New PT Prefs helper

[Eric Lambert]

Originally Posted by Dave S.

Is there any reason why a restored preference file might not be as good as just manually re-entering the preferences? I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to computers, I still don’t understand technically why preferences have to be trashed periodically or why the ProTools app itself can’t be made to handle this itself. But I know that when I stop trashing preferences weird problems eventually pop up. I’ve always manually reentered preferences myself but thought it would be cool if I could do it with a touch of a button within the ProTools helper app.

Restoring preference files from the same version of ProTools isn't typically such an issue, it's when PT goes through a more significant update that things can get slippery. I suspect that the reason is that the parameters within the preference file change, which can be confusing to certain versions of ProTools.

Imagine importing a pref file from a newer version of PT which might contain a parameter for setting the default level of sends. If you place that file into an older version of PT, there's data for the default send which that particular version of PT won't recognize. Parameters don't match up. Obviously, this is an oversimplified explanation, but you get the drift.

And this is the reason why (in my experience) it's best to recreate preference files from scratch. Anomalies and corruption are simply less likely to exist. In my company's experience, PT has operated more swiftly and with fewer issues when prefs were created from scratch.

[Dave S.]

Originally Posted by Eric Lambert

Restoring preference files from the same version of ProTools isn't typically such an issue, it's when PT goes through a more significant update that things can get slippery. I suspect that the reason is that the parameters within the preference file change, which can be confusing to certain versions of ProTools.

Imagine importing a pref file from a newer version of PT which might contain a parameter for setting the default level of sends. If you place that file into an older version of PT, there's data for the default send which that particular version of PT won't recognize. Parameters don't match up. Obviously, this is an oversimplified explanation, but you get the drift.

And this is the reason why (in my experience) it's best to recreate preference files from scratch. Anomalies and corruption are simply less likely to exist. In my company's experience, PT has operated more swiftly and with fewer issues when prefs were created from scratch.

That makes sense, good info, thank you.

[Southsidemusic]

Thanks for doing this Pete!

You are a STAR

Originally Posted by Pete Gates

PT Prefs 2 Beta 1

Right... here's a long awaited beta of a complete rewrite of PT Prefs:

It's a Universal Binary, so runs natively on Intel & ARM64
It requires macOS 10.10 Yosemite minimum
Plugin reporting now only reports active plugins
Plugin reporting now only reports AAX plugins
Plugin reporting now reports plugin architecture - Intel/ARM/Universal
Plugin reporting can now export an Excel of the installed AAX plugins
The main window is resizable - for the plugin list
It only supports 64 bit Pro Tools installations now

It's scarily different & simplified. Extra options, such as individual trashing/restoring, will appear when everything is working reliably (it is here, but that never means much!). The idea now when you trash preferences is that a backup is made first then preferences are trashed. In the restore page you can select from the backup snapshots.

Get back to me with problems, this is beta software so take care, though the worst that should ever happen is trashed preferences!

Pete

[moogboy100]

Something wrong with the App Icon? I just get the finder's missing icon for it.

[nednednerb]

Originally Posted by moogboy100

Something wrong with the App Icon? I just get the finder's missing icon for it.

I blame recent MacOS. I have seen that on my 12.x setup. Multiple apps, seems to go away after I load an app once or twice.

[Pete Gates]

The icon is missing at it's only a beta and I haven't yet "flattened" the look of the previous icon. I'll get this done in the next week or two when I release Beta 2.

Cheers,
Pete

[Pete Gates]

Beta 2 is available.

Pete

[Eric Lambert]

That was fast. Thx Pete!

[moogboy100]

Originally Posted by Pete Gates

PT Prefs 2 Beta 2

Beta 2 is available.

Pete

Nice!!

[Pete Gates]

Beta 3 is available.

Pete