Making a selection with the indicators

Here’s how to make a selection by using the indicators:

1. With the Selector tool, click in the track you want to select.

   Choose the Selector tool by clicking the Selector tool button at the top of the Edit window.

2. Click in the Start field, type in the start point that you want, and then press Return/Enter.
3. Click in the End field, type in the location of the end of the selection, and then press Return/Enter.

You can also enter the length of the selection after entering the start point. The end point is automatically entered in the End field.

Changing a selection using the indicators

Here’s how to change the values in any of the indicator fields without typing in a value:

• Press the slash (/) key on your keyboard to move from one selection indicator to the next.
• Press the period (.) key or the left-arrow (←) and right-arrow (→) keys to move from one time field in an indicator to the next.
• Press the up-arrow key (↑) to increase the value in the field or the down-arrow key (↓) to decrease it.

Selecting objects

Selecting non-contiguous clips in your session is really simple:

1. Choose either Slip or Grid Edit mode from the Edit mode selector.

   This tool is not available within Spot or Shuffle modes.

2. Engage the Object Grabber tool from the Grabber tool options (click-hold over the icon to see your options as shown in Figure 2-6).

3. Click the clip to select it.

   A yellow line appears around the edges to let you know it’s been selected.

4. Shift+click any other clips you want to include in your selection.

   If you want to remove a selected clip from the group, Shift+click it again to deselect it.

Nudging the entire selection

You can move a selection by the increments set up in your Nudge Value menu so that you can move across the material without actually moving that material itself. (The latter move is done after you finish making a selection; see Chapter 3 of this mini-book.) Follow these steps:

1. Make your selection using one of the procedures listed earlier in this chapter.

2. Click and hold on the Nudge Value drop-down menu, located next to Nudge below the Counter section of the Edit window.

   The Nudge Value menu pops up.

3. Select the desired value for your nudge in the drop-down menu, as shown in Figure 2-7.

   For more on using the Nudge feature, go to the next chapter (Chapter 3 of this mini-book).

4. Press the Shift key along with either the + key or – key.

   Doing so “nudges” your selection to the right or left, respectively, by the designated nudge value.

If you have the Commands Keyboard focus function enabled by depressing the Command Focus button, you can skip pressing the Shift key while you use the + or – keys.

Nudging the start point

Follow these steps to move the start point of a selection by the nudge value:

1. Make your selection using one of the procedures listed earlier in this chapter.

2. Click and hold the Nudge Value drop-down menu, located next to Nudge below the Counter section of the Edit window.

   The Nudge Value menu pops up. (Refer to Figure 2-7.)

3. Select the desired value for your nudge in the drop-down menu.

   For more on using the Nudge feature, check out Book 5, Chapter 3.

4. Press Option+Shift (Mac) or Alt+Shift (PC), and then press the + or – key on your keyboard to “nudge” the Start point to the right or left, respectively, by the designated nudge value.

Nudging the end point

To nudge the end point of a selection, follow these steps:

1. Make your selection using one of the procedures listed earlier in this chapter.

2. Click and hold the Nudge Value drop-down menu, located next to Nudge below the Counter section of the Edit window.

   The Nudge Value menu pops up. (Refer to Figure 2-7.)

3. Select the desired value for your nudge in the drop-down menu.

   For more on using the Nudge feature, go to Book 5, Chapter 3.

4. Press ⌘  +Shift (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift (PC) and press the + or – key on your keyboard to move the end point the designated nudge value to the right or left, respectively.

Extending to the start or end point of a selected clip

Follow these steps to extend your selection to the start or end point of the clip:

1. Select a portion of the clip by using the Selector tool, or simply click anywhere in that clip.

   Choose the Selector tool by clicking the Selector button at the top of the Edit window.

2. Press Shift+Tab to extend the selection to the end of the clip or press Shift+Option+Tab (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl+Tab (PC) to extend your selection to the start of the clip.

Extending a selection to an adjacent clip

Use the following steps to extend a selection to include an adjacent clip:

1. With the Grabber tool, click the first clip to select it.
2. Press Shift+Control+Tab (Mac) or Shift+Windows+Tab (PC) to include the following clip. Or, press Shift+Control+Option+Tab (Mac) or Shift+Windows+Ctrl+Tab (PC) to include the previous clip.

Extending a selection to a memory location (marker)

Memory locations (markers) are flags you can place within the session to make navigating your session faster. I usually make a habit of putting a marker at the beginning of each verse and chorus to help me find them quickly. To extend a selection to a marker or memory location, follow these steps:

1. Click the start or end point in a track or make a selection in one of the ways listed earlier in this chapter.

2. Shift-click a marker in the Markers ruler (located above the track playlist section of the Edit window) or a memory location in the Memory Locations window.

   The Memory Locations window is opened by clicking any of the markers in your session or by clicking the Marker icon at the left of the Markers ruler.

Moving a selection to another track

After you make a selection, if you decide that you’d rather edit a different track instead — while still using the same start and end points as the selection you already made — you can move the selection from one track to another. This process is done by following these steps:

1. Click the Commands Focus button to enable the Commands Focus function.
2. Make a selection, using one of the procedures listed earlier in this chapter.
3. Press P to move the selection to the previous (above) track, or press ; (semicolon) to move the selection to the following (below) track.

Extending a selection to an adjacent track

To include adjacent tracks in your selection — as in the case of adding drum tracks to a selection you made on the snare drum track — you can do this by following these steps:

1. Click the Commands Focus button to enable the Commands Focus function.
2. Make a selection in a track in one of the ways listed earlier in this chapter.

3. Press Shift+P to include the previous (above) track, or press Shift+; (semicolon) to include the following (below) track.

   Figure 2-8 shows what happens when you extend a selection to include an adjacent track.

If you got overzealous in extending your selection to adjacent tracks, you can remove the bottom track from this group by pressing Control+Option+; (semicolon; Mac) or Windows+Alt+; (semicolon; PC).

Setting time properties

In the Time Properties section of the New Memory Location dialog box, you can choose from three options — Marker, Selection, and None — as well as whether you want the reference in bar/beat (the location in your session related to measures) or absolute time (the location in your session related to the clock in minutes and seconds from the start of the session).

The following list fills you in on what each of the three options here means:

• Marker: This option marks a specific location and is designated by a yellow icon in the Markers ruler — the ruler located at the top of the playlist section of the Edit window. If you set the reference for the location marker to Bar/Beat, the icon is a chevron (Figure 2-10, left). If you set the reference to Absolute, it appears as a diamond (Figure 2-10, right).
• Selection: Using this option marks a selected range within a track or multiple tracks.
• None: This type of memory location is called a General Properties memory location. It actually doesn’t contain any time-based information; rather, it memorizes just the selections from the General Properties section of the dialog box. (See the next section for more on the General Properties area.) This is a good option if you just want to remember a zoom or pre- and post-roll setting for part of the session.

Choosing general properties

In the General Properties section of the Memory Location dialog box (refer to Figure 2-9), you can set preferences for the information that you store with the memory location. These include

• Number: This is the marker number for your session. You can renumber any memory location by clicking in the field and typing the number you want for the location.
• Name: You can enter a name in this field to help you remember what the memory location is for.
• Zoom Settings: Use this option to store the horizontal and vertical zoom settings for the tracks.
• Pre/Post Roll Times: This option, which stores the pre- and post-roll times, is handy when using the Selection memory location for setting record ranges.
• Track Show/Hide: This setting allows you to store track layouts in your session (as far as them being shown or hidden, anyway).
• Track Heights: This option lets you store the height of tracks in your session.
• Group Enables: This setting stores both Edit and Mix groups for easy recall of them when mixing or editing.
• Window Configuration: This drop-down menu lets you choose one of your saved window configurations. You can find out more about configuring windows in Book 2, Chapter 3.
• Comments: You can enter any comments or reminder in this section. This is handy for remembering what the marker is marking.

Marker memory locations

Creating a Marker memory location requires these steps:

1. Get all your Settings ducks in a row for your session so that the session is set up the way you want it to be.

   Settings here can include zoom settings, track heights, or any of the setting options listed in the previous section, “Dealing with the New Memory Location dialog box.”

2. Link your Edit and Timeline selections by clicking the Link Timeline and Edit Selection button, pressing Shift+/, or choosing Options ⇒ Link Timeline and Edit Selection from the main menu.

   The Link Timeline and Edit Selection button is shown here in the margin.

3. Open the Markers Ruler (if it’s not already displayed) by choosing View ⇒ Ruler Markers from the main menu.

   The Markers ruler appears just above the playlist section of the Edit window.

4. Press Control (Mac) or Windows (PC) and position your cursor where you want the memory location in the Markers ruler. When the cursor changes to a Grabber tool with a +, go ahead and click.

   or

   Choose the Selector tool by clicking the Selector button at the top of the Edit window.

5. Click within any track where you want the memory location to go.

6. Click the Marker button located at the far left of the Memory Location ruler next to the Marker title.

   The New Memory Location Dialog box opens. (Refer to Figure 2-8.)

7. Select the Marker option and then use the Reference drop-down menu to choose whether you want the marker reference in bars/beats or absolute time, depending on whether you prefer to work referencing measures or the time from the start of the session.
8. Enter a name for the marker in the Name field and select the check boxes in the General Properties section that you want to include in the marker.

9. Click OK.

   A Marker icon appears at the location you specify in Step 4.

Selection memory locations

If you have a section of the session that you think you want to go back to — such as with a drum edit — you can store that selection by creating a Selection memory location. To create a Selection memory location, follow these steps:

1. Configure your session with the settings you want to save.

2. Select a section of a track or tracks that you want to memorize.

   For more on how to select stuff, see the “Selecting Track Material” section, earlier in the chapter.

3. Press Enter on the number pad section of your keyboard.

   The New Memory Location dialog box opens. (Refer to Figure 2-9.)

4. Choose the Selection option and then use the Reference drop-down menu to choose whether you want to use the bars/beats or absolute-time reference option.
5. Enter a name for the location and select any of the options in the General Properties section of the dialog box.

6. Click OK.

   The memory location appears in the Memory Locations window (opened by choosing Window ⇒ Memory Locations from the main menu). This window shows all the memory locations for your session.

To recall this memory location, simply click it in the Memory Locations window.

General Properties memory location

If you just want to store a zoom or pre-roll setting (or any other of the General Properties parameters) for your session, you can do so by creating a General Properties memory location. To create this type of memory location, follow these steps:

1. Configure your session to the settings that you want to save.

2. Click the plus sign (+) to the right of Markers in the rulers field.

   The New Memory Location dialog box opens. (Refer to Figure 2-8.)

3. Select None.
4. Enter a name and select the parameters you want to save from the list in the General Properties section.

5. Click OK.

   The location is stored and appears in the Memory Locations window. This window shows all the memory locations for your session and is opened by choosing Window ⇒ Memory Locations from the main menu.

To recall this memory location, simply click it in the Memory Locations window.

Creating Marker memory locations on the fly

You can create memory locations while the session plays. You can create any type of memory location — Marker, Selection, or General Properties (none) — on the fly, but the most common are Marker memory locations. This “on-the-fly” business can be handy for marking the sections of your song or locations where you want to go back to make edits. Follow these steps to create Marker memory locations on the fly:

1. Enable the Auto-Name Memory Locations When Playing option on the Editing tab of the Preferences dialog box.

   Note: To get to the Preferences dialog box, choose Setup ⇒ Preferences from the main menu.

2. Choose Window ⇒ Memory Locations from the main menu, as shown in Figure 2-11.

   The Memory Locations window appears. (See Figure 2-12.)

   Note: You can also call up this window by pressing ⌘  +5 (Mac) or Ctrl+5 (PC).

3. In the Memory Locations window, click the Name button and then choose the Default to Marker and the Auto-Name Memory Location options from the drop-down menu that appears.

   If you don’t choose this option, the new memory locations created on the fly are of the same type as the last one made.

4. Set your session’s time scale to bars:beats if you want the memory locations to reference bars/beats.

   Use the arrow to the right of the Main Counter display located at the top of the Edit window to make this selection.

5. Play your session by clicking Play in the Transport window or by pressing the spacebar on your keyboard.
6. Press Enter on the number pad of your keyboard when you want to place a marker.

Recalling from the Memory Locations window

Follow these steps to recall a memory location from the Memory Locations window:

1. Open the Memory Locations window by choosing Window ⇒ Memory Locations from the main menu or by pressing ⌘  +5 (Mac) or Ctrl+5 (PC).

   Refer to Figure 2-11 for a peek at what this window looks like.

2. If your Link Timeline and Edit Selections option isn’t enabled and you want to recall a Selection memory location, click the Link Timeline and Edit Selection button to enable the option.

3. Click the memory location you want in the Memory Locations window to recall it.

   or

   Press the memory location number followed by a period (.) if you have the Numeric Keypad mode set to Classic mode. If your numeric keypad is set to Transport mode, press period (.) followed by the memory location number followed by another period (.).

To select your Numeric Keypad Mode options, first choose Setup ⇒ Preferences from the main menu. After the Preferences dialog box appears, click the Operations tab and then select the appropriate mode check boxes.

Recalling markers from the Markers ruler

You can recall a Marker memory location in the Markers ruler by following these steps:

1. Display the Markers ruler in the session by choosing View ⇒ Rulers ⇒ Markers from the main menu.

   This ruler appears directly above the track playlist section of the Edit window.

2. Click the marker.

   The General Properties settings stored in the marker are instantly recalled.

Renaming a memory location

To rename a memory location, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the memory location in the Memory Locations window or Markers ruler.

   The Edit Memory Location dialog box makes an appearance. (Refer to Figure 2-8.)

2. Enter the new name in the Name field.
3. Click OK.

Changing a memory location’s properties

You can change the properties of a stored memory location a number of different ways, depending on the change you want to make. This section details changing general properties, location types, and selection ranges.

First off, you can redefine General Properties settings by using these steps:

1. Set up your new General Properties settings (zoom, track height, and so on).
2. Open the Memory Location window by pressing ⌘  +5 (Mac) or Ctrl+5 (PC) or by choosing Window ⇒ Memory Location from the main menu.

3. Control-click (Mac) or right-click (PC) the memory location in the Memory Location window.

   You can also Control-click (Mac) or right-click (PC) the Marker icon in the Markers ruler if you want to redefine a Marker memory location.

   The Edit Memory Location dialog box opens.

4. Enter the General Properties you want to include in this marker; optionally, enter a new name.

   This only stores the settings you have in your session; it doesn’t create them. You need to make sure that your screen is the way you want it before saving the settings.

5. Click OK.

You can change your memory location type — Marker, Selection, None — by doing the following:

1. Open the Memory Location window by pressing ⌘  +5 (Mac) or Ctrl+5 (PC) or by choosing Window ⇒ Memory Location from the main menu.

2. Double-click the name of the memory location (in the Memory Location window) or the Marker memory location (in the Markers ruler).

   The Edit Memory Location dialog box opens.

3. Select Marker, Selection, or None; optionally, enter a new name.
4. Click OK.

You can change the selection range of a Selection location by following these steps:

1. Open the Memory Locations window by choosing Window ⇒ Memory Locations from the main menu or by pressing ⌘  +5 (Mac) or Ctrl+5 (PC).

2. Select a range of material within your session.

   For more on how to select stuff, see the “Selecting Track Material” section, earlier in the chapter.

3. Control-click (Mac) or right-click (PC) on the name of the Selection memory location you want to change in the Memory Locations window.

   The Edit Memory Location dialog box opens.

4. (Optional) Enter a new name for the Selection memory location in the Name field of the Memory Location dialog box.

5. Click OK.

   Your new selection is saved with the Selection memory location.

You can move a Marker memory location one of these ways:

• Drag a marker by grabbing the icon in the Markers ruler and dragging it to its new location.

  The Markers ruler is located just above the track playlist section of the Edit window. If it’s not visible, select View ⇒ Rulers ⇒ Markers from the main menu.

• Align a marker by clicking with the Selector tool on the new location along the Timebase ruler or within a track’s playlist and then Control-clicking (Mac) or right-clicking (PC) the name of the marker location in the Memory Locations window.
• Align the marker to the start of a clip by selecting the clip with the Grabber tool, and then Control-clicking (Mac) or right-clicking (PC) the name of the marker location in the Memory Locations window.

Copying and pasting memory locations

You can copy single or multiple markers in a session by following these steps:

1. Choose the Selector tool by clicking the Selector Tool button at the top of the Edit window.

2. Drag along the Markers ruler to select the portion of the session that contains the markers you want to copy. To select all the markers in the session, double-click anywhere in the Markers ruler.

   If the beginning of your selection includes a marker, press ⌘   (Mac) or Ctrl (PC) for the Selector tool to appear because it will automatically disappear when your cursor is located directly over an existing marker.

3. Choose Edit ⇒ Copy from the main menu or press ⌘  +C (Mac) or Ctrl+C (PC) to copy the selection onto the Clipboard.

If you want to paste the selection somewhere else in the session, follow these steps:

1. Place your cursor along the Markers ruler where you want to paste the markers.
2. Press ⌘  +V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (PC) or choose Edit ⇒ Paste from the main menu.

Setting and enabling pre- and post-rolls

To set pre- and post-rolls, do the following:

1. Choose View ⇒ Transport ⇒ Expanded from the main menu.

   The Pre- and Post-Roll fields appear in the window.

2. Click in the Pre- or Post-Roll field in the Transport window, type in a number, and then press Return/Enter.
3. Press ⌘  +K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (PC) or choose Options ⇒ Pre/Post-roll from the main menu to enable the Pre- and Post-Roll feature.

Auditioning pre- and post-rolls

If you just want to hear the pre- or post-roll, you can audition them by doing the following:

• To audition the pre-roll: Press Option+← (Mac) or Alt+← (PC). The pre-roll plays to the start of the selection or to the position of the cursor in the selected clip.
• To audition the post-roll: Press ⌘  +→ (Mac) or Ctrl+→ (PC). The post-roll plays from its beginning or from the current cursor location.

Auditioning the start point

You can audition the start point of a selection either with or without listening to the pre-roll along with it. Both options are covered in this section.

• To audition just the start point of a selection: Press ⌘  +← (Mac) or Ctrl+← (PC). The selection plays for the length of time designated in the Post-Roll field of the Transport window.
• To audition the start point of a selection along with the pre-roll: Press ⌘  +Option+← (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt+← (PC). The pre-roll plays along with the length of the selection, as designated in the Post-Roll field of the Transport window as long as you have the Pre/Post-roll Playback function enabled. (Choose Options ⇒ Pre/Post-roll from the main menu.)

Auditioning the end point

Pro Tools lets you audition the end point of your selection, either with or without hearing the post-roll too. Here’s how to use these options:

• To audition just the end point of a selection: Press Option+→ (Mac) or Alt+→ (PC). The selection starts at the point equal to the pre-roll amount from the end of the selection.
• To audition the end point of a selection along with the post-roll: Press ⌘  +Option+→ (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt+→ (PC). The selection starts at the point equal to the pre-roll amount from the end of the selection and continue until the end of the post-roll.