory Locations,
see “Memory Locations and Markers” on
page 270.
To save punch/loop points with a Memory
Location:
1 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
2 Set the record range by making a playlist or
Ruler selection, or by entering start and end
times in the Transport window.
Dragging a Pre-Roll Flag in Ruler
To set pre- and post-roll values to the same
amount, Option-drag (Macintosh) or Alt-
drag (Windows) either the Pre- or the Post-
Roll Flag in the Ruler.
Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 139
3 If desired, enable and set the pre/post-roll
amounts in the Transport window, or by drag-
ging the Pre- and Post-Roll Flags in the Ruler.
4 Press Enter on the numeric keypad.
5 In the New Memory Location dialog, set Time
Properties to Selection, and, if desired, under
General Properties, select the option for Pre/Post
Roll Times.
6 Enter a name for the new Memory Location
and click OK to save it.
To recall punch/loop points with a Memory
Location:
1 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
2 Choose Windows > Show Memory Locations.
3 In the Memory Locations window, click the
name or number of the Memory Location.
The start and end times and pre/post-roll set-
tings stored with the Memory Location are re-
called.
New Memory Location dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide140
Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 141
Chapter 13: MIDI Recording
Although recording MIDI in Pro Tools is similar
to recording audio, there are some important
differences.
◆Unlike audio, MIDI recording is almost always
destructive. See “The Record Modes and MIDI”
on page 120 for details.
◆Unlike audio, a MIDI recording take can be
undone after stopping the Transport. For details,
see “Undo and MIDI Recording” on page 147.
◆Unlike audio tracks, MIDI tracks can be record
enabled on the fly while recording.
◆Similar to audio tracks, MIDI tracks have an
Input Selector that determines which channels
are routed and recorded to the track. If the Input
Selector is set to All, all channels for all devices
are routed to the track.
◆It is not necessary to use QuickPunch to
punch in on the fly with MIDI tracks. This capa-
bility is available in normal Nondestructive
Record Mode, and in Destructive Record mode.
Recording from MIDI Devices
The MIDI Inputs for record-enabled MIDI tracks
determine which MIDI data is recorded in
Pro Tools. MIDI Inputs can be set to a specific
device and channel, or they can be set to “All,”
where all channels for all devices are merged to
the track.
MIDI tracks in Pro Tools do not contain multi-
ple channels and always play back on the track’s
assigned device and channels. Multiple MIDI
channels can be simultaneously recorded to
multiple tracks.
The following Pro Tools options determine
whether you can record from a MIDI controller
device:
◆Devices that are assigned as a MIDI Controller
in the Peripherals dialog are ignored when MIDI
tracks are recorded. This is to avoid recording
data from MIDI control surfaces like the Mackie
HUI.
◆On the Macintosh, only devices that are en-
abled in the Input Devices dialog can be re-
corded from. For more information, see
“Enabling Input Devices” on page 142.
Refer to the “Pro Tools Installation Guide”
that came with your system for details on
configuration for MIDI recording.
Pro Tools Reference Guide142
In addition, the following options affect how
MIDI data is recorded in Pro Tools.
◆The Input Filter can filter out MIDI messages
that you may not want to record, such as poly-
phonic aftertouch or System Exclusive data. For
more information, see “MIDI Input Filter” on
page 143.
◆Input Quantize, when enabled, automatically
quantizes (time corrects) all MIDI notes that are
recorded. For more information, see “Input
Quantize” on page 144.
Enabling Input Devices
(Macintosh Only)
To record from a MIDI controller in Pro Tools,
the device must be enabled in the Input Devices
dialog. You can also use this dialog to make sure
unwanted notes from certain devices, such as
drum machines or arpeggiators, are not re-
corded.
To enable input devices:
1 Choose MIDI > Input Devices.
2 In the Input Devices dialog, select the MIDI
devices you will record from. Also, make sure
any devices that will be used as a control surface
are also selected.
3 Deselect any devices you want to ignore while
recording MIDI.
4 When you are finished, click OK.
MIDI Thru
To monitor MIDI tracks while recording, enable
MIDI Thru. When enabled, Pro Tools routes
MIDI from your controllers to the device and
channels assigned to the MIDI track currently
record-enabled.
NOTE: The MIDI Preference for Global MIDI Play-
back Offset and individual MIDI track offsets do
not affect MIDI routed with MIDI Thru.
NOTE: When MIDI Thru is enabled, System Exclu-
sive events are echoed to the MIDI device assigned
to the record-enabled track—but only if the sysex
events are smaller than 256 bytes.
In order to use control surfaces, like the
Mackie HUI, they must be enabled in the
Input Devices dialog.
In order for Pro Tools to sync to MMC, the
MMC source must be enabled in the Input
Devices dialog.
Input Devices dialog
Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 143
To enable MIDI Thru:
■Select MIDI > MIDI Thru.
When using MIDI Thru, you should disable Lo-
cal Control on your MIDI keyboard controller.
Otherwise, your keyboard may receive double
MIDI notes, which can lead to stuck notes. If un-
sure how to disable Local Control for your in-
strument, refer to the manufacturer’s documen-
tation.
The Default Thru Instrument
In addition to any MIDI tracks that are record-
enabled, you can also route MIDI to the Default
Thru Instrument. This saves you the trouble of
creating a MIDI track and record enabling it to
hear a particular MIDI device and channel.
Unlike MIDI tracks, which only listen to the de-
vice and channel assigned to its Input Selector,
all incoming MIDI data is routed to the Default
Thru Instrument.
If the Default Thru Instrument is assigned to a
record-enabled MIDI track, Pro Tools only
routes to the record-enabled track.
To set the Default Thru Instrument:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click MIDI.
2 From the pop-up menu for Default Thru In-
strument, select the MIDI device and channel to
which MIDI data will be routed. To disable the
Default Thru Instrument, select None.
MIDI Input Filter
Use the MIDI Input Filter to filter out certain
MIDI messages from your recordings. The Input
Filter can be set to record “all” messages, “only”
the specified messages, or “all except” the speci-
fied messages.
For example, to filter out polyphonic aftertouch
and System Exclusive data:
1 Choose MIDI > Input Filter.
2 In the MIDI Input Filter dialog, select the Only
option.
3 Make sure the options for Polyphonic After-
touch and System Exclusive are not selected.
Leave all other messages selected.
4 Click OK.
When using the Only option, only the MIDI
messages that are selected will be recorded. Con-
versely, when using the All Except option, the
selected messages will not be recorded.
MIDI Thru enabled
MIDI Input Filter
Pro Tools Reference Guide144
Input Quantize
When Input Quantize is enabled, all recorded
MIDI notes are quantized automatically. To pre-
serve the original “feel” of your recorded MIDI
tracks, make sure to disable this option.
To enable Input Quantize:
1 Choose MIDI > Input Quantize.
2 In the Input Quantize window, select the En-
able Input Quantize option.
Configure the other options in the Input Quan-
tize window as desired. For details on the vari-
ous Quantize options, see “Quantize” on
page 311. When finished, close the Input Quan-
tize window.
For drum machine style loop recording, use Input
Quantize while loop recording MIDI in Merge
mode (see “Loop Recording with Merge Mode”
on page 150).
Wait for Note
The Wait for Note button, located in the Trans-
port window, determines how Pro Tools begins
recording. When enabled, Pro Tools will not be-
gin recording until a MIDI event is received.
This ensures that you begin recording when
you’re ready to play, and that the first note, or
other MIDI data, is recorded precisely at the be-
ginning of the record range (start time).
Wait for Note can be used when recording nor-
mally, when punching in, or when loop record-
ing. If pre-roll is enabled, it occurs after the
MIDI event is received and before recording be-
gins.
To enable Wait for Note:
1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport
window, select Display > Transport Window
Shows > MIDI Controls.
2 In the Transport window, click the Wait for
Note button so it becomes highlighted.
Input Quantize window
Transport window with MIDI Controls
Wait for Note enabled
With the Operation Preference for “Use F11
for Wait for Note” is enabled, you can press
F11 to turn on Wait for Note.
Wait for Note button
Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 145
MIDI Merge/Replace
The MIDI Merge button, located in the Trans-
port window, determines how MIDI is recorded
when overdubbing or punching in. When MIDI
Merge is on (Merge mode), recorded MIDI is
merged with existing track material. When
MIDI Merge is off (Replace mode), existing data
within the punched region is replaced by the
newly recorded material.
The MIDI Merge button can be turned on and
off while playing or recording. In Loop Record
mode, MIDI Merge has no effect, so its button is
dimmed.
To enable MIDI Merge:
1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport
window, select Display > Transport Window
Shows > MIDI Controls.
2 In the Transport window, click the MIDI
Merge button so it becomes highlighted.
Recording a Single MIDI Track
To record MIDI in Pro Tools, first add a new
MIDI track and record enable it.
To configure a new MIDI track for recording:
1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 MIDI
Track, then click Create.
2 Rename the new track as desired. Track names
are used to auto-name recorded regions. For
more information, see “Track Names” on
page 116.
3 In the Mix window, click on the track’s MIDI
Output Selector and assign a device and channel
from the pop-up menu. Channels already as-
signed to other tracks appear bold in this menu.
Transport Window with MIDI Controls
MIDI Merge enabled
MIDI Merge button
To take advantage of the editing capabili-
ties in Pro Tools, make sure to record with
the click enabled. This ensures that recorded
data aligns with the session’s bar and beat
boundaries.
New Track dialog
To auto-scroll the Track Type pop-up in the
New Track dialog, press Command (Macin-
tosh) or Control (Windows) and use the
Up/Down Arrow keys.
MIDI Output Selector
Pro Tools Reference Guide146
4 To assign multiple destinations to a single
MIDI track, Shift-click the MIDI Output Selector
and select additional channels from any device.
5 If desired, assign a default program change to
the track. In the Mix window, click on the Pro-
gram button (Prog) and make the necessary se-
lections for program and bank select, then click
Done.
Default program changes are sent whenever the
track is played. For more information, see “Pro-
gram Changes” on page 302.
6 In the Mix Window, click the MIDI track’s
Record Enable button to record enable the track.
To record to the new MIDI track:
1 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive
Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect
Destructive Record, Loop Record, and Quick-
Punch.
2 If desired, enable and configure the click, and
set a default tempo and meter for the session.
For details, see “Recording with the Click” on
page 121.
3 If desired, enable Wait for Note or Countoff in
the Transport window.
4 Make sure MIDI > MIDI Thru is selected, then
play some notes on your MIDI controller. The
MIDI instrument assigned to the track should
sound, and the track’s meters should register
MIDI activity.
5 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero
so the start and end times are cleared. This en-
sures that you’ll start recording from the begin-
ning of the track.
6 Click Record in the Transport window.
◆If using Wait for Note, the Play, Record, and
Wait for Note buttons flash. Recording begins
when a MIDI event is received.
◆If using Countoff, click Play to start counting
down. The Record and Play buttons flash during
the countoff, after which recording begins.
7 When you have finished recording, click Stop
in the Transport window.
The newly recorded MIDI data appears as a MIDI
region in the track’s playlist, and in the MIDI
Regions List.
To play back the recorded MIDI track:
1 Click the Record Enable button for the MIDI
track to take it out of record-enabled mode.
2 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero.
3 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
playback.
The recorded MIDI data plays back through the
track’s assigned channel.
Record button
There are several keyboard shortcuts you
can use to begin recording. See “Record
Shortcuts” on page 126 for details.
Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 147
Undo and MIDI Recording
After recording a MIDI track and the Transport
is stopped, you can undo the previous record
take.
To undo a MIDI recording:
■Once the Transport has been stopped, choose
Edit > Undo MIDI Recording.
The track’s playlist is restored to its previous
state. However:
◆If you punched in and out several times be-
fore stopping the Transport, only the last punch
is undone.
◆When using Loop Record mode, all takes from
each record pass are discarded.
Canceling a Record Take
It is also possible to discard the current record
take before the Transport is stopped.
To cancel a record take while recording:
■Press Command+period (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+period (Windows) before the Transport is
stopped.
If using Loop Record mode, all takes from each
record pass are discarded.
Recording Multiple MIDI
Tracks
In Pro Tools, you can simultaneously record to
multiple MIDI tracks, allowing you to:
• Record from multiple MIDI devices at the
same time, capturing material from several
performers
• Record multiple channels from the same de-
vice, capturing data from a split keyboard
• Transfer MIDI tracks from an external MIDI
sequencer
To record to multiple MIDI tracks, record enable
each track and set the MIDI Input for each track.
To record to multiple MIDI tracks:
1 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive
Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect
Destructive Record, Loop Record, and Quick-
Punch.
2 If desired, enable and configure the click. For
details, see “Recording with the Click” on
page 121.
3 If desired, enable Wait for Note or Countoff in
the Transport window.
4 Choose File > New Track. Specify the number
of MIDI tracks you want to record, then click
Create.
5 Record enable the MIDI tracks you want to
record by clicking their Record Enable buttons.
As long as the preference for Latch Record En-
able Buttons is enabled, you can record enable
subsequent tracks by clicking their Record En-
able buttons. Other tracks already record-en-
abled will remain so.
Pro Tools Reference Guide148
6 In the Mix window, click on the MIDI Input
Selector for each track and assign the device and
channel that will be recorded.
7 In the Mix window, click on the MIDI Output
Selector for each track and assign a device and
channel for playback.
8 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero
so the start and end times are cleared. This en-
sures that you’ll start recording from the begin-
ning of the track.
9 Click Record in the Transport window.
◆If using Wait for Note, the Play, Record, and
Wait for Note buttons flash. Recording begins
when a MIDI event is received.
◆If using Countoff, click Play to start counting
down. The Record and Play buttons flash during
the countoff, after which recording begins.
10 When you have finished recording, click
Stop in the Transport window.
For each record-enabled track, a new MIDI re-
gion is created and appears in the playlist. The
new MIDI regions also appear in the MIDI Re-
gions List.
Punch Recording MIDI
To replace a portion of a MIDI track, you can
punch in by specifying the record range before
recording.
To punch in on a MIDI track:
1 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive
Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect
Destructive Record, Loop Record, and Quick-
Punch.
2 If desired, enable and configure the click. For
details, see “Recording with the Click” on
page 121.
3 In the Transport window, disable Wait for
Note and Countoff.
4 Make sure the track containing the previous
take is record-enabled.
5 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
6 With the Selector, drag in the track’s playlist
until the selection encompasses the desired
punch range.
For other methods of setting the record range,
see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 135.
7 To hear existing track material up to the start
point, or after the end point, enable and set
pre/post-roll times. For details, see “Setting
Pre/Post-Roll” on page 137.
8 To replace existing track material, disable
MIDI Merge in the Transport window.
9 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
MIDI Input Selector
Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 149
If pre-roll is enabled, the track material leading
up to the punch-in point plays. You can start
playing during the pre-roll to get the “feel.” Ma-
terial is not recorded until the start point is
reached.
When the start point is reached, Pro Tools be-
gins recording. Recording continues until the
end point is reached, unless Stop is clicked in
the Transport window. If post-roll is enabled,
playback continues for the specified post-roll
amount.
Punching “on the fly” with MIDI
You don’t have to set a record range to punch in
on a MIDI track. In fact, you can punch in and
out freely at any time during playback. Unlike
audio tracks, it is not necessary to enable Quick-
Punch to perform real-time punches.
To punch on the fly with MIDI:
1 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive
Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect
Destructive Record, Loop Record, and Quick-
Punch.
2 Record enable the track by clicking its Record
Enable button.
3 To replace existing track material, disable
MIDI Merge in the Transport window.
4 Disable Wait for Note and Countoff in the
Transport window.
5 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero.
Start playback by clicking Play in the Transport
window.
6 When you reach the punch-in point, click
Record in the Transport window.
– or –
For Digi 001 systems with a connected foot-
switch, press the footswitch at the punch-in
point.
The Record button stops flashing and stays lit
during recording.
7 To punch out, click Record again (or press the
footswitch).
Pro Tools exits record mode and continues play-
ing. You can perform additional punches during
the same pass.
Regions and Punch Recording
Depending on the record range, new regions
may be created after punch recording. For exam-
ple, Figure 6 shows two existing regions before
recording. Since the start and end times occur
within both of the existing regions, a new re-
gion is created to fill the space between them.
For Digi 001 systems, you can use a foot-
switch (connected to the I/O Box) to punch
in and out when recording MIDI.
Figure 6. Region added after punch record
before punch record
after punch record
new region
newly recorded
material
Pro Tools Reference Guide150
However, when selecting an entire region, or a
section within a region, before punching, no
new regions are created. In this instance, only
the material residing within the existing region
changes, with no new material recorded outside
the region.
Unlike audio recording, MIDI recording in this
scenario is destructive. If a region is altered be-
cause of a record take, the original material is
lost (unless you choose Edit > Undo MIDI Re-
cording). If an existing region contains impor-
tant material, always make a backup before re-
cording over it.
Loop Recording MIDI
Loop recording with MIDI is supported by two
methods:
• In normal Nondestructive Record mode, en-
able Loop Playback and MIDI Merge for drum
machine style loop recording.
– or –
• Use Loop Record mode to record multiple
takes on each record pass. This is similar to
loop recording audio.
Loop Recording with Merge Mode
For drum machine style loop recording, use nor-
mal Nondestructive Record mode with Loop
Playback and MIDI Merge enabled. With this
method, MIDI is recorded and merged to the
same region with each new record pass—
thereby allowing you to, for example, record hi-
hats on the first pass and kick and snare on the
next.
Make sure that MIDI Merge is enabled in the
Transport window, otherwise (in Replace mode)
each subsequent take will destructively replace
the previous.
To loop record with MIDI Merge:
1 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive
Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect
Destructive Record, Loop Record, and Quick-
Punch.
2 Select Operations > Loop Playback. When
Loop Playback is enabled, a loop symbol appears
in the Play button.
3 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 MIDI
Track, then click Create.
4 Record enable the new MIDI track by clicking
its Record Enable button. Make sure no audio
tracks are record-enabled.
5 In the Transport window, click the MIDI
Merge button so it becomes highlighted.
6 Disable Wait for Note and Countoff in the
Transport window.
You can record enable a different MIDI
track on the fly while loop recording. While
pressing Command (Macintosh) or Control
(Windows), use the Up/Down Arrows to
record enable the previous or next MIDI
track.
Loop Playback enabled
MIDI Merge enabled
MIDI Merge button
Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 151
7 If desired, enable Input Quantize to automat-
ically quantize recorded material (see “Input
Quantize” on page 144).
8 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
9 With the Selector, drag in the track’s playlist
until the selection encompasses the desired loop
range.
For other methods of setting the record range,
see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 135.
10 To hear track material up to the start point of
the loop, enable and set the pre-roll time. For
details, see “Setting Pre/Post-Roll” on page 137.
11 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
The Record button flashes during the pre-roll.
When the start point is reached, Pro Tools be-
gins recording. When the end point is reached,
Pro Tools loops back to the start point and con-
tinues playing and recording.
12 Play some notes on your MIDI controller.
Newly recorded MIDI data appears as a region in
the record track. On each successive take, re-
corded material shows up in the region, without
replacing material from previous takes.
13 If desired, switch to a new record track.
While pressing Command (Macintosh) or Con-
trol (Windows), use the Up/Down Arrows to
record enable the previous or next MIDI track.
14 When you have finished recording, click
Stop in the Transport window.
The newly recorded MIDI data appears as a MIDI
region in the track’s playlist, and in the MIDI
Regions List.
Loop Recording Multiple Takes
When recording MIDI in Loop Record mode,
new regions are created each time new material
is received during a record pass. This differs
somewhat from loop recording audio, where
separate audio files and regions are created with
each subsequent record pass.
You can use this method of MIDI loop recording
to record successive takes without stopping the
record process, thereby preserving your creative
spontaneity. Another advantage with this
method of recording MIDI, which is nonde-
structive, is that existing and newly recorded re-
gions remain intact (and available in the MIDI
Regions List).
To record MIDI in Loop Record mode:
1 Select Operations > Loop Record. When Loop
Record mode is enabled, a loop symbol appears
in the Record button.
1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 MIDI
Track, then click Create.
2 Record enable the new MIDI track by clicking
its Record Enable button. Make sure no audio
tracks are record-enabled.
3 Disable Wait for Note and Countoff in the
Transport window.
4 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
Loop Recording enabled
Pro Tools Reference Guide152
5 With the Selector, drag in the track’s playlist
until the selection encompasses the desired loop
range.
For other methods of setting the record range,
see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 135.
6 To hear track material up to the start point of
the loop, enable and set the pre-roll time. For
details, see “Setting Pre/Post-Roll” on page 137.
7 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
The Record button flashes during the pre-roll.
When the start point is reached, Pro Tools be-
gins recording. When the end point is reached,
Pro Tools loops back to the start point and con-
tinues playing and recording.
8 Play some notes on your MIDI controller. A
new MIDI region containing the newly recorded
material is automatically created and appears in
the track’s playlist, replacing the previous re-
gion.
Regions are replaced (non-destructively) during
subsequent record passes when new MIDI mate-
rial is received.
9 When you have finished recording, click Stop
in the Transport window. The most recently re-
corded take is left in the record track.
The recorded takes appear as regions in the
MIDI Regions List and are numbered sequen-
tially. The takes, which are the same length and
easily interchangeable, can be auditioned from
the Takes List pop-up menu—even while the ses-
sion plays or loops.
To audition the various record takes:
1 Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) with the Selector at the precise be-
ginning of the loop record range.
– or –
◆If the take currently residing in the track is se-
lected, Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-
click (Windows) it with the Selector.
A pop-up menu appears containing a list of re-
gions that share the same User Time Stamp.
2 Choose a region from the Takes List pop-up
menu. The region replaces the previous take and
snaps precisely to the correct location.
For more information on auditioning and man-
aging takes, see “Auditioning Record Takes” on
page 133.
Recording System Exclusive
Data
Pro Tools supports recording and playing Sys-
tem Exclusive data (sysex) with MIDI tracks.
This allows you to use MIDI tracks in Pro Tools
to store patch and configuration data for your
MIDI devices, or to record real-time sysex
changes for a particular synth parameter (filter
cutoff, for instance).
Auditioning loop record takes
Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 153
To record a sysex dump at the beginning of a MIDI
track:
1 Make sure that the MIDI OUT for the device
sending the sysex is connected to your MIDI in-
terface’s MIDI IN.
2 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive
Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect
Destructive Record, Loop Record, and Quick-
Punch.
3 In the MIDI Input Filter, enable recording of
System Exclusive data.
4 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 MIDI
Track, then click Create.
5 Record enable the new MIDI track by clicking
its Record Enable button.
6 Enable Wait for Note in the Transport win-
dow.
7 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero
so the start and end times are cleared. This en-
sures that you’ll start recording from the begin-
ning of the track.
8 When you are ready to begin recording, click
Record in the Transport window.
The Record, Play, and Wait for Note buttons
flash, indicating that Pro Tools is waiting for
MIDI data.
9 Initiate the sysex transfer from the MIDI de-
vice. When receiving the MIDI data, Pro Tools
automatically begins recording.
10 When the transfer is complete, click Stop in
the Transport window.
The newly recorded MIDI data appears as a MIDI
region in the track’s playlist, and in the MIDI
Regions List. MIDI regions that contain System
Exclusive data appear blank when the track’s
Display Format is set to Regions.
To see the sysex event blocks, which indicate
the location of the data, set the track to display
Sysex. For details on moving and copying of
sysex data, see “System Exclusive Events” on
page 305.
To resend the sysex from Pro Tools:
1 For the device receiving the System Exclusive
data, make sure its MIDI IN is connected to your
MIDI interface’s MIDI OUT.
Also, make sure the device is set to receive sysex.
Some devices require that memory protect be
off.
2 For the previously recorded track, click its
Record button to take it out of record-enabled
mode.
3 In the Mix window, click on the track’s MIDI
Device/Channel Selector and assign the device
from the pop-up menu.
4 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero.
5 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
playback. Pro Tools begins playing and trans-
mits the previously recorded sysex to the as-
signed MIDI device.
Pro Tools Reference Guide154
Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 155
Chapter 14: Advanced Recording
Using QuickPunch
Pro Tools features an intelligent on-the-fly
punch capability called QuickPunch. Quick-
Punch lets you instantaneously punch in and
out on record-enabled audio tracks during play-
back by merely clicking the Record button in
the Transport window.
When using QuickPunch, Pro Tools starts re-
cording a new audio file when you begin play-
back, automatically defining and naming re-
gions in that file at each punch-in/out point. Up
to 100 of these “running punches” can be per-
formed during a single pass. Unlike normal
punch recording (see “Punch Recording Audio”
on page 131), QuickPunch provides instanta-
neous monitor switching on punch-out. All
QuickPunch recording is nondestructive.
NOTE: You don’t need to use QuickPunch to punch
on the fly with MIDI tracks. This capability is
available in normal Nondestructive Record mode,
and in Destructive Record mode.
QuickPunch Crossfade Length
Pro Tools can automatically write a crossfade for
each punch point when using QuickPunch. The
length for these crossfades is set with the Quick-
Punch Crossfade Length option in the Editing
Preferences.
To set the QuickPunch Crossfade Length:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Editing.
2 Enter a value (in msec) for the QuickPunch
CrossFade Length.
A good general-purpose crossfade length for
punches is 4 milliseconds. If you set the prefer-
ence to zero, Pro Tools will not create any cross-
fades at the punch-in/out points.
3 Click Done.
If a value other than zero is specified for the
QuickPunch Crossfade Length, QuickPunch
writes a pre-crossfade at the punch-in point
(which occurs up to but not into the punched
region boundary), and a post-crossfade at the
punch-out point (which occurs after the
punched region).
Even if the QuickPunch Crossfade Length is set
to zero, Pro Tools always executes a
4 millisecond “monitor only” crossfade (which
is not written to disk) to avoid distracting pops
or clicks that might occur as you enter and exit
record mode.
For Digi 001 systems, you can use a foot-
switch (connected to the I/O box) to punch
in and out when recording with Quick-
Punch.
Pro Tools Reference Guide156
QuickPunch crossfades can later be edited in the
same manner as standard crossfades. For details,
see “Using Crossfades” on page 241.
QuickPunch Guidelines for
TDM Systems
When using QuickPunch on TDM systems, two
voices are required for each record-enabled,
mono track. For example, a Pro Tools 24 system
with 32 voices can simultaneously record on up
to 16 mono tracks with QuickPunch. Quick-
Punch with stereo tracks requires twice the
number of voices.
If the required number of voices for the record-
enabled tracks is not available when switching
to QuickPunch mode, you’ll be prompted to free
up the necessary voices.
To free up voices on tracks that are not record-
enabled, and do not need to be heard while
recording:
■Set voice assignments for tracks to Off.
– or –
■Make tracks inactive.
As necessary, voices in use by other tracks,
which are not record-enabled, may be stolen
while recording with QuickPunch. Priority for
tracks while recording with QuickPunch are as
follows:
• Tracks with assigned voices that are not
record-enabled
• Tracks with assigned voices that are record-en-
abled
• Auto-voiced tracks that are not record-en-
abled
• Auto-voiced tracks that are record-enabled
If the session has plenty of available voices, you
may have no trouble using QuickPunch with
auto-voiced tracks. However, if you are running
out of voices, and want to ensure that a track
will heard when recording with QuickPunch, as-
sign it a voice.
QuickPunch and Auto Voice (TDM
Systems Only)
When using QuickPunch with a 64-voice system
with, make sure to set the voice assignment for
each audio track to Auto. This ensures that
Pro Tools will automatically handle the distri-
bution of voices between the two sets of voices
(1–32 and 33–64).
If you do not use auto-voicing, the voices must
be evenly distributed between the two DSP en-
gines. For example, to use QuickPunch on 32
tracks without auto-voicing, tracks 1–16 must be
assigned to voices 1–16 and tracks 17–32 must
be assigned to voices 33–48.
QuickPunch Guidelines for
Pro Tools LE
Digi 001 and Audiomedia III
For non-TDM systems, the maximum number
of mono tracks that can be simultaneously re-
corded with QuickPunch in a session with 24
audio tracks is 8.
To simultaneously record more tracks than this
with QuickPunch, you’ll need to reduce the
number of tracks in the session. For example, a
session with 20 audio tracks can record 10 mono
tracks with QuickPunch, and a session with 16
audio tracks can record 12.
With Pro Tools LE, QuickPunch uses CPU
processing power, and may reduce the num-
ber of tracks and plug-ins you can use.
Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 157
Recording with QuickPunch
To punch on the fly with QuickPunch:
1 Select Operations > QuickPunch. When
QuickPunch is enabled, a “P” appears in the
Record button.
2 If desired, configure the QuickPunch Cross-
fade Length option in the Editing Preferences
(see “QuickPunch Crossfade Length” on
page 155).
3 Record enable the tracks you want to punch in
on. Make sure there are enough available voices
on your system.
• For TDM systems, see “QuickPunch Guide-
lines for TDM Systems” on page 156.
• For non-TDM systems, see “QuickPunch
Guidelines for Pro Tools LE” on page 156.
4 Prepare to record by cueing Pro Tools to an ap-
propriate location (if desired, enable a pre-roll
value in the Transport window).
5 Start playback by clicking Play in the Trans-
port window.
6 When you reach the punch-in point, click
Record in the Transport window.
– or –
For Digi 001 systems with a connected foot-
switch, press the footswitch at the punch-in
point.
The Record button stops flashing and stays lit
during recording.
7 To punch out, click Record again (or press the
footswitch).
As Pro Tools continues playing, you can per-
form additional punches (up to 100). When re-
cording multiple punches during a single pass, a
single audio file is recorded from which
Pro Tools creates the appropriate regions.
QuickPunch with an Edit Selection
If you make an Edit selection and use Quick-
Punch, the following rules apply:
◆If you are not online, recording begins and
stops whenever you click the Record button—
regardless of the selection’s start or end point.
◆If you are online, punch-in/out behavior is
controlled by the Online Options setting in the
Operations Preferences. If you select Record On-
line at Insertion/Selection, QuickPunch
punches in and out only within the selection (or
in the case of an insertion point, only after the
insertion point). If you select Record Online at
Time Code Lock, QuickPunch disregards the se-
lection and punches in and out whenever you
want (after Pro Tools has locked to time code).
Region and Take Numbering with
QuickPunch
After recording with QuickPunch, the new au-
dio regions appear in the Audio Regions List.
This includes the whole-file audio region en-
compassing all punches from the record pass,
along with the regions derived for each punch.
Names for the punched regions are numbered
consecutively starting with “01.” For example, if
QuickPunch is used to punch in twice on a track
called “Lead Gtr,” a region for the parent audio
file appears and is named “Lead Gtr-01,” and
two regions for the punches are named “Lead
Gtr-01-01” and “Lead Gtr-01-02.”
QuickPunch enabled
Pro Tools Reference Guide158
If you stop playback and record additional
punches with QuickPunch, subsequent regions
are named by incrementing the first two digits
in the name. For example, on the second pass,
the punched regions are named “Lead Gtr-02-
01,” “Lead Gtr-02-02,” and so forth.
Recording from a Digital
Source
If you plan to use a DAT recorder or digital-out-
put CD player with your Pro Tools system, make
sure it supports the correct digital format.
AES/EBU inputs and outputs should only be
connected to other AES/EBU-equipped devices,
and S/PDIF inputs and outputs should only be
connected to other S/PDIF-equipped devices.
On the 888/24 I/O and ADAT Bridge I/O, both
AES/EBU and S/PDIF outputs are active at all
times, so you can actually send digital audio to
two different digital devices simultaneously at
mix time. However, Pro Tools can only receive
digital audio from one digital source (AES or
S/PDIF) at a time.
In addition, although the 888/24 I/O has four
stereo AES input pairs, only input pair 1–2 on
the master audio interface, (the first audio inter-
face connected to your main DSP card), can ac-
cept an external digital clock source.
To record from a DAT recorder with Pro Tools:
1 Connect the digital output of the DAT re-
corder to the appropriate digital input of your
audio hardware.
2 Choose Windows > Show Session Setup. From
the Sample Rate pop-up menu, choose the de-
sired sample rate.
3 Choose Setups > Hardware. From the Ch 1–2
Input pop-up menu, select the appropriate in-
put source.
If your audio hardware supports both AES/EBU
and S/PDIF, select the format you will use from
the Digital Format pop-up.
4 Click OK to close the Hardware Setup dialog.
5 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 Stereo
Audio Track, then click Create.
6 In the Mix window, record enable the new au-
dio track by clicking its Record Enable button.
7 Assign the Input Selectors for the track to Ch
1–2 Inputs. Since this is a digital-domain trans-
fer, you don’t need to worry about input levels.
8 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive
Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect
Destructive Record, Loop Record, and Quick-
Punch.
9 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero
so the start and end times are cleared. This en-
sures that you’ll start recording from the begin-
ning of the track.
10 Click Record in the Transport window. When
you are ready to begin recording, click Play.
11 Initiate playback on the DAT recorder.
12 When the material from the DAT has fin-
ished, click Stop in the Transport window.
Session Setup window
Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 159
After a Digital Transfer
After you have finished recording digitally, set
the Sync Mode pop-up menu in the Session
Setup window back to Internal. Otherwise,
Pro Tools will not switch back to its own inter-
nal clock and will not record or play audio prop-
erly. Failure to switch back to Internal sync typ-
ically results in pitch problems (fast or slow
playback) or DAE errors, since a DAT recorder or
CD Recorder that is idle can default to a differ-
ent sample rate or stop outputting a sample rate
clock altogether.
Half-Speed Recording and
Playback
Pro Tools lets you play and record at half-speed.
This capability is similar to that of a tape deck
where you can record material at half-speed and
then play it back at normal speed (up an octave)
for special effects.
To record at half-speed:
1 Press Command+Shift+Spacebar (Macintosh)
or Control+Shift+Spacebar (Windows). Record-
ing begins and all existing track material plays at
half-speed.
2 When you have finished recording, click Stop.
When played at normal speed, the material re-
corded at half-speed plays twice as fast (up an
octave).
To play at half-speed
1 Press Shift+Spacebar. Playback begins and
track material plays at half-speed. If any tracks
were recorded at half-speed, they play at normal
speed.
2 Click Stop in the Transport window to stop
playback.
Use half-speed recording to record difficult
to play MIDI tracks. This allows you to hear
audio tracks while recording. Half-speed re-
cording and playback do not affect how
MIDI tracks sound when played.
Use half-speed playback to learn or tran-
scribe difficult passages in recorded tracks.
Pro Tools Reference Guide160
161
Part IV: Editing
162
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 163
Chapter 15: Editing Basics
Pro Tools Editing
The Edit window in Pro Tools provides a power-
ful collection of tools for editing and assembling
audio and MIDI tracks. Track material can be ed-
ited non-destructively and in real time during
playback.
Nondestructive Editing
The vast majority of audio editing in Pro Tools is
nondestructive. Whether cutting, pasting, trim-
ming, separating, or clearing regions, you are
only performing these functions on a map of
the actual audio data. The source audio files re-
main untouched. If a particular process or tool
works destructively (that is, if it can perma-
nently change audio files on your hard disk),
this guide alerts you.
While editing for MIDI tracks is in some in-
stances destructive, with a few precautions you
can keep important MIDI tracks and regions safe
when performing edits (see “Nondestructive
MIDI Editing” on page 172).
Editing During Playback
Pro Tools lets you perform many editing tasks
while the session plays. This powerful capability
allows you to interactively modify and edit a
session, hearing the changes as you make them.
You’ll find many instances where you can use
this capability to increase your productivity
when working with a session.
Following are just a few examples of editing that
can be performed while your tracks loop or play:
• Capture, separate, and trim regions
• Place, spot, or rearrange regions
• Add fades or crossfades to audio regions
• Transpose, quantize, and otherwise modify
MIDI tracks
• Nudge audio or MIDI regions
• Audition different playlists
• Adjust or scale automation data
• Process audio with an AudioSuite plug-in
There are a few things that cannot be changed
while Pro Tools plays. These include assigning
TDM plug-ins to audio tracks, routing to sends,
and assigning outputs.
Pro Tools Reference Guide164
Track Material
Each time you record or import audio and MIDI,
Pro Tools creates regions for the new track data,
which not only indicate where the material be-
gins and ends, but also provides good feedback
on its general shape and content. When you
record additional takes, or “punch in” on a spe-
cific location within a track, Pro Tools creates
additional regions.
Regions are also created by cutting and pasting,
resizing, separating, and re-capturing existing
regions. Regions in a session are listed in the Au-
dio Regions List and MIDI Regions List, where
they can be dragged to existing tracks. A track
can contain any number of regions, in any ar-
rangement. The order and location of regions in
a track define its playlist.
Region Types
Following is a description of the different region
types and how they are created:
Whole-File Audio Regions These audio regions
are created when recording or importing audio,
consolidating existing regions, and when non-
destructively processing with an AudioSuite
plug-in. Whole-file audio regions reference an
entire audio file that resides on your hard drive.
Whole-file audio regions are displayed in bold
in the Audio Regions List (see “The Audio and
MIDI Regions Lists” on page 175). Normal re-
gions reference only a portion of the parent au-
dio file and are created in the course of editing
and, in some instances, when punch recording.
User-Defined Regions These are regions that are
explicitly defined, such as when you record or
import audio or MIDI; capture, separate, or con-
solidate a selection; trim a whole-file audio re-
gion; and rename an existing region.
Auto-Created Regions These regions are auto-
matically created in the course of editing, and,
in some instances, when punch recording over
existing regions. Since these regions can accu-
mulate rapidly in a session, you can hide them
so they don’t appear in the Audio and MIDI Re-
gions List (see “Managing Regions” on
page 256). Auto-created regions can be turned
into user-defined regions by renaming them.
Offline Regions Regions are offline when their as-
sociated audio files cannot be located, or are not
available, when opening a session or importing
a track. Offline regions appear in the Audio Re-
gions List as italicized and dimmed. Offline re-
gions appear in playlists as light blue regions
with italicized names. Offline regions can be ed-
ited like other regions, but they cannot be pro-
cessed with AudioSuite plug-ins.
Multi-Channel Regions These regions, which are
displayed as a single region in the Audio Regions
List, reference multiple regions and audio files
for stereo and surround tracks. Multi-channel
regions can be expanded (by clicking the trian-
gle next to their name) to see the individual
channels, which can be dragged independently
to tracks.
Track View
The track View determines which data is dis-
played and edited in the track’s playlist area.
Audio tracks can be set to Blocks, Waveform, Vol-
ume, Pan, Mute, or any plug-in parameters that
have been automated. Except when editing au-
tomation data, audio tracks are usually set to
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 165
Waveform, where track material is graphically
drawn with amplitude waveforms. This Track
View provides the necessary detail for important
region edits.
Auxiliary input tracks can be set to Volume, Pan,
Mute, or any plug-in parameter that has been au-
tomated. Master Fader tracks can be set to Vol-
ume, or any plug-in parameter that has been au-
tomated.
MIDI tracks can be set to Blocks, Regions, Notes,
Volume, Pan, Mute, Velocity, Pitch Bend, After
Touch, Program, Sysex, and any continuous con-
troller type. Except when editing controller
data, program changes, or sysex events, MIDI
tracks are usually set to Notes or Regions, each
of which displays notes in a “piano roll” format.
Use Notes view for inserting, editing, and copy-
ing and pasting MIDI notes; use Regions view to
arrange, capture, or consolidate regions.
With the Track View set to Blocks, audio and
MIDI regions are displayed as empty blocks
bearing the region’s name. This mode is most
useful once you have finished capturing and ed-
iting regions at the waveform or MIDI event
level and are moving and rearranging them.
Screen redraws are fastest with this format.
When an audio track is displayed as Volume,
Pan, or another automated parameter, or when
a MIDI track is set to one of the continuous con-
troller types (Volume, Pitch Bend, After Touch),
the data for that track appears in the form of a
line graph with a series of editable breakpoints.
The breakpoints can be dragged to modify the
automation data, and new breakpoints can be
inserted with the Pencil or Grabber.
For details on inserting and editing controller
data for MIDI tracks, see “Continuous Control-
ler Events” on page 301. For details on editing
automation data for audio tracks, see
Chapter 28, “Automation.”
To set the Track View:
■Click the Track View Selector for the track and
choose the format from the pop-up menu.
The track displays the new format. If the track is
part of an Edit Group, all tracks in the group are
set to the new format.
Track View set to Waveform for audio track
Track View set to Regions for MIDI track
track View set to Pan for audio track
Track View Selector
Pro Tools Reference Guide166
Toggling Track Views
Most editing for audio tracks occurs in the
Waveform and Volume view. For MIDI tracks,
most editing occurs in the Notes and Regions
view. Pro Tools provides an easy way to toggle
these views for tracks containing an edit selec-
tion or the edit cursor.
To toggle track views:
1 Click in the track you want to toggle. To tog-
gle multiple tracks, Shift-click in additional
tracks.
2 Press Control+Minus (Macintosh) or Start+Mi-
nus (Windows) on the alpha keyboard.
– or –
On TDM systems, with the Commands Focus
enabled, press Minus on the alpha keyboard.
Audio tracks are toggled between Waveform and
Volume view. MIDI tracks are toggled between
Notes and Regions view.
The “Master” View Format
Audio and MIDI tracks have track Views that act
as “master.” When a track is displayed in its
master format, any edits performed apply to all
data in the track. For instance, when an audio
track is set to Waveform, copying and pasting
affects not just the waveform information, but
all of the automation data as well.
The Track Views that act as master for audio and
MIDI tracks are:
• Audio tracks: Waveform and Blocks
• MIDI tracks: Regions, Blocks, and Notes
(when using the Selector)
Auxiliary Input tracks and Master Fader tracks
do not have a master view.
Track Height
Tracks can be viewed in the Edit window at any
of six heights: Mini, Small, Medium, Large, Jumbo,
and Extreme. Larger track heights are particularly
useful for precise editing. Smaller track heights
are useful for conserving screen space in a large
session.
You can adjust track heights on an individual
track basis or set all tracks to the same height.
Track heights can be adjusted during playback.
To set the Track Height:
■Click in the area just to the right of the track
controls and choose the height from the pop-up
menu.
– or –
■Click the small arrow next to the Track View
Selector to get the Track Height pop-up menu.
The track is resized to the new height. If the
track is part of an Edit Group, all tracks in the
group are set to the new height.
Track Height pop-up menu
Track Height pop-up menu
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 167
Expanded Track Display
Stereo and multi-channel tracks share a single
playlist for volume and mute. This shared play-
list normally occupies the entire height of the
track, extending across all channels.
With Expanded Track Display, you can display
playlists individually for each channel, thereby
allowing for more accurate breakpoint editing.
This is also useful for editing pan or multi-mono
plug-in data, both of which can be different for
each channel.
Expanded Track Display also provides for a
larger waveform display (equal to that of mono
audio tracks), as well as a separate Track View Se-
lector and meter for each channel.
To turn on Expanded Track Display for a stereo or
multi-channel track:
■From the Track Height pop-up menu, select
Expanded Track Display.
Track Controls and Track Height
The Track Height affects how the various track
controls appear in the Edit window. For in-
stance, when a track’s height is set to Small,
most of the buttons are reduced in size, and the
menus for Track Height and Track View are ac-
cessed from the same pop-up.
When the Track Height is set to Mini, only con-
trols for Mute and Solo appear, and the menus
for Playlist, Track Height, and Track View are ac-
cessed from the same pop-up.
Volume playlist for stereo track
Stereo track in Expanded Track Display
Track Height pop-up menu
Track Height set to Small
Track Height set to Mini
Pro Tools Reference Guide168
When the Track Height is set to Large, Jumbo, or
Extreme, all track controls are displayed at their
full size.
Displaying Region Names and
Times
Region names can sometimes get in the way of
editing audio waveforms and MIDI data. In
these instances you may want to disable their
display.
To disable the display of region names in playlists:
■Deselect Display > Display Name In Regions.
You can also choose to display region locations
in the playlist area. This is extremely useful
when working with film and video.
To display region locations:
■From Display > Display Time In Regions, se-
lect one of the following options:
None Disables display of region times.
Current Time Displays start and end times for re-
gions.
Original Time Stamp Displays the Original Time
Stamp for each region. The Original Time Stamp
is the original time code location for the region
when it was first recorded or created.
User Time Stamp Displays the User Time Stamp
for each region. The User Time Stamp, which
default to the Original Time Stamp, can be rede-
fined with the Time Stamp Selected command.
Audio Regions and Waveforms
When the Track View for audio tracks is set to
Waveform, Pro Tools draws a waveform diagram
of the audio. Audio waveforms tell you several
things about the recorded sound.
Figure 7 shows an audio waveform for a drum
loop. The “peaks” represent places in the record-
ing (beats) where the attack of the sound causes
the volume to increase momentarily. These are
followed by “valleys,” where the volume de-
creases.
Different types of sounds produce different
types of waveforms. Drums, for example, gener-
ally produce waveforms with sharp transients
(peaks of short duration) that are clearly de-
fined. A drum hit has a loud, sharp attack and a
rapid decay.
Other sounds, such as vocals or sustained key-
board sounds, produce very different wave-
forms, ones that have less pronounced peaks
and valleys. That’s because these sounds gener-
ally have softer attacks and longer decays.
Track Height set to Large
Display enabled for region names and times
Figure 7. Audio waveform of drum loop
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 169
Draw Waveforms Rectified Preference
When the Display Preference for Draw Wave-
forms Rectified is selected, audio waveforms are
displayed so that their positive and negative
waveform excursions are summed together and
viewed as a single positive-value signal. How-
ever, even when this preference is enabled,
zooming in beyond a certain point will cause
the waveforms to be displayed normally.
Rectified mode displays more detailed wave-
forms when using track heights of Medium or
Small, and can be particularly useful when edit-
ing volume automation data, since it depicts
waveform “levels” as starting at the bottom of
the track.
Guidelines for Editing Waveforms
With the Selector tool in the Edit window, you
can select portions of audio waveforms and di-
vide them into segments called regions, so that
you can rearrange and manipulate them in
tracks.
While editing, try to create regions that allow
you to maintain a consistent beat. If you always
define regions so that they contain a whole
number of beats, you’ll be able to string the re-
gions together and maintain a smooth, steady
rhythm.
It’s sometimes useful to have a steady, well-de-
fined waveform, such as a drum track, as a guide
when selecting and defining other regions. If
you’ve played in time with the beat, chances are
that you can create rhythmically accurate re-
gions by referring to the drum’s waveform.
Some important rules to keep in mind when de-
fining regions:
◆Whenever possible, begin a region precisely
before a volume peak, and end it immediately
before another volume peak.
◆Whenever possible, make sure a region starts
and ends on exactly the same part of a beat.
Avoiding Clicks and Pops
If an edited region begins or ends at a point of
high amplitude, you may hear an unpleasant
click when Pro Tools plays from one region to
another. In order to avoid clicks or pops do any
of the following:
◆Make sure that the start and end points of
your selection are as close as possible to the
point where the amplitude of the waveform
tapers down to meet the zero-crossing line (the
center line of the track’s waveform display). If
necessary, use the zooming tools in the Edit
window (see “Zooming” on page 180) to display
waveforms in greater detail.
Audio displayed in rectified mode
Audio displayed in normal mode
Selection that begins and ends at zero crossings
Pro Tools Reference Guide170
◆On Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 sys-
tems, use the AutoFade feature to apply real-
time fade-ins/outs to all region boundaries that
do not touch or overlap other regions. See “Us-
ing AutoFades” on page 250 for details.
◆Apply a crossfade between regions where a
click or pop occurs. See “Creating a Crossfade” on
page 248 for details.
Nondestructive Audio Editing
When editing an audio track’s playlist in
Pro Tools, you’re not actually cutting and mov-
ing pieces of sound as you would if you were
cutting and splicing analog tape. Instead,
Pro Tools creates a map of the audio file on your
hard disk, which describes the order in which to
play the track portions.
When trimming audio regions with the Trim-
mer tool, or when editing the placement or or-
der of regions within a track, use multiple play-
lists to easily return to a track’s previous state.
See “Playlists” on page 172 for details.
Audio Regions and Automation
Data
Automation data for audio resides in tracks and
not regions. This means that when you drag an
audio region from the Audio Regions List to a
new track, no automation data is placed in the
track. However, if you drag an audio region
from an existing track (that contains automa-
tion data) to another track, the automation
from the source track is placed in the destina-
tion track.
MIDI Regions and MIDI Data
The two most common Track Views you’ll use
for MIDI tracks are Notes and Regions. Use
Notes view for inserting and editing individual
MIDI notes, and for working with and affecting
groups of notes.
When you need to experiment with the arrange-
ment of regions, or define new ones, use Re-
gions view.
Notes View for MIDI Tracks
When a MIDI track’s Track View is set to Notes,
MIDI notes are displayed in a “piano roll” for-
mat. Each note is displayed as a small rectangle
with its vertical placement indicating pitch and
its horizontal placement indicating location.
To the left of the MIDI track’s playlist is a verti-
cal mini-keyboard, complete with octave num-
bering, for pitch reference. You can Command-
click (Macintosh) or Control-click (Windows)
the mini-keyboard to audition pitches. Arrows
at the top and bottom of the mini-keyboard (not
available in the smaller track heights) are used
to scroll the Notes display up and down.
Figure 8. MIDI track displaying notes
Up arrow
Down arrow
Track note above the
current display
keyboard reference
MIDI notes
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 171
The pitch range of MIDI notes that can be dis-
played depends on the track height, and on the
current zoom value. Any time a track’s notes do
not fit within its current height, notes above or
below the viewed area are displayed as single-
pixel lines at the very top and bottom of the
range (see Figure 8).
To scroll the Notes display up or down for a MIDI
track:
■Click either the up or down arrow of the mini-
keyboard.
– or –
With the Pencil tool selected, press Com-
mand+Option+Control (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+Alt+Start (Windows) and drag up or down.
Using the Edit window tools, notes can be in-
serted, transposed, trimmed, and moved. For
more information, see “Manually Editing MIDI
Notes” on page 297.
Regions View for MIDI Tracks
MIDI tracks can also be viewed as Regions,
which is similar to Waveform view for audio
tracks. While a track’s notes are visible in Re-
gions view, individual note editing is not avail-
able in this view. Instead, all editing occurs
across a time range encompassing all track data,
including continuous controller events, pro-
gram changes, and System Exclusive events.
Use Regions view to define regions that repre-
sent song sections and clips, or to rearrange or
assemble track material.
There are, however, a few things to keep in
mind when selecting, copying and cutting, and
trimming MIDI regions:
◆When cutting or clearing a region selection
that includes a note’s start point, the entire note
is removed. This is even the case when only a
portion of the note (that includes its start point)
is selected.
◆When copying or cutting a region selection
that includes a note’s end point (but not its start
point), the note remains and overlaps the edge
of the region.
Scroll arrow for mini-keyboard
Scrolling Notes display by dragging
MIDI region with note overlap
Pro Tools Reference Guide172
◆Similar rules also apply when MIDI regions
are trimmed with the Trimmer tool. If the MIDI
region’s start point is moved beyond a note’s
start point, the note is removed. If the region’s
end point is trimmed so that a note’s start point
is within the region but its end point is not, the
note remains and overlaps the edge of the re-
gion.
When moving and placing MIDI regions with
overlapping notes, the notes always move with
the regions. When placing MIDI regions with
overlapping notes next to or near another re-
gion, the overlapping notes extend into the ad-
jacent region.
Nondestructive MIDI Editing
While editing audio regions is usually nonde-
structive, this is not always the case for MIDI re-
gions. For instance, if a MIDI region resides in
just one track at a single location, editing for
that region is destructive. This means that alter-
ing the pitch, duration, or placement of notes in
Notes view permanently alters the region.
However, when editing a MIDI region that oc-
curs elsewhere, in the same track (at another lo-
cation or in a different playlist) or in another
track, the editing is nondestructive and occurs
to an auto-created region. To go back to the pre-
vious material, drag the original region from the
MIDI Regions List, or return to a previously
saved playlist.
MIDI Regions and Continuous
Controller Events
Continuous controller events reside in MIDI re-
gions and not in tracks. This means that when
dragging regions that contain controller data
from either a track or the MIDI Regions List, the
controller data is written to the destination
track.
Unlike continuous controller events, which rep-
resent nuances that are part of a MIDI perfor-
mance, Mute in Pro Tools is an automation
playlist that actually mutes the MIDI engine.
Mute automation does not correspond to actual
MIDI events and is therefore not exported when
saving as a Standard MIDI File.
Playlists
The ability to create playlists is one of the most
powerful features of Pro Tools, and one reason
why it is infinitely more versatile than tradi-
tional multitrack recorders.
Edit playlists allow you to take a snapshot of a
track’s current arrangement of regions, thereby
freeing you to experiment with alternate ar-
rangements, returning as necessary to previ-
ously saved playlists.
A playlist, which can consist of a single region or
many regions, can only be assigned to a track if
it is not in use by another track. While you can
create an almost unlimited number of edit play-
lists, which are shared among all tracks, each
track has its own set of dedicated automation
playlists.
One way to safely return to a track’s previ-
ous state is with playlists. Before you edit
notes, trim regions, or rearrange the order of
regions, make a duplicate of the track’s ex-
isting playlist and instead work with it (see
“Playlists” on page 172).
Playlist Selector pop-up
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 173
Automation playlists for audio tracks store data
for volume, pan, mute, and plug-in parameters.
Automation playlists for MIDI tracks, however,
store only mute information; continuous con-
troller events, program changes, and sysex
events are stored in MIDI regions and therefore
reside within edit playlists.
Playlists and Groups
Playlist functions affect all tracks within an Edit
Group (if the group is active). This is useful
when you want to switch to new or existing
playlists among several tracks.
Working with Playlists
When you add a new track to a session, its play-
list is empty until you record or import material
to it, or drag a region to it from the Audio or
MIDI Regions List.
When you edit a track, you can work with a
copy of the track's playlist and keep the original
playlist arrangement intact.
To duplicate a track’s current playlist:
1 Click the track’s Playlist Selector and choose
Duplicate from the pop-up menu.
2 Enter a name for the new playlist and click
OK.
The duplicated playlist appears in the track and
the track’s name is changed to the name of the
new playlist.
You can also create a new playlist and record or
drag regions to it.
To create a new (empty) playlist:
1 Click the track’s Playlist Selector and choose
New from the pop-up menu.
2 Enter a name for the new playlist and click
OK. An empty playlist with the specified name
appears in the track.
As long as a playlist is unassigned, it can be re-
called and assigned to any track. Only unas-
signed playlists appear in the Playlist Selector
pop-up.
To recall and assign a playlist:
■Click the track’s Playlist Selector and choose
the playlist from the pop-up menu.
The selected playlist appears in the track and the
track’s name is updated to that of the selected
playlist.
Renaming a Playlist
You can rename a playlist by renaming the track
to which it is assigned.
To rename a track’s assigned playlist:
1 Double-click the track’s name.
2 Enter a new name and click OK. Both the track
and playlist names are updated.
Deleting a Playlist
You can delete a playlist from a session entirely.
However, since playlists take almost no disk
space, you don’t need to delete them for space
reasons.
Pro Tools Reference Guide174
To delete the current playlist for a track:
1 Click the track’s Playlist Selector and choose
Delete Unused from the pop-up menu.
2 Select the unassigned playlists you want to de-
lete. Shift-click to select multiple playlists.
3 Click OK to delete the playlists. This operation
cannot be undone.
Multiple Undo
Pro Tools can keep track of up to 16 of the last
undoable operations, allowing you to return to
a previous editing state.
The Undo operations in Pro Tools are stored in a
queue, in the order in which they were invoked.
When choosing Edit > Undo, the most recent
operation is undone. If you choose Undo again,
the next operation in the queue is undone. You
can also choose Edit > Redo to redo an opera-
tion, which moves back through the Undo
queue by one step.
For example, suppose the following operations
have been performed, with item 1 being the
most recent (first in the queue):
1 Region cut from track
2 Region pasted to track
3 Region slid forward
4 Regions shuffled
5 MIDI note trimmed
6 MIDI note inserted with Pencil
In this example, to Undo the region shuffle, you
would have to choose Edit > Undo four times,
which would also Undo the first three opera-
tions in the queue.
If you then choose Edit > Redo, followed by an-
other edit operation, such as a region trim, the
Undo queue would then be:
1 Region trimmed
2 Regions shuffled
3 MIDI note trimmed
4 MIDI note inserted with Pencil
To undo the last operation:
■Choose Edit > Undo.
– or –
■Press Command+Z (Macintosh) or Control+Z
(Windows).
To redo the last undone operation:
■Choose Edit > Redo.
– or –
■Press Shift+Command+Z (Macintosh) or
Shift+Control+Z (Windows).
Operations that clear the Undo Queue
There are a number of Pro Tools operations that
clear the Undo queue, such as deleting a track or
playlist, or clearing a region from the Audio or
MID Regions List.
When the Undo queue will be cleared by an op-
eration, Pro Tools will warn you.
When deleting a track from a session, you
have the option of deleting or keeping its
playlists, so they can be used on other
tracks.
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 175
Levels of Undo and RAM
Since Pro Tools needs to keep track of the play-
lists for all tracks that are edited, the use of mul-
tiple Undo’s can be memory intensive. You can
lower the Levels of Undo in Pro Tools to reduce
the amount of RAM used by the Undo queue. If
on the other hand you have plenty of RAM allo-
cated to Pro Tools, you can set the Levels of
Undo to as high as 16.
To set the Levels of Undo in Pro Tools:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Editing.
2 Click in the Levels of Undo field and enter a
value of between 1–16.
3 Click Done to close the Preferences dialog.
When the number of operations in the Undo
queue reaches this limit, performing another
undoable operation will remove the oldest oper-
ation at the bottom of the queue.
The Audio and MIDI Regions
Lists
All regions that are recorded, imported, or cre-
ated by editing appear in the Audio and MIDI
Regions Lists. Regions can be dragged from ei-
ther list to tracks and arranged in any order. Re-
gions can also be auditioned from the Regions
List by Option-clicking (Macintosh) or Alt-click-
ing (Windows) them.
In the Audio Regions List, whole-file audio re-
gions are displayed in bold, and stereo and
multi-channel regions can be expanded to dis-
play individual channels.
Because region names can become lengthy (up
to 31 characters), the Regions List can be
scrolled or resized as necessary (see Figure 9). In
addition, you can use the pop-up menu at the
top of either list to sort, search, rename, and
clear regions.
Levels of Undo preference
Figure 9. Audio and MIDI Regions Lists
Click to hide
Regions Lists
Drag to resize width of
Regions Lists
Drag to resize
height of Regions
Lists
Click for pop-up menus
Pro Tools Reference Guide176
If the Editing Preference for “Region List Selec-
tion Follows Track Selection” is enabled, click-
ing a region in the Regions List highlights it in
the track that contains it.
Displaying File Info for Audio Regions
In addition to region names, the Audio Regions
List can also display information about the re-
gion’s parent audio file:
• File name, which represents the audio file
from which the region originated
• Disk name, which represents the name of the
hard drive on which it resides
• The full directory Pathname of the region’s lo-
cation
Pro Tools defaults to displaying just the region
portion of a region’s name. To display file info
for audio regions, choose Show File Names,
Show Disk Names, or Show Full Pathnames
from the pop-up menu at the top of the Audio
Regions List.
Sorting and Searching the
Regions Lists
Most sessions will contain many regions, which
may make it difficult to locate a particular re-
gion in the Regions Lists. The ability to sort re-
gions and search for them will help greatly in
keeping track of large numbers of regions.
To sort regions in a Regions List:
1 From the Regions List pop-up menu, choose
Sorting and select the basis for sorting from the
submenu.
MIDI regions can be sorted by name, length, or
timestamp. In addition to these, audio regions
can be sorted by region start and end times, var-
ious attributes of the source audio file, disk
name, and path type.
2 From the Regions List pop-up menu, select As-
cending or Descending to switch the order of
the displayed regions.
Use the MIDI Regions List as a bin for stor-
ing your favorite MIDI clips. Save the ses-
sion as a template (see “Creating Custom
Session Templates” on page 55) and the re-
gions are available for future sessions. Since
MIDI regions are tick-based (unlike audio
regions), they scale seamlessly for use with
any tempo.
Audio Regions with file info
Sort attributes for audio regions
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 177
Finding Regions
Use the Find command to display all regions in
a list whose names contain a particular word or
phrase.
To find and display regions that match a word or
phrase:
1 Choose Find from the pop-up menu in the
Audio or MIDI Regions List.
2 Type the name, or any portion of the name,
for the regions you want to find, then click OK.
Pro Tools displays all regions whose names con-
tain the name that was specified. Figure 10
shows regions found when searching on the
word “loop.” When displaying regions with the
Find command, a small diamond appears at the
top of the Audio and MIDI Regions List.
To return the Regions List to displaying all regions:
■Choose Display All from the Regions List pop-
up menu.
Selecting in the Region Lists
In the Regions Lists you can select multiple re-
gions so they can be dragged to tracks, or pro-
cessed with AudioSuite plug-ins.
To select multiple regions in a Regions List:
■Shift-click each region name you want to se-
lect.
To select a range of regions in a Regions List:
■Move the cursor to the left of the region
names, so the Marquee appears, and drag
around the regions you want to select.
– or –
■Shift-click, to the left of the region names, the
first and last region you want to select. All re-
gions between become selected.
To select discontiguous regions in the Regions
List:
1 Move the cursor to the left of the region
names, so the Marquee appears.
2 Command-click each region you want to se-
lect.
Figure 10. Regions located with Find command
Regions selected with Marquee
Pro Tools Reference Guide178
Keyboard Selection of Regions
If the Audio Regions Focus or MIDI Regions Fo-
cus is enabled, you can type the first few letters
of a region’s name and Pro Tools will automati-
cally locate and select the region in the Regions
List.
To enable and use the Audio Regions Focus or
MIDI Regions Focus:
1 Click the a-z button in upper right of the Au-
dio Regions List or MIDI Regions List.
2 Type the first few letters of the region to auto-
matically locate and select it. Once a region is lo-
cated and selected, it can be dragged to a track.
Keyboard selection of audio regions locates re-
gions based on their region name, not on the
names for their parent audio files or the vol-
umes on which they reside.
Stereo and Multi-Channel Tracks
in the Audio Regions List
Stereo and multi-channel regions, whether im-
ported or recorded into Pro Tools, are displayed
as single items in the Audio Regions List. For ex-
ample, two mono source regions named “Main
Piano.L” and “Main Piano.R” are listed as “Main
Piano (Stereo).” A collapse/expand triangle indi-
cates stereo and multi-channel regions.
Stereo and multi-channel regions are displayed
in the region list by default in collapsed view.
The individual regions can be displayed by click-
ing the arrow to the left of the region to expand
the name.
To expand or collapse all stereo and multi-chan-
nel regions, press Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows) while clicking the triangle.
Individual items of an expanded-view stereo or
multi-channel region can be selected indepen-
dently of the other associated regions in the Au-
dio Regions List.
Rules for Stereo and Multi-Channel
Regions
For stereo and multi-channel regions to be
shown as collective regions, the component re-
gions must be the same length. If an existing ste-
reo or multi-channel region has been dragged
onto multiple mono tracks and edited such that
one or more components are no longer the same
length, the stereo display is removed and the re-
gions are displayed as individual regions in the
Regions List.
Audio Regions List Key focus enabled
Stereo regions, collapsed (top) and expanded (bottom).
Expand/Collapse
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 179
Edit Modes
Pro Tools has four Edit modes: Shuffle, Spot,
Slip, and Grid. The Edit mode is selected by
clicking the desired button in the upper left of
the Edit window.
The Edit mode affects the movement and place-
ment of audio and MIDI regions (and individual
MIDI notes), how commands like Copy and
Paste function, and also how the various edit
tools (Trimmer, Selector, Grabber, and Pencil)
work.
Shuffle
In Shuffle mode, you can move regions freely
within a track or to other tracks, but their move-
ment is constrained by other regions. That is, if
you place several regions in a track, they auto-
matically snap to each other. You can then
“shuffle” their order, but you cannot separate
them from each other and you cannot make
them overlap as in Slip mode. In Shuffle mode,
adding another region to the beginning of a
track moves all subsequent regions to the right
by the length of the region added.
When using the Trimmer in Shuffle mode,
changing a region’s start or end point automat-
ically moves the adjacent regions as necessary.
The placement and insertion of MIDI notes is
not affected by Shuffle mode.
Slip
In Slip mode, regions can be moved freely
within a track or to other tracks. In this mode it
is possible to place a region so that there is space
between it and other regions in a track. When
the track is played back, this space is silent. It is
also possible to move a region so that it overlaps
or completely covers another region.
Use Slip mode when you want the Trimmer, Se-
lector, Grabber, and Pencil tools to work with-
out any restrictions to placement in time.
Spot
Use Spot mode to place regions at precise loca-
tions. This can be particularly useful when per-
forming post production tasks around SMPTE
frame locations. In this mode you can specify a
frame location (or a location based on any of the
other time formats), capture an incoming Time
Code address, or use a region’s time stamps as
reference points for spotting.
In Spot mode, when you move or trim regions,
the Spot dialog opens.
Grid
In Grid mode, regions and MIDI notes that are
moved or inserted “snap” to a user-definable
time grid. In addition to placing material
cleanly on the beat, Grid mode is also useful for
making precise Edit and Timeline selections.
The actual grid size, chosen from the Grid Value
pop-up in the upper right of the Edit window,
can be based on a time value using the Main
Time Scale; or, if Follow Main Time Scale is de-
selected, another time format can be used for
the grid size.
NOTE: The current Grid Value is also used for the
Quantize Regions Command.
Edit mode buttons
You can also use F1 (Shuffle), F2 (Slip), F3
(Spot), and F4 (Grid) to set the Edit mode.
Pro Tools Reference Guide180
Also available in the Grid Value pop-up is an op-
tion for Regions/Markers. When selected, events
can be placed freely (as in Slip mode) but will
snap to region locations (start, end, and sync
points), Markers, and Edit selections when
placed near them.
NOTE: MIDI notes inserted with the Pencil tool ig-
nore the Regions/Markers option, and instead snap
to the time value selected in the Grid Value pop-up.
To display the grid lines in the Edit window, en-
able the Display Preference for “Draw Grids in
Edit Window.”
You can also enable and disable grid lines by
Control-clicking (Macintosh) or Alt-clicking the
Indicator Dot for any Timebase Ruler.
Zooming
Zooming options in Pro Tools include the Hori-
zontal and Vertical Zoom buttons, the Zoomer
tool, and the Zoom Preset buttons.
Horizontal and Vertical Zoom
Buttons
Use the Horizontal and Vertical Zoom buttons
to zoom in and out on track data. Unlike the
horizontal zoom value, the vertical zoom value
for MIDI and audio tracks are independent, and
therefore have separate buttons.
To zoom in horizontally for all tracks:
■Click the right Horizontal Zoom button. To
zoom out, click the other (left) Horizontal Zoom
button.
– or –
■Press Command+] (Macintosh) or Control+]
(Windows). To zoom out, press Command+[
(Macintosh) or Control+[ (Windows).
To zoom in vertically for all audio tracks:
■Click the (top) Vertical Zoom button with the
audio waveform. To zoom out, click the bottom
Vertical Zoom button.
– or –
Grid Value set to 1 second
Edit window with grid lines
Turning on grid lines from Ruler
Control-click (Macintosh) or
Alt-click (Windows) for Grid lines
Horizontal Zoom button
Vertical Zoom button (audio)
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 181
■Press Command+Option+] (Macintosh) or
Control+Alt+] (Windows). To zoom out, press
Command+Option+[ (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+Alt+[ (Windows).
To zoom in vertically for all MIDI tracks:
■Click the (top) Vertical Zoom button with the
MIDI notes. To zoom out, click the bottom Ver-
tical Zoom button.
– or –
■Press Command+Shift+] (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+Shift+] (Windows). To zoom out, press
Command+Shift+[ (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+Shift+[ (Windows).
To return to the previous zoom level:
■Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) any of the Horizontal or Vertical Zoom
buttons.
– or –
■Press Command+Option+E (Macintosh) or
Control+Alt+E (Windows).
To zoom in on a selection:
■Press Option+F (Macintosh) or Alt+F (Win-
dows).
To zoom so that all regions are visible in the Edit
window, do one of the following:
■Double-click the Zoomer tool in the toolbar.
■Press Option+A (Macintosh) or Alt+A (Win-
dows).
■Press the F5 key twice.
Zoomer Tool
Use the Zoomer tool to zoom in and out around
a particular area within a track.
To zoom around a certain track point:
1 Select the Zoomer tool.
2 Click once with the Zoomer at the point
within the track. All tracks are zoomed in by one
level and the Edit window is centered around
the zoomed point.
3 To zoom back to the previous level, Option-
click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Window) with
the Zoomer.
To zoom into a particular track area:
1 Select the Zoomer tool.
2 To zoom horizontally, drag with the Zoomer
in the track’s playlist.
– or –
3 To zoom horizontally and vertically, press
Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows)
while dragging in the track’s playlist.
The zoomed area fills the entire Edit window.
Vertical Zoom button (MIDI)
Zoomer tool
Zooming horizontally with Zoomer tool
Pro Tools Reference Guide182
Zooming in the Ruler
To zoom horizontally in the Ruler:
1 Press Command+Control (Macintosh) or
Control+Alt (Windows) and move the cursor
into the Ruler area, so the Zoomer appears.
2 Click once to zoom in one level around a cer-
tain point.
– or –
3 Drag to zoom in around a particular Ruler
range.
Zoom Preset Buttons
Pro Tools allows you to save up to 5 horizontal
zoom presets, which can be recalled by typing a
number or by clicking a Zoom Preset button.
To store a zoom preset:
1 Using either the Horizontal Zoom buttons or
the Zoomer tool, navigate to the zoom level you
want to store.
2 While pressing Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows), click one of the five Zoom
Preset buttons.
The button flashes, indicating it is being written
to, and then becomes selected.
To recall a zoom preset, do one of the following:
■Click the Zoom Preset button.
■While pressing Control (Macintosh) or Start
(Windows), type the Zoom Preset’s number on
the alpha keyboard.
■On TDM systems, with the Commands Focus
enabled, type the Zoom Preset’s number on the
alpha keyboard.
Horizontal zoom levels for all tracks are recalled.
Zoom Toggle
The Zoom Toggle can quickly and easily zero in
on a selection, adjusting the zoom level and
track height automatically.
To use the Zoom Toggle:
1 Make a selection on one or more tracks.
2 Press Control+E (Macintosh) or Start+E (Win-
dows).
– or –
On TDM Systems, with Commands Focus en-
abled, press E.
Zooming in the Ruler
Storing a zoom preset
Zoom settings can also be stored with Mem-
ory Locations. For details, see “Memory Lo-
cations and Markers” on page 270.
Using the Zoom Toggle
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 183
The selection is zoomed to fill the Edit window,
and the tracks containing the selection are set to
a Track Height of Large. MIDI tracks automati-
cally set to Notes view.
The Universe Window
(TDM Systems Only)
The Universe window displays an overview of
the entire session, representing audio and MIDI
material on all tracks that are not hidden (in-
cluding tracks that are inactive, or that contain
offline regions). The order in which material is
displayed in the Universe window corresponds
to the track order in the Edit window.
To open the Universe window:
■Choose Windows > Show Universe.
Audio material residing in audio tracks is repre-
sented by a single, horizontal line in the Uni-
verse window. Each channel in a stereo or multi-
channel track is represented individually.
Since Auxiliary Input and Master Fader tracks do
not contain audio, they are displayed as blank
areas in the Universe window.
Similar to audio tracks, MIDI tracks containing
note material are represented by single, horizon-
tal lines.
Resizing the Universe Window
Even though the Universe window can be re-
sized horizontally and vertically, the length of
the entire session is always displayed in the Uni-
verse window. If the Universe window is resized
so some of the session’s track are not displayed,
a vertical scroll bar becomes available.
Highlighted Material in the
Universe Window
The highlighted, shaded area in the Universe
window represents the material displayed in the
Edit window. If you change what’s displayed in
the Edit window—by zooming, scrolling hori-
zontally or vertically, hiding or unhiding tracks,
or changing track heights—the highlighted area
in the Universe window updates.
During playback, if the Edit window is set to
scroll, the highlighted area in the Universe win-
dow also scrolls.
Scrolling in the Universe Window
By clicking in the Universe window, you can au-
tomatically scroll, either horizontally or verti-
cally, the material displayed in the Edit window.
This provides a convenient method of locating
anywhere in the session, or adjusting which
shown tracks are visible in the Edit window.
Universe window
Pro Tools Reference Guide184
To move the highlighted area in the Universe
window:
1 Choose Windows > Show Universe.
2 To affect which tracks are displayed in the Edit
window, click lower or higher (vertically) in the
Universe window.
3 To scroll to a different session location, click
later or earlier (horizontally) in the Universe
window.
When all tracks are visible in the Edit window
and the session is zoomed all the way out, with
all regions visible, the entire Universe window is
shaded.
Rulers
Any or all of the following Timebase Rulers can
be displayed at the top of the Edit window:
• Bars:Beats
• Minutes:Seconds
• Time Code (TDM systems only)
• Feet.Frames (TDM systems only)
• Samples
In addition to providing a timing reference for
track material, the Timebase Rulers are also used
to define Edit selections for track material, and
Timeline selections for record and play ranges.
Any or all of the following Conductor Rulers can
be displayed:
• Tempo
• Meter
• Markers
The Meter and Tempo Rulers indicate changes
in meter and tempo within the Session. The
Markers Ruler displays Markers to important
track locations.
All Rulers displayed
With the Selector, drag in any Timebase
Ruler to select material across all tracks in
the Edit window. To include the Conductor
Tracks in the selection, press Option (Mac-
intosh) or Alt (Windows) while dragging.
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 185
To display all Rulers:
■Select Display > Ruler View Shows > All.
To remove a Ruler from the display:
■Option-click the Ruler’s name (to the left of
the Ruler display).
– or –
■Deselect the Ruler in Display > Ruler View
Shows.
To display only the Main Time Scale in the Ruler:
■Select Display > Ruler View Shows > None.
To add a specific Ruler to the display, such as the
Markers Ruler, for instance:
■Select Display > Ruler View Shows > Markers.
To change the display order for the Rulers:
■Click a Ruler’s name and drag up or down to
the new location.
Ruler Options Pop-up Menu
The Ruler display options are also available from
a pop-up menu that is accessed by clicking just
to the right of the Ruler names.
Time Scale
While all Timebase Rulers can simultaneously
be displayed in the Edit window, there is only
one that represents the Main Time Scale. The
Main Time Scale determines the time format
used for:
• The Transport’s Main Counter
• Start, end, and length values
• Pre and post-roll amounts
• Grid and Nudge Values
The Main Time Scale can be set to the following
formats:
Bars:Beats Displays the Time Scale in bars and
beats. Use this Time Scale if you are working
with musical material that must align with bars
and beats.
To ensure your tracks align with the bars and
beats in your session, make sure to record with
the click (see “Recording with the Click” on
page 121).
Material that is recorded without listening to
the click can still be aligned to bar and beat
boundaries in Pro Tools with the Identify Beat
command (see “Identify Beat Command” on
page 264).
Minutes:Seconds Displays the Time Scale in
minutes and seconds. As you zoom in farther
with the Zoomer, the Time Scale begins to dis-
play tenths, hundredths, and thousandths of a
second.
Ruler Options pop-up menu
Pro Tools Reference Guide186
Time Code (TDM systems only) Displays the
Time Scale in SMPTE frames. The Frame Rate
and Session Start time are set from the Session
Setup window. Pro Tools supports the following
frame rates: 24, 25, 29.97 Non-Drop, 29.97
Drop, 30 Non-Drop, and 30 Drop frames per sec-
ond.
Feet.Frames (TDM systems only) Displays the
Time Scale in feet and frames for referencing au-
dio-for-film projects. The Feet.Frames time dis-
play is based on the 35 millimeter film format.
With this Time Scale, you can enter a Start
Frame based on an appropriate frame location at
the beginning of your project tape. The
Feet.Frames Ruler will then use this value as its
start reference.
To set a start frame for a session:
■Choose Setups > Feet.Frames and enter an ap-
propriate start frame and click OK (negative off-
sets are not supported). This value will become
the “zero point” in the Feet.Frames Ruler.
Samples Displays the Time Scale in samples.
This format is very useful for high-precision
sample editing.
Setting the Main Time Scale
To set the Main Time Scale:
■Select the desired Time Scale at the bottom of
the Display menu.
– or –
■Select from the Main Time Scale pop-up next
to the Location Indicator (also available in the
Transport window).
– or –
■If a Timebase Ruler is displayed, click its Indi-
cator Dot so it becomes highlighted.
Setting the Sub Time Scale
There is also a Sub Location Indicator displayed
below the Main Location Indicator, and below
the Transport’s Main Counter, which provides
an additional timing reference.
To set the Time Scale for the Sub Location
Indicator:
■Select from the Sub Time Scale pop-up next to
the Location Indicator
– or –
Feet.Frames dialog
Main Time Scale pop-up
Switching the Main Time Scale in the Ruler
Chapter 15: Editing Basics 187
■Select from the Sub Time Scale pop-up in the
Transport Window.
While you can click in the Main Counter and
type in a location to automatically locate there,
this is not supported for the Sub Counter.
Tick-Based Timing
Pro Tools is a sample-based program with an in-
ternal MIDI resolution of 960,000 pulses per
quarter note (ppq). However, when the Time
Scale is set to Bars:Beats, the display resolution
in Pro Tools is 960 ppq.
In Bars:Beats, Pro Tools is tick-based (960 ticks
to a quarter note), which means that some
amount of sample-rounding may occur when
placing events at certain locations (see “Sample
Rounding and Edit Operations” on page 188).
When working in Bars:Beats, you’ll often want
to specify tick values for a number of operations,
including:
• Placing and spotting regions
• Setting lengths for regions or MIDI notes
• Locating and setting play and record ranges
(including pre/post-roll)
• Specifying parameters in the Quantize and
Change Duration windows
• Setting the Grid and Nudge values
The Following table lists the number of ticks for
each of the main note sizes:
Ticks vs. Samples
Audio material in Pro Tools is sample-based.
This means that if an audio region is located at a
particular sample (or SMPTE) location, it will
not move from this location if the tempo
changes in the session (though the audio re-
gion’s bar and beat location will change).
MIDI data in Pro Tools is bar- and beat-based.
This means that if a MIDI region is located at a
particular bar and beat location, it will not move
from that location if the tempo changes in the
session—though its sample location will
change, thereby adjusting its relationship to au-
dio.
When creating Markers and Selection Memory
Locations, you can specify whether they have
an Absolute (sample-based) or Bar|Beat (tick-
based) reference. For more information, see
“Bar|Beat and Absolute Reference” on page 271.
Sub Time Scale pop-up (Transport window)
note value normal dotted triplet
1/2 note 1920 2880 1280
1/4 note 960 1440 640
1/8 note 480 720 320
1/16 note 240 360 160
1/32 note 120 180 80
1/64 note 60 90 40
Pro Tools Reference Guide188
Sample Rounding and Edit Operations
Because audio material in Pro Tools is sample-
based, some amount of sample-rounding may
occur with some edits when the Main Time
Scale is set to Bars:Beats. This is most evident
when you need audio regions to fall cleanly on
the beat (as when looping) and notice that the
material is sometimes a tick or two off. With a
few simple precautions, this can be avoided.
When selecting audio regions to be copied, du-
plicated, or repeated, make sure to select the ma-
terial with the Selector (enable Grid Mode for
precise selections), or set the selection range by
typing in the start and end points in the Event
Edit area. Do not select the material with the
Grabber (or by double-clicking with the Selec-
tor). This ensures that the selection will be pre-
cise in terms of bars and beats (and not based on
the length of the material in samples).
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 189
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting
Track Material
Playing Tracks
After recording or importing to tracks, you’ll
want to listen to the material to find track
ranges that require editing, or material that can
be turned into regions for use elsewhere.
You can click anywhere in a track with the Selec-
tor to begin playback from that point (as long as
the Edit and Timeline selections are linked, see
“Separate Edit and Timeline Selections” on
page 195).
Depending on the selected Scrolling Option, the
playback cursor, a solid unblinking line, moves
across the Edit window to indicate the current
playback position. The playback location is dis-
played in the Counters in the Transport win-
dow, in the Big Time window, and also in the
Location Indicators.
The edit cursor, on the other hand, is a flashing
line that appears when you click with the Selec-
tor in a track’s playlist. The blinking edit cursor
indicates the start point for any editing tasks
performed. If you make a selection and perform
an edit, the selection is the target of the edit.
The selected Scrolling Option determines how
the Edit window scrolls during playback, and
how the playback cursor functions. See “Scroll-
ing Options” on page 191 for details.
To begin playing from a specific point within a
track:
1 Select Operations > Scrolling Options > No
Auto Scrolling.
2 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
3 With the Selector, click in the track where you
want playback to begin.
4 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
playback.
5 Click Stop in the Transport window to stop
playback.
To jump to a different location and begin play-
ing from there, click with the Selector at that
point and click Play in the Transport window.
Setting a playback point with the Selector
Transport with Counters displayed
Pro Tools Reference Guide190
With the Edit and Timeline selections linked,
you can click a region or MIDI note with the
Grabber to automatically update the Timeline
with the selection’s start time, allowing you to
easily play from that point.
Page Scroll During Playback
You can set Pro Tools to scroll the track display
while playing, and also have the edit cursor ap-
pear wherever playback stops.
To make the track display and the edit cursor
follow playback:
1 Select Operations > Scrolling Options > Page
Scroll During Playback.
2 Choose Setups > Preferences. In the Operation
page of the Preferences dialog, select the option
for “Timeline Insertion Follows Playback,” then
click Done.
3 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
4 With the Selector, click in the track where you
want playback to begin.
5 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
playback. The playback cursor scrolls across the
Edit window, indicating the current playback
position.
6 Click Stop in the Transport window to stop
playback. The edit cursor appears at the location
where playback stops.
Locating and Auditioning with Fast
Forward/Rewind
You can use the Fast Forward and Rewind but-
tons in the Transport window to locate material
in your tracks. If the Operation Preference for
“Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind” is se-
lected, you’ll actually hear the scanned audio
(similar to a CD player) when clicking the Fast
Forward and Rewind buttons.
You can also fast forward or rewind incremen-
tally by repeatedly clicking the appropriate but-
ton. The size of these increments is determined
by the Main Time Scale:
• Bars:Beats: moves to the beginning of the pre-
vious or next bar
• Min:Sec: moves back or forward in one-sec-
ond steps
• Time Code: moves back or forward in one-sec-
ond steps (while adjusting for current SMPTE
format)
• Feet.Frames: moves back or forward in one-
foot steps
• Samples: moves back or forward in one-sec-
ond steps
Location Indicators
The Location Indicators, in the upper right of
the Edit window, display the current playback
location, and also provide a convenient way to
navigate to a specific time location.
Location Indicators (Main and Sub)
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 191
The Main Location Indicator displays the play-
back location in the time format for the Main
Time Scale. The Sub Location Indicator can be
set to any of the other Time Scale formats for an-
other timing reference. Both the Main and Sub
indicators also appear in the Transport window
when it is set to display Counters.
To navigate with the Location Indicators:
1 Click in one of the Location Indicators.
– or –
Press Equal (=) on the numeric keypad to high-
light the Main Location Indicator (or the Trans-
port Counters or Big Time window, if either are
displayed).
2 Type in the new location. Press period (.) to
cycle through to the different time fields.
3 Press Enter to accept the new value and auto-
matically locate there.
Scrolling in the Ruler
You can scroll the contents of the Edit window
by clicking and dragging in the Ruler. While this
doesn’t actually update the session’s Current Lo-
cation, it does let you conveniently shift the dis-
play left or right for the sake of finding and ed-
iting material.
This method of scrolling is especially useful
when using Continuous Scroll with Playhead
(TDM systems only), which does not update or
follow Timeline selections.
To scroll the entire contents of the Edit window
from the Ruler:
■While pressing Comand+Option+Control
(Macintosh) or Control+Alt+Start (Windows),
drag left or right in any of the Timebase Rulers.
Scrolling Options
Pro Tools offers the following options for how it
scrolls the contents of the Edit window during
playback and recording. Choose Operations >
Scrolling Options and select one of the follow-
ing from the submenu:
No Auto-Scrolling With this scrolling option, the
Edit window does not scroll during or after play-
back. The playback cursor moves across the Edit
window, indicating the playback location.
Scroll After Playback Causes the Edit window to
scroll to the final playback location after play-
back has stopped. In this mode, the playback
cursor moves across the Edit window, indicating
the playback location.
Page Scroll During Playback Causes the Edit
window to scroll during playback. With this op-
tion, the playback cursor moves across the Edit
window, indicating the playback location.
When the right edge of the Edit window is
reached, its entire contents are scrolled, and the
playback cursor continues moving from the left
edge of the window.
Choose from the pop-up menus next to the
Main and Sub indicators (in either the Edit
window or Transport window) to set their
time formats.
Scrolling in the Ruler
Pro Tools Reference Guide192
Continuous Scroll During Playback
(TDM Systems Only)
This scrolling option causes the Edit window’s
contents to scroll continuously past the play-
back cursor, which remains in the center of the
window. With this option, playback is always
based on the Timeline selection (unlike Contin-
uous Scroll With Playhead).
Continuous Scroll With Playhead
(TDM Systems Only)
This scrolling option causes the Edit window’s
contents to scroll continuously past the Play-
head, which is a blue line in the center of the
window (red when recording).
The Playhead indicates where playback begins
when clicking Play in the Transport window.
To move the Playhead to a particular location
for playback, you can scroll there in the Ruler
(see “Scrolling in the Ruler” on page 191), use
the Edit window’s horizontal scroll bar, or type
the location into one of the Location Indicators
or one of the Counters.
Moving the Playhead with these methods does
not update the Timeline selection. However, up-
dating the Timeline selection automatically
move the Playhead to the Timeline insertion
point.
With the Playhead enabled, you can jump to
and play an Edit or Timeline selection. For de-
tails, see “Playing Edit and Timeline Selections
with the Playhead” on page 207.
Half-Screen Edit Window
When either Continuous Scroll During Playback
or Continuous Scroll with Playhead is enabled, a
half-screen appears at the far left of the Edit win-
dow (before the beginning of the session).
The Scrubber
The Scrubber allows you to “scrub” up to two
tracks of audio in the Edit Window. Scrubbing is
a technique that originated in tape editing,
where the tape was rocked back and forth past
the playhead at slower than normal speeds to
find a particular location (usually for the sake of
performing splices).
While viewing an audio waveform in Pro Tools
can be helpful in visually finding an edit point,
sometimes a waveform (because of its sonic
characteristics) may not reveal the desired spot
in the audio material. By scrubbing back and
forth over an edit point in Pro Tools, you can
zero in on the exact edit point you're looking
for.
When the Operation Preference for “Edit Inser-
tion Follows Scrub/Shuttle” is enabled, the edit
cursor automatically locates to the point where
scrubbing stops.
Continuous Scroll with Playhead
Half-screen for Continuous Scroll with Playhead
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 193
When the Scrolling Option is set to Continuous
Scroll During Playback or Continuous Scroll
with Playhead, clicking with the Scrubber in a
track’s playlist centers the Edit window around
that point, and moves the Playhead there. With
these Scrolling Options, scrubbed material
moves past the Playhead, which remains sta-
tionary and centered.
NOTE: Scrubbing is only supported for audio
tracks. MIDI tracks cannot be scrubbed.
To scrub a single audio track:
1 With the Scrubber selected, drag within the
track—left for reverse, right for forward.
The distance and speed with which you drag
(with either the mouse, or an external MIDI
controller wheel) determine the length and
speed of the scrubbed audio. Audio from the
scrubbed track is routed to its output, along with
any effects assigned to the track.
The resolution for the Scrubber is dependent
upon the zoom factor for the scrubbed track. For
finer resolutions without zooming, press Com-
mand (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) while
scrubbing.
To scrub up to two audio tracks:
■With the Scrubber selected, drag between two
adjacent tracks.
– or –
■Scrub within a selection that contains multi-
ple tracks. Only the first two tracks are heard.
Scrub/Shuttle Mode
When scrubbing normally, you can scrub at nor-
mal playback speeds or slower. Scrub/Shuttle
mode, however, lets you scrub at several times
normal speed, which is helpful in playing
through large ranges and locating material.
To scrub in Shuttle mode (at several times normal
speed):
1 Select the Scrubber tool.
2 While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), drag within the track—left for re-
verse, right for forward.The Fast Forward and
Rewind buttons in the Transport window en-
gage.
The distance and speed dragged determine the
speed for the scrubbed audio.
Scrubbing an audio track with the Scrubber
You can temporarily switch the Selector to
the Scrubber by Control-clicking (Macin-
tosh) or Right-clicking (Windows). For finer
resolution, Command-Control-click (Mac-
intosh) or Control-Right-click (Windows).
Scrubbing between two audio tracks
The maximum number of channels
scrubbed in Pro Tools is eight, which would
enable you to scrub two stereo tracks (four
channels), but not two 5.1 surround tracks
(12 channels).
Pro Tools Reference Guide194
Shuttle Lock Mode
Shuttle Lock mode lets you trigger playback for
up to two tracks at varying speeds, forward and
reverse, from the numeric keypad. If multiple
tracks are selected, only the first two tracks are
shuttled.
To play a track with the shuttle lock:
1 For TDM systems, make sure the Operation
Preference for Numeric Keypad Mode is not set
to Shuttle.
2 With the Selector, click in the track where you
want playback to begin. To shuttle on two
tracks, Shift-click in a second track.
3 Press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key
(Windows) and a number on the numeric key-
pad: 0–9 (9 is fastest, 5 is normal speed, and 0
stops shuttling).
Once Shuttle Lock mode is initiated, Fast For-
ward and Rewind become highlighted in the
Transport window.
4 Press additional keys to change the playback
speed, or press Plus (+) and Minus (-) to switch
the playback direction (plus for forward, minus
for backward).
5 To stop playback, press Control+0 (Macin-
tosh) or Start+0 (Windows).
6 To exit Shuttle Lock mode, press Stop in the
Transport window.
Numeric Keypad Set to Shuttle
(TDM Systems Only)
Pro Tools offers another form of shuttling, dif-
ferent from that of Shuttle Lock Mode. With the
Numeric Keypad Mode set to Shuttle, playback
of the current Edit selection is triggered by press-
ing and holding the keys on the numeric key-
pad—playback stops once the keys are released.
Various playback speeds are available in both
forward and reverse. In this mode, pre/post-roll
are ignored.
To shuttle with the Numeric Keypad Mode set to
Shuttle:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Opera-
tions.
2 Set the Numeric Keypad Mode to Shuttle and
click Done.
3 With the Selector, click in the track where you
want playback to begin. To shuttle on two
tracks, Shift-click in a second track.
4 Press and hold any of the following keys (or
key combinations) on the numeric keypad to
trigger playback.
5 Press a different key to switch the playback di-
rection or speed. Release to stop.
Shuttle Speed Rewind Key Forward Key
1 X Speed 4 6
4 X Speed 7 9
1/4 X Speed 1 3
1/2 X Speed 4+5 5+6
2 X Speed 7+8 8+9
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 195
Separate Edit and Timeline
Selections
Pro Tools lets you unlink the Edit and Timeline
selections. In doing so, you can make a selection
within a track for editing purposes that is dis-
tinct from the selection in the Timeline (which
determines the playback and recording range).
By default, the Edit and Timeline selections are
linked. In this mode, selecting in a track’s playl-
ist (an Edit selection) also defines the play and
record range (the Timeline selection).
To unlink the Edit and Timeline selections:
■Deselect Operations > Link Edit and Timeline
Selection.
– or –
In the upper left of the Edit window, click the
Link Selection button so it becomes unhigh-
lighted.
If you are working with a film or video scene,
you may want to unlink the Edit and Timeline
selections to work with material that is at a dif-
ferent location than the current play range. The
scene you’re working with (defined by the Time-
line selection) may require some sound effects
and you can go to another location in the ses-
sion to find and audition them. Edit selections
can be played (choose Operations > Play Edit Se-
lection) without disrupting the current Timeline
selection. Once the desired material is found,
you can then go back to the Timeline selection
and place them within the context of the scene.
Figure 11 illustrates another reason you’d want
to unlink the Edit and Timeline selections. In
this example, the Timeline selection sets a range
to be looped on playback, while a MIDI region
(residing within the loop) is selected for editing
purposes. During playback, the Edit selection
can be nudged, quantized, or transposed while
the loop plays back completely independent
and uninterrupted.
While you could theoretically do this with the
Edit and Timeline selections linked, as soon as
playback is stopped, the playback range would
then be updated to that of the more recent edit
range.
Playback/Edit Markers
Timeline selections are displayed in the Ruler
with Playback Markers, which appear as blue ar-
rows (red when recording). In addition, there
are Pre- and Post-Roll Flags (which are green
when enabled) indicating the location for
pre/post-roll.
Link Selection button, disabled
Figure 11. Edit and Timeline selections unlinked
Playback Markers with Pre/Post-Roll Flags
Figure 12. Edit Markers
Pro Tools Reference Guide196
When the Edit and Timeline selections are un-
linked, Edit selections are displayed in the Ruler
with Edit Markers, which appear as black brack-
ets. If the Edit and Timeline selections are
linked, Edit selections are represented by the
blue Playback Markers.
See the following sections for details on working
with Edit and Timeline selections:
• “Selecting Track Material” on page 196
• “Timeline Selections” on page 206
• “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 135
• “Setting Pre/Post-Roll” on page 137
Selecting Track Material
Before audio and MIDI material can be edited, it
must first be selected. A track’s Display Format
determines how the material is viewed and se-
lected.
When you make a selection, it appears as a high-
lighted area of the track, and is also indicated by
blue start and end arrows (Playback Markers) in
the Ruler at the top of the Edit window. If any
track (audio or MIDI) in the session is record-en-
abled, even if it is hidden, these markers appear
red.
If the Edit and Timeline selections are unlinked,
the Edit selection range is indicated by Edit
Markers in the Ruler. See “Separate Edit and
Timeline Selections” on page 195 for details.
Selections and Edit Groups
When making selections on tracks that are part
of an Edit Group, all tracks within the group be-
come selected.
Selections and Hidden Tracks
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 Show/Hide
Tracks list.
Selecting Regions
To select a portion of a region:
1 With the Selector, drag within the region (left
or right) to select the material.
To select an entire region:
■Click the region with the Grabber.
– or –
■Double-click the region with the Selector.
To select two regions and the time range between
them:
1 With the Grabber, click the first region.
2 Shift-click the second region. Both regions be-
come selected, along with the time range be-
tween them (including any other regions).
Playback Markers indicating Edit selection
Selecting a portion of a region
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 197
To select an entire track:
■Click in the track with the Selector and then
choose Edit > Select All.
– or –
■Triple-click in the track with the Selector.
To select all regions in all tracks:
1 Select the “All” Edit Group in the Groups List.
2 Click in any track with the Selector and
choose Edit > Select All.
– or –
Triple-click with the Selector in any track.
Selecting All from Timebase Rulers
You can select all regions in all tracks displayed
in the Edit window by double-clicking in any
Timebase Ruler.
To select all material in all displayed audio and
MIDI tracks:
1 Make sure the Edit and Timeline selections are
linked.
2 Double-click in any Timebase Ruler. All re-
gions in all displayed audio and MIDI tracks are
selected. Tracks that are hidden are not selected.
To select all material in all tracks, along with
Conductor events:
1 Make sure the Edit and Timeline selections are
linked.
2 While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Con-
trol (Windows), double-click in any Timebase
Ruler. All regions in all displayed audio and
MIDI tracks are selected, along with all events in
each of the Conductor tracks.
Making Selections While Playing
Pro Tools lets you make on-the-fly selections
with the Arrow keys.
To make a selection while playing:
1 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline selection.
2 With the Selector, click somewhere near the
beginning of the track in which you want to
make the selection.
3 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
playback.
4 When playback reaches the point where you
want the selection to begin, press the Down Ar-
row key.
5 Press the Up Arrow key at the point where you
want the selection to end. The selected range be-
comes highlighted.
6 To stop playback, click Stop in the Transport
window.
To automatically scroll to the beginning of the
selection (or to the location of the on-screen
cursor), press the Left Arrow key. To scroll to the
end of the selection, press the Right Arrow key.
Object Selections (TDM Systems Only)
You can use the Object Grabber to select discon-
tiguous regions on one or more tracks. Discon-
tiguous selections must encompass entire re-
gions. If you want a discontiguous selection to
include a portion of a region, first turn the por-
tion into a new region with the Separation
Grabber (see “Separation Grabber” on page 211)
or the Separate Region command (see “Separate
Region Command” on page 210).
NOTE: The Object Grabber is not available when
the Edit mode is set to Shuffle or Spot.
Pro Tools Reference Guide198
To select discontiguous regions:
1 Make sure the Edit mode is set to either Slip or
Grid.
2 Choose the Object Grabber from the Grabber
tool pop-up menu.
3 Shift-click each region you want to include in
the selection. The regions can even reside on dif-
ferent tracks.
Each clicked region becomes surrounded by a
dark rectangle, indicating it is selected.
The Object Grabber ignores Edit Groups when
making selections. For instance, selecting a re-
gion on a grouped track does not cause regions
in the other tracks in the group to become se-
lected.
Object to Time Selection (TDM Systems Only)
You can convert between Time- and Object-
based selections. Time selections are made with
the Selector and Time Grabber. Object selections
are made with the Object Grabber.
Converting to an Object selection is useful
when working with large selections, especially
across multiple tracks, and want to remove cer-
tain regions from the selection.
Converting to a Time selection is useful if you
want to select all regions between a discontigu-
ous Object selection.
To change a Time selection to an Object selection:
1 Drag with the Selector in any track to define a
selection. Select in a Timebase Ruler to select
across all tracks.
2 With the Object Grabber selected, double-
click the Grabber icon in the toolbar. The re-
gions falling within the selection range become
selected as objects. Regions that were partially
selected become deselected.
To select regions that were partially selected,
press the Control key while double-clicking the
Grabber icon.
To change an Object selection to a Time selection:
1 Select any number of regions with the Object
Grabber.
2 Double-click the Selector icon in the toolbar.
The time range between the first and last region
becomes selected.
If using the Object Grabber (TDM systems only),
regions on the other tracks in the group are se-
lected if they fall within the range of the se-
lected region.
Object Grabber
Discontiguous selection
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 199
Changing a Selection Length
You can make an existing selection longer or
shorter by pressing the Shift key while clicking
or dragging, or by dragging the Playback Mark-
ers in the Ruler.
To change the length of a selection:
■With the Selector, position the cursor over
one end of the current selection and Shift-click
or Shift-drag left or right.
– or –
In the Ruler, drag the Playback Marker for the se-
lection’s start or end point.
– or –
If the Edit and Timeline selections are unlinked,
drag the Edit Markers (see Figure 12 on
page 195) to change the selection length.
To quickly make a lengthy selection:
1 With the Selector, click at the beginning of the
selection.
2 Scroll to the end point of the selection and
Shift-click at that point.
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 Ar-
row key to scroll to the end.
Nudging a Selection Range
The selection range (not the material within the
selection) can be moved by the Nudge value.
To nudge a selection range:
1 Configure the Nudge value as desired. For de-
tails, see “Defining the Nudge Value” on
page 222.
2 Make the initial selection with the Selector.
3 While pressing Shift, press Plus or Minus on
the numeric keypad to move the selection range
by the Nudge value.
Nudging Selection Start/End Points
Start and end points for selections can be moved
by the nudging them.
To move a selection start or end point by the
Nudge value:
1 Configure the Nudge value as desired. For de-
tails, see “Defining the Nudge Value” on
page 222.
2 Make the initial selection with the Selector.
3 While pressing Option+Shift (Macintosh) or
Alt+Shift (Windows), press Plus or Minus on the
numeric keypad to move the selection’s start
point by the Nudge value.
– or –
While pressing Command+Shift (Macintosh) or
Control+Shift (Windows), press Plus or Minus
on the numeric keypad to move the selection’s
end point by the Nudge value.
Dragging a Playback Marker
Pro Tools Reference Guide200
Extending Selections
You can extend selections to region start and
end points, to include an adjacent region, or to
Markers and Memory Locations.
To extend a selection to a region start or end
point:
1 With the Selector, select a portion of a region,
or click anywhere in the region.
2 Press Shift+Tab to extend the selection to the
region’s end point.
– or –
Press Shift+Option+Tab (Macintosh) or
Shift+Control+Tab (Windows) to extend the se-
lection to the region’s start point.
To extend a selection to include an adjacent
region:
1 Select the first region with the Grabber.
2 Press Shift+Control+Tab (Macintosh) or
Shift+Start+Tab (Windows) to extend the selec-
tion to include the next region.
– or –
Press Shift+Control+Option+Tab (Macintosh) or
Shift+Start+Control+Tab (Windows) to extend
the selection to include the previous region.
To extend a selection to a Marker or Memory
Location:
1 Click in a track with the Selector at the selec-
tion’s start or end point.
– or –
Make a selection with the Selector or Grabber.
2 Shift-click a Marker in the Markers Ruler.
– or –
Shift-click a Memory Location in the Memory
Locations window.
The selection is extended from the original In-
sertion point to the Marker or Memory Loca-
tion.
Using the Selection Indicators
The Selection Indicators at the top of the Edit
window can define precise edit selections. Time
values for the Selection Indicators use the time
format for the Main Time Scale.
To make a selection with the Selection Indicators:
1 Click with the Selector in the track you want
to select.
2 Click in the Start field at the top of the Edit
window.
– or –
Press the slash key to select the Start field.
3 Type in the start point for the selection and
press the slash key to enter the value and auto-
matically move to the end field.
4 Type in the end point for the selection and
press Enter to accept the value.
Selection Indicators
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 201
Numeric Entry Shortcuts for Selection
Indicators
You can use the following shortcuts for entering
values in the Selection Indicators:
■Press the slash key to cycle through the three
Selection Indicators.
■Use period (.) or the Left/Right Arrow keys to
move through the different time fields in each
Selection Indicator.
■Press the Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or
decrease the numerical values.
■Command-drag (Macintosh) or Control-drag
(Windows) a selected field to scroll to a new
value.
■Press Plus (+) or Minus (–) along with an ac-
companying number to add or subtract from
the current field value.
For example, to add 10 to a current field value,
cycle to the field, press the Plus key, type “10”
and then press Enter.
NOTE: If using Calculator Entry mode with the
Time Scale set to Bars:Beats, see “Calculator Entry
Mode and Bars:Beats” on page 201.
■Press Escape to exit the Selection Indicators
without entering any values.
Calculator Entry Mode and Bars:Beats
To use Minus in Calculator mode with the Time
Scale set to Bars:Beats:
1 Highlight the time field you want to change.
2 While pressing Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows), press Minus on the nu-
meric keypad.
3 Type the amount you want to subtract from
the current time value, then press Enter.
Selecting Across Multiple Tracks
To perform edits across multiple tracks or all
tracks, you must first select the tracks. Do this by
making selections on tracks that are grouped
(see “Grouping Tracks” on page 85), by extend-
ing selections to other tracks, or by selecting in a
Timebase Ruler (for all tracks).
To extend a selection to another track:
1 Using the Selector or Grabber, make a selec-
tion in the first track.
2 Shift-click in additional tracks with the Selec-
tor. An identical range is selected for each addi-
tional track.
To shorten or lengthen the selection across each
of the tracks, press Shift while dragging to
change the range of the selection.
To select across all tracks, do one of the following:
■With the Selector, Option-Shift-drag (Macin-
tosh) or Alt-Shift-drag (Windows) in any track.
■Enable the All Edit Group and make a selec-
tion in any track.
■Drag with the Selector in any Timebase Ruler
(make sure the Edit and Timeline Selections are
linked).
These selections include all tracks in the Edit
window, but do not include the Conductor
tracks (for Tempo, Meter, and Markers).
To select across all tracks, including the
Conductor tracks:
■Option-drag (Macintosh) or Alt-drag (Win-
dows) with the Selector in any Timebase Ruler.
These shortcuts can also be used to enter
start and end values in the Transport win-
dow.
Pro Tools Reference Guide202
Moving and Extending Selections
between Tracks (TDM Systems Only)
With the Commands Focus enabled (TDM sys-
tems only), Edit selections can be moved or ex-
tended to adjacent tracks.
To move a selection to an adjacent track:
1 Enable the Commands Focus by clicking its
button in the upper left of the Edit window.
2 With the Selector or Grabber, make a track se-
lection.
3 Press P on your computer keyboard to move
the selection to the previous track.
– or –
Press semicolon to move the selection to the
next track.
In either instance, the original Edit selection be-
comes deselected.
To extend a selection to an adjacent track:
1 Enable the Commands Focus.
2 With the Selector or Grabber, make a track se-
lection.
3 Press Shift+P to extend the selection to the
previous track.
– or –
4 Press Shift+semicolon to extend the selection
to the next track.
In either instance, the original Edit selection re-
mains selected.
To remove the top or bottom track from a
selection:
■Press Control+Option+P (Macintosh) or
Start+Alt+P (Windows) to remove the top track.
– or –
■Press Control+Option+semicolon (Macin-
tosh) or Start+Alt+semicolon (Windows) to re-
move the bottom track.
Other Useful Selection Techniques
Following are some additional selection tech-
niques.
To position the edit cursor precisely at a region
start, end, or sync point:
1 Click with the Selector in the track.
2 Press Tab to move the cursor to the next re-
gion start, end, or sync point.
– or –
3 Press Option+Tab (Macintosh) or Control+Tab
(Windows) to move the cursor to the previous
region start, end, or sync point.
To make a selection with the Scrubber:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences. In the Operation
page of the Preferences dialog, select the option
for “Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle,” then
click Done.
2 Scrub with the Scrubber to find an appropriate
start point for the selection, then release.
3 While pressing Shift, scrub to an appropriate
end point for the selection, then release. The
range between the initial and final scrub be-
comes selected.
Commands Key button, enabled
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 203
To move a selection to an adjacent region on the
same track:
1 Select a region with the Grabber.
2 Press Control+Tab (Macintosh) or Start+Tab
(Windows) to move the selection to the next re-
gion.
– or –
3 Press Control+Option+Tab (Macintosh) or
Start+Control+Tab (Windows) to move the se-
lection to the previous region.
In either instance, the original region becomes
deselected.
To slide an Edit selection in the Ruler:
1 With the Selector or Grabber, make a track se-
lection.
2 While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), move the cursor over either of the
Playback Markers in the Ruler (the Grabber ap-
pears).
3 Drag left or right to move the Edit selection
back or forward in time, while preserving its
length.
If the Edit and Timeline selections are unlinked,
Option-drag (Macintosh) or Alt-drag (Windows)
the Edit Markers instead.
Tabbing to Transients
With the Tab to Transients option, you can au-
tomatically navigate to transients in audio
waveforms, placing the cursor just before the de-
tected transient peak. This allows you to easily
define selections and play ranges, as well as start
and end points for new regions, without having
to zoom in on the waveform.
When Tab to Transients is enabled, the Tabbing
function also locates the cursor to region start,
end, and sync points.
To set the start and end points of a selection with
Tab to Transients:
1 In the upper left of the Edit window, click the
Tab to Transients button so it becomes selected.
2 If you will be setting the play range with this
selection, selection Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
3 Click in the audio track just before the begin-
ning of the material you want to select.
4 Press Tab repeatedly until the cursor locates to
the transient at the start of the selection.
If necessary, you can move to the previous tran-
sient by pressing Option+Tab (Macintosh) or
Control+Tab (Windows).
5 Press Shift+Tab until the cursor locates to the
end of the selection.
To move the selection end point to the previous
transient, press Shift+Option+Tab (Macintosh)
or Shift+Control+Tab (Windows).
Once selected, the material can be looped for re-
cording or playback, or it can be turned into a
new region with the Separate or Capture com-
mand.
Sliding an Edit selection in the Ruler
Tab to Transients button, enabled
Pro Tools Reference Guide204
Region List Selection Follows
Track Selection
When the Editing Preference for “Region List Se-
lection Follows Track Selection” is enabled, se-
lecting a region in a track also causes the region
to become selected in the Audio or MIDI Re-
gions List.
Conversely, if the Editing Preference for “Track
Selection Follows Region List Selection” is en-
abled, selecting a region in the Audio or MIDI
Regions List causes the initial occurrence of that
region to become selected within the track.
Playing Selections
Once an Edit selection is made, you can audi-
tion the track range by clicking Play in the
Transport window. If enabled, the pre- and post-
roll amounts play as well.
To play a selection:
1 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
2 With the Selector or Grabber, make a track se-
lection.
3 If desired, enable and set the pre- and post-roll
amounts. For details, see “Setting Pre/Post-Roll”
on page 137.
4 Click Play in the Transport window.
All tracks plays for the range of the selection, in-
cluding pre/post-roll if enabled.
Auditioning Pre- and Post-Roll
You can audition and play just the pre-roll or
post-roll material for a selection.
To play from the pre-roll point to the start of a
selection, or to the current cursor location:
■Press Option+Left Arrow (Macintosh) or
Alt+Left Arrow (Windows).
To play to the post-roll point from the end of a
selection, or from the current cursor location:
■Press Command+Right Arrow (Macintosh) or
Control+Right Arrow (Windows).
Auditioning Start and End Points for
Selections
There may be times when you want to audition
the start or end of a selection without hearing
the entire selection. This allows you to quickly
check, for instance, whether the beginning or
end of a selection includes any unwanted clicks
or pops.
To audition a selection start point:
■Press Command+Left Arrow (Macintosh) or
Control+Left Arrow (Windows).
When auditioning the beginning of a selection,
the selection plays from the start point for a du-
ration equal to the post-roll amount.
Playback ranges for auditioning start/end points
plays start
(for post amount)
plays pre-roll + start
plays end
(for pre amount)
plays end + post-roll
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 205
To audition a selection start point with pre-roll:
■Press Command+Option+Left Arrow (Macin-
tosh) or Control+Alt+Left Arrow (Windows).
To audition a selection end point:
■Press Option+Right Arrow (Macintosh) or
Alt+Right Arrow (Windows).
When auditioning the end of a selection, play-
back begins before the end point by the pre-roll
amount.
To audition a selection end point with post-roll:
■Press Command+Option+Right Arrow (Mac-
intosh) or Control+Alt+Right Arrow (Windows).
Looping Playback
When Loop Playback is enabled, the selected
track range repeats on playback. If there is no se-
lection, playback occurs normally from the cur-
rent cursor location.
NOTE: A selection must be at least 1 second in
length for it to loop on playback.
Looping playback is a useful way to check the
rhythmic continuity of a selection when work-
ing with musical material. If you’re working
with one-bar selections, you can loop playback
to see if the material loops cleanly. If it seems to
skip, you should then adjust the length of the
selection until it works “musically” within the
context of the playlist and the other tracks.
To loop playback of a selection:
1 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
2 With the Selector, select the track range you
want to loop.
3 Select Operations > Loop Playback. When en-
abled, a loop symbol appears in the Play button
in the Transport window.
You can also enable Loop Playback by Control-
clicking (Macintosh) or Right-clicking (Win-
dows) the Play button in the Transport window.
Or, with the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-
port, press 4 on the numeric keypad.
4 Click Play in the Transport window.
Playback begins from the pre-roll point (if en-
abled) and continues to the selection’s end
point, where it loops back to the start point.
5 Click Stop in the Transport window to stop
playback.
Loop Playback and Audio Recording
When Loop Playback is enabled, Pro Tools will
not loop when attempting to record audio
tracks with QuickPunch, Destructive Record, or
Nondestructive Record mode.
To loop record audio tracks in Pro Tools, you
must enable Loop Record mode.
Loop Playback enabled
Pro Tools Reference Guide206
Timeline Selections
With the Edit and Timeline selections unlinked,
selections can be made in the Timeline that are
distinct and separate from Edit selections.
With the Edit and Timeline selections linked,
any Edit selections that are made are mirrored in
the Timeline.
Whether the Edit and Timeline selections are
linked or not, the range indicated by the Play-
back Markers always determines the range for
playback and recording.
For TDM systems, when Continuous Scroll with
Playhead is enabled, it determines where play-
back begins. For details, see “Playing Edit and
Timeline Selections with the Playhead” on
page 207.
To make a Timeline selection with the Selector:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
2 Drag with the Selector in any Timebase Ruler.
The Timeline selection is indicated in the Ruler
by the blue Playback Markers (red if a track is
record-enabled). The start, end, and length for
the Timeline selection is displayed in the corre-
sponding fields in the Transport window.
To set the Timeline selection by dragging the
Playback Markers:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain movement to the current Grid value.
2 With the Grabber, drag the first Playback
Marker (down arrow) to set the start point.
3 Drag the other Playback Marker (up arrow) to
set the end point.
To set the Timeline selection by typing into the
Transport window:
1 If necessary, resize the Transport window by
clicking in the upper right so the start and end
times are displayed.
2 In the Transport window, click in the start
field.
– or –
Press Option-slash (Macintosh) or Alt-slash
(Windows) to select the start field in the Trans-
port window.
3 Type in the new start location and press slash
to enter the value and automatically move to
the end field.
4 Type in the new end location and press Enter
to accept the value.
Making a Timeline selection with the Selector
To select all tracks, including Conductor
tracks, press Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows) while dragging in a Timebase
Ruler with the Selector.
Dragging a Playback Marker
Shortcuts for entering start and end values
in the Transport window are listed in “Nu-
meric Entry Shortcuts for Selection Indica-
tors” on page 201.
Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 207
Sliding a Timeline Selection
Like Edit selections, Timeline selections can be
slid in the Ruler.
To move a Timeline selection in the Ruler:
1 While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), move the cursor over either of the
Playback Markers (the Grabber appears).
2 Drag left or right to move the Timeline selec-
tion back or forward in time, while preserving
its length.
Timeline Selections to/from Edit
Selections
When the Edit and Timeline selections are un-
linked, you can copy selections between them.
To copy an Edit selection to the Timeline:
■Choose Operations > Copy Edit Selection to
Timeline.
To copy a Timeline selection to an Edit selection:
■Choose Operations > Copy Timeline Selection
to Edit.
Playing Edit and Timeline
Selections with the Playhead
(TDM Systems Only)
When Continuous Scroll with Playhead is en-
abled, selections in the Timeline do not deter-
mine when playback begins. The Playhead, it-
self, denotes where playback begins when
clicking Play in the Transport.
The Edit and Timeline selections, however, can
still be played when the Playhead is enabled.
To play an Edit selection with the Playhead
enabled:
1 Deselect Operations > Linked Edit and Time-
line Selections.
2 Select Operations > Scroll Options > Continu-
ous Scroll with Playhead.
3 With the Selector or Grabber, make a track se-
lection.
4 Choose Operations > Play Edit Selection.
The Playhead jumps to the Edit selection and
plays it from beginning to end, and then stops.
To play a Timeline selection with the Playhead
enabled:
1 Deselect Operations > Linked Edit and Time-
line Selections.
2 Select Operations > Scroll Options > Continu-
ous Scroll with Playhead.
3 Drag with the Selector in any Timebase Ruler
to set the play range.
4 Choose Operations > Play Timeline Selection.
The Playhead jumps to the Timeline selection
and plays it from beginning to end, and then
stops.
Pro Tools Reference Guide208
Moving the Playhead
When Continuous Scroll with Playhead is en-
abled, the Playhead can be moved forward or
back to the next region boundary in the selected
track.
To move the Playhead through a track’s region
boundaries:
1 Click in the track with the Selector.
2 Press Tab to move the Playhead forward to the
next region boundary.
– or –
3 Press Option+Tab (Macintosh) or Control+Tab
(Windows) to move the Playhead back to the
previous region boundary.
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 209
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and
Selections
Because regions are the basic building block of
audio and MIDI tracks, understanding how they
are created, edited, and arranged is essential to
taking full advantage of the editing capabilities
of Pro Tools.
This chapter covers basic editing functions as
they apply to regions and selections. The mate-
rial, for the most part, applies to both MIDI and
audio data.
For editing procedures more specific to MIDI,
see Chapter 23, “MIDI Editing.” For more ad-
vanced editing procedures, see Chapter 18, “Ad-
vanced Editing.” You should, however, become
familiar with the information in this chapter be-
fore moving on to the others.
Creating New Regions
Pro Tools provides you with several commands
for creating regions, each of them having a
slightly different effect on the selection. When
you create a new region, it appears in the Re-
gions List and in the track’s playlist. For details
on how these new regions are automatically
named, see “Auto-Naming Parameters” on
page 257.
Capture Region Command
The Capture Region command defines a selec-
tion as a new region and adds it to the Regions
List. From there, the new region can be dragged
to any existing tracks.
To capture a new region:
1 With the Selector, drag within an existing re-
gion to select the material for the new region.
2 Choose Edit > Capture Region.
3 Enter a name for the new region and click OK.
The new region appears in the Regions List. The
selected region portion remains intact and un-
changed.
Selecting a region portion
Pro Tools Reference Guide210
Separate Region Command
The Separate Region command defines a selec-
tion within an existing region, or a partially se-
lected region, as a new region and separates it
from adjacent material. If there is no selection
and the Edit cursor is placed within the region,
the region is split at the insertion point.
Auto-Name Separated Regions
With the Auto-Name Separated Regions option
in the Editing Preferences selected, Pro Tools au-
tomatically names separated regions for you.
The name is a numbered variation of the origi-
nal region’s name.
To separate one or more regions:
1 With the Selector, drag to select the material
for the new region or regions. The selection can
reside within a single region, across adjacent re-
gions within the same track, or across multiple
tracks.
– or –
Click with the Selector at the point within a re-
gion, where you want to split the region in two.
2 Choose Edit > Separate Region.
3 If the Editing Preference for Auto-Name Sepa-
rated Regions is disabled, enter a name for the
new region when prompted, then click OK.
The new regions appear in the tracks in which
they were created, separate from the data sur-
rounding it. They also appear in the Regions
List. From there they can be dragged to other
tracks.
By separating a region, additional regions are
auto-created from data on either side of the sep-
aration, which have new numbers assigned to
their names.
Separating Multiple Tracks
Figure 13 illustrates a a separation across three
mono audio tracks and one stereo track. For
some tracks, the selection resides within a re-
gion, while others reside at the start or end of a
region.
Once separated, this material can be easily
moved or copied to another location.
If the Editing Preference for “Separate Re-
gion Operates On All Related Takes” is se-
lected and you are editing a region that is
one of a number of related takes with the
same User Time Stamp (created with loop
recording, for example), the Separate Region
command affects each take. For details see,
“Editing Preferences and Take Regions” on
page 135.
Figure 13. Separating across multiple tracks
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 211
Separation Grabber
You can use the Separation Grabber to automat-
ically separate an edit selection and move it to
another location or another track.
To separate a selection with the Separation
Grabber:
1 With the Selector, drag to select the material
for the new region or regions. The selection can
reside within a single region, across adjacent re-
gions within the same track, or across multiple
tracks.
2 From the Grabber pop-up, choose the Separa-
tion Grabber.
3 Drag the selection to the new location, or to
another track.
A new region (or regions) containing the previ-
ous selection is created, separate from the origi-
nal selection. New regions are also created from
the material outside the original selection.
To separate a selection without affecting the
original regions:
1 With the Selector, drag to select the material
for the new region or regions. The selection can
reside within a single region, across adjacent re-
gions within the same track, or across multiple
tracks.
2 From the Grabber pop-up, choose the Separa-
tion Grabber.
3 While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), drag the selection to the new loca-
tion, or to another track.
New regions containing the previous selection
are created and placed at the new location. The
original selection and regions remain intact.
Trim To Selection Command
The Trim To Selection command removes data
before and after a region or MIDI note selection,
leaving only the selection. This command pro-
vides a handy means of quickly removing all
data in a region (and in some instances the en-
tire track) except for the current selection.
To trim unwanted data from a region or note:
1 With the Selector, select a portion of a region
or note (or a range of notes).
2 Choose Edit > Trim > To Selection to remove
material outside of the selection.
Separation Grabber
Dragging later in track with Separation Grabber
before
after
Dragging to another track with Separation Grabber
Pro Tools Reference Guide212
Healing a Separation
The Heal Separation command returns sepa-
rated regions to their original state—provided
the regions are still next to each other and their
relative start/end points haven’t changed since
the separation.
If you have trimmed or otherwise changed the
start or end points of the two regions, or moved
them further away from each other, you won’t
be able to repair them with the Heal Separation
command. It is not possible to heal two regions
created from different audio files.
To heal a separation between two regions:
1 With the Selector, make a selection that in-
cludes part of the first region, the entire separa-
tion between the regions, and part of the second
region.
2 Choose Edit > Heal Separation.
If the regions won’t heal, there are other ways to
return the separated regions to a single region.
◆Delete one of the two separated regions (make
sure you’re in Slip mode so the gap doesn’t
close) and use the Trimmer to expand the re-
maining region to its original length. For infor-
mation on using the Trimmer, see “The Trimmer
Tool” on page 215.
– or –
◆Delete both of the separated regions and drag
the original region from the Regions List to the
original location. For information on placing re-
gions, see “Placing Regions in Tracks” on
page 212.
Placing Regions in Tracks
Once you have created a region, it appears in the
Audio or MIDI Regions List. From there you can
drag it to a track to add to an existing arrange-
ment of regions, or you can create a new track
and start adding regions from scratch. The exact
placement of regions in a track depends on
whether the Edit mode is set to Shuffle, Slip,
Spot, or Grid (see “Edit Modes” on page 179 for
details).
For information on locating regions in the Re-
gions List by typing the first few letters of their
name, see “Keyboard Selection of Regions” on
page 178.
To place a region in a track:
1 In the Audio or MIDI Regions list, select the
region or regions you want to place in a track.
2 Drag the selected regions from the Regions
List to a track at the desired point.
If dragging multiple regions, the regions are
placed on adjacent tracks. If dragging a stereo re-
gion, it must be placed in a stereo track or in two
mono tracks.
Regions are placed according to the current Edit
mode:
• In Shuffle mode, existing track regions are slid
as necessary to make room for the new region.
• In Spot mode, you are prompted by the Spot
dialog to enter a location for the dragged re-
gion (see “Spotting Regions” on page 219).
• In Grid mode, the dragged region snaps to the
nearest Grid boundary.
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 213
• In Slip mode, the regions are placed freely
anywhere in the destination track.
Placing Regions at the Edit
Insertion Point
You can easily place and align a region’s start,
end, or sync point to the Edit insertion point.
This technique is useful in post production ap-
plications since it allows you to set a reference
point and quickly place sound effects while en-
suring that their start point remains consistent.
You can drag a region from the same track, from
another track, or from the Audio or MIDI Re-
gions List.
NOTE: For TDM systems, when Continuous Scroll
with Playhead is selected, regions snap to the play-
head, instead of the Edit insertion point.
To place the start of a region at the Edit insertion
point:
1 Click with the Selector in the track at the de-
sired time location.
2 While pressing Control (Macintosh) or the
Start key (Windows), drag the region from the
Regions list, or from another track, to the desti-
nation track.
– or –
If the region is already in the track, Control-
click (Macintosh) or Start-click (Windows) the
region with the Grabber.
To place the end of a region at the Edit insertion
point:
1 Click with the Selector in the track at the de-
sired time location.
2 While pressing Command+Control (Macin-
tosh) or Control+Start key (Windows), drag the
region from the Regions list, or from another
track, to the destination track.
– or –
If the region is already in the track, Command-
Control-click (Macintosh) or Control-Start-click
(Windows) the region with the Grabber.
To place the sync point of a region at the Edit
insertion point:
1 Click with the Selector in the track at the de-
sired time location.
2 While pressing Shift+Control (Macintosh) or
Shift+Start key (Windows), drag the region from
the Regions list, or from another track, to the
destination track.
– or –
If the region is already in the track, Shift-Con-
trol-click (Macintosh) or Shift-Start-click (Win-
dows) the region with the Grabber.
Use the Replace Region function to replace
all occurrences of a region (in all tracks)
with a different region from the Regions
List. See “Replacing Regions” on page 235.
Pro Tools Reference Guide214
Aligning to Region Start Points
The start, end, and sync point of one region can
be aligned to the start of a different region on
another track.
NOTE: For TDM systems, if Continuous Scroll
with Playhead is enabled, region start, end, and
sync points align to the playhead.
To align the start points of regions on different
tracks:
1 With the Grabber, select the region you want
to align to by clicking it.
2 For TDM systems, if Continuous Scroll with
Playhead is enabled, move the playhead to the
start of the selected region. For details, see
“Moving the Playhead” on page 208.
3 With the Grabber, Control-click (Macintosh)
or Start-click (Windows) the region you want to
move.
– or –
Control-drag (Macintosh) or Start-drag (Win-
dows) a region from the Regions List to another
track.
The start point of the second region is aligned to
the start of the first region.
To align the end point of a region to the start of
another region (on a different track):
1 With the Grabber, select the region you want
to align to by clicking it.
2 For TDM systems, if Continuous Scroll with
Playhead is enabled, move the playhead to the
start of the selected region. For details, see
“Moving the Playhead” on page 208.
3 With the Grabber, Command-Control-click
(Macintosh) or Control-Start-click (Windows)
the region you want to move.
– or –
Command-Control-drag (Macintosh) or Con-
trol-Start-drag (Windows) a region from the Re-
gions List to another track.
The end point of the second region is aligned to
the start of the first region.
To align the sync point of a region to the start of
another region (on a different track):
1 With the Grabber, select the region you want
to align to by clicking it.
2 For TDM systems, if Continuous Scroll with
Playhead is enabled, move the playhead to the
start of the selected region. For details, see
“Moving the Playhead” on page 208.
3 With the Grabber, Shift-Control-click (Macin-
tosh) or Shift-Start-click (Windows) the region
you want to move.
– or –
Shift-Control-drag (Macintosh) or Shift-Start-
drag (Windows) a region from the Regions List
to another track.
The sync point of the second region is aligned to
the start of the first region.
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 215
The Trimmer Tool
Standard Trimmer
With the Trimmer tool, you can quickly shorten
or expand a region (up to the entire length of
the source audio file). The first time you trim a
region, Pro Tools automatically adds it to the
Regions List as a new region (with a name de-
rived from the original) in order to differentiate
it from the original.
The Standard Trimmer is a nondestructive tool
and doesn’t actually modify the original audio
or MIDI data (when working on regions). To re-
turn to the length of the original region, drag it
from the Regions List, or resize the edited region
with the Trimmer to its original length.
Use of the Trimmer is affected by the current
Edit mode: Shuffle, Slip, Spot, or Grid. See “Edit
Modes” on page 179 for more information.
To trim a region:
1 Select the Trimmer tool. For TDM systems,
make sure the Standard Trimmer is selected in
the Trimmer pop-up menu.
2 Move the cursor near the start or end of the re-
gion, so the Trim cursor appears.
To reverse the direction of the Trim cursor, press
Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows).
3 If trimming the end, drag left to shorten the
region, right to lengthen.
– or –
If trimming the start, drag right to shorten the
region, left to lengthen.
When trimming regions in a stereo or multi-
channel track, all channels are trimmed.
When using Shuffle mode, adjacent regions are
slid as necessary to make room for the edited re-
gion. If using Grid mode, the dragged start/end
times snap to the nearest Grid boundary. If us-
ing Spot mode, the Spot dialog opens, where
you can enter the new location for the region’s
start or end point.
The Standard Trimmer can also be used to
lengthen and shorten MIDI notes (see
“Trimming Note Start and End Times” on
page 298), and also to scale automation
and controller data up or down “Drawing
Automation” on page 384.
For TDM systems, the Trimmer has three
modes: Standard Trimmer (discussed in
this section), Scrub Trimmer (see “The
Scrub Trimmer” on page 216), and Time
Trimmer (see “The Time Trimmer” on
page 238).
Standard Trimmer
Trim cursor
Pro Tools Reference Guide216
The Scrub Trimmer
(TDM Systems Only)
The Scrub Trimmer is a convenient tool for au-
ditioning material (on up to two tracks) to find a
trim point. You can drag in a track to hear the
audio information, then trim at a specific loca-
tion by releasing the mouse button.
This action creates a new region. Note that the
cursor changes into a “right trim” or “left trim”
shape as it is placed over the right or left side of
a region. To reverse the direction of the Scrub
Trimmer, press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Win-
dows) before you click the region.
Scrub playback speed and direction vary with
controller movement. Scrubbed audio is routed
through the track signal path, so you hear any
effects in the signal path.
To scrub trim a track:
1 Click the Scrub Trimmer tool. The cursor
changes to a speaker with a bracket.
2 Drag within a track to the left or right. Audio
from a scrubbed track is routed through the
track signal path, including any TDM effects.
When you locate the desired trim point, release
the mouse button to trim the region.
To scrub trim two tracks, click with the Scrub
Trimmer between two adjacent tracks and drag.
To scrub with finer resolution (without having
to zoom in), press Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows) while scrubbing.
Trim To Insertion Command
You can trim a region or MIDI note by automat-
ically removing the material between the Edit
insertion point and the start or end point.
To trim from a start point to insertion:
1 With the Selector, click inside the region or
note where you want the new start point to be.
2 Choose Edit > Trim > Start To Insertion. The
region’s start point is automatically trimmed to
the insertion point.
To trim from an end point to insertion:
1 With the Selector, click inside the region or
note where you want the new end point to be.
2 Choose Edit > Trim > End To Insertion. The re-
gion’s end point is automatically trimmed to the
insertion point.
Scrub Trimmer over a region
Region end trimmed to insertion
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 217
Trimming with Nudge
You can trim the start and end points of a region
by nudging them.
To trim a region’s start or end point by the Nudge
value:
1 Configure the Nudge value as desired. For de-
tails, see “Defining the Nudge Value” on
page 222.
2 With the Grabber, select the region you want
to trim.
3 While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), press Plus or Minus on the numeric
keypad to trim the region’s start point by the
Nudge value.
– or –
While pressing Command (Macintosh) or Con-
trol (Windows), press Plus or Minus on the nu-
meric keypad to trim the region’s end point by
the Nudge value.
Sliding Regions
A region or group of selected regions (on the
same track or on multiple tracks) can be slid
with the Grabber tool to new locations or to
other tracks. This feature is useful in music and
post production applications where the timing
of audio events such as sound effects and dialog
need to be spotted to music, film, or video.
Sliding regions is affected by whether the cur-
rent Edit mode is set to Shuffle, Slip, Spot, or
Grid. See “Edit Modes” on page 179 for details.
Region Sync Points
The placement of regions in Grid and Spot
mode can be based on the definition of a region
sync point. Sync points are used when a point
within a region must be aligned to the Grid or to
a particular SMPTE or bar/beat location. This ca-
pability is important in placing music and
sound effects for film and video work.
For example, suppose you had an audio region
for a door slam that included the creak of the
door closing, the actual slam, and the reverb of
the slam. You may want to align the “slam” to
other locations within the session.
To identify a region sync point:
1 Set the Edit mode to Slip by clicking its button
in the upper left of the Edit window.
2 With the Selector, click in the region at the
point, usually the peak of the waveform, where
you want to define the sync point.
3 Choose Edit > Identify Sync Point. A small
down arrow appears at the bottom of the region,
indicating the location of the sync point.
To remove a sync point, select the entire region
and choose Edit > Remove Sync Point.
You can slide a copy of a region to another
location or track by pressing Option (Macin-
tosh) or Alt (Windows) while dragging.
To retain a region’s location when dragging
to another track, press Control (Macintosh)
or the Start key (Windows) while dragging.
Sync point defined
Pro Tools Reference Guide218
Shuffling Regions
In Shuffle mode, you can move regions freely
within a track or onto another track, but their
movement is constrained by other regions. That
is, if you place several regions in a track, their
start and end points automatically snap to each
other. You can then “shuffle” their order, but
you cannot separate them from each other and
you cannot make them overlap as in Slip mode.
In Shuffle mode, adding another region to the
beginning of a track moves all subsequent re-
gions to the right by the length of the region
added.
To shuffle regions:
1 Set the Edit mode to Shuffle by clicking its
button in the upper left of the Edit window.
2 Drag a region from the Regions List to an
empty track. The region snaps to the beginning
of the track.
3 Drag a second region from the Regions List to
the same track, somewhere in the middle. The
start point for the second region snaps to the
end of the first region.
4 With the Grabber, drag the second region to
the beginning of the track.
Pro Tools “shuffles” the position of the two re-
gions. The second region now occurs first, yet
the two still cling together.
5 Experiment more with Shuffle mode by drag-
ging additional regions to the track and rear-
ranging them.
Locked regions (see “Locking Regions” on
page 225), and all regions occurring after the
locked region, are not displaced when other
neighboring regions are moved in Shuffle mode.
If there is not enough room to place or duplicate
a region in front of a locked region, the insertion
area is disabled.
If you place a region while in Slip mode and
switch to Shuffle mode, Pro Tools preserves the
relative timing and position of the slipped re-
gion, and any blank space between it and other
regions.
Shuffling Multiple Tracks and Multi-
Channel Regions
Selections across multiple tracks or on multi-
channel tracks can be shuffled. Unlike shuffling
regions on a single, mono track, any partially se-
lected regions will be cut and moved along with
the dragged region. This lets you retain only the
material that corresponds to the dragged region,
similar to a tape splice and multitrack.
Regions placed in Shuffle mode
Shuffling multi-channel regions
Shuffling this region this cuts
this channel
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 219
Sliding Regions in Slip Mode
In Slip mode, regions can be moved with the
Grabber freely within a track, or onto other
tracks. In this mode it is possible to place a re-
gion so that there is space between it and other
regions in a track. When the track is played
back, this space is silent. It is also possible to
move a region so that it overlaps or completely
covers another region.
To slip regions:
1 Set the Edit mode to Slip by clicking its button
in the upper left of the Edit window.
2 Drag a region from the Regions List to an
empty track.
3 Drag a second region from the Regions List to
the same track, somewhere in the middle. The
second region is placed wherever you release it.
It doesn’t snap to the first region as in Shuffle
mode.
4 Drag the regions to different locations within
the track to get a feel for moving them in Slip
mode. Try placing the second region so that it
slightly overlaps the first region. Play back the
results.
Spotting Regions
Spot mode is useful for sessions in which you
want to spot regions to precise locations based
on any of the Time Scales. This can be particu-
larly useful when performing post-production
tasks. In Spot mode you can spot a region by
specifying a SMPTE frame (TDM systems only)
or bar and beat location, by capturing an incom-
ing time code address, or by using the region’s
time stamps.
To spot a region:
1 Set the Edit mode to Spot by clicking its but-
ton in the upper left of the Edit window.
2 Drag a region from the Regions List to an ex-
isting track.
– or –
Click a region already in a track with the Grab-
ber.
3 In the Spot dialog, select the desired time for-
mat from the Time Scale pop-up menu.
Each of the fields in the Spot dialog are dis-
played in the chosen Time Scale.
4 For TDM systems, if the Time Scale is set to
Time Code, select the Use Subframes option to
display subframes in the fields for great accu-
racy.
For even quicker spotting, if you are using
VITC, use the Auto-Spot Regions command
to spot a region to the current SMPTE frame
location with the Grabber. For more infor-
mation, see “Auto-Spotting Regions” on
page 487.
Spot dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide220
5 Click in the field for Start, Sync Point, or End
and type in a new location.
– or –
6 Click one of the up arrows next to Original
Time Stamp or User Time Stamp to enter the as-
sociated values into the currently selected field.
– or –
7 If you are using an external SMPTE time code
source, click the down arrow next to the Current
Time Code display (or press Equal (=) on the nu-
meric keypad) to capture an incoming time code
address.
8 Click OK. The region is moved to the new lo-
cation specified for its start or sync point.
If a region does not have a sync point defined,
the Sync Point field in the Spot dialog functions
the same as the Start field.
To learn more about using SMPTE with
Pro Tools, refer to Chapter 35, “Time Code Syn-
chronization.”
Region Time Stamps
When a region is created, it is time stamped rel-
ative to the SMPTE start time specified for the
session. This Original Time Stamp is perma-
nently stored with the region and cannot be
changed. If a region is ever moved, it can easily
be placed at its original position from the Spot
dialog.
When the Original Time Stamp for a region is
initially set, this same location is also used to de-
fine the region’s User Time Stamp.
Unlike the Original Time Stamp, the User Time
Stamp can be redefined with the Time Stamp Se-
lected command in the Regions List pop-up
menu. For more information, see “Time Stamp-
ing” on page 488.
Regions with identical User Time Stamps appear
together in the Takes List pop-up when audi-
tioning takes. For more information, see “Audi-
tioning from the Takes List Pop-up Menu” on
page 134.
Sliding Regions in Grid Mode
In Grid mode, the movement and placement of
regions is constrained to the current Grid value.
Grid boundaries, depending on the Main Time
Scale, can be based on frames, bar and beat val-
ues, minutes or seconds, or a number of sam-
ples.
This mode is especially useful for lining up re-
gions at precise intervals, as when working with
a session that is bar/beat based. For example, if
the Grid value is set to quarter-notes (0|1|000),
dragging a region to a new location causes it to
snap to the nearest quarter-note boundary.
When the Display Preference for “Draw Grid in
Edit Window” is enabled, vertical Grid lines ap-
pear in the Edit window.
Grid lines in the Edit window can also be en-
abled and disabled by Control-clicking (Macin-
tosh) or Right-clicking (Windows) the Indicator
Dot for any Timebase Ruler.
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 221
Defining the Grid Value
In addition to affecting the placement of re-
gions, the Grid value also constrains Edit and
Timeline selections, and determines how the
Quantize Regions command works.
To set the Grid value:
1 From the Display menu, select the Time Scale
you will use for the Grid value.
– or –
To keep the Main Time Scale and use a different
time format for the Grid, deselect Follow Main
Timebase in the Grid Value pop-up in the upper
right of the Edit window.
2 From the Grid Value pop-up in the upper right
of the Edit window, select the time value that
will define the Grid boundaries.
– or –
To define a Grid based on the session’s Markers,
selections, and region boundaries, select Re-
gions/Markers from the Grid Value pop-up.
To place or move a region while in Grid mode:
1 Configure the Grid value as desired. For de-
tails, see “Defining the Grid Value” on page 221.
2 Drag a region from the Regions List to an ex-
isting track.
– or –
With the Grabber, drag a region already in a
track to a new location.
The region’s start point snaps to the closest Grid
boundary. If the region has a sync point de-
fined, the sync point snaps to the Grid bound-
ary.
Nudging
Pro Tools can nudge regions (or MIDI notes) by
precise increments with the Plus and Minus keys
on the numeric keypad. The amount of the
nudge is determined by the value specified in
the Nudge pop-up menu. The Nudge function
can be used in any of the Edit modes.
Nudging can be invaluable for adjusting the
“groove” of a musical phrase or a sound effect
relative to other elements in the session. Since
Pro Tools can nudge material during playback,
you can nudge continuously in real time to ad-
just the timing relationship between tracks.
Nudge can also be used to adjust the placement
of automation breakpoints. For more informa-
tion, see “Editing Automation” on page 385.
Grid Value pop-up showing Bars:Beats
Pro Tools Reference Guide222
Defining the Nudge Value
The Nudge value determines how far regions
and selections are moved when nudging.
Start and end points for selections can also be
moved by the Nudge value (see “Nudging Selec-
tion Start/End Points” on page 199). In addi-
tion, regions can be trimmed by the Nudge
value (see “Trimming with Nudge” on
page 217).
To set the Nudge value:
1 From the Display menu, select the Time Scale
you will use for the Nudge value.
– or –
To keep the Main Time Scale and use a different
time format for the Nudge value, deselect Fol-
low Main Timebase in the Nudge pop-up in the
upper right of the Edit window.
2 From the Nudge pop-up menu in the upper
right of the Edit window, select the Nudge value.
To specify a Nudge value not listed in the Nudge
pop-up, click in the Nudge field and type in the
value.
Nudging Regions
To nudge one or more region:
1 Configure the Nudge value as desired. For de-
tails, see “Defining the Nudge Value” on
page 222.
2 With the Grabber or Selector, select the region
or regions you want to nudge. The regions can
reside on multiple tracks. Only regions that are
entirely selected will be nudged.
3 On the numeric keypad, press Plus (+) to move
the selection forward by the Nudge value.
– or –
Press Minus (–) to move the selection back by
the Nudge Value.
The Nudge command works the same regardless
of the Edit mode. Adjacent regions are over-
lapped in Shuffle mode, the Spot dialog does not
appear when in Spot mode, and shifted material
does not snap to the Grid when in Grid mode.
Nudging Regions on Multiple Tracks and
in Multi-Channel Tracks
When nudging a selection of multiple regions,
within a single track or across multiple tracks,
that also contains silence, any automation data
residing within the silence is also nudged.
Nudge pop-up showing Time Code
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 223
Nudging by Next Nudge Value (TDM
Systems Only)
In addition to nudging by the current Nudge
Value, you can also nudge by the next, larger
value in the Nudge pop-up.
For example, if the Nudge Value is set to 1 frame
and you want to nudge by a larger valuer, you
can nudge by the next, larger Nudge Value of 10
frames.
To nudge forward or back by the next, larger Nudge
Value:
1 Enable the Key Commands Focus by clicking
the a-z button in the upper left of the Edit win-
dow.
2 With the Selector or Grabber, select the re-
gions or notes you want to nudge.
3 Press slash (/) to nudge the selected material
forward by the next Nudge Value. Press M to
nudge the selection back.
Nudging a Region’s Contents
Often a region’s start point will reside at the cor-
rect location, perhaps at a SMPTE frame or bar,
but the material within the region starts too late
or early. You can, in effect, nudge a region’s au-
dio waveform or MIDI notes without displacing
the region’s start and end points.
This “sliding” of region contents is only possible
if there is material residing outside the region’s
start and end points—from the region having
been trimmed, or perhaps captured from a larger
region.
To nudge the contents of a region without
changing the region start/end points:
1 Configure the Nudge value as desired. For de-
tails, see “Defining the Nudge Value” on
page 222.
2 With the Grabber, select the region whose
contents you want to nudge.
3 While pressing Control (Macintosh) or the
Start key (Windows), press Plus or Minus on the
numeric keypad to move the material by the
Nudge value.
You can nudge by the next Nudge Value
without enabling the Commands Focus.
While pressing Control (Macintosh) or the
Start key (Windows), press slash (/) or M.
Nudging region content
region contents are slid, moving waveform mate-
rial into and out of the current region boundaries
before
after
Pro Tools Reference Guide224
Shift Command
Use the Shift command to move track material
forward or back in time by a specified amount.
The Shift command can operate on selections,
regions, MIDI notes, MIDI controller data, and
automation breakpoints.
To shift a selection or region:
1 Using either the Selector or Grabber, select the
track material you want to shift. The selected
material can reside on multiple tracks.
2 Choose Edit > Shift. In the Shift dialog, select
whether the data will be moved Earlier or Later.
3 Click in one of the Timebase fields to specify
the amount the material will be shifted. Enter-
ing a value in one Timebase field automatically
updates the others.
4 If desired, select the Use Subframes option for
greater accuracy.
5 Click OK. The material is shifted back or for-
ward by the specified amount.
If a portion of a region was selected, new regions
are created from the selection and from any ma-
terial outside of the selection.
The Shift command works the same regardless
of the Edit mode. Adjacent regions are over-
lapped in Shuffle mode, the Spot dialog does not
appear when in Spot mode, and shifted material
does not snap to the Grid when in Grid mode.
Quantizing Regions
The Quantize Regions command adjusts the
placement of selected audio and MIDI regions
so that their start points (or sync points, if they
contain one) precisely align to the nearest Grid
boundary, which can be based on frames, bar
and beat values, minutes or seconds, or a num-
ber of samples.
To quantize one or more regions:
1 Configure the Grid value as desired. For de-
tails, see “Defining the Grid Value” on page 221.
2 With the Grabber or Selector, select the region
or regions you wan to quantize. The regions can
on multiple tracks. Only regions that are en-
tirely selected will be quantized.
3 Choose Edit > Quantize Regions. Region start
times (or sync points) are aligned to the bound-
aries for the defined Grid.
For MIDI regions, all data contained within the
regions (such as notes) are moved equally,
thereby retaining their rhythmic relationships.
To quantize individual MIDI notes, use the
Quantize command in the MIDI menu (see
“Quantize” on page 311).
Shift dialog
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 225
Locking Regions
If you have a region or group of regions that you
want to permanently associate with a particular
location in a track (a beat, SMPTE frame, or sam-
ple location), you can lock it in place so it will
not be accidentally moved.
To lock a region:
1 With the Grabber, select the region or regions
to lock. The regions can even reside on multiple
tracks.
2 Choose Edit > Lock Region/Unlock Region.
A small lock appears in the region, indicating it
has been locked and cannot be moved. If you at-
tempt to perform edits that would move a
locked region, Pro Tools alerts you.
In Shuffle mode, locked regions, and all regions
occurring after the locked region, are not dis-
placed when other neighboring regions are
moved. If there is not enough room to place or
duplicate a region in front of a locked region,
the insertion area is disabled.
Muting/Unmuting Regions
Choosing the Mute/Unmute Region command
mutes playback of a selected region. Choosing
the command a second time unmutes the re-
gion. Regions that are muted become dimmed
to indicate their status.
To mute a region or regions:
1 With the Grabber, select the region or regions
you want to mute. The regions can even reside
on multiple tracks.
2 Choose Edit > Mute/Unmute Region. The se-
lected regions become dimmed, indicating they
are muted.
To unmute a region, select it and choose Edit >
Mute/Unmute Region.
Edit Commands
Cut, Copy, Clear, and Paste
Use the Cut, Copy and Paste commands to rear-
range and edit track material. Edits can operate
on entire regions selected with the Grabber, or
on track ranges selected with the Selector. Edits
can also work across multiple tracks (see “Edit-
ing across Multiple Tracks” on page 228).
Locked audio region
Locking a region prevents it from being
moved only—operations such as recording
and automation editing still affect it.
Muted audio region (middle)
For TDM systems, you can cut, copy, and
paste discontiguous regions selected with
the Object Grabber.
Pro Tools Reference Guide226
When cutting or copying track material, the
track’s Display Format determines the type of
data placed on the Clipboard. When displaying
waveforms for audio tracks, or notes or regions
for MIDI tracks, selections include all underly-
ing automation and controller data. Thus, cut-
ting an audio region also cuts any volume, pan,
mute, send, or plug-in automation that is also
on the track. This saves you from having to in-
dividually cut from each automation playlist on
the track.
However, when selecting groups of MIDI notes
with the Grabber (by drawing a rectangle
around them), only the note data is placed on
the Clipboard. When selecting a time range of
MIDI notes with the Selector, all controller data
in the track is selected (similar to selecting with
the Selector for audio tracks in Waveform view).
When a track is displaying automation data or
controller data, only that data is placed on the
Clipboard. Also, whenever you cut or copy auto-
mation data, bounding breakpoints are created
at each end of the selected area, in order to pre-
serve the slope of the automation both inside
and outside the selection.
If tracks are grouped, copying and pasting on
any of the tracks affects each of the other tracks
in the group. Tracks that are hidden—even if
they are part of a group being edited—are not af-
fected by edits.
The current Edit mode affects how material is se-
lected, copied, and pasted:
• In Slip mode, the Cut command leaves an
empty space corresponding to the data re-
moved from the track.
• In Shuffle mode, the Cut command leaves no
empty space, since the regions to the right of
the cut slide over, closing the gap.
• In Slip mode, pasted data can overlap an adja-
cent region.
• In Shuffle mode, pasted data causes all regions
to slide over to make room for the pasted ma-
terial.
New regions are often auto-created when per-
forming edits. For instance, when clearing a se-
lection from a region, new regions are auto-cre-
ated from the material residing outside of the
selection.
Clear Command
Use the Clear command to remove a selection
from a track without placing it on the Clip-
board.
To clear a selection or region:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
2 Set the Display Format for the tracks you want
to edit.
Audio waveform data
Automation data (breakpoint-type data)
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 227
When displaying waveforms for audio tracks, or
notes or regions for MIDI tracks, selections in-
clude underlying automation and controller
data. If the track is displaying automation data,
only the automation data is affected by the ed-
its.
3 Drag with the Selector in the track to select
the material you want to clear.
– or –
Use the Grabber to select one or more regions
(or a group of MIDI notes).
4 Choose Edit > Clear to remove the selection.
If a portion of a region was cleared, new regions
are auto-created from the material residing out-
side of the selection. If working in Shuffle mode,
adjacent regions are slid over, as necessary, to
fill the blank space.
Cut and Copy Commands
Use the Copy command to place a selection on
the Clipboard so it can be pasted to another
track, or to the same track at a different location.
Use the Cut command to place the selection on
the Clipboard while also removing it from the
track.
To cut or copy a selection or region:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
2 Set the Display Format for the tracks you want
to edit.
When displaying waveforms for audio tracks, or
notes or regions for MIDI tracks, selections in-
clude underlying automation and controller
data. If the track is displaying automation data,
only the automation data is affected by the ed-
its.
3 Drag with the Selector in the track to select
the material you want to cut or copy.
– or –
Use the Grabber to select one or more regions
(or a group of MIDI notes).
4 Choose Edit > Cut to remove the selection and
place it on the Clipboard.
– or –
Choose Edit > Copy to place the selection on the
Clipboard, without removing it.
If a portion of a region was cut or copied, the
material on the Clipboard appears as a new re-
gion in the Regions List. If a portion of a region
was cut, new regions are auto-created from the
material residing outside of the selection.
When working in Shuffle mode, adjacent re-
gions are slid over, as necessary, to fill blank
spaces.
Deleting Underlying Region Data
In Slip mode, Regions can be placed so that they
overlap or completely cover other regions.
When removing a region or selection, you can
also remove the underlying region data.
To delete a region or selection along with the
underlying region data:
■Choose Edit > Cut.
To delete a region or selection without removing
the underlying region data:
■Choose Edit > Clear.
Pro Tools Reference Guide228
Paste Command
Use the Paste command to place the Clipboard’s
contents at the Edit insertion point, overwriting
existing material already there.
To paste a selection or region:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the insertion point or selection to the cur-
rent Grid value.
2 With the Selector, click in a track at the point
where you want to paste the material. Press Tab
to move the insertion point forward to region
start and end times—to move back, press Op-
tion+Tab (Macintosh) or Control+Tab (Win-
dows).
– or –
Use the Selector or Grabber to make a selection
where the material will be placed.
3 Choose Copy > Paste.
If pasting at an insertion point in Shuffle mode,
material to the right of the paste point is shifted
to the right. In Slip mode, the material is over-
written with the paste.
If pasting into a selection in Shuffle mode, the
selection is replaced by the Clipboard’s contents
with the adjacent material slid left or right as
necessary. In Slip mode, the selection is also re-
placed but with the surrounding material re-
maining unchanged.
Copying and Pasting Automation
The following are two special functions for
copying and pasting automation data.
◆To copy all automation playlists for a track,
press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key (Win-
dows) when copying from any of the track’s au-
tomation playlists. This special function also
works across multiple tracks.
◆To paste from one type of automation playlist
to another similar playlist (for instance, from a
volume playlist to a send level playlist), press
Control (Macintosh) or the Start key (Windows)
when pasting.
For more information on working with automa-
tion data, see Chapter 28, “Automation.”
Editing across Multiple Tracks
When working with data from multiple tracks,
there are some important points to remember.
When working with MIDI, you can merge
the contents of the Clipboard with material
in the destination track. For details, see
“Merge Paste Command” on page 231.
For TDM systems, the Fill Paste command
can be used to fill a selection with the con-
tents of the Clipboard. For details, see “Re-
peat Paste To Fill Selection” on page 237.
Tracks displayed in different data formats
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 229
For instance, if any of the selected tracks are set
to display audio or MIDI regions (or MIDI
notes), edits affect not only MIDI and audio for
the selected tracks, but all automation and con-
troller data as well.
If all selected tracks are displayed as automation
data, edits only affect the type of automation
data displayed in each track. Thus, if track 1 dis-
plays Pan automation, track 2 displays Volume
automation, and track 3 displays Mute automa-
tion, the Cut command cuts only pan data from
track 1, volume data from track 2, and mute
data from track 3.
When copying only automation or controller
data for selected tracks, press Control (Macin-
tosh) or the Start key (Windows) to copy all
types of automation on all selected tracks.
To paste to multiple tracks, place the insertion
point in each of the destination tracks by Shift-
clicking in them—or to select all tracks, Option-
Shift-click (Macintosh) or Alt-Shift-click (Win-
dows) in a track, or make a selection in one of
the Timebase Rulers.
When you paste multiple types of data, what-
ever data has been copied is pasted into the cor-
rect type of playlist. Automation data is pasted
into the appropriate automation playlist (pan,
volume, mute and so on). Audio/MIDI data is
pasted into the audio/MIDI playlist. You don’t
need to set target tracks to the specific type of
data being pasted for the paste to work correctly.
If all destination tracks in a multitrack paste are
displayed as automation, the paste replaces any
previous data on the target track without shuf-
fling—regardless of whether you are in Slip or
Shuffle mode.
Duplicate Command
The Duplicate command copies a selection and
places it immediately after the end of the selec-
tion. Though this is similar to using Copy and
Paste, Duplicate is more convenient and faster,
particularly when working with data on multi-
ple tracks.
To make more than one copy of a selection, use
the Repeat command (see “Repeat Command”
on page 230).
As with the Copy and Paste commands, certain
rules apply when duplicating material on multi-
ple tracks. For details, see “Editing across Multi-
ple Tracks” on page 228.
To duplicate a selection or region:
1 If working with material that is bar- and beat-
based, such as loops, set the Main Time Scale to
Bars:Beats.
2 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
3 Drag with the Selector in the track to select
the material you want to duplicate.
– or –
Click in the track and enter the start and end
points for the selection in the Event Edit area.
4 Choose Edit > Duplicate. The material is
placed immediately after the selection’s end
point.
For details on selecting data on multiple
tracks, see “Selecting Across Multiple
Tracks” on page 201.
The Duplicate command does not operate
on conductor events.
Pro Tools Reference Guide230
In Shuffle mode, the duplicated data is placed
directly after the end of the selection. Regions
occurring after it are slid to accommodate the
duplicated material. In Slip mode, the dupli-
cated material overlaps any adjacent data.
When using Duplicate or Repeat with MIDI
notes that were selected with the Grabber, mate-
rial is always duplicated one measure later, and
is merged with existing track material (instead
of replacing).
Duplicating Audio
When using Duplicate or Repeat for audio that
must fall cleanly on the beat (for loops), it is im-
portant that you select the audio material with
the Selector, or by typing in the start and end
points in the Event Edit area. If you select an au-
dio region with the Grabber (or by double-click-
ing it with the Selector), the material may drift
by several ticks because of sample-rounding.
If, on the other hand, you want to Duplicate or
Repeat audio that is not bar- and beat-based, set
the Time Scale to any format except Bars:Beats.
This ensures that the duplicated audio material
will have the correct number of samples and will
be placed accordingly.
Repeat Command
The Repeat command is similar to Duplicate,
but allows you to specify the number of times
the selected material is duplicated.
As with the Copy and Paste commands, certain
rules apply when repeating material on multiple
tracks. For details, see “Editing across Multiple
Tracks” on page 228.
To repeat a selection or region:
1 If working with material that is bar- and beat-
based, such as loops, set the Main Time Scale to
Bars:Beats.
2 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
3 Drag with the Selector in the track to select
the material you want to repeat.
– or –
Click in the track and enter the start and end
points for the selection in the Event Edit area.
4 Choose Edit > Repeat. In the Repeat dialog,
enter the number of times you want the mate-
rial to repeat, then click OK.
The material is placed immediately after the se-
lection’s end point, and duplicated by the num-
ber of times specified.
In Shuffle mode, the repeated data is placed di-
rectly after the end of the selection. Regions oc-
curring after it are slid to accommodate the re-
peated material. In Slip mode, the repeated
material overlaps any adjacent data.
The Repeat command does not operate on
conductor events.
Repeat dialog
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 231
Merge Paste Command
(MIDI Only)
Use the Merge Paste command to merge MIDI
notes from the Clipboard with material already
residing in the paste destination. To replace
track material, use the Paste command instead.
To merge MIDI data:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
2 Drag with the Selector in the track to select
the MIDI notes you want to merge.
– or –
Use the Grabber to select one or more MIDI re-
gions (or a group of MIDI notes).
3 Choose Edit > Cut to remove the selection and
place it on the Clipboard.
– or –
Choose Edit > Copy to place the selection on the
Clipboard without removing it.
4 With the Selector, click in a MIDI track at the
point where you want to merge the material.
5 Choose Edit > Merge Paste. The Clipboard’s
contents are pasted at the insertion point, with-
out removing the existing material already re-
siding there.
If any portion of the material is pasted outside
of existing regions, a new region is created for
the data.
Editing Stereo and Multi-
Channel Tracks
Regions on individual channels within stereo
and multi-channel tracks cannot be indepen-
dently selected. All selections for these tracks are
time based, which means that selections made
with the Selector and Grabber extend to each
channel in the track.
When regions in multi-channel tracks are edited
with the Trimmer or dragged with the Grabber,
material on all channels is affected equally as a
group.
Split Selected Tracks
To edit a specific channel within a stereo or
multi-channel track without affecting the other
channels, you can split the track into separate
mono tracks. Once the desired edits have been
made to the separated material, you can then
drag or copy it back to the original multi-chan-
nel track.
To split a stereo or multi-channel track:
1 Select the track you want to split by clicking
its name in the Edit or Mix window. To split
multiple tracks, Shift-click additional tracks.
2 Choose File > Split Selected Tracks Into Mono.
Regions from the channels on the selected
tracks are placed on new, mono audio tracks.
Names for the new tracks are based on the
source track name and channel suffix. For exam-
ple, if a stereo track called “Funkit” is split, two
new tracks called “Funkit.L” and “Funkit.R” are
created.
Pro Tools Reference Guide232
Output and send assignments and volume and
pan settings are retained in the new tracks.
Mono equivalents of stereo and multi-mono
plug-in assignments are assigned in the new
tracks; multi-channel plug-in assignments are
not assigned in the new tracks.
Dragging Regions to and from Stereo
and Multi-Channel Tracks
When dragging regions to or from stereo or
multi-channel tracks, the following rules apply:
◆Provided the number of tracks and channels
are the same for the source and destination, you
can drag regions between multi-channel tracks
and mono tracks.
◆The source and destination for dragged re-
gions can be mixed. For example, you can drag
regions from a 5.0 track (containing five chan-
nels) to a stereo track and three mono audio
tracks.
◆When dragging multi-channel regions to
mono tracks, the destination tracks must be ad-
jacent.
◆When dragging regions from mono tracks to a
multi-channel track, the source tracks need not
by adjacent.
Multi-channel regions can also be dragged from
the Audio Regions List, to multi-channel tracks
of the same format, groups of mono audio
tracks, or a combination of both.
Conversely, a collection of single, mono regions
can be dragged from the Audio Regions List to
multi-channel tracks—provided the dragged
number of regions matches the number of chan-
nels in the destination track.
Processing Audio with
AudioSuite Plug-Ins
The AudioSuite plug-ins included with your
Pro Tools system can be used to process and
modify an audio region or entire audio file. You
may do this in order to apply a specific Audio-
Suite process, such as Normalization or DC Off-
set Removal, that you know you will always
want applied to the audio.
Waveform Repair with the
Pencil Tool
The Pencil tool allows you to destructively “re-
draw” waveform data. This tool is most com-
monly used to repair a pop or click in an audio
file. A pop or click appears as a sudden sharp
spike in a waveform. This tool only becomes ac-
tive when the Edit window is zoomed in to the
sample level.
Dragging a stereo region to two mono audio tracks
Refer to the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide for
more information about AudioSuite plug-
ins.
The Pencil tool is a destructive editing tool
that permanently modifies the audio file on
disk and should be used with caution.
Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 233
Before using the Pencil tool, it is recommended
that you create a backup copy of the target au-
dio. You can do this by using the AudioSuite Du-
plicate plug-in.
To make a backup copy of an audio region:
1 Select the source region in the track’s playlist.
2 Choose AudioSuite > Duplicate.
3 In the AudioSuite dialog, make sure that
“Playlist” is the processing preference, and that
Use In Playlist is selected.
4 Click the Process button.
The AudioSuite Duplicate plug-in creates a new
audio file that is a duplicate of the original. The
duplicate replaces the original on the track, and
it is automatically named with the region name
and the suffix “DUPL.”
To destructively edit an audio waveform with the
Pencil tool:
1 Locate the area you want to edit. Adjust the
Track Height, as necessary, to edit the waveform
with greater precision.
2 Using the Zoomer tool or the Vertical Zoom
buttons, zoom down to the sample level so the
waveform appears as a continuous thin line.
3 Select the Pencil tool.
4 Carefully draw with the Pencil by dragging
over the desired area of the waveform.
Don’t over-edit or the results may be undesir-
able. You can use the Undo command to undo
your previous edit.
Try to limit editing to smoothing over a very
small problem area, and keep the “fixes” in
character with the shape of the surrounding
wave.
You can recall zoom levels with the Zoom
Preset buttons (see “Zoom Preset Buttons”
on page 182), or with Memory Locations
(see “Memory Locations and Markers” on
page 270).
Pencil tool
Repairing a “pop” with the Pencil tool
Pro Tools Reference Guide234
Chapter 18: Advanced Editing 235
Chapter 18: Advanced Editing
Replacing Regions
(TDM Systems Only)
You can use the Replace Region function to re-
place multiple instances of a region in a playlist
with another region that you Command-drag
(Macintosh) or Control-drag (Windows) from
the Regions List.
This is useful in post-production if you use a
sound effect, room noise, or atmosphere region
many times in a session, and later decide to re-
place one or all of the original regions with a dif-
ferent region.
This is also useful in music production if you
want to replace a certain loop or sample (for ex-
ample, a drum beat) with a new one. You can
use this compositionally, if you know the tempo
of a section or session, to create a scratch piece
with “rough” regions of the correct length, and
later replace them with “final” regions of the
same length.
The following options are available in the Re-
place Region dialog:
Replace Original Region Replaces only the se-
lected region with the replacement region
dragged from the Regions List.
Replace All Regions That Match Original Re-
places all regions that fit the Match criteria and
the Find Match On criteria with the replace-
ment region from the Regions List.
Replace Region dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide236
Match: Start Position Replaces all regions that
have the same original start time as the selected
region. This includes regions that may have
been auto-created when trimming end points.
Match: End Position Replaces all regions that
have the same original end time as the selected
region. This includes regions that may have
been auto-created when trimming start points.
Match: Region Name Replaces all regions that
have the same name as the selected region.
Region matching uses all specified Match crite-
ria. For example, if you select Start Position and
End Position, all regions from the same original
audio file as your selection with the same origi-
nal start and end times will be replaced.
Find Match On: Target Track Replaces regions
that fit the Match criteria and are on the same
track as the original region.
Find Match On: All Tracks Replaces regions that
fit the Match criteria for all tracks in the session.
Fit to: Original Region Length If the replacement
region is smaller than the original region, the re-
gion is placed in the playlist and any remaining
audio from the original region is removed.
If the replacement region is larger than the se-
lection, it is placed in the playlist and trimmed
to fit within the length of the original region.
Fit to: Original Selection Length When the playl-
ist selection extends beyond the original region,
the replacement region (if larger than the origi-
nal region) is trimmed to fit within the selec-
tion.
Fit to: Replacement Region Length The replace-
ment region is placed in its entirety, regardless
of the length of the original region or selection.
The Replace Region function only works on a se-
lection that includes a single region on one
track. The function is not available when the
playlist selection includes the start points for
two or more regions. Also, if the selection is
across several tracks, only the selection in the
first (top) track is used.
To replace regions:
1 Select a region in a track’s playlist that you
want to replace. If desired, the selection can ex-
tend beyond the region’s end point, to include
material from the replacement region that is
longer than the original region.
2 Command-drag (Macintosh) or Control-drag
(Windows) the replacement region from the Re-
gions List to the selected region. The Replace Re-
gion dialog opens.
3 If you only want to replace only the original
region, select Replace Original Region.
– or –
If you want to replace multiple regions, select
Replace All Regions That Match Original, and
set the Match criteria.
4 Select whether to apply the replacement to all
tracks, or only to the track with the current se-
lection.
5 Select whether to fit the replacement regions
to the current selection, the entire region, or the
entire replacement region regardless of the des-
tination length.
6 When you have set all the options, click OK.
Chapter 18: Advanced Editing 237
Replace Region and Multi-Channel
Tracks
The Replace Region command supports drag-
ging multi-channel regions from the Audio Re-
gions List to multi-channel tracks, provided
they are the same format.
For example, you can replace a stereo region, se-
lected in a stereo audio track, with another ste-
reo region from the Audio Regions List. But you
cannot replace it with two mono audio regions.
In addition, replacing regions in multiple mono
tracks with multi-channel regions is not sup-
ported.
Repeat Paste To Fill Selection
(TDM Systems Only)
The Repeat Paste To Fill Selection command al-
lows you to automatically fill a selection with
audio or MIDI data without requiring you to du-
plicate the regions manually. To use Repeat
Paste, copy an audio or MIDI region, then make
a selection and use the command to fill the se-
lection. When pasting audio regions, you are
prompted to specify a crossfade to be used for
the pasted regions.
If you fill an area that is an exact multiple of the
copied region size (for example, filling 16 bars
with a 4-bar loop), the copied selection is pasted
in exactly as many times as it takes to fill the se-
lection. If you fill an area that is not an exact
multiple of the copied region size (for example,
filling 15 seconds of a track with a 2 second at-
mosphere or room noise region), the remaining
selection area is filled with an automatically
trimmed version of the original selection.
To fill a selection with Fill Paste:
1 Select the audio or MIDI region you want to
copy and choose Edit > Copy.
2 Select the area you want to fill using the Selec-
tor and choose Edit > Repeat Paste To Fill Selec-
tion.
3 If pasting audio regions, the Batch Fades dia-
log opens. Configure the dialog as desired to in-
sert crossfades between each pasted region, then
click OK.
– or –
If you do not want crossfades for the pasted au-
dio, click Cancel in the Batch Fades dialog.
Compress/Expand Edit To
Play
(TDM Systems Only)
When the Edit and Timeline selections are un-
linked, you can compress or expand an audio se-
lection to fit the Timeline selection. This feature
works by using the Time Compression/Expan-
sion plug-in to expand or compress the selected
audio material.
To fit an Edit selection to the Timeline:
1 Deselect Operations > Link Edit and Timeline
Selection.
2 With the Selector, select the audio material to
be compressed or expanded.
3 In any Timebase Ruler, select the time range
where you want to fit the audio material.
4 Choose Edit > Compress/Expand Edit To Play.
The Edit selection is compressed or expanded to
the length of the Timeline selection.
Pro Tools Reference Guide238
Compress/Expand Edit to Play on
Multiple Tracks and Channels
The Compress/Expand Edit Play command can
be used on multi-channel selections, and selec-
tions across multiple tracks,
However, all regions are compressed or ex-
panded equally by the same percentage value,
based on Edit selection range. This ensures that
the rhythmic relationship between the different
channels or tracks is retained.
Fitting an Audio Region to an Edit
Selection
Regions can be dragged from the Audio Regions
List to fit within an Edit selection. The dragged
region is compressed or expanded to fit within
the selection. This feature uses the Time Com-
pression/Expansion plug-in to expand or com-
press the audio region.
To fit an audio region to an Edit selection:
1 With the Selector, select the desired time
range in an audio track.
2 Command-Option-drag (Macintosh) or Con-
trol-Alt-drag (Windows) the region from the Au-
dio Regions List to the track with the selection.
The start of the region is positioned at the selec-
tion start, and the region is compressed or ex-
panded to match the length of the selection.
Fit to Selection on Multiple Tracks and
Channels
The Fit to Selection command supports drag-
ging multiple regions from the Audio Regions
List to multiple tracks, or multi-channel tracks.
However, all dragged regions are compressed or
expanded equally by the same percentage value,
based on length of the region last clicked before
dragging.
The Time Trimmer
(TDM Systems Only)
The Time Trimmer is a convenient tool for
matching an audio region to the length of an-
other region, a tempo grid, a video scene, or to
practically any other reference point you want.
The Time Trimmer works by using the Time
Compression/Expansion AudioSuite plug-in to
create a new audio file. You use the Time Trim-
mer by dragging the region’s start or end point
to expand or compress the region.
Time Compression/Expansion Plug-In
Preferences
You can select settings for the Time Compres-
sion/Expansion AudioSuite plug-in by choosing
from the pop-up list in the Processing Prefer-
ences, under “Default TC/E Settings.” The set-
tings available are presets included with
Pro Tools; in addition, if you save your own pre-
sets for the Time Compression/Expansion plug-
in, they will also appear here.
Time Trimmer over a region
Refer to the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide for
more information about AudioSuite plug-
ins.
Chapter 18: Advanced Editing 239
Using the Time Trimmer in Grid Mode
The Time Trimmer can be used in Grid Mode to
match a region to the tempo of a session or a
section of a session. For example, you might im-
port a one-bar drum loop with a tempo of 90
BPM into a session with a tempo of 120 BPM. In
Grid Mode, you can use the Time Trimmer to
simply and quickly “compress” the drum loop
to the length of one measure, with minimal loss
of audio fidelity.
To use the Time Trimmer in Grid Mode:
1 Set the Edit mode to Grid.
2 Select “TCE Trimmer” from the Trimmer pop-
up menu.
3 With the Time Trimmer, drag the region’s start
or end point to compress or expand the region
to the grid (for example, by quarter notes). The
region is automatically processed using the
Time Compression/Expansion AudioSuite plug-
in. The new region appears in the playlist and in
the Regions List.
Using the Time Trimmer in Slip Mode
To use the Time Trimmer in Slip Mode:
1 Set the Edit mode to Slip.
2 Select “TCE Trimmer” from the Trimmer pop-
up menu.
3 With the Time Trimmer, drag the region’s start
or end point to compress or expand the region
freely. A new region is automatically processed
using the Time Compression/Expansion Audio-
Suite plug-in. The new region appears in the
playlist and in the Regions List.
Using the Time Trimmer in Spot Mode
In Spot Mode, clicking with the Time trimmer in
a region opens the Spot Dialog. You can specify
the location you want the region to start or end
at, or the duration of the region, and the region
is automatically compressed or expanded as
specified.
To use the Time Trimmer in Spot Mode:
1 Set the Edit mode to Spot.
2 Select “TCE Trimmer” from the Trimmer pop-
up menu.
3 Click the region near its start or end point.
The Spot Dialog opens. Using any Time Scale,
enter a new start or end time (or duration) for
the region, then click OK. A new region is auto-
matically processed using the Time Compres-
sion/Expansion AudioSuite plug-in. The new
region appears in the playlist and in the Regions
List.
Trimmer set to TCE
Pro Tools Reference Guide240
Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 241
Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades
Using Crossfades
You can quickly and easily crossfade between
two adjacent audio regions. Crossfading is the
process of fading two regions of audio to pre-
vent pops, clicks, or sudden changes in sound.
Crossfades have many applications, from
smoothing transitions between regions to creat-
ing special audio effects. The crossfade duration,
position, and shape are all user-definable.
Crossfades are computed and written to disk.
Crossfades that are written to disk are stored in a
folder named “Fade Files” within the session
folder. When you play back your track,
Pro Tools reads and plays back the crossfade file
from disk.
About Crossfades and Curves
To create a crossfade between two regions, use
the Selector to select across the end point of the
first region and the start point of the second.
The length of the selection determines the
length of the crossfade. Though fades may ap-
pear to be discrete regions, they cannot actually
be separated from the regions in which they
were created. You can, however, create fade-ins
and fade-outs for individual regions (see “Creat-
ing Fades at the Beginnings and Ends of Re-
gions” on page 249).
You can use the Fades dialog to select, view, and
manipulate the curves used to perform the
crossfade. Different volume curves can be as-
signed to the fade-out and fade-in portions of
crossfades. The Fades dialog can also render a
preview of the fade.
The following examples illustrate common
crossfade types, and explain how the type of se-
lection you make determines the character of
the crossfade.
NOTE: Since crossfades are created by fading be-
tween overlapping audio material, a crossfade can-
not be performed on regions that do not contain au-
dio material beyond their region boundaries.
Pro Tools 24 and MIX systems include an
Auto Fade feature that provides real-time
fades without processing them to disk. See
“Using AutoFades” on page 250.
Pro Tools Reference Guide242
Standard Crossfade (“Centered”)
This type of selection creates a crossfade on both
sides of the splice point, which affects the vol-
ume of region 1 and region 2. It is the most
common type of crossfade.
This crossfade type requires that region 1 con-
tain audio material beyond its end point, and
region 2 contain audio material before its start
point.
Pre Crossfade
This type of selection creates a crossfade before
the splice point. This lets you maintain the vol-
ume of the very beginning of region 2 instead of
fading across it, which is useful if there is a
strong attack at the beginning of region 2 that
you want to preserve. When making selections
for crossfades that occur on the border of two re-
gions, you can use the Tab key to move the cur-
sor to the exact beginning or end of a region.
This crossfade type requires that region 2 con-
tain audio material before its start point.
Post Crossfade
This type of selection creates a crossfade after
the splice point. It is useful if you want to main-
tain the amplitude of region 1 until its very end.
When making selections for crossfades that oc-
cur on the border of two regions, you can use
the Tab key to move the cursor to the exact be-
ginning or end of a region.
This crossfade type requires that region 1 con-
tain audio material beyond its end point.
The Fades Dialog
When choosing the Fades command you can
use the Fades dialog to select, view, and preview
the crossfade, and to edit the curves used to per-
form the crossfade.
The controls in the Fades dialog include:
‘Centered’ crossfade
‘Pre’ crossfade
region 1
fade out
curve fade in
curve region 2
splice point
crossfade selection
region 1 region 2
border of region 1 and 2
selection range extends just up to beginning of region 2
‘Post’ crossfade
Fades dialog
region 1 region 2
border of region 1 and 2
selection range begins just after end of region 1
Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 243
Audition
Click this button to audition your crossfade.
Pro Tools plays the audio in one of two ways,
depending on your system:
◆Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 systems al-
low crossfade auditioning directly from your au-
dio interface outputs.
◆All other Pro Tools systems use Apple’s Sound
Manager to audition crossfades. Use the Digide-
sign Sound Drivers (automatically installed with
Pro Tools) to audition via your audio interface
outputs. Use the Macintosh Sound Control
Panel to set the Output choice to Digidesign
Sound Drivers. (If you do not use the Sound
Drivers, you will hear crossfades through the
Macintosh’s audio output.)
View First Track
If you are fading between more than one track,
this button allows you to view and preview the
audio of the first pair of adjacent tracks.
View Second Track
If you are fading between more than one track
this button allows you to view and preview the
audio of the second pair of adjacent tracks.
View Both Tracks
Click this button to display the waveforms of
the first two adjacent tracks in a multitrack fade.
Fade Curves Only
Click this button to display the specified fade
curves without showing the actual audio wave-
forms. This is the default view when you open
the Fades dialog.
Fade Curves and Separate Waveforms
Click this button to display the specified fade
curves along with separate views of the fade-in
and fade-out waveforms.
Fade Curves and Superimposed Waveforms
Click this button to display the specified fade
curves along with superimposed views of the
fade-in and fade-out waveforms.
Fade Curves and Summed Waveform
Click this button to display the specified fade
curves along with a single waveform represent-
ing the summation of the crossfaded audio.
Zoom In
Click this button to scale the view of the wave-
form’s amplitude upwards. Command-click
(Macintosh) or Control-click (Windows) for the
default view scale.
Pro Tools Reference Guide244
Zoom Out
Click this button to scale the view of the wave-
form’s amplitude downwards. Command-click
(Macintosh) or Control-click (Windows) for the
default view scale.
Fade Out Shape Parameter
The Out Shape parameter allows you to choose
the shape of the fade-out from region 1.
Standard Selects a single continuous fade curve.
This creates a general-purpose fade that can be
edited by dragging the curve itself.
S-Curve Selects an S-shaped curve, which inverts
its beginning and end characteristics. This
makes it possible to fade in faster at the curve’s
start and slower at its end, for example. S-shaped
curves can be useful with material that is diffi-
cult to crossfade effectively. S-curves can be ed-
ited by dragging the curve in the curve editor.
Preset Curves Seven commonly used preset
curves are provided for fast crossfade creation.
These can be edited by dragging the end points
of the curve in the curve editor portion of this
dialog. The seven presets are as follows:
◆Preset Curve 1 keeps region 1 at full volume
throughout the crossfade, then immediately
drops the volume at the end of the crossfade.
◆Preset Curve 2 fades out region 1 relatively
slowly, keeping the volume fairly high through-
out the duration of the fade.
◆Preset Curve 3 fades out region 1 slightly
faster, keeping the volume slightly lower during
the fade.
◆Preset Curve 4 fades out region 1 with a linear
fade. This is the default curve.
◆Preset Curve 5 fades out region 1 quickly at
the beginning of the crossfade.
◆Preset Curve 6 drops the volume of region 1
even more quickly at the beginning of the cross-
fade.
Fade Out Shape
Preset Curve 1
Preset Curve 2
Preset Curve 3
Preset Curve 4
Preset Curve 5
Preset Curve 6
Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 245
◆Preset Curve 7 silences region 1 at the begin-
ning of the crossfade.
Link Parameters
The Link parameter links the selected fade-out
and fade-in curves. If you adjust one curve, the
corresponding curve also adjusts. This ensures
that the resulting crossfade is an equal power or
equal gain crossfade, depending on which you
select.
Equal Power Recommended for material that is
not phase coherent, as in the case of a crossfade
between two completely different types of mate-
rial. Use this option to avoid the volume drop
that can occur with an Equal Gain crossfade.
With this fade, you can Option-click (Macin-
tosh) or Alt-click (Windows) the fade curve to
reset it to its default shape.
Equal Gain Recommended for material that is
phase-coherent or nearly phase-coherent, as in
the case of a crossfade between identical re-
gions/instruments (a repeated drum loop, for
example). Use this option to avoid clipping that
can occur when using an Equal Power crossfade.
With this fade, you can Option-click (Macin-
tosh) or Alt-click (Windows) the fade curve to
reset it to its default shape.
None Disables linking between the fade-out and
fade-in curves, and lets you freely adjust them
separately, including start and end points. This
option also allows you to create custom cross-
fade shapes. To edit only the fade-in portion of
the curve, press Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows) while dragging. To edit only the
fade-out portion of the curve, press Command
(Macintosh) or Control (Windows) while drag-
ging.
Use Dither
The Use Dither option turns on a preset, noise-
shaped dither function that improves audio per-
formance when mixing or fading low-level au-
dio signals. Use this option for fading in or fad-
ing out silence, and crossfading between low
amplitude regions. Dithering is usually not nec-
essary when fading between two regions of high
amplitude. You can disable Dither while editing
your crossfades in the Fades dialog to speed up
previews and fade recalculation, then re-enable
Dither to create the final crossfade.
Preset Curve 7
Fade Link
Adjusting the end point of a fade curve
Dither option for Fade
Pro Tools Reference Guide246
Fade In Shape Parameters
The In Shape parameter allows you to choose
the shape of the fade-in to region 2.
Standard Selects a single continuous fade curve.
This creates a general-purpose fade that can be
edited by dragging the curve itself.
S-Curve Selects an S-shaped curve, which inverts
its beginning and end characteristics. This
makes it possible to fade in faster at the start of
the curve, and slower at the end. S-shaped
curves are useful with material that is difficult to
crossfade effectively. S-curves can be edited by
dragging the curve in the curve editor.
Preset Curves Seven commonly used preset
curves are provided for fast crossfade creation.
These can be edited by dragging the end points
of the curve in the curve editor portion of this
dialog. The seven presets are as follows:
◆Preset Curve 1 fades in region 2 at full volume
immediately at the beginning of the crossfade
and keeps it there throughout the crossfade.
◆Preset Curve 2 fades in region 2 quickly in the
beginning, reaching full amplitude fairly early
in the crossfade.
◆Preset Curve 3 fades in region 2 moderately
fast.
◆Preset Curve 4 fades in region 2 with a linear
fade curve. This is the default curve.
◆Preset Curve 5 fades in region 2 slowly at the
beginning of the crossfade.
◆Preset Curve 6 fades in region 2 even more
slowly than the previous curve.
◆Preset Curve 7 silences region 2 until the end
of the crossfade.
Fade In Shape
Preset Curve 1
Preset Curve 2
Preset Curve 3
Preset Curve 4
Preset Curve 5
Preset Curve 6
Preset Curve 7
Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 247
Typical Curve Combinations
Following are the available combinations of
fade-out and fade-in curves.
Linear Crossfade This is a good general purpose
crossfade with a smooth, even transition be-
tween region 1 and region 2.
Equal Power Crossfade This is a good general
purpose crossfade useful in cases where a linear
crossfade seems to create a noticeable drop in
volume across the splice point.
Overlap Fade This combination of curves keeps
both regions at full amplitude throughout the
crossfade: region 2 “jumps in” at the beginning
and region 1 “jumps out” at the end.
Fade and Crossfade Preferences
(TDM Systems Only)
You can set default fade and crossfade settings.
These settings load as your “base” settings when
you use the Create Fades command, and the
Fade to Start and Fade to End commands.
To set the crossfade preferences:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Editing.
2 Set the Pre-Roll and Post-Roll times for Fade
previews.
3 Click Fade In and set the default shape for
fade-ins, then click OK.
4 Click Fade Out and set the default shape for
fade-outs, then click OK.
5 Click Crossfade and set the default shape for
crossfades, then click OK.
6 Click Done.
Linear Crossfade
Equal Power Crossfade
Overlap Crossfade
1-out 2-in
1-out 2-in
1-out
2-in
Fade and Crossfade Preferences
Pro Tools Reference Guide248
Creating a Crossfade
To create a crossfade between two regions:
1 With the Selector, click at the point where you
want the crossfade to begin in the first region
and drag to where you want it to end in the sec-
ond region. Crossfade selections can begin and
end anywhere in their respective regions.
2 Choose Edit > Fades > Create Fades.
3 Use the view buttons to adjust the view of the
crossfade. It may take a few moments to calcu-
late the waveform display for long selections.
4 Select an Out Shape and an In Shape.
5 Choose a Linking option.
6 Click the Audition button, or play the session,
to hear the crossfade. For long crossfades, it may
take Pro Tools a few moments to calculate and
load the audio into playback RAM.
7 Adjust the curves by choosing different preset
shapes with the Out Shape and In Shape pop-up
menus.
– or –
Drag the Fade In/Out curves to the desired
shape. By choosing None as the Linking option,
you can drag the beginning or end points of a
fade curve to adjust its beginning or end point.
8 Click the Audition button, or play the session,
to hear the crossfade again.
9 When the crossfade is right, click OK. The fade
is calculated and written to disk, but the audio
files and regions remain unchanged. Crossfades
are stored in the Fades Folder within the session
folder.
To remove a crossfade:
■Select the area of the track containing the
crossfades you want to delete and choose Edit >
Fades > Delete Fades.
– or –
■Select the crossfade with the Grabber and
press Delete (Macintosh) or Backspace (Win-
dows).
To trim a crossfade:
1 Select the crossfade with the Grabber, or dou-
ble-click it with the Selector.
2 With the Trimmer, trim either side of the
crossfade. The crossfade is recalculated to reflect
the newly trimmed length.
Pre/Post Crossfade Selections
By making a selection that begins or ends pre-
cisely on the border of two regions, you can cre-
ate “pre” or “post” crossfades. Use the Tab key to
place the insertion point at the exact beginning
or end of a region.
To create a pre- or post-crossfade:
1 With the Selector, click in the track that con-
tains the regions you want to crossfade.
2 Press Tab to move forward to the next region
boundary. Press Option+Tab (Macintosh) or
Control+Tab (Windows) to move back to the
previous region boundary.
3 Shift-drag to adjust your selection, or press
Shift+Tab to extend the selection forward to the
next region boundary. Press Option+Shift+Tab
(Macintosh) or Control+Shift+Tab (Windows) to
extend the selection back to the previous region
boundary.
4 Choose Edit > Fades > Create Fades.
5 Choose a fade type and click OK.
Crossfade lengths can later be resized with
the Trimmer.
Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 249
Creating Fades at the
Beginnings and Ends of
Regions
In addition to crossfades between regions,
Pro Tools lets you create fade-ins and fade-outs
at the beginnings and ends of regions. On
Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 systems, you
can also use an automatic fade-in/out option,
which applies real time fade-ins/outs to all re-
gions during playback. These fades are not writ-
ten to disk, but automatically applied during
playback.
Creating Fade-Ins/Outs
Depending on how you make the selection, you
can position a fade-in/out at the exact begin-
ning or end of a region, or position it so it ex-
tends into a blank area of the track. The length
of the selection in the region determines the
length of the fade-in/out.
You can also fade to the beginning or end of a
region from an insertion point.
To create a fade-in:
1 Select the beginning of the region that you
want to fade in. The selection must extend to
the exact beginning of the region or a blank area
prior to the region in the track.
2 Choose Edit > Fades > Create Fades. Choose
your fade-in curve and other parameters.
3 Click the Audition button to hear the fade (or
press the Spacebar to start/stop playback).
4 You can adjust the curve by dragging it or by
choosing a different shape with the In Shape
pop-up menu.
5 When you are finished, click OK. Pro Tools
calculates the fade and writes it to disk. The cho-
sen fade curve appears in the region.
To create a fade-out:
1 Select the end of the region that you want to
fade out. The selection must extend to the exact
end of the region or a blank area after the region
in the track.
2 Choose Edit > Fades > Create Fades. Choose
your fade-out curve and other parameters.
3 Click the Audition button to hear the fade (or
press the Spacebar to start/stop playback).
4 You can adjust the curve by dragging it or by
choosing a different shape with the Out Shape
pop-up menu.
5 When you are finished, click OK. Pro Tools
calculates the fade and writes it to disk. The cho-
sen fade curve appears in the region.
Region with a fade-in
Selecting the beginning of a region for a fade-in
Selecting the end of a region for a fade-out
Fade lengths can later be resized with the
Trimmer.
Pro Tools Reference Guide250
To fade from the insertion point to a region start
point:
1 Place the cursor at the desired location in the
region.
2 Choose Edit > Fades > Fade To Start.
3 The fade is applied based on the Fade In Pref-
erences.
To fade from the insertion point to a region end
point:
1 Place the cursor at the desired location in the
region.
2 Choose Edit > Fades > Fade To End.
3 The fade is applied based on the Fade Out Pref-
erences.
Using AutoFades
{Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 Only)
On Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 systems,
you can choose to have Pro Tools automatically
apply real-time fade-ins/outs to all region
boundaries in the session. These fade-ins/outs
are performed during playback and do not ap-
pear in the Edit window, and are not written to
disk.
This automatic fade-in /out option also has an
effect on virtual track switching in a session.
Whenever a lower-priority virtual track “pops
thru” a silence in a higher-priority track on the
same voice, a fade-in and fade-out is applied to
the transition.
This feature is especially useful in post-produc-
tion situations such as dialogue tracking. For ex-
ample, you could assign both a dialogue track
and a “room tone” track with matching back-
ground to the same voice. You could then set
the Auto-Fade option to a moderate length
(4 ms or so) so that whenever a silence occurred
in the dialog, playback would switch smoothly
to and from the background track without clicks
or pops.
Using automatic fade-ins/outs saves you the
trouble of editing to zero-crossings or creating
numerous rendered fades in order to eliminate
clicks or pops in playback. However, since these
autofades are not written to disk, those clicks or
pops still exist in the underlying sound file.
Consequently, those anomalies still appear if
the Duplicate AudioSuite plug-in or the Export
Selected as Sound Files command (from the Au-
dio Regions List) are used to duplicate multiple
regions as a continuous file. To render these
real-time auto fades to disk, choose File >
Bounce to Disk.
To set the length of automatic fade-ins/outs:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Opera-
tion.
2 Enter a value between 0 and 10 ms for the
Auto Region Fade In/Out Length. A value of zero
(the default) means that no auto-fading will oc-
cur.
3 Click Done. The Auto Fade value is saved with
the session, and is automatically applied to all
free-standing region boundaries until you
change it.
Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 251
Creating Fades and
Crossfades in Batches
In “Batch Mode” you can create many fades at
once. You select across several regions and use
the Create Fades command to create crossfades
for each region transition. If your selection in-
cludes regions that already have crossfades, this
feature allows you to modify them.
To create crossfades between multiple regions at
once:
1 With the Selector, click in the first region in
which you want to create a crossfade.
2 Drag to extend the selection to the last region
you want to crossfade. Make sure that the selec-
tion includes the entire region.
3 Choose Edit > Fades > Create Fades.
4 Select whether you want to Create New Fades,
Create New Fade-Ins and Outs, Adjust existing
Fades, or a combination of these options.
If you select to create new fades and new fade-
ins and outs, new crossfades are created at each
region boundary that is bordered by another se-
lected region, a fade-in is created at the start of
the first region, and a fade-out is created at the
end of the last region.
5 Choose the placement of your Fades. You can
choose Pre-Splice, Centered, or Post-Splice.
6 Enter a crossfade length in milliseconds.
7 Click OK. Pro Tools creates the fades for the
selected regions.
Selected regions for batch fades
Batch Fades dialog
Fade lengths can later be resized with the
Trimmer.
Pro Tools Reference Guide252
Chapter 20: Managing Regions 253
Chapter 20: Managing Regions
Stripping Silence from
Regions
The Strip Silence command analyzes audio se-
lections—across multiple regions or multiple
tracks—and removes any areas of silence, divid-
ing the selection into smaller regions and re-
moving the silent areas.
You can use Strip Silence to automatically divide
a track into regions, which is useful if you want
to quantize audio to musical values, or locate
sound effects to SMPTE locations. It is also use-
ful if you want to get rid of silent areas to pre-
pare for compacting audio (see “Compacting an
Audio File” on page 259).
The Strip Silence Window
The Strip Silence window contains the following
four sliders that allow you to set the parameters
by which silence will be defined for this opera-
tion. Adjusting these sliders will cause rectan-
gles to appear in the selection (see Figure 14 on
page 254), indicating areas of silence that will be
removed.
Audio Threshold Sets the amplitude threshold
(from –48 dB to 0) for Strip Silence. Audio fall-
ing below this threshold is considered silence
and removed. Audio above the threshold is re-
tained and defined as new regions.
Minimum Strip Duration Sets the minimum dura-
tion (from 0 to 10,000 ms) that the material be-
low the threshold must last to be considered si-
lence.
Use this parameter to avoid countless small re-
gions that may occur within a selection.
Region Start Pad Specifies a time value to be
added to the beginning of each new region cre-
ated with Strip Silence.
This is useful for preserving musical material
that falls below the threshold, such as the breath
before a vocal phrase, or the finger slide before a
guitar chord.
Region End Pad Specifies a time value to be ap-
pended to the end of each new region created
with Strip Silence, thereby preserving the nu-
ances in the decay of the material.
Strip Silence window
Pro Tools Reference Guide254
Auto-Naming for Strip Silence
The Rename button in the Strip Silence window
opens the following dialog, which determiners
how regions are named with the Strip Silence
command.
Name Specifies the base name for regions cre-
ated with Strip Silence.
Auto Number Start Specifies the number at
which sequential auto-numbering starts.
Leading Zeros Specifies the number of zeroes
that occur before the appended auto numbers.
Suffix Specifies text appended to the end of the
name, after the auto numbering.
For example, if you set the naming parameters
to:
• Name = SFX
• Auto Number Start = 23
• Leading Zeros = 1
• Suffix = .Reel1
The names generated for regions created by Strip
Silence would be:
• SFX023.Reel1
• SFX024.Reel1
• SFX025.Reel1
• SFX026.Reel1
• SFX027.Reel1
• SFX028.Reel1
Using Strip Silence
To strip silence from an audio selection:
1 Select one or more audio regions.
2 To select across multiple tracks, Shift-click in
additional tracks.
3 Choose Windows > Show Strip Silence.
4 To set the naming scheme for regions created
with Strip Silence, click Rename to open the Re-
naming dialog. For details, see “Auto-Naming
for Strip Silence” on page 254.
5 In the Strip Silence window, adjust the sliders
for Strip Threshold and Minimum Strip Dura-
tion until the Strip Silence rectangles appear in
the selection.
For finer resolution on these sliders, press Com-
mand (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) while
adjusting them.
6 To retain material before and after the new re-
gions, adjust the sliders for Region Start Pad and
Region End Pad.
Strip Silence Renaming dialog
Figure 14. Strip Silence rectangles
Strip Silence, padding region start and end points
Attack to be
padded
Decay to be
padded
Chapter 20: Managing Regions 255
7 Once the Strip Silence rectangles encompasses
the audio that you want to keep, press the Strip
button.
The material defined as silence is removed from
the selection and new regions are created, which
also appear in the Audio Regions List.
The Strip Silence command is nondestructive
and does not remove audio data from parent au-
dio files. In addition to the Undo command,
you can use the Heal Separation command to re-
store stripped material.
Inserting Silence
The Insert Silence command is a simple and
convenient way to insert silence in sessions.
This command allows you to make a selection
on a track (or tracks) and insert precisely that
amount of silence. In Shuffle Mode, all data on
the track is shuffled later in the track by an
amount equal to the selection.
In Grid Mode, the Insert Silence command
works just like the Clear command.
Shuffle Mode When inserting silence on multi-
ple tracks in Shuffle mode, the following condi-
tions apply:
◆If any track is displayed as audio/MIDI data,
the selected duration of silence is inserted into
the audio/MIDI data and all underlying automa-
tion data on all selected tracks. All subsequent
regions are shuffled by the amount of silence in-
serted. On MIDI tracks, only notes that are se-
lected from the beginning are affected, so if you
have selected the tail of a note and you Insert Si-
lence, the note will remain unchanged.
◆If all selected tracks are displayed as automa-
tion data, the selected range is cleared of auto-
mation data only of the type visible on each
track. Regions are not shuffled. Instead, a blank
gap appears equal to the length of the selection.
◆If all selected tracks are displayed as automa-
tion data, press Control (Macintosh) or the Start
key (Windows) while choosing the Insert Si-
lence command to inserts silence on all automa-
tion playlists for all selected tracks. Regions are
not shuffled.
Slip Mode When inserting silence on multiple
tracks in Slip mode, the following conditions
apply:
◆If any track is displayed as audio/MIDI data,
the selected range is cleared of audio/MIDI data
and all underlying automation data on all se-
lected tracks.
◆If all selected tracks are displayed as automa-
tion data, silence is inserted only into the auto-
mation type visible on each track.
◆If all selected tracks are displayed as automa-
tion data, press Control (Macintosh) or the Start
key (Windows) while choosing the Insert Si-
lence command to insert silence on all automa-
tion playlists for all selected tracks.
To insert silence into a track:
1 Make a selection on the desired tracks. The
length of the selection determines the duration
of the silence inserted.
2 Choose Edit > Insert Silence.
Pro Tools inserts the selected amount of silence.
In the process, it splits the regions at the begin-
ning of the insertion point, and moves the new
regions later in the track by an amount equal to
the length of the selection.
Strip Silence works with stereo and multi-
channel tracks, and keeps their audio re-
gions phase-coherent.
Pro Tools Reference Guide256
Consolidate Selection
Command
During the course of normal edit operations, a
track may eventually contain many regions.
However, once a track or track range (such as a
verse or chorus) reaches a satisfactory state, you
may want to consolidate its regions into a single
region—thus making the material much more
easy to work with.
When consolidating an audio track, a new audio
file is written that encompasses the selection
range, including any blank space.
To consolidate regions within a track:
1 Using the Grabber or Selector, select the re-
gions you want to consolidate.
– or –
To select all regions in a track, triple-click in its
playlist with the Selector.
2 Choose Edit > Consolidate.
A new, single region is created that replaces the
previously selected regions, including any blank
space. If working with an audio track, a new au-
dio file is written (with the Audio Suite Dupli-
cate plug-in).
When consolidating audio regions with the
Consolidate Selection command, if the selec-
tion contains muted regions, the muted regions
are treated as silence. Whether or not a track is
muted, or contains Mute automation, does not
affect the Consolidate Selection command.
Managing Regions
A typical session can become quite busy with
many tracks and dozens of regions. There are a
number of things you can do, however, to keep
track of and manage a session’s regions, which
include:
• Renaming existing regions
• Specifying how auto-created regions are
named
• Hiding auto-created regions
• Removing unused regions
Renaming Regions
In the course of a session you can rename re-
gions to give them more descriptive names, or
merely to shorten or simplify an existing name.
When renaming a region that was auto-created
from an edit, the region becomes a user-defined
region and is displayed in the Regions List when
auto-created regions are hidden.
Perhaps the easiest way to rename a region, if it
resides in a track, is to double-click it with the
Grabber. However, if the region does not yet re-
side in a track, or if you want to rename several
regions, use the Rename Selected command.
To rename one or more regions:
1 If you will be renaming an auto-created re-
gion, make sure to select Display > Auto-Created
Regions.
2 Select one or more region to be renamed in ei-
ther the Audio or MIDI Regions List.
If the Editing Preference for “Regions List
Selection Follows Track Selection” is en-
abled, you can highlight a region in the Re-
gions List by selecting it in a track.
Chapter 20: Managing Regions 257
3 Choose Rename Selected from the Regions
List pop-up menu.
4 When prompted, enter a new name for the re-
gion. If a whole-file audio region was selected,
specify whether just the region is renamed, or
the region and the disk file.
5 Click OK to rename the region. If renaming
multiple regions, you are prompted, succes-
sively, to rename each region.
Auto-Naming Parameters
You can specify the auto-naming parameters for
a region when new regions are created from it in
the course of editing.
To set auto-naming parameters for a region:
1 Select a region in the Audio or MIDI Regions
List.
2 Choose Auto Rename Selected from the Re-
gions List pop-up menu.
3 In the Auto-Rename dialog, enter the text to
be used when naming regions created from the
selected region.
Name Determines the root name for the auto-
created regions.
Auto Number Start Sets the start number for the
sequentially numbered new regions.
Leading Zeros Determines the number of zeros
that occur before the auto numbers.
Suffix Specifies text to be appended to the end of
the name, following the auto numbering.
4 When you are finished, click OK to accept the
new naming parameters.
Hiding and Removing Unwanted
Regions
In the course of editing a session, the Audio and
MIDI Regions Lists can fill up quickly with re-
gions—ones you’ve created purposely and those
that are automatically created by cutting, past-
ing, and separating other regions. Pro Tools al-
lows you to hide or remove regions in your ses-
sion so you don’t have to scroll through
unnecessarily long Regions Lists.
Hiding Auto-Created Regions
You can hide regions that were automatically
created during the course of editing.
To hide auto-created regions:
■Deselect Display > Display Auto-Created Re-
gions. With this option deselected, only user-
created regions appear in the Audio and MIDI
Regions List.
Rename Selected dialog
Auto-Rename Selected dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide258
User-defined regions include:
• Whole-file regions
• Regions created during recording
• Imported regions
• Renamed regions
• Regions created as a result of AudioSuite pro-
cessing
• New regions created with Capture Region and
Separate Region commands
• Regions created by trimming whole-file audio
regions
When auto-created regions are hidden,
Pro Tools warns you if the number of auto-cre-
ated regions exceeds a certain threshold, and
gives you the option of deleting them. If you
choose to delete them, all auto-created regions
are deleted at the same time.
To ensure that you keep a particular auto-cre-
ated region, turn it into a user-created region by
renaming it. For details, see “Renaming Re-
gions” on page 256.
Removing Unwanted Regions
You can locate and remove unused regions in a
session with the Clear Selected command.
To find and remove unused regions in a session:
1 For MIDI regions, choose Select Unused from
the MIDI Regions List pop-up menu.
2 For audio regions, choose one of the following
from the Select Unused submenu in the Audio
Regions list pop-up menu:
• Unused Regions
• Unused Regions except Whole Files
• Offline Regions
3 After all unused regions are selected, choose
Clear Selected from the Regions List pop-up
menu.
4 Click Remove to remove the unused regions
from the session.
– or –
If clearing a whole-file audio region and you
want to permanently remove the audio file from
your hard drive, click Delete.
When clearing audio files for multiple regions,
Pro Tools presents a warning dialog for each au-
dio file. To bypass repeated warning dialogs:
■Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) the Delete button in the Clear Audio dia-
log. This permanently deletes each successive
audio file from your hard drive (for each of the
unused regions) without any further warnings.
Use this “power delete mode” with caution,
since deletion of these files cannot be undone.
The Clear Selected command cannot be un-
done.
Clear Selected dialog (audio regions)
Chapter 20: Managing Regions 259
Compacting an Audio File
The Compact Selected command deletes unused
portions of audio files to conserve disk space,
and to prepare for cleaner hard drive back-ups.
The Compact Selected command deletes audio
if there are no regions referencing the data. For
this reason you should delete any unused re-
gions before compacting.
Because it permanently deletes audio data, the
Compact Selected command should be used
only after you have completely finished your
editing and are sure that you have no further use
for the unused audio data.
The Compact Selected command can pad the re-
gions of the compacted file by a user-selectable
amount. You may want to do this because
Pro Tools requires extra audio data before and
after audio regions to create crossfades. So, if
your regions have crossfades, or if you want to
pad the regions for the sake of any future trim-
ming, you should enter an appropriate amount
of padding (in milliseconds) to allow for this.
To compact an audio file:
1 Choose Select Unused >Regions from the Au-
dio Regions List pop-up menu. All regions that
have not been placed in a track in the current
session are highlighted in the Audio Regions
List.
2 To remove all of these unused audio regions,
choose Clear Selected from the Audio Regions
List pop-up menu. When the dialog appears,
choose Remove.
3 In the Audio Regions List, select the region or
regions you want to compact.
4 Choose Compact Selected from the Audio Re-
gions List menu.
5 Enter the amount of padding in milliseconds
that you want to leave around each region in
the file.
6 Click Compact to compact the file or Cancel
to cancel the command.
Once the Compact operation has been com-
pleted, the session is automatically saved.
The Compact Selected command is destruc-
tive and cannot be undone. It permanently
alters the original audio files. There is no
way to recover data deleted with this com-
mand.
Pro Tools Reference Guide260
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 261
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and
Memory Locations
Tempo Events
Tempo events, which are displayed in the
Tempo Ruler, can be inserted at the beginning of
a session to replace the default tempo (of 120
BPM), and they can be inserted anywhere
within the session for additional tempo
changes. Tempo events cannot be inserted in
Manual Tempo mode.
To display the Tempo Ruler:
■Select Display > Ruler View Shows > Tempo.
Current Tempo
As tempo events are encountered during play-
back, the session’s current tempo is displayed in
the Transport window.
Inserting Tempo Events
To insert a tempo event:
1 Click in the Tempo Ruler where you want to
insert the tempo event and then choose MIDI >
Change Tempo.
– or –
Click in the Tempo Ruler where you want to in-
sert the tempo event and then click the Change
Tempo button in the far left of the Tempo Ruler.
– or –
While pressing Control (Macintosh) or the Start
key (Windows), move the cursor into the
Tempo Ruler (cursor changes to the Grabber
with a “+”) and click at the desired location.
When in Manual Tempo mode, the Tempo
Track is ignored and the session plays at the
tempo defined in the Transport window.
For details, see “Using Manual Tempo
Mode” on page 123.
Current tempo displayed in Transport window
current tempo
Change Tempo button
Manually inserting a tempo event
Pro Tools Reference Guide262
2 In the Tempo Change window, enter the Lo-
cation and BPM value for the tempo change.
Select the Snap To Bar option to place the in-
serted tempo event cleanly on the first beat of
the nearest measure.
3 To base the BPM value on something other
than the default quarter-note, select a different
note value.
4 Click Apply. The new tempo event is inserted
and appears in the Tempo Ruler.
Each tempo event has a small green triangle
next to it that indicates its location. These trian-
gles can be dragged to move the tempo event,
and they can be double-clicked to edit the
tempo event.
Editing and Moving Tempo Events
Existing tempo events can be moved, edited, de-
leted, and copied and pasted.
To move a tempo event by dragging:
■In the Tempo Ruler, drag the triangle for the
tempo event left or right.
If the Edit mode is set to Grid, the dragged event
snaps to the current Grid value.
To edit a tempo event:
1 In the Tempo Ruler, double-click the tempo
event.
2 In the Change Tempo dialog, enter a new Lo-
cation or BPM value for the tempo event.
3 Click OK.
To delete a tempo event:
■While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), move the cursor over the tempo
event (cursor changes to the Grabber with a “–”)
and click to remove it.
To copy and paste several tempo events:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
2 Drag in the Tempo Ruler to select the range of
measures that includes the tempo events.
Tempo Change window
Inserted tempo event
Dragging a tempo event
Tempo events selected
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 263
If an existing tempo event is near the beginning
of the selection, press Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows) so the Selector appears.
3 Choose Edit > Copy.
4 Click in the Tempo Ruler at the point where
you want to paste the tempo events.
5 Choose Edit > Paste. The contents of the Clip-
board are pasted from the insertion point, re-
placing any existing tempo events.
To extend an Edit selection in a track to the Tempo
Ruler:
1 Using either the Selector or Grabber, select a
track range.
2 Shift-click in the Tempo Ruler.
Shift-click again in the Tempo Ruler to remove it
from the selection.
To select all tempo events:
■Double-click with the Selector in the Tempo
Ruler.
To clear a range of selected tempo events:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
2 Drag with the Selector in the Tempo Ruler to
select the tempo events you want to remove.
3 Choose Edit > Clear to delete the selected
tempo events.
Tempo and MIDI and Audio
When editing or moving tempo events, the
Bars:Beats Ruler expands or shrinks, as neces-
sary, to accurately reflect the placement of audio
regions (which remain constant in terms of
sample location). This, in turn, affects the rela-
tive placement of MIDI notes, and ensures that
the visual relationship between MIDI and audio
is accurate.
Figure 15 illustrates how MIDI notes shift and
expand in relation to audio after the tempo is re-
duced.
After editing or moving a tempo event:
◆Bar and beat locations for audio regions
(which are sample-based) are adjusted for the
new tempo. The audio region’s sample and
SMPTE locations remain unchanged.
◆MIDI notes (which are tick-based) remain at
the same bar and beat location. In relation to au-
dio, however, the notes shrink or expand based
on the new tempo, and result in new sample
and SMPTE locations for the note start and end
times.
Press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows)
while dragging to select across all Conduc-
tor tracks.
Figure 15. Before and after change in tempo
Ruler and MIDI
events expand
after tempo
change
Pro Tools Reference Guide264
Default Tempo
New sessions open with a default tempo of 120
BPM. This tempo can be changed by inserting a
tempo event at 1|1|000. However, this is not the
same as inserting normal tempo events at other
locations. The tempo event that resides at
1|1|000 is actually a Bar|Beat Marker (notice that
it has a blue triangle).
The main distinction is that this Bar|Beat Marker
can be dragged to any location within the ses-
sion (such as to align with a particular SMPTE
frame) to redefine where 1|1|000 is.
Identify Beat Command
Bar|Beat Markers
The Identify Beat command lets you establish a
tempo/meter map for audio that was recorded
without listening to the click, or for imported
audio with unknown tempos.
The Identify Beat command analyzes a selection
range (usually with a distinct number of beats or
measures) and calculates its tempo based on the
specified meter. In doing this, Bar|Beat Markers
for the calculated tempo are inserted and appear
in the Tempo Ruler at the beginning and end of
the selection; in addition, meter events are in-
serted into the Meter Ruler.
Bar|Beat Markers
Bar|Beat Markers look similar to tempo events,
but instead have small blue triangles to indicate
their location.
The key to accurately defining tempos for a
range of audio with the Identify Beat command
is to make sure that the initial selection repre-
sents an accurate length of beats or measures. In
fact, you may want to first loop the selection on
playback (see “Looping Playback” on page 205)
to see if it plays cleanly without skipping. To
avoid drift, and remain sample-accurate, select
the audio material with the Time Scale set to
Samples rather than Bars:Beats.
Identifying Beats
To add Bar|Beat Markers for a one-bar drum loop:
1 Place a one-bar drum loop at the beginning of
an audio track.
2 Select Display > Samples. This ensures that the
selected audio material will be sample-accurate.
3 Select the audio region with the Grabber and
choose Edit > Identify Beat.
You can use Beat Detective to generate
Bar|Beat Markers within a selection that in-
cludes rhythmic changes on every beat and
sub-beat. For more information, see
Chapter 22, “Beat Detective.”
Bar|Beat Marker
Tempo events and Bar|Beat Markers cannot
be mixed. If a session contains tempo
events and you attempt to insert Bar|Beat
Markers, existing tempo events are con-
verted to Bar|Beat Markers (and vice versa).
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 265
4 In the Bar|Beat Markers dialog, specify the
start and end points for the inserted Bar|Beat
Markers. Since this example deals with a one-bar
loop, enter 1|1|000 and 2|1|000.
5 If necessary, specify a time signature for the
start and end range.
6 Click OK to automatically calculate the new
tempo and insert the necessary Bar|Beat Markers
and meter events. Any existing tempo and
meter events residing within the selection are
deleted.
Once the tempo has been determined for the au-
dio, you can duplicate the original audio region
with the Repeat command.
When working with a selection, the Identify
Beat command only calculates a single tempo
for the selected range. If the tempo varies from
measure to measure, or beat to beat, you’ll need
to use the Identify Beat command for each
tempo variance (making sure to accurately de-
fine a precise selection range or beat location for
the tempo change).
Inserting Bar|Beat Markers One at
a Time
Audio Material with Varying Tempos
You can insert Bar|Beat Markers one at a time by
setting an Edit insertion point (instead of mak-
ing a selection) before using the Identify Beat
command. The ability to identify each beat, one
at a time, is especially useful when working with
audio with varying tempos.
For instance, if you have a measure that acceler-
ates slightly, you could insert a Bar|Beat Marker
on each beat (see Figure 16) so the tempo is ac-
curately reflected.
After the Bar|Beat Markers are inserted, further
adjustments in the tempo map are possible by
dragging each of the Markers, as necessary, to
align with the associated beat within the audio.
Identify Beat dialog
Bar|Beat Markers inserted
Figure 16. Bar|Beat Markers on each beat
Pro Tools Reference Guide266
Dragging Bar|Beat Markers
Bar|Beat Markers can be dragged to new loca-
tions so they can align with audio regions that
have been moved, or so that they can align to a
slightly different point within an audio region.
This results in neighboring MIDI data being ad-
justed to align with the new tempo map.
Tempo Events vs. Bar|Beat Markers
Bar|Beat markers and Tempo Events behave dif-
ferently when you drag them in the Tempo
Ruler.
When dragging a tempo event:
• The tempo event is placed at a new bar and
beat location. The sample and SMPTE loca-
tions for the event are updated as well.
• The BPM value for the dragged tempo event
remains constant, as do any other tempo
events in the session.
• Neighboring MIDI events, along with the
Ruler, shrink or expand as necessary to adjust
for the new tempo location.
When dragging a Bar|Beat Marker:
• Its BPM value is recalculated along with the
Bar|Beat Marker to its immediate left. Bar|Beat
Markers to the right of the dragged marker re-
main unchanged.
• Its bar and beat location is dragged with the
Bar|Beat Marker. If the Bar|Beat Marker was
originally placed at 3|1|000, it remains there
(unless it is edited).
• Its sample and SMPTE locations change, as
calculated for by the new tempo for the
Bar|Beat Marker.
• Neighboring MIDI events, along with the
Bars:Beats Ruler, shrink or expand as neces-
sary to adjust for the new tempo.
Editing Bar|Beat Markers
A Bar|Beat Marker can be edited to redefine its
bar and beat location, which also redefines the
start or end point of the range being analyzed
for tempo. This is different from dragging a
Bar|Beat Marker.
To edit a Bar|Beat Marker:
1 In the Tempo Ruler, double-click the Bar|Beat
Marker.
2 In the Identify Beat dialog, enter a new Loca-
tion for the Bar|Beat Marker.
3 Click OK to recalculate the new tempo.
Like meter and tempo events, Bar|Beat Markers
can also be deleted.
To delete a Bar|Beat Marker:
■While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), move the cursor over the Bar|Beat
Marker (cursor changes to the Grabber with a
“-”) and click to remove it.
Dragging a Bar|Beat Marker
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 267
Meter Events
Meter events can be inserted at the beginning of
a session to replace the default meter (of 4/4),
and they can be inserted anywhere within the
session for additional meter changes. Meter
events are displayed in the Meter Ruler.
To display the Meter Ruler:
■Select Display > Ruler View Shows > Meter.
Current Meter
As meter events are encountered during play-
back, the session’s current meter is displayed in
the Transport window.
Inserting Meter Events
To insert a meter event:
1 Choose MIDI > Change Meter.
– or –
Click the Change Meter button in the far left of
the Meter Ruler.
– or –
While pressing Control (Macintosh) or the Start
key (Windows), move the cursor into the Meter
Ruler (cursor changes to the Grabber with a “+”)
and click at the desired location.
2 In the Meter Change window, enter the Loca-
tion and Meter for the meter change.
Select the Snap To Bar option if you want the in-
serted meter event to fall cleanly on the first
beat of the nearest measure.
3 Select a note value for the number of clicks to
sound in each measure. If desired, select the dot
(.) option for a dotted click value.
Current meter displayed in Transport window
Change Meter button
current meter
Manually inserting a meter event
Meter Change window
For some meters, it may be desirable to use
a dotted value for the click. For instance, if
using a meter of 6/8, a dotted eighth-note
click (yielding two clicks per measure) is
more suitable than a straight eighth-note
click (six clicks per measure).
Pro Tools Reference Guide268
4 Click Apply to insert the new meter event. The
new meter event is inserted and appears in the
Meter Ruler.
Each meter event has a small yellow triangle
next to it that indicates its location. These trian-
gles can be selected for copying and pasting, and
they can be double-clicked to edit the meter
event.
Editing Meter Events
Existing meter events can be edited, deleted,
and copied and pasted.
To edit a meter event:
1 In the Meter Ruler, double-click the meter
event.
2 In the Change Meter dialog, enter a new Loca-
tion or Meter for the event.
3 Click OK.
To delete a meter event:
■While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), move the cursor over the meter
event (cursor changes to the Grabber with a “–”)
and click to remove it.
To copy and paste several meter events:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
2 Drag in the Meter Ruler to select the range
that includes the meter events.
If the beginning of the selection includes a
meter event, press Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows) so the Selector tool appears.
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-
board are pasted from the insertion point, re-
placing any existing meter events.
To extend an Edit selection in a track to the Meter
Ruler:
1 Using either the Selector or Grabber, select a
track range.
2 Shift-click in the Meter Ruler.
Shift-click again in the Meter Ruler to remove it
from the selection.
To select all meter events:
■Double-click with the Selector in the Meter
Ruler.
Inserted meter event
Meter events selected
Press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows)
while dragging to select across all Conduc-
tor tracks.
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 269
To clear a range of selected meter events:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
2 Drag in the Meter Ruler to select the meter
events you want to remove.
3 Choose Edit > Clear to delete the selected
meter events.
Partial Measures
Aligning Beat 1 to a SMPTE Location
When scoring to film or video, you will often
need to start a section of music at a precise
SMPTE time code location. Since this location
will usually not fall cleanly at the beginning of a
measure, you can insert a meter event at the
time code location where the music needs to
start.
As necessary, Pro Tools will create a partial mea-
sure to accommodate the inserted meter event.
When a meter event is preceded by a partial
measure, the meter event is displayed in italics
in the Meter Ruler.
Partial measures can also occur when pasting
meter events to locations other than beat one.
Renumbering Bars
You can use the Renumber Bars command to re-
number all bars in the session, effectively
changing the bar locations for all regions, meter
and tempo events while leaving their position
intact. In doing so, however, the SMPTE and
sample locations of the session data are not
changed.
To renumber bars:
1 Choose MIDI > Renumber Bars.
2 Specify the bar you want to renumber, along
with the new bar number, then click Renumber.
Partial measure of 4/4
Renumber Bars dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide270
Memory Locations and
Markers
Each session can save up to 200 Memory Loca-
tions that can be used to recall:
• Markers to important locations in the session
• Edit selections across one or more tracks
• Record and play ranges, along with pre/post-
roll times
• Track settings that include Show/Hide status,
Track Heights, and zoom values
• Edit and Mix Groups enables
Memory Locations are viewed and sorted in the
Memory Locations window, where they can be
recalled by clicking the Memory Location.
Properties of Memory Locations
When creating a new Memory Location (see
“Creating Memory Locations” on page 272) you
are prompted to define its Time Properties and
General Properties.
Time Properties
Under Time Properties, a Memory Location can
be set to Marker, Selection, or None. This deter-
mines the type of Memory Location that is cre-
ated. Each of these three Memory Location
types can also save any combination of General
Properties.
Marker Recalls a Timeline location whose refer-
ence can be either Bar|Beat (tick-based) or Abso-
lute (sample-based). When recalling a Marker
Memory Location, the playback cursor moves to
the Marker’s location and the start and end
times in the Transport window are also updated.
If the Edit and Timeline Selections are linked,
the edit cursor also moves to the Marker loca-
tion.
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to
Classic, Memory Locations can be recalled
from the numeric keypad by pressing the
Memory Location number followed by pe-
riod.
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to
Transport or Shuttle, Memory Locations
can be recalled from the numeric keypad by
pressing period, the Memory Location num-
ber, and period again.
Memory Location dialog
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 271
Markers appear in the Markers Ruler with a thin
yellow line extending down through all tracks
in the Edit window (to assist in arranging and
aligning track material). You can click on a
Marker in the Markers Ruler to recall its location
along with its stored General Properties.
Selection Recalls an edit selection or edit cursor
location whose reference can be either Bar|Beat
(tick-based) or Absolute (sample-based). A Selec-
tion Memory Location lets you store edit selec-
tions, for one or more tracks, that you return to
often within a session. If the Edit and Timeline
Selections are linked, a Selection Memory Loca-
tion can recall record and play ranges.
NOTE: Only contiguous selections can be saved
with Memory Locations. Discontiguous selections,
made with the Object Grabber, will be recalled as if
the selection were made with the Time Grabber.
None Recalls no Time Properties and is therefore
referred to as a General Properties Memory Loca-
tion.
Bar|Beat and Absolute Reference
The Reference pop-up determines whether the
Marker or Selection Memory Location is
Bar|Beat or Absolute. When set to Bar|Beat, the
Memory Location is tick-based and its bar and
beat location remains constant if the tempo is
changed—though its relation to audio is scaled,
resulting in a new sample location.
When set to Absolute, the Memory Location is
sample-based and its bar and beat location shifts
if the tempo is changed—though its sample lo-
cation remains constant, along with its relation
to audio material.
In the Markers Ruler, Markers that are Bar|Beat
appear as yellow chevrons, and Markers that are
Absolute appear as yellow diamonds.
General Properties
Any of the three types of Memory Locations
(Marker, Selection, and General Properties) can
store and recall any combination of the follow-
ing properties:
Zoom Settings Recalls the horizontal and verti-
cal zoom values for both audio and MIDI tracks.
Pre/Post Roll Times Recalls pre- and post-roll
times (but not whether they are enabled). This
property can be stored with a Selection Memory
Location to recall record and play ranges along
with pre/post-roll.
Track Show/Hide Recalls which tracks are hid-
den. Use this property to display groups of
tracks for editing and mixing.
Track Heights Recalls all Track Heights. Use this
option along with the Zoom Settings option to
recall edit environments that are suited for par-
ticular tasks, such as editing down to the sample
level or trimming MIDI notes.
Group Enables Recalls which Edit and Mix
Groups are enabled. This option is helpful in re-
calling groups for particular edit and mixing op-
erations, such as muting all drum tracks or fad-
ing a stereo pair.
Markers in the Markers Ruler
Bar|Beat Marker (left) and Absolute Marker (right)
Pro Tools Reference Guide272
Creating Memory Locations
Memory Locations can be created by pressing
Enter on the numeric keypad, by Control-click-
ing (Macintosh) or Start-clicking (Windows) in
the Markers Ruler, or by choosing the Add New
Memory Location command from the pop-up
menu in the Memory Locations window. The
method you use will likely depend on the type
of Memory Location you want to create.
When creating Memory Locations, the next
available number is assigned to it (1-200). This
number is used in recalling the Memory Loca-
tion from the numeric keypad.
To create a Marker Memory Location:
1 Configure any session settings you will save
with the Marker Memory Location, such as
zoom settings, pre/post-roll times, Show/Hide
status for tracks, Track Heights, and Edit and
Mix Group enables.
2 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
3 If the Markers Ruler is not displayed, select
Display > Ruler View Shows > Markers.
4 Click with the Selector at the desired location
in any track or Ruler. To place a Marker at the be-
ginning of a region, select the region with the
Grabber. Click the Marker Well button to the left
of the Markers Ruler (or press Enter on the nu-
meric keypad).
– or –
While pressing Control (Macintosh) or the Start
key (Windows), move the cursor into the Mark-
ers Ruler (cursor changes to the Grabber with a
“+”) and click at the desired location.
5 In the New Memory Location dialog, select
the Marker option and specify the Reference as
either Bar|Beat or Absolute.
6 If desired, enter a name for the new Marker
and select any General Properties you want to
save with the Marker.
7 Click OK. The Marker is created and appears in
the Markers Ruler, and in the Memory Locations
window.
To create a Selection Memory Location:
1 Configure any session settings you will save
with the Selection Memory Location, such as
zoom settings, pre/post-roll times, Show/Hide
status for tracks, Track Heights, and Edit and
Mix Group enables.
2 Select a range of material in one or more
tracks.
3 Press Enter on the numeric keypad.
– or –
From the pop-up menu in the Memory Loca-
tions window (click the Name button), choose
Add Memory Location.
4 In the New Memory Location dialog, select
the Selection option and specify the Reference
as either Bar|Beat or Absolute.
Marker Well button
Manually inserting a Marker
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 273
5 If desired, enter a name for the new Memory
Location and select any General Properties you
want to save with it.
6 Click OK. The Selection Memory Location is
created and appears in the Memory Locations
window.
To create a General Properties Memory Location:
1 Configure any session settings you will save
with the Selection Memory Location, such as
zoom settings, pre/post-roll times, Show/Hide
status for tracks, Track Heights, and Edit and
Mix Group enables.
2 Press Enter on the numeric keypad.
3 In the Memory Location dialog, select the
None option.
4 If desired, enter a name for the new Memory
Location and select any General Properties you
want to save with it.
5 Click OK. The Selection Memory Location is
created and appears in the Memory Locations
window.
Creating Memory Locations on the Fly
When the Editing Preference for “Auto-Name
Memory Locations When Playing” is enabled,
Memory Locations can be created while playing
without encountering the New Memory Loca-
tion dialog. This option can also be selected
from the pop-up menu in the Memory Loca-
tions window.
This capability is useful if you want to mark cer-
tain locations while listening during a record
pass, or if you want to mark frame locations
while viewing a video scene.
To create a Marker during playback:
1 From the pop-up menu in the Memory Loca-
tions window, select Default To Marker. This en-
sures that new Memory Locations default to
being Markers.
2 From the pop-up menu in the Memory Loca-
tions window, select Auto-Name Memory Loca-
tions.
3 For inserted Markers to have a Bar|Beat refer-
ence, make sure to set the Time Scale to
Bars:Beats.
4 Click Play in the Transport window.
5 When the location is reached, press Enter on
the numeric keypad. A Marker is automatically
created and appears in the Markers Ruler.
When auto-creating Markers, they are named
and numbered as “Marker 1,” “Marker 2,”
“Marker 3,” etc.
When the option for Default To Marker is dese-
lected, new Memory Locations default to what-
ever type was last created. Therefore, if a Selec-
tion Memory Location was created last, it will be
the type that is created on the fly. In this case,
the name for the created Memory Location is
based on the start of the Edit selection using the
time format for the Main Time Scale (such as
“2|2|305” or “0:02.658”).
In the New Memory Location dialog, you
can Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click
(Windows) any General Property to enable
or disable all properties. You can also Com-
mand-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) any property to toggle its state
and the state of all other General Properties.
Pro Tools Reference Guide274
Recalling Memory Locations
Memory Locations can be recalled from the
Memory Locations window and from the nu-
meric keypad. In addition, Marker Memory Se-
lections can be recalled by clicking them in the
Markers Ruler.
To recall a Memory Location:
1 If the Memory Locations window is not al-
ready open, choose Windows > Show Memory
Locations to display it.
2 If recalling a Selection Memory Location that
will define a record or play range, make sure to
select Operations > Link Edit and Timeline Se-
lection.
3 In the Memory Locations window, click the
Memory Location to recall it.
– or –
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Classic,
press the Memory Location number followed by
period.
– or –
With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-
port or Shuttle, press period, the Memory Loca-
tion number, and period again.
NOTE: When recalling a Memory Location from
the numeric keypad, the Memory Locations win-
dow does not need to be open.
To recall a Marker from the Markers Ruler:
1 If the Markers Ruler is not displayed, select
Display > Ruler View Shows > Markers.
2 Click on the Marker. The playback cursor lo-
cates to the Marker and any General Properties
stored with the Marker are recalled.
NOTE: Even if the Markers Ruler is not displayed,
Markers can be recalled from the Memory Loca-
tions window, or from the numeric keypad.
Editing Memory Locations
Memory Locations can be renamed, edited, de-
leted, and copied and pasted.
To rename a Memory Location:
1 In the Memory Locations window, double-
click the Memory Location you want to rename.
– or –
If renaming a Marker Memory Location, double-
click the Marker in the Markers Ruler.
2 Enter the new name for the Memory Location
and click OK.
To redefine the General Properties stored with a
Memory Location:
1 As desired, make changes to the session’s
zoom settings, pre/post-roll times, Show/Hide
status of tracks, Track Heights, and Group En-
ables.
2 In the Memory Locations window, Control-
click (Macintosh) or Right-click (Windows) the
Memory Location you want to redefine.
– or –
If changing a Marker Memory Location, Con-
trol-click (Macintosh) or Right-click (Windows)
the Marker in the Markers Ruler.
3 In the Memory Location dialog, select the
General Properties you want to save with the
Memory Location.
4 Enter a new name for the Memory Location, if
desired, and click OK.
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 275
To change a Memory Location from one type to
another:
1 In the Memory Locations window, double-
click the Memory Location you want to change.
– or –
If changing a Marker Memory Location, double-
click the Marker in the Markers Ruler.
2 In the Memory Location dialog, select either
Marker, Selection, or None as the Memory Loca-
tion type.
3 Enter a new name for the Memory Location, if
desired, and click OK.
To change the Selection stored with a Memory
Location:
1 If the Memory Locations window is not al-
ready open, choose Windows > Show Memory
Locations to display it.
2 Select a range of material in one or more
tracks.
3 In the Memory Locations window, Control-
click (Macintosh) or Right-click (Windows) the
Memory Location that you want to redefine.
4 Enter a new name for the Memory Location, if
desired, and click OK.
To move a Marker by dragging:
1 In the Markers Ruler, drag the Marker left or
right.
If the Edit mode is set to Grid, the dragged event
snaps to the current Grid value. If using Spot
mode, the Spot dialog opens.
To align a Marker to a different location:
1 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and
Timeline Selection.
2 In any of the Timebase Rulers, click with the
Selector at the new location.
– or –
Click in the playlist for any track. To align the
Marker to the start of a region, select the region
with the Grabber.
3 In the Memory Locations window or the
Markers Ruler, Control-click (Macintosh) or
Right-click (Windows) the Marker Memory Lo-
cation that you want to redefine.
4 Enter a new name for the Marker, if desired,
and click OK.
Deleting Memory Locations
To delete a Memory Location:
■In the Memory Locations window, select the
Memory Location and choose Delete Memory
Location from the pop-up menu.
– or –
■In the Memory Locations window, Option-
click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) the
Memory Location.
To delete all Memory Locations:
■In the Memory Locations Window, choose
Delete All from the pop-up menu.
– or –
■Option-Shift-click (Macintosh) or Alt-Shift-
click (Windows) any Memory Location in the
Memory Locations window.
Dragging a Marker
Pro Tools Reference Guide276
To delete a Marker from the Markers Ruler:
■While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), move the cursor over the Marker
(cursor changes to the Grabber with a “–”) and
click to remove it.
Copying Marker Memory Locations
To copy and paste a range of Markers:
1 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid to con-
strain the selection to the current Grid value.
2 Drag in the Tempo Ruler to select the range of
measures that includes the Markers.
If the beginning of the selection includes a
Marker, press Command (Macintosh) or Con-
trol (Windows) so the Selector tool appears.
3 Choose Edit > Copy.
4 Click in the Markers Ruler at the point where
you want to paste the tempo events.
5 Choose Edit > Paste. The contents of the Clip-
board are pasted from the insertion point, re-
placing any existing Markers.
To extend an Edit selection in a track to the
Markers Ruler:
1 Using either the Selector or Grabber, select a
track range.
2 Shift-click in the Markers Ruler.
Shift-click again in the Tempo Ruler to remove it
from the selection.
To select all Markers in the Markers Ruler:
■Double-click with the Selector in the Tempo
Ruler.
Memory Locations Window
Memory Locations are listed, with their name
and assigned number, in the Memory Locations
window. To recall a Memory Location from this
window, simply click it.
You can select viewing and sorting options,
along with commands for creating and remov-
ing Memory Locations, from the pop-up menu
in the Memory Locations window (obtained by
clicking the Name button in the upper left).
The commands and options in this menu are
discussed in the following sections.
Show Markers Only When selected, only Marker
Memory Locations are displayed in the Memory
Locations window. However, even when Selec-
tion Memory Locations and General Property
Memory Locations are hidden, they can still be
recalled from the numeric keypad.
Press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows)
while dragging to select across all Conduc-
tor tracks.
Memory Locations window
Memory Locations window pop-up menu
Marker
Selection
Memory Location
General Properties
Memory Location
Memory Location
Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 277
Show View Filter Icons When selected, the
Memory Locations window provides an icon-
based “view filter” that allows you to show or
hide Memory Locations based on the properties
they contain. To show or hide Memory Loca-
tions containing a specific property, click the
appropriate icon.
If an icon is disabled, all Memory Locations as-
sociated with that property are hidden. How-
ever, if a Memory Location contains other prop-
erties for an icon that is enabled, it is still
displayed. When a view icon is enabled, it ap-
pears in color. When it is disabled, it appears
gray.
In addition, the view filter provides a handy ref-
erence for which properties are stored in each
Memory Location (indicated by a row of icons
for each Memory Location).
Show Main/Sub Counter When selected, a col-
umn appears in the Memory Locations window
that displays the locations for Markers, and the
start times for Selection Memory Locations.
General Property Memory Locations display
nothing in this column.
You can click at the top of these columns for a
pop-up menu that will let you change the Main
and Sub Time Scale.
Sort by Time When selected, Markers are sorted
by their order in the Timeline, followed by Se-
lection and General Properties Memory Loca-
tions, which are listed in the order in which
they were created.
When Sort by Time is deselected, all Memory
Locations are listed in the order of their assigned
numbers.
Add Memory Location Choose this command to
create a new Memory Location.
Remove Memory Location Deletes the currently
selected Memory Location in the Memory Loca-
tions window.
Delete All Deletes all Memory Locations
(Marker, Selection, and General Property) in the
session.
Default To Marker When selected, new Memory
Locations default to Markers, though in the New
Memory Location dialog you can still define the
new Memory Location as one of the other types.
Memory Locations View Filter
Memory Locations window with view filter icons
Marker
Selection
Memory Location
Zoom
Pre/Post-Roll
Show/Hide
Track Heights
Settings
Active
Groups
Main/Sub Counters in Memory Locations window
SubMain
Time Scale Time Scale
Pro Tools Reference Guide278
Auto-Name Memory Location When selected,
Memory Locations are created automatically
without encountering the New Memory Loca-
tion dialog. If the Default To Marker option is
selected, a Marker Memory Location is auto-cre-
ated. Otherwise, the Memory Location type is
determined by whatever type (Marker, Selec-
tion, or None) was created last.
Chapter 22: Beat Detective 279
Chapter 22: Beat Detective
Beat Detective Requirements
Beat Detective is only available with Pro Tools
TDM systems. It does not appear in
Pro Tools LE.
RAM Requirements for Beat Detective
Beat Detective operations can require a large
amount of RAM, especially when working with
multiple tracks and lengthy selections.
To avoid low memory situations with Beat
Detective, do the following:
■Macintosh users should substantially increase
the RAM allocated to Pro Tools . Under extreme
usage situations (eight or more tracks with selec-
tions of five minutes or longer), you should allo-
cate 100 MB, or even more, to the Pro Tools
application.
■If your computer does not have the extra
RAM, work with shorter selections, or individual
tracks.
– or –
■Set the Editing Preference for Levels of Undo
to a smaller value (see “Levels of Undo and
RAM” on page 175). Memory-intensive editing
operations, such as Edit Smoothing with Beat
Detective, can use up a large amount of memory
when in the Undo queue.
About Beat Detective
Beat Detective can automatically detect peak
transients in audio selections, so you can extract
tempo information from the audio material, or
so that you can conform the audio material to
the session’s existing tempo map.
Beat Detective involves the following steps:
1 Define a selection of audio material, on a sin-
gle mono track, multi-channel track, or across
multiple tracks.
2 Adjust the Detection parameters so that verti-
cal beat triggers appear in Edit window, based on
the peak transients detected in the selection.
3 Generate Bar|Beat Markers based on the beat
triggers, thereby extracting a tempo map from
the selection and using it for the session.
– or –
4 Separate and automatically create new re-
gions, representing beats or sub-beats, based on
the beat triggers . You can then conform the
new regions to the session’s existing tempo
map, followed by automatic edit smoothing, if
necessary.
Pro Tools Reference Guide280
Beat Detective and the Source Material
Beat Detective is most effective with rhythmic
audio material that has strong percussive at-
tacks. It should work well with most instru-
ments used in pop music, such as drums, guitar,
and bass. Beat Detective will be less successful
with audio material that has soft attacks, or le-
gato phrasing, such as strings and vocals.
While Beat Detective has intelligent analysis al-
gorithms for detecting rhythmic material, some
material may be too far off the rhythmic grid, or
have tempo changes that are too varied, to be
useful with Beat Detective.
Applications for Beat Detective
Following are some useful applications for Beat
Detective.
Extracting Tempo and Grooves from Audio
Beat Detective can convert beat triggers to
Bar|Beat Markers, which makes it possible to ex-
tract tempo from audio that was recorded with-
out listening to a click—even if the audio con-
tains varying tempos, or material that is swung.
Once the Bar|Beat Markers have been generated
from the source audio, other audio regions and
MIDI tracks in the session can be quantized to it.
Conforming Audio to an Existing Tempo Map
If your session already has the right tempo, you
can conform audio with a different tempo, or
with varying tempos, to the session’s tempo. If
desired, the conformed audio can retain a per-
centage of its original feel, and you can increase
or reduce the amount of swing in the con-
formed material.
“Tightening Up” an Audio Performance
Beat Detective can improve the timing of some
audio material by calculating and extracting its
average tempo, and then conforming its rhyth-
mic components (regions separated with Beat
Detective) to the session’s tempo map. You can
even retain some of the original feel of the mate-
rial.
Loop Matching
Since Beat Detective can extract tempo and beat
information from audio, and conform audio to
an existing tempo, this makes it very useful for
aligning loops with different tempos or feels. If
one loop has a subtly different feel or groove,
you can potentially impose that groove on an-
other loop.
Remixes
Beat Detective can be used for remixes. It can ex-
tract tempo from the original drum tracks, or in
some instances the original stereo mix. New
tracks, audio or MIDI, can then be conformed to
the original material, or the original material
can be conformed to new drum tracks, achiev-
ing an entirely new feel.
Smoothing Post-Production Edits
Beat Detective’s Edit Smoothing can be used to
automatically clean up foley tracks that contain
many regions that need to be trimmed and
crossfaded, effectively removing the gaps of si-
lence between the regions (so you can retain the
room tone throughout the track).
Chapter 22: Beat Detective 281
The Beat Detective Window
The Beat Detective window has four different
modes, accessed by the tabs in the upper left of
the window. Depending on the mode, the con-
trols in the upper right of the window change.
The Selection options for Beat Detective, in the
center, are available in each of the modes.
The Beat Detective modes include:
Bar|Beat Marker Generation Automatically gen-
erates Bar|Beat Markers corresponding to tran-
sients detected in the audio selection.
Region Separation Automatically separates and
creates new regions based on transients detected
in the audio selection.
Region Conform Conforms all separated regions
within the selection to the current tempo map.
You can preserve some of the original feel of the
material with the Strength and Exclude Within
option, or impose an amount swing with the
Swing option.
Edit Smoothing After conforming regions, this
option is used to fill the gaps between the re-
gions by automatically trimming them, and in-
serting crossfades if desired.
Collection Mode Click this button to access a
sub-mode for collecting beat triggers for multi-
ple tracks, each with different Detection param-
eters.
Opening the Beat Detective Window
To open the Beat Detective window:
■Choose Windows > Show Beat Detective.
– or –
■Press Command+8 (Macintosh) or Control+8
(Windows) on the numeric keypad.
Beat Detective is a floating window that can be
left open while working, adjusting the parame-
ters in real time during playback, while viewing
the beat triggers that appear in your selection in
the Edit window.
Figure 17. Beat Detective window
Pro Tools Reference Guide282
Defining the Selection for
Beat Detective
Whether you will be generating Bar|Beat Mark-
ers, or separating regions to be conformed, the
first step in using Beat Detective is to define the
Selection parameters for the audio material you
want to analyze.
Beat Detective can work with selections on
multi-channel tracks, or with selections across
multiple tracks. This is especially useful if you
have different drum parts on different tracks
and want the rhythmic events on each track de-
tected, thereby generating a set of trigger points
from all of the material as a whole.
For Beat Detective to accurately generate beat
triggers that are metrically accurate, it’s very im-
portant that the length and meter of the selec-
tion be defined correctly. This is crucial whether
you intend to generate Bar|Beat Markers, or sep-
arate and conform regions. In addition, the se-
lection cannot contain any meter changes.
To define a selection for Beat Detective:
1 In the Edit window, select a range of audio
material. To work with multiple tracks, Shift-
click in each additional track, or use an Edit
Group.
2 To keep the Edit selection intact while playing
or looping from any location, deselect Opera-
tions > Link Edit and Timeline Selection.
3 Choose Windows > Show Beat Detective.
4 Enter a Time Signature for the material.
5 To set the selection range, do one of the fol-
lowing:
• Enter locations for the Start Bar|Beat and End
Bar|Beat. For a four-bar selection that starts on
beat 1, enter 1|1 and 5|1.
• If unsure of the length of the material, enter
the Start Bar|Beat and click the Tap button re-
peatedly to automatically calculate the End
Bar|Beat. When using Tap with long selec-
tions, continue to tap until the End Bar|Beat
stabilizes. Once stabilized, you may need to
manually adjust the number to the nearest
bar boundary.
• If the selection’s tempo matches the session
tempo (see “Calculating a Selection’s Tempo
with Beat Detective” on page 283), and it
aligns correctly with the sessions’s bars and
beats, click the Capture Selection button.
6 If the material contains 32nd notes or triplets,
select those options.
Beat Detective, Selection options
To account for the timbrel subtleties and
rhythmic nuances of freely recorded mate-
rial, you may want to work with smaller se-
lections.
Make sure the selection’s start and end
points fall cleanly on the beat. To zero in on
start and end points, see “Tabbing to Tran-
sients” on page 203.
You can easily recall an Edit selection by
saving it as a Memory Location. See “Mem-
ory Locations and Markers” on page 270.
Chapter 22: Beat Detective 283
Calculating a Selection’s Tempo with
Beat Detective
If you know the start and end points of a selec-
tion, and its time signature, you can use Beat
Detective to calculate its average tempo. This al-
lows you to automatically define the selection
range (with the Capture Selection button) when
using Beat Detective.
To calculate a selection’s tempo with Beat
Detective:
1 In the Edit window, select a range of audio
material. Make sure the selection’s start and end
points fall cleanly on the beat. To zero in on
start and end points, see “Tabbing to Transients”
on page 203.
2 Choose Windows > Show Beat Detective and
click the tab for Bar|Beat Generation.
3 Enter a Time Signature for the selection.
4 Enter the Start Bar|Beat and End Bar|Beat for
the selection.
5 With the Sensitivity slider set to 0%, click An-
alyze.
6 Click Generate to automatically insert
Bar|Beat Markers at the beginning and end of
the selection, representing the material’s aver-
age tempo.
Detecting Transients with
Beat Detective
Once you’ve accurately defined the selection
range, Beat Detective can generate beat triggers
based on the peak transients detected in the ma-
terial. The range and type of transients found
can be adjusted with the Detection settings, al-
lowing you to zero in on the bars, beats, and
sub-beats in the material, while avoiding the
non-rhythmic content.
To detect beat triggers for the selection:
1 In the Beat Detective window, click the tab for
Bar|Beat Generation.
2 From the Analysis pop-up menu, choose one
of the following detection algorithms:
• High Emphasis, works well with high-fre-
quency material, such as cymbals and hi-hats,
while avoiding low-frequency material.
• Low Emphasis, works well with low frequency
material, such as bass guitar and kick drum, as
well as with most tonal material, such as pi-
ano or rhythm guitar.
3 Click the Analyze button.
4 Depending on the rhythmic content of the se-
lection, set the Resolution to Bars, Beats, or Sub-
Beats.
Beat Detective, Detection options
Pro Tools Reference Guide284
5 Adjust the Sensitivity slider until beat triggers
appear on the beats and sub-beats in the selec-
tion.
Bar triggers are indicated with thick lines, beat
triggers with medium lines, and sub-beat trig-
gers with thin lines.
6 Zoom in and scroll through the selection, if
necessary, to confirm that the beat triggers are
appearing in the appropriate locations. If false
triggers appear between the beats or sub-beats,
representing non-rhythmic material, reduce the
Sensitivity value.
7 To display the metric locations for the triggers,
select the Show Trigger Time option.
8 If you can’t get the beat triggers to appear at
the right locations, go back to step 2 and try the
other Analysis algorithm.
Tips for Getting Useful Triggers
Use the following tips to verify beat triggers:
◆To focus on a particular area in the selection,
unlink the Edit and Timeline selections and set
the playback range by clicking or dragging in
any Timebase Ruler.
◆Set the Edit window to scroll during playback,
zoom in, and watch for the triggers as the win-
dow scrolls. If necessary, use half-speed playback
by Shift-clicking Play in the Transport window.
◆Check the thickness of the beat triggers to see
if they align properly with the material. Thick
triggers fall on barlines, medium triggers fall on
beats, and thin triggers fall on sub-beats.
◆Select the option for Show Trigger Time and
see if the (assumed) metric locations of the trig-
gers align with the material. A false trigger could
cause other triggers downstream to have the
wrong locations.
◆Consider whether lengthy selections with
should first be broken down into smaller selec-
tions, which could be more easily managed.
◆For selections across multiple tracks, consider
whether it may be easier to work with them in-
dividually, or whether Collection Mode may be
needed (see “Beat Detective and Collection
Mode” on page 290).
Editing Beat Triggers
Even though Beat Detective offers a large
amount of flexibility in how transients are de-
tected, there may times when beat triggers must
be deleted, moved, or manually inserted.
Deleting Beat Triggers
False triggers, which do not represent an actual
beat or sub-beat in the source material, may ap-
pear when raising the Sensitivity slider to detect
low-level material. In these instances you can
locate and manually delete the false triggers.
To delete a beat trigger:
1 With the Beat Detective window still open,
choose the Grabber tool in the Edit window.
Beat triggers
Chapter 22: Beat Detective 285
2 Locate the false trigger you want to delete.
Transients for false triggers usually have smaller
peaks than the other trigger points, and typi-
cally fall between the sub-beats.
3 Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) the trigger to delete it.
Moving Beat Triggers
You can adjust the placement of triggers to al-
low for the attack of their transients, or to com-
pensate for an individual transient that is
slightly ahead of or behind the beat.
To move a beat trigger:
1 With the Beat Detective window still open,
choose the Grabber tool in the Edit window.
2 Locate the beat trigger you want to move and
drag it left or right.
Promoting Beat Triggers
To ensure that important beat triggers do not
disappear when lowering the Sensitivity value,
you can promote them. This is useful if a selec-
tion has many false triggers (too many to bother
deleting) at a Sensitivity level where crucial,
necessary triggers appear. If lowering the Sensi-
tivity slider causes the needed triggers to disap-
pear, simply promote them first.
To promote a beat trigger:
1 Raise the Sensitivity slider until the desired
transient is detected and a beat trigger appears.
2 Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) the beat trigger to promote it.
3 Lower the Sensitivity slider to a value where
the false triggers disappear.
Once beat triggers are promoted, they will only
disappear if the Sensitivity value is set to 0%. To
demote all beat triggers in the selection—return-
ing them to their original state—you can click
the Analyze button.
Inserting Beat Triggers
If an important beat or sub-beat is not detected,
because of low level, you can manually insert a
beat trigger.
To insert a beat trigger:
1 With the Beat Detective window still open,
choose the Grabber tool in the Edit window.
2 Click in the selection where you want to insert
the new trigger. After clicking, you can drag left
or right to adjust its placement.
If you click too close to an existing trigger, the
existing trigger will be moved to the new loca-
tion.
Deleting a beat trigger
Moving a beat trigger
Pro Tools Reference Guide286
Redefining a Beat Trigger’s Metric Location
It is important that beat triggers represent the
correct metric location, so that Bar|Beat Markers
are generated accurately, and so that regions are
conformed to the right locations.
If some material is slightly off the beat, Beat De-
tective may assign it, as well as other transients
in the selection, the wrong metric location.
For example, if you have a bass track where a
note was intended to be a downbeat, but was
played too early, Beat Detective may define its
location as occurring a 32nd note before the
downbeat. If you then separate and conform the
region containing this note, it will move to the
wrong place (subsequent regions may end up in
the wrong location as well).
If you find that a beat trigger is not assigned the
correct metric location, you can redefine it.
The change the metric location of a beat trigger:
1 Double-click the beat trigger you want to edit.
2 In the Identify Trigger dialog, enter the correct
location for the trigger, then click OK.
Generating Bar|Beat Markers
with Beat Detective
Once Beat Detective has accurately detected the
peak transients in the audio selection and accu-
rately generated beat triggers, you can convert
them to Bar|Beat Markers. This allows you to ex-
tract a tempo map from the material and use it
for the session.
If beat triggers are accurately represented on the
sub-beats, the material’s groove can potentially
be imposed on other audio regions and MIDI
tracks.
If you want to match the audio material to the
session’s existing tempo map, you would not
want to generate Bar|Beat Markers from the ma-
terial. You would instead use Beat Detective to
separate and conform the material (see “Separat-
ing and Conforming Regions with Beat Detec-
tive” on page 287).
To generate Bar|Beat Markers with Beat
Detective:
1 In the Beat Detective window, click the tab for
Bar|Beat Marker Generation.
2 Define the selection for the audio material (see
“Defining the Selection for Beat Detective” on
page 282).
3 Configure the Detection options so the selec-
tion’s peak transients are accurately detected
(see “Detecting Transients with Beat Detective”
on page 283).
4 Click the Generate button. Bar|Beat Markers
are generated, based on the beat triggers, and
appear in the Tempo Ruler.
Identify Trigger dialog
Chapter 22: Beat Detective 287
Capturing a Groove with Sub-
Beats
To extract the groove from a selection, set the
Resolution to Sub-Beats when detecting tran-
sients. This ensures that the inner rhythms
within each bar (if they indeed exist) are repre-
sented when generating Bar|Beat Markers. These
Bar|Beat Markers can then be used to quantize
other audio regions or MIDI tracks, thereby im-
posing the groove from the audio material.
Separating and Conforming
Regions with Beat Detective
Once beat triggers appear in your selection, they
can be used to define start and end points for
new regions that can be separated automati-
cally. The new regions can then be conformed
to the session’s existing tempo map.
If you instead want to clean up the timing for
the selection, and are basically happy with the
existing tempo, make sure to first extract the
tempo from the material by generating Bar|Beat
Markers (see “Generating Bar|Beat Markers with
Beat Detective” on page 286).
To separate regions with Beat Detective:
1 In the Beat Detective window, click the tab for
Region Separation.
2 Define the selection for the audio material (see
“Defining the Selection for Beat Detective” on
page 282).
3 Configure the Detection options so the selec-
tion’s peak transients are accurately detected
(see “Detecting Transients with Beat Detective”
on page 283).
4 Click the Separate button. Regions are sepa-
rated based on the detected beat triggers.
Separating Multiple Tracks
You can use beat triggers from a single track, or
subset of tracks, to separate a group of tracks. For
example, after analyzing a selection on a kick
drum track (with transients detected on beats 1
and 3), you can extend the selection to the hi-
hat and snare tracks before performing the Sep-
arate.
This results in regions separated from each of
the drum tracks at the same location, based on
the beat triggers from the kick drum track. The
separated regions can then be conformed as a
group.
When quantizing regions or MIDI notes to
Bar|Beat Markers on sub-beats that repre-
sent a swing feel, make sure to use a
straight quantize value (with the Swing op-
tion for Quantize disabled).
Beat Detective, Conform options
To extend a selection to another track, Shift-
click in the desired track, or enable an Edit
Group
Pro Tools Reference Guide288
Conforming Regions with Beat
Detective
After regions have been separated with Beat De-
tective, the regions can then be conformed to
the session’s tempo map. This is similar to using
the Quantize Regions command, but with one
important difference. Beat Detective can adjust
the position of all regions, whether they have a
straight, swing or triplet fee, with a single oper-
ation.
Beat Detective will conform any selected region,
whether or not it was separated with Beat Detec-
tive. However, in order to successfully conform
regions with Beat Detective, the region start
points must correspond to the start of the mate-
rial that will align with the session’s bars and
beats. This should generally not be a problem if
the regions were separated with Beat Detective
(as opposed to manually separated or trimmed).
To conform regions with Beat Detective:
1 In the Beat Detective window, click the tab for
Region Conform.
2 To affect how strongly the regions are con-
formed, select the Strength option and specify a
percentage value with either the slider or by typ-
ing in a value:
• Lower percentage values preserve the original
feel of the regions.
• Higher percentage values align the regions
more tightly to the grid, with 100% aligning
precisely to the grid.
3 To affect which regions are conformed, select
the Exclude Within option and specify a per-
centage value with the slider or by typing in a
value:
• Lower percentage values ensure that regions
further away from the grid are conformed,
while those closer to the grid are not.
• Higher percentage values ensure that regions
closer to the grid, as well as those further
away, are conformed.
4 To achieve a swing feel for the conformed re-
gions, select the Swing option and whether the
swing is based on 8th or 16th notes, then specify
a percentage value with the slider or by typing
in a value:
• Smaller percentage values yield less swing,
with 0% yielding none.
• Larger percentage values yield more swing,
with 100% yielding a triplet, swing feel.
Beat Detective, Conform options
If Beat Detective has successfully captured
enough of the sub-beats from a selection be-
fore separating, you can conform with the
Swing option to change the groove from a
“straight” feel to one that is swung.
To “tighten up” the original feel, while re-
taining it, set the Strength option to
85–88%.
To “tighten up” the original feel, while re-
taining it, set the Exclude Within option to
10–15%.
Chapter 22: Beat Detective 289
• Percentage values between 100–150 move the
regions beyond a triplet, swing feel, toward
the next 16th-note boundary (provided the
Swing note value is set to 8th notes).
5 Click the Conform button to automatically
conform all regions in the selection.
Audition the new conformed regions by clicking
Play in the Transport window. If necessary, se-
lect Edit > Undo and try a different set of Con-
form settings.
Edit Smoothing
After regions are conformed, there are gaps be-
tween the regions. These gaps can cause the ma-
terial to sound unnatural on playback.
Beat Detective can automatically fill the gaps be-
tween regions, and even add crossfades if de-
sired. This Edit Smoothing option can be used
with regions that have been conformed, or with
a track that contains many regions (such as a
sound effects track) that need to be trimmed
and crossfaded. This automated process of
smoothing region edits could potentially save
many hours of tedious editing.
To use Edit Smoothing on conformed regions:
1 Choose Windows > Beat Detective.
2 Make sure the conformed regions are selected
in the Edit window.
3 In the Beat Detective window, click the tab for
Edit Smoothing.
4 Select one of the following Smoothing op-
tions:
• Fill Gaps, trims region end points so that the
gaps between regions are filled.
• Fill And Crossfade, trims region end points
and automatically adds a pre-fade (in ms) di-
rectly before each region start point.
5 Click the Smooth button to smooth the edits
for the selected regions.
Audition the new conformed regions by clicking
Play in the Transport window. If necessary, se-
lect Edit > Undo and adjust the Crossfade
Length.
Edit Smoothing Creates Sync Points
After smoothing edits with Beat Detective, sync
points (corresponding to the material’s start
point) are automatically created for the con-
formed regions. This allows you to later con-
form the regions to a different tempo map, or
with a different set of Conform settings.
Regions conformed with Beat Detective
Beat Detective, Smoothing options
Regions before and after Edit Smoothing
Pro Tools Reference Guide290
Consolidating Regions after Edit
Smoothing
The process of separating, conforming, and
smoothing with Beat Detective can leave tracks
with many regions and many crossfades. If you
are working with multiple tracks, the density of
these edits may lead to system performance
problems.
Once you are satisfied with the results from Beat
Detective, it is recommended that you “flatten”
the tracks with the Consolidate Selection com-
mand, thereby writing contiguous audio files
and regions, which are easier to play. See “Con-
solidate Selection Command” on page 256.
Beat Detective and Collection
Mode
In some instances, it may be difficult for Beat
Detective to successfully analyze multiple tracks
with the same Detection settings. With Beat De-
tective’s Collection Mode, you can collect a set
of beat triggers from different tracks, each with
different Detection settings, and use the collec-
tion of triggers to generate Bar|Beat Markers or
separate new regions.
This method of selectively adding beat triggers
from separate analyses passes on different
tracks, until you get only the triggers you want,
is potentially much more effective than manu-
ally deleting, inserting, or adjusting incorrect of
false triggers.
Drum Tracks and Collection Mode
Suppose you have drum tracks for kick, snare,
toms, and overhead mics. If you analyze a selec-
tion across all of the tracks, you may get many
false triggers when you raise the Sensitivity
slider high enough to capture the hi-hat mate-
rial (coming mainly from the track for the over-
head mics).
However, if you analyze only the track for the
overhead mics, the resulting beat triggers are
slightly later than the material on the other
tracks (since sound travels more slowly to the
overhead mics). If you then extend the selection
to the other drum tracks and separate, the re-
gions from the kick, snare, and tom tracks will
be cut slightly late.
With Collection Mode, you can analyze each
drum track separately, one at a time, optimizing
the Detection settings for each track until you
get the desired triggers. The triggers for each
track are added successively to the collection,
which can then be used to generate Bar|Beat
Markers or separate new regions.
Using Collection Mode
Collection Mode is accessed by clicking the Col-
lection Mode button from the Bar|Beat Marker
Generation or Region Separation page.
Before consolidating a large selection across
multiple tracks, make there is enough RAM
available. See “RAM Requirements for Beat
Detective” on page 279.
Beat Detective, Collection Mode options
Chapter 22: Beat Detective 291
To use Beat Detective’s Collection Mode:
1 Define the selection for the first audio track
you want to analyze (see “Defining the Selection
for Beat Detective” on page 282).
2 Adjust the Detection parameters so the de-
sired beat triggers appear (see “Detecting Tran-
sients with Beat Detective” on page 283).
3 Click the Collection Mode button.
4 In the Collection mode sub-pane, click Add to
add the current beat triggers to the collection.
5 Click the Normal Mode button and repeat the
previous steps for each track you want to ana-
lyze. Make sure to keep the selection range the
constant for each track. Each new set of triggers
added to the collection appears in a different
color.
If successive triggers in the collection are located
closely together (because of mic leakage), Beat
Detective keeps only the earlier triggers.
6 Once the desired beat triggers have been
added to the collection, you can use them to
generate Bar|Beat Markers, or separate new re-
gions. This must be done from the Collection
Mode sub-pane (when the triggers are displayed
in multi-colors).
To separate regions across multiple tracks,
make sure to extend the selection to any ad-
ditional tracks before separating.
the Beat Triggers stored in the Collection
Mode are saved with sessions. Therefore,
when you later open a session, the previous
collection material is still there (until you
clear it).
Pro Tools Reference Guide292
293
Part V: MIDI Editing
294
Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 295
Chapter 23: MIDI Editing
You can edit individual MIDI notes and control-
ler events with the Pencil, Trimmer, and Grab-
ber. You can also use the various MIDI Opera-
tions (Quantize, Transpose, Change Velocity,
and Change Duration) to transform groups of
MIDI notes to affect pitch, timing, and phras-
ing. For information on region-specific editing
for both MIDI and audio, see Chapter 17,
“Working with Regions and Selections.”
Inserting MIDI Notes with the
Pencil Tool
In addition to recording and importing MIDI
into Pro Tools, you can manually insert MIDI
notes with the Pencil tool.
To insert a MIDI note with the Pencil:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Notes.
2 Select the Pencil tool and make sure it is set to
Freehand.
3 Set the Time Scale to Bars:Beats. In addition,
set the Edit mode to Grid and the Grid value to
quarter notes (0|1|000).
With these settings, quarter notes will be in-
serted on the beat.
4 Move the Pencil into the playlist area for the
MIDI track. Use the Edit window’s Ruler and the
track’s mini-keyboard to locate the desired pitch
and location.
When using the Pencil, the Current Cursor dis-
play in the upper right of the Edit window pro-
vides feedback on its location.
5 When the desired pitch and location are lo-
cated, click to insert the note.
Pencil tool set to Freehand
Current Cursor display
MIDI note inserted with the Pencil
Pro Tools Reference Guide296
The velocity for inserted notes is determined by
the “Default Note On Velocity” setting in the
MIDI Preferences. The duration of the note is
determined by the Edit window’s Grid value. If
the MIDI Preferences option for “Play MIDI
notes with Grabber and Pencil Tools” is enabled,
each inserted note will sound.
The Pencil can be dragged after clicking (and be-
fore releasing) to adjust the note’s pitch or dura-
tion.
Click and drag right to lengthen the note with-
out changing its start point, click and drag left
to lengthen the note without changing its end
point.
The Pencil tool shapes (Line, Triangle, Square,
and Random) can be used to enter a series of
identical pitches with varying velocities. The
length and spacing for the inserted notes is de-
termined by the current Grid value. The note ve-
locities are determined by the Pencil shape.
To insert a series of notes with random velocities:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Notes.
2 Select the Pencil tool and make sure it is set to
Random.
3 Set the Time Scale to Bars:Beats. In addition,
set the Edit mode to Grid and the Grid value to
quarter notes (0|1|000).
With these settings, the inserted notes will be
spaced one quarter note apart.
4 Click at the point where the first note will be
inserted and drag to the right.
5 When the desired number of notes are visible,
release.
Use the Square shape for alternating velocities of
loud and soft. Use the Triangle shape for a ramp
up and down of velocities. The Line shape en-
ters notes with identical velocities.
Adjusting the duration for an inserted note
With Grid mode enabled, Command-drag
(Macintosh) or Control-drag (Windows)
with the Pencil to snap the note’s end point
to the nearest Grid boundary.
Pencil tool set to Random
Inserting a series of notes with the Pencil
Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 297
Manually Editing MIDI Notes
All aspects of a MIDI note can be edited from the
Edit window, including start and end points,
duration, pitch, and velocity. The Grabber and
Selector can operate on individual notes or
groups of notes.
Selecting MIDI Notes
To select a group of MIDI notes:
■With the Grabber, Shift-click each note.
– or –
■With the Grabber, move the cursor to where
there are no notes (the Marquee appears) and
click and draw a rectangle around the group of
notes.
When using the Grabber, if any portion of the
rectangle touches a note (either its start or end
point), the note is included in the selection. Se-
lections made with the Grabber do not include
underlying controller and automation data for
the MIDI track.
– or –
■With the Selector, drag across a range of notes.
When using the Selector, a note’s start point
must be included in order for it to become se-
lected. When a MIDI track is displaying notes
(or regions), selections made with the Selector
include underlying controller and automation
data.
To select a single pitch for the entire length of a
track:
■On the mini-keyboard, Command-Shift-click
(Macintosh) or Control-Shift-click (Windows)
the note.
To remove one or more notes from a selection:
■With the Grabber, Shift-click the notes so they
become deselected.
Transposing Notes with the Grabber
MIDI notes can be transposed by dragging up or
down with the Grabber. If several notes are se-
lected before dragging, each is transposed.
To transpose a MIDI note:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Notes.
2 Select the Grabber tool.
3 While pressing Shift, drag the note up or
down.
Selecting notes with the Grabber
Selecting notes with the Selector
Selecting a pitch from the mini-keyboard
Transposing with the Grabber
Pro Tools Reference Guide298
The Shift key ensures that the transposed note
retains its start point. While dragging, each new
note sounds and the Current Cursor display in-
dicates the number of semitones and direction
(+/-) for the transpose.
Moving Notes with the Grabber
Like regions, MIDI notes can be dragged left or
right with the Grabber to change their start
point. If several notes are selected before drag-
ging, each is moved.
To move a MIDI note:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Notes.
2 With the Grabber, drag the note left or right
(press Shift while dragging to preserve the note’s
pitch).
As the note is dragged, the Current Cursor dis-
play indicates the new start point.
If the Edit mode is set to Grid, the dragged note
snaps to the nearest Grid boundary. If the Edit
mode is set to Spot, the Spot dialog opens.
Trimming Note Start and End Times
Like regions, start and end points for MIDI notes
can be adjusted with the Trimmer tool. If several
notes are selected when performing the trim,
each note is changed.
To change the end points for a group of MIDI
Notes:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Notes.
2 Using the Grabber, Shift-click each note you
want to trim.
3 Select the Trimmer tool. For TDM systems,
make sure the Standard Trimmer is selected in
its pop-up menu.
4 Move the cursor near the end of any of the
highlighted notes, so the Trim cursor appears.
Drag left to shorten the notes, drag right to
lengthen them.
If using Grid mode, the dragged start/end point
snap to the nearest Grid boundary. If using Spot
mode, the Spot dialog opens, where you can en-
ter the new location for the note’s start or end
point.
Notes can also be trimmed with the Trim To Se-
lection command (see “Trim To Selection Com-
mand” on page 211) and the Trim To Insertion
command (see “Trim To Insertion Command”
on page 216).
To transpose a copy of the note, leaving the
original unchanged, press Option (Macin-
tosh) or Control (Windows) while dragging.
To copy the selected notes, leaving the orig-
inals intact, press Option (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows) while dragging.
The placement of MIDI notes can also be
adjusted with Shift (see “Shift Command”
on page 224) or Nudge (see “Nudging” on
page 221).
Trimmer tool set to Standard
Changing note end times with the Trimmer
Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 299
Manually Editing Note Velocities
When a MIDI track’s Display Format is set to Ve-
locity, each note’s attack velocity is represented
with a velocity stalk. The taller the velocity
stalk, the higher the velocity value (0-127).
To edit a velocity stalk with the Grabber:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Veloc-
ity.
2 Select the Grabber tool.
3 Drag the top (diamond) of the velocity stalk
up or down.
– or –
If two notes have the same start time (with ve-
locity stalks on top of each other), Command-
drag (Macintosh) or Control-drag (Windows)
the actual note up or down.
Drag up to increase the velocity value, down to
decrease it. While dragging, the diamond turns
blue and the associated note becomes selected.
The dragged velocity values are reflected in the
Current Cursor display.
The velocities for a range of notes can be edited
with the Pencil tool, either by Freehand or with
any of the Pencil tool shapes.
To draw velocity values that fade in:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Veloc-
ity.
2 Select the Pencil tool with the shape set to
Line.
3 Click at the beginning of the note range, near
the bottom of the velocity range, and drag to
the right and up.
4 Once the line encompasses the desired range
of notes, along with the desired steepness of the
fade, release.
You can also use the Trimmer tool to scale the
velocities for all selected notes. This is useful if
you like the velocity relationship between the
notes, but want them to be louder or softer.
To scale velocities with the Trimmer:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Veloc-
ity.
2 Using either the Selector or Grabber, select the
range of notes to be edited.
3 With the Trimmer, click near the range of se-
lected notes and drag up or down. Dragging up
boosts the velocities for each note, dragging
down reduces them.
Dragging a velocity stalk
Changing velocities with the Line shape
Pro Tools Reference Guide300
Typing in Note Attributes
When an individual note is selected with the
Grabber, its attributes are displayed in the Event
Edit area.
Pitch is listed by note name and octave number.
Attack and release velocities are listed with their
MIDI values (0-127). Times for Start, End, and
Length are displayed in the Main Time Scale.
To change an attribute for a MIDI note:
1 In the MIDI track’s playlist area, select the
note with the Grabber.
2 Click in the Attribute’s text box and do one of
the following.
• Enter the new value on the numeric keypad.
• Press the Up or Down Arrow to scroll to the
new value.
• While pressing Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows), drag up or down to scroll
to the new value.
• Play the new note value on your MIDI con-
troller keyboard.
Press the slash key to move between the fields in
the Event Edit area.
Multiple Notes and Event Edit Area
When multiple notes are selected, you can enter
values in the Event Edit area fields to affect all
selected notes.
A new value in the Start field moves the first
note in the selection to that location, with all
other notes moving with it.
Values entered in the pitch and velocity fields
add to or subtract from the values for all selected
notes. For example, to transpose all selected
notes down an octave, enter a value –12 for
pitch.
Deleting MIDI Notes
In addition to deleting selected notes with the
Clear command in the Edit menu, individual
notes can also be deleted with the Pencil tool.
To delete a group of MIDI notes with the Clear
command:
1 With the Grabber or Selector, select the notes
to be deleted. For details, see “Selecting MIDI
Notes” on page 297.
2 Choose Edit > Clear to delete the selected
notes. The track’s underlying controller data re-
mains intact.
Event Edit Area, Pitch attribute selected
Multiple notes in the Event Edit area
When deleting MIDI notes within a time
range selection, all underlying controller
and automation data is also deleted.
Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 301
To delete a single MIDI note with the Pencil:
■With the Pencil tool selected, press Option
(Macintosh) or Alt (Windows) so the tool
changes to an Eraser, then click the note to de-
lete it.
Continuous Controller Events
Continuous controller events for MIDI tracks
are displayed in the form of a line graph with a
series of editable breakpoints. Controller events
for MIDI tracks differ somewhat from automa-
tion data for audio tracks in that the breakpoints
are stepped (instead of vector-based), where
each breakpoint represents a single controller
event.
Continuous controller events that can be in-
serted and edited in Pro Tools include:
• volume
• pan
• pitch bend
• aftertouch (mono)
• MIDI controllers, 0–127
MIDI controller #7 (volume) and #10 (pan) are
treated by Pro Tools as automation data. This
means that these controller events (along with
Mutes) can be recorded and automated from the
Mix window; in addition, each MIDI track’s au-
tomation mode affects how these events are
played back and recorded.
While a MIDI track’s volume and pan (and
mute) events can be suspended, all other con-
troller events in the track always play.
Continuous controller events (including vol-
ume and pan) can be recorded from an external
MIDI controller (such as a keyboard or control
surface), and they can be inserted in a MIDI
track’s playlist with the Grabber or Pencil.
Deleting a note with Pencil
Program change events and sysex events can
also be deleted by Option-clicking (Macin-
tosh) or Alt-clicking (Windows) them with
the Pencil tool.
MIDI track displaying volume events
Polyphonic aftertouch cannot be viewed in
the Edit window. To view polyphonic after-
touch in Pro Tools, use the MIDI Event List
(see Chapter 25, “MIDI Event List”).
Pro Tools Reference Guide302
Inserting/Editing Controller
Events
Continuous controller events can be edited with
any of the following methods:
◆Individual breakpoints can be dragged with
the Grabber to adjust their location or value.
◆A group of selected breakpoints can be scaled
up or down with the Trimmer.
◆New controller events can be drawn in with
the Pencil tool to replace existing events. Events
can be drawn with the Pencil set to Freehand, or
using any of the shapes (Line, Triangle, Square,
or Random).
◆Controller events can be copied and pasted,
nudged, and shifted.
For details on these editing procedures, see
Chapter 28, “Automation.”
Resolution for Inserted Controller
Events
When inserting controller events with the Pen-
cil, the density of the events is determined by
the MIDI Preference for “Pencil Tool Resolution
When Drawing Controller Data.”
To set the Pencil tool resolution:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click MIDI.
2 Enter a value for “Pencil Tool Resolution
When Drawing Controller Data.” The value
range is from 1 to 100 milliseconds.
3 Click OK.
Program Changes
Each MIDI track can have a default program
change that is sent each time the track plays.
Additional program changes can be inserted at
any point within the track.
About Program and Bank Changes
The MIDI protocol lets you choose from a range
of 128 programs (0-127). Most MIDI instru-
ments have several banks of 128 programs. To
specify which bank you’re selecting from, a bank
select message must be sent. Some instruments
use Controller 0 to switch the bank while others
use Controller 32 (some use a combination of
the two). The Program Change window in
Pro Tools allows you to use either of these bank
select messages when inserting a program
change event. Check with the manufacturer’s
documentation to see which message your de-
vice uses.
Bank Changes for Older MIDI Devices
Some older MIDI devices (such as the Kurzweil
K1000) use a program change instead of a Bank
Select message to switch banks. For these de-
vices you may find it necessary to send two pro-
gram change messages to access a particular pro-
gram, where the first sets the bank and the
second sets the program.
Edits to volume data affect all tracks within
an enabled Edit Group. This is not the case,
however, for other controller playlists (such
as pan). To insert and edit other controller
types across all tracks in an Edit Group,
press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key
(Windows) while performing the edits.
Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 303
OMS Name Manager
(Macintosh Only)
If your MIDI devices are subscribed to OMS
patch names, these names will appear in the
Program Change window in Pro Tools, and also
in the inserted program change events. If not,
programs will be selected and viewed by num-
ber.
If OMS has a factory names document for any of
the MIDI devices in your Studio Setup, these fac-
tory names are automatically subscribed and ap-
pear in Pro Tools.
You can also open the OMS Names window
from Pro Tools and subscribe to names from
patch editor/librarian software, or even enter
your own custom patch names.
To open the OMS Names window:
■Choose Setups > OMS Names.
For details on using the OMS Names window,
refer to the online OMS Name Manager manual
included on the Pro Tools CD-ROM.
Default Program Change
The default program change for each MIDI track
is specified by clicking on the Program button,
from either the Edit or Mix window. Once spec-
ified, the default program change message is
sent to your instrument when playing the track.
To set the default program change for a MIDI
track:
1 From the Edit or Mix window, click the Pro-
gram button.
The Program button in the Edit window (if the
Track Height is set to Medium or Larger) dis-
plays the name of the default program, or
“none” if one has not yet been specified. The
Program button in the Mix window (and in the
Edit window when the Track Height is set to
Small), is labeled as “P.”
2 In the Program Change window, select a pro-
gram number and, if necessary, specify a bank
change value.
OMS Names window
Program button, Edit window
Program Change window
Program button
Pro Tools Reference Guide304
If subscribed to OMS names, choose a bank from
the pop-up menu in the upper right of the Pro-
gram Change window.
3 Click Done.
Once selected, the program number (or name)
appears in the Program button in the Edit win-
dow. To clear the default program change, select
None in the Program Change window.
Unlike recorded and inserted program change
events, the default program change does not ap-
pear in the track’s playlist.
Inserting/Editing Program
Changes
Program changes can be inserted into a track’s
playlist with the Pencil tool. Existing program
changes can be edited, moved, and copied and
pasted.
NOTE: On some instruments, changing programs
during playback can interrupt playback. To avoid
this, place program change events in the track
where there are no notes sounding.
To insert a program change with the Pencil:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Pro-
gram.
2 If desired, set the Edit mode to Grid so the in-
serted event snaps to the Grid.
3 Click with the Pencil in the track’s playlist at
the point where you want to insert the program
change.
4 In the Program Change window, select a pro-
gram number (or name) and, if necessary, spec-
ify a bank change value.
5 Click Done to insert the program change
event in the track’s playlist.
To edit a program change event:
1 With the Grabber, double-click the program
change event you want to edit.
2 In the Program Change window, select the
new program number (or name) and, if neces-
sary, specify a bank change value.
3 Click Done.
To move a program change event:
■With the Grabber, drag the program change
event left or right.
If the Edit mode is set to Grid, the dragged event
snaps to the nearest Grid boundary. If the Edit
mode is set to Spot, the Spot dialog opens.
Choosing a bank in Program Change window
Program change event
The placement of program changes can also
be adjusted with Shift (see “Shift Com-
mand” on page 224) or Nudge (see “Nudg-
ing” on page 221).
Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 305
To delete a program change event:
1 With the track’s Display Format set to Notes,
click the program change event with the Grab-
ber to select it.
– or –
If the region contains other events you want to
delete, select the entire region with the Grabber
(when the track is displaying regions).
2 Choose Edit > Clear to remove the selected
events from the track.
Auditioning Programs
When the Program Change window is open,
you can have Pro Tools automatically scroll
through the different patches for a track’s as-
signed MIDI device.
To audition patches from the Program Change
window:
1 To audition patches for a MIDI track while it
plays, click Play in the Transport window.
2 Open the Program Change window by click-
ing the Program button in the Mix window, or
by inserting or editing a program change event
in a MIDI track.
3 click a program number—the starting point
from which you will scroll through the patches.
4 If desired, enter a value for the number of sec-
onds that will elapse between each program
change.
5 Select the option for Increment Patch.
After the specified number of seconds, Pro Tools
selects the next patch and transmits the pro-
gram change to the track’s assigned MIDI de-
vice. As desired, play your MIDI controller to au-
dition the new patches.
System Exclusive Events
System Exclusive (sysex) events can be recorded
to MIDI tracks in Pro Tools (see “Recording Sys-
tem Exclusive Data” on page 152). Once the
events are recorded, they appear in the track’s
playlist as blocks when the Display Format is set
to Sysex.
While the contents of recorded System Exclu-
sive events cannot be directly edited in
Pro Tools, the events can be moved or nudged,
copied and pasted, or deleted.
To move a sysex event:
1 Set the MIDI track’s Display Format to Sysex.
2 With the Grabber, drag the sysex event left or
right.
If the Edit mode is set to Grid, the dragged event
snaps to the nearest Grid boundary. If the Edit
mode is set to Spot, the Spot dialog opens.
Individual program change events can also
be deleted by Option-clicking (Macintosh)
or Alt-clicking (Windows) them with the
Pencil.
Sysex event block
The placement of sysex event blocks can
also be adjusted with Shift (see “Shift Com-
mand” on page 224) or Nudge (see “Nudg-
ing” on page 221).
Pro Tools Reference Guide306
To delete one or more sysex events:
1 With the track’s Display Format set to Sysex,
click the sysex event with the Grabber to select
it.
– or –
If the region contains other sysex events you
want to delete, select the entire region with the
Grabber (when the track is displaying regions).
2 Choose Edit > Clear to remove the selected
events from the track.
Note and Controller Chasing
Note chasing allows long, sustained MIDI notes
to be heard when playing from a point after
their start time. For example, if a note’s start
time is at 1|1|000 and lasts for 8 measures (until
9|1|000), note chasing lets you begin playing
from bar 5 and still hear the note that started at
1|1|000 as it continues to sustain until 9|1|000.
Note Chasing is something that can turned on
and off individually for each MIDI track. By de-
fault, new MIDI tracks have Note Chasing en-
abled.
To enable Note Chasing for a MIDI track:
■Click the track’s Playlist Selector and select
the option for Note Chasing.
Make sure to disable Note Chasing when work-
ing with samplers that are playing loops. If a
MIDI track, for example, is triggering a 4-bar
drum loop and you begin playing at bar 3, the
loop will begin playing at the wrong time and be
out of sync with the other tracks.
Controller and Program Chasing
Pro Tools always chases continuous controller
events and program changes for MIDI tracks.
This ensures that controller values and patches
for MIDI devices are always appropriately set.
For example, suppose a MIDI track lasting 32
measures starts with a volume of 127 and in the
last bar fades the volume down to 0. If after
playing the track in its entirety you attempt to
play from bar 8, the initial volume of 127 is
chased and sent to the track’s assigned device—
otherwise the track would not be heard since the
most recent volume event sent would have been
0.
Chasing also occurs for a MIDI track’s default
program change, along with any program
change events residing within the track. There-
fore, if you have chosen a default program
change for a track, when playing from any point
within the track, the program change event is
sent to the track’s assigned device.
Default Controller Values and Chasing
Though new MIDI tracks appear to have default
values for continuous controller playlists, this is
actually not the case. For example, when view-
ing a MIDI track’s Mod Wheel playlist, you’ll see
that the breakpoint line is set to a default of
zero. However, since the modulation wheel on
your synth may purposely be set to a different
value, the default value in the track is not trans-
mitted when playing.
Individual sysex event blocks can also be
deleted by Option-clicking (Macintosh) or
Alt-clicking (Windows) them with the Pen-
cil tool.
Note Chasing enabled in Playlist Selector pop-up
Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 307
This can cause some confusion, however, if you
insert a fade (for example, from 0–90) in the
Mod Wheel playlist towards the end of the
track. If you then play from the beginning of the
track, or from anywhere before the fade, the
Mod Wheel value on your synth will be at 90
until the beginning of the fade data is reached—
which is likely not what you want.
To ensure that the default controller value for a
playlist is sent (and chased), click the initial
breakpoint at the beginning of the track, move
it slightly, and set it back to the default value.
Offsetting MIDI Tracks
Pro Tools can offset MIDI tracks globally or indi-
vidually.
Global MIDI Playback Offset
Pro Tools offers a MIDI offset preference that al-
lows MIDI tracks to play back earlier or later
(than audio tracks) by a specified number of
samples. The offset affects playback only and
does not alter in any way how MIDI data is dis-
played in the Edit window.
This capability is provided in large part to com-
pensate for the audio monitoring latency in
Pro Tools LE. If you are monitoring the output
of your MIDI devices with an external mixer or
sound system (or headphones), there is no la-
tency. If, however, you are monitoring the out-
put of your MIDI devices through a Digi 001 (or
Audiomedia III), your MIDI tracks will appear to
play slightly later than your audio tracks. The
larger the setting for the Hardware Buffer Size
(128, 256, 512, or 1024 samples), the larger the
latency.
By configuring the Global MIDI Playback Offset,
you can get your MIDI tracks to play back
slightly earlier (by a specified number of sam-
ples), thereby compensating for the latency in
monitoring audio within Pro Tools LE.
To configure the Global MIDI Playback Offset:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click MIDI.
2 For the “Global MIDI Playback Offset” option,
enter the number of samples (–10,000 to
10,000) for the offset. A negative value causes
the MIDI tracks to play back earlier than the au-
dio tracks, a positive value causes the MIDI
tracks to play back later.
To allow for monitoring latency in Pro Tools LE,
set the offset to a value that is roughly equiva-
lent to the Hardware Buffer Size.
3 Click Done.
Individual MIDI Track Offsets
You can offset individual MIDI track offsets in
Pro Tools to compensate for delays in MIDI de-
vices (the time it takes to trigger events on a
sampler or synth).
For example, if you have some kick drums that
are being played by an audio track in Pro Tools
and want them to be perfectly “in sync” with
kick drums that are being played by a MIDI de-
vice, you may need to use a MIDI offset. In this
example, it will usually take at least 5 ms to trig-
ger the MIDI notes, and it could take even
longer, depending on the MIDI device.
The Global MIDI Playback Offset can also
be set from the MIDI Track Offsets window.
Pro Tools Reference Guide308
You can measure the latency for a MIDI device
assigned to a MIDI track by recording its audio
output back into Pro Tools. Compare the sam-
ple locations for the recorded audio events
against the original MIDI notes to calculate the
latency.
To configure a MIDI track offset for a track:
1 Choose Windows > Show MIDI Track Offsets.
2 Click in the Sample Offset column for the
MIDI track and enter the number of samples
(–10,000 to 10,000) for the offset. A negative
value causes the MIDI tracks to play back earlier
than the audio tracks, a positive value causes the
MIDI tracks to play back later.
The equivalent offset in milliseconds is dis-
played in the Msec Offset column. The value in
this column, indicated in italics, cannot be ed-
ited, and updates when a new value is entered in
the SMPTE Offset column.
3 Press Return (Macintosh) or Enter (Windows)
to accept the entered offset value.
To reset all offsets for all MIDI tracks, click the
Reset button in upper left of the window.
Stuck Notes
If you encounter stuck notes with any of your
MIDI devices, you can silence them with the All
Notes Off command.
To turn off all stuck notes:
■Choose MIDI > All Notes Off.
An All Notes Off message is sent to each channel
for all devices in your setup.
MIDI Track Offsets
Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 309
Chapter 24: MIDI Operations
MIDI Operations Window
The MIDI Operations window opens when
choosing any of the following commands from
the MIDI menu:
• Quantize
• Change Velocity
• Change Duration
• Transpose
• Select Notes
• Split Notes
• Input Quantize
To reconfigure the MIDI Operations window for
a different command, select the command from
the MIDI menu or from the pop-up menu at the
top of the window (see Figure 18).
The MIDI Operations window can be left open
as desired, revisiting it as necessary to invoke a
command, or to try out different options for a
particular command.
To show or hide the MIDI Operations window:
■Choose Windows > Show MIDI Operations.
To invoke the command in the MIDI Operations
window:
■Click Apply or press Enter on the numeric
keypad. This invokes the command and leaves
the window in the foreground.
– or –
■Press Return (Macintosh) or Enter on the al-
pha keyboard (Windows). This invokes the com-
mand and moves the window to the
background.
To undo the command in the MIDI Operations
window:
■Choose Edit > Undo.
Using the MIDI Operations Window
Use the following methods to easily configure
the various options, which vary from command
to command, in the MIDI Operations window:
◆To move forward and back through the vari-
ous fields, press Tab or Shift+Tab.
Figure 18. MIDI Operations window
Pro Tools Reference Guide310
◆Increment or decrement selected fields with
the Up/Down Arrows. Press and hold these keys
to scroll quickly through the values.
◆Command-drag (Macintosh) or Control-drag
(Windows) up or down in a selected field to
scroll to a new value.
◆Press Command (Macintosh) or Control
(Windows) while adjusting sliders for finer reso-
lution.
◆For selected pitch and velocity fields, play a
note on your MIDI controller keyboard to auto-
matically enter it.
◆Changing a value for a particular parameter
(such as the Swing Percentage in the Quantize
window), automatically enables the parameter.
Select Notes
The Select Notes command allows you to fur-
ther narrow a selection of MIDI notes based on
pitch. The command can be used to select a sin-
gle note or note range for the entire length of a
region or track, or to select the upper or lower
voices within chords.
Options for the Select Notes command include:
All Notes All notes are selected.
Notes Between Selects a range of notes between
the specified upper and lower note. Values for
the notes can be entered in pitch (C-1–G8) or
MIDI note numbers (0–127).
Top Selects the highest note or notes in each
chord.
Bottom Selects the lowest note or notes in each
chord.
Selecting a Pitch Range of Notes
A common use for Select Notes is to select a sin-
gle note for the entire length of a region or track.
This is especially useful if you want to select a
note in a MIDI drum track (hi-hat, for instance),
and affect it over the selected time range with
the Quantize, Transpose, or Change Duration
command.
To select only the hi-hats in a General MIDI drum
track:
1 Using the Grabber or Selector, select the range
of MIDI notes that contains the note.
2 Choose MIDI > Select Notes.
3 Select the Notes Between option with the note
range set to F#1 and F#1.
For a General MIDI drum kit, the closed hi-hat is
assigned to F#1 (MIDI note number 42). If the
hi-hat for your drumkit is assigned to a different
note, make sure to specify it.
4 Click Apply.
Select Notes window
Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 311
Selecting Notes in a Chord
Another use for Select Notes is to select only the
upper or lower notes in a chord. Many times
you’ll want to affect only the upper or lower
notes in a chord—to boost their velocities, or
transpose their pitch.
To select only the bass notes in a chord:
1 Using the Grabber or Selector, select the range
of MIDI notes that contains the chords.
2 Choose MIDI > Select Notes.
3 Select the Bottom option and leave the num-
ber of notes set to 1.
4 Click Apply.
NOTE: In order for notes to be considered a chord,
their start times must be within five ticks of each
other.
Split Notes
The Split Notes command has the same selec-
tion criteria as the Select Notes command, but
also lets you automatically cut or copy the se-
lected notes when clicking Apply.
One use for this command would be if you re-
corded a track with chords in the left hand and
melody in the right. With the Split Notes com-
mand, you could cut the melody notes and
paste them to another track so you could assign
them to play on a different device or channel.
Another use is to split the various notes (kick,
snare, toms etc.) from a single drum track to sep-
arate tracks.
To cut a specific pitch range of notes:
1 Using the Grabber or Selector, select the range
of MIDI notes that contains the notes.
2 Choose MIDI > Split Notes.
3 In the Split Notes dialog, select the option for
Notes Between and enter the low and high notes
for the pitch range.
When the either of the Pitch fields are selected,
you can play a pitch on your MIDI controller to
automatically enter it.
4 Click Apply. Notes falling within the specified
pitch range are removed from the selection and
placed on the Clipboard. The notes can then be
pasted or merged to another a track.
Quantize
The Quantize command adjusts MIDI note loca-
tions and durations so that timing is improved,
or so that a particular rhythmic “feel” is
achieved. Quantize works by aligning notes to a
Quantize Grid, the size of which is defined in
the Quantize window by a standard note dura-
tion.
Split Notes window
Pro Tools Reference Guide312
The Quantize command is not the same as the
Quantize Regions command (in the Edit menu).
The Quantize Regions command adjusts the
start point for a selected region, and its contents
are moved along with the region (with rhythmic
relationships remaining intact).
The Quantize command, on the other hand, af-
fects MIDI notes individually. Some notes may
be moved back in time, others forward; and,
some notes will be more drastically affected
than others.
To open the Quantize window, choose MIDI >
Quantize. Each of the Quantize options is dis-
cussed in the following sections.
What to Quantize
The options under “What to Quantize” deter-
mine which aspects of the notes are quantized:
attacks, releases, or both.
Attacks When selected, note start points are
quantized.
Releases When selected, note end points are
quantized.
Don’t Change Durations When deselected with
the Attacks option selected, note end points are
not moved. When deselected with the Releases
option selected, note start points are not moved.
If the options for both Attacks and Releases are
selected, the Don’t Change Durations option is
ignored (and dimmed).
Figure 19 shows how notes are adjusted by the
different What To Quantize options.
The settings in the Quantize window are
saved with each session. To store your fa-
vorite settings as the default for use in future
sessions, save them as part of a session tem-
plate (see “Creating Custom Session Tem-
plates” on page 55).
Quantize window
Figure 19. What To Quantize examples
before quantize
Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 313
Quantize Grid
The Quantize Grid determines the beat bound-
aries to which notes are aligned. Any size from
whole notes to thirty-second notes (including
dotted values) can be selected for the grid size.
Tuplet Select the Tuplet option to quantize irreg-
ular note groupings like triplets or quintuplets.
The Quantize Grid for tuplets is calculated from
the note size selection and the Tuplet value. For
instance, if an eighth note equals 480 ticks, tu-
plet eighth notes with 3 in time of 2 would yield
a grid size of 320 ticks (480 ticks / 3 * 2).
Offset Grid By Offsets the Quantize Grid forward
or back in time by a specified number of ticks.
Use this option to achieve a pushed (positive
values) or laid back (negative values) feel.
Swing When selected, every other grid bound-
ary is shifted by the specified percentage value
(0-300) to achieve a “swing” feel. A Swing value
of 0% yields no swing, while 100% yields a trip-
let feel. With Swing set to 300%, every other
grid boundary is moved to the next grid point.
Quantize Options
Additional Quantize options include:
Include Within When selected, attacks and re-
leases are only quantized if located within the
specified percentage of the Quantize Grid. Use
this option to clean up downbeats without af-
fecting notes that are “swung” or wildly off the
beat.
Figure 20 shows the Quantize Grid set to quarter
notes with the Include Within option set to
50%. Only attacks and releases falling within
the shaded area (equivalent to an eight note
area around each beat) are quantized.
Exclude Within When selected, attacks and re-
leases are not quantized if located within the
specified percentage of the Quantize Grid. Use
this option to preserve the feel of notes close to
the beat, while correcting others that are drasti-
cally away from the beat.
Figure 21 shows the Quantize Grid set to quarter
notes with the Exclude Within option set to
25%. Attacks and releases falling within the
shaded area (equivalent to a sixteenth note area
around each beat) are not quantized.
To Quantize just the backbeats, set the
Quantize Grid to half-notes with an Offset
of 960 ticks.
100% Swing, eighth note grid
Every other grid point
shifted by swing
0% Swing
(480 ticks)
100% Swing
(640 ticks)
Figure 20. Include Within option
Figure 21. Exclude Within option
Pro Tools Reference Guide314
Strength When selected, notes are moved a per-
centage toward the Quantize Grid. Lower per-
centages preserve the original feel of the notes,
higher percentages align the notes more tightly
to the grid.
Randomize When selected, notes are moved ran-
domly forward or back in time (after the Quan-
tize occurs). For instance, with the Quantize
Grid set to eighth notes and Randomize set to
50%, notes are placed up to a 32nd note before
or after the beat boundary. The Randomize set-
ting also affects note durations (if Releases is se-
lected).
Quantize Examples
The following examples illustrate some of the
more common uses for the Quantize command.
If you intend to loop playback while quantizing,
you may want to deselect Operations > Link Edit
and Timeline Selection. This ensures that the
play range will not change when selected notes
are moved in the course of quantizing and un-
doing.
Straight Quantize
To quantize to a straight sixteenth note feel:
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be quan-
tized.
2 Choose MIDI > Quantize.
3 Under What to Quantize, select the Attacks
option. To quantize note durations as well, se-
lect the Releases option.
4 Set the Quantize Grid to sixteenth notes.
Make sure that the other options for Tuplet, Off-
set Grid By, and Swing are not selected.
5 Leave the remaining Quantize options dese-
lected and click Apply.
Quantizing while Preserving the
Original “Feel”
You can quantize less strictly, to preserve the
original feel of your recorded MIDI tracks:
To quantize while preserving the original feel:
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be quan-
tized.
2 Choose MIDI > Quantize.
3 Under What to Quantize, select the Attacks
option. To quantize note durations as well, se-
lect the Releases option.
4 Set the Quantize Grid to the desired note size.
Make sure that the other options for Tuplet, Off-
set Grid By, and Swing are not selected.
5 Select the Exclude Within option with a value
of 10-15%.
6 Select the Strength option with a value of 70-
80%.
7 Leave the remaining Quantize options dese-
lected and click Apply.
Audition the change and if the desired effect is
not achieved, undo the edit and experiment
with different values for Exclude Within and
Strength.
While you can undo a Quantize operation,
the Quantize command is destructive and
permanently affects selected data. To pre-
serve existing data, duplicate the playlist
before quantizing.
Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 315
Quantizing with Swing
If you’re working with hi-hats or bass lines, you
may want to apply more of a swing feel to the
track.
To quantize with an eighth note swing feel:
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be quan-
tized.
2 Choose MIDI > Quantize.
3 Under What to Quantize, select the Attacks
option. To quantize note durations as well, se-
lect the Releases option.
4 Set the Quantize Grid to eighth notes.
5 Select the Swing option with the desired
Swing percentage:
• For a light swing, use 12%.
• For a tighter swing-like groove, use 24%.
• For a true “triplet-like” swing feel, use
50–75%.
6 Make sure the options for Tuplet, Offset Grid
By, and Randomize are not selected. Click Ap-
ply.
Audition the change and if the desired effect is
not achieved, undo the edit and experiment
with a different Swing percentage.
Quantizing with Randomize
You may find that after quantizing, notes sound
too mechanical, too “on the beat.” You can use
the Randomize option in the Quantize window
to make them sound more natural.
To humanize the rhythmic feel of notes:
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be quan-
tized.
2 Choose MIDI > Quantize.
3 Under What to Quantize, select the Attacks
option. To quantize note durations as well, se-
lect the Releases option.
4 Set the Quantize Grid to the desired note size.
5 Select the Randomize option with a value of
5%.
6 Click Apply.
Audition the change and if the desired effect is
not achieved, undo the edit and experiment
with a different Randomize percentage.
Experimenting with Quantize
When using the Quantize command, you’ll of-
ten have to experiment with many of the pa-
rameters. In fact, you won’t always get the re-
sults you’re expecting. You may have to try
different values for Include and Exclude Within,
and Strength; these parameters determine
which notes are affected and how drastically
they are changed. In addition, the Randomize
parameter, which adds a percentage of random-
ness to the quantize, can be used to make tracks
feel less mechanical—less perfect.
Although quantize is a wonderful tool for clean-
ing up tracks and playing with the feel of your
music, sometimes the recorded data may not be
salvageable. In these instances it is wise not to
spend too much time trying to fix something
that should probably just be rerecorded.
Pro Tools Reference Guide316
Change Velocity
The Change Velocity command automatically
adjusts attack and release velocities for selected
MIDI notes. Use it to make notes louder or
softer, or to create crescendos or decrescendos.
Velocities can also be edited manually with the
Pencil and Grabber Tools (see “Manually Editing
MIDI Notes” on page 297).
NOTE: Velocity values usually affect the loudness
of MIDI notes. They may also affect other aspects
of an instrument’s sound, such as filter cutoff, en-
velopes, and modulations.
To open the Change Velocity window, choose
MIDI > Change Velocity. Options for the
Change Velocity are discussed in the following
section.
While there are options for adjusting both the
attack and release velocities for notes, most
MIDI devices ignore release velocity informa-
tion. To see if your instrument supports release
velocities, refer to the manufacturer’s documen-
tation.
Set All To Sets all velocities to the specified value
(1–127).
Add Adds to existing velocity values by the spec-
ified amount (1–127).
Subtract Subtracts from existing velocity values
by the specified amount (1–127).
Scale By Scales all velocities by a percentage
amount (1–400%).
Change Smoothly Allows velocities to change
smoothly from one value to another over time.
Change Smoothly by Percentage Allows veloci-
ties to change smoothly from one percentage
value to another over time.
The curve for this change can be adjusted (+/–
99) to affect how gradually the change occurs.
The settings in the Change Velocity window
are saved with each session. To store your
favorite settings as the default for use in fu-
ture sessions, save them as part of a session
template (see “Creating Custom Session
Templates” on page 55).
Change Velocity window
Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 317
Limit To When selected, restricts the Change Ve-
locity command to a minimum and maximum
range.
Randomize When selected, the Change Velocity
command is randomized by the specified per-
centage value. For instance, using “Set all to”
with a value of 64, along with a Randomize
value of 50%, yields velocities anywhere be-
tween 48 and 80 (+/– 25% of the velocity value).
Velocity Ranges
The valid range for MIDI note velocities is
1–127. The Change Velocity command will
never result in moving velocities outside this
range; 1 will always be the lowest and 127 will
always be the highest. This means that you may
reach a state where the Change Velocity com-
mand has no effect on a particular note.
For instance, if a note with a velocity 64 is scaled
by 200%, the new velocity would be 127. At-
tempting to scale or increase the velocity any
further would yield no change.
Fading Velocities
An interesting musical effect is when velocities
get gradually louder or softer over time. This can
be used to make notes fade in or out, or to pro-
vide timbrel variations in the way that a MIDI
instrument sounds.
To change velocities smoothly over time:
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be edited.
2 Choose MIDI > Change Velocity.
3 Select the Change Smoothly option with the
range set from 127 to 0.
4 Click Apply.
To preserve (somewhat) the existing velocity re-
lationships and still achieve velocity fades, use
the option for Change Smoothly by Percentage.
Figure 22 illustrates the difference between the
two Change Smoothly options.
Scaling Velocities
Many times existing note velocities will have
the desired relationship between each other, but
will either be too soft or too loud as a whole. In
these instances, use the Scale By option.
For instance, to make velocities 20% louder:
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be edited.
2 Choose MIDI > Change Velocity.
3 Select the Scale By option with the percentage
value set to 120.
4 Click Apply.
Figure 22. Change Smoothly/by Percentage
Original velocities
After Change Smoothly by Percentage, 100% to 20%
After Change Smoothly, from velocity of 100 to 10
Pro Tools Reference Guide318
Change Duration
The Change Duration command adjusts dura-
tions for selected MIDI notes. Use it to make
melodies and phrases more staccato or de-
tached, or more legato.
To open the Change Duration window, choose
MIDI > Change Duration. Each of the Change
Duration options is discussed in the following
section.
Set All To Sets all durations to a length specified
in quarter notes and ticks.
Add Adds to the durations by a specified number
of quarter notes and ticks.
Subtract Subtracts from the durations by a spec-
ified number of quarter notes and ticks.
Scale by Shortens or lengthens durations based
on a percentage value (1–400%).
Move Releases to the Closest Attack Shortens
or lengthens durations so that end times are
moved to the closest attack.
Extend Releases to the Next Attack Lengthens
durations so that end times are extended to the
next attack. To limit the duration change, select
either of the Add No More Than options, using
either a percentage value or a number of quarter
note and ticks.
Change Smoothly Allows note lengths to change
smoothly from one duration to another over
time. Duration values are specified in quarter
notes and ticks.
Change Smoothly by Percentage Allows note
lengths to change smoothly from one percent-
age value to another over time.
The curve for this change can be adjusted (+/–
99) to affect how gradually the change occurs.
Limit Range When selected, restricts the Change
Duration command to a minimum and maxi-
mum range (in quarter notes and ticks).
Randomize When selected, the Change Duration
command is randomized by the specified per-
centage value. For instance, using “Set all to”
with a value of 480 ticks, along with a Random-
ize value of 50%, yields durations anywhere be-
tween 360 and 600 (+/– 25% of the duration
value).
The settings in the Change Duration win-
dow are saved with each session. To store
your favorite settings as the default for use
in future sessions, save them as part of a
session template (see “Creating Custom Ses-
sion Templates” on page 55).
Change Duration window
Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 319
Change Duration Examples
To make notes more staccato:
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be edited.
2 Choose MIDI > Change Duration.
3 Select the option for Scale By with a percent-
age value of 50.
4 Click Apply. The durations for the selected
notes are reduced by 50%.
With this option you may have to experiment
with the percentage value to achieve the desired
effect.
To make notes more legato:
1 Select the range of MIDI notes to be edited.
2 Choose MIDI > Change Duration.
3 Select the option “Extend Release to the Next
Attack.”
4 Click Apply. The end points for the selected
notes are extended to the start points of the next
note, thereby eliminating the space between
each note.
To vary this effect, making it more or less legato,
select the Add No More Than percentage option.
Percentage values larger than 100 extend note
end times so that the notes essentially overlap.
Transpose
While the Grabber Tool can be used to manually
transpose individual MIDI notes, or small
groups of notes, the Transpose command can be
used for entire MIDI tracks and regions.
To open the Transpose window, choose MIDI >
Transpose.
The two options for the Transpose command
are:
Transpose by Semitones Transposes chromati-
cally, up or down, by up to 60 semitones. To
transpose down by an octave, for instance, use
–12 semitones.
Transpose From – To Transposes by semitones, as
expressed by the difference between the source
and destination pitches. Transposing from C4 to
C#4, for instance, transposes the notes up by
one semitone.
Transpose window
Pro Tools Reference Guide320
One of the more common uses for Transpose is
to change the key for your MIDI tracks. You can
define an Edit Group for MIDI tracks that want
to transpose, making sure to exclude any drum
tracks from the group so they aren’t transposed.
To transpose MIDI notes to another key:
1 If you will be transposing a group of tracks,
make sure to enable the Edit Group.
2 With the Selector or Grabber, select the range
of MIDI notes to be transposed.
3 Choose MIDI > Transpose.
4 Select the option for Transpose From–To.
5 Set the “From” and “To” values, for instance,
to C4 and E4 to transpose from C Major to
E Major.
With either of the pitch fields selected, you can
play a note on your MIDI controller to automat-
ically enter it as the pitch value.
6 Click Apply.
It is also common to transpose MIDI tracks up or
down by an octave.
To transpose a MIDI track up by an octave:
1 With the Selector, triple-click in the track to
select all of its notes.
2 Choose MIDI > Transpose.
3 Select the Transpose By option.
4 Enter a value of 12 semitones and then click
Apply.
Chapter 25: MIDI Event List 321
Chapter 25: MIDI Event List
The MIDI Event List
The MIDI Event List displays a detailed list of all
events in a single MIDI track. The events are dis-
played with text and numbers, allowing you to
precisely edit their location, length, and event
values.
Events in the MIDI Event List can be copied and
pasted, selected, or deleted. Any MIDI event (ex-
cept sysex) can be inserted and edited in the list.
Certain MIDI event types can be hidden with
the View Filter.
Opening the MIDI Event List
To open the MIDI Event List, do one of the
following:
■Choose Windows > Show MIDI Event List.
■Control-double-click (Macintosh) or Start-
double-click (Windows) a track name in the Edit
or Mix window.
■Press Option+equal (Macintosh) or Alt+equal
(Windows).
At the top of the MIDI Event List are three pop-
up menus.
◆The Track Selector indicates the MIDI track
currently displayed, and can be used to choose a
different MIDI track to be displayed.
◆The Options menu contains commands and
options for the MIDI Event List (see “MIDI
Event List Options” on page 328).
◆The Insert menu contains a list of event types
that can be inserted.
To the right of these pop-up menus, the number
of displayed events is indicated.
MIDI Event List
Unlike playlists in the Edit window, you can
insert and display polyphonic aftertouch in
the MIDI Event List.
Mute data for MIDI tracks is not displayed
in the MIDI Event List.
You can also use Option+equal (Macintosh)
or Alt+equal (Windows) to toggle between
the MIDI Event List and the Edit window.
Pro Tools Reference Guide322
Columns in the MIDI Event List
Information for the events in the MIDI Event
List is displayed in the following three columns:
Start column Displays the start location, using
the Main Time Scale, for each event. Locations
can also be displayed in the Sub Time Scale
when the Show Sub Counter option is selected
in the Options pop-up.
The Playback cursor appears as a blue arrow (red,
when tracks are record-enabled) in the Start col-
umn.
When several events reside at the same location,
the location is only indicated for the top event,
with the others dimmed. The dimmed locations
can be edited by double-clicking them.
Event column Displays the event type, indicated
by an icon, and associated event values.
Info column Depending on which option is se-
lected in the Options pop-up, displays the end
point or length for notes. Also displayed are the
names for continuous controller events and pro-
gram changes.
Navigating in the MIDI Event List
You can use the Tab and Arrow keys to move
through the MIDI Event List. You can also locate
to the Edit start point, or any other specified lo-
cation.
To move through the MIDI Event List:
■Press Tab or the Down Arrow to move to the
next event.
■Press Option+Tab or the Up Arrow to move
the previous event.
To keep the last event selected, press Shift while
moving to the next or previous event.
To go to the Edit start point:
■In the MIDI Event List, choose Scroll To Edit
Selection from the Options pop-up menu.
To go to a specific location in the MIDI Event List:
1 In the MIDI Event List, choose Go To from the
Options pop-up menu.
2 In the Go To dialog, choose a format from the
Time Scale pop-up menu.
If using Timecode (TDM systems only), you can
select the Use Subframes option.
Double-click dimmed locations to edit them
Go To dialog
Chapter 25: MIDI Event List 323
3 Enter the location you want to go to, then
click OK.
The following items from the Options menu af-
fect navigating in the MIDI Event List:
◆When Page Scroll During Playback is selected,
the MIDI Event List scrolls during playback.
◆When Scroll During Edit Selection is selected,
the MIDI Event List is scrolled automatically
when the Edit selection changes in the Edit win-
dow.
View Filter for MIDI Event List
You can use the View Filter to specify which
event types are displayed in the MIDI Event List.
This can help you zero in on only the events you
want to affect; it also protects MIDI events from
being edited or deleted. Events not displayed in
the MIDI Event List still play back.
The View Filter can be set to display “all” mes-
sages, “only” the specified messages, or “all ex-
cept” the specified messages.
For example, to filter the display of aftertouch and
System Exclusive in the MIDI Event List:
1 In the MIDI Event List, choose View Filter
from the Options pop-up menu.
2 In the MIDI Event List View Filter dialog, se-
lect the All Except option.
3 Select the options for Mono Aftertouch, Poly-
phonic Aftertouch, and System Exclusive. Leave
all other messages deselected.
4 Click OK.
When using the All Except option, the selected
events are not displayed. Conversely, when us-
ing the Only option, only the selected events are
displayed.
When inserting an event type that has been
filtered from the MIDI Event List, that event
type will no longer be filtered.
MIDI Input Filter
Pro Tools Reference Guide324
Inserting Events in the MIDI
Event List
You can insert events in the MIDI Event List by
choosing an event type from the Insert menu.
Following are several examples of inserting
events in the MIDI Event List.
To insert a note in the MIDI Event List:
1 Click the Insert button and choose Note from
the pop-up menu.
– or –
Press Command+N (Macintosh) or Control+N
(Windows).
2 Enter the location, pitch, attack and release
velocities, and length for the new note. To move
between the Event Entry fields, use the Left and
Right Arrow keys.
When a field is selected, enter a value with any
of the following methods:
• Enter the value on the numeric keypad.
• Press the Up or Down Arrow to scroll to the
value.
• While pressing Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows), drag up or down to scroll
to the value:
• Play the note on your MIDI controller key-
board, then press Return (Macintosh) or Enter
(Windows) on the alpha keyboard to confirm
the value.
3 To exit Event Entry mode, without inserting
the note event, press Escape on the alpha key-
board.
4 To insert the note and remain in Event Entry
mode, press Enter on the numeric keypad.
5 To insert the note and exit Event Entry mode,
press Return (Macintosh) or Enter (Windows)
on the alpha keyboard.
To insert a controller event in the MIDI Event List:
1 Click the Insert button and choose Controller
from the pop-up menu.
– or –
Press Command+L (Macintosh) or Control+L
(Windows).
Insert menu, MIDI Event List
Event Entry fields for note
Pitch
Attack velocity
Release velocity
With the Start field selected, you can auto-
matically enter the location of another event
already in the track by clicking that event.
Chapter 25: MIDI Event List 325
2 Enter the location, controller type, and con-
troller value for the new event. To move be-
tween the Event Entry fields, use the Left and
Right Arrow keys.
When a field is selected, enter a value with any
of the following methods:
• Enter the value on the numeric keypad.
• Press the Up or Down Arrow to scroll to the
value.
• While pressing Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows), drag up or down to scroll
to the value:
• Play the controller event on your MIDI con-
troller keyboard, then press Return (Macin-
tosh) or Enter (Windows) on the alpha
keyboard to confirm the value.
3 To exit Event Entry mode, without inserting
the controller event, press Escape on the alpha
keyboard.
4 To insert the controller event and remain in
Event Entry mode, press Enter on the numeric
keypad.
5 To insert the controller event and exit Event
Entry mode, press Return on the alpha key-
board.
To insert a program change in the MIDI Event List:
1 Click the Insert button and choose Program
Change from the pop-up menu.
– or –
Press Command+P (Macintosh) or Control+P
(Windows).
2 Enter a Program Change number and Bank Se-
lect value (if necessary). The program change
name is displayed in the Info column.
You can click in the Info column to open the
Program Change window (for details, see “Pro-
gram Changes” on page 302).
3 Enter the location for the new event.
4 To exit Event Entry mode, without inserting
the program change, press Escape on the alpha
keyboard.
5 To insert the program change and remain in
Event Entry mode, press Enter on the numeric
keypad.
6 To insert the program change and exit Event
Entry mode, press Return on the alpha key-
board.
Event Entry fields for controller event
With the Start field selected, you can auto-
matically enter the location of another event
already in the track by clicking that event.
Controller number Controller name
Controller value
Event Entry fields for program change
With the Start field selected, you can auto-
matically enter the location of another event
already in the track by clicking that event.
Program number Program name
Controller 0 value
Controller 32 value
Pro Tools Reference Guide326
Inserting Another Event
After inserting an event, you can easily insert
another event of the same type. The event type
to be inserted is indicated at the bottom of the
Insert menu.
For example, after inserting a note, to insert
another:
■Click the Insert button and choose Another
Note from the pop-up menu.
– or –
■Press Command+M (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+M (Windows).
Editing in the MIDI Event List
Events in the MIDI Event List can be edited, se-
lected, deleted, and copied and pasted.
To edit an event in the MIDI Event List:
1 Double-click the event field you want to edit.
– or –
To edit a selected event, press Command+Enter
(Macintosh) or Control+Enter (Windows).
2 Enter a new value with any of the following
methods:
• Enter the new value on the numeric keypad.
• While pressing Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows), press the Up or Down Arrow to
scroll to a new value.
• While pressing Command (Macintosh) or
Control (Windows), drag up or down to scroll
to a new value.
• Play the new note or controller value on your
MIDI controller keyboard, then press Return
(Macintosh) or Enter (Windows) on the alpha
keyboard to confirm the value.
3 To exit Edit Entry mode without entering the
new value, press Escape on the alpha keyboard.
4 To accept the new value, do one of the follow-
ing:
• To enter the new event value and move to an-
other field or event, use the arrow keys.
• To enter the new value and remain in Edit En-
try mode, press Enter on the numeric keypad.
• To enter the new value and exit Edit Entry
mode, press Return (Macintosh) or Enter
(Windows) on the alpha keypad.
Selecting in the MIDI Event List
To select a range of events in the MIDI Event List:
■Click the event at the beginning of the selec-
tion and drag to the ending event.
– or –
■Shift-click the event at the beginning of the
selection, then Shift-click the ending event.
When the option for Insert At Playback Lo-
cation is enabled (see “MIDI Event List Op-
tions” on page 328), you can use the key-
board shortcuts for inserting “another”
event to insert events on the fly.
Chapter 25: MIDI Event List 327
To select discontiguous events in the MIDI Event
List:
■Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) each event.
To remove an event from the selection in the MIDI
Event List:
■Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) the selected event.
Deleting in the MIDI Event List
To delete an event in the MIDI Event List:
■Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) the event you want to delete.
To delete a selection of events in the MIDI Event
List:
1 Select the events you want to delete, by either
dragging in the Start column, or by Shift-click-
ing each event.
2 To view only the events you want to delete,
use the View Filter (see “View Filter for MIDI
Event List” on page 323). Events not displayed
cannot be deleted.
3 Choose Edit > Clear to delete all selected
events.
– or –
Press Delete (Macintosh) or Backspace (Win-
dows) on the alpha keyboard.
Copy and Paste in the MIDI Event
List
To copy and paste in the MIDI Event List:
1 Select the range of events you want to copy by
dragging in the MIDI Event List. To select dis-
contiguous events, Shift-click each event you
want to copy.
2 Choose Edit > Copy.
3 To paste the material at an existing event’s lo-
cation, click the event in the MIDI Event List.
– or –
4 To paste the material at any location, choose
Go To from the Options menu in the MIDI
Event List, enter the location you want to paste
to, and click OK.
5 Choose Edit > Paste. The events from the Clip-
board are pasted, replacing any existing events
already there.
Notes selected in the MIDI Event List can be
modified by any of the commands in the
MIDI Operations window. For details, see
Chapter 24, “MIDI Operations.”
Selecting in the MIDI Event List
To paste events without overwriting other
events, use the Merge Paste command.
Pro Tools Reference Guide328
MIDI Event List Options
Show Sub Counter When selected, event times
are also displayed in the Sub Time Scale.
Go To Opens the Go To dialog, where you can
specify a location, based on any of the sup-
ported Time Scales, to which the Edit insertion
point is moved.
Scroll To Edit Selection Scrolls the MIDI Event
List to the Edit start point or Edit insertion
point.
Page Scroll During Playback When selected, the
MIDI Event List scrolls during playback.
Scroll During Edit Selection When selected, the
MIDI Event List is scrolled automatically when
the Edit selection changes in the Edit window.
Show Note Length When selected, note lengths,
instead of note end times, are displayed in the
Info column of the MIDI Event List.
Show Note End Time When selected, note end
times, instead of note lengths, are displayed in
the Info column of the MIDI Event List.
Insert At Edit Location When selected, the loca-
tion for inserted events defaults to the Edit start
point or Edit insertion point.
Insert At Playback Location When selected,
events can be inserted in the MIDI Event List in
real time while listening to the session playback.
Insert At Playback Location With Grid When se-
lected, the location for events inserted in real
time snap to the grid.
View Filter Opens the View Filter dialog, where
you can specify which events are displayed in
the MIDI Event List. Events that are not dis-
played are not affected by Cut, Copy, and Paste
operations in the MIDI Event List. Events that
are not displayed still play back. For more infor-
mation, see “View Filter for MIDI Event List” on
page 323.
Options menu, MIDI Event List
329
Part VI: Mixing
330
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 331
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing
Although the final mixing process begins when
you finish recording and editing, many mixing
tasks can occur any time during a recording ses-
sion. This chapter covers basic Pro Tools mix-
ing, including audio signal flow, output and bus
paths, sends, and signal routing.
Real-time plug-ins and hardware inserts provide
effects and signal processing. See Chapter 27,
“Plug-Ins and Inserts” for more information.
Audio Signal Flow
Pro Tools provides three different types of audio
tracks:
• audio tracks
• Auxiliary Inputs
• Master Faders
Mono and stereo audio tracks are available on
all Pro Tools systems.
Multi-channel audio tracks and surround mix-
ing formats require Pro Tools MIX or MIXplus.
Tracks can be identified in the Mix window by
their Track Type icon:
Audio Tracks
Audio tracks play audio from disk, record audio
to disk, or monitor input signals when record-
enabled. Audio signal flow is shown below.
Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, and MIDI Tracks
Track Type
icons Audio signal flow, audio tracks
Inserts
Sends
Volume
(plug-ins or
hardware
Main Output
pre-fader
Mute
Panner
Additional Outputs
Sends, post-fader
inserts)
Output
+
Source: any mono, stereo or
multi-channel audio file, playing
back from disk
Input: while record-monitoring
Source
or Input
Pro Tools Reference Guide332
Auxiliary Inputs
Auxiliary Inputs provide the same signal routing
options as audio tracks, except that their input
must come from an internal bus or hardware in-
put.
Auxiliary Inputs are used as inputs for audio
from MIDI devices and other sources, as well as
to submix internal bus and output paths. They
can be fully automated. When using Auxiliary
Inputs as inputs for external sources, adjust the
source output levels to achieve proper recording
levels.
Common Uses for Auxiliary Inputs
By bussing tracks to the Auxiliary Input, you
can:
• Apply real-time plug-ins or an external pro-
cessor to the submix, using the Auxiliary In-
put as an effects return
• Input MIDI and other audio sources into the
mix, to monitor or route to audio tracks for re-
cording to disk
• Consolidate control of any submix under a
single fader.
To create an Auxiliary Input:
1 Choose File > New Track.
2 Choose the type of Auxiliary Input (mono or
stereo, or multi-channel) from the pop-up
menu.
3 Enter the number of tracks and click Create.
To route an Auxiliary Input:
1 Click the Input Selector of the Auxiliary Input
and choose an input.
2 Click the Output Selector of the Auxiliary In-
put and choose an output or bus path.
3 Adjust the Auxiliary Input fader to set the re-
turn volume (it defaults to 0 dB).
Audio signal flow, Auxiliary Inputs
Input
Inserts
Sends
Volume
(plug-ins or
hardware
Main Output
pre-fader
Mute
Panner
Additional Outputs
Sends, post-fader
inserts)
Output
+
bus or hardware input path
Submix examples begin in “Submixing for
Signal Routing and Effects Processing” on
page 347.
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 333
Master Faders
Master Faders control the master output levels
of output and bus paths. When assigned to an
active output or bus path, they provide post-
fader effects processing and master level control
for a main mix, headphone and cue mixes,
stems, effects sends, and other signal routing ap-
plications. Master Faders support all track for-
mats supported on your Pro Tools system.
Unlike inserts on audio tracks and Auxiliary In-
puts, Master Fader inserts are post-fader. This
lets you insert the Dither plug-in, or similar, on
your master mix.
Because of their intended use, Master Faders
provide up to five post-fader inserts and no
sends.
Common Uses for Master Faders
Master Faders can be used to:
• Control and process output mixes
• Monitor and meter an output (such as a bus or
hardware output) to guard against clipping
• Control submix levels
• Control effects sends levels
• Control submaster (bussed tracks) levels
• Apply dither or other inserts to an entire mix
You can use Master Faders freely to control sub-
mix levels, send level masters and other outputs
because they do not consume any of your sys-
tem’s audio processing power.
To create a Master Fader:
1 Choose File > New Track.
2 Choose the type of Master Fader (mono or ste-
reo, or multi-channel) from the pop-up menu.
3 Enter the number of tracks and click Create.
4 In the Mix window, click the Master Fader’s
Output Selector and choose the output that you
want to control. You can choose either audio in-
terface outputs or internal busses. If the Master
Fader is a stereo fader, you can control the level
of a pair of outputs.
Audio signal flow, Master Faders
Input (source) determined by output assignment
Inserts
Volume
(plug-ins or
hardware)
Main Output
Mute
Additional Outputs
post-fader
Output
+
See “Dither” on page 352 for more informa-
tion about dithering.
Pro Tools Reference Guide334
To use Master Faders as a master volume control
for all tracks in a session:
1 Choose File > New Track.
2 Choose the type of Master Fader from the pop-
up menu.
3 Click Create.
4 Set the outputs of all audio tracks in the ses-
sion to outputs 1–2 and set the panning of each
track.
5 Set the output of the Master Fader to your
main output path.
Master Fader Meters
Meters on Master faders always show post-fader
levels, regardless of the Pre-Fader Metering set-
ting in the Operations menu.
Master Faders and Paths
Master Faders can be assigned to main and sub-
paths. When more than one Master Fader is as-
signed to the same output or bus path, only one
can be active at the same time. If you try to as-
sign a Master Fader to a main or sub-path that is
already actively assigned on another Master
Fader, the new assignment will be assigned, but
inactive. Master Faders can be assigned different
sub-paths of the same main path, as long as the
sub-paths do not overlap.
Active and Inactive Master Faders
When a Master Fader track is inactive, its associ-
ated plug-ins, I/O assignments, and their re-
sources are released and available for other uses
in the session.
When a Master Fader output assignment (path
assignment) is made inactive, the Master Fader
no longer controls the master gain of that path.
When you duplicate a Master Fader track, the
duplicated track’s assignment will be inactive.
See “Master Faders and Paths” on page 334 for
more information.
Plug-Ins and Inserts
Five inserts are available on each audio channel.
Each insert can be either a hardware insert or a
software plug-in insert. Plug-ins and hardware in-
serts route the signal from the track through the
effect of your choice, and automatically return it
to the same track. Inserts on audio tracks and
Auxiliary Inputs are pre-fader. Inserts on Master
Faders are post-fader.
On TDM systems, RTAS plug-ins can be inserted
on audio tracks, but not on Auxiliary Inputs or
Master Faders.
Hardware inserts send and return the signal to
corresponding input and output channels of an
audio interface.
Track Output Format and Plug-Ins
Plug-ins provide mono, stereo, multi-mono and
multi-channel versions (not all versions are sup-
ported by all plug-in manufacturers or on all sys-
tems).
Because inserts process in series, changing the
plug-in format can alter the channel format. For
example, inserting a mono-to-stereo plug-in on
a mono Auxiliary Input changes the signal path
from that plug-in through the rest of the track.
This restricts all hardware inserts or plug-ins af-
ter the stereo plug-in to be stereo-in/stereo-out
plug-ins (or supported multi-channel format).
See Chapter 27, “Plug-Ins and Inserts” for
details about using plug-ins and inserts.
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 335
All Systems The following three types of plug-
ins are supported on all Pro Tools systems:
• mono-in/mono-out
• mono-in/stereo-out
• stereo-in/stereo-out
Pro Tools MIX and MIXplus Pro Tools systems
running the Surround mixer support 3-8 chan-
nel, multi-mono and multi-channel plug-ins.
Viewing I/O, Sends, and
Inserts
Both the Mix and Edit windows can be config-
ured to show or hide various mixing controls.
To show or hide I/O, inserts and sends in the Mix
and Edit windows:
1 Choose Display > Mix Window Shows, or Edit
Window Shows, or click the View Selector in the
Edit window, and choose any or all of the fol-
lowing:
◆Select I/O view to show input and output, vol-
ume, and pan controls in each track. Deselect to
hide.
◆Select Inserts view to show inserts (software
plug-ins and hardware I/O inserts) in each track.
Deselect to hide.
◆Select Sends view to show send assignments
in each track. Deselect to hide. See “Configuring
Send Views in the Mix and Edit Windows” on
page 340 for more information.
In the Edit window, you can select views from
the selector next to the Rulers.
Mix window views
Selecting an Edit window view
Edit window views
Inserts view
Sends view
I/O view
with assignmentsno assignments
Send A view
View Selector
Inserts
Sends I/O
Pro Tools Reference Guide336
Comments View
Comments view shows any text entered as com-
ments in the Track Name dialog. You can also
type directly in the Comments area for each
track when Comments view is displayed.
To display Comments view:
1 Select Display > Mix Window Shows (or Edit
Window Shows) > Comments.
Track Input
Input Selectors determine the source input for
audio tracks and Auxiliary Inputs. Track input
can be a hardware input, bus, or SampleCell in-
put path. While recording, the Input Monitor
mode determines when live input will be moni-
tored through a record-enabled audio track.
The following techniques simplify track input
assignment for individual tracks.
To assign track input:
■Select an input path or sub-path from the
track Input Selector.
To assign multiple tracks to the same input:
■Option-select (Macintosh), or Alt-select (Win-
dows) to assign all tracks to the selected input.
■Option-Shift-select (Macintosh), or Alt-Shift-
select (Windows) to assign all selected tracks to
the selected input.
To assign multiple tracks to unique inputs
(ascending, incrementing):
■Command-Shift-click (Macintosh), or Con-
trol-Shift-click (Windows) to assign the starting
track (top-most in the Edit window, left-most in
the Mix window).
This track will be assigned to the selected input
path, and subsequent track will be auto-assigned
the next available input path. Availability is de-
termined by the path format, and the active/in-
active state of the tracks.
Track Output
Track Output Selectors route the post-fader sig-
nals to the assigned output or bus paths.
The Output Selector routes the main track out-
put to the chosen main or sub-path. Tracks can
be routed directly to hardware outputs, or to in-
ternal bus paths for submixing (main or sub-
paths).
The track format (mono, stereo, or other) deter-
mines the available main and sub-path choices
for track output.
To assign a track output:
■Select the desired output path or sub-path
from the track Output Selector.
Comments view in the Mix and Edit windows
Comments
Sends, and Send windows, provide another
way to route track audio. See “Sends” on
page 338 for more information.
Assigning track output
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 337
To assign all tracks to the same output:
■While pressing Option-select (Macintosh) or
Alt-select (Windows), assign any track output to
also assign all tracks to the same path.
To assign all selected tracks to the same output:
■While pressing Option+Shift (Macintosh), or
Alt+Shift (Windows), assign any track to also as-
sign all selected tracks to the same path.
Output Paths
When audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Mas-
ter Faders are created, their mono, stereo, or
multi-channel format is defined. This original
format determines the track’s minimum insert,
send, and output format.
• Mono tracks can be assigned to any available
mono, stereo, or other r multi-channel main
and sub-paths.
• Stereo tracks can be assigned to any available
stereo or multi-channel main and sub-paths.
• Multi-channel can be assigned to any equal,
or higher, format.
For example, on any stereo audio track, Auxil-
iary Input, or Master Fader, the main track out-
put can be assigned to any available stereo paths
or insert, or any multi-channel paths of three or
more channels (on supported systems).
Output Windows
Output windows provide the essential track
mixing controls, as an alternative to Mix and
Edit window views. Multi-channel Send and
Output windows also provide expanded Panner
views, and other surround-specific controls. (See
Chapter 33, “Surround Panning and Mixing.”)
Output windows are useful in large sessions to
leave important tracks in an anchored location,
unaffected by Mix and Edit window (or control
surface) banking. See “Opening and Managing
Output Windows” on page 343.
Multiple Output Assignments
Pro Tools audio tracks and Auxiliary Inputs can
have multiple track and send assignments. Mul-
tiple outputs are limited only by the paths and
resources available on your system.
Assigning to multiple paths is an efficient way
to route an identical mix to other discrete out-
puts, for simultaneous monitor feeds, head-
phone mixes, or other situations where a paral-
lel mix is needed. Master Faders can only be
assigned to a single path.
To assign a track to multiple outputs:
1 Assign a main output path by selecting it from
the track’s Output Selector.
2 Control-click to select an additional output
path in the track’s Output Selector. The newly
selected output destination is added as an addi-
tional output.
Option-Control-click to add the assignment
to all tracks, or Option-Shift-Control-click
to add to all selected tracks.
Pro Tools Reference Guide338
Display of Multiple Output Assignments
When a track is assigned to multiple output
paths, the Output Selector lists multiple and in-
active status with the following indicators:
◆A plus sign (+) indicates that the track has
multiple output assignments.
◆In the Output Selector menu, all currently as-
signed track outputs are checked to indicate
they are active for the current track.
◆An asterisk (*) indicates that one or more cur-
rently assigned outputs is Inactive.
Inactive Outputs
An output path can be set to Inactive, either glo-
bally in the I/O Setup window (affecting all
tracks assigned to that path), or locally per-as-
signment (only affecting that output on that au-
dio track or Auxiliary Input).
When opening sessions, outputs will be made
inactive automatically if the required hardware
or other resources are not available.
Inactive outputs retain all associated automa-
tion playlists. Edits made in the session also af-
fect inactive track’s output automation playlists
Inactive Outputs and DSP Resources
Setting a track output to Inactive silences the
output, while retaining all automation and
playlist data. Inactive outputs do not consume
resources for TDM mixer connections, but any
assigned plug-ins on the track continue to use
their required DSP resources. RTAS plug-ins re-
quire CPU resources, and TDM plug-ins use the
DSP available on Pro Tools audio cards.
You can free up DSP of unused plug-ins by set-
ting its whole track inactive, or by setting just
the plug-in inactive.
About the “No Output” Option
Track outputs can be set to No Output. Assign-
ing a track output to No Output loses any pan-
ning playlists associated with the track.
Tracks assigned to No Output will not be audi-
ble, but they do not free their associated DSP re-
sources.
Sends
Pro Tools lets you insert up to five sends on each
audio track or Auxiliary Input.
Sends provide the following features:
• Pre- or post-fader
• Send level and mute can be configured to fol-
low Groups
• Send level, send mute, and send pan (for ste-
reo and multi-channel sends) are fully autom-
atable. See “Automating Sends” on page 379.
• Send controls can be displayed and edited
from the Mix or Edit windows, or in their own
Output windows.
• Sends can be assigned to available output and
bus paths (main or sub-paths), in mono or ste-
reo, or any supported multi-channel format.
Indication of multiple output assignments
See “Active and Inactive Items” on page 13,
and “Inactive Plug-Ins” on page 358 for
more information.
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 339
Sends must be returned to the mix through an
Auxiliary Input or audio track. They can be
monitored and processed through an Auxiliary
Input, recorded to audio tracks, and bounced to
disk. (Bouncing and mixdown are explained in
Chapter 29, “Mixdown.”)
Assigning Sends to Tracks
To add a send to a track:
1 Make sure Sends view is enabled in the Mix or
Edit window (see “Viewing I/O, Sends, and In-
serts” on page 335 for information).
2 Click the Sends button on the track and
choose a path from the pop-up menu.
The send can be mono or stereo (or any sup-
ported multi-channel format), routing to an
output or bus path.
3 Set the output level of the send. You can set
the send level to zero by Option-clicking (Mac-
intosh) or Alt-clicking (Windows) the send
fader. When you create a new send, its output
level is automatically set to –∞.
To remove a send from a track:
■Click the Sends button on the track and
choose No Send from the pop-up menu.
Send Formats
Mono and Stereo Sends On all Pro Tools sys-
tems, sends can be either mono or stereo. When
you click the Sends button on a track, you can
choose from a list of mono or stereo output or
bus paths.
Multi-Channel Sends Pro Tools MIX and MIX-
plus systems support mono, stereo, and multi-
channel sends.
Sends and Path Choices
The choices available in track Send Selectors in-
clude bus and output paths.
Internal Mix Busses Pro Tools TDM systems pro-
vide 64 busses and Pro Tools LE systems provide
32 busses for routing signals internally. Internal
buss paths are useful for submixing and process-
ing with plug-ins. Bus paths are defined in the
I/O Setup dialog, and are available in all sup-
ported channel formats (mono, stereo, or other
multi-channel, as supported on your system).
Hardware Outputs Hardware sends are often
used for headphone cue mixes, or for sending
signals to external effects processors. Sends do
not automatically return audio as do inserts.
Assigning a send to a mono bus path
You can configure the default level for new
sends to be off or at unity gain (0) in the
Preferences > Operation window.
You can customize the names, format, and
channel mapping of busses and output
paths in the I/O Setup dialog. See “Creating
and Editing Paths” on page 63.
Pro Tools Reference Guide340
Configuring Send Views in the Mix
and Edit Windows
Sends are displayed in the Mix and Edit window
according to the Send View Shows settings.
Choices include Assignments view, plus the five
Send A-E views, explained below.
To display the controls for an individual send
across all tracks:
1 If sends are not currently visible on your
tracks, choose Display > Mix Window Shows >
Sends View.
2 Choose Display > Sends View Shows and
choose the send (A - E).
To show send assignments:
■Choose Display > Sends View Shows > Assign-
ments.
– or –
■Command-click the Send Selector and select a
view, or send (A-E).
Assignment View
This is the default Send Display mode, showing
the five available sends on all tracks showing in
the Mix and Edit windows.
In Assignment view, send parameters are edited
from their Output windows. (See “Send Mute
and Window Status Display” on page 341.)
Send A-E Views
The Send A-E views provide send level, pan, and
mute controls.
Parameters for sends can be edited directly using
these controls. Sends can also be opened for ed-
iting or metering in Send windows. See “Open-
ing and Managing Output Windows” on
page 343.
Sends views
Send Selector
Assignments view, (left) and an assigned send (right)
Send A view, different types of send assignments
Send Selectors Send A, Assignment view
pre-fader,
multi-channel
post-fader,
no assignment
stereo
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 341
Editing Sends in the Mix and Edit
Windows
Send A-E view options display all the parameters
of an individual send in the sends area of the
Mix and Edit windows. These views provide full
access to all controls for that send on all tracks.
Send level and mute can follow Mix groups, to
adjust multiple send parameters from a single
set of controls. (See “Sends and Groups” on
page 346.)
Sends View Meters
When you display the controls for an individual
send, you also have the option of displaying
send level meters.
Send level meters show peak values and indicate
clipping that occurs while the meter is displayed
(if a send clips any time before its meter is dis-
played, this is not shown). If you are using a
slower computer, hiding send level meters can
improve screen redraw times.
To display send level meters when viewing
individual sends:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Display.
2 Select Show Meters in Sends view and click
OK.
To clear a send meter’s Clip indicator:
■Click on it. Option-click to clear all.
Send Mute and Window Status
Display
When displaying sends in a Send A-E view, Send
Mute switch is visible and editable at directly in
the Mix or Edit windows.
The Send Bypass indicator is lit when the send is
muted.
The Send button is lit whenever a send’s win-
dow is open.
If you use ProControl or other control surface
with Pro Tools, colored outlines around sends,
inserts, and Outputs indicate the current con-
troller focus.
Send A view, stereo shown
send mute
send
path
send pan
send meter
send
pre/post
assignment
assignment
level
In Assignment view, edit sends by opening
their Output windows. See “Send Mute and
Window Status Display” on page 341 for
more information.
Indication of Send Mute and Window status
default Muted (lit icon) Window is open
(unmuted,
window closed) (lit send)
Pro Tools Reference Guide342
Inactive Sends
Sends can be made inactive. Inactive sends free
their DSP and mixer resources, while retaining
their position in track Sends view, and retain all
related automation playlists. Inactive sends do
not output audio.
To make a send inactive:
■Command-Control-click (Macintosh), or
Control-Start-click (Windows) on the send (its
assignment). Use the Option and Option+Shift
modifiers to affect that send (A-E, if present) on
all or all selected tracks, respectively.
– or –
■Make the Track inactive. See “Making Tracks
Inactive” on page 84.
When opening sessions, sends will be made in-
active automatically if the required hardware or
other resources are not available.
Inactive sends retain all associated automation
playlists. In addition, any edits made in the ses-
sion affect the sends automation playlists.
Output Windows for Tracks
and Sends
Track outputs and sends can be opened for dis-
play and editing in dedicated windows.
◆Output windows provide track fader, pan,
mute, solo, and automation controls.
◆Send windows provide send level, mute, pan,
and automation controls. Standard Output win-
dow controls provide additional routing, assign-
ment, and display settings.
To open an Output window:
■Click the Output icon in the channel strip.
Making a send inactive
Display of inactive sends
inactive
(italicized)
active send, inactive
send track
muted
Opening an Output window
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 343
To open a Send window:
■Click the send in the Mix or Edit window.
Opening and Managing Output
Windows
Multiple track and Send windows can be dis-
played simultaneously.
To view a different Output window:
■Click an output icon, or send, in the Mix or
Edit window.
If a similar Output window was already open
with a highlighted Target icon, the newly se-
lected send will open in its place.
Opening Multiple Output Windows
Multiple track and Send windows can be dis-
played simultaneously using either of the fol-
lowing methods.
To open additional Output windows:
■Shift-click any output icon or send.
To set a window to remain open:
■Make sure the Target is deselected (gray, un-
lit).
Arrange multiple windows as needed. For addi-
tional information, see “Using the Target” on
page 345.
Track Fader, Solo, Mute, and Auto
Output windows provide the associated track’s
volume fader, pan controls, solo and mute
switches, and Automation Mode Selector. Use
these to adjust or automate the parameters of
the Output window.
Panner Linking
Stereo outputs provide two panning controls,
one for each side of the left/right pair.
The Output window provides controls to unlink
(or link) channels for precise panning of stereo
and multi-channel tracks.
In the default Linked mode, all sides match
changes to any other side’s pan control. This is
Absolute link mode.
When unlinked, pan controls are completely in-
dependent of each other.
Opening a Send window
Multiple Send windows
click here or here
Target enabled
Pro Tools Reference Guide344
When linked and set to Inverse mode, panning
moves are inverted, or reversed, in the other
channels. For example, panning the left side of a
stereo track from left-to-right results in the right
channel panning simultaneously, from right-to-
left.
To enable linking:
■Enable the Link icon.
To unlink an Output for independent panning:
■Deselect the Link icon.
Inverse Linked Panning
Additional inverse linking options are also pro-
vided for stereo track panning.
Inverse panning reflects one sides location and
direction in the other side. For example, when
enabled for front left and right, if you pan one
side of a stereo track output from right to left,
the other side will exactly mirror that move-
ment and pan left to right.
Front inverse linking is available on all systems.
Rear left and right, and front/rear inverse link-
ing are available on Pro Tools MIX and MIX-
plus.
To enable inverse linking:
1 Enable the Link icon.
2 Select an Inverse mode.
Standard Controls in Output
Windows
All Output windows provide standard selectors
for path, automation, and other in the top area
of the window (the Output Editor area).
Standard Controls
Close Closes the window.
Track Selector Provides access to any audio
track, Auxiliary Input, or Master Fader in the
session.
Output Selector Provides access to other outputs
(track and send) in the track, if any, displaying
the selected output in the current window.
Send Selector Provides access to other sends on
the track.
Path Selector Allows you to assign the Output
path for the current track or send.
Bypass/Mute Button Mutes the currently dis-
played send.
Linked (left) and unlinked (right) Output windows
Link, Enabled, and Inverse Selectors
Link
F/R invert
Front inverse
Rear inverse
Output window standard controls
Send window standard controls
automation safe
Target
Path Meter view
Path Selector
Output Selector
Track Selector
Close
automation safe
pre/post fader
Target
Path Meter view
P
ath Selector
Send Selector
Track Selector
Close
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 345
Link and Unlink Allows linking and unlinking of
left and right (or other) outputs. Unlinked mode
provides discrete adjustment of individual sides,
or channels. When linked, all changes affect all
channels. See “Panner Linking” on page 343.
Target Identifies the target of plug-in settings
commands. Also sets the current window for
display of Output windows. See “Using the Tar-
get” on page 345.
Safe track and send level, pan, and other con-
trols can be protected from automation over-
writes by placing them in Automation Safe
mode. See Chapter 28, “Automation” for more
information.
Meter View The view box in the upper right cor-
ner opens the path Meter view. These meters
display levels of the selected path (not the out-
put of the current window).
Using the Target
When lit, the next window opened of the same
type dynamically replaces the current display
(unless it is opened as an additional window
with the Shift modifier). When unlit, the cur-
rent window anchors to its current contents and
location on-screen. Opening additional win-
dows does not affect anchored windows.
To set an open Send window as the Target window:
■Click to enable the Target (it is red when en-
abled, gray when disabled).
Plug-ins have additional features related to the
Target.
Using Output Windows
Output window provide standard Pro Tools
track, send, Target, and other controls.
To move to a different track:
■Click the Track Selector button and choose a
track from the pop-up menu.
Meters view in an Output window
path meters
Path Meter Selector
track meter
Meters view
Target Functionality in Windows, by Type
Window Type When Target Enabled
Plug-Ins Focus of Settings com-
mands, and
Window setting
Track Outputs Window setting
Sends Window setting
Inserts Window setting
Selecting a track from the Sends Editor
Pro Tools Reference Guide346
To reassign output:
■Click the Send Destination Selector button
and choose an path from the pop-up menu.
To add an additional send to the same track:
■Click the Send Selector button and choose the
desired Send from the pop-up menu, then click
the Send Selector and choose a destination from
the pop-up menu.
To add an additional output assignment to the
current track or send:
■Control-select an additional output path from
the Send Selector.
To display the controls for a different send on the
same track:
■Click the Send Selector button and choose the
send.
Sends and Groups
Send level and mute can follow Mix groups in
each of the five available sends (A-E). Use this to
adjust multiple send parameters from a single
set of controls.
To configure sends and Mix groups:
1 Choose Setup > Preferences, and open the Au-
tomation window.
2 Enable Send Level Follows Groups, or Send
Mute Follows Groups, as appropriate.
3 Click OK to set the new Preferences.
Copying Settings to Sends
(TDM Systems Only)
Sometimes you need send settings to match the
settings in the track itself—for example, to pro-
vide a headphone mix based on the main mix.
You can do this in either of two ways:
• By assigning an additional (multiple) output
to all tracks, adding the headphone Output
path to the main mix output assignments.
(See “Multiple Output Assignments” on
page 337).
– or –
• By copying a track’s volume fader, pan slider,
or mute button position to the corresponding
controls for a send on that track. (See “Copy-
ing Track Automation to Sends” on page 380.)
Selecting a path from the Sends Editor
Accessing another send from the Sends Editor
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 347
Submixing for Signal Routing
and Effects Processing
The bussing and mixing features in Pro Tools
support a nearly infinite number of possibilities
for submixing and signal routing.
These include:
• Creating inputs for MIDI devices and other
audio sources, to monitor or record in
Pro Tools.
• Control and automate any submix from a sin-
gle fader and channel strip.
• Apply real-time plug-ins or an external pro-
cessor to the submix, using the Auxiliary In-
put as an effects return
Audio Input from MIDI and Other
External Source
You can use an Auxiliary Input to bring an exter-
nal audio source such as MIDI devices, tape, mi-
crophone inputs, and instruments, into a
Pro Tools mix.
To use Auxiliary Inputs to bring external audio
sources into a mix:
1 Connect the audio outputs of your MIDI and
other external devices to available inputs on
your Pro Tools audio interfaces.
2 If necessary, configure the I/O Setup dialog for
the input paths you plan to utilize. The
I/O Setup dialog configuration determines the
choices available for track and sends, inputs,
busses, and hardware inserts. (For more infor-
mation, see Chapter 7, “I/O Setup.”)
3 Choose File > New Track and choose the type
of Auxiliary Input (mono, stereo, or multi-chan-
nel on supported systems) from the Track For-
mat Selector, then click Create.
4 Set the input of the Auxiliary Input track to
the appropriate input path.
5 Assign the track output to the appropriate
path, or paths. (See “Multiple Output Assign-
ments” on page 337 for more information.)
6 Adjust the Auxiliary Input fader to control the
track, and any assigned post-fader send levels.
Mixing Audio Input from MIDI and
External Sources
By mixing MIDI and other audio sources
through Pro Tools, you can apply mix automa-
tion to the volume, pan, mute, send level, send
pan, send mute, and plug-in controls of the
Auxiliary Input.
Auxiliary Inputs can be routed to audio tracks
through internal send busses, or using their
track output, to record them to disk.
Using plug-ins, inserts, and sends on Auxiliary
Inputs, you can process instruments and other
inputs with real-time plug-ins, or external de-
vices. See“Send and Return Submixing for Ef-
fects Processing” on page 348.
Creating a Submix
Audio is routed to a submix by assigning any
combination of sends and track outputs to avail-
able bus or output paths.
Auxiliary Inputs serve as effects returns by in-
serting plug-ins or external effects processors.
For example, if a stereo sampler was connected
to Inputs 1-2, a stereo Auxiliary Input assigned
to the Input 1-2 path could monitor the sampler
through Pro Tools. You can process the track
with plug-ins, or send to a bus path for addi-
Pro Tools Reference Guide348
tional processing, or recording. Auxiliary Inputs
and Master Faders provide consolidated level
control, processing, signal routing, and automa-
tion.
Submixing with Track Outputs or Sends
You can use both track outputs and sends to
route audio for submixing, depending on
whether you want a discrete or send and return
submix.
Discrete Submix Output
Discrete submix output means source audio is
routed discretely through the submix. This is
preferred for dither or other mastering process-
ing, where you do not want unprocessed audio
heard in addition to the processed signals. Use
track outputs (not sends) to assign tracks to a
bus path for discrete submixing. In this arrange-
ment, the balance of processed and unprocessed
signal is controlled by plug-in wet/dry settings.
To create a discrete submix:
1 Choose File > New Track and choose Auxiliary
Input (stereo) from the pop-up menu.
2 Set the output of the tracks you want to in-
clude in the submix to a stereo bus path.
3 Pan each track.
4 Set the input of the Auxiliary Input to the
same bus path to which you assigned all con-
tributing tracks.
5 Set the output of the Auxiliary Input track to
your main stereo mix outputs (typically, outputs
1–2).
6 Set the Auxiliary Input Track level.
7 To process the submix, assign a plug-in or
hardware insert on the Auxiliary Input.
8 Set the parameters of the plug-in. The plug-in
Bypass and Wet/Dry controls (if available) deter-
mine the amount of effect heard. (For another
way to submix effects, see “To create an effects
return submix:” on page 348.)
The contributing track faders control the bal-
ance within the submix. The Auxiliary Input
track controls the output levels of all tracks
routed to it.
You can apply mix automation to the volume,
pan, mute, and send level, send pan, and send
mute controls of the Auxiliary Input.
You can also bounce a submix to disk to free up
the voices for use by other tracks. See
Chapter 29, “Mixdown” for information.
Send and Return Submixing for Effects
Processing
When you are submixing for reverb, delay, and
similar effects processing, use sends to achieve
traditional send/return bussing. You can use a
real-time plug-in or a hardware I/O insert as a
shared resource for all tracks included in a sub-
mix. The wet/dry balance in the mix can be con-
trolled using the track faders (dry level) and
Auxiliary Input fader (effect return, or wet,
level).
To create an effects return submix:
1 Assign a send (mono or stereo) to each source
track.
2 Assign each tracks main output to your main
mix outputs.
3 Set the send destinations on the source tracks
to a mono or stereo bus path. Configure the
sends for pre- or post-fader, as needed.
4 Choose File > New Tracks.
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 349
5 Create one Stereo (or other format) Auxiliary
Input, and click Create.
6 Assign a real-time plug-in, or a hardware in-
sert, on the Auxiliary Input.
7 Set the plug-in or external effect to “100%
wet,” and configure any other parameters as
needed.
8 Click the Input Selector of the Auxiliary Input
track and set it to the bus path you assigned to
the sends on the source tracks.
9 Click the Output Selector of the Auxiliary In-
put track and choose an output path (your main
mix, or other output).
Adjust the individual track faders to balance the
dry (unprocessed) tracks. The amount of effect is
controlled by the level of the Auxiliary Input
fader.
Creating a Master Send Level Control
Master Fader can control the overall level of bus
and output paths.
To create a Master send level control:
1 Choose File > New Track and create a Master
Fader in the appropriate mono, stereo, or multi-
channel format.
2 Do one of the following:
◆Set the output of the Master Fader to the same
path that you are using to send to an Auxiliary
Input track.
◆Set the output of the Master Fader to match
the path that you have chosen for your effects
send.
You can then adjust send levels to balance the
source tracks, and use the Master Fader as a mas-
ter level control for the entire submix.
Soloing Tracks in a Submix
When you want to solo any tracks in a submix,
you can solo safe the Auxiliary Input track. This
solos tracks that are bussed to the Auxiliary In-
put without having to solo the Auxiliary Input
as well.
To solo-safe an Auxiliary Input:
■Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) the Solo button on the Auxiliary In-
put track.
Send/return setup for an external device
For convenience, you can configure send lev-
els and send mutes to follow Mix Groups.
This can simplify set up with large sub-
mixes. See “Sends and Groups” on page 346
for more information.
Send to external device
Input set to device’s return
Output set to main mix outs 1-2
Controls level of dry signal
Controls level of effect
See Chapter 27, “Plug-Ins and Inserts” for
more information.
Pro Tools Reference Guide350
Generating Stereo Output from a Mono
Send/Return
You can use an Auxiliary Return arrangement to
generate a stereo output from a mono send. Set
the send destination to a mono Auxiliary Input
track and place a stereo plug-in on the Auxiliary
Input. The output of the Auxiliary Input be-
comes stereo.
Mixing Concepts
Mixing involves much more than the Pro Tools
techniques for signal routing, level balancing,
and panning. Mixing is not just a matter of
knowing how to do something, it’s knowing
what you want, or need, to do.
Many mix decisions are purely aesthetic, mean-
ing you decide how loud things are, where they
are panned, what effects are used, and so on.
You base your mix decisions on what you are
hearing. What you are hearing is determined by
the type and number of speakers in your studio,
their placement and condition, the size of the
room, and many other factors.
While you can control most of these variables in
your facility, you cannot control them in all the
listening environments in which the project
will be heard. This section provides a basic intro-
duction to some of the ways to reduce the vari-
ables encountered while mixing.
Monitoring for Compatibility
While mixing, your monitoring system has a
very large influence on how your final mix will
sound. For example, if your monitors (or room)
are overly bright, you will tend to put less high-
end in your mixes. When your mix is played on
a different system that doesn’t favor the high-
end, it will likely sound muddy. Problems like
these can be avoided using alternate speakers
and reference monitors.
Send/return setup for an Internal Mix Bus
Real-time plug-in applied to Insert A
Send to bus 1
Aux In input set to bus 1
Output set to main mix outs 1-2
Controls level of dry signal
Controls level of effect
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 351
Alternate Speakers and Reference Monitoring
Mixers often listen to their mixes on a variety of
different speakers, to gauge how well the mix
will translate. Some speakers are designed to em-
ulate the effects of TV broadcast, where others
attempt to be completely flat across all frequen-
cies. By listening to a mix through different
playback systems, you are attempting to antici-
pate what the intended audience will hear. The
goal is to make sure your mix will sound as good
as possible to as many listeners as possible.
Reference Tapes and Discs
To become familiar with a studio and its moni-
tors, engineers often bring along a collection of
recordings they are familiar hearing in a variety
of environments. In this way, they can get a
sense of how the room and monitors “sound”
before mixing.
While mixing, tapes and discs of rough mixes let
you audition mixes outside the studio in differ-
ent listening environments.
Format Compatibility Monitoring
In addition, format compatibility is sometimes re-
quired. With stereo, mixes must often be mono-
compatible.
Mono/Stereo Mix Compatibility Example
An example of mix compatibility is mono-stereo
compatibility. Though stereo is the predomi-
nant consumer listening format, many televi-
sions and older cars have a single speaker. How
a stereo mix sounds through a mono television
or radio (AM radio, for example, is mono) can
only be verified by checking how the mix
sounds when summed to mono.
Most consoles let you fold the mix to mono in
order to check mono-compatibility and, if nec-
essary, make adjustments. You can also simply
pan your output mix channels to center.
When you start mixing in multi-channel sur-
round, these techniques becomes even more im-
portant, See Chapter 30, “Surround Concepts”
for more information.
Metering and Calibration
Meters provide a visual display of signal levels.
They tell whether signal is getting to a channel,
and how loud or soft a signal is relative to
(above or below) “0”.
By calibrating all your equipment to standard
reference levels, a consistent level can be
achieved (and metered) among different record-
ing devices in a studio, throughout a facility, or
throughout an entire production chain of a fea-
ture-length film. For example, a level of, say, -18
dB coming out of a DAT deck should play and
meter at -18 dB in Pro Tools.
Reference Levels
Reference levels are often tones such as sine
waves, at specific frequencies (1k and 10k, for
example). By supplying the same tones to each
device, you can calibrate your systems for equal
input and output attenuation and metering. Be-
yond your own studio and equipment, reference
Studio monitors (top) and street monitors (bottom)
Pro Tools Reference Guide352
levels and calibration provide a standard by
which different studios, engineers, and systems
can achieve a consistent nominal operating
level.
Calibrating your Pro Tools audio interface in-
puts and outputs to tape machines and other au-
dio devices in your studio ensures consistency
in levels (and meters) when recording, transfer-
ring, overdubbing and mixing.
Using a Control Surface with
Pro Tools
There are several optional control surfaces for
Pro Tools:
◆TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems can use
Digidesign ProControl, a dedicated controller
that provides access to all Pro Tools recording,
mixing, editing, signal routing, plug-in control,
and automation features.
◆Pro Tools LE and TDM systems support MIDI
control surfaces, including the Mackie HUI (Hu-
man User Interface), JL Cooper CS-10, Peavey
PC-1600, CM Automation MotorMix, and oth-
ers.
◆Pro Tools MIX and MIXplus systems running
the Surround mixer can use the JL Cooper
MCS3000 Joystick Panner.
Dither
Dither is a special form of randomized noise
used to mask quantization noise in digital audio
systems. Digital audio’s poorest distortion per-
formance exists at the lowest end of the dy-
namic range, where quantization distortion can
occur. Dither reduces quantizing errors by intro-
ducing very low-level random noise, thereby
minimizing distortion artifacts as audio reaches
low level. With dither there is a trade-off be-
tween signal-to-noise performance and less-ap-
parent distortion. Proper use of dither lets you
squeeze better subjective performance out of a
16-bit data format (such as Red Book compact
discs).
Pro Tools TDM systems process all audio inter-
nally at 24-bit, and Pro Tools LE processes inter-
nally at 32-bit, floating. Without Dither to pro-
cess the 24-bit data to 16-bit, the extra 8 bits are
truncated (dropped entirely) when written to
media or a device with a 16-bit maximum (such
as CD recorders, many DAT machines, and oth-
ers). Dithering, on the other hand, preserves
low-level (quiet) fidelity in a surprising way—by
adding a small amount of noise to a signal.
Dither in Pro Tools
There are several dither options provided in
Pro Tools. Each has a specific application within
the various operations that could benefit from
dithering.
In addition to the TDM, RTAS and AudioSuite
Dither plug-ins, Pro Tools has a built-in dither
capability (outlined below).
Dither on Final Output for Mixdown You can in-
sert a real-time dither plug-in on a Master Fader
to dither your final mix, post-fader, for CD or
other 16-bit media. Inserts on Master Fader pro-
cess post-fader. During Bounce-to-Disk, this
For instructions on how to calibrate your
audio interfaces, see your Pro Tools Instal-
lation Guide.
For more information on using MIDI con-
trol surfaces with Pro Tools, refer to the
Pro Tools MIDI Control Surfaces Guide.
Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 353
form of dithering lets you use dither plug-ins
from Digidesign or third-party manufacturers.
Dithering during Bounce-to-Disk is explained in
Chapter 29, “Mixdown.”
AudioSuite Dither For AudioSuite plug-in pro-
cessing, dither is based on the Dither plug-in.
This provide the option of utilizing noise-shap-
ing as part of the dither process. (See
The following AudioSuite plug-ins automati-
cally apply dither when processing:
• EQ II
• Compressor II
• Limiter II
• Gate II
• Expander/Gate II
• Normalize
• Gain
• DC Offset Removal
• Time Compression/Expansion
• Pitch Shift
Fades and Crossfades In the Fades dialog (Edit >
Fades > Create Fades), the Use Dither checkbox
enables a preset, noise-shaped dither.
Noise Shaping
Noise is an integral part of the dithering process.
Noise shaping can further improve audio perfor-
mance and reduce perceived noise inherent in
dithering. Noise shaping utilizes digital filtering
to move noise from frequencies around 4 kHz.
Essentially, noise shaping lessens our perception
of the noise inherent in dithering by shifting au-
dible noise components into a less audible
range.
Noise Shaping is available in the Dither plug-in.
Operation Preferences, for AudioSuite dither
For information about AudioSuite dither,
see the Digi-Rack Plug-Ins Guide.
Create Fades dialog
For more information about dither during
mixdown, see Chapter 29, “Mixdown.”
Pro Tools Reference Guide354
Chapter 27: Plug-Ins and Inserts 355
Chapter 27: Plug-Ins and Inserts
Pro Tools provides up to five unity-gain, pre-
fader inserts on each audio track, Auxiliary In-
put track, or Master Fader. In the case of Master
Faders, inserts are post-fader only.
An insert can be either a software DSP plug-in or
a hardware insert. A Pro Tools insert routes the
signal from the track to a plug-in or external
hardware effect of your choice and automati-
cally returns it to the same track. Inserts do not
alter the original audio source files, but process
audio in real time, during playback. You can
permanently apply real-time effects to tracks by
recording or bouncing the effect to disk (see
Chapter 29, “Mixdown” for more information).
This chapter explains how to use plug-ins and
hardware inserts. Refer to the DigiRack Plug-Ins
Guide for details on using specific plug-ins.
Plug-In Inserts
Plug-in inserts are software inserts that process
audio material on a track in real time. The EQ,
Dynamics, and Mod Delay plug-ins supplied
with your Pro Tools system are real-time plug-in
inserts.
Additional real-time plug-ins are available from
Digidesign and from many third-party develop-
ers.
Hardware I/O Inserts
Hardware I/O inserts can route audio through
an external device connected to the inputs and
outputs of your audio interface. You can process
the audio material on a track with a hardware
insert in real time.
Insert paths require audio interface inputs and
outputs, and are determined by the I/O Setup
configuration of your system.
General Information
◆When more than one insert is used on a track,
they are processed in series. Each effect is added
to that of any previous plug-ins or inserts, (flow-
ing from top to bottom in the Mix window In-
serts view, and left to right in the Edit window
Inserts view).
Plug-in insert (TimeAdjuster shown)
Hardware I/O insert
Pro Tools Reference Guide356
◆Inserts on audio tracks and Auxiliary Inputs
are pre-fader. You can cause clipping if you boost
their gain to extremes, especially on tracks re-
corded at high amplitude. Watch on-screen me-
tering for indication of clipping. (Inserts on
Master Faders are post-fader.)
How to Use Plug-Ins and Inserts for
Effects Processing
Inserts can be used in two ways:
On single tracks An insert can be applied to an
individual audio track, Auxiliary Input, or Mas-
ter Fader.
With in-line inserts, you control the amount of
effect by adjusting the balance (or, wet/dry)
controls of the plug-in or external device.
As shared resources An insert can be used as a
shared resource in a send-and-return arrange-
ment, by bussing signals from several tracks to
an Auxiliary Input, and then applying the insert
to the Auxiliary Input track. You can then con-
trol the send level for each track, and the overall
level of the effect can be controlled from the
Auxiliary Input track. Using sends and other sig-
nal routing features helps maximize your sys-
tem’s processing power.
Plug-In and Insert Formats
Mono Plug-Ins Are designed for use on mono
tracks. Some mono plug-ins (such as Mod Delay)
let you generate a stereo output from a mono
channel. Inserts that occur on a track after a ste-
reo insert are used in stereo as well.
Stereo Plug-Ins Stereo versions of plug-ins be-
come available when you use them on a stereo
track. A stereo hardware I/O insert, that sends
the signal to an input/output path, can also be
created on a stereo track.
Mono In/Stereo Out Plug-Ins Are designed to re-
turn a stereo effect from a mono source. Certain
plug-ins (such as Mod Delay) let you generate
stereo output from a mono channel. A track
made into stereo in this way has pan controls
for each channel of the stereo signal. Any inserts
that occur on a track after a stereo insert are au-
tomatically used in stereo as well.
Multi-Channel and Multi-Mono Plug-Ins
Pro Tools MIX and MIXplus systems support
multi-channel and multi-mono plug-ins.
Multi-Mono Plug-Ins Are designed for use on ste-
reo or greater multi-channel tracks when a
multi-channel version of the plug-in is not
available. Parameters for all channels are linked
by default so that you can adjust them in tan-
dem. You can unlink parameter controls for in-
dependent adjustment using the Master Link
button. See “Linking and Unlinking Controls
on Multi-Mono Plug-Ins” on page 362.
Multi-Channel Plug-Ins Are designed for use on
stereo and greater-than-stereo multi-channel
tracks. On greater-than-stereo multi-channel
tracks, the parameters for all channels are gener-
ally ganged together.
For examples of send and return busses and
other submixing setups, see “Submixing for
Signal Routing and Effects Processing” on
page 347.
Relinking may cause automation to be lost.
See “Linking and Unlinking Controls on
Multi-Mono Plug-Ins” on page 362
Chapter 27: Plug-Ins and Inserts 357
TDM and RTAS Plug-Ins
Use the following guidelines for plug-ins sup-
ported on your system.
Pro Tools TDM Systems TDM plug-ins can be
used on all types of audio tracks. RTAS plug-ins
can be used on Auto Voiced audio tracks
only.When using RTAS and TDM plug-ins on
the same track, RTAS plug-ins must precede
TDM plug-ins in the insert signal path.
Pro Tools LE Systems RTAS plug-ins can be used
on audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master
Faders.
Viewing Plug-Ins and Inserts
Both the Mix and Edit windows can be config-
ured to show or hide inserts. Plug-In windows
provide complete access to plug-in parameters.
To show or hide inserts in the Mix or Edit windows:
1 Choose Display > Mix Window Shows, or Edit
Window Shows > Inserts View.
To show or hide insert in the Edit window:
1 Select Inserts view from the View Selector (lo-
cated next to the Rulers view). See “Configuring
Send Views in the Mix and Edit Windows” on
page 340 for more information.
Display of Plug-In Bypass, Target, and
Window Status
In the Mix and Edit window, the Plug-In button
and Selector display bypass state, target status,
and window status as follow:
Hardware Inserts and Bypass
You cannot bypass hardware inserts from
Pro Tools. To monitor playback without a hard-
ware insert, either set it to Inactive, remove it by
reassigning it to No Insert, or use a bypass
switch on the hardware device itself. See “Inac-
tive Inserts” on page 364 for more information.
Indicating the Controller Target
If you are using a control surface with Pro Tools,
only one plug-in can be targeted at a time. The
current controller target, if any, is indicated
with a color outline around its name:
For tips on maximizing RTAS performance,
see the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide.
Mix Window views
Inserts view
Sends view
I/O view
with assignmentsno assignments
Indication of bypassed plug-in
Indication of window open
The controller target
For more information on controller targets,
refer to the MIDI Control Surfaces Guide, or
your ProControl documentation.
bypassed (blue)
some channels bypassed (half blue)
unbypassed (black)
lit plug-in name
target outline
Pro Tools Reference Guide358
Inactive Plug-Ins
Plug-ins and inserts can be made inactive to free
up their resources for other uses. When a plug-in
is inactive it retains its assignment, position, all
related automation playlists. However, it will
not pass audio and does not consume any DSP
or TDM resources.
To make a plug-in inactive:
■Command-Control-click the Plug-In button.
(Use Option and Option+Shift modifiers to ap-
ply to all or all selected, respectively.)
– or –
■Make the track inactive. See “Making Tracks
Inactive” on page 84.
When opening sessions, plug-ins will be inac-
tive in any of the following situations:
• The plug-in is not installed
• The plug-in type is not available (RTAS or
TDM). Or, opening the session results in plug-
in type substitutions. This can happen if, for
example, the type is available but substituting
would result in an unsupported condition,
such as an RTAS plug-in after TDM plug-ins in
a track.
Inactive plug-ins retain all associated automa-
tion playlists. In addition, any edits made in the
session affect the plug-in automation playlists.
You cannot record automation for an inactive
plug-in, or edit its controls on-screen.
Inserting Plug-Ins on Tracks
To use a real-time plug-in in a Pro Tools session,
insert it on a track.
To insert a plug-in on a track:
1 Make sure the Inserts view is shown in the Mix
or Edit window.
2 Click the Insert Selector on the track and se-
lect the plug-in that you want to use. (See “TDM
and RTAS Plug-Ins” on page 357 for related in-
formation.)
To remove an insert from a track:
■Click the Insert Selector and choose No Insert.
Moving and Duplicating Inserts
You can move or duplicate a plug-in insert by
dragging it to a different position on the same
track or a different track. Inserts that are moved
or duplicated retain their original settings and
automation. Dragging an insert on top of an ex-
isting insert will replace it (and its automation,
if any).
Display of inactive plug-ins
Inactive
(italicized)
active
(plain text)
Inactive
(italicized, dark gray background)
plug-in track
Inserting a TDM plug-in
Removing a plug-in
Click here
Chapter 27: Plug-Ins and Inserts 359
To move an insert:
■Drag the insert to the desired location.
To duplicate an insert:
■Option-drag (Macintosh) or Alt-drag (Win-
dows) the insert to the desired location. The du-
plicated plug-in retains its original settings and
automation.
The Plug-In Window
The Plug-In window appears whenever you click
the Insert button on a track. This floating win-
dow let you to edit the parameters of any real-
time plug-in insert in use on a track.
Settings menu Lets you copy, paste, save, and
import plug-in settings.
Track Selector Accesses any non-MIDI track in
your session.
Librarian Menu Recalls settings files saved in the
plug-in’s root settings folder or in the current
session’s Settings folder.
Insert Position Selector Accesses any insert on
the current track.
Moving a plug-in
Plug-In window (mono 1-band EQ shown)
Insert
Selector
Settings menu
Track Selector
Librarian menu
Insert Position
Selector
Plug-In Selector
Effect bypass
Compare
Enable
Automation
Insert button Automation Safe
Convert plug-in
Target plug-in
Phase Invert
Plug-In window (multi-mono 1-band EQ shown)
Plug-In window (multi-channel Compressor shown)
Channel Selector
Link Enable buttons
Master Link button
LFE Enable
Phase Invert buttons
Pro Tools Reference Guide360
Key Input Selector Lets you select audio on a
particular input or bus and route it to trigger the
plug-in. This menu only appears on plug-ins
that feature side-chain processing. Key inputs
are monophonic.
Plug-In Selector Lets you select any real-time
plug-in installed in the DAE Plug-Ins folder.
Compare Toggles between the original saved
plug-in setting and any changes you have made
to it so you can compare them.
Effect Bypass Disables the currently displayed
plug-in. This lets you compare the track with
and without the effect.
Enable Automation Parameters Lets you enable
individual plug-in parameters for automation
recording. See “Automating Plug-Ins” on
page 380.
Automation Safe When enabled, prevents exist-
ing plug-in automation from being overwritten.
Convert Plug-In Lets you convert the insert from
a TDM plug-in to an RTAS plug-in of the same
type (or vice-versa). This feature can only be
used on plug-ins that are available in both TDM
and RTAS formats.
Target Button When multiple Plug-In windows
are open, clicking this button selects that plug-
in as the target for any computer keyboard com-
mands.
Phase Invert Button Inverts the phase polarity of
the input signal.
Channel Selector Accesses a specific channel
within a multi-channel track for plug-in param-
eter editing. This menu appears only on multi-
mono plug-ins inserted on tracks with more
than one channel. Shift-clicking this Selector
opens a separate Plug-In window for each chan-
nel of the multi-channel track on which the
plug-in is inserted.
Master Link Button When enabled, links the pa-
rameter controls on all channels of a multi-
mono plug-in so that they can be adjusted in
tandem.
Link Enable Buttons Lets you selectively link
the parameter controls of specific channels of a
multi-mono plug-in. Each square represents a
speaker channel. The Master Link button must
be disabled to use the Link Enable buttons. See
“Linking and Unlinking Controls on Multi-
Mono Plug-Ins” on page 362.
LFE Enable Enables plug-in processing of the
LFE (low frequency effects) channel on a 5.1,
6.1, and 7.1-format multi-channel track. To dis-
able LFE processing, deselect this button.
Opening Plug-In Windows
To open a Plug-In window:
■Click the Plug-In button in the Mix or Edit
window channel strip.
By default, each plug-in you open will appear in
the same location as a currently open plug-in,
replacing it in the same window location.
Chapter 27: Plug-Ins and Inserts 361
Opening Multiple Plug-In Windows
To reduce screen clutter, Pro Tools normally dis-
plays a single Plug-In window from which you
can edit the parameters of any plug-in in a ses-
sion. If you want, however, you can open addi-
tional Plug-In windows for specific plug-ins.
Once you begin working with multiple Plug-In
windows, you will need to click the Target but-
ton on the plug-in whose parameters you want
to edit using keyboard commands.
To open a Plug-In window for a specific plug-in:
■In the Mix window, Shift-click the Insert but-
ton of the desired plug-in.
To open Plug-In windows for each channel of a
multi-mono plug-in:
■Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) the Channel Selector in the Plug-In win-
dow of the desired plug-in.
To close all currently open Plug-In windows:
■Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Win-
dows) the close box of any currently open Plug-
In window.
Using the Plug-In Window
All plug-ins provide standard Pro Tools controls
for track and insert selection, bypass, and oth-
ers, in addition to the EQ, dynamics, and other
processor-specific controls.
To select a different plug-in on the same track:
■Click the Insert Selector and choose a plug-in
from the pop-up menu.
To choose a different track:
■Click the Track Selector and choose a track
from the pop-up menu.
Target Window and Settings Shortcuts
When multiple Plug-In windows are open, a
highlighted target indicates the Target window.
By default, Pro Tools keeps a single Plug-In win-
dow open (the Target window), that displays
each plug-in as it is opened. Opening a new
plug-in opens it as the new Target window, in
the same location.
In addition, the Plug-In Target window is also
the focus of keyboard shortcuts for plug-in set-
tings.
Choosing a plug-in from the Plug-In window
Choosing a track from the Plug-In window
Pro Tools Reference Guide362
Bypassing Plug-Ins
Plug-ins can be bypassed from their Plug-In win-
dow, or from the Mix and Edit window Inserts
view.
To bypass a plug-in:
■Click the Plug-In window’s Bypass button.
– or –
■Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) the plug-in’s Insert button in the
Mix window.
Linking and Unlinking Controls on
Multi-Mono Plug-Ins
(TDM Systems Only)
When a multi-mono plug-in is used on a multi-
channel track of more than two channels, the
controls are normally linked. Adjusting the
Gain parameter on one channel, for example,
will adjust it for all channels.
If necessary, you can unlink plug-in controls on
specific channels of a track and edit them inde-
pendently. You can also selectively link the con-
trols of specific channels.
To unlink controls on a multi-mono plug-in:
■Deselect the Master Link button.
To access controls for a specific channel:
■Select the desired channel from the Channel
Selector.
To link the controls of specific channels:
1 Deselect the Master Link button if it is not al-
ready deselected.
2 Click the Link Enable buttons for the chan-
nels whose controls you want to link. For exam-
ple, to link all channels except the LFE,
highlight the icons representing the five full-
range speakers in a multi-mono plug-in.
When a plug-in insert is bypassed, the In-
sert Selector in the Mix window changes its
color to blue for easy visual reference. If
some, but not all channels of an unlinked
multi-mono plug-in are bypassed, the Insert
Selector appears half blue and half black.
Bypass states indicated by color
bypassed (blue)
some channels bypassed (half blue)
unbypassed (black)
Channel Selector and Link controls
All channels linked except the LFE
Channel Selector
Link Enable buttons
Master Link button
Chapter 27: Plug-Ins and Inserts 363
Editing Plug-In Parameters
You can edit plug-in parameters by dragging the
parameter’s slider or by typing a value into the
parameter’s text box. See the DigiRack Plug-Ins
Guide for complete instructions.
To edit a plug-in parameter:
1 Begin audio playback so that you can hear pa-
rameter changes in real time.
2 Adjust the parameters of the plug-in for the ef-
fect you want.
Keyboard Shortcuts
■For finer adjustments, Command-drag (Mac-
intosh) or Control-drag (Windows) the control.
■To return a control to its default value, Op-
tion-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows)
the control.
Keyboard Input for Plug-In
Parameters
You can use your computer keyboard to edit
plug-in parameters.
If multiple Plug-In windows are open, Tab and
keyboard entry remain focussed on the plug-in
that is the Target window.
To edit parameters with a keyboard:
◆Click in the parameter text field that you want
to edit to activate the field. Type the desired
value.
◆In fields that support values in kilohertz, typ-
ing “k” after a number value will multiply the
value by 1000. If you want to enter a value of
8000, type “8k”.
◆To increase a value, press the Up Arrow on
your keyboard. To decrease a value, press the
Down Arrow on your keyboard.
◆Press Enter on the numeric keyboard after typ-
ing a value to input the value (without leaving
the selected parameter field).
◆Press Return (Macintosh) or Enter on the al-
pha keyboard (Windows) to enter the value and
leave keyboard editing mode.
◆To move downward through the different pa-
rameter fields, press the Tab key. To move up-
wards, press Shift-Tab.
Plug-In Automation and Safe
All real-time plug-ins can be fully automated,
and support all Pro Tools automation modes
(Write, Touch, and Latch, plus Trim).
The Auto button opens the Enable Automation
Parameters dialog, where you can enable indi-
vidual plug-in parameters for automation re-
cording. See Chapter 28, “Automation” for
more information on this feature and shortcuts
to enable plug-in parameter.
The Safe button engages Automation Safe mode.
When enabled, existing plug-in automation is
protected from being overwritten. (See “Auto-
mating Plug-Ins” on page 380 for more informa-
tion.)
Pro Tools Reference Guide364
Hardware I/O Inserts
You can connect external devices, such as reverb
or effects processors, to your Pro Tools system
and use them as inserts or make them the desti-
nation for effects sends and returns.
Pro Tools inserts utilize hardware input and out-
put channels to send and return the audio. In-
serts can be defined, and their channels mapped
to audio interface channels, in the I/O Setup di-
alog.
If you plan to use a device as an insert, be sure to
connect the device to matching inputs and out-
puts on your system. For example, a stereo insert
could use outputs 7-8 and inputs 7-8 for the
sends and returns, respectively.
To define hardware inserts:
1 Choose Setups > I/O Setup, then click the In-
serts tab.
2 Select an insert path, or click New Path to cre-
ate a new Insert path.
3 Double-click the Path Name to enter a custom
path name for the insert.
4 Make sure the insert is set to the correct for-
mat (mono, stereo, or other).
5 Map inserts in the Channel Grid as needed.
Insert and Output paths have special rules re-
garding channel mapping (see “Overlapping
Channels and Valid Paths” on page 67).
Assigning Inserts
To assign a hardware insert to a track:
■Select an insert from the track Insert Selector.
Inactive Inserts
Hardware inserts can be made Inactive. An inac-
tive insert retains its assignment, but does not
pass audio and does not consume any DSP re-
sources. In addition, any mixer resources re-
quired for the insert are removed.
I/O Setup dialog (TDM system shown, with 24 channels
of I/O)
Selecting a hardware I/O insert
You can use the inactive feature whenever
you need to mute or bypass a hardware in-
sert. Inserts do not provide a standard by-
pass control.
Chapter 27: Plug-Ins and Inserts 365
To make an insert inactive:
■Command-Control-click the Insert button.
Use the Option and Option+Shift modifiers to
apply to all or all selected tracks, respectively.
– or –
■Make the track inactive (this sets all associated
inserts, sends, outputs, and plug-ins inactive).
When opening sessions on a system with insuf-
ficient DSP resources, unavailable inserts are au-
tomatically set to inactive.
Connecting and Integrating
External Devices
Pro Tools TDM and Digi 001 systems can create
dedicated connections to external analog or dig-
ital devices. The number and type of connec-
tions depends on what kind of system you have.
You can also use the inputs and outputs of an
Audiomedia III card to connect external devices.
You can send and return an analog signal using
the analog connectors on the card, and monitor
through a DAT machine connected to the digi-
tal output. You can also send and return a digital
signal to an external device that supports digital
I/O (such as a reverb unit), and monitor with the
analog outputs.
To connect an external device to a Pro Tools
system:
1 Connect an unused output (or pair of outputs
for a stereo device) of your Pro Tools system to
an input of the external signal processor.
2 Connect the output of the external signal pro-
cessor to an unused input (or pair of inputs for a
stereo device) of your Pro Tools system.
3 Define output, input, or insert paths as appro-
priate in the I/O Setup dialog.
If you plan to use a device as an insert, be sure to
connect the device to matching inputs and out-
puts on your system. For example, a stereo insert
could use outputs 7-8 and inputs 7-8 for the
sends and returns, respectively.
Connecting Effects Units Digitally
If you want to use the digital inputs and outputs
on your Pro Tools system as effects sends and re-
turns to a digital effects device, Pro Tools should
be the clock master in most cases. Set your digi-
tal effects device to accept an external digital
clock so that it synchronizes to Pro Tools.
To set up a digital send to an external device from
a TDM system:
1 Do one of the following:
◆On an 888/24 I/O Interface, choose Setups >
Hardware, click Other Options, and set the
channel pair to Digital.
◆On an 882/20 I/O or 1622 I/O Interface,
choose Setups > Hardware and set Channel 1–2
input to Digital.
2 Choose Internal from the Sync Mode pop-up
menu.
3 Click OK.
For details on connecting external devices,
refer to the Pro Tools Hardware Installation
Guide that came with your system.
Pro Tools Reference Guide366
To set up a digital send to an external device
from a Digi001 system:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine and click
Other Options.
2 Do one of the following:
◆If the external device is connected to the
S/PDIF RCA jacks, deselect S/PDIF Mirroring.
(When S/PDIF Mirroring is on, digital output at
the S/PDIF RCA jacks exactly mirrors the output
of analog Channels 1–2.)
◆If the external device is connected to the Op-
tical ports, choose a format (most likely S/PDIF
for an effects device) from the Optical Format
pop-up menu.
3 Choose Internal from the Sync Mode pop-up
menu.
4 Click OK.
5 Optionally, configure the I/O Setup dialog
with new path names for effects routing.
To set up a digital send to an external device
from an Audiomedia III system:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine and deselect
S/PDIF Mirroring. (When S/PDIF Mirroring is
on, digital output at the S/PDIF RCA jacks ex-
actly mirrors the output of analog Channels
1–2.)
2 Choose Internal from the Sync Mode pop up
menu.
3 Click OK.
4 Optionally, configure the I/O Setup dialog
with new path names for effects routing.
Using External Clock Sources
Pro Tools can use the digital input on Channels
1–2 as its clock master. To synchronize your sys-
tem to an external clock source, connect the ex-
ternal source to Pro Tools digital inputs 1–2.
TDM Systems
Pro Tools can receive external clock from Chan-
nels 1–2, using either the AES/EBU (on the
888/24 I/O) or S/PDIF connectors on your audio
interface. Pro Tools also supports optical sync
through an Adat Bridge.
In an expanded TDM system, connect to the
digital input on Channels 1–2 of the master au-
dio interface. This is the audio interface con-
nected to the first MIX or d24 card in your sys-
tem.
To select an external clock source for a TDM
system:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware.
2 Set the Sync Mode to Digital.
3 Choose the Digital Format for the input.
Digi 001 Systems
Pro Tools can receive external clock from the
optical input (on the Digi 001 PCI card) or
S/PDIF input (on the Digi 001 I/O box).
To select an external clock source for a Digi 001
system:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware.
2 Set the Sync Mode to match the type of input.
If you set the Optical Format to S/PDIF,
Pro Tools will watch the Optical port for
any audio input on the S/PDIF RCA jacks.
Refer to the Pro Tools TDM System Instal-
lation Guide to determine correct card order
and audio interface connections for TDM
systems.
Chapter 27: Plug-Ins and Inserts 367
If you choose Optical, make sure the Optical
Format matches the type of optical input you
are sending to your Pro Tools system.
Audiomedia III Systems
Pro Tools can receive external clock from the
S/PDIF input on the Audiomedia III card.
To select an external clock source for an
Audiomedia III system:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware.
2 Set the Sync Mode to match the type of input.
If you set the Optical Format to S/PDIF,
Pro Tools will watch the Optical port for ex-
ternal clock, and ignore any clock input on
the S/PDIF RCA jacks.
Pro Tools Reference Guide368
Chapter 28: Automation 369
Chapter 28: Automation
Pro Tools features dynamic automation of vol-
ume, pan, and mute controls for audio tracks
and sends, MIDI tracks, and real-time plug-in
parameters. In Pro Tools, you can write automa-
tion moves in real time during playback of your
session. You can also edit automation data with
the same techniques you use to edit audio and
MIDI data.
Automation Accuracy with
Control Surfaces
ProControl Digidesign’s ProControl supports all
automation features in Pro Tools. ProControl
DigiFaders™ provide 10-bit accuracy, or 1,024
steps of resolution. Pro Tools interpolates this
ProControl input and provides 24-bit resolution
of volume and send automation on playback.
MIDI Control Surfaces Most MIDI control sur-
faces have 8-bit resolution, or 128 steps; the
Mackie HUI has 9-bit resolution, or 512 steps.
Pro Tools interpolates this input to a much
higher resolution on playback, resulting in fader
automation that is smooth enough to satisfy
professional requirements.
Automation Quick Start
Pro Tools provides many options for recording,
replacing, and editing automation data.
The basic steps for automation recording are:
• Enable the automation type that you want to
record (volume, pan, mute, send level, send
pan, send mute, or plug-in automation).
• Put the appropriate tracks in an automation
writing mode (Write, Touch, or Latch, or a
Trim mode).
• If you are automating a plug-in, enable the in-
dividual plug-in parameters to be automated.
• Automation Safe any plug-ins, outputs, or
sends that have existing automation data that
you want to protect from being overwritten.
• Begin playback to begin automation record-
ing, and adjust controls as needed. Pro Tools
remembers all moves performed on enabled
parameters.
To edit automation once it has been recorded,
you can:
• Repeat the above steps to write new automa-
tion over the previous data.
• Graphically edit the automation data in the
Edit window.
• Cut, copy, paste, or delete automation data
(certain restrictions apply).
For details on using ProControl to create
mix automation, refer to the ProControl
User’s Guide.
Pro Tools Reference Guide370
Automation Playlists
Each Pro Tools track contains a single automa-
tion playlist for each automatable control.
On audio tracks, these controls include:
• Volume
• Pan
• Mute
• Send volume, pan, and mute
• Plug-in parameters
On MIDI tracks, these controls include:
• Volume
• Pan
• Mute
You can display and edit each of these automat-
able parameters individually from Pro Tools,
even during playback.
In addition, you can display and edit other con-
tinuous MIDI controller data (such as mod
wheel, breath controller, foot controller, or sus-
tain) in a similar manner. For more information
on editing MIDI data, see “Continuous Control-
ler Events” on page 301.
Automation Playlists with Audio
and MIDI Regions
Pro Tools handles audio regions and automa-
tion playlists differently from MIDI regions and
automation playlists.
Audio Tracks
On audio tracks, automation data resides on a
separate playlist from audio data and regions.
Each edit playlist on an audio track shares the
same automation data.
MIDI Tracks
On MIDI tracks, all controller automation data
except for Mute data is stored in the MIDI region
that contains it. Each edit playlist on a MIDI
track is separate, and represents a distinct per-
formance, complete with controller automa-
tion.
Multiple Edit Playlists and Audio Track
Automation
All edit playlists on a single audio track share the
same automation data. When you record or edit
automation data in an audio track, the automa-
tion data is stored in the track automation play-
list so it can be edited with, or independently
from, its associated audio regions. (MIDI auto-
mation data always follows region editing, with
the exception of mute. See “MIDI Tracks” on
page 370 for more information.)
◆When you copy or cut audio data from a track
while it is in Waveform view, the underlying au-
tomation data is cut or copied with it.
◆If you paste audio data from other locations or
tracks into an edit playlist, you may change the
underlying automation data on the track.
Mute data is independent of the MIDI data
in a MIDI region. This lets you mute play-
back of individual MIDI tracks in Pro Tools
without altering the controller data.
Chapter 28: Automation 371
◆When you trim audio regions with the Trim
tool, or cut, copy, paste, or delete audio regions,
underlying automation data is also trimmed,
cut, copied, pasted, or deleted.
◆When you use the Trim command, the under-
lying automation data remains, unchanged.
Using Tracks for Playlist Editing
The Duplicate Track command provides a con-
venient way to make a working copy of a track
to experiment with routing, plug-ins, and auto-
mation. This protects original track’s from being
edited or overwritten.
To copy a track for editing:
1 Select the track and choose File > Duplicate
Track. Duplicate Track create a complete copy of
the track, including all routing, plug-ins, and
automation.
2 Command-Control-click the Track Type icon,
or select that track and choose File > Make Se-
lected Tracks Inactive.
3 Begin editing automation and other parame-
ters on the duplicated track.
Edit and assembling the track regions before ap-
plying automation to them.
Automation Modes
Each track provides an Automation Mode Selec-
tor. Automation modes control how a track’s
automation data is written and played back.
Auto Off
Auto Off mode turns off automation for all au-
tomatable controls:
• Volume
• Pan
• Mute
• Send volume, pan, and mute
• Plug-in parameters
• MIDI volume, pan, and mute
In Auto Off mode, automation data for these pa-
rameters is ignored during playback. All other
MIDI controller data is sent.
Auto Read
Auto Read mode plays the automation that was
previously written for a track.
Auto Write
Auto Write mode writes automation from the
time playback starts to the time it stops, erasing
any previously written automation for the dura-
tion of the automation pass.
After an automation pass, Pro Tools automati-
cally switches from Auto Write mode to Auto
Touch mode. This prevents you from acciden-
tally overwriting automation data on later play-
back. On TDM systems, you can turn off this be-
havior and remain in Auto Write mode. See
“Write Switches To Touch After Pass” on
page 374 for details.
For more information, see “Editing Auto-
mation” on page 385.
Pro Tools Reference Guide372
Auto Touch
Auto Touch mode writes automation only while
a fader or switch is touched or clicked with the
mouse. When the fader is released, the writing
of automation stops and the fader returns to any
previously automated position, at a rate deter-
mined by the AutoMatch and Touch Timeout
settings. See “Automation Preferences” on
page 374.
In Auto Touch mode, certain control surfaces
start writing automation as soon as you touch
them. These include:
• Touch-sensitive motorized fader controllers,
such as Digidesign ProControl, or the Mackie
HUI.
• Continuous-belt controllers, such as the
Penny & Giles DC16/MM16.
With other control surfaces in Auto Touch
mode, writing of automation does not begin un-
til the fader hits the pass-through point, or the
previously automated position. Once you reach
the pass-through point with the fader, writing
of automation begins and continues until you
stop moving the fader.
Auto Latch
Auto Latch mode works in the same way as Auto
Touch mode, writing automation only if you
touch or move a control. However, unlike Auto
Touch, writing of automation continues until
you stop playback. This mode is particularly use-
ful for automating pan controls and plug-ins,
since it does not time out and revert to its previ-
ous position when you release a control.
Trim Mode
(TDM Systems Only)
Pro Tools TDM systems can adjust (or trim) ex-
isting track volume and send level automation
data in real time. Pan and plug-in automation
cannot be trimmed in this manner. Trim mode
works in combination with the other automa-
tion modes (Auto Read, Auto Touch, Auto
Latch, Auto Write) and is useful 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.
When editing automation in Trim mode, fader
moves write relative rather than absolute values.
The existing automation data is changed by the
amount of increase or decrease (or the delta
value) indicated by the faders. When trimming,
a track’s Volume indicator or Send Level indica-
tor shows the delta values being written rather
than the absolute value.
When Trim mode is enabled, non-trimmable
controls behave in the same manner as in the
standard automation modes, with the exception
of Trim/Auto Write mode, where non-trimma-
ble controls operate as in Auto Touch mode.
Trim/Auto Off
Trim/Auto Off mode turns off automation and
trimming for a track. All automation moves are
ignored during playback.
Trim/Auto Read
In Trim/Auto Read mode, volume and send fad-
ers follow the previously written automation.
When one of the faders is touched, the trim
moves (delta values) are played back, but are not
written into the automation data. This lets you
audition trim moves without affecting existing
automation.
See also “Writing Automation to the Start,
End or All of a Selection” on page 391.
Chapter 28: Automation 373
When this mode is enabled, non-trimmable
controls (all controls other than track volume
and send level) behave as if they are in regular
Read mode—no automation data is written.
Trim/Auto Touch
In Trim/Auto Touch mode, when playback be-
gins, volume and send faders follow the previ-
ously written automation. When one of the fad-
ers is touched, real-time trimming begins. Fader
moves write delta values (an increase or decrease
in existing automation data).
When the fader is released, trimming stops and
the fader returns to a zero delta value and con-
tinues to follow the previously written automa-
tion. The rate of the fader’s return to a zero delta
value is determined by the AutoMatch Time
specified in the Automation Preferences. See
“Automation Preferences” on page 374 for more
information.
When this mode is enabled, non-trimmable
controls (all controls other than track volume
and send level) behave as if they are in regular
Auto Touch mode—they follow the previously
written automation until touched. When they
are touched, their absolute positions are written
until the control is released or until playback
stops.
Trim/Auto Latch
In Trim/Auto Latch mode, when playback be-
gins, volume and send faders follow the previ-
ously written automation. When one of the fad-
ers is touched, real-time trimming begins. Any
fader moves after trimming begins increase or
decrease existing automation data accordingly.
Trimming of the touched control continues un-
til playback stops.
When this mode is enabled, non-trimmable
controls (all controls other than track volume
and send level) behave as if they are in regular
Latch mode—they follow the previously written
automation until touched. When they are
touched, their absolute positions are written un-
til playback is stopped.
Trim/Auto Write
In Trim/Auto Write mode, the volume and send
level faders are disengaged from displaying the
existing automation data, so you don’t have to
chase them during playback. Faders are auto-
matically positioned at 0 dB, where no trim-
ming occurs (they start with a delta value of
zero). From this reference point you can then set
the initial delta values before initiating play-
back.
In this mode, as soon as playback begins, delta
values are applied to the existing automation
data. Trimming continues until playback stops.
When Trim/Auto Write mode is enabled, non-
trimmable controls (all controls other than
track volume and send level) are not in Write
mode, but behave as if they are in regular Auto
Touch mode (no automation is written unless a
control is touched). This is to prevent the con-
trols from overwriting all of their automation
data on every pass in Trim mode.
In Trim mode, tracks do not automatically
change from Trim/Auto Write to
Trim/Auto Touch after an automation
pass. Be sure to switch out of Auto Write
when you leave Trim mode to avoid over-
writing automation data.
Pro Tools Reference Guide374
Automation Preferences
Pro Tools gives you several options for control-
ling the writing and playback of automation
data.
To display Automation Preferences:
■Choose Setups > Preferences, and click Auto-
mation.
Faders Move During Playback When selected,
on-screen faders move if automation has been
written for them. When this option is dese-
lected, automation still operates, but on-screen
faders do not move. Turning this option off can
help speed up screen redraws and processing if
you are using a slower computer.
Smooth and Thin Data After Pass When se-
lected, Pro Tools automatically smooths and
then applies the specified amount of thinning
to the automation data created in an automa-
tion pass. (See also “Degree of Thinning” on
page 375, and “About Smoothing” on
page 375.)
Write Switches To Touch After Pass (TDM Sys-
tems Only) After an automation pass in Auto
Write mode, Pro Tools automatically switches
to Auto Touch mode. On TDM systems, you can
choose to stay in Auto Write mode by deselect-
ing this option.
Mutes Follow Groups When selected, muting a
track that belongs to a group mutes all other
members of the group. When this option is de-
selected, tracks must be muted on an individual
basis. You can mute or unmute individual group
members by Control-clicking (Macintosh) or
Right-clicking (Windows) the Mute button of
the track you want to affect individually.
Solos Follow Groups When selected, soloing a
track that belongs to a group solos all other
members of the group. When this option is de-
selected, tracks must be soloed on an individual
basis. You can solo individual group members
by Control-clicking (Macintosh) or Right-click-
ing (Windows) the Solo button of the track you
want to affect individually.
Send Mutes Follow Groups ?When selected,
muting a send on a track that belongs to a group
mutes that send (A-E) on all tracks in the group.
Send Levels Follow Groups When selected, ad-
justing the level of a send on a track that be-
longs to a group adjusts that send (A-E) on all
members of the group.
Automation Preferences dialog
Write Switches to Touch After Pass does not
affect Trim mode. In Trim mode, tracks do
not automatically change from Trim/Auto
Write to Trim/Auto Touch after an auto-
mation pass.
Chapter 28: Automation 375
LFEs Follow Groups When selected, adjusting
the level of an LFE slider, or editing LFE automa-
tion breakpoint data, on a track or send that be-
longs to a group adjusts the LFE on all tracks of
the group. With send-based LFEs, grouping af-
fects only that send (A-E) on other tracks.
Degree of Thinning Specifies the amount of thin-
ning performed on automation data when you
use the Thin Automation command, or if you
have selected the Smooth and Thin Data After
Pass option in this dialog. (See also “About Thin-
ning” on page 375.)
Touch Timeout If you are writing automation in
Auto Touch mode and you stop moving a non-
touch sensitive control, Pro Tools continues to
write automation for the Touch Timeout value.
After the Touch Timeout period, writing of au-
tomation stops and the automation data returns
to its previous automation value at the rate spec-
ified in the AutoMatch Time setting.
AutoMatch Time If you are writing automation
in Auto Touch mode, when you release a fader
or control, writing of automation stops and the
automation data returns to its previous automa-
tion value. The rate of return to the previous
value is the AutoMatch Time. See “About Au-
toMatch” on page 375.
Amount of memory to reserve for automation re-
cording Allocates memory for automation. See
“Setting the Automation Buffer Size” on
page 376 for details.
About Smoothing
When you perform automation moves with a
continuous control, Pro Tools records the move
as a series of very small steps, resulting in a stair-
case pattern with many breakpoints. Smoothing
intelligently resolves this staircase pattern into a
single, smooth ramp from one breakpoint to the
next. (Smoothing does not apply to switched
controls such as mutes or plug-in bypasses.)
With smoothing enabled, the resulting automa-
tion is often a more accurate representation of
actual automation moves.
About Thinning
Thinning automatically reduces the overall
number of breakpoints in the automation play-
list in order to improve system performance.
The amount of thinning applied is determined
by the Degree of Thinning setting in the Auto-
mation Preferences. When using high amounts
of thinning, the resulting automation may dif-
fer noticeably from the original automation
moves. Thinning only applies to audio tracks,
and does not affect MIDI tracks. For instruc-
tions, see “Thinning Automation” on page 383.
About AutoMatch
When you write automation in Auto Touch
mode, if you release a fader during playback,
Pro Tools returns to the level of any automation
still on the track by ramping up or down over a
certain amount of time, called the AutoMatch
Time. This time value is set in the Automation
Preferences.
The AutoMatch feature works with continuous
controls (such as Volume or Pan) by ramping
their values back to previously automated levels.
There are some stepped controls (for example,
Pro Tools Reference Guide376
the EQ type in the 1-band EQ plug-in) that pro-
vide more than two discrete steps over their op-
erational range. AutoMatch has no effect on
these controls.
AutoMatch Indicators
There are triangular AutoMatch indicators at the
bottom left of each channel strip in the Mix
window. These indicate the direction you need
to move a fader in order to match the original
automation level of that fader.
Setting the Automation Buffer
Size
Pro Tools lets you specify the size of the mem-
ory buffer used to write automation. If you are
working on a large session or writing a very large
number of automation moves, you may want to
increase this value.
To set the Automation Buffer size:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Auto-
mation.
2 For the option “Amount of memory to reserve
for automation recording,” enter a value be-
tween 200 and 3000K (the default value for a
new session is 200K.)
3 Relaunch Pro Tools for this change to take ef-
fect.
About Processing Bandwidth
Meters in the System Usage window indicate
how much of your system’s processing power is
being used in processing audio, and when writ-
ing and playing back automation. In
Pro Tools LE, these meters show System Load
and CPU processing capacity; on Pro Tools TDM
systems, they show System Load, PCI bus traffic,
CPU processing capacity, and Time Slot usage.
As these meters approach their limits, recording
or playback of automation data may be affected.
If CPU or PCI Activity are high, a System error
may occur. If System Load is high, Pro Tools
may miss playback of some of your automation
data during particularly dense periods of activ-
ity, such as while using the Bounce to Disk com-
mand.
Triangular AutoMatch Indicators on a channel strip
Meters in the System Usage Window (TDM shown)
For more information, see “Bounce to Disk”
on page 400.
Processing meters
Chapter 28: Automation 377
To reduce processing load, try the following:
■Deselect the Faders Move During Playback op-
tion in the Automation Preferences.
– or –
■Reduce the density of automation in places
where it shows the most activity. For details, see
“Thinning Automation” on page 383.
■Turn off sends view meters, if enabled, in the
Preferences > Display window. See “Sends View
Meters” on page 341 for more information.
Automation Safe
Outputs, sends, and plug-ins can be placed in
Auto Safe mode. In Auto Safe mode, any auto-
mation associated with that Output window
(track or send level, panning, mute, and so on),
or plug-in on that track is protected from being
overwritten while automating other items on
that track.
Automation Safe mode suspends automation re-
cording for the selected track output, send, or
plug-in in which it is enabled. You can also sus-
pend automation recording and playback ses-
sion-wide from the Automation Enable window.
See “Enabling and Suspending Automation” on
page 381.
Viewing Automation
Pro Tools creates a separate playlist for each type
of automation you write. This data can be
viewed and edited in the same way as audio and
MIDI data.
To show automation data:
■Click the Track View Selector and select from
the pop-up menu the automation type you
want to view.
Automation Safe enabled in a plug-in
Safe enabled
Displaying automation data
You can easily toggle between Volume and
Waveform view for audio tracks. For more
information, see “Toggling Track Views” on
page 166.
Pro Tools Reference Guide378
Writing Automation
You can write automation for all automatable
controls by moving those controls during play-
back.
To write automation on a track:
1 Choose Windows > Automation Enable.
2 Make sure the automation type is write-en-
abled.
3 Select an automation mode for each track you
want to automate. For an initial automation
pass, select Auto Write.
4 Click Play to begin writing automation. Move
the controls you want to automate.
5 When you have finished, click Stop.
◆After the first automation pass, you can write
additional automation to the track without
completely erasing the previous pass by choos-
ing Auto Touch mode or Auto Latch mode.
These modes add new automation only when
you actually move the control for that parame-
ter.
To write additional automation to a previous pass:
1 Link the Edit and Timeline.
2 In the Edit window, make a selection or place
the cursor in a location where you want to write
automation.
3 Choose Auto Touch or Auto Latch mode on
the tracks you want to automate.
4 Click Play to begin writing automation. Move
the controls you want to automate.
5 When you have finished, click Stop.
Storing an Initial Controller Position
When you create a new audio track, Auxiliary
Input, or MIDI track, it is automatically placed
into Auto Read mode. Even though the track is
in Auto Read mode, you can set the initial posi-
tion of any automatable control, and it is saved
with your session.
In this initial state, only a single automation
breakpoint appears at the beginning of each au-
tomation playlist. If you move the control with-
out writing automation, this breakpoint will
move to the new value.
Automation Enable window
Choosing an automation mode
If you write automation in Auto Touch
mode with Loop Playback enabled, writing
of automation will automatically stop at
the end of the looped selection. At the begin-
ning of each successive loop, you can then
touch or move the control again to write
new data.
Chapter 28: Automation 379
You can permanently store the initial position
of an automatable control by doing one of the
following:
◆Place the track in Auto Write mode and press
Play to write a few seconds of automation data
to the track
◆Manually place a breakpoint on the automa-
tion playlist somewhere after the initial break-
point. (See “Graphical Editing of Automation
Data” on page 385 for more information.)
Automating Switched Controls
Pro Tools treats switched controls (such as
mutes and plug-in bypasses) as touch sensitive
controls. Automation data is written for as long
as the switch or button for that control is
pressed or touched.
For example, if you have just written a series of
mute on/off states on a track in quick succes-
sion, the manual method for clearing this auto-
mation data would require you to move to the
Edit window, choose automation playlist for
Mute, select the mute automation data, and de-
lete it.
In Pro Tools, you don't have to perform all of
these steps. Instead, you can perform another
automation pass on the track and hold down
the Mute button when it reaches the state you
want to remove. For example, when playback
gets to the first muted section, the Mute button
become highlighted. At this time, press and
hold down the Mute button. As long as you
hold down the button, Pro Tools overwrites the
underlying mute data on the track with the cur-
rent state of the switch (on or off) until you stop
playback (use the Spacebar to stop playback).
Automating Sends
Pro Tools provides dynamic automation of send
level, send mute, and send pan (for stereo and
multi-channel sends only). This makes it easy to
control effects levels and placement during mix-
down with great precision.
Send level and mute can also be configured to
follow Groups.
To automate a send level, mute or pan:
1 In the Automation Enable window, make sure
the automation type is write-enabled (send
level, send mute, send pan).
2 Choose an automation mode for each track
you want to automate. For an initial automation
pass, choose Auto Write.
3 To display send controls, do any of the follow-
ing:
◆Select Windows > Mix Window Shows > Sends
View, then click the send to open the Output
window for the send that you want to automate.
◆Choose Display > Sends View Shows and se-
lect the individual send from the submenu.
4 Click Play to begin writing automation. Move
the controls you want to automate.
5 When you have finished, click Stop.
Send mutes and levels can also be config-
ured to follow Mix groups. See “Automation
Preferences” on page 374 for information.
Pro Tools Reference Guide380
Copying Track Automation to Sends
(TDM Systems Only)
There may be times where you want a track’s
send automation to mirror automation in the
track itself, for example, when an effect level
needs to follow the levels in a main mix. To do
this, you can copy the entire automation play-
list for the selected control to the corresponding
playlist for the send.
To copy a track’s automation to one of its sends:
1 Select the tracks you want to edit by clicking
on the track names to highlight them.
2 Choose Edit > Copy To Send.
3 In the Copy to Send dialog, select Automation
to copy the entire automation playlist for the
corresponding controls.
4 Choose the controls you want to copy.
5 Choose the sends to copy the automation to,
and click OK.
6 You can undo the results of this command by
choosing Edit > Undo.
Automating Plug-Ins
You can create dynamic automation for virtu-
ally all parameters of the plug-ins included with
your Pro Tools system. Automating a plug-in is
slightly different from other automation proce-
dures in that you must enable automation pa-
rameters for the plug-in.
To enable plug-in parameters for automation:
1 Click the Automation Enable button in the
Plug-In window.
2 Select the parameters to automate and click
Add. If there are multiple plug-ins on the same
track, you can select from among these by click-
ing their buttons in the Inserts section of this di-
alog.
Copy To Send dialog
When overwriting automation, Pro Tools
presents a confirmation dialog. To suppress
this dialog, press Option (Macintosh) or Alt
(Windows) while choosing the command.
Accessing the Plug-In Automation dialog
Enabling automation for plug-in parameters
As an alternative to using the Plug-In Auto-
mation dialog, you can enable individual
plug-in parameters directly from the Plug-In
window by Command-Control-clicking
(Macintosh), or Control-Start-clicking the
parameter. See the DigiRack Pl.ug-Ins Guide
for more information.
Automation Enable
Chapter 28: Automation 381
To automate a plug-in:
1 In the Automation Enable window, make sure
the Plug-In parameter is enabled.
2 Select an automation mode for each track you
want to automate. For an initial automation
pass, choose Auto Write.
3 Click OK to close the Plug-In Automation di-
alog.
4 Click Play to begin writing automation. Ad-
just the plug-in parameters.
5 When you have finished, click Stop.
Plug-In Safe
You can use Automation Safe mode to protect
plug-in automation from being overwritten.
To enable Plug-In Safe mode:
1 Open a plug-in.
2 Click to enable the Safe button.
Enabling and Suspending
Automation
From the Automation Enable window, you can
enable or suspend writing for the following au-
tomation parameters across all tracks:
• Volume
• Pan
• Mute
• Plug-in
• Send level
• Send pan
• Send mute
To suspend writing of automation on all tracks:
1 Choose Windows > Show Automation Enable.
2 Do one of the following:
■To suspend writing of all automation on all
tracks, click the Auto Suspend button.
■To suspend writing of a specific type of auto-
mation on all tracks, click the button for that
automation type (volume, mute, pan, plug-in,
send level, send mute, or send pan).
Plug-In Safe
Safe enabled
Automation Enable window
Pro Tools Reference Guide382
Suspending Automation Playback
You can suspend playback of automation pa-
rameters for tracks by clicking on the on the
track’s View Selector.
To suspend playback (and writing) of automation
on individual tracks:
1 In the Edit window, set the Track View Selec-
tor to show the automation parameter you want
to suspend.
2 Do one of the following:
◆To suspend writing and playback of only the
displayed automation parameter, Command-
click (Macintosh) or Control-click (Windows)
the parameter name in the Track View Selector.
◆To suspend writing and playback of all auto-
mation parameters, Command-Shift-click (Mac-
intosh) or Control-Shift-click (Windows) the
name of any automation parameter in the Track
View Selector.
◆To suspend writing and playback of an auto-
mation parameter on all tracks, Command-Op-
tion-click (Macintosh) or Control-Alt-click
(Windows) the name of the automation param-
eter in the Track View Selector.
Automation Enable Guidelines
The following rules determine whether automa-
tion is written or played back for a track:
◆Although Pro Tools shows a single automa-
tion mode for each track, all controls associated
with that track are not necessarily in the same
automation mode.
◆If automation is globally suspended in the Au-
tomation Enable window, all controls behave as
if they were in Auto Off mode, regardless of the
track’s current automation mode.
◆If an automation parameter is suspended by
Command-clicking (Macintosh) or Control-
clicking its name in the Track View Selector, that
parameter behaves as if it were in Auto Off
mode, regardless of the track’s current automa-
tion mode.
◆If an automation parameter is suspended in
the Automation Enable window, that parameter
behaves as if it is in Auto Read mode when the
track is in a recordable automation mode (Auto
Touch, Auto Latch, or Auto Write mode).
Deleting Automation
Automation data takes the form of a line graph
with editable breakpoints. The easiest way to re-
move automation in a track or selection is to
manually delete breakpoints from the automa-
tion playlist.
Removing data in this manner is different from
using the Cut command, which creates anchor
breakpoints at the boundaries of the remaining
data. For details, see “Cutting, Copying, and
Pasting Automation” on page 388.
Enabling and suspending automation from
the Edit window obeys Edit Groups (except
for Pan automation). This grouped behav-
ior can be suppressed by Control-clicking
(Macintosh) or Start-clicking (WIndows)
the parameter name.
Chapter 28: Automation 383
To remove automation data, display the auto-
mation parameter you want to edit by selecting
it from the Track View Selector, and do one of
the following:
To remove a single breakpoint:
■With the Grabber or the Pencil Tool, Option-
click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) the
breakpoint.
To remove several breakpoints at once:
■Use the Selector to select a range that contains
the breakpoints, and press Delete (Macintosh)
or Backspace (Windows).
To remove all automation data of the displayed
type:
■Click with the Selector in the track and
choose Edit > Select All, then press Delete (Mac-
intosh) or Backspace (Windows).
To remove all automation for all automation
playlists on a track:
1 Use the Selector to select a range of data to be
removed.
2 Press Control+Delete (Macintosh) or Con-
trol+Backspace (Windows).
All automation data within the selection is re-
moved for all automation playlists on that track,
regardless of whether automation is write-en-
abled for those parameters.
Thinning Automation
Pro Tools writes a maximum density of automa-
tion data during an automation pass, in the
form of breakpoints. Since Pro Tools creates
ramps between breakpoints, it may not need all
of the captured points to create a sonically accu-
rate representation of the automation moves
that you have made. Each breakpoint takes up
space in memory allocated for automation, so
thinning data can to maximize efficiency and
CPU performance.
Pro Tools provides two different ways to thin
automation data and remove unneeded break-
points: the Smooth and Thin Data After Pass op-
tion and the Thin Automation command.
Using Smooth and Thin Data After Pass
When this option is selected in the Automation
Preferences, Pro Tools automatically thins the
automation breakpoint data after each automa-
tion pass.
In the default settings for new sessions, the
Smooth and Thin Data After Pass option is se-
lected, with the “Some” setting chosen. In most
cases, this setting yields optimum performance
while providing an accurate reproduction of
your automation moves.
If you choose None, Pro Tools writes the maxi-
mum possible number of breakpoints. You can
still perform thinning at any time with the Thin
Automation command. For more information
on smoothing automation data, see “About
Smoothing” on page 375.
The Smooth and Thin Data After Pass Option
Pro Tools Reference Guide384
Using the Thin Automation
Command
The Thin Automation command lets you selec-
tively thin areas in a track where automation
data is too dense. You can use the Undo com-
mand to audition the results of thinning before
you apply it permanently.
To use the Thin Automation command:
1 In the Edit window, click the Track View Selec-
tor to display the automation type you want to
thin.
2 With the Selector, highlight the automation
data you want to thin. To thin all automation of
the selected type in the track, click the Selector
in the track and choose the Select All command.
3 Choose Edit > Thin Automation to thin the se-
lected automation by the amount you have se-
lected in the Automation Preferences.
Drawing Automation
You can use the Pencil tool to create automation
events for audio and MIDI tracks by drawing
them directly in any automation or MIDI con-
troller playlist.
The Pencil tool can be set to draw a series of au-
tomation events with the following shapes:
Free Hand Draws any shape. In audio tracks, the
shape has the number of breakpoints needed to
smoothly interpolate and reproduce the auto-
mation shape. In MIDI tracks, the shape is re-
produced as a series of steps, according to the
resolution setting in the MIDI preferences.
Line Draws a straight line. In audio tracks, the
line has a single breakpoint at either end. In
MIDI tracks, the controller value changes in
steps according to the resolution setting in the
MIDI preferences.
Triangle Draws a sawtooth pattern that repeats
at a rate based on the current Grid value. In au-
dio tracks, the pattern has a single breakpoint at
each extreme. In MIDI tracks, the controller
value changes in steps according to the resolu-
tion setting in the MIDI preferences. Amplitude
is controlled by vertical movement of the Pencil
tool.
Square Draws a square pattern that repeats at a
rate based on the current Grid value. Amplitude
is controlled by vertical movement of the Pencil
tool.
Random Draws a random pattern of levels that
change at a rate based on the current Grid value.
Amplitude is controlled by vertical movement
of the Pencil tool.
Using Pencil Tool Shapes
You can draw automation for audio as well as
MIDI tracks. For example, you can use the Trian-
gle pattern to control continuous functions, or
the Square pattern to control a switched func-
tion such as Mute or Bypass.
Since the pencil draws these shapes using the
current Grid value, you can use it to perform
panning in tempo with a music track, or on-
frame scene changes when working in post-pro-
duction.
Choosing a Pencil Tool Shape
Chapter 28: Automation 385
Resolution of MIDI Controller Data
When using the Pencil tool to draw MIDI auto-
mation, the data is drawn as a series of discrete
steps. You can control the density of these steps
to help manage the amount of MIDI data sent
for a given MIDI controller move.
To set the resolution for the Pencil tool:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click MIDI.
2 Enter a value for “Pencil Tool Resolution
When Drawing Controller Data.” The value can
range from 1 to 100 milliseconds.
The illustrations below show the same MIDI
controller automation drawn with different
Pencil Tools resolution settings.
You may want to choose a smaller value for
MIDI controls that need higher resolution (such
as MIDI Volume), and a larger value for controls
that may not require such a high resolution
(such as Pan).
Editing Automation
Pro Tools provides several ways to edit automa-
tion data for any track in your session. You can
edit automation data graphically, by adjusting
breakpoints on the automation playlist of a
track. You can also cut, copy, and paste automa-
tion data in the same manner as audio and MIDI
data.
Graphical Editing of Automation
Data
Automation data takes the form of a line graph
with editable breakpoints. By dragging these
breakpoints, you can modify the automation
data directly in the Edit window. When you
drag an automation breakpoint up or down, the
change in value is numerically or textually indi-
cated. Dragging an automation breakpoint to
the left or right adjusts the timing of the auto-
mation event.
Using the Grabber
The Grabber lets you create new breakpoints by
clicking on the graph line, or adjust existing
breakpoints by dragging them. Option-click
(Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) breakpoints
with the Grabber to remove them.
MIDI Data drawn with resolution of 10 ms
MIDI Data drawn with resolution of 100 ms
Using the Grabber to create a new breakpoint
Pro Tools Reference Guide386
Using the Pencil Tool
The Pencil tool lets you create new breakpoints
by clicking once on the graph line. Option-click
(Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) breakpoints
with the Pencil tool to remove them.
Using the Trimmer
The Trimmer lets you adjust all selected break-
points up or down by dragging anywhere within
that selection.
Editing Automation Types
Each automatable control has its own automa-
tion playlist, that can be displayed by choosing
it from the Track View Selector. See “” on
page 377.
Editing Volume Automation
Drag a Volume automation breakpoint up or
down to change the dB value. Drag a breakpoint
to the left or right to adjust the timing of the
volume change.
Editing Pan Automation
Drag a breakpoint down to pan right, and up to
pan left. Drag a breakpoint to the left or right to
adjust the timing of the panning moves.
Editing Mute Automation
Drag the breakpoint down to mute a section.
Drag a breakpoint up to unmute the section.
Drag a breakpoint to the left or right to adjust
the timing of the mute.
Editing Stepped Control Automation
Automation for certain controls, such as MIDI
controllers values or plug-in settings, appears as
a stepped pattern on the breakpoint line. Drag a
breakpoint up or down to a different step to
change to a new control value. Drag a break-
point to the left or right to adjust the timing of
the stepped control change.
Using the Pencil to delete a breakpoint
Using the Trimmer to move breakpoints
Track volume automation
Track Pan automation
Track mute automation
Stepped control automation
Chapter 28: Automation 387
Editing Automation Breakpoints
To edit automation breakpoints, display the au-
tomation parameter you want to edit by select-
ing it from the Track View Selector, then do one
of the following:
To create a new breakpoint:
■Click with the Grabber (or the Pencil) on the
line graph.
To edit a breakpoint:
■Click an existing point on the line graph with
the Grabber and drag it to a new position.
To edit several breakpoints at once:
■Use the Selector to select a range in the auto-
mation playlist that contains the breakpoints,
and do one of the following:
◆To move the breakpoints earlier or later in the
track, press the Plus key (+) to nudge them later
(to the right) or the Minus key (–) to move them
earlier (to the left). The breakpoints move by the
current Nudge value.
◆To adjust the breakpoint values, click with the
Trimmer in the selection and drag the break-
points up or down.
To edit all breakpoint values in a region:
■Click in the region with the Trimmer and drag
the breakpoints up or down.
Editing Automation on Stereo and
Multi-Channel Tracks
Stereo and multi- channel tracks display a single
automation playlist per track Only one playlist
for volume and mute is available for the stereo
or multi-channel track.
The number of Pan automation playlists de-
pends on the number of channels in the track
format.
For multi-mono plug-ins, individual playlists
per channel can be displayed and edited when
the plug-in is unlinked, and the track is in Ex-
panded Track Display.
Expanded Track View
By default, a single playlist is displayed on stereo
and multi-channel tracks. The playlist occupies
the entire height of the track (similar to mono
automation playlists).
Optionally, you can display an expanded view
of the track whereby the same automation play-
list is displayed across each channel.
When you use the Trimmer to edit a selec-
tion containing breakpoints, new anchor
breakpoints are created before and after the
selected area. To suppress creation of an-
chor breakpoints, press Option (Macintosh)
or Alt (Windows) while using the Trimmer.
Volume automation display of a stereo track
Volume automation display of a 5.1 track
Pro Tools Reference Guide388
Plug-In Automation Playlists on Stereo and
Multi-Channel Tracks
Multi-channel plug-ins provide a single set of
automatable controls. Multi-mono plug-ins pro-
vide similar control when linked, or discrete
controls when unlinked.
To view and edit the individual playlists of a multi-
mono plug-in:
1 Unlink the plug-in.
2 Select the required playlist from the Track
View Selector.
Editing Automation on Grouped
Tracks
When you edit automation on a track that is a
member of an active Edit Group, the same type
of automation (with the exception of audio and
MIDI Pan controls) is also edited on all tracks
that are part of that group. This occurs even if
that parameter is not currently displayed on the
other grouped tracks.
◆If you create new automation breakpoints on
a grouped track (with the Grabber or Pencil),
other members of the group have breakpoints
placed relative to that track.
◆If you move volume or send automation on a
grouped track (with the Trimmer), other mem-
bers of the group have their volume or send
breakpoints trimmed relative to that track. This
lets you trim entire sections of a mix.
To individually edit a member of a group without
affecting the other members, do one of the
following:
◆Disable the group by deselecting its name in
the Groups List.
◆Choose Suspend All Groups from the Groups
List pop-up menu.
◆Press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key
(Windows) while you perform the edit.
Cutting, Copying, and Pasting
Automation
Cutting automation data is different from delet-
ing it, and yields different results. Copying auto-
mation leaves the original automation data in-
tact.
Selecting a playlist for an unlinked, multi-mono plug-in
plug-in unlinked
Trimming automation on an active grouped track
When editing automation, audio and MIDI
Pan controls work opposite from the way all
other controls work. When you edit or trim
Pan breakpoints, Edit Groups are not
obeyed. For grouped Pan behavior, press
Control (Macintosh) or the Start key (Win-
dows) while trimming.
Chapter 28: Automation 389
You delete automation data by selecting a range
of breakpoints and pressing Delete (Macintosh)
or Backspace (Windows). See “Deleting Automa-
tion” on page 382 for details.
You cut automation data by selecting a range of
breakpoints from an automation playlist and se-
lecting the Cut command.
When you cut automation data and when you
paste it into a new location, anchor breakpoints
are added to the beginning and end points of
the data. This is done to preserve the true slope
(of continuous controls, such as Volume faders
or pans) or state (of switched or stepped con-
trols, such as Mutes) of the automation data
both inside and outside the selection.
The following illustrations show the difference
between cutting and deleting automation data.
In Figure 23, a track is set to display Volume au-
tomation, and a range of automation data is se-
lected.
If the Cut command is chosen, anchor break-
points are created at each end of the selection,
and the automation slope on either side of the
cut data is preserved, as shown in Figure 24.
If the data is deleted by pressing Delete (Macin-
tosh) or Backspace (Windows), the automation
data is removed, and automation values span
the gap between pre-existing breakpoints, as in
Figure 25.
In addition, if cut or copied data is pasted else-
where in a track, breakpoints are created at the
end points of the pasted data to preserve its
value and slope, as shown in Figure 26.
Editing and Track Views
Audio and MIDI tracks each have a Track view
that acts as the main format for purposes of ed-
iting. When the main format is displayed, any
edits performed on the track apply to all data in
the track.
The main view formats are:
• audio tracks: Waveform and Blocks
• MIDI tracks: Regions, Blocks, and Notes
Figure 23. Selecting automation data
Figure 24. After cutting the automation data
Figure 25. After deleting the automation data
Figure 26. After pasting the automation data in
another location
Pro Tools Reference Guide390
For example, when an audio track is set to
Waveform or Blocks, cutting, copying and past-
ing affects the audio data and all types of auto-
mation data on that track. If the track is set to
show Pan automation, only the Pan data is af-
fected.
When a selection includes multiple tracks, if
any of those tracks is in its main view format, all
data on all selected tracks is affected.
To edit all automation types on an Auxiliary Input
or Master Fader track, do one of the following:
◆Make an edit selection that includes at least
one audio or MIDI track that is displayed in its
main format.
◆Press Control while cutting or copying the au-
tomation data.
Tips for Cutting, Copying and Pasting
◆On audio tracks, when you are in Waveform
view and cut or copy a section of the waveform,
any automation data associated with the wave-
form is also cut or copied.
◆On audio tracks, when you are in Waveform
view and cut audio data from a track also con-
taining automation data, breakpoints are auto-
matically created at the boundaries of the
remaining automation data.
◆On audio tracks, pasting waveform data also
pastes any associated automation data.
◆On Auxiliary Input or Master Fader tracks,
only the displayed automation data is cut or
copied. To cut or copy all automation data on
these types of tracks, press Control while cutting
or copying.
◆In tracks where an automation playlist con-
tains no data (when there is only a single break-
point at the very beginning of the track), if you
cut data, no new breakpoints are created.
◆In cases where regions overlap (such as when
moving regions in Slip mode) and an overlap-
ping region is removed, any overlapped auto-
mation breakpoints are lost.
◆If cut or copied data contains a type of auto-
mation not currently on the target track,
Pro Tools prompts you before allowing you to
paste the data.
◆Cut or copied automation data for plug-ins or
sends that do not exist on the target track is ig-
nored when pasted.
Expanded Track Display, Waveform view
For additional flexibility, you can use play-
lists or the Duplicate Track command to
work non-destructively on a copy of the edit
data.
Chapter 28: Automation 391
Special Paste Function for Automation
Data
Normally, when you copy and paste automa-
tion data, it is pasted in an automation playlist
of the exact same type (for example, Left Pan
data is pasted into the Left Pan playlist).
However, there may be times when you want to
paste from one data type to another (for exam-
ple, pasting Send 1 level data into the Send 2
level playlist, or track mute data into the send
mute playlist).
To paste data into a different automation playlist:
■Press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key
(Windows) when choosing Edit > Paste.
For this special paste mode to function, the fol-
lowing must be true:
◆Every track selected for pasting must be cur-
rently displayed as automation data.
◆There must be only one automation playlist
on the Clipboard for each target track. (The Spe-
cial Paste function cannot copy multiple auto-
mation playlists for each track.)
Writing Automation to the
Start, End or All of a
Selection
(TDM Systems Only)
Pro Tools lets you write current automation val-
ues from any insertion point forward (or back-
ward) to the end (or beginning) of a selection or
track, or to an entire selection or track, while
performing an automation pass.
The standard Write to Start/All/End commands
do not operate when the Pro Tools transport is
stopped. It only affects those automation pa-
rameters that are currently write-enabled and
currently writing automation data.
Optionally, Write to Start, End, and All can be
configured to always be applied automatically.
See “Write to Start, End, All On Stop” on
page 393.
You cannot interchange automation data
between audio and MIDI tracks, or between
continuous controls (such as faders or pans)
and switched or stepped controls (such as or
mute or MIDI controllers).
Write to Start, All, End buttons in the Automation
Enable window
Write to Start, End, All
Pro Tools Reference Guide392
Requirements for Write to Start, End,
and All
For an automation parameter to write automa-
tion data, the associated track must be in one of
the following automation modes and meet the
following conditions:
Latch mode The automation parameter must be
changed (touched) during the automation pass.
Touch mode The automation parameter must be
changed (touched).
Write mode All automation parameters on that
track must be in Auto Write mode.
This command can be undone by choosing Edit
> Undo.
To write current automation values to the start,
end, or all of a track or selection:
1 In the Automation Enable window, make sure
that the automation type is write-enabled.
2 Click in a track at an insertion point.
– or –
Drag with the Selector to select a portion of the
track.
3 Click Play to begin playback.
4 When you reach a point in the track that con-
tains the automation data, click Write to Start,
Write to All, or Write to End in the Automation
Enable window.
The current values of all write-enabled automa-
tion at that point are written to the correspond-
ing area of the track/selection.
Trim Mode
Using Trim mode, it is also possible to write trim
delta values for track volume and send levels to
the beginning, end or all of a track.
To write current trim delta values to the start, end,
or all of a track or selection:
1 In the Automation Enable window, make sure
that the automation type (track volume or send
level) is write-enabled.
2 Click the Automation Mode Selector on the
track. Select Trim from the pop-up menu to en-
able Trim mode. The track volume and send
level faders turn yellow.
3 Click in a track at an insertion point.
– or –
Drag with the Selector to select a portion of
the track.
4 Click Play to begin playback.
5 When you reach a point in the track/selection
that contains the trim setting (delta value) you
want to apply, click the Write to Start, Write to
All, or Write to End button in the Automation
Enable window.
The relative changes to the track volume and
send levels at that point are written to the corre-
sponding area of the track/selection.
Chapter 28: Automation 393
Write to Start, End, All On Stop
The Automation Enable window provides op-
tions for automatic Write to Start, End, and All
On Stop.
To configure Write on Stop:
1 Open the Automation Enable window.
2 Click to enable one of the Write On Stop
modes (Start, End, or All).
When any of these options are enabled, auto-
mation writing will be performed automatically
after a valid automation pass has been per-
formed. See “Requirements for Write to Start,
End, and All” on page 392.
Trimming Automation
(TDM Systems Only)
If you have already written automation, you can
modify automation data for track volume and
send levels in real time by using Trim mode.
When a track is trim-enabled, you are not re-
cording absolute fader positions, but relative
changes in the existing automation. See “Trim
Mode” on page 372 for more information.
To enable Trim mode:
■Click the Automation Mode Selector and
choose Trim from the pop-up menu.
When Trim mode is enabled for a track, its vol-
ume and send level faders turn yellow, and its
Automation Mode button is outlined in yellow.
This outline flashes to indicate that the track is
trim-enabled, and appears solid whenever trim-
ming is occurring on the track’s volume or send
levels.
To trim track volume or send levels in real time:
1 In the Automation Enable window, make sure
the automation type (volume or send level) is
write-enabled.
2 Click the Automation Mode Selector on the
tracks you want to automate and select Trim
from the pop-up menu.
3 Click the Automation Mode Selector a second
time and choose an automation mode:
◆Use Auto Touch or Auto Latch to have the fad-
ers follow existing automation, so you can
“chase” them during the automation pass.
◆Use Auto Write if you want to disengage the
faders from existing automation.
4 Click Play to begin trimming automation, and
move the volume or send level faders.
5 When you have finished, click Stop.
Write On Stop controls
Write on Stop
Enabling Trim mode
Pro Tools Reference Guide394
Creating Snapshot
Automation
(TDM Systems Only)
Pro Tools lets you write automation data values
for multiple parameters in a single step. You can
write snapshot automation in two ways:
To a selection Automation data is written to the
Timeline selection (as well as the Edit selection
if linked). Anchor breakpoints are placed just be-
fore and after the selection so that data outside
the selection is not affected.
To a cursor location Automation data is written
at the insertion point. After the insertion point,
the automation ramps to the next breakpoint
value, or if no breakpoints exist, remains at the
newly written value for the remainder of the ses-
sion.
For more information on copying automation
data within a session, see “Writing Automation
to the Start, End or All of a Selection” on
page 391.
To write snapshot automation:
1 In the Edit window, click the Track View but-
ton to show the automation you want to edit.
2 In the Automation Enable window, make sure
that the automation parameters you want to
edit are write-enabled. Disable any parameters
you want to preserve.
• Select an area in the track’s playlist (or within
multiple tracks) where you want to apply the
automation.
– or –
• Place the cursor at an Edit insertion point.
3 Adjust the controls for the parameters you
want to automate.
4 Choose Edit > Write Automation and do one
of the following:
◆To write the current value to only the cur-
rently displayed automation parameter, choose
To Current Parameter.
◆To write the current settings for all automa-
tion parameters enabled in the Automation En-
able window, choose To All Enabled Parameters.
Adding Snapshot Automation to Empty
Automation Playlists
When you use the Write Automation command
on an automation playlist with no previously
written automation data, the selected value is
written to the entire playlist and not just the se-
lected area.
This is because a playlist with no automation
data contains only a single automation break-
point that corresponds to the current position
of the control. The position of the breakpoint is
updated whenever the parameter value is
changed.
If you do not want the Write Automation com-
mand to write the selected automation value to
the entire playlist, you can:
◆Anchor the automation data by placing the
cursor at the end of the session (or any other
endpoint) and choosing Write Automation To
Current Parameter.
– or –
◆Click with the Grabber on each side of the se-
lection.
This lets the Write Automation command write
only to the selected area.
Chapter 28: Automation 395
Writing Snapshot Automation over
Existing Automation Data
When you move the playback cursor, the auto-
mated controls in Pro Tools update on the
screen to reflect the automation data that is al-
ready on the track. To keep the settings you
have made for a snapshot, you can suspend the
desired automation parameters to prevent the
controls from updating.
To write snapshot automation over existing data:
1 In the Automation Enable window, make sure
that the automation parameters you want to
edit are write-enabled. Deselect any parameters
you want to preserve.
2 Adjust the controls for the parameters you
want to automate.
3 Suspend the automation parameters you want
to automate by doing any of the following:
• To suspend an automation parameter on a
single track, Command-click (Macintosh) or
Control-click (Windows) he name of the auto-
mation type in the track’s Track View Selector.
• To suspend an automation parameter on all
tracks, Command-Shift-click (Macintosh) or
Control-Alt-click (Windows) the name of the
automation type in the Track View Selector
for any track.
• To suspend all automation on a track, Com-
mand-Shift-click (Macintosh) or Control-
Shift-click (Windows) the name of the auto-
mation type in the Track View Selector.
4 With the Selector, select the track range you
want to apply the automation.
5 Enable the automation parameters previously
suspended.
6 Choose Edit > Write Automation and select
one of the following from the submenu:
• To write the current value to only the automa-
tion parameter currently displayed in the Edit
window, choose To Current Parameter.
• To write the current settings for all automa-
tion parameters enabled in the Automation
Enable window, choose To All Enabled Param-
eters.
Capturing Automation and Applying it
Elsewhere
The Write Automation command can also be
used to capture automation states at specific lo-
cations in a session and apply them to other lo-
cations. This differs from simply copying and
pasting automation data in that you can set any
selection length for the application of the cap-
tured automation data.
To capture and apply automation:
1 In the Automation Enable window, make sure
that the automation parameters you want to
edit are write-enabled. Disable any parameters
you want to preserve.
2 Click with the Selector in the track with the
automation you want to capture. All automated
controls update to reflect the automation at that
location. (If you make a selection, the controls
update to reflect the automation at the begin-
ning of the selection.)
3 Suspend the automation parameters you want
to automate:
• For an automation parameter on a single
track, Command-click (Macintosh) or Con-
trol-click (Windows) the name of the automa-
tion type in that track’s Track View Selector.
Pro Tools Reference Guide396
• For an automation parameter on all tracks,
Command-Shift-click (Macintosh) or Con-
trol-Alt-click (Windows) the name of the au-
tomation type in the Track View Selector for
any track.
• To suspend all automation on a track, Com-
mand-Shift-click (Macintosh) or Control-
Shift-click (Windows) the name of the auto-
mation type in that track's Track View Selec-
tor.
4 With the Selector tool, select the location
where you want to apply the automation.
5 Enable the automation parameters previously
suspended.
6 Choose Edit > Write Automation and select
one of the following from the submenu:
• To write the current value to only the automa-
tion parameter currently displayed in the Edit
window, choose To Current Parameter.
• To write the current settings for all automa-
tion parameters enabled in the Automation
Enable window, choose To All Enabled Param-
eters.
Snapshot Automation and
Trimming of Automation Data
Pro Tools lets you use trim values as snapshots
and apply the relative changes (delta values) to
the selected automation by using the Trim Au-
tomation command. This works in much the
same way as the Write Automation, except that
it writes delta values instead of absolute values
to automation data.
You can use trim values in writing snapshot au-
tomation to any automatable parameter.
To create a snapshot of relative changes in
automation data:
1 In the Automation Enable window, make sure
that the automation parameters you want to
edit are write-enabled. Disable any parameters
you want to preserve.
2 Select the area of the track you want to edit.
All automated controls update to reflect the au-
tomation at the beginning of the selection.
3 Move the controls for the parameter up or
down by the amount you want to change the
data.
4 Choose Edit > Trim Automation and do one of
the following:
◆To write the current delta value to only the
currently displayed automation parameter,
choose To Current Parameter.
◆To write the current delta value for all auto-
mation parameters enabled in the Automation
Enable window, choose To All Enabled Parame-
ters.
Chapter 29: Mixdown 397
Chapter 29: Mixdown
Pro Tools lets you record and bounce tracks to
disk. The Bounce to Disk command lets you
write a final mix to disk, create a new loop, print
effects, or bounce any submix. You can also sub-
mix, route, and record busses and inputs to new
tracks.
Bounce to Disk This command writes the cur-
rent session (if no selection), Edit, or Timeline
selection as new audio files to disk. Any avail-
able output or bus path can be selected as the
bounce source. Use Bounce to Disk to write or
master any output or bus path directly to disk.
Sample rate, bit depth, and other conversion
processes can be applied during or after the
bounce. The Bounce to Disk command lets you
bounce all available voices to disk without hold-
ing any in reserve. Though you can hear the
bounce being created in real time, you cannot
adjust mixer or other controls during a Bounce
to Disk.
Recording to Tracks The process of submixing
and recording to new audio tracks, as you would
any input signals. This method requires avail-
able tracks, voices, and bus paths to accommo-
date the submix and the new tracks.
Selecting Audio for Loops, Submixes,
and Effects
Both Bounce to Disk and recording to tracks op-
erate on the current Timeline or Edit selection, if
any. This makes it easy to turn multitrack selec-
tions into mono, stereo, or multi-channel loops.
Submixes, stems, and and other specialized
types of mixes can also be printed to disk using
either method, or recorded out to a DAT, MDM,
or other recording, transfer, or archiving me-
dium.
Printing effects to disk is the technique of per-
manently adding real-time effects, such as EQ or
reverb, to an audio track by bussing and record-
ing it to new tracks with the effects added. The
original audio is preserved, so you can return to
the source track at any time. This can be useful
when you have a limited number of tracks or ef-
fects devices.
Use Bounce to Disk if you need to convert the
bounce files, or if you do not want or need to in-
teract with mixer controls during the bounce.
Record to new tracks if you want to adjust pa-
rameters while the files are being written.
AudioSuite plug-ins provide another option
for printing a plug-in effect to disk. See the
DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide for details.
Pro Tools Reference Guide398
Dither and Bounce to Disk
Dithering can significantly improve audio qual-
ity. Generally, dithering is necessary when re-
ducing the bit depth for digital audio.
If you use Bounce to Disk, it is important to un-
derstand that the Bounce to Disk process does
not apply dither.
To dither a bounce file, you should insert the in-
cluded Digidesign Dither plug-in, or another
dithering plug-in, on a Master Fader assigned to
the bounce source path. Master Faders are often
preferable to Auxiliary Inputs because Master
Fader inserts are post-fader (better for dither-
ing).
If you do not use a dithering plug-in on your
bounce source path, and you choose to convert
to a lower resolution during or after a Bounce to
Disk, the resultant file will be converted by trun-
cation.
When to Use the Dither Plug-In
You should use the Dither plug-in when master-
ing to a 16-bit file with the Bounce To Disk com-
mand, or when mastering to an external device
that records at 16-bit.
This is even necessary when using 16-bit ses-
sions. Even though 16-bit sessions use 16-bit
files, they are still being processed internally at a
higher bit rate:
• 24-bit for Pro Tool TDM systems
• 32-bit floating for Pro Tools LE systems
For this reason, whether you are using a 16-bit
session or a 24-bit session, it is recommended
that you use the Dither plug-in when mastering
to 16-bits.
When mastering to 24-bits, it is not necessary to
use the Dither plug-in.
Using Dither on an Output Mix
Pro Tools includes a real-time Dither plug-in
that improves 16-, 18-, or 20-bit performance
and reduces quantization noise when mixing or
fading low-level signals.
The Dither plug-in has no user-selectable pa-
rameters other than Bit Resolution and Noise
Shaping controls.
To use the Dither Plug-In on a submix:
1 Choose File > New Track and choose Master
Fader (stereo) from the pop-up menu.
2 Set the output of the Master Fader to the out-
put or bus path you want to bounce.
3 Assign the outputs of all audio tracks in the
session to the same path you chose in step 2.
The Master Fader now controls the output levels
of all tracks routed to it.
4 On the Master Fader, click an Insert button
and choose the Digidesign Dither plug-in.
5 In the Dither plug-in window, choose an out-
put Bit Resolution and Noise Shaping setting.
When you Bounce to Disk you can convert the
file to the appropriate resolution. Before being
converted by the Bounce to Disk command, the
signal will have been dithered to the resolution
and noise shaping settings in the Dither plug-in.
For more information about dither, see
“Dither” on page 352.
For more information about the Dither
plug-in, refer to the DigiRack Plug-Ins
Guide.
Chapter 29: Mixdown 399
Recording to Tracks
You can create a submix in your Pro Tools ses-
sion and record it to available tracks in the same
session. This technique lets you add live input
to the mix, as well as adjust volume, pan, mute,
and other controls during the recording process.
Voice Requirements
Recording a submix to new tracks requires an
available voice for each track that you want to
record. Make sure you have enough voices avail-
able to play back all tracks that you want to
record and enough voices available to record the
destination tracks.
In contrast, the Bounce to Disk command lets
you bounce all available voices to disk without
holding any in reserve, but you cannot manu-
ally change any controls during the bounce. See
“Bounce to Disk” on page 400 for more infor-
mation.
To record a submix:
1 Apply any plug-ins or external processors you
want to add to your audio tracks or Auxiliary In-
puts before you record.
2 Set the main channel output of the tracks you
want to include in the submix to a bus path. If
you are recording in stereo, set the panning of
each track.
3 Choose File > New Track and create one or
more mono, stereo, or multi-channel audio
tracks.
4 If you are recording in stereo, set the panning
of the new tracks to full left and right.
5 Set the input of each destination track to
match the bus path to which you are recording.
6 Set the output of your new tracks to your main
output path.
7 Link the Edit and Timeline (Operation > Link
Edit/Timeline).
8 Select audio to record. The start, end, and
length of the recording can be based on cursor
location or Edit and Timeline selections.
◆Selection-based recording automatically
punches in and out of recording at the selection
start and end. Be sure to include time at the end
of a selection for reverb tails, delays, and other
effects.
◆If you don’t make a selection, recording will
begin from the location of the playback cursor.
Recording will continue until you press Stop,.
9 Record enable the new tracks and click Record
in the Transport window.
10 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
recording the submix.
11 If recording a selection of audio, recording
will stop automatically. If performing an open-
ended recording, click Stop, or punch out of re-
cording.
For information about voice management,
see “Virtual Tracks and Track Priority” on
page 82.
Pro Tools Reference Guide400
Bounce to Disk
The Bounce to Disk command lets you mix
down with all available voices on your system.
Since it records to separate audio files, you don’t
have to reserve any tracks for a bounce.
You can use the Bounce to Disk command to
create and automatically import loops, sub-
mixes, or any audio into your session. You can
use it to create a final mono, stereo, or multi-
channel master, in any of several audio file for-
mats. Bounce to Disk provides conversion op-
tions for sample rate, bit resolution, and format.
When you bounce a track to disk, the bounced
mix includes the following:
Audible tracks All audible tracks are included in
the bounce. Any muted tracks do not appear in
the bounce. If you solo a track or region, only
the soloed elements appear in the bounced mix.
Automation All read-enabled automation is
played back and incorporated in the bounced
mix.
Inserts and sends All active inserts, including
real-time plug-ins and hardware inserts, are ap-
plied to the bounced mix.
Selection or track length If you make a selection
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 long-
est audible track in the session.
Time stamp information Bounced material is au-
tomatically time stamped so that you can drag it
into a track and place it at the same location as
the original material. For more information
about time stamping, see “Time Stamping” on
page 488.
Pro Tools bounces are done in real time, so you
hear audio playback of your mix during the
bounce process (though you can’t adjust it).
Bounced Files are “Delay Compensated”
DAE compensates for any bus delays due to a
bounce. Meaning, if a bounce file is imported
back into a session, and placed directly in time
against the source mix, it is phase accurate with
the original source mix.
To Bounce to Disk:
1 Choose File > Bounce to Disk.
2 Configure bounce options as needed and per-
form the bounce (see “Bounce Options” on
page 401).
Chapter 29: Mixdown 401
Bounce Options
When you use the Bounce to Disk command,
you can configure several file options.
Default Settings
Available options and their default settings are
listed in the following table.
Avid Compatibility Mode
When the Avid Compatibility mode is enabled,
its additional data is added to the bounced files
automatically. See “Avid File Compatibility” on
page 107.
Bounce Source
Select any mono, stereo, or multi-channel out-
put or bus path as the source for the bounce. All
currently active paths as defined in the
I/O Setup dialog are available as the Bounce
Source.
To set the bounce source:
■Select an output or bus path from the Source
Selector.
File Type
Selects the (creator) type for the bounced files.
Sound Designer II
This is the native format for Macintosh-based
Pro Tools systems. Select this to use the bounced
audio with any Digidesign application for Mac-
intosh.
Bounce to Disk dialog, with conversion and options
enabled
Options and Default Settings
Bounce
Option Default
Source current main output path
File Type SD II (Mac), WAV (Windows)
Format Multiple mono
Resolution 24 bit
Sample Rate 44100
Conversion
Quality
Good
Use Squeezer deselected
Convert Dur-
ing Bounce
deselected (default is Convert
After Bounce)
Import After
Bounce
deselected
Select a bounce source
Selecting a file type
Pro Tools Reference Guide402
AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format)
Files in this format do not have to be converted
to be used in Pro Tools, but you must still im-
port them into a session with the Import Audio
command or the Convert and Import Audio
command. AIFF waveform overview data can-
not be stored in the file, so the overview is recal-
culated every time the session is opened. The
AIFF format is useful if you plan to use bounced
audio in applications that do not support the
Sound Designer II format.
WAV (Windows Audio File Format)
This is the native format for Windows-based
Pro Tools systems. The WAV format is sup-
ported by many Windows applications and
some Macintosh applications. To use a WAV file
on Macintosh-based Pro Tools systems, you
must use the Convert and Import Audio com-
mand.
SND resource (Macintosh Only)
This file type is supported by some Macintosh
software applications and also by Macintosh
System Software. Pro Tools does not directly
support this type of file in its sessions. To use a
SND file within Pro Tools, use the Convert and
Import Audio command. The SND format is use-
ful if you plan to use your audio with other Mac-
intosh applications that do not support Sound
Designer II or AIFF formats. To save a bounced
file as a System alert sound, save it in this format
and then drag it onto the Macintosh System
File.
QuickTime (Macintosh Only)
This is Apple’s audio file format for QuickTime-
based multimedia. Pro Tools does not directly
support this type of file in its sessions. To use a
QuickTime audio file within Pro Tools, use the
Convert and Import Audio command or Import
Audio from Other Movie command. The Quick-
Time format is popular for attaching to emails,
to simplify long-distance project review and ap-
proval. Many popular multimedia applications
also support QuickTime.
RealAudio G2 (Macintosh Only)
RealAudio G2 is the latest version of the format
created by Real Networks for streaming audio
over the Internet. The RealAudio encoder file is
stored in a folder named Codecs inside the DAE
folder.
When you select this format, the Resolution and
Sample Rate pop-up menus in the Pro Tools
Output Options dialog are unavailable, because
resolution and sample rate are set by the en-
coder.
The RealAudio G2 format lets multiple streams
with different bit rates to be encoded into a sin-
gle file. During playback, the RealAudio G2
server and the RealPlayer G2 client continu-
RealAudio G2 Output Options
Chapter 29: Mixdown 403
ously adjust the bit rate to make the best use of
available bandwidth. The RealPlayer G2 is avail-
able on the Real Networks website,
www.real.com.
When you export or bounce to RealAudio G2
format, you can set the following options:
Media Clip Information Type the title, author,
and copyright information for your RealAudio
clip. This information is displayed on the Real-
Player G2 as the clip plays back.
Copy Protection These settings determine how
the clip is handled by the RealPlayer client.
■To allow RealPlayer Plus users to save your clip
using the RealPlayer Plus recording feature, se-
lect Allow Recording.
■To allow RealPlayer users to download your
clip to their hard drive, select Allow Download.
If you don’t want to allow RealPlayer users to
make copies your clip, deselect both of these op-
tions.
Audio Format From the pop-up menu, select the
setting that best matches the type of audio you
are bouncing. A brief explanation of each for-
mat is displayed.
Target Audience Select the connection speed
that most users downloading your clip are likely
to have. This setting determines the bit rate at
which the audio will be encoded. Depending on
the file type you choose (see below), you can
choose more than one connection speed.
File Type This option determines the compati-
bility of the output file with different RealAudio
servers and clients.
If you select SureStream, you can select more
than one connection speed under Target Audi-
ence. With this file type, multiple bit rate
streams are encoded into a single output file.
Files encoded with the SureStream option are
larger than Single Rate files, and can only be
played back from G2 servers.
Select the “Include RealPlayer 5.0 Compatible
Stream” option to include a backward compati-
ble stream that can be played on older version
5.0 RealPlayers. (This backward compatibility is
only available for SureStream-encoded files.)
If you select Single Rate, you can only select one
connection speed under Target Audience. With
this file type, a single stream is encoded into the
output file. Files encoded with the Single Rate
option can be played back from either a stan-
dard web server or a G2 server.
Auditioning RealAudio clips
If you are using Digidesign Sound Drivers and
want to use a RealAudio player while running
Pro Tools, make sure that Operations > Active in
Background is not selected so the player can use
the Digidesign hardware.
Pro Tools Reference Guide404
MPEG Layer 3 (MP3)
The MPEG Layer 3 compression format (MP3) is
used for streaming and downloading audio over
the Internet, and for playback on portable de-
vices.
The MP3 encoder file is stored in a folder named
Codecs inside the DAE folder. This version of
the encoder uses the latest technology from the
developer of the MP3 format, the Fraunhofer In-
stitute. It features improved processing speed
and quality, and supports both constant and
variable bit rate encoding.
The MP3 encoder installed with Pro Tools is a
fully functional 30-day demo version. To pur-
chase the full version of the MP3 encoder, visit
Digidesign’s website.
When you select this format, the Resolution and
Sample Rate pop-up menus in the Pro Tools
Output Options dialog are unavailable. The res-
olution and sample rate are set by the encoder.
When you export or bounce to MP3 format, you
can set the following options:
Encoding Quality Determines the audio quality
of the bounced file. The higher the quality, the
longer it will take to process the audio. The three
options, in ascending order of quality, are Fast-
est Encoding, Medium Encoding, and Highest
Quality.
The Highest Quality setting can take up to five
times longer to process audio than the Fastest
Encoding setting, so you should use it only
when the highest fidelity is essential and you
have a considerable amount of time to devote to
the encoding process. You should experiment
with the other encoding quality settings, since
they can provide acceptable quality with a sig-
nificantly shorter encoding time.
Encoding Method Two encoding methods are
available:
◆Constant Bit Rate (CBR) encodes the file at a
single bit rate that you choose from the CBR
pop-up menu. Because the bit rate is fixed, the
quality of the encoded audio will vary depend-
ing on the nature of the material being com-
pressed. This option is best for streaming over
the Internet, since it has predictable bandwidth
requirements.
◆Variable Bit Rate (VBR) encodes the file at a
varying bit rate to maintain the level of encod-
ing quality you choose from the VBR pop-up
menu. The bit rate varies automatically depend-
ing on the nature of the material being com-
pressed. This option is best for personal jukebox
applications.
ID3 Tag Type The ID3 tag stores data about the
encoded audio file that is used by MP3 players to
display information about the file. Pro Tools
supports three versions of this tag, in order to
provide backward compatibility with older MP3
players:
MP3 Output Options
Chapter 29: Mixdown 405
◆ID3 v1.0: Appears at the end of a streaming
MP3 file, therefore tag information is only dis-
played after software streaming is finished.
◆ID3 v1.1: Same as version 1.0 but adds track
number information to the tag.
◆ID3 v2.3: Appears at the front of a streaming
MP3 file, therefore tag information is displayed
when streaming begins.
ID3 Tag Information Type the title, artist, and
other information for the MP3 file. This infor-
mation is displayed by many MP3 players.
Genre Choose a genre for the file. This informa-
tion is displayed by many MP3 players, and can
appear in searchable catalogs and databases.
Track Number If you select ID3 tag type v1.1 or
v2.3, you can enter a CD track number for the
file. This information is displayed by many MP3
players.
Year Enter a year for the file. This information is
displayed by many MP3 players.
Advanced Settings
The options listed under Advanced Settings, un-
der normal situations, do not need to be
changed from their default values.
Pad To Match Bit Rate Exactly This option de-
termines whether MP3 frames are padded to
maintain bit rate very precisely. You should
only select this option if you need a file with an
exact bit rate, for specific applications (such as
synchronous transmission over ISDN line).
Allow Intensity Stereo Coding This option deter-
mines whether the encoder takes into account
the frequency of a signal when encoding its
phase characteristics, allowing for more com-
pression at low bit rates. In most cases, you
should leave this option selected. However, if
you are working with highly phase-dependent
material, such as Dolby Surround, you may
want to deselect this option.
Write CRC Checksums This option adds error-
detection data to the MP3 file. This data is not
necessary for most computer and Internet appli-
cations, and also takes away from the space
available for audio data. Select this option only
if you are sure your delivery mode requires error
correction.
Copyrighted This option sets a bit in the MP3
data stream to indicate that the audio is copy-
righted. Not all MP3 players use this informa-
tion. Selecting this option does not guarantee
that the audio file will not be copied.
Original This option sets a bit in the MP3 data
stream to indicate that the audio is the original
media for the track, rather than a copy. This set-
ting is not widely used.
Private This option sets a bit in the MP3 data
stream that is interpreted differently by various
applications. It is not normally used.
Mac File information If you expect your file to be
used on a Macintosh, you can enter the Macin-
tosh file type and creator. This will allow users to
double-click the file to open their MP3 player.
While ID3 v2.3 is becoming the standard
MP3 format, not all MP3 players currently
support ID3 v2.3. Contact the developer of
your player software for compatibility infor-
mation.
Padding of MP3 frames can cause problems
with some versions of Internet streaming
software. If your files are destined for desk-
top or Internet delivery, do not select this
option.
Pro Tools Reference Guide406
Defaults To restore all settings in this dialog to
their default values, click Defaults.
Auditioning MP3 clips
If you are using Digidesign Sound Drivers and
want to use an MP3 player to audition an MP3
file while running Pro Tools, make sure that Op-
erations > Active in Background is not selected.
This lets your MP3 player access the Digidesign
hardware.
Format
This is the format for the bounced result.
Choices are Mono (summed), Multiple mono,
and Interleaved.
To set the bounce file format:
■Select a file format from the Format Selector.
Mono (summed) Creates a single disk file that is
a summed mono mix of the current sources be-
ing monitored.
Avoid clipping by checking the meters of your
bounce source Auxiliary Input or Master Fader.
Multiple mono Creates multiple mono files with
the same number of channels as the source
path.
◆If the source output or bus path is stereo, two
mono files will be created, and appended with
“.L” and “.R” suffixes on bounce.
◆If a multi-channel format is used (for exam-
ple, six-channel, 5.1), individual mono files will
be created for each member of the path. Files
will be appended with path suffixes according to
the path definition in the I/O Setup dialog.
Interleaved Creates a single, interleaved file that
contains all of the bounced streams from the
chosen output path. In an interleaved stereo
bounce, tracks assigned to odd-numbered out-
puts are sent to the left channel, and tracks as-
signed to even-numbered outputs are sent to the
right channel.
Pro Tools also lets you create multi-channel in-
terleaved files of any supported file type. This
can simplify file management of mixes and
projects for backup and archiving.
Pro Tools does not support interleaved files na-
tively. This means that they must be split into
multi-mono files on import (requiring addi-
tional disk space).
Resolution
This parameter lets you select between three dif-
ferent bit resolutions for the bounce conversion:
Bounce to Disk does not apply dither when con-
verting during or after a bounce to a lower reso-
lution (including when bouncing to 16-bit).
When you need to create a lower resolution
bounce file, use the Digidesign Dither plug-in,
or similar, on a Master Fader assigned to the
bounce source path. This dithers the bounce
file, before the Bounce to Disk conversion trun-
cates bits into the final file resolution.
Resolution choices include the following.
Chapter 29: Mixdown 407
8-bit This resolution is often used in multimedia
applications. If the material you are working
with is relatively simple, you can use the
Pro Tools “Squeezer” feature for optimal results.
See “Sample Rate Conversion Quality” on
page 407 for details.
16-bit This is the Compact Disc standard bit res-
olution.
24-bit If you plan to use the bounced file with a
Pro Tools 24 MIX or Pro Tools 24 system, you
can take advantage of the greater resolution and
headroom afforded by this higher bit rate. You
can also archive a master stereo mixdown or
bounce audio material at this resolution for fu-
ture use on a 24-bit system.
To set the bounce file resolution:
1 Select a bit depth from the Resolution Selec-
tor.
Sample Rate
This option lets you save to any of several sam-
ple rates.
Sample Rate Conversion Quality
If you choose a sample rate that differs from the
original sample rate of the session, the conver-
sion options become available. You can config-
ure the conversion quality, and schedule con-
version to occur during, or after, the bounce. See
“Sample Rate Conversion Quality” on page 407
for more information.
The following are the more common sample
rates, and their application.
48000 This is the standard sample rate for con-
sumer-level DAT decks.
44100 The standard sample rate for compact
discs and pro-level DAT decks. It is also used for
high-fidelity audio destined for playback on
newer Macintosh computers with 16-bit audio
playback capability, as well as on Windows
computers.
22050 and 11025 Commonly used for lower-fi-
delity audio destined for playback on newer
Macintosh computers with 16-bit audio play-
back capability, as well as on Windows comput-
ers.
22254 and 11127 Commonly used for lower-fi-
delity audio destined specifically for playback
on older Macintosh computers not equipped
with 16-bit audio playback capability.
Custom Lets you selects a sample rate other than
the choices above.
Other Sample Rates Several of the other avail-
able sample rates support pull-up and pull-down
rates, or other specialized rates.
Sample Rate Conversion Quality
The Conversion Quality option sets the quality
of sample rate conversion used to create the
converted file. The higher the quality of sample
rate conversion, the longer it takes to convert
the file after the bounce has taken place. There
are five possible settings, ranging from Low to
Tweak-head. For most applications, the Better
setting yields satisfactory results.
Processing Resources and Conversion Quality
Because the Best and Tweak-head settings take
significantly longer than the others, use them
only in cases where the highest fidelity is essen-
tial and you have a considerable amount of time
to devote to this process.
Pro Tools Reference Guide408
Use Squeezer
The Use Squeezer option uses a proprietary DSP
algorithm specifically designed for performing
8-bit conversion of simple source files such as
voice-overs. It optimizes the dynamics of the au-
dio by preprocessing it using compression, lim-
iting, and gating before conversion to 8-bit res-
olution. This results in greater apparent
loudness in the signal, and improved intelligi-
bility. If you are converting a more complex 16-
bit audio file to 8-bit resolution, test this option
before converting all of your material.
Convert During or After Bounce
The Bounce dialog can perform any conversion
options, including sample rate and bit depth
conversion, during a bounce or post-bounce.
Convert After Bounce This option automati-
cally performs file type, sample rate and bit res-
olution conversion on the newly bounced files.
The Convert After Bounce option, though more
time and storage consuming, offers the highest
level of plug-in automation accuracy possible.
Convert During Bounce This option may take
less time than Convert After Bounce, but does so
at the expense of plug-in automation playback
accuracy.
Import Into Session After Bounce
The Import Into Session After Bounce option au-
tomatically imports the newly bounced files
into the Audio Regions List so you can place
them in tracks. If your newly bounced files are
split stereo files, they are listed together in the
Audio Regions List.
The Import Into Session After Bounce option is
only available if the target bit depth for the
bounce is the same as the bit depth of the cur-
rent session.
Help
The Help button opens a display-only dialog
box that describes the Bounce to Disk features.
Recording a Submix
You can create a submix with the Bounce to Disk
command by muting tracks or bypassing inserts
that are not part of the submix group, and se-
lecting the part of the session you want to
bounce.
You can also create a submix by recording to
new tracks. For details, see “Recording to
Tracks” on page 399.
To bounce a submix to disk and bring it into the
session:
1 Configure your submix using sends, Auxiliary
Inputs, and Master Faders. (See “Submixing for
Signal Routing and Effects Processing” on
page 347.)
2 Do one of the following:
◆To bounce the entire session, click Return to
Zero in the Transport window to go to the be-
ginning of the session.
◆To bounce a portion of the session, enable
Link Edit and Timeline, and make a selection in
the Edit window.
3 Choose File > Bounce to Disk.
4 Configure bounce options and parameters.
5 Make sure the bit resolution for the bounced
file matches the bit resolution of the session.
6 Select the Import into Session After Bounce
option.
Chapter 29: Mixdown 409
7 Click Bounce.
8 Select a destination for the new audio file, en-
ter a name, and click Save.
Pro Tools bounces are done in real time, so you
hear audio playback of your mix during the
bounce process. You can not adjust controls
during a Bounce to Disk.
To bring bounced files back into tracks:
1 Do one of the following:
◆If the newly bounced audio was automatically
imported into the session, drag the new files
from the Audio Regions List to existing tracks in
your session.
◆If the bounced files are not available in the
Audio Regions List, import them into the ses-
sion by choosing File > Convert and Import Au-
dio.
◆If you are placing multiple files of a mutli-
channel track or file, keep channels in phase
with each other by Shift-selecting them in the
Regions List, and dragging them simultaneously
into existing tracks of the right format.
2 When working with stereo tracks, set the pan
controls hard left/right.
3 Mute or turn off the voices of original source
tracks so that you don’t double monitor your
audio material.
4 Click Play in the Transport window to hear
the results of the bounce.
Final Mixdown
In final mixdown, you create a mix that in-
cludes all your edits, automation, and effects
processing.
To bounce a final mix to disk:
1 Adjust track output levels, finalize any mix au-
tomation, and choose an automation mode for
each track in the session.
2 Adjust any real-time plug-in and effects set-
tings and automation for each track in the ses-
sion.
3 Make sure that all of the tracks you want to in-
clude in the bounce are audible (not muted or
inactive).
4 Assign the output of each of the tracks you
want to include in your bounce to the same out-
put path.
5 Do one of the following:
■To bounce the entire session, click Return to
Zero in the Transport window to go to the be-
ginning of the session.
■To bounce a portion of the session, enable
Link Edit and Timeline and make a selection in
the Edit window.
1 Choose File > Bounce to Disk.
2 Choose the source path you want to bounce.
3 Configure other Bounce to Disk parameters as
appropriate. See “Bounce Options” on page 401.
4 Click Bounce.
5 Select a destination for the new audio file, en-
ter a name, and click Save.
Pro Tools Reference Guide410
Mastering
In the final mastering process, you might record
directly to disk, to a DVD or CD recorder, to a
stereo mastering recorder, or directly to a multi-
track recorder for surround mixes.
Once you have created a master of your session,
you can transfer it to a portable medium for du-
plication. You can transfer the master file to CD,
DAT or 8 mm DDP tape to be used as a master
for pressing compact discs.
Mastering to a Digital Recorder
Although it is usually best to master sessions di-
rectly to hard disk, Pro Tools also lets you mas-
ter digitally, direct to any AES/EBU or S/PDIF-
equipped digital recorder such as a DAT deck.
24-bit Input and Output with
Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24
Systems
Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 are full 24-
bit audio recording and mixing environments,
supporting record, playback, mixing, and pro-
cessing of 24-bit audio files. You can record to
and from other 24-bit recording systems with-
out any bit-depth conversion.
Mastering and Audio Compression
Although audio compression is often an indis-
pensable tool in analog recording, it can present
problems in the digital domain. If you compress
an input signal at a very high ratio, you create a
signal that contains a much higher overall
power level compared to its transients. By re-
cording a number of such signals at the highest
possible level on multiple tracks, you create a
scenario that is more likely to clip the mixed
output signal.
High-power compressed signals, when mixed
together, create an extremely high-level output.
This output may rise above the full-code level,
resulting in clipping.
To avoid this problem, watch the overall level of
your program material—use a meter on a Master
Fader, or use an external mastering deck’s
meters to help avoid clipping. If you are master-
ing to hard disk, avoid mixing full-code audio
signals together at unity or “0” level, as this in-
variably causes clipping.
Mastering and Error-Correcting Media
Random access media (such as hard disks, opti-
cal cartridges, Bernoulli cartridges or WORM
drives) can produce a true digital copy of your
data, because every bit value is maintained. Se-
quential media (such as DAT tapes) use error
correction schemes to fix the occasional bad
data that is received in a digital transfer. These
corrections are deviations from the actual data,
and with successive reproductions, represent a
subtle form of generation loss.
You can avoid this loss by creating and main-
taining masters on random-access digital media
(such as a hard drive) and transferring them to
sequential digital media (such as DAT tapes)
only as needed.
To configure Pro Tools for direct digital stereo
mastering:
1 Connect your digital recorder to your system’s
digital outputs.
2 In Pro Tools set the appropriate digital format
and output from the Hardware Setup or Play-
back Engine dialog.
3 On your digital recorder, choose the appropri-
ate digital format for the connections.
Chapter 29: Mixdown 411
4 In Pro Tools, set all audio tracks you want to
your master outputs 1–2 path.
5 Click Return to Zero in the Transport window
to go to the beginning of the session.
6 Press Record on your digital recorder.
7 Start playback of your session.
8 When your session has finished playing, stop
the digital recorder.
Pro Tools Reference Guide412
413
Part VII: Surround
414
Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 415
Chapter 30: Surround Concepts
Pro Tools MIX and MIXplus systems support
multi-channel mixing for surround sound.
How to Use These Chapters
This part of the guide describes multi-channel
mixing for surround sound with Pro Tools.
These sections supplement the basic Pro Tools
information provided elsewhere in the
Pro Tools Reference Guide.
If you are new to surround mixing, read the re-
maining sections of this chapter for an introduc-
tion to surround terminology and concepts.
If you already have experience with surround
mixing, mastering, and monitoring, these sec-
tions can be skipped. Operational instructions
for Pro Tools surround features begin in
Chapter 31, “Pro Tools Setup for Surround.”
Mixing Formats and Surround
Formats
When running Pro Tools version 5.1 or later
with the SurroundMixer plug-in, Pro Tools MIX
and MIXplus systems let you mix in 3- to 8-
channel formats, in addition to standard mono
and stereo.
Supported mixing formats include, Mono, Stereo,
LCR, Quad, LCRS, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1, letting you
mix in any multi-channel format needed for
most surround formats.
Surround formats include Dolby Surround (Pro-
Logic) and Dolby Digital, DTS, and SDDS.
Pro Tools does not provide its own surround for-
mat processing, and requires appropriate plug-
ins (such as Dolby SurroundTools™) or hard-
ware to provide surround encoding and decod-
ing.
Pro Tools Reference Guide416
Pro Tools Mixing Formats
Speaker Layouts
Figure 27 on page 417 illustrates the speaker ar-
rangements of each surround format. Speaker
placement in the diagrams is approximate. For
proper placement, alignment, and calibration of
surround monitoring systems, consult the docu-
mentation that came with your speakers and
other monitoring equipment. Placement of
speakers is crucial to accurate monitoring of any
mix, but this is especially true with multi-chan-
nel mixing for surround sound.
See also “5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering” on page 430.
Table 4. Multi-Channel Mixing and Surround Formats
Speaker Channels Multi-Channel
Mixing Format
Surround Format Channels and Track Layout
1Mono C
2Stereo L R
3LCR Cinema Stereo L C R
4Quad Quadraphonic L R Lr Rr
4LCRS Dolby Surround (Pro-
Logic)
L C R S
65.1 Film (Pro Tools
default), for Dolby
Digital
L C R Ls Rs LFE
65.1 SMPTE/ITU L R C LFE Ls Rs
65.1 DTS (ProControl) L R Ls Rs C LFE
76.1 Dolby EX L C R Ls Cs Rs LFE
87.1 SDDS L Lc C Rc R Ls Rs LFE
Legend: L=Left; R=Right; C=Center, S = surround (mono); Ls=Left Surround; Rs=Right Surround; Lc=Left
Center; Rc = Right Center; Cs = Center Surround; Lr = Left Rear; Rr = Right Rear
Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 417
Figure 27. Speaker arrangement of surround formats
for Dolby Surround
for DTS, Dolby Digital
for SDDS
for Dolby EX
Quadraphonic
Mono Stereo LCR
Quad LCRS
5.1 6.1
7.1
LR LCR
Lr Rr S
Rs
CLR RCL
RsCsLs
RCL
Ls
RsLs
Lc Rc
SubSub
SubSub
*Often split to a
pair of speakers
3+12+2
Pro Tools Reference Guide418
Surround Monitoring
In order to monitor your current multi-channel
mix in a given surround format (DTS, Dolby
Digital, or other.), encoding and decoding
equipment for that format is required. Pro Tools
does not provide direct support for surround
format processing, but encoding/decoding
hardware or software is available from Digide-
sign and third-party manufacturers. Contact
Digidesign or your dealer for information.
With proper speaker placement, and studio cal-
ibration, additional surround processors, moni-
tors, and a properly calibrated system can lessen
the variables that your mix will be subjected to
when the audience eventually hears it in the
theater, in their home, or elsewhere.
The Importance of Speaker
Placement
It is very important that your surround monitor
system be installed and configured correctly.
Proper speaker placement, angling, and level
calibration are necessities for surround mixing,
so consult the manufacturer of your monitor
system. Several surround formats (especially all
of those from Dolby as well as DTS) have very
specific speaker and monitoring recommenda-
tions, so take the time to locate this information
and adhere to the suggestions they provide.
For an example of one way to set up a 5.1 mon-
itor system, see Figure 28 on page 418.
Figure 28. One suggested speaker arrangement for 5.1 mixing and monitoring (SMPTE specification). Sub placement
is variable, all others should be as close the suggested angles as possible.
110°
30°
110°
30°
Mixing position
Sub
LCR
Ls Rs
Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 419
Calibrated Surround Monitoring
In any professional applications, one of the
most important things you can do is to calibrate
not just Pro Tools but also your monitoring sys-
tem and other equipment.
For example, many post production facilities
calibrate their Pro Tools audio interfaces for -
20 dB = 0 VU. Once Pro Tools hardware has been
calibrated to unity gain, the monitoring system
can be adjusted to account for anomalies in the
room acoustics, speaker placement, and other
variables.
Calibrating your Pro Tools system involves at-
tenuating the input and output stages of your
system. Settings and reference level vary accord-
ing to the applicable standards of the current
project.
Calibrating your Studio The first task for sur-
round mixing should be getting your monitor
speakers in proper position, alignment and cali-
bration for accurate listening and mixing.
Speaker position and alignment will vary ac-
cording to each installation, and is very specific
for different speakers, manufacturers, and for
each surround format. Instructions for optimal
speaker location should have been provided
with the speaker and monitor system, so consult
the documentation provided by its manufac-
turer.
Speaker calibration makes sure that your system
plays back at accurately balanced levels. This
lets you compensate for any variances in speaker
position, alignment or performance.
Formats and Terminology
Multi-channel mixing formats are referred to
numerically, such as “5.1” and “7.1.” These
numbers describe the number and type of out-
put (speaker) channels required for that format.
Other formats are referred to by their track lay-
out (such LCRS, and LCR).
Surround formats are referred to by their devel-
oper and product name, such as Dolby Surround
(or ProLogic), Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby E, and
others. Each surround format requires you to
mix in a compatible mixing format. For exam-
ple, both Dolby Digital and DTS are “5.1 sur-
round formats.”
The standards for each format include more
than just the number of speakers. Formats also
may require specific track layout and filtering
for the various channels. For example, the sur-
round channel in Dolby Surround is band lim-
ited 100 Hz to 7 kHz.
Surround formats also increase the importance
of phase, balance, and sound placement due to
the various ways in which multi-channel mixes
can be encoded, decoded, compressed, or ma-
trixed. Many publications are available on these
subjects. For a listing of several sources of sur-
round format information, see “Where to Get
More Information on Surround Technology” on
page 421.
LCRS for Dolby Surround
Dolby Surround (ProLogic) is a four-channel for-
mat that is one of the most widely accepted con-
sumer surround formats.
Calibrating in Pro Tools is explained in the
TDM Installation Guide.
Pro Tools Reference Guide420
This format, which requires Dolby encoding
and decoding technology, provides three full-
range front speakers left, center, and right, plus
a mono surround channel (often split and mon-
itored through pairs of satellite speakers, but a
single “rear” channel nonetheless).
Surround Format Example
The goal of Dolby Surround encoding is to make
a four-channel mix (LCRS) more portable, by
transforming it into an encoded two-channel
mix referred to as Lt/Rt. Lt and Rt represent Left
Total and Right Total, respectively. Whenever
you see Lt/Rt, it refers specifically to material
that has been processed a Dolby Surround En-
coder (such as the Dolby SEU4 or Dolby Sur-
roundTools plug-in).
The Lt/Rt mix can then be transported, trans-
mitted, or played as a stereo mix, making it
compatible with most majority of home and
theater systems. Alternately, the Lt/Rt pair can
be decoded back into an LCRS mix in movie the-
atres, or in home theater systems where the re-
quired decoding hardware is available.
5.1 for Dolby Digital and DTS
Both Dolby Digital and DTS formats are six-
channel, 5.1 formats. Both provide five full-
range speakers and a sub. These two surround
formats use different track layouts, filtering, and
compression as part of their specifications.
.1 Formats
The “.1” in any multi-channel mix format indi-
cates an LFE track in the mix. Whenever a deci-
mal is part of a surround format, it indicates a
discrete Sub channel in the surround playback
system. The term Sub refers to a playback chan-
nel, intended for playback through a subwoofer
speaker. For example, Dolby Digital is a 5.1 for-
mat intended for playback through systems
with five full-range speakers and one subwoofer
speaker. Dolby E is a 6.1 format, with six full-
range speakers and a sub. SDDS is a 7.1 format,
with seven full-range speakers and one sub.
Sub content will include the LFE channel of a
“.1” format mix, as well as the effects of any bass
management in the playback system. See “LFE”
on page 420.
.0 Formats
The “.0” formats (5.0, 6.0, 7.0), while not associ-
ated with any specific surround formats, are use-
ful in many mixes as sub-paths. For example,
not all tracks will have content that needs to be
routed to the LFE channel (the “.1” channel).
Assigning such tracks to a 5.0 path provides a
360° panner without LFE controls.
LFE
While mixing in a multi-channel format, a dec-
imal indicates an LFE channel (for Low Fre-
quency Effects). The LFE channel (for Low Fre-
quency Effects, also known as Low Frequency
Enhancement) refers most often to a specific
track used in production (not during playback or
decoding). LFE is the “.1” component in mix
formats such as 5.1 and 7.1.
The reason it's referred to as.1 is that unlike the
other five or seven speakers, LFE is not full band-
width (or, full-range). The LFE signal provides a
direct path for low end to the subwoofer, unaf-
fected by bass management (if any). Low fre-
quency effects include such things as thunder,
explosions, and other bass effects.
LFE is generally used to enhance sound effects in
films. There are no set rules about whether or
not you must employ an LFE channel.
Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 421
Sub Content
When surround mixes are played back on sys-
tems that include one or more subs, subwoofer
content comes from either or both of the follow-
ing sources:
• All bass from all channels that is below the
threshold of the bass management filter cut-
off (if any)
– and –
• Audio in the LFE channel (if any)
A surround format Sub will playback all the low-
est-frequency sounds from all of the other
speaker channels, below a fixed frequency
threshold. The threshold varies among different
surround formats. See “Where to Get More In-
formation on Surround Technology” on
page 421 for a list of surround specification re-
sources.
In addition to the frequency cutoffs and other
specifications of each surround format, play-
back system variables can affect sub content. See
“Surround Playback System Variables” on
page 423 for more information.
Divergence
Divergence is a surround mixing parameter that
lets you control panning “width.” Full diver-
gence results in discrete (or narrow) panning.
Lower divergence settings result in progressively
less discrete (or wider) panning.
With full (100%) Divergence, tracks can be
panned exclusively, or discretely, to a single
speaker. Sounds panned to a single speaker are
only audible in that speaker.
When Divergence is less than 100%, tracks will
be audible in neighboring speakers even when
panned directly to a single speaker in the grid.
Lower divergence settings result in a progres-
sively wider source signal.
Divergence Example
To understand divergence, it can be helpful to
imagine the inside of a large movie theater. This
is because one of the most challenging playback
variables one faces in multi-channel mixing is
the size of the intended listening environment.
Unlike the typical living room, movie theaters
are large spaces with speakers placed widely
apart. Due to distance, sounds panned discretely
to the front right speaker, for example, might be
inaudible in the opposite corner. To avoid this
problem, variable divergence lets control the
panning width. This results in signals spreading
into adjacent speakers, even when panned
100% to an individual speaker.
Where to Get More Information on
Surround Technology
The table below lists several sites that are good
starting points for your research into the con-
stantly evolving world of surround sound pro-
duction.
Divergence options in Pro Tools are ex-
plained in “Divergence” on page 451
Resources for surround specifications and information
Surround Format Go to
Dolby Surround/ProLogic www.dolby.com
Dolby EX www.dolby.com
DTS www.dtsonline.com
SDDS www.sony.com
THX www.tmhlabs.com
Pro Tools Reference Guide422
Surround Mixing Concepts
As in stereo mixing and mastering, the goal in
surround mixing is to provide the best sounding
mix to the greatest number of potential listen-
ers. Doing so for surround mixes requires many
of the same techniques used for professional ste-
reo production, plus several unique factors that
are introduced in the following sections.
Surround Format Compatibility
Pro Tools lets you mix in surround and create
multi-channel masters, consisting of four, six, or
more tracks that comprise an LCR, 5.1, or other
format mix.
◆Whenever possible, multi-channel mixes can
be transferred as discrete, multitrack masters.
Track layout requirements vary by format (see
“Multi-Channel Mapping” on page 429 for
more information).
◆Consumer playback systems don't necessarily
support every format. Downmixing occurs when
a specific format mix has to be created from an-
other.
To anticipate the effects of surround encode and
decode, as well as potential downmixing, pro-
fessional surround mixes are monitored
through appropriate encoding and decoding
processors. Monitor controller systems let engi-
neers hear their mix through different speakers
and configurations for reference.
Surround Formats and Delivery
Mediums
Surround mixes are tailored for their specific de-
livery medium. Most often, this require format-
specific encode and decode processing.
Encoding and Decoding
Virtually all surround formats utilize some form
of encoding and decoding to make it practical to
deliver, broadcast, and transfer the multiple
channels of full-bandwidth audio they require.
◆Encoding is the process necessary to make
multi-channel mixes portable and playable. In
many cases, this involves taking the four, five,
six, or more discrete channels resulting from a
multi-channel mix and converting them into a
two-channel stream for broadcast (still a pre-
dominantly 2-channel medium).
◆Decoding is the process needed to reproduce
(or unfold) the discrete surround channels from
2-channel delivery medium.
Both encoding and decoding, no matter how re-
fined, represent additional processing stages ap-
plied to your mix before it reaches its ultimate
destination, the audience.
For example, because the Dolby Surround algo-
rithm depends heavily on phase relationships,
there is always a significant difference in the de-
coded LCRS output as compared to the original
LCRS mix. To account for these anomalies, engi-
neers mixing for Dolby Surround listen through
encode and decode processors for reference.
Professional mixing and mastering engineers
use encoders and decoders to precisely audition
the effect of the encoding and decoding process,
and make any adjustments necessary.
Surround Processing and Pro Tools
Pro Tools requires additional software or hard-
ware for surround encoding, decoding, and pro-
cessing. For example, the Dolby Surround-
Tools™ plug-in lets you monitor and process
completely within the Pro Tools environment.
Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 423
SurroundTools and other surround processing
solutions are available from Digidesign and
third party manufacturers. Contact your Digide-
sign Dealer for more information.
Surround Playback System
Variables
Different playback systems for surround sound
introduce varying amounts and types of filter-
ing, bass management, and other variables.
These include the specifications for certain sur-
round formats, as well as options to fine tune a
system for its particular installation.
In your own studio, you know what speakers
you’re listening to, what their qualities are, and
what your control room sounds like. What is
impossible to know, however, is what speakers
are in the living room, theater, or concert hall
where you mix will be heard by an audience.
Bass Management
Bass management is a function of the playback
system. Bass Management refers to a number of
processes by which a playback system can con-
trol what will be heard through the Sub(woofer)
and other channels. The purpose of bass man-
agement is to optimize low frequency reproduc-
tion and overall frequency response for your
specific monitoring system. Bass management
provides a way to tune bass response for vari-
ables including room size and shape, the pres-
ence (or absence) of a subwoofer, and the fre-
quency range of each speaker.
Filtering
In its simplest form, bass management applies
high-pass filtering to the full-range speaker. Fre-
quencies below the filter cutoff are summed
with the LFE channel (if any) and then routed to
the subwoofer. Different systems may offer ad-
ditional bass management processes, including:
Bass Redirection Mutes or unmutes the low-fre-
quency signals filtered out of the full-range
channels (that is, all signals that fall below the
bass management filter cutoff frequency). This
is useful when the full-range speakers are truly
full-range, capable of accurately reproducing
bass without distorting.
Bass Extension Lets the bass (however it is de-
rived) be routed back through the full-range
speakers. Though this may seem like a contra-
diction, its main purpose is to let sub content
emanate from all around, rather than just from
the subwoofer.
Pro Tools Reference Guide424
Chapter 31: Pro Tools Setup for Surround 425
Chapter 31: Pro Tools Setup for
Surround
This chapter explains how to set up and config-
ure Pro Tools sessions for multi-channel mixing
Multi-channel mixing is supported on
Pro Tools 24 MIX systems only. In this chapter,
all references to Pro Tools refer to Pro Tools 24
MIX systems.
Before you can use Pro Tools in Surround mode:
1 Make sure the Surround Mixer plug-in is in-
stalled in your Plug-Ins folder. If it is not, it can
be installed using your Pro Tools Installer CD-
ROM.
2 Make sure your audio hardware is connected
to your monitor system and other equipment
correctly.
3 Make sure you have configured the Pro Tools
Playback Engine and Hardware Setup dialog op-
tions correctly for your system as described in
your system installation guide.
4 Continue reading this chapter to learn how to
configure Pro Tools and your sessions for Sur-
round mode.
Pro Tools Audio Connections
for 5.1 Mixing
While all 5.1 mixing formats provide the same
speaker arrangement, there are three primary
standards in use for the track layout of the indi-
vidual channels that comprise the 5.1 format
multi-channel mix.
In the following table, it is assumed that sur-
round channels are mapped to outputs 1-6 of a
Pro Tools audio interface. Use channels 7-8 to
monitor a stereo mix for a stereo version, or for
cue mixes and monitoring.
Track Layouts for 5.1 Formats
Formats Track Layout
123456
Film
(Pro Tools
default)
L C R Ls Rs LFE
SMPTE/ITU
for Dolby
Digital (AC3)
L R C LFE Ls Rs
DTS
for ProControl
L R Ls Rs C LFE
Pro Tools Reference Guide426
To connect your audio interfaces for 5.1 format
mixing and monitoring:
1 Determine the 5.1 format and track layout
you want to use.
2 Connect the output channels of your audio
interface to the corresponding input channels
of your monitoring system according to the as-
signments listed in Table on page 425.
Configuring Pro Tools for
Multi-Channel Sessions
Configuring Pro Tools and sessions for multi-
channel mixing can be done in any or all of the
following ways:
New Sessions
By creating a new session and choosing a sur-
round mix I/O Settings file as the default
I/O Setup. (See “New Sessions and I/O Settings”
on page 426.)
Remixing Sessions in Surround
By importing a surround mix I/O Settings file
into the I/O Setup dialog, multi-channel paths
can be made available in any stereo (or other
format) session. You can then reassign track
routing from the original stereo paths to multi-
channel paths. Inactive and active paths sim-
plify reassignment. (See “Importing Multi-
Channel I/O Setups” on page 428.)
Custom Paths
You can customize and redefine existing paths in
the I/O Setup dialog. For more information, see
“Custom Multi-Channel Paths” on page 428.
Importing Tracks
By importing tracks into a session, you can add
only the tracks and media, but also the associ-
ated paths and track assignments. Tracks retain
their paths and assignments, which are added to
the current session. Active and inactive status is
determined by available system resources. After
importing tracks, you can use the I/O Setup dia-
log to configure main and sub-paths for require-
ments of the session. For more information, see
“Importing Tracks from Other Sessions” on
page 94.
New Sessions and I/O Settings
When you create a new session, you can specify
a surround format that you want to use as your
I/O Setup. Default path configurations are pro-
vided as I/O Settings files, for stereo and sur-
round mixing.
Once you create the new session, you can create
and import tracks, import audio, and assign sig-
nal routing to set up your mix.
If you use ProControl and its monitoring
section, see the ProControl Addendum for
Pro Tools 5.1 for more information.
Chapter 31: Pro Tools Setup for Surround 427
To create a new session for multi-channel mixing:
1 Choose File > New Session.
2 Select one of the available 5.1 settings from
the Default I/O Settings menu.
The surround presets preconfigure the I/O Setup
dialog with default 5.1 format main and sub-
paths for outputs and busses.
Surround Mix Settings Files
The surround mix I/O Settings files provides
output and bus paths for three specific track lay-
out standard. (See also “Default Input and Insert
Paths with 5.1 Settings” on page 427.)
All three 5.1 format settings files provide the fol-
lowing default output and bus paths:
Default 5.1 Output Paths
• One 5.1 main output path, with sub-paths for
center, left/right, LCR, and 5.0 (no LFE).
• Also, one stereo main path with two mono
sub-paths.
Default 5.1 Bus Paths
• One 5.1 main bus path, with sub-paths for 5.0
(no LFE), left/right (stereo), LCR, and center
(mono).
• Also, one stereo main path with two mono
sub-paths.
Default Input and Insert Paths with 5.1 Settings
The 5.1 Mix settings files provide default stereo
main and sub-paths for inputs and inserts. If
you need multi-channel input paths or inserts,
you can create them in the I/O Setup dialog (see
“Custom Multi-Channel Paths” on page 428).
Configuring a new session for a 5.1 mix
Standard 5.1 format (film) output paths
Settings Files and Track Layouts
5.1 Settings Track Layout
Film (Pro Tools Standard) L C R Ls Rs LFE
SMPTE/ITU L R C LFE Ls Rs
DTS (ProControl Monitoring) L R Ls Rs C LFE
Pro Tools Reference Guide428
Importing Multi-Channel
I/O Setups
The I/O Setup dialog can import and export set-
tings files. Importing I/O Setup settings files is
useful when you want to remix a stereo session
in surround. You can also use this feature to pre-
pare a session for transfer to a different Pro Tools
system, or to simply save and exchange
I/O Settings.
To import a multi-channel I/O Setup settings file:
1 Choose Setups > I/O Setup.
2 Click Import, then select the settings file to
import.
If the current session has existing path defini-
tions that don’t match those in the imported
settings file, Pro Tools asks whether you want to
delete the existing paths or retain them and add
the imported settings to your session.
• Click No to add new paths to your current I/O
Setup configuration.
• Click Yes to replace your current I/O Setup
configuration with the imported settings.
Exporting I/O Settings
Exporting I/O Setup settings files lets you build a
library of setups multi-channel setups for differ-
ent projects.
To export an I/O Setup settings file:
1 Choose Setups > I/O Setup.
2 Click Export.
Custom Multi-Channel Paths
The I/O Setup dialog lets you create and custom-
ize signal paths for any supported multi-chan-
nel mixing format.
The I/O Setup dialog and its Channel Grid also
let you remap channels. This is especially useful
to route channels within a multi-channel path,
without having to repatch your audio inter-
faces.
Example LCRS Set Up
The following example shows one possible way
to configure the I/O Setup dialog to mix in 4-
channel LCRS format.
To define an LCRS path:
1 Choose Setups > I/O Setup, and show outputs.
2 Click New Path.
3 Select 3+1 from the Path Format Selector.
4 Name the path LCRS.
5 In the Channel Grid, click in the box below
the first (left-most) audio interface channel for
the path. Pro Tools automatically fills up the ad-
jacent units to the right. If you click in the LCRS
row under channel 1, the LCRS path will be
mapped across channels 1-4.
When creating 5.1 format paths, you can
specify the default track layout. See “De-
fault Path Order for 5.1 Tracks” on
page 430.
For additional I/O Setup information, see
“Creating and Editing Paths” on page 63.
Chapter 31: Pro Tools Setup for Surround 429
6 Select the new LCRS path, and click New Sub-
Path.
7 Name the new path LCR, and select LCR as the
Path format. Click in channel 1 in the LCR row
to map the path.
8 Create a stereo path with two mono sub-paths
(one for front Left, one for front Right).
9 Define mono sub-paths for the Center and
Surround channels.
Multi-Channel Mapping
Multi-channel paths and sub-paths are mapped
to inputs, outputs or internal busses in the
Channel Grid. When you select a preset 5.1
I/O Settings file, default layout for the corre-
sponding multi-channel format paths you cre-
ate will match the selected format’s track layout.
Example Mapping for a 5.1 Output Path
The following diagram shows the I/O Setup dia-
log configured for a 5.1-format output mix, with
a single, 8-channel audio interface. An alternate
stereo output path has also been defined.
You can remap paths to any required configura-
tion, limited only by your systems resources,
and the I/O Setup dialog requirements for chan-
nel overlapping and naming (see “Valid Paths
and Requirements” on page 67 for more infor-
mation).
5.1 Tracks, Formats, Mapping and
Metering
Path definitions in I/O Setup determine how au-
dio is routed through, and metered on, your au-
dio interfaces.
Pro Tools internal (on-screen) metering of 5.1
format paths always follows the Film track lay-
out:
L C R Ls Rs LFE
Pro Tools track layout of 5.1 format audio tracks
in the Edit window also conforms to the Film
layout (arranged top to bottom). See the illustra-
tion “5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering”
on page 430.
In the I/O Setup dialog, you can route these sig-
nals out of your audio interfaces according to
any track layout (DTS, SMPTE/ITU, or other).
To re-map channels in a path:
■Click and drag a channel to a new valid loca-
tion in the grid. Other channel assignments will
move (shuffle) to accommodate dragged chan-
nels.
Example LCRS output main and sub-paths
I/O Setup
See also “Example Paths and Signal Rout-
ing for a Surround Mix” on page 439.
Pro Tools Reference Guide430
Default Path Order, Metering,
Output, and Audition Path
The I/O Setup dialog provides the following de-
fault settings for multi-channel sessions:
Meter Selects the path that will be shown in Pro-
Control output meters. See “5.1 Tracks, Formats,
Mapping and Metering” on page 429 for more
information.
Audition Selects the monitoring path for pre-
viewing audio in the Regions List and Import
Audio dialogs.
Default Output Selects the default output path
for all new tracks, for each supported track for-
mat.
Default Path Order Selects the default track lay-
out (or, path order) for new 5.1 format (six-
channel) paths.
Default Path Order for 5.1 Tracks
You can specify the default track layout for all
new 5.1 format paths you create.
To choose a new default Pro Tools 5.1-format Path
order (track layout):
1 Choose Setup > I/O Setup.
2 Use the Default Path Order menu and sub-
menus to choose the track layout you want.
5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering
Default Selectors in the I/O Setup dialog
Default Selectors
Default Path Order Selector in I/O Setup
Figure 29. Track Layout of different 5.1 formats
Audio Interface Meters
Channel Map in I/O Setup5.1 Format
Film
SMPTE/ITU
DTS
L C R Ls Rs LFE
L R C LFE Ls Rs
L R Ls Rs C LFE
L C R Ls Rs LFE
Track Meters Tracks
L C R Ls Rs LFE
(top to bottom)
same
L C R Ls Rs LFE
same
same
same
L C R Ls Rs LFE
(left to right)
L C R Ls Rs LFE
(Pro Tools Standard)
(ProControl Monitoring)
L C R Ls Rs LFE
L R C LFE Ls Rs
L R Ls Rs C LFE
L C R Ls Rs LFE
L R C LFE Ls Rs
L R Ls Rs C LFE
1 - 6
Chapter 32: Multi-Channel Tracks and Signal Routing 431
Chapter 32: Multi-Channel Tracks and
Signal Routing
Surround sessions typically include a combina-
tion of mono, stereo, and multi-channel audio
tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master Faders, bus-
ses and inserts.
Once the appropriate I/O Setup has been im-
ported or configured, any audio track can be
mixed in multi-channel for surround using
Pro Tools mixing features.
Multi-channel I/O and signal routing is deter-
mined by the paths defined in the I/O Setup di-
alog.
Multi-Channel QuickStart
The following is an overview of how to get
started mixing in multi-channel for surround in
Pro Tools.
To mix in multi-channel:
1 Open any stereo Pro Tools session to remix it
in surround. (You can also create new, empty
surround sessions. See “New Sessions and I/O
Settings” on page 426.)
2 Configure the I/O Setup dialog with multi-
channel inputs, outputs, busses, and inserts, as
needed. (See “Configuring Pro Tools for Multi-
Channel Sessions” on page 426.)
3 Create new tracks and assign track outputs
and sends to your multi-channel paths. Config-
ure signal routing as needed for submixing, bus-
sing, processing, and monitoring. For tracks that
do not need to panned in 360°, place them in
the mix using sub-paths and signal routing.(See
“Multi-Channel Signal Routing” on page 434.)
4 Pan in surround using the multi-channel
Track and Send windows. (Mixing and panning
for surround is explained in Chapter 33, “Sur-
round Panning and Mixing.”)
Pro Tools Reference Guide432
Multi-Channel Audio Tracks
Multi-channel audio tracks contain multiple in-
dividual signals for each signal in the track (one
for the left, one for the right, one for center, and
so on).
Multi-channel audio tracks can be:
• Recorded directly into Pro Tools, using multi-
ple microphones or microphone arrays,
routed to appropriate multi-channel
Pro Tools Input paths.
• Imported from other Pro Tools sessions.
• Edited, processed, and mixed in combination
with mono and stereo tracks.
5.1 format audio files and tracks conform to the
Film track layout standard. Regardless of path
mapping in the I/O Setup dialog, all 5.1 format
audio tracks and meters follow the Film stan-
dard track layout:
L C R Ls Rs LFE
Multi-channel audio tracks are not required to
mix in multi-channel formats. Mono, stereo,
and all supported track formats can be mixed us-
ing Pro Tools track outputs and sends. See
“Multi-Channel Signal Routing” on page 434.
Placing Audio in Multi-Channel
Tracks
You can drag audio files and regions from the
Audio Regions List, or from other tracks, to
place them in multi-channel audio tracks.
To do so, the number of channels being dragged
must match the destination track format. For
example, you can only drag a stereo pair or two
mono regions onto a stereo audio track. Simi-
larly, you can only place audio into an LCR track
when you have selected three regions. With 5.1
tracks, you must select six files or regions.
Solo, Mute, and Gain in Multi-Channel
Tracks and Paths
Stereo and multi-channel tracks consist of mul-
tiple audio signals, linked together. By default,
multi-channel tracks are linked and are control-
ler by a single channel fader, solo and mute
switch.
For discrete control of signals, multi-channel
tracks can be converted into individual mono
tracks. For discrete level and phase adjustment,
you can insert and unlink a multi-mono Trim
plug-in. Both of these techniques are explained
below.
To convert a multi-channel track into discrete
mono tracks:
1 Select the multi-channel track.
2 Choose File > Convert Selected Tracks to
Mono.
5.0 format multi-channel audio track
Once converted to mono, multi-channel
tracks cannot be relinked into their original
multi-channel format. The only way to re-
assemble a multi-channel track is by drag-
ging the corresponding number of mono
files into a multi-channel track, which can
result in loss of some automation data.
Chapter 32: Multi-Channel Tracks and Signal Routing 433
To have discrete control of gain on individual
channels of a multi-channel track:
1 Insert a multi-mono Trim plug-in on the
multi-channel track.
2 Unlink the Trim plug-in by clicking the Link
icon so that it is unlit.
3 Use the Channel Selector to display the con-
trols you want to edit, and adjust the gain.
Track and Output Formats
When you create new tracks, you specify mono,
stereo, or a supported multi-channel format for
the new tracks.
In the Mix and Edit windows, the track format is
always visible by the number of track meters
contained in its fader strip (a single meter for
mono tracks, a pair for stereo tracks, and so on).
Assigning track output determines the format of
that output. For example, a mono track always
has a single track meter, even when assigned to
a stereo output path. If that same mono track is
assigned to a 5.1 output path, it's output will be
split among those six output channels, depend-
ing on the position of its panner.
Changing Format
Changing the output format for a given track
has several effects:
• The panner that appears in the track will
change to reflect the new output format
◆It may be necessary for one or more pan re-
lated automation playlists to be created or de-
leted.
Because changing the output format has these
effects, a warning dialog appears whenever you
change the output format of a track to a format
of fewer channels. Specifically, this will occur
whenever automation playlists will have to be
deleted.
Multiple Output Assignments and Track Format
When a track is assigned to more than one path
of differing formats, the main output for that
track will match the format of the assigned path
with the greatest number of channels.
Multiple Outputs and Automation Playlists
When a track has multiple output assignments,
Pro Tools sorts panning data appropriately for
each assigned path. For example, if you assign a
mono track to a stereo path and a 5.1 path si-
multaneously, that track will have a 5.1 panner
in the Mix or Edit window. When you pan the
track, Pro Tools interprets the 5.1 panning
moves into stereo panning moves (by ignoring
any front--to-rear moves, in this example).
This provides a type of parallel mixing. You can
create a variety of mixes of differing formats all
at the same time by routing your elements to
multiple paths.
See “Linking and Unlinking Controls on
Multi-Mono Plug-Ins” on page 436 for
more information.
Command-Control-click any control in a
Output window to show its automation
playlist.
Pro Tools Reference Guide434
Multi-Channel Signal Routing
To mix in a multi-channel format, tracks are as-
signed to multi-channel paths.
Tracks can be mixed in surround using the fol-
lowing two methods:
• By setting a track main output to a multi-
channel path.
• By assigning a multi-channel send to route
audio to a multi-channel path.
Multi-Channel Track Outputs
Tracks are routed to output and bus paths using
the track Output Selector. This assigns the main
track output. Additional output assignments
can be added by Control-clicking the Selector
and assigning another path. This provides a
multi-channel panner and meter in the Mix and
Edit window I/O View. (See also “Multi-Channel
Sends” on page 434 for details.)
Multi-Channel Sends
Mono, stereo and all other track formats let you
assign one or more multi-channel sends. This
provides a multi-channel panner in the Sends
view. Sends are also useful to bus tracks for
multi-channel plug-in processing.
The following diagram shows a mono audio
track with a 6-channel send (Sends View Shows
> Send A view).
Two different ways to configure tracks for multi-channel
mixing
See “Multi-Channel Sends” on page 434 for
more information.
Main output path is multi-
channel, so the track pro-
vides a multi-channel pan-
ner
This channel’s main output
path is mono (“Center music”).
It has a multi-channel send pro-
viding a multi-channel panner
A mono audio track with a mono output format, with a
multi-channel send
Multi-channel send
panner
Mono meter
Mono output format
Chapter 32: Multi-Channel Tracks and Signal Routing 435
Pro Tools bussing and submixing features are
available for all channel formats, from
mono/stereo through 8-channel. For examples
of multi-channel monitoring, effects process-
ing, and bussing, see “Mixing with Paths and
Sub-Paths” on page 437.For mono and stereo
mix examples, see Chapter 26, “Basic Mixing.”
Multi-Channel Auxiliary Inputs and
Master Faders
A multi-channel Auxiliary Input or Master Fader
is used as a return for the multi-channel bus.
Sends are useful when you need to create an ad-
ditional, independent mix simultaneously (per-
haps of a distinct format), requiring dedicated
fader, mute, solo and automation controls.
You can assign Master Faders to main and sub-
paths. Main paths must match the format of the
Master Fader, and only one Master Fader can be
active and assigned to any single (active) main
or sub-path. A Master Fader cannot be assigned
to a sub-path if its associated main path is al-
ready assigned on another Master Fader. See
“Master Faders” on page 333.
Mono, Multi-Mono and Multi-
Channel Plug-Ins
Plug-ins can be used in mono, multi-mono, or
multi-channel formats.
For information about mono, stereo, and mono-
in/stereo-out plug-ins, see Chapter 27, “Plug-Ins
and Inserts.”
Multi-Mono Plug-Ins Are designed for use on
greater-than-stereo multi-channel tracks. Multi-
mono plug-ins are useful, or required, in the fol-
lowing situations:
• When a desired plug-in does not involve
multi-channel correlated processing (for ex-
ample, when applying EQ to select sides of a
multi-channel signal)
• You need to adjust signals within the multi-
channel track independently
• A plug-in only does not support multi-chan-
nel formats
When a multi-mono plug-in is first inserted on a
multi-channel track, the plug-in controls are
linked. You can unlink them for independent
adjustment. See “Linking and Unlinking Con-
trols on Multi-Mono Plug-Ins” on page 436 for
more information.
Plug-in formats
Pro Tools Reference Guide436
Multi-Channel Plug-Ins Are designed for use on
stereo and multi-channel tracks that require cor-
related processing, including stereo and multi-
channel limiting, compression, and similar ef-
fects.
Linking and Unlinking Controls on Multi-
Mono Plug-Ins
When a multi-mono plug-in is used on a multi-
channel track of more than two channels, the
controls are normally linked. Adjusting the
Gain parameter on one channel, for example,
will adjust it for all channels.
If necessary, you can unlink plug-in controls on
specific channels of a track and edit them inde-
pendently. You can also selectively link the con-
trols of specific channels.
For example, to apply equal filter cutoffs to the
Ls and Rs (surround) channels in a 5.1 mix, you
could link enable just those channels in an un-
linked, multi-mono EQ plug-in. Adjusting the
controls in the Plug-In window for either chan-
nel (Ls or Rs) adjusts the other, linked channel
as well.
Channel Selector Accesses a specific channel
within a multi-channel track for plug-in param-
eter editing. This menu appears only on multi-
mono plug-ins inserted on tracks with more
than two channels.
Master Link Button When enabled, links the pa-
rameter controls on all channels of a multi-
mono plug-in so that they can be adjusted in
tandem.
Link Enable Buttons Let you selectively link the
parameter controls of specific channels of a
multi-mono plug-in. Each square represents a
speaker channel. The Master Link button must
be disabled to use the Link Enable buttons.
To unlink controls on a multi-mono plug-in:
■Deselect the Master Link button. It is lit when
linked, unlit when unlinked.
To access controls for a specific channel:
■Select the desired channel from the Channel
Selector.
To open a Plug-In window for all channels of a
multi-mono plug-in:
■Option-click the Channel Selector.
To link the controls of specific channels:
1 Deselect the Master Link button if it is not al-
ready deselected.
2 Click the Link Enable buttons for the chan-
nels whose controls you want to link.
Channel Selector and Link controls
Option-click the Channel Selector to open
Plug-In windows for each channel of the
multi-mono plug-in.
Channel Selector
Link Enable buttons
Master Link button
The Trim plug-in is explained in the Digi-
Rack Plug-Ins Guide.
Chapter 32: Multi-Channel Tracks and Signal Routing 437
Paths in Surround Mixes
Because Pro Tools provides a flexible routing
and submixing environment, you can maximize
your system’s available resources by first identi-
fying the elements that you want to pan dynam-
ically and those that can be placed in certain
channels only. (See “Mixing with Paths and
Sub-Paths” on page 437 for an explanation of
this concept.)
Once you have identified these elements in your
session, you can use a combination of main and
sub-path assignments, and multi-channel pan-
ning. Figure 30 on page 438 shows an example
session.
Mixing with Paths and Sub-Paths
It is rare that every track needs to be “flown” (ac-
tively panned in between more than a pair of
speakers). In most situations, certain elements
are placed in certain speakers and remain there,
providing the foundation for a mix.
Figure 30 on page 438 illustrates an example of
how panning and signal routing can be com-
bined in a multi-channel mix. The following
sections show you how to organize your session
and signal routing to maximize the available re-
sources.
When to Assign Multi-Channel Outputs
■Assign 5.1 paths only to those tracks that need
to be panned to all six channels.
For example, a sound effects track with a jet fly-
over should be assigned a 5.1 path to be able to
“fly” the sound from front-to-back. In a music
mix, fly a solo instrument or make a synth pad
swirl around the room as a special effect.
Elements that need to be heard in all speakers si-
multaneously can also be assigned to the multi-
channel output, whether or not they need ac-
tive panning in the sound field.
When to Use Sub-Paths
■To help simplify large sessions, try to use sub-
paths to route static (or, stationary) elements di-
rectly to the output channel or channels.
For example, film dialog is often mixed to the
center channel to anchor this essential sound el-
ement to the visual element (the picture). In-
stead of assigning a six-channel panner to dia-
log tracks and panning it to the center channel
only, you can route dialog track’s main output to
a mono (Center) sub-path. This may be un-
avoidable in some sessions, such as a scene in
which every sound needs to fly or move in the
360° sound field. This is more likely to be the ex-
ception, however, because many elements of a
mix will not need to be moving between speak-
ers.
See “Extending Stereo Mixing Conventions
to Surround Mixing” on page 438 for re-
lated information.
Pro Tools Reference Guide438
Extending Stereo Mixing Conventions to
Surround Mixing
Stereo mixing sets the precedent for active and
static panning, and surround mixing can bene-
fit from the same basic principles.
Panning a sound back-and-forth between the
left and right speakers is best used as a special ef-
fect. In a typical music mix, the basic tracks are
placed in the stereo sound field and remain
there.
Surround mixes can become incoherent if too
many elements are continuously moving, For
special effects, some tracks can be panned dy-
namically, bouncing between speakers or sweep-
ing from one side to the other.
Figure 30. Using signal routing and sub-paths to mix in surround
Tracks routed to sub-paths Tracks panned in 3D
Auxiliary Inputs and Master Faders
routed to main paths
Bus
routing
Main out-
put to sub-
paths
Main outputs to 5.1 paths for surround panning
Chapter 32: Multi-Channel Tracks and Signal Routing 439
Example Paths and Signal
Routing for a Surround Mix
This examples shows how Auxiliary Inputs,
Master Faders, and other Pro Tools signal rout-
ing features can be used for stem mixes, sub-
mixes, and similar project needs.
In this example, music and effects (M&E) are be-
ing mixed for a trailer, in 5.1 surround. Separate
stem mixes (for music, and for effects) are to be
mastered to 8-track MDM
Example Multi-Channel Paths
Signal routing is the key element in any
Pro Tools surround session. Signal routing is
configured and defined in the I/O Setup dialog.
Example Output Paths
The following shows output paths defined in
the I/O Setup dialog of an example session. This
example session is shown on a Pro Tools MIX
system with three audio interfaces.
Sub-paths have been defined for each of the
Mix, Music, and FX main output paths.
Additional stereo output paths, with mono sub-
paths, have also been defined for the remaining
channels on each audio interface.
Example Bus Paths
The following diagram shows example bus
paths.
Two 5.1 format main paths have been defined
(Music, and FX), each with several sub-paths.
Example Sub-Paths
Sub-paths let you route to selective channels
within the multi-channel (surround) output.
The FX bus has two sub-paths (“5.0 FX bus” and
“LFE f”) that show this.
5.0 Sub-Paths The 5.0 FX bus is a 5-channel sub-
path. With tracks that you are sure you want to
keep out of the LFE channel, use this type of
sub-path routing to conserve mixing resources.
LFE Paths A custom LFE sub-path has been
added to provide a discrete mono path to the
LFE channel.
I/O Setup, example output paths
I/O Setup, example bus paths
Pro Tools Reference Guide440
Signal Routing Examples
The following show a few possible ways that
main and sub-paths can be used, using an exam-
ple session consisting of a 5.1 main mix, with
music and effects stems (or submixes).
The following shows one possible routing con-
figuration for an effects submix.
Some tracks are routed to stereo sub-paths,
while others are assigned to mono, LCR, or
other sub-paths. Two tracks (one stereo, one
mono) are assigned to multi-channel busses, for
surround panning. A 5.1 Auxiliary Input as-
signed to the FX main bus path serves as a sub-
mixer.
Music tracks might be routed similar to the fol-
lowing example:
Most of the music tracks in this example are
routed to the front left/right channels, using a
stereo sub-path. A 5.1 Auxiliary Input controls
the bus and stem output.
Main Stems Example
The two Auxiliary Input channels can be multi-
assigned to additional 5.1 format paths for a
main mix.
Multiple output assignments make it possible to
configure a number of multi-format mixes. For
example, you can assign an additional stereo
output to tracks and create a stereo mix at the
same time as a 5.1 mix. For more information,
see “Multiple Output Assignments” on
page 337.
LFE Examples
LFE tracks and other audio can contribute to the
LFE output (the “.1” channel in supporting for-
mats) in two ways:
• Using the LFE slider in Output windows. This
LFE signal is post-fader.
– or –
• Using a custom sub-path to route channels
discretely.
FX stem
Music stem
Assigning multiple outputs
Chapter 32: Multi-Channel Tracks and Signal Routing 441
The following shows a channel Output window,
sending and metering to the LFE channel.
Using the LFE fader, you can add any amount of
any multi-channel path to the overall LFE out-
put.In the above example, the track’s Center
percentage has been turned off, and the LFE
fader has been raised to route it to the LFE chan-
nel.
The next diagram shows how a “traditional” LFE
track can be routed to only the LFE channel.
This example uses a custom-defined LFE sub-
path to the FX main bus path.
For instructions on how to create a sub-path, see
“Custom Multi-Channel Paths” on page 428.
LFE and Filtering
Pro Tools applies no filtering to LFE signals.
Some delivery requirements may specify filter-
ing for the LFE track (such as the Dolby require-
ment of 120 Hz). See “Mixing Formats and Sur-
round Formats” on page 415 for more
information.
Multi-Channel Plug-Ins
Audio tracks, Master Faders and Auxiliary Inputs
let you assign multi-mono or multi-channel
plug-ins. This lets you process multi-channel
outputs as a single entity using multi-channel,
or linked multi-mono, plug-ins. Unlinked
multi-mono plug-ins let you process individual
channels of a multi-channel path, with linking
and unlinking. For more information on multi-
channel plug-ins, see Chapter 27, “Plug-Ins and
Inserts.”
LFE contribution from a stereo output
Discrete LFE routing
LFE fader
Aux LFE meter
LFE faders can follow Mix and Edit Groups.
See “Automation Preferences” on page 374
for more information.
Pro Tools Reference Guide442
Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 443
Chapter 33: Surround Panning and
Mixing
This chapter explains how to pan and mix in
surround with Pro Tools.
Before you can pan a track in surround, it must
be assigned to an appropriate multi-channel
output or bus path.
The I/O Setup dialog defines the bussing and
output architecture of the Pro Tools multi-chan-
nel surround mixer. If you have not already
done so, it is recommended that you become fa-
miliar with main and sub-paths and the
I/O Setup dialog before starting multi-channel
Pro Tools projects.
Introduction to Pro Tools
Surround Panning
There are four different track panning methods
available:
• In the Edit window, using the reduced-height
Panner grid in the I/O View
• In the Mix window, using the reduced-height
Panner grid
• In the Output window, using the full-size
Panner Grid
• Through pan automation editing
Control surfaces provide additional panning op-
tions. Refer to the documentation for your con-
trol surface for more information.
Mix and Edit Window Panner Grids
In the Mix and Edit window, multi-channel
panner grids are displayed on tracks that have
multi-channel track or send output assign-
ments.
See Chapter 31, “Pro Tools Setup for Sur-
round” for more information on multi-
channel configurations and I/O Setup op-
tions. For multichannel signal routing, see
Chapter 32, “Multi-Channel Tracks and
Signal Routing.”
Pro Tools Reference Guide444
To pan from the Mix or Edit window:
1 Make sure I/O View is being shown for the
Mix or Edit windows (Display > Mix/Edit Win-
dow Shows > I/O View).
2 Begin playback.
3 Click and drag on the appropriate multi-chan-
nel track’s panner grid in the Mix or Edit win-
dows.
The green pan cursor follows your movements
as long as you hold down the mouse button.
Movements are scaled so that, once you click to
“grab” the pan cursor, you do not need to limit
your movements to the small track grid area.
Color while Automating
The pan cursor is green when the track is in au-
tomation Read mode, red in an automation
Write mode, and yellow in Trim mode.
Output windows provide additional features
and controls (and a much larger grid). For de-
tails, see “Output Windows” on page 444.
Output Windows
Output windows provide panning controls for
tracks of all mix formats. Some of the features of
Output windows include:
• X/Y (joystick-style) panning
• 3-Knob panning
• Full Divergence and Center% control
• LFE feed
• Multi-channel meters
• Pro Tools Target window support
This section describes the basic techniques for
opening and arranging Output windows. Pan-
ning controls and instructions begin in “Sur-
round Panner Controls” on page 446.
Multi-Channel Panners
Multi-channel panners are provided for each
multi-channel mixing format (from 3-channel
LCR thru 8-channel 7.1).See “Surround Panner
Controls” on page 446 for more information.
Multiple panners can be opened simulta-
neously, or a single window can be anchored to
always display the current panner. See “Output
Windows” on page 444 for more information.
Panning in the track grid
Click and drag to pan
Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 445
To open an Output window:
■Click the Output icon in the track in the Mix
or Edit window (I/O View).
Standard Controls
All Output windows provide standard Pro Tools
controls for routing, path assignment and other
track features. These controls are located at the
top of all Output, Send, Insert, and Plug-In win-
dows. Some controls are specific to the type of
window.
Track Fader, Solo, Mute, and Auto
All Output windows provide track volume and
mute controls. You can adjust and automate
track volume, or mute directly using these con-
trols. The larger fader and mute button are
equivalent to those on the Pro Tools Mix win-
dow.
Opening a multi-channel Output window
For instructions on managing multiple Out-
put windows, see “Output Windows for
Tracks and Sends” on page 342.
Panner Control Section
For details on these standard features, see
“Standard Controls in Output Windows”
on page 344.
Track Selector
Output Selector
Path Selector
Target icon
Show meters
Automation Safe
Pro Tools Reference Guide446
Surround Panner Controls
On surround-capable Pro Tools systems, Output windows, when assigned to tracks or paths with four
or more channels, provide an X/Y grid for surround panning. The speakers associated with the pan-
ner’s multi-channel format are displayed in their relative positions outside the panner grid.
This section identifies all the controls and features found in Pro Tools multi-channel panners.
Figure 31. A 5.1-format multi-channel panner
X/Y Grid
Panner Control Section
LFE fader
Track fader and
meter
Position
(knob panners)
Divergence
Pan cursor
Panning modes
Track Automation,
Solo, and Mute
Speakers
Center%
Show meters
Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 447
The X/Y Grid and Pan Cursor
The X/Y grid is where multi-channel panning
information is input and displayed. You can
also input pan information using 3-Knob Mode,
or by entering numeric values in the Position
data fields, as described later.(You can also edit
pan automation graphically in the Edit win-
dow.)
Multi-channel panners default to X/Y mode. In
X/Y mode, the track’s current pan position is
represented by a green dot. This dot is the pan
cursor, and its color indicates track automation
status using standard Pro Tools colors:
Green The track is in Auto Read mode
Red The track is in Automation Write, Touch or
Latch mode
Yellow The track is in Automation Trim or Auto
Off mode.
Panning using the X/Y Grid is explained begin-
ning in “The X/Y Grid and Pan Cursor” on
page 447.
Panning Mode Buttons
Directly below the X/Y grid are the panning
mode buttons.
These switches provide access to advanced sur-
round mixing features, and are explained in
“Panning Modes” on page 448.
Position and Center%
The Position controls include three rotary knobs
and their text fields.
Front Displays and controls the current front X-
axis position of the panner.
Rear Displays and controls the current rear X-
axis position of the panner. In default X/Y pan-
ning mode, Rear is linked to Front position and
cannot be controlled independently.
Front/Rear Displays and controls the current Y-
axis position of the panner.
Center%
This rotary knob lets you control how much of
the signal is routed to the center speaker. This
lets you mix a track to the front with a phantom
center (0% Center value) or to three-channel
(LCR) when panning front.
Panning grid and pan cursor
X/Y Mode, Divergence Editing, and 3-Knob buttons
Position controls
Pro Tools Reference Guide448
Divergence Controls
Divergence determines the width of the panned
signal with respect to neighboring speakers. (See
“Divergence” on page 421 for more informa-
tion.)
Front, Rear, and F/R Divergence Provide sepa-
rate, automatable divergence control over front
speakers, rear speakers, and between front/rear,
respectively. See “Divergence” on page 451 for
more information.
LFE Fader
The LFE fader is only available in “.1” formats —
5.1, 6.1 and 7.1.
The LFE fader determines how much of the cur-
rent track’s signal will be routed to the LFE
channel. LFE faders in Track and Send windows
can follow groups. The Pro Tools LFE channel is
always full-bandwidth. For more information
on how to use the LFE fader, see “LFE Faders in
Multi-Channel Panners” on page 450
Panning Modes
Pro Tools supports X/Y and 3-Knob Panning
modes. Both can be automated.
X/Y Mode Joystick-style panning by dragging
the pan cursor within the X/Y speaker grid.
3-Knob Mode Point-to-point panning, between
pairs of speakers. See “3-Knob Panning” on
page 449 for more information.
X/Y Panning
To pan in X/Y mode:
1 Click the X/Y Mode Selector.
2 Drag the pan cursor, or click anywhere in the
grid and drag to pan the track. The location of
the pan cursor determines the pan position of
the signal. For example, to pan something to the
left rear speaker, move the pan cursor to the
lower-left corner of the grid.
Divergence controls
For examples of how divergence settings af-
fect output panning, see “Divergence and
Center Percentage” on page 451.
LFE fader
X/Y Panning
X
/
Y Mode
Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 449
Cursor Take-Over
It is not necessary to click exactly on the pan
cursor. Clicking anywhere in the grid will move
the pan cursor relative to where you click or take
over with a hardware panner.Panning does not
jump to the click position.
To snap the pan cursor to a location in the grid:
■Hold down the Control key and click any-
where in the X/Y grid.
Grid Options and Shortcuts
Fine-adjust Mode The Command modifier en-
ables fine adjustment mode of all variable Pan-
ner controls.
Constraining to X or Y Movement Holding the
Shift modifier key down when clicking in the
grid will force the movement of the dot to be
constrained in either the X or Y direction, de-
pending on which direction you move first.
Reset to Default The default position of all posi-
tion parameters can be recalled by Option-click-
ing anywhere in the panner grid.
“Snap To” a Speaker in the Grid: To force the
panner to the location of one of the valid speak-
ers, click directly on the appropriate speaker
icon.
Display Automation in Edit Window Command-
Control-click on a parameter to display that pa-
rameter’s playlist in the Edit window.
3-Knob Panning
Pro Tools provides 3-Knob mode as an addi-
tional way to input pan moves.
3-Knob mode lets you:
• Pan in straight lines, moving the pan cursor
using the Position rotary knobs with full
movement of front, rear, and front-rear posi-
tion.
– and –
• Pan discretely between pairs of speakers
3-Knob mode lets you pan discretely between
speakers. For example, when panning front-left
to rear-right in 3-Knob mode, audio will be
heard from just those two speakers (assuming
full divergence is in effect).
All pan parameters can be automated, in-
cluding pan position and divergence. See
Chapter 28, “Automation” for details.
Panning and metering in 3-Knob mode
3-Knob trajectory
3-Knob mode
meters
Show meters
Pro Tools Reference Guide450
By comparison, in X/Y mode a diagonal pan
may result in audio being heard in some or all
channels.
The difference is that 3-Knob mode pans dis-
cretely between the front and rear position of
the panning trajectory, while X/Y mode panning
takes place in the full 360° panning grid. Diver-
gence and Center % are variable in both pan-
ning modes.
To enable 3-Knob Panning mode:
■Click the 3-Knob mode icon.
The panner trajectory line appears across the
grid, extending from the front (X-axis) to the
rear (Y-axis)
To pan in 3-Knob mode:
1 Adjust the Front and Rear Position knobs to
set the trajectory line.
2 Rotate the Front/Rear Position knob to pan
along the trajectory. The Pan Cursor is con-
strained to the white trajectory line.
To change the 3-Knob trajectory angles:
■Drag either endpoint (Front, or Rear) of the
trajectory line.
– or –
■Adjust the Front or Rear Position controls.
To change the current trajectory position (left-to-
right) and retain its current angles:
1 Drag the trajectory line (not its endpoints) to
a new position.
LFE Faders in Multi-Channel
Panners
The LFE fader controls the track’s LFE contribu-
tion (or, how much of the track is sent to LFE).
LFE faders are only available when a track is as-
signed to a path whose format supports LFE (5.1,
6.1, or 7.1).
To mix to the LFE channel:
1 Adjust the LFE fader in any “.1” format Out-
put window.
LFE and Groups
Track and send LFE faders can follow Mix and
Edit Groups by enabling this feature in the Au-
tomation window of the Preferences dialog. See
“Automation Preferences” on page 374 for more
information.
Panning and metering in X/Y mode
X/Y pan position
meters
Show meters
X/Y mode
3-Knob mode
For general information about LFE, Sub
channels, and related topics, see
Chapter 30, “Surround Concepts.”
Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 451
LFE Enable
Some multi-channel plug-ins, including the Di-
giRack multi-channel Compressor, provide LFE
Enable. This lets you enable (or, bypass) phase-
accurate processing of the LFE channel, when
one is present.
To process the LFE channel in a multi-channel
plug-in:
1 Click to enable LFE Enable in supporting
multi-channel plug-ins. LFE Enable is high-
lighted when LFE processing is enabled, and un-
highlighted when LFE processing is bypassed.
Divergence and Center
Percentage
The Divergence and Center% controls range
from 0 to 100, and can be automated. They are
especially useful to ensure audibility and cover-
age in large venues, and to increase clarity of di-
alog.
Front Divergence Controls divergence between
front speakers (X-axis only).
Rear Divergence Controls divergence between
the rear speakers (X-axis only)
Front/Rear Divergence Controls divergence be-
tween front and rear (the Y-axis).
Center% (Percentage) Center% determines
whether there is a discrete center image, a com-
pletely phantom center image, or some variable
amount in between.
Divergence
In the Panner Grid, the current divergence val-
ues is displayed by a purple outline.
By default, Pro Tools surround panners are
100% or fully divergent, meaning that a signal
that is panned completely to one speaker will
only be audible in that speaker.
Divergence display and controls
Full divergence for discrete panning to front, Left
(meters show signal only in front, Left)
Divergence display
Divergence controls
Pan position
meters
Show meter
Pro Tools Reference Guide452
Lower divergence settings result in a progres-
sively wider source signal. When Divergence is
less than 100%, tracks will be routed to neigh-
boring speakers to some degree, even when the
pan cursor is positioned next to a single speaker.
To adjust divergence:
■Adjust the Front, Rear, and Front/Rear Diver-
gence controls as necessary.
To adjust divergence graphically:
1 Click the Divergence icon below the grid.
2 Drag to resize the Divergence boundaries in
the grid.
Center Percentage
Center Percentage controls whether there is a
discrete center channel for the track, or a phan-
tom center channel.
Center% Example
In film and video production, the center chan-
nel often contains dialog. To enhance clarity of
essential dialog, it is often beneficial to keep
other elements (such as music) out of the center
speaker. By reducing the Center% on music
tracks (in this example), music panned to the
front of the soundfield can be panned to just the
left and right speakers, forcing them to have a
(variable) phantom center image.
Front Divergence at 0% for widest panning (note meters
showing signal in all three front speakers)
Pan position
meters
Show meters
Front Divergence
Divergence
Discrete center (Center% at 100)
Phantom center (Center% at 0)
Pan position
meters
Center%
Pan position
meters
Center%
Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 453
To adjust Center Percentage:
■Adjust the Center% knob as appropriate.
As you reduce the Center% value, the center
speaker icon at the top of the grid becomes less
visible. At 0, the center speaker icon is com-
pletely invisible, reflecting the setting for fully
phantom center.
Pan Playlists and Automation
Multi-channel panners have several automation
playlists associated with them (for each position
and divergence control it provides).
Panning Does Not Follow Groups
Unlike mute and volume breakpoint editing,
pan automation by default does not follow edit
groups. To force pan automation editing to fol-
low groups, you can hold down the Control key
while editing automation breakpoints on a
member track. This feature applies to all seven
types of pan controls (front, rear, and front/rear
pan position, front divergence, rear divergence,
front/rear divergence, and center percentage).
SurroundScope Metering
Plug-In
The SurroundScope Metering plug-in provides a
360° meter for multi-channel mixing. It pro-
vides a method of metering multi-channel
paths, and is available in all multi-channel for-
mats.
5.1 Format Track Layouts
All on-screen, 5.1-format meters (including
those displayed in the SurroundScope meter, on
tracks, and in Output windows and their Meter
views) are always arranged:
L C R Ls Rs LFE
To use the SurroundScope Metering Plug-In:
■On a multi-channel Master Fader, click an In-
sert button and select the multi-channel Meter
plug-in.
SurroundScope has no adjustable parameters,
but displays output levels in both a 360° grid,
and in traditional LED meters.
For a complete explanation of Pro Tools
metering, see “5.1 Tracks, Formats, Map-
ping and Metering” on page 429.
Pro Tools Reference Guide454
455
Part VIII: Synchronization
456
Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts 457
Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts
Time code and synchronization (sync) are com-
plex topics. This section is designed to give you
a basic understanding of synchronization as it
relates to Pro Tools.
However, if you are using a device that sends or
receives time code, such as a video tape recorder
(VTR), you need to understand how that device
generates or receives time code, and how to con-
figure its options. Refer to your video device
documentation for more information.
Your Sync Requirements
It is strongly recommended that you research
what your synchronization requirements are.
For example, if you are using Pro Tools to ac-
complish audio post-production work for video,
consult with the video engineer or editor to de-
termine what time code format is being used.
There may be other time code issues that affect
how you use synchronization. Your Digidesign
dealer may also be able to offer suggestions
about working with sync with your studio.
Aspects of Sync
Synchronization has two components, which
can be expressed as the following questions:
◆“Where are we?” This is called the positional
reference.
◆“How fast are we going?” This is called the
clock reference.
To synchronize Pro Tools accurately over an ex-
tended period of time to another device such as
a tape machine or VTR, Pro Tools needs to know
where the device is and at what speed it’s run-
ning. Some peripherals can provide only one of
these references; for example, a black burst gen-
erator provides only a clock reference. Some pe-
ripherals, like the Digidesign Universal Slave
Driver (USD), can provide both.
Syncing Pro Tools
Pro Tools requires a clock reference, in addition
to time code, to maintain synchronization over
time.
You can resolve Pro Tools to an external clock
reference without locking it to a positional ref-
erence. For example, you can use a USD to re-
solve the Pro Tools sample clock to house sync,
Pro Tools Reference Guide458
without synchronizing Pro Tools to external
time code. You should do this if you need all
your work in Pro Tools to match the speed of all
other machines in your facility.
This can be explored further by using a typical
sync situation, with Pro Tools being slaved, us-
ing a Universal Slave Driver (USD), to a video
tape recorder, with both machines referenced to
the same house sync or black burst source:
1 When you start the videotape, time code (LTC
or VITC) is read off the tape and routed to the
USD.
2 The USD sends Pro Tools the address of the
first instance of time code it receives (positional
reference). At the same time, based on the house
sync or black burst clock reference, the USD
sends Super Clock information to Pro Tools
(clock reference).
3 Pro Tools takes the first time code address it re-
ceives, and calculates the sample location in the
session that corresponds to the address. Though
you can work with Pro Tools using any standard
time code format, it calculates internally in sam-
ple numbers. This means that Pro Tools trans-
lates a time code frame address to an exact
sample number.
4 Assuming that the time code address corre-
sponds to a sample number that is within the
Pro Tools session, Pro Tools converts the time
code address to a sample number within the ses-
sion, and begins playing from that point. The
point that playback starts from is the trigger
point. The clock reference is used by both ma-
chines to keep them in sync.
5 At this point, if the videotape is stopped, re-
wound, and started again, the entire process is
repeated, based upon a newly calculated trigger
point.
In this way, Pro Tools uses time code for posi-
tional information, and a clock reference to
maintain synchronization.
About Positional References
Time code is timing information in the form of
a data stream that can be recorded on magnetic
tape as an audio or video signal. Time code can
be used to synchronize the playback and record-
ing of your Pro Tools system with another ma-
chine’s transport, such as an analog multitrack
tape machine or a video tape recorder (VTR).
SMPTE and ISO/EBU Time Code
The “Where are we?” question refers to relative
position. To describe position, many profes-
sional audio, video, and multimedia devices and
programs use SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture
& Television Engineers) time code. In Europe, a
standard called ISO (International Standards Or-
ganization) time code, formerly called EBU (Eu-
ropean Broadcasters Union) time code, is gener-
ally used. These time code types are almost
exactly the same in terms of how they are repre-
sented electronically. However, ISO/EBU time
code works at a fixed rate of 25 fps (frames per
second) and SMPTE includes provisions for sev-
eral different frame rates. For the purposes of ex-
planation, this chapter will generally refer to
frame-measured timing information as “SMPTE
time code.” This description should be under-
stood to include ISO/EBU and SMPTE time code.
SMPTE Time Code Methods
There are two basic techniques used to record
SMPTE time code onto magnetic tape: LTC (Lin-
ear Time Code) and VITC (Vertical Interval Time
Code). LTC is recorded on an audio channel or a
dedicated time code track of the audio or video
device. VITC is recorded within the video signal
in the video “blanking area” of each video
Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts 459
frame. VITC cannot be recorded on audio tracks,
so it has no application when working with au-
dio tape recorders, but it does offer powerful fea-
tures for post-production professionals who
work with video.
There is also a non-SMPTE form of time code
called MIDI Time Code (MTC) that some devices
use to send timing information.
SMPTE Time Code Units
Time code describes locations in terms of hours,
minutes, seconds, frames, and subframes
(1/100th of a frame). The frame is used as a unit
of time measurement due to SMPTE time code’s
origin in film and video applications. Depend-
ing on the SMPTE frame rate, one frame is equal
to 1/24th, 1/25th, 1/29.97th, or 1/30th of a sec-
ond. For example, a videotape time code read-
ing of “01:12:27:15” would tell us that we were
at a position of one hour, twelve minutes,
twenty-seven seconds, and fifteen frames. How-
ever, this time address alone does not tell us
frame rate information.
Because SMPTE stores an absolute time reference
on the tape in the form of time code, any loca-
tion on that tape can be precisely located by de-
vices that read time code. Once the time code
has been recorded or striped on a tape, it pro-
vides a permanent time reference that allows
Pro Tools to link the playback of an event to an
exact tape location. For example, with time code
sync, a gun shot sound effect can be played at
the precise instant that the gun’s flash appears
on-screen.
LTC (Linear Time Code)
LTC is time code that is recorded and played
back, or generated, in the form of an analog au-
dio signal. LTC is supported by many audio and
video tape recorders.
LTC Speed Usage
LTC can be read at high tape shuttle speeds, al-
lowing a machine’s time code reader to commu-
nicate with synchronizers at rewind or fast for-
ward speeds exceeding 50 times playback speed
(provided the tape recorder is able to reproduce
the time code at this speed). However, LTC can-
not be read at very slow shuttle speeds (such as
when you are “crawling” the tape frame by
frame) or when the machine is paused. With
LTC, the VTR must be running (usually at a min-
imum speed of about 1/10th normal playback
speed) in order to capture a SMPTE time address.
VITC (Vertical Interval Time Code)
VITC is a type of time code that is recorded and
played as an invisible part of a video signal.
VITC is commonly used in professional video
editing and audio-for-picture applications. Be-
cause VITC is recorded as part of each video
frame, it must be recorded at the same time as
the video signal—it cannot be added later as
LTC can. Since VITC cannot be recorded on au-
dio tracks, it is never used to synchronize audio-
only recorders. Instead, LTC is most often used
in audio-only applications.
VITC Speed Usage
VITC’s ability to be read when moving a VTR
transport at slow speeds or when the VTR is
paused makes it more useful in audio post-pro-
duction environments than LTC.
When VITC is used, Pro Tools can capture the
current SMPTE time from the VTR when it is
paused or in “crawl” mode. However, if you are
using additional external transport synchroniz-
ers in your setup, most synchronizers cannot
Pro Tools Reference Guide460
read VITC at speeds exceeding approximately 10
times playback speed, preventing slaved ma-
chines from maintaining synchronization dur-
ing rewind and fast forward.
LTC/VITC Auto-Switching
Many synchronizers and devices support auto-
matic switching between LTC and VITC, de-
pending on the speed, to get the best of both
worlds. For example, VITC might be used when
a VTR is paused, or crawling frame-by frame,
while the synchronizer might automatically
switch to LTC when fast-forwarding.
Bi-Phase/Tach
This electronic pulse stream is used by film mag
recorders, film editing stations, and film projec-
tors. You can use this format to synchronize
Pro Tools if you have a USD. Unlike time code,
bi-phase/tach doesn’t actually contain absolute
location information. It simply supplies speed
(based upon the frequency of the pulses) and di-
rection, and therefore, relative position. Since
the USD can “count” both the speed and direc-
tion of the stream of pulses, it can use a bi-
phase/tach source to deduce positional informa-
tion from a starting “address point.” The differ-
ence between bi-phase and tach formats is that
bi-phase encodes rate and direction on a pair of
signals using a format called phase-quadrature,
while tach encodes rate on one signal and direc-
tion on the other.
SMPTE Frame Formats
Six different formats of SMPTE time code exist,
and Pro Tools can sync to any format with a
compatible sync peripheral. The supported
SMPTE frame rates are:
• 30 fps (frames per second), also called
30 Non-Drop
• 30 fps Drop frame
• 29.97 fps, also called 29.97 Non-Drop
• 29.97 fps Drop frame
• 25 fps (also called ISO or EBU)
• 24 fps
30 fps Frame Format
This is the original SMPTE format developed for
monochrome (black & white) video, and is com-
monly used in audio-only applications. This for-
mat is often referred to as 30 Non-Drop frame
format.
30 fps Drop Frame Format
This format is used for sound recordings done
for film-originated programs that are destined
for NTSC broadcast.
29.97 Non-Drop Frame Format
This format is used with NTSC color video. It
runs at a rate of 29.97 fps.
When you work with NTSC video (the stan-
dard in North America), you will generally
work with the NTSC color video standard:
either 29.97 fps Non-Drop or 29.97 fps
Drop frame.
Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts 461
29.97 Drop Frame Format
NTSC color video has an actual frame rate of
29.97 fps, so an hour’s worth of frames
(108,000) running at 29.97 fps Non-Drop will
take slightly longer than one hour of real time
to play. This makes calculating the actual length
of a program difficult when using 29.97 Non-
Drop time code. A program that spans one hour
of 29.97 Non-Drop time code addresses (e.g.
from 1:00:00:00 to 2:00:00:00) is actually 60
minutes, 3 seconds and 18 frames long.
To make working with 29.97 time code easier for
broadcasters, the SMPTE committee created
29.97 Drop Frame time code, which runs at ex-
actly the same speed as 29.97 Non-Drop (non-
drop frame) time code, but compensates for the
slower speed by “dropping” (omitting) two
frames at the top of each minute, with the ex-
ception of every 10th minute. For this reason,
the time code address of 1:01:00:00 does not ex-
ist in drop frame code because it has been
skipped.
At the end of a program that spans precisely one
hour of drop frame time code (1:00:00;00 to
2:00:00;00 for example), exactly one hour of
real time has elapsed.
Although it sounds complicated, drop frame
time code allows broadcasters to rely on time
code values when calculating the true length of
programs, facilitating accurate program sched-
uling.
25 fps Frame Format
This format is used with the European PAL video
standard, which runs at a 25 fps frame rate. This
format is also called the EBU (European Broad-
cast Union) format because it’s used by broad-
casters throughout most of Europe.
24 fps Frame Format
This format is used exclusively for film applica-
tions. Film is typically photographed and pro-
jected at a 24 fps frame rate, so this SMPTE for-
mat is useful when one time code frame should
equal one film frame.
Working with Film-Originated
Material
When you do post-production work in
Pro Tools, you will usually work with video ma-
terial. However, it is possible that the video you
are working on was shot on film.
Film footage and production sound go through
separate conversion processes before they reach
video, and the audio post-production stage. The
film is transferred to video using a process called
Telecine, using a method called 3:2 Pulldown.
Audio can also be pulled down during the trans-
fer, or you might end up working with audio
that has not been adjusted (production sound).
Typically during the Telecine process, a master
digital video tape is created, along with a work
copy on 3/4” analog video tape for the picture
editor to use. At the same time, a new audio
master may be created by slowing down, or
“pulling down” by 0.1%, the production sound
to compensate for the change in speed from film
to NTSC video.
Note that even though time code addresses
are skipped in drop-frame format, actual
frames of video material are not dropped.
Pro Tools Reference Guide462
Guide Tracks
In the Video editing process, the audio track
produced by the video editor (the “guide track”)
is rough and needs to be enhanced and im-
proved by the audio engineer. For this reason,
the audio engineer will need to re-edit the orig-
inal sound elements in a process known as con-
forming.
3:2 Pulldown
A film clip that lasts 1000 seconds consists of
24,000 film frames (pictures). If you want to
transfer that film to 1000 seconds worth of
NTSC color video, you have to “fit” 24,000 film
frames into 29,970.02997 video frames.
If we use the black and white NTSC video stan-
dard (30 fps) instead of 29.97 fps, the process of
converting film frames to video frames is greatly
simplified. Now instead of any fractional
frames, we have 24,000 film frames going into
30,000 video frames (60,000 video fields). In the
Telecine process (for NTSC color video), each
odd film frame is copied to two video fields, and
each even film frame is copied to three video
fields, creating what is called a 3:2 Pulldown.
The speed of the film is also “pulled down” to
23.976 fps in order to accommodate the slower
speed of NTSC color video compared to NTSC
black and white video (29.97 fps compared to
30 fps.
Film Speed Differs from NTSC
Video Speed
The new NTSC Telecine master tapes will always
run at 29.97 fps during post-production, so the
original production sound rolls (at 30 fps) will
be too fast, and therefore out of sync with the
video. Some adjustment of this audio may be re-
quired.
When spotting audio to video that was trans-
ferred from film to NTSC video, there are two
important terms to keep in mind: film speed
and video speed.
Film Speed Film speed refers to audio that was
recorded and plays back in synchronization
with the original film material. This audio often
comes from production reels recorded on a Na-
gra® recorder or a field DAT recorder, and is usu-
ally striped with 30 Non-Drop time code. Film
speed audio runs at the same speed as the film
camera or projector, and must be pulled down
by 0.1% to synchronize with 29.97 video.
The Telecine stage of video post-production
Telecine machine
converts film frames
to video fields using
Digital video
3:2 Pulldown
Analog video
“work tape”
master
Production audio
30 fps Non-Drop
48 kHz
Telecine
29.97
fps
48 kHz
Sample rate conversion
or A-D-A (analog stage)
29.97
fps
29.97
fps
“simo” DAT
How film frames translate to video fields in a
3:2 Pulldown
1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4
1234
Film frames
Video fields
Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts
463
Video Speed
Video speed refers to audio that is
running at the NTSC color standard of
29.97 fps. Video speed is 0.1% slower than film
speed, so audio that is still at film speed will be
out of sync with the video. Usually, you will be
working at video speed, though Digidesign and
Avid do provide several options for film speed
(24 fps) support.
Pull Up and Pull Down
Pull Up
and
Pull Down
are terms used to refer to
the deliberate recalibration of the audio sample
rate clock (speed, or musical pitch) in order to
compensate for a speed change. Pro Tools can be
used to pull down or pull up audio for use with
NTSC video. Pro Tools does not support Pull Up
or Pull Down sample rates for converting be-
tween PAL and NTSC video.
Pull Down allows you is to play back film origi-
nated material at video speed (-0.1%). Pull Up
allows you to play back video speed material at
film speed (+0.1%).
Using Pro Tools in Pull Up or Pull Down modes
requires a USD, SSD, or a third-party synchro-
nizer that supports 256x clock output and Pull
Up and Pull Down sample rates. The VSD can be
used for Pull Down, but does not support Pull
Up mode.
When to Pull Up or Pull Down
There are many ways to get audio into Pro Tools
for post-production. Consider your source audio
and your final destination format carefully. In
some cases, audio will already be pulled down
for you. In other cases, audio will have to be
temporarily pulled down. In still other cases,
you may choose to pull down your audio
source, like a DAT deck, then use a D-A-D (digi-
tal-to-analog-to-digital) conversion to record
the audio into Pro Tools at the proper sample
rate. Or you may choose only to pull Pro Tools
up or down on delivery of the audio. Refer to the
online document
FilmSync.pdf
installed with
your Pro Tools documentation, for detailed
Pull Up/Down workflow information.
Final Audio Destination: Film
If your final destination is film, your source au-
dio is at film speed, and your goal is to edit and
mix audio in Pro Tools and then lay back to a
device that runs at film speed (such as mag or
time code DAT), you can temporarily pull down
the audio in Pro Tools for NTSC video work,
then return the audio back to film speed when
you’re finished.
For example, film speed audio from a Nagra ma-
chine that is referenced to 30 fps time code is re-
corded into your Pro Tools system at a sample
rate of 44.1 or 48 kHz. Keeping in mind that
film speed is faster than video speed, select
30 fps in your Session Setup window in
Pro Tools, and record in your audio online and
referenced to the time code on the Nagra.
Once all the audio has been recorded, and you
are locked to a video work print (at video speed),
enable Pull Down. If you are using a Digidesign
USD, SSD, or VSD, select Pull Down in the Ses-
sion Setup window. (You also have to select Pull
Down manually on the front of the VSD.) If
your synchronizer is not a Digidesign product,
select Pull Down on the front of your synchro-
nizer, then enable Pull Down in the Pro Tools
Session Setup window. At this point, it is highly
recommended that you verify whether the
video you’re working with is striped with 29.97
Drop Frame or Non-Drop Frame time code.
While in Pull Down mode, you can work with
your reference video and everything will remain
in sync and run at the proper speed (assuming
your system is completely resolved).
Pro Tools Reference Guide
464
Once you are ready to lay back your completed
project to an audio device running at film speed,
deselect Pull Down in the Session Setup win-
dow, and from your synchronizer if it is not a
USD or SSD. Then change your time code frame
rate in the Pro Tools session back to 30 fps.
Once Pull Down has been deselected, the audio
played back from Pro Tools will synchronize
perfectly with the edited film.
Alternatively, you can pull down the source au-
dio deck while recording audio into Pro Tools,
work at 29.97 fps with no Pull-Down selected in
Pro Tools, and then switch to 30 Non-Drop
frame format, and select Pull Up during the de-
livery stage. You will have to perform a sample
rate conversion on the audio either digitally or
by using an analog stage (D-A-D).
Final Audio Destination: Video
If you are working with video that was trans-
ferred from film, your audio source is at film
speed, and the final layback destination is NTSC
video (or television), and you would like to pro-
vide a digital transfer to your clients, you will
need to alter the above recipe slightly. Keep in
mind that when you are working in Pull Down
mode, your active sample rate is 44.056 kHz (if
the audio was recorded at 44.1 kHz) or 47.952
kHz (if the audio was recorded at 48 kHz).
Pull Down the Audio Source
Some professional DAT machines will let you
pull down the sample rate to 44.056 kHz (and
47.952 kHz). You can record this audio into
Pro Tools using a D-A-D (digital-to-analog-to-
digital) process. Then your audio will be at the
correct speed for the remainder of the project,
since the final destination is video, and no Pull
Down or Pull Up is necessary.
Pull Up Pro Tools While Recording
If you cannot pull down your source, you can
accomplish the same thing by Pulling Up
Pro Tools, and setting your SMPTE frame format
to 30 fps, before recording in the production
sound. First select 30 fps as the frame format in
the Session Setup window. Then select Pull Up
in the Session Setup window (and on your syn-
chronizer if it isn’t a USD or SSD) before you
record in the production audio. In this case,
while the production audio is running at 44.1 or
48 kHz, Pro Tools is running (and recording) at
a rate of 44.144 or 48.048 kHz. After all the pro-
duction audio has been recorded into Pro Tools,
deselect Pull Up in the Session Setup window
and on your hardware synchronizer if it is not a
USD or SSD. After you deselect Pull Up, the re-
corded audio will play back 0.1% slower, syn-
chronized with the video, while achieving a true
playback sample rate of 44.1 or 48 kHz. Note
that this process is designed for a final destina-
tion of video; to bring this audio back up to film
speed you would have to pull up Pro Tools and
record to a destination that is not Pulled Up.
Note on Sample Rate Conversion
In many cases, you have to perform a sample
rate conversion at some point, either digitally,
or by recording in audio using an analog stage
(D-A-D). The only situation where sample rate
conversion never has to be performed is when
you are working with film speed audio and your
final destination format is film. Then you can
simply pull down Pro Tools while you work with
the video, then deselect Pull Down to set the au-
dio back to film speed.
Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts
465
Using Digital Input
Do not set Pro Tools channels 1 and 2 to Digital
Input while working with Pull Up or Pull Down.
This will override the USD’s clock reference set-
ting.
Pro Tools Reference Guide
466
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization
467
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization
Synchronization (sync) allows connected sys-
tems or devices to start and stop their transports
together, and, in some cases, to adjust transport
speeds to maintain accurate synchronization of
audio and video material during playback.
Pro Tools is synchronized to other devices using
SMPTE time code or MIDI Time Code. For a dis-
cussion of different SMPTE formats, and other
concepts related to time code, refer to
Chapter 34, “Synchronization Concepts.”
Pro Tools Sync Options
You have four choices for synchronizing
Pro Tools to an external source:
SMPTE Trigger Only
This solution is useful for short projects, but
may result in timing errors if you are working
with lengthy program material and an unstable
sync source. This is the only option available on
Pro Tools LE systems.
SMPTE Trigger with an Externally
Resolved Peripheral
(TDM Systems Only)
This solution uses a Universal Slave Driver
(USD), Video Slave Driver (VSD), or equivalent
third-party device, resolved with a black burst or
“house sync” generator, or using external word
clock, to control playback and recording speed
in Pro Tools. Accurate long-term sync can be
achieved when all transports within the system
are resolved to a common sync source.
SMPTE Trigger with an External
Peripheral Slaved to LTC
SMPTE Trigger can be used with the optional
USD, SMPTE Slave Driver (SSD), or equivalent
third-party device to resolve Pro Tools record-
ing/playback speed while slaving to LTC. This
enables longterm, accurate synchronization by
resolving to any variations in incoming time
code.
Pro Tools Reference Guide
468
SMPTE Resolved with USD
(TDM Systems Only)
You can use the optional USD, or an equivalent
third-party device, to resolve Pro Tools record-
ing/playback speed with any of the following
clock reference sources while slaving Pro Tools
to LTC:
• Video source
• Video black burst or house sync
• VITC
• 1x Word Clock
• AES/EBU “null” clock
• 256x slave clock
• Pilot Tone
• Bi-Phase
This enables long-term, high-fidelity synchroni-
zation when all transports within the system are
resolved to this common sync source, or by re-
solving to any variations in incoming time code
while slaving to LTC.
Other USD and SSD Sync Options
By adding a USD or SSD to your Pro Tools TDM
system, you can use Pro Tools as the master de-
vice in your synchronization setup. All other de-
vices are then slaved to Pro Tools.
You can use Pro Tools in conjunction with ei-
ther the USD or SSD to generate SMPTE LTC,
MIDI Time Code, Slave Clock, or MMC mes-
sages. When either the SSD or USD is reading in-
coming SMPTE time code from the SMPTE In
connector, it regenerates the time code through
the SMPTE Out connector. This signal can be
passed along to other slave devices.
The Session Setup Window
The Session Setup window allows you to config-
ure various time code-related parameters on
your system. The following settings can be ad-
justed in this window:
Sample Rate
This allows you to set the sample rate for the
current session. Choices are 48,000 Hz (48 kHz)
or 44,100 Hz (44.1 kHz). 44,100 Hz is the sam-
ple rate used on audio compact discs.
Bit Depth
This display-only area indicates the bit depth for
the current session.
Mixer
This area indicates the type of the Pro Tools
mixer in use. On TDM systems, the mixer field
will display the current mixer in use: either 16-
bit Optimized or 24-bit Optimized. “CPU
Mixer” is displayed in this field on a
Pro Tools LE system.
For instructions on connecting an external
sync peripheral to your Pro Tools system,
refer to the TDM Installation Guide.
Session Setup window
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization
469
Sync Mode
This allows you to choose the clock mode for
your master Audio Interface, Audiomedia III
card, or Digi 001. Choices are Internal or Digital
on an Audio Interface or Audiomedia III card,
and Internal, Optical, or S/PDIF (RCA) on the
Digi 001.
Internal Sync Mode
In internal sync mode, your
system will reference your Digidesign card or pe-
ripheral’s quartz crystal oscillator and play back
at the sample rate selected in the Sample Rate
field.
Digital Sync Mode (including Optical and S/PDIF
on Digi 001)
In digital sync mode, your system’s
sample rate is adjusted to match the sample rate
received from the selected digital peripheral. In
digital sync mode, your Pro Tools sync rate must
match the rate received by your digital periph-
eral. Incorrectly set peripheral devices will result
in incorrect playback speeds when your system
is set back to internal sync mode.
With TDM systems, the Session Setup window
provides a source link feature that toggles the
sync mode of your audio interface when you
switch your input source from analog to digital.
This helps to ensure that the clock source for
your system will match the digital input source
when you are working.
You can override this toggled behavior by
changing the pop-ups to the opposite choice.
For example, if you are using a master AES/EBU
null clock or video black burst signal source as
the master sync source for all digital audio de-
vices in your studio setup, your Sync Mode pop-
up should be set to digital at all times. In this
case, Pro Tools uses this master sync source as a
reference.
Ch 1-2 Input (TDM Systems Only)
This allows you to choose an audio input format
(analog or digital) for channels 1 and 2 of your
master Audio Interface.
Audio Format
This display-only area indicates the file format
for files recorded in the session.
Session Start
This allows you to specify a SMPTE start frame
location for your session. The SMPTE value that
you enter here will be used to trigger playback
and record when Pro Tools is online. See “Set-
ting a SMPTE Start Frame” on page 472.
Current Time
This displays incoming time code.
Frame Rate
This allows you to set the SMPTE frame rate for
the current session.
Generate Time Code
This allows Pro Tools to output time code using
a USD (communicating directly via a serial
port), or using a SSD (communicating via a serial
port or using MIDI sysex via a designated OMS
destination port). Generating time code is cov-
ered in the section “Generating Time Code” on
page 474.
Using Peripheral
This option outputs time code
from the Device type selected in the Synchroni-
zation page of the Peripherals dialog.
MTC to Port
This option outputs MIDI Time
Code to the MIDI destination selected in the
pop-up menu.
Pro Tools Reference Guide
470
Time Code Freewheel
This allows Pro Tools to continue playback if
time code is interrupted or corrupted. Use this
to protect against errors that can occur if your
SMPTE time code source has “drop outs” or tem-
porary lost signals.
Frames
This option allows you to freewheel
from 1 to 120 frames. This value defaults to 8
frames, which is the recommended setting for
most applications.
Jam Sync
This option allows Pro Tools to trigger
sync to incoming time code, and continue to
play back even if time code input is completely
interrupted. It can be useful if time code is dam-
aged, or has been accidentally erased from your
source tape.
Sample Rate Pull Up/Down
When Pro Tools is used in conjunction with a
SSD, VSD, USD, or third-party synchronizer that
supports 256x clock output and Pull Down sam-
ple rates, this option allows you to “pull up” or
“pull down” the current sample rate. This is
used with film-originated material when work-
ing with NTSC-standard SMPTE frame rates
only. For a full explanation of film-originated
scenarios, see “Working with Film-Originated
Material” on page 461.
Pull Up
This speeds up the current sample rate to
100.1%. A 48 kHz sample rate is sped up to
48.048 kHz. A 44.1 kHz sample rate is sped up to
44.144 kHz.
Pull Down
This slows the current sample rate to
99.9%. A 48 kHz sample rate is slowed to
47.952 kHz. A 44.1 kHz sample rate is slowed to
44.056 kHz.
Sync Offset
This field allows you to set a “trigger offset” for
incoming MIDI Time Code (anywhere from
–100000 to +100000 samples). This allows you
to create a permanent offset to fine-tune the
point at which Pro Tools syncs relative to in-
coming time code. For example, a value of -50
makes an event in Pro Tools occur 50 samples
before the same event in the incoming MIDI
Time Code. Use this to compensate for timing
differences between various SMPTE-to-MIDI
Time Code converters or analog-to-digital/digi-
tal-to-analog converters.
Sync Offset Voice Usage
For TDM systems, recording with a Sync Offset
requires two voices for each record-enabled
track. In addition, to simultaneously record on
32 tracks with a Sync Offset on a Pro Tools 24
MIX system (which allocates voices to either of
two DSP engines, 1–32 and 33–64), the tracks
must be evenly distributed between the two
DSPs, (for instance, tracks 1–16 assigned to
voices 1–16 and tracks 17–32 assigned to voices
33–48).
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization
471
Variable Speed Override
Variable Speed Override (VSO) requires a USD
(or SSD). When a USD is connected to Pro Tools,
the Session Setup window expands to display
additional controls for VSO, clock, and Posi-
tional Reference (see Figure 32).
Refer to the
USD Guide
for instructions on using
VSO to varispeed Pro Tools playback.
Preparing to Work with SMPTE
The first step when preparing to work with
SMPTE is to choose an appropriate SMPTE frame
rate.
SMPTE Formats
Pro Tools supports all standard SMPTE frame
rates. For a full explanation of these SMPTE
frame rates, see “SMPTE Frame Formats” on
page 460.
Determining SMPTE Frame Rate
Of course, it’s always best to determine the
SMPTE frame rate through labeling procedures
or communication, but this is not always possi-
ble.
If you do not know the frame rate of a tape, the
SSD and USD show incoming frame rate on
their front panel LED indicators. These devices
cannot distinguish between 29.97 fps and
30 fps, but they can determine whether the in-
coming frame rate is drop frame or non-drop
frame. With NTSC video, the frame rate is most
likely 29.97 fps Drop or 29.97 fps Non-Drop.
Configuring Pro Tools for
SMPTE
Synchronization and MachineControl™ system
parameters are set in the Pro Tools Peripherals
dialog box. These parameters, such as sync pe-
ripheral setups, MIDI Machine Control, Machi-
neControl, and machine pre-roll, are
system
set-
tings, and remain constant regardless of the
particular session you are working on.
Other parameters, which are configured in the
Session Setup window, such as the session frame
rate, the session start frame, and time display
format, are
session-specific
parameters. These pa-
rameters can only be configured when a session
is open.
Selecting a SMPTE Format
To choose a SMPTE format:
1
Choose Windows > Show Session Setup.
2
In the pop-up Frame Rate menu, select the
SMPTE frame format appropriate to your ses-
sion.
3
Enter the Time Code Freewheel frames (if any)
in the designated box. See “Time Code Free-
wheel” on page 470 for more information.
Figure 32. Session Setup window with USD
MachineControl is supported on TDM sys-
tems only.
Pro Tools Reference Guide
472
Setting a SMPTE Start Frame
The Session Setup window also allows you to set
a SMPTE Start Frame for your session. Video
work tapes are rarely striped beginning at a
SMPTE frame address of 00:00:00:00. You can
quickly enter a start time for your session based
on an appropriate frame number from your
project tape. The Pro Tools SMPTE-related func-
tions (such as Spot mode) will then use this
value as their reference for the session’s start
point.
Start Time When Striping Tape
If you are generating time code, it is a good prac-
tice to stripe your time code beginning at
01:00:00:00. This prevents problems that can
occur with some synchronizers when the striped
time code crosses from 23:59:59:29 to
00:00:00:00 (commonly referred to as the “mid-
night” boundary).
To set a SMPTE Start Frame for your session:
1
Choose Windows > Show Session Setup.
2
Enable playback of your SMPTE time code
source. Any SMPTE-to-MTC converter device
you are using should indicate that it is properly
receiving time code via its indicators. If
Pro Tools is receiving MTC (or proprietary sync
code via the USD), the Current Time counter
will update its display (in bold numbers) to
match the incoming code.
This display is useful for troubleshooting time
code problems, and it should update regardless
of the current Pro Tools Session Start time.
3
Enter a SMPTE frame number in the Session
Start field.
– or –
4
To capture an incoming SMPTE address, press
the equal key. You can then edit the captured
address. The session uses the frame number you
enter as its SMPTE start frame when online.
If there are existing regions on the tracks and
you are changing the original SMPTE start frame
to a later time (from 00:00:00:00 to 01:00:00:00,
for example), all existing regions on tracks will
remain in their relative positions, but will start
later by the time value added to the start frame.
5
If there are existing regions on the tracks and
you are changing the original SMPTE start frame
to an earlier time, do one of the following:
■
Click Maintain Time Code to place the addi-
tional session time at the start of the session,
and keep existing regions in their original time
code locations.
– or –
■
Click Maintain Relative Position to place the
additional session time at the start of the ses-
sion, and maintain the relative position of exist-
ing regions to the new start frame. For example,
if you change the session start frame from
01:00:00:00 to 00:59:00:00, Pro Tools adds one
minute of session time to accommodate the new
start frame, and moves all existing regions ear-
lier in time to maintain their relative position to
the start frame.
Current Time displayed in Session Setup window
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization
473
Displaying Time in SMPTE Frames
(TDM Systems Only)
You can set the Main Time Scale indicator to
Time Code. Though Pro Tools will still synchro-
nize to incoming SMPTE time code if the Time
Scale is displayed in Bars:Beats, Minutes:Sec-
onds, or Feet.Frames, it is usually more useful to
use SMPTE time code as your reference.
To set the Main Time Scale to SMPTE Time Code:
■
Choose Display > Time Code.
– or –
■
Click the Main Time Scale selector in the Edit
window, and select Time Code.
Pro Tools will display time code values in the
currently selected SMPTE frame rate.
Sub Time Scale Display
You can also display a Sub Time Scale. For exam-
ple, if the Main Time Scale is set to Time Code,
and you want to compare SMPTE time to “wall
clock,” when you are using 29.97 Non-Drop
frame rate, you can select Min:Secs as the Sub
Time Scale.
Configuring Pull Up/Pull Down
using a USD or SSD
If you have a Digidesign USD or SSD and are
working with material that has been pulled
down or up, do the following:
To work with a pull down/up sample rate:
1
Choose Setups > Peripherals and click Syn-
chronization.
2
Choose the Universal Slave Driver or SMPTE
Slave Driver from the Device pop-up menu and
select the appropriate port from the Port pop-up
menu.
3
Choose Windows > Show Session Setup. No-
tice the additional field for the SSD or USD at
the bottom of this window.
4
Choose the frame rate for your session from
the pop-up menu. This frame rate might be
30 fps (Drop or Non-Drop) or 29.97 fps (Drop or
Non-Drop) depending on the requirements of
your material. See “When to Pull Up or Pull
Down” on page 463 for more information.
5
In the Sample Rate Pull Up/Down field, enable
the Pull Up or Pull Down option as appropriate.
Selecting a Time Scale format
Session Setup window showing the SSD enabled
Session Setup window showing the USD enabled
Pro Tools Reference Guide
474
This procedure will also work with a VSD or a
third-party synchronizer that supports 256x Su-
per Clock and Pull Up/Pull Down, with the fol-
lowing exceptions:
• You have to enable Pull Up or Pull Down in
the Session Setup window
and
on the front of
your synchronizer, and
• The VSD does not support Pull Up sample
rates.
Putting Pro Tools Online
To trigger playback or recording from an exter-
nal source, you put Pro Tools online, or set it to
look for incoming time code.
To put Pro Tools online:
■Choose Operations > Online.
– or –
■Click the Online button at the far left of the
Transport.
The Online button blinks and Pro Tools waits
for a SMPTE frame to trigger playback. When
time code is received, playback begins and the
Online button becomes highlighted. The Loca-
tion Indicators in the upper right of the Edit
window, and the Current Time field in the Ses-
sion Setup window, display the incoming time-
code.
You can take Pro Tools offline by deselecting
Operations > Online, or by deselecting the On-
line button in the Transport window.
Recording Online
The Operation page of the Preferences dialog
(Setups > Preferences) contains two options that
affect how Pro Tools initiates recording when
online.
Record Online At Insertion/Selection Online re-
cording begins wherever you have placed the in-
sertion point in a track. Recording then contin-
ues until Pro Tools stops receiving time code. If
you make a selection in a track, Pro Tools will
record online only for the length of the selec-
tion.
Record Online at Time Code (or ADAT) Lock On-
line recording begins as soon as Pro Tools re-
ceives and locks to time code or ADAT sync. In
this case, you don’t need to make an insertion or
selection in a track to designate a start point.
Generating Time Code
This section describes how you generate time
code from Pro Tools using the SSD or the USD.
To generate time code using the SSD:
1 Connect the SMPTE OUT connector of the
SSD to the SMPTE IN connector of the device
you are slaving. If you are slaving a device that
recognizes MTC and you want to use MTC in-
stead of SMPTE, connect the MTC OUT connec-
tor of the SSD to the MIDI IN connector of the
device you are slaving.
Online recording options
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization 475
2 On the Macintosh, make sure your SSD is
powered on and connected to the Modem or
Printer port. Also, make sure that the Mac
Port/MIDI Port switch on the back of the SSD is
set to Mac Port. In Windows, connect the MTC
OUT connector on the SSD to a MIDI IN connec-
tor on your MIDI interface, then connect to
MIDI in connector on the SSD to a MIDI OUT
connector on your MIDI interface. If you are us-
ing Windows, skip to step 14.
3 On a Macintosh, choose Setups > OMS Studio
Setup.
4 Choose Studio > MIDI Cards and Interfaces,
and click Update Setup. Select the port that the
SSD is connected to, then click Search.
5 Confirm that “Std. Interface” appears in the
OMS Studio Setup window. Save the document
and make it your current setup.
6 Double-click the “Std. Interface” icon. Set it to
1 MHz, and deselect the Synchronizer option.
7 Choose Studio > New Device, and name the
device “SSD.”
8 Deselect “Is controller” and “Is multitimbral,”
and enable both “Sends” and “Receives” MIDI
Time Code, then click OK.
9 In the OMS Setup window, connect the SSD
icon to the “Std. Interface” icon.
10 Choose Edit > Preferences. Be sure both the
“Use Serial DMA driver when available” and
“Report serial overrun and framing errors” op-
tions are deselected, and click OK. If you have to
change this setting, you must restart your com-
puter.
11 In Pro Tools, choose Setups > Peripherals,
and select the Macintosh port or MIDI interface
port that the SSD is connected to.
12 Choose Windows > Show Session Setup and
choose the appropriate frame and sample rates.
13 In the Generate Time Code field, select the
“Using SSD” option.
14 Select the desired Clock Reference mode
from the Clock Reference pop-up menu in the
Session Setup window.
15 Put Pro Tools online (see “Putting Pro Tools
Online” on page 118) and click Play.
When playback begins, Pro Tools generates time
code via the SSD. If Pro Tools detects incoming
time code on its sync peripheral, it locks to the
incoming code (as in normal online operation).
Generating SMPTE or MIDI Time
Code Using a USD
Using a USD, Pro Tools can generate SMPTE or
MTC. You can then make Pro Tools a master
synchronization source with other devices
slaved to it.
USD cannot generate 24 fps time code while
locked to video
The USD cannot generate 24 fps time code
while it is locked to a video clock signal. If you
set Pro Tools to generate 24 fps time code while
the USD is locked to a video clock signal, the
USD will actually generate at the NTSC color
standard 29.97 Non-Drop Frame rate. Pro Tools
can generate time code at non-NTSC frame rates
if you use the USD’s internal clock as a sync
source.
Selecting the Clock Reference for the SSD
Pro Tools Reference Guide476
To generate time code using a USD:
1 Connect the SMPTE out of the USD to the
SMPTE in connector on the devices you are slav-
ing. Refer to the USD Guide to determine how to
make these connections for your system. If you
are slaving a device that recognizes MTC and
you want to use MTC instead of SMPTE, connect
the MTC OUT connector of the USD to the MIDI
IN connector of the slaved device.
2 Make sure your USD is powered on.
3 In Pro Tools, choose Setups > Peripherals and
click Synchronization.
4 Select USD from the Device pop-up.
5 Select the Macintosh port or Windows serial
port where the USD is connected.
6 Choose Windows > Show Session Setup, and
choose the appropriate frame and sample rates.
7 In the Generate Time Code field, select the
“Using USD” option.
8 Click on the Clock Reference pop-up menu to
show USD modes. Select the desired clock refer-
ence.
– or –
On the front panel of the USD, set the desired
clock reference mode.
9 If desired, close the Session Setup window.
Confirm that your chosen parameters have been
received by the USD. If not, check your connec-
tions and the settings in the Session Setup win-
dow.
10 Click the Online button on the Transport,
then click Play. Pro Tools generates and outputs
time code from the USD.
Syncing a Sequencer to
Pro Tools on the Macintosh
A common application for generating time code
with Pro Tools is slaving an OMS-compatible se-
quencer to a Pro Tools session.
Setting the Clock Master
The exact synchronization setup your sequencer
requires will vary depending on the software
and your OMS setup, but Pro Tools must be the
clock master. Since Pro Tools provides the audio
sample clock for your system, synchronization
errors will occur over time if Pro Tools is not des-
ignated as the master.
The following instructions describe the general
procedure.
Selecting the Clock Reference for the USD
You can use Pro Tools MMC to synchronize
with an OMS/MMC-compatible sequencer
or an external MMC-compatible device
such as an ADAT or DA-88. See “Control-
ling External Devices using MMC” on
page 479.
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization 477
To slave an OMS-compatible MIDI sequencer to
Pro Tools:
■Make sure the OMS IAC Driver is installed in
the OMS Folder inside your System Folder. If
necessary, run the Pro Tools Installer to install
OMS with the OMS IAC driver. Refer to the TDM
Installation Guide for details.
In OMS Setup:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences, and make sure the
“Use Apple Serial DMA driver when available”
option is not selected. Click OK.
2 Choose Edit > OMS MIDI Setup, and select the
“Run MIDI in background” option.
3 Choose Studio > MIDI Cards & Interfaces,
then click Update Setup. If you are using a serial
MIDI interface, enable the appropriate port and
click Search.
4 Confirm that the OMS IAC driver appears in
the OMS Studio Setup window. If it does, save
the document and make it your current setup.
5 In the OMS Studio Setup window, define an
IAC Bus by double-clicking the IAC Driver icon,
and typing IAC1, for example, in the first field
(this provides a unique name for this particular
IAC bus).
In the Sequencer application:
6 Enable IAC1 (the IAC bus you defined in OMS
setup). Different sequencers operate in different
ways, so refer to your sequencer’s documenta-
tion
7 Set the sequencer to receive MIDI Time Code
(MTC).
8 Set IAC1 as the device to receive sync informa-
tion from.
9 Select the SMPTE Format (frame rate) that
matches Pro Tools (30 fps or 29.97
non drop fps, for example).
10 Set the SMPTE start frame for your session.
11 Set your sequencer to wait for note input
from the sync device.
12 Start playback in the sequencer. It should in-
dicate that it is waiting for sync.
Always make sure the Apple Serial DMA
driver is not being used by OMS. It can pre-
vent proper communication with MIDI de-
vices. You must restart your computer any
time you enable or disable the Apple Serial
DMA driver.
IAC Driver icon in the OMS Studio Setup
Different sequencers require different setup
steps and different configurations. For in-
formation on the procedure suggested here,
refer to your sequencer documentation. Note
that this procedure may differ for your se-
quencer.
Pro Tools Reference Guide478
In Pro Tools:
13 Select Operations > Active in Background.
14 Choose Windows > Show Session Setup.
15 In the Session Setup window, choose an ap-
propriate frame rate.
16 Select the SMPTE Start Frame to match the
start frame in your sequencer. If the sequence
starts at 00:01:00:00, you could set the Pro Tools
Session to start earlier (for example, at
00:59:58:00) to allow some pre-roll.
17 Enable the MTC to Port option in the Output
Time Code box. Select IAC1 as the MTC destina-
tion.
18 Click Play or press the Spacebar to start play-
back. Pro Tools will send MIDI Time Code to the
sequencer via the IAC port and trigger synchro-
nized playback. Click Stop in the Transport or
press the Space bar again to stop playback.
Once synchronized playback is operating cor-
rectly, you can record new takes in Pro Tools
while listening to MIDI playback from your se-
quencer. Follow the procedure described above
for synchronized playback, then record new ma-
terial in Pro Tools by following the recording
procedures in the Recording section of this
manual.
Syncing a Sequencer to
Pro Tools in Windows
To synchronize Pro Tools to a Windows sequencer:
1 Make sure your MIDI interface is correctly in-
stalled and configured. You must do this before
proceeding.
2 Choose one pair of input/output ports on
your MIDI interface to use as your sync “loop”
for application-to-application MIDI communi-
cation.
3 Connect a MIDI cable from that port’s output
to the same port’s input (for example, port 1 out
to port 1 in).
4 In Pro Tools, select the appropriate in/out
ports when making your selections for MIDI
source and/or destination ports.
• If you are slaving your sequencer to Pro Tools,
select the appropriate port in the Session
Setup window’s MTC to Port pop-up menu.
• If you are slaving Pro Tools to your sequencer,
select the appropriate port in the Pro Tools Pe-
ripherals > Synchronization window.
5 In your sequencer, select the appropriate
in/out ports for MTC source/destination.
You should also be able to record new MIDI
tracks while the sequencer is slaved to
Pro Tools. See your sequencer documenta-
tion for details on recording while the se-
quencer is in an external synchronization
mode.
These instructions require the use of a phys-
ical MIDI port. While several “virtual”
MIDI cable applications do exist for inter-
application MIDI communication in Win-
dows, such software devices have not been
qualified to work with Pro Tools.
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization 479
Using MIDI Machine Control
Pro Tools provides the capability to transmit lo-
cation information to external devices, and to
control their transports, using MIDI Machine
Control (MMC).
Controlling External Devices using
MMC
Any device that supports MMC (such as an Ale-
sis ADAT or Tascam DA-88) can be controlled di-
rectly from within Pro Tools, with either the de-
vice or Pro Tools acting as clock master.
The external devices supported by Pro Tools im-
plement “open loop” communications only. Be-
cause of this, while Pro Tools is the transport
master, any direct operation of the receiving de-
vice’s transport will not be communicated back
to Pro Tools. Instead, you can use the Transport
pop-up to select the external device (MMC in
the pop-up) and use the Pro Tools on-screen
transport controls to drive the device.
Pro Tools does not support remote track arming
of MMC-controlled external devices. You need
to manually arm tracks for recording on the ex-
ternal device.
Macintosh
Pro Tools on the Macintosh uses OMS to facili-
tate MIDI Machine Control. In order to use
MMC with Pro Tools you must configure your
MMC device to “Receive” and “Send” MIDI Ma-
chine Control in OMS. For details, see “Using
MMC to Sync an ADAT to Pro Tools on the Mac-
intosh” on page 481.
Windows
Pro Tools in Windows uses your Multimedia
Setup to determine which MIDI devices are
available, and what their properties are. Refer to
your device’s installation and usage documenta-
tion to properly configure the device.
Enabling MIDI Machine Control in
Pro Tools
To enable MIDI Machine Control:
1 Choose Setups > Peripherals, then click Syn-
chronization.
2 Select your synchronization peripheral from
the Synchronization/Device pop-up. If you are
using a MIDI interface, select “Generic MTC
Reader.”
If using a USD or SSD, set the Port to Any.
3 Select the appropriate port for synchroniza-
tion information. This is the port to which your
synchronization peripheral is attached.
Digidesign’s MachineControl option sup-
ports remote track arming for Sony 9-pin
and V-LAN enabled devices. See “Remote
Track Arming” on page 481.
By using the OMS IAC bus, you can also
make a MIDI sequencer act as location
master. Refer to your OMS and MMC-com-
patible device documentation for details.
Pro Tools Reference Guide480
4 Click the Machine Control button at the top
of the window to open this page of the Periph-
erals dialog.
5 In the MIDI Machine Control section, enable
MMC.
6 Select your external device from the Send To
pop-up. The list of available devices is deter-
mined by the OMS devices configured in your
OMS Studio Setup (Macintosh), or by your Win-
dows Multimedia setup.
The port on which this information will be
transmitted is set in the “ID” field. MMC com-
mands contain an ID number to identify which
machine should respond to the MMC com-
mand. There are 128 MMC ID numbers, from 0-
127. The default of ID #127 is a special setting
that broadcasts to all 128 MMC IDs. With this
setting, any device on the specified port will re-
spond to MMC commands.
7 Set a preroll time for your MMC device. Preroll
is needed to provide Pro Tools with sufficient
time to lock to the incoming time code. This
value will vary depending on the external de-
vice. If the preroll time is insufficient, Pro Tools
may not be ready to lock until after the current
time code position has passed.
8 Click OK to close the Peripherals dialog.
Pro Tools will now be able to control the se-
lected device’s transport.
Operating the Pro Tools Transport with
MMC
To control external devices from the Pro Tools
Transport:
■Select either Pro Tools or MMC from the
Transport pop-up in the Pro Tools Transport
window. The selected item will act as Transport
Master.
When the Transport Master is set to Pro Tools,
the playback position is governed by the on-
screen cursor in Pro Tools.
When the Transport Master is set to MMC, the
playback position is governed by the external
device’s play position
Machine Transport Settings
When using MMC, you can set the following
options for machine transport behavior in the
Operation page of the Preferences dialog.
Machine Chases Memory Location With this op-
tion enabled, navigating to a specific location in
a session with a Memory Location causes a con-
nected transport to chase to that location.
Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub With this
option enabled, 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 location.
Machine Control page of the Peripherals dialog
Choosing a Transport Master
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization 481
Remote Track Arming
Digidesign’s MachineControl™ option for
Pro Tools allows you to remotely arm tracks on
supported 9-pin or V-LAN decks. Without Ma-
chineControl, Pro Tools does not support re-
mote track arming of external devices. Machine-
Control is a DAE Extension that allows Pro Tools
to act as the master or slave to external Sony 9-
pin or V-LAN machines, in addition to provid-
ing remote track arming from within Pro Tools.
Contact your Digidesign Dealer for information
about the MachineControl option.
Setting Minimum Sync Delay
Lock up delay is the amount of time your sys-
tem’s devices need to achieve synchronization
“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 window of the Peripherals dialog. The min-
imum delay is 15 frames. Find the shortest pos-
sible lock-up time that your equipment can
operates at consistently, and set this as the Min-
imum Sync Delay. On some machines, enabling
the Use Serial time code setting will make ma-
chines lock up much faster.
Configuring Minimum Sync Delay for External
MMC Devices Locked to House Sync
When controlling a house-synced device from
Pro Tools via MMC, the device will first lock to
the MMC location and then align the color
framing. Within house sync code are 4 frames
for ensuring color frame lock. If the minimum
synchronization set up time is less than the time
required to achieve both location and color
frame lock, playback will begin before the de-
vice has aligned the color frames. In this sce-
nario, you should set the Minimum Sync Delay
to be more than the time required for color
frame lock. This is not a problem with the USD,
which will drop out of lock until the color frame
is locked.
Using MMC to Sync an ADAT to
Pro Tools on the Macintosh
The following section presents an example of
how you can use MMC to slave an ADAT to
Pro Tools on a Macintosh using OMS.
Setup Description:
Hardware: Pro Tools system (Macintosh), Op-
code Studio 64X MIDI Interface, JL Cooper
DataSync II, Alesis ADAT.
Software: Pro Tools, OMS
Cable Connections: The Studio 64X’s Mac/Serial
port is connected to one of the CPU serial ports
(Modem or Printer). MIDI In and MIDI OUT
connections are made between the appropriate
ports of the 64X and the MIDI IN/MIDI OUT
ports of the JL Cooper DataMaster. Sync (9-pin)
In/Out connections are made between the JL
Cooper DataMaster and the ADAT.
In OMS Setup:
1 Make sure the OMS IAC Driver is installed and
configured. See “Syncing a Sequencer to
Pro Tools on the Macintosh” on page 476 for
more information.
2 Define a new device for the JL Cooper
DataSync II and the ADAT.
Pro Tools Reference Guide482
3 Configure the JL Cooper device by double-
clicking its icon in the OMS Studio Setup win-
dow. For the JL Cooper DataMaster, enable Is
Controller, then enable both Sends and Receives
MIDI Time Code. (Be sure to leave Is Multitim-
bral unchecked.) Select channel 1 as the Receive
Channel.
4 Configure the ADAT OMS device by double-
clicking its icon. Leave Is Controller and Is Mul-
titimbral unchecked (disabled). Enable both
“Sends” and “Receives” MIDI Time Code and
MIDI Machine Control. You do not need to have
any Receive channels enabled.
5 Save/Make Current and then close the new
OMS Studio Setup.
In Pro Tools
6 Choose Setups > Peripherals and click Syn-
chronization.
7 Select Generic MTC Reader as the Synchroni-
zation device (this represents the 64X), then se-
lect the port to which your MIDI Interface is
connected to (in this example, the port choice
would appear as “Studio64X / Printer.”)
8 Open the Machine Control window of the Pe-
ripherals dialog. In the MIDI Machine Control
section, enable MMC, then select JLCooper
DataMaster as the Send To destination.
9 Set the ID to 127 (this is the “broadcast to all”
setting, and the Pro Tools default setting for
MMC device ID).
10 Choose Windows > Show Session Setup.
11 In the Session Setup Window, set the frame
rate and start frame as appropriate.
12 Enable the MTC to Port option (click in the
box so that it is enabled), then select JLCooper
DataMaster in the pop-up next to MTC to Port.
This routes MIDI Time Code from Pro Tools to
the JLCooper. device, which then sends the data
on to the ADAT.
13 Close the Session Setup window.
14 Click Play or press the Spacebar. The ADAT
will cue to the play point and begin playing
back in sync with Pro Tools. You do not need to
put Pro Tools online to control the ADAT.
15 To control the ADAT from the Pro Tools
Transport, select MMC from the Transport pop-
up (in the Transport window). Pressing Play, Re-
wind, FFWD, RTZ or Go To End will cause the
ADAT to respond accordingly.
External Hardware Configuration
This example uses the JL Cooper DataSync II,
which must be configured correctly for the
above to work. Configure the ADAT as a slave
(not master), enable MTC as the sync source,
and enable MIDI Machine Control. The ADAT
must be set to Internal mode. Consult the docu-
mentation that came with these devices for
more details. If you are using a Digidesign ADAT
Bridge I/O, refer to the ADAT Bridge I/O User’s
Guide for additional information.
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization 483
Syncing Pro Tools to an OMS-
Compatible Sequencer using
MMC
(Macintosh Only)
You can “lock” a MIDI sequencer to Pro Tools
for synchronized operation, while using the se-
quencer as the transport and location master. In
this case, Pro Tools is still the system clock mas-
ter, while the sequencer is the transport/loca-
tion master.
MMC and OMS Synchronization
When using MIDI Machine Control, you must
have the OMS-compatible sequencer configured
to synchronize to Pro Tools using the OMS IAC
Driver (see “Syncing a Sequencer to Pro Tools on
the Macintosh” on page 476). When controlled
by a sequencer via MMC, Pro Tools serves as
clock master for the sequencer.
Pro Tools also serves as a transport and location
slave to the sequencer. When starting and stop-
ping playback in the sequencer, the sequencer
sends out location information to Pro Tools via
MMC commands. Pro Tools then cues to the lo-
cation, begins playback, and sends MIDI Time
Code back to the sequencer. The sequencer then
locks to the MIDI Time Code from Pro Tools for
synchronized playback.
The following instructions describe the general
steps that you should take. The exact synchroni-
zation setup your sequencer requires will vary
depending on the software and your specific
MIDI setup.
To slave the Pro Tools transport to an OMS-
compatible MIDI sequencer using MIDI Machine
Control:
1 Make sure the OMS IAC Driver is installed in
the OMS Folder inside your System Folder. If
necessary, run the OMS Installer and choose
Custom Install to install the OMS IAC driver.
2 In Pro Tools, choose Setups > OMS Studio
Setup to launch the OMS Setup application.
In OMS Setup:
3 Choose Edit > Preferences, make sure the “Use
Serial DMA driver when available” option is de-
selected, and click OK.
4 Choose Edit > OMS MIDI Setup, make sure the
“Run MIDI in background” option is selected,
and click OK.
5 Choose Studio > MIDI Cards & Interfaces,
then click Update Setup. If you are using a serial
MIDI interface, enable the appropriate port and
click Search.
6 Confirm that the OMS IAC driver appears in
the OMS Studio Setup window. Save the setup
document and make it your current setup.
7 In the OMS Studio Setup window, define two
IAC busses by double-clicking the IAC Driver,
then naming the first field “IAC1” and the sec-
ond field “MMC.”
In your sequencer:
8 Enable IAC1 as a MIDI device.
9 Set your sequencer to receive MTC from IAC1,
and enable remote control of the applciation.
10 Configure the frame rate to match your
Pro Tools session. Click OK to close the Sync Op-
tions dialog.
Pro Tools Reference Guide484
11 Set a sequence start time (01:00:00:00 for ex-
ample). The Offset at the top of the Sequence
window should usually match the Offset in
Pro Tools.
12 Set the sequencer to wait for MIDI note in-
formation (“wait for note”).
13 Start playback in the sequencer. The se-
quencer should indicate that it is waiting for
note information.
In Pro Tools:
14 Choose MIDI > Enable Input Devices. Select
the IAC bus transmitting the MMC messages
and click OK.
15 Choose Operations > Active in Background.
16 Choose Windows > Show Session Setup, and
choose the appropriate frame rate and SMPTE
Start Frame to match the start time in your se-
quencer.
17 In the Output Time Code section of the Ses-
sion Setup window, enable the MTC to Port op-
tion. In the pop-up menu just below the MTC to
Port option, choose IAC1. You can now close the
Session Setup window, or leave it open (settings
are active as soon as they are enabled in the Ses-
sion Setup window).
18 Next, choose Setups > Peripherals, and open
the Synchronization page of the Peripherals di-
alog.
19 First, select Generic MTC Reader as the syn-
chronization device, and select Any as the port.
20 Next, click to Enable Control of Pro Tools via
MMC, and set the ID to 0.
In the Sequencer:
21 Engage any of the following Transport func-
tions: Play, Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind, Record,
or Locate (Cue). The sequencer sends MIDI Ma-
chine Control commands to Pro Tools via the
IAC bus, and Pro Tools follows.
When starting and stopping playback in the se-
quencer, the sequencer sends location informa-
tion to Pro Tools via MIDI Machine Control
commands. Pro Tools cues to the location, be-
gins playback, and in turn sends MIDI Time
Code back to the sequencer. The sequencer then
locks to the MIDI Time Code from Pro Tools for
synchronized playback.
If MMC is currently enabled in the
Pro Tools Peripherals > Machine Control
dialog, you must assign a unique ID num-
ber in both of the corresponding MMC ID#
fields. If not, an MMC feedback loop will
occur. This can also happen if you use the
default “broadcast to all” ID number of
127 in both places. If you are only slaving
Pro Tools to a sequencer via MMC, without
an external device requiring MMC from
Pro Tools, you should disable MMC entirely
in the Machine Control window.
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization 485
MIDI Beat Clock
Some MIDI devices such as drum machines,
hardware sequencers, and arpeggiators can only
sync to MIDI Beat Clock. To sync these devices
to Pro Tools, you can transmit MIDI Beat Clock
to them.
To transmit MIDI Beat Clock:
1 Choose MIDI > MIDI Beat Clock.
2 In the MIDI Beat Clock dialog, select the En-
able MIDI Beat Clock option.
3 Select the devices you want to receive MIDI
Beat Clock. If your MIDI interface does not sup-
port transmitting MIDI Beat Clock to separate
ports, only the interface appears as a destina-
tion.
4 Click OK.
Spotting Regions to SMPTE
Frame Locations
(TDM Systems Only)
Spotting is the process of assigning music and
sound cues to specific SMPTE frame locations in
a film or video. This function can be used to
spot:
◆Entire regions, selected with the Grabber.
Multiple regions can also be selected, and
Pro Tools will reference the first region in your
selection.
◆A specific location within a region, by clicking
with the Selector at that location, and choosing
Edit > Identify Sync Point.
Spot Mode
In Spot mode, a region in a track can be quickly
spotted by simply clicking it with the Grabber.
You can also drag a region from the Regions List
to a track while in Spot mode.
The Spot Dialog
The Spot Regions Dialog appears when you drag
a region to a track or click a region with the
Grabber in Spot mode. The numeric fields func-
tion as both data displays and editing controls
for the currently selected regions.
Beat Clock dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide486
Information in these fields is displayed in
SMPTE Time Code, Minutes:Seconds,
Feet.Frames, Samples, or Bars & Beats, depend-
ing on which Time Scale format is selected.
A highlighted numeric field indicates the cur-
rent active field for numeric entry editing. En-
tering a value in a field allows you to move a se-
lected parameter to the time location that you
enter. The Start, Sync Point and End fields are
accessible when the Grabber is active. Only the
Start or End (depending on where you click the
mouse) and Duration fields are active when the
Trimmer is active (see “Using the Trimmer in
Spot Mode” on page 488).
Subframes
A subframe is 1/100th of a frame. The Use Sub-
frames option enables you to use these smaller
units for greater accuracy. This command adds
an additional time field in the SMPTE
hours:minutes:seconds:frames box, which ap-
pears as the far right time field when enabled.
Use a period to separate subframe values from
whole frames.
Capturing Time Code
Pro Tools also allows you to easily capture frame
locations on the fly in this dialog by pressing the
equal key, or by clicking the Current Time but-
ton while valid time code is being received by
Pro Tools. With VITC, you can accurately cap-
ture a paused or “crawling” VTR’s SMPTE loca-
tion.
When Time Code is selected for the Time Scale,
pressing the equal key captures the incoming
time code. When Bars:Beats is selected for the
Time Scale, pressing equal will capture to the
nearest measure.
Although the Capture Time Code button works
with free-running Linear Time Code (LTC) or
VITC, frame numbers of a paused frame can
only be captured with VITC.
Spot dialog
To increase or decrease SMPTE values in
the Spot dialog by a specific number of
frames, press plus or minus on the numeric
keypad, enter a number, and press the Enter
key.
Additional time field appears with “Use Subframes”
enabled
Subframe measurements are not available
in the Current Time field.
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization 487
The USD is the only current Digidesign hard-
ware that can read VITC. Also, you can use the
optional MachineControl software to read the
current time code address over 9-pin or V-LAN.
To spot a region to a specific SMPTE frame:
1 Choose Display > Show Edit Window.
2 Choose Display > Time Code.
3 Click the Spot button at the top left of the Edit
window to put Pro Tools into Spot mode.
4 Identify the SMPTE frame location where you
want to trigger playback of your region by paus-
ing your video deck on that frame.
5 With the Grabber, click a region in a track (or
drag a region from the Region’s List into a track).
The Spot dialog appears.
6 Enter the desired SMPTE frame location.
7 If you are using VITC, you can press the equal
key on the numeric keypad, or click Current
Time Code to enter a paused VTR’s current
SMPTE location.
8 If you are using LTC, when Time Code is se-
lected for the Time Scale, press the equal key on
the numeric keypad to capture the incoming
time code. When Bars:Beats is selected for the
Time Scale, press the equal to capture the near-
est measure.
9 If you recorded the region while online, you
can use the Original Time Stamp button to recall
and enter the SMPTE frame location at which
the region was originally recorded. You can also
access a user-defined Time Stamp in the same
fashion. See “Time Stamping” on page 133 for
more information.
10 Click OK to close this dialog. The region
spotted to the chosen SMPTE frame location.
When the session is online, this frame number
will trigger playback of the region.
Auto-Spotting Regions
The Pro Tools Auto-Spot Regions option simpli-
fies the task of spotting regions even further. If
you are using VITC with this option enabled, or
MachineControl software, you can pause your
video at an appropriate SMPTE frame location,
click on a region with the Grabber, and the re-
gion will be automatically spotted to the current
time code location.
To Auto-Spot a region:
1 Choose Operations > Auto-Spot Regions.
2 If you are using VITC, identify the SMPTE
frame location where you want to trigger play-
back of your region by pausing your video deck
on that frame.
3 Click the desired region with the Grabber. The
region will be automatically spotted to the cur-
rent time code location (or machine location).
Spot mode button
Clicking a region with the Trimmer will al-
low you to trim the region to the current
time code location.
Auto-spotted regions are spotted by their
start times, unless you have identified a
Sync Point (see “Identifying a Sync Point”
on page 489). If the region contains a Sync
Point, the region is spotted to it.
Pro Tools Reference Guide488
Using the Trimmer in Spot Mode
You can use the Spot dialog to trim your regions,
including start/end/duration times and refer-
encing incoming time code addresses. If you
click a region with the Trimmer in Spot mode,
the Spot dialog will appear, allowing you to en-
ter a value in the Start or End and Duration
fields to specify exactly where you want to trim
the region’s beginning or end. Use this to edit
the length of a region to correspond to a partic-
ular visual “hit point.”
Trimming a region that contains a sync point
(see “Identifying a Sync Point” on page 489) will
not affect the SMPTE location of the sync point,
unless the region is trimmed past the sync
point.
Time Stamping
Pro Tools time stamps every region recorded on-
line with the original SMPTE time at which au-
dio was recorded. You can recall this original
SMPTE time for a region by clicking the Original
Time Stamp button in the Spot dialog.
You can also spot a region to a separate user-de-
fined SMPTE time stamp, defined using the
Time Stamp Selected command. Once the re-
gion is time stamped using this command, you
can click the User Time Stamp button to re-spot
a region to its user-defined SMPTE location.
The Use Subframes option in the Spot dialog en-
ables you to work with subframe accuracy by
adding an additional time field in the SMPTE
hours:minutes:seconds:frames box. This addi-
tional time field appears as the far right time
field when enabled, and allows you to enter sub-
frame values in SMPTE dialogs. Use a period to
separate subframe values from whole frames.
Show Original Time Code in
Regions
This command displays the original “time
stamped” SMPTE times in all regions currently
placed in tracks. This SMPTE frame number rep-
resents the time at which the region was origi-
nally recorded online with Pro Tools, and does
not necessarily reflect the region’s current
SMPTE location in a track.
To display the original time stamps in regions:
1 Select Display > Display Time in Regions >
Original Time Stamp.
2 To hide Original Time Stamps, select Display >
Display Time in Regions > None.
Time Stamp Selected
If you want to create a separate user-defined
SMPTE time stamp, you can use the Time Stamp
Selected command in the Regions List pop-up
menu. This command allows you to select a re-
gion (or regions) and redefine its SMPTE time
stamp. The original time stamp and the user-de-
fined time stamp are then stored with your ses-
sion.
When audio is first recorded, the user-defined
time stamp will match the original time stamp,
but you can change the user-defined time stamp
at any time using the Time Stamp Selected com-
mand. This feature is particularly useful in post-
production situations where the SMPTE time
code on video “work prints” often changes from
one edit revision to another.
Original Time Stamp button in the Spot dialog
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization 489
To time stamp a region (or regions) with a new
SMPTE frame number:
1 In a track, select the region that you want to
time stamp.
2 From the Regions List pop-up menu, choose
the Time Stamp Selected command.
3 Enter a new SMPTE time. You can do this in
three ways: enter the numbers manually (with
the help of the arrow keys); click the Current
Time Code button (or press the equal key), if
you want to capture the incoming time code ad-
dress; or click the Current Selection button if
you want to enter the start time of the current
on-screen selection.
4 Click OK to close this dialog.
This command can be used in “batch mode” to
set new time stamps for several regions at a time.
To do this, simply select several regions and
choose the Time Stamp Selected command. One
after another, a dialog will open for each region,
allowing you to quickly enter new values.
Once entered, the user time stamps can be dis-
played in all regions currently placed in tracks.
To display the user time stamps in regions:
1 Choose Display > Display Time in Regions >
User Time Stamp.
2 To hide User Time Stamps, choose Display >
Display Time in Regions > None.
Using a Region with its Time Stamp in
Another Session
Pro Tools saves time stamp information for each
region as part of a session—not as part of the au-
dio file itself. If you want to use a time-stamped
audio file in another session, keeping its time
stamps intact, do the following:
1 Open the session that contains the original
time-stamped region.
2 Select the desired region in the Audio Regions
List.
3 Choose Export Selected from the Regions List
pop-up menu. The region can now be used in
other sessions with its original time stamp refer-
ences intact.
Identifying a Sync Point
The Pro Tools Identify Sync Point command al-
lows you to identify a specific point within a re-
gion for audio spotting purposes.
Imagine the following sound effects spotting
scenario: You have a single sound effect that
consists of a creaky door slamming shut, fol-
lowed by a few seconds of ambient reverbera-
tion. The slam portion of the effect—which you
must precisely match to picture—occurs neither
at the very beginning of the audio file nor at the
very end. It is somewhere in the middle, making
it tough to spot.
In this scenario, use the Identify Sync Point
command to create a point in the region and
sync that point to a SMPTE frame.
When you choose this command, the current
SMPTE time is automatically entered as the
SMPTE location for the sync point.
Time Stamp Selected command
Pro Tools Reference Guide490
To create a sync point in a region:
1 Click with the Selector at the point in the re-
gion that you want to synchronize to a SMPTE
frame location.
2 Choose Edit > Identify Sync Point. An arrow
indicator appears in the audio region indicating
the location of this sync point.
Changing a Sync Point
To change the location of a Sync point in a region:
■Click with the Selector in the region and
choose Edit > Identify Sync Point. The new loca-
tion will then be identified as the Sync Point.
Tips for Locating and Spotting to Sync
Points
■To place a region’s start point at the current
edit cursor location, Control-drag (Macintosh)
or Start-drag (Windows) the region from the Re-
gion List.
■To place a region’s sync point at the current
edit cursor location, Option-Control-drag (Mac-
intosh) or Alt-Start-drag a region from the Re-
gion List.
■To move to the next region boundary or sync
point, press Tab.
Removing a Sync Point
To remove a sync point from a region:
1 Select the entire region with the Grabber.
2 Choose Edit > Remove Sync Point.
Troubleshooting Sync
Getting SMPTE synchronization to work prop-
erly can seem like a formidable task at times.
The following suggestions may help you trou-
bleshoot and solve common problems.
Use the Current Time field in the
Session Setup Window as a Reference
The Current Time field in the Session Setup win-
dow indicates whether or not Pro Tools is receiv-
ing time code. If this field appears to be inactive
when inputting time code into your time code
reading device, check your hardware device set-
tings, the device’s connection to your computer,
and your OMS Setup (Macintosh) or Multimedia
Setup (Windows).
Stripe SMPTE Before You Record
All tapes in your setup (both audio and video)
must be striped with SMPTE Time Code before
any audio is recorded onto them or to Pro Tools.
If tapes aren’t striped, your system may seem to
work, but synchronization will never properly
occur. The machines and Pro Tools will drift far-
ther and farther apart the longer they run.
The same problem occurs when audio is re-
corded into Pro Tools without a resolved SMPTE
source (if it was recorded before the current ses-
sion, for example.) The audio cannot be accu-
rately synchronized with an analog tape re-
Identifying a Sync Point in a region
Chapter 35: Time Code Synchronization 491
corder or video tape deck, since the Pro Tools
audio was not recorded referenced to the SMPTE
time code from the analog tape deck or video
tape deck.
Resolve All Components of Your
System
When striping time code, make sure that the
time code generator and the video record deck
are resolved to the same crystal reference. For
example, when striping 29.97 Drop Frame time
code onto a VTR, both the SMPTE generator and
the VTR should be resolved to the same “black
burst” or house sync generator. During play-
back, the master deck should be resolved to
“black burst” or house sync.
This convention provides compatibility for your
tape between the record and playback passes,
and when it’s played back in other facilities on
different equipment. This also means that when
playing back a tape striped with time code, the
playback deck should be resolved to the same
sync rate as the record deck was resolved to at
the time of the striping. When you stripe an au-
dio transport with time code, it should be “free-
running” and unresolved, but should be re-
solved with a house sync-referenced synchro-
nizer during playback.
Know the True Frame Rate on Your Work
Tape
If you get your video tapes from a production
company instead of recording them yourself, be
absolutely sure that they indicate the SMPTE
frame rate used on the tape correctly.
The Digidesign SSD and USD (and some third-
party products) can be used to determine frame
rate. See “Determining SMPTE Frame Rate” on
page 471.
29.97 fps Non-Drop Rate Can Cause
Problems
29.97 fps Non-Drop is a slightly slower version
of 30 fps Non-Drop time code. When used with
color video, each video frame now matches up
with each SMPTE frame without having to use a
drop-frame coding. This makes any frame num-
ber mathematics much simpler, since no frame
numbers are dropped.
Unfortunately, some hardware and software de-
vices do not recognize 29.97 Non-Drop as a sep-
arate frame rate. For example, any standard
SMPTE-to MTC-converter does not explicitly
recognize it. The user must tell the convertor to
expect 30 fps Non-Drop instead. In fact, many
devices that read SMPTE work acceptably by
reading 29.97 Non-Drop if they are set to expect
30 fps Non-Drop.
Any SMPTE reader that uses the time code num-
bers to make real-time calculations (as Pro Tools
does when it tries to trigger and sync to SMPTE)
also needs to know that the frame format is
29.97 and not 30 fps. Since Pro Tools allows this
choice of frame rate this does not really pose a
problem. The problem exists because many us-
ers cannot readily distinguish 29.97 from 30 fps.
More importantly, some production companies
will distribute video work prints striped with
29.97 fps but mark them as “30 fps NTSC,” by
which they actually mean 29.97 fps Non-Drop.
By the time you get the tape, you may have no
idea what’s actually on it. Feeding 29.97 Non-
Drop to Pro Tools when it’s set for 30 fps Non-
Drop will result in timing errors of about 1.8
frames per minute, causing audio playback to
trigger out of sync.
Pro Tools Reference Guide492
Be Careful When Changing Frame Rates
If you change time code rates in the middle of a
session, many SMPTE-to-MIDI Time Code con-
verters need to be turned off and turned on
again to be able to recognize the new frame rate.
Use a Consistent Clock Source
A sound file should be played back using the
same peripheral and sample rate it was recorded
with, if at all possible. This assures the closest
match between record and playback sample
rates. For example, if an audio file was recorded
at 44.1 kHz with the Pro Tools Audio Interface
then the Sample Rate should be set to 44.1 kHz
during playback with the Audio Interface as
well.
On a Macintosh, Disable AppleTalk,
Network Connections, Screen Savers,
and Power Saving Features
These types of software can cause the Macintosh
to ignore MIDI data (such as MIDI Time Code)
coming into its serial ports. Make sure AppleTalk
is inactive in the Chooser, disconnect AppleTalk
cables, and remove any network extensions
from your System Folder.
In Windows, Disable Screen Savers and
Power Management Features
These types of software can cause your com-
puter to ignore MIDI data (such as MIDI Time
Code).
Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 493
Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime
Movies
You can use Pro Tools to import QuickTime
movies and audio, perform audio post-produc-
tion tasks, and export the finished product as a
new QuickTime movie.
About QuickTime
QuickTime is digital video technology designed
to produce compact video files for multimedia
use.
Using QuickTime Movies in
Pro Tools
Pro Tools allows you to import QuickTime mov-
ies into your Pro Tools sessions.
Once imported into Pro Tools, a QuickTime
movie is displayed in its own Movie track in the
Edit window, and in a floating Movie window.
This floating window can be viewed on a second
monitor with appropriate video hardware. With
a QuickTIme movie in the session, Pro Tools
serves as a fast, random-access visual reference
for “sweetening” the movie by adding sound ef-
fects, music, foley, dialog, or other audio.
Pro Tools provides precise, frame-accurate audio
and video synchronization. This means you can
use your Pro Tools system as an off-line audio
editing system, leaving the video editing suite
free for video editing.
With Pro Tools, you can:
◆Import a QuickTime movie into a session
◆Import audio from a QuickTime movie (or au-
dio from a CD or a CD-ROM)
◆Synchronize audio events to a QuickTime
movie, using the Pro Tools editing features to
spot and nudge regions to video frames
◆Scrub audio elements in tandem with a Quick-
Time movie
QuickTime movie features in Pro Tools are
supported on Macintosh systems only.
Movie track displayed as picons
Movie window
Pro Tools Reference Guide494
◆Use the Pro Tools Bounce to Movie command
to compile a new “flattened” QuickTime movie
file that can be read by any QuickTime-compat-
ible application
Because Pro Tools has no video editing capabili-
ties of its own, if you want to edit or in any other
way modify a movie, return to your video cap-
ture and assembly environment (for example,
Adobe Premiere) for editing, then import the ed-
ited movie into Pro Tools.
Video Capture/Playback Cards
For professional applications where full-screen,
25/30 frames-per-second playback is critical, we
recommend that you invest in a Digidesign-ap-
proved third-party video capture and playback
card. For the most up-to-date information about
such products, contact your Digidesign dealer or
visit Digidesign’s Web site.
If You Are New to Audio Post
Production
If you are new to digital video, time code, or au-
dio-for-post production, the following sugges-
tions will help you manage your session’s audio
and video requirements. Not all of these may
apply to every project.
Plan ahead Think through your entire project
before you start capturing your video. For best
results when working with SMPTE time code,
make sure that time code is burned into a win-
dow in the movie. Try to anticipate compatibil-
ity and configuration issues that may arise.
Conform Your Movie Be sure to conform your
captured QuickTime movie to the desired frame
rate. Consult your video capture software’s doc-
umentation for information on how to ensure
frame-accurate captures. We recommend that
you do this to all video captures to ensure accu-
rate playback in Pro Tools.
If your destination is a pulled-down Pro Tools
session, this pull down affects QuickTime movie
playback speed. You should conform your
movie to a 30 fps frame rate for use in a pulled-
down session.
Destined for video or film? What is the ultimate
destination of your work? Is it for TV, film, au-
dio CD or CD-ROM? This will determine such
things as the best sample rate to use, the correct
frame rate, pull-down or pull-up rates, and so
on. Double-check the time code frame rate. You
must make sure that you know the correct frame
rate of the video source.
Storage Make sure you have enough disk space
on your drive, and optimize your hard drives
regularly.
Video compatibility If you are not digitizing the
video material yourself (if the material is already
on hard disk) check into the type of video cap-
ture and playback system that was used and
make sure you can accommodate that format’s
compression method. Check whether or not
time code is “burned into” or superimposed
over a small area of the video.
You can capture Avid-compatible video in
Pro Tools with AVoption or AVoption XL.
Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 495
QuickTime Requirements
Pro Tools supports playback of QuickTime vid-
eos without additional hardware. However, per-
formance will vary in terms of maximum movie
size, frame-rate, and smoothness of playback.
Capture of 30/25 fps (frames per second), 60/50
fields-per-second video requires a Digidesign-
approved video capture card, and associated
software and hardware.
About Frame Length and QuickTime
Movies
Not all video capture software can guarantee
consistent frame lengths. Consult your video
capture software documentation for informa-
tion on ensuring frame-accurate captures, and
on conforming your video to proper frame
boundaries.
To take advantage of Pro Tools QuickTime
movie playback capabilities you will need the
following:
◆The version of Apple’s QuickTime System Ex-
tension (included with Pro Tools). To install
QuickTime, run the installer included on the
Pro Tools Installer CD.
◆QuickTime movie playback and editing soft-
ware (such as Adobe Premiere, AVID VideoShop,
Macromedia Director, or Apple MoviePlayer) to
edit and compile QuickTime movies.
Optionally, you may also need:
◆QuickTime movie capture hardware and soft-
ware to digitize your own movies from a video-
tape or video camera source.
◆An Apple CD-ROM drive running at 2x speed
or faster to take advantage of commercially-
available QuickTime movies and sound clips.
Movie Playback Quality
Options
Pro Tools supports three options for movie play-
back performance: Normal Priority Playback,
Medium Priority Playback, and Highest Priority
Playback. In most cases, you should leave the
priority choice set to Normal Priority Playback.
If you are running QuickTime Movies natively,
that is, without a capture card, you may need to
use one of the other playback priority options. If
this does note apply to you, leave movie play-
back priority set to Normal Priority Playback.
This is the default setting.
Hard Drive Tips for Best Performance
For best movie playback performance, make
sure that the hard drive you are using for video
capture and playback is not on the same SCSI
bus as your audio files, if possible. This allows
the least amount of interference between drives
when Pro Tools requests audio and video data.
With most capture cards, and moderate data
capture rates (800 kilobytes per second or less),
this should provide good performance.
The Blue & White G3 and G4 have an internal
IDE system drive. For best performance, audio
and video should be stored on SCSI drives, con-
nected to the computer with a Digidesign-ap-
proved SCSI interface card.
Some Macintosh computers have two SCSI bus-
ses, an internal SCSI bus, and a separate external
SCSI bus. The internal bus is often a SCSI Fast-
compatible bus that can yield better disk perfor-
mance. The external bus is a narrow SCSI bus,
which is slower. For best performance use an in-
ternal drive that connects to the internal, fast
SCSI bus.
Pro Tools Reference Guide496
For G3 Macintosh models that have only a sin-
gle, narrow SCSI bus, you should use a SCSI ac-
celerator for the audio drive, and use the narrow
bus for QuickTime video.
Contact your Digidesign dealer or visit the
Digidesign Web site for compatibility informa-
tion.
Importing a QuickTime Movie
Before you import a movie, you should digitize
your video material and know the correct frame
rate and sample rate when applicable.
To import a QuickTime movie into Pro Tools:
1 Launch Pro Tools and create a new session, or
open an existing one.
2 Check the time code parameters of the session
to make sure they match those of the movie you
wish to import, and save the session.
3 Choose Movie > Import Movie.
4 Locate the desired movie. When you select a
movie in the Import Movie dialog, you can view
a preview frame by enabling the Show Preview
check box. The preview corresponds to the first
frame of the movie. If you have not yet created
a preview, you can do so by selecting the desired
movie and clicking Update in this dialog.
5 Select the desired movie and click Open.
Pro Tools imports the movie and displays it in
its own Movie track in the Edit window as well
as in a floating Movie window. The first frame of
the movie is automatically synchronized to the
start time of your session.
About the Movie Track
Once a movie is imported into Pro Tools it ap-
pears in the Edit window in its own Movie track.
This picon (picture-icon) track displays a
“thumbnail” overview of the frames of the
movie it represents. The Movie track will show
greater or lesser detail depending on your cur-
rent zoom level in the Edit window—the closer
in you zoom, the greater the number of individ-
ual frames that are displayed in the Movie track;
the farther out you zoom, the fewer the number
of individual frames that are visible. The Movie
track appears only in the Edit window.
The Movie track behaves much as a Pro Tools
audio or MIDI track in that you can move the
movie region with the Grabber or other editing
tools. This allows you to offset the movie to any
start point. However, you cannot edit the Movie
track by trimming it or capturing regions from
within it.
If a video card with hardware video com-
pression was used to create the QuickTime
movie, Pro Tools cannot play the movie
without the compression hardware. Make
sure the video card is installed and config-
ured correctly before starting your session.
Import Movie dialog
Movie track “VideoSpot” appears above the “Rhythm
Guitar” track
Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 497
Only one QuickTime movie can be associated
with a session at a time. If you want to import a
different movie into a session, repeat the previ-
ous steps. The new movie will replace the origi-
nal in the session.
A Movie track takes its name from its associated
movie file and cannot be independently re-
named.
Picon View Performance
When using picon view to view movie content
in the Movie track, your computer may exhibit
reduced or sluggish performance. If this hap-
pens on your computer, switch the Movie track
view to Blocks mode.
Scrubbing the Movie Track
You can use the Scrubber tool to scrub the
Movie track with full frame accuracy. If you
scrub directly on the Movie track, only the
movie will scrub (no audio will play). If you
scrub on an audio track, audio and the movie
will scrub simultaneously.
To scrub the movie track:
1 Select the Scrubber tool.
2 Click the movie track at the desired point and
drag the Scrubber.
3 To scrub with finer precision, press the Com-
mand key while scrubbing.
About the Movie Window
The Movie window displays the movie playback
or the current frame if playback is paused or
stopped. You can drag the Movie window any-
where on your computer screen.
To display the Movie window:
■Choose Movie > Show Movie Window. If a
movie has already been imported, the Movie
window will appear.
Using a 14-inch monitor for playback
If you capture 320 x 240 (NTSC) movies and
have a second monitor with 640 x 480 resolu-
tion (a standard 14-inch monitor), clicking on
the Movie window will route movie playback to
that monitor. The Movie will “bounce” over to
the second monitor, and will be pixel-doubled
so that it takes up the whole screen.
Tips for Optimizing Movie Playback
Since Pro Tools uses QuickTime to play movies,
the quality of the playback is dependent on the
speed of your Macintosh CPU and hard drive,
the size (in pixels) of the movie, and the quality
of the video hardware used to capture and play-
back the digitized video. While QuickTime
doesn’t produce broadcast-quality playback, it is
frame accurate when spotting to picture.
Scrubbing a movie
Movie window
Pro Tools Reference Guide498
On PCI-based computers, Pro Tools continu-
ously re-syncs the movie. The movie resolves to
the audio sample clock. This allows the movie to
smoothly track the audio even when your sys-
tem is varispeeded.
For more consistently smooth movie playback,
here are some suggestions:
◆Use a Digidesign-approved video capture and
playback card for 25/30 frames-per-second full-
screen movie playback.
◆Display the movie on a separate monitor
driven by a video capture and playback card.
◆If you don’t have a video capture and play-
back card, set the movie playback priority to Me-
dium Priority Playback or High Priority Playback
using one of these commands in Movie menu.
This gives priority to movie playback, rather
than other screen graphics tasks such as moving
faders.
◆Use the fastest CPU possible.
◆Capture and play QuickTime video from a
separate hard drive than your Pro Tools audio
drives.
◆Remove unneeded System Extensions and
Control Panels.
◆Disable AppleTalk and other background tasks
on the CPU, such as File Sharing, screen savers,
Calculate Folder Size and any fax or e-mail soft-
ware.
◆Disable the Automation Preference for Faders
Move During Playback.
◆Set No Auto Scrolling in Operations > Scroll
Options.
◆Reduce the size of the Edit window to the
smallest possible size.
◆Close unnecessary windows.
◆Reduce the overall length of the SCSI chain of
your computer system for improved through-
put.
◆Reduce the pixel size of the movie (e.g. reduce
it from 640 x 480 pixels to 320 x 240 pixels).
Setting the Movie Start Time:
Movie Offset
When you import a movie into your session, the
first frame of the movie defaults to the start time
of the session. In some cases, however, you may
need to offset the movie by some amount for-
wards or backwards so that you can accurately
spot audio to the movie.
Since a movie can be moved inside the Movie
track, it is fairly easy to match these two times.
In fact, you may not have to move the Movie
track at all.
For finer adjustment of a movie’s start time, you
can use the Set Movie Sync Offset command to
offset the movie in 1/4-frame increments. This
is more accurate than dragging the movie track,
and is especially useful in cases where your
movie track happens to begin with a partial
frame.
To set the movie offset:
1 Double-check that the session’s SMPTE frame
rate matches that of the movie.
2 Choose Movie > Set Movie Sync Offset, enter
the desired offset value, and click OK.
3 Lock the movie in place by choosing Edit >
Lock/Unlock Region.
The Movie Sync Offset is always defined in
Feet.Frames, regardless of the session time
display.
Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 499
To spot the movie to a sync point:
1 Double-check that the session’s SMPTE frame
rate matches that of the movie.
2 In the Edit window, enable Grid mode.
3 Set the session time display to SMPTE.
4 Set the Grid Value to Feet.Frames.
5 With the Selector, click in the Movie Track to
place the cursor where you want to create a Sync
Point. Often, the best spot will be the “2 beep”
two seconds before the first action frame (the
start of the video). You can use the plus and mi-
nus keys on the alpha keyboard to nudge the
cursor and the Movie one frame at a time.
6 Choose Edit > Identify Sync Point to place a
Sync Point at the current cursor location.
7 Put Pro Tools into Spot mode by clicking the
Spot button in the Edit window.
8 Click the Movie track with the Grabber. The
Move Region To dialog appears.
9 Enter the time code number displayed in the
window-burn of the frame you are spotting to (if
the movie has a SMPTE time code window
burned into it) and click OK to close the Move
Region To dialog.
10 The movie’s sync point moves to the SMPTE
location you entered.
Spotting Audio to a QuickTime
Movie
For accurate spotting, Grid mode provides you
with an effective tool for quick and accurate se-
lection of waveforms, and alignment of regions
in tracks. When Grid mode is enabled, the Selec-
tor will snap to the current Grid Value, and re-
gions selected with the Grabber and dragged to a
track will also align up with the Grid Value.
Conforming Your Movie
Before you spot audio to a movie, you should
conform the movie file so each frame starts and
ends at valid frame boundaries.
For example, Adobe Premiere contains a Con-
form Movie tool for destructively editing the
lengths of each frame to the grid of the current
frame rate. You should conform the movie to a
frame rate that Pro Tools can work with (30 fps
or 29.97 fps).
Consult your video capture software documen-
tation for more information.
More Tips for Spotting Audio
◆Specify your movie size up front. For purposes
of spotting audio, 320 x 240 is usually adequate.
If you are displaying the movie on a second
monitor with 640 x 480 resolution, with pixel
doubling, it will fill the screen.
◆Try to work with a window burn in the movie,
since it will help you spot material. You can pro-
duce your own window burns for the capture us-
ing Digidesign's Universal Slave Driver.
If your destination is a pulled-down
Pro Tools session, the pull down affects
QuickTime movie playback speed. Conform
your movie to a 30 fps frame rate for use in
a pulled-down session.
Pro Tools Reference Guide500
◆Use a continuous scrolling option. Pro Tools
includes two scrolling options that are particu-
larly useful in post-production: Continuous
Scroll During Playback, and Continuous Scroll
with Playhead. Enable either of these scrolling
options by selecting them from the
Operations > Scroll Options submenu. For more
information, see Chapter 16, “Playing and Se-
lecting Track Material.”.
Using Grid Mode to Spot and
Nudge Regions with Frame
Accuracy
(TDM Systems Only)
Grid mode allows you to constrain the move-
ment of regions so that they snap to SMPTE-
based measurements (minutes, seconds, frames,
or subframes).
To spot audio to a movie:
1 Click the Grid button at the upper left corner
of the Edit window. This ensures that the audio
will align to a frame boundary.
2 Set your Grid Value to Time Code using the
pop-up menu.
3 Choose a desirable Grid unit setting. Note that
you can set the grid units independently of the
Main Time Scale.
4 Using the Selector, place the insertion cursor
at the desired location in the movie. If you
want, use the Nudge Value pop-up to set the
nudge units to frames. You can then use the plus
and minus keys on the alpha keyboard to nudge
the insertion point frame by frame.
5 While pressing the Control key, drag the de-
sired region from the Regions List to the appro-
priate track. Pro Tools will automatically spot
the region to the same time location as the cur-
sor.
Importing QuickTime Audio
Pro Tools allows you to import audio directly
from a QuickTime movie. You can import audio
from a movie currently loaded into a session, or
from a different movie. The procedure is the
same for both.
Sample Rate Conversion Quality
If you import QuickTime audio that was not
originally recorded at the session’s sample rate,
the sample rate is converted to match the audio
to your session. Pro Tools allows you to choose
the quality of the sample rate conversion via the
Conversion Quality parameter in the Editing
Preferences. The higher the quality of sample
rate conversion that you choose, the longer it
takes to perform the sample rate conversion.
The five conversion settings range from Low to
Tweak Head. The Low setting provides results
that are considerably better than the Macin-
tosh’s built-in sample rate conversion. For most
applications, the Better setting will yield excel-
lent results.
To spot elements directly to locations in the
movie, use the technique described above. In
this scenario, Auto Spot mode is not recom-
mended, since it uses incoming MTC for lo-
cation information.
Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 501
Because the Best and Tweak Head settings take
significantly longer than the others, we recom-
mend that you use these only in cases where the
highest fidelity is absolutely essential and you
have a considerable amount of time. The Tweak
Head setting in particular can take several hours
to perform sample rate conversion on moderate-
length files.
To set the sample rate conversion quality:
1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Editing.
2 Click the Conversion Quality pop-up menu
and select the desired setting.
Importing Audio from a QuickTime
Movie
This procedure allows you to use the Import Au-
dio From Current Movie and Import Audio
From Other Movie commands to import audio
tracks either from a QuickTime movie currently
in the session, or from other QuickTime movies
on your hard disk. You can also use the Import
Audio From Other Movie command to import
audio files of a different bit resolution or sample
rate into your session.
To import audio tracks from a QuickTime movie:
1 If you want to import audio from a QuickTime
movie that is already in the session, choose
Movie > Import Audio From Current Movie.
– or –
2 If you want to import audio from a QuickTime
movie that has not been imported into the ses-
sion, choose Movie > Import Audio From Other
Movie. Select the QuickTime movie from which
you want to import audio. The Track Import di-
alog appears, listing information about the au-
dio tracks.
3 Select the desired audio tracks by clicking
them. To select multiple tracks contiguously in
this dialog, Shift-click them. To select discontig-
uous tracks, Command-click them.
4 Click OK. The audio is converted to the ses-
sion’s sample rate and bit resolution, and a new
region appears in the Audio Regions List for
each imported file (2 regions appear for each im-
ported stereo file). The regions are listed in the
Audio Regions List with the region name, the
number of the originating track, and the num-
ber of the region from the track.
5 Drag the imported regions from the Audio Re-
gions List to the desired tracks.
Track Import window showing audio tracks in a
QuickTime movie
Pro Tools Reference Guide502
Bouncing to a new Movie
When you have finished your final mix and syn-
chronized your audio events to the movie, you
can use the Pro Tools Bounce to Movie com-
mand to compile a new QuickTime movie with
the bounced audio embedded in the QuickTime
movie file as the soundtrack. As a QuickTime
file, the new movie is supported by all software
applications that support QuickTime video.
To create a new QuickTime movie with bounced
audio embedded as the soundtrack:
1 Adjust track output levels and finalize your
mix. Any inserts and effects settings that are ac-
tive on tracks will be permanently written to the
bounced tracks. If you don’t want to apply a
plug-in to the bounce, click the Bypass button
in the Plug-In window.
2 Make sure that all of the tracks you want to in-
clude in the bounce are audible (not muted).
3 Assign the output of each of the tracks you
want to include in the bounce to the same out-
put pair.
4 If you want to bounce the entire session, press
the Return to Zero button on the Transport to go
to the beginning of the session. The new movie
file will include all the video and audio material
in the session, even if the duration of the video
material is longer than the audio or vice versa. If
you only want to bounce a portion of a session,
open the Edit window and select the section
that you want to include in the bounce.
5 Choose Movie > Bounce to Movie.
6 Select the file format for the movie audio.
Choose Mix-to-Mono to combine the left and
right channel output of the session to a mono
movie soundtrack. Choose Stereo to retain the
stereo mix of the session for the movie audio.
7 Select the resolution for the movie audio. Red
Book audio CDs are always 16-bit, while many
multimedia presentations and CD-ROMs use 8-
bit resolution. You cannot create a QuickTime
movie with 24-bit audio; audio from 24-bit ses-
sions is converted to 16-bit or 8-bit audio, de-
pending on what you choose.
8 If you intend to convert the session to 8-bit
resolution for use in multimedia, use the
Squeezer option (click the Convert after Bounce
option, then the Settings button to access this
feature) to improve the fidelity of the converted
8-bit audio. This option uses a proprietary DSP
algorithm that preprocesses the audio using
compression, limiting and gating before con-
verting to 8-bit resolution. This option is recom-
mend for optimal results.
9 Select the Sample Rate for the movie audio
(click the Convert after Bounce option, then the
Settings button to access this parameter). The
default audio sample rate is 44100 (44.1kHz),
which is the standard sample rate for audio CDs.
Multimedia presentations and CD-ROMs may
use a sample rate of 11025 (11.025kHz) or 22050
(22.050kHz).
10 Click Bounce, name the new movie, and
choose where to save it.
11 The audio tracks are converted to the se-
lected sample rate and bit resolution, and a new
flattened movie is created incorporating the au-
dio. You can open and play the flattened movie
in any software application that supports Quick-
Time.
Pro Tools sample rate and bit resolution
conversions use large amounts of processing
power. You can save time by selecting a
lower sample rate conversion quality in the
Editing Preferences.
503
Part IX: Pro Tools Menus
504
Chapter 37: File Menu 505
Chapter 37: File Menu
File Menu
File menu commands are used to create and
maintain audio files.
New Session
The New Session command creates a new
Pro Tools session. Before the session is created,
you must name the session and choose its Audio
File type, I/O Settings, Bit Depth and Sample
Rate. Selecting the Enforce Mac/PC Compatibil-
ity option ensures proper interchange of ses-
sions and their associated media between Mac-
intosh and Windows-based systems. Specific
file-naming and audio format restrictions apply.
See “Creating a New Session” on page 50 for de-
tails on using this dialog.
File Menu
New Session dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide506
Open Session
The Open Session command opens a session
previously created with Pro Tools. A single ses-
sion can be open at a time.
Close Session
The Close Session command closes the current
session without quitting Pro Tools. Pro Tools
prompts you to save changes before closing the
session.
Save Session
The Save Session command saves changes made
since the last time the session was saved. You
cannot undo the Save Session command.
Save Session As
The Save Session As command saves a copy of
the current session under a different name, or in
a different location. Because the Save Session As
command closes the current session and allows
you to keep working on the renamed copy, it is
useful for saving successive stages of the session.
Save Session Copy In
The Save Session Copy In command saves a
copy of the currently selected session document
under a different name, in a different location,
or at a different bit-depth or sample rate. Ses-
sions can be saved in a variety or session formats
for compatibility with older systems. This com-
mand is useful for archiving sessions.
Unlike the Save Session As command, Save Ses-
sion Copy In does not close the original session,
so subsequent edits are made to the original ses-
sion. The saved copy becomes a backup copy,
and gives you the option of reverting to the ear-
lier version.
Save Session Copy In dialog
Chapter 37: File Menu 507
The Items To Copy section of this dialog pro-
vides several options for copying a session along
with its associated files.
All Audio Files When this option is selected, all
audio files are copied to the new location. Se-
lecting All Non-SD-II Audio Files copies all audio
files except Sound Designer II-format files (which
are not supported in Windows). Selecting Don’t
Copy Fade Files omits crossfade files from the
copied data.
Session Plug-In Settings Folder When this op-
tion is selected, the session’s Plug-In Settings
Folder is copied to the new location. The refer-
ences to these plug-in settings in the session are
redirected to the copied files
Movie/Video Files When this option is selected,
a session’s video files are copied to the new loca-
tion, and the references in the session are redi-
rected to the copied movie or video file.
Revert To Saved
The Revert to Saved command restores the most
recently saved version of a session, discarding all
changes made since the last time you saved. Re-
verting to the last saved version of a session is
like closing the session without saving changes
and reopening it.
Bounce to Disk
The Bounce to Disk command allows you to mix
together the outputs of all currently audible
tracks routed to a common output path to create
a new audio file. You can use the Bounce to Disk
command to create a submix or to create a final
mix in any of several audio file formats.
Bounce Source Selects the audio output path to
bounce. Only audio routed to the selected path
will be included in the bounce.
File Type Selects the audio file format. Choices
are SDII, WAV, AIFF, RealAudio, MPEG-1 Layer
3, QuickTime, and Sound Resource.
Format Selects the channel format. Choices are
mono (summed), multiple mono, or inter-
leaved.
Resolution Selects the bit depth. Choices are
24-, 16-, and 8-bit.
Sample Rate Selects the sample rate.
Bounce to Disk dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide508
Use Squeezer Optimizes the dynamics of the
bounced audio before conversion to 8-bit reso-
lution.
Import After Bounce Automatically imports the
audio after it is bounced so that it can be used in
the session.
See “Bounce to Disk” on page 400 for details on
using the Bounce to Disk command.
New Track
The New Track command adds one or more new
audio tracks, auxiliary inputs, master faders, or
MIDI tracks to a session. Tracks can be mono,
stereo, or any one of a variety of multi-channel
formats.
Rename Selected Tracks
The Rename Selected Tracks command renames
the currently selected track.
Group Selected Tracks
This command groups the currently selected
tracks together so that their controls are linked
together in the Mix and/or Edit window. Groups
can be nested so that subgroups are contained
within larger groups.
Duplicate Selected Tracks
This command duplicates a selected track, in-
cluding its audio or MIDI data, playlists, auto-
mation, and other attributes.
Split Selected Tracks Into Mono
This command splits a selected multi-channel
track into individual mono tracks that can be
edited and manipulated independently.
Make Selected Tracks Inactive
This command makes selected tracks inactive,
so that they no longer play back or use any DSP
resources or voices. Inactive tracks can be made
active again by choosing the Make Selected
Tracks Active command.
New Track dialog
Group Selected Tracks dialog
Chapter 37: File Menu 509
Delete Selected Tracks
This command removes tracks from a session.
While audio or MIDI region data will remain in
the Regions List, the track and its playlists will
be deleted.
Import Audio to Track
This command loads audio files or regions into
the current session. Each imported audio file
will appear on its own individual track. To im-
port audio files without automatically creating
new track for them, use the Import Audio com-
mand in the Audio Regions List pop-up menu.
Import MIDI to Track
The Import MIDI to Track command loads all
tracks in a Standard MIDI file into Pro Tools and
automatically places them in new MIDI tracks.
To import MIDI regions to a session without au-
tomatically creating new tracks for them, use
the Import MIDI command in the MIDI Regions
List pop-up menu. The Import MIDI to Track
command allows you to import tempo data in
the sequence or apply existing tempo data in
the session to the imported file.
Export MIDI
This command exports all currently audible
MIDI tracks in a session as a standard MIDI file.
Muted MIDI tracks will not be exported. You
can export the file as a Type 1 (multi-track) or
Type 0 (merged) Standard MIDI file.
Export Session As Text
This command exports the current session as a
tab-delimited text file containing region and file
names, and SMPTE start times. This command
will not print or format session events to any
particular standard; it simply provides the data
in a text format.
Import Audio to Track dialog
Export Session As Text dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide510
Import Tracks
This command imports any or all tracks from an
existing session into the current session. Op-
tions are provided for time code mapping, sam-
ple rate conversion, and audio and video source
file referencing, copying, and conversion. See
“Importing Tracks from Other Sessions” on
page 94 for more information on this dialog and
its options.
Get Info
This command saves information about the ses-
sion itself. Left-column text fields are topic
fields. Text entered there is saved with your
Pro Tools Preferences and will appear in all ses-
sions, allowing you to preset the field to topics
that you commonly use.
Right-column text fields are information fields.
Text entered there is session specific.
Quit/Exit
The Quit (Macintosh) or Exit (Windows) com-
mand ends your Pro Tools session and closes the
Pro Tools application.
Import Tracks dialog
Get Info command
Chapter 38: Edit Menu 511
Chapter 38: Edit Menu
Edit Menu
Edit menu commands are used to edit and ma-
nipulate audio files.
Undo
The Undo command lets you sequentially undo
up to 16 of your previous actions. Certain com-
mands and actions (such as saving) are not un-
doable.
Redo
After undoing a command or action, you can
redo it by choosing Redo command. This is a
good way to compare before and after states of
edits.
Cut
This command cuts a selection out of its current
location and stores it in memory so that you can
paste it elsewhere.
Copy
This command copies a selection (leaving the
original intact) and stores it in memory so that
you can paste it elsewhere.
Paste
This command inserts cut or copied data into a
location specified with a tool such as the Selec-
tor.
Repeat Paste to Fill Selection
(TDM Systems Only)
This command repeatedly pastes copied data
until it completely fills a selection. If you select
an area that is not an exact multiple of the cop-
ied region size, the remaining selection area is
filled with a trimmed version of the original se-
Edit Menu
Pro Tools Reference Guide512
lection. This allows you to easily create drum
loops and other highly repetitive effects. Before
the data is pasted, Pro Tools prompts you to
specify a crossfade to smooth transitions be-
tween regions.
Merge Paste
This command pastes MIDI data into a track
without replacing existing data by merging the
pasted data with the existing data. This is useful
for consolidating MIDI data from several tracks
into a single MIDI track.
Clear
This command removes a selection in the Edit
window.
Duplicate
This command copies a selection and places it
immediately after the end of that selection in a
track.
Repeat
This command is similar to Duplicate, but al-
lows you to specify the number of times the se-
lected material is duplicated. To use this com-
mand, select the material you want to repeat,
choose Repeat, then enter the number of repeti-
tions.
Shift
This command moves track material earlier or
later in time by a specified amount. To use this
command, select the material you want to
move, choose Shift, then enter the desired direc-
tion and time value.
Select All
This command selects all audio and MIDI data
in one or more tracks.
◆To select all regions in a single track, select a
portion of the track, or click the Selector any-
where in a track and choose Select All.
◆To select all regions on multiple tracks, Shift-
click a region on each track with the Selector or
Grabber and choose Select All.
◆To select all regions on all tracks, Select the
“All” Edit Group in the Groups list, click the Se-
lector anywhere in a track and choose Select All.
Trim
This command removes audio before and after a
selection, leaving only the selection. This pro-
vides a convenient means of quickly removing
all data within a region except the current selec-
tion.
Capture Region
This command defines a selection as a new re-
gion and adds it to the Regions List. From there
the new region can be dragged into a track. You
cannot capture selections across multiple re-
gions unless the data is contiguous material
from the same file.
Separate Region
This command defines a selection as a new re-
gion (or the current insertion point as a region
split point), and in the process, separates it from
adjacent data in the track where it was created.
By separating a region you will also create by-
product regions from data on either side of the
separation.
Chapter 38: Edit Menu 513
Heal Separation
This command repairs separated regions, pro-
vided that the regions are contiguous and their
relative start and end points haven’t changed
since they were originally separated. If you have
trimmed or changed the start and end points of
the two regions, or moved them away from each
other, they cannot be repaired with the Heal
Separation command.
Quantize Regions
This command adjusts the placement of a se-
lected audio or MIDI region in a track so that its
start point (or Sync Point, if it contains one) pre-
cisely aligns to the nearest Grid boundary. Grid
units are chosen from the Grid pop-up menu in
the Edit window.
Mute/Unmute Region
This command mutes playback of a selected re-
gion. Choosing the Unmute command unmutes
the region. This command does not create auto-
mation data.
Lock/Unlock Region
This command locks a selected region in place
so it cannot be moved unless you unlock it. This
command is useful for permanently associating
a region with a with a particular location in a
track (a beat, SMPTE frame, or a time value). A
small lock icon appears in the region indicating
it has been locked.
Consolidate Selection
This command consolidates multiple regions
into single region for ease of use. When an audio
track is consolidated, a new audio file is written
that encompasses the selection range, including
any blank space. To use this command, select
the material you want to consolidate, then
choose Consolidate Selection.
Compress/Expand Edit to Play
(TDM Systems Only)
This command uses the Time Compression/Ex-
pansion plug-in to fit an audio selection to a
Timeline selection. This is only possible when
the Edit and Timeline selections are unlinked.
See “Compress/Expand Edit To Play” on
page 237 for details on using this feature.
Identify Sync Point
This command identifies a specific point within
a region and spot that point to a SMPTE frame
location. A triangle indicates the Sync Point’s
position. When you choose this command, the
current SMPTE time is automatically entered as
the SMPTE location for the Sync Point. To re-
move a Sync point from a region, select the re-
gion with the Grabber and choose Remove Sync
Point. See “Identifying a Sync Point” on
page 489 for details on using this feature.
Locked audio region
Pro Tools Reference Guide514
Identify Beat
This command lets you establish a tempo/meter
map for audio that was recorded without listen-
ing to a click, or for imported audio with un-
known tempos.
The Identify Beat command analyzes a selection
range (usually with a distinct number of beats or
measures) and calculates its tempo based on the
specified meter. in doing this, Bar/Beat markers
for the calculated tempo are inserted and appear
in the Tempo Ruler at the beginning and end of
the selection. in addition, meter events are in-
serted into the Meter Ruler. See “Identify Beat
Command” on page 264 for details on using
this feature.
Insert Silence
This command creates regions of silence. Make a
selection on one or more tracks, choose Insert
Silence, and precisely that amount of silence
will be inserted. See “Inserting Silence” on
page 255 for details on using this feature.
Fades
This command creates a crossfade between two
adjacent audio regions or a fade in/out of a sin-
gle region. Crossfade duration, position, and
shape are all selectable. A selection that crosses
multiple regions will create crossfades for each
of the region transitions. If a selection includes
regions that already contain crossfades, the ex-
isting crossfades will be modified. See “Creating
a Crossfade” on page 248 for details on using this
feature.
Create Fades Produces a crossfade between adja-
cent regions according to parameters you spec-
ify with the Fades editor.
Delete Fades Removes a crossfade between adja-
cent regions.
Fade to Start Creates a fade-in from the current
insertion point to a region’s start point.
Fade to End Creates a fade-out from the current
insertion point to a region’s end point.
Identify Beat dialog
Fades dialog
Chapter 38: Edit Menu 515
Copy to Send
(TDM Systems Only)
This command copies a selected track’s volume,
pan, mute, or LFE automation to the corre-
sponding playlist for the send. This is useful
when you want a track’s send automation to
mirror automation on the track itself.
To copy a track’s current control settings to a
send on that track, select Current Value. To
copy the entire automation playlist for the track
to a send, select Automation.
See “Copying Track Automation to Sends” on
page 380 for details on using this feature
Thin Automation
This command lets you selectively thin areas in
a track where automation data is too dense,
aversely affecting CPU performance. The
amount of thinning performed is determined by
the amount you have selected in the Automa-
tion page of the Preferences dialog. Avoid over-
thinning data or it may no longer accurately re-
flect the original automation. See “Thinning
Automation” on page 383 for details on using
this feature.
Write Automation
This command lets you write automation states
to specific session locations in a single step. This
saves you the trouble of perform multiple auto-
mation passes for different parameters in real
time, or having to graphically draw automation
state changes on individual automation play-
lists. See “Creating Snapshot Automation” on
page 394 for details on using this feature.
Trim Automation
This command lets you use trim values as snap-
shots and apply the relative changes or delta val-
ues to the selected automation. This is similar to
the Write Automation, command except that it
writes delta values instead of absolute values to
automation data. You can use trim values in
writing snapshot automation to any automat-
able parameter. See “Trimming Automation” on
page 393 for details on using this feature.
Copy to Send dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide516
Chapter 39: AudioSuite Menu 517
Chapter 39: AudioSuite Menu
AudioSuite Menu
The AudioSuite menu allows you to access all
AudioSuite plug-ins currently installed in your
system’s Plug-Ins Folder. For detailed informa-
tion on each of the AudioSuite plug-ins, refer to
the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide.
Compressor, Limiter, Expander-
Gate, Expander-Gate
These plug-ins provide dynamics processing.
This type of processing allows you to control the
dynamic range of audio material, increasing or
decreasing gain as needed. For detailed informa-
tion on each of the AudioSuite dynamics plug-
ins, refer to the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide.
De-esser
The De-esser plug-in reduces sibilants (“s,” “sh,”
and “t” sounds) and other high frequency
noises that can occur in vocals, voice-overs, and
wind instruments such as flutes. These sounds
can cause peaks in an audio signal and lead to
distortion.
The De-esser reduces these unwanted sounds us-
ing fast-acting compression. A Threshold con-
trol sets the level above which compression
starts, and a Frequency control sets the fre-
quency band in which the De-esser operates.
1-Band EQ II and 4-Band EQ II
The EQ II plug-ins adjust the frequency spec-
trum of an audio selection. The 1-band EQ can
be configured as a high-pass, low-shelf, high-
shelf, low-pass or peak EQ. The 4-band EQ pro-
vides one high-shelf, one low-shelf and two
peak EQs.
Invert
The Invert plug-in inverts the phase (polarity) of
the currently selected region.
AudioSuite Menu
Pro Tools Reference Guide518
Duplicate
The Duplicate plug-in duplicates a selected area
or region in place. The Duplicate Plug-In is use-
ful for creating a single audio file from a selec-
tion encompassing many smaller regions with
areas of silence between them.
Short, Slap, Medium, and Long
Delay
The delay plug-ins provide time delay-based ef-
fects. Effects you can create with these plug-ins
include slap echo, doubling, chorusing, and
flanging.
Normalize
The Normalize plug-in uniformly adjusts all lev-
els in the currently selected area to a user-defin-
able level, referencing the loudest peak in either
a specific region, or examining the relative peak
level of several regions.
Gain
The Gain plug-in adjusts the gain (volume) of
the currently selected region in decibels or a per-
centage value.
Reverse
The Reverse plug-in rewrites the currently se-
lected region in reverse, producing a backwards
audio effect.
DC Offset Removal
The DC Offset Removal plug-in recognizes and
removes spikes caused by DC offset in the cur-
rently selected region if any are present.
Signal Generator
The Signal Generator plug-in produces audio
test tones in a variety of frequencies, waveforms,
and amplitudes. It is useful for generating refer-
ence signals with which to calibrate various ele-
ments of your studio.
Time Compression/Expansion
The Time Compression/Expansion plug-in
changes the length (duration) of the currently
selected region, with or without changing its
pitch.
Pitch Shift
The Pitch Shift plug-in changes the pitch of the
currently selected region, with or without
changing its duration. It also allows you to per-
form Time Compression/Expansion on your se-
lection simultaneously with a pitch change.
Chapter 40: MIDI Menu 519
Chapter 40: MIDI Menu
MIDI Menu
The MIDI menu contains commands for MIDI
editing.
Change Tempo
This command allows you to insert a tempo
event into the Tempo Track to define or change
the tempo of a session. Pro Tools allows multi-
ple tempo changes within a session. See “Tempo
Events” on page 261 for details on using this
feature.
MIDI Menu
Change Tempo dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide520
Change Meter
This command allows you to insert a Meter
event into the Meter Track to define or change
the meter of a session. Pro Tools allows multiple
meter changes within a session. See “Meter
Events” on page 267 for details on using this
feature.
Renumber Bars
This command renumbers the bars in a session.
To do this, change the numbering of bar 1, and
all subsequent bars are renumbered accordingly.
Quantize
This command adjusts the placement of se-
lected MIDI events in a track so that their start
or end points precisely align to the quantization
value chosen. See “Quantize” on page 311 for
details on using this feature.
Change Velocity
This command adjusts attack and release veloc-
ities for selected MIDI notes. Use it to make
notes louder or software, or to create crescendos
or decrescendos. See “Change Velocity” on
page 316 for details on using this feature.
Change Meter dialog
Renumber Bars dialog
Quantize dialog
Change Velocity dialog
Chapter 40: MIDI Menu 521
Change Duration
This command adjusts the duration for selected
MIDI notes. Use it to make melodies and phrases
more staccato or more legato. See “Change Du-
ration” on page 318 for details on using this fea-
ture.
Transpose
This command transposes selected MIDI notes
up or down the musical scale by a specific num-
ber of semitones (half steps). With this feature
you can easily add key changes and other trans-
position effects to MIDI tracks. See “Transpose”
on page 319 for details on using this feature.
Select Notes
This command selects MIDI notes based on
pitch. It can be used to select a single note or
note range for the entire length of a region or
track, or to select the upper or lower voices
within chords. See “Select Notes” on page 310
for details on using this feature.
Split Notes
This command is similar to the Select Notes
command, but also lets you automatically cut or
copy the selected notes. One use for this com-
mand is in the case where you have recorded a
track with chords in the left hand and melody in
the right. You can cut the melody notes and
paste them to another track to assign them to
play on a different device or channel. See “Split
Notes” on page 311 for details on using this fea-
ture.
Change Duration dialog
Transpose dialog
Select Notes dialog
Split Notes dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide522
Input Quantize
This command quantizes MIDI notes as they are
performed and recorded. While this will im-
prove the strict rhythmic accuracy of a perfor-
mance, it can also give it a stiff, mechanical feel.
To preserve the original rhythmic nuances of a
performance, deselect this option. See “Input
Quantize” on page 144 for details on using this
feature.
Click
When enabled, a metronome sounds during
playback and recording (as specified by the set-
tings in the Click Options dialog). See “Record-
ing with the Click” on page 121 for details on
using this feature.
Click Options
This command lets you configure click parame-
ters such as MIDI note, velocity, duration, and
output. See “Recording with the Click” on
page 121 for details on using this feature.
MIDI Beat Clock
This command synchronizes certain MIDI de-
vices such as drum machines, software synthe-
sizers, hardware sequencers, and arpeggiator to
MIDI Beat Clock. Devices selected in this dialog
will receive the MIDI Beat Clock signal. If your
MIDI interface does not support transmitting
MIDI Beat Clock to separate ports, the interface
will appear as the only destination. See “MIDI
Beat Clock” on page 485 for details on using this
feature.
Input Quantize dialog
Click Options dialog
MIDI Beat Clock dialog
Chapter 40: MIDI Menu 523
Input Filter
This command filters out selected MIDI mes-
sages from your recording. The Input Filter can
be set to record all messages, only the specified
messages, or all except the specified messages.
When using the Only option, only the MIDI
messages that are selected will be recorded. Con-
versely, when using the All Except option, the
selected messages will not be recorded. See
“MIDI Input Filter” on page 143 for details on
using this feature.
Input Devices
(Macintosh Only)
This command enables selected MIDI control-
lers and control surfaces so that MIDI data re-
ceived from them can be recorded. Disabling de-
vices in this dialog will ensure that unwanted
notes (such as those from drum machines or ar-
peggiator) are not recorded.
MIDI Thru
Enabling MIDI Thru routes MIDI from your con-
trollers to the devices and channels assigned to
the MIDI track currently record-enabled. This al-
lows you to monitor MIDI tracks while record-
ing.
All Notes Off
This command sends an All Notes Off MIDI
message to all MIDI devices connected to your
system to silence any stuck notes.
MIDI Input Filter dialog
Input Devices dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide524
Chapter 41: Movie Menu 525
Chapter 41: Movie Menu
Movie Menu
(Macintosh Only)
Movie menu commands are used for adding
QuickTime movies to a session and managing
movie playback.
Import Movie
This command imports a QuickTime movie into
the current session. Once imported, a Quick-
Time movie is displayed in its won Movie track
in the Edit window, and in a floating Movie
window. With a QuickTime movie in a session,
Pro Tools serves as a fast, random-access visual
reference for “sweetening” the movie by adding
sound effects, music, Foley, dialog, or other au-
dio. See “Importing a QuickTime Movie” on
page 496 for details on using this feature.
Import Audio From Current Movie
This command imports audio directly from a
QuickTime movie currently loaded into a ses-
sion. Pro Tools will convert the audio to the cur-
rent session sample rate and bit resolution. See
“Importing QuickTime Audio” on page 500 for
details on using this feature.
Import Audio From Other Movie
This command imports audio from a QuickTime
movie on your hard drive. If necessary,
Pro Tools will convert the audio to the current
session sample rate and bit resolution. This
command can also be used to import audio files
from audio CDs. See “Importing QuickTime Au-
dio” on page 500 for details on using this fea-
ture.
Bounce to Movie
This command compiles a new QuickTime
movie with the current session as the audio
sound track. Pro Tools will convert the audio
tracks to the selected sample rate and bit resolu-
tion, then create a new flattened movie with the
bounced audio. As a QuickTime file, the new
movie is supported by all software applications
that support QuickTime video. See “Bouncing to
a new Movie” on page 502 for details on using
this feature.
Movie Menu
Pro Tools Reference Guide526
New Movie Track
With the Pro Tools AVoption installed, this
command creates a new empty movie track into
which you can record or import video.
Normal Priority Playback
This is the default setting for QuickTime movie
playback. It gives no extra priority to movie
playback over other screen update tasks such as
metering, moving faders, and so on. In most
cases you should use this setting. If, however,
you are running QuickTime movies without a
video capture card, you may need to use the Me-
dium or High Priority Playback setting.
Medium Priority Playback
This command gives QuickTime movie play-
back a higher priority relative to other Pro Tools
screen update tasks. This yields better movie
playback performance if you are running Quick-
Time movies without a video capture card.
Highest Priority Playback
This command gives QuickTime movie play-
back highest priority. In this mode, Pro Tools
disables screen activity such as metering during
movie playback. This yields the highest movie
playback performance if you are running Quick-
Time movies without a video capture card.
Set Movie Sync Offset
When you import a QuickTime movie into a ses-
sion, by default, the first frame of the movie is
set to the start time of the session. In some cases,
you may need to offset the movie earlier or later
so you can accurately spot audio to it. The Set
Movie Sync Offset command allows you to set
this offset in 1/4-frame increments. This is more
accurate than dragging the movie track, and is
especially useful in cases where a movie track
begins with a partial frame.
Movie Online
This command enables and disables movie play-
back. You may want to do this to have the
Movie frozen at a particular point in time rela-
tive to Pro Tools playback, or to give highest
screen update priority to other Pro Tools tasks
such as metering, moving faders, and so on.
Window Aspect Ratio
With the Pro Tools AVoption is installed, this
command lets you to change the dimensions or
aspect ratio of the Movie window.
Add Movie
This command adds additional movie clips to
the Movie Track. You will be prompted to spot
the clip to a SMPTE location. If the clip is spot-
ted to a location that already contains a movie
clip, the first clip will be truncated.
Chapter 41: Movie Menu 527
Undo Add Movie
This command undoes the Add Movie com-
mand and other Movie Track-related editing
functions such as moving, copying, or clearing
clips. These actions cannot be undone by choos-
ing the standard Undo command from the Edit
menu.
Clear Selection
This command clears a selection in the Movie
Track. This allows simple editing of movie clip
content.
Clear Movie Track
This command clears the entire Movie Track.
Pro Tools Reference Guide528
Chapter 42: Operations Menu 529
Chapter 42: Operations Menu
Operations Menu
The Operations menu command allow you to
toggle on or off several recording, monitoring,
playback, and display options.
Destructive Record
This command enables Destructive Record
mode. In this mode, recording over existing re-
gions replaces the original audio permanently.
This allows you to conserve hard drive space.
However, if you have sufficient drive space, it is
usually best to use Pro Tools in Nondestructive
Record mode to avoid losing any previously re-
corded material.
Loop Record
Loop Record lets you record take after take while
the same section of audio repeats. This is a con-
venient technique for quickly recording multi-
ple takes of a part without losing spontaneity.
The time range that is looped and recorded—
which must be at least one second in length—is
defined by selecting a range in the Ruler or in a
track’s playlist, or by specifying start and end
points in the Transport window. See “Loop Re-
cording Audio” on page 132 for details on using
this feature.
QuickPunch
QuickPunch gives you the ability to instanta-
neously punch-in (initiate recording) on a
record-enabled audio track during playback,
then punch-out (exit recording) by clicking the
Transport’s Record button. Recording with
QuickPunch is nondestructive See “Using
QuickPunch” on page 155 for details on using
this feature.
Auto Input Monitoring
In this mode, when session playback is stopped,
Pro Tools monitors audio input. When playback
is started for a punch-in, Pro Tools monitors ex-
isting track material up until the punch point.
While punched in, the input signal is moni-
tored. on punch-out, monitoring switches back
Operations Menu
Pro Tools Reference Guide530
to the existing track material. This is similar to
the auto-switching logic found on digital and
analog multitrack tape machines. See “Monitor-
ing during Punch-Ins” on page 131 for details
on using this feature.
Input Only Monitoring
in this mode, when a track is record-enabled,
Pro Tools monitors audio input only, regardless
of any punch in/out selection. See “Monitoring
during Punch-Ins” on page 131 for details on us-
ing this feature.
Online
This command puts Pro Tools online. Playback
or recording can then be triggered by an exter-
nal time code source. Online recording or play-
back begins as soon as Pro Tools receives and
lock to time code or ADAT sync. See “Putting
Pro Tools Online” on page 474 for details on us-
ing this feature.
Pre/Post Roll Playback
This command enables pre- and post-roll play-
back. Pre- and post-roll amounts can be entered
in the Transport window, set from a track’s play-
list or Timebase Ruler, or by recalling a Memory
Location. See “Setting Pre/Post-Roll” on
page 137 for details on using this feature.
Loop Playback
This option continuously loops playback of a se-
lection until you stop playback. Looping play-
back is a useful way to check the rhythmic con-
tinuity of a selection when working with
musical material. Selections must be at least 0.5
seconds in length to use Loop Playback.
Scroll Options
Pro Tools provides several options for how the
contents of the Edit window scroll during play-
back and recording. These include:
No Auto-Scrolling Disables scrolling during and
after playback. The playback cursor moves
across the Edit window, indicating the playback
location.
Scroll After Playback Causes the Edit window to
scroll to the final playback location after play-
back has stopped. In this mode, the playback
cursor moves across the Edit window, indicating
the playback location.
Page Scroll During Playback Causes the Edit
window to scroll during playback. With this op-
tion, the playback cursor moves across the Edit
window, indicating the playback location.
When the right edge of the Edit window is
reached, its entire contents are scrolled, and the
playback cursor continues moving from the left
edge of the window.
Continuous Scroll During Playback Causes the
Edit window’s contents to scroll continuously
past the playback cursor, which remains in the
center of the window. With this option, play-
back is always based on the Timeline selection
(unlike Continuous Scroll With Playhead). This
option is available only on Pro Tools TDM sys-
tems.
Continuous Scroll With Playhead Causes the Edit
window’s contents to scroll continuously past
the Playhead, which is a blue line in the center of
the window (red when recording). This option is
available only on Pro Tools TDM systems.
Chapter 42: Operations Menu 531
Link Edit and Timeline Selection
This command lets you link or unlink Timeline
selections. When the Edit and Timeline selec-
tions are unlinked, you can make a selection
within a track for editing purposes that is dis-
tinct from the selection in the Timeline (which
determines the playback and recording range).
When the Edit and Timeline selections are
linked, selecting in a track’s playlist (an Edit se-
lection) also defines the play and record range
(the Timeline selection). See “Separate Edit and
Timeline Selections” on page 195 for details on
using this feature.
Copy Edit Selection to Timeline
When the Edit and Timeline selections are un-
linked, this command copies the current Edit se-
lection to the Timeline.
Copy Timeline Selection to Edit
When the Edit and Timeline selections are un-
linked, this command copies the current Time-
line selection to an Edit selection.
Play Timeline Selection
When Continuous Scroll with Playhead is en-
abled, selections in the Timeline do not deter-
mine when playback begins. The Playhead it-
self, denotes where playback begins when
clicking Play in the Transport. The Edit and
Timeline selections, however, can still be played
when the Playhead is enabled. This command
plays a Timeline selection with the Playhead en-
abled.
Play Edit Selection
This command plays an Edit selection when
Continuous Scroll with Playhead is enabled.
Mute Frees Explicit Voice
(TDM Systems Only)
When this option is enabled, a muted track’s
voice will be allocated to the next highest prior-
ity track assigned to the same explicit voice. See
“Virtual Tracks and Track Priority” on page 82
for details on using this feature.
Auto-Spot Regions
When enabled, this option simplifies the task of
spotting regions. If you are using VITC with this
option enabled, or MachineControl software,
you can pause your video at an appropriate
SMPTE frame location, click on a region with
the Grabber, and the region will be automati-
cally spotted to the current time code location.
Active in Background
When enabled, this option allows Pro Tools to
operate in the background while you use an-
other application.
Pre-Fader Metering
This option toggles track metering between pre-
and post-fader operation. When set to Pre-Fader
Metering, level meters show levels independent
of fader position. With post-fader metering, the
level meters respond to fader position.
Pro Tools Reference Guide532
Calibration Mode
(TDM Systems Only)
This command puts Pro Tools into a special op-
erating mode in which the inputs and outputs
of connected interfaces such as the 888/24 I/O
can be calibrated. In this mode, the track names
of all uncalibrated tracks flash until calibration
is complete. For details on using this feature, re-
fer to the Pro Tools TDM Installation Guide.
Chapter 43: Setups Menu 533
Chapter 43: Setups Menu
Setups Menu
This menu allows you to configure various
Pro Tools hardware an d software parameters.
Hardware
This dialog lets you configure the various pa-
rameters for each card and interface in your
Pro Tools system. If you have multiple cards or
interfaces, you must configure each by selecting
the appropriate items for the menus in this dia-
log. For details on using this dialog to configure
your system, refer to the Pro Tools System Instal-
lation Guide for your Pro Tools configuration.
Playback Engine
This dialog changes the Playback Engine. Your
choice of Playback Engine determines which
Pro Tools audio card is used to provide Pro Tools
with its recording, playback and editing fea-
tures.
If you change the Playback Engine mid-session,
the session will be saved, closed and reopened to
enable the new Playback Engine. For details on
using this feature, refer to the Pro Tools Installa-
tion Guide for your Pro Tools system.
Setups Menu
Hardware Setup dialog
Playback Engine dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide534
DAE Buffer Size
(Windows Only)
This command changes the DAE Playback
Buffer Size. When you first launch Pro Tools, it
automatically selects the optimal DAE Playback
Buffer size for your system. In some cases, you
may wish to adjust this parameter to modify
your system’s performance.
Disk Allocation
If you are using multiple hard drives for record-
ing, this dialog lets you assign each track in a
session to a specific drive. Audio for that track
will then be recorded to the chosen drive. See
“Disk Allocation” on page 117 for details on us-
ing this feature.
Peripherals
The Peripherals dialog lets you configure syn-
chronization, MIDI, machine control, and eth-
ernet peripheral devices for use with Pro Tools.
Synchronization
This page configures synchronization devices
such as Digidesign’s Universal Slave Driver to
synchronize Pro Tools to SMPTE Time Code.
DAE Playback Buffer Size dialog (Windows)
Playback Buffer Settings on Macintosh sys-
tems are changed from within the DAE ap-
plication itself.)
Disk Allocation dialog
Synchronization setup
Chapter 43: Setups Menu 535
Machine Control
This page configures MIDI machine control and
9-pin machine control devices for use with
Pro Tools. MIDI Machine control is supported
on all Pro Tools systems. The Pro Tools Machine
Control software option is required for use of 9-
pin controllers.
MIDI Controllers
This page configures MIDI control surfaces such
as the Mackie Designs HUI, Penny & Giles
MM16/DC16, JL Cooper CS-10 family, and the
Peavey PC1600.
Ethernet Controllers
This page configures ethernet-equipped devices
such as Digidesign’s ProControl control surface
for use with Pro Tools.
I/O Setup
The I/O Setup dialog lets you define and name
your system inputs, outputs, inserts, and busses.
These paths will retain the names you have
given them in any pop-up menus in which they
appear. See “The I/O Setup Dialog” on page 62
for details on using the I/O Setup dialog.
Machine Control setup
MIDI Controllers setup
Ethernet setup
I/O Setup dialog
Pro Tools Reference Guide536
Feet.Frames
(TDM Systems Only)
For sessions in which feet and frames are the
time scale of reference, this command lets you
enter a Start Frame based on an appropriate
frame location at the beginning of your project
tape. The Feet.Frames Ruler will then use this
value as its start reference.
OMS MIDI Setup
(Macintosh Only)
This command configures OMS to use MIDI in-
terfaces, instruments, and other peripherals on
Macintosh-based Pro Tools systems. Refer to the
Pro Tools Installation Guide that came with your
system for details on configuring OMS.
OMS Studio Setup
(Macintosh Only)
This command configures OMS to use MIDI in-
terfaces, instruments, and other peripherals on
Macintosh-based Pro Tools systems. Refer to the
Pro Tools Installation Guide that came with your
system for details on configuring OMS.
OMS Names
(Macintosh Only)
This command opens patch name documents
for all configured OMS devices and edit patch
and note name information. Edited patch
names will appear in the Program Change win-
dow within Pro Tools.
Feet.Frames dialog
OMS MIDI Setup
OMS Studio Setup
OMS Names dialog
Chapter 43: Setups Menu 537
Preferences
The Preferences dialog has several tabbed pages
in which you can specify your preferred settings
for various session parameters. Each new session
will use these preferences.
Display Preferences
Recompute Invalid Overviews This option
prompts Pro Tools to look for missing or cor-
rupted overview data (the data used to create
waveform displays) when it opens sessions. If
Pro Tools finds that overview data is missing or
corrupted, it will recreate the overview(s) for the
session. This may take some time if there are
many tracks in the session. If you suspect that
overview data for a session has become cor-
rupted, or if you import audio files which have
no overview data into a session, make sure this
preference is enabled for the session, save and
close the session, then reopen it. Pro Tools will
recreate the overview(s) for the session when it
opens.
Draw Waveforms Rectified This option displays
audio waveform data in rectified view. In this
view, audio waveforms are displayed so that
their positive and negative waveform excursions
(the portions that fall above and below the cen-
ter line) are summed together and viewed as a
single positive-value signal. This view allows
more waveform detail to be seen in either nor-
mal or reduced track height views. It can be par-
ticularly useful when editing volume automa-
tion data, since the it depicts waveform levels as
starting at the bottom of the track.
Mix Window Follows Bank Selection This option,
which is only available if you are using an exter-
nal MIDI controller supported by Pro Tools,
causes Pro Tools to scroll the Mix window to dis-
play the selected bank of tracks when you
switch banks on the MIDI Controller, ensuring
that the current bank is viewable in on-screen.
Edit Window Follows Bank Selection This op-
tion, which is only available if you are using an
External MIDI controller supported by
Pro Tools, causes Pro Tools to scroll the Edit
window to display the selected bank of tracks
when you switch banks on the MIDI Controller,
ensuring that the current selection of tracks in
the current bank is viewable in on-screen.
Edit Window Default Length This option allows
you to set a default length for the Edit window
in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. This ca-
pability is useful if you wish to assemble a ses-
sion of a particular length or leave extra room to
expand the Edit window’s work area in your ses-
sion. There is a 13 hour maximum limit for the
length of a Pro Tools session.
Show Meters in Sends View When the Sends
View is displaying individual send controls, you
can enable this option to show send level
meters. If you are using a slower computer, you
can disable this option to reduce the processing
load on your CPU.
Pro Tools Reference Guide538
Edit Window Color Coding
Edit Window Color Coding determines how col-
ors are assigned to the waveform display in the
Edit window. Choices are:
None This option turns off color assignment to
the waveform display of tracks in the Edit win-
dow.
Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to the
waveform display of each track in the Edit win-
dow according to its voice number and MIDI
channel assignment.
Tracks and MIDI Devices Assigns a color to the
waveform display of each track in the Edit win-
dow according to its voice number and MIDI de-
vice type.
Groups Assigns a color to the waveform display
of each track in the Edit window according to its
group ID. If groups are suspended using the Sus-
pend Groups command, all waveforms will be
displayed in black.
Peak Hold Options
These options determine the how long the peak
indicators on track meters stay lit after a peak is
detected. Choices are:
3-Second Peak Hold When selected, track meters
display the last peak level for three seconds.
Infinite Peak Hold When selected, track meters
display the last peak level until you click them
to clear them.
No Peak Hold When selected, track meters do
not hold the peak level.
Operation Preferences
Timeline Insertion Follows Playback This option
causes the screen’s play cursor to update its loca-
tion to the point where playback stops.
Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle When se-
lected, the edit cursor automatically locates to
the point where scrubbing stops.
Support Background Record Applications Allows
other audio recording applications to run in the
background concurrently with Pro Tools. Files
recorded in the background can be imported
into Pro Tools, trimmed and viewed while re-
cording continues.
Sends Default to -INF Sets the initial fader level
of newly-created Sends to -infinity (no audible
signal level).
Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind When se-
lected, audio is audible during fast-forward or re-
wind.
Latch Record Enable Buttons When deselected,
prevents multiple tracks from being record en-
abled: Record-enabling a track takes any other
track out of record-enabled mode.
Chapter 43: Setups Menu 539
Latch Solo Buttons When deselected, prevents
multiple tracks from being soloed. Soloing a
track mutes any track that is soloed.
Link Mix and Edit Group Enables When selected,
links enabling and disabling of Mix and Edit
groups: Enabling Group A in the Edit Window
automatically enables Group A in the Mix win-
dow.
Use F11 key for Wait for Note When selected,
pressing the F11 Function key puts MIDI record-
ing in Wait for Note mode.
Numeric Keypad Mode
Numeric Keypad Mode determines how the nu-
meric keypad functions. You can always use the
numeric keypad to select and enter values in the
Event Edit Area, Location Indicators, and Trans-
port fields.
Classic Emulates the way Pro Tools worked in
versions earlier than 5.0. With the Numeric Key-
pad Mode set to Classic, you can play up to two
tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock mode. Press Con-
trol (Macintosh) or the Start key (Windows), fol-
lowed by 0-9 for different play speeds. Press Plus
or Minus to reverse direction. Recall Memory
Locations by typing the Memory Location num-
ber, followed by period.
Transport Allows you to set a number of record
and play functions, and also operate the Trans-
port from the numeric keypad. With the Nu-
meric Keypad Mode set to Transport, you can
play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock
mode. Press Control (Macintosh) or the Start
key (Windows), followed by 0-9 for different
play speeds. Press Plus or Minus to reverse direc-
tion. Recall Memory Locations by typing period,
the Memory Location number, and period
again.
Shuttle Selects a type of shuttling different from
that of Shuttle Lock Mode. With the Numeric
Keypad Mode set to Shuttle, playback is trig-
gered by pressing and holding the keys on the
numeric keypad—playback stops once the keys
are released. Various playback speeds are avail-
able in both forward and reverse. You can also
recall Memory Locations by typing period, the
Memory Location number, and period again.
Autosave
This preference determines how the Autosave
feature functions.
Enable Autosave When selected, Pro Tools auto-
matically saves sessions while you work. Use the
Keep and Save Every fields to specify the total
number of incremental backups that are kept
and how often the session is saved.
Online Options
Record Online at Time Code (or ADAT) Lock
When selected, online recording begins as soon
as Pro Tools receives and locks to time code or
ADAT sync.
Record Online at Insertion/Selection When se-
lected, online recording begins at the Edit cursor
location. Recording continues until Pro Tools
stops receiving time code. If you make a selec-
tion, Pro Tools records online for the length of
the selection.
Open Ended Record Allocation
This preference determines how much of your
available hard drive space is allocated for record-
ing. Choices are:
Pro Tools Reference Guide540
Use All Available Space When selected, the
drive’s entire available space is allocated. This
can sometimes slow down the recording process
for hard drives that use certain file systems, in-
cluding HFS+ and NTFS.
Limit To Sets the maximum allowable recording
duration. This can help reduce the time it takes
to begin recording by allocating only a portion
of your hard drive. The number of minutes spec-
ified is allocated for each record-enabled track.
You may find it necessary to experiment with
this number to achieve the desired performance
for recording.
Machine Control
These preferences determine how a connected
transport responds to Pro Tools. Choices are:
Machine Chases Memory Location When se-
lected, navigating to a specific location in a ses-
sion with a Memory Location causes a con-
nected transport to chase to that location.
Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub When se-
lected, navigating to a specific location in a ses-
sion by moving the selection point or by scrub-
bing a track will cause a connected transport to
chase to that location.
Machine Cues Intelligently When selected, if you
navigate to a cue point that is more than 10 sec-
onds from the current location, Pro Tools will
command a connected transport to shuttle to
the desired location at full speed to within 10
seconds of the cue point. Cueing will then slow
to normal speed until the point is reached. This
significantly speeds up tape cueing.
Remote Mode
Punch In Frame Offset Sets an offset in frames to
compensate for punch in timing advances or de-
lays.
Punch Out Frame Offset Sets an offset in frames
to compensate for punch out timing advances
or delays.
Auto Regions Fade In/Out Length Sets a default
length for fade ins and fade outs automatically
applied to applied to region boundaries. Using
automatic fade-ins/fade-outs saves you the trou-
ble of editing to zero-crossings or creating nu-
merous rendered fades in order to eliminate
clicks or pops in playback. Autofades are not
written to disk. Value range is from 0 to 10 ms
for the Auto Region Fade In/Out Length. A value
of zero (the default) means that no auto-fading
will occur. The Auto Fade value is saved with the
session, and is automatically applied to all free-
standing region boundaries until you change it.
Calibration Reference Level Sets a default cali-
bration reference level in dB when Pro Tools is
in Calibration Mode. See the Pro Tools TDM In-
stallation Guide for details on using Calibration
Mode.
Chapter 43: Setups Menu 541
Editing Preferences
Track Selection Follows Regions List Selection
When selected, selecting a region in the Regions
List causes Pro Tools to highlight that region’s
occurrence in a track.
Region List Selection Follows Track Selection
When selected, selecting a region in a track also
selects it in the Regions List.
Auto-Name Separated Regions When selected,
Pro Tools automatically names newly separated
regions by appending a number to the region’s
name.
Auto-Name Memory Locations When Playing
When selected, Pro Tools gives new memory lo-
cations default names based on their time loca-
tion in the session. The time units currently
chosen in the Display menu determine the units
for the names.
Recall Original Track Selections When selected,
Memory Locations that recall a selection also re-
call the track in which the selection was made.
Crossfade Preview Pre-Roll This option specifies
the amount of pre-roll to be added when you are
auditioning crossfades in the Fades dialog.
Crossfade Preview Post-Roll This option speci-
fies the amount of post-roll to be added when
you are auditioning crossfades in the Fades dia-
log.
Default Fade Settings
Fade In Selects the default envelope shape for
fade ins.
Crossfade Selects the default envelope shape for
crossfades.
Fade Out Selects the default envelope shape for
fade outs.
Conversion Quality Selects the sample rate con-
version quality. Sample rate conversion is used
in a variety of Pro Tools processes including
converting and importing audio files of differ-
ent formats into a session, bouncing and saving
tracks to a different sample rate or bit depth, and
other functions. The higher the quality of sam-
ple rate conversion you choose, the longer
Pro Tools will take to process the audio file.
Matching Start Time Takes List
Command-clicking (Macintosh) or Control-
clicking (Windows) in a track, will display a list
of regions whose time stamp matches the cur-
rent cursor location. The preferences that follow
determine which takes appear in this list:
Take Region Names that Match Track Names
When selected, only regions that share the same
root name with the track/playlist appear in the
Takes List pop-up menu.
Pro Tools Reference Guide542
Take Region Lengths that Match When se-
lected, only regions that match the length of the
current selection appear in the Takes List pop-
up menu.
“Separate Region” Operates on All Related Takes
When selected, editing a region with the Sepa-
rate Region command also affects all other re-
lated takes with the same User Time Stamp. This
option helps you compare different sections
from a group of related takes.
QuickPunch Crossfade Length Specifies a default
length for crossfades created by QuickPunch re-
cording. Crossfades occur before the punch in
and after the punch out.
Levels of Undo Sets the maximum number of ac-
tions (up to 16) that can be undone with the
multiple undo feature.
Automation Preferences
Faders Move During Playback When selected,
faders move on screen when automated. When
deselected, faders do not move, but automation
is still functioning.
Smooth and Thin Data After Pass When se-
lected, automation is automatically smoothed
and thinned by the amount specified with the
Degree of Thinning option.
Write Switches to Touch After Pass After an au-
tomation pass in Auto Write mode, Pro Tools
automatically switches to Auto Touch mode. On
TDM systems you can choose to stay in Auto
Write mode by deselecting this option.
Mutes Follow Groups When selected, muting a
track that belongs to a Mix group mutes all
other members of the group. When deselected,
tracks must be muted individually.
Solos Follow Groups When selected, soloing a
track that belongs to a Mix group solos all other
members of the group. When deselected, tracks
must be soloed individually.
Send Mutes Follow Groups When selected, mut-
ing a Send that belongs to a group mutes all
other members of the group. When deselected,
Sends must be muted individually.
Send Levels Follow Groups When selected, ad-
justing the level of a Send that belongs to a
group adjusts the Send levels of all other mem-
bers of the group. When deselected, Send levels
must be adjusted individually.
LFEs Follow Groups When selected, adjusting or
editing an LFE control that belongs to a group
adjusts the LFE controls of all other members of
the group. When deselected, LFE controls must
be adjusted individually.
Degree of Thinning Specifies the amount of auto-
mation data thinning applied when automation
is recorded. Avoid over thinning automation
data or it may no longer accurately reflect the
original pass.
Chapter 43: Setups Menu 543
Touch Timeout Specifies how quickly automa-
tion recording stops or “times out” after you
stop moving a MIDI controller in Touch mode.
AutoMatch Time Specifies how quickly Pro Tools
returns a fader or other control to its previously
automated level after automation recording
stops.
Amount of Memory for Automation Recording Al-
lows you to reserve additional memory for re-
cording automation. If you have dense automa-
tion data or a large number of automated tracks,
increase this amount. Relaunch Pro Tools for
this setting to take effect.
Processing Preferences
AudioSuite Dither
Use AudioSuite Dither When selected, applies
dither to specific audio processing tasks. See
“Dither” on page 352 for an explanation of
dither.
Dither Plug-In Specifies the plug-in used for
dither processing when the Use AudioSuite
Dither option is selected.
Edit Dither Settings When Digidesign’s dither
plug-in is used, allows you to apply either nor-
mal or noise-shaped dither.
Dither Depth Allows you to select a bit depth for
the dithered audio.
AudioSuite Buffer Size Sets the size of the mem-
ory buffer used for audio processing and pre-
viewing with AudioSuite plug-ins. Generally,
choosing a smaller buffer speeds up AudioSuite
audio previewing functions. Choosing a larger
buffer speeds up AudioSuite processing func-
tions. Set the buffer according to your current
task: Before auditioning an AudioSuite plug-in,
set the buffer to Mini or Small. When you pro-
cess a file, set it to Large or Jumbo.
TC/E Plug-In Allows you to choose the plug-in
used for Time Compression and Expansion
when you edit audio with the Time Trimmer
tool. The Time Trimmer works by using Time
Compression/Expansion to match an audio re-
gion to the length of another region, a tempo
grid, a video scene or other reference point.
Default Settings Specifies the default settings
used by the chosen Time Compression/Expan-
sion plug-in.
Pro Tools Reference Guide544
Compatibility Preferences
Convert .WAV files to AES31/BroadcastWave
When selected, this option applies to all newly
imported .WAV files, making them compliant
with the AES31/EBU Broadcast standard.
Avid Compatibility Mode When selected, ensures
that all imported OMF media files are treated as
Read-Only and prevents destructive editing pro-
cesses such as those used by the Pencil and Time
Trimmer tools and AudioSuite processing.
MIDI Preferences
Play MIDI Notes When Editing When selected,
causes MIDI notes to sound when you insert them
with the Pencil or drag them with the Grabber.
Default Note On Velocity Sets the default Note On
velocity for MIDI notes inserted in the Edit win-
dow and the MIDI Event List.
Pencil Tool Resolution Sets the default resolution
for MIDI controller data created with the Pencil.
Setting this to a lower resolution helps avoid
creating controller data that is unnecessarily
dense. The value range is from 1 to 100 millisec-
onds.
Global MIDI Playback Offset Sets an offset in sam-
ples to compensate for MIDI latency. Entering a
value here has the same effect as setting an off-
set with the MIDI Track Offset command (Win-
dows > MIDI Track Offset). Offset values can be
positive (later) or negative (earlier).
Chapter 43: Setups Menu 545
MIDI Note Display Determines how pitches for
MIDI notes are displayed in the Edit window
and in the MIDI Event List.
Default Thru Instrument Routes MIDI to a De-
fault Thru Instrument. This saves you the trou-
ble of creating a MIDI track and record enabling
it to hear a particular MIDI device and channel.
Unlike MIDI tracks, which only listen to the de-
vice and channel assigned to its Input Selector,
all incoming MIDI data is routed to the Default
Thru Instrument. If the Default Thru Instru-
ment is assigned to a record-enabled MIDI track,
Pro Tools only routes to the record-enabled
track.
Pro Tools Reference Guide546
Chapter 44: Display Menu 547
Chapter 44: Display Menu
Display Menu
Display menu commands control the display of
Pro Tools windows, tracks, and track data.
Show Mix Window
This command displays the Mix window, used
for recording and mixing tasks.
Show Edit Window
This command displays the Edit window, used
for graphical editing and arranging of audio,
MIDI and automation.
Narrow Mix Window
This command reduces the width of Mix chan-
nels on screen, allowing you to display the max-
imum number of tracks on your computer mon-
itor. In this view, track names, names of sends,
and Plug-In names are abbreviated to accommo-
date the smaller view. To return to normal view
width, choose this command again.
Mix Window Shows
This command selectively displays Comments,
I/O, Inserts, and Sends views in the Mix win-
dow.
Edit Window Shows
This command selectively displays Comments,
I/O, Inserts, and Sends views in the Edit win-
dow.
Transport Window Shows
This command selectively displays basic trans-
port controls, counter, and MIDI controls in the
Transport window. See “The Transport Win-
dow” on page 36 for details on using the Trans-
port.
Display Menu
Pro Tools Reference Guide548
Sends View Shows
This command displays either send assignments
for all sends, or the controls for individual
sends.
Ruler View Shows
This command selectively displays various
Timebase and Conductor Rulers in the Edit win-
dow. In addition to providing a timing reference
for track material, Timebase Rulers are used to
define Edit selections and Timeline selections.
See “Rulers” on page 184 for details on using
Rulers.
System Usage Window Shows
This command sets the display format for the
System Usage window. The System Usage win-
dow shows the usage of DSP and CPU resources
during a session. See “About Processing Band-
width” on page 376 for details on the System
Usage window.
Disk Space Window Shows
This command specifies either a text-based or
“gas-gauge” style display format for the Disk
Space window. The Disk Space window shows
how much recording time is currently available
on each hard drive connected to your system.
Display Time in Regions
This command displays the time stamp of all re-
gions in currently placed in tracks. When a re-
gion is created, it is time stamped relative to the
SMPTE start time specified for the session. This
original time stamp is permanently stored with
the region and cannot be changed. If a region is
ever moved, it can easily be placed at its original
position using the Spot dialog.
None Disables time stamp display in regions.
Current Time Displays the time stamp of all re-
gions placed in all tracks according to their cur-
rent location in the track.
Original Time Stamp Displays the Original Time
Stamp of all regions in all tracks.
User Time Stamp Displays the User Time Stamp
of all regions in all tracks. When a file is first re-
corded, its User Time Stamp is identical to its
original time stamp. You can change the User
Time Stamp using the Time Stamp Selected
command in the Audio Regions List. This allows
you to use a custom time stamp for spotting or
re-spotting the region to a time location differ-
ent from its Original Time Stamp.
Display Name in Regions
This command allows you to hide a region’s
name in tracks in the Edit window. This is useful
if you are working at a zoom level where region
names obscure the view of audio waveforms.
Chapter 44: Display Menu 549
Display Auto-Created Regions
Deselecting this command streamlines the dis-
play of region names in the Regions Lists by hid-
ing automatically crated regions. These are re-
gions that were created as a by-product of
cutting, pasting and separating other regions.
Since these by-product regions can become nu-
merous, hiding them helps you to avoid scroll-
ing through unnecessarily long Regions Lists.
See “Hiding and Removing Unwanted Regions”
on page 257 for details on using this feature.
Bars:Beats
This command displays the Time Scale in Bars &
Beats. Use this Time Scale if you are working
with musical material that mist align with bars
and beats.
Minutes:Seconds
This command displays the time scale in min-
utes and seconds.
Time Code
(TDM Systems Only)
This command displays the Time Scale in
SMPTE frames. The Frame Rate and Session Start
time are set from the Session Setup window.
Pro Tools supports the following frame rates: 24,
25, 29.97, Non-Drop, 29.97 Drop, 30 Non-Drop,
and 30 Drop frames per second.
Feet.Frames
(TDM Systems Only)
This command displays the Time Scale in feet
and frames for referencing audio-for-film
projects. The Feet.Frames time display is based
on the 35 millimeter film format.
Samples
This command displays the Time Scale in sam-
ples. This format is useful for high-resolution
sample editing.
Pro Tools Reference Guide550
Chapter 45: Windows Menu 551
Chapter 45: Windows Menu
Windows Menu
The Windows menu has commands that display
or hide various Pro Tools windows. They act as
toggles: Choosing the command displays the
desired window; choosing it again hides the
window.
Show Tempo/Meter
This command opens the Tempo Meter win-
dow. This window allows you to manipulate
MIDI data using the Tempo Change and Meter
Change commands. See “Setting the Default
Tempo” on page 123 for details on MIDI editing
using these features.
Windows Menu
Tempo/Meter window
Pro Tools Reference Guide552
Show MIDI Operations
This command opens the MIDI Operations win-
dow. This window allows you to manipulate
MIDI data using the following commands:
◆Quantize
◆Change Velocity
◆Change Duration
◆Transpose
◆Select Notes
◆Split Notes
◆Input Quantize
See “MIDI Operations Window” on page 309 for
details on MIDI editing using these commands.
Show MIDI Event List
This command opens the MIDI Event List win-
dow. This window shows the contents of a MIDI
track in a single, easy to read list. Using the MIDI
Event List, you can quickly and precisely insert,
edit, or locate any type of MIDI data using your
computer keyboard. See “MIDI Event List” on
page 321 for details on using this feature.
MIDI Operations window
MIDI Event List
Chapter 45: Windows Menu 553
Show MIDI Track Offsets
This command opens the MIDI Track Offsets
window. This window allows you to create tim-
ing offsets for MIDI tracks to compensate for
MIDI-to-audio latencies in hardware or soft-
ware-based MIDI synthesizers.
By configuring a MIDI offset, you can make
MIDI tracks play back slightly earlier (by a spe-
cific number of samples), thereby compensating
for any audio monitoring latencies. MIDI offsets
affect playback only and do not alter how MIDI
data is displayed in the Edit window.
Show Transport
This command opens the Transport window.
This window has standard transport controls, a
counter, and MIDI controls. See “The Transport
Window” on page 36 for details on using the
Transport.
Show Session Setup
This command opens the Session Setup win-
dow. This window allows you to configure vari-
ous session parameters including sample rate,
session start frame, SMPTE frame rate, and sev-
eral time code-related parameters. See “The Ses-
sion Setup Window” on page 468 for details on
using the Session Setup window.
Show Big Counter
This command opens the Big Counter window.
This window provides a large, easy to see refer-
ence for the current session time location. Time
is displayed in the currently chosen Time Scale
format.
MIDI Track Offsets window
Transport window
Session Setup window
Big Counter window
Pro Tools Reference Guide554
Show Automation Enable
This command opens the Automation Enable
window. This window allows you to enable or
suspend the writing of volume, pan, mute, plug-
in, send level, send pan and send mute automa-
tion for all tracks.
Before you can record automation, the desired
automation type must be enabled. Buttons are
highlighted when enabled. To suspend writing
of automation, deselect the button for the de-
sired automation type.
Show Memory Locations
This command opens the Memory Locations
window. Here you can store up to 200 time lo-
cation markers, selections, zoom settings,
pre/post-roll times, track show/hide states, track
height states, and group enables. To recall a
memory location, click the button for the de-
sired location or, on your computer’s numeric
keypad, press the number of the location fol-
lowed by a period. See “Memory Locations Win-
dow” on page 276 for details on using this fea-
ture.
Show Machine Track Arm
This command opens the Machine Track Arm
window. When using MachineControl, this
window allows you to record-arm external re-
cording devices from within Pro Tools.
Show Universe
(TDM Systems Only)
This command opens the Universe window.
This window provides a visual overview of all
tracks in a session. Use the Universe window to
quickly click and go to any location in a session.
Show Beat Detective
(TDM Systems Only)
This command opens the Beat Detective win-
dow. Beat Detective automatically detects the
tempo of a session and conforms an audio track
or selection to that tempo by separating it into
regions and aligning it to the beats. Beat Detec-
tive is ideal for tailoring a performance to a
groove. See Chapter 22, “Beat Detective” for de-
tails on using this feature.
Automation Enable window
Memory Locations window
Universe window
Beat Detective window
Chapter 45: Windows Menu 555
Show Movie Window
(Macintosh Only
This command opens the Movie window. This
window displays QuickTime movies imported
into the current session using the Import Movie
command. The movie serves as a sample-accu-
rate, random-access reference for spotting
sound effects, music, Foley, dialog, or other au-
dio to the visuals. See “About the Movie Win-
dow” on page 497 for details on using this fea-
ture.
Show Strip Silence
This command opens the Strip Silence window.
Use this window to remove areas of silence from
a selection. Strip Silence automatically divides a
selection into regions, which can be useful
quantizing audio to musical values or SMPTE lo-
cations. See “The Strip Silence Window” on
page 253 for details on using this feature.
Show System Usage
This command opens the System Usage win-
dow. This window shows how much of your sys-
tem’s DSP and CPU processing capacity is in use
by the current session.
Show Disk Space
This command opens the Disk Space window.
This window shows the recording capacity of
each hard drive attached to your system, mea-
sured in track minutes. This calculation is based
on the bit depth and sample rate of the current
session.
Movie window
Strip Silence window
System Usage window
Disk Space window
Pro Tools Reference Guide556
Appendix A: DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing 557
Appendix A: DSP-Induced Delays in
Mixing
In all digital systems, signal processing incurs
signal delays of varying amounts. These delays
can vary from as short as several microseconds
to as long as several milliseconds, depending on
the type of processing being performed.
Delay Factors
In Pro Tools, delay is incurred when you per-
form the following processes:
Bouncing Tracks
Bus-based bounces When you bus a track to an-
other track and record the result, the following
delays are incurred:
Bounce to Disk The File > Bounce To Disk com-
mand causes no delay on a TDM-equipped sys-
tem since delay compensation for the bounce
function is built in. This form of bouncing may
be more desirable than bus-based bouncing.
Use of Inserts & Sends
The following delays are incurred when you add
an insert or send to a track:
• Insert: 2 samples
• Post-fader Send: 6 samples
• Pre-fader Send: 3 samples
Use of Hardware Inserts
When an audio interface peripheral is used on
an insert, there are two sources of delay: the
samples incurred in using an Insert, and a delay
introduced by going through the D/A and A/D
converter pair (for analog devices) or digital I/O
connection (for digital devices) on the audio in-
terface.
On the 888/24 I/O, the Digital I/O delay in-
curred when using AES/EBU or S/PDIF is identi-
cal.
Bus-based bounce delays for each Pro Tools system
Pro Tools Hardware Delay
Pro Tools 24 8 samples
Pro Tools 24 MIX 10 samples Audio Interface Delay Characteristics
Interface A/D/A delay Digital I/O
888/24 I/O 81 samples 17 samples
882/20 I/O 75 samples 17 samples
1622 I/O 75 samples 17 samples
Pro Tools Reference Guide558
Compensating for Delays
If you want to compensate for offsets incurred
by these delays, there are two different methods
you can use: apply sample-level delay to tracks
with the TimeAdjuster plug-in, or physically ad-
just tracks in the Edit window by the appropri-
ate number of samples.
Using the TimeAdjuster Plug-In
You can use the TimeAdjuster TDM plug-in pro-
vided with your Pro Tools system to apply an
exact number of samples of delay to the signal
path of the tracks you are working with. Up to
2048 samples of delay are available.
Digidesign TDM plug-ins display their delay val-
ues in the track delay indicators in the Mix win-
dow. TimeAdjuster can be used to match these
delay values for tracks that need to remain in
phase (such as instruments recorded with multi-
ple microphones or stereo pairs).
In the Mix window, Command-click (Macin-
tosh) or Control-click (Windows) the Track
Level Indicator to toggle between Level (which
appears on the display as “vol”), Peak (“pk”) and
Channel Delay (“dly”) indications. Delay values
are shown in samples.
To use TimeAdjuster to compensate for a time
delay:
1 Apply the TimeAdjuster plug-in to the track
whose delay you want to increase, and Com-
mand-click (Macintosh) or Control-click (Win-
dows) its Track Level indicator until the
Channel Delay value is displayed for that track.
2 Change the delay time in TimeAdjuster by
moving the Delay slider or entering a value in
the Delay field, until the track delay value
matches that of the first track.
You can test the delay values by duplicating an
audio track and reversing its phase while com-
pensating for delay.
If you are using a plug-in whose delay factor are
you not familiar with, you can set the delay by
ear using one of two methods:
◆If you are working with phase-coherent track
pairs, or tracks that had been multi-miked, you
can “null out” the delay. Invert the phase of the
target track using the TimeAdjuster Phase Invert
button, and adjust the plug-in delay time until
the signal disappears. (When they are perfectly
synchronized, duplicate signals of opposite po-
larity cancel each other out.) When you are fin-
ished, disengage the Phase Invert button.
◆You can also change the delay while listening
to the signal in phase, adjusting until any comb-
filter effects cancel out.
Nudging Audio Tracks
On audio tracks, you can use the Pro Tools
Nudge feature to nudge the affected regions in
single-sample (or other) increments, to preserve
phase coherency. If it is necessary to nudge a re-
gion by a large number of samples, you may
want to calculate the equivalent value in milli-
seconds and nudge the Region in millisecond
increments. If the value doesn’t divide evenly,
you can switch the Nudge value back to samples
and use these smaller increments for the re-
mainder.
The disadvantage of using this method is that it
only works with disk tracks (not live inputs),
and the timing relationship between tracks is
permanently altered, which can affect editing.
Appendix A: DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing 559
Sample Rate and How it Affects Delay
The delay in samples caused by TDM processing
is the same regardless of the sample rate because
a sample is tied to the rate of the sample clock
for the entire system. However, when samples
are converted into a time value (milliseconds or
microseconds), the sample rate (44.1 versus
48 kHz) must be taken into account.
To convert from samples to milliseconds (and vice-
versa) use this formula:
• milliseconds = samples / sample rate (in kHz)
• samples = milliseconds X sample rate (in kHz)
There are 44 samples per millisecond @ 44.1
kHz, and 48 samples/ms. @ 48 kHz.
Here’s an example of how to compensate for a
delay:
Imagine that you have used a hardware insert
on the 888/24 I/O. According to the guidelines
given previously, the total amount of delay in-
troduced is:
Insert = 2 samples
888/24 I/O A/D/A = 79 samples
Total = 81 samples
If you are working at 44.1 kHz, set Nudge Value
to milliseconds and nudge the region back (ear-
lier in time) 2 ms (2 x 44 = 88 samples). Then set
Nudge Value to samples, and nudge it forward
(later in time) 7 samples for a total of 81 sam-
ples.
Typical Delay Scenarios
Below are some typical delay scenarios that you
may encounter in a Pro Tools session. The more
complex a session becomes, the greater the TDM
delay factors may become.
Once you know the delay for your session, set
the Nudge Value to that amount (in samples)
and nudge the affected regions to compensate
for the delay.
Example 3, Pro Tools 24 MIX System
A bus-based TDM bounce with no plug-ins adds
10 samples of delay:
◆Track 1 routed to Bus 1-2, with pan set <100 =
2 samples
◆Through Bus 1-2 Mixer and back out to TDM
= 5 samples
◆Record to Track 2 with input set to Bus 1 = 3
samples
Total: 10 samples
Example 2, Pro Tools 24 MIX System
A slightly different bounce adds 14 samples of
delay because it involves use of a Send:
◆Track 1/Send 1 (post-fader) routed to Bus 1 = 6
samples
◆Through Bus 1-2 Mixer and back out to TDM
= 5 samples
◆Record to Track 2 with input set to Bus 1 = 3
samples
Total: 14 samples
There are actually 44.1 samples/ms at
44.1 kHz, so Pro Tools rounds down to 44
samples/ms. One time in ten, Pro Tools
rounds off to 45 samples/ms. At 48 kHz, no
rounding occurs.
Pro Tools Reference Guide560
Example 1, Pro Tools 24 System
A bus-based TDM bounce with no plug-ins adds
8 samples of delay:
◆Track 1 routed to Bus 1-2, with pan set <100 =
2 samples
◆Through Bus 1-2 Mixer and back out to TDM
= 3 samples
◆Record to Track 2 with input set to Bus 1 = 3
samples
Total: 8 samples
Example 2, Pro Tools 24 System
A slightly different bounce adds 11 samples of
delay because it involves use of a Send:
• Track 1/Send 1 (post-fader) routed to Bus 1 = 5
samples
• Through Bus 1-2 Mixer and back out to TDM
= 3 samples
• Record to Track 2 with input set to Bus 1 = 3
samples
Total: 11 samples
Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 561
Appendix B: TDM Mixing and
DSP Usage
Pro Tools TDM Technology
(TDM Systems Only)
Digidesign’s TDM (or time division multiplexing)
technology is based on the concept of a single,
high-speed data highway, or bus. In
Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 systems, in-
dividual channels from sources such as disk
tracks, sends, or busses are sent out from Digide-
sign audio cards, and combined together or mul-
tiplexed onto the TDM bus. At the receiving end,
the audio cards can listen to any connection on
the bus, and take whatever data they need.
With Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 sys-
tems, you can choose how to allocate the pro-
cessing power of your system. In most cases,
you’ll start the allocation process by configuring
your mixer, then assigning plug-in effects ac-
cording to how much remaining processing
power you have.
DSP Allocation
(TDM Systems Only)
Digital Signal Processing (or DSP) capability is
one of the most powerful elements of your sys-
tem. The DSP chips in your system provide the
real-time processing power for your TDM Mixer
and plug-ins. There is a limit, depending on
your system, to how many functions a single
DSP chip can power at once. This section con-
tains some guidelines for getting the most from
your available DSP capacity.
DSP Allocation Basics
As in the analog world, every send bus or output
mix that you use demands that a summing
mixer exist for that group. On an analog con-
sole, the number of these summing mixers is
fixed by the physical layout of the console. In
the Pro Tools mix environment, this number is
variable, and depends on the number of output
mixes or sends that you choose to create.
Pro Tools allocates DSP power as it is needed to
build the mixers for each session.
Pro Tools Reference Guide562
We refer to certain mixing or signal processing
functions as “using one DSP” or “using two
DSPs.” This refers to the fact that there are a cer-
tain number of DSP chips on a card (six on a
MIX card, or four on a DSP Farm card), each of
which can only power a certain number of pro-
cessing functions. If you have a single MIX card
or DSP Farm card, and you create a big enough
TDM mixer and use enough sends or plug-ins,
you will eventually use up or “max out” all
DSPs.
Mixing and DSP Usage
Pro Tools builds a TDM mixer every time a ses-
sion is opened. Note that the term “mixer chan-
nel” applies to Audio tracks (including virtual
tracks) and Auxiliary Input tracks, as well as
sends and returns that use any of the 64 TDM
internal busses. When you go beyond a certain
number of mixer channels, Pro Tools will use
another DSP to create additional mixer capacity.
With Pro Tools 24 systems, Pro Tools does not
always automatically free up all unused DSP
power when you delete unneeded mixer chan-
nel. On these systems, to reclaim all DSP power
after a change in your session configuration,
close your session and reopen it. Pro Tools will
rebuild your new mixer configuration to use
DSP power with maximum efficiency.
DSP Manager
(Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus Systems Only)
Pro Tools software (version 4.3 and higher) in-
cludes DSP Manager, a software component that
optimizes the use of DSP capacity on
Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus systems.
When you have a MIX card in your system, if
your current DSP usage is approaching the ca-
pacity of the card, and you then try to add a
mixer channel or assign a plug-in, the DSP Man-
ager will automatically try to make room for the
new mixer or plug-in on the MIX card. It does
this by reallocating the existing TDM mixers
and plug-ins to use the available DSP capacity
on the MIX card as efficiently as possible.
Monitoring DSP Usage
To monitor the usage of DSP resources during a
Pro Tools session, choose Windows > Show Sys-
tem Usage.
To display DSP resources in different formats,
choose Display > System Usage Window Shows
and choose a format from the Display menu.
As you allocate DSP to mixing or processing
with plug-ins, the System Usage window indi-
cates when DSP chips are available and when
they are in use. Green indicates a chip is free.
Red indicates a chip is in use.
System Usage window showing Large format
System Usage window showing Detailed format
Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 563
The Detailed and Gas Gauge formats show the
percentage of each DSP chip in use.
With these indicators as your guide, you can try
different mixer setups and different arrange-
ments of plug-ins, sends, and Auxiliary Inputs
to maximize your use of available DSP power.
Another feature available for DSP management
is Active and Inactive switching. See “Active and
Inactive Items” on page 13.
Setting up Sessions to use DSP
Efficiently
The dynamically configurable mixing environ-
ment in Pro Tools lets you make choices based
on the type of setup you want to have—such as
how many inputs you want for your mixer, how
many plug-ins you want to use, or how many
sends you need.
For example, you could allocate all of your DSP
power to create a large mixer with dozens of
channels—but you wouldn’t be able to use as
many busses, sends, or TDM plug-ins. Alterna-
tively, you could create a mixer with a smaller
number of mixer channels plus some sends and
Auxiliary Inputs for returns, and TDM plug-ins
on several tracks.
You can set up your session by choosing one of
the session templates supplied with your system
as a starting point, or by building it from
scratch. If you are starting from scratch, a good
rule of thumb is to start by building your mixer
first, since at least one of the DSPs in your sys-
tem is automatically dedicated to mixing. Start
with Audio tracks, then add sends and Auxiliary
Inputs, and finally add plug-ins as available DSP
allows. Master Faders do not use additional DSP
power.
DSP Usage with TDM Mixers
Understanding Mixers
DSP allocation for mixing in a Pro Tools TDM
system is based on the concept of DSP summing
mixers. Every send bus or output mix that you
use demands that a summing mixer exist for
that group. Each pair of outputs or busses that
you use requires its own mixer.
An “input” can be a disk track, a send, or an in-
ternal bus connection. Adding a pair of outputs
or busses adds the requirement for more DSP
power.
A MIX card has six DSP chips, and a DSP Farm
card has four DSP chips, each of which can
power a certain number of signal processing
tasks. DSP resources are dynamically allocated as
the number of mixers and inputs increases.
The TDM mixer provides basic building blocks
by which applications such as Pro Tools can cre-
ate a wide variety of mixer configurations.
System Usage Window showing Gas Gauge format
AudioSuite plug-ins do not use DSP and are
always available. Refer to your DigiRack
Plug-Ins Guide for more information.
Pro Tools Reference Guide564
Mono and Stereo
Each TDM mono or stereo mixer is of the di-
mensions “N x 2,” meaning that it mixes a vari-
able number of inputs to an output pair. For ex-
ample: a session with six tracks routed to Output
1–2 would require a single 6 x 2 mixer. If one of
the tracks is assigned to Output 3-4, however,
two mixers are required—one 5x2 mixer routed
to Output 1–2, and one 1x2 mixer routed to
Output 3–4.
Multi-Channel Surround
Each Surround mixer can have a variable num-
ber of outputs as well as a variable number of in-
puts. For example, the 7.1 format requires eight
outputs. A single mono track assigned to a 7.1
Output or Bus path would require a 1x8 mixer,
while one mono and one stereo track would re-
quire a 3x8 mixer.
The important concept here is that every output
(whether they are I/O or bus outputs) requires
that a mixer exists for that output. This means
that creating a send to bus 1 requires that a
mixer be created for the bus 1–2 outputs, and
that mixer will have one input.
Mixers and DSP Hardware
Different mixer plug-ins are available, each of
which uses DSP power at slightly different rates
on the different audio cards (and their DSP
chips), as shown in the following tables.
See also “TDM Mixer Plug-Ins” on
page 566.
DSP Farm
Mixer Usage
16-bit optimized mono 36x2 per chip
16-bit optimized stereo 18x2 per chip
Note: ALL stereo counts are simply the mono mixer
count divided by 2 and rounded down
24-bit optimized mono 25x2 per chip
24-bit optimized stereo 12x2 per chip
Note: The surround mixer can not run on DSP Farms
MIX Card
Mixer Usage
16-bit & 24-bit opti-
mized, mono
59x2 per chip
16-bit & 24-bit opti-
mized, stereo
29x2 per chip
Surround, 5.1 17x6 per chip
Surround, 7.1 12x8 per chip
Usage with other Surround mixer vary depending on
the number of channels in each format.
Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 565
I/O
If the DSP is also being used for I/O processing,
then some of the chip’s capacity will be devoted
to I/O, yielding slightly lower mixer count
(these figures represent maximum numbers
when I/O is declared in the Hardware Setup dia-
log):
Submixing
When there is no space remaining on any DSP
for a single mixer to increase the number of in-
puts, summing mixers must be created. For ex-
ample, on a Pro Tools 24 system, when a 24-bit
Optimized mixer needs to grow to more than 26
inputs, a summing mixer is created along with
another 1 x 2 mixer to handle the 27th input.
Both the original 26 x 2 mixer and the new 1 x
2 mixer are routed to the new summing mixer,
whose outputs go to the desired destination
(such as output 1-2).
Keep in mind that any delays inherent in creat-
ing the summing mixer are equal. Since input
signals are delayed equally, phase coherency is
preserved.
The number of virtual tracks supported by your
particular Pro Tools configuration will ulti-
mately determine the maximum number of
channels for your TDM mixer.
Sends, Busses, and Master Faders
Each send will add an input to the destination
output pair. For example, a send to output 1 will
add another input to the output 1–2 mixer. If
the send destination doesn’t already have a
mixer for its output pair, then a new mixer will
be created. A send to bus 3 will make a 1x2
mixer for bus 3–4 if no other bus 3–4 sources
have been created yet.
In addition, adding a new track and assigning its
input to a bus source will create a mixer for that
bus pair if there isn’t one already. For example,
creating a new Auxiliary Input track and setting
its input to bus 5 will create a 1x2 mixer for bus
5–6, even if no sources have been created yet.
DSP Farm with one I/O Declared
Mixer Usage
16-bit optimized mono 30x2 per chip
16-bit optimized stereo 15x2 per chip
24-bit optimized mono 20x2 per chip
24-bit optimized stereo 10x2 per chip
Note: The surround mixer cannot run on DSP Farms,
or any DSP that has I/O declared
MIX Card with one I/O declared
Mixer Usage
16-bit & 24-bit opti-
mized, mono
51x2 per chip
16-bit & 24-bit opti-
mized, stereo
25x2 per chip
Note: The Surround mixer cannot run on a MIX card
with I/O declared
MIX Card with two I/Os declared
Mixer Usage
16-bit & 24-bit opti-
mized, mono
43x2 per chip
16-bit & 24-bit opti-
mized, stereo
21x2 per chip
Note: The Surround mixer cannot run on a MIX card
with I/O declared
Pro Tools Reference Guide566
TDM Mixer Plug-Ins
(TDM Systems Only)
Pro Tools TDM systems come with three differ-
ent Mixer plug-ins: Surround, 24-bit Optimized,
and 16-bit Optimized. In most cases, the Mixer
plug-in that was automatically installed with
your system is the best one for all around use.
The Mixer plug-in that is installed depends on
which Pro Tools system you have:
Pro Tools 24 MIX Systems Only The Surround
Mixer plug-in is installed by default. When you
run your Pro Tools Installer, a copy of the 24-bit
Optimized and 16-bit Optimized Mixers are
placed in the folder “Plug-Ins (Unused)”.
Pro Tools 24 Systems Only The 24-bit Optimized
Mixer is installed by default. When you run the
Pro Tools Installer, a copy of the 16-bit Opti-
mized Mixer is placed in the folder “Plug-Ins
(Unused)”.
Switching TDM Mixer Plug-Ins
To Switch TDM mixer plug-ins:
1 Quit Pro Tools.
2 Open the DAE Folder. The DAE folder is in-
stalled at the root level of the System Folder.
3 Open the “Plug-Ins (Unused)” folder, locate
the Mixer plug-in that you want to use, and drag
it to the Plug-Ins folder.
4 Open the Plug-Ins folder, locate the other
Mixer plug-in, and drag it to the “Plug-Ins (Un-
used)” folder.
5 Launch Pro Tools.
Mixer Usage Guidelines
The following conditions apply to mixing with
Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 systems.
◆One DSP chip is automatically dedicated to
mixing in the TDM environment.
◆As you reach the basic mixer limits for a single
DSP chip, the system will automatically begin
allocating DSP resources from another chip (if
available), making it unavailable for plug-ins.
◆Each bus or send connection requires DSP to
mix signals. This means that each send or Aux-
iliary Input that you create will use available
DSP.
◆On Pro Tools 24 systems, the 16-bit Opti-
mized Mixer can power more channels per DSP
chip than the 24-bit Optimized Mixer plug-in.
There may be cases where using the 16-bit Opti-
mized mixer will help conserve enough DSP
power to allow for additional plug-ins.
On Pro Tools 24 MIX systems, there is no ad-
vantage to using the 16-bit Optimized mixer, so
you should always use either the Surround
mixer, or the 24-bit Optimized mixer.
Plug-In Features
Surround and 24-Bit Optimized
Both the 24-bit Optimized Mixer and the Sur-
round Mixer plug-ins provide the following:
◆Optimized performance for recording and
mixing 24-bit audio.
◆24-bit digital output, from an audio interface
output or Bounce to Disk. Mixing level scaling
stores 48-bit results, using a 56-bit accumulator
for maximum precision.
◆30 dB of mix headroom
Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 567
◆Input and Output clip indication: Master
Fader meters simultaneously indicate clipping
at both the input summing stage and the output
level stage.
◆Multi-channel mixing formats for surround
(available with the Surround Mixer on Pro Tools
MIX systems only).
16-bit Optimized Mixer
The 16-bit Optimized Mixer provides:
◆Optimized performance for recording and
mixing 16-bit audio
◆24-bit digital output mix result from an audio
interface output, or when bouncing to disk
◆More mixing channels (On TDM systems, 36
x 2 mixing channels can be created per DSP)
◆18 dB of mix headroom
◆Output clip indication: Master Fader meters
indicate clipping at the input summing stage
only.
Preventing Clipping
The 24-bit Optimized and the 16-bit Optimized
Mixer plug-ins indicate clipping differently.
24-bit Optimized Mixer With the 24-bit Opti-
mized mixer, the Master Fader meters indicate
clipping at both the input summing stage and
the output level stage at all times. With this
mixer, you could lower the Master Fader to re-
duce your output level, but the Master Fader
meters could still indicate clipping at the input
stage.
16-bit Optimized Mixer With the 16-bit Opti-
mized Mixer, the Master Fader meters indicate
clipping only for the output level stage of the
mixer. With this mixer, you could lower the
Master Fader to reduce your output level, but
any clipping at the input stage would not be in-
dicated.
If reducing the output level has no effect on
clipping, it could be occurring in one of the fol-
lowing places:
◆At the input summing stage. To prevent clip-
ping at the input stage, trim the input summing
levels.
◆At an insert on the Master Fader. If you are us-
ing a plug-in on the Master Fader, its meters
show the levels on the insert. To prevent clip-
ping at the insert, trim levels on any plug-ins or
Hardware inserts on the Master Fader.
Trimming Input Summing Levels
With many inputs that contain hi-level signals,
it is possible to clip the input summing stage of
the 16-bit Optimized Mixer. (This is less likely to
happen on the 24-bit Optimized Mixer because
of its much greater available headroom.)
To reduce the levels going into the input sum-
ming stage of the Mixer plug-in, lower the fader
levels of all track faders using the All Mix/Edit
group. If you are using mix automation, you will
need to use Automation Trim mode or the Trim
tool to lower the overall volume of all tracks un-
til the levels are low enough to not overload the
Master Faders.
Pro Tools Reference Guide568
DSP Usage with TDM Plug-Ins
Some basic guidelines for DSP usage on
Pro Tools systems follow:
◆TDM-equipped systems running Pro Tools 4.3
or higher software use Digidesign’s MultiShell
technology, that lets any MultiShell compatible
plug-in to share DSP chips on both MIX cards
and DSP Farm cards. Up to five types of Multi-
Shell compatible plug-ins can share a single DSP
chip.
◆Stereo DSP plug-ins generally use up twice as
much DSP as mono plug-ins.
◆Master Faders don’t require additional DSP.
Use them freely to control submix levels,
send/bus output levels, and the master output
level of your session.
The session templates provided with your sys-
tem include several useful preconfigured session
setups that make efficient use of DSP resources.
If your computer has unused slots, you can al-
ways increase your available DSP resources by
adding additional MIX Farm or DSP Farm cards
to your system.
DSP Usage and I/O Allocation
On TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems with a sin-
gle audio interface, at least one DSP chip on
your MIX card (Pro Tools 24 MIX systems) or
DSP Farm (Pro Tools 24) is automatically allo-
cated to mixing and input and output tasks. See
“Mixers and DSP Hardware” on page 564 for
specifics.
Even though this is only a small portion of the
DSP power available on the chip, it effectively
dedicates the entire chip to mixing tasks, mak-
ing it unavailable for plug-ins.
If you have an additional audio interface as-
signed to a DSP Farm or MIX Farm card,
Pro Tools will use a DSP chip on that card for
mixing and I/O tasks as well.
If you are not currently using your additional in-
terface, you can free up DSP and use it for addi-
tional plug-ins.
To reallocate I/O capacity on a DSP Farm or MIX
Farm card:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 From the Card pop-up menu, select the MIX
Farm or DSP Farm whose DSP you want to real-
locate.
3 From the Interface pop-up, select No Inter-
face.
4 Click OK to close this dialog.
When the session reopens, the DSP that was al-
located to I/O is available for mixing or plug-ins.
Refer to the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide for de-
tails on MultiShell plug-ins.
Appendix C: Troubleshooting 569
Appendix C: Troubleshooting
Backing Up Your work
It is highly recommended that you back up your
work on a regular basis, and especially before
making changes to your system configuration.
Back Up Your Session Data
Back up your session and audio data frequently.
There are a variety of media that are suited to
back up projects of various sizes, from auto-
mated tape backup systems to high-capacity op-
tical drives, to desktop CD-R burners.
The best way to back up a session is to use the
Save Session Copy In command to save the ses-
sion file and all of its associated files to a new lo-
cation.
Back Up Your System Setup
Macintosh Back up your System Folder before
upgrading your OS.
Windows Create a system recovery disk after you
have finished configuring your system and in-
stalling software. This is more useful than a re-
covery disk for an unconfigured system.
Common Issues
Pro Tools Won’t Launch
Problem:
When you double-click the Pro Tools applica-
tion or a Pro Tools session file, Pro Tools doesn’t
launch.
Possible Solutions:
◆(TDM systems only) Turn off your computer
and check to be sure your cables are properly
and securely connected to the correct Pro Tools
cards and to your audio interfaces.
◆(Digi 001 systems only) Turn off your com-
puter and check to be sure your cable is properly
and securely connected to the Digi 001 PCI card
and to the Digi 001 I/O Box.
◆Turn off your computer and check all
Pro Tools cards installed in your computer to be
sure they are properly seated in their PCI slots,
and that any TDM ribbon cables are connected
properly.
◆Verify that Pro Tools cards are installed in the
correct slot order in your computer or Expan-
sion Chassis.
◆Check to be sure your computer has the re-
quired amount of RAM to launch Pro Tools.
Pro Tools Reference Guide570
◆(Macintosh Only) Verify that the DAE appli-
cation is installed in the proper location. It
should be in the DAE Folder inside your System
Folder. If DAE is not installed in the proper loca-
tion, use your Pro Tools Installer disc to install
it.
◆(Macintosh Only) Verify that the DigiSystem
INIT is installed in the Extensions folder, inside
the System Folder. If it is not, use your Pro Tools
Installer disc to install it.
◆(Macintosh Only) Verify that Virtual Memory
is turned off. On the Macintosh, open the Mem-
ory Control Panel. If Virtual Memory is turned
on, turn it off and restart your computer.
Problem:
You get an error message when you try to start
the Pro Tools application.
Possible Solutions:
◆(Macintosh) Make sure the default set of Mac
OS System Extensions is enabled, along with the
OMS, DigiSystem Init, Direct I/O, and DSP Man-
ager Extensions.
◆Try a complete restart. (Turn off your audio in-
terfaces, computer peripherals and your com-
puter, and then turn them on again in the
proper sequence.)
◆Use the DigiTest application (installed in the
Pro Tools Utilities folder) as a diagnostic tool to
verify that your Digidesign cards are opera-
tional. You need to restart your computer before
and after using the DigiTest utility.
Audio Interface Isn’t Recognized
(TDM Systems Only)
Problem:
When you launch Pro Tools it does not recog-
nize an audio interface, or a connected audio in-
terface is not available.
Possible Solutions:
◆Turn off your computer and check to be sure
your cables are properly and securely connected
to the correct Pro Tools cards and to your audio
interfaces.
◆Verify that your Hardware Setup is correct;
check to see that you have selected the correct
Interfaces for each I/O card.
◆If you only have one interface, make sure it is
connected to the d24 card (Pro Tools 24), or
MIX Core card (Pro Tools 24 MIX).
◆Make sure SuperClock connections to your
audio interface are correct. Disconnect the
SuperClock source from the interface and see if
the problem persists.
Using DigiTest As a Diagnostic
Tool
The DigiTest utility performs diagnostic tests on
the Pro Tools cards in your system. If DigiTest
reports that any of your cards have failed, click
the Info button next to that card. Write down
the information that appears and report it to
your local Digidesign dealer or a Digidesign
Technical Support Representative.
Refer to your TDM System Installation Guide for
the specific DigiTest instructions.
Appendix C: Troubleshooting 571
Performance Factors
There are several conditions that may adversely
affect the performance of Pro Tools. These in-
clude:
Network Connections Close any network con-
nections unless you are using them for network
interchange of audio data.
Background Applications Any software utilities
that run in the background or generate disk ac-
tivity, such as virus protection software, disk op-
timizing, or file savers, should be turned off or
removed.
Screen Savers Screen saver software should be
completely removed from your computer before
running Pro Tools.
Power Saver Features Some automatic power
saver features, such as those that spin down the
system hard drive, can affect Pro Tools perfor-
mance. These features should be turned off.
Virtual Memory (Macintosh Only) Pro Tools
will not launch if Virtual Memory is active. De-
activate Virtual Memory and restart your Macin-
tosh.
CD-ROM Extensions/Control Panels Some CD-
ROM and removable media Extensions and
Control Panels have been linked to audio qual-
ity problems. Deactivate any performance-en-
hancing Extension or Control Panels for such
media, and restart your computer.
Before You Call Digidesign
Technical Support
Register Your System
As a registered owner of a new Digidesign prod-
uct under warranty, you are eligible to receive
Digidesign Technical Support. Fill out and sign
your Registration Form and mail or fax it to the
address supplied with the registration materials.
Refer to the registration materials that came
with your system for details on warranty cover-
age and the range of services available.
Use Digidesign Resources
In addition to the Pro Tools Guides, your system
includes following sources of information:
ReadMe files These contain late-breaking infor-
mation and known issues pertaining to
Pro Tools software and hardware configura-
tions. ReadMe files are installed in the Release
Notes and Documentation folder when you install
Pro Tools.
Answerbase This is a database of common prob-
lems and DAE errors, and their solutions based
on the latest information from Digidesign Tech-
nical Support. This database is installed in the
Digidesign folder when you install Pro Tools.
Web site The Digidesign website includes an
area for Technical Support, as well as a User
Conference that includes technical discussions.
Visit www.digidesign.com and go to the Support
area or the User Conference area.
Pro Tools Reference Guide572
Gather Important Information
Digidesign wants to help you resolve problems
as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you have
the following information handy when you
contact Technical Support, it will make the diag-
nosis of your problem easier. Take a few minutes
to collect this basic information in one place.
System Information
Computer
◆Make, Model, processor speed
◆Amount of system RAM
◆Operating system (version of Mac OS or Win-
dows)
◆Any Drivers, Extensions, Control Panels, Disk
Utilities, or other system-related applications
you may have installed.
Digidesign Hardware
◆Type of cards, interfaces, or peripherals
◆Where the cards are installed
◆PCI card order in computer or chassis
◆Interfaces connected to each card
Hard Drives
◆Make, Model
◆Speed (RPM)
◆Type of SCSI Connection (narrow, wide)
Digidesign Software
◆Pro Tools software version
◆(Macintosh) DAE and DSI versions
◆Plug-in versions
◆Other Digidesign software
◆Additional plug-ins from Digidesign Develop-
ment Partners
Other Hardware
If you are using additional hardware, refer to the
manufacturer’s documentation for operational
details.
The most common hardware additions include
the following:
◆SCSI Accelerators (manufacturer, model, set-
tings)
◆Expansion Chassis (manufacturer, model,
bridge chip type)
◆Video Capture cards (manufacturer, model)
Refer to Digidesign’s compatibility documents
or contact your Digidesign dealer to verify that
the hardware has been qualified for use with
your Pro Tools system.
Other Software
If you are using other audio or video applica-
tions, refer to the manufacturer’s documenta-
tion for operational details.
Make note of any other software that were run-
ning when a problem occurred.
Diagnostic Information
DigiTest
If you ran DigiTest on your system and it gener-
ated any errors, be sure to make a note of any er-
ror codes or messages.
Other Information
Note any DAE errors or other error codes you en-
counter. Also make a note of the ability to repro-
duce the problem under different conditions,
such as with another session, or after changing
settings such as the DAE Preferred Memory Size
(Macintosh) or the Hardware Buffer Size
(Pro Tools LE).
Glossary 573
Glossary
9-pin (Sony 9-pin; DB-9) Industry standard for se-
rial machine control of professional video and
audio transports, made by Sony and other man-
ufacturers. Refers to the DB-9-style physical ex-
ternal control connector found on 9-pin-com-
patible devices.
A/D conversion Analog-to-digital converters op-
erate at various bit-rate resolutions and sam-
pling rates.
address (time code address) Specific
SMPTE/EBU time code reference or reading, in
hours:minutes:seconds:frames.
ADAT lightpipe Industry standard for optical
connection of digital audio. Created by Alesis,
the lightpipe can simultaneously stream eight
channels of digital audio.
AES/EBU Standard Industry professional stan-
dard for transferring digital audio between pro-
fessional-quality audio devices. Stands for “Au-
dio Engineering Society /European Broadcasters’
Union.” Most AES/EBU connections utilize an
XLR-style 3-pin connector to carry two channels
of digital audio.
AIFF Audio Interchange File Format, an Apple
Computer audio file format.
ATR Audio Tape Recorder, of any format, includ-
ing a Digital Audio Tape (DAT) deck.
audio interface Among most Pro Tools systems,
the audio interface is a separate box that is at-
tached with a special cable to the audio card. An
audio interface typically has analog and digital
audio inputs and outputs, and may be equipped
with level meters, level controls, and other fea-
tures.
audio region A region of an audio file that is de-
fined non-destructively with pointers. See re-
gion.
Audiomedia III Digidesign’s entry-level PCI card
for Pro Tools, includes S/PDIF and stereo analog
inputs and outputs.
AudioSuite plug-in Digidesign’s proprietary file-
based, non-real-time plug-in format. AudioSuite
processing creates a new audio file with the ef-
fect permanently applied.
audition Listening to, or “monitoring,” one or
more tracks or audio files. In Pro Tools you can
audition files before you load them into the pro-
gram. There are also various ways to audition
takes from the Audio Regions list and from the
Takes List pop-up menu.
auto-created region Automatically-created re-
gions are a by-product of editing and punch re-
cording over existing regions.
Pro Tools Reference Guide574
Automation modes Function for the recording
and playing changes in levels, pan controls, and
virtually every adjustable parameter (including
plug-in elements) in Pro Tools. There are several
different automation modes in which to write
automation data in Pro Tools.
aux See auxiliary I/O.
auxiliary I/O Input and output channels used
for internal or external bussing of signals in
ways other than through the standard input and
output of a channel strip.
auxiliary send See send.
AVoption PCI cards and software that integrates
Avid video technology with Pro Tools.
AVoption XL PCI card, video interface, and soft-
ware that integrates Avid video technology with
Pro Tools.
.AVI Movie file format for the Video for Win-
dows component of Microsoft’s Media Player,
supported by Pro Tools.
bit depth One of two main specifications that
define digital audio quality (the other is sample
rate). Bit-depth defines how precisely a sound’s
dynamic range is represented. Also called bit-
resolution or bit-rate.
BNC Coaxial cable connectors used for video
and synchronizer signals.
Bounce To Disk Mixing a segment of audio (on
an entire session) internally to disk, without
leaving the digital domain. Bit rate, dithering
options and other parameters are provided by
Pro Tools for bouncing to disk.
breakpoint Step or level on a track’s automation
playlist.
bus Carries signals from several outputs to a sin-
gle path.
clipping indicator LED at the top of each channel
meter that indicates a level may have run out of
headroom, and is approaching clipping.
clock reference Common “speed” reference,
which various devices can use to establish syn-
chronization during playback and recording.
Conductor Ruler A ruler which can show session
data. There are three types of conductor rulers,
called Tempo, Meter, and Marker rulers.
continuous controller data MIDI instructions
that affect MIDI note parameters, including vol-
ume, panning, velocity, pitch bend, and modu-
lation.
crossfade Function for fading out from one re-
gion as you fade in to another region. Crossfade
types and duration are user selectable from
within the Edit window. As with fades, portions
of audio for which the fade function has been
applied are stored in the session’s Fade Files
folder.
d24 Digidesign’s 24-bit TDM interface card,
needs a DSP Farm card to create a basic Pro Tools
TDM system.
DAE (Digidesign Audio Engine) Digidesign’s real-
time operating system that provides the core
functionality of hard disk recording, digital sig-
nal processing, mix automation, and MIDI re-
quired by Pro Tools and other Digidesign prod-
ucts.
DB-9 See 9-pin.
Digi 001 Digidesign’s all-in-one audio interface
for entry-level Pro Tools LE systems, comprised
of a PCI card and I/O box. Includes two mic
preamps, S/PDIF I/O, ADAT lightpipe I/O, and
eight channels each of analog input and output.
Digidesign Audio Engine See DAE.
Glossary 575
dither “Noise” added to an audio signal when
down-sampling bit rates. Designed to create a
smoother transition at lower amplitudes instead
of simply “chopping” off lower bits.
drop frame Refers to a variance of SMPTE/EBU
time code for NTSC color video (29.97 fps) that
omits two frames (frames “0” and “1”) every
minute except for every tenth minute.
DSP Digital Signal Processing. In audio terms,
DSP refers to manipulation of digital audio—ev-
erything from reverberation to changes in level.
DSP Farm PCI card containing DSP chips, the
basic building blocks of a Pro Tools TDM sys-
tem.
Edit cursor Flashing line that appears when you
click on a track in the Edit window.
edit decision list (EDL) List of edits, or events,
typically with each event’s respective source in
and out times, source reel number, and record in
and out times.
Edit insertion point Location within a track
where you click (without dragging); also loca-
tion at which a region’s start, end, or sync point
will be placed.
Edit selection In the Edit window, the actual re-
gion highlighted when you make a selection is
called the Edit selection, which can be unlinked
from Timeline selection. See Timeline selection.
Event List See MIDI Event List.
expansion chassis Expands the capabilities of
Pro Tools TDM systems running on Macintosh
computers by adding more external PCI slots.
ExpressPro-Tools ATTO’s hard disk utility for the
preparation of hard drives for Pro Tools.
fade A selection in which the volume rises or
falls, typically from or to -∞. See crossfade.
frames per second (fps) Number of frames that
elapse per second, as defined by the four
SMPTE/EBU Time Code fps standards. These in-
clude:
• 24 fps (for film applications);
• 25 fps (the PAL/SECAM video standard);
• 29.97 fps (the NTSC color video standard)
(also see Drop-Frame);
• 30 fps (the NTSC black and white video stan-
dard).
Grid mode Used to align regions in tracks to the
nearest unit of a user-defined value. When Grid
mode is on, the Selector will “snap to” the cur-
rently selected grid value, and regions placed in
the Edit window will also line up with the se-
lected value.
groups Linked tracks in which an action in the
I/O section of one of the tracks is mirrored in all
tracks in the group. Groups can be created sepa-
rately or linked between the Edit and Mix win-
dows.
headroom Amount of remaining gain available
for a given signal before the onset of unaccept-
able distortion.
latency Time delays inherent in internal pro-
cessing or generation of audio signals within a
computer.
lightpipe See ADAT Lightpipe.
Machine Control Pro Tools functions to control
or be controlled by an external transport, typi-
cally a VTR or ATR.
Marker Memory Location referenced on a time-
line, typically used to store locations to impor-
tant points in a session. See Memory Location.
Pro Tools Reference Guide576
master “Lead” machine or Pro Tools System in a
synchronized machine arrangement. Slaves fol-
low masters. There can only be one master at
any given time.
Master Fader track Governs the overall output
of one or more tracks.
Memory Location Pro Tools supports up to 200
Memory Locations, which can include markers,
Edit selections, record and play ranges, track set-
tings, and other data. They can be viewed and
sorted in the Memory Locations window, from
which they can also be accessed.
MIDI Event List Pro Tools window that shows
the contents of a MIDI track in a column, for
easy editing of individual MIDI events.
MIDI Machine Control See Machine Control.
MIDI Time Code See MTC.
MIX Core PCI card which connects to audio in-
terface and contains the DSP for a basic Pro
Tools Mix TDM system.
MIX Farm PCI card with additional DSP for
Pro Tools 24 MIX systems.
MP3 The MPEG Layer 3 compression format is
an adjustable-quality audio compression for-
mat, developed by the Fraunhofer Institute. The
MP3 encoder file is stored in the Codecs folder
in the DAE Folder.
MTC (MIDI Time Code) Non-SMPTE form of
time code that is used by some devices to send
and receive timing information.
non-drop frame Time code that is not in drop-
frame format. In the United States, the standard
format outside of color video production or
post-production is typically 29.97 fps non-drop
frame.
nondestructive editing Leaves audio files intact.
As you edit audio within Pro Tools, all you are
editing are the regions, or “pointers,” to audio
files that are stored on the hard drive.
NTSC Video standards developed by the Na-
tional Television Standards Committee. NTSC
color video runs at 29.97 frames per second;
NTSC black and white video runs at 30 fps. Used
primarily in North and South America and Ja-
pan.
OMS Open Music System, developed by Op-
code. OMS is a “MIDI operating system” for
Macintosh computers. It handles the exchange
of MIDI data between applications, including
timing signals such as MTC.
PFL (pre fade listen) Sometimes called a “cue,”
this is a channel’s level before it is attenuated or
boosted by the fader setting. Master faders are
PFL in Pro Tools. See pre fader.
peak indicator Indicator light designed to warn
of the possibility of clipping, which illuminates
as a device’s input reaches a preset degree of
headroom.
playlist List of edits and files available in the cur-
rent session.
positional reference Common reference that
provides location information that various de-
vices can use to establish synchronization dur-
ing playback and recording. Most commonly,
the information is delivered in the form of
SMPTE/EBU Time Code.
post-fader Output from a track (typically a send)
that is governed by the channel’s fader setting.
post-roll Adjustable time which precedes the
playback or recording of a selection, in conjunc-
tion with Transport, Audition, Online, and
QuickPunch functions.
Glossary 577
preamp In recording studio terminology, a cir-
cuit designed to boost relatively low signal lev-
els, such as a microphone output, up to stan-
dard line levels of –10dBu or +4dBu. Digi 001 is
equipped with two microphone preamps.
pre-fader Output from a track (typically a send)
that is independent of the channel’s fader set-
ting.
pre-roll Adjustable time which precedes the play-
back or recording of a selection, in conjunction
with Transport, Audition, Online, and Quick-
Punch functions.
ProControl Digidesign’s control surface that
communicates with Pro Tools via ethernet.
Touch-sensitive, motorized faders, dedicated ef-
fects editing section, and extensive parameter
automation control are some of ProControl’s
unique features.
Pull Up/Pull Down Refers to the deliberate “mis-
calibration” of the audio sample rate clock (the
audio pitch) in order to compensate for a speed
change elsewhere in the production chain. The
usual situation in which these rates are encoun-
tered is when film footage (at 24 fps) is trans-
ferred to color NTSC-standard video tape (at
29.97 fps).
quantize To adjust MIDI note locations or dura-
tions to the nearest unit or template structure so
that particular rhythmic “feel” is achieved.
QuickTime Apple’s system extension for control
of time-based events, such as digitized video
movies and digitized sound.
RealAudio Audio compression scheme designed
for streaming over the internet.
region Within Pro Tools, a region is a “pointer”
to a particular track selection or file. Regions can
be dragged from the Regions list to a track.
resolving The process of synchronizing one de-
vice to another; more specifically, resolving re-
fers to synchronizing a device’s clock to an ex-
ternal clock reference.
RTAS plug-in Real-Time AudioSuite plug-ins are
Digidesign’s host-based, real-time effects plug-
in format.
sample rate One of two main specifications that
describe digital audio quality (the other is bit
rate resolution). Sample rate refers to how fre-
quently incoming audio is sampled per second
during conversion from an analog to a digital
signal.
SCSI HBA Acronym for Small Computer System
Interface (SCSI) and Host Bus Adapter (HBA),
Digidesign’s conformed terminology for SCSI
cards. SCSI is a type of data bus allowing for the
high speed transfer of data between a computer
and peripheral devices. An HBA is the card that
connects the SCSI buss between the computer
and peripheral devices such as hard drives.
send An adjustable buss from a track, which can
be routed to effects processors, auxiliary moni-
tor mixes, and signal grouping.
session Work file, much like a word processing
document or a graphics program file. A Pro
Tools session consists of audio and MIDI files,
and related data such as fades, playlists, and se-
lections. Each separate project you work on
should be stored as its own session.
slave Device that “follows” the master during
synchronization.
Sound Designer II (SDII) file format Digidesign’s
high-quality digital audio file format.
Pro Tools Reference Guide578
S/PDIF Semi-professional version of the
AES/EBU standard. Stands for “Sony/Philips
Digital Interface Format.” Most S/PDIF connec-
tions utilize RCA in/out connectors, carrying
two channels of digital audio at a time.
Spot mode Audio post-production process of
aligning audio events to visual events. Spot is
the Edit mode that allows you to spot regions to
particular time code events.
Standard MIDI File Universal format that can be
read by virtually any software that reads MIDI.
Type 0 is a single line sequence, type 1 is multi-
track.
submix; subgroup See groups.
Super Clock (256x) Digidesign’s proprietary
version of word clock; used as a clock reference.
All Digidesign TDM audio interfaces, and sev-
eral other Digidesign products (including the
Universal Slave Driver, the ADAT Interface, the
SMPTE Slave Driver, and the Video Slave Driver)
are equipped with BNC-style Super Clock inputs
and outputs.
As with word clock, Super Clock is a clock signal
that can be passed between devices indepen-
dently of the audio signal. Since it runs at 256x
sample rate (instead of word clock’s 1x sample
rate), Super Clock is inherently more precise
than Word Clock.
synchronization Process of having two or more
audio, video, or other devices run together at ex-
actly the same speed (usually during playback,
though sync during record, fast-wind, and
“crawls” is possible).
sysex (System Exclusive) MIDI data specific to a
particular piece of hardware or instrument.
TDM Time Division Multiplexing technology
employs a networked bus of DSP chips that sup-
ply the processing power for Pro Tools TDM sys-
tems.
TDM plug-in Digidesign’s proprietary real-time,
non-destructive plug-in format for Pro Tools
TDM systems.
time code address See address.
time code generation Process of creating “fresh”
time code.
Time Scale The Main Time Scale is the Timebase
Ruler that determines the time format used for
Transport functions, and Grid and Nudge val-
ues. The Sub Time Scale is the Timebase Ruler
that provides additional timing reference.
Timebase Rulers Up to five discrete strips mea-
suring different units (samples, feet.frames,
minutes:seconds, bars:beats, or time code)
across the top of the Edit window.
Timeline insertion point Location on the time-
line corresponding to the cursor point, and the
point from where playback or recording begins.
Timeline selection A selection in any Timebase
Ruler that determines the playback or record
range.
Universe window Provides a visual overview of
all tracks in a session, and can be used to quickly
navigate to any location in a session.
user-defined region Explicitly defined regions
that are created when recording or importing
audio or MIDI; capturing, separating, or consol-
idating a selection; trimming a whole-file audio
region; or renaming an existing region.
video reference signal All video signals contain
clock information, which can be used as a clock
reference.
Glossary 579
virtual track On-screen track that isn’t assigned
to a voice on TDM systems.
voices With a Pro Tools TDM system, this refers
to the number of channels that can be played
back simultaneously.
VTR Video Tape Recorder of any format.
.WAV Pronounced “wave”; Microsoft’s Audio
File Format. Can be read by Pro Tools on both
Macintosh and Windows platforms.
waveform Means of visually representing a
sound. When sound regions are imported into
Pro Tools’s Edit window, they can be viewed in
waveform view.
whole-file audio regions Created when recording
or importing audio, consolidating existing re-
gions, and when processing with an AudioSuite
plug-in.
zero crossing Point at which a wave’s amplitude
crosses the center line of the waveform display.
Typically a good spot to edit a sound file is at
zero crossings, to avoid unwanted artifacts.
Zoom Function used to view waveform displays
within the Edit window with greater detail.
Pro Tools Reference Guide580
Index 581
Symbols
.1 (in surround mixing) 420
Numerics
11025 sample rate 407
11127 sample rate 407
16-bit
Bounce to Disk 407
16-bit Optimized Mixer
clipping 567
plug-in features 567
1-Band EQ plug-in 517
22050 sample rate 407
22254 sample rate 407
24 FPS 461
24-bit
Bounce to Disk 407
TDM processing 352
24-Bit Optimized Mixer
plug-in capabilities 566
24-bit Optimized Mixer
clipping 567
25 FPS (EBU) 461
29.97 FPS Drop 461
29.97 FPS Non-Drop 460, 491
3:2 Pulldown 462
30 FPS Drop 460
30 FPS Non-Drop 460
32-bit, floating 352
3-knob panning 449
3-Second Peak Hold preference 538
44100 sample rate 407
48000 sample rate 407
4-Band EQ plug-in 517
5.0 paths in 5.1 mixes 439
5.1 formats in Pro Tools 429
8-bit 407
A
active 13
tracks 84
Active in Background
for MP3 play 406
Active in Background option 531
ADAT, syncing to 481
Add Movie command 526
adding
a new playlist 173
audio tracks 125
Auxiliary Input tracks 332
Master Fader tracks 333
MIDI tracks 145
Sends 339
AIFF file format 402
All Notes Off command 308, 523
all tracks
hiding 79
selecting 201
selecting all regions in 197
selecting in Timebase Rulers 201
showing 79
allocating
DSP 561, 563
I/O capacity 568
Amount of Memory for Automation Recording
option 543
Assignment view
sends 340
Audio CD Import Options dialog (Macintosh) 99
Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind option 190,
538
Index
Pro Tools Reference Guide582
audio files
batch loading with drag & drop 96
compacting 259
concepts 10
default names 116
formats 401
importing 91
locating 105
mixed file types 53
mixed formats 92
audio format, for session 469
audio interfaces 5, 6
input channels 11
Other Options 47, 48, 49
audio recording
undoing a take 126
audio regions 168
and automation 170
fitting to an Edit selection 238
stripping silence from 253
whole-file 164
Audio Regions Focus 40, 178
Audio Regions List 35, 175
displaying file info for audio regions 176
dragging from 212
finding regions 177
sorting 176
Audio Regions List menu 35, 488
Auto Rename Selected command 257
Clear Selected command 258
Compact Selected command 259
Display All command 177
Export Region Definitions command 98
Export Selected As Files command 97
Find command 177
Rename Selected command 257
Selected Unused command 258
Show Disk Names option 176
Show File Names option 176
Show Full Pathnames option 176
Sorting option 176
Time Stamp Selected command 220
audio tracks 10
5.1 format 425
and Output format 433
and surround sessions 432
and tempo changes 263
bouncing to disk 400
channel strips 18
configuring for recording 125
creating a tempo map for 264
loop recording 132
placing audio in multi-channel tracks 432
punch recording 131
recording multiple 128
signal flow 331
Waveform view 28, 165, 168
Audiomedia III 7
QuickPunch 156
AudioSuite and dither 353
AudioSuite Buffer Size preference 543
AudioSuite Dither preferences 543
AudioSuite menu 517
DC Offset Removal plug-in 518
Delay plug-ins 518
Duplicate plug-in 518
dynamics plug-ins 517
EQ II plug-ins 517
Gain plug-in 518
Invert plug-in 517
Normalize plug-in 518
Pitch Shift plug-in 518
Reverse plug-in 518
Signal Generator plug-in 518
Time Compression/Expansion plug-in 518
AudioSuite plug-ins 232
audition path 72
auditioning
fades 243
pre/post-roll 204
programs 305
selection start/end points 204
takes 133
Auto Input Monitoring option 113, 529
Auto Regions Fade In/Out Length option 250, 540
Auto Rename Selected command 257
auto-created regions 164
hiding 257
renaming 256
auto-fades 250
AutoMatch Indicators 376
AutoMatch Time option 375, 543
automating
Plug-Ins 380
Sends 379
switched controls 379
tracks 378
Index 583
automation 369
and audio regions 170
and Duplicate Track 371
and multi-channel pan 453
and multiple output assignments 433
breakpoints 387
buffer size 376
capture & apply 395
cutting, copying, and pasting 388
deleting 382
delta (see trim) 372
drawing with Pencil 384
editing 385
editing with Smart Tool 33
enabling, suspending 381
for grouped tracks 388
for hidden tracks 18
on multi-channel tracks 387
On Stop 393
pass-through point 372
playlists 173, 370, 377
plug-in accuracy in bounce 408
relative and absolute 372
safing 377
smoothing 375
snapshot 394
special Paste mode 391
stepped 386
thinning 375, 383
To Current or All Enabled 396
to start, end, or all 391
Trim mode 372
trimming 393
Write Safe button 360
writing 378
Automation Enable window 378, 381
Automation Mode Selector 21
automation modes
Auto Latch 372
Auto Off 371
Auto Read 371
Auto Touch 372
Auto Write 371
Trim/Auto Latch 373
Trim/Auto Off 372
Trim/Auto Read 372
Trim/Auto Touch 373
Trim/Auto Write 373
Automation Preferences 542
AutoMatch Time option 375
Degree of Thinning option 375
Faders Move During Playback option 374
LFEs Follow Groups option 375
Memory for Automation Recording option 376
Mutes Follow Groups 374
Mutes Follow Mix Groups option 83
Send Levels Follow Groups option 374
Send Mutes Follow Groups 374
Smooth and Thin Data After Pass option 374,
383
Solos Follow Groups option 374
Solos Follow Mix Groups option 83
Touch Timeout option 375
Automation Safe Button 360
Automation Write Safe button 363
Auto-Name Memory Locations While Playing option
273, 541
Auto-Name Separated Regions option 210, 541
auto-naming
and Strip Silence 254
audio files and regions 116
QuickPunch regions 157
separated regions 210
takes 116
tracks 116
AutoSave option 539
Auto-Spot Regions command 487, 531
auto-voiced tracks 21
Auxiliary Inputs 347
adding 332
and DSP usage 566
signal flow 332
Auxiliary Send level, and Master Fader 349
Avid Compatibility Mode option 544
and Bounce to Disk 401
B
bank select 16, 302
Bar|Beat Markers
and tempo events 266
audio with varying tempos 265
editing 266
from Identify Beat command 264
generated with Beat Detective 286
moving 266
Bars:Beats Time Scale 185, 549
Pro Tools Reference Guide584
bass
extension 423
management 423
sub content 421
redirection 423
Batch Fades dialog 251
Beat Detective 279
applications for 280
beat triggers 284
Collection Mode 290
conforming regions 288
defining the selection 282
detecting transients 283
edit smoothing 289
generating Bar|Beat Markers 286
separating regions 287
system requirements 279
with multiple tracks 287
Beat Detective window 281
beat triggers, editing 284
Bi-Phase/Tach 460
bit depth, for session 51, 468
black burst 491
Blocks view 165
Bounce options
File Type 507
Format 507
Import After Bounce 508
Resolution 507
Sample Rate 507
Source 401, 507
Use Squeezer 508
Bounce to Disk 401
and dither 398
and time stamps 400
convert during or after 408
format 401
mono, stereo, interleaved 406
sample rate conversion options 407
source path 401
Bounce to Disk command 507
Bounce to Movie command 502, 525
bouncing
to a stereo mix 409
to a submix 408
to QuickTime movies 502
breakpoints 387
Buffer Size 114
bussing
multi-channel sends 435
surround examples 439
Bypass Button
for real-time plug-ins 360
bypassing plug-ins 362
C
Calculator mode for numeric entry 201
Calibration Mode command 112, 532
Calibration Reference Level preference 540
cancelling record takes 127, 147
Capture Region command 209, 512
capturing time code 486
CDs, importing audio from 98
Center% in Output window 452
center, surround controls 452
centered crossfade 242
Change Duration command 318, 521
Change Duration window 318
Change Meter command 267, 520
Change Meter window 267
Change Tempo command 261, 519
Change Tempo window 262
Change Velocity command 316, 520
Change Velocity window 316
Channel Delay Indicator 23
channel mapping
default path order 74
editing 66
re-mapping 67
Channel Selector 360
for multi-channel plug-ins 436
channel strips 11
audio tracks 18
MIDI tracks 20
channels inputs 11
chasing
controller events 306
MIDI notes 306
program changes 306
Cinema Stereo 416
Classic Numeric Keypad Mode 41, 539
Classic, Numeric Keypad Mode 41
Clear command 226, 512
Index 585
Clear Selected command (regions) 258
Clear Selection command (movies) 527
click 38
configuring 122
enabling 121
Click command 522
Click Options command 122, 522
Click/Countoff Options dialog 122
clicks and pops, avoiding 169
clipping 111
and 16-bit Optimized Mixer 567
and 24-bit Optimized Mixer 567
input sum levels 567
clock, optical and digital sources 367
Close Session command 56, 506
closing multiple Plug-In windows 361
Collection Mode, Beat Detective 290
Commands Focus 40
Commands Focus button 29
Comments View 25, 336
comments, entering for tracks 78
Compact Selected command 259
Compare button 360
compatibility
surround formats 422
Compatibility Preferences 544
comping related takes 135
Compress/Expand Edit To Play command 237,
513
and multi-channel tracks 238
Conductor button 38
Conductor Rulers 184
including in selections 201
configuring
click options 122
MMC 479
Pull Up/Down 473
SMPTE 471
conforming QuickTime movies 499
connecting
effects units 365
external audio devices 365
external clock sources 366
Consolidate Selection command 256, 513
Continuous Scroll During Playback option 192, 530
and half-screen 192
Continuous Scroll with Playhead option 192, 530
and half-screen 192
control surfaces (see MIDI control surfaces)
controller events 16, 301
and MIDI regions 172
chasing 306
editing 302
editing with Smart Tool 33
inserting 302
Conversion Quality option 99, 407, 500, 541
Tweak-head setting 407
Convert .WAV files to AES31/BroadcastWave
option 544
Convert After Bounce 408
Convert During Bounce 408
Convert Plug-In pop-up 360
converting session
audio file format 53
bit depth 53
sampling rate 53
Copy command 227, 511
Copy Edit Selection to Timeline command 207,
531
Copy Timeline Selection to Edit command 207,
531
Copy To Send command 380, 515
Copy To Send dialog 380
copying
all automation playlists for a track 228
MIDI notes with the Split command 311
selections and regions 227
track automation to Sends 380
track control settings to Sends 346
correlated 436
countoff 38, 121
CPU Load 376
CPU Usage percentage 45
Create Fades command 248, 514
creating
crossfades 248
fade-ins/outs 249
groups 87
Markers and Memory Locations 272
regions 209
sessions 50
Crossfade Preference for Pre/Post-Roll option
247, 541
Pro Tools Reference Guide586
crossfades 241
and dither 353
creating with Smart Tool 32
equal gain 245
equal power 245, 247
Fades dialog 242
in batches 251
linear 247
overlap 247
pre/post 248
removing 248
trimming 248
types 241
with dither 245
Current Cursor Display
location 34
value 34
current meter 38, 267
current tempo 38, 261
Current Time option 548
custom sample rates 407
Cut command 227, 511
cutting
automation 389
MIDI notes with the Split command 311
selections and regions 227
D
DAC Muting option 47
DAE 9
DAE Buffer Size command 49, 534
DAT recorder, recording from 158
DC Offset Removal plug-in 518
default
audition path 72
I/O Setup 70
output path 72
path order 74
paths 64
Default Fade Settings 541
default meter 122
Default Note On Velocity option 296, 544
default program change 23, 303
Default Settings preference 543
default tempo 123, 264
Default Thru Instrument option 545
default track names 116
Degree of Thinning option 375, 542
Delay plug-ins 518
delays (see DSP delays)
Delete Fades command 248, 514
Delete Selected Groups command 87
Delete Selected Tracks command 78, 509
deleting
automation 382, 389
existing paths 71
groups 88
in MIDI Event List 327
Memory Locations 275
MIDI notes 300
playlists 174
program changes 305
sysex events 306
tracks 78
underlying region data 227
unused regions 258
delta
trimming automation 372
destructive editing
compacting audio files 259
Destructive Record mode 119, 130, 529
destructive recording 130
Digi 001 7
modes and I/O Setup 65
punching with footswitch 149, 155
QuickPunch 156
Digidesign Audio Engine (see DAE)
digital audio 9
digital clipping 111
digital mastering 410
digital signal processing (see DSP)
DigiTest 570
as a diagnostic tool 570
Direct I/O 570
discontiguous selections 197
discrete
level control of multi-channel paths 432
disk allocation
and cross-platform sessions 118
and system volume 118
Disk Allocation command 117, 534
Disk Allocation dialog 117
Disk Space Window Shows command 548
Index 587
Display All command 177
Display Auto-Created Regions option 257, 549
Display menu 547
Bars:Beats Time Scale 549
Disk Space Window Shows command 548
Display Auto-Created Regions option 257, 549
Display Name In Regions option 168
Display Name in Regions option 548
Display Time In Regions option 168
Display Time in Regions option 548
DSP Usage Window Shows option 562
Edit Window Shows option 25, 547
Feet.Frames Time Scale 549
Minutes:Seconds Time Scale 549
Mix Window Shows option 17, 547
Narrow Mix Window option 85, 547
Ruler View Shows option 185, 548
Samples Time Scale 549
Sends View Shows command 548
Show Mix Window command 547
System Usage Window Shows command 548
Time Code Time Scale 549
Transport Window Shows command 547
Display Name In Regions option 168
Display Name in Regions option 548
Display Preferences 537
Draw Grids in Edit Window option 180
Draw Waveforms Rectified option 169
Edit Window Color Coding option 85
Peak Hold option 24
Show Meters in Sends View option 341
Display Time In Regions option 168
Display Time in Regions option 548
displaying
all regions 177
all Rulers 185
file info for audio regions 176
Meter Ruler 267
Original Time Stamps 488
region names 168
region times 168
Tempo Ruler 261
User Time Stamps 489
dither
and Bounce to Disk 398
and fades 245, 353
AudioSuite 353
on Master Faders 398
resolution and Bounce to Disk 406
Dither Depth option 543
Dither Plug-In preference 543
divergence
and width 421
drawing 452
front 451
front and rear 451
rear 451
using 451
Dolby Digital 420
Dolby EX 416
Dolby Surround 416
Draw Grids in Edit Window option 180
Draw Waveforms Rectified option 169, 537
drum machine style loop recording 150
DSP 561
active and inactive items 13
allocating 561, 563
and Auxiliary Inputs 566
and I/O capacity 568
and inactive outputs 338
and inactive sends 342
and Master Faders 568
and mixing 562, 563
and no output 338
and overall resources 13
and Send meters 341
and TDM Plug-Ins 568
I/O and Mixer plug-ins 565
monitoring usage 562
reclaiming DSP capacity 562
DSP delays 557
compensating for 558
DSP Manager 562
DSP Usage window 562
DTS 416, 420
Duplicate command 229, 512
Duplicate plug-in 518
Duplicate Selected Tracks command 508
Duplicate Track
for automation 371
duplicating
MIDI note selections 230
playlists 173
selections and regions 229
Pro Tools Reference Guide588
durations, for MIDI notes
editing with Change Duration command 318
making more legato 319
making more staccato 319
randomizing 318
dynamic voice allocation 82
E
Edit and Timeline selections, unlinked 195
edit commands 225
and Edit mode 226
clear 226, 227
cut 227
paste 228
edit cursor 189
and scrubbing 192
moving to region boundaries 202
Edit Dither Settings preference 543
Edit Groups 35
and selections 196
Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle option 192,
538
Edit insertion point
placing regions at 213
trimming regions to 216
Edit Markers 196
and selection length 199
Edit menu 264
Capture Region command 209, 512
Clear command 226, 512
Compress/Expand Edit To Play command 237,
513
Consolidate Selection command 256, 513
Copy command 227, 511
Copy To Send command 380, 515
Create Fades command 248
Cut command 227, 511
Delete Fades command 248
Duplicate command 229, 512
Fade To End command 250
Fade To Start command 250
Fades command 514
Heal Separation command 212, 513
Identify Beat command 514
Identify Sync Point command 217, 489, 513
Insert Silence command 255, 514
Lock/Unlock Regions command 225, 513
Merge Paste command 231, 512
Mute/Unmute Region command 225, 513
Paste command 228, 511
Quantize Regions command 224, 513
Redo command 511
Remove Sync Point command 217
Repeat command 230, 512
Repeat Paste To Fill Selection command 237,
511
Select All command 197, 512
Separate Region command 210, 512
Shift command 224, 512
Strip Silence command 253
Thin Automation command 384, 515
Trim Automation command 396, 515
Trim command 512
Trim End To Insertion command 216
Trim Start To Insertion command 216
Trim To Selection command 211
Undo command 174, 511
Write Automation command 394, 395, 515
Edit mode buttons 179
Edit modes 179
and edit commands 226
and placing regions 212
Grid 28, 179
Shuffle 28, 179
Slip 28, 179
Spot 28, 179, 485
edit playlists 172
Edit selections
auditioning with Playhead enabled 207
copied from Timeline selection 207
copied to Timeline selection 207
sliding in the Ruler 203
start, end, and length fields 33
edit smoothing, with Beat Detective 289
Edit tools 30
Edit window 26
Edit tools 30
half-screen 192
scrolling from the Ruler 191
track controls 27
Edit Window Color Coding option 85, 538
Edit Window Default Length option 537
Edit Window Follows Bank Selection option 537
Edit Window Shows option 25, 547
Index 589
editing
across multiple tracks 228
and Edit modes 179
and hidden tracks 18
automation 385
Bar|Beat Markers 266
beat triggers 284
breakpoints 387
controller events 302
during playback 163
Grid mode 179
in MIDI Event List 326
Markers 274
Memory Locations 274
meter events 268
MIDI notes 297
MIDI regions 171
nondestructive 163
non-destructively for audio 170
non-destructively for MIDI 172
note attributes 300
note durations 318
note velocities 299, 316
program changes 304
Shuffle mode 179
Slip mode 179
Spot mode 179
tempo events 262
waveforms 169
Editing Preferences
Auto-Name Memory Locations While Playing
option 273
Auto-Name Separated Regions option 210
Conversion Quality option 99
Crossfade Preference for Pre/Post-Roll option
247, 541
QuickPunch Crossfade Length option 155
Region List Selection Follows Track Selection
option 176, 204
Separate Region Operates On All Related
Takes option 135, 210
Take Region Lengths That Match option 135
Take Region Names That Match Track Names
option 135
Track Selection Follows Regions List Selection
option 204
effects, printing to disk 397
Enable Automation Parameters Button 360, 363
Enable Autosave option 539
enabling
automation 381
groups 18, 35, 88
MIDI input devices 142
encoding and decoding 422
Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility option 54, 505
EQ II plug-ins 517
equal gain crossfades 245
equal power crossfades 245, 247
Ethernet Controllers page 535
Event Edit Area 33
note attributes 300
Exit command (Windows) 56, 510
Expanded Track Display 167, 387
Export MIDI command 103, 509
Export Region Definitions command 98
Export Selected As Files command 97
Export Selected dialog 97
Export Session as Text command 100, 509
exporting
a session as text 100
audio 97
audio from regions 97
MIDI tracks 103
region definitions 98, 489
stereo interleaved files 97
extending selections 200
to adjacent tracks 201, 202
to include adjacent regions 200
to Markers and Memory Locations 200
to region boundaries 200
Extensions 571
external clock sources 366
F
factory settings 71
Fade To End command 250, 514
Fade To Start command 250, 514
fade-in shapes 246
fade-out shapes 244
Faders Move During Playback option 374, 542
fades 249
and dither options 353
auto-fades 250
Pro Tools Reference Guide590
creating 249
creating with Smart Tool 32
in batches 251
with dither 245
Fades command 514
Fades dialog 242
In Shape 246
Link option 245
Out Shape 244
Use Dither option 245
Fast Forward
incrementally 190
locating with 190
Fast Forward button 36
Feet.Frames and QuickTime offset 498
Feet.Frames command 536
Feet.Frames Time Scale 186, 549
file formats (audio) 401
AIFF 402
MP3 404
QuickTime 402
RealAudio 402
SND resource 402
Sound Designer II 401
WAV 402
file management 105
File menu
Bounce to Disk command 507
Close Session command 56, 506
Delete Selected Tracks command 78, 509
Duplicate Selected Tracks command 508
Exit command (Windows) 56, 510
Export MIDI command 103, 509
Export Session as Text command 509
Get Info command 510
Group Selected Tracks command 87, 508
Import Audio to Track command 93, 509
Import MIDI to Track command 102, 509
Import Tracks command 510
Make Selected Tracks Inactive command 508
New Session command 50, 505
New Track command 125, 145, 508
Open Session command 51, 506
Quit command (Macintosh) 56, 510
Rename Selected Tracks command 508
Revert to Saved command 52, 507
Save Session As command 52, 506
Save Session command 52, 506
Save Session Copy In command 54, 108, 506
Split Selected Tracks Into Mono command
231, 508
Film 416
film speed 462
filtering in bass management 423
final mixdown 409
Find command 177
finding regions 177
Format (in Bounce to Disk) 406
formats
supported multi-channel 416
freewheeling time code 470
Front Divergence 451
Front/Rear Divergence 451
G
Gain plug-in 518
generating time code 469, 474
Get Info command 510
Global MIDI Playback Offset option 307, 544
Go to End button 36
Grabber tool 30
editing breakpoints with 385
Object Grabber 198
selecting MIDI notes with 297
Separation Grabber 211
Grid mode 28, 179
and moving regions 220
Draw Grids in Edit Window option 180
Grid Value pop-up menu 179
Regions/Markers option 180
setting the Grid value 221
grid panners in Mix and Edit 443
Grid value 34, 221
Group Selected Tracks command 87, 508
groups
and automation editing 388
and hidden tracks 18
and LFEs 375
and pan 453
and selecting tracks 18
and send level, mute 374
changing members 88
creating 87
deleting 88
Edit Groups 35
enabling 18, 35, 88
Index 591
Mix Groups 18
renaming 88
unlinking Edit and Mix Groups 88
Groups List 86
Groups List Focus 40
Groups List focus 89
Groups pop-up menu 87
Delete Selected Groups command 87
Display command 87
New Group command 87
Suspend All Groups command 87
H
H/W Buffer Size 114
half-screen 192
half-speed playback 159
half-speed recording 159
hard drives
and QuickTime movies 495
recording to system volume 118
Round Robin Allocation 117
hardware
updating I/O Setup after changing 65
Hardware Buffer
CPU Usage Percentage 45
Hardware command 46, 47, 533
hardware I/O Inserts 355
hardware I/O Sends 339
Hardware Setup dialog 45, 47
Buffer Size 114
DAC Muting option 47
hardware buffer size 45
Heal Separation command 212, 513
hidden tracks
and group edits 18
and groups 18
and selections 196
hiding
all tracks 79
auto-created regions 257
tracks 79
Highest Priority Playback option 495, 526
Horizontal Zoom buttons 180
host processing 45
host processor 9
I
I/O capacity
allocating 568
and DSP usage 568
I/O Labels (see I/O Setup)
I/O Settings 71
I/O Setup
and surround sessions 426
default settings 70
displaying unavailable I/O 70
factory settings files 71
import and export 71
importing for surround 428
initializing 67
last used 71
reset paths 65
settings files 70
Stereo Mix preset 71
surround mix examples 439
surround mix settings file 72
I/O Setup command 535
I/O View 22
Identify Beat command 264, 514
Identify Beat dialog 265
Identify Sync Point command 217, 489, 513
Import Audio dialog 93
Import Audio From Current Movie command 501,
525
Import Audio From Other Movie command 98, 525
Import Audio to Track command 93, 509
Import MIDI command 103
Import MIDI to Track command 102, 509
Import Movie command 496, 525
Import Movie dialog 496
Import Tracks command 94, 510
importing
and converting audio 92
audio 91
audio and Conversion Quality 99
audio from CDs 98
audio from QuickTime movies 501
audio into a session 91
audio with drag & drop 96
MIDI tracks 102
multi-channel I/O Settings 428
QuickTime movies 496
tracks from other sessions 94
Pro Tools Reference Guide592
inactive 13
Master Faders and assignments 334
paths 68
paths, global 68
sends 342
track path assignments 68
tracks 84
Infinite Peak Hold preference 538
in-place auditioning 73
input connections 11, 111
and digital sources 158
Input Devices command 142, 523
Input Devices dialog 142
Input Filter command 143, 523
MIDI Input Filter dialog 143, 323
input levels 111
Input Only Monitoring option 114, 530
Input Quantize command 144, 522
Input Quantize window 144
Input Selector 22
Insert controls 25
Insert Position Selector 359
Insert Silence command 255, 514
and Shuffle Mode 255
and Slip Mode 255
inserting
controller events 302
in MIDI Event List 324
meter events 267
MIDI notes 295
program changes 304
tempo events 261
Inserts 355
as a shared bus 356
for hardware I/O 355
for plug-ins 355
labeling 364
on single tracks 356
post-fader on Master Faders 333, 356
shared within a submix 348
Inserts View 25
Interleaved 406
Bounce to Disk 406
Inverse linked panning 344
Invert plug-in 517
J
Jam Sync 470
K
Key Input Selector 360
Keyboard Focus 39
Audio Regions Focus 40, 178
Commands Focus 40
Commands focus 29
Groups List Focus 40
Groups List focus 89
MIDI Regions Focus 40, 178
keyboard Input for plug-in parameters 363
keyboard shortcuts 363
global key commands 39
numeric entry 201
recording 126
L
labeling
Inserts and Sends 364
paths 64
Last Used 71
Latch Record Enable Buttons option 113, 538
Latch Solo Buttons option 539
latency for recording and monitoring 114
LCRS
path examples 428
length, for selections 199
level faders
sends 25
tracks 24
Level Indicator 23
level meters
clearing 24
for audio tracks 24
for MIDI tracks 24
for Sends 25
Levels of Undo option 542
LFE
and groups 375
enable in plug-ins 451
example sub-path 439
examples of discrete versus contribution 440
faders 451
plug-in enable 360
LFE Enable Button 360
Index 593
LFEs Follow Groups option 375, 542
Librarian menu 359
Limit To option 540
linear crossfades 247
Link Edit and Timeline Selection option 195, 531
Link Enable buttons 360
and multi-channel 436
Link Mix and Edit Group Enables option 539
Link Record and Play Faders option 114
Link Selection button 29, 195
linking
inverse panning 344
multi-mono plug-ins 436
plug-in controls 362
stereo panners 343
Local Control 16, 143
locating
with Fast Forward/Rewind 190
with Location Indicators 191
Location Indicators 34, 190
locating with 191
locations, for MIDI notes
dragging 298
quantizing 314
randomizing 314, 315
Lock/Unlock Regions command 225, 513
locking regions 225
Loop Playback option 205, 530
and audio recording 133
and Auto Touch mode 378
loop points 135
and Playback Markers 136
recalling with Memory Location 138
Loop Record mode 120, 133, 529
loop recording
and pre/post-roll 132
audio 132
MIDI 150
drum machine style 150
multiple takes 151
looping selections 205
loops and reverb, delay 399
Low Latency Monitoring option 115
Lt Rt 420
LTC (Linear Time Code) 459
M
Machine Chases Memory Location option 480,
540
Machine Control option 540
Machine Control page 535
Machine Cues Intelligently option 540
Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub option 480,
540
main paths 61
Main Time Scale 186, 473
Make Selected Tracks Inactive command 508
managing regions 256
Manual Tempo mode 38, 123
mapping paths in I/O Setup 66
Markers 270
creating 272
creating on the fly 273
deleting 275
editing 274
extending selections to 200
moving 275
sorting 277
tick-based and sample-based 271
viewing options 276
Master Faders
adding 333
and DSP usage 568
as master send level control 349
inactive 334
inserts 356
meters pre/post fader 334
multi-channel 435
paths 337
post-fader inserts 333
signal flow 333
Master Link Button 360
in multi-channel plug-ins 436
master view for tracks 166, 389
mastering
digitally 410
to disk 409
Matching Start Time Takes List preference 541
matrix 419
measures
partial 269
renumbering 269
Medium Priority Playback option 495, 526
Pro Tools Reference Guide594
Memory for Automation Recording option 376
Memory Location dialog 270
Memory Locations 270, 271
creating 272
creating on the fly 273
deleting 275
deleting all 275
editing 274
extending selections to 200
Markers 270
recalling 274
renaming 274
Selection Memory Locations 271
storing punch/loop points 138
Memory Locations window 276
view filter 277
viewing options for Markers 276
Merge mode (see MIDI Merge mode)
Merge Paste command 231, 512
meter
current 267
default 122
meter events 267
editing 268
inserting 267
Meter Ruler
displaying 267
extending an Edit selection to 268
meters
sends view 341
SurroundScope plug-in 453
MIDI 15
and signal paths 16
audio input to Pro Tools 347
common misconceptions 16
tracks 10
MIDI Beat Clock command 485, 522
MIDI channels 15
assigning 82
MIDI clips and Regions List 176
MIDI control surfaces 15, 352
MIDI controller devices 15, 141
Local Control 16, 143
MIDI Controllers page 535
MIDI Device/Channel Selector 23, 82
MIDI devices 15
MIDI Event List 321
deleting events 327
editing events 326
inserting events 324
navigating in 322
Options menu 328
selecting events 326
View Filter 323
MIDI Event List options 328
View Filter command 323
MIDI files (see Standard MIDI Files)
MIDI Input Selector 148
MIDI Machine Control (MMC) 479
configuring in Pro Tools 479
controlling external devices with 479
remote track arming 481
syncing to a sequencer with 483
syncing to an ADAT 481
MIDI menu
All Notes Off command 308, 523
Change Duration command 318, 521
Change Meter command 267, 520
Change Tempo command 261, 519
Change Velocity command 316, 520
Click Options command 122, 522
Input Devices command 142, 523
Input Filter command 143, 523
Input Quantize command 144, 522
MIDI Beat Clock command 485, 522
MIDI Thru option 143, 523
Quantize command 311, 520
Renumber Bars command 269, 520
Select Notes command 310, 521
Split Notes command 311, 521
Transpose command 319, 521
MIDI Merge mode 38, 120, 145
MIDI Note Display option 545
MIDI notes
attributes for 33, 300
chasing 306
deleting 300
duplicating selected 230
editing 297
durations 318
pitch 297
velocities 299, 316
inserting 295
lengths in ticks 187
moving 298
Index 595
quantizing 311
selecting 297, 310
splitting 311
transposing 297, 319
trimming start/end points 298
MIDI offsets 307
MIDI Operations window 309
parameter options 309
MIDI Output Selector 145
MIDI Preferences 544
Default Note On Velocity option 296
Global MIDI Playback Offset option 307
Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Controller
Data option 302, 385, 544
MIDI recording 141
cancelling takes 147
enabling input devices 142
Input Filter 143
Merge/Replace mode 145
monitoring with MIDI Thru 142
quantizing on input 144
System Exclusive data 152
undoing a take 147
Wait for Note 144
MIDI regions 170
and controller events 172
and Merge Paste command 231
and punch recording 149
guidelines for editing 171
MIDI Regions Focus 40, 178
MIDI Regions List 35, 175
and MIDI clips 176
dragging from 212
finding regions 177
sorting 176
MIDI Regions List menu 35
Auto Rename Selected command 257
Clear Selected command 258
Display All command 177
Find command 177
Import MIDI command 103
Rename Selected command 257
Select Unused command 258
Sorting option 176
Time Stamp Selected command 220, 488
MIDI Replace mode 38, 120, 145
MIDI Thru option 143, 523
MIDI tracks
and MIDI offsets 307
and tempo changes 263
assigning to multiple channels 146
channel strips 20
configuring for recording 145
default program change 303
exporting 103
loop recording 150
Merge Paste command 231
note chasing 306
Notes view 165, 170
punch recording 148
punching on the fly 149
record enabling 112
recording 141, 145
Regions view 165, 171
selecting a pitch range in 310
Sysex view 305
Velocity view 299
Minimum Sync Delay option 481
Minutes:Seconds Time Scale 185, 549
mix busses 339
Mix Groups 18
Mix window 17, 19
track controls 20
track width 85
Mix Window Follows Bank Selection option 537
Mix Window Shows option 17, 547
mixed file types 53, 92
mixer channels 11
Mixer plug-ins 563
mixing 415
surround formats 416
mixing and DSP usage 562, 563
mixing down to stereo 409
MMC (see MIDI Machine Control)
monitoring
during punch recording 131
MIDI recording with MIDI Thru 142
record and playback levels 114
monitoring latency 114
monitoring modes 113
Auto Input Monitoring 113
Input Only Monitoring 114
Pro Tools Reference Guide596
mono
Bounce to Disk 406
format 416
paths 64
Mono In/Stereo Out 356
Movie menu
Add Movie command 526
Bounce to Movie command 502, 525
Clear Selection command 527
Highest Priority Playback option 495, 526
Import Audio From Current Movie command
501, 525
Import Audio From Other Movie command 98,
525
Import Movie command 496, 525
Medium Priority Playback option 495, 526
Movie Online command 526
New Movie Track command 526
Normal Priority Playback option 495, 526
Set Movie Sync Offset command 498, 526
Show Movie Window command 497
Undo Add Movie command 527
Window Aspect Ratio command 526
Movie Online command 526
Movie Tracks 496
scrubbing 497
setting sync point 499
Movie window 497
movies (see QuickTime movies)
moving
Bar|Beat Markers 266
Markers 275
MIDI notes 298
program changes 304
sysex events 305
MP3 and Digidesign hardware 406
MP3 file format 404
MTC (MIDI Time Code) 459
outputting 469
multi-channel plug-ins 356, 436
multi-channel regions 164
multi-channel tracks 128
and automation 387
dragging regions to 232
names for 117
replacing regions in 237
signal routing 431
splitting 231
multi-mono
plug-in channel selector 436
plug-ins 356, 435
Multiple mono 406
multiple tracks
and Beat Detective 287
audition takes 134
editing across 228
extending selections to 201, 202
fitting audio regions to Edit selection 238
nudging regions in 222
pasting to 229
selecting 201
separating regions on 210
shuffling regions on 218
MultiShell 568
Mute automation 386
Mute button 21, 84
Mute Frees Assigned Voice option 84, 531
Mute/Unmute Region command 225, 513
Mutes Follow Groups option 374, 542
Mutes Follow Mix Groups option 83
muting
regions 225
tracks 84
N
Narrow Mix Window option 85, 547
network connections 571
New Group command 87
New Movie Track command 526
New Session command 50, 505
and last used 71
New Track command 125, 145, 508
New Track dialog 125
No Auto-Scrolling option 191, 530
No Output 338
by deleting paths 66
No Peak Hold preference 538
nondestructive editing 163
for audio 170
for MIDI 172
Nondestructive Record mode 119
nondestructive recording 129
recording to a new playlist 130
with QuickPunch 155
Index 597
Normal Priority Playback option 495, 526
Normalize plug-in 518
Note Chasing option 306
notes (see MIDI notes)
Notes view 165, 170
mini-keyboard 170
scrolling up or down 171
Nudge value 34, 222
trimming regions by 217
nudging 221
by next Nudge Value 223
multiple regions 222
region contents 223
selection range 199
selection start/end points 199
selections and regions 222
setting the Nudge value 222
numeric entry
Calculator mode 201
shortcuts 201
Numeric Keypad Mode 539
Numeric Keypad modes 41, 539
Classic 41
Shuttle 42, 194
Transport 41
O
Object Grabber 198
and Edit Groups 198
Object selections 197
offline regions 164
OMS MIDI Setup command 536
OMS Names command 536
OMS patch names 303
OMS Studio Setup command 536
On Stop 393
Online button 36
Online option 474, 530, 539
online recording 474
on-the-fly punch recording
MIDI tracks 149
QuickPunch 120, 155
Open Ended Record Allocation option 118, 539
Open Session command 51, 506
opening multiple Plug-In windows 361
Operation Preferences 538
Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind option 190
Auto Regions Fade In/Out Length option 250
Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle option
192
Latch Record Enable Buttons option 113
Link Record and Play Faders option 114
Machine Chases Memory Location option 480
Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub option
480
Open Ended Record Allocation option 118
Record Online option 474
Use F11 for Wait for Note 144
Operations menu
Active in Background option 531
Auto Input Monitoring option 113, 529
Auto-Spot Regions command 487, 531
Calibration Mode command 112, 532
Copy Edit Selection to Timeline command 207,
531
Copy Timeline Selection to Edit command 207,
531
Destructive Record mode 130, 529
Input Only Monitoring option 114, 530
Link Edit and Timeline Selection option 195,
531
Loop Playback option 205, 530
Loop Record mode 133, 529
Low Latency Monitoring option 115
Mute Frees Assigned Voice option 84, 531
Online option 474, 530
Play Edit Selection command 207, 531
Play Timeline Selection command 207, 531
Pre/Post Roll Playback command 138, 530
Pre/Post-Fader Metering option 24
Pre-Fader Metering command 531
QuickPunch mode 529
Scroll Options command 530
Scrolling Options 191
Optical
as Digi 001 clock source 367
Original Time Stamp 220, 488, 548
Other Options dialog 47, 48, 49
Output Options
Conversion Quality option 407
File Format 401
Sample Rate 407
Use Squeezer option 408
Output Selector 22
Pro Tools Reference Guide598
Output window 24
outputs
default 5.1 paths and sub-paths 427
format and tracks 433
to multi-channel paths 434
overlap crossfades 247
overlapping paths 67
P
Page Scroll During Playback option 191, 530
Pan automation 386
Pan Indicator 23
Pan Slider 23
panning
3-knob 449
and groups 453
automation and groups 388
fine-adjust mode 449
grids 443
guidelines 438
linked stereo 343
multi-channel automation playlists 453
take over in grid 449
trajectory 450
X/Y mode 448
parallel mixing 433
partial measures 269
pass-through point 372
Paste command 228, 511
pasting
automation 391
between automation playlists 228
multiple data types 229
selections and regions 228
to multiple tracks 229
with Merge Paste command (MIDI) 231
with Repeat Paste To Fill Selection command
237
paths
active and inactive 68
applying 67
audition 72
basics 59
creating and editing 63
creating multi-channel 428
default mono and stereo 64
default order 74
default output 72
delete existing 71
deleting 66
for surround 437
last used 71
main 61
mapping 66
mono versus stereo 64
multi-channel example 67
naming 64
overlapping 67
reset using Default 65
Stereo Mix preset 71
sub-path surround examples 439
PCI Load 376
Peak Hold option 24, 538
Peak Indicator 23
Pencil tool 31
as Eraser 301
drawing automation with 384
editing breakpoints with 386
inserting MIDI notes with 295
repairing waveforms with 232
resolution for inserted controller events 302
shapes 384
Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Controller
Data option 302, 385, 544
Peripherals command 534
Ethernet Controllers page 535
Machine Control page 535
MIDI Controllers page 535
Synchronization page 534
Phase Invert button 360
Pitch Shift plug-in 518
pitch, for MIDI notes
transposing with Grabber 297
transposing with Transpose command 319
Play button 36
Play Edit Selection command 207, 531
Play MIDI Notes When Editing option 544
Play Timeline Selection command 207, 531
playback and Scrolling Options 191
playback cursor 189
Playback Engine 10
changing 48
Playback Engine command 48, 533
Index 599
Playback Markers 136, 195
and Edit selections 196
and selection length 199
and Timeline selections 206
Playhead 192, 530
and Edit selections 207
and Timeline selections 207
moving to region boundaries 208
playing
and on-the-fly selections 197
at half-speed 159
Edit selections with Playhead enabled 207
from a track point 189
selections 204
Timeline selections with Playhead enabled 207
tracks 189
Playlist Selector 27
playlists 11, 172
adding new 173
and multi-channel tracks 387
and nondestructive MIDI editing 172
assigning 173
automation playlists 173, 370, 377
deleting 174
duplicating 173
edit playlists 172
recalling 173
recording to new 130
renaming 173
setting pre/post-roll in 137
plug-in controls, linking 362
plug-in inserts 355
plug-in parameters
editing 363
Plug-In Selector
for real-time plug-ins 360
Plug-In Settings menu 359
Plug-In window
closing multiple windows 361
opening multiple windows 361
Plug-Ins
and surround mixing 435
automating 380
automation accuracy in bounce 408
bypassing from window 362
Channel Selector for multi-mono 436
for surround 436
linking 436
linking and unlinking 362
mixers 566
mono-to-stereo 356
multi-channel 356
multi-mono 356, 435
positional reference 458
post crossfades 242, 248
pre crossfades 242, 248
Pre/Post Roll Playback command 138, 530
Pre/Post-Fader Inserts 356
Pre/Post-Fader Metering option 24
pre/post-roll
and loop recording 132
and punch recording 131
and recording 137
auditioning 204
setting 137
Pre/Post-Roll Flags 138, 195
Pre-Fader Metering command 531
Preferences command 537
Pro Tools 24 systems 5
auto-fades 250
file management 105
Pro Tools LE 7
Pro Tools MIX systems 5
24-bit input and output 410
auto-fades 250
file management 105
pre/post-roll 137
QuickPunch 156
Pro Tools TDM 6
processing bandwidth 376
Processing Preferences 543
ProControl, meter configuration 430
Program Change window 303
program changes 15, 302
and bank select 302
auditioning 305
chasing 306
default, for MIDI tracks 303
deleting 305
editing 304
inserting 304
moving 304
patch names 303
ProLogic 416
Pro Tools Reference Guide600
Pull Up/Down 463
3:2 Pulldown 462
configuring 473
Punch In Frame Offset preference 540
Punch Out Frame Offset preference 540
punch points 135
and Playback Markers 136
recalling with Memory Location 138
punch recording
and monitoring 131
and pre/post-roll 131
audio 131
MIDI 148
MIDI on the fly 149
Q
Quantize command 311, 520
experimenting with 315
Quantize window 312
Quantize Regions command 224, 513
and Grid value 221
Quantize window 312
Quantize Grid 313
Quantize Options 313
What to Quantize 312
quantizing
MIDI notes 311
attacks vs. releases 312
MIDI on input 144
regions 224
QuickPunch 120, 155, 529
crossfades 155
non-TDM systems 156
region/take numbering 157
TDM systems 156
QuickPunch Crossfade Length option 155, 542
QuickTime file format 402
QuickTime movies 493, 525
bouncing to 502
conforming 494, 499
frame length 495
importing 496
importing audio from 501
offset in Feet.Frames 498
offsetting 498
optimizing for playback 497
playback quality 495
requirements 495
setting start time 498
spotting 499
Quit command (Macintosh) 56, 510
R
randomizing
note durations 318
note locations 314
note velocities 317
RealAudio file format 402
real-time editing 163
Recall Original Track Selections preference 541
Recompute Invalid Overviews preference 537
Record button 37, 119
Record Enable button 20
record enabling tracks 112
record modes 119
and MIDI 120
Destructive Record mode 119
Loop Record mode 120
Nondestructive Record mode 119
QuickPunch 120
switching with Record button 119
Record Online at Insertion/Selection preference
539
Record Online at Time Code (or ADAT) Lock
preference 539
Record Online option 474
Record Pause mode 129
Record Safe mode 20, 113
recording 128
a MIDI track 145
a mono audio track 125
a stereo audio track 127
a submix to disk 399
additional takes 129
at half-speed 159
bouncing to disk 400
cancelling takes 127
destructively 130
from a digital source 158
from Record Pause mode 129
keyboard shortcuts 126
monitoring latency 114
Index 601
multi-channel tracks 128
multiple audio tracks 128
non-destructively 9, 129
non-linear 9
online 474
stereo tracks 127
System Exclusive data 152
to a new playlist 130
to the system volume 118
with a countoff 121
with pre/post-roll 137
with Round Robin Allocation 117
with the click 121
Red Book Audio CDs 502
Redo command 511
region boundaries
extending selections to 200
moving edit cursor to 202
moving Playhead to 208
region definitions 98, 489
Region List Selection Follows Track Selection
option 176, 204, 541
regions 11
aligning to region start points 214
auto-created 164
auto-naming parameters 257
auto-spotting 487
capturing 209
clearing 226
conforming with Beat Detective 288
consolidating 256
copying 227
creating 209
crossfading between 248
cutting 227
default names 116
deleting underlying 227
displaying all 177
displaying names 168
displaying times 168
dragging from Regions List 212
dragging to multi-channel tracks 232
duplicating 229
exporting as audio files 97
extending selections to include 200
finding 177
healing separations 212
hiding auto-created 257
inserting silence into 255
locking 225
managing 256
moving in Grid mode 221
multi-channel 164
muting 225
nudging 222
offline 164
Original Time Stamp 220
pasting 228
placing at Edit insertion point 213
placing in tracks 212
quantizing 224
removing unused 258
renaming 256
repeating 230
replacing 235
selecting 196
selecting all in a track 197
separating 210
separating with Beat Detective 287
separating with Separation Grabber 211
shifting 224
shuffling 218
on multiple tracks 218
sliding 217
slipping 219
sorting 176
spotting 219, 487
spotting to movies 500
sync points 217, 489
time stamping 488
trimming by Nudge Value 217
trimming start/end points 215
trimming to Edit insertion point 216
trimming unwanted data from 211
User Time Stamp 220
user-defined 164, 256, 258
whole-file audio regions 164
Regions view 165, 171
related takes 134
and Separate Region command 135
preferences for 135
Remote Mode option 540
remote track arming 481
Remove Sync Point command 217
Pro Tools Reference Guide602
removing
crossfades 248
Sends 339
sync points 490
Rename Selected command 257
Rename Selected Tracks command 508
renaming
auto-created regions 256
groups 88
Memory Locations 274
playlists 173
regions 256
tracks 116
Renumber Bars command 269, 520
Repeat command 230, 512
Repeat Paste To Fill Selection command 237, 511
repeating selections and regions 230
Replace mode
Replace Regions command 235
and multi-channel tracks 237
Replace Regions dialog 235
reset paths 65
resolving sync 491
Return to Zero button 36
Reverse plug-in 518
Revert to Saved command 52, 507
Rewind
incrementally 190
locating with 190
Rewind button 36
Round Robin Allocation 117
RTAS processing 45
Ruler View Shows option 185, 548
Rulers
changing display order 185
Conductor Rulers 184
displaying all 185
scrolling in 191
Timebase Rulers 184
zooming in 182
S
safing automation 377
sample delays (see DSP delays)
sample rate conversion quality 99, 500
sample rate formats 407
custom 407
Samples Time Scale 186, 549
Save Session As command 52, 506
Save Session command 52, 506
Save Session Copy In command 53, 54, 108, 506
Items To Copy 507
All Audio Files 507
Movie/Video Files 507
Session Plug-In Settings Folder 507
saving a copy of a session 53
scaling note velocities 299, 317
screen savers 571
Scroll After Playback option 191, 530
Scroll Options command 530
scrolling
in the Ruler 191
Notes view up or down 171
Scrub Trimmer 216
Scrubber tool 31, 192
in Shuttle mode 193
selecting with 202
scrubbing 192
a single audio track 193
and edit cursor 192
in Shuttle Lock mode 194
Movie Tracks 497
on two audio tracks 193
playback speed and direction 193
resolution 193
with Scrub Trimmer 216
with the Selector 193
SDDS 416
Select All command 197, 512
Select Notes command 310, 521
Select Notes window 310
Select Unused Regions command 258
selecting
a pitch range of notes 310
across multiple tracks 201
all regions in a track 197
all regions in all tracks 197
discontiguous regions 197
during playback 197
grouped tracks 18, 35
in MIDI Event List 326
Index 603
MIDI notes 297, 310
notes in a chord 311
on all tracks 201
regions 196
track material 196
with Scrubber 202
with Selection Indicators 200
Selection Indicators 33, 200
and numeric entry shortcuts 201
making selections with 200
Selection Memory Location 271
moving stored selection 275
selections
and Bounce to Disk 400
and Edit Groups 196
and hidden tracks 196
and Playback Markers 196
auditioning start/end points 204
changing length of 199
clearing 226
consolidating 256
copying 227
cutting 227
discontiguous 197
duplicating 229
extending 200
extending to the Meter Ruler 268
extending to the Tempo Ruler 263, 276
including Conductor Rulers 201
looping 205
moving to adjacent tracks 202
moving to the next/previous region 203
nudging 199, 222
nudging start/end points 199
Object 197
on-the-fly 197
pasting 228
playing 204
removing a track from 202
repeating 230
shifting 224
storing with Memory Locations 271
useful techniques 202
Selector tool 30
scrubbing with 193
selecting MIDI notes with 297
Send controls 25
Send Level faders 25
Send Level meters 25
Send Levels Follow Groups option 374, 542
Send mute 25
Send Mutes Follow Groups option 374, 542
Send pan 25
Sends 338
adding 339
and groups 374
and multi-channel mixing 434
assignment view 340
automating 379
copying track automation to 380
displaying controls for 25, 341
for hardware I/O 339
for mix busses 339
labeling 364
mono or stereo 339
multi-channel 434
removing 339
Sends Default to -INF preference 538
Sends View 25
Sends View Shows command 548
Separate Region command 210, 512
and multiple tracks 210
and related takes 135
Separate Region Operates On All Related Takes
option 135, 210, 542
Separation Grabber 211
Session Setup window 468
Current TC 490
session templates 55
sessions 10
audio format 469
bit depth 51, 468
closing 56
creating 50
creating for surround mixing 426
default tempo 264
frame rate 469
mixed audio formats 53
opening 51
sample rate 468
saving 52
start frame 469
Set Movie Sync Offset command 498, 526
settings files
import and export 71
Pro Tools Reference Guide604
Setups menu
DAE Buffer Size command 534
Disk Allocation command 117, 534
Feet.Frames command 536
Feet.Frames Time Scale 186
Hardware command 46, 47, 533
I/O Setup command 535
OMS MIDI Setup command 536
OMS Names command 536
OMS Studio Setup command 536
Peripherals command 534
Playback Engine command 48, 533
Preferences command 537
Shift command 224, 512
Shift dialog 224
shortcuts for keyboard input 363
Show Automation Enable command 554
Show Beat Detective command 554
Show Big Counter command 553
Show Disk Names option 176
Show Disk Space command 555
Show Edit Window command 547
Show File Names option 176
Show Full Pathnames option 176
Show Machine Track Arm command 554
Show Memory Locations command 554
Show Meters in Sends View option 341
Show Meters in Sends View preference 537
Show MIDI Event List command 552
Show MIDI Operations command 309, 552
Show MIDI Track Offsets command 553
Show Mix Window command 547
Show Movie Window command 497, 555
Show Session Setup command 553
Show Strip Silence command 555
Show System Usage command 555
Show Tempo/Meter command 551
Show Transport command 553
Show Universe command 554
Show/Hide Tracks list 17
Shuffle mode 28, 179
and locked regions 225
and moving regions 218
Shuttle Lock mode 194
Shuttle, Numeric Keypad mode 42, 194, 539
sibilants 517
side chain processing 360
signal flow
Audio Tracks 331
Auxiliary Inputs 332
Master Faders 333
Signal Generator plug-in 518
signal routing
and default path order 74
basics for surround 434
example 12
surround examples 440
sliding regions 217
Slip mode 28, 179
and moving regions 219
Smart Tool 31, 32
and audio tracks 32
and MIDI tracks 32
and multi-channel tracks 33
creating crossfades with 32
creating fades with 32
editing automation with 33
editing controller events with 33
Smooth and Thin Data After Pass option 374, 383,
542
smoothing automation 375
SMPTE
configuration 471
frame formats 460
start frame for session 469
SMPTE Slave Driver (SSD) 468
generating time code with 474
SMPTE/ITU 416
snapshot automation 394, 515
adding to empty automation playlists 394
and trim values 396
writing over existing automation 395
SND resource file format 402
Solo button 20, 83
Solo Safe mode 21, 83
soloing
tracks 83
tracks in a submix 349
Solos Follow Groups option 374, 542
Solos Follow Mix Groups option 83
sorting
Markers 277
regions 176
Sorting option 176
Index 605
Sound Designer II file format 401
Source Path 401
speakers
layouts 416
suggested 5.1 placement 418
surround calibration 419
surround placement 418
Split Notes command 311, 521
Split Notes dialog 311
Split Selected Tracks Into Mono command 231,
508
splitting stereo and multi-channel tracks 231
Spot dialog 219, 486
Use Subframes option 486, 488
User Time Stamp button 488
Spot mode 28, 179, 485
and moving regions 219
trimming regions in 488
spotting
auto-spotting 487
QuickTime movies 499
regions 219, 485, 487
Standard MIDI Files 102
exporting 103
importing 102
Type 0 102
Type 1 102
Standard Trimmer 215
start frame, for sessions 469
stems
surround examples 440
stepped control automation 386
stereo format 416
stereo interleaved files, exporting 97
Stereo Mix
I/O Setup factory preset 71
stereo tracks
dragging regions to 232
names for 117
recording 127
replacing regions in 237
splitting 231
Stop button 36
Strip Silence command 253
and region naming 254
Strip Silence window 253
stuck notes 308
sub
content 421
with bass management 423
Sub Time Scale 186, 473
subframes 486
submixes
applying an Insert to 348
bouncing to 408
bouncing to disk 399
soloing tracks in 349
sub-paths
examples for surround 437
Support Background Record Applications
preference 538
surround
and sends 434
basic signal routing 434
bass management 423
center percentage (%) 452
concepts 415
configuring Pro Tools and sessions 426
delivery formats 422
discrete level, solo, mute 432
divergence basics 421
encoding and decoding 422
example 5.1 paths 429
formats 415
importing I/O Settings 428
Lt Rt 420
mix compatibility 422
mixer specifications 566
mixing concepts 422
mixing formats 416
pan playlists and automation 453
panning grids 443
Pro Tools formats 416
settings files 426
speaker arrangements 416
terminology 419
using paths 437
using sub-paths, examples 437
Surround Mixer
plug-in features 566
specifications 566
SurroundScope 453
Suspend All Groups command 87
suspending automation 381
swing 313, 315
Pro Tools Reference Guide606
sync 457
3:2 Pulldown 462
and film 461
Bi-Phase/Tach 460
black burst 491
film speed vs. video speed 462
guide tracks 462
LTC 459
MIDI Beat Clock 485
MMC 479
options 467
positional reference 458
Pull Up/Down 463
resolving 491
SMPTE frame formats 460
time code 458
troubleshooting 490
VITC 459
Sync Mode 469
for digital inserts 365
Sync Offset 470
sync points 489
for QuickTime movie 499
for regions 217
from Beat Detective 289
identifying 217, 489
Synchronization page 534
syncing to a sequencer
Macintosh 476
Windows 478
with MMC 483
syncing to an ADAT 481
Sysex view 305
System Exclusive data 16, 305
and MIDI Thru 142
deleting 306
moving 305
recording 152
System Load 376
System Usage 376
System Usage Window Shows command 548
T
Tab to Transients button 29, 203
take over (surround pan) 449
Take Region Lengths That Match option 135, 542
Take Region Names That Match Track Names
option 135, 541
takes
auditioning 133
auditioning from Takes List 134
default names 116
numbering for QuickPunch 157
recording additional 129
Takes List pop-up menu 134
and multiple tracks 134
tapping in the tempo 124
Target Button 360
TC/E Plug-In preference 543
TDM 561
TDM Mixer Plug-Ins 566
switching 566
TDM Plug-Ins
and DSP usage 568
MultiShell 568
TDM systems 5
audio interfaces 6
pre/post-roll 137
QuickPunch 156
voice and track limits 6
technical support
suggestions 571
tempo
current 261
default 123, 264
effects on Markers and Memory Locations 271
effects on MIDI and audio 263
Manual Tempo mode 123
tapping in 124
tempo events 261
and Bar|Beat Markers 266
editing 262
inserting 261
tempo map
from Identify Beat command 264
Tempo Ruler
displaying 261
extending an Edit selection to 263, 276
test 408
Thin Automation command 384, 515
thinning automation 375, 383
tick-based and sample-based 271
tick-based timing 187
time code 458
and Jam Sync 470
capturing 486
Index 607
freewheeling 470
generating 469, 474
Time Code Time Scale 186, 549
Time Compression/Expansion plug-in 518
Time Scale 185
Main 186, 473
Sub 186, 473
time stamp 548
Time Stamp Selected command 134, 220, 488
time stamps and Bounce to Disk 400
Time Trimmer 238
Timebase Rulers 184
and selecting on all tracks 201
and Timeline selections 206
Edit Markers 196
Playback Markers 195
Pre/Post-Roll Flags 195
sliding Edit selections 203
sliding Timeline selections 207
Timeline Insertion Follows Playback option 538
Timeline selections 206
and Playback Markers 206
auditioning with Playhead enabled 207
copied from Edit selection 207
copied to Edit selection 207
in Timebase Rulers 206
sliding in the Ruler 207
start, end, and length fields 37
To All Enabled Parameters
writing automation 396
To Current Parameter
writing automation 396
toggling
Track View 166
zoom level 182
tools 30
Touch Timeout option 375, 543
track controls
Edit window 27
Mix window 20
track data 164
Track Height 27, 166
track layout
default path order 74
track level faders 24
track level meters 24
Track Name/Comments dialog 77, 116
Track Selection Follows Regions List Selection
option 204, 541
Track Selector 359
Track View 28, 164
Blocks 165
Expanded Track Display 167, 387
master view 389
Notes 165, 170
Regions 165, 171
Sysex 305
toggling 166
Velocity 299
Waveform 28, 165, 168
Track View Toggle 166
track width 85
tracks
5.1 format track layout 432
adding to selection 201, 202
and Record Safe mode 113
and surround 431
appending new material to end of 130
auto-voiced 21
color coding 85
concepts 10
deleting 78
entering comments 78
grouping 85
hiding 79
importing 94
locating with Fast Forward/Rewind 190
making inactive/active 84
master view 166, 389
moving selections between 202
muting 84
names 24, 116
placing regions in 212
playback priority 81
playing 189
record enabling 112
removing from a selection 202
selecting across multiple 201
selecting all regions in 197
selecting all regions in all tracks 197
selecting material in 196
selecting on all 201
soloing 83
Track Height 27, 166
Pro Tools Reference Guide608
Track View 28, 164
transposing 320
trimming unwanted data from 211
virtual tracks 80
trajectory panning 450
transients
detecting with Beat Detective 283
tabbing to 203
Transport Master 480
Transport Numeric Keypad Mode 539
Transport window 36
MIDI controls 38
pre/post-roll 37, 137
start, end, and length fields 37, 136
transport controls 36
Transport Window Shows command 547
Transport, Numeric Keypad mode 41
Transpose command 319, 521
Transpose window 319
transposing 319
by octave 320
key 320
MIDI notes 297
tracks 320
Trim Automation command 396, 515
Trim command 512
Trim End To Insertion command 216
Trim Start To Insertion command 216
Trim To Selection command 211
Trimmer tool 30, 215
Scrub Trimmer 216
Time Trimmer 238
trimming
automation breakpoints 386, 393
crossfades 248
input sum levels 567
note start/end points 298
region start/end points 215
regions by Nudge Value 217
regions to Edit insertion point 216
regions with Scrub Trimmer 216
unwanted region and track data 211
Tweak-head setting 407
U
unavailable I/O
showing 70
Undo Add Movie command 527
Undo and audio recording 126
Undo and MIDI recording 147
Undo command 174, 511
Universal Slave Driver (USD) 467
and VSO
generating time code with 476
resolving with 468
sync options 468
Universe window 183
unlinked Edit and Timeline selection 195
unlinking plug-in controls 362, 436
Use All Available Space preference 540
Use AudioSuite Dither preference 543
Use F11 for Wait for Note option 144, 539
Use Squeezer option 408, 508
Use Subframes option 486, 488
User Time Stamp 220, 489, 548
user-defined regions 164, 256, 258
V
Variable Speed Override 471
velocities, for MIDI notes
default for inserted 296
dragging velocity stalks 299
drawing with Pencil 299
editing 299, 316
fading 317
randomizing 317
scaling 317
scaling with Trimmer 299
Velocity view 299
Vertical Zoom buttons 180
video capture/playback cards 494
video speed 463
View Filer, for MIDI Event List 323
View Filter command 323
views
Comments View 25
I/O View 22
Inserts View 25
Sends View 25
Virtual Memory 571
Index 609
virtual tracks 80
VITC (Vertical Interval Time Code) 459
Voice Selector 21
voices 21
allocating 82
and track priority 81
auto-assignment of ascending 81
Volume automation 386
VSO (see Variable Speed Override)
W
Wait for Note 38, 144
WAV file format 106, 402
AES31/Broadcast compliant 106
Waveform view 28, 165, 168
waveforms 168
and zero-crossing 169
avoiding clicks and pops 169
drawn rectified 169
guidelines for editing 169
repairing with Pencil tool 232
whole-file audio regions 164
Window Aspect Ratio command 526
Windows menu
Show Automation Enable command 554
Show Beat Detective command 554
Show Big Counter command 553
Show Disk Space command 555
Show Machine Track Arm command 554
Show Memory Locations command 554
Show MIDI Event List command 552
Show MIDI Operations command 552
Show MIDI Track Offsets command 553
Show Movie Window command 555
Show Session Setup command 553
Show Strip Silence command 555
Show System Usage command 555
Show Tempo/Meter command 551
Show Transport command 553
Show Universe command 554
Write Automation command 394, 395, 515
Write Switches to Touch After Pass preference 542
Write to Start/All/End buttons 391
writing
automation 378
automation on stop 393
automation to start, end, or all 391
snapshot automation 394
Z
zero-crossing 169
Zoom buttons 29
Zoom Preset buttons 29, 182
Zoom Toggle 182
Zoomer tool 30, 181
zooming 180
a track area 181
all the way out 181
around a track point 181
horizontally for all tracks 180
in the Ruler 182
recalling zoom levels 182
storing zoom levels 182
vertically for all audio tracks 180
vertically for all MIDI tracks 181

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