Please Avid Sort Out Workspace Before I Take A Hammer To Pro Tools

November 20, 2013 Russ Hughes

Rant time.

Workspace may have had the audio engine improved in Pro Tools 11, whilst that may be nice the workflow continues to be about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Constantly having to chase hidden windows around Pro Tools to find the clips, samples or loops is frankly nuts, yes I know there are shortcuts, but with a rethink of the Pro Tools layout it should not be necessary. The thing that always made Pro Tools so powerful was the simple two window Edit and Mix workflow… some design work needs to be done to restore this strength to the Pro Tools workflow.

Surely Avid could integrate the dreaded Workspace and Clip Browser into one window that remains available all the time, or hidden if you wish. Just like it does in Logic Pro, in fact in virtually every other DAW on the planet including Garageband. Right now it should be renamed Woeful Space.

I’ve created a Photoshop version of my dream version of Workspace above. I know that Mike has equally passionate views about Workspace which I’m sure he will add to this story.

Now I’m off to find some Valium before I take a hammer to Pro Tools.

Update on 2013-11-20 12:15 by Mike Thornton

Mike here, for rant number 2 about the Workspace in Pro Tools 11.

I have been using the Workspace and more specifically the the Digibase Pro browser since Pro Tools 7 to search and catalogue my 50,000 plus sound effects. I used to use CDs and a Filemaker Pro database. So when I ripped all my sound effects, I used a bit of Applescript code I wrote, to transfer the data from my FMP database into the OS 9 Finder Comments (yes its that long ago!) for each of the sound effects files. From that I used the Import Finder Comments into Database Comments feature in Workspace and Digibase Pro.

All has been OK until Pro Tools 11. With PT11 however, Avid have chosen not to provide a conversion feature, to convert the PT10 catalogs into PT11 catalog format. No problem, I thought, I will just create a new catalog in Pro Tools 11, but I can’t because Avid has also taken away the Import From Finder Comments feature in Pro Tools 11 so I am screwed both ways.

I now cannot search my sound effects from the Workspace at all. I have had some suggestions which involve using Soundminer temporaily or permanently, but Avid, to break the Catalog system two ways in this so called new, and easier to use Workspace makes it a joke.