User`s guide

Chapter 8: Record Setup 81
Record Modes
For recording audio, Pro Tools has four
record modes:
• Normal Nondestructive Record
• Destructive Record
• Loop Record
• QuickPunch
To enable Destructive Record, Loop
Record, or QuickPunch, select them from
the Operations menu. If none of these
record modes are selected, Pro Tools is in
normal Nondestructive Record mode.
The record mode can also be switched by
Control-clicking (Macintosh) or Right-
clicking (Windows) the Record button in
the Transport window. This cycles through
the four modes with the Record button
changing to indicate the currently selected
mode: blank for Nondestructive, “D” for
Destructive, a loop symbol for Loop
Record, and “Q” for QuickPunch.
Nondestructive Record Mode
In normal Nondestructive Record mode,
Pro Tools records audio non-destructively,
which means that if you record over a
track’s existing regions, the audio is not
erased from your hard drive. Both the new
and old audio remain on your hard drive,
available as regions from the Audio Regions
List.
In Nondestructive Record mode, the record
range is defined by selecting a range in the
Ruler or in a track’s playlist, or by specify-
ing start and end points in the Transport
window. If there is no selection, recording
begins from the current cursor location
and continues until the Transport’s Stop
button is clicked.
▲ To set a record range by selecting within a
track’s playlist, the Edit and Timeline selec-
tions must be linked.
The pre/post-roll settings allow material to
be heard up to and after the start and end
points, which is useful when punch record-
ing (see “Punch Recording Audio” on
page 92 for details).
Destructive Record Mode
In Destructive Record mode, recording
over existing regions replaces the original
audio permanently, which allows you to
preserve hard drive space. However, if you
have sufficient drive space, it is usually best
to use Pro Tools in Nondestructive Record
mode, to avoid losing any previously re-
corded material.
☞ When working in normal Nondestructive
Record mode, you can preserve disk space by
removing unwanted record takes (see “Remov-
ing Unwanted Regions” on page 198) and
compacting audio files (see “Compacting an
Audio File” on page 199).
When defining the record range and set-
ting pre- and post-roll, Destructive Record
mode works the same as Nondestructive
mode.
Unlike the other record modes, it is not
possible to cancel record takes when using
Destructive Record mode (see “Canceling a
Record Take” on page 88).
Destructive Record mode enabled