Missing plugins-pt intro

[[email protected]]

I've installed PT Intro on my win 11 Surface Pro. I also separately downloaded the "additional plugins" from my Avid account and put them in the sake folder that the PT Intro is in. Following along with the "Getting Started" tutorial, I tried to create a drum track. While in the "drum" line, when I click on the button in the "inserts a-e" column that the video shows brings up a drum machine plugin, I get a message "plugin inactive" - referring to the Xpand!2 plugin. What am I doing wrong? Also, I had to get a magnifying lens to read the text "insert a-e". I have many programs on my computer. This is the only that I've encountered with this font/image size problem. I can change the screen resolution, but that's a PIA and it only helps very marginally.

[Darryl Ramm]

Hi Welcome to DUC.

I'm not following what you mean by installed plugins in the same folder as Pro Tools. You should just run the Air XPand!2 Setup.exe and let it install to the default location. Plugins (.aaxplugin files) get installed to their own directory and cannot be installed anywhere else. The XPand!2 media can be installed elsewhere but for getting stared why not just leave stuff to their defaults and they will work.

Font size on Windows is what it is, there are no settings that will adjust this in Pro Tools. Pro Tools badly needs to be updated for high res displays on Windows, something asked for on DUC before.

[[email protected]]

Thanks Darryl,
Maybe I'm complicating my question too much. I agree completely that the program should install itself - and work. I downloaded PT Intro - following all the installation screen instructions. I can open the main PT "workstation console". When i try to open the plugin in the insert column in the drums row (as per the tutorial), yesterday, it said that xpand!2 is not present. I just tried again. Now it says that the (groove) "plugin is inactive". Bottom line, it doesn't work. I just want to get to the point that I can play along with the tutorials.

[Darryl Ramm]

Give a link to the exact tutorial you are following. I have no idea what that is.

The track you are working on is an *instrument* track right, not an audio or other type of track. It may need to be a *stereo* instrument track as well (update: XPand will work on a mono or stereo instrument track, not sure about Groove).

[[email protected]]

Darryl,
Thanks for sticking with me.
I'm looking at the avid.com/protools/getting started website. The video is "Lay Down a drum track". If you watch the video - the point where it comes off the rails for me is at the 3:55 point. He says, there's already a groove plug in drum machine in the insert column. For me, this button is greyed out. If I click it, I get messages to the effect that the plugin is not present. I'm stuck at that point. There are other greyed out buttons in my insert column alongside piano, etc. On the tutorial, none of the buttons in the insert column are greyed out.
Tom