There are still relatively few Pro Tools shortcuts that use Ctrl on the Mac or Start on the PC as the sole modifier key, and it is also worth thinking about which shortcuts will be easy to learn, so to start with, you might want to look at combining Ctrl or Start with the letters A to Z and consider what shortcuts you might find useful that don't already exist. It is actually getting more and more difficult to find unused key combinations, and I have taken to first trying a possible shortcut in Pro Tools before assigning it, then confirming that it isn't used by running a search though the Pro Tools Keyboard Shortcuts PDF (accessible from the Help menu in Pro Tools). It would appear to work from left to right, as the View menu item wins every time! System Preferences is unable to differentiate between the two, and so allocates the chosen shortcut to both, even though they control different features. It appears in View / Mix Window / Delay Compensation, which toggles the Delay Compensation section of the Mix window, and also in the Options menu, where it enables you to turn on the Delay Compensation feature. However, in HD systems 'Delay Compensation' also appears twice, but for different functions. In this case, there's no problem because both entries relate to the same thing. For example, 'Preferences' appears in both the Pro Tools menu and the Setup menu, and so both get assigned the same shortcut. Be aware, though, that there are some menu items within Pro Tools that use the same text. For example, I created a shortcut to turn on No Scrolling from the Scroll Options menu, by typing in 'No Scrolling'. You can use this method to create shortcuts for items in submenus as well as the main menus. If all has been successful, your new shortcut will be in the menu, just like all the rest. You have to quit Pro Tools and reboot it for the new shortcut to become active. You have to remember to type the name of the menu item exactly as it appears in Pro Tools, including the ellipsis (.) at the end of the word 'Preferences.' Finally, select a keyboard shortcut that hasn't already been assigned. In the example screenshots I am going to create a shortcut to display the Pro Tools Preferences window. Here I've added new shortcuts to the Preferences menu item and the No Scrolling sub–menu item using System Preferences.Next you need to type the exact menu option you want to create a shortcut for. This will bring up a standard navigation window, within which you should navigate your way to the Pro Tools application, and click the Add button. To create a Pro Tools–specific shortcut, click on the Application drop–down menu, go straight to the bottom and select Other (it would appear that the OS can only see applications that are not nested in sub–folders for the drop–down menu). Click on the '+' icon near the bottom left–hand corner and a small window will pop up. Select Keyboard & Mouse from the Hardware section of the System Preferences window, then choose the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, and you will get to the window from which you can add, edit and delete keyboard shortcuts. To set up your own keyboard shortcuts, you need to run System Preferences either from the dock or from the Apple menu. System Preferences in Mac OS 10.3 and above has the ability to assign key commands to menu items. One advantage of this approach is that it requires no extra software, and is free! Since OS 10.3 'Panther', Mac OS X has included what some would describe as a hidden feature which makes it possible to add your own keyboard shortcuts to menu items, either globally or on an application–specific basis. Fortunately, there are 'unofficial' ways around these restrictions, and in this month's Pro Tools workshop we're going to explore the options that are available if you want to add your own keyboard shortcuts or macro functionality to Pro Tools. This approach has its advantages - you'll never find yourself at a loss as to how to use someone else's Pro Tools system - but some users find its inflexibility frustrating. Nor is it possible to reassign shortcuts within Pro Tools, or create macros to implement complex operations with one keyboard shortcut. Over the years, Digidesign have added more and more keyboard shortcuts to Pro Tools, but there is still no option to have different profiles for different users. Pro Tools doesn't officially support macros or assignable keyboard shortcuts, but with a little know–how and a copy of QuicKeys, you can use custom key commands to bring up anything from simple menu items to complex chains of commands.
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