Specifications

Chapter 28: Automation 453
from, its associated audio regions. (MIDI auto-
mation data always follows region editing, with
the exception of mute. See “MIDI Tracks” on
page 452 for more information.)
◆ When you copy or cut audio data from a track
while it is in Waveform View, the underlying au-
tomation data is cut or copied with it.
◆ If you paste audio data from other locations or
tracks into an edit playlist, you may change the
underlying automation data on the track.
◆ When you trim regions using Edit > Trim, the
underlying automation data remains un-
changed.
Duplicating Tracks for Playlist Editing
The Duplicate Selected Track command pro-
vides a convenient way to make a working copy
of a track to experiment with routing, plug-ins,
and automation. This protects the original track
and its automation data from being edited or
overwritten.
To copy a track for automation:
1 Select the track and choose File > Duplicate
Track. Duplicate Track creates a complete copy
of the track, including all routing, plug-ins, and
automation.
2 Command-Control-click the Track Type icon,
or select that track and choose File > Make Se-
lected Tracks Inactive.
3 Edit automation on the duplicated track.
Automation Modes
Each track provides an Automation Mode Selec-
tor. Automation modes control how a track’s
automation data is written and played back.
Auto Off
Auto Off mode turns off automation for all au-
tomatable parameters:
•Volume
• Pan
• Mute
• Send volume, pan, and mute
• Plug-in controls
• MIDI volume, pan, and mute
In Auto Off mode, automation data for these pa-
rameters is ignored during playback. All other
MIDI controller data is sent.
Auto Read
Auto Read mode plays the automation that was
previously written for a track.
Auto Write
Auto Write mode writes automation from the
time playback starts to the time it stops, erasing
any previously written automation for the dura-
tion of the automation pass.
After an automation pass, Pro Tools automati-
cally switches from Auto Write mode to Auto
Touch mode. This prevents you from acciden-
tally overwriting automation data on later play-
back. On TDM systems, you can turn off this be-
havior and remain in Auto Write mode. See
“Write Switches To Touch After Pass” on
page 61 for details.
For more information, see “Editing Auto-
mation” on page 467.