Zooming continously incl. TRACK HEIGHT ?

[LukeFromBerlin]

Why is it not possible -like in Logic- to use the zoomer tool to pick an area (using the "rubber band" with mouse button pressed or the mousewheel) and the display zooms to EXACTLY this area ...without having to take my eyes from the screen to look for buttons to additionally press on the keyboard (like "control-arrow etc")

And I mean "real" zooming, which, in PT, is changing "track height" too. Changing the size of the waveform inside the region (with control-zoom) , at least in my workflow, happens rarely, so the additional keys for that don't help at all.

It's about using ONLY THE MOUSE, one click and a little drag to zoom in horizontally AND vertically into the Region !

Having to zoom in in for a quick edit "on the fly" happens like 500 x per day. In PT I always have to look for the keyboard + press "control-arrow up/down (mac) to change track height OR use "control e" for the zoom-toggle, but in both cases it is neccessary to use the keyboard, which is annoying and slows the workflow enormously. Also sometimes I need a size between the zoom toggle pref-standard size and the normal edit window view.

It's so EASY + fast in logic... Zoomrubber - BANG- make your edit... Alt-Zoom - BANG - back to ALL window settings - before the edit. No "track height" hassle or looking for buttons on the keyboard AT ALL.

Same with fairlight: continous horizontal + vertical zoom using a track ball ... no prob.


But perhaps anybody of you out there found a trick or method so the TRACK HEIGHT DOES change continously together continously with the horizontal zooming in ProTools ? (Sorry, I'm still on 8 ... but I haven't heard that PT 9 or 10 has this feature)

That would be a blast....

[Rich Breen]

Zoom-Toggle is your friend - set the parameters in prefs to do what you want wrt track height, parameters, etc... In addition, holding command while selecting with the zoom tool will allow both vertical and horizontal zooming to selection.

best,
rich

[LukeFromBerlin]

Hi Rich

thanks for the reply. Unfortunately - at least in my PT 8 - using the zoom tool and pressing Command does not change the TRACK HEIGHT. Only horizontal zooming, track height stays the same. Perhaps some pref that has to be set differently ?

Besides that, the zoom-toggle is ... well a close neighbor, but not really my friend. It is still a key ("e" or "cntrl-e") I have to press, which is a bugger. Why not a "real" zoom tool without having to take your eyes off the screen and having to look for a key on the keyboard every single time ?? (unlike in Logic... where it's all via mouse and ONE tool, eyes on the screen... )

[Rich Breen]

Originally Posted by LukeFromBerlin

Hi Rich

thanks for the reply. Unfortunately - at least in my PT 8 - using the zoom tool and pressing Command does not change the TRACK HEIGHT. Only horizontal zooming, track height stays the same. Perhaps some pref that has to be set differently ?

Besides that, the zoom-toggle is ... well a close neighbor, but not really my friend. It is still a key ("e" or "cntrl-e") I have to press, which is a bugger. Why not a "real" zoom tool without having to take your eyes off the screen and having to look for a key on the keyboard every single time ?? (unlike in Logic... where it's all via mouse and ONE tool, eyes on the screen... )

Nope, zoom tool won't automatically change track height for you, only horizontal/vertical zoom level. You'll have to learn to work with that and zoom-toggle. My eyes never leave the screen when using either of those tools.

Personally, I find Logic's zoom behavior absolutely annoying, but that's just me...

best,
rich

[tj_davies]

Originally Posted by Rich Breen

Nope, zoom tool won't automatically change track height for you, only horizontal/vertical zoom level. You'll have to learn to work with that and zoom-toggle. My eyes never leave the screen when using either of those tools.

Personally, I find Logic's zoom behavior absolutely annoying, but that's just me...

best,
rich

Aren't you pressing a button in Logic, too - eg ALT? So what is the big difference in pressing E instead?

Timothy

PS1. You can also try CMD+CTRL and select the zoom area in the timeline to have a specific area zoomed horizontically.
PS2. You can set 5 different zoom factors to zoom horizontically
PS3. CTRL+CMD + Arrow Down (Up) Zooms all selected tracks to the max vertical possibility. After Editing CNTRL + ALT + CMD + Down (Up) brings back all tracks in view.

[LukeFromBerlin]

Thanks for the tips, Timothy. Although I was aware of them (expect for PS 3) they don't solve my "problem"... hoping for a handy & quick zooming option in ALL directions and without complicated key-combinations involved etc. But I do appreciate your post !!

Reg. Zoom in Logic: it's so incredibly easy... the Zoom tool is (user defined) on the right mouse button. No keyboard needed, only right mouseclick -> keep the button pressed and mark the area to zoom into ("rubber band") -> let go and BANG within milliseconds Logic zooms into the horizontal AND vertical area chosen, inkl. track heights etc. even in songs with 50 or 80 tracks.

Back to the screen before is just as simple.

For me personally, that's the fastest and easiest it can be... and I was hoping for something similar in PT.

I mean "CTRL-ALT-CMD-ARROW" instead of a single mouseclick... 500 times per day....that's far from being as intuitively and fast.

And no way in PT to user-define the smart tool, or right mouse buttons etc ... for me personally : no glory for PT vs. Logic in this matter.

Besides, changing window configurations is similar. Why THREE keys to press in PT ??? ("," Number and "*" !!)
In Logic I have 10 windows on the keys 1-10, including all sorts of settings, heights and widths, song positions, things to show or not to show etc etc. Shift-L to lock/unlock it "on the fly" (instead of a "menu" to go into)

Or is there a trick how to usw a SINGLE KEY to switch Window config's in PT ?

[tj_davies]

Hmm,

sorry mate. No luck there then. Best to stick to Logic. But to be honest the shortcuts go fast when you get used to them.

For window config - you can always click the appropriate config with the mouse on the window config list, if you don't fancy the shortcut

Timothy

[danander11]

Isn't there a program called Hot Keys or some such that will automate a lot of those type of shortcuts, (and whatever else you want) to a single key or simple combination?

[LukeFromBerlin]

@TJ Davis - No Worries. Although I will continue sticking to logic for composing, using virtual instruments, MIDI-Stuff ... I will never dump my HD system for mixing

Besides being compatible in sharing PT-sessions I am a big fan of mixing in protools and also doing certain sound design - stuff with it.

But when using both alternately... well, sometimes one thinks "but isn't it a shame this or that handy feature doesn't work in the other DAW... ?"

So I was hoping for a trick. And I dare to continue saying logic's zoom is far better ... but I still love my PT for heaps of other reasons !


@danander... that sounds interesting ! What is that "hot keys" ... a third-party app ? Googling it is difficult because all commands etc are "hot keys"...

[jasonthurley]

Its called "Quick Keys" and you can make one key combination make a series of commands...

For instance you can say when I press Shift+Option+Z+I (Zoom In) you can make quick keys use both zoom in and track height commands at the same time...

http://startly.com/products/quickeys/mac/4/