The Window Layout Property in Digidesign Pro Tools

Part four in this series on using Window Configurations in Pro Tools. This time you’ll be using Window Layouts. You’ve already covered simple configurations that store only the basic display settings of the Edit, Mix, and Transport windows. Now, we’re going to start seeing the real power of window configurations!

Review: Window Configuration Properties

If you’ve started at the beginning of this series, you’ll know that a window configuration can store different properties that you, as a user, can select whenever you create a new configuration. They are;

• Window Layout: the layout of windows in your Pro Tools session
• Window Display Settings: the settings for the Edit, Mix, and Transport windows

When you use the Window Display Setting property, the window configuration will store and recall settings for only the Edit window, only the Mix window or only the Transport window. We covered those already. If you missed that, start here.

The Window Layout property, on the other hand, stores the size and location of all open windows. That means it can store any number of up to 30 floating windows and can also include Edit, Mix and Transport window display settings.

Window Layout property

A Window Layout can store the location and size of all open windows, including;

• Edit Window
• Mix Window
• Plug-in windows
• Session setup window
• DigiBase Browsers
• Workspace browsers
• Project browser
• MIDI Event List
• Real-Time MIDI Properties window
• Beat Detective window
• Panner window
• Mic Pre window
• Time, Tempo, and Event Operations windows

Window Layouts can also store the position and layout of all of the floating windows found in the Window menu. They are:

• Task Manager
• Universe
• System Usage
• Color Palette
• Big Counter
• Transport
• Memory Locations
• Disk Space
• Undo History
• Video
• Machine Track Arming
• Automation

An Example Window Layout

Here’s a quick example of how you might use a Window Layout in a session.

Let’s say you’ve got a Pro Tools session with one golden track- the lead vocal track. It has three plug-ins on it.

During the session, you want to simultaneously look at the windows for all three plug-ins and the vocal track’s Output Window. You know? To get a good overview of what’s going on with the EQ, de-essing, dynamics and overall level for the track. But every time you want to see all these windows, it takes about 30 seconds just to open them and set them up.

This would be a perfect scenario for using a Window Configuration.

Using a Window Configuration, you’d open and place all three plug-in windows and the Output window on the screen, just how you wanted them. But you’d only have to do that one time. Because once the windows are open and laid out, you’d create a New Window Configuration to save those specific windows and their layout.

Next time you want to get a quick overview of everything that’s on your vocal track, you just recall the Window Configuration.

In a matter of seconds you’ll see all three plug-in windows and the output window open and set-up exactly the way you saved them. But instead of 30 seconds, it’ll only take 3 seconds. That’s a huge amount of time saved over the course of a day-long session! Not to mention, it’s just easier on the brain.

Tagged as: window configurations