Specifications
Pro Tools Reference Guide22
within the session. See “Active and Inactive
Items” on page 22.
All Pro Tools systems provide flexible voice
options for audio tracks, to help maximize use of
available voices in your system. For more informa-
tion on voice management and options, see “Voice
Borrowing” on page 248.
Active and Inactive Items
Pro Tools lets you make certain items (such as
tracks and inserts) inactive, in order to free up DSP
resources and mixer connections.
Items in Pro Tools that can be made inactive
include the following:
• Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader,
VCA Master, and Instrument tracks
• Track Inputs and Outputs
• Sends
• Side-chain inputs
• Plug-Ins
• Hardware inserts
• Paths (session-wide)
In addition to manually setting Active and
Inactive modes, Pro Tools automatically makes
items inactive if there are insufficient or
unavailable resources.
When active, items are fully engaged and opera-
tional.
When inactive, items are silent and off, although
most associated controls can still be adjusted. Dif-
ferent inactive items affect available system re-
sources in specific ways, as follows:
Plug-Ins
When a plug-in is inactive on a track, its
DSP is made available for other plug-ins and pro-
cessing. Plug-In assignments can be made inactive
manually or automatically (see “Automatic and
Manual Inactive Mode” on page 23).
Paths and Path Assignments
When a path or path
assignment is inactive, its mixer resources are
made available for other signal routing purposes in
the session. Paths and assignments can be made in-
active manually or automatically (see “Automatic
and Manual Inactive Mode” on page 23).
Tracks
When a track is made inactive, its voices
become available for another track. Inactive mono
tracks free up one voice; inactive stereo and multi-
channel tracks free up one voice per channel. Ad-
ditionally, when an audio, Auxiliary Input, Instru-
ment, or Master Fader track is made inactive, its
plug-ins, inserts, sends, and I/O assignments be-
come inactive, and the associated DSP used is
freed up for use elsewhere in the session.
MIDI tracks cannot be made inactive.
Side-chain inputs support direct active and
inactive switching, but do not follow switch-
ing all or all selected side-chain inputs.