All of us will find ourselves in a situation where managing plugins gets to be overwhelming. Luckily, Pro Tools has numerous ways to help you manage your workflow and make your experience as smooth as possible. Window Configurations give you a powerful tool to help you quickly manage large sessions, as well as any repetitive tasks. Avid Master Instructor Frank D. Cook shows you how easy it is to use this powerful feature.

Two Quick Ways to Recall Your Favorite Plug-Ins

Here is a Pro Tools question I get asked every now and again: Is there a quick way open an AudioSuite processor that you use all the time (like Reverse, Normalize, SoundReplacer, or whatever)?

Because there are no keyboard shortcuts for opening AudioSuite plug-ins, you end up using the mouse to go to the AudioSuite menu and then selecting Other > Reverse (or another option) to open the plug-in — that is, if you remember what category the plug-in is even listed in.

The same thing happens when selecting an AAX plug-in from a track insert: you have to navigate through menus and submenus to find the plug-in you want. If you don’t remember exactly where the plug-in is located, you’ll find yourself on a fishing expedition.

Here are two things that can help: Plug-In Favorites (good option) and Window Configurations (great option, but with caveats).

Plug-In Favorites

The process of defining plug-in favorites works for both AudioSuite plug-ins (rendered processing) and AAX plug-ins (insert processing). The basic idea is to pin your most commonly used plug-ins to the top of the plug-in menu for quicker access. The process is pretty simple, if not terribly intuitive.

To identify a plug-in as a favorite: 

1. Hold the Command modifier on Mac (or Ctrl on Windows).
2. Select the plug-in you want to set as a favorite from the AudioSuite menu or from an Insert selector. 

The plug-in window will not open when you do this, but behind the scenes the selected processor will be set as a favorite. When you re-open the menu henceforth, you will see that particular plug-in listed at the very top of the menu. No more digging through multiple levels of menus and scrolling through long lists to get the plug-in you want!

You can set multiple plug-ins as favorites — but of course if you do this for too many, it starts to defeat the purpose. You don’t want to end up with a large stack of favorites in a long list at the top that you need to sort through!

If you need to remove a favorite, hold the same modifier (Command on Mac/Ctrl on Windows) and select the plug-in from the list — it will be un-favorited and will no longer be shown at the top of the menu.

(Note that for insert processors, you need to set a given plug-in as a favorite for both mono and stereo tracks: the mono version of the plug-in is distinct from the multichannel or multi-mono version.)

Window Configurations for AudioSuite Plug-Ins

If you truly want to access AudioSuite plug-ins without touching the mouse, then Window Configurations are what you need. Window Configurations build on some conventions used by Markers and Memory Locations in Pro Tools (a whole different topic, but definitely worth your while to learn about as well).

The process here is a bit more involved than creating plug-in favorites and may require that you change some habits in order to maximize your benefit. Basically, you want to first set up your screen the way you would like it to look when you invoke the Window Configuration. For this example, we’ll configure Pro Tools with the Reverse plug-in window open in front of the Edit window.

Once you’ve set up your screen, you will next store the setting as a Window Configuration.

With that done, you can simply recall the Window Configuration using its associated shortcut to return to the stored state at any time in the future. (*Some restrictions apply.)

So here’s what you need to do:

• Make sure the Edit window is displayed the way you want it (such as maximized on screen).
• Open the target AudioSuite processor, such as AudioSuite > Other > Reverse
• Position the plug-in window to an appropriate location on screen.

• Choose Window > Configuration > New Configuration
• In the resulting dialog box, give the Window Configuration a name, such as AS Reverse. 
• Take note the number used for the Window Configuration. (You can also modify the number if desired, selecting any unused number from 1 to 99.)
• Verify that the Window Layout option is selected, and optionally include the window display settings (displayed rulers and columns) using the checkbox below.

• Click OK to close the dialog box and create the Window Configuration.
• Repeat as needed for other AudioSuite plug-ins (such as Normalize) — or for any other windows layouts that you want to be able to reuse.

With this done, you can close the AudioSuite plug-in and go about your regular work in the session. Later, you can recall the Window Configuration at anytime from your keyboard, reopening the associated AudioSuite plug-in (*requires the use of the numeric keypad on an extended keyboard).

Here’s how to recall a Window Configuration:

• Press period, number, asterisk (three separate key presses) all on the numeric keypad, where number is the digit(s) associated with the Window Configuration you created.

In the example shown above, we created a Window Configuration called AS Reverse as number 12. To recall this Window Configuration, we would press “. 12 *” — this will reopen the Edit window, as needed, and open the AudioSuite Reverse plug-in window. Both windows will be oriented on screen as they were when the Window Configuration was created.

The caveats: 

• Window Configurations are session-specific. In order to get the most bang for your buck, you should consider creating a template session that can you use as a starting point for all new projects. Create all of your standard Window Configurations in this template.
• If you often go back to older sessions, you will need to use Import Session Data (File > Import > Session Data) to import your Window Configurations from the template session for use in those older sessions. (Select the template session and enable the Window Configurations checkbox at the bottom left of the Import Session Data dialog box before clicking OK.) 
• You MUST use the numeric keypad to recall your saved Window Configurations; unfortunately, these shortcuts are not easily available on a laptop.

So take a moment to explore both of these options for your most-used plug-ins in Pro Tools. A small time-investment now to set up a few plug-in favorites and Window Configurations will pay big dividends in your efficiency down the road!

Frank

Author: Frank D. Cook
Avid Master Instructor
www.protoolstraining.com

888-277-0457

Frank D. CookAvid Master Instructor

Frank D. Cook is a musician, author, educator, and entrepreneur. He has worked in technical publications for over 20 years and is the author of numerous books in pro audio, including multiple titles on Pro Tools for the Avid Learning Series. Frank has been a consultant for Avid Technology for the past 15 years, helping to shape learning initiatives and to develop textbooks and exams for Avid’s official training and certification programs. Frank has taught Pro Tools courses at Sacramento City College and American River College in Sacramento, California, and is an Avid Master Instructor. He has authored four Pro Tools video training courses for LinkedIn Learning. He also provides all levels of Pro Tools certification for educators worldwide who aspire to become Avid Certified Instructors. His company, NextPoint Training, Inc., provides tools and technology to empower students and educators, including the Elements|ED online learning environment (ElementsED.com). Frank holds a degree in English from Cal Poly State University and has minors in Music and Technical Communication.