Note the coloured block, letters and name below the read word denoting an active group...

Groups are an essential part of a good workflow when working with large mixes. Groups allow you to Mix and Edit entire sections, be that a set of drums in a music mix or a set of effects in post.

However, there are times when you need to grab and do a minor edit or push up the volume on one track - then groups can be a PITA; however the ability to turn them on and off fast is great using the command ‘Suspend Groups.

Using The Keyboard

• On a Mac the shortcut is Command+Shift+G, or Command-click on Groups pop-up menu
• On a Windows machine the shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+G, or Ctrl-click on Groups pop-up menu

Using The Mouse

• Command-click on Groups pop-up menu (the little downward arrow to the right at the top)
• Ctrl-click on Groups pop-up menu (the little downward arrow to the right at the top)
• Command-click or CTRL-click on Groups pop-up menu to do the same thing

Secondly, if you just need to do a minor tweak on a mix track then right mouse click on the channel hey presto the channel strip is temporarily isolated from the group for that moment. Let go and the entire group follows again.

Using Command Keyboard Focus

In a previous Quick Tip Julian highlighted a little known feature using the command keyboard focus feature. Place the Focus on the Groups list and you can suspend and enable individual groups with a single key press.  Check out his Pro Tools Quick Tips - Memorable Group ID letters article for all the details.