Menus Guide

Pro Tools® M-Powered™ Essential

Version 8.0.2
Legal Notices
This guide is copyrighted ©2009 by Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc.
(hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide
may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of
Digidesign.
003, 96 I/O, 96i I/O, 192 Digital I/O, 192 I/O, 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O,
1622 I/O, 24-Bit ADAT Bridge I/O, AudioSuite, Avid, Avid DNA, Avid Mojo,
Avid Unity, Avid Unity ISIS, Avid Xpress, AVoption, Beat Detective, Bomb Factory,
Bruno, C|24, Command|8, Control|24, D-Command, D-Control, D-Fi, D-fx, D-Show,
D-Verb, DAE, Digi 002, DigiBase, DigiDelivery, Digidesign,
Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, Digidesign
TDM Bus, DigiDrive, DigiRack, DigiTest, DigiTranslator, DINR, D-Show,
DV Toolkit, EditPack, Eleven, Hybrid, Impact, Interplay, M-Audio, MachineControl,
Maxim, Mbox, MediaComposer, MIDI I/O, MIX, MultiShell, OMF,
OMF Interchange, PRE, ProControl, Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Tools,
Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, QuickPunch, Reel Tape, Reso, Reverb One, ReVibe,
RTAS, Sibelius, Smack!, SoundReplacer, Sound Designer II, Strike, Structure,
SYNC HD, SYNC I/O, Synchronic, TL Space, Transfuser, Velvet, X-Form, XMON,
and Xpand! are trademarks or registered trademarks of Digidesign and/or Avid
Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are

subject to change without notice.

Guide Part Number: 9329-61711-00 REV A June, 2009

Documentation Feedback
We’re always looking for ways to improve our documentation. If you have
comments, corrections, or suggestions regarding our documentation, email us
at techpubs@[Link].
Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 2. Pro Tools Menu (Mac Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

About Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Mac Application Management Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Quit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Chapter 3. File Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

New Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Open Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Close Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Save As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Revert to Saved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Save Copy In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Save As Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Send via DigiDelivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Send to Sibelius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Bounce to Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Contents iii
 Chapter 4. Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Restore Last Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Clear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Select All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Duplicate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Snap To. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Separate Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Heal Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Mute/Unmute Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Strip Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Consolidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Fades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Chapter 5. View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Mix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Narrow Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Edit Window Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Other Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Sends A–E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Transport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 6. Track Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

New Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Make Inactive or Make Active . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Clear All Clip Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Create Click Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Chapter 7. Region Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Edit Lock/Unlock Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Unloop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Rename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Quantize to Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Elastic Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Conform to Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Remove Warp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Remove Pitch Shift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

iv Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 8. Event Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Event Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
MIDI Real-Time Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Identify Beat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
All MIDI Notes Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Chapter 9. AudioSuite Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

EQ Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Dynamics Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Reverb Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Delay Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Modulation Plug-ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Other Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 10. Options Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Loop Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Loop Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Pre/Post-Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
QuickPunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Dynamic Transport Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Transport Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Click . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
MIDI Thru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Chapter 11. Setup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Playback Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
I/O. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
MIDI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Click/Countoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Chapter 12. Window Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Arrange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Close Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Score Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Task Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Memory Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
System Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Contents v
 Chapter 13. Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Check For Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Display M-Powered Information Dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
About Pro Tools M-Powered Essential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Chapter 14. Region List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Region List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

vi Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 1: Introduction

This guide summarizes Pro Tools® M-Powered™ Essential

menus along with their commands and options, as well as the
Region List and its commands and tools.

For more information about any item, see the Pro Tools
M-Powered Essential User Guide, or refer to the Pro Tools
Reference Guide (installed inside your Pro Tools\
Documentation folder).

Chapter 1: Introduction 1
2 Essential Menus Guide
Chapter 2: Pro Tools Menu (Mac Only)

The Pro Tools Menu commands include links to Pro Tools

Preferences, access to Mac OS X application management, Mac Application Management
and the Quit command. Commands
(Services, Hide Pro Tools M-Powered Essential, Hide Others,
Show All)

The Pro Tools menu also provides access to the following Mac
OS X application management commands: Services, Hide
Pro Tools M-Powered Essential, Hide Others, and Show All.
For more information about these and other Mac OS X fea-
tures, refer to your Apple Mac documentation.

Pro Tools menu Quit

The Quit Pro Tools command ends your Pro Tools M-Powered
Essential session and closes the Pro Tools application.
About Pro Tools
The About Pro Tools command launches the Pro Tools
M-Powered Essential banner, which includes the version
number of your Pro Tools software.

Preferences
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Menu (Mac Only) 3

4 Essential Menus Guide
Chapter 3: File Menu

File menu commands are used to create and maintain

Pro Tools sessions. Save As
The Save As command lets you save a copy of the current ses-
sion under a different name, or in a different location. Because
the Save As command closes the current session and allows
you to keep working on the renamed copy, it is useful for sav-
ing successive stages of the session.

Revert to Saved
The Revert to Saved command restores the most recently
saved version of a session, discarding all changes made since
the last time you saved. Reverting to the last saved version of
a session is like closing the session without saving changes
and reopening it.
File menu

Save Copy In
New Session
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
The New Session command lets you create and name a new M-Powered.
Pro Tools M-Powered Essential session.
You can read more about this command on-screen by select-
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
Open Session so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

The Open command opens a session previously created with

Pro Tools. Only one session can be open at a time.
Save As Template
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
Close Session M-Powered.

The Close command closes the current session without quit- You can read more about this command on-screen by select-
ting Pro Tools. Pro Tools prompts you to save changes before ing it. Be sure that the Help menu item Display M-Powered In-
closing the session. formation Dialogs is enabled (select that item so that a check-
mark appears next to it in the Help menu).

Save
The Save command saves changes made since the last time the
session was saved. You cannot undo the Save command.

Chapter 3: File Menu 5

 Resolution Selects the bit depth. Choices are
Send via DigiDelivery 24-bit, 16-bit, or 8-bit resolution.

This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools Sample Rate Selects the sample rate.
M-Powered.
Whenever a Bounce to Disk is configured to a different file
You can read more about this command on-screen by select- type, file format, resolution, or sample rate, additional op-
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis- tions become available to convert during or after the
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item bounce. See “Additional Bounce Options” on page 6 for
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu). more information.

Import After Bounce Automatically imports the audio after it is

bounced and adds it to the Region List so that it can be used in
Send to Sibelius the session.
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered. The Import After Bounce option is only available if the tar-
get file type and sample rate for the bounce are the same as
You can read more about this command on-screen by select- the file type and sample rate of the current session, and the
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis- target resolution (bit rate) is the same or lower than the res-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item olution of the session. In addition, tracks bounced to a Ste-
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu). reo Interleaved file cannot be imported after a bounce.

Additional Bounce Options

Bounce to Commands The following Bounce options are only available when bounc-
ing to a different file type, format, resolution, or sample rate.
The Bounce to commands let you mix tracks together into one
file. Conversion Quality Selects the quality, with option ranging
from lowest to highest, when bouncing to a new sample rate.
Bounce to Disk Use Squeezer Optimizes the dynamics of the bounced audio
The Bounce to Disk command allows you to mix together the before conversion to 8-bit resolution.
outputs of all currently audible tracks routed to a common
Convert During Bounce Automatically performs file type, sam-
output path to create a new audio file. You can use the Bounce
ple rate, and bit resolution conversion as the file is being
to Disk command to create a submix or to create a final mix in
bounced.
any of several audio file formats.
Convert After Bounce Automatically performs file type, sam-
For more information, see the Essential User Guide.
ple rate, and bit resolution conversion after the file has been
Bounce Source Selects the audio output path to bounce. Only bounced.
audio routed to the selected path will be included in the
bounce.

Enforce Avid Compatibility Creates frame-accurate edits, wraps

the files as OMFI (unless File Type is MXF), and limits the sam-
ple rate options to 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Dithering without
noise shaping will be applied to files being exported from
24-bit to 16-bit.

File Type Selects the audio file type. Choices include BWF
(.WAV), AIFF, and MPEG-1 Layer 3 (MP3). Windows systems
also include Windows Media (Windows). Mac systems also in-
clude SD II and Sound Resource. Systems with the DigiTrans-
lator™ option also support MXF audio files. Creating an MP3
requires the MP3 Option (not included). Certain file types are
restricted in regards to format, resolution, and sample rate.

Format Selects the channel format (number of channels).

Choices are mono (summed), multiple mono, or interleaved.

6 Essential Menus Guide

Import Export
Pro Tools provides several menu commands to import files Pro Tools provides several menu commands to export session
and regions into an open session. tracks or data as files.

Import Session Data Export MIDI

This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered. M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select- You can read more about this command on-screen by select-
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis- ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu). so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

Import Audio Export Sibelius

This command lets you import audio files into the current ses- This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
sion. Audio files can be imported into a new track (and the Re- M-Powered.
gion List), or the Region List only.
You can read more about this command on-screen by select-
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
Import MIDI
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
The Import MIDI command imports all tracks from a Standard so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
MIDI file into Pro Tools. MIDI files can be imported into a new
track (and the Region List) or the Region List only.

Options are provided for importing the Session Start or Song Exit
Start Marker (if the marker is not located at the session start), (Windows Only)
importing tempo map data contained in the sequence, and re-
moving existing Instrument or MIDI tracks. The Exit command ends your Pro Tools session and closes the
Pro Tools M-Powered application.
Import Video
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

Chapter 3: File Menu 7

8 Essential Menus Guide
Chapter 4: Edit Menu

Edit menu commands are used to edit and manipulate the cur-
rently selected material in the timeline or the clipboard. Restore Last Selection
If you lose the current Edit (or Timeline) selection and want to
restore it, use the Restore Last Selection command.

If no actions are available to restore, the menu displays a

grayed out Restore Last Selection.

Cut
This command cuts a selection out of its current location and
stores it in memory so that you can paste it elsewhere.

Copy
This command copies a selection (leaving the original intact)
and stores it in memory so that you can paste it elsewhere.

Paste
Edit Menu This command inserts cut or copied data into a location spec-
ified with an Edit tool (such as the Selector tool).

Undo
The Undo command lets you sequentially undo up to 10 of Clear
your previous actions. Certain commands and actions (such
This command removes the contents within a selection in the
as saving) are not undoable. The last command in the undo
Edit window.
queue will appear in the menu (for example, “Undo Paste”).

If no actions are available to undo, the menu displays a grayed

out Can’t Undo.
Select All
This command selects all audio and MIDI data in one or more
tracks.
Redo
 To select all regions in a single track, select a portion of the
After undoing a command or action, you can redo it by choos- track, or click the Selector anywhere in a track and choose Se-
ing the Redo command. This is a good way to compare before lect All.
and after states of edits.
 To select all regions on multiple tracks, Shift-click a region

If no actions are available to redo, the menu displays a grayed on each track with the Selector or Grabber and choose Select
out Can’t Redo. All.
 To select all regions on all tracks, Select the “All” Edit Group
in the Groups List, click the Selector anywhere in a track, and
choose Select All.

Chapter 4: Edit Menu 9

 Duplicate Strip Silence
This command copies a selection and places it immediately af- This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
ter the end of that selection in a track. M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
Snap To play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
This command provides two options for “butt splicing” suc-
cessive elements on a track.

Next Snaps a region (or Edit selection containing whole re-

Consolidate
gions) to the beginning of the next region in a track.
This command consolidates multiple regions into a single re-
Previous Snaps a region (or Edit selection containing whole re- gion. When an audio track is consolidated, a new audio file is
gions) to the end of the preceding region written that encompasses the selection range, including any
blank space or fades.

Separate Region
These commands separate a region from adjacent data in the Fades
track where it was created. By separating a region you will also These commands let you create (or delete) a crossfade between
create by-product regions from data on either side of the sep- two adjacent audio regions, or a fade-in or fade-out of a single
aration. The Separate Region commands automatically un- region. Crossfade duration, position, and shape are all select-
loop and flatten looped regions before separating. able. A selection that crosses multiple regions will create cross-
Separate Region includes the following commands: fades for each of the region transitions. If a selection includes
regions that already contain crossfades, the existing crossfades
At Selection This command creates new region boundaries at will be modified.
the selection start and end points.

When separating regions that include fades, the status of the

fade depends on the Preserve Fades when Editing preference.

On Grid This command constrains newly created regions to

start and end on grid points.

Heal Separation
This command repairs separated regions, provided that the re-
gions are contiguous and their relative start and end points
haven’t changed since they were originally separated. If you
have trimmed or changed the start and end points of the two
regions, or moved them away from each other, they cannot be
repaired with the Heal Separation command. Fades dialog

Create The Create command produces a crossfade between ad-

jacent regions according to parameters you specify with the
Mute/Unmute Region Fades editor.

This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools Delete The Delete command removes a crossfade between ad-
M-Powered. jacent regions.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

10 Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 5: View Menu

View menu options and commands control the display of

Pro Tools windows, tracks, and track data. Some View menu Edit Window Views
options toggle the display of various Pro Tools windows or
These options selectively display the following views in the
data: selecting the option displays the data, and deselecting
Edit window:
the option hides the data.
• Comments
• Instruments
• Inserts A-C
• Sends A–E
• I/O
• Track Color

Rulers
These options selectively display various Timebase and Con-
ductor rulers in the Edit window. In addition to providing a
View Menu timing reference for track material, Timebase rulers are used to
define Edit and Timeline selections.

Mix Window Besides selecting individual rulers, you can select All of the
rulers, or None of them.
These options selectively display the following views in the
Mix window: Timebase Rulers
• Instruments
Any or all of the following Timebase rulers can be displayed at
• Inserts A-C
the top of the Edit window:
• Sends A–E
• Bars:Beats
• Track Color
• Minutes:Seconds
• Comments
Conductor Rulers

Any or all of the following Conductor rulers can be displayed:

Narrow Mix • Markers
This option reduces the width of Mix channels on-screen, al- • Tempo (and Tempo Editor)
lowing you to display the maximum number of tracks on your • Meter
computer monitor. In this view, track names, names of sends,
and plug-in names are abbreviated to accommodate the The Tempo, Meter, Key Signature and Chord Symbols rulers
smaller view. To return to normal view width, choose this indicate changes in tempo, meter, key signature, and chords
command again. within the session. The Markers ruler displays Markers to im-
portant track locations.

The Tempo Editor is an expansion of the Tempo ruler, open-

ing in the rulers section of the Edit window.

Chapter 5: View Menu 11

 Other Displays Waveforms
These options allow you to show or hide the Universe view, Waveforms can be displayed normally (as positive and nega-
the Track List, Regions List, or the MIDI Editor. A check mark tive shapes around the zero crossing) or rectified. They can
indicates an open display. also be calculated as Peak or Power whether displayed nor-
mally or rectified. Any waveform can have an Outline.
Universe The Universe view displays an overview of the entire
session, representing audio and MIDI material on all tracks Peak When selected, the waveform display is calculated based
that are not hidden (including tracks that are inactive, or that on the sample-by-sample peak level. Peak view is traditionally
contain offline regions). The order in which material is dis- how Pro Tools calculates the waveform overview and can be
played in the Universe view corresponds to the track order in used for normal or rectified views. Peak view clearly displays
the Edit window. any clipping in the waveform

In the Universe view, audio, MIDI, and video regions on tracks Power When selected, the wave form display is calculated ac-
are represented by horizontal lines that are the same colors as cording to the Root Mean Square (RMS). Power view can be
the regions on the tracks. Additionally, each channel in a ste- used for normal or rectified views. When zoomed in to the
reo or multichannel audio track is represented individually. sample level, Pro Tools always displays Peak view, but Power
view is useful for better seeing the characteristics of the audio
Regions List This option shows or hides the Regions List. in the waveform representation when zoomed out beyond the
MIDI Editor This option opens a MIDI Editor docked within sample level. For mastering applications in particular, it can
the Edit window. This option appears grayed out if no MIDI be more revealing of the sonic characteristics of the audio
editor window is available. than Peak view.

Rectified When selected, audio waveforms are displayed so

that their positive and negative waveform excursions (the por-
tions that fall above and below the center line) are summed
together and viewed as a single positive-value signal. This
view allows more waveform detail to be seen in either normal
or reduced track height views. It can be particularly useful
when editing volume automation data, since it depicts wave-
form levels as starting at the bottom of the track. Rectified
Waveform view is an option that can be enabled in Peak or
Power views.

Outline When selected, audio waveforms are outlined.

Sends A–E
These options display either send assignments for all sends, or
the controls for individual sends (Sends A–E). Select Assign-
ment to display all five of these send assignments.

Transport
These options selectively display Counters, MIDI Controls,
Synchronization, and Expanded controls in the Transport
window.

12 Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 6: Track Menu

Track menu commands are used to create, manage, and edit

tracks. Delete
This command removes selected tracks from a session. While
audio or MIDI region data will remain in the Region List, the
track and its arrangement of the regions on the deleted track
(the track’s playlist) will be lost.

Group
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
Track Menu M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
New Track play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
The New Track command lets you add one or more new audio so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master Faders, MIDI or Instrument
tracks to a session.

Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master faders can be mono

Clear All Clip Indicators
or stereo. This command clears all clip indication from all meters.

Create Click Track

New Track dialog This command lets you create one or more click tracks. Click
tracks are Auxiliary Input tracks with the Click plug-in already
inserted.
Make Inactive or Make Active
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

Chapter 6: Track Menu 13

14 Essential Menus Guide
Chapter 7: Region Menu

Region menu commands are used to manage and edit regions.

Loop
The Loop command lets you loop audio, video, and MIDI re-
gions so they repeat again and again while Pro Tools is in ac-
tion playing back. Selecting one or more regions and choosing
Region > Loop displays the Loop dialog, where you can specify
how long you want the selection to loop. Similar to (but more
flexible than) the Edit > Duplicate command, the Loop dialog
automates all the copy/paste involved in

Unloop
The Unloop command lets you switch looped regions back to
standard (unlooped) regions so that they can be edited indi-
Region Menu vidually.

Edit Lock/Unlock Region Rename

This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
This command lets you rename the selected region. When re-
M-Powered.
naming a region that was auto-created during editing, the re-
You can read more about this command on-screen by select- gion becomes a user-defined region and is displayed in the Re-
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis- gion List even when auto-created regions are hidden.
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
Quantize to Grid
This command adjusts the placement of a selected audio or
Group MIDI region in a track so that its start point (or Sync Point, if
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools it contains one) precisely aligns to the nearest Grid boundary.
M-Powered. Grid units are chosen from the Grid pop-up menu in the Edit
window.
You can read more about this command on-screen by select-
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
Elastic Properties
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

Chapter 7: Region Menu 15

 Conform to Tempo
This command lets you conform regions on Elastic Audio–en-
abled tracks (both sample- and tick-based) to the session
tempo. If necessary, the Conform to Tempo command ana-
lyzes the selected region to determine its tempo and duration
(in bars and beats), and then applies Elastic Audio processing
to conform the region to match the session tempo.

Remove Warp
This command removes warping applied to a region, but
leaves underlying Warp markers intact. This feature will only
remove warping created by Warp markers (that is, warping
caused by quantization or tempo mapping). This can be useful
if you are not satisfied with the results and want to revert to
the pre-warped region. (For information on working with
Warp markers, see the Pro Tools Reference Guide.)

Remove Pitch Shift

This command removes pitch shifts applied to Elastic Au-
dio–enabled regions using the Pitch Shift option in the Elastic
Properties dialog.

16 Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 8: Event Menu

The Event menu contains commands for editing audio and Quantize
MIDI events.
This command lets you adjust the placement of selected MIDI
or audio events in a track using Grid Quantize.
Ev

Event Menu

Event Operations
Pro Tools provides several commands for changing event data
over a range of time (or measures). The Event Operations com-
mands include:

Event Operations Window

The Event Operations window provides commands to trans-
form groups of MIDI notes to affect pitch, timing, and phras-
ing. The Quantize and Restore Performance Event Operations Event Operations window, Quantize page
can also be applied to audio region start times (or sync points) Grid Quantize lets you adjust the placement of selected MIDI
or Elastic Audio events. events, Elastic Audio events, or audio regions in a track so that
• Quantize their start or end points precisely align to the quantization
• Transpose value chosen.

Chapter 8: Event Menu 17

 Transpose
Identify Beat
This command transposes selected MIDI notes in key up or
down by scale steps. This command lets you establish a tempo/meter map for au-
dio that was recorded without listening to a click, or for im-
ported audio with unknown tempos.

Identify Beat dialog

Event Operations window, Transpose page The Identify Beat command analyzes a selection range (usu-
ally with a distinct number of beats or measures) and calcu-
Step Input
lates its tempo based on the specified meter. In doing this,
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools Bar|Beat markers for the calculated tempo are inserted and ap-
M-Powered. pear in the Tempo Ruler at the beginning and end of the se-
lection. in addition, meter events are inserted into the Meter
You can read more about this command on-screen by select- Ruler.
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
Beat Detective
This command opens the Beat Detective window. Beat Detec-
MIDI Real-Time Properties tive automatically detects the tempo of a session and con-
forms an audio track or selection to that tempo by separating
This command opens the Real-Time Properties window. This it into regions and aligning it to the beats. Beat Detective is
window lets you adjust and apply MIDI quantization, dura- ideal for tailoring a performance to a groove.
tion, delay, velocity, and transposition parameters during
playback. This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

MIDI Real-Time Properties window Beat Detective window

This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools

M-Powered. All MIDI Notes Off
You can read more about this command on-screen by select- This command sends an All Notes Off MIDI message to all
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis- MIDI devices connected to your system to silence any stuck
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item notes.
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

18 Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 9: AudioSuite Menu

The AudioSuite™ menu allows you to access all AudioSuite

plug-ins provided in Pro Tools M-Powered Essential. Audio- Dynamics Plug-ins
Suite plug-ins are non-real-time, file-based processing plug-ins
for Pro Tools. Compressor/Limiter III

The Compressor/Limiter III plug-in applies either compres-

sion or limiting to audio material, depending on the ratio of
compression used.

The Compressor reduces the dynamic range of signals that ex-

ceed a selected threshold by a specific amount.

The Limiter is used to prevent signal peaks from ever exceed-

ing a chosen level so that they do not overload amplifiers or
recording devices.
AudioSuite Menu

De-Esser III
For more information about file-based processing, and for
details on each of the AudioSuite plug-ins, refer to the The De-Esser reduces sibilants and other high frequency
Essential Plug-ins Guide. noises that can occur in vocals, voice-overs, and wind instru-
ments such as flutes. These sounds can cause peaks in an audio
signal and lead to distortion.

EQ Plug-ins The DeEsser reduces these unwanted sounds using fast-acting

compression. A Threshold control sets the level above which
1 Band, and 7 Band EQ III compression starts, and a Frequency control sets the fre-
The EQ III plug-ins adjust the frequency spectrum of an audio quency band in which the DeEsser operates.
selection. These plug-ins are flexible EQ types for maximum
CPU and DSP efficiency. Expander/Gate III

The Expander/Gate III plug-in applies expansion or gating to

On the 1 Band EQ, the EQ Type selector lets you choose any
audio material, depending on the ratio setting.
one of six available filter types: High-Pass, Notch, High-Shelf,
Low-Shelf, Peak, and Low-Pass. The Expander/Gate plug-in is useful for reducing noise or sig-
nal leakage that creeps into recorded material as its level falls,
On the 7 Band EQ and the 2–4 Band EQ, the HPF, LPF, LF, and
as often occurs in the case of headphone leakage.
HF sections have EQ Type selectors to toggle between the two
available filter types in each section.

Reverb Plug-ins
D-Verb

D-Verb is a studio-quality reverb. Reverberation processing

can simulate the complex natural reflections and echoes that
occur after a sound has been produced, imparting a sense of
an acoustic environment. D-Verb artificially creates a sound
space with a specific acoustic character.

Chapter 9: AudioSuite Menu 19

 Delay Plug-ins Modulation Plug-ins
Delay Chorus

The Delay plug-in provides time delay-based effects, with up The Chorus plug-in modifies an audio signal by combining a
to 10.9 seconds of delay (regardless of the sample rate). In ad- time-delayed, pitch-shifted copy with the original signal. It is
dition to long delays, you can create many delay-based effects ideal for thickening and adding a shimmering quality to gui-
with this plug-in, including slap echo, doubling, chorusing, tars, keyboards, and other instruments.
and flanging.
Flanger
Multi-Tap Delay
The Flanger plug-in combines a time-delayed, pitch shifted
The Multi-Tap Delay plug-in adds up to four indepen- copy of an audio signal with itself. The Flanger differs from
dently-controllable delays or taps to the original audio signal. other digital flangers in that it uses a thru-zero flanging algo-
By allowing you to individually control the delay time and rithm that results in a truer tape-like flange. This technique
number of repetitions of each of the four taps, the Multi-Tap delays the original dry signal very slightly (approximately 256
delay provides greater flexibility than standard single-delay samples), then modulates the delayed signal back and forth in
devices. time in relation to the dry signal, passing through its zero
point on the way.\
Ping-Pong Delay

The Ping-Pong Delay plug-in modifies an audio signal by add-

ing a controllable delay to the original signal. It is ideal for Other Plug-ins
adding spatialization, and when used in stereo, adds panned
The Other Plug-in category includes plug-ins that do not fit
echo to virtually any instrument. In stereo mode, this plug-in
into a standard category, or third party plug-ins that have not
will feed back delayed signals to their opposite channels, cre-
had a category designated to them by their manufacturer.
ating a characteristic ping-pong echo effect.

Reverse

The Reverse plug-in rewrites the currently selected region in

reverse, producing a backwards audio effect.

20 Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 10: Options Menu

The Options menu commands let you select several editing,

recording, monitoring, playback, and display options. Pre/Post-Roll
This option enables pre- and post-roll playback, which let you
have Pro Tools “back up” a bit before the current play/edit
point (Pre-roll) or “keep going” for a bit after the current
play/edit point (Post-roll). Pre- and post-roll amounts can be
entered in the Transport window, set from a track’s playlist or
Timebase Ruler, or by recalling a Memory Location.

QuickPunch
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

Options Menu ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
Loop Record
Loop Record lets you record take after take while the same sec-
tion of audio repeats. This is a convenient technique for Dynamic Transport Mode
quickly recording multiple takes of a part without losing spon-
This mode lets you decouple the playback start location from
taneity.
the Timeline selection. This means that you can start playback
The time range that is looped and recorded—which must be at from anywhere on the Timeline without losing your Timeline
least one second in length—is defined by selecting a range in or Edit selections.
the Ruler or in a track’s playlist, or by specifying start and end
points in the Transport window.
Transport Online
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
Loop Playback M-Powered.
This option continuously loops playback of a selection until
You can read more about this command on-screen by select-
you stop playback. Looping playback is a useful way to check
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
the rhythmic continuity of a selection when working with
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
musical material. Selections must be at least 0.5 seconds in
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
length to use Loop Playback.

Click
When the Click command is enabled, a metronome event is
generated during playback and recording. The metronome
can trigger an external MIDI device (as specified by the Output
setting in the Click/Countoff Options dialog) or the DigiRack
Click TDM or RTAS® plug-in (see the DigiRack Plug-ins Guide).

Chapter 10: Options Menu 21

 MIDI Thru
Enabling the MIDI Thru command routes MIDI from your
controllers to the devices and channels assigned to the MIDI
track currently record-enabled. This allows you to monitor
MIDI tracks while recording.

22 Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 11: Setup Menu

This menu provides commands to open dialogs and windows

for configuring various Pro Tools hardware and software pa- Peripherals
rameters.
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

I/O
This I/O Setup dialog provides tools to label and map
Pro Tools input, output, and bus signal paths. The I/O Setup
dialog also lets you configure delay compensation for hard-
Setup Menu ware inserts.

Hardware MIDI
The Hardware Setup dialog lets you specify settings for your
hardware and sessions. Configure the settings for any audio MIDI Studio
interface connected to your system by selecting it from the Pe-
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
ripherals list.
M-Powered.
Refer to the Pro Tools M-Powered Essential Guide for more infor-
You can read more about this command on-screen by select-
mation.
ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
Playback Engine
This Playback Engine lets you set a hardware buffer size, define
MIDI Beat Clock
the RTAS Processors allocation on multi-processor computers, This command lets you enable synchronization for certain
allocate a percentage of CPU resources for these tasks, and MIDI devices (such as drum machines, software synthesizers,
configure host error reporting for playback and recording. and hardware sequencers) to MIDI Beat Clock. Devices se-
lected in the MIDI Beat Clock dialog will receive the MIDI Beat
Clock signal. If your MIDI interface does not support transmit-
ting MIDI Beat Clock to separate ports, the interface will ap-
pear as the only destination.

Chapter 11: Setup Menu 23

 Click/Countoff
This command lets you configure metronome parameters
such as MIDI note, velocity, duration, and output. If you are
using the Click plug-in, set the output to None.

Click/Countoff Options dialog

Preferences
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

24 Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 12: Window Menu

The Window menu provides commands to toggle the display

of various Pro Tools windows: selecting the command dis- Arrange
plays the window; selecting the command again hides the
The Arrange commands tile or cascade all open windows.
window.
Floating windows (such as plug-in, output, and send win-
dows) and the Transport window are not affected by these
commands.

Tile Arranges all open windows in a tiled pattern on the

screen.

Tile Horizontal Arranges all open windows in a horizon-

tally-tiled pattern on the screen. This option is not available if
there are too many windows open.

Tile Vertical Arranges all open windows in a vertically-tiled

pattern, side by side, on the screen. This option is not avail-
able if there are too many windows open.

Cascade Arranges all open windows in a cascading pattern on

the screen.
Window Menu

For Window menu items, keyboard shortcuts with number Close Window
keys only work using the numeric keypad on your com-
Closes the currently targeted window.
puter.

Configurations Mix
The Configurations menu provides commands and options to This command displays the Mix window, used for recording
manage the configuration of windows in your session, as well and mixing tasks.
as the internal window configurations of the Edit, Mix, Trans-
port, MIDI Editor, and Score Editor windows.
Edit
New Configuration
This command displays the Edit window, used for graphical
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools editing and arranging of audio, MIDI and automation.
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis- Score Editor
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
This command is available when you purchase Pro Tools
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).
M-Powered.

You can read more about this command on-screen by select-

ing this menu command. Be sure that the Help menu item Dis-
play M-Powered Information Dialogs is enabled (select that item
so that a checkmark appears next to it in the Help menu).

Chapter 12: Window Menu 25

 Task Manager Memory Locations
This command displays the Task Window, used to monitor, This command opens the Memory Locations window. Here
pause, or cancel ongoing processing tasks. If you think your you can store up to 200 time location markers, selections,
computer is slowing down, check the Task Manager; it may zoom settings, pre- and post-roll times, track show and hide
show that your computer is merely busy trying to convert an states, track height states, and group enables. To recall a mem-
audio file or calculate fades in the background, as would be ory location, click the button for the location or, on your com-
shown in the Task Manager puter’s numeric keypad, press the number of the location fol-
lowed by a period (.).

Workspace
This command displays the Workspace browser, which can be
used for searching, sorting, auditioning, and importing data.

Transport Memory Locations window

This command opens the Transport window. This window

can display counters, MIDI controls, and basic or expanded
transport controls (configure the Transport window from
System Usage
View > Transport). This command opens the System Usage window. This window
provide meters that indicate how much of your system’s pro-
cessing power is being used in processing audio, and when
writing and playing back automation.

Transport window There are four system activity meters:

• PCI
• CPU (RTAS
• CPU (Elastic)
• Disk

System Usage window (Pro Tools HD shown)

For information on these indicators, see the Pro Tools Reference

Guide.

26 Essential Menus Guide

Chapter 13: Help Menu

The Help menu commands provide links to important

Pro Tools documentation, including Intro to Pro Tools Check For Updates
M-Powered Essential, Pro Tools M-Powered Essential User Guide,
This command allows you to check for Pro Tools M-Powered
and Pro Tools M-Powered Essential Plug-ins Guide, as well as
Essential application and Digidesign plug-in updates, either
other guides for menus and shortcuts (with your keyboard or
automatically or manually. An internet connection is required
mouse Right-click button).
to be able to check for updates.
Select the title of the document from the Pro Tools menu to
If updates are available for Pro Tools or any plug-ins, you are
open the document in Adobe Reader (available from
notified about what is available and how important the up-
[Link]).
dates are for your system. You can then visit the Digidesign
website to locate, download, and install the appropriate up-
dates for your Pro Tools system.

Display M-Powered Information

Dialogs
This command enables the icons and information dialogs for
various commands within Pro Tools M-Powered Essential.

About Pro Tools M-Powered Essential

(Windows Only)
Help Menu The About Pro Tools command launches the Pro Tools ban-
ner, which includes the version number of your Pro Tools
software.

Chapter 13: Help Menu 27

28 Essential Menus Guide
Chapter 14: Region List

Region List
The Edit Window displays all audio regions, MIDI regions,
video regions, and region groups in a single, comprehensive
Region List.

The pop-up menu at the top of the Region List provides menu
commands and tools to clear and rename items in the list.

Region List Menu

Clear
This command lets you remove unwanted regions from the
session. Whole-file regions can also be removed permanently
from your hard drive.

Clearing whole-file regions is destructive and cannot be

undone. It permanently removes the file from your hard
drive. There is no way to recover files deleted with this
command.

Rename
This command lets you rename selected regions.

When you rename a whole-file audio region, you can specify

whether to rename just the region, or both the region and the
disk file.

Recalculate Waveform Overviews

This command re-creates the session’s waveform overview
data (the data used to create waveform displays). Use this com-
mand if you think overview data for a session has become cor-
rupted, or if you import audio files which have no overview
data into a session.

Recalculating waveform overviews may take some time if

there are many tracks in the session.

Chapter 14: Region List 29

30 Essential Menus Guide
 index

Numerics Dynamics plug-ins

1-Band EQ plug-in 19 Compressor III 19
2–4 Band EQ plug-in 19 Expander-Gate 19
7 Band EQ plug-in 19 Limiter plug-in 19

A E
About Pro Tools command 3, 27 Edit menu 9
All MIDI Notes Off command 18 Clear command 9
Assignment View option 12 Consolidate command 10
AudioSuite menu 19 Copy command 9
Delay plug-ins 20 Cut command 9
Dynamics plug-ins 19 Duplicate command 10
EQ plug-ins 19 Fades commands 10
Modulation plug-ins 20 Heal Separation command 10
Reverb plug-ins 19 Paste command 9
Redo command 9
Select All command 9
B Separate Region commands 10
Beat Detective command 18 Snap To commands 10
Bounce options Undo command 9
Conversion Quality 6 Edit window
Convert After Bounce 6 Universe view 12
Convert During Bounce 6 Edit Window command 25
Enforce Avid Compatibility 6 Edit Window view options 11
File Type 6 EQ III plug-ins 19
Format 6 Event menu
Import After Bounce 6 All MIDI Notes Off command 18
Resolution 6 Beat Detective command 18
Sample Rate 6 Event Operations commands 17
Source 6 Identify Beat command 18
Use Squeezer 6 MIDI Real-Time Properties command 18
Bounce to Disk command 6 Event Operations commands 17
Quantize 17
Transpose 18
C Exit command 7
Chorus plug-in 20 Expanded Transport view option 12
Clear All Clip Indicators 13 Expander-Gate plug-in 19
Clear command 9 Export commands 7
Clear Region List command 29
Clear Trim Automation command 13
Click Setup command 24 F
Click/Countoff Options command 21 Fades commands 10
Close Session command 5 Create 10
Compressor plug-in 19 Delete 10
Conductor rulers 11 File menu 5
Consolidate command 10 Bounce to commands 6
Conversion Quality option 6 Close Session command 5
Convert After Bounce option 6 Exit command 7
Convert During Bounce option 6 Export commands 7
Copy command 9 Import Audio command 7
Counters Transport view option 12 Import MIDI command 7
Create Click Track command 13 New Session command 5
Create Fades command 10 Open Session command 5
Cut command 9 Revert to Saved command 5
Save As command 5
Save command 5
D Flanger plug-in 20
Delay plug-ins
Delay 20
Multi-Tap Delay 20 G
Ping-Pong Delay 20 Group Region command 15
Delete Fades command 10
Delete Tracks command 13 H
DigiRack Delay plug-in 20
Display menu Hardware Setup dialog 23
Narrow Mix window option 11 Heal Separation command 10
Duplicate command 10 Help menu
D-Verb 19 Pro Tools documentation 27
Dynamic Transport Mode 21 Hide Others command 3
Hide Pro Tools command 3

Index 31
 I Reverse plug-in 20
I/O Setup dialog 23 Revert to Saved command 5
Identify Beat command 18 rulers
Import Audio command 7 Conductor rulers 11
Import commands 7 Timebase rulers 11
Import MIDI command 7 Rulers view options 11

L S
Limiter plug-in 19 Save As command 5
Loop Playback option 21 Save command 5
Loop Record mode 21 Select All command 9
Loop Region command 15 Sends A–E view options 12
Separate Region commands 10
At Selection 10
M On Grid 10
Memory Locations Window command 26 Services command 3
MIDI Beat Clock command 23 Setup menu 23
MIDI Controls Transport view option 12 Click command 24
MIDI Real-Time Properties command 18 Hardware Setup dialog 23
MIDI Setup commands I/O dialog 23
MIDI Beat Clock 23 Playback Engine dialog 23
MIDI Thru command 22 Show All command 3
Mix Window command 25 sibilants 19
Mix Window view options 11 Snap To commands 10
Modulation plug-ins 20 Next 10
Chorus 20 Previous 10
Flanger 20 Synchronization page 23
Multi-Tap Delay plug-in 20 System Usage Window command 26

N T
Narrow Mix window option 11 Task Manager Window command 26
New Session command 5 Timebase rulers 11
New Track command 13 Track menu
Clear All Clip Indicators command 13
Clear Trim Automation 13
O Create Click Track 13
Open Session command 5 Delete command 13
Options menu New Track command 13
Click/Countoff command 21 Transport view options 12
Dynamic Transport Mode 21 Transport Window command 26
Loop Playback option 21 Transpose command 18
Loop Record mode 21
MIDI Thru command 22
Pre/Post Roll option 21 U
Other plug-ins Undo command 9
Reverse plug-in 20 Universe window 12
Unloop Region command 15
Use Squeezer option 6
P
Paste command 9
Peripherals dialog V
Synchronization page 23 View menu 11
Ping-Pong Delay plug-in 20 Edit Window view options 11
Playback Engine dialog 23 Mix Window view options 11
Pre/Post Roll option 21 Rulers view options 11
Pro Tools documentation 27 Sends A–E view options 12
Pro Tools menu 3 Transport view options 12
About Pro Tools command 3, 27 Waveform view options 12
Hide Others command 3
Hide Pro Tools command 3 W
Quit Pro Tools command 3
Services command 3 Waveform view options
Show All command 3 Outline views 12
Peak view 12
Power view 12
Q Rectified view 12
Quantize command 17 Window menu 25
Quantize to Grid command 15 Edit command 25
Quit Pro Tools command 3 Memory Locations command 26
Mix command 25
System Usage command 26
R Task Manager command 26
Recalculate Waveform Overviews command 29 Transport command 26
Redo command 9 Workspace command 26
Region List menu 29 Workspace browser 26
Clear command 29 Workspace Window command 26
Recalculate Waveform Overviews command 29
Rename command 29
Region menu 15
Group command 15
Loop command 15
Quantize to Grid command 15
Unloop command 15
Rename Region List command 29
Restore Last Selection command 9

32 Essential Menus Guide

 [Link]

DIGIDESIGN TECHNICAL SUPPORT (USA) PRODUCT INFORMATION

2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard Visit the Digidesign Online Support Center For company and product information,
Daly City, CA 94014-3886 USA at [Link]/support visit us on the web at [Link]