Give your Mouse a BREAK – control your region list…
Pro Tools is full of shortcuts… Some of them are pretty obvious, known and used by every PT user, others are well hidden and you might get that wow-effect after doing a thing over years and suddenly you discover a shortcut , which makes it totally easy.
Here’s another collection of useful Pro Tools shortcuts. This time it’s all about controlling the region list without using the mouse. Here we go!
1. ⌘ + ⇧ Shift + K: Export the selected regions as single audio files. This is pretty useful, when you’re cutting voice or other samples in just one track. So you can export all the files without bouncing them in real-time
2.⌘ + ⇧ Shift + F: Use this shortcut the open a search window for your region list. When you’re working on a massive project and you’re just looking for a special file, this is how to do it the fast way. If you’re working with short cuts for categories this is the best way to just display all FX, all Drum Loops, all Musicbeds, etc
3. ⌘ + ⇧ Shift + D: Clear you search and your list looks normal again.
4. ⌘ + ⇧ Shift + U: This shortcut selects unused regions in your list, so you can easily delete audio files from your session without affecting the audio you used in your project. (see 5.)
5. ⌘ + ⇧ Shift + B: Clear all the selected files from your region list. If you want to you can even delete them. This one works great in combination with the ‘select unused regions’ shortcut
6. ⌥-click (and hold): Use this shortcut to audition the selected audio file. This is pretty useful when you want to listen through your FX or Loops without dragging them all into your tracks. I’m pretty sure you MUST know this one, but it fits to the topic.
7. control key-hold while dragging a file from the region list to the edit window: This will snap the file you’re dragging into your edit window to your cursor. Place the cursor where you want your audio to be and then just drag it. It will fit by itself.
Like always, that’s just a part of all the shortcuts, Pro Tools has to offer. There are tons out there, so keep experimenting and if you think, you’ve found a shortcut, which makes your work easier or faster, feel free to share it with us.