Edit Menu. Avid Pro Tools HD 6.4, Pro Tools LE 6.4

chapter 3

Edit Menu

Edit Menu

Edit menu commands are used to edit and manipulate regions.

Edit menu

Undo

The Undo command lets you sequentially undo up to 32 of your previous actions. Certain commands and actions (such as saving) are not undoable. The last command in the undo queue will appear in the menu (for example, “Undo

Paste”).

Redo

After undoing a command or action, you can redo it by choosing the Redo command. This is a good way to compare before and after states of edits.

Cut

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

Copy

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

Paste

This command inserts cut or copied data into a location specified with an Edit tool (such as the

Selector tool).

Chapter 3: Edit Menu 11

Repeat Paste to Fill Selection

(TDM Systems Only)

This command repeatedly pastes copied data until it completely fills a selection. If you select an area that is not an exact multiple of the copied region size, the remaining selection area is filled with a trimmed version of the original selection. This allows you to easily create drum loops and other repetitive effects. Before the data is pasted, Pro Tools prompts you to specify a crossfade to smooth transitions between regions.

Merge Paste

This command pastes MIDI data into a track without replacing existing data by merging the pasted data with the existing data. This can be useful for consolidating MIDI data from several tracks into a single MIDI track.

Clear

This command removes the contents within a selection in the Edit window.

Shift

This command moves track material earlier or later in time by a specified amount. To use this command, select the material you want to move, choose Shift, then enter the desired direction and time value.

Select All

This command selects all audio and MIDI data in one or more tracks.

◆ To select all regions in a single track, select a portion of the track, or click the Selector anywhere in a track and choose Select All.

◆ To select all regions on multiple tracks, Shiftclick a region on each track with the Selector or

Grabber and choose Select All.

◆ To select all regions on all tracks, Select the

“All” Edit Group in the Groups List, click the Selector anywhere in a track, and choose Select

All.

Duplicate

This command copies a selection and places it immediately after the end of that selection in a track.

Trim

This command removes audio before and after a selection, leaving only the selection. This provides a convenient means of quickly removing all data within a region except the current selection.

Repeat

This command is similar to Duplicate, but allows you to specify the number of times the selected material is duplicated. To use this command, select the material you want to repeat, choose Repeat, then enter the number of repetitions.

Capture Region

This command defines a selection as a new region and adds it to the Regions List. From there the new region can be dragged into a track. You cannot capture selections across multiple regions unless the data is contiguous material from the same file.

12 Pro Tools Menus Guide

Separate Region

This command defines a selection as a new region (or the current insertion point as a region split point), and in the process, separates it from adjacent data in the track where it was created.

By separating a region you will also create byproduct regions from data on either side of the separation.

Lock/Unlock Region

This command locks a selected region in place so it cannot be moved unless you unlock it. This command is useful for permanently associating a region with a particular location in a track

(such as a beat, SMPTE frame, or time value). A small lock icon appears in the region indicating it has been locked.

Heal Separation

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

Separation command.

Consolidate Selection

This command consolidates multiple regions into a single region. When an audio track is consolidated, a new audio file is written that encompasses the selection range, including any blank space.

Quantize Regions

This command adjusts the placement of a selected audio or MIDI region in a track so that its start point (or Sync Point, if it contains one) precisely aligns to the nearest Grid boundary. Grid units are chosen from the Grid pop-up menu in the Edit window.

Compress/Expand Edit to Play

(TDM Systems Only)

This command uses the Time Compression/Expansion plug-in to fit an audio selection to a

Timeline selection. This is only possible when the Edit and Timeline selections are unlinked.

Mute/Unmute Region

This command mutes playback of a selected region. Choosing the Unmute command unmutes the region. This command does not create automation data.

Identify Sync Point and Remove

Sync Point

This command places a Sync Point at the current cursor location. A triangle indicates the

Sync Point’s position. This Sync Point can then be used as the reference point—nudge, spot, move, and so on—instead of the region start or end. On TDM systems, when you choose this command, the current SMPTE time is automatically entered as the SMPTE location for the Sync

Point.

To remove a Sync point from a region, select the region with the Grabber and choose Edit > Remove Sync Point.

Chapter 3: Edit Menu 13

Identify Beat

This command lets you establish a tempo/meter map for audio that was recorded without listening to a click, or for imported audio with unknown tempos.

lection that crosses multiple regions will create crossfades for each of the region transitions. If a selection includes regions that already contain crossfades, the existing crossfades will be modified.

Identify Beat dialog

The Identify Beat command analyzes a selection range (usually with a distinct number of beats or measures) and calculates its tempo based on the specified meter. In doing this, Bar|Beat markers for the calculated tempo are inserted and appear in the Tempo Ruler at the beginning and end of the selection. in addition, meter events are inserted into the Meter Ruler.

Insert Silence

This command creates regions of silence. Make a selection on one or more tracks, choose Insert

Silence, and precisely that amount of silence will be inserted.

Fades

This command lets you create a crossfade between two adjacent audio regions, or a fade-in or fade-out of a single region. Crossfade duration, position, and shape are all selectable. A se-

Fades dialog

Create Fades

The Create Fades command produces a crossfade between adjacent regions according to parameters you specify with the Fades editor.

Delete Fades

The Delete Fades command removes a crossfade between adjacent regions.

Fade to Start

The Fade to Start command creates a fade-in from the current insertion point to a region’s start point.

Fade to End

The Fade to End command creates a fade-out from the current insertion point to a region’s end point.

14 Pro Tools Menus Guide

Copy to Send

(TDM Systems Only)

This command lets you copy either the current values or automation of a selected track’s volume, pan, mute, or LFE automation to the corresponding playlist for the send. This is useful when you want a track’s send automation to mirror automation on the track itself.

Write Automation

This command lets you write automation states for one or more parameters to specific session locations in a single step. This saves you the trouble of performing multiple automation passes for different parameters in real time, or having to graphically draw automation state changes on individual automation playlists.

To Current Parameter

This command writes the current value only to the currently displayed automation parameter.

To All Enabled Parameters

This command writes the current settings for all automation parameters enabled in the Automation Enable window.

Copy to Send dialog

To copy a track’s current control settings to a send on that track, select Current Value. To copy the entire automation playlist for the track to a send, select Automation.

Thin Automation

This command lets you selectively thin areas in a track where automation data is too dense, aversely affecting CPU performance. The amount of thinning performed is determined by the amount you have selected in the Automation page of the Preferences dialog. Avoid overthinning data or it may no longer accurately reflect the original automation.

Trim Automation

This command lets you use trim values as snapshots and apply the relative changes or delta values to the selected automation. This is similar to the Write Automation command, except that it writes delta values instead of absolute values to automation data. You can use trim values in writing snapshot automation to any automatable parameter.

To Current Parameter

This command trims the current value only to the currently displayed automation parameter.

To All Enabled Parameters

This command trims the current settings for all automation parameters enabled in the Automation Enable window.

Chapter 3: Edit Menu 15

16 Pro Tools Menus Guide