Specifications

Pro Tools Reference Guide110
Copying, Adding, and Converting Audio
Depending on the properties of the audio files
you are importing, you can add, copy, or con-
vert the files. The following options appear in
the Import Audio dialog when they are applica-
ble to the selected audio file.
Add
Audio files that are of the same file type and bit
depth as a session can be added directly to the
session. When you add an audio file, the session
references the original audio file in its original
location. Use this option when you don’t want
to use extra hard drive space for audio files that
are already of the same bit depth and sample
rate as your session.
Pro Tools does allow audio files that are not the
session’s native file type to be added to the ses-
sion. For example, Windows sessions allow AIFF
or WAV files to be added to any session, and
Macintosh sessions allow SDII, AIFF, or WAV
files to be added to any session. However, ses-
sions with mixed file types will have reduced
performance.
Audio files that are of a different bit depth than
the session must be converted before they can
be imported.
Copy
If a file can be added to your session, you will
also be given the option to copy it. This option
creates a copy of the audio file and places it in a
folder you choose. When you copy an audio file,
the session references the copied file in its new
location.
Use Copy to move audio from an unsupported
or removable drive to an audio drive, or to ar-
chive audio files for a session to a specific loca-
tion.
Convert
Audio files that are not of the same bit depth or
sample rate as a session, or audio files that are of
an incompatible file type (such as SD II files in
Windows) must be converted to be used with
the session. When an audio file is converted, a
new file with the correct bit depth, file type, and
sample rate is created and placed in a folder you
choose.
The quality of sample rate conversion used by
Pro Tools is determined by the Preference for
Conversion Quality. For details, see “Conver-
sion Quality” on page 111.
Importing Stereo Files
When using the Import Audio to Tracks com-
mand, interleaved stereo files are automatically
imported to stereo tracks.
Split stereo (dual mono) audio files can be auto-
matically imported to stereo tracks. Split stereo
audio files must have the channel identifiers
“.L” and “.R” in their names (for example, file-
name.L and filename.R), and the files must be the
same length. In Windows, or in Mac/PC Com-
patibility mode, these files will have a 3-letter
file extension appended after the “.L” or “.R”
channel identifier.
Pro Tools allows you to add files to a ses-
sion that are at a different sample rate than
your session. In the comments field of the
Import Audio dialog, a warning is posted
that these files will play back at the wrong
speed and pitch if they are not converted.