Pro Tools® Reference Guide

Version 2018.7
Legal Notices

© 2018 Avid Technology, Inc., (“Avid”), all rights reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written
consent of Avid.
For a current and complete list of Avid trademarks visit: www.avid.com/legal/trademarks-and-other-notices.
Bonjour, the Bonjour logo, and the Bonjour symbol are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
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Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice.

Guide Part Number 9329-65976-00 REV A 07/18

Contents

Part I Introduction to Pro Tools

Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Avid Master Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
System Requirements and Compatibility Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Checking for Software Updates with Avid Application Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Conventions Used in Pro Tools Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Join the Avid Artist Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 2. Pro Tools Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Hard Disk Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Nonlinear Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Audio Engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Avid Video Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Surround Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Pro Tools Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Pro Tools Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Tick-Based and Sample-Based Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
System Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
AAF, MXF, and OMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Pro Tools and Media Composer Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Embedded Media and Linked Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Chapter 3. Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Mouse Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Global Key Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Keyboard Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Contents iii
 Toolbar Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Numeric Keypad Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Chapter 4. Using Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Accessing Guides in Pro Tools Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Accessing the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Help Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Using the Contents and Index Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Using the Search Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Search Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Copying from a Help Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Printing Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Part II System Configuration

Chapter 5. Pro Tools Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Pro Tools Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software with Pro Tools | HDX Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software with Pro Tools | HD Native Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Supported Pro Tools HD Audio Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Playback, Recording, and Voice Limits with Pro Tools | Ultimate Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Pro Tools HD Audio Interface Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Additional Pro Tools Hardware Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Additional Pro Tools HD Hardware Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Pro Tools Software Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Avid Application Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Chapter 6. I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Pro Tools Software Signal Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
I/O Setup Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
I/O Setup Signal Path Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
I/O Setup Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
I/O Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Customizing I/O Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Configuring Hardware in I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Signal Path Routing for Audio Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Signal Path Routing for Audio Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

iv Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Creating New Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Creating New Sub-Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Editing Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Assigning Paths to Hardware I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Valid Paths and Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Configuring Busses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Downmix and Upmix Output Busses to Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
I/O Settings Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Session or Project Interchange and I/O Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
I/O Settings and the Playback Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Organize Track I/O Menus By Preference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
I/O Setup in Session Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Pro Tools Session Templates and I/O Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Chapter 7. System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Checking a Pro Tools | HDX or Pro Tools | HD Native System with DigiTest . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Configuring Pro Tools Software System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Configuring MIDI Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Configuring Hardware Settings in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Configuring Pro Tools | HDX and Pro Tools | HD Native Hardware Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
System Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Chapter 8. Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Display Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Operation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Editing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Mixing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Metering Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Processing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
MIDI Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Collaboration Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Synchronization Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Global and Local Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Chapter 9. Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Contents v
 MIDI Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Ethernet Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Mic Preamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
VENUE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Atmos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Chapter 10. Configuring MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

MIDI Studio Setup (Mac) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
MIDI Studio Setup (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Part III Sessions, Projects & Tracks

Chapter 11. Sessions and Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Sessions and Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Signing In and Out of Your Avid Master Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Dashboard Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Bit Depths and Sample Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Mixed Audio File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Interleaved Multichannel and Multi-Mono Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Session Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Pro Tools Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Creating a New Session or Project from a Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Creating a New Blank Session or Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Opening a Recent Session or Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Opening Any Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Opening a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Opening a Session or Project with Plug-Ins Deactivated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Saving Sessions and Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Save Copy In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Save As New Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Saving a Session as a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Saving a Project as a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Session Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Project and Session Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Project Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

vi Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Closing a Session or Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Renaming Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Remove Local Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Deleting Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Restore Project from Cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Open Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Backup to Cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Project Collaboration Invitations in the Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Quitting or Exiting Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Chapter 12. Pro Tools Main Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Mix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Transport Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
MIDI Editor Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Score Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Task Manager Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Artist Chat Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
In-Application Web Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Managing Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
How Window Configurations Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Window Configuration Commands and Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Tool Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Chapter 13. Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Track Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Track Channel Strips in the Mix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Track Controls and Indicators in the Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Edit Window Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Track Level Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Adjusting Track Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Creating Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Track Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Setting Track Views in the Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Track Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Contents vii
 Tracks List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Track Name Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Assigning Audio Inputs and Outputs to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Track Priority and Voice Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Assigning MIDI Inputs and Outputs to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Soloing and Muting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Making Tracks Inactive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Color Coding for Tracks, Clips, Markers, and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Chapter 14. Track Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Creating and Saving Track Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Creating New Tracks from Track Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Recalling Inserts from Track Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Recalling Track Presets to Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Track Presets in Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Chapter 15. Grouping Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Grouping Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Group Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Working with Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Setting Group Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Enabling Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Grouped Control Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Chapter 16. The Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Clips List Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Sorting and Searching in the Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Selecting Clips in the Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Previewing Clips in the Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Stereo and Multichannel Clips in the Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Naming and Displaying Clips in the Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Managing Clips in the Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Clip Name Right-Click Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Batch Renaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Chapter 17. Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Performance and Transfer Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

viii Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Workspace Browser Layout and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Working with Items in Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Indexing Workspace Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Workspace Browser Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Workspace Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Workspace Browser Panes and Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Column Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Selecting Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Moving, Copying, Duplicating, and Removing Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Set Column Metadata Values for Multiple Selected Files in Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . 324
Searching Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Soundbase and Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Searching Based on Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Adding and Editing Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Elastic Audio Files in the Workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Previewing Audio in Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Preview Controls and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Preview Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Linking and Relinking Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Transfer Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Missing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Relink Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Task Manager Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

Chapter 18. Artist Chat Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Profile Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Notifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Chat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Filtering Chat and Project Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Editing Chat or Project Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Emoticon and Notations Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Pinning or Unpinning Items in the Projects and Chat Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Contents ix
 Leaving a Project or Group Chat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Move to or Restore from Artist Chat History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Remaining Signed In to your Avid Account Offline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Availability for Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375

Chapter 19. Track Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

Sharing Projects and Collaborating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
What is Shared? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
What is Not Shared? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Project Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Start Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Track Collaboration Tools in the Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Track Collaboration Tools in the Transport Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Global Track Collaboration Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Track Collaboration Track View in the Edit and Mix Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Track Collaboration Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Track Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Conflicts Between Track Changes and the Cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Track Cloud Synchronization Indicator in the Tracks List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Conductor Ruler Collaboration Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

Chapter 20. Importing and Exporting Session Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Importing and Exporting Data to and from a Session or Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Audio Conversion on Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Importing Files with Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Importing Audio Files and Clips Using the Import Audio Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Importing Audio from Audio CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Importing ACID and REX Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Importing Multichannel Audio Files from a Field Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Import Options and Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Exporting Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Importing MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
Exporting MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Exporting Sibelius Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Importing Session Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Import Session Data Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Importing AAF and OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

x Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Import Options when Importing AAF or OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Import Sequence from Media Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Media Composer | Software Export Options for Audio and Video Mixdowns . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Audio File Format Compatibility Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Exporting Pro Tools Tracks as AAF or OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Exporting Pro Tools Tracks as MXF Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Export Options when Exporting to AAF or OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Export Selected Tracks to Sequence in Production Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
Export Selected Tracks as New Session or Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Exporting Session Information as Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
Export Session Information as Text Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Importing and Exporting Clip Group Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

Chapter 21. File and Session Management and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455

Audio File Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
WAV File Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Sharing Projects Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Sharing Sessions Created on Different Computer Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Sharing Sessions Created on Different Pro Tools Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Opening Pro Tools Ultimate Sessions in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Sharing Sessions Created on Different Pro Tools Software Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Language Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

Part IV Playback and Recording

Chapter 22. Playing Back Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Playback Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Setting the Playback Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
Scrolling Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Playing Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Transport Fade-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Playing Timeline and Edit Selections with the Playhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Playback Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
MIDI Beat Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
MIDI Beat Clock Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

Contents xi
 Chapter 23. Record Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Record Setup Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Configuring Pro Tools Hardware I/O for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
Connecting a Sound Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Recording with a Click . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Setting the Session Meter and Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Record Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Configuring Default Names for Audio Files and Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
Assigning Hardware I/O on a Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Record Enabling Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Working with Hard Drives for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
Selecting a Record Input Monitoring Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
Setting Monitor Levels for Record and Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Reducing Monitoring Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

Chapter 24. Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517

Recording Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
Prime for Record Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
Setting Punch and Loop Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
Setting Pre- and Post-Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Audio Punch Recording Over a Specified Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Recording Additional Takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
Loop Recording Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
Alternate Takes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
Recording from a Digital Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Half-Speed Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Chapter 25. MIDI Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

Recording from MIDI Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Enabling Input Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
MIDI Thru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
MIDI Input Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Input Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Wait for Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
MIDI Merge/Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Configuring MIDI or Instrument Tracks for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Recording MIDI and Instrument Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544

xii Pro Tools Reference Guide

 MIDI Input Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
MIDI Punch Recording Over a Specified Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Loop Recording MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
MIDI Step Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
Recording System Exclusive Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
Recording Audio from a MIDI Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
Retrospective Record for MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

Chapter 26. Punch Recording Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557

Introduction to Punch Recording Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
Guidelines for Punch Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
QuickPunch Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
TrackPunch Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
Using TrackPunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566
DestructivePunch Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Using DestructivePunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
Example TrackPunch and DestructivePunch Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572

Part V Editing
Chapter 27. Editing Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
Audio Clips and Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
MIDI Clips and MIDI Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
Naming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588
Displaying Clip Names, Clip Times, and Other Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
Multiple Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590
Basic Editing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592
Editing Across Multiple Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

Chapter 28. Edit Modes and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

Edit Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Shuffle Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Slip Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598
Spot Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598
Grid Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
Edit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

Contents xiii
 Zooming Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
Zoom Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
Zoomer Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604
Zoom Preset Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607
Zoom Toggle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607
Zooming with a Scroll Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610
Using the Trim Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
Time Compression/ Expansion Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612
Scrub Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614
Loop Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615
Tandem Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Using the Selector Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Using the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
Using the Smart Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619
Using the Scrubber Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
Numeric Keypad Set to Shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624
Using the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624
Edit/Tool Mode Keyboard Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625

Chapter 29. Making Selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627

Linking or Unlinking Timeline and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
Linking or Unlinking Track and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
Selecting Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
Timeline Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640
Auto-Scrolling Tracks in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643
Universe View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644
Navigating a Pro Tools Session with Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646

Chapter 30. Editing Clips and Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

Creating New Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651
Healing Separated Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654
Trimming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655
Nudging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657
Layered Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660
Quantizing Clips to Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661
Editing Stereo and Multichannel Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662

xiv Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Consolidating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663
Compacting an Audio File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663
Processing Audio with AudioSuite Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
TCE (Time Compression and Expansion) Edit To Timeline Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
Rating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665

Chapter 31. Fades and Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667

About Crossfades and Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
Fade Dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669
Fade and Crossfade Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
Fade Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
Creating Fades at the Beginnings and Ends of Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675
Creating a Crossfade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677
Using AutoFades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
Creating Fades and Crossfades in Batches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679
Manually Adjusting Fade Shapes in Fade Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680
Adjusting the Start and End Points of a Crossfade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680
Adjusting Fade Shapes with the Smart Tool in the Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681
Changing Fade Shapes in the Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682
Fades Options in the Edit Selection Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682
Moving and Nudging Fades and Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
Separating Clips that Include Fades or Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
Trimming Clips that Include Fades or Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686
Fade Boundaries and Shapes Displayed in Automation View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687

Chapter 32. Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689

Working with Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
Track Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
Playlists View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
Matching Alternate Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
Matching Criteria Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
Selecting Alternate Takes on Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
Automatically Create New Playlists when Loop Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705
Expanding Alternate Takes to New Playlists or Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
Expanding Alternate Channels to New Playlists or Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
Target Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
Track Compositing Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715

Contents xv
 Chapter 33. Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
Beat Detective and Source Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
Uses for Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
Beat Detective Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
The Beat Detective Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
Beat Detective Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
Defining a Beat Detective Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
Beat Detective Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721
Calculating Tempo with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
Generating Beat Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
Editing Beat Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
Generating Bar|Beat Markers with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728
DigiGroove Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
Separating Clips with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731
Conforming Clips with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732
Edit Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
Detection (Normal) and Collection Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737

Part VI MIDI
Chapter 34. MIDI Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743
MIDI Editing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743
Setting the Grid Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
Using the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746
Inserting MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
Inserting a Series of Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
Manually Editing MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
Using the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
Time Compression/Expansion Trim Tool Functionality on MIDI Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760
Continuous Controller Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
Keyboard Shortcuts for Navigating MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
Patch Select (Program and Bank Changes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770
System Exclusive Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 774
Note and Controller Chasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775
Offsetting MIDI Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776
Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778

xvi Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Remove Duplicate Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778
MIDI Real-Time Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778
Real-Time Properties Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780
Real-Time Properties on Tracks and Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 782
Writing Real-Time Properties to Tracks or Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783
Real-Time Properties In the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784
Display of Real-Time Properties Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784

Chapter 35. MIDI Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785

Opening a MIDI Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786
MIDI Editor Window Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787
MIDI Editor Zoom Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793
Tracks List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793
Groups List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795
Timebase and Conductor Rulers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795
Superimposed Notes View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
Notes Pane Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 799
Notation View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
Velocity, Controller, and Automation Lanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802

Chapter 36. Score Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 803

Opening the Score Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
Edit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
Default Note Duration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 807
Default Note On Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 807
Play MIDI Notes When Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 807
Link Timeline and Edit Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 807
Mirrored MIDI Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
Double Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
Cursor Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
Score Editor Window Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
Score Editor Window Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810
Tracks List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
Page Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812
Score Editor Zoom Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813
Notation Display Track Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814

Contents xvii
 Score Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815
Editing Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
Score Editor Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 820
Key Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821
Meter Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822
Chord Symbols and Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822
Exporting Scores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 824
Printing Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 824

Chapter 37. MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825

Opening the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825
Inserting Events in the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
Editing Events in the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830
MIDI Event List Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832

Part VII Arranging

Chapter 38. Time, Tempo, Meter, Key, and Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835
Timebase Rulers and Conductor Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835
Main Time Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 837
The Sub Counter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 838
Tick-Based Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839
Tick- and Sample-Based Timebases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839
Song Start Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841
Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842
Graphic Tempo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 848
Editing Tempo Events in the Tempo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 849
Changing the Linearity Display Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 854
Tempo Operations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855
Identify Beat Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861
Meter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864
Time Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866
Change Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866
Insert Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
Cut Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869
Move Song Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870
Renumbering Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871

xviii Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Key Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871
Chord Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875
Extract Chords From Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876

Chapter 39. Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 879

Creating Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 879
Creating Memory Locations During Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 880
Properties of Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881
Recalling Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 883
Editing Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 884
Deleting Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885
Copying Marker Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885
Memory Locations Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886
Memory Locations Commands and Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886

Chapter 40. Arranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 889

Placing Clips from the Clips List on to Track Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 889
Working with Multiple Items from the Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890
Placing Clips at the Edit Insertion Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891
Aligning Clips with the Edit Insertion Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 892
Arranging with Transparent Clip Overlays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893
Moving Clips with the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893
Layered Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 894
Snapping to the Preceding or Next Clip on a Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 895
Arranging Clips in Shuffle Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 896
Arranging Clips in Slip Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897
Spotting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898
Arranging Clips in Grid Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899
Replacing Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 901
Sync Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903
Shift Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 905
Locking Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 905
Muting/Unmuting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907
Stripping Silence from Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907
Inserting Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910
Duplicating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 911
Repeating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 912

Contents xix
 Chapter 41. Clip Loops and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913
Clip Looping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913
Creating Looped Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 914
Unlooping Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915
Editing Looped Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915
Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 917
Creating Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 918
Ungrouping Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919
Regrouping Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919
Multitrack Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919
Clip Groups on Tick-Based Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921
Editing Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922
Fades and Crossfades on Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
Clip Groups and Clip Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 924
Importing and Exporting Clip Group Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 924

Part VIII Processing

Chapter 42. AudioSuite Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927
AudioSuite Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927
AudioSuite Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927
AudioSuite Window Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 928
AudioSuite Window Footer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932
Using AudioSuite Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934
Conditions for AudioSuite Rendering with Handles, Fades, Clip Gain, and Metadata . . . . . 937

Chapter 43. Clip Gain and Clip Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939

Clip Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939
Clip Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 947
Clip Effects Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 953
Clip Effects Presets and Settings Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 960

Chapter 44. Elastic Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963

Example Elastic Audio Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 964
Elastic Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 968
Disabling Elastic Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969
Elastic Audio Track Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 970

xx Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Elastic Audio Track Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 970
Elastic Audio Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 971
Real-Time and Rendered Elastic Audio Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972
Elastic Audio Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973
Editing in Warp View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977
Warping Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 979
Editing in Analysis View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 984
Elastic Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986
Elastic Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986
Elastic Audio Clip-Based Pitch Shifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989
AudioSuite Processing and Elastic Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 990
Moving Elastic Audio Between Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 991
Approximate Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 992
Elastic Audio Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 992

Chapter 45. Committing, Freezing, and Bouncing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993

Commit Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993
Track Freeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 998
Bounce Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1001

Chapter 46. Event Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1003

Event Operations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1003
Quantize Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1004
Grid Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006
Grid Quantize Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1008
Groove Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1010
Quantizing Elastic Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1014
Quantizing Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1015
Quantizing Mixed Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1015
Restore Performance Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1016
Flatten Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1017
Change Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1019
Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021
Select/Split Notes Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1023
Input Quantize Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1025
Step Input Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1026

Contents xxi
 Chapter 47. HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1029
Enabling HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1029
About HEAT Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1029
HEAT Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1031
Master Bypass and Track Bypass Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1032
A Note About Other Track Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1033
DSP and Voice Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1033
Using HEAT with a Control Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034

Part IX Mixing
Chapter 48. Basic Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1039
Mixing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1039
Metering and Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1039
Signal Flow by Track Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1040
Audio Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1040
Auxiliary Input Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1041
Master Fader Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1042
Instrument Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1044
VCA Master Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045
Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048
Configuring Inserts View in the Mix and Edit Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048
HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1049
Stereo Pan Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1049
Views in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1050
Audio Input and Output Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1054
Sends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1056
Configuring Sends View in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
Sends View Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062
Editing Sends in the Mix and Edit Windows (Individual Send Views) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1064
Bus Interrogation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
Output Windows for Tracks and Sends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068
Output Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1071
Signal Routing for Monitoring and Submixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072
Delay Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1080
Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087

xxii Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Using an Ethernet Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
Using a MIDI Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088

Chapter 49. Plug-In and Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1091

Types of Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1091
Viewing Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1093
Making Inserts Inactive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1094
Inserting Plug-Ins on Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1095
Plug-In Menu Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1097
Plug-in Insert Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1098
Default EQ and Dynamics Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1099
Plug-In Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1099
Moving and Duplicating Plug-In and Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100
Plug-In Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100
Opening Plug-In Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1103
Using Plug-In Window Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1103
Editing Plug-In Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1104
Plug-In Automation and Safe Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1105
Side-Chain Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1105
Plug-in Bus Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1106
Plug-In Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1107
Plug-In Settings Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109
Plug-In Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1112
Bypassing Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1117
Linking and Unlinking Controls on Multi-Mono Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1119
Using Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1119

Chapter 50. Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123

Automation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123
Automation Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1124
Automation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1126
Automation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1131
Viewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1133
Indication of Automation in Track View and Automation Lane Selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1136
Writing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1136
Automating Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1138
Automating Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139

Contents xxiii
 AutoMatching Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1142
Priming Controls for Writing Automation in Latch Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
Enabling and Suspending Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1145
Deleting Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1147
Thinning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1148
Drawing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1149
Editing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1150
Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1155
Glide Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1159
Trimming Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1160
Writing Automation to the Start, End, or All of a Track or Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1162
Writing Automation to the Next Breakpoint or to the Punch Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1164
Guidelines for “Write To” Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1167
Overwriting or Extending Mute Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1168
Creating Snapshot Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
Previewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1173
Capturing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1175
VCA Master Track Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1178
Coalescing VCA Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1179

Chapter 51. Mixdown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183

Selecting Audio for Loops, Submixes, and Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183
Using Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1184
Bus Recording to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1185
Bounce to Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1186
Bounce From Sends or Track Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1187
Bounce Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1188
Recording a Submix (with Bounce to Disk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1195
Final Mixdown (with Bounce to Disk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1195
Mastering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1196

Part X Surround
Chapter 52. Pro Tools Setup for Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1199
Surround Mixing in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1199
Pro Tools Audio Connections for 5.1 Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1199
7.1 and 7.0 Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1200

xxiv Pro Tools Reference Guide

 7.1.2 and 7.0.2 Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1200
Ambisonics Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1201
Configuring Pro Tools for Multichannel Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1201
Default I/O Selectors in I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1206
5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1207

Chapter 53. Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1209

Multichannel Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1209
Multichannel Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1212
Paths in Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1215
Example Paths and Signal Routing for a Surround Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1217

Chapter 54. Surround Panning and Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1223

Introduction to Pro Tools Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1223
Output Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1224
Standard Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1225
Surround Panner Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1226
Panning Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1228
Divergence and Center Percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1231
LFE Faders in Multichannel Panners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1233
Pan Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1234

Chapter 55. Mixing to Dolby Atmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1235

Dolby Atmos Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1235
Installing and Configuring Dolby Atmos Software and Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1236
7.0.2 and 7.1.2 Surround Formats in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1237
Configuring the Network Connection for Pro Tools and a Dolby Atmos Renderer. . . . . . . . 1237
Pro Tools Restrictions when Mixing to Dolby Atmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1238
Configuring Session Setup for Dolby Atmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1239
Configuring the I/O Setup for Dolby Atmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1239
Mixing Bed Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1240
Mapping Busses to Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1241
Track Object Output Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1243
Monitoring Object Audio when not Connected to a Renderer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1244
Object View in the Edit and Mix Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1244
Object Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1245
7.0.2, 7.1.2, and Object Panner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1247
Object/Bus Toggle Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1251

Contents xxv
 Auto-Height Overrides Height Automation Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1251
Coalesce Pan Guide Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1252
Duplicating Object Track Pan Automation and Dolby Atmos Panner Plug-in Automation . . 1252
Object Controls Mix Attribute for Grouped Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1253
Importing Object-Related Track Data from Another Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1254
Import ADM files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1254
Dolby Atmos PEC/DIR Recorder Workflow Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1255

Chapter 56. Ambisonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1257

Pro Tools Support for Ambisonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1257
What is Ambisonics? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1257
Configuring the I/O Setup for Ambisonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1258
Channel Ordering for Ambisonics Audio Signal Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1259
Ambisonics Mixes in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1260

Part XI Sync and Video

Chapter 57. Working with Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1265
Pro Tools Synchronization Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1265
Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1267
Format Displays and Controls in the Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1268
SYNC Setup and Timecode Offsets in the Session Setup Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1270
Timecode Settings in the Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1272
Preparing to Work with SMPTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1273
Configuring Pro Tools for SMPTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1273
Pull Up and Pull Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1275
Effect of Using Pull Up or Pull Down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1279
Generating Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1280
Using MIDI Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1281
Enabling MIDI Machine Control in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1282
MMC Transport Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1284
Setting Minimum Sync Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1284
Remote Track Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1285
Spotting Clips to SMPTE Frame Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1285
The Spot Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1286
Capturing Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1287
Auto-Spotting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1288

xxvi Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Using the Trim Tools in Spot Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1288
Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1288
Identifying a Synchronization Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1290
Troubleshooting SMPTE Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1290
Speed Correction for Film, NTSC Video, and PAL Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1292

Chapter 58. MachineControl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1295

MachineControl Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1295
Cables and Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1296
Connecting Machines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1297
Starting Up Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1298
MachineControl Communication Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1299
Setting Up Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1300
Serial Deck Control Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1303
Configuring Serial Deck Control (Overview) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1303
Configuring a MachineControl Device for Deck Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1303
Preferences for Serial Deck Control Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1305
Session Setup Window and MachineControl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1307
Additional Pro Tools MachineControl Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1309
Selecting Pro Tools or the Machine as the Transport Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1311
Playback in Serial Deck Control Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1312
Remote Track Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1313
Configuring Track Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1313
Creating a Track Arming Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1314
Arming Tracks Remotely for Layback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1317
Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1317
Configuring Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1318
Preferences for Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1320
Playback in Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1321
Recording in Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1321
Track Arming in Remote 9-Pin Deck Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1321
Using a Paddle Device in Local Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1322
Connecting a Supported Third-Party Paddle Device to Your Pro Tools System . . . . . . . . . 1322
Allow Track Arm Commands in Local Mode Preference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1323
Configuring Ports for a Deck and a Supported Third-Party Paddle Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1323
Deck Control Key Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1324
Machine IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1325

Contents xxvii
 9-Pin Cable Pinouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1327

Chapter 59. Working with Field Recorders in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1331

Field Recorder and Production Workflow Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1331
Supported Field Recorder Audio Files and Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1333
Displaying Field Recorder Metadata in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1334
Workspace Support for Field Recorder Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1334
Field Recorder Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1335
Ensuring Metadata of Source Files Have Been Preserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1335
Receiving Source Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1336
Importing Source Files into Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1337
Designating Field Recorder Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1339
Displaying Multichannel Files from a Field Recorder in the Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1339
Selecting a Matching Field Recorder Channel to Replace a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1340
Expanding Matching Field Recorder Channels to New Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1344
Determining the Method of Expanding Matching Field Recorder Channels to New Tracks . 1345
Film Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1348
Video and Fully Non-Linear Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1350

Chapter 60. Working with Video in Pro Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1353

Avid Video Engine (AVE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1353
QuickTime Movie Support in Pro Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1354
Before Starting Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1354
Pro Tools Video Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1355
Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1355
Main Video Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1356
Video Track Controls and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1357
Video Track Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1358
Locking Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1364
Video Engine Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1364
Importing Video into Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1365
Configuring Video Import Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1367
Importing Audio from a QuickTime Video Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1368
Video Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1369
Showing or Hiding Video Clips in the Clips List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1370
General Video Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1370
Renaming Video Disk Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1372

xxviii Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Video Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1372
Using the Video Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1373
Browsing Video in the Video Universe Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1375
Playback of High-Definition Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1377
Optimized Video Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1377
Tips for Optimizing Video Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1378
Compensating for Video Monitoring Delays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1378
Playing Video to an External Monitor Using a Video Peripheral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1379
Bouncing the Video Track to a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1379

Part XII Satellite Systems

Chapter 61. Satellite Link. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1385
Satellite Link Requirements and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1385
Configuring Satellite Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1386
Linking Satellite Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1388
Using Satellite Link with MachineControl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1392
Control Surface Support for Satellite Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1393

Chapter 62. Pro Tools Video Satellite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1395

Video Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1395
Connecting a Pro Tools Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1395
Linking the Pro Tools Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1396

Chapter 63. Avid Video Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1399

Video Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1400
Supported Video Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1401
Avid Video Satellite Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1401
Using a Video Satellite in a MediaCentral | Production Management Environment . . . . . . . 1401
Connecting Pro Tools and a Video Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1401
Matching Media Composer and Pro Tools Settings in a Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . . 1403
Linking or Unlinking Pro Tools and a Video Satellite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1409
Capturing Audio and Video with a Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1411
Re-Digitizing an Existing Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1412
Digitizing from an EDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1412
Laying Back Audio and Video to Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1412

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1415

Contents xxix
xxx Pro Tools Reference Guide
Part I: Introduction to
Pro Tools
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools

Welcome to Pro Tools®, brought to you by Avid®

Technology. Pro Tools Software integrates power- Checking for Software
ful multitrack digital audio and MIDI sequencing Updates with Avid
features, giving you everything you need to record, Application Manager
arrange, compose, edit, mix, and master profes- Pro Tools installs the Avid Application Manager,
sional quality audio and MIDI for music, video, which can check for application and plug-in up-
film, and multimedia. dates, either automatically or manually. An Inter-
net connection is required to check for updates.

Avid Master Account If updates are available for Pro Tools or any plug-
ins, Application Manager reports what updates (if
Your Avid Master Account simplifies access to all of any) are available and how important the updates
your user accounts and entitlements at my.avid.com. are for your system. You can visit the Avid website
To sign up, go to avid.com and click on “Sign In.”
to locate, download, and install the appropriate up-
Fill in the required fields located under the “Create dates for your system.
Avid Master Account.”
To manually check for updates:
The Master Account is divided into sections. Notice
that the Avid Support Center, Download Center and 1 Launch Avid Application Manager.
Avid Community need to be linked. Simply choose 2 If you are not already logged in, click the
“Link this account” if you already have an account or
Account tab and login to your Avid Master
choose “Create Account,” fill in the required fields
Account.
and click Submit.
3 Click the Apps tab to review what updates are
available and follow the on-screen instructions.
System Requirements and
Compatibility Information For more information about the Avid Appli-
cation Manager, refer to the Avid Applica-
Avid can only assure compatibility and provide tion Manager Guide.
support for hardware and software it has tested and
approved.

For complete system requirements and a list of

qualified computers, operating systems, hard
drives, and third-party devices, visit:
www.avid.com/compatibility

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 3

 Conventions Used in Resources
Pro Tools Documentation
The Avid website (www.avid.com) is your best
Pro Tools documentation uses the following online source for information to help you get the
conventions to indicate menu choices, keyboard most out of your Avid system.
commands, and mouse commands:
Account Activation and Product
:

Convention Action
Registration
File > Save Choose Save from the
Activate your product to access downloads in your
File menu
Avid account (or quickly create an account if you
Control+N Hold down the Control do not have one). Register your purchase online,
key and press the N key download software, updates, documentation, and
Control-click Hold down the Control other resources.
key and click the mouse www.avid.com/account
button

Right-click Click with the right Support and Downloads

mouse button
Contact Avid Customer Success (technical sup-
The names of Commands, Options, and Settings port), download software updates and the latest on-
that appear on-screen are in a different font. line manuals, browse the Compatibility documents
for system requirements, search the online Knowl-
The following symbols are used to highlight edge Base or join the worldwide Avid user com-
important information: munity on the User Conference.
User Tips are helpful hints for getting the www.avid.com/support
most from your Pro Tools system.
Training and Education
Important Notices include information that Study on your own using courses available online,
could affect your Pro Tools session data or find out how you can learn in a classroom setting at
the performance of your Pro Tools system. an Avid-certified training center, or view video tu-
torials and webinars.
Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or mouse www.avid.com/education
shortcuts.
Video Tutorials
Cross References point to related sections in The Get Started Fast with Pro Tools series of on-
this guide and other Avid documentation. line videos provide tutorials to help if you are new
to Pro Tools. They also provide videos for the ex-
perienced user that introduce new features found in
the latest versions of Pro Tools.
www.avidblogs.com/get-started-fast-with-pro-
tools/

4 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Products and Developers
Learn about Avid products, download demo soft-
ware, or learn about our Development Partners and
their plug-ins, applications, and hardware.
www.avid.com/products

Join the Avid Artist

Community
Once you are online and up and running with
Pro Tools, join the Avid Artist Community. The
Avid Artist Community lets you connect with an
extensive network of artists, musicians, producers,
and media professionals to share your work and
your services, find collaborators, and expand your
music and audio opportunities.

Pro Tools integrates seamlessly with the

Avid Artist Community.

To connect to the Avid Artist Community from

Pro Tools:

1 Choose Marketplace > Artist Community.

2 Click Sign In (if you don’t already have an Avid
Master Account, create one).
3 Sign in to your Avid Master Account.
4 Create your portfolio and explore the Artist
Community.

Visit www.avid.com/artistcommunity.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 5

6 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts

Before you begin to use Pro Tools, you may find it

helpful to review Pro Tools concepts. These con- Nonlinear Editing
cepts are the foundation of Pro Tools operation Pro Tools is a nonlinear editing system that lets
and functionality. you rearrange and mix recorded material nonde-
structively. Nonlinear editing simply means that
you can cut, copy, paste, move, delete, trim, and
Hard Disk Audio Recording otherwise rearrange any audio, MIDI, or video in
the Pro Tools Edit window.
Hard disk recording is a nonlinear (or random ac-
cess) medium—you can go immediately to any Nonlinear editing provides significant advantages
spot in a recording without having to rewind or fast over dubbing (re-recording), and cutting and splic-
forward. ing magnetic tape. It gives you the greatest possi-
ble flexibility for editing and arranging, and it is all
This differs from tape-based recording, which is a
nondestructive and “undoable.” Additionally, with
linear medium—where you need to rewind or fast
nonlinear editing in Pro Tools, you will never in-
forward to hear a particular spot in a recording. To
troduce any degradation of audio fidelity as you
rearrange or repeat material in a linear system, you
would with tape.
need to re-record it, or cut and splice it.

Nonlinear systems have several advantages. You

can easily rearrange or repeat parts of a recording
by making the hard disk read parts of the recording
in a different order or multiple times. In addition,
this re-arrangement is nondestructive, meaning
that the original recorded material is not altered.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 7

 those of ASIO. It also allows any single audio ap-
Audio Engines plication the exclusive access to a specific audio
Pro Tools can stream audio between the applica- device. (To access the WASAPI Device Settings in
tion and your audio hardware using the Avid Au- Windows Media Center, choose Tools > Options >
dio Engine (Avid audio hardware only), Core Au- Audio > Audio Device > Device settings.)
dio (Mac only with third-party audio hardware), or
ASIO (Windows only with third-party audio hard-
ware). Avid Video Engine
Pro Tools uses the Avid Video Engine (AVE) for
Avid Audio Engine
real-time digital video playback. AVE is installed
The Avid audio engine (AAE) is a real-time oper- automatically with Pro Tools. AVE provides com-
ating system for digital audio recording, playback, patibility and interoperability across the full prod-
and processing with Pro Tools and Avid audio uct line of Avid audio and video editing solutions,
hardware. When you install Pro Tools, AAE is au- and provides support for a wide range of Avid HD
tomatically installed on your system. AAE pro- and SD MXF video formats on Pro Tools video
vides the foundation for much of the hard disk re- tracks without transcoding (including Avid
cording, digital signal processing, and mix DNxHD®). AVE also lets you monitor Avid HD
automation required by Pro Tools and other prod- and SD MXF, and QuickTime media using Avid
ucts from Avid and its Development Partners. Media Composer® | Nitris® DX,
Media Composer® | Mojo® DX, and other Avid
Core Audio qualified third-party video interfaces.
Apple’s Core Audio provides audio connectivity
between software applications and audio hardware
on Mac OS X. Pro Tools software can use audio MIDI
interfaces with supported Core Audio drivers for MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a
playback and recording with up to 32 channels of communication protocol for musical instruments.
I/O. This industry standard enables connections be-
tween a variety of devices from different manufac-
ASIO turers. Examples of MIDI-compatible equipment
Steinberg’s Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) include synthesizers, drum machines, MIDI patch
provides audio connectivity between software ap- bays, effects processors, MIDI interfaces, MIDI
plications and audio hardware on Windows. control surfaces, and MIDI sequencers.
Pro Tools software can use audio interfaces with
MIDI devices are equipped with 5-pin DIN con-
supported ASIO drivers for playback and record-
nectors, labeled as either IN, OUT, or THRU. The
ing with up to 32 channels of I/O.
MIDI OUT port transmits messages. The MIDI IN
port receives messages. The MIDI THRU outputs
WASAPI
whatever is received from the IN port. MIDI de-
The Windows Audio Session API (WASAPI) lets vices are connected with MIDI cables that are
client applications manage the flow of audio data available at most music stores.
between the application and an external audio in-
terface. WASAPI provides benefits similar to

8 Pro Tools Reference Guide

USB and FireWire-compatible MIDI devices send
and receive MIDI messages to and from the com- Surround Sound
puter over USB or FireWire. (Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)

The MIDI protocol provides 16 channels of MIDI Surround sound simply means having one or more
per port. A single MIDI cable can transmit a sepa- speakers with discrete audio signals (channels)
rate set of messages for each of the 16 channels. placed behind the listener in addition to the typical
These 16 channels can correspond to separate stereo pair.
MIDI devices or to multiple channels within a sin-
There are multiple types of surround formats in use
gle device (if the device is multitimbral). Each
(from three-channel LCR to 7.1, which has eight
channel can control a different instrument sound.
channels).
Pro Tools provides powerful MIDI sequencing ca-
The most common surround format is 5.1, which
pabilities. You can record, enter, edit, and play
refers to having 5 speakers and a sub-woofer (the
back MIDI data on Pro Tools Instrument and
“.1”). 5.1 is used in movie theaters and home enter-
MIDI tracks. These actions can be done in the Edit
tainment systems. Additionally, most DVDs are
window, the MIDI Editor window, the Score Edi-
mixed to 5.1. The standard speaker placement for
tor window, and the MIDI Event List.
5.1 for surround monitoring is stereo left and right
MIDI data in Pro Tools can be anything from speakers, and an additional center speaker in front,
MIDI note data (note number, on/off, velocity) to two more stereo left and right speakers in the rear,
System Exclusive (Sysex) messages. MIDI data and the sub-woofer on the side.
can be recorded or played back from both external
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software supports mixing in
MIDI devices with a MIDI interface and other
surround formats. In Pro Tools, each surround for-
MIDI software (such as instrument plug-ins and
mat is considered to be a greater-than-stereo mul-
ReWire client applications).
tichannel format.

Synchronization
Pro Tools Sessions
When you are working with multiple time-based
When you start a session in Pro Tools, you create a
systems, such as Pro Tools and an external deck,
session.
you want the systems to be synchronized. Syn-
chronization is where one system outputs clock
source (such as timecode or MIDI Beat Clock) and Session Files
another device synchronizes to or follows that A session file is the document that Pro Tools cre-
clock source so that they work together. Pro Tools ates when you choose File > New Session and con-
can be synchronized to other devices (or other de- figure a new session. Pro Tools can open only one
vices can be synchronized to Pro Tools) using session file at a time. The session file is named
SMPTE/EBU timecode or MIDI Timecode. with a .ptx (Pro Tools file) extension. Session files
contain maps of all elements associated with a
project, including audio files, MIDI data, and all
your edit and mix information. It is important to re-
alize that a Pro Tools session file does not contain

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 9

 any media files (audio or video). Instead, it refer- Audio, MIDI, Instrument, and video track data can
ences audio, video, MIDI, and other files. You can be edited into clips or repeated in different loca-
make changes to a session and save those changes tions to create loops, re-arrange sections or entire
in a new session file. This lets you create multiple songs, or to assemble tracks using material from
versions of a session or back up your editing and multiple takes.
mixing work.
Auxiliary Input tracks can route internal audio bus-
ses or physical inputs to internal busses or physical
outputs. Auxiliary Inputs are typically used for au-
dio effects busses, audio throughput (monitoring),
and submixing.

Session file icon

Master Fader tracks provide controls for physical
audio output channels, including the volume level
Tracks of your mix, panning, and plug-in inserts.

Pro Tools tracks are where audio, MIDI, video, VCA Master tracks provide control of tracks in a
and automation data are recorded and edited. Mix Group that has been assigned to the VCA
Pro Tools tracks also provide audio channels for Master.
routing internal busses, and physical inputs and
Video tracks support QuickTime movies (all
outputs for audio and MIDI.
Pro Tools systems) and VC-1 video files (Win-
Pro Tools provides multiple types of tracks: dows only). Additionally, Pro Tools supports Avid
Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, VCA video using a the Avid Video Engine (AVE) either
Master, MIDI, Instrument, and Video. natively or with a supported Avid video peripheral.
An individual video track can play back only one
type of video at a time.

Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, and Instru-

ment tracks can be mono, stereo, or multichannel
Audio track in the Edit window (stereo track shown) (Pro Tools Ultimate only). When creating a new
track, select from the list of channel formats sup-
ported by your system.

Voices
In Pro Tools, voices are unique, discrete audio
MIDI track in the Edit window streams that can be routed to and from Pro Tools
audio tracks, and physical audio outputs and inputs
on your Pro Tools audio interfaces. The audio
paths to and from Pro Tools software routed to
Pro Tools hardware use voices. If you exceed the
number of available voices in your system, you
have effectively exceeded the available number of
Video track in Frames view audio paths. Voices are allocated dynamically.

10 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Typically, each audio channel for each track in Audio files for each session are stored in a folder
your Pro Tools session uses a single voice. So, for named “Audio Files.” Audio files are listed in the
a mono audio track, a single voice is used; for a ste- Pro Tools Clips List and can appear in an audio
reo audio track, two voices are used. When using track. A section of an audio file can be defined as a
Punch Recording, two voices are needed for every clip. See “Clips” on page 11.
single audio channel (one for playback and one for
recording on punch in and out). In some situations, MIDI Files
with Pro Tools | HDX systems, more than one
When you record or enter MIDI into a Pro Tools
voice may be necessary for a single channel (such
session, all MIDI data is stored in the Pro Tools
as when using host processing on a DSP bus).
session file. You can import and export MIDI files
On HDX systems, the number of available voices to and from Pro Tools sessions, but MIDI
is dependent on the amount of dedicated DSP pro- recorded or otherwise created in a Pro Tools
cessing in your system (see “Playback, Recording, session does not automatically create new MIDI
and Voice Limits with files.
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software” on page 42).

On all other Pro Tools systems, the full number of

available voices for your system may be limited by
the host processing power of your computer (see
“Pro Tools Capabilities with Different Hardware
Configurations” on page 38). MIDI file icon

Video Files
For more information about voicing in
Pro Tools, see “Track Priority and Voice When you record or import video into a Pro Tools
Assignment” on page 252. session, all video data is stored as the correspond-
ing video file type (such as QuickTime). Video
Media Files files can be created in (or copied to) the Video
Pro Tools sessions create, import, export, and ref- Files folder in the session folder. However, in most
erence media files. Media files are audio, MIDI, cases, Pro Tools references video files that have
and video files. Audio and video media files are been captured by another application, such as Avid
stored separately from the Pro Tools session file. Media Composer® | Software.
MIDI data is stored in the session file.
Clips
Audio Files
A clip is a segment of audio, MIDI, or video data.
When you record audio into a Pro Tools session, A clip could be a drum loop, a guitar riff, a verse of
audio files are created. a song, a recording take, a sound effect, some dia-
log, or an entire sound file. Clips are especially
useful for arranging audio and MIDI. A clip can
also have associated automation data. In

Audio file icon

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 11

 Pro Tools, clips are created from audio files or Playlists
MIDI data, and can be arranged in audio and MIDI
A playlist is a sequence of clips arranged on an au-
track playlists. Clips can also be grouped (a “clip
dio, MIDI, or video track. Tracks have edit play-
of clips”) and looped (repeated).
lists and automation playlists.

Audio clip

Playlist selector pop-up menu

On audio tracks, an edit playlist tells the hard disk

MIDI clip which audio clips to play in what order. For exam-
ple, you can have separate audio clips for a song
introduction, the first verse, the first chorus, and so
on. You can also use the same audio clip to access
the same piece of audio multiple times at different
locations and not use additional disk space. Differ-
ent versions of the same original audio can be used
in different places and have different effects ap-
Video clip (Frames view) plied. On MIDI and Instrument tracks, edit play-
lists can store multiple MIDI sequences (or perfor-
mances) on a track.

A playlist can be made up of a single clip or many

separate clips. It can be made up of similar ele-
ments (such as clips from several different takes of
a solo), or dissimilar elements (such as several
sound effects).

You can create any number of alternate edit play-

lists for a track. This lets you assemble different
versions of performances or edits on a single track
and choose between them from the Playlists menu
Clip group (Mixed audio and MIDI multitrack clip on the track.
group)

12 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Each audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, Master
Fader, and VCA track also has a single set of auto-
mation playlists. Automation playlists can include
volume, pan, mute, and each automation-enabled
control for the insert and send assignments on that
track.

MIDI controller data on Instrument and MIDI

tracks is always included as part of the track play-
list.

Channels
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

input or output of your Pro Tools system. For ex-
ample, Pro Tools | HD I/O provides up to 16 chan-
nels of audio input and output to a HDX or
Pro Tools | HD Native system, while the
Pro Tools | Mbox® Pro audio interface provides up
to eight inputs and eight outputs.

The second use of the term channel refers to a

channel strip in the Pro Tools Mix window. Each
track in a Pro Tools session has a corresponding
channel strip in the Mix window.

Audio and MIDI channel strips have similar con-

trols, but those controls have slightly different ef-
fects. For example, audio, Auxiliary Input, and In-
strument track channel strip faders control the
output gain to the mix bus for that channel, while
MIDI channel strip faders send MIDI volume data
(MIDI controller 7) to the selected MIDI instru-
ment.

The term “MIDI channel” also describes a

separate aspect of MIDI operation. See
“MIDI” on page 8.
Channel strip in the Mix window (audio track)

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 13

 Signal Routing Signal Routing Options

Pro Tools provides software-based mixing and Signal routing options include the following:
signal routing controls for audio and MIDI. These
Track Input and Output (I/O) Controls The most
controls are located in the Mix window. Some of
these controls can also be accessed from the Edit basic type of signal routing is track input and out-
window. put. A track needs to have an assigned input path to
record audio, and an assigned mapped output path
A common audio signal routing task is to submix in order to be audible through a hardware output.
multiple tracks to a single channel strip (such as an Signals can also be routed to or from other tracks in
Auxiliary Input) for shared processing and level Pro Tools (or hardware inputs and outputs) using
control. The following example shows two audio internal busses.
tracks submixed to a stereo Auxiliary Input.
Auxiliary Input and Master Fader Tracks Auxil-
iary Inputs can be used as returns, submixers, and
bus masters. Master Fader tracks are used as bus
Inserts and output master level controls. Both Auxiliary
Input and Master Fader tracks can have plug-in and
hardware inserts.

Sends MIDI Tracks MIDI tracks are generally used for

routing MIDI from internal or external sources to
Input from external MIDI devices. MIDI data can also be
Outputs to stereo
stereo bus bus path
routed to plug-ins on Auxiliary Inputs or Instru-
path ment tracks.

Instrument Tracks Instrument tracks are the pri-

mary way to route MIDI to an instrument plug-in
and then route the plug-in’s sound to outputs,
sends and busses, or other inserts. Instrument
tracks can also be used to send MIDI to and moni-
tor audio from external MIDI devices.

Sends Sends route audio from tracks to hardware

outputs, or to internal busses that are in turn routed
to other tracks within Pro Tools. MIDI, Master
Fader, and VCA Master tracks do not have sends.

Plug-In and Hardware Inserts Plug-In processing

occurs completely within the Pro Tools system.
Hardware inserts use audio interface inputs and
outputs for traditional insert routing to and from
external effects and other devices. MIDI and VCA
Audio tracks Auxiliary Input Master tracks do not have inserts.
track
Submixing to an Auxiliary Input

14 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Instrument Plug-Ins Instrument plug-ins are dif- Online projects let you collaborate on a track-by-
ferent from processing plug-ins in that they gener- track basis with anyone in the Avid Artist Commu-
ate audio rather than process the audio signal from nity anywhere in the world; or, if you prefer, you
a track’s audio input or from hard disk. Instrument can choose your collaborators privately and invite
plug-ins are typically played by MIDI. them to join a project by email.

Paths Paths are any routing option in Pro Tools, You can only collaborate with projects, never with
including internal or external inputs, outputs, bus- sessions. Otherwise, projects work just like ses-
ses, and inserts. Pro Tools lets you name these sions. Projects have all of the same recording, ed-
paths, and these path names appear in the Audio iting, mixing, and processing capabilities as do
Input and Output Path selectors and other menus. sessions (you can save a copy of a session as a
For more information, see Chapter 6, “I/O Setup.” project or a project as a session using the Save
Copy In command). Throughout this Reference
Mixing Formats Sessions can include combina-
Guide, “sessions” refers to session and projects un-
tions of mono, stereo, and greater-than-stereo mul-
less otherwise noted.
tichannel format tracks, busses, inputs, outputs,
and inserts. Greater-than-stereo multichannel for- Project data and media are bundled and cached on
mats are supported with Pro Tools Ultimate only. local storage, but you cannot open a project by
navigating through the file system. You can only
Grouping and VCA Tracks Tracks can be grouped
access projects through the Pro Tools Dashboard.
together for mixing so that their relative mix set-
Projects are differentiated from sessions by their
tings are maintained when changing a mix setting
file icon.
for any track in the group. For example, changing
the volume of one track affects the volume of all
the other tracks in the group. VCA Master tracks
control the relative mix settings for all tracks
within the selected group. Project icon (online, left; offline, right)

You must be online and logged in to your Avid

Master Account the first time you create a project,
Pro Tools Projects but after that you can work offline. Pro Tools and
Projects are similar to sessions, but projects are the Avid Application Manager will synchronize
cloud enabled. Projects are written to a local proj- your local project with your account the next time
ect cache that includes all project data and associ- you online. This process runs in the background
ated media as well as mirrored in your Avid Cloud and can be monitored in Pro Tools by checking the
Account. Offline projects store all media and proj- Task Manager (Window > Task Manager).
ect data in the local cache only. Online projects are
If a project is downloaded on another system when
stored in your Avid Cloud Account and mirrored
you log in to your Avid Master Account, all asso-
locally (though you can clear the local project
ciated media is downloaded inside of the project
cache and have the project and its media stored
bundle. This does not affect the location of the me-
only in the cloud).
dia on the originating system. Each system main-
tains its own unique placement of media without
duplication.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 15

 Tick-Based Audio and MIDI
Tick-Based and
Sample-Based Time Tick-based audio is fixed to a Bars|Beat location,
and moves relative to the sample Timeline when
Pro Tools lets you set any track timebase to tempo and meter changes occur. However, MIDI
either sample-based or tick-based. You can also set events and tick-based audio respond differently to
the Timeline to be viewed as tick-based or sample- tempo changes with respect to duration. MIDI note
based. events change length when tempo or meter is ad-
Audio in Pro Tools is sample-based by default. justed, while audio clips do not (unless Elastic Au-
This means that if an audio clip is located at a par- dio is enabled). When Elastic Audio is not enabled
ticular sample location, it will not move from that on an audio track, meter and tempo changes affect
location if the tempo changes in the session— only the start point (or sync point) for each audio
though its Bar|Beat location will change. clip in a tick-based track. If Elastic Audio is en-
abled on an audio track, tempo changes apply Elas-
MIDI data in Pro Tools is tick-based by default. tic Audio processing, which changes the duration
This means that if a MIDI clip is located at a par- of the audio clip.
ticular Bar|Beat location, it will not move from that
Bar|Beat location if the tempo changes in the ses- Elastic Audio
sion—though its sample location will change.
Elastic Audio provides real-time and non-real-time
You can select whether a track is sample-based or (rendered) Time Compression and Expansion
tick-based when it is created, or change timebases (TCE) of audio. Tick-based Elastic Audio tracks
later. actually change the location of samples according
to changes in tempo. The audio stretches or com-
Sample-Based Audio and MIDI presses to match changes in tempo. Elastic Audio
also provides high-quality non-real-time clip-
With a sample-based audio track, all clips in the based pitch shifting.
track have an absolute location on the Timeline.
Clips stay fixed to the sample time, regardless of Pro Tools Elastic Audio uses exceptionally high-
where tempo or meter changes occur in a session. quality transient detection algorithms, beat and
tempo analysis, and real-time or rendered TCE
If you make a MIDI track sample-based, all MIDI processing algorithms. Elastic Audio lets you
events in the track have an absolute location on the quickly and easily tempo conform and beat match
Timeline. MIDI events stay fixed to sample time, audio to the session’s Tempo ruler. It also provides
regardless of any tempo or meter changes in a an unprecedented degree of control over transient
session. detection and TCE processing on an event-by-
event basis.

16 Pro Tools Reference Guide

With Elastic Audio, Pro Tools analyzes entire au-  In order to free up needed DSP resources,
dio files for transient “events.” For example, an Pro Tools allows for certain items (such as tracks
event can be a drum hit, a sung note, or chord and inserts) to be manually made inactive. Inactive
played by a guitar. These detected events can then elements are viewable, editable, and retained
serve as control points for “warping” the audio. within the session. See “Active and Inactive
Pro Tools can warp (TCE) audio events automati- Items” on page 17.
cally, such as when automatically conforming au-
 All Pro Tools systems provide flexible voice
dio to the session tempo or quantizing audio
options for audio tracks, to help maximize use of
events, or you can warp audio manually using the
available voices in your system. For more informa-
standard editing tools with the audio track set to
tion on voice management and options, see “Track
Warp view.
Priority and Voice Assignment” on page 252.
Elastic Audio is useful in several common work-
flows: working with loops, correcting perfor- Active and Inactive Items
mances, remixing, beat and pitch matching, and
sound design and special effects. Pro Tools lets you make certain items (such as
tracks and inserts) inactive, in order to free up DSP
resources and mixer connections.

System Resources Items in Pro Tools that can be made inactive

include the following:
Track count, plug-in processing, signal path and
routing options, and voice availability are ulti- • Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader,
mately limited by the combined resources avail- VCA Master, and Instrument tracks
able from the host computer and from your • Track Inputs and Outputs
Pro Tools hardware.
• Sends
Pro Tools provides several ways to manage and • Side-chain inputs
conserve resources to maximize the performance
• Plug-Ins
of your system. As you begin working with
Pro Tools sessions and tracks, you can take advan- • Hardware inserts
tage of the following features to extend the effec- • Paths (session-wide)
tiveness of your available DSP and other re-
sources: MIDI tracks cannot be made inactive.

 Pro Tools lets you adjust the performance of

your system by changing system settings that af- Side-chain inputs support direct active and
fect its capacity for processing, playback, and re- inactive switching, but do not follow switch-
cording. See “Configuring Pro Tools Software ing all or all selected side-chain inputs.
System Settings” on page 90.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 17

 In addition to manually setting Active and Inactive Display of Inactive Items
modes, Pro Tools automatically makes items inac-
When items are inactive, their names appear in
tive if there are insufficient or unavailable re-
italics, and their background becomes dark gray.
sources.
When a track is inactive, the entire channel strip is
When active, items are fully engaged and opera- grayed out.
tional.
Active plug-in Inactive plug-in
When inactive, items are silent and off, although
most associated controls can still be adjusted. Dif-
ferent inactive items affect available system re-
sources in specific ways, as follows:

Plug-Ins When a plug-in is inactive on a track, its

DSP is made available for other plug-ins and pro-
cessing. Plug-In assignments can be made inactive
manually or automatically.

Paths and Path Assignments When a path or path

assignment is inactive, its mixer resources are
made available for other signal routing purposes in
the session. Paths and assignments can be made in-
active manually or automatically. Inactive
track
Tracks When a track is made inactive, its voices
become available for another track. Inactive mono
tracks free up one voice; inactive stereo and multi-
channel tracks free up one voice per channel. Ad-
ditionally, when an audio, Auxiliary Input, Instru-
ment, or Master Fader track is made inactive, its
plug-ins, inserts, sends, and I/O assignments be-
come inactive, and the associated DSP used is
freed up for use elsewhere in the session.

Active and inactive plug-ins, sends, and tracks

18 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Workspace Browsers AAF, MXF, and OMF
The Workspace is a database management tool for Pro Tools lets you exchange audio, video, and se-
Pro Tools. Workspace browsers expand upon ba- quences with other AAF-, MXF-, and OMF-com-
sic Pro Tools search and import capabilities by patible applications (such as Avid editors).
providing powerful tools to manage your data both
inside and outside of your sessions, on any hard Media Data (Media Files)
drive connected to the system.
Media data represents raw audio or video material
A database is a way of organizing data such that it and is stored in individual media files. Every time
can easily be searched, sorted, managed, and uti- you record a piece of video or audio material into
lized. Your checkbook is an example of a database an application, you are creating a media file. Audio
file. For every check you write, you enter a new re- media files hold samples (such as 44,100 or 48,000
cord. That record contains information about the samples per second of recording) while video me-
check, such as when you wrote it, to whom you dia files use frames (24, 25, or 30 frames per sec-
wrote it, and for what amount. This information is ond of recording).
written in specific columns, or fields. Everything
you need to know (the check’s metadata) is there, The size of each media file depends on how much
even though the check itself is not. audio or video material it contains. For example, a
file containing ten minutes of high resolution video
Workspace browsers let you search, sort, and might be approximately 2 GB in size, whereas a
mange these databases by volume or catalog. You ten-minute audio recording at the might result in a
can use Workspace browsers not only to organize 100 MB file. Media files tend to be large, since
your Pro Tools sessions and media files (audio, high quality audio and video signals are data inten-
MIDI, and video), but also to audition and import sive. Video data generally requires considerably
by drag and drop. more storage than audio data.
For more information, see Chapter 17,
“Workspace Browsers.”

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 19

 Metadata In the simplest case, only an AAF or OMF se-
quence is exchanged. If this sequence points to ex-
Metadata is used to describe the following:
isting media files, the size of the sequence file is
• Information embedded in a media file. This may relatively small and the export/import process is
include scene, take, sample rate, bit depth, exter- relatively fast.
nal clip names, the name of the videotape from
which the media file was captured, and even AAF and OMF sequences can also have media
timecode values. data embedded in them. This creates a single,
larger file that is slower to export and import, but
• Information embedded in Pro Tools sessions or
which may be easier to manage than thousands of
other sequences, including what files are used,
files stored on different volumes.
where they appear in a timeline, and automation.
• For AAF or OMF sequences, metadata also in- AAF
cludes information embedded in unrendered Au-
AAF is a sequence file format. AAF sequences are
dioSuite™ effects (such as real-time EQ) on
the best way to exchange projects and maintain
Avid workstations. Pro Tools skips unrendered
valuable metadata. An AAF sequence can refer to
effects on import. Rendered effects are media
OMF or MXF media files, or have OMF and MXF
files that can be imported into Pro Tools.
media files embedded within them. There is no
• For AAF or OMF sequences, information about such thing as an AAF audio or video media file.
automation (clip-based gain or keyframe gain).
Pro Tools will import, play back, and export an
AAF sequence that either links to media files or
AAF, OMF, and MXF Basics
has audio embedded within it.
AAF and OMF files are mechanisms for storing
and retrieving media files and metadata so that When you import an AAF sequence with embed-
projects can be freely exchanged between different ded audio into Pro Tools, the audio will be
applications and platforms. MXF is a media file extracted into mono tracks using the current ses-
format that can be used with AAF (but not OMF) sion’s audio file format.
files.

Media data and metadata enable an application that

receives AAF and OMF sequence files (such as
Pro Tools) to automatically and quickly reassem-
ble the composition. A simple metaphor for this
approach is that media data files are the pieces of a
puzzle and metadata is the set of instructions for
assembling the puzzle.

20 Pro Tools Reference Guide

MXF
Pro Tools and
MXF is a media file format. There are MXF video Media Composer
files and MXF audio files, but there are no MXF Terminology
sequences. An AAF sequence may refer to or
include MXF media files, but OMF sequences can- Pro Tools and Avid Media Composer use different
not refer to or include MXF files. terms to describe the same items. For example, a
Pro Tools session is equivalent to an Avid se-
quence. The following table lists common
Pro Tools elements and their Avid equivalents.

Pro Tools Avid (AAF or OMF)

session sequence
MXF file icon
whole file clip master clip
Pro Tools can import and play back MXF audio
and video files created in Media Composer or clip subclip
other Avid applications.
plug-ins real-time audio effects

OMF volume automation gain Avid keyframe volume

OMF is both a media file and sequence format.

OMF media files can be audio or video, and Whole audio files in the Clips List normally
Pro Tools can import and play back OMF audio, appear in bold type. However, master clip au-
but not OMF video. Pro Tools can also export dio files imported from AAF or OMF into
OMF audio, but not OMF video. Pro Tools will not appear in bold type (indi-
cating clips) in the Pro Tools Clips List even
Pro Tools can import and play back OMF audio
though they are audio files.
files created in Media Composer or other applica-
tions.

An OMF sequence cannot reference or have MXF

media embedded within it.

Pro Tools can import an OMF sequence with em-

bedded audio, but not embedded video.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 21

 Embedded Media and Linked Media
There are two types of AAF and OMF files: ones with embedded media, and ones with linked media.

Embedded Media
Exporting to AAF or OMF with embedded media results in one large AAF or OMF file containing both the
metadata and all associated media files.

Original Source Media Files

Avid Workstation Edited Sequence
Refers to:

Export AAF/OMF with Embedded Media

creates...

Embedded AAF/OMF File (metadata and media)

Sequence (metadata) Consolidated Media Files

(with Handle)

AAF/OMF Interchange Workflow with Embedded Media

22 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Linked Media
Exporting AAF or OMF with linked media results in a single metadata file (.AAF or .OMF) and all
associated media stored as separate files.

The main benefit to this approach is that fewer copies of media files may need to be made, so the
export and import process can be much faster. Using this approach, it is less likely that you will
encounter any file size limitations since the data is broken up into many smaller files.

The main disadvantage to this approach is that there are potentially many files (for example, one AAF or
OMF file and hundreds of media files) that must be transported between systems.

Avid Workstation Edited Sequence

Li
nk

Original Source Media Files

de
to
:

Avid Workstation exports

sequence edits and
file information as AAF
or OMF sequence

AAF/OMF File (metadata only)

Linked to:

Pro Tools Imports

Session File
:
to
d
ke

Translated Pro Tools Session File

n
Li

AAF and OMF Interchange Workflow with Linked Media

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 23

24 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Chapter 3: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

For increased operational speed and ease of use,

there are many Pro Tools keyboard and Global Key Commands
Right-click shortcuts. Some keyboard shortcuts apply to many functions
in Pro Tools.
A full list of Pro Tools shortcuts is available in
online Help and in a PDF guide. For a complete list of keyboard shortcuts, see
the Shortcuts Guide.
To access the full list of Pro Tools shortcuts in
online Help:
Track Functions
1 Choose Help > Pro Tools Help.
Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for the fol-
2 Click Pro Tools Shortcuts on the Contents page lowing track functions:
(in the left pane of Help).
• Changing Automation mode
To access the full list of Pro Tools shortcuts in the • Enabling playlists
Pro Tools Shortcuts Guide:
• Adding plug-ins
 Choose Help > Shortcuts. • Record enabling, soloing, and muting tracks
• Record safing and solo safing tracks
Mouse Shortcuts • Assigning inputs, outputs, and sends
• Toggling volume/peak/delay display
Right-Click Shortcuts
• Clearing meters
Pro Tools provides Right-Click shortcuts for
• Changing track heights
choosing various Pro Tools commands and menus
with any Right-Click capable mouse.

For a complete list of Right-Click shortcuts,

see the Shortcuts Guide.

Scroll-wheel Functions

Pro Tools lets you increment or decrement values

in numerical fields by selecting the value and mov-
ing the mouse scroll wheel up or down.

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts 25

 Controls and Editing Tools

Command Mac Windows Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for moving
plug-in controls, faders and sliders, the Scrubber,
Apply action to all Option+ Alt+
and automation data.
channel strips/tracks action action

Command Mac Windows

Apply action to Option+ Alt+Shift+
selected channel Shift+ action Fine adjustment Hold Command Hold Control
strips/tracks action of sliders, while clicking while clicking
knobs, and the item the item
Vertically con- breakpoints
strained, fine adjust-
ment for automation For extra-fine Hold Command Hold Control
and control break- adjustment of +Shift while +Shift while
points breakpoints in adjusting auto- adjusting
Grid mode mation break- automation
points breakpoints
List and Parameter Selection

Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for the fol-

lowing items:
Keyboard Focus
• Selection of tracks in Tracks List The Keyboard Focus in Pro Tools determines how
the alpha keys function. Depending on which Key-
• Enabling of groups in Groups List
board Focus is enabled, you can use the keys on
• Automation Enable window parameters your computer (alpha) keyboard to select clips in
• Setting Memory Location parameters the Clips List, enable or disable groups, or perform
an edit or play command.
Command Windows Mac
You can only enable one of the three Keyboard Fo-
Toggle item and set Alt-click item Option-click cus modes at a time. Enabling a Keyboard Focus
all others to same item will disable the one previously enabled.
new state
There are three types of Keyboard Focus:
Toggle item and set Control-click Command-
all others to opposite item click item
Commands Keyboard Focus When selected in
state
the Tracks pane in the Edit window or in the Notes
pane of any MIDI Editor window, this provides a
wide range of single key shortcuts from the com-
puter keyboard for editing and playing. The front-
most Edit or MIDI Editor window always receives
Commands Keyboard Focus when it is enabled.

With Commands Keyboard Focus disabled, you

can still access any of its key shortcuts by pressing
the Start key Control (Mac) or (Windows) along
with the key. See the Shortcuts Guide for a com-
plete list of Commands Keyboard Focus shortcuts.

26 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Commands Keyboard Focus provides single-key shortcuts for a range of edit and play commands. Avid as
well as other vendors supply custom keyboards for Mac and Windows labeled with Pro Tools commands
when in Commands Keyboard Focus.

Pro Tools Custom Keyboard labeled with keyboard commands (Mac keyboard shown)

Clips List Keyboard Focus When selected, audio To set the Keyboard Focus, do one of the
clips, MIDI clips, and clip groups can be located following:
and selected in the Clips List by typing the first few  Click the a–z button for the focus you want to
letters of the clip’s name. enable.
Groups List Keyboard Focus When selected, Mix  While pressing Command+Option (Mac) or
and Edit Groups can be enabled or disabled by typ- Control+Alt (Windows), press one of the fol-
ing the Group ID letter (in either the Mix or Edit lowing keys: 1 (Commands), 2 (Clips List), or 3
window). (Groups List).

Although multiple plug-in windows can have a

Commands Keyboard Focus Clips List
(Edit window) Keyboard Focus keyboard focus enabled, only the front-most
window receives any keyboard input.

Toolbar Focus
In the Edit window, the MIDI Editor pane can be
displayed in addition to the Tracks pane (View >
Groups List Other Displays > MIDI Editor). When the MIDI Ed-
Keyboard Focus itor pane is displayed, there are two separate Tool-
bars and Timelines in the Edit window: one for the
Tracks pane and one for the MIDI Editor pane.
Only one Toolbar and Timeline can be focused for
Keyboard Focus buttons Menu and Toolbar commands (including the cor-
responding keyboard shortcuts) at a time. The fo-
cused Toolbar displays a yellow outline.

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts 27

 If Keyboard Focus for the Edit window is enabled, Shuttle Lock Modes
it follows the selected Toolbar focus.
There are two Shuttle Lock modes (Classic and
To enable Toolbar focus for the Tracks pane, do Transport). Both modes let you use the numeric
one of the following: keypad to shuttle forward or backwards at specific
speeds.
 Click the Toolbar at the top of the Edit window.
• 5 is normal speed.
 Press Command+Option+4 (Mac) or
Control+Alt+4 (Windows). • 6–9 provide increasingly greater fast-forward
speeds.
To enable Toolbar focus for the MIDI Editor pane, • 1–4 provide progressively greater rewind speeds
do one of the following: (4 is the slowest, 1 is the fastest).
 Click the Toolbar right above the MIDI Editor • Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the num-
pane. ber to resume Shuttle Lock speed.
 Press Command+Option+5 (Mac) or • Press Escape or Spacebar to exit Shuttle Lock
Control+Alt+5 (Windows). mode.

Custom Shuttle Lock Speed

Numeric Keypad Modes (Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)

The Operation preference for Numeric Keypad The highest fast-forward Shuttle Lock speed
mode determines how the numeric keypad func- (key 9) can be customized.
tions for Transport.
For more information, see “Custom Shuttle
There are two Shuttle Lock modes (Classic and Lock Speed” on page 623.
Transport), and one Shuttle mode.
Classic Mode
No matter which Numeric Keypad mode is se-
This mode emulates the way Pro Tools worked in
lected, you can always use the numeric keypad to
versions lower than 5.0. With the Numeric Keypad
select and enter values in the Event Edit Area, Edit
mode set to Classic, you can:
Selection indicators, Main and Sub Counters, and
Transport fields. • Play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock
mode. Press the Control key (Mac) or the Start
To set the Numeric Keypad Mode: key (Windows), followed by 1–9 for different
1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the play speeds.
Operation tab. • Press Plus or Minus to reverse direction.
2 In the Transport section, select a Numeric Key- • Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the num-
pad mode (Classic, Transport, or Shuttle). ber to resume Shuttle Lock speed.

3 Click OK. • Press Escape or Spacebar to exit Shuttle Lock

mode.
• Recall Memory Locations by typing the Mem-
ory Location, followed by a Period (.).

28 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Transport Mode Shuttle Mode
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
This mode lets you set a number of record and play
functions, and also operate the Transport from the Pro Tools offers another form of shuttling, differ-
numeric keypad. ent from that of the two Shuttle Lock modes. With
the Numeric Keypad mode set to Shuttle, playback
Function Key of the current Edit selection is triggered by press-
Click on/off 7 ing and holding the keys on the numeric keypad—
playback stops once the keys are released. Various
Countoff on/off 8 playback speeds are available in both forward and
MIDI Merge/Replace mode 9 reverse. In this mode, pre- and post-roll are ig-
nored.
Loop Playback mode on/off 4
Playback Speeds Key
Loop Record mode on/off 5
1x Forward 6
QuickPunch mode on/off 6
1x Rewind 4
Rewind 1
4x Forward 9
Fast Forward 2
4x Rewind 7
Record enable 3
1/4x Forward 3
Play/Stop 0
1/4x Rewind 1
With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Transport,
you can also: 1/2x Forward 5+6

• Play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock 1/2x Rewind 5+4

mode. Press the Control key (Mac) or the Start 2x Forward 8+9
key (Windows), followed by 1–9 for different
play speeds. 2x Rewind 8+7

• Press Plus or Minus to reverse direction. 1/16x Forward 2+3

• Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the num- 1/16x Rewind 2+1
ber to resume Shuttle Lock speed.
Loop Selection (1x) 0
• Press Escape or Spacebar to exit Shuttle Lock
mode. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Shuttle, you
• Recall Memory Locations by typing Period (.), can also recall Memory Locations by typing Period
the Memory Location number, and Period (.) (.), the Memory Location number, and Period (.)
again. again.

Shuttle Lock modes are not available when

the Numeric Keypad mode is set to Shuttle.

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts 29

30 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Using Help

The Pro Tools Help menu provides quick access to Guides Accessible in Pro Tools
installed PDF documentation and online Help. The
The following guides are available from the
Help system is HTML-based and launches in the
Pro Tools Help menu:
Pro Tools in-application browser. It also runs on
most common web browsers. Audio Plug-Ins Guide Describes the plug-ins in-
cluded free with Pro Tools, as well as additional
The Pro Tools Help menu also provides direct ac-
plug-ins available for purchase separately.
cess to the online Pro Tools Knowledge Base,
Avid Audio Forums, and the Avid Support Center Pro Tools Reference Guide Explains Pro Tools
using the in-application browser (an internet con- systems and software in detail.
nection is required).
Pro Tools Shortcuts Lists keyboard and
The Pro Tools in-application Web browser Right-click shortcuts for Pro Tools, including
is not available outside Pro Tools. To use those shown in Pro Tools menus.
Pro Tools Help while Pro Tools is not
running, use the default Web browser for
your operating system. Accessing the Help System
There are several ways to access the Help system.
Accessing Guides in • Open Help at its Welcome page from the Help
Pro Tools Software menu in Pro Tools
PDF (Portable Document Format) versions of the • Open Help at its Welcome page from within a
main Pro Tools guides are accessible from the Help browser in Pro Tools
Pro Tools Help menu. Adobe Reader is recom- • Open Help at its Welcome page outside of
mended for PDF documentation. Pro Tools

To access guides in Pro Tools: • Open a different version or language of

Pro Tools Help
 Choose Help, then a guide name.

Using Help 31
 To open Help within Pro Tools, do one of the
following: Using the Contents and Index
 Choose Help > Pro Tools Help.
Tabs
The left pane of the Help browser is the display
 From the Pro Tools Online browser window,
area for most of the Help system’s main navigation
choose Help.
tools, including the Contents and Index tabs.
To open Help outside of Pro Tools (or to select a
different version or language of Help): Contents Tab
1 Open your favorite online browser (such as
The Contents tab displays a complete hierarchical
Safari or Explorer).
list of all topics in the Help system. This lets you
2 Visit the Pro Tools Help launch page quickly see the overall organization of the Help
apps.avid.com/ProToolsHelp/ system.

3 Follow the on-screen instructions to open a You can expand and collapse the contents to view
version of Help. the logical organization of the Help system, and
you can move to any topic by clicking its entry in
To close the Help system: the Contents.
 Click the Help viewer’s Close button.
When you move to a new topic, the contents ex-
pands to the level of that topic and highlights the
topic. This feature, like the hierarchy links at the
Help Display top of each topic, lets you see exactly where the
The Help system includes the following display el- current topic is positioned within the logical orga-
ements: nization of the Help system.

Topics Help topics open in the right pane of the To display a topic from the contents:
Help viewer.  Click the Contents tab, and then click a topic’s
Navigation Tools Contents, Index, and Search tabs entry in the contents.
open in the left pane of the Help viewer.
To expand or close a section in the contents:
Hierarchy Links Use these links to verify the
 Click the Contents tab, and then click a book
location of the currently displayed topic within its
icon to the left of a link.
chapter and to jump to relevant higher-level topics,
including the Main Topic.

Show in Contents Button Use this button to

locate the current topic in the Contents.

Previous Topic and Next Topic Buttons Use

these buttons to browse through the topics in the
order in which they appear in the Contents.

Print Click this button to print one or more topics.

32 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Index Tab To perform a basic search:

The Index provides an alphabetized list of entries 1 Click the Search tab.
similar to the index of a printed book. 2 In the Search pop-up menu (located below the
Search text box), click whether you want to
If Java is enabled in your browser, the Index dis-
search in “All Available Books” or a specific
plays as a dynamic index where the listing scrolls
book (such as Pro Tools Shortcuts).
as you type a word in the text box. If you do not
have Java enabled in your browser, or if your 3 In the Search text box, type the word or words
browser does not support Java implementations, a that you want to find.
JavaScript version of the index displays, which lets
4 Click Go.
you scroll manually through the entries.
A list of topics and ranking numbers appears.
To find topics by using the Index tab:
Additional Search Information
1 Click the Index tab.
The Search feature provides the best combination
2 Click the first character of the topic in the
of usefulness and speed:
Numerics, Letters, Symbols list.
• The Search feature uses a database of valid
To view the topic associated with an index entry: words. This database includes all words that are
 Click the index entry. significant for identifying topics and excludes
all other words. When you type words in the
search text box, the system ignores any invalid
words that you have typed and searches for valid
Using the Search Tab words.
The Search tab lets you search the entire text of the • The Search feature cannot search for words in a
Help system for one or more words and then lists certain order. For example, if you type “TIFF
the topics that include those words. The list of re- graphics import” as a search entry, Search dis-
sults is ranked, placing the topics that the Search plays all topics that contains these three words
feature considers most likely to be relevant at the regardless of their location in the topic. The re-
top of the list. sults include topics where the three words ap-
pear together as a phrase, and also topics where
When you search for text, the text string automati-
the three words are scattered throughout the
cally highlights by default. You can turn these
topic.
highlights off. You can also stop displaying high-
lights after a search by using the Back and Forward • The Search feature cannot distinguish between
buttons to go to a different topic. When you come words that are similar but not identical. For ex-
back to your searched topic, the highlights no lon- ample, if you type “capture” as a search entry,
ger display. Search displays topics that include that word,
but it does not find topics that include related
For more guidelines on using the Search feature ef- words such as “captures” or “capturing.” If a
fectively, see “Search Guidelines” on page 34. search for a word fails to produce useful results,
you might be more successful if you search
again using one of the related words.

Using Help 33
 Search Guidelines Printing Help Topics
Use the following rules for formulating search You can print Help topics if you need to refer to
queries: them during a complicated procedure or to use for
• Searches are not case-sensitive, so you can type reference later.
your search in uppercase or lowercase charac- See your browser documentation for more infor-
ters. mation on print options.
• You can search for any combination of letters
(a–z) and numbers (0–9). To print a Help topic:

• Punctuation marks (such as the period, colon, 1 Click the topic pane within the browser window
semicolon, comma, and hyphen) are ignored that you want to print.
during a search, unless they are part of the topic 2 Do one of the following:
(such as .WAV).
• Click the Print button in the Topic pane.
• You can search for a literal phrase by using quo-
tation marks. You cannot search for quotation • Right-click in the Topic pane and select Print.
marks. • Select File > Print.
3 Select the print options.

Copying from a Help Topic 4 Click Print.

You can copy information from a Help topic for Topics that you print from Help have limited
use in another document (such a text file). page layout and formatting features. If you
want to print a higher quality version of Help
To copy information from a Help topic to another information, Avid recommends that you print
document: all or part of the PDF version of the appro-
1 Open or click the topic to make it active. priate guide.

2 Select the text that you want to copy.

3 Choose Edit > Copy.
4 Place the mouse pointer in another application,
such as a word processing application.
5 Choose Edit > Paste to paste the copied text into
a document. (You can also paste the text into the
Search text box.)

34 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Part II: System Configuration
Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems

There are three types of Pro Tools systems: Pro Tools | Ultimate Software with Avid or
Third-Party Hardware
Pro Tools Software with Avid or Third-Party
Hardware These systems include Pro Tools Ultimate soft-
ware with any compatible non-HDX or non-
These systems include Pro Tools software with HD Native Avid audio interfaces (such as Mbox
Avid audio hardware (such as Pro Tools | Quartet, Pro), or Core Audio (Mac), ASIO (Windows), or
Pro Tools | Duet, Pro Tools | Fast Track family, WASAPI hardware.
Pro Tools | Mbox® family (third generation),
Pro Tools | Eleven® Rack, or Avid 003™ family
audio interfaces). These systems also include Pro Tools Software
Pro Tools software using third-party audio inter-
faces with supported Core Audio (Mac, including Pro Tools software provides the following
the built-in audio on Mac computers), ASIO (Win- capabilities, depending on your hardware
dows), or WASAPI (Windows). configuration:
• Up to 32 channels of I/O depending on your sys-
For a list of qualified audio interfaces and
tem and audio hardware
computers for all Pro Tools systems, visit
www.avid.com/compatibility. • Up to a total of 128 mono or stereo audio tracks
per session:
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software with HDX or
• Playback of up to 128 tracks, or a combina-
HD Native Hardware
tion of playing back and recording up to 128
Hardware accelerated Pro Tools HD systems in- tracks, mono or stereo, at 44.1 kHz and
clude Pro Tools Ultimate software with HDX or 48 kHz
HD Native (PCIe or Thunderbolt) hardware. Hard- • Playback of up to 64 tracks, or a combination
ware accelerated systems provide expanded I/O of playing back and recording up to 64 tracks,
capabilities and low latency monitoring. HDX sys- mono tracks or stereo, at 88.2 kHz and
tems also provide dedicated DSP for plug-in pro- 96 kHz
cessing and for large mixer configurations. • Playback of up to 32 tracks, or a combination
Pro Tools | Ultimate software (versions of playing back and recording up to 32 tracks,
2018.4 and higher) was previously mono or stereo, at 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz
Pro Tools | HD software (versions
2018.3 and lower).

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 37

 • Up to 128 Auxiliary Input tracks Processing Capacity
• Up to 64 Master Fader tracks The total processing capacity of a Pro Tools sys-
• Up to 512 MIDI tracks tem depends on the processing power of your com-
puter. Contact your dealer or visit www.avid.com
• Up to 512 Instrument tracks
for the latest system requirements and compatibil-
• A single QuickTime video track ity information.
• 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point audio
resolution, at sample rates up to 192 kHz Pro Tools Capabilities with Different
Hardware Configurations
• Automatic Delay Compensation (up to 16,383
samples at 48 kHz) Pro Tools supports up to 32 channels of audio in-
• Fixed RAM Disk Cache allocation options put and output, but the available input and output
capabilities with Pro Tools varies depending on
• Non-destructive, random-access editing and mix your audio interface. For information about the in-
automation put and output capabilities of your audio interface,
• Audio processing with up to 10 real-time refer to the documentation that came with your
plug-ins per track, depending on your hardware.
computer’s capabilities
If you open a Pro Tools session created on a
• Up to 10 hardware inserts per track Pro Tools HD system that contains more than the
• Up to 10 sends per track number of tracks supported on your Pro Tools sys-
tem, audio tracks beyond the system’s voiceable
For more information about the I/O track limit will be automatically set to inactive.
capabilities of your audio interface with
Pro Tools, see the documentation that came For details on transferring session material
with your audio interface. between Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools sys-
tems, see “Sharing Sessions Created on
Supported Hardware Different Pro Tools Systems” on page 462.
Configurations with Pro Tools
Software
Pro Tools Software works seamlessly with
non-HD Avid audio hardware (such as
Pro Tools | Quartet). For the latest information on
supported hardware configurations with Pro Tools
Software, visit:
http://www.avid.com/compatibility

38 Pro Tools Reference Guide

 • Audio processing with up to 10 inserts per track
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software (any combination of real-time plug-in and hard-
with Pro Tools | HDX ware inserts), depending on your computer’s ca-
Hardware pabilities
Each system requires at least one Avid HD audio • Up to 10 sends per track
interface (sold separately). HDX systems can be
expanded by adding HDX cards to increase track Audio Recording and Playback Capabilities
count and the amount of plug-in and mixer
The number of simultaneous tracks of audio
processing, and by adding additional audio
recording or playback depends on your system
interfaces.
configuration. A Pro Tools HD system with a sin-
gle HDX card provides recording and playback of
Pro Tools Ultimate Capabilities 24-bit or 16-bit audio files with the following
with HDX Hardware voiced track counts:
Pro Tools Ultimate with HDX hardware provides • Up to 256 tracks at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
the following capabilities:
• Up to 128 tracks at 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz
• Up to 256 channels of I/O depending on your
• Up to 64 tracks at 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz
system
• Up to a total of 768 voiced audio tracks Each additional HDX card increases the possible
track count by the same amount. For example, at
• Up to 512 Auxiliary Input tracks
44.1 kHz, two HDX cards provide up to 512 audio
• Up to 64 Master Fader tracks tracks, and three HDX cards provide up to 768
• Up to 128 VCA Master tracks audio tracks.

• Up to 512 MIDI tracks

• Up to 256 Instrument tracks
• Up to 64 video tracks per session
• 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point audio
resolution, at sample rates up to 192 kHz
• Up to 7.1 surround mixing capability
• Automatic Delay Compensation (up to 16,348
samples at 48 kHz)
• Fixed RAM Disk Cache allocation options
• No-latency monitoring
• Non-destructive, random-access editing and mix
automation

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 39

 Pro Tools Ultimate Capabilities
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software with HD Native Hardware
with Pro Tools | HD Native
Hardware Pro Tools Ultimate with HD Native hardware pro-
vides the following capabilities:
Each system requires at least one Pro Tools HD
• Up to 64 channels of I/O depending on your sys-
audio interface (sold separately). HD Native sys-
tem, and the number and type of installed audio
tems can be expanded by adding additional HD au-
interfaces
dio interfaces.
• Up to a total of 256 voiced audio tracks (up to
Pro Tools HD systems with HD Native hardware 768 voiceable audio tracks):
consist of the following:
• Up to 256 voices at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
• One of the following:
• Up to 128 voices at 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz
• HD Native PCIe card
• Up to 64 voices at 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz
• HD Native Thunderbolt interface
• Up to 512 Auxiliary Input tracks
• Pro Tools Ultimate
• Up to 64 Master Fader tracks
• An authorized iLok for running
• Up to 128 VCA Master tracks
Pro Tools Ultimate software
• Up to 512 MIDI tracks
• One or more Avid HD audio interfaces (sold
separately) • Up to 256 Instrument tracks
• DigiLink Mini cable for connecting HD Native • Up to 64 video tracks per session
hardware to an audio interface • 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point audio res-
• A MIDI interface (optional) olution, at sample rates up to 192 kHz
• Non-destructive, random-access editing and mix
For detailed information about installing
automation
HD Native PCIe hardware, see the HD Native
Installation Guide. • Up to 7.1 surround mixing capability
For information about installing HD Native • Automatic Delay Compensation (up to 16,348
Thunderbolt hardware, see the HD Native samples at 48 kHz)
Thunderbolt Guide.
• Fixed RAM Disk Cache allocation options
• FPGA-based low latency monitoring (LLM)
• Audio processing with up to 10 inserts per track
(in any combination of real-time, host-based
plug-in and hardware inserts), depending on
your computer’s capabilities, and the number
and type of installed audio interfaces
• Up to 10 sends per track

40 Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Maximum I/O Configuration with
Supported Pro Tools HD HD Native
Audio Interfaces
HD Native supports up to a maximum combina-
The following Pro Tools HD audio interfaces are tion of up to 4 total of the following audio inter-
compatible with HDX and HD Native hardware: faces:
• Pro Tools | HD I/O • HD OMNI (only 1 HD OMNI interface is sup-
• Pro Tools | HD OMNI ported in a single HD Native system)
• Pro Tools | HD MADI • HD I/O (up to 4 HD I/O interfaces can be used
simultaneously)
• Pro Tools | MTRX
• HD MADI (full connectivity with 1 HD MADI
HDX and HD Native systems require at least interface is possible when both DigiLink ports
one HD I/O, HD OMNI, HD MADI, or MTRX. of the HD MADI are connected to both Dig-
iLink ports on the HD Native PCIe card or
Maximum I/O Configuration with Thunderbolt interface)
HDX
• MTRX (up to 4 MTRX interfaces can be used si-
HDX supports up to a maximum combination of multaneously)
12 total of the following audio interfaces:
• HD OMNI (only 1 HD OMNI interface is sup-
ported in a single system)
• HD I/O (up to 12 HD I/O interfaces can be used
simultaneously—requires 3 HDX cards)
• HD MADI (up to 3 HD MADI interfaces can be
used simultaneously—requires 3 HDX cards)
• MTRX (up to 12 MTRX interfaces can be used
simultaneously—requires 3 HDX cards)

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 41

 Playback, Recording, and Voice Limits with
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software
The table below lists the audio playback, recording, and voiceable track limits with Pro Tools Ultimate
software with HDX, HD Native, Core Audio, and ASIO hardware. Playback and recording voices refers to
the number of unique simultaneous playback and record tracks on your system. Total voiceable tracks re-
fers to the maximum number of audio tracks that can share the available voices on your system. (Mono
tracks take up one voice. Stereo and multichannel tracks take up one voice per channel.)

With HDX hardware accelerated systems, voice limits are dependent on the session sample rate and the
number of DSP chips dedicated to the system’s Playback Engine. Pro Tools Ultimate can open sessions
with up to 768 audio tracks, but any audio tracks beyond that system’s voiceable track limit will be auto-
matically set to Voice Off.
s

Pro Tools Ultimate audio playback, recording and voice limits by hardware configuration

Playback and
Recording
Voices Total
Sample
Core System Type Maximum I/O (Mono Tracks of Voiceable
Rate (kHz)
Simultaneous Tracks
Playback and
Recording)

HDX, 1 card 64 channels 44.1/48 256 768

88.2/96 128 768

176.4/192 64 768

HDX, 2 cards 128 channels 44.1/48 512 768

88.2/96 256 768

176.4/192 128 768

HDX, 3 cards 192 channels 44.1/48 1024 768

88.2/96 512 768

176.4/192 128 768

HD Native 64 channels 44.1/48 256 768

88.2/96 128 768

176.4/192 64 768

42 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Pro Tools Ultimate audio playback, recording and voice limits by hardware configuration

Playback and
Recording
Voices Total
Sample
Core System Type Maximum I/O (Mono Tracks of Voiceable
Rate (kHz)
Simultaneous Tracks
Playback and
Recording)

Core Audio and ASIO 32 channels 44.1/48 256 768

(Pro Tools Ultimate)
88.2/96 128 768

176.4/192 64 768

Pro Tools HD Audio Interface Features

The following table lists the input and output capabilities of the various Pro Tools HD audio interfaces for
HDX and HD Native systems. Each HDX card in your system supports a maximum of 64 channels of I/O.
HD Native hardware supports a maximum of 64 channels of I/O. To record and play audio with
Pro Tools Ultimate with any of these hardware configurations, you must have at least one Pro Tools HD
audio interface connected to the first port of the first card (or Thunderbolt interface) in the system.

Avid HD audio interface channel capabilities

Number of I/O Sample A/D D/A

Interface Type Digital I/O
Channels Rates (kHz) Conversion Conversion

HD I/O 16 in/16 out 44.1, 48, 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit

88.2, 96,
176.4, 192

HD OMNI 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48, 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit

88.2, 96,
176.4, 192

HD MADI 64 in/64 out 44.1, 48, None None 24-bit

88.2, 96,
176.4, 192

MTRX up to 44.1, 48, 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit

88.2, 96,
176.4, 192

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 43

 HD OMNI Audio Interface Digital I/O

HD OMNI is a professional digital audio interface • 8 channels of AES/EBU output (up to 192 kHz
designed for use with Pro Tools HD systems. Single Wire) using a DB-25 breakout cable (sold
HD OMNI provides a compact preamp, monitor- separately)
ing, and I/O solution for music production and re- • 2 channels of AES/EBU XLR input (up to
cording, and post production studios. 192 kHz Single Wire)
• 2 channels of S/PDIF RCA input and output (up
HD OMNI Features
to 192 kHz)
HD OMNI provides up to 8 discrete channels of • 8 channels of ADAT TOSLINK input and output
Pro Tools input and output, with 4-segment LED
• Support for ADAT S/MUX Optical for sample
meters for input or output (selectable).
rates of 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and
Analog I/O
192 kHz

• 24-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-an- • Support for two channels of S/PDIF Optical
alog (D/A) converters, with support for sample with sample rates of up to 96 kHz
rates up to 192 kHz • Real-time sample rate conversion (SRC) on Dig-
• 2 high-quality Mic/DI preamps (Channels 1–2) ital Inputs 1–2 of either AES/EBU, S/PDIF, or
Optical (S/PDIF)
• 2 combined XLR and 1/4-inch TRS front panel
inputs for microphone and instrument level in- SRC is not supported with ADAT S/MUX.
put
Monitoring
• 2 XLR back panel microphone inputs
• An additional stereo “CUE” output path in
• 2 1/4-inch TRS Send and 2 1/4-inch TRS Return
Pro Tools for headphone monitoring from the
back panel jacks for hardware inserts on chan-
front panel headphone jack
nels 1 and 2
• Front panel Control Room (MAIN/ALT) and
• 4 analog TRS line level back panel inputs
Headphone monitoring volume control
(Channels 1–4)
• Flexible monitoring with fold-down from all ste-
HD OMNI provides multiple analog input con- reo and surround formats (up to 7.1 surround)
nections, but only provides up to four channels
• Input mixer for low latency direct monitoring of
of simultaneous analog input for Pro Tools.
a variety of incoming signals (configured in the
• Soft Clip and Curv limiting circuits to protect Pro Tools Hardware Setup)
against clipping on analog input
Synchronization
• 8 channels of analog back panel output using a • Loop Sync input and output for connecting
DB-25 breakout cable (sold separately) with additional HD peripherals
variable output gain
• External Clock input and output for synchroniz-
• 2 channels of analog back panel output using ing HD OMNI with external Word Clock de-
TRS (Mirrors channels 1–2 or 7–8 on DB-25 vices
connector)
• Front panel stereo 1/4-inch headphone jack For more information, see the HD OMNI Guide.

44 Pro Tools Reference Guide

HD I/O Audio Interface Digital I/O

HD I/O is a multichannel digital audio interface • Up to sixteen channels of 24-bit digital I/O, us-
designed for use with Pro Tools HD systems. ing AES/EBU, TDIF DB-25, or Optical at sam-
HD I/O features extremely high quality 24-bit an- ple rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and
alog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) 192 kHz with a Digital HD I/O card
converters, and supports sample rates of up to • Real-time sample rate conversion on digital in-
192 kHz. puts with a Digital I/O card (up to sixteen chan-
nels of AES/EBU, Optical, or TDIF)
HD I/O comes in three standard configurations:
• Support for S/MUX Optical for sample rates of
• 8 x 8 x 8 (8 analog in, 8 analog out, and 8 digital 88.2 kHz and higher
in and out)
• Support for 2 channels of S/PDIF Optical
• 16 x 16 analog in and out (enclosed) with sample rates of up to 96 kHz
• 16 x 16 digital in and out • 2 channels of AES/EBU I/O (enclosed) with
You can also add or remove HD I/O Analog Ex- support for sample rates up to 192 kHz
pansion cards (ADC and DAC) and HD I/O Digi- • 2 channels of 24-bit-capable S/PDIF I/O
tal Expansion cards for custom configurations. (enclosed) with support for sample rates up to
192 kHz
HD I/O Features
Synchronization
HD I/O provides up to 16 discrete channels of
• Loop Sync input and output for connecting addi-
Pro Tools input and output, with 4-segment LED
tional Avid HD audio interfaces and peripherals
meters for input and output.
• External Clock input and output for synchroniz-
Analog I/O ing HD I/O with external Word Clock devices
• Up to sixteen channels of 24-bit D/A and A/D
Expandability
converters for superior analog input and output
at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, • Optional addition of I/O cards to expand analog
96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and 192 kHz with Analog In or digital I/O
and Analog Out HD I/O cards • Simultaneous use of multiple Avid HD audio in-
• Soft Clip and Curv limiting circuits to protect terfaces to further expand system input and out-
against clipping on analog input put

For more information, see the HD I/O Guide.

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 45

 HD MADI Digital Audio Interface MTRX Audio Interface
HD MADI is a 64-channel, digital audio interface Pro Tools | MTRX is a multichannel digital audio
designed for use with Avid HD systems. interface designed for use with Pro Tools HD sys-
HD MADI supports the Multichannel Audio Digi- tems.
tal Interface (MADI) format and sample rates of up
to 192 kHz. HD MADI provides simplified con- Depending on installed analog expansion I/O
nectivity between your Avid HD system and cards, MTRX features extremely high quality 24-
MADI-compatible audio equipment. bit analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog
(D/A) converters, and supports sample rates of up
HD MADI Features to 192 kHz.
• 2 MADI Optical and Coaxial inputs and 2 MTRX comes in three standard configurations:
MADI Optical and Coaxial outputs for up to 64
• 8 x 8 x 8 (8 analog in, 8 analog out, and 8 digital
discrete channels of digital input and output (32
in and out)
channels per DigiLink Mini port)
• 16 x 16 analog in and out
• Supports sample rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96,
176.4, and 192 kHz • 16 x 16 digital in and out
• 24- or 16-bit resolution You can also add or remove analog and digital I/O
• Sample Rate Conversion (SRC) on input or out- expansion cards for custom configurations.
put
MTRX Features
• Front panel clock and SRC indicators
• Front panel signal present LEDs for input and Pro Tools MTRX provides up to 64 discrete chan-
output nels of audio for Pro Tools with two DigiLink Mini
ports (Primary and Primary/Expansion).
• BNC Word Clock I/O for synchronizing
HD MADI with external 1x Word Clock Digital I/O
• BNC Loop Sync I/O for synchronizing • Built-in 8 AES3 interfaces with 16 channels of
HD MADI with additional Avid HD audio I/O.
interfaces and peripherals (such as HD I/O,
• Built-in MADI coax interface with 64 channels
HD OMNI, or SYNC HD)
of I/O.
• Dedicated BNC Word Clock input and XLR
• Compliant with the Dante Controller and Dante
AES/EBU input (clock input only) for external
Virtual Sound Card.
MADI synchronization (when using SRC on
output) • Ethernet IP audio interface for 64 I/O channels
using Dante with configurable redundant net-
• Clock support for the following formats: Inter-
work.
nal, Loop Sync, Word Clock, AES/EBU, and
MADI • Digital router and format converter between all
analog and digital inputs and outputs.
• Varispeed modes (supports both 64- and 56-
channel standards)

For more information, see the HD MADI Guide.

46 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Synchronization
• Sample rates of 44.1–384 kHz as well as
Additional Pro Tools
DSD64/DSD 128 with high precision internal
Hardware Options
clock and PLL. Pro Tools software systems also supports the fol-
• Sample rate can be adapted to the setting of an lowing Pro Tools hardware options.
external device. • Pro Tools | PRE (Eight-channel microphone
• Synchronization by Word Clock, AES11, Video, preamp)
and all digital audio inputs. • Eleven Rack (guitar processor)
• Control surfaces (such as Avid Artist Series con-
Remote Control
trollers)
• Operation using MTRX Control software (Mac
OS X or Windows)—some settings can be con-
trolled on the front panel.
Additional Pro Tools HD
• All settings are controlled over Ethernet. Hardware Options
Pro Tools | MTRX I/O Expansion Options Pro Tools Ultimate also supports the following
• 2 to 48 analog channels depending on the in- Avid HD hardware options.
stalled analog I/O cards (Mic/Line AD cards in- • SYNC HD synchronization peripheral (HDX
clude microphone preamplifiers with relay- and HD Native systems only):
based gain circuits): • PRE (Eight-channel microphone preamp)
• MTRX 8 Line Pristine AD Card
• Eleven Rack (guitar processor)
• MTRX 2 Mic/Line Pristine AD Card
• Control surfaces (such as S6, D-Command, or
• MTRX 8 Mic/Line Pristine AD Card D-Control)
• MTRX Pristine 8 DA Card
• Digital I/O Expansion Cards:
• MTRX 8 AES3 I/O Card
• MTRX Dual SDI/HD/3G Card
• MTRX 64-Channel IP Audio Dante Module
• MTRX Dual MADI I/O Card

For more information, see the

Pro Tools | MTRX Guide.

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 47

 Pro Tools Software Options Avid Application Manager
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) The Avid Application Manager is installed with
Pro Tools. The Avid Application Manager is used
HEAT to manage your software and entitlements related
to your MyAvid account. The Avid Application
HEAT (Harmonically Enhanced Algorithm Tech-
Manager helps you maintain the most current
nology) is a paid software option that adds “analog
Pro Tools software and audio plug-in updates that
color” to Pro Tools HD. For more information, see
you are entitled to when new versions become
Chapter 47, “HEAT.”
available. For more information about the Avid
HDX and HD Native Systems with Application Manager, see the Avid Application
MachineControl Manager Guide (available online through the Avid
Knowledgebase).
Pro Tools | Ultimate software provides Machine-
Control™ with HDX and HD Native systems. Ma-
chineControl enables serial communication with
Sony® 9-pin compatible synchronizers, and video
or audio machines. For more information, see
Chapter 58, “MachineControl.”

Pro Tools with VENUE Link

For Pro Tools systems that are connected to

VENUE systems using Ethernet, VENUE Link
provides Pro Tools and VENUE system integra-
tion and interoperability.

48 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Chapter 6: I/O Setup

The I/O Setup provides tools to label, format, and assign Pro Tools input, output, insert, and bus audio sig-
nal paths both for individual sessions as well as for your specific Pro Tools system. I/O Setup also provides
controls for PRE (Mic Preamp) signal paths, and Delay Compensation settings for hardware inserts.

The I/O Setup displays a graphical representation (cross-point matrix) of the signal routing for physical in-
put and output paths for each connected audio interface. Like a virtual patchbay, I/O Setup controls let you
route physical inputs and outputs on audio interfaces to Pro Tools input and output channels. For HDX and
HD Native systems, some of these controls mirror the routing controls found in the Hardware Setup—
changes made to physical routing in one is always reflected in the other. The I/O Setup also includes con-
trols for creating internal mix busses and for creating and mapping output busses.

Path Type tabs Path Format selector Interface Name label

Path Name column

Input and Output
selectors

Active/Inactive
Status

Channel Grid

Path tools Options

Import/Export Settings

I/O Setup on an HDX system with HD OMNI and HD I/O

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 49

 Opening the I/O Setup
Pro Tools Software Signal
The I/O Setup can be opened from the application Paths
window (with a session closed), or from within a
session (when a session is open). A signal path is a logical grouping of multiple in-
puts, outputs, or busses that has a single name and
To open the I/O Setup: (channel) format. The I/O Setup lets you create,
define and name paths according to the configura-
1 Make sure your audio interfaces are enabled
tion of your studio and the needs of each project.
and configured properly in the Hardware Setup.
24 busses are created by default, but you can create
See “Configuring Hardware Settings in
as many as you need.
Pro Tools” on page 95.
2 Choose Setup > I/O. Main Paths and Sub-Paths
Paths in Pro Tools tracks and I/O Setup include
Closing the I/O Setup
main paths and sub-paths.
To close the I/O Setup and save changes:
Main Paths
 Click OK.
Main paths are logical groupings of inputs, inserts,
Pro Tools checks several settings for routing valid- busses, or outputs. For example, a master stereo
ity (to prevent feedback loops). If there are any output path will include both its left and right chan-
overlapping or invalid settings, you will be re- nels.
quired to correct them (see “Valid Paths and Re-
quirements” on page 75). Sub-Paths

To close the I/O Setup without saving changes: A sub-path represents a signal path within a main
path. For example, a default stereo output bus path
 Click Cancel.
consists of two mono sub-paths, left and right.
Mono tracks and sends can be routed to either
Navigating in the I/O Setup mono sub-path of the stereo output bus path.
To scroll left or right in the I/O Setup:

 Press Option+Page Up/Down (Mac) or

Alt+Page Up/Down (Windows).

Main and sub-paths in I/O Setup (Input page)

50 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Sub-paths for Output Paths Default Sub-Paths

Pro Tools lets you create sub-paths for physical Main

Sub-Paths Sub-Path Name
Path
output paths in the Output page. Using output bus
sub-paths rather than physical output sub-paths is 5.0 – 1 Stereo (LR) Stereo: <main path
sufficient for most workflows. Use physical output 6.0 – 5–7 Mono name >.LR
sub-paths only when you need alternate mix for- 7.0 (one for each Mono: <main path
channel) name >.L, .C, .R,
mats for the same physical output (including ex- .Ls, .Rs, and so on
plicit downmix paths).
5.1 – 1 Stereo (LR) Stereo: <main path
Default Bus Sub-paths 6.1 – 6–8 Mono name >.LR
7.1 (one for each Mono: <main path
Pro Tools lets you create the default sub-paths for channel) name >.L, .C, .R,
busses in the New Sub-Path dialog when accessed .Ls, .Rs, and so on,
and LFE
from the Bus page. Enable the Create Default Sub-
Paths option to have Pro Tools automatically cre- 7.0.2 1 each: 7.0, 5.0, multichannel sub-
ate the default set of sub-paths for the path format (Dolby Quad, LCR, Ste- paths: <main path
(channel width) of the selected main bus path, as Atmos reo, Overhead name >.<channel
only) (LR); format>
follows:
and 9 Mono Mono: <main path
Default Sub-Paths (one for each name >.L, .C, .R,
channel) .Lss, .Rss, .Lsr, .Rsr,
Main .Lts, .Rts
Sub-Paths Sub-Path Name
Path
7.1.2 1 each: 7.1, 7.0, Stereo: <main path
Mono N/A N/A (Dolby 5.1, 5.0, Quad, name >.LR
Atmos LCR, Stereo, Mono: <main path
Stereo 2 mono <main path
name > followed by only) Overhead (LR); name >.L, .C, .R,
and10 Mono .Lss, .Rss, .Lsr, .Rsr,
channel designation
(one for each .LFE, .Lts, .Rts
.L and .R
channel)
LCR 1 Stereo (LR) Stereo: <main path
3 Mono (one for name >.LR When the Create Default Sub-Paths option is en-
each channel) Mono: <main path
abled, all other custom options in the New Sub-
name >.L, .C, .R
Paths dialog are grayed-out and unavailable.
LCRS 1 Stereo (LR) Stereo: <main path
4 Mono (one for name > .LR It is especially useful to define and name
each channel) Mono: <main path sub-paths for complex mixing setups, such
name>.L, .C, .R, .S as a 5.1 surround mix.
Quad 1 Stereo (LR) Stereo: <main path
4 Mono (one for name > .LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
name>.L, .R, .Ls, .Rs

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 51

 Paths in Sessions When you create a new session, you can specify
which I/O Settings to use. For example, you can
In sessions, signals are routed to and from tracks,
use the factory installed default settings, the “Last
sends, and inserts using track Input, Output, Insert,
Used” setting, or one of any available custom I/O
and Send selectors.
settings files.
When you click a track Input, Output, Insert, or
See “Factory I/O Settings” on page 81 and
Send selector, the paths created and defined in the
“I/O Settings Files” on page 82 for more
IO Setup appear in the list of available paths (see
information.
“Assigning Audio Inputs and Outputs to Tracks”
on page 246). Default I/O Settings

Pro Tools comes with default I/O Setup settings to

Path Configurations and
get you started (see “Factory I/O Settings” on
I/O Settings
page 81). You should only need to open the I/O
Each Pro Tools system can have a different path Setup if you want to customize I/O paths or if you
configuration, determined by: change your system hardware (for example, add-
• On Pro Tools systems, the type of audio inter- ing an expansion card to HD I/O, or adding or re-
face or other physical I/O (including built-in moving an audio interface).
hardware)
You can always return to the default settings for an
• On HDX and HD Native systems, the number I/O Settings page by clicking the Default button.
and types of audio interfaces These paths are available in session tracks and are
reflected in the I/O Setup.
Path configurations in Pro Tools are saved as
I/O settings. You can customize your I/O Setup configuration at
any time, according to the needs of each project
I/O Settings are saved with both the session and
(see “Customizing I/O Settings” on page 62).
with the system. You can choose to overwrite the
I/O settings saved with the system with those
saved with the session (see “Restore from Session”
on page 83).

Unavailable items (including hardware, paths, or

required resources) remain in the session as inac-
tive items (see “Making Paths Active or Inactive”
on page 74).

52 Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Input Page
I/O Setup Pages
The Input page of the I/O Setup lets you create and
The I/O Setup provides tabs to open pages for con- assign Pro Tools Input channels to receive audio
figuring specific I/O Settings. from the physical inputs of your audio hardware.

Opening an I/O Setup Page Configure input signal path names, formats, and
source channel (analog or digital) on the Input
To open an I/O Setup page: page. Multichannel input paths (stereo or greater)
can have any number of sub-paths. Input channels
 Click the corresponding tab at the top of the I/O
can have overlapping input paths. Input names,
Setup.
channel widths, and physical input mappings are
Hold the Command key (Mac) or the Control saved with the system and the session, and can be
key (Windows) and use the Left or Right Arrow recalled from either.
keys to cycle through the different pages of the
I/O Setup.

It is recommended that if you choose to cus-

tomize your I/O Setup, configure the system-
specific options first: Input, Output, Insert,
Mic Preamps, and H/W Insert Delay. Then
configure the Bus page. Once you have config-
ured your system, you should not need to
change it unless you add or remove hardware
(such as audio interfaces) from your system.
See “Customizing I/O Settings” on page 62.

I/O Setup, Input page

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 53

 Output Page Bus Page
The Output page of the I/O Setup lets you create The Bus page of the I/O Setup lets you create and
and assign Pro Tools Output channels to send au- edit internal mix busses and output busses. The
dio to the physical outputs of your audio hardware. Bus page also lets you map output busses to output
paths (as configured in the Output page of the I/O
Configure output signal path names and formats on Setup).
the Output page. Output channels can have over-
lapping output paths. Multichannel Output paths Configure bus path names and formats, and map
(stereo or greater) can have any number of sub- any main bus path to any available output of the
paths. Output names, channel widths, and physical same width or greater. Multichannel bus paths
output assignments are saved with the system and (stereo or greater) can have any number of sub-
the session, and can be recalled from either. paths. Output bus and internal mix bus names and
channel widths are saved with and recalled from
the session.

I/O Setup, Output page

I/O Setup, Bus page

For more information, see “Configuring

Busses” on page 76.

54 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Insert Page Mic Preamps Page
The Insert page of the I/O Setup lets you create and On the Mic Preamps page of the I/O Setup, signal
edit hardware insert signal paths for the Pro Tools paths for one or more PRE multi-purpose micro-
mixer. Hardware inserts can route audio through phone preamplifiers can be mapped to
an external device connected to parallel inputs and audio interfaces. For more information, see the
outputs of a Pro Tools audio interface. This lets PRE Guide.
you process audio on a track with a hardware insert
in real time.

Insert paths require audio interface inputs and out-

puts, and are determined by the configuration of
the Insert page in the I/O Setup for your system.

Mic Preamps page

H/W Insert Delay

(Compensation) Page
To compensate for the delay (latency) of any exter-
nal hardware devices (such as an effects unit) used
in your session, you can set the amount of Hard-
ware Insert Delay Compensation (in milliseconds)
for each external device. These times will be used
I/O Setup, Insert page
by the Delay Compensation Engine to time-align
input paths when the hardware insert is in use and
Delay Compensation is enabled.
For more information, see “Using Hard-
ware Inserts” on page 1119.

Insert offset delay field

For more information, see “Setting a

Hardware Insert Delay Offset” on
page 1086.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 55

 Active/Inactive Status Box Shows and changes
I/O Setup Signal Path the active/inactive status of each path.
Controls
Path Format Selector Shows and selects the
Depending on the I/O Setup page, the I/O Setup type/format (such as Mono, Stereo, Quad, or 5.1)
provides the following controls in its graphical of each defined path (greater-than-stereo multi-
section for configuring signal routing paths. channel formats are supported with
Pro Tools Ultimate only).
Path Name Path Format selector
column
Input selector Channel Grid Assigns paths to specific interfaces
and channels.

I/O Setup Buttons

Depending on the I/O Setup page, the I/O Setup
can provide the following buttons for configuring
signal routing.
Expand/Collapse
triangle Channel Grid

Active/Inactive
Status box

I/O Setup, Signal Path controls (Input page shown)

Input and Output Selectors (HDX and HD Native

Systems Only) Let you select the physical ports on I/O Setup, Signal Path buttons (Output page shown)
your audio interface to route to Pro Tools inputs New Path Button Lets you create a new path on
and outputs. Ports are selectable in channel pairs. signal path pages for Input, Output, Insert, Bus, or
Available ports for each displayed interface are Mic Preamp.
based on Hardware Setup settings; for example, if
the AES/EBU inputs and outputs of an interface New Sub-Path Button Lets you create a new sub-
are enabled in Hardware Setup, they are available path on signal path pages for Input, Output, Insert,
for routing in I/O Setup. The functionality pro- or Bus.
vided with the Input and Output selector is the
Delete Path Button Lets you delete any selected
same as that provided on the Main page of the
path or sub-path on signal path pages for Input,
Hardware Setup.
Output, Insert, or Bus.
Path Name Column Shows paths that are available
Default Button Resets a path type to its default
for selection, including the name of each defined
path configuration, depending on the physical
path. Path names can be renamed.
hardware I/O you are using and how your hard-
Expand/Collapse Triangle Shows or hides the sub- ware is configured.
paths associated with a main path (Input and Bus
Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows)
paths only).
the Default button to restore defaults to paths
in all pages of the I/O Setup.

56 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Import Settings Button Lets you import an I/O Compensate for Delays After
settings file to reconfigure I/O Setup. Import Set- Record Pass
tings only imports the settings for the currently (HDX and HD Native Systems Only)
viewed page of the I/O Setup (such as the Input
page). Pro Tools provides two options for compensating
for input and output latency (due to any inherent
Apply to All Tabs Applies imported I/O settings to latency in the analog to digital and digital to analog
all pages of the I/O Setup. converters of the audio interface) after recording.

Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the Compensation for Input Delays After
Import Settings button to import settings to all Record Pass
pages of the I/O Setup.
When enabled, this option provides automatic
Export Settings Button Lets you save I/O settings compensation for any analog or digital input delay
as a file that can be imported into other sessions or with Avid HD interfaces. Enable this option for all
used on other Pro Tools systems. Export Settings recording situations. When recording from a digi-
exports the settings for all pages of the I/O Setup. tal source, both the Compensation for Input Delays
After Record Pass and the Compensation for Out-
Show Last Saved Setup Appears in the I/O Setup
put Delays After Record Pass options must be en-
in certain session transfer situations. For details on
abled.
this feature, see “Show Last Saved or Current
Setup” on page 84. The Compensation for Input Delays After Record
Pass option is only available in the Input page of
Cancel Button Closes the I/O Setup without
the I/O Setup.
saving changes.

OK Button Closes the I/O Setup and saves any Compensation for Output Delays After
changes. Record Pass

When enabled, this option provides automatic

compensation for any analog or digital output de-
I/O Setup Options lay with Avid HD audio interfaces. Enable this op-
tion when you are synchronized to an external
Pro Tools systems have several additional
clock source. When recording from a digital
I/O Setup options depending on which page of the
source, both the Compensation for Input Delays
I/O Setup you are viewing. These include default
After Record Pass and the Compensation for
signal routing for metering and auditioning, and
Output Delays After Record Pass options must be
default track layout for multichannel mix formats.
enabled.

The Compensation for Output Delays After Record

Pass option is only available in the Output page of
the I/O Setup.

I/O Setup, Signal Path options (Output page shown)

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 57

 Monitor Path Pro Tools assigns a default Audition Path to the
first available main Output path of the correspond-
Pro Tools provides a Monitor Path setting in the
ing format. You can also select a different Audi-
Output page of the I/O Setup. Using the selected
tion Path in the I/O Setup.
Monitor path for the main mix output of your
Pro Tools sessions ensures that a session created Configuring Audition Paths
on another Pro Tools system will always have at
least one audible output. You can specify the monitoring outputs for audi-
tioning audio in the Clips List and Workspace
Pro Tools automatically downmixes or upmixes browsers, or for previewing AudioSuite process-
the session Monitor path to the system Monitor ing, using the Audition Paths pop-up menu.
path so that you always hear session playback re-
gardless of name and width of the Output path on Audition Paths Main Menu The main menu con-
either system. sists of all path format choices available on the cur-
rent system (Mono and Stereo on all systems, and
The Monitor path is graphically indicated by a LCR and greater with Pro Tools Ultimate only).
speaker icon in track and send Output selectors,
Output paths, and in the Output and Bus pages of Audition Paths Submenus Each path format
the I/O Setup. choice has a submenu listing Output paths of that
given format. (The mono submenu lists Output
paths of any format.)
Audition Path
You can specify the output path through which To configure an Audition Path:
files and clips are previewed (auditioned) from the  Select a path from the Audition Paths pop-up
Clips List or Workspace browsers, as well as when menu or submenus.
previewing AudioSuite processing. Pro Tools lets
you assign the Audition path to any available Out-
put path regardless of its channel width. For mis-
Object Fold Down Path
(Pro Tools | Ultimate with Dolby Atmos Only)
matched channel widths, the Audition path is auto-
matically downmixed or upmixed to the selected Dolby Atmos® mixes are monitored from the
Output path. Dolby Atmos Renderer. If Pro Tools is discon-
nected from or can’t communicate with the Ren-
The Audition Path selector is available in the Out-
derer, you can monitor the mix in Pro Tools over
put page of the I/O Setup.
the output path designated as the Object Fold Down
For information on previewing audio, see Path. When Pro Tools can’t recognize a connec-
“Previewing Clips in the Clips List” on tion to the Renderer, it automatically re-routes all
page 295 or “Previewing Audio in Work- object output paths, and folds them down to the se-
space Browsers” on page 339. lected output format using coefficients for down
mixing 7.1.2 panning.
Using the Default Audition Path

When you preview a file or clip in the Clips List or

in a Workspace browser, or when previewing Au-
dioSuite processing, Pro Tools routes the audio
output through the specified Audition Path.

58 Pro Tools Reference Guide

To designate the Object Fold Down Path: To set the Output Meter Paths:
1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O) and click the 1 Choose Setup > I/O Setup.
Output tab.
2 Select the Output tab.
2 In the Output page, ensure that there is an avail-
able output path with the channel format that you 3 From the Output Meter Path selector, select the
want. If not, create one. desired output path for metering.
3 From the Object Fold Down Path selector, output
path you want to use to monitor panned object au- Default Output Bus
dio
You can specify the default output bus path
assignment for new tracks, in each available
format.

The Default Output Bus selector is available in the

Bus page of the I/O Setup.

The Default Output Bus can be set for

I/O Setup, Object Fold Down Path selector
internal mix bus paths, as well as for
4 Click OK to save your changes and close the I/O output bus paths.
Setup.
To specify a default output for new tracks in the
Make sure that Pro Tools is not connected to a Ren- I/O Setup:
derer, start playback and you will hear all object au-
dio downmixed to the designated Object Fold Down  Click the Default Output Bus pop-up menu and
Path. select a format and output bus path.

Because the Object Fold Down Path activates

an invisible internal bus, it cannot be metered
AFL/PFL Path
on a Master Fader or the Edit Window Output Tracks soloed in AFL (After Fader Listen) or PFL
Meter Path display. (Pre Fader Listen) Solo mode are routed to the cur-
rent AFL/PFL Path, as set with the AFL/PFL Path
Output Meter Path selector.
The Output Meter Path selector determines the Pro Tools provides a combined AFL/PFL Path set-
which output or bus paths are monitored by the ting that can use any available Output path, regard-
Output Meters in the transport (see “Output Me- less of channel width. For mismatched channel
ters” on page 1071). It also determines the path widths, the AFL/PFL path is automatically down-
displayed across the Output meters of D-Control or mixed or upmixed to the selected Output path.
D-Command worksurfaces as well as in the
Pro Tools transport. For more details, see your
control surface documentation.

The Output Meter Path selector is available in the

Output and Bus pages of the I/O Setup.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 59

 Note that if you assign the AFL/PFL Path to a phys- 4 Click on the new fader position (or press Esc) to
ical output used for monitoring, that signal is close the fader display.
muted when soloed and the solo path is used for
monitoring instead. However, if the AFL/PFL Path To set the AFL/PFL Path level to 0 dB,
is assigned to a different output, the main output Command-Control-click (Mac) or
continues to pass signal even when the AFL/PFL Control-Start-click (Windows) any Solo
path is soloed. This lets you use XMON “Broad- button.
cast Mode” without XMON (ICON) hardware.
Low Latency Monitoring
The AFL/PFL Path selector is available in the Out- (HD Native Systems Only)
put page of the I/O Setup.
With HD Native systems, the Output page of the
See “Solo Modes” on page 256 for more in- I/O Setup lets you enable (or disable) Low Latency
formation on using AFL or PFL Solo modes. Monitoring. It also lets you specify any available
Output path for Low Latency Monitoring. The
To select the AFL/PFL Path output:
Output path for Low Latency Monitoring can be of
 Select a path from the AFL/PFL Path pop-up any channel width (from Mono to 7.1). Low La-
menu. tency Monitoring uses Outputs 1–2 by default.

Selecting None as the AFL/PFL Path disables To configure Low Latency Monitoring in the I/O
AFL and PFL Solo modes. When None is Setup:
selected, AFL and PFL cannot be used. 1 Open the I/O Setup dialog (Setup > I/O).
Setting AFL or PFL Path Levels 2 Click the Output tab.

You can set a separate master AFL/PFL Path level 3 Enable the Low Latency Monitoring option.
for all AFL solos and all PFL solos.
4 From the Low Latency Monitoring pop-up menu,
Tracks do not need to be soloed to have the select the Output path you want to use for Low
master AFL/PFL Path level adjusted. Latency Monitoring.
5 Click OK to save your changes and close the I/O
To set the AFL/PFL Path level for AFL or PFL
solos:
Setup.

1 Choose Options > Solo Mode, and select a Solo

mode: Default Format
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
• To set the level for AFL solos, select AFL.
• To set the level for PFL solos, select PFL. The Default Format selector lets you select the de-
fault format (Mono, Stereo, and all multichannel
2 In the Mix or Edit window, Control-click Com- formats) for new paths and for when you click the
mand-click (Mac) or (Windows) a Solo button Default button.
on any track.
3 Adjust the AFL/PFL Path fader.

60 Pro Tools Reference Guide

The Default Format selector is available in the To choose a new default path order (track layout):
Input, Output, and Insert pages of I/O Setup. The 1 Choose Setup > I/O.
Default Format settings on each page are set inde-
pendently of one another. The Input and Insert 2 Click the Output tab.
pages only provide Mono and Stereo options. The 3 Use the Default Path Order setting to select the
Output page provides all available formats. channel order you want for the corresponding
channel width.
Depending on which page of the I/O Setup is cur-
rently shown, the Default Format setting deter-
mines the width of the first output (or input or in- Embed Eleven Settings From
sert) when clicking the Default button. If mono or (Systems with Eleven Rack Only)
stereo is selected, all outputs (or inputs or inserts)
With an Eleven Rack connected to your Pro Tools
are created accordingly.
system, Pro Tools lets you embed the current
To choose a Default Format: Eleven Rack Rig settings into audio clips as you
record them, so that you can retrieve that same set-
 Select the desired channel format from the De- ting for further use later. This can also be helpful
fault Format pop-up menu. when collaborating or bringing sessions or clips to
a different system using Eleven Rack, because
For more information about multichannel
your settings travel with the files.
mixing, see Chapter 52, “Pro Tools Setup for
Surround.” The Embed Eleven Setting From selector deter-
mines the audio input used for routing audio from
Path Order an Eleven Rack into a separate audio interface.
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
The Embed Eleven Setting From selector is avail-
The Path Order selector lets you specify the de- able in the Input page of the I/O Setup.
fault channel order for all new paths created. The
selected Path Order setting determines the channel To embed Rig setting in recorded audio:
order for the following: 1 Choose Setup > I/O Setup.
• Channels added to newly created path (first
2 Select the Input tab.
paths) when hitting the Default button.
• Channels added to empty paths when penciling 3 Set the Embed Setting From menu to the input
in channel assignments. you plan to record through, such as Eleven Rig
L/R.
• Channels added when creating a new path and
selecting the Add default channel assignments This same method applies when using Eleven
option. Rack as an insert with any Pro Tools system

The Path Order selector is available in the Input, 4 Create an audio track, and set its input to the
Output, and Insert pages of I/O Setup. Setting the corresponding input on your audio interface.
Path Order on any page of I/O Setup affects the
other pages. 5 Record enable the track.
6 Record your part.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 61

 7 The settings of the currently loaded Rig will be 4 Click the Input tab and do the following:
embedded in each audio clip that is recorded • Create input paths and sub-paths with appropri-
from the input you select in the Embed Setting ate widths and physical input assignments that
From menu. match your studio configuration (see “Signal
Audio clips with embedded Rig data are marked Path Routing for Audio Output” on page 66).
with a small Eleven Rack logo icon in both the Edit • Rename input paths and sub-paths to match your
Window and the Clips List in Pro Tools. studio configuration.
5 Click the Output tab and do the following:
• Create output paths with appropriate widths and
Customizing I/O Settings
physical output assignments that match your stu-
The following shows how to customize your I/O dio configuration.
settings for your particular studio setup.
• Rename output paths to match your studio con-
If you are using an HD OMNI, be sure to con- figuration.
figure the Monitor page of the Hardware 6 If you plan on using hardware inserts, click the
Setup for HD OMNI before configuring the Insert tab and do the following:
I/O Setup. For more information, see the
• Create insert paths with appropriate widths and
HD OMNI Guide.
physical input and output assignments that
To customize I/O Settings: match your studio configuration.
1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O). • Name insert paths to match your studio configu-
ration. Name insert paths using standard indus-
2 Import I/O settings from an existing I/O settings try terminology if possible, such as
.pio file or a Pro Tools session file (.ptx) (see “Compressor,” “Reverb,” “EQ,” and so on.
“Importing I/O Settings” on page 82).
• Click the H/W Insert Delay tab and enter the cor-
You can prepare a session for use on a differ- rect insert delay in milliseconds for each in-
ent system this way. Any paths for hardware put/output pair that you are using for hardware
that is not present on the current system will inserts. (See “H/W Insert Delay (Compensation)
appear as inactive. Page” on page 55.)

3 For HDX and HD Native systems, double-click 7 If you are using one or more PRE peripherals,
the label above an interface and enter a name. click the Mic Preamps tab and configure it ac-
cordingly (see the PRE Guide).
With systems using HDX or HD Native hard-
8 Click the Bus tab.
ware, the I/O Setup bases default Input and
Output path names on the custom name given 9 Create internal mix bus paths and sub-paths.
to the interface. Ensure that output busses are mapped to the cor-
rect output paths (see “Output Busses” on
page 76).

Output busses are automatically created and

mapped to outputs when new output paths are
created.

62 Pro Tools Reference Guide

10 Export your I/O settings to create a backup of 4 From the pop-up menu, select a physical port
your current settings (see “Exporting I/O Set- pair (such as Analog 1–2), to route to a
tings” on page 83). Pro Tools channel pair (such as A 1–2) in the
Path Name column on the left.
11 Click OK. You should not have to open the I/O
Setup again unless you add or remove hardware
to or from your system, or if you open a session
created on a different system (see “Session or
Project Interchange and I/O Mapping” on
page 84).

Configuring Hardware in
I/O Setup
I/O Channel selector pop-up menu
(Pro Tools HDX and HD Native Systems Only)
5 Repeat the above step for additional channel
With HDX and HD Native systems, you can define
pairs.
which physical ports on your audio interface are
routed to available input and output channels in the 6 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
I/O Setup. Any changes made here are also re- Setup.
flected in the Hardware Setup, and vice-versa (see
“Configuring Hardware Settings in Pro Tools” on The Monitor path for HD OMNI is fixed
page 95). and cannot be changed in the I/O Setup.
The Monitor path for HD OMNI can be
HD MADI and Pro Tools systems such as configured in the Monitor page of the
Mbox Pro and 003 are “hard-wired” and Hardware Setup.
cannot be changed. For third-party and built-
in hardware, in the Hardware Setup click the Routing a Pro Tools Output Pair
Launch Setup App button to for available to Multiple Destinations
configuration options.
Pro Tools channel pairs can be routed to
To configure I/O routing in I/O Setup: multiple outputs on an audio interface through the
I/O Setup. For example, if you assign both Analog
1 Choose Setup > I/O.
1–2 and Analog 3–4 interface outputs to Pro Tools
2 Click the Input or Output tab to display the Output pair 1–2, when you send a signal to
corresponding path type. Pro Tools Outputs 1–2, that signal will be routed
simultaneously to both pairs of output ports on
3 Click the Input or Output selector for the first
your audio interface.
interface channel pair, located below the first
audio interface icon. This lets you send the same signal (such as a stereo
pair, a stem mix, or a multichannel mix) to multi-
ple destinations (such as multiple mastering de-
vices).

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 63

 The only limit to output choices is the number of
outputs available in your system.

0utput path assignments can overlap in certain

situations. See “Valid Paths and Require-
ments” on page 75 for details.

Pro Tools outputs pairs can also be routed to mul-

tiple audio interface outputs in the Hardware
Setup.

To route a Pro Tools output channel pair to

multiple audio interface output ports:
1 Choose Setup > I/O.
2 Click the Output tab.
3 Click the Output selector for an interface chan-
nel pair, just below an audio interface icon.
4 From the pop-up menu, select a physical port
pair (such as Analog 1–2) to route to the corre-
sponding Pro Tools channel pair (such as A
1–2) in the Path Name column on the left.
5 Control-click (Mac) or Start-click (Windows)
the same Output selector and select an addi-
tional output pair from the same pop-up menu.

The output name updates with a plus sign (“+”) be-

fore it to indicate that multiple output ports are se-
lected. In the pop-up menu, each physical port pair
assigned to that Pro Tools output pair is indicated
by a check mark.
6 Repeat the above steps to select additional
output destinations.
7 Click OK to save changes and close the
I/O Setup.

64 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Signal Path Routing for Audio Input
The following example shows the signal path from the physical analog input of an HD OMNI audio
interface, through the Pro Tools audio input path, to the Input of an audio track in the Pro Tools mixer:

Input signal path from an HD OMNI to the Pro Tools mixer as mapped in I/O Setup

(1) Physical Input For Avid HD interfaces, such as (2) Input Path Main input paths and sub-paths are
the HD OMNI, the physical inputs that are avail- routed (patched) to physical inputs using cross-
able to Pro Tools are set on the Main page of the point matrix mapping in the I/O Setup. In this ex-
Hardware Setup (this selector is mirrored in the In- ample, audio input is routed from HD OMNI phys-
put page of the I/O Setup). ical inputs Analog 1–2 to Pro Tools Input channels
A 1–2.
For Pro Tools systems such as the Mbox Pro
and the 003, physical inputs are fixed. For (3) Track Input Input paths and sub-paths are
third-party and built-in hardware, in the routed to track inputs in the Pro Tools mixer by se-
Hardware Setup click the Launch Setup App lecting the path (or sub-path) from the Track Input
button for available configuration options. selector. In this example, input sub-path A1 is
routed to the input of track “Audio 1.”
Chapter 6: I/O Setup 65
 Signal Path Routing for Audio Output
The following example shows the signal path from the output of an audio track through an output bus
mapped to an output path that is routed to a physical output on an HD I/O audio interface:

Output signal path from an audio track to a physical output as mapped in I/O Setup

(1) Track Output Audio is played back from disk and routed from the Track Output to Output Bus “B 1–2.”

(2) Output Bus Path The Output Bus is defined on the Bus page of the I/O Setup. On the Bus page of the
I/O Setup, the Output Bus “B 1–2” is mapped to Output “B 1–2,” which is defined on the Output page of
the I/O Setup.

(3) Output Path On the Output page of the I/O Setup, the Grid is used to route the output path (to which the
output bus is mapped) to physical outputs.

66 Pro Tools Reference Guide

(4) Physical Output For Avid HD audio interfaces, 5 Do one of the following:
such as the HD OMNI, the physical outputs that • To add more paths, click the Add Row
are available to Pro Tools are set on the Main page button (“+”).
of the Hardware Setup (this selector is mirrored in
the Output page of the I/O Setup). • To remove a path, click the Remove Row
button (“–”).
For Pro Tools systems such as the Mbox Pro
and the 003, physical outputs are fixed. For Add a new path by pressing Command+N
third-party and built-in hardware, click the (Mac) or Control+N (Windows), or by pressing
Launch Setup App button in the Hardware Command+Plus (+) (Mac) or Control+Plus
Setup for available configuration options. (+) (Windows) on the numeric keypad.

To remove the last path from the New Path

Creating New Paths dialog Command+Minus (–) (Mac) or
The I/O Setup lets you create new paths with cus- Control+Minus (–) (Windows).
tom names, formats, and assignments to physical
6 Enable (or disable) the New Paths options Add
I/O. Custom path names appear in a session’s track
the Default Channel Assignments and Auto-
Input, Output, Insert, and Bus selectors.
Create Sub-paths.
To create a new path: 7 Click Create.
1 Choose Setup > I/O.
When you create a new Output path, an out-
2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, or Bus tab to dis- put bus is automatically created on the Bus
play the corresponding path type. page of the IO Setup, and is automatically
mapped to the output path you created. See
3 Click New Path.
“Output Busses” on page 76.
4 In the New Path dialog, specify the number of
new paths you want to create, the channel width 8 Assign the path to a specific audio interface (In-
for each path, and the path name. put, Output, and Insert pages only) in the Grid
column. See “Assigning Paths to Hardware
I/O” on page 74.
9 Repeat the previous steps to configure all path
types (Input, Output, Insert, or Bus).
10 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
Setup. If there are any identically named paths,
New Paths dialog
you will be instructed to correct them before the
I/O Setup will close. For more information, see
“Valid Paths and Requirements” on page 75.

Multichannel paths and mixing are explained in

Chapter 52, “Pro Tools Setup for Surround.”

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 67

 New Paths Dialog Add Default Channel
Assignments Option
The New Paths dialog lets you create new paths on
the Input, Output, Bus, and Insert pages of the I/O Enable Add Default Channel Assignments option if
Setup. you want Pro Tools to automatically assign input,
output, and insert paths to physical inputs and out-
Number of new paths Add/Remove Row puts in the Channel Grid (from the first available
Path Format Path Name channel to the maximum number of channels
available). If the number of new paths of a certain
width exceeds the number of available channels,
Pro Tools wraps around and starts over at the first
physical input or output of your audio interface.

New Paths dialog Auto-Create Sub-Paths Option

New Path Row Settings For input, bus, and insert paths, enable the Auto
Create Sub-Paths option to have Pro Tools auto-
Number of New Paths Enter the number of new matically create the default set of sub-paths for the
paths you want to create (or a certain type, like path format (channel width), as follows:
“Bus”).
Default Sub-Paths
Path Format Select the channel width from the Main
Path Format selector. Sub-Paths Sub-Path Name
Path

Path Name Enter the path name. If you are creat- Mono N/A N/A
ing more than one path, the number of each new
Stereo 2 mono <main path
path will be appended to the path name (for exam- name > followed by
ple, Bus 1, Bus 2, Bus 3, and so on). channel designation
.L and .R
Add/Remove Rows Click the Add Row button to
add more paths, or click Click the Remove Row LCR 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
button to remove paths. 3 Mono (one for name >.LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
Move Row Icon Drag a Move Row icon up or name >.L, .C, .R
down to reorder paths. LCRS 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
4 Mono (one for name > .LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
name>.L, .C, .R, .S

Quad 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path

4 Mono (one for name > .LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
name>.L, .R, .Ls, .Rs

Move Row icon in the New Paths dialog

68 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Default Sub-Paths
Creating New Sub-Paths
Main
Sub-Paths Sub-Path Name
Path You can create sub-paths for main paths in the
5.0 – 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path Input, Output, Bus, and Insert pages of the I/O
6.0 – 5–7 Mono name >.LR Setup.
7.0 (one for each Mono: <main path
channel) name >.L, .C, .R, To create a new sub-path:
.Ls, .Rs, and so on
1 Select the page of the I/O Setup where you want
5.1 – 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path to create sub-paths (such as the Input page).
6.1 – 6–8 Mono name >.LR
7.1 (one for each Mono: <main path 2 Select the Main path for which you want to cre-
channel) name >.L, .C, .R, ate sub-paths.
.Ls, .Rs, and so on,
and LFE 3 Click New Sub-Path.

7.0.2 1 each: 7.0, 5.0, multichannel sub- 4 Configure the New Sub-Paths dialog as desired
(Dolby Quad, LCR, Ste- paths: <main path and click Create.
Atmos reo, Overhead name >.<channel
only) (LR); format> 5 Click in the Grid to assign the new sub-path
and 9 Mono Mono: <main path channels to available main path channels.
(one for each name >.L, .C, .R,
channel) .Lss, .Rss, .Lsr, .Rsr,
.Lts, .Rts New Sub-Path Dialog
7.1.2 1 each: 7.1, 7.0, Stereo: <main path The New Sub-Path dialog lets you create new sub-
(Dolby 5.1, 5.0, Quad, name >.LR paths for main paths on the Input, Output, Bus, and
Atmos LCR, Stereo, Mono: <main path Insert pages of the I/O Setup.
only) Overhead (LR); name >.L, .C, .R,
and10 Mono .Lss, .Rss, .Lsr, .Rsr,
Number of new sub-paths Add/Remove Row
(one for each .LFE, .Lts, .Rts
channel) Sub-Path Format Sub-Path Name

New Sub-Paths dialog for Input main path

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 69

 New Sub-Path Row Settings Create Default Sub-Paths Option
(Bus Sub-Paths Only)
Number of New Sub-Paths Enter the number of
new sub-paths you want to create for the selected Pro Tools lets you create the default sub-paths for
main path. busses in the New Sub-Path dialog when accessed
from the Bus page. Enable the Create Default Sub-
Sub-Path Format Select the channel width from
Paths option to have Pro Tools automatically cre-
the Path Format selector.
ate the default set of sub-paths for the path format
Sub-Path Name Enter the sub-path name. If you (channel width) of the selected main bus path, as
are creating more than one sub-path, the number of shown in the following table.
each new sub-path will be appended to the sub- Default Sub-Paths
path name (for example, Bus 1, Bus 2, Bus 3, and
Main
so on). Sub-Paths Sub-Path Name
Path
Add/Remove Rows Click the Add Row button to Mono N/A N/A
add more paths, or click Click the Remove Row
button to remove paths. Stereo 2 mono <main path
name > followed by
Move Row Icon Drag a Move Row icon up or channel designation
down to reorder paths. .L and .R

LCR 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path

3 Mono (one for name >.LR
each channel) Mono: <main path
name >.L, .C, .R
LCRS 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
4 Mono (one for name > .LR
Move Row icon in the New Sub-Paths dialog each channel) Mono: <main path
name>.L, .C, .R, .S

Add Default Channel Quad 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path

Assignments Option 4 Mono (one for name > .LR
(Input, Output, and Insert Sub-Paths Only) each channel) Mono: <main path
name>.L, .R, .Ls, .Rs
Enable Add Default Channel Assignments option if
5.0 – 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
you want Pro Tools to automatically assign input, 6.0 – 5–7 Mono name >.LR
output, and insert sub-paths to physical inputs and 7.0 (one for each Mono: <main path
outputs in the Grid (from the first available channel channel) name >.L, .C, .R,
to the maximum number of channels available). If .Ls, .Rs, and so on
the number of new sub-paths of a certain width ex- 5.1 – 1 Stereo (LR), Stereo: <main path
ceeds the number of available channels, Pro Tools 6.1 – 6–8 Mono name >.LR
wraps around and starts over the first physical in- 7.1 (one for each Mono: <main path
put or output of your audio interface. channel) name >.L, .C, .R,
.Ls, .Rs, and so on,
and LFE

70 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Default Sub-Paths In addition, you can import and export your
Main I/O Setup configurations as I/O Settings files, as
Sub-Paths Sub-Path Name well as set default path parameters. See “I/O Set-
Path
tings Files” on page 82.
7.0.2 1 each: 7.0, 5.0, multichannel sub-
(Dolby Quad, LCR, Ste- paths: <main path The following table lists the available attributes for
Atmos reo, Overhead name >.<channel
each path type:
only) (LR); format>
and 9 Mono Mono: <main path Path options that can be edited by type
(one for each name >.L, .C, .R,
channel) .Lss, .Rss, .Lsr, .Rsr, Path Type Path Options (Attributes)
.Lts, .Rts
Input Names, formats, and source
7.1.2 1 each: 7.1, 7.0, Stereo: <main path channel (physical input)
(Dolby 5.1, 5.0, Quad, name >.LR
Output Names, formats, and destination
Atmos LCR, Stereo, Mono: <main path
channel (physical output)
only) Overhead (LR); name >.L, .C, .R,
and10 Mono .Lss, .Rss, .Lsr, .Rsr, Insert Names, formats, and destination
(one for each .LFE, .Lts, .Rts (physical inputs and outputs)
channel)
Bus Names, formats, output mapping
When the Create Default Sub-Paths option is en-
abled, all other custom options in the New Sub- Interfaces can also be renamed.
Paths dialog are grayed-out and unavailable.
Restoring Default Paths and
Path Names
Editing Paths You can restore I/O Setup paths to their default
The I/O Setup lets you edit or customize signal state at any time. You may want to restore defaults
path definitions. if, for example, you replace or add an audio inter-
face to your system.
Paths can be:
To restore default paths and path names:
• Restored to default configurations
1 Choose Setup > I/O.
• Renamed, for easier identification after chang-
ing or renaming audio interfaces 2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, or Bus tab to dis-
• Selected and reordered to change menu order in play the corresponding path type.
track selectors 3 Click Default. Pro Tools does the following:
• Selected and deleted • If a session is open, deletes any paths that are not
• Remapped to or from different sources or desti- in use.
nations • Creates new default paths up to the capacity of
• Deactivated (or reactivated) to manage unavail- your system’s available physical I/O and re-
able or unnecessary I/O resources sources.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 71

 • Resets path names to the default path names (see Renaming Interfaces
“Default Path Names” on page 72). These de-
fault path names appear in track Input and Out-
put Path selectors.

Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows)

the Default button to set all pages of I/O
Setup to the default settings.

4 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup. New mono Input sub-path for Main path A 1-2

Audio interfaces can be renamed in the IO Setup.

When you rename Avid HD audio interfaces, de-
fault path names are based on the custom name
given to the interface.

To rename an audio interface in the I/O Setup:

Default stereo output paths 1 Double-click the label above an interface.

Renaming Paths
Path names can be customized in the I/O Setup.

I/O paths can also be renamed directly from

the Edit or Mix window by Right-clicking the
Input or Output selector and choosing Rename.

To rename a path in the I/O Setup: Interface Name

1 Double-click the path name.
2 Type a new interface name.
2 Type a new path name.
3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O Setup.
Setup.
Default Path Names

Default names for input, output, and insert paths

are based on the hardware you are using for physi-
cal I/O.

For HDX and HD Native systems, default path

names are based on the names of interfaces you are
using. If you have renamed your interface, default
path names are based on the custom name.

72 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Selecting Paths To deselect all paths and sub-paths:

Individual and multiple paths can be selected in the  Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
I/O Setup Path Name column. Selected paths and path name that is highlighted.
sub-paths can be reordered higher or lower in the
Path Name column to change their menu order in Reordering Paths
track Input, Output, Insert, and Bus selectors.
Selected paths and sub-paths can be reordered
Paths can also be deleted. Sub-paths follow their
higher or lower in the Path Name column to
main paths when they are moved in the I/O Setup.
change their menu order in track Input, Output,
To select a main path or sub-path: Insert, and Bus selectors.

 Click the path name. To reorder paths in the I/O Setup and Track
selectors:

1 Drag one or more selected path names up or

down.
2 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
Setup.

Deleting Paths
Selecting paths in the I/O Setup Path definitions can be deleted from the current
session to reflect changes to your hardware setup,
To select a range of paths:
or to clean up track selector menus by removing
1 Click the path name. unwanted or unnecessary path definitions. After
2 Shift-click an additional path name. deleting a path, any tracks or send assignments to
that path are reset to No Output.
All paths between the first selected path name and
the additional path name will also be To delete a main path or sub-path:
selected. 1 In the I/O Setup, select the path you want to
delete.
To select or deselect noncontiguous paths, do one
of the following: 2 Click Delete Path.
 Command-click (Mac) or Control-click 3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
(Windows) path names that are unhighlighted to Setup.
select them.
To delete all paths:
 Command-click (Mac) or Control-click
(Windows) path names that are highlighted to 1 Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
deselect them. path name.
2 Click Delete Path.
To select all paths and sub-paths:
3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
 Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) any
Setup.
path name that is unhighlighted.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 73

 Making Paths Active or Inactive 4 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O
Setup. Path status is displayed as follows:
Pro Tools paths can be Active (on) or Inactive (off,
or unavailable). Paths can be globally activated or Italics Indicates the path is inactive.
deactivated in the I/O Setup. Making a signal path
inactive will turn off the signal path on any and all Non-Italics Indicates the path is active.
tracks currently assigned to it. With overlapping output paths of different
Pro Tools also sets unavailable paths to inactive. channel widths, if the widest path is made in-
Paths can be unavailable when hardware or other active, all other overlapped output paths will
system resources are unavailable, such as when not pass audio from Pro Tools.
opening a session saved on a different
system.
Assigning Paths to Hardware
Tracks can also be made active or inactive. For in- I/O
formation, see “Making Track Inputs and Outputs
Paths are assigned to specific inputs, outputs, and
Inactive from the Edit or Mix Window” on
inserts in the Grid. Paths can be assigned to physi-
page 251.
cal I/O in the Grid, and can be reassigned at any
To globally activate or deactivate a path: time.

1 Choose Setup > I/O. To assign channels:

2 Select a path type using the tabs at the top of the 1 Select (or create) a main path or sub-path.
window.
2 Select the channel Format (such as Stereo).
3 Set the Active/Inactive control for the path.
3 In the row for the selected path, click in the Grid
column under an audio interface and channel.

Active (top) and inactive (bottom) path settings

Any tracks that were assigned to the now inactive Assigning channels
path will show that path's name in italics on the
Other channels for the path type, if any, fill to the
track's I/O selectors.
right. For example, when assigning a new stereo
path, clicking in the path row under output channel
1 fills both channel 1 and 2 (left to 1, right to 2).

To reassign channels in a path, see

“Reassiging Paths” on page 75.

74 Pro Tools Reference Guide

4 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O Channel Shuffling
Setup.
Moving a signal from right to left results in a shuf-
If there are any invalid settings, you will be re- fle of other signals after the new destination chan-
quired to correct them before the I/O Setup will nel. Moving a signal from left to right shuffles any
close. For more information, see “Valid Paths and and all signals after the new destination channel
Requirements” on page 75. and leaves the previous channel empty.

Assigning Paths with the Surround Mixer Changing a path’s format erases any cur-
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) rent channel assignment.

When assigning multichannel paths, the left chan- Sub-Paths Follow Main Paths
nel (L) is assigned first to the clicked Grid box, and
When a main path is reassigned, its sub-paths (if
remaining channels fill immediately to the right
any) are reassigned automatically to maintain con-
according to the default path order.
sistent routing. For example, reassigning a stereo
Because some multichannel mixing formats use path to different hardware outputs results in any of
unique track layouts, Pro Tools lets you set the de- its sub-paths moving with it.
fault format in the I/O Setup (see “I/O Setup Op-
tions” on page 57).
Valid Paths and
Requirements
While configuring the I/O Setup, certain rules ap-
ply for path definition and channel assignment. All
Default Format and Path Order settings paths must be valid before the I/O Setup configu-
ration can be applied.
Reassiging Paths
Though it is possible to set up invalid assignments
You can move the individual assignments to dif- in the Channel Grid, Pro Tools will not accept an
ferent channels, to reorder the path’s definition I/O Setup configuration unless all paths meet the
(for example, changing a multichannel path to path definition and channel assignment require-
L-R-C-LFE-Ls-Rs). ments, as follows:

To reassign channels in a path: Minimum Path Definitions All paths must have a
name, be of a specific format, and have a valid I/O
 Drag the channel to the new location in the
assignment.
Grid. Other channel assignments move (shuffle)
to accommodate dragged channels. Valid Paths Channel assignment follows certain
rules regarding overlapping paths.
• There can be no partial overlaps between any
two output paths.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 75

 • A newly-created output path must either be Where possible, Pro Tools can automatically re-
completely independent of other assignments map the session’s output busses to the output paths
(not assigned to any other available I/O inter- of the system on which the session is being opened.
face/channels), or it must be a path completely
contained within a larger path (for example, an See “Session or Project Interchange and I/O
LCR sub-path within a larger 5.1 path). Mapping” on page 84 for more information
exchanging sessions between systems, and on
opening sessions in lower version of
Pro Tools. Output busses do not exist in
Pro Tools 8.0.x and lower.

Output Busses
Output busses are mapped (routed) to output paths,
Valid (complete) output path as configured on the Output page of the I/O Setup.
Output paths are then assigned to the system’s
physical audio outputs in the I/O Setups Grid (see
“Assigning Paths to Hardware I/O” on page 74).

When you create a new output path on the Output

page of the I/O Setup, a new output bus of the same
width is automatically created and mapped to that
output path. Output busses are also created and
Invalid (partial) output path
mapped according to default settings when creat-
ing a new session or restoring defaults (see “Re-
storing Default Paths and Path Names” on
Configuring Busses page 71).

Busses appear on the Bus page of the IO Setup. Physical outputs for output paths are configured on
Pro Tools provides two types of busses: the Outputs page of the I/O Setups (see “Assigning
• Output busses Paths to Hardware I/O” on page 74).

• Internal mix busses

Internal Mix Busses
Output bus, internal mix bus, and Object bus set-
Pro Tools provides internal mix busses that can be
tings are saved with and recalled from the session.
used to route audio signal from track outputs and
The advantage of this is that when you take a ses-
sends to other track inputs and plug-in side-chains.
sion from one system to another, track and send as-
Common uses for internal mix busses include ef-
signments are maintained within the session.
fects sends and returns (such as bussing sends from
audio tracks to an Auxiliary Input track for plug-in
effects processing) and bus recording.

76 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Object Paths 3 Click Create to create the new paths.
(Pro Tools | Ultimate with Dolby Atmos Only)

Object paths are busses mapped (routed) to Object

Input paths, as defined by the Dolby Atmos Ren-
derer (see “Mapping Busses to Objects” on
page 1241).
Unmapped “MAIN” output bus
For more information about Pro Tools au-
thoring to Dolby Atmos, see Chapter 55, 4 Enable Mapping To Output for the path.
“Mixing to Dolby Atmos.”
5 Select an output path from the Mapping To Out-
put selector.
Creating and Mapping Busses to
Outputs
Any available bus can be mapped to any of the
available output paths of the same channel width
or greater. For example, a mono bus can be
mapped to a mono output path, a stereo bus can be
mapped to a stereo output path, and a 5.1 surround
bus can be mapped to a 5.1 surround output path.
Mapping the “MAIN” output bus to output path “A 1–2”
You can unmap busses from outputs at any time.
Command-click (Mac) or Control-click
To create a bus and map it to an output path: (Windows) to select multiple outputs in the
Mapping to Output menu in the Bus page of
1 On the Bus page of the I/O Setup, click New
the I/O Setup (I/O Setup > Bus > Mapping
Path.
to Output).
2 In the New Paths dialog, specify the number of
new paths you want to create, the channel width Any signals from tracks or sends sent to the bus are
for each path, and the path name. now sent to the hardware outputs assigned to the
corresponding Output paths.

To map all output busses of the same format to an

output path:

 Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the

Mapping To Output selector and select an out-
put path (mono or stereo).
New Paths dialog
All mapped output busses of the same format (such
as stereo) are all assigned to the same output path.
For example, you can assign all stereo output bus-
ses to output path A 1–2.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 77

 To map all output busses of the same format to To map a mono bus to a channel of a surround
one output path: output path:

1 Do one of the following: 1 On the Bus page of the I/O Setup, click New
• Shift-click to select contiguous Output Path.
busses. 2 In the New Paths dialog, specify Mono channel
• Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- width for the bus path, type a path name, and
dows) to select noncontiguous Output busses. click Create.

2 Option-Shift-click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-click 3 Enable Mapping To Output for the path.

(Windows) the Mapping To Output selector for
4 Select a multichannel output path from the Map-
one of the selected Output busses and select an
ping To Output selector. The mono bus indicator
output path (mono or stereo).
changes to “C” (Center) by default, and a pop-
Only the selected mapped output busses of the up menu becomes available.
same format (such as stereo) are assigned to the
same output path. For example, you can assign
only the selected stereo output busses to output
path A 1–2.

To map all busses of the same format to unique Selecting a multichannel output path
ascending output paths (cascading):
5 To assign another channel, click the mono bus
 Command-Option-click (Mac) or Control-Alt-
indicator and select the channel from the pop-up
click (Windows) the Mapping to Output selec-
menu.
tor of the top-most output path and select the
first output path.

All busses of the same channel format are automat-

ically assigned to unique output path assignments
in ascending order. For example, for stereo output
paths, output bus A 1–2 is assigned to output path
A 1–2, A 3–4 to A 3–4, A 5–6 to A 5–6, and so on.
Assigning a channel to a mono bus
Mapping Mono Busses to Surround
Paths To assign the same channel to all mono busses
mapped to a multichannel output path:
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
 Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
You can map a mono bus to any channel of a sur- mono bus indicator and select the channel from
round output path. For example, route a dialogue the pop-up menu.
track to the center channel of 5.1 output path. (This
capability is available for all output channel widths
except Stereo and Quad outputs.)

78 Pro Tools Reference Guide

To assign the same channel to all selected mono Using Keyboard Modifiers When
busses mapped to a multichannel output path: Enabling or Assigning Output
1 Do one of the following: Busses
• Shift-click to select contiguous mono Pro Tools lets you use keyboard modifiers when
busses in the Name column. enabling or assigning Output busses. These key-
• Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win- board modifiers behave in the same way as when
dows) to select noncontiguous mono busses in assigning track inputs, and track and send outputs.
the Name column. Being able to assign a single output bus to multiple
physical outputs is useful in cases where you want
2 Option-Shift-click (Mac) or Alt-Shift-click to route a single source signal to two or more out-
(Windows) a mono bus indicator and select the puts. Rather than assigning multiple outputs on a
channel from the pop-up menu. track-by-track basis, you can do it once in the
I/O Setup.
To assign ascending (cascading) channels to all
mono busses mapped to a multichannel output: In the I/O Setup, the following keyboard modifiers
 Command-Option-click (Mac) or Control-Alt- apply:
click (Windows) the mono bus indicator of the • Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) to
top-most mono bus and select the first channel apply to all busses.
from the pop-up menu.
• Command-Option-Shift-click (Mac) or Control-
Alt-Shift-click (Windows) to apply only to se-
To assign ascending (cascading) channels to all
selected mono busses mapped to a multichannel lected Output busses.
output: • Control-click (Mac) or Start-click (Windows)
1 Do one of the following: for each additional Output path you want to as-
sign an Output bus to.
• Shift-click to select contiguous mono
busses in the Name column. • Command-Option-click (Mac) or Control-Alt-
click (Windows) to assign a bus to the selected
• Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
Output path and all subsequent busses to the
dows) to select noncontiguous mono busses in
next available Output path sequentially.
the Name column.
2 Command-Option-Shift-click (Mac) or Con-
trol-Alt-Shift-click (Windows) the mono bus in-
dicator of the top-most mono bus and select the
first channel from the pop-up menu.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 79

 Resetting Busses Sorting Bus Paths
You can reset the number of available internal mix The Bus page provide controls to sort busses by
busses in your session to match your system’s full name (ascending or descending), format (ascend-
capabilities by reverting to the default bus config- ing or descending), or by mapped to output status
uration. (ascending only).

Pro Tools creates 24 internal busses by de- Click to sort by Name Click to sort by map-
ping to output status
fault. Click to sort by Format

To revert to the default bus configuration for your

system:
1 Open the I/O Setup.
2 Click the Bus tab in the upper left.
3 From the pop-up menu to the right of the Default
button, select one of the following: Sorting bus paths in the I/O Setup

• All Busses To sort bus paths by Name:

• Output Busses 1 In the Bus page, click the Name column header.
• Internal Busses 2 Click the Name column header again to toggle
between ascending and descending sort order.
4 Click Default.

Resetting busses to the default setting will re- To sort bus paths by Format:
name all busses to their default name (Bus 1 In the Bus page, click the Format column
1–2, Bus 3–4, and so on). header.

5 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O 2 Click the Format column header again to toggle
Setup. between ascending and descending sort order.

Active Busses To sort bus paths by Mapping To Output status:

 In the Bus page, click the Mapping To Output

The Bus page of the I/O Setup displays the number
column header.
of active internal mix busses. If the number of ac-
tive busses exceeds the number of available bus-
ses, the display turns red. Delete or deactivate any
active busses in excess of the available number of
busses to be able close the I/O Setup and save your
settings.

80 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Factory I/O Settings Narrower formats automatically map to wider ones
with one-to-one matching connections (for exam-
Pro Tools provides factory I/O settings for stereo
ple, L to L, R to R, and so on). In cases where cer-
and surround mixing, and are automatically in-
tain channels do not match (such as mono to stereo
stalled with Pro Tools. These settings provide new
Left and Right, or LCRS to 5.1), Pro Tools lets you
sessions with generic path and sub-paths for either
upmix by distributing the mismatched channels of
mixing format.
an output bus channel to more than one physical
Factory I/O settings are available in the I/O Set- output channel. For example, Pro Tools let you up-
tings pop-up menu in the Dashboard. mix a mono output bus to both channels of a stereo
output path, or the Surround path from an LCRS
source to the Left Surround and Right Surround
Stereo Mix Settings paths of a 5.1 output.
This Stereo Mix setting creates the maximum
number of stereo paths, as determined by the avail- It is not recommended that you mix while
able system’s I/O Setup and hardware configura- monitoring the session through a downmixed
tion. or unmixed Output path. Uses downmixed or
upmixed monitoring for editing and other
Using the “Stereo Mix” settings file has non-mixing tasks.
the same effect as clicking Default for ev-
To assign downmix or upmix Output bus paths:
ery individual tab in I/O Settings. See
“Restoring Default Paths and Path 1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O).
Names” on page 71.
2 Select the Bus page (I/O Setup > Bus).

Surround Mix Settings 3 Click the Mapping to Output column on the row
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only) for the Output bus that you want to remap to a
lower or higher channel format (from the avail-
The Surround Mix setting provides additional, sur- able Output paths).
round-specific Output and Bus settings files.

See Chapter 52, “Pro Tools Setup for

Surround.”
Selecting a stereo Output path for a 5.1 Output Bus

Downmix and Upmix Output

Busses to Outputs
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)

Pro Tools lets you “downmix” session output Selecting a 5.1 Output path for an LCRS Output Bus
buses to physical output paths with channel for-
mats of a lesser width. For example, you can listen 4 Click OK to save your changes and close I/O
to a 5.1 mix on a stereo system without modifying Setup.
the actual session routing.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 81

 Downmix and Upmix Indicators Custom I/O Settings
for Output Paths
Custom I/O Settings files can be created by chang-
When a track or send is set to an Output path of a ing I/O Setup settings (see “Customizing I/O Set-
different channel width, the source audio is down- tings” on page 62), and then exporting the settings.
mixed or to upmixed accordingly. The Output se- These I/O settings can then be restored by import-
lector in the Mix, Edit, and Output windows dis- ing them into a system.
plays a > (downmix) or a < (upmix) symbol
respectively. This lets you easily identify any track This lets you save settings for different projects,
that is downmixing or upmixing to an Output path import settings to reconfigure the I/O Setup, and
of a different channel width. manage path definitions and signal routing setups.

Importing I/O Settings

Pro Tools lets you import I/O Settings from session
files (.ptx) I/O settings files (.pio) before or after
5.1 track with Downmix indicator you open a session. I/O Settings are only imported
for the current page of the I/O Setup. For example,
if you are viewing the Output page and import I/O
I/O Settings Files Settings, only the settings for the Output page are
imported. This helps to avoid overwriting your
I/O settings files (.pio files) provide default path custom I/O Settings on other pages.
configurations for new sessions. I/O settings can
be imported and exported for use with sessions When you import I/O Settings, you can choose to
shared between systems. I/O settings files are also delete any unused path definitions before import-
available in the I/O Settings pop-up menu in the ing the new paths, or leave unused path definitions
Dashboard. intact and add the new paths to the current I/O
Setup configuration.
For I/O settings files to be available in the Dash-
board, I/O settings files must be saved to the IO To import I/O settings for your Pro Tools system
Settings folder in the Root Settings Folder. You from a Pro Tools session file:
can change the location of the Root Settings Folder 1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O).
in the Operation Preferences (see “User Media and
Settings Location” on page 110). 2 Select the tab for the page where you want to
import settings.
Last Used I/O Settings 3 Click Import Settings.
If any changes are made to the I/O Setup, these Enable the Apply to all tabs option or press
changes are automatically saved to the IO Settings Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while click-
folder as the Last Used settings file when the I/O ing Import Settings to overwrite I/O Settings
Setup is closed (by clicking OK). in all pages with the settings imported from a
session file.
Last Used settings are available in the I/O Settings
pop-up menu in the Dashboard, or when importing 4 In the Open dialog, navigate to and select the
I/O Settings in the I/O Setup. session or I/O settings file you want.

82 Pro Tools Reference Guide

5 Click Open. Exporting I/O Settings
6 Click OK to save your changes and close I/O When you export I/O settings, all pages of the I/O
Setup. Setup are exported.

You can also import I/O paths and path To export and save an I/O Setup configuration as a
names, as well as other session data, from custom I/O Settings file:
a different session by using the Import Ses- 1 Configure the I/O Setup settings.
sion Data command (File > Import > Ses-
sion Data). For information, see “Import- 2 Click Export Settings.
ing Session Data” on page 416. 3 Name and save the settings file. The settings file
To import I/O Settings:
is appended with “.pio” to distinguish it as an
I/O settings file.
1 Click the tab for the page of the I/O Setup for
which you want to import settings. To start sessions with a blank or empty
I/O Setup, you can create and export an I/O
2 Click Import Settings.
Settings file in which all definitions have been
Enable the Apply to all tabs option or press deleted.
Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while click-
ing Import Settings to overwrite I/O Settings Restore from Session
in all pages with the settings imported from a
Pro Tools provides a Restore from Session button
session file or I/O settings file.
that only affects the currently viewed page in I/O
3 Select an I/O settings file (.pio) or a Pro Tools Setup. For example, if you are viewing the Output
session file (.ptx) in the Import Settings dialog page, only the Output settings are overwritten by
and click Import. the settings saved with the session.

4 A dialog appears asking whether you want to To restore I/O settings from the session:
delete existing paths. Do one of the following: 1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O).
• Click Yes to remove any unused paths and add
2 Select the tab for the page that you want to re-
the imported paths to the current I/O Setup con-
store from the session.
figuration.
• Click No to add the imported paths to the current 3 Click Restore from Session.
I/O Setup configuration.
Enable the Apply to all tabs option or press
If the import results in overlapping paths, the new Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while click-
paths will appear in the I/O Setup as Inactive. See ing Restore from Session to restore settings
“Making Paths Active or Inactive” on page 74. for all I/O Setup pages from the session.

After importing I/O Settings, you can then reassign 4 Click OK to save your changes and close I/O
path routing definitions in the I/O Setup by remap- Setup.
ping, renaming, and deleting paths. See “Pro Tools
Software Signal Paths” on page 50.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 83

 Indication of Remapping in the
Session or Project Bus Page
Interchange and I/O Mapping
Where the system Output path name or format has
I/O Setup mappings are saved both with the last changed, session Output busses that are success-
used .pio file (Pro Tools I/O settings file) and the fully remapped are displayed in green.
session or project. When opening a session or proj-
ect on a system that has a different I/O Setup,
Pro Tools follows these rules to ensure the best
possible re-mapping of the session’s or project’s
I/O Setup to the new system:
• Output busses are mapped to system Output
paths by unique ID if possible. Remapped Output Busses displayed in green
• Pro Tools always maps the Monitor Path of the Additionally, a Previous Output Mappings column
session or project to the Monitor path of the cur- appears to the right of the Output Mappings col-
rent system. (If Monitor subpaths exist in the umn. This lets you take note of the output map-
session, Pro Tools uses the best matching format pings that the session used the last time it was
for the system Monitor subpaths.) saved.
• Otherwise, Output busses that are mapped to
system Output paths by name and format if there
is an exact match.

If there is no match between Output busses and

system Output paths, you can manually remap
Output busses. Pro Tools uses the manually re- Previous Output Mappings column
mapped unique ID the next time the session is
opened on that system. Once you save the session, the Output mapping
changes from green to black and is saved both with
After configuring the I/O Setup on any given sys- the system and with the session.
tem for a session or project, the settings are re-
tained with the session file or the project. Show Last Saved or Current
Setup
You can recall the I/O settings saved with the
session or project and overwrite the system When opening a session that was saved with a dif-
settings (see “Restore from Session” on ferent I/O Setup configuration for either hardware
page 83). inputs or outputs, Pro Tools lets you switch be-
tween the I/O Setup last saved with the session and
the current system I/O Setup. This lets you take
note of the hardware Input and Output configura-
tion of the I/O Setup saved with the session.

84 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Both the Input and Output pages of the I/O Setup To show the last saved I/O settings:
window provide the Show Last Saved Setup but- 1 Open the I/O Setup (Setup > I/O).
ton. When the last saved I/O setup is shown, the
button is highlighted. 2 Click either the Input or Output tab.
3 Click the Show Last Saved Setup button (the
Once you save the session, the Show Last Saved
button highlights).
Setup button is grayed out.
You can restore the I/O settings saved with
the session and overwrite the system settings
(see “Restore from Session” on page 83).

When viewing the I/O Setup last saved with

the session, the OK option is not available for
Show Last Saved Setup button in the Input page saving and closing I/O Setup.
When showing the I/O Setup last saved with the
To show the current I/O settings:
session, any unavailable hardware Inputs or Out-
puts are displayed in italics. 1 If not already open, open the I/O Setup (Setup >
I/O).

2 Click either the Input or Output tab.

3 Click the highlighted Show Last Saved Setup
button (the button becomes unhighlighted).

Unavailable hardware Input shown in italics I/O Settings and the Playback
Engine
Additionally, when showing the I/O Setup last
saved with the session, the Monitor Path, Audition When you change the Playback Engine (for exam-
Path, Output Meter Path, and AFL/PFL Path set- ple, from HDX to Built-in) Pro Tools automati-
tings that were saved with the session are shown cally creates and recalls I/O Settings (.pio) files
grayed out. based on the Playback Engine. The first time that
you use a new Playback Engine, Pro Tools uses the
stereo defaults for the selected Playback Engine
and corresponding hardware. Thus, even on the
same computer, Pro Tools treats different Play-
back Engines as if they are different systems. This
facilitates changing the Playback Engine without
having to manually remap Output Busses in the
I/O Setup. These I/O Settings files are named after
the corresponding Playback Engine and are saved
both on the system and with the session.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 85

 Pro Tools remembers the individual I/O settings Type and Width Displays both Type and Width as
for your system for each Playback Engine avail- I/O categories in Track I/O menus.
able to your system. This includes all Inputs, Out-
4 Click OK.
put, Insert, and Hardware Delay settings, and also
settings such as the selected Monitor and Audition
paths. The session’s output bus mappings are
stored in the I/O Settings of the selected Playback I/O Setup in Session Notes
Engine, ensuring that you can hear the main mix When opening a Pro Tools session or project, the
from the session from any Playback Engine. Session Notes dialog provides a complete list of
any mismatched Output bus mappings. In addition
to being able to see this information and save it to
Organize Track I/O Menus By a text file, you can also open the I/O Setup from the
Preference Session Notes dialog to resolve any unmapped
Output busses.
Pro Tools lets you organize track I/O Menus by
Type, Width, or both Type and Width.

Track IO menus organized by both Type and Width

To specify the organization of Track I/O Menus:

1 Choose Setup > Preferences. Session Notes with unmapped Output busses

2 Select the Display tab. To open the I/O Setup from the Session Notes
dialog:
3 Select one of the following options from the Or-
ganize Track IO Menus By selector: 1 If the Session Notes dialog reports unmapped
bus paths, click the I/O Setup button.
Type Displays only the I/O Type (Interface or Bus)
2 In I/O Setup, reassign any unmapped bus paths
as I/O categories in Track I/O menus.
as necessary.
Width Displays only the I/O Channel Width (such
3 Click OK to save your changes and close I/O
as stereo or 5.1) as I/O categories in Track I/O
Setup.
menus.

86 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Pro Tools Session Templates
and I/O Settings
Pro Tools session templates include the I/O Set-
tings of the system on which the template was cre-
ated. The I/O Settings selector is available when
creating a new session from a template. This set-
ting determines the configuration of the physical
inputs and outputs of your system. The new ses-
sion uses the busses from the selected template, but
these busses are automatically mapped to the phys-
ical outputs of the system (the selected Playback
Engine).

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 87

88 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Chapter 7: System Setup

You can review and update the setup of your sys- 7 Do one of the following, depending on your
tem to ensure it is configured for your needs. Pro Tools system:
• For HDX and HD Native systems, with the vol-
ume of all output devices lowered, turn on your
Starting Up or Shutting Down audio interfaces (such as HD OMNI). Wait at
Your System least fifteen seconds for your system hardware
to initialize.
To ensure that the components of your Pro Tools
system communicate properly with each other, you • For Pro Tools systems that use hardware requir-
need to start them in a particular order. ing external power (such as 003), with the vol-
ume of all output devices lowered, turn on the
Start up your Pro Tools system in this order: hardware.
1 Make sure all your equipment (including your 8 Turn on your computer.
computer) is off.
9 Launch Pro Tools or any third-party audio or
2 Lower the volume of all output devices in your MIDI applications.
system.
Shut down your Pro Tools system in this order:
3 For systems with an expansion chassis, turn on
the chassis. 1 Quit Pro Tools and any other running applica-
tions.
4 Turn on any external hard drives. Wait approxi-
mately ten seconds for them to spin up to speed. To quit Pro Tools, choose Pro Tools >
5 Turn on any control surfaces (such as Quit (Mac) or File > Exit (Windows).
D-Command® or Avid Artist Control).
2 Turn off or lower the volume of all output
6 Turn on any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or devices in your system.
synchronization peripherals.
3 Turn off your computer.

Chapter 7: System Setup 89

 4 Do one of the following depending on your
Pro Tools system: Configuring
Pro Tools Software System
• For HDX and HD Native systems, turn off your
Settings
Pro Tools audio interfaces.
Pro Tools lets you adjust the performance of your
• For Pro Tools systems that use hardware requir-
system by changing system settings that affect its
ing external power (such as 003), turn off the
capacity for processing, playback, and recording.
hardware.
These system settings are available in the Playback
5 For systems with an expansion chassis, turn off Engine (Setup > Playback Engine).
the chassis.
In most cases, the default settings for your
6 Turn off any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or system provide optimum performance, but you
synchronization peripherals. may want to adjust them to accommodate large or
7 Turn off any worksurfaces (such as processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.
D-Command) or control surfaces (such as
Command|8).
8 Turn off any external hard drives.

Checking a Pro Tools | HDX

or Pro Tools | HD Native
System with DigiTest
Before you use Pro Tools, you may want to run the
DigiTest diagnostic application to ensure that all
HDX cards in the system are recognized, installed
in the proper order, and have valid connections. Playback Engine for a HDX system
You can also use DigiTest to validate your
HD Native PCIe card or Thunderbolt interface.
See the Avid DigiTest Guide for more information.

90 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Playback Engine On HDX systems, changing engines requires that
you quit and relaunch Pro Tools for the new setting
In the Playback Engine dialog, Pro Tools lets you
to take effect.
select the audio engine for use with your audio in-
terfaces. The available options are determined by When changing engines on any Pro Tools
which audio interfaces are connected and have system, you may need to reset the default
compatible drivers installed. I/O settings to match the selected audio
interface.
Changing the Playback Engine setting can be use-
ful if you have multiple audio interfaces connected Pro Tools Aggregate I/O
to your computer with different routing configura-
(Mac Only)
tions in your studio, or if you want to prepare a ses-
sion for use with a specific interface on a different On Mac systems using Core Audio, you can use
system (for example, you might want to prepare a Pro Tools with the built-in audio inputs and out-
session created on your HDX system for use with puts on your Mac by selecting any of the available
the built-in audio on your Mac laptop). built-in inputs and outputs, or by selecting the
Pro Tools Aggregate I/O option for using a combi-
To select which audio engine Pro Tools uses: nation of built-in inputs and outputs simultane-
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine. ously (for recording and monitoring).

2 From the Playback Engine selector, select your

audio interface:
• For HDX and HD Native systems, use the de-
fault setting of HDX or HD Native.
• For supported Avid audio interfaces (such as the
Mbox Pro), selecting the name of the corre-
sponding interface uses the Avid Audio Engine Selecting Pro Tools Aggregate I/O in the Playback
for Pro Tools. Engine (Mac only)

• For third-party audio interfaces with compatible You can configure the Input and Output options
Core Audio (Mac) or ASIO (Windows), select for Pro Tools Aggregate I/O in the Mac Audio
the name of the corresponding Core Audio Setup, which can be accessed from the Pro Tools
(Mac) or ASIO (Windows) compatible audio in- Hardware Setup.
terface.
If you need simultaneous input (recording)
• On Mac systems, if you are using built-in audio, and output (playback and monitoring) with
select any of the available built-in options for Pro Tools using the built-in audio options on
playback or select Pro Tools Aggregate I/O for Mac, use the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O option.
simultaneous input and output with the built-in If you only need to play back audio for editing
I/O hardware options. and mixing, select the appropriate built-in
3 Click OK. audio output option.

When changing engines with a Pro Tools session

open, Pro Tools closes and reopens the session to
initialize the new engine.

Chapter 7: System Setup 91

 Hardware Buffer Size Host Engine
The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) in the The Host Engine settings provide options for error
Playback Engine controls the size of the buffer suppression during playback and recording, and
used to handle host processing tasks such as pro- the option to use dynamic plug-in processing.
cessing with host-based, or “Native” plug-ins.
Ignore Errors During
• Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings are useful
Playback/Recording
for improving latency issues in certain recording
situations or for improving certain system per- The Ignore Errors During Playback/Record option
formance problems: determines how Pro Tools responds to error re-
• On all Pro Tools systems, lower settings re- porting from the Avid Audio Engine (AAE) during
duce MIDI-to-audio latency (such as when playback and recording. This can be useful when
playing a virtual instrument live and monitor- working with instrument plug-ins where you care
ing the instrument’s output). Lower settings less about clicks and pops in the audio signal while
can also improve screen response or the accu- you work on composing and arranging. Once you
racy of plug-in and mute automation data. are ready to work on the final mix you should dis-
able this option. Observe the following guidelines
• On host-based Pro Tools systems, lower set-
as to whether or not to enable or disable error sup-
tings reduce all input-to-output monitoring
pression:
latency on any record-armed tracks or Auxil-
iary Input tracks with live inputs. • Enable error suppression only if you are experi-
• On HDX systems, lower settings reduce mon- encing frequent errors that are interrupting your
itoring latency that occurs on tracks that have creative workflow. When error suppression is
one or more Native plug-ins. Lower settings enabled, you can experience a degradation of au-
can also improve the accuracy of MIDI track dio quality. However, this may be acceptable in
timing on systems without a MIDI interface order to avoid interrupting playback and record-
that supports time stamping. Lower settings ing when working with instrument plug-ins.
also improve MIDI track timing on tracks us- • Disable error suppression when you need to en-
ing MIDI virtual instruments that do not sup- sure the highest possible audio quality, such as
port time stamping. for a final mix.
• Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings are useful
To enable error suppression:
for sessions that are using more Native plug-ins
for playback. These settings allow for more au- 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
dio processing. They can also be useful to re- 2 Select Ignore Errors During Playback/Record.
duce errors on machines that require a higher
buffer size. 3 Click OK.

To change the Hardware Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select
the audio buffer size, in samples.
3 Click OK.

92 Pro Tools Reference Guide

If the Ignore Errors During Playback/Record option Dynamic Plug-In Processing
is enabled and too many CPU intensive Native
When enabled, the Dynamic Plug-In Processing
plug-ins are active in the session (such as Eleven
option maximizes plug-in counts by dynamically
Free or various virtual instrument plug-ins), you
reallocating host-based processing resources as
may experience badly distorted audio. If you en-
needed. This means that plug-ins only use CPU
counter this problem, remove or make inactive any
cycles when they are actually processing audio.
unnecessary Native plug-ins. You can also isolate
and bus record any tracks that use virtual instru-
To enable dynamic plug-in processing:
ments, and then make those source tracks inactive
to free up processing resources. 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 Select Dynamic Plug-In Processing.
Minimize Additional I/O Latency
(Host-based Pro Tools Systems Only)
3 Click OK.

When the Minimize Additional I/O Latency option is Number of Voices

enabled, any additional latency due to ignoring er-
(HDX Systems Only)
rors during playback and recording is minimized to
128 samples. Ignoring errors requires at least 128 On HDX systems, the Number of Voices setting in
samples of additional buffering on some systems. the Playback Engine lets you control the number of
If this option is disabled, the buffer is half the H/W available voices.
Buffer Size, or at least 128 samples (whichever is
greater). If you are using a slower computer, you Changing the number of voices affects the total
may want to disable this option to avoid adverse number of voiceable tracks.
performance. Depending on the session sample rate and the
This option is only available if the Ignore Errors number of HDX cards in your system, there are
During Playback/Record option is enabled and the different choices for voice count. For voice limits
Pro Tools system you are using requires additional on different HDX systems, see “Playback, Record-
buffering for error suppression, as follows: ing, and Voice Limits with
Pro Tools | Ultimate Software” on page 42.
• Windows:
• Mbox Pro and Mbox 2 Pro To change the Number of Voices:

• Mac: 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

• 003 family devices 2 Select a value from the Number of Voices pop-
• Eleven Rack up menu.
• Mbox family devices 3 Click OK.
• Pro Tools Aggregate I/O

Chapter 7: System Setup 93

 Sample Rate back, those files are already cached for playback.
(HDX Systems Only) This is especially useful when working with shared
media storage (such as with Avid Unity ISIS
The Sample Rate setting in the Playback Engine shared storage systems).
shows the default sample rate used when you cre-
ate a new session. If a session is open, the current To determine the maximum amount of RAM avail-
session sample rate is displayed, but cannot be able for the Disk Cache, Pro Tools polls the com-
changed. If no session is open, you can set the de- puter for the amount of RAM installed and sub-
fault sample rate for new sessions. tracts 4 GB of RAM. For example, if your
computer has 16 GB of RAM installed, the total
Video Engine amount of RAM available for the Disk Cache will
be 12 GB.
Enable the Video Engine option to import, edit, and
playback a wide range of Avid HD and SD MXF You can use the Disk Cache and Memory
video formats on Pro Tools video tracks without meters in the System Usage window to deter-
transcoding (including Avid DNxHD) as well as mine whether to assign more or less RAM to
QuickTime video. With the Video Engine enabled the Disk Cache for the current session. See
you can simultaneously view desktop video and “System Usage” on page 102.
video monitored using a video peripheral
To set the amount of RAM for use by the Disk
(Media Composer | Nitris DX, Cache:
Media Composer | Mojo DX, and other Avid qual-
ified third-party video interfaces). 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the Disk Cache selector, select the amount
To enable the Avid Video Engine for Pro Tools:
of RAM you want to allocate for Disk Cache.
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
3 Click OK.
2 Select the Video Engine option.
3 Click OK.
Configuring MIDI Setup
Cache Size If you plan to use any external MIDI devices with
Pro Tools (such as controllers, keyboards, synthe-
The Cache Size setting in the Playback Engine de-
sizers, drum machines, samplers, sequencers, or
termines the amount of memory AAE allocates to
sound modules), you may want to configure your
pre-buffer audio for playback and recording. In
MIDI setup using Audio MIDI Setup (Mac) or
most cases, the default setting of Normal is the op-
MIDI Studio Setup (Windows).
timum Cache Size for most sessions.
For more information, see Chapter 10,
Pro Tools can also load audio files used in
“Configuring MIDI.”
Pro Tools sessions into RAM for cached playback.
Pro Tools prioritizes files closest to the current
play head location. This way, when you start play-

94 Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Selecting an Audio Interface to
Configuring Hardware Configure
Settings in Pro Tools
The Peripherals list in the Hardware Setup lets you
Pro Tools lets you configure the signal routing, select any audio interface connected to your
digital I/O format, default sample rate, clock Pro Tools system associated with the selected Cur-
source, and other hardware-based settings depend- rent Engine setting in the Playback Engine dialog.
ing on your system configuration. These system
settings are available in the Hardware Setup To change the Playback Engine setting to use a
(Setup > Hardware). specific audio interface or AAE (such as HDX,
003, a third-party Core Audio or ASIO interface,
or Pro Tools Aggregate I/O), see “Playback En-
gine” on page 91).

For Avid HD audio interfaces (such as HD OMNI

or HD I/O) you can configure the signal routing,
digital I/O format, default sample rate, clock
source, and other hardware-based settings for each
HD peripheral connected to your system.

For some Avid audio interfaces (such as 003), you

Hardware Setup for HD OMNI, Main page
can configure the signal routing, digital I/O format,
default sample rate, clock source, and other hard-
ware-based settings, depending on your system
configuration.

For third-generation Mbox family audio inter-

faces, and third-party Core Audio (Mac) and ASIO
(Windows) compatible audio interfaces, use the
Launch Control Panel button to launch the control
panel for configuring your specific audio interface.

Hardware Setup for Mbox (third generation)

Chapter 7: System Setup 95

 Launch Control Panel or Setup Configuring Pro Tools
App Aggregate I/O
(Pro Tools with Avid Hardware or Third-Party (Mac Only)
Audio Interfaces with Control Panel Software)
On Mac systems using Core Audio, you can select
Using the control panel or setup application for Pro Tools Aggregate I/O as the Current Engine to
your audio interface, you can change settings in the use the built-in audio inputs and outputs on your
following areas, depending on your audio inter- Mac computer. You can configure the Pro Tools
face: Aggregate I/O setting in the Mac Audio Setup,
• Mixer Settings which can be accessed from the Pro Tools Hard-
ware Setup.
• Output Settings
• Hardware Settings (including sample rate, To configure Pro Tools Aggregate I/O settings:
hardware buffer size, and sync source). 1 Choose Setup > Hardware.
You can set the sample rate when creating a 2 In the Peripherals list, select Pro Tools Aggre-
new Pro Tools session by selecting a different gate I/O, or whichever Built-in input or output
sample rate in the New Session dialog. option is selected as the Current Engine in the
Playback Engine.
To change control panel settings:
1 In the Hardware Setup dialog, click the Launch
Control Panel button or Launch Setup App but-
ton (depending on your audio interface).
2 To change settings in the control panel or setup
application, see the documentation that came
with your audio interface.
3 When finished, close the control panel or setup
application.
Hardware Setup for Pro Tools Aggregate I/O
(Mac only)

3 Click the Launch Setup App button.

4 In the Audio Devices window of the Mac Audio
Setup, configure the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O
settings.

The Pro Tools Aggregate I/O device is

intended for use only with the built-in
audio on your Mac computer. For best
performance, use the default settings.

96 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Configuring Default Sample Rate Configuring Clock Source
Setting in Hardware Setup
The Pro Tools Hardware Setup lets you select the
The Sample Rate setting in the Hardware Setup di- Clock Source for the system.
alog determines the default sample rate when you
create a new session. This setting is available only Changes made to Clock Source in the Session
when there is no session open. Otherwise, the cur- Setup window are reflected in the Hardware
rent session sample rate is displayed, but cannot be Setup window.
changed.
Internal If you are recording an analog signal
With HDX and HD Native hardware, you can directly into Pro Tools, you will usually use the
change the default Sample Rate in the Hardware Pro Tools Internal clock source.
Setup, or in the Playback Engine.
External If you are transferring material into
With HDX and HD Native hardware, the Pro Tools from an external digital device, or if you
Sample Rate setting can affect the number utilize a common house clock signal, you will syn-
of available voices. chronize Pro Tools to that digital device or com-
mon signal.
On other Pro Tools systems, you can only change
the default sample rate in the Hardware Setup or Depending on your audio interface, external
using the control panel for third-party audio inter- options can include AES/EBU [Encl], S/PDIF,
faces. Optical [Encl], AES/EBU 1–8, TDIF, ADAT, and
Word Clock. For details, see the guide for your au-
You can set the sample rate when creating a dio interface.
new Pro Tools session by selecting a different
sample rate in the New Session dialog. To select the Clock Source:
1 Choose Setup > Hardware.
To change the default Sample Rate in the
Hardware Setup: 2 Choose the clock source from the Clock Source
1 Choose Setup > Hardware Setup. pop-up menu.

2 Select the sample rate from the Sample Rate 3 Click OK.
pop-up menu.
Your digital input device must be
3 Click OK. connected and powered on for Pro Tools to
synchronize to it. If your input device is not
powered on, leave the Clock Source set to
Internal.

Chapter 7: System Setup 97

 Configuring Digital Format and
Hardware Routing Configuring Pro Tools | HDX
and Pro Tools | HD Native
The Hardware Setup includes additional settings Hardware Settings
for configuring the digital format and hardware
routing for your system’s audio interfaces. On HDX and HD Native systems, you configure
Hardware settings for each audio interface con-
For an outline of the configuration of an HDX or nected to your system (see Chapter 5, “Pro Tools
HD Native system with one or more Pro Tools HD Systems.”)
interfaces, see “Configuring Pro Tools | HDX and
Pro Tools | HD Native Hardware Settings” on HDX and HD Native systems can have HD I/O,
page 98. HD OMNI, HD MADI or Pro Tools | MTRX au-
dio interfaces connected to HDX cards or
To configure specific hardware settings for HD Native hardware. HD I/O, HD OMNI, and
other Pro Tools or third-party audio inter- MTRX can also have additional interfaces at-
faces, see the documentation that came with tached using the Expansion port on each interface.
your audio interface.
Identifying Audio Interfaces
Selecting Footswitch Control
(003 Only) If you have multiple audio interfaces of the same
type connected to your system, before you make
The footswitch connector on your 003 family in- audio connections to them, you should confirm the
terface lets you use a footswitch pedal to control identity of each interface. This ensures that you
either playback start/stop or recording choose the appropriate interface in the Peripherals
punch in/out. Both QuickPunch audio punch-in list when you define its inputs and outputs in the
and punch-out and MIDI punch-in and punch-out Hardware Setup.
recording are supported.
To identify audio interfaces in your system:
Record Punch In/Out Select this option to use a
footswitch connected to your 003 family interface 1 Choose Setup > Hardware.
to punch in and punch out during recording. 2 From the Peripherals list, select an audio inter-
face connected to your system.
Playback Start/Stop Select this option to use a
footswitch connected to your 003 family interface Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to scroll
to start and stop playback. though the Peripherals list in the Hardware
Setup.

3 Make sure the Main page is shown.

98 Pro Tools Reference Guide

4 Select the Identify option, located in the lower Additional pages are available to configure other
left corner of the Hardware Setup. This illumi- controls for each audio interface (such as setting
nates all the LEDs on the front panel of the se- operating levels).
lected audio interface.
To configure Avid HD audio interfaces:
5 Make a note of which interface in your studio
setup corresponds to the identified interface. 1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

6 Repeat the above steps for each additional audio 2 From the Peripherals list, select the audio
interface in your setup. interface connected to the first card in your
system. This will be the interface at the top of
the list.
Configuring Avid HD Audio
Interfaces 3 Click the Main tab.

HD OMNI supports up to eight channels of simul- Press Command+Left or Right Arrow keys
taneous I/O and multiple I/O formats (such as ana- (Mac) or Control+Left or Right Arrow keys
log, AES/EBU, ADAT Optical, and S/PDIF). (Windows) to move though the different
pages of the Hardware Setup.
HD I/O audio interfaces support sixteen channels
of simultaneous I/O and multiple I/O formats (such 4 From the Clock Source pop-up menu, select the
as analog, AES/EBU, ADAT Optical, S/PDIF, and appropriate clock source for the interface.
TDIF). HD MADI supports up to 64 channels of
MADI I/O. In many cases, you will use Internal. The other
choices are for resolving Pro Tools to external
The Main page of the Hardware Setup is where clock sources. Depending on your audio interface,
you define which physical inputs and outputs on Clock Source options can include: AES/EBU
your audio interface are routed to available inputs [Encl], S/PDIF, Optical [Encl], AES/EBU 1–8, TDIF,
and outputs in Pro Tools. You can think of this ADAT, and Word Clock (optional Word Clock rates
window as a patchbay that allows you to route any are available when operating at higher sample
of the inputs or outputs on your audio interfaces to rates).
channel assignments in the Pro Tools mixer.
5 If you want to send clock output to other de-
vices attached to the audio interface, select the
appropriate output from the Ext. Clock Output
pop-up menu.
6 Select which digital I/O port on your audio in-
terface enclosure is active by selecting the cor-
responding option under Digital Format.
Depending on the type of interfaces in your
system, choices include AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and
Optical (S/PDIF). Selecting Optical (S/PDIF) re-
Hardware Setup for HD I/O, Main page
sets the Optical I/O port (which is, by default,
eight channels of ADAT Optical I/O) to two
channels of S/PDIF Optical I/O.

Chapter 7: System Setup 99

 7 For S/PDIF compatibility with Tascam DA-30 Configuring HD OMNI Controls
DAT recorders, select the Tascam option under
S/PDIF Format. For detailed information about configuring
HD OMNI, see the HD OMNI Guide.
8 From the Input and Output channel pop-up
menus, select the physical ports (such as Analog To configure HD OMNI in Pro Tools:
1–2 or Optical 1–2), that will be routed to the
1 Choose Setup > Hardware.
corresponding Pro Tools input and output chan-
nels (such as Ch 1–2, Ch 3–4), listed on the left 2 From the Peripherals list, select the HD OMNI
side of the Main page. audio interface.

Inputs and outputs of similar format are differenti- 3 Click the Monitor tab and configure the options.
ated in the input and output channel pop-up menus. When working with HD OMNI, you should al-
For example, the AES/EBU inputs and outputs in ways configure the Monitor page first.
the HD I/O enclosure are listed as AES/EBU [Encl],
while the AES/EBU inputs and outputs on the fac-
tory-installed Digital I/O card are listed (in pairs)
as AES/EBU 1–2, AES/EBU 3–4, AES/EBU 5–6,
and AES/EBU 7–8. For HD I/Os equipped with a
second Digital I/O Card, the additional AES/EBU
I/O ports on the optional card are listed as
AES/EBU 9–10, AES/EBU 11–12, AES/EBU
13–14, and AES/EBU 15–16.

9 Configure any specific controls for your audio HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Monitor page
interface:
4 Click the Main tab and configure the options.
• “Configuring HD OMNI Controls” on
page 100.
• “Configuring HD I/O Controls” on page 101.
• “Configuring HD MADI Controls” on
page 102.
10 For additional audio interfaces, select them in
the Peripherals list, and repeat the above steps.

See your audio interface guide for additional

configuration details and restrictions. HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Main page

100 Pro Tools Reference Guide

5 Click the Analog In tab and configure the Configuring HD I/O Controls
options.
For detailed information about configuring
HD I/O, see the HD I/O Guide.

To configure controls for HD I/O:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 From the Peripherals list, select the HD I/O
audio interface.
3 Click the Main tab and configure the options.

HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Analog In page

6 Click the Analog Out tab and configure the

options.

HD I/O Hardware Setup, Main page

4 If you have at least one HD I/O AD card, click

the Analog In tab and configure the options. If
you have two HD I/O AD cards, this tab is la-
HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Analog Out page beled Analog In 1–8.

7 Click the Mixer tab and configure the options.

HD I/O Hardware Setup, Analog In page

HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Mixer page

8 When you are finished, click OK.

Chapter 7: System Setup 101

 5 If you have two HD I/O AD cards, click the Configuring MTRX Controls
Analog In 9–16 tab and configure the options.
MTRX is configured using MTRX Control soft-
6 If you have at least one HD I/O Digital card,
ware. For information about configuring
click the Digital tab and configure the options.
MTRX, see the Pro Tools | MTRX Guide.
7 If you have two HD I/O Digital cards, click the
second Digital tab and configure the options.
8 When you are finished, click OK.

Configuring HD MADI Controls

For detailed information about configuring
HD MADI, see the HD MADI Guide.

To configure controls for HD MADI:

Pro Tools | MTRX Hardware Setup
1 Choose Setup > Hardware.
2 From the Peripherals list, select either
HD MADI Port 1 or HD MADI Port 2 and con- System Usage
figure the options. Meters in the System Usage window indicate how
much of your system’s processing power is being
used when processing audio, and when writing and
playing back automation.

As these meters approach their limits, host pro-

cessing and recording or playback of automation
data can be affected. If CPU or PCI Activity are
high, a system error may occur. If Disk Activity is
high, Pro Tools may miss playback of some auto-
mation data during particularly dense periods of
HD MADI Hardware Setup activity, such as while using the Bounce to Disk
command.
The settings for HD MADI Port 1 and
HD MADI Port 2 are linked. Any changes are
global regardless of which is selected in the
Peripherals list.

3 When you are finished, click OK.

System Usage window

102 Pro Tools Reference Guide

CPU Meters Disk Cache Meter

The CPU Total meter displays session performance The System Usage window lets you monitor use of
for Elastic Audio processing, Clip Gain process- the Disk Cache. This meter is only present if a
ing, and Native plug-in and mixer processing. A fixed Cache Size is selected in the Playback En-
3-second peak indicator provides visual indication gine dialog.
of peak CPU usage.

System Usage window, CPU peak meter indicator System Usage window, Disk Cache meter

The individual CPU meters provide a general indi- The Disk Cache meter indicates the amount of al-
cation of how much Pro Tools is using each of the located memory being used to cache audio in the
processors in your computer. timeline (up to the amount of RAM selected for the
Disk Cache setting in the Playback Engine). An
additional peak-meter style indicator is included to
show how much of the allocated RAM is needed
for caching the session.

System Usage window, individual CPU meters Memory Meter

Activity Meters The Memory meter displays how much of the in-
stalled physical RAM in the system is being used
The Activity section of the System Usage window
by Pro Tools. This includes RAM used by the au-
display meters for disk usage and memory usage.
dio engine, the video engine (if enabled), plug-ins,
and the disk cache. Other than Pro Tools, it does
Disk Meter
not show any other RAM usage by the system. If
As in previous versions of Pro Tools, the Disk me- the Memory meter approached 100%, install more
ter displays the amount of hard disk processing ac- physical RAM or lower the Disk Cache setting in
tivity. the Playback Engine dialog.

System Usage window, Disk meter System Usage window, Memory meter

Chapter 7: System Setup 103

 DSP Usage Meters Managing System Resources
(HDX Systems Only)
To monitor the usage of resources during a
HDX systems provide additional meters below the Pro Tools session:
Activity meter.  Choose Window > System Usage.

To reduce processing load, do one of the

following:

 Reduce the density of automation in places

where it shows the most activity. For details, see
“Thinning Automation” on page 1148.
Voices
Time Slots  Make unnecessary track inputs and outputs in-
active. For details, see “Making Track Inputs
and Outputs Inactive from the Edit or Mix Win-
dow” on page 251.

DSP Usage  Make unnecessary tracks inactive. For details,

see “Making Tracks Inactive” on page 259.
 Make unnecessary DSP plug-ins inactive. For
details, see “Making Inserts Inactive” on
page 1094.

System Usage window (HDX 2 shown)

Voices

The Voices meter displays the total number of

voices that can be allocated and the number of
voices currently allocated. This includes all voices
whether they are allocated explicitly or dynami-
cally, as well as any voices used for routing host-
based processing.

Time Slots

The Time Slots meter displays the total number of

DSP Time Slots available and the number of DSP
Time Slots currently used.

DSP

The DSP meters display how much of each DSP

chip on each HDX card is currently being used for
mixer configurations and DSP-based plug-ins.

104 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Chapter 8: Preferences

The settings in the Pro Tools Preferences define Basics Section

how Pro Tools features work. The Preferences di-
Track Position Numbers Stay with Hidden
alog has several tabbed pages in which you can
Tracks When selected, tracks keep their track
specify your preferred settings.
numbers even when hidden. When not selected,
numbers are only assigned to tracks that are
To change Pro Tools preferences:
shown. In this case, shown tracks are then num-
1 Choose Setup > Preferences. bered sequentially, and hidden tracks are not num-
2 Click the tab for the page that has preferences bered.
you want to change.
Tool Tips Display Options
3 Change preferences.
Function Configures Tool Tips to show the basic
4 Click OK to save your changes and close the function of the item.
Preferences dialog.
Details Configures Tool Tips to show the complete
form of an abbreviated name or item (such as a
track name). Details view can also show the hidden
Display Preferences or abbreviated value of parameters, as well as input
and output assignments.

Edit Window Default Length

This preference sets a default length for the Edit

window in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames
(Pro Tools Ultimate only). This is useful if you
want to assemble a session of a particular length or
leave extra room to expand the Edit window’s
work area in your session. The maximum length is
24 hours. For best scrollbar sensitivity, set the
length to slightly longer (a minute or more) than
the total session or song length.

Chapter 8: Preferences 105

 “Organize Plug-In Menus By” Options “Organize Track I/O Menus By” Options

These options determine how plug-in menus are These options determine how track I/O menus are
organized in the Insert selector or Plug-In selector. organized in the Track Input selector, and Send
and Track Output selectors.
Flat List Organizes plug-ins in a single list, in
alphabetical order. Type Displays only the I/O Type (Interface or Bus)
as I/O categories in Track I/O menus.
Category Organizes plug-ins by process category
(such as EQ, Dynamics, and Delay), with individ- Width Displays only the I/O Channel Width (such
ual plug-ins listed in the category submenus. Plug- as stereo or 5.1) as I/O categories in Track I/O
Ins that do not fit into a standard category (such as menus.
the Signal Generator), or third-party plug-ins that
Type and Width Displays both Type and Width as
have not had a category designated by their devel-
opers, appear in the Other category. Plug-Ins can I/O categories in Track I/O menus.
appear in more than one category.
Language Options
Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins by their manu-
You must have Administrator privileges for the
facturer (such as Bomb Factory, Focusrite, or TL
Pro Tools application Properties to change these
Labs), with individual plug-ins listed in the manu-
options.
facturer submenus. Plug-Ins that do not have a
Manufacturer defined will appear in the “Other” Language Sets the language to use in the
manufacturer folder. Pro Tools application, independently of what lan-
guage is used by your OS.
Category and Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins in
two levels of menus. The top menus display plug- Default Automatic Naming to English Causes au-
ins by process category (such as EQ, Dynamics, tomatically named session elements in a session to
and Delay), with individual plug-ins listed in the be named in English even when working with the
category submenus. The bottom menus display Pro Tools application set to another language.
plug-ins by manufacturer (such as Bomb Factory,
Focusrite, or TL Labs), with individual plug-ins Auto-Switch Input Language
listed in the manufacturer submenus.
When the Auto-Switch Input Language option is
enabled, the input language is switched automati-
cally from English to the current OS input lan-
guage when entering text. It automatically
switches back to English for using Keyboard com-
mands in Pro Tools. When disabled, English is
used when entering text regardless of the current
OS input language.

106 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Warnings and Dialogs Section Groups Assigns a color to each track according to
its Group ID. If groups are suspended using the
Reset “Don’t Show This Again” Settings If you
Suspend Groups command, the tracks color bars
have made any changes by selecting the Don’t
are not shown.
Show This Again setting for any dialog in
Pro Tools, you can click this Reset button to Track Type Assigns a color to each track according
revert to the default settings. to its type (audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader,
VCA Master, MIDI, Instrument, or Video).
Show Dashboard Window When Pro Tools
Starts When selected, Pro Tools shows the Dash-
Default Clip Color Coding Options
board window on launch. Deselect this option if
you do not want to see the Pro Tools Dashboard These color coding options determine the default
window on launch. color coding assignment for tracks, Marker Loca-
tions, and clips residing in the track playlist and
Color Coding Section Clips List. The options are:

Always Display Marker Colors Lets you choose to None Turns off color assignment for clips. Clips
view Marker colors in the Markers ruler, regard- are drawn with black waveform or MIDI notes on
less of the settings you choose for Default Clip a light gray background.
Color Coding.
Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to each
MIDI Note Color Shows Velocity When enabled, clip in the Edit window according to its voice or
MIDI notes display varying shades of the assigned MIDI channel assignment.
track color in MIDI notes view in the Edit window
Tracks and MIDI Devices Assigns a color to each
and in MIDI Editor windows. Notes with high ve-
clip in the Edit window according to its voice as-
locities are darker and notes with lower velocities
signment or MIDI device assignment.
are lighter.
Groups Assigns a color to each clip according to
Default Track Color Coding Options the Group ID of its track. If groups are suspended
using the Suspend Groups command, all clips dis-
These color coding options determine the default
play black waveforms or MIDI notes on a light
color coding assignment for tracks in the Edit and
gray background.
Mix windows. The options are:
Track Color Assigns a clip color based on the color
None Turns off color assignment for tracks.
assigned to the track.
Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to each
Marker Locations Assigns a unique color to each
track in the Mix or Edit window according to its
marker area in the Marker ruler, including the area
voice or MIDI channel assignment.
preceding the first marker.
Tracks and MIDI Devices Assigns a color to each
Clips List Color Assigns a color to each clip based
track in the Mix or Edit window according to its
on its color in the Clips List.
voice assignment or MIDI device assignment.

Chapter 8: Preferences 107

 Latch Forward/Rewind When selected, fast for-
Operation Preferences ward and rewind latch and continue until you press
Stop, Play, Return To Zero, or Go To End on the
Transport. When disabled, the Fast Forward and
Rewind only last as long as you hold the mouse af-
ter clicking either button on the Transport (or hold
the corresponding switch on a Control Surface).

Play Start Marker Follows Timeline

Selection When enabled, the Play Start Marker
snaps to the Timeline Selection In Point when you
move the Timeline Selection, draw a new Timeline
Selection, or adjust the Timeline Selection Start.
When disabled, the Play Start Marker doesn’t
move with the Timeline selection.

Reserve Voices for Preview in Context (HDX and

HD Native Only) When enabled, Pro Tools re-
serves the appropriate number of voices for pre-
view in context (previewing audio files from
Workspace browsers during session playback).
The number of available voices is reduced by the
Transport Section
channel width of the selected audition paths on the
Timeline Insertion/Play Start Marker Follows Output page of the I/O Setup window. For exam-
Playback When selected, the Timeline Insertion ple, if the number of playback voices is set to 48 in
and the Play Start Marker both move to the point in the Playback Engine, and you have a stereo audi-
the Timeline where playback stops. When dese- tion path selected in the I/O Setup, only 46 voices
lected, the Timeline Insertion and Play Start will be available for tracks. If you have a 5.1 audi-
Marker do not follow playback, but return to the tion path, only 42 voices will be available. When
location where playback began. this option is disabled, you will not be able to pre-
view in context if there are not enough available
Press Control+N (Mac) or Start+N (Win-
voices.
dows) to toggle the Timeline Insertion/Play
Start Marker Follows Playback preference Custom Shuttle Lock Speed Sets the highest fast-
on and off. forward Shuttle Lock speed (key 9) for Shuttle
Lock modes (Classic or Transport).
Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle When se-
The range for this setting is 50–800%.
lected, the edit cursor automatically locates to the
point where scrubbing stops. For more information, see “Custom Shuttle
Lock Speed” on page 623.
Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind When se-
lected, audio is audible during fast forward or Custom FF/REW Speed Sets the speed for fast for-
rewind. ward and rewind in relation to normal playback.
The range for this setting is 100–3,200%.

108 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Back/Forward Amount (Pro Tools | Ultimate Shuttle (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) Selects a type
Only) Sets the default length of Back, Back and of shuttling different from that of Shuttle Lock
Play, Forward and Forward and Play. The timebase mode. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Shut-
of the Back/Forward Amount settings follows the tle, playback is triggered by pressing and holding
Main Time Scale by default, or you can deselect the keys on the numeric keypad—playback stops
the Follow Main Time Scale option and select an- once the keys are released. Various playback
other timebase format: Bars|Beats, Min:Sec, Time- speeds are available in both forward and reverse.
code, Feet+Frames, or Samples. You can also recall Memory Locations by typing
Period (.), the Memory Location number, and Pe-
Numeric Keypad Mode riod (.) again.
Numeric Keypad mode determines how the nu-
Use Separate Play and Stop Keys
meric keypad functions. You can always use the
numeric keypad to select and enter values in the When enabled, this option lets you start playback
Event Edit Area, Edit Selection indicators, Main with the Enter key and stop playback with the 0
and Sub Counters, and Transport fields. key on the numeric keypad. This is useful for
quickly starting and stopping playback when audi-
Classic Selects a Shuttle Lock mode that emulates
tioning loop transitions. The Use Separate Play
the way Pro Tools worked in versions lower than
and Stop Keys option is only available in Trans-
5.0. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Classic,
port Numeric Keypad mode.
you can play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle
Lock mode. Press Control (Mac) or the Start key When this option is enabled, it overrides
(Windows), followed by 0–9 for different play using the Enter key to add Memory Location
speeds. Press Plus (+) or Minus (–) to reverse di- markers. Instead, press Period (.) and then
rection. Recall Memory Locations by typing the Enter on the numeric keypad to add a
Memory Location number, followed by Period (.). Memory Location marker.
Transport Selects a Shuttle Lock mode that lets
you set a number of record and play functions, and Auto Backup Section
also operate the Transport from the numeric key- Enable Session File Auto Backup When se-
pad. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans- lected, Pro Tools automatically saves backups of
port, you can play up to two tracks of audio in your Pro Tools session file while you work. Back-
Shuttle Lock mode. Press Control (Mac) or the ups are saved to in the Session File Backups folder
Start key (Windows), followed by 0–9 for different in your session folder.
play speeds. Press Plus (+) or Minus (–) to reverse
direction. Recall Memory Locations by typing Pe- Keep n Most Recent Session Backups Specifies
riod (.), the Memory Location number, and Period the total number of incremental backups that are
(.) again. kept for sessions (backups for projects are handled
separately by Revision History).
To customize the highest fast-forward
Shuttle Lock speed, see “Custom Shuttle Backup Every Specifies how often the session is
Lock Speed” on page 623. saved.

Chapter 8: Preferences 109

 User Media and Settings Record Section
Location
Latch Record Enable Buttons When selected,
Documentation and Settings multiple audio tracks can be record-enabled. When
not selected, multiple audio tracks cannot be re-
Click the Change button to set the Root directory cord-enabled. Record-enabling an audio track
for all user files including Documentation, takes all other audio tracks out of record-enabled
Grooves, IO Settings, Plug-In Maps, Plug-In Set- mode.
tings, Session Templates, and Video Test Patterns.
Enable Automation in Record When this option is
Project Media Cache enabled, automation can be written during record-
ing as well as during playback. When this option is
Click the Change button to set the Root directory
disabled, automation can only be written during
for caching all project media.
playback.
Sound Libraries Note that when the Enable Automation in Record
When Pro Tools is installed, any included audio option is selected, the Link Record and Play Faders
loops are stored in the Sound Libraries folder by de- option is automatically disabled and is unavailable.
fault:
Link Record and Play Faders When selected,
Mac Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/ Pro Tools does not remember separate fader levels
Documents/Pro Tools/Sound Libraries for tracks when they are record-enabled, allowing
you to maintain the same monitoring level for
Windows C:\Users\<username>\Documents\
tracks during recording and playback.
Pro Tools\Sound Libraries
Audio Track RecordLock (Pro Tools | Ultimate
Click the Change button to direct Pro Tools to ref-
Only) This option configures Pro Tools tracks to
erence another location for the Sound Libraries
either emulate a digital dubber, or to maintain leg-
folder and Loops content.
acy behavior for track record status.
Show Sound Libraries in Workspace Locations • When selected, the record-enabled audio tracks
remain record-enabled when playback or re-
Enable the Show Sound Libraries in Workspace/ cording stops.
Locations option to show Sound Libraries in the
Locations pane of Workspace browsers. • When not selected, record-enabled audio tracks
are taken out of record enable when Pro Tools is
stopped. This prevents tracks from remaining
armed from pass to pass, emulating track record
behavior of a digital dubber.

110 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Transport RecordLock (Pro Tools | Ultimate Mute Record-Armed Tracks While Stopped
Only) This option lets the Transport Record (the (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) This setting deter-
Record button in the Transport controls) be config- mines monitor status of record-armed tracks.
ured to either emulate a digital dubber, or to main- • When selected, Pro Tools mutes all record-en-
tain legacy behavior for the Transport master Re- abled tracks when the transport is stopped. Input
cord. can still be monitored while stopped using the
• When selected, the Transport Record remains TrackInput Monitor button.
armed when playback or recording stops. This • When not selected, Pro Tools does not mute au-
saves having to re-arm the Transport between dio input on record-enabled tracks when the
takes, emulating digital dubber behavior. transport is stopped.
• When not selected, the Transport Record dis-
PEC/Direct Style Input Monitoring
arms when Pro Tools is manually stopped or
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) This option changes
stops due to a loss of timecode. This replicates
the way the TrackInput monitoring mode is indi-
standard Pro Tools recording behavior.
cated on-screen (and on supported control sur-
The Transport RecordLock option is automatically faces) to emulate “PEC” (playback) and “Direct”
disabled and grayed out when Destructive Record (input/bus) indication on some large format con-
mode is enabled. soles.
• When not selected, the TrackInput button shows
Disable “Input” When Disarming Track
(In “Stop”) (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) For flexi- the letter “I.” The button remains gray to indi-
bility, TrackInput monitoring can be customized to cate Auto Input mode and lights green to indi-
remain selected regardless of track record status, cate Input Only mode.
or to automatically switch to Auto Input monitor- • When selected, the TrackInput button remains
ing after a recording pass. This lets you optimize gray and shows the letter “D” to indicated Input
monitoring for a typical dubbing workflow (in Only mode (“Direct”); it lights green and shows
which you might want tracks to remain in Input the letter “P” to indicate Auto Input mode (“Pec”
Only mode until explicitly switched to Auto Input or playback).
monitoring) or a typical music tracking workflow
Automatically Create New Playlists When Loop
(in which leaving a track in Input Only monitoring
Recording When selected, copies loop recorded
mode after recording can result in accidental dou-
alternate takes to new playlists in the track. This is
ble-monitoring).
especially useful to prepare for track compositing
• When selected, taking an audio track out of re- in Playlists view after loop recording multiple al-
cord enable (any mode) takes it out of Input ternate takes.
Only mode, regardless of the global monitor
mode, and switches it to monitor audio from Online Options
disk only.
Record Online at Timecode (or ADAT)
• When not selected, audio tracks remain in Input Lock When selected, online recording begins as
Only monitoring mode until explicitly switched soon as Pro Tools receives and locks to incoming
to Auto Input monitoring. timecode.

Chapter 8: Preferences 111

 Record Online at Insertion/Selection When se- Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length
lected, online recording begins at the edit cursor (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only)
location. Recording continues until Pro Tools
This setting determines the default length for fade-
stops receiving timecode. If you make a selection,
ins and fade-outs that are automatically applied to
Pro Tools records online for the length of the se-
clip boundaries on playback. Using automatic
lection.
fade-ins and fade-outs saves you the trouble of ed-
DestructivePunch File Length
iting to zero-crossings or creating numerous ren-
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) dered fades in order to eliminate clicks or pops in
playback. Autofades are not written to disk. Value
This preference sets the duration of consolidated range is from 0–10 ms for the Auto Clip Fade
audio files when preparing tracks for Destructive- In/Out Length setting. A value of zero means that
Punch mode. The default value for this setting is 25 no auto-fading will occur. The Auto Fade value is
minutes. saved with the session, and is automatically ap-
plied to all free-standing clip boundaries until you
Misc (Miscellaneous) Section change it.

Mouse Wheel Scrolling Snaps to Track Calibration Reference Level

(HDX and HD Native Systems Only)
The Operations page of the Preferences window
includes a new Mouse Wheel Scrolling Snaps to This setting determines a default calibration refer-
Track option. When this option is enabled, the top ence level in dB when Pro Tools is in Calibration
of tracks in the Edit window snap to fit as you mode. For audio interfaces that have trims (such as
scroll with the mouse wheel and tracks in the Mix the HD I/O), see the interface’s guide for calibra-
window snap to the left. When this option is dis- tion instructions.
abled, scrolling with the mouse wheel is smooth
If your system includes one or more EUCON
and continuous.
controllers, be sure to disable “Auto-bank to
Press Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) selected track” in EuControl software before
while scrolling the mouse wheel to accelerate enabling Pro Tools Calibration Mode to en-
scrolling tracks vertically in the Edit window sure that faders remain silent. To make sure
or horizontally in the Mix window. “Auto-bank to select track” is not enabled,
open the EuControl Settings window, click to
go to the General tab, and verify the setting is
Press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows)
not enabled. If necessary, click to disable
while scrolling the mouse wheel to slow down
“Auto-bank to selected track.” After exiting
scrolling tracks vertically in the Edit window
Calibration Mode, be sure to re-enable the
or horizontally in the Mix window.
“Auto-bank to selected track” setting (if nec-
essary).

112 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Most Recent Local Waveform Cache Versions Enable Hardware During Scrub
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
When selected, the Enable Hardware During Scrub
The Local Waveform Cache Versions preference option lets you monitor video using video hard-
determines whether or not one or more copies of the ware (such as Avid Mojo DX or Nitris DX video
Waveform cache are stored locally for sessions on
peripherals) while scrubbing. When this option is
network storage systems (such as Avid NEXIS).
disabled, you can only monitor video in the
Keeping a short history of the Waveform cache Pro Tools Video window while scrubbing. If you
stored locally can greatly speed up opening sessions experience performance issues when scrubbing
on network storage. Rendering tasks and redrawing video while monitoring video using video hard-
waveforms are also quicker when the Waveform ware, disable this option.
cache is stored locally.
Play Start Latency
A setting of 0 means that no local Waveform cache is
stored and the Waveform cache is only saved on the If you are working on a slower computer, set the
network storage system. A setting of 1 always only
Play Start Latency setting to a higher value. The
saves the most recent version of the Waveform cache
range is from 1-Shortest to 5-Longest.
locally and deletes the previously locally saved
Waveform cache. You can store up to 99 versions of
the Waveform cache locally. When the designated
number of versions to be stored locally is exceeded Editing Preferences
creation of a new Waveform cache, the oldest locally
stored Waveform cache is deleted.

The local Waveform cache (if any) is saved to the

Documents/Pro Tools/Local Waveform Cache
folder on your system drive.

Video Section
Enable GPU

Pro Tools video processing is done on the GPU

(Graphics Processing Unit) in order to free up the
CPU for Pro Tools audio and MIDI. If you are us-
ing a slower GPU and encounter poor video play-
back, you may want to disable this option and have
the video processing done on the CPU.

Prevent Tearing

When enabled, Pro Tools buffers video to prevent

visual artifacts with horizontal movement in situa- Clips Section
tions where video sync does not match the screen Clips List Selection Follows Edit Selection When
refresh rate. This options is not available when the selected, selecting a clip in a track also selects it in
Enable GPU option is disabled. the Clips List.

Chapter 8: Preferences 113

 Edit Selection Follows Clips List Selection When
selected, selecting a clip in the Clips List causes Press Command+Control+1–5 (Mac) or
Pro Tools to highlight that clip’s occurrence in a Control+Start+1–5 (Windows) to apply the
track. number keys to the opposite of what is set for
the 1–5 Number Keys Control preference (for
Auto-Name Separated Clips When selected, example, if Zoom Presets is selected, these
Pro Tools automatically names newly separated key combinations would apply to Clip Effects
clips by appending a number to the clip’s name. Presets instead). If Commands Keyboard Fo-
cus is enabled for the Edit window, press
“Separate Clip” Operates On All Related
Takes When selected, editing a clip with the Command+1–5 (Mac) or Control+1–5 (Win-
Separate Clip command also affects all other re- dows).
lated takes (recording passes) with the same User
Time Stamp. This option helps you compare dif- Tracks Section
ferent sections from a group of related takes. New Tracks Default To Tick Timebase When
Send Fully Overlapped Clips to Playlist while
selected, all new tracks default to ticks. When
Editing Whenever a whole clip is fully overlapped deselected, audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader,
by another clip when editing it is moved from the and VCA tracks default to samples.
main playlist to a new playlist (or the first available,
Suppress Name Dialog When Creating New
empty playlist). This is true for editing on all play-
Playlists Enable this option to automatically name
lists, not just the main playlist.
new playlists without opening the Name New
Send Fully Overlapped Clips to Playlist while Playlist dialog. This applies when creating both
Recording Whenever a whole clip is fully over- new of duplicate playlists.
lapped by another clip when recording it is moved
from the main playlist to a new playlist (or the first Show Target Playlist(s) After Sending Clip
available, empty playlist). Selection Enable this option to show Target play-
list(s) in the Main playlist after moving or copying
Clip Gain Nudge Value This setting specifies the an Edit selection to that playlist.
amount (from 0.1 dB to 6.0 dB) by which clip gain
settings are adjusted when nudging clip gain.
Memory Locations Section
Clip Matching Options Lets you assign number
Auto-Name Memory Locations When
keys 1–5 to control either Zoom Presets or Clip Ef- Playing When selected, Pro Tools gives new
fects Presets. Press Control+1–5 (Mac) or Memory Locations default names based on their
Start+1–5 (Windows) to recall the corresponding time location in the session. The time units cur-
preset in your session or project for the selected rently chosen in the View menu determine the
option. If Keyboard Commands Focus is also en- units for the names.
abled in the Edit window, just press the number for
the preset you want (1–5). Recall Memory Location at Original Track When
selected, Memory Locations that recall a selection
also recall the track in which the selection was
made.

114 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Fades Section Default Fade Settings

Crossfade Preview Pre-Roll This setting specifies Fade In Selects the default envelope shape for
the amount of pre-roll to be added when you are fade-ins when using the Smart Tool.
auditioning crossfades in the Fades dialog.
Fade Out Selects the default envelope shape for
Crossfade Preview Post-Roll This setting speci- fade-outs when using the Smart Tool.
fies the amount of post-roll to be added when you
Crossfade Selects the default envelope shape for
are auditioning crossfades in the Fades dialog.
crossfades when using the Smart Tool.
QuickPunch/TrackPunch Crossfade Length
To apply a Fade In, Fade Out, or Crossfade
Specifies a default length for crossfades created by to an Edit selection using the Default Fade
QuickPunch or TrackPunch (Pro Tools Ultimate settings, and without opening the Fades dia-
only) recordings. Crossfades occur before the log, press Command+Control+F (Mac) or
punch in and after the punch out. Control+Start+F (Windows).

Preserve Fades when Editing This option pre- REX Selects the default envelope shape for fades
serves fade-ins and fade outs, and converts sepa- and crossfades between clips (“slices”) in im-
rated crossfades into corresponding fade-ins and ported REX files.
fade-outs.

Auto Accept Adjust Bounds This option automat- Zoom Toggle Section
ically adjusts fade boundaries without presenting Vertical Zoom Selects either Selection or Last
the Invalid Fades dialog. Used for the Zoom Toggle Vertical Zoom setting.

Smart Tool Fade Adjustment Horizontal Zoom Selects either Selection or Last
Used for the Zoom Toggle Horizontal Zoom set-
Determines whether adjusting fade and crossfade
ting.
shapes in the Edit window using the Smart Tool is al-
ways on or if it requires that you also use the Com- Remove Range Selection After Zooming
mand key (Mac) or the Control key (Windows) to ad- In When selected, the current Edit selection col-
just fades and crossfades with the Smart Tool (see lapses into an insertion point after zoom toggling
“Adjusting Fade Shapes with the Smart Tool in the in. Zoom toggling back out reverts to the previous
Edit Window” on page 681). selection.
Always On Adjust fade and crossfade shapes in the Track Height Selects Last Used, Medium, Large,
Edit window using the Smart Tool. Extreme, or Fit To Window for the Zoom Toggle
Track Height setting.
Requires Command Key (Mac) or Requires Con-
trol Key (Windows) adjust fade and crossfade Track View Selects Waveform/Notes, Warp/Notes,
shapes in the Edit window using the Smart Tool only Last Used, or No Change for the Zoom Toggle
when the Command key (Mac) or Control key (Win- Track View setting.
dows) is pressed.

Chapter 8: Preferences 115

 Separate Grid Settings When Zoomed In When Setup Section
selected, the Grid setting stored with Zoom toggle
Sends Default to –INF When selected, the initial
is recalled when zoom toggling in. When this op-
fader level of newly-created sends is set to – (no
tion is deselected, the same (current) grid setting is
audible signal level). When not selected, the initial
used whether zoom toggling in or out.
fader level of newly-created sends is set to 0 dB.
Zoom Toggle Follows Edit Selection When se-
Send Pans Default to Follow Main Pan When se-
lected, zoom toggle automatically follows the cur-
lected, newly created sends have Follow Main Pan
rent Edit selection. When disabled, changing the
turned on, so the Send Pan controls follow the pan
Edit selection has no affect on the currently tog-
controls of the track. When not selected, newly
gled-in track.
created sends have Follow Main Pan turned off.

Levels of Undo Use Absolute Pan Linking (Pro Tools | Ultimate

Only) This option affects behavior of grouped
This preference sets the maximum number of ac- pan controls.
tions that can be undone with the multiple undo
• When selected, grouped pan controls do not
feature. Setting this to a lower number can speed
maintain relative offsets when any of the
up the performance of slower computers.
grouped pan controls is adjusted. All grouped
Pro Tools supports up to 64 levels of Undo.
pan controls snap to the absolute value of the ad-
justed control.

Mixing Preferences • When not selected, grouped pan controls main-

tain relative offsets when any of the linked con-
trols is adjusted.

Allow Sends to Persist During LLM (CoreAudio,

ASIO, and HD Native Systems Only) All plug-ins
and sends are bypassed by default when Low La-
tency Monitoring (LLM) is enabled (Options >
Low Latency Monitoring). Enable the Allow Sends
to persist during LLM option to maintain audio sig-
nal output for sends when using Low Latency
Monitoring.

Default EQ

This preference lets you choose any installed EQ

plug-in as the default, which makes it available for
quick assignment, both on-screen and on ICON
controllers (Pro Tools Ultimate only). On-screen,
the plug-in appears at the top of the Insert selector
pop-up menu. On ICON controllers, the plug-in
appears first in the list of menu choices on the ro-
tary encoders.

116 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Insert Slot The specified Insert slot (none, or a–j) Mix Window Follows Bank Selection If you are
is used (if it is available) when inserting the default using a supported control surface with Pro Tools,
EQ plug-in from a S6 control surface. If the speci- this option scrolls the Mix window to display the
fied slot is not available, the next available plug-in selected bank of tracks when you switch banks on
slot is used. When None is selected, S6 control sur- the control surface, ensuring that the current bank
faces insert the selected default plug-in in the first is viewable on-screen.
available insert slot.
“Scroll to Track” Banks Controllers When using
Default Dynamics a control surface (such as D-Control) you can se-
lect this option to bank control surface faders to a
This preference lets you choose any installed Dy- numbered track when using the Scroll to Track
namics plug-in as the default, which makes it command.
available for quick assignment, both on-screen and
on ICON controllers (Pro Tools Ultimate only). Always Fill Channel Strips When Banking If you
On-screen, the plug-in appears at the top of the In- are using an ICON controller (Pro Tools Ultimate
sert selector pop-up menu. On ICON controllers, only), or other supported control surface, you can
the plug-in appears first in the list of menu choices select this option to maximize the number of chan-
on the rotary encoders. nels displayed when banking. This setting opti-
mizes the Bank commands to prevent the display
Insert Slot The specified Insert slot (none, or a–j) of a small number of channels at the extremes of
is used (if it is available) when inserting the default the surface.
Dynamics plug-in from a EUCON control surface.
If the specified slot is not available, the next avail- Touch Timeout If you are writing automation in
able plug-in slot is used. When None is selected, Touch mode and you stop moving a non-touch
EUCON control surfaces insert the selected de- sensitive fader or encoder, Pro Tools continues to
fault plug-in in the first available insert slot. write automation for the Touch Timeout value.

Auto Insert Default Plug-Ins from EUCON After the Touch Timeout period, writing of auto-
Surfaces When selected, the default EQ and mation stops and the automation data returns to its
default Dynamics plug-ins are automatically avail- previous automation value at the rate specified in
able when creating new tracks from EUCON the AutoMatch Time setting.
surfaces.
EUCON Surfaces EQ Dyn cycling Starting at
Insert (S6 Consoles Only) Lets you specify the
Controllers Section starting slot for EQ/Dyn cycling with S6 consoles
Edit Window Follows Bank Selection If you are to optimize EQ and Dyn cycling (via repeated
using a supported control surface with Pro Tools, pressing of the EQ or Dyn switches) to start from
this option scrolls the Edit window to display the either a specific slot, or from the most recently cy-
selected bank of tracks when you switch banks on cled slot. Choose <none> to have Pro Tools begin
the control surface, ensuring that the current bank cycling from most recently cycled slot.
is viewable on-screen.

Chapter 8: Preferences 117

 Automation Section Allow Latch Prime in Stop (Pro Tools | Ultimate
Only) When selected and any tracks are in Latch
Smooth and Thin Data After Pass When se- mode, any automation-enabled controls on those
lected, Pro Tools automatically smooths and then tracks can be set to new values while the transport
applies the specified amount of thinning to the au- is stopped by touching or moving controls, to pre-
tomation data created in an automation pass. pare for the next automation pass.
Degree of Thinning Specifies the amount of thin- Coalesce when Removing Slaves from VCA
ning performed on automation data when you us- Group This option determines the behavior when
ing the Thin Automation command, or if you have removing slave tracks from a VCA-controlled
selected the Smooth and Thin Data After Pass op- group.
tion.
• When selected, any automation on the VCA
Plug-In Controls Default to Auto-Enabled When Master is automatically coalesced (without con-
selected, all applicable controls of newly added firmation) to its slave tracks when the tracks are
plug-ins are enabled for automation. When not se- removed from the group.
lected, the controls of newly added plug-ins must • When not selected, a confirmation dialog lets
be manually enabled for automation. you choose whether or not to coalesce the VCA
Master automation to the slave tracks.
Suppress Automation “Write To” Warnings
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) When selected, Standard VCA Logic for Group Attributes This
Pro Tools suppresses the warnings that appear af- option determines which Mix group attributes may
ter invoking any of the Write Automation To Start, be selected in the Group dialog when the group is
Selection, End, or Punch commands and then stop- assigned to a VCA Master.
ping the transport.
• When selected, the Main Volume, Mute, Solo,
Latching Behavior for Switch Controls in Record Enable, and Input Monitoring controls
“Touch” This option determines the behavior of on slave tracks follow the VCA Master only and
switch-type controls (such as mute or plug-in by- are not available to be independently linked.
pass) when writing automation in Touch mode. (This emulates the behavior of analog console
• When selected, controls in Touch mode will VCA masters.)
latch in their current state. If an existing break- • When deselected, the Main Volume, Mute, Solo,
point is encountered, writing of automation Record Enable, and Input Monitoring controls
stops. If the transport is stopped while writing, follow the VCA Master, but also remain avail-
the control will AutoMatch to the underlying able for independent linking with groups.
value.
Include Sends in Trim Mode (Pro Tools | Ultimate
• When not selected, controls in Touch mode will Only) This option determines the Trim status of
not latch. Send faders when a track is put in Trim mode.
• When selected, Send faders go into Trim mode
along with the Main Volume fader.
• When deselected, the Main Volume fader goes
into Trim mode, but the Send fader stays in the
corresponding standard Automation mode.

118 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Include Control Changes in Undo Queue This Coalesce Trim Automation Options
option determines whether certain mixer control (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only)
changes, such as moving a fader or pan control, are
These options determine when Trim automation is
entered into the Undo queue.
committed to the main automation playlist on a
• When selected, mixer control changes appear in track.
the Undo queue, and are undone if any prior op-
eration is undone. After Every Pass Sets Trim automation to co-
alesce when the transport is stopped at the end of
• When deselected, mixer control changes will not
each Trim automation pass. No Composite Playlist
appear in the undo queue, allowing you to undo
is indicated.
other types of operations without losing the cur-
rent mixer settings. On Exiting Trim Mode Sets Trim Automation to
coalesce on a track when the track is taken out of
Any set to default operations that affect mixer con- Trim mode. A Composite Playlist can be viewed
trols will be entered into the Undo queue. before committing Trim moves.
AutoMatch Time If you are writing automation in
Manually Trim Automation can be coalesced only
Touch mode, when you release a fader or control, with the Coalesce Trim Automation command. A
writing of automation stops and the automation Composite Playlist can be viewed before commit-
data returns to its previous value. The rate of return ting Trim moves.
to the previous value is the AutoMatch Time.

AutoGlide Time (Pro Tools | Ultimate Only) Spec- Delay Compensation Section
ifies how quickly Pro Tools transitions (glides)
from one automation value to another, when Auto-
Glide mode is used.

After Write Pass, Switch To Options Delay Compensation Time Mode

These options select the Automation mode that When Delay Compensation is enabled (Options >
Pro Tools tracks automatically switches to after an Delay Compensation), this option lets you choose
automation pass in Write (or Write Trim) mode. whether information in the Delay Manager is dis-
Select one of the following options: played in milliseconds or samples.
Touch Switches to Touch mode after an automa-
Compensate Side Chains
tion pass in Write (or Write Trim) mode. (HDX Systems Only)
Latch Switches to Latch mode after an automation When Delay Compensation is enabled (Options >
pass in Write (or Write Trim) mode. Delay Compensation), this option applies Delay
No Change Stays in Write mode after an automa- Compensation to plug-in sidechain signals.
tion pass in Write (or Write Trim) mode.

After an automation pass in Write Trim mode,

tracks automatically switch to the Trim version of
the specified setting.

Chapter 8: Preferences 119

 Track Meters and Master Meters
Metering Preferences
Pro Tools lets you choose from several industry
standard meter types for visually monitoring audio
levels. You can link the Track (audio, Auxiliary In-
put, and Instrument tracks) and Master (Master
Fader) meter settings, or you can set them inde-
pendently of one another. The following Meter
Type options are available:

Sample Peak Provides the default Pro Tools me-

tering. The scale and the decay time is calculated in
dB/second, which results in slower decay in meter-
ing compared to lower versions of Pro Tools. The
Sample Peak option is the only Meter Type that
has a 0 sample integration time, and as such shows
all dynamic activity of the digital signal at every
moment in time.

Metering preferences (Pro Tools Ultimate shown) Pro Tools Classic Provides legacy Pro Tools scale
and metering ballistics.
Track and Master Meter Types
Linear Use Linear for post-production and music
The Track Meters section of the Mixing prefer- mixing scenarios. Using a fast decay time, Linear
ences let you set the Meter Type and associated provides direct one-to-one linear metering of sam-
metering ballistics and displays settings for audio, ple peaks in the audio signal with a metering range
Auxiliary Input, and Instrument tracks. The Master down to –40 dB. This offers higher metering reso-
Meters sections let you configure these settings in- lution closer to 0 dB (which can be particularly
dependently for Master Fader tracks. useful for mixing and mastering).

Track and Master Meter Types Linked Linear (Extended) Provides the same ballistics as
Linear, but the meter scaling extends to –60 dB.
Enable the Track and Master Meter Types Linked
option to ensure that Track (audio, Auxiliary Input, RMS Provides metering ballistics that display the
and Instrument tracks) and Master (Master Fader) average loudness (Root Mean Square of the signal)
meters always use the same Meter Type setting. over a range of time. Peak metering, on the other
Disable this option if you want the Track and Mas- hand, displays the peak signal level at any given
ter meters to use different Meter Type settings (for point in time.
example, you may want to use VU metering for
VU Popular for music and dialog mixing, the VU
your Track meters, but Peak for your Master me-
scale used in Pro Tools is extended on the low end
ters).
from –23 dB to –40 dB to accommodate a wide
range of material without the need for stage re-cal-
ibration.

120 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Digital VU Provides VU ballistics with a modern PPM DIN Used in German broadcasting, the nomi-
digital scale. nal analog signal corresponding to Permitted Max-
imum Level was standardized by ARD at 1.55
PPM Digital Popular in Europe and Asia with
volts (+6 dBu), and this is the usual sensitivity of a
broadcasters, and also with US Film consoles DIN-type PPM for an indication of 0 dB. The
(such as the Avid System5 consoles), PPM Digital Alignment Level (−3 dBu) is shown on the meter
has a similar integration time to Sample Peak me- by a scale mark at −9.
tering, but different scales and decay times.
K-12 The K-scales are RMS based scales with an
The PPM Digital option, like all other Meter Type integrated sample peak meter as a secondary value.
options besides Sample Peak, does not report ev- K-Scales are popular with music mixers that are
ery transient (such as a series of very fast tran- looking for a meaningful indication of overall
sients). However, even though it under-reports the loudness. K-12 should be reserved strictly for au-
actual digital dynamic range, it more closely dio to be dedicated to broadcast, though broadcast
matches human hearing of loudness over time. recording engineers may choose K-14 if they feel it
PPM BBC Adopted by commercial broadcasters in fits their program material.
the UK, BBC scaling uses 4 dB spacing between K-14 Use K-14 for mastering when working in a
scale marks. Other organizations around the world, calibrated mastering suite.
including the EBU, CBC, and ABC used the same
dynamics but with slightly different scales. K-20 Using K-20 during mix encourages a clean-
sounding mix that is advantageous to the mastering
PPM Nordic A Scandinavian variant of the DIN engineer. At that point, the producer and mastering
PPM has the same integration and return times but engineer should discuss whether the program
a different scale, with “TEST” corresponding to should be converted to K-14, or remain at K-20. If
Alignment Level (0 dBu) and +9 corresponding to mixing to analog tape, work at K-20, and realize
Permitted Maximum Level (+9 dBu). Compared to that the peak levels off tape will not exceed about
the DIN scale, the Nordic scale is more logarithmic +14.
and covers a somewhat smaller dynamic range.
K-scale meters are RMS based scales with an
PPM EBU Is a variant of the British PPM designed
integrated sample peak meter as a secondary
for the control of program levels in international
value. For more information about K-scale
program exchange (Type IIb PPM in IEC 60268-
metering, see the paper “An Integrated Ap-
10). It is identical to the British PPM (BBC) except
proach to Metering, Monitoring, and Leveling
for the meter scale. The meter scale is calibrated in
Practices” by Bob Katz, Digital Domain, Inc.
dB relative to the Alignment Level, which is
marked “TEST.” There are ticks at 2 dB intervals VENUE Peak Provides the same ballistics as Sam-
and at +9 dB, which corresponds to the Permitted ple Peak, but with VENUE meter scaling to
Maximum Level. +20 dB.

VENUE RMS Provides the same ballistics as RMS,

but with VENUE meter scaling to +20 dB.

Chapter 8: Preferences 121

 Advanced Meter Type Settings Color Break High

The Advanced Meter Type settings let you adjust The Color Break High setting determines the high
the scale and ballistics of the selected Meter Type. point in dB where the color changes for metering.
These settings update automatically to match the Typically, this will be the ceiling level for the cur-
specifications of the selected Meter Type. In some rent Meter Type. When this level is exceeded clip-
system configurations you may want to make man- ping will occur. Levels registering on the meters
ual adjustments to these settings in order to ensure between the Color Break High setting and the Color
that Pro Tools metering matches the meter re- Break Low setting should be considered the “sweet
sponse your broadcast console (some broadcast spot” for the loudness of the program material.
consoles use variations from the standard Meter
Types that are provided in Pro Tools). However, in Color Break Low
most cases these settings should be left at the de- The Color Break Low setting determines the low
fault values. point in dB where the color changes for metering.
Typically, this will be the minimum level for the
Decay
current Meter Type. Use this setting to provide a
The Decay settings determine the decibel range visual indication in the meters for the lowest level
(dBs) that the meters fall at the specified rate in of the dynamic range of the program material for
seconds after peak level is registered. For some the intended delivery format (such as film, DVD,
Meter Types, these settings are not adjustable CD, MP3, or broadcast).
(such as VU).
Reset
0 dBFS
Click the Reset button to reset the Advanced Me-
The 0 dBFS setting determines the unity reference ter Type preferences to the default settings for the
level for the meter scale in decibels compared to selected Meter Type.
digital 0 dB. Exceeding this level should result in
clipping at the digital to analog converters or to the Peak/Clip Section
specified clipping level for broadcast. For some
Meter Types, this setting is not adjustable (such as Peak Hold Options
K-meters).
These options determine how long the peak indica-
Integration Time tors on track meters stay lit after a peak is detected.

The Integration Time setting determines the 3 Seconds When selected, track meters display
amount of time it takes, in milliseconds, to average the last peak level for three seconds.
the peak level as registered on the meter display. Infinite When selected, track meters display the
You can think of this as the attack time for regis- last peak level until you click them to clear them.
tering peak levels on the meters. For some Meter
Types, this setting is not adjustable (such as Peak). None When selected, track meters do not hold the
peak level.

122 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Clip Indication Options Show Insert Assignments Gain Reduction
Meter
These options determine how long the clip indica-
tors on plug-in, send, and track meters stay lit after Enable the Show Insert Assignment Gain Reduc-
a clip is detected. tions Meter option to show Gain Reduction meters
in Insert Assignments on audio, Auxiliary Input,
3 Seconds When selected, meters display the last Instrument, and Master Fader tracks in the Mix
clip indication for three seconds. window. Note that even when this option is en-
Infinite When selected, meters display the last clip
abled, Gain Reduction meters are only displayed
indications until you click them to clear them. for those tracks with supported dynamics plug-in
inserted. When this option is disabled, Gain Re-
None When selected, meters do not hold the clip duction meters are not displayed in Insert Assign-
indication. ments on tracks.

Display Section
Gain Reduction Meter Type

The Gain Reduction Meter Type settings determine

The Display section of the Metering preferences
provides options for configuring the display of the which dynamics processing plug-ins display Gain
new Gain Reduction meters on tracks and in sends. Reduction meters on audio, Auxiliary Input, In-
strument, and Master Fader tracks in the Mix win-
Show Send Assignment Level Meter dow. Note that even Gain Reduction Meters are
only displayed for those tracks with supported dy-
Enable the Show Send Assignment Level Meter namics plug-in of the corresponding type inserted.
option to show Level meters in Sends Assignments
on audio, Auxiliary Input, and Instrument tracks in Compressor/Limiter When selected, only gain re-
the Mix window. When this option is disabled, duction applied by Compressor/Limiter plug-ins
level meters are not displayed in Send Assign- on tracks are displayed in the gain reduction meter.
ments on tracks.
Expander/Gate When selected, only gain reduc-
tion applied by Expander/Gate plug-ins on tracks
Show Track Gain Reduction Meter
are displayed in the gain reduction meter.
Enable the Show Track Gain Reductions Meter op-
Priority Compressor/Limiter When selected, if a
tion to show Gain Reduction meters in tracks on
audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, and Master Compressor/Limiter is inserted on a track, only
Fader tracks in the Mix window. Note that even gain reduction applied by Compressor/Limiter
when this option is enabled, Gain Reduction me- plug-ins is displayed in the gain reduction meter.
ters are only displayed for those tracks with sup- However, if no Compressor/Limiter plug-in is on a
ported dynamics plug-in inserted. When this op- track, any gain reduction applied by other dynam-
tion is disabled, Gain Reduction meters are not ics processing plug-ins on the track is displayed on
displayed on tracks. that track.

Chapter 8: Preferences 123

 Priority Expander/Gate When selected, if an Ex- Length This setting lets you specify the default
pander/Gate plug-in is inserted on a track, only Handle Length (from 0.00 to 60.00 seconds) for
gain reduction applied by Expander/Gate plug-ins AudioSuite and clip gain rendering. AudioSuite
is displayed in the gain reduction meter. However, and clip gain rendering renders the selection plus
if no Expander/Gate plug-in is on a track, any gain any additional available audio up to the specified
reduction applied by other dynamics processing Handle Length.
plug-ins on the track is displayed on that track.

All – Summed When selected, the sum of all gain Import Section
reduction applied on a track by dynamics plug-ins Convert Imported “WAV” Files To AES31/Broad-
inserted on that track is displayed in the gain re- castWave When selected, this option applies to all
duction meter. newly imported WAV files, making them compli-
ant with the AES31/EBU Broadcast standard.

Automatically Copy Files on Import When se-

Processing Preferences lected, all audio files that are imported by dragging
and dropping are copied to the current session’s
Audio Files folder, regardless of whether the files
need to be converted to the current session’s file
type, bit depth or sample rate. Additionally, when
selected, the Copy from Source Media option is au-
tomatically enabled in the Import Session Data di-
alog. The Automatically Copy Files on Import pref-
erence does not affect the Import Audio command.

Convert Copied Files to Session Format When

selected, files that have different file formats from
the current session file format are copied and con-
verted to the current session audio file format on
import. For example, if the session file format is
WAV and you import an AIF, the files is copied
and converted to WAV on import. When this op-
tion is not selected, copied files retain their original
format (unless that file format is incompatible with
Pro Tools, in which case it must be converted).
AudioSuite Section
Do Not Convert Sample Rate on Import When se-
Default Handle Length
lected, files with different sample rates than the
The Default Handle Length options let you set the session sample rate are not automatically con-
default length for AudioSuite and clip gain han- verted when imported into the session. This means
dles. that files with mis-matched sample rates playback
at a different speed (and pitch transpositions than
Whole File When enabled, AudioSuite and clip when they were originally recorded (or converted).
gain rendering renders the whole file referenced by
the selection or clip.

124 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Import REX Files as Clip Groups When selected, All Files When enabled, all audio files (including
REX flies are imported as clip groups, all the un- REX and ACID files) imported by drag and drop
derlying slices are imported as individual clips from Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder are im-
contained within the clip group. When this option ported as tick-based Elastic Audio and conform to
is not selected, importing REX files into a session the session tempo.
converts them to the session’s audio file format,
the individual slices are consolidated, and the slice Sample Rate Conversion Quality
information is used for Elastic Audio analysis.
The Sample Rate Conversion Quality pop-up menu
These files remain tick-based after import and con-
lets you select the default sample rate conversion
version.
quality for importing audio files by drag and drop
Automatically Create Fades When selected, from any Workspace browser, or Windows Ex-
crossfades are applied automatically to the sliced plorer or Mac Finder. The higher the quality of
clips within clip groups created by importing REX sample rate conversion you select, the longer
files. If the Import REX Files as Clip Groups option Pro Tools will take to process the audio file.
is not selected, the Automatically Create Fades op-
tion is not available. Commit Section
To change the default fade settings for REX files, Rendered File Bit Depth
click the REX button in the Default Fade Settings
section on the Editing Preferences page. The Rendered File Bit Depth options determine the
bit depth of new audio files created using the Track
Drag and Drop From Desktop Conforms to Commit command.
Session Tempo
Always Use 32-bit When selected, new audio files
The Drag and Drop From Desktop Conforms to created using Track Commit command are 32-bit
Session Tempo options determine whether or not files regardless of the session bit depth.
REX, ACID, and audio files are imported as tick-
based Elastic Audio and conformed to the session Follow Session Settings When selected, new au-
tempo. dio files created using Track Commit command are
the same bit depth as the session.
No Files When enabled, REX and ACID files, and
all other audio files are not conformed to the ses- TC/E (Time Compression/
sion tempo when imported by drag and drop from Expansion) Section
Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder. They are
imported as sample-based files and converted to TC/E Plug-In Lets you select the plug-in used for
the sessions audio file format. Time Compression and Expansion when you edit
audio with the Time Compression/Expansion Trim
REX and ACID Files Only When enabled, only tool. This Trim tool works by using Time Com-
REX and ACID files are conformed to the session pression/Expansion to match an audio clip to the
tempo when imported by drag and drop from Win- length of another clip, a tempo grid, a video scene,
dows Explorer or the Mac Finder. REX files are or other reference point. The Time Shift plug-in is
imported either as tick-based Elastic Audio or, if selected by default.
the Import REX Files as Clip Groups option is en-
abled, as tick-based clip groups.

Chapter 8: Preferences 125

 Default Settings Specifies the default settings DSP Management Section
used by the chosen Time Compression/Expansion
plug-in. These preferences determine DSP management
behavior for converting DSP plug-ins to Native
and also for the HEAT software option.
Elastic Audio Section
Open Unresourced DSP Plug-Ins as
These preferences determine Elastic Audio usage Native (HDX Systems Only) When this option is
and settings on new tracks, as well as for preview- enabled, any DSP plug-ins that exceed the avail-
ing and importing tick-based audio. able DSP processing are converted to Native for-
Default Plug-In Lets you select any Real-Time mat plug-ins wherever possible. When this option
Elastic Audio plug-in as the default for previewing is disabled, any DSP plug-ins that exceed the avail-
and importing Elastic Audio. The selected default able DSP processing are made inactive.
Elastic Audio plug-in is also used when new tracks Enable HEAT in New Sessions When enabled,
are created with the Enable Elastic Audio on New new sessions are created with HEAT enabled for
Tracks option enabled. all audio tracks. When disabled, HEAT is disabled
Default Input Gain Lets you attenuate the signal in new sessions by default. This option is only
input to Elastic Audio plug-ins by 0 to –6 dB for available if the HEAT software option is installed.
preview and import. If you experience clipping For more information, see Chapter 47, “HEAT.”
due to Elastic Audio processing during preview or
after import, you may want to set the Default Input Miscellaneous Section
Gain to slightly attenuate the audio signal input for
Elastic Audio processing. This preference also ap- Parallel Task Optimization
(Pro Tools | Ultimate Software Only)
plies to any audio imported to an Elastic Audio-en-
abled track. The Parallel Task Optimization preference lets you
select the optimal possible number of parallel pro-
The Elastic Properties window inherits the
cessing tasks that can happen at the same time on
Default Input Gain setting. To apply further clip-
your computer. Relevant factors include how
based input gain attenuation for Elastic Audio pro-
many core processors your computer has, how fast
cessing, select the clip and adjust the Input Gain
the processors are, how fast or how fragmented
setting in the Elastic Properties window (see “Elas-
your hard drives are, how fast your network stor-
tic Properties Window” on page 986).
age connection is, and so on. The optimal possible
Enable Elastic Audio on New Tracks When se- number of parallel processing tasks is usually pro-
lected, new tracks are created with Elastic Audio portional to the number of core processors in your
enabled. The selected default Elastic Audio plug- computer.
in is used.
Affected parallel processing tasks include:
If the Enable Elastic Audio on New Tracks • Waveform calculation
option is selected, you may want to also se- • File indexing
lect the New Tracks Default to Tick Time- • Rendering Clip Gain, Clip Effects, and Elastic
base option in the Editing Preferences page. Audio

126 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Compare different settings to see what works best Basics Section
with your system.
Remove Range Selection After Opening the
Off Only a single task is processed at a time MIDI/Score Editor When selected, the MIDI Editor
and Score Editor open with no Edit selection.
Low Up to 4 tasks can be processed simultaneously When this option is disabled, the MIDI Editor and
Score Editor open with the current Edit selection
Med Up to 6 tasks can be processed simultaneously
intact.
High Up to 8 tasks can be processed simultaneously
Use MIDI to Tap Tempo When enabled, you can
When working with an Avid NEXIS network stor- tap a MIDI keyboard to enter a new tempo value
age system, select the optimal setting for your net- into a tempo field.
work connection as follows:
Display Events as Modified by Real-Time Proper-
Low 1 Gb Connection ties When enabled, Pro Tools displays the effects
of Real-Time Properties in the Edit, MIDI Editor,
Med Dual 1 Gb Connection and Score Editor windows, and the MIDI Event
High 10 Gb Connection List.

Use F11 Key for Wait for Note When enabled,

pressing the F11 Function key puts MIDI record-
MIDI Preferences ing in Wait for Note mode.

Automatically Create Click Track in New

Sessions When enabled, Pro Tools automatically
creates a new click track in new sessions.

Default Thru Instrument

This option lets you set the default MIDI Thru in-
strument. You can select a predefined device from
your available MIDI instruments, or select First
Selected MIDI Track to use the assigned MIDI out-
put of the first selected MIDI or Instrument track.
When multiple MIDI or Instrument tracks are se-
lected, the instrument in the selected track that is
closest to the top of the Edit window (or closest to
the left edge of the Mix window) is used. Select
None to only route MIDI Thru record enabled
MIDI and Instrument tracks.

Chapter 8: Preferences 127

 Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Touch Immediately stops writing any new values
Controller Data (only use this mode to add pedal-based control
data, not to modify existing data).
This option lets you set the default resolution for
MIDI controller data created with the Pencil tool.
Setting this to a lower resolution helps avoid creat- Note Display Options
ing controller data that is unnecessarily dense. The These options set the reference for middle C as C3,
value range is from 1 to 100 milliseconds. C4, or MIDI note number 60.
Global MIDI Playback Offset
Delay Compensation for
This option lets you set an offset in samples to External Devices Options
compensate for MIDI latency. Entering a value
here has the same effect as setting an offset with These options only apply when a Delay Compen-
the MIDI Track Offsets command. Offset values sation Engine is selected in the Playback Engine
can be positive (later) or negative (earlier). and Delay Compensation is enabled in Pro Tools.
These options are distinct from the hardware off-
Double-Clicking a MIDI Clip Opens sets available for hardware inserts in the I/O Setup.

This option lets you specify what happens when MIDI Timecode When selected, Pro Tools applies
you double-click MIDI clips with the Grabber tool. Delay Compensation to Pro Tools-generated
MIDI Timecode (MTC). Enable this option when
MIDI Editor Opens the MIDI clip in a MIDI Editor synchronizing video to Pro Tools using MTC.
window.
MIDI Beat Clock When selected, Pro Tools applies
Score Editor Opens the MIDI clip in the Score Ed- Delay Compensation to Pro Tools-generated
itor window. MIDI Beat Clock.
MIDI Event List Opens the MIDI clip in the MIDI MIDI Notes and Controllers When selected,
Event List. Pro Tools applies Delay Compensation to MIDI
Name Dialog Opens the Name dialog for the MIDI notes and MIDI controller data. This is useful
clip. when monitoring playback or when recording in-
put from external MIDI devices.
MIDI Merge Release Mode

MIDI Merge Release mode determines how

MIDI/Score Editor Display
Pro Tools writes MIDI CC data when recording Additional Empty Bars in the Score Editor
MIDI in MIDI Merge mode.
This setting lets you specify the default number of
Latch Continues writing the last value. Any exist- empty bars that appear in the Score Editor window
ing events are overwritten until you stop recording. after the end of the last MIDI clip in the session.
Latch Until Next Event Continues writing the last
value until the next event even if you are still re-
cording.

128 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Collaboration Preferences Synchronization Preferences

Machine Control Section

Misc
Machine Chases Memory Location When se-
New Tracks Are Shared When enabled, new
lected, navigating to a specific location in a session
tracks are automatically shared when they are cre-
with a Memory Location causes a connected trans-
ated.
port to chase to that location.
First Invite Shares All Tracks When enabled, all
Machine Follows Edit Insertion/Scrub When se-
tracks are automatically shared when you invite
lected, navigating to a specific location in a session
anyone to join your project.
by moving the selection point or by scrubbing a
Joining Project Downloads All Shared track will cause a connected transport to chase to
Tracks When enabled, all shared tracks in the proj- that location.
ect are automatically downloaded when you join a
project. When the connected device is a linear device (such
as a tape deck), select Linear Devices (jog) to set
Enable “Track Notes” Dialog When enabled, the Pro Tools to send jog commands.
Track Notes dialog is presented whenever opening
a project that reports information such as mis- When the connected device is a non-linear
matched I/O Settings or missing plug-ins and so device (such as a random-access video recorder or
forth. When this option is disabled, the Track another Pro Tools system), select Non-Linear De-
Notes dialog is suppressed when opening a project vices (cue) to set Pro Tools to send cue
even there are reportable discrepancies. commands.

Automatically Download New Shared

Tracks When enabled, any new remote shared
tracks are automatically downloaded.

Chapter 8: Preferences 129

 Machine Cues Intelligently (HDX and HD Native Delay Before Locking to Longitudinal Timecode
Systems Only) When selected, if you navigate to a (HDX and HD Native Systems Only) Sets the
cue point that is more than 10 seconds from the amount of time (in frames) for Pro Tools to lock to
current location, Pro Tools will command a con- incoming LTC. Use this option when locking
nected transport to fast wind to the new location at Pro Tools to a stable timecode source (such as a
full speed to within 10 seconds of the cue point. non-linear tape machine or LTC generator) and not
Cueing will then slow to normal speed until the a linear tape machine.
point is reached. This can significantly speed up
Delay Before Locking to Serial Timecode (HDX
tape cueing with certain video transports.
and HD Native Systems Only) Sets the amount of
Stop at Shuttle Speed Zero (HDX and HD Native time (in frames) for Pro Tools to wait before at-
Systems Only) Causes Pro Tools to send a Stop tempting to lock to machines that issue servo lock
command whenever you stop shuttling. This is messages. This setting allows time for the servo
useful if you have a machine that requires an ex- mechanisms to achieve stable lock.
plicit stop command to park correctly.

Non-Linear Transport Error Suppression (HDX Remote Mode Section

and HD Native Systems Only) When Transport = (HDX and HD Native Systems Only)
Pro Tools, keeps Pro Tools from sending a Stop
Ignore Track Arming Sets Pro Tools to ignore in-
command when taken offline. This prevents
coming track arming (record enable) commands.
Pro Tools from stopping any other 9-pin devices
This is useful if you are using a master controller to
connected to the system.
arm tracks on other machines, but you do not want
to arm tracks in Pro Tools.
Synchronization Section
Set Servo Lock Bit at Play Enable this option
Minimum Sync Delay Sets the initial amount of when using a synchronizer to control Pro Tools in
prime time (in frames) your system’s devices need Remote mode to minimize lock-up times during
to achieve synchronization “lock.” This amount recording.
varies for each device. Pro Tools lock up delay is
set by entering a value for Minimum Sync Delay in Allow 9-Pin Track Arm Commands in Local
the Synchronization page of the Preferences. The Mode Sets Pro Tools to respond to incoming track
lowest value available is 15 frames. Find the short- arming (record enable) commands even when the
est possible lock-up time that your equipment can system is not in Remote mode. This is useful if you
operate at consistently, and set this as the Minimum are using a paddle device to control Pro Tools
Sync Delay. On systems using MachineControl, track arming or punching.
enabling the Use Serial Timecode option will Allow 9-Pin Transport Commands in Local
make machines lock up much faster. (Serial time- Mode Sets Pro Tools to respond to incoming trans-
code requires both a qualified synchronization pe- port commands even when the system is not in Re-
ripheral and external devices to be locked to house mote mode. This is useful when using Satellite
video reference.) Link in conjunction with a 9-pin controller. You
can receive the transport controls from the 9-pin
controller, but not experience the lag-time associ-
ated with a 9-pin device.

130 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Punch In Frame Offset Sets an offset (in frames) AAE Errors Stop All Linked Systems Causes an
to compensate for punch in timing advances or AAE error on any linked Pro Tools system to stop
delays. the transport on all linked systems. When this op-
tion is not selected, linked systems will not stop if
Punch Out Frame Offset Sets an offset (in frames)
an AAE error occurs on one system.
to compensate for punch out timing advances or
delays. Transmit Play Selections Causes a linked
Pro Tools system to send the Edit window selec-
Delay After Play Command Sets the amount of
tion to all other linked Pro Tools systems. On other
time (in frames) for Pro Tools to wait after receiv- linked systems that are set to receive play selec-
ing a Play command before starting the audio en- tions, the selection is mirrored in the Edit window.
gine. This can prevent false starts when locking to
synchronizers that are not fully supported by Receive Play Selections Causes a linked
Pro Tools. Pro Tools system to receive Edit window selec-
tions from all other linked Pro Tools systems that
Satellites Section are set to transmit play selections.
(HDX and HD Native Systems Only)

Satellite Link lets you link up to 12 Pro Tools HD Global and Local Preferences
systems, or 11 Pro Tools HD systems and an Avid
Video Satellite (Media Composer or Avid Sym- Pro Tools preferences are either global (system-
phony Nitris DX) or a Pro Tools Video Satellite wide) or local (for the current session or project
system, over an Ethernet network so that you can only).
cue, play, and stop the transport, make play selec-
Global (System-Wide) Preferences Global prefer-
tions, and solo tracks across any of the systems
ences are applied to all sessions. These preferences
from any linked workstation.
become the default preferences for any existing
Transmit Solos Causes a linked Pro Tools system sessions that you subsequently open or any new
to send the solo status of its tracks to all other sessions that are created.
linked Pro Tools systems. On other linked systems
Local (Current Session) Preferences Local pref-
that are set to receive solos, tracks follow solo be-
erences are applied to the current session (if one is
havior as if the solo were on the local system.
open). Local preferences are not applied to older
Receive Solos Causes a linked Pro Tools system sessions that are subsequently opened.
to receive solos from all other linked Pro Tools
Preferences and New Sessions
systems that are set to transmit solo status of their
tracks. Tracks on the receiving system follows solo New sessions use global preference settings, plus
behavior as if the solos were on the local system. the most recent local preference settings. The most
recent local settings refer to the last open session
Solo Independent of Linked State Causes a
(unless subsequent changes were made in the Pref-
Pro Tools system to send the solo status of its
erences from the application window).
tracks to other satellite systems even when it is un-
linked. This allows control of solo status across
systems even when transport control is not en-
abled.

Chapter 8: Preferences 131

 Local (Session or Project Only) • MIDI Preferences
Preferences • Display Events as Modified by Real-Time
All Preferences are global (system-wide), except Properties
for the following, which are local: • Automatically Create Click Track in New
• Display Preferences Sessions

• Edit Window Default Length • Default Thru Instrument

• Always Display Marker Colors • Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Con-
troller Data
• Default Track Color Coding options
• Delay for External Devices Options
• Default Clip Color Coding options
• Synchronization Preferences
• Operation Preferences
• None
• Latch Forward/Rewind
• Custom Shuttle Lock Speed
• Custom FF/REW Speed
• Back/Forward Amount (Pro Tools Ultimate
only)
• PEC/Direct Style Input Monitoring
(Pro Tools Ultimate only)
• DestructivePunch File Length
(Pro Tools Ultimate only)
• Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length
(Pro Tools Ultimate only)
• Delay Comp Time Mode
• Compensate side chains
(HDX systems only)
• Editing Preferences
• None
• Mixing Preferences
• Coalesce When Removing Slaves from VCA
Group (Pro Tools Ultimate only)
• Metering Preferences
• None
• Processing Preferences
• Convert Imported “WAV” Files To
AES31/BroadcastWave

132 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Chapter 9: Peripherals

The settings in the Peripherals dialog define how

Pro Tools works with various audio, synchroniza- Synchronization
tion and controller devices, as well as with The Synchronization page lets you configure
VENUE systems. Pro Tools for use with MIDI Timecode and a syn-
chronization peripheral.
To configure settings for Pro Tools peripherals:
1 Choose Setup > Peripherals. For information about synchronization
peripherals, see the SYNC HD Guide.
2 Click the tab for the type of peripheral you want
to configure.
3 Change the settings.
4 Click OK to save your changes and close the
Peripherals dialog.

Chapter 9: Peripherals 133

 MTC Reader and Generator ripheral reverts to the selected sample rate. If Pitch
Memory is disabled and the selected external clock
The MIDI Timecode (MTC) settings let you select
reference is not available, then the synchronization
the MIDI In and Out ports for MTC.
peripheral reverts to the nominal, selected internal
MTC Reader Port The MTC Reader Port setting sample rate setting.
lets you select the MIDI In port to which the MTC
Idle MTC Enabled
slave device is connected (the source of MTC in-
formation from the slave device). When this option is selected, MTC is continuously
output. When not enabled, MTC output is muted
MTC Generator Port The MTC Generator Port set-
when playback is idle.
ting lets you select the MIDI Out port to which the
master device is connected (this the destination of
LTC Output Level
MTC information from Pro Tools).
This setting adjusts the analog audio level of the
Synchronization Device LTC output, from –24 dBu to +9 dBu.
(HDX and HD Native Systems Only)
VITC Read Lines
The Synchronization Device settings let you con-
This setting determines which line pair of incom-
figure a synchronization peripheral (SYNC HD).
ing video signal is used for the VITC source. When
Enable SYNC Peripheral set to Auto, the synchronization peripheral
searches for the first valid line pair automatically.
When this option is selected, any connected syn- Alternatively, this value can be set to specific
chronization peripheral is enabled for use with VITC line pairs.
Pro Tools.
VITC Generate Lines
Current Firmware Version
This setting determines the line pair of the outgo-
This displays the firmware version for the con- ing video signal onto which the synchronization
nected synchronization peripheral, such as a peripheral inserts VITC. Normally, this should be
SYNC HD. left at the default (and preferred) setting of 14/16.

VITC Insertion Enabled Bi-Phase/Tach Wiring

When this option is selected, VITC is inserted into This setting lets you select from the following op-
the outgoing video signal—assuming that a video tions for Bi-Phase or Tach wiring:
signal is present at a synchronization peripheral • Bi-Phase: FWD = A leads B
video input, and that the synchronization periph-
eral is in a valid mode for inserting VITC. • Bi-Phase: FWD = B leads A
• Tach:FWD = B is Low
Pitch Memory Enabled
• Tach: FWD = B is High
When this option is selected, the synchronization
peripheral will remain at a pitch (sample rate) that
corresponds to the last known incoming timecode
speed. When deselected, the Synchronization pe-

134 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Bi-Phase/Tach Pulses/Frame (2–254) Color Sets the color of the timecode numbers and
background of the window dub. The choices in-
There are several different standards for the num-
clude White on Black Bkgnd, Black on White Bk-
ber of pulses-per-frame output by Bi-Phase or
gnd, White on Video Bkgnd, or Black on Video
Tach devices. You can set the synchronization pe-
Bkgnd. (Video Bkgnd means that the background
ripheral to operate from 2 to 254 pulses per frame
of the window dub is transparent, so that the time-
from Pro Tools. The setting should match the PPF
code numbers are displayed directly on top of the
rate of the Bi-Phase/Tach encoder on the external
video signal, without a contrasting background
device.
box.) The default setting is White on Black Bkgnd.
Reset Bi-Phase

This button lets you set the Bi-Phase/Tach start Machine Control
frame from Pro Tools. Click the button to update
the Timecode Display on the synchronization pe- The Machine Control page lets you configure
ripheral to match the session timecode value. Pro Tools | Ultimate for use with MIDI Machine
Control or 9-Pin Machine Control.
Enable Dub Window
For information about using MachineControl
When this option is selected, you can insert a time- with Pro Tools | Ultimate, see Chapter 58,
code window into a video signal with the follow- “MachineControl.”
ing Window dub appearance settings:

Vertical Position Sets the vertical position of the

window dub, relative to the bottom of the video
picture. The choices range from 10% From Bottom
to 50% From Bottom, in 10% increments.

“10% from Bottom” vertical position is out-

side the standard “safe title” area, which
means it may not be visible on some video
monitors.

Horizontal Position Sets the relative horizontal

position of the window dub within the video pic-
ture. The choices include Extreme Left, Left, Cen-
ter, Right and Extreme Right.

The “Extreme” horizontal positions are out-

side the standard “safe title” area, which
means they may not be visible on some video
monitors.

Size Sets the relative size of the window dub

(Small or Large).

Chapter 9: Peripherals 135

 MIDI Machine Control (Master) MIDI Machine Control (Slave)
Pro Tools provides the following for configuring Pro Tools provides the following for configuring
MIDI Machine Control (Master) settings. MIDI Machine Control (Slave) settings.

Enable Enable

When the Enable option is selected, Pro Tools is When the Enable option is selected, Pro Tools is
the Master and it sends MMC commands to the the slave and it receives MMC commands from the
slave device and receives MTC information back master device and sends MTC information back to
from the slave device. the slave device.

MIDI Out Port MMC ID

The MIDI Out Port pop-up menu lets you select the The MMC ID setting lets you specify the MMC ID
MIDI Out port to which the slave device is con- number for which MMC information will be re-
nected. ceived.

MMC ID
9-Pin Machine Control (Deck
The MMC ID setting lets you specify the MMC ID Control)
number for which MMC information will be sent. (HDX and HD Native Systems with
MMC commands contain an ID number to identify MachineControl Only)
which machine should respond to the MMC com- The 9-Pin Machine Control (Deck Control) settings
mand. There are 128 MMC ID numbers, from let you configure a Machine Control device for Se-
0–127. The default of ID #127 is a special setting rial Deck Control mode with Pro Tools | Ultimate.
that transmits to all 128 MMC IDs. With a setting Serial Deck Control mode is available whenever
of 127, Pro Tools will transmit MMC commands Machine Control is connected using the Serial
to all MMC IDs. Deck Control cable. When connected for Serial
Deck Control mode, Machine Control enables all
Preroll
Pro Tools track arming, synchronization, and
The Preroll setting lets you specify a pre-roll time Transport features, as available on your system.
in frames for your MMC slave device. Pre-roll is Serial Deck Control mode also supports 9-pin se-
needed to provide the device with sufficient time rial timecode.
to lock to the timecode transmitted by Pro Tools.
This value will vary depending on the external de- Enable
vice. If the pre-roll time is insufficient, the device When the Enable option is selected, Pro Tools is in
may not be ready to lock until after the current Serial Deck Control mode.
timecode position has passed.

136 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Port Port

The Port setting lets you select the 9-pin Machine The Port setting lets you select the 9-pin Machine-
Control port. The available choices depend on Control port. The available choices depend on
your platform and configuration your platform and configuration

Machine Type Machine Type

After you select a port, Pro Tools automatically The Machine Type setting lets you select the ma-
polls the port to see what kind of machine is con- chine description for specific machine controllers
nected. If the machine is recognized, Pro Tools (such as the Soundmaster ATOM). By default,
loads the corresponding Machine Type. This in- Pro Tools emulates a Sony BVW-75.
cludes the corresponding track layout and auto-
matically enters the name of that machine into the Chase LTC
Machine Track Arming window. However, if the
When Chase LTC is enabled, Pro Tools still re-
machine is not recognized, the “Generic 1” per-
sponds to track arming and record commands.
sonality is automatically loaded.
However, Pro Tools will chase incoming LTC in-
stead of behaving as a master or slave device with
Preroll
the machine controller. By slaving Pro Tools to the
The Preroll setting lets you specify a variable LTC source instead of slaving the machine to
amount of machine preroll to account for the time Pro Tools timecode, you can avoid the waiting
it may take the machine to achieve servo lock. (and tape wear) that occurs while a machine trans-
Shorter preroll values are usually better for non- port locates and bumps tape to the cue point.
linear machines. Longer preroll values are usually
better for older tape transports. The Machine pre-
roll value is added to any preroll specified in the MIDI Controllers
Transport window.
The MIDI Controllers page lets you configure up
to four different MIDI controllers for Pro Tools.
9-Pin Remote (Deck Emulation)
(HDX and HD Native Systems with
MachineControl Only)

The 9-Pin Remote (Deck Emulation) settings let

you configure Pro Tools | Ultimate for 9-Pin Re-
mote (Deck Emulation) mode. This mode makes
Pro Tools operate as a virtual tape deck, supporting
most standard Sony P2 9-pin commands. By de-
fault, Pro Tools emulates a Sony BVW-75 model
video deck. You can also configure Pro Tools to
emulate other machines.

Enable

When the Enable option is selected, Pro Tools is in

9-Pin Remote (Deck Emulation) mode.
Chapter 9: Peripherals 137
 Number and Color
Ethernet Controllers
The number of the row indicates the order of the
selected controllers. The color corresponds to the The Ethernet Controllers page lets you configure
controller focus around Pro Tools track and plug- up to seven different Ethernet controllers for
in controls. Pro Tools.

Type

The Type setting lets you select the MIDI control-

ler connected to your computer. Choose from any
of the following types of MIDI controllers:
• Command|8
• HUI
• Surround Panner
• M-Audio Keyboard

Receive From

The Receive From setting lets you select the MIDI

In port to which your MIDI controller is con-
Enable
nected.
When selected, Pro Tools is enabled for control by
Send To
one or more Ethernet controllers (such as D-Com-
The Send To setting lets you select the MIDI Out mand or C|24).
port to which your MIDI controller is connected.
Ethernet Port
Number of Channels
The Ethernet Port setting lets you specify the
The Number of Channels (# Ch’s) setting displays Ethernet port on your computer to which your con-
the number of control channels supported by the troller is connected.
selected MIDI controller type.
Number and Color

The number of the row indicates the order of the

selected controllers. The color corresponds to the
colored controller focus border around Pro Tools
track and plug-in controls.

Ethernet Controller

From the Ethernet Controller pop-up menu, select

the Ethernet controller that you want to use.

138 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Name Type

Click the Name button to enter a name for the se- The Type setting lets you select none or PRE.
lected Ethernet controller. Select the PRE option to declare any connected
PRE.
Enable EUCON (Extended User Control)
Receive From
When selected, Pro Tools is enabled for control by
one or more EUCON-compatible controllers. EU- The Receive From setting lets you specify the
CON is an innovative high-speed Ethernet proto- MIDI In port to which the PRE is connected.
col developed by Avid to allow hardware control
surface to directly communicate with a software Send To
application.
The Send To setting lets you specify the MIDI Out
For more information about using Pro Tools port to which the PRE is connected.
with EUCON, see the documentation
Defaults
included with your controller.
Click the Reset button reset the corresponding
PRE to its default settings.
Mic Preamps
Retain Current Settings
The Mic Preamps page lets you configure up to
nine different Mic Preamps (PRE) for Pro Tools. Select the Retain Current Settings option to retain
PRE channel settings when an existing session
For information about the PRE, see the with different settings is loaded. New sessions will
PRE Guide. automatically retain the current settings.

Remote Lock-Out Mode

When the Remote Lock-Out Mode option is se-

lected, all connected PREs ignore their front panel
controls.

Chapter 9: Peripherals 139

 System Name
Satellites
Type a name for the local system. This name
The Satellites page lets you configure synchroni- appears in the list of available satellites in other
zation between multiple Pro Tools systems (in- connected systems with the Satellite Link option.
cluding an Avid Video Satellite system) using Sat-
ellite Link. Mode

Satellite Link lets you link up to 12 HDX or The Mode settings let you configure the satellite
HD Native systems (or any combinations of 11 behavior of the local system.
HDX or HD Native systems and an Avid Video
Administrator When enabled, the Administrator
Satellite system or a Pro Tools Video Satellite sys-
tem) over an Ethernet network so that you can cue, option sets the local system to be the administrator
play, and stop the transport, make play selections, system for any satellite systems on the network.
and solo tracks across any of the systems from any Satellite systems can be declared from the admin-
linked workstation. istrator system.

Satellite When enabled, the Satellite option sets

Media Composer Video Satellite lets you link an
the local system to be a satellite system on the net-
HDX or HD Native system and a Media Composer
work. When a system is in Satellite mode, it be-
system for monitoring Avid video. Pro Tools
comes available to be declared as a satellite from
Video Satellite lets you link an HDX or HD Native
any administrator system on the network.
system and a Pro Tools host-based system for
monitoring Avid or QuickTime video.
Administrator (HDX and HD Native Systems
Only)
For more information, see Chapter 61,
“Satellite Link.” When the local system is in Administrator mode,
the Administrator settings let you declare satellites
from that system.

System 1–12 These pop-up menus let you declare

up to 11 satellite systems (in addition to the admin-
istrator system itself) from an administrator sys-
tem. The number of the system indicates the order
of the declared satellites in the Transport window.

Advanced Network Settings

The Advanced Network Settings options let you

manually configure the satellite network. Typi-
cally, these options should be left at the default set-
tings.

Interface Lets you select the Ethernet interface if

more than one interface is available on your sys-
tem.

140 Pro Tools Reference Guide

TCP/UDP Port Lets you enter the TCP/UDP Port System Name
number. By default, Satellite Link uses TCP/UDP
The System Name field lets you enter a name for
port 28282. If the default port is already in use, or
your Pro Tools system.
if you want to set up separate Satellite Link net-
works, you can select a different TCP/UDP port
VENUE System
for Satellite Link communication.
The VENUE System selector lets you select a re-
For Satellite Link to function properly, mote VENUE system for recording to (or playback
you must select a TCP/UDP port number from) your Pro Tools system. You can also manu-
between 1024 and 65534. ally enter the IP addresses of the VENUE system.
Reset Network Lets you reset the entire satellite
Advanced Network Settings
network. Click the Reset Network button to auto-
matically disconnect and reconnect all satellites on The Advanced Network settings let you specify an
the network. IP address and port for VENUE Link communica-
tion.

Interface For systems that have more than one

VENUE Ethernet network connection, the Interface setting
The VENUE page lets you configure Pro Tools for lets you select which connection to use for
use with a VENUE system over Ethernet using VENUE Link communication.
VENUE Link.
TCP/UDP Port For systems that have more than
Pro Tools VENUE Link lets you import VENUE one Ethernet network connection, you can enter
Settings into Pro Tools, create Pro Tools markers the TCP/UDP port number to be used for VENUE
from VENUE Snapshots, and locate to Pro Tools Link communication.
markers from VENUE Snapshots.

Chapter 9: Peripherals 141

 RMU Host
Atmos
(Pro Tools | Ultimate with Dolby Atmos Only)
Enter the IP Address for the RMU (or rendering
and mastering workstation) on the network that
The Atmos page in the Peripherals dialog lets you you want to use or select it from the from the drop-
configure Pro Tools for use with a Rendering Mas- down list. Enter localhost if you are mixing to the
tering Unit (RMU) in a Dolby Atmos system. Dolby Atmos Renderer application included with the
Dolby Atmos Production Suite.

Link Object and Audio Recording

When this option is enabled, Pro Tools links re-

cording and monitoring of audio and metadata for
tracks with object output assignments. For more
information, see “Dolby Atmos PEC/DIR Re-
corder Workflow Example” on page 1255).

Monitor Format

Monitor Format displays the current monitoring

mode of the connected Dolby Atmos Renderer.

Atmos page in the Peripherals dialog

Enable

When this option is selected, Pro Tools is enabled

for communication with the Renderer over the net-
work. This option must be selected to mix to Dolby
Atmos regardless of whether you are connected to
the Renderer.

Connection Status

When Pro Tools is successfully connected to the

Dolby Atmos Renderer, the Connection Status in-
dicator lights solid. This indicator flashes on and
off when Dolby Atmos is enabled, but the connec-
tion failed and Pro Tools is unable to communicate
with the Renderer. Note that you can still work on
the session even if not connected to the Renderer
as long as Enable is selected.

If Dolby Atmos is not enabled, the Connection Sta-

tus indicator is unlit.

142 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Chapter 10: Configuring MIDI

If you are using external MIDI devices with 2 If the MIDI Studio window is not showing,
Pro Tools (such as controllers or sound modules), choose Window > Show MIDI Studio.
you can customize your MIDI studio setup to dis-
play the names of your MIDI devices in Pro Tools.

MIDI Studio Setup (Mac)

Pro Tools recognizes the ports on your MIDI inter-
face as generic ports. With Mac OS X, you use Ap-
ple’s Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) utility to identify
external MIDI devices connected to your MIDI in-
terface and configure your MIDI studio for use Audio MIDI Setup, MIDI Devices window
with Pro Tools.
AMS scans your system for connected MIDI inter-
To ensure optimum performance, do not faces. If your MIDI interface is properly con-
change the AMS configuration while nected, it appears in the window with each of its
Pro Tools is playing back. Stop the Pro Tools ports numbered.
transport before launching AMS. 3 To create a custom MIDI device for any exter-
nal MIDI devices connected to your MIDI inter-
To configure your MIDI studio in AMS:
face, click the + button at the top of the window.
1 Do one of the following: A new external device icon with the default
• Launch Audio MIDI Setup (located in MIDI keyboard image appears.
Applications/Utilities). 4 Drag the new device icon to a convenient loca-
• In Pro Tools, choose Setup > MIDI > MIDI tion within the window.
Studio.

Chapter 10: Configuring MIDI 143

 5 Connect the MIDI device to the MIDI interface 2 Select a manufacturer and model for the new
by clicking the arrow for the appropriate output device from the corresponding pop-up menus.
port of the device and dragging a connection or (If the Manufacturer and Model pop-up menus
“cable” to the input arrow of the corresponding do not provide a name for your particular de-
port of the MIDI interface. vice, you can type a name.)

Making MIDI input and output connections

6 Click the arrow for the appropriate input port of

the device and drag a cable to the output arrow
of the corresponding port of the MIDI interface.

To remove a connection, select the cable and

press Delete.
Naming a new MIDI device
7 Repeat steps 3–6 for each MIDI device in your
MIDI setup.
For Manufacturer and Model names, AMS
refers to one or more files with the suffix
To customize an external MIDI device in AMS:
“.middev” in the directory Root/Library/
1 Double-click the new device icon. Audio/MIDI Devices. Pro Tools installs a file
that contains information for many commer-
cially available MIDI devices, named
“Digidesign Device List.middev.” If the
Manufacturer or Model names for any of
your external MIDI devices is not available in
External Device Icon
the AMS Manufacturer and Model pop-up
menus, you can add them by editing the
.middev file in any text editor (such as
TextEdit).

For more information, see “MIDI Patch

Names” on page 771.

144 Pro Tools Reference Guide

3 If necessary, click Properties, then enable the
appropriate MIDI channels (1–16) for the MIDI Studio Setup (Windows)
Transmits and Receives options. (These deter- MIDI Studio Setup (MSS) lets you configure the
mine which channels the device will use to send MIDI controllers and sound modules that are con-
and receive MIDI.) nected to your system, and control the routing of
4 Click the device image. The window expands to MIDI data between your MIDI equipment and
show images for various MIDI devices (such as Pro Tools.
keyboards, modules, interfaces, and mixers).
MSS automatically finds MIDI interfaces, and lets
Select an icon for your device.
you specify a custom name for each of the MIDI
ports within the MIDI Studio Setup document.

MSS also supports XML-based patch file names

for storing and importing patch names for your ex-
ternal MIDI devices.

Entire MIDI Studio Setup configurations created

within MSS can be imported and exported.

To configure your MIDI studio with MSS:

1 In Pro Tools, choose Setup > MIDI > MIDI
Studio.

2 Configure the MIDI Studio Setup windows.

3 When you are finished configuring the MIDI
Studio Setup, close the MIDI Studio Setup
window.
Selecting a device icon
MIDI Studio Setup Window
To use your own custom icons, you can place The MIDI Studio Setup window is organized into
TIFF image files in /Library/Audio/MIDI De- three sections. Interface controls are at the top of
vices/Generic/Images, and they will appear as the window. All the currently defined instruments
choices in the AMS device window. are displayed in the Instrument Name list on the
left side of the window. A detailed view of MIDI
5 Select a device image and click Apply. parameters is shown in the Properties section on
6 Close the AMS window to quit the AMS appli- the right.
cation.

The device names you enter appear as MIDI

input and output choices in Pro Tools.

Chapter 10: Configuring MIDI 145

 Properties Section

The Properties section lets you edit information for

new instruments, or instrument currently selected
in the Instrument list.

When a previously defined instrument is selected

in the Instrument list, the Properties section
changes to reflect the properties of the selected in-
strument.
MIDI Studio Setup window
To define an instrument with MIDI Studio Setup:
Interface Controls 1 Choose Setup > MIDI > MIDI Studio.
Create Adds a new instrument to the Instrument 2 Click Create.
Name list.
3 In the Instrument Name field, type the name of
Delete Deletes the instrument or instruments your instrument, and press Enter.
selected in the Instrument Name list.
If you do not enter an instrument name, the
Import Imports an existing MIDI Studio Setup file. Instrument Name field will automatically in-
herit information from the Manufacturer and
Export Exports the current MIDI Studio Setup file.
Model pop-up menu.
Show Duplicate Emulated Ports When this option
is selected and you are using a MIDI interface that 4 Set a manufacturer and model for the new de-
supports time-stamping, the MIDI Studio setup vice from the corresponding pop-up menus. If
window shows both the DirectMusic time-stamped the Manufacturer and Model pop-up menus do
output ports, and non-stamped duplicate emulated not provide a name for your particular device,
output ports. choose None.
5 From the Input pop-up menu, choose the input
Some MIDI Interfaces will not properly load
port on your MIDI interface that is connected to
or unload their drivers unless you quit and
the MIDI Out of your instrument.
re-launch Pro Tools. Refer to the documenta-
tion that came with your MIDI interface for 6 From the Output pop-up menu, choose the out-
more information. put port on your MIDI interface that is con-
nected to the MIDI In of your instrument.
Instrument List
7 Enable the appropriate MIDI channels (1–16)
The Instrument list contains all the currently de- for the Send Channels and Receive Channels
fined instruments. Selecting an instrument in the options (These determine which channels send
list displays that instrument’s properties in the and receive MIDI.)
Properties section of the window.

146 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Instrument Name Output Port

The Instrument Name field shows the user-defin- The Output Port pop-up menu displays a list of
able instrument name for the currently selected in- available MIDI interface output ports. The port set
strument. and displayed here is the port through which MIDI
data is sent from your MIDI interface to the MIDI
Manufacturer device specified in the Instrument Name field.
The Manufacturer pop-up menu provides a list of If you set the output port to None, the defined
MIDI equipment manufacturers. This list is de- instrument will not appear as a choice in a
rived from the XML-based MIDI device files. MIDI Output Selector.
For more information, see “MIDI Patch Send Channels
Names” on page 771.
The Send Channels grid sets the send channels for
Model the MIDI device specified in the Instrument Name
field.
The Model pop-up menu provides a list of MIDI
devices, filtered by the manufacturer name. This
Receive Channels
list is derived from the XML-based MIDI device
files provided with your Pro Tools installation. The Receive Channels grid sets the receive chan-
nels for the MIDI device specified in the Instru-
For more information, see “MIDI Patch ment Name field.
Names” on page 771.

Input Port

The Input Port pop-up menu displays a list of

available MIDI interface input ports. The MIDI in-
terface port that is set and displayed here is the port
through which MIDI data is sent from the external
MIDI device specified in the Instrument Name
field into your MIDI interface.

If you set the input port to None, the defined

instrument will not appear as a choice in a
MIDI Input Selector.

Chapter 10: Configuring MIDI 147

148 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Part III: Sessions, Projects &
Tracks
Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects

Projects can also be online or offline (Pro Tools

Sessions and Projects 12.8 or higher). Online projects are stored in the
The first step to working in Pro Tools is creating a cloud and mirrored locally (though the local cache
new session or project. can be cleared to free up local storage and down-
loaded later). Offline projects are not backed up to
Sessions are represented by session files that can the cloud and are only stored in the local project
be saved, copied, and made into templates. Ses- cache (you might want to do this to free up online
sions and all associated media and settings files are storage for other active projects). You can only
stored locally on connected qualified storage sys- collaborate with online projects.
tems (such as internal and external hard drives, or
certain network storage systems (such as Avid Projects store all associated media and project data
ISIS). in the cloud while caching it locally. Sessions store
all associated media and session data locally, ei-
Projects are similar to sessions except that they ther on hard drives in your computer or networked
store your media and project data online (as well as storage. For example, with a session, you can go to
caching it locally) in your Avid Cloud account. the session folder and find all of the audio files as-
Projects also let you collaborate on a track-by- sociated with that session in the Audio Files folder
track basis with anyone in the Avid Artist Commu- (note that if you have configured Pro Tools to store
nity anywhere in the world; or, if you prefer, you audio in other locations, those files will not be in
can choose your collaborators privately and invite the session’s Audio Files folder). With projects
them to join a project by email as long as everyone you must export media from the project as a new
is using Pro Tools 12.5 or higher. Otherwise, proj- file. While media is cached locally it is all bundled
ects operate just like sessions. Projects have all of with the project data, so you cannot simply go and
the same recording, editing, mixing, and process- find individual audio files in the local cache.
ing capabilities as sessions. As such, throughout
most of this Reference Guide, unless otherwise You can save a copy of a session as a project using
noted, any feature or function for sessions works the Save Copy In command. This lets you take an
for projects as well. existing session and save it as a project for cloud
collaboration. Likewise, you can save a copy of a
project as a session. You might want to do this with
the project is complete so that you can archive it as
a session and free up storage space in your Avid
Cloud Account.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 151

 To sign out of your Avid Master Account, do one of
Signing In and Out of Your the following:
Avid Master Account  If the Dashboard is not open, choose File > Sign
To be able to create or open a project, you must first Out (<username>).
be signed in to your Avid Master Account. You will  In the Dashboard window, click Sign Out.
have already created your Avid Master Account
when you registered Pro Tools. Once you are signed  In the Dashboard window, press Command+S
in and have created or opened a project, you can (Mac) or Control+S (Windows).
choose to work online or offline.

To sign in to your Avid Master Account from Dashboard Window

Pro Tools:
1 Do one of the following: Pro Tools presents the Dashboard window on
launch. The Dashboard lets you quickly and easily
• If the Dashboard is not open, choose File > Sign In.
create a new session or project, or open an existing
• In the Dashboard window, click Sign In. one. You can choose to show or hide the Dash-
• In the Dashboard window, press Command+S board on launch in the Pro Tools Display Prefer-
(Mac) or Control+S (Windows). ences (Settings > Preferences > Display).

Sign In link in the Dashboard

2 Enter your email and password for your Avid

Master Account.

Dashboard window

Avid Master Account sign in

3 Click Sign In.

152 Pro Tools Reference Guide

When you first launch Pro Tools, you are Open from Disk (Sessions Only) Click to navi-
prompted by the Dashboard window to do one of gate to and open any session stored on your local
the following: system. you can also press Command+O (Mac) or
• Create a new session or project from a template. Control+O (Windows).

• Create a new blank session or project. Cancel Click to close the Dashboard window with-
out creating or opening a session or project.
• Open any of the last ten most recent sessions and
projects. Create/Open Click Create to close the Dashboard
• Open any other session on your system. and create a new session or project with the speci-
fied session or project settings (on the Create tab
• Open any projects you created or projects that
only). Click Open to open the selected session or
you are collaborating on.
project (on the Recent and Project tabs only). You
To open or close the dashboard window, do any of can also press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to
the following: Create or open a session or project.

 Choose File > New or press Command+N (Mac) Show on Startup Disable to skip the Dashboard
or Control+N (Windows). when Pro Tools starts. To resume showing the
Dashboard when Pro Tools starts, enable the Show
 Choose File > Open Project or press Com-
Dashboard window when Pro Tools starts option
mand+Option+N (Mac) or Control+Alt+N
(Settings > Preferences > Display).
(Windows).
Create Tab Settings
Dashboard Commands, Options,
and Settings To show the Create tab (if not already shown, do
one of the following:
The Dashboard provides several options for creat-
ing and opening sessions and projects.  In the Dashboard, click the Create tab.
 In the Dashboard, press Command+1 (Mac) or
Global Dashboard Commands and Control+1 (Windows).
Settings
 In the Dashboard, press Command+Up/Down
Sign In/Out The Sign In/Out link is present in all Arrows to toggle through the tabs.
tabs. Click Sign In to sign in to your Avid Master
Account. Once you are signed in, your Display  In Pro Tools, choose File > Create New, or press
Name will be shown and you will also see the per- Command+N (Mac) or Control+N (Windows).
centage of your Avid Cloud storage that you are  In Pro Tools, choose File > Create New, or press
using all of the projects you own. Any media you Command+N (Mac) or Control+N (Windows).
post to a shared project that you do not own will
count against the project owner’s Cloud storage al- Local Storage (Session) Select this option to
location. To sign out, click your Display Name and create a session using local storage only.
choose Sign Out.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 153

 Collaboration and Cloud Backup Prompt for Location (Sessions Only) Enable to
(Projects) Select this option to create an online be prompted for where you want to save the ses-
project for collaboration and cloud back up. The sion. When Prompt for Location is enabled, Loca-
number of projects you currently have is displayed in tion is automatically disabled.
relation to the total number of projects you are enti-
tled to base on your Avid Cloud Storage Account. Location (Sessions Only) Click the Location but-
ton to specify the default location for saving ses-
Press Command+Left/Right Arrow (Mac) or sions. When Location is enabled, Prompt for Loca-
Control+Left/Right Arrow (Windows) to tog- tion is automatically disabled.
gle between these options.
Backup to Cloud (Projects Only) Select the
Name Type a name for your session or project. Backup to Cloud option to create an online project.
Create from Template Enables the options to cre-
Disable this option if you want to create an offline
ate a session or project from a template. project (you can always put the project online later
with the Backup To Cloud command in the Projects
Template Group Select the Template Group you tab). For more information, see “Backup to Cloud:
want to review. Press Option+Up/Down Arrows Online and Offline Projects” on page 159.
(Mac) or Alt+Up/Down Arrows (Windows) to
scroll through the available Template Groups. Recent Tab

File Type Sets the File Type (WAV or AIFF) for In the Dashboard, click the Recent tab, or press
the session or project. Press Command+F (Mac) or Command+2 (Mac) or Control+2 (Windows) to
Control+F (Windows) to toggle between the two show the Recent tab. The Recent tab lists your 10
options. most recent sessions and projects, but otherwise it
has no unique commands, options, or settings.
Sample Rate Sets the sample rate for the session or Double-click any session or project in the list to
project. Press Command+R (Mac) or Control+R open it. Recent projects are not shown if you are
(Windows) to scroll not logged in.
Bit Depth Sets the Bit Depth (16-bit, 24-bit, or
Projects Tab
32-bit floating) for the session or project. Press
Command+B (Mac) or Control+B (Windows) to In the Dashboard, click the Projects tab, or press
toggle through the available options. Command+3 (Mac) or Control+3 (Windows) to
show the Projects tab. The Projects tab lists all
I/O Settings Sets which I/O Settings to use for the
projects stored in the cloud that you have created
session or project. Press Command+I (Mac) or
or collaborated on. Double-click any project in the
Control+I (Windows) to toggle through the avail-
list to open it. No projects are shown if you are not
able I/O Settings options.
logged in.
Interleaved Enable the Interleaved option to create
interleaved stereo (or greater) audio files in the ses-
sion or project. Press Command+G (Mac) or Con-
trol+G (Windows) to enable or disable the Inter-
leaved option.

154 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Additional Dashboard Keyboard Bit Depths
Shortcuts
16-Bit Using 16-bit for audio files is useful for
To navigate through the focused Template, Ses- keeping audio file sizes down. You may want to
sion, or Project list, press the Up/Down Arrows use 16-bit for sessions and projects with few
(Mac) or Alt+Up/Down Arrows (Windows). tracks, and little mixing and plug-in processing.
CDs (Compact Discs) use 16-bit.
To select the item at the top or bottom of the dis-
played list, press Home/End (Mac and Windows). 24-Bit Using 24-bit for audio files is commonly
used for most music production and post-produc-
To scroll up or down through the focused Tem- tion sessions and projects with multiple audio
plate, Session, or Project list, press Page Up/Down tracks, mixing, and plug-in processing. 24-bit files
(Mac and Windows). take up a third as much space as 16-bit files.

32-Bit Floating Point Using a 32-bit floating point

Showing or Hiding the
Dashboard on Start bit depth for audio files in Pro Tools sessions and
projects can help avoid clipping or unnecessary
To show or hide the Dashboard on startup, do one dithering with AudioSuite rendering. It can also
of the following: help avoid rounding errors in signal processing
 In the Dashboard, enable (or disable) the Show (which can occur during bit depth conversion for
on startup option. file playback and real-time plug-in insert process-
ing). However, 32-bit files take up a third more
 In the Warnings & Dialogs section of the Dis- disk space and audio streaming bandwidth, which
play Preferences page (Setup > Preferences), can be problematic with higher track counts when
select (to show) or deselect (to hide) the Show using slower hard drives.
Dashboard window when Pro Tools starts op-
tion. Click OK. You can change the bit depth for all newly re-
corded or imported (and converted) files in the ses-
sion or project by selecting a different Bit Depth
Bit Depths and Sample Rates option in the Session Setup window.

When selecting a bit depth or sample rate for your To change the Bit Depth for the Pro Tools session
session or project, consider fidelity, any compati- or project:
bility issues with others systems, and storage 1 Choose Setup > Session.
space.
2 In the Session Setup window, select a bit depth
Bit depth and sample rate also have an effect on from the Bit Depth selector.
the amount of mixing power available in a session
or project. Fewer mixer channels are available
with 24-bit and 32-bit floating point sessions and
projects, and with sessions at higher sample rates.

Session Setup window, selecting 32 Bit Float

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 155

 Sample Rates To change the Audio Format for the Pro Tools
session or project:
44.1 kHz Is the sample rate used for CDs and is
1 Choose Setup > Session.
used in most common music production environ-
ments. 2 In the Session Setup window, select an audio
file format (AIF or WAV) from the Audio For-
48 kHz Is the standard sample rate for film and
mat selector.
video projects, and is commonly used in post-pro-
duction environments. It is the sample rate used for
DVDs.
Interleaved Multichannel and
88.2 kHz and 96 kHz Each of these sample rates Multi-Mono Audio Files
are twice the standard sample rates for CD audio
For stereo and greater-than-stereo multichannel
and DVD audio respectively. Audio files recorded
audio, Pro Tools supports both interleaved
at higher sample rates take up more drive space,
multichannel audio files and multi-mono audio
but provide higher resolution for time-based plug-
files.
in processing (which can help avoid aliasing).
These options are only available if you are running An interleaved audio file contains all channel in-
Pro Tools with audio hardware that supports these formation, stored in an alternating single audio
sample rates. “stream.” Interleaving distributes and “inter-
176.4 kHz and 192 kHz Each of these sample rates
leaves” the consecutive bits of data. This helps
are four times the standard sample rates for CD au- protect against consecutive errors when the data is
dio and DVD audio respectively. Audio files re- read back.
corded at higher sample rates take up more drive Multi-mono, or “split-mono” multi-channel audio
space, but provide higher resolution for time-based files are separate mono audio files that are treated
plug-in processing (which can help avoid aliasing). together as a multichannel group of audio files.
These options are only available if you are running This lets you each channel (file) independently.
Pro Tools with audio hardware that supports these For example, with stereo files, two separate files
sample rates. are created, where one file contains the left chan-
nel, and the other file contains the right channel.
The files are identified by the suffixes of “.L” and
Mixed Audio File Formats “.R”. The two files are linked, and are edited as a
pair in stereo tracks in Pro Tools. However, you
Pro Tools supports mixed audio file formats (such
can decouple them and split them to individual
as WAV and AIF) in a single session or project.
mono audio tracks in Pro Tools so that the can be
When importing audio files into a Pro Tools ses-
edited, processed, and mixed independently.
sion or project, you can choose to Add them rather
than Convert them regardless of the audio file for- You can change the Interleaved setting for the cur-
mat. rently open session or project in the Session Setup
window. When this option is enabled, all newly re-
You can change the audio file format for all newly
corded or imported (and converted) stereo or
recorded or imported (and converted) files in a ses-
greater-than-stereo multichannel files in the ses-
sion or project by selecting a different Audio For-
sion will be interleaved audio files.
mat option in the Session Setup window.

156 Pro Tools Reference Guide

To enable (or disable) interleaved audio files for Audio Files Folder
the Pro Tools session or project:
The Audio Files folder contains all audio recorded
1 Choose Setup > Session.
or converted during the session.
2 In the Session Setup window, select (or dese-
lect) the Interleaved option. 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 ses-
sion, and work with them as well.
Session Files and Folders
When you create a new session, Pro Tools auto- For details on allocating audio tracks to
matically creates a new folder named for your ses- different hard drive locations, including
sion. Within this folder is the session file, a Wave- shared media volumes, see “Recording with
Cache.wfm file, and several subfolders (including, Multiple Hard Drives” on page 509.
but not limited to, an Audio Files folder and a Clip
Group folder). Fade Files Folder
The Fade Files folder may be present in legacy
Pro Tools sessions. Versions of Pro Tools lower
than 10.0 use rendered fades and cross-fades that
are written to the “Fade Files” folder in the session
folder.

Rendered Files Folder

The Rendered Files folder contains any temporary
files created by Rendered Elastic Audio processing
in the session. It may also contain temporary fil-
tered analysis files (.aan) as a result of any changes
to Elastic Audio analysis.

Typical session folder contents (Mac OS X shown)

Clip Groups Folder
Session File The Clip Groups folder is the default directory for
The session file is the document that Pro Tools cre- any clip groups that you export from your
ates when you start a new project. Pro Tools can Pro Tools session.
open only one session file at a time. The session
file is appended with the extension .ptx.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 157

 WaveCache File
Pro Tools Projects
The WaveCache.wfm file stores all of the wave-
form display data for the session. If you delete the A Pro Tools project is like an online session. It lets
WaveCache.wfm file, Pro Tools creates a new one you access your session from any system with on-
the next time you open the session. line access. Projects also let you collaborate re-
motely with other people. Pro Tools synchronizes
By storing waveform data in the WaveCache file, your local project and associated media with your
sessions open more quickly. The session Wave- online account automatically.
Cache file can be included whenever a session is
transferred to another Pro Tools system (7.x and You must be online and signed in to your Avid
higher). Master Account the first time you create a project
(see “Signing In and Out of Your Avid Master Ac-
Pro Tools also maintains a distinct WaveCache file count” on page 152), but after that you can work
inside the Databases folder, which retains wave- offline. Pro Tools synchronizes your local project
form data for all files used on the system. with your online account the next time you are on-
line. This process runs in the background and can
Deleting or trashing a WaveCache file does not be monitored in Pro Tools by checking the Task
harm the session or your system. However, the ses- Manager (Window > Task Manager).
sion will take longer to open because it has to re-
calculate waveform data for any associated audio Project data and media are bundled and cached on
files and store that data in a new WaveCache file. local storage, but you cannot open a project by
navigating through the file system. You can only
Session File Backups Folder access projects through the Pro Tools Dashboard.
Projects are differentiated from sessions by the
The Session File Backups folder contains automat- Project icon in the Dashboard.
ically-generated backups of your Pro Tools ses-
sions. These files are created when working on a
session and the Operations preference for Enable
Session File Auto Backup is enabled. (See “Enable
Session File Auto Backup” on page 109.) Project icon (online project)

You can save a session as a project using the Save

Renamed Audio Files Folder Copy In command. This lets you take an existing
session and save it as a project for cloud collabora-
This folder includes file names that have been re-
tion. Likewise, you can save a project as a session.
named when you open a session that contains au-
You might want to do this when the project is com-
dio file names with incompatible characters, or, in
plete so that you can archive it as a session and free
certain situations, save a copy of a session to a
up storage space in your Avid Cloud Account.
Pro Tools version that does not support long file
names.

For more information, see “Renamed Audio

Files” on page 457.

158 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Backup to Cloud: Online and pear in the Projects List in the Dashboard. Note
Offline Projects that you cannot disable the Backup to Cloud option
for shared projects or if the local project cache has
The Backup to Cloud option determines whether or
been cleared.
not a project is online (stored in the cloud) or of-
fline (stored in the local project cache only). Dis-
abling Backup to Cloud for online projects can be Shared Projects and Ownership
useful for freeing up storage in your Avid Cloud Whoever creates a project, owns the project. All
Account for other projects. This option is only media posted to the project, whether by the owner
available for projects (not sessions). or a collaborator, counts against the owner’s cloud
storage allocation. Posted media never counts
Online Projects
against a collaborator’s cloud storage allocation.
When the Backup to Cloud option is enabled for a
You can hover the cursor over a project icon in the
project, the project is online and all associated me-
Dashboard and a tooltip identifying the project
dia are copied to your Avid Cloud Storage Ac-
name and the project owner appears.
count as well as being stored in the local desig-
nated project cache. You can collaborate with
other users on online projects as well as access
your project from any computer when you are
signed in to your Avid Master Account. Enabling
the Backup to Cloud option for an offline project
copies the project and all associated media to your
Avid Cloud Account.

Offline Projects Tooltip displaying project name and project owner

When the Backup to Cloud option is disabled for a

Setting the Location of the Local
project, the project is offline and all associated me-
Cache
dia is only stored in the local project cache.
All project data and media is stored both in your
Avid Cloud account and in a local cache. The local
project cache is stored on your system drive by de-
fault. However, for the best performance with
Project icon (offline project)
Pro Tools, it is generally recommended that you do
You cannot collaborate with other users on offline not use your system drive for recoding audio, so
projects nor can you access offline projects from you should set the local project cache to an exter-
any other computer. Disabling the Backup to Cloud nal drive if possible. You can change the location
option for an online project deletes the project and of where the project cache is stored in the
all associated media from your Avid Cloud Ac- Pro Tools Operation Preferences.
count, leaving only the local cached copy of the
project. Offline projects do not appear in the Proj-
ects List in the Artist Chat window, they only ap-

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 159

 To set the location for storing the local project
cache:

1 Choose Setup > Preferences.

2 Click the Operation tab.
3 Click the Change button for the Project Media
Cache.

4 In the Open dialog, navigate to the location

where you want to store the Project Media
Cache and click Open.

Creating a New Session or

Project from a Template
To create a new session or project from a template:
1 In the Dashboard, click the Create tab if it is not
Dashboard, Create From Template option enabled
already shown, or press Command+1 (Mac) or
Control+1 (Windows). 7 If you want to change any of the session or proj-
ect parameters, do any of the following:
You can create your own custom categories.
• Select the Audio File Type (WAV or AIF).
For more information, see “Session Tem-
plates” on page 176. • Select the Bit Depth (16 bit, 24 bit, or 32 bit float).
• Select the Sample Rate.
2 For Type, select either Project (cloud) or Ses-
sion (local). • To create interleaved multichannel audio files in
the session or project, enable Interleaved.
3 Type a Name for the session or project.
• For sessions only, select either the Prompt for lo-
4 Enable the Create From Template option. cation option or the Location option. If you se-
lect the Location option, you can specify the
5 From the Template Group pop-up menu, select
default location for saving sessions by clicking
the category of templates you want (for exam-
the Location button.
ple, Guitar or Songwriter).
• For projects only, select the Backup to Cloud op-
6 Select the template you want to use from the list
tion to create an online project. Disable this op-
(on the right).
tion if you want to create an offline project.

160 Pro Tools Reference Guide

8 Click Create. 3 Type a Name for the session or project.
9 For sessions only, in the Save dialog, specify 4 Ensure that the Create From Template option is
where you want to save the session, and then deselected.
click Save.
5 If you want to change any of the session or proj-
For optimum compatibility between Mac and ect parameters, do any of the following:
Windows, set the file project to BWF (.WAV). • Select the audio File Type (WAV or AIF).
• Select the Bit Depth (16 bit, 24 bit, or 32 bit float).

Creating a New Blank • Select the Sample Rate.

Session or Project • Select the I/O Settings to use for the session or
project. Several pre-configured I/O Settings are
To create a new blank session or project:
included with your system, or you can select a
1 In the Dashboard, click the Create tab if it is not custom I/O Setting. For more information, see
already shown, or press Command+1 (Mac) or Chapter 6, “I/O Setup.”
Control+1 (Windows).
• To create interleaved multichannel audio files in
the session or project, enable Interleaved.
• For sessions only, select either the Prompt for lo-
cation option or the Location option. If you se-
lect the Location option, you can specify the
default location for saving sessions by clicking
the Location button.
• For projects only, select the Backup to Cloud op-
tion to create an online project. Disable this op-
tion if you want to create an offline project.
6 Click Create.
7 For sessions only, in the Save dialog, specify
where you want to save the session, and then
click Save.

Dashboard, creating a new project

2 For Format, select either Project (cloud) or Ses-

sion (local).

You must be online and signed in to your

Avid Master Account to create a new project
(see “Signing In and Out of Your Avid Mas-
ter Account” on page 148).

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 161

 Opening a Recent Session or Opening Any Session
Project
To open any session:
To open a recent session or project: 1 Do one of the following:
1 In the Dashboard, select Recent, or press Com- • In the Dashboard, click the Open from Disk but-
mand+2 (Mac) or Control+2 (Windows). ton.
• In Pro Tools, choose File > Open Session.
• Press Command+O (Mac) or Control+O (Win-
dows).
2 In the Open dialog, navigate to the location of
the session file you want to open and select it.
3 Click Open.

Opening a Session
When you open a session, Pro Tools looks in the
session folder for audio and fade files linked to the
session.

For more information on opening sessions

created on different platforms, Pro Tools sys-
Dashboard, Recent Sessions/Projects list
tems, or versions of Pro Tools software, see
Chapter 21, “File and Session Management
The Open Recent Session option is not avail- and Compatibility.”
able the first time you launch Pro Tools (or if
you have cleared the Recent Sessions list by To open an existing session:
choosing File > Open Recent > Clear). 1 Do one of the following:
2 Select any of the last ten recent sessions or proj- • If Pro Tools is running, choose File > Open Ses-
ects from the list (on the right). sion.
• To open a session from the Dashboard, click the
You must be online and signed in to your Avid
Open from Disk button or press Command+O
Master Account to open a project. If you are
(Mac) or Control+O (Windows).
not signed in, no projects appear in this list
(see “Signing In and Out of Your Avid Master 2 In the Open dialog, locate the session you want
Account” on page 148). to open and click Open.

3 Click Open. You can also open a session from a Work-

space browser by double-clicking it.

162 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Opening a Session that Contains Yes. The Notes report is named with the session
Fade Files name, followed by Notes.txt. You can choose to
save this file in your Session folder, or in another
When opening a session created in a version of
location.
Pro Tools lower than 10.0, Pro Tools calculates
and plays back all fades in real time. The “Fade The following occurs when opening a session with
Files” folder in the session folder is neither deleted unavailable items:
nor used. Any rendered fades created in legacy ses-
sions are calculated and played back in real time. With all Pro Tools Systems:
Any new fades created in the session do not gener-
 Inserts assigned to unavailable plug-ins are
ate any new rendered fade files in the pre-existing
made inactive.
“Fade Files” folder.
 Inputs, outputs, and sends that are assigned to
unavailable paths are made inactive.
Opening a Session that Contains
Unavailable Files
With HDX Systems Only:
Pro Tools notifies you if files are found but reside
 Any tracks beyond the maximum number of
on Transfer volumes, or if any required files can-
available voices on the current system are made in-
not be found. For more information, see
active.
“Locating Audio Files” on page 456.
With Pro Tools Host-based Systems Only:
Opening a Session from a Any tracks beyond the maximum number of
Transfer Volume


available voices on the current system are set to

When opening a session from a Transfer volume voice off.
(such as a CD or DVD), Pro Tools prompts you to
save the session on a Performance volume, and Opening a Session with Audio
copy and convert any referenced media files. For File Names that Contain Illegal
more information, see “Locating Audio Files” on Characters
page 456.
Pro Tools does not support audio file names that
contain the following ASCII characters:
Opening a Session that Contains / (Forward Slash)
Unavailable Resources
\ (Backslash)
Pro Tools prompts you when opening a session
: (Colon)
that contains unavailable voices, I/O paths, DSP
* (Asterisk)
resources, or plug-ins. This is common when trans-
ferring sessions between systems with different ? (Question mark)
Pro Tools hardware. “ (Quotation marks)
< (Less-than symbol)
The Unavailable Resources dialog provides an ini-
tial report of the missing session components. To > (Greater-than symbol)
save a text (.txt) file containing a more detailed | (vertical line or pipe)
Notes report, along with the resulting action, click

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 163

 When opening a session that contains audio files
with illegal characters, Pro Tools automatically Opening a Session or Project
creates a renamed copy of each file (replacing with Plug-Ins Deactivated
these characters with an underscore “_”). Renamed Pro Tools lets you open sessions and projects with
files are copied to the Renamed Audio Files folder. all plug-ins set to inactive. Since sessions and proj-
The original files are left intact in the Audio Files ects with a lot of plug-ins can take a long time to
folder. load, this lets you quickly open any session or proj-
ect for immediate visual inspection and audio play-
Before the session opens, you are prompted to save
back (without plug-ins). If it is the session or proj-
a detailed report of the renamed files and their
ect that you want to work with, you can easily
original file names to a Notes text file. Follow the
reopen the session or project with plug-ins acti-
on-screen instructions. By default, the Notes text
vated.
file is saved to the Session folder.
To open a Pro Tools session with all plug-ins set to
Opening a Session that was inactive:
Saved with +6 dB Fader Gain 1 In Pro Tools, choose File > Open Session.
All Pro Tools 7.x and higher sessions have a 2 In the Open Session dialog, locate and select the
+12 dB fader gain level. However, when saving a session you want.
Pro Tools 7.x or higher session to a lower version
of Pro Tools that supports +6 dB and +12 dB fader 3 Shift-click Open.
gain, the new session can be saved with either a
+6 dB or a +12 dB maximum fader gain. To open a Pro Tools project with all plug-ins set to
inactive:
When saving a +12 dB session as a +6 dB session, 1 In Pro Tools, choose File > Open Project.
Pro Tools alerts you that any automation settings
over +6 dB will be lowered to +6 dB. See “Save 2 In the Dashboard Projects list, select the project
Copy In” on page 166. you want.
3 Shift-click Open.
In Pro Tools 7.x or higher, when opening a session
that was saved with a +6 dB maximum gain level,
the session will update to a +12 dB range.

164 Pro Tools Reference Guide

To re-open the same session or project with all Saving Projects
plug-ins set to active, do one of the following:
Projects are saved to the cloud when changes are
 Choose File > Revert To Saved (for sessions
uploaded by any collaborator. The local cache
only).
keeps your local working copy distinct from the
 Choose File > Open Recent and select the most cloud version (and from other collaborators’ ver-
recent session or project in the submenu. sions) until all changes are uploaded and down-
loaded (you can set this to happen automatically).
Press Command+Shift+O (Mac) or Con-
trol+Shift+O (Windows) to open the most
Reverting to a Previously Saved
recent session or project.
Session or Project
If you have made changes to a session or project
Instead of reverting to the saved version of
since you last saved it, you can discard those
the session or project to open the session with
changes and revert to its previously saved state.
all plug-ins active, you can simply make an
individual plug-in active by Command-Con- To revert to the last saved version of a session or
trol-clicking (Mac) or Control-Start-clicking project:
(Windows) it. To make an entire row of plug-
 Choose File > Revert to Saved.
ins active, Command-Option-Control-click
(Mac) or Control-Alt-Start-click (Windows) If you have enabled the Operation preference
any plug-in in the row of inserts. for Auto Backup, you can also open up a
backup copy of your session or project. This
feature lets you specify the total number of in-
Saving Sessions and Projects cremental backups that are kept and how often
the session or project is saved. See “Auto
Saving the Session File Backup Section” on page 109.
The Save command saves the changes you have
made to your session and writes them over the pre- Reverting to a previously saved session or
viously saved version of the session file. The Save project can also be used to open a session or
command cannot be undone. Consider saving reg- projects with all of its plug-ins active, after
ularly while working on your session to ensure that opening it with all of its plug-ins inactive. See
your work is preserved on your hard drive. “Opening a Session or Project with Plug-Ins
Deactivated” on page 164.
To save a session or project:

 Choose File > Save.

Press Command+S (Mac) or Control+S

(Windows) to save the session or project.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 165

 Saving the Session File with a
New Name Save Copy In
To save a copy of the current session with a new To save a copy of the current session or project,
name or to a different hard drive location, use the use the Save Copy In command. In addition, you
Save As command. The Save As command closes can specify the session or project file format, audio
the current session and lets you keep working on file format, bit depth, and sample rate for the copy.
the renamed copy. This is useful if you are experi-
For information on sharing sessions between
menting and want to save successive versions of
different platforms, Pro Tools systems, or
the session.
Pro Tools software versions, see Chapter 21,
By working this way, you can quickly retrace your “File and Session Management and Compati-
steps if you want to go back to an earlier version of bility.”
your session. The Save As command saves a new
version of the session file only, and does not dupli-
cate versions of the audio or fade files.

To save a session with a new name:

1 Choose File > Save As.
2 Type a new name for your session.
3 Click Save.

Press Command+Control+S (Mac) or

Control+Start+S (Windows) for the Save
As command.

The renamed session file is saved in the session

folder along with the original session (unless you
specify a different destination). Any new audio
Save Copy In dialog
files that you record in your renamed session will
be placed into the same Audio Files folder that was To save a session or project copy as new session
created for your original session. or project:

1 Choose File > Save Copy In.

2 Specify the Format for the copy, such as Ses-
sion (Latest).

3 Set the audio File Type for the copy: BWF

(.WAV) or AIFF.
4 Set the Sample Rate and Bit Depth for the copy.
5 If applicable, select a Fader Gain level for the
copy.

166 Pro Tools Reference Guide

6 If applicable, select Enforce Mac/PC Compati- When you save a copy of the session or project to
bility to create session and audio files that can be a lower bit depth, Dither (and Noise Shaping) are
used on both Windows and Mac Pro Tools sys- applied automatically.
tems (see “Saving Copies of Mac Sessions to be
Compatible with Windows” on page 460). See the following table:
Dither and Noise Shaping with Save Copy In
7 Select the Items to Copy for the copy.
Noise
Bit Depth Dither
To include all audio being used in the session, Shaping
select the All Audio Files option.
32-bit float to 32-bit float No No
8 Click Save.
32-bit float to 24-bit Yes Yes

How the Save Copy In Command 32-bit float to 16-bit Yes Yes
Works
24-bit to 32-bit float No No
Unlike the Save As command, Save Copy In does
not close the original session, so subsequent edits 24-bit to 24-bit No No
are made to the original session. Session copies
can be used to archive important sessions, for ver- 24-bit to 16-bit Yes Yes
sioning, or as a means to prepare sessions for trans-
fer to another Pro Tools system. 16-bit to 32-bit float No No

Save Copy In can save only the audio being used in 16-bit to 24-bit No No
the session. Any audio that was recorded or im-
16-bit to 16-bit No No
ported and then later removed from the session, but
not deleted from disk, is not included in the new
session or project copy. The dither setting used for any conversion is the
Dither plug-in with Noise Shaping enabled.
To include all audio being used in the session
or project, select the All Audio Files option. For more information about using Dither,
see “Dither” on page 1087.
Using the Save Copy In command is the only way
to change the sample rate of a session or project.
The sample rate of each of the session or project
copied audio files is converted to the selected sam-
ple rate. When saving a session copy to a different
sample rate, Pro Tools uses the selected Sample
Rate Conversion Quality option in the Import sec-
tion of the Processing Preferences page (Setup >
Preferences).

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 167

 Save Copy In Options Bit Depth

When saving a copy of a session or project, the You can save the session or project at a Bit Depth
Save Copy In command provides the following of 16 Bit, 24 Bit, or 32 Bit Float.
options.
Pro Tools 10.0 and higher sessions can use audio
Format files with different bit depths. If your original ses-
sion or project has mixed bit depths, they are not
When saving a copy of a session or project with the converted to the selected bit depth unless you spec-
Save Copy In command, you can save the session ify that they be converted by selecting the Convert
or project copy in the following formats: to Specified Format option in the Items To Copy
• Project; lets you save a copy of the session as a section (see “Items to Copy” on page 169).
project.
When saving to a Session Format lower than 10.0,
• Latest; supports Pro Tools 10.x and higher if your session or project is in a different bit depth,
sessions (.ptx) audio files are converted to the new session bit
• Pro Tools 7.x -> 9.x Session (.ptf) depth, and copied to the specified location. Also,
32 Bit Float is not available for session formats
• Pro Tools 5.1 -> 6.9 Session (.pts)
lower than 10.0.
Session Parameters
For information on bouncing to disk and
When saving a copy of a session or project with the dither, see “Using Dither” on page 1184.
Save Copy In command, the following Session Pa-
Sample Rate
rameters are available:
You can save the session or project at various sam-
Audio File Type
ple rates depending on your system hardware. See
You can save the session or project to reference “Supported Hardware Configurations with
BWF (.WAV) or AIFF audio files. Pro Tools Software” on page 38.

Using Mixed File Types If your session or project is at a different sample

rate, audio files are converted to the new session or
Sessions and projects can use mixed audio file
project sample rate, and copied.
projects. If your original session or project has
mixed file projects, they are not converted to the Fader Gain
selected file project unless you specify that they be
converted by selecting the Convert to Specified When saving a Pro Tools 7.x or higher session to a
Format option in the Items To Copy section (see lower version that supports +12 dB fader gain, you
“Items to Copy” on page 169). can save the new session with either a +6 dB or a
+12 dB maximum fader gain. When saving a
+12 dB session as a +6 dB session, any automation
over +6 dB will be lowered to +6 dB.

168 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility Convert To Specified Format

When saving a Pro Tools 7.x or higher session to a When the Convert To Specified Format option is
lower version, enable the Enforce Mac/PC Com- selected, all copied audio files are converted to the
patibility option to force Windows or Mac versions specified audio file format settings in the Session
of Pro Tools to create sessions and audio files that Parameters section. When this option is not se-
are compatible on both platforms. lected, any copied audio files retain their original
audio file format settings (including sample rate
For more information, see “Saving Copies and bit depth), and are exactly copied, bit-by-bit.
of Mac Sessions to be Compatible with Win-
dows” on page 460. Note that copying formats bit-by-bit is much
faster than converting files.
Limit Character Set
This option is automatically selected if you do any
When saving a copy of a session or project to the
of the following:
current session or project format, you can choose
to limit the character set to a single language by se- • Save to a session format lower than 10.0.
lecting the Limit Character Set option. • Enable Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility.
When saving a copy of a session or project to a Don’t Copy Elastic Audio Rendered Files
lower session format, the Limit Character Set op-
tion is automatically selected. Select a language When this option is selected, Elastic Audio Ren-
from the Limit Character Set pop-up menu. dered files are not copied to the new session’s Ren-
dered Files folder or project bundle.
To choose the language encoding when saving a
copy of a session or project: When opening the new session or project,
Pro Tools opens the session or project with all
1 Choose File > Save Copy In.
available media and any missing Rendered files
2 Select the Limit Character Set option. are regenerated automatically.
3 Choose the language you want to use from the Main Playlist Only
Limit Character Set pop-up menu.
When this option is selected, only the main play-
Items to Copy lists are included with the copy. Any alternate
playlists are not included with the copy.
When saving a copy of a session or project with the
Save Copy In command, you can select which When this option is not selected, all playlists are
items are copied, as follows: included with the copy.

Audio Files Selected Tracks Only

When this option is selected, all audio files are When this option is selected, only the selected
copied to the new location. This setting is automat- tracks in the source session or project are saved
ically selected if you select a Session Format lower with the copy. This option is automatically enabled
than 10.0. when choosing File > Export > Selected Tracks As
New Session.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 169

 When this option is not selected, all tracks in the Preserve Folder Hierarchy
source session or project are saved with the copy. (Sessions Only)
This option is automatically disabled when choos-
When this option is selected, the relative arrange-
ing File > Save Session Copy.
ment of session audio files located across different
drives or folders is maintained. The main folder for
Backup to Cloud
(Projects Only) the session copy will include subfolders for each
drive or folder in the original session and the des-
When saving a copy of a session or project as a tination subfolders will use the same names as the
new project, enable the Backup to Cloud option to source drives and folders.
create an online project. Disable this option to cre-
ate an offline project. When this option is not selected, the Save Copy In
command copies all files of the same project, re-
Session Plug-In Settings Folder gardless of their location, into a single destination
(Sessions Only) folder.
When this option is selected, the session’s Plug-In Session Fade Settings Folder
Settings folder is copied to the new location. The (Sessions Only)
references to these settings in the session are redi-
rected to the copied settings files. When this option is selected, the session’s Fade
Settings folder is copied to the new location. The
Root Plug-In Settings Folder references to these settings in the session are redi-
(Sessions Only) rected to the copied settings files.
When this option is selected, the contents of the Root Fade Settings Folder
root-level Plug-In Settings Folder are copied into a (Sessions Only)
folder named Place in Root Settings Folder, indi-
cating that these files will need to be moved to the When this option is selected, the contents of the
root level plug-in settings folder on the destination root-level Fade Settings Folder are copied into a
system before you can use them. The references to folder named Place in Root Settings Folder, indi-
these settings files in the session are not redirected cating that these files will need to be moved to the
to point to the copied files. root level Fade settings folder on the destination
system before you can use them. The references to
Movie/Video Files these settings files in the session are not redirected
to point to the copied files.
When this option is selected, video files (Avid or
QuickTime) are copied, and references are updated Clip Effects Quick Presets
to point to the copied video files.
Enable this option to export any custom Clip Ef-
fects Presets with the copy of the session or proj-
ect.

170 Pro Tools Reference Guide

 The title bar at the top of the Edit and Mix win-
Save As New Version dows, and the Revision History window update to
(Projects Only) read “<project name>—<version title>.”
You can save different versions of Pro Tools projects Enter a unique title for the new version of the
using the Save As New Version command (similar project. No project can contain two separate
to using the Save As command for sessions).
versions with the same name nor can one ver-
Pro Tools lets you review and restore any version of
sion overwrite another.
a project from the Project Revision History window.

To save a new version of the current project:

Revision History
1 Choose File > Save As New Version.
(Projects Only)
Press Command+Control+S (Mac) or
Revision History keeps track of all versions of a proj-
Control+Start+S (Windows) to save a new
ect, including any automatically and manually saved
version of the open project. histories for each version.

The left pane of the Revision History window lists all

versions for the project, and the right side displays
Project Notes (if any) for the selected version of the
project.

Save New Version window

2 In the Save New Version window, type the Title

for the new version of the project (for example,
“Ver. 3” or “acapella version”). Revision History window

3 Type any notes for this version of the project un- To open the revision history window, do one of the
der Project Notes. This is optional—you can al- following:
ways add or edit Project Notes for any given  Choose File > Revision History.
version later (see “Project Notes” on page 179).
 Press Command+Control+O (Mac) or
4 Click OK. Control+Start+O (Windows).
 On the Project page of the Dashboard, choose
Open Revision History from the Project pop-up
menu.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 171

 Save History
Automatic and manual save histories are readily ac-
cessible for any version of a project. However, they
are automatically thinned out over time—always
keeping the most recent while gradually deleting
older save histories from your local cache and cloud
storage for the project (automatic saves are deleted
Opening Revision History for a project from the
first). Revision History maintains a reasonable distri-
Dashboard bution of older to more recent save histories in rela-
tion to your available storage.
To close the revision history window:
Save histories are deleted (or not deleted) according
 Click Done.
to the following rules:
Press Esc to close the Revision History win- • Original versions are always kept.
dow. • The latest manual save for each version is always
kept.
Version List • If at least one save (manual or auto) is contained in
the version, it is always kept.
The Version List displays the versions you have
saved by name and are always sorted by date (with • The last two automatically saved backups are al-
the most recent at the top of the list). Any manually ways kept for all versions.
or automatically saved histories of any version in the • Every manual save for the last two hours is kept.
list can be displayed by clicking the reveal triangle to • A save for every half hour, if any, is kept for up to
the left of the version title. You can also rename any 24 hours for all versions.
version of the project in the list.
• Manual saves are preferred over auto-saves.
• A save for every hour, if any, is kept for a week for
all versions.
• The last manual save of every day, if any, is always
kept for all versions.
• The automatic deletion of save histories in both the
cloud and the local cache that are to be “thinned
out” for the project happens directly after any save
(manual or automatic).
• The version history for a project is synchronized
across all machines sharing the project.
Version List
The Auto Backup settings in the Operation prefer-
ences determine how often the active version of a
Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to navigate project is automatically saved and how many auto-
the Region History List, and use the Right matically saved backups are maintained for that ver-
and Left Arrow keys to Show or Hide the save sion.
history for the selected version.

172 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Renaming Versions of a Project Restoring a Version of the
Project
To rename any version of a project:
The Revision History window lets you restore any
1 Open the Revision History window. version of a project and still maintain access to all
2 Do one of the following: other versions. Restoring a version closes the cur-
rently open, active version of the project (you will be
• Right-click the version you want to rename and
prompted to save any changes) and opens the se-
choose Rename.
lected version of the project. The date and time are
reset for the most recently opened version of the proj-
ect and it moves to the top of the Version List.

To restore a version of a project:

1 Select the version you want to restore in the Ver-
sion List.

Right-click any version of a project to rename it 2 Do one of the following:

• Click the Restore button.
• Click the name of the version you want to rename.
• Double-click the version in the Version List.
• Press Return or Enter.
• Press the R key.
3 You may be prompted to Save the currently open
Renaming a version of a project version of the project before restoring the selected
version.
• Select Window > Metadata Inspector and type the
Title that you want for this version of the project.
However, you can only do this if you are the owner Conflicts Between Shared
of the project; collaborators cannot edit the Meta- Tracks in Different Versions of a
data Inspector. Project
3 Type the new name. It is possible to have conflicts with shared tracks and
project data in the active version of a project if they
4 Press Enter. do not match the latest version on the cloud. This
may be a common occurrence when working with
When renaming a version of a project, it must
different versions of a shared project. For example, if
be a name that is not already used by another
you save version X of a shared project, make some
version of the project. No project can contain edits without saving or uploading your changes, then
two separate versions with the same name nor save as new version Y and upload your changes, and
can one version overwrite another. then restore version X, there will be conflicts be-
tween the version in the cloud (Y) and the local, ac-
tive version (X).

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 173

 example, you might have the best guitar solo in one
version of the project, but you want to keep every-
thing else in the currently active version. Use the Im-
port command in the Revision History window to im-
port just that one track.

To import project data from another version

into the current version of the project:
1 In the Version List, select the version from which
you want to import data.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Import button.
• Press I on your computer keyboard.
• Right-click the version you want to import data
from and choose Import.
Shared Tracks Conflict warning 3 Configure the Import Session Data dialog as de-
Pro Tools warns you of conflicts and lists the sired.
names of mismatched tracks so that you can make
an informed decision on how to proceed:
• Upload and overwrite tracks and project data in the
cloud.
• Download and overwrite local tracks and project
data.
• Do nothing and leave both the local version and
the cloud version unaltered.
• Unshare any conflicting tracks and leave the cloud
version unaltered.

Even if the Auto Upload All or Auto Download All

Track Collaboration options are enabled in a shared
project, Pro Tools never automatically overwrites the
cloud version with the local version, nor the local
version with the cloud version, when conflicts are de-
tected.
Import Session Data
Importing Data from Another 4 Click OK.
Version of a Project
For detailed information on the Import Session
You can import project data from any version into the
currently active version of the project (much like Data dialog, see “Importing and Exporting
when importing data from another session into the Data to and from a Session or Project” on
current session). This can be useful if you only want page 397.
to use some of the data from another version of the
project and not have to restore that entire version. For
174 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Deleting a Version of a Project The more you can do to lighten up your session be-
fore saving it as a project, the better. It will save
You can delete any version (or manual or automatic
you and your collaborators both time and online
save) of a project in the Revision History window.
storage space.
To delete any version of a project:
To save a copy of a session as a project:
1 In the Version List, select the version you want to
delete. 1 Prepare the session for saving as a project (for
example, remove extraneous files from the ses-
2 Do one of the following: sion, consolidate clips that only reference part
• Click the Delete button. of large files, and so on).
• Press the D key.
2 Select only the tracks that you want in the proj-
• Right-click the version you want to delete and ect (optional).
choose Delete.
3 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
3 Click Delete.
ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
The selected version of the project and its entire save click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
history are permanently deleted. When deleting one Dashboard).
of the automatically or manually saved histories for a
version, only that one history of the version is de- 4 Choose File > Save Copy In.
leted.
5 In the Save Copy In dialog, set the Format to
Project.

Saving a Session as a Project

Pro Tools lets you save a copy of a session as a
project. This facilitates taking an existing session
and converting it to a project for online collabora-
tion (and you will still have the original session for
reference).

Before saving a copy of a session as a project, con-

sider your allocated online storage space and avail-
able bandwidth. For example, if you are working
with clips that only reference only a little bit of au-
dio in much larger files, you might want to consol-
idate each of those clips. If you don’t have the fast-
est internet connection, it might take awhile to
upload large referenced files whereas small whole
file clips might upload and download relatively Saving a copy of a session as a project
quickly. Maybe you don’t need to share every al- 6 Set the Session Parameters as desired. For the
ternate playlist, perhaps just a track’s main playlist sake of bandwidth and storage, you may con-
will do. Or, maybe you can have your collaborators sider saving the session to a project with a lower
record to a scratch track rather than the whole mix. sample rate and bit depth.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 175

 7 Select which Items To Copy. Saving a session as 4 Set the Session Parameters as desired.
a project always copies all Audio Files. and only
5 Select which Items To Copy. Note that Audio
the main playlist on tracks. Also, you might not
Files and Movie/Video Files will always be cop-
want to copy rendered Elastic Audio files.
ied.
8 Enable Selected Tracks Only (optional).
6 Click OK.
9 Enable (or disable) Backup to Cloud to save as
an online project (or an offline project).
10 Click OK. Session Templates
In addition to the Session Templates provided in
the Dashboard, Pro Tools lets you create and share
Saving a Project as a Session your own custom Session Templates. Pro Tools
Session Template files use the suffix “.ptxt” to dif-
Pro Tools lets you save a copy of a project as a ses-
ferentiate them from regular Pro Tools session
sion. When you are done working on a project you
files (“.ptx”).
can archive it as a session locally and delete the on-
line project to free up cloud storage in your Avid
Cloud Account. Creating and Saving Custom
Templates
To save a copy of a project as a session: (Sessions Only)
1 Ensure that you have accepted or rejected all To create a custom Pro Tools Session Template:
changes to shared tracks.
1 Create a new Pro Tools session and configure it
2 Choose File > Save Copy In. for the session template you want.
3 In the Save Copy In dialog, set the Format to
For example, if you are a songwriter you
Session (Latest).
might simply want a session consisting of a
stereo Instrument track with an instrument
plug-in (such as Xpand! 2 with a piano pre-
set), a mono audio track (for tracking vocals),
a stereo Auxiliary Input track (for an effects
bus), and a stereo Master Fader track. You
can then use this template every time you sit
down to work on a new song.

2 Choose File > Save As Template.

Saving a copy of a project as a session

Save Session Template dialog

176 Pro Tools Reference Guide

3 Configure the Save Session Template dialog Category
(see “Save Session Template Dialog” on
The Category pop-up menu is only available if the
page 177).
Install Template In System option is enabled. The
4 Select the Include Media option if there is any Category pop-up menu lets you select the subdi-
audio, MIDI, or video media in the session that rectory in which to save the template file. It also
you want included in the template. provides options for adding a category and reveal-
ing the Session Templates folder in Windows Ex-
When the Include Media option is enabled, plorer or the Mac Finder.
all media in the session is included in the
template. If you want to include media in Add Category Select this option from the Cate-
your session template, be sure that your ses- gory pop-up menu to create a new subdirectory in
sion only contains the media you want. the Session Templates folder.

5 Click OK. Name

If you selected the Install Template In System op- The Name setting is only available if the Install
tion, your session template will be available in the Template In System option is enabled. This lets
Dashboard. you project a new name for the template file. From
the Name pop-up menu (to the right of the Name
If you selected the Select Location For Template field), you can select from a list of all of the tem-
option, you are prompted by the Save As Template plates available in the currently selected Category.
dialog to save the file to another location on your Selecting one places that name in the Name field,
system. letting you overwrite, or create a incremental ver-
sion of, an existing template.
When you are ready to use a template as the
basis for a new session, see “Creating a New
Select Location For Template
Session or Project from a Template” on
page 160. Select this option to save the template file to any
directory location on your system. Note that the
Save Session Template Dialog saved session template will not appear in the Dash-
board unless it is in a subdirectory (Category) in
The Save Template dialog provides the following
the Session Templates folder in the Pro Tools Root
options:
Settings folder. You can change the location of the
Root Settings Folder in the Operation Preferences
Install Template In System
(see “User Media and Settings Location” on
Select this option to save the template file in the page 110).
system folder referenced by the Dashboard (the
Session Templates in the Pro Tools application Include Media
folder).
Select this option to include any audio, MIDI, or
video media in the session with the template.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 177

 Creating New Sessions or Metadata Inspector Window
Projects from Templates
The Metadata Inspector window displays the fol-
You can create new session or project from tem- lowing information about your session or project.
plates by opening a template. You can open any Some metadata can be edited and some is display
Pro Tools Session Template file (.ptt) to start a only.
new session based on that template.
Name (Sessions Only) Displays the name of the
For information on creating new sessions session.
from templates using the Dashboard, see
Project Name (Projects Only) Displays the name
“Creating a New Session or Project from a
of the project.
Template” on page 160.
Project Owner (Projects Only) Displays the name
of the project owner.
Project and Session
Metadata Title Enter a title that is independent of the name of
the session or project.
Pro Tools provides a Metadata Inspector window
for sessions and projects. Sessions and projects Artist(s) Enter the name of the artist (or artists) for
have slightly different Metadata options.This win- the session or project.
dow lets you view and edit metadata for sessions
Contributor(s) Enter the names of the contributors
and projects. However, certain metadata is display
to the session or project.
only (such as Sample Rate and Bit Depth). Meta-
data is stored with the session file (.ptx) or with the Sample Rate Displays the session or project sam-
project bundle. ple rate. The Sample Rate can also be viewed in
the Workspace.
To open the Metadata Inspector:
Bit Depth Displays the session or project bit depth.
 Choose Window > Metadata Inspector.
The Bit Depth can also be viewed in the Work-
space.

Location Enter the location where the session or

project was recorded.

Date Created Display the date and time that the

session or project was created. The Date Created
can also be viewed in the Workspace.

Date Modified Displays the date and time that the

session or project was last modified. The Date
Modified can also be viewed in the Workspace.

BPM Displays the tempo or range of tempos used

in the session or project in beats per minute. BPM
can also be viewed in the Workspace as Tempo.
Session Metadata Inspector window

178 Pro Tools Reference Guide

 To close a session or project:
Project Notes
 Choose File > Close Session/Project.
Pro Tools lets you add and edit Project Notes for any
version of a project. Use Project Notes for anything
from reminders to descriptions, or a to do list. You
can add and edit Project Notes when you create a new Renaming Projects
version of a project or in the Project Notes window. You can rename any project you own that is not
Project Notes are always saved with the specific ver- currently open on the Projects tab of the Dash-
sion of the project.
board.
To add or edit Project Notes: To rename a project:
1 Do one of the following:
1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
• Choose File > Save as New Version to open the ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
Save New Version dialog. click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
• Select Window > Project Notes to open the Proj- Dashboard).
ect Notes window for the current version of the
project. 2 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools
2 Type and edit the Project Notes as desired.
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con-
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab
in the Dashboard window.
3 To the right of the project list, click the pop-up
menu for the project you want to rename.

Project Notes window

Closing a Session or Project Dashboard, Rename Project

4 Choose Rename.
Pro Tools only lets you work on just one session or
project at a time. The Close Session/Project com- 5 In the resulting dialog, project the new name for
mand closes your current Pro Tools session or the project.
project but leaves the Pro Tools application run-
6 Click OK.
ning. Pro Tools prompts you to save the session or
project when closing it, but it is recommended that
you save your work using the Save or Save As
command before closing a session or project.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 179

 Remove Local Cache Deleting Projects
Use the Remove Local Cache command for any Once you have completed work on a project and
project that is not currently open to free up storage exported the final mix or archived it as a session
space on your local system. Your project will re- using the Save Copy In command, you can delete
main intact and retrievable from the cloud. You the project to free up online storage space for other
can always restore your project from your online projects. Use the Dashboard window to delete any
MyAvid account cloud storage. project that you no longer need.

To remove the local cache for a project: You cannot undo the Delete Project command. If
you delete a project that you do not own, but are
1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
only collaborating on, you simple remove yourself
ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
as a collaborator for that project. The project re-
click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
mains available to the owner and other collabora-
Dashboard).
tors. However, once you delete a project that you
2 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects own, it is permanently deleted and is unrecover-
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools able.
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con- To delete a project:
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab 1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
in the Dashboard window. ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
3 To the right of the project list, click the pop-up click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
menu for the project whose local cache you Dashboard).
want to clear. 2 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con-
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab
in the Dashboard window.
Dashboard, Remove Local Cache 3 To the right of the Project list, click the pop-up
menu for the project you want to delete.
4 Choose Remove Local Cache.
5 When prompted, click Delete.

Notice the Cloud icon to the right of the project.

Pro Tools deletes the local cache for the project
while keeping the project intact in the cloud. Click
the Cloud icon to download the project media and
synchronize the local and online versions of the
project. Dashboard, Delete project

4 Choose Delete.

180 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Pro Tools deletes the project and updates the per-
centage of your available storage used. Open Revision History
Use the Open Revision History command to open
the Revision History window and restore the proj-
Restore Project from Cloud ect from any version or from any version’s save
history.
If you have deleted the local cache for a project,
you can restore your project from the cloud. To open the latest auto-backup for a project:

To restore a project from the cloud: 1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
Dashboard).\
click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
Dashboard). 2 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools
2 In the Dashboard window, select the Projects
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
tab to view your current projects; or if Pro Tools
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con-
is already running, choose File > Open Proj-
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab
ect—Command+Option+O (Mac) or Con-
in the Dashboard window.
trol+Alt+O (Windows)—to access Projects tab
in the Dashboard window. 3 To the right of the Project list, click the pop-up
menu for the project for which you want to open
3 To the right of the Project list, click the Cloud
the Revision History.
icon for the project you want to restore.

Dashboard, Cloud icon Dashboard, Open Revision History

Pro Tools downloads all data from the cloud to the 4 Choose Open Revision History.
local cache on your system for the selected project.
Download progress is shown to the right of the Pro Tools opens the Revision History window
project name. where you can view, restore, import, and delete
versions of the project as well as their save histo-
ries.

For more information about working with the

Restore History window, see “Revision History”
on page 171.

Dashboard, download progress

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 181

 To take an online project offline (or to put an offline
Backup to Cloud project online):

Using the Backup to Cloud option in the Projects 1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-
tab in the Dashboard, you can take existing online ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
projects offline or put offline projects online at any click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
time. Since shared projects cannot be taken offline, Dashboard).
the Backup to Cloud option is grayed out and un- 2 Choose File > Open Project, or press Com-
available. mand+Option+O (Mac) or Control+Alt+O
For projects you are taking offline, all project data (Windows) to open the Dashboard showing the
and associated media is deleted from your Avid Projects tab.
Cloud Storage Account and the Project icon turns 3 In the list of projects list, deselect (or select)
gray. Backup to Cloud from the pop-up menu to the
right of the project you want to take offline (or
For projects you are putting online, all project data
put online).
and associated media are uploaded to your Avid
Cloud Storage Account and the Project icon turns
blue.

Dashboard, Projects tab, deselecting Backup to Cloud

for a project

Dashboard, Projects tab, offline projects are indicated

by a gray Project icon and online projects are blue

182 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Project Collaboration Quitting or Exiting Pro Tools
Invitations in the Dashboard
When you quit (Mac) or exit (Windows) the
The Dashboard lets you accept or reject project par- Pro Tools application, Pro Tools prompts you to
ticipation requests. When another user invites you to save any open session before exiting or closing the
join a project, that project appears in the Project List application.
in the Dashboard along with Reject and Accept icons.
To quit Pro Tools on the Mac:

 Choose Pro Tools > Quit Pro Tools.

To exit Pro Tools in Windows:

 Choose File > Exit.

Dashboard, project participation requests

To accept or reject project participation requests

from the Dashboard:

1 Ensure that you are logged in to your Avid Mas-

ter Account through Pro Tools (File > Sign In or
click Sign In in the upper right corner of the
Dashboard).
2 In the Dashboard, select the Projects tab. Proj-
ects that you have been invited to display Ac-
cept and Reject icons to the right of the project
name.
3 Do one of the following:
• Click the Accept icon to join the project.
• Click the Reject icon to reject the collaboration re-
quest and remove the project from the project list.

For more information about project partici-

pation requests, see “Projects” on page 363.

Chapter 11: Sessions and Projects 183

184 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Chapter 12: Pro Tools Main Windows

Pro Tools provides two complementary ways of Edit Window Shows tracks and track material
viewing tracks in a session: against the Timeline (see “Edit Window” on
page 188).
Mix Window Shows tracks as channel strips, like a
mixing board (see “Mix Window” on page 186). To toggle between the Mix and Edit windows,
press Control+Equals (=) (Windows), or
press Command+Equals (=) (Mac).

Edit window

Workspace browser Mix window

Transport window

Plug-In window

Pro Tools windows

Chapter 12: Pro Tools Main Windows 185

 Pro Tools provides several other types of
windows: Mix Window
Transport Window Lets you control the transport
In the Mix window, tracks appear as channel strips
and transport-related functions (see “Transport just like a mixing console, with controls for:
Window” on page 194). • Inserts

Plug-In Windows Let you control plug-in parame- • Sends

ters, such as Frequency and Q for an EQ (see • Input and output assignments
“Plug-In Windows” on page 1100). • Volume
MIDI Editor Windows Lets you edit MIDI data (see • Panning
Chapter 35, “MIDI Editors”).
• Record enable
Score Editor Window lets you edit MIDI data as • Track Input monitoring
music notation (see Chapter 36, “Score Editor”).
• Automation mode
Workspace Browsers Let you manage, audition, • Solo and Mute
and import media for Pro Tools sessions (see
• Instrument controls
“Workspace Browsers” on page 307).
• HEAT controls (Pro Tools HD only)
Artist Chat Lets you find, invite, and chat with
• Mic preamps
project collaborators (see Chapter 18, “Artist Chat
Window”).
To display the Mix window:
In-App Web Browsers Let you access the Avid  Choose Window > Mix.
Marketplace and Pro Tools Online (see “In-Appli-
cation Web Browser” on page 200). To display all Mix window view options:

 Select View > Mix Window > All.

For information on selecting individual view

options, see “Views in the Mix and Edit Win-
dows” on page 1050.

186 Pro Tools Reference Guide

 Channel strips
(page 215)

Instrument
Tracks List View
(page 242) (page 1051

Inserts View
(page 1051)

Sends View
(page 1052)

Track Path selectors

(page 246 and
Group ID page 254)
indicator Automation
(page 280) Mode selector
Input Monitoring / (page 1126)
Record Enable
Pan knob
(page 511 and
(page 223)
page 506)

Solo/Mute
(page 256)

Volume
fader
(page 223)

Level meter
Voice selector (page 224)
(page 253)

AutoMatch
indicator Track Name
(page 1135) (page 232)

Mix Groups List

(page 277) Track
Comments
View
Delay (page 1051)
Compensation
View (page 1053)

Show/Hide Mono MIDI Stereo

Track List/Groups Audio Track Track Audio Track
List View (page 214) (page 217) (page 214)
(page 243)
Mix Window Instrument Auxiliary Master
View selector Track Input Fader
(page 1050) (page 218) (page 216) (page 216)

Pro Tools Mix window

Chapter 12: Pro Tools Main Windows 187

 To display the Edit window:
Edit Window
 Choose Window > Edit.
The Edit window provides a Timeline display of
audio, video, MIDI notes, as well as other MIDI To display all Edit window view options:
data and mixer automation for recording, editing,  Select View > Edit Window > All.
and arranging on tracks. As in the Mix window,
each track has controls for record enable, solo, Edit window view options can be selected individ-
mute, and automation mode. ually. See “Views in the Mix and Edit Windows”
on page 1050.

Universe view
Grid and
(page 644)
Nudge values
Zoom buttons (page 602) Collaboration (page 377) (page 190) Edit Window
Counters and Edit Toolbar and menu
Edit Mode Selection indicators
Edit tools (page 188)
buttons (page 642)
(page 597) (page 601)

Timebase and Clip

Conductor List
rulers (page 289)
(page 835)

Tracks List
(page 242)
Tracks
(page 213)

Edit
Groups
List

Playlists MIDI Editor pane Elastic Audio Automation Edit Window

Track View (Notation view) Warp Track View (page 1123) Zoom buttons
(page 695) (page 198) (page 963) (page 192)

Selected Clip MIDI Controller

(page 630) lanes (page 802)

Pro Tools Edit window

188 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Edit Window Toolbar Counters and Edit Selection Indicators

At the top of the Edit window is the Edit Window The Counters and Edit selection indicators provide
Toolbar and menu. This Toolbar provides access information where selections are in the Timeline.
to the editing modes, tools, options, indicators, and
displays for Pro Tools. You can customize the MIDI Selection
Toolbar in the Edit, MIDI Editor, or Score Editor Edit Selection
windows by re-arranging, showing, and hiding the Main and Sub Counters
available controls and displays.

Edit Toolbar Controls and Displays

The following controls and displays in the Edit

Window Toolbar are always shown. Cursor Location Track Mute
indicator
Cursor Value
Edit Modes Timeline Data Online Status Track Solo
Session Data Online Status indicator
The Edit mode affects the movement and place- Automatic Delay Compensation Global Freeze Tracks
ment of audio and MIDI clips (and MIDI notes), Task Manager Status
how commands like Copy and Paste function, and
Edit window indicators
also how the various Edit tools (Trim, Selector,
Grabber, and Pencil tools) work. For more infor- Main Counter Displays the current Edit insertion
mation, see “Edit Modes” on page 597. location in the Main Timebase ruler.

Sub Counter Displays the current Edit insertion

location in the Sub Timebase ruler.

Cursor Location Displays the current cursor loca-

tion in the Main Timebase ruler.
Edit mode buttons
Cursor Value Displays the value of the current cur-
Edit Tools
sor value in peak amplitude (audio), pitch (MIDI),
Edit tools are used for editing audio, MIDI, and au- or according to the current automation or control-
tomation data in Pro Tools. For more information, ler data type.
see “Edit Tools” on page 601.
Edit Selection Indicators Display the Start, End,
and Length of the current Edit selection.

MIDI Selection Indicators and Controls Display

the current MIDI Edit selection (MIDI note num-
Edit tools ber, and Note On and Note Off velocities) and pro-
vide controls for MIDI editing.

Chapter 12: Pro Tools Main Windows 189

 Timeline Data Online Status Indicator Is green
when all files in use in track playlists are available If any of the Include options are unselected,
for playback. If files are offline, being processed, you can Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click
or otherwise unavailable for playback, this indica- (Windows) the Global Freeze icon to freeze
tor is red. (or unfreeze) all tracks. The selected Include
options remain selected.
Session Data Online Status Indicator Is green
when all audio files referenced by the session are Track Solo Indicator Lights yellow when any
available for playback. If files are offline, being pro- track in the session is soloed. When no tracks in the
cessed, or otherwise unavailable for playback, this session are soloed, the Track Solo indicator ap-
indicator is red. If any files are offline, you can click pears dim green. For systems using Satellite Link,
the indicator to open the Relink window and relink to the Track Solo indicator lights dim yellow when a
offline files. track is soloed on any satellite system.

Delay Compensation Status Indicator Is dis- If the Track Solo indicator is lit, you can click it to
played when Delay Compensation is enabled (Op- clear all soloed tracks in the session.
tions > Delay Compensation). When Delay Com-
Track Mute Indicator Lights orange when any
pensation is disabled, this indicator is not
track in the session is muted. When no tracks in the
displayed.
session are muted, the Track Mute indicator ap-
Task Manager Status Lights and animates when pears dim green. (Note that because Mute is an au-
the Task Manager is busy. When no tasks are in tomatable mixing function, the Track Mute indica-
progress, it is unlit. The indicator turns red if the tor does not function to clear all mutes when
Task Manager requires your attention. Click the clicked.)
Task Manager Status indicator to open or close the
Task Manager window. Grid and Nudge

Global Freeze Tracks Indicator lights when one or The Grid and Nudge selectors let you set the Grid
more tracks in the session are frozen. When it is and Nudge values for editing in Pro Tools. For in-
unlit, Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) formation on the Grid Value selector, see “Config-
the Global Freeze Tracks button to freeze all audio, uring the Grid” on page 600. For information on
Auxiliary Input, and Instrument tracks in the ses- the Nudge Value selector, see “Defining the
sion. When it is lit, Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click Nudge Value” on page 658.
(Windows) it to unfreeze all tracks in the session.
You can also Right-click the Global Freeze Tracks
Grid Value selector
button to specify which track types you want (or Nudge Value selector
don’t want) to freeze.

Tracks cannot be frozen while hidden or Grid and Nudge value selectors
inactive.

190 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Showing and Hiding Additional Synchronization When selected, the Synchroniza-
Controls in the Edit Window tion controls and indicators are displayed in the
Edit window toolbar.
To show or hide controls in the Edit window
toolbar:

1 Do one of the following:

• Click the Edit Window Toolbar menu (in the
upper-right corner of the window).
• Right-click in the Toolbar. Output Meters When selected, the Output meters
2 From the menu, select or deselect any of the fol- are displayed in the Edit window toolbar.
lowing depending on which window you are
configuring:

Zoom Controls When selected, the Zoom controls

are displayed in the Edit window toolbar.

Track Collaboration (Projects Only) When se-

lected, the Track Collaboration controls are dis-
played in the Edit window toolbar.

Transport When selected, the Transport controls

are displayed in the Edit window toolbar.

Eleven Rack (Eleven Rack Only) This option is

available only when an Eleven Rack is connected
to your Pro Tools system. When selected, Eleven
MIDI Controls When selected, the MIDI controls Rack controls are displayed in the Edit window
are displayed in the window toolbar. toolbar. For more information, refer to the Eleven
Rack User Guide.

Minimal When selected, the Zoom, Transport,

MIDI, and Synchronization controls are not dis-
played in the Edit window toolbar.

Chapter 12: Pro Tools Main Windows 191

 All When selected, the Zoom, Transport, MIDI, Rearranging Controls and
and Synchronization controls are all displayed in Displays
the Edit window toolbar.
To rearrange controls and displays in the Edit,
Expanded Transport When selected, the MIDI Editor, or Score Editor window toolbar:
Expanded Transport controls are displayed in the  Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
Edit window toolbar if Transport is also dows) the control or display you want to move
selected. and drag it to a new location in the toolbar.

For example, if you want the Counters and Edit Se-

lection indicators to the right of the Transport con-
trols in the toolbar, Command-click (Mac) or Con-
trol-click (Windows) and drag them to the right of
the Transport controls.
Universe When selected, Universe view is shown
near the top of the Edit window.

Clip Effects When selected, Clip Effects view is

shown near the top of the Edit window.

Tracks List When selected, the Tracks List is

shown on the left of the Edit window.

Clips List When selected, the Clips List is shown Moving the Counters and Edit Selection indicators
on the right of the Edit window.
Edit Window Zoom Buttons
MIDI Editor When selected, the MIDI Editor view
is shown at the bottom of the Edit window. The Edit window also provides Zoom buttons in
the lower right and upper right corners of the tracks
MIDI Input Display When selected, the MIDI Input pane.
display is shown in the Edit window toolbar.
Vertical and Horizontal Zoom In and Out
Buttons

In addition to the Zoom controls in the Toolbar,

Pro Tools provides horizontal and vertical zoom
buttons in the lower-right corner of the Edit win-
dow.

192 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Vertical Zoom buttons (Edit window) Audio Zoom button (Edit window)

MIDI Zoom button (Edit window)

Horizontal Zoom buttons (Edit window) Edit Window Default Length

Vertical Zoom Buttons Zoom the track heights Pro Tools lets you set a default length for the Edit
proportionally in the Edit window. window in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.
This is useful if you want to assemble a session of
Horizontal Zoom Buttons Zoom the Timeline just
a particular length or leave extra room to expand
like the Horizontal Zoom controls in the Edit win-
the Edit window’s work area in your session. The
dow toolbar.
maximum length is 12 hours and 25 minutes at
48 kHz, and proportionally less at higher sample
Audio and MIDI Zoom In and Out Buttons
rates. For best scrollbar sensitivity, set the length
Pro Tools also provides Audio and MIDI Zoom In to slightly longer (a minute or more) than the total
and Out buttons in the upper-right corner of the session or song length.
Edit window. These controls function exactly the
same as the Audio and MIDI Zoom controls in the To set the default length for the Edit window:
Toolbar, and let you zoom in and out vertically on 1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
audio waveforms and MIDI notes respectively.
2 On the Display page, enter the value in hours,
In the Edit window, MIDI Vertical Zoom only minutes, seconds, and frames for the Edit Win-
affects tracks not in Clips view. dow Default Length setting.

3 Click OK.

Chapter 12: Pro Tools Main Windows 193

 Transport Window You can Right-click the Return to Zero but-
ton to access the Write to Start and Write to
The Transport window can be set to show basic
All automation commands.
transport controls, counters, MIDI controls, and
expanded features. The counters in the Transport Rewind Rewinds from the current play location.
window mirror the controls and counters at the top You can also click repeatedly to rewind incremen-
of the Edit window. tally, by an amount based on the Main Time Scale,
as follows:
To display the Transport window:

 Choose Window > Transport. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans-
port, you can rewind by pressing 1.

Basic Transport Controls and

Counters
Rewind and Fast Forward Increments

Increment
Main Time Scale Format
Transport Window menu Amount
Track Record Enable indicator
Go to End Min:Sec 1 second
Fast Forward Stop
Rewind Play Timecode 1 frame
Return to Zero Record
Online Bars|Beats 1 bar

Feet+Frames 1 foot

Sample 1 second
Pre-
Roll
Post- Fast Forward Fast forwards from the Timeline in-
Roll sertion point. You can also click repeatedly to fast
forward incrementally (by an amount based on the
Start, End, and Length
Selection indicators Main Time Scale).
TrackInput Monitor
indicator With Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans-
port, you can fast forward by pressing 2.
Transport window showing basic transport controls
and counters (Main and Sub Counters and MIDI not
shown) Go to End Locates to the end of the session.

Online Puts Pro Tools online so that playback and You can press Option+Return (Mac) or Con-
recording is triggered by an external timecode trol+Enter (Windows) on the alphanumeric
source. keyboard to locate to the end of the session.

Return to Zero Locates to the beginning of the ses-

sion. You can Right-click the Go to End button to
access automation commands Write to End
Press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to and Write to All.
Return to Zero.

194 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Stop Stops playback or recording. Record Arms Pro Tools for recording (the button
flashes). Clicking Play then starts recording on re-
You can also stop the transport by pressing cord-enabled tracks only.
the Spacebar, or with the Numeric Keypad
mode set to Transport, pressing 0. You can also begin recording immediately by
pressing F12, pressing Command+Spacebar
Play Starts playback or (if the Record button was (Mac) or Control+Spacebar (Windows), or
clicked first) recording from the Timeline insertion with the Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans-
point or the Play Start Marker location if Dynamic port, pressing 3.
Transport mode is enabled.
Right-clicking the Record button lets you select
You can also begin playback by pressing the the record mode from a pop-up menu:
Spacebar, or with the Numeric Keypad mode
set to Transport, pressing 0. • Normal
• Loop
Right-clicking the Play button lets you select the
• Destructive
playback mode from a pop-up menu:
• QuickPunch
• Half-Speed
• TrackPunch (Pro Tools HD only)
• Prime for Playback
• Destructive Punch (Pro Tools HD only)
• Loop
• Dynamic Transport You can also cycle through the Pro Tools record
modes with the Transport stopped, by Control-
To initiate playback at half-speed, you can clicking (Mac) or Start-clicking (Windows) the
also press Shift+Spacebar (Windows or Record button.
Mac) or Shift-click (Mac) the Play button.
The Record button changes to indicate the cur-
With the Transport stopped, Control-click Play rently selected mode: blank for Nondestructive,
(Mac) or Start-click Play (Windows) to toggle “D” for Destructive, a loop symbol for Loop Re-
Loop Playback mode. When enabled, a loop sym- cord, “P” for QuickPunch, “T” for TrackPunch,
bol appears in the Play button and Pro Tools plays and “DP” for DestructivePunch.
continuously from the beginning of the selection to
the end. To initiate recording at half-speed, you can
press Command+Shift+Spacebar (Mac) or
For more information on loop playback and Control+Shift+Spacebar (Windows).
Dynamic Transport mode, see “Loop Play-
back Mode” on page 484. Track Record Enable Indicator When lit (red), in-
dicates that at least one audio track is currently re-
cord-enabled. When off (gray), no tracks are cur-
rently record-enabled.

Chapter 12: Pro Tools Main Windows 195

 TrackInput Monitor Indicator When lit (green), in- Length Specifies the length for the play or record
dicates that at least one audio track is currently set range. You can set the length by entering a location
to Input Only monitoring (regardless of record en- in this field, or by selecting a range in any Time-
able status). When off (gray), all tracks are in Auto base ruler.
Input monitoring.
When the Timeline and Edit selections are
Transport Window Menu Lets you select what op- linked, you can make an Edit selection in a
tions to show in the Transport window: Counters, track’s playlist to set the play and record
MIDI Controls, Synchronization, Minimal, All, and range. See “Linking or Unlinking Timeline
Expanded Transport. and Edit Selections” on page 627.

Pre-Roll During playback or record, specifies the

amount of audio that plays before the Play (Time-
MIDI Controls
line) Cursor or Play Start Marker location, or be-
Tempo Resolution (Beat Value) pop-up menu
ginning of the Timeline selection. Pre-roll is par-
ticularly useful with punch recording since it gives
you time to “catch the beat” before reaching the Count Off Meter
punch-in point. To set the pre-roll amount, type a Tempo
new value in this field, or drag the Pre-Roll flag in
the Main Timebase ruler.

Post-Roll During playback or record, specifies the Wait for Note

Tempo Ruler
amount that plays after the end of a Timeline selec- Metronome Click Enable
tion. Post-roll is useful in punch recording since MIDI Merge
playback continues after the punch-out point so
Transport window, MIDI controls
you can check for a smooth transition to previously
recorded material. To set the post-roll amount, To view the MIDI controls in the Transport, do one
type a new value in this field, or drag the Post-Roll of the following:
flag in the Main Timebase ruler.  Select View > Transport > MIDI Controls.
Start Specifies the beginning of the play or record  Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Win-
range. You can set the start point by entering a lo- dows) the Expand/Collapse “+” button in the
cation in this field, or by dragging the correspond- Transport window to display the MIDI controls.
ing Timeline Selection or Play Start Marker in the
Main Timebase ruler. For more information, see
“Timeline Selection Markers” on page 521.

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 Time-
line Selection Marker in the Main Timebase ruler.
For more information, see “Timeline Selection
Expand/Collapse button, Transport Window with MIDI
Markers” on page 521. controls

196 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Wait for Note When selected, recording does not MIDI Merge When selected (Merge mode),
begin until a MIDI event is received. This ensures recorded MIDI data is merged with existing track
that you begin recording when you’re ready to material. When deselected (Replace mode), re-
play, and that the first note, or other MIDI data, is corded MIDI data replaces existing track material.
recorded precisely at the beginning of the record
range. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Trans-
port, press 9 to enable MIDI Merge.
You can press F11 to turn on Wait for Note,
unless the MIDI preference for “Disable F11 Tempo Ruler Enable (Conductor) When selected,
for Wait for Note” is enabled. Pro Tools uses the tempo map defined in the
Tempo ruler. When deselected, Pro Tools switches
to Manual Tempo mode and ignores the Tempo
On Mac, the Desktop Keyboard Shortcut uses ruler.
the same key command that Pro Tools uses
for Wait For Note (F11). To use F11 for Wait In Manual Tempo mode, you can enter a BPM
For Note in Pro Tools, be sure to disable the value in the te