As well as automatically muting the output of input-monitored and record-enabled tracks, it introduced a preference called Allow Sends To Persist During Low Latency Monitoring, which allows sends on these muted record-enabled tracks to pass audio. Pro Tools 2018 introduced some enhancements to Low Latency mode, which can be found in the Options menu. This arrangement works well but does involve some compromises. The usual workaround to avoid latency while tracking with native DAWs, including standard Pro Tools, is to route audio directly from the open microphone to headphones, either using a mix control on the audio interface or, more usually, some form of mix control software to control routing within the interface. If you're an HDX user then you are in the lucky position of not having to consider latency while tracking very much at all. Allow Sends To Persist During Low Latency Monitoring The default Clip Gain Nudge Value is rather low, but this can be changed in the Preferences. To access this setting, go the the Editing tab of Pro Tools' Preferences. The default setting for track height isn't the most useful, and I'd always change it to 'fit to window' so the vertical zoom matches the horizontal zoom.

Zoom Toggle always zooms horizontally to fill the window, but there are several vertical zoom options. A little-known extension to Zoom Toggle is to hold down Alt while clicking on the button or pressing 'E', which exits Zoom Toggle without changing your current level of zoom. As the word 'toggle' implies, to exit Zoom Toggle you just hit 'E' again. You can click this button with the mouse, but hitting 'E' when in Command Focus is far more efficient. The Zoom Toggle button, just to the left of the Zoom Tool in the toolbar, gives a visual indication of whether or not you are currently zoomed in. Zoom Toggle temporarily zooms in on the selected area of the Edit window. The quickest way to get a detailed view of the audio you are editing is to use the Zoom Toggle function, and when this is set up correctly in the Preferences, editing can be a full-screen experience. Pro Tools doesn't have a sample editor because the Edit window is the sample editor. Something which can confuse newcomers to Pro Tools is the lack of a dedicated sample editor. These will occupy the top of the list once specified. Searching for a plug-in is fine if you know what you are looking for, but browsing the list often turns up options you hadn't considered, and displaying by manufacturer is a great way of keeping on top of what you have installed and reminding you to remove expired demos and unused plug-ins.Īnother time-saving option is the preference to select EQ and dynamics plug-ins, which is also found in the Display tab of the Preferences.

Rather than making the plug-in list redundant, for me the search facility has just changed what the plug-in list is for. The search facility was introduced in Pro Tools 2018: click on an insert slot, start typing and a list of matching plug-ins or plug-in presets appears. For many years, the only way to instantiate a plug-in was to select it from this list, and finding a particular plug-in can be much quicker when you navigate by manufacturer rather than by type. The default sorting is by category, but if you have a reasonable number of third-party plug-ins it is definitely worthwhile switching on the option to display by category and manufacturer. This list is populated according to category (EQ, Dynamics, Reverb and so on) and manufacturer. There is no user-definable control over how plug-ins get displayed in the list that pops up when you click on an insert slot. If you do want to tailor the program to your tastes, here are some tweaks you might consider trying.

This has recently been addressed in the new search features introduced in Pro Tools 2018, and it got me thinking about customising your Pro Tools experience and the options available in the Pro Tools Preferences. Another common complaint, for instance, is that Pro Tools doesn't allow you to customise its plug-in menus. Personally, I've always seen its fixed set of keyboard shortcuts as an advantage, providing a consistent set of keystrokes which are the same on every Pro Tools system, but it's not the only area in which the Pro Tools user has less control than is available in other DAWs. Pro Tools is often criticised for not being as customisable as other DAWs. The Pro Tools Preferences offer a surprising number of ways to configure operation to your tastes. Organising plug-ins by manufacturer can help you find what you want more quickly.

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