[creativecontrol]

Let's talk about LAYOUTS a bit more. There are Track Layouts and Post Layouts and Meter Layouts. For this discussion let's focus on Track Layouts which are collections of tracks pulled from 1 or multiple workstations ordered and formatted by the user on the available channel strips on the console.

Why Layouts?
Because they are super efficient! Obviously you need to actively build them, however think of them as an extension of your master Pro Tools template. The structure should be unified between multiple similar sessions. Layouts can easily be saved with your Pro Tools session file and automatically recalled when the session is reopened.

Housekeeping
If you are going to transport the console data (XML) including Layouts with the Pro Tools session, it is essential that you ensure that the main application - which in this case is Pro Tools - has an associated Blue Star next to it. What's with the star? It tells the console which application (Pro Tools, Logic, DADman, Nuendo...) to use for collecting and transporting the console data. Ensure that ProTools 20Mac shows up on the bottom right of the Workstations page with a Blue Star after it. Once this is done, use the Settings > System > Auto-Load preferences to determine which type of console data you want to save and transport with the Pro Tools session. It is possible to also save the layouts on the console into a file which is local to the Master Module - called a Title. We'll get to some workflows with that in a bit.

Quick Add
Here's a nice addition that was added to S6 which you may not be taking advantage of. The concept is to bank the normal channels on the desk into a specific range, then automatically push that track range into a Layout. Let's try it. Bank the desk into a specific range of tracks. This can be accomplished multiple ways. I'm going to use Shift + Control while clicking on a track directly in Pro Tools to get me to my first Orchestra track. Note that I've also set up my preference for Banking Justification Mode under Settings > User to Left - which is the far Left of my console. Now that you've got the appropriate tracks visible on the desk in standard banking mode, from the Tracks page Double-Touch the Assign button. Assuming you've enabled the necessary option: Tracks Page > Local Options (Gear) > Double Tap Assign to Copy Tracks from Banking Mode into Current Layout, the tracks should now appear at the bottom of the destination blocks on the Tracks page. If this is all you need, simply hit Store - give it a name (choose Layout number) then Store again. Before you choose to Store, it might be advantageous to add some extended data to your layout. Let's dig deeper...

Extended Data
Assume that we just did the last steps - everything up to the point where we hit the first Store. Now, Let's say for this particular layout I really want to place each of these Orchestra tracks spatially. Enable the All switch from the Master Module (latches by default) then press Pan from any Process Module or Channelstrip Module on S4. All of the Orchestra tracks in your soon to be saved layout are now showing blue pan parameters on the channel encoders. Turn off the All switch! One more detail.. If your Layout happens to contain a VCA Master, Submaster, Effects Return or similar items which are not standard audio tracks, it might be beneficial to also change the way these look on the display module for differentiation purposes. Here's how to do it. Let's say that my current layout tracks also contains an Orch A and Orch B VCA Master. Hold the Attention (triangle) switch on the Orch A track while pressing the Select switch a few times till you get to the display module view that is appropriate. Perhaps a full meter + waveform view might be nice to separate it from the normal tracks which are also showing function curves and plots. One last preference to make sure is NOT enabled: Settings > User > Ignore Functions on Layout Recall. For this application I would not enable this. You want the orchestra tracks to come back and show Pan view - so don't enable this option which would filter any knob function views when the Layout is recalled. Now you can finish the Store, give it a name and location, then finally hit Store again to save the track layout with the extended data.

Naming & Saving Layouts
When you go to store your Layouts - obviously give it a concise name and understand that both on the touchscreen grid and on the Soft Keys - the orientation is vertical. If you touch Edit, you can drag a Layout block on top of another to trash and replace it. If you want to clean house, you can either Delete All or simply drag a layout off of the grid to kill it. Here's another idea. When saving a Layout - you can append a -L or -R to the name. Why? Presuming that your console (regardless of how big or small) has an approximate left side and a right side, you can create layouts that don't always refresh the entire chunk of tracks on the desk. For example. Perhaps you have some primary DX, MX, & FX VCAs or Routing Folders which underneath have additional nested items. And perhaps you only need 5-6 of these to define a whole chunk of units to access via nested spilling. If so, create a layout with the 5-6 essential Folder Tracks let's say, then before you press Store, name and Store, hang on. The blocks at the bottom of the Tracks page (the destination) are lit green to show which chunks of the console are being saved. Let's say we are going to use the -R description for this one and we have a 24 fader console. You've already chosen and placed the necessary tracks in your layout located at the last 6 faders of your desk. Press Store -> give it a name, then before touching Store again -> Touch to deselect all of the first tracks in the destination row at the bottom of the tracks page including tracks 1-18. Tracks 19-24 will still be lit green. Now press Store. Now if this layout is recalled it will only overlay and refresh the rightmost 6 tracks on the desk. This can be handy when you want to see an aggregate of a few different layouts. Try saving a combination of Layouts which are full and contiguous, layouts that are justified with -R and layouts justified with -L and experiment with aggregating, overlapping and finding new workflows.


Jeff