Pro Tools has SO many functions, some of which have been cleverly added over time thanks to user experience feedback, so well done you! In my first article, I covered the first 7 Pro Tools functions I could not live without and in this article I am going to cover the second batch of 7 Pro Tools functions I could not live without.

8. Wave Height/Zoom

There are multiple ways to change the zoom of your waveforms. Out of habit, I use the keyboard, but occasionally Control+rollerball. I tend to vary my zoom a lot during an edit because sometimes I might want the waveform to be small so I can see the transients more easily, plus I find it easier to view zoomed out – less cluttered! Other times I need to have the waveform much bigger so I can see quieter sounds like breaths, or random knocks/clicks.

9. Fade Adaptability

Stay with me here. What I mean here is this: There are lots of different ways to add a fade to a clip, and lots of different ways to change a fade. You can move the fade back and forwards on the timeline once in place. You can alter the boundary (pull it in or out to make it shorter or longer). You can also change the length of the fade by adjusting the front of the fade. You can change the shape of the fade; not just straight or curved – you can alter the gradient of the curve, or even make it S-shaped (although I have literally never used an S fade... anyone else?)

There are so many things you can do with a simple fade, and I think that is fabulous.

10. Track Groups

When you group tracks together, (Command+G) if you edit one track, the others in the group are also edited – like clip breaking, moving, trimming, fading -  the volume automation is also altered together. I use this mostly for dialogue when I need to edit two microphones together – either boom & clip, or multiple character radio mics. It is also useful for atmospheres when you are always laying up 2 or 3 layers at a time. It saves having to select multiple tracks and hold down shift every time you want to do the exact same edit to more than one track. You can easily deactivate the groups when you don't want to edit tracks together by pressing Shift+Command+G.

11. Paste To Selection (Option+Command+V) 

I use this when I copy or cut a long file, and want to paste it to a smaller section. Mostly when dialogue editing, pasting 'silence' in between words where the handles contain unwanted sound. The silence can either found elsewhere, or a fill track created by white noise & impulse responses, or RX Advanced Ambience Match. You simply highlight the gap you want to fill, press Option+Command+V and voila! I also use this technique when editing ambience effects.

It does work the other way round when you want to paste a short file into a longer section; Pro Tools will fill the entire selection by duplicating/looping your files. I rarely use it this way, however, unless the file I'm pasting is long, to begin with, like atmospheres, as I think repeated 'silence' and short effects are really obvious and quite jarring.

12. Constrain Clip To Vertical Movement (Control+Drag Clip)

This assures complete accuracy when syncing up clips like sound effects. Each track will be directly below the other, at exactly the same timecode. It is also useful if you have put a clip in place, but you simply need to move it to another track; whether that be moving recorded Voice over onto an 'alt take' track, or if you accidentally lay up an effect on a dialogue track (not that I have done that either...)

13. Duplicate Clip In Edit Window (Option/Alt+Drag Clip) 

This is not an immediate duplication following clip like Command+D, this is dragging a clip to where you want it, but copying the clip - not moving it. For me, this is just quicker than 'copying' a region, pasting it somewhere, and then moving it to where you want it (or visa-versa). You basically skip a step! You can also visualise how the clip will fit onto the timeline immediately before you let go of your keyboard and therefore might change your mind about which track to place it on. This will keep your session neat from the word go. The visual aspect of editing can be incredibly helpful.

14. Keys With Universal Roles Across Various Functions

You probably have no idea what this means. I am sorry but I have no better way to describe this that succinctly. For example...

See where I'm going with this? If you want to do something to a track, you can very easily do the same to other tracks, by adding Alt etc to your keyboard shortcut/mouse click.

How About You?

So there you have it! There are loads of others I use on a regular basis, but this list was already getting too long so I have shown you my most important when editing. Have any functions you use more than these? Let us know in the comments!