12.8 Release Notes

Enhancements   

Native Dolby Atmos™ Support - Pro Tools HD Only

• 7.1.2 and 7.0.2 Track, Plug-in,  and Bus Support
• 3D Panner with Height Controls for adjusting signal height manually as well as automatically with shaped pan guides. A New “Theater” view for the pan window provides a dimensional, rotating theater perspective panner.
• Atmos Renderer Communication and Object panning - connect up to 128 inputs with a total of 118 Objects from Pro Tools directly to a Dolby RMU or to the Dolby Atmos Renderer software
  • New “Atmos” tab in Setup > Peripherals to manage Renderer connections
  • Object mapping for busses via I/O Setup - any mono path or stereo pair of mono sub paths can be mapped to Objects found declared on the renderer
• Automated Bussing between a track's Object output and Main output 
• Object Fold-down Bus
  • Prepare, repurpose, edit, and rough-mix using all of the Object based workflows in Pro Tools but without needing to be actively connected to a renderer - Object routes are automatically folded down to an output of your choice for monitoring until a render is connected
• Enhanced Re-recording Workflows
  • Link and unlink punching of audio and pan automation on recorder systems receiving mastered object audio and metadata
  • Input monitoring controls on the recorder toggle between sending source metadata or re-recorded metadata to the renderer to achieve true PEC/DIR film mixing workflows with object audio and metadata
• Import ADM BWAV files generated from Dolby Atmos Printmaster files using Import Session Data to repurpose archived printmaster content. A complete session including object assignments, track names, and pan metadata can be generated from a single supported WAV file.
• Automatically duplicate automation from the Dolby Atmos(tm) Panner Plug-in to Track automation in Pro Tools. Also send track automation from Pro Tools back to the Dolby panner plug-in with simple Edit Menu > Automation commands. 

NEXIS and Shared Storage Enhancements

• Support for much higher Track counts streaming from NEXIS systems
• Improved session load times
• Faster Disk Cache load times
• Added Support for Dual 1 GB connections and 10 GB connection when using Nexis with Pro Tools
• Local Storage of Session Waveform Overview Cache files with quantity preference in Setup > Preferences > Operation allows for substantial speed-up of session open
• Parallel Task Optimizations setting in Setup > Preferences > Processing increases processor threading, network utilization, and file/read write optimizations
• More Details may be found at the NEXIS Compatibility Pages

Soundbase and Workspace Enhancements

• Advanced Search and Column criteria usability improvements
  • List is now alphabetized
  • When right-clicking on a column the Defaults now appear at top of list
  • Hold Command (Mac) or Control (Win) to select multiple column criteria within that list
  • Hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Win) and click a column name to hide it
  • Hold Shift and click a column name to change the sort priority
• Ability to set column metadata values for multiple selected files
• Editable ISRC column
• Loop indicator in Tags popover
• Updated Play and Stop buttons in Waveform column
• Updated Advanced Search button

Keep Window on Top Preference

• The MIDI Event List, MIDI Editor, Score Editor, and Workspace/Soundbase windows let you independently set them to remain in the foreground even when clicking on and focusing another window (such as the Edit or Mix windows).

Undownloaded Shared Tracks Appear in the Track List

• Shared tracks now appear in the Track List and may be downloaded individually
• Turn on and off the automatic pre-downloading of all track data to help control your bandwidth usage in Setup > Preferences > Collaboration or by right clicking on the AUTO mode enabler for the “Download All Shared Tracks” button

Enable and Disable Cloud Backup of Projects

• Turn on and off backup of projects to the cloud to help manage your storage and focus your shared projects to active collaborations
• Functionality of Sessions and Projects has been more clearly differentiated in the Dashboard, and sessions are once again the default document type

Smart Tool Fade Adjustment Preference

• Added a preference to Setup > Preferences > Editing > Fades section to determine how the smart tool interacts with fade shapes. The new preference allows the Command key (Mac) or the Control key (Win) to be used as a clutch while hover over a fade to show the real time fade adjustment tool

UNC Path Support

• Pro Tools now supports working from volumes mounted as UNC Paths, specifically tested for ISIS and NEXIS workspace mounted in such a way.

SMPTE ID Support for MXF Files

• Pro Tools now supports linking to MXF files containing a SMPTE ID.
• A new column in the workspace displays the ID, if found

Pro Tools | First Update (Learn More about Pro Tools|First)

• Track Collaboration features available in Pro Tools First - explore the low cost extra cloud plans or collaborate for free on projects started by Pro Tools Software or HD owners
• More Sends and Inserts - maximum of 10
• Track Freeze
• Layered Editing
• Soundbase replaces Workspace
• Restored the Tracks List, removed the Clips List
• Quick Buttons toolbar pop over for easy access to common windows and features
• 500MB Loopmasters sample pack included free

Bug Fixes

MIDI

• Fixed an issue where buffer size changes caused unpredictable delay compensation when recording MIDI and bus-recording audio from a virtual instrument at the same time (PT-211119)
• Fixed an issue that prevented correct delay compensation of simultaneous live recording of MIDI and Audio from an external device (PT-216418)
• Fixed an issue where H/W Buffer Size changes did not update the MIDI Thru latency for externally connected MIDI devices until closing and re-opening the session (PT-224781)
• Fixed a set of MIDI selection issues in which a Time Selection within a MIDI clip may have selected notes that were outside the selection or failed to select notes that were within the selection, leading to unwanted notes in edit or event operations, or notes missing from edit or event operations (PT-221809)
• Selected MIDI notes in the MIDI Editor Window or Edit Window timeline no longer fail to nudge when using the "+" and "-" keys on the numeric keypad (PT-209228)
• Fixed a set of MIDI selection issues caused by having a Bar|Beat Main Counter and a non-Bar|Beat Grid (PT-227654)
• Fixed a case where the Separate Clip command on selections of MIDI clips may erase midi notes that were on grid at certain tempos (PT-223988)
• Selections of custom .midnam files in the Path List dialog for a given MIDI or Instrument track no longer fail to restore with a saved session (PT-210412)
• Pressing Tab with Tab to Transient turned on no longer moves the insertion to the next MIDI CC event while in Clips view (PT-228450)
• Fixed an issue where grid lines could be drawn in the wrong place when zoomed in to the sample level in the MIDI Editor (PT-227403)
• Fixed a permanent hang that could occur selecting MIDI clips in very large sessions (PT-221428)
• Fixed an issue in the Score Editor that prevented the right click menu from appearing (PT-227387)

VENUELink

• Fixed an error that prevented the Showfile name from appearing in the Dashboard when creating a session with VENUELink active (PT-213288)
• Fixed an error that prevented "Create Session From VENUE" from working when VENUE Link was enabled while the VENUE 5.x system inputs were set to Virtual Soundcheck MADI (PT-224719)

Miscellaneous

• Fixed a cause of randomly dropped or muted audio channels of surround stems in large sessions (PT-214440)
• Plug-in Automation is no longer compensated differently than other automation on Instrument Tracks, Aux Inputs, or Audio Tracks that are record enabled (PT-212601)
• Fixed a graphical issue when using Continuous or Center Playhead scrolling modes that caused the edit window to jump to the beginning of the session when pressing stop during FF or REW (PT-223093)
• Pro Tools in Local Mode no longer fails to locate properly when receiving a "Locate/Go To" command while in play (PT-226806)
• Fixed an issue that would require users to repeatedly re-authorize the macOS firewall exception for Pro Tools on every launch (PT-220154)
• Fixed a graphical issue in Page Scrolling mode that causes the mode to fail after quickly pressing stop and then tab and then play (PT-224730)
• Fixed a graphical issue that cased Page Scrolling to stop after zooming in during play (PT-225684)
• Fixed an issue that caused audio to pass through the AFL/PFL path unexpectedly during pre and post roll, causing signal to sound doubled (PT-209770)
• When Pro Tools was last set to a different sample rate than the default Core Audio setting, quitting Pro Tools no longer causes an audible glitch on multiple HDX card systems (PT-224775)
• There is no longer a character limit for the name of a Memory Location (PT-222371)
• When opening the Rename dialog, the default selection no longer includes text after the first ".", restoring behavior similar to that of Finder when renaming a file with an extension (PT-214951)
• Fixed a session compatibility issue that could cause the order of memory locations to change when opening older sessions in Pro Tools 12 (PT-217409)
• Fixed an issue that could cause Stereo tracks to playback in mono if a cip was created by dragging together two mono clips (PT-224184)
• Using the Find Clips command no longer slows down Pro Tools ui while filtering the clips list (PT-225807)
• Fixed an issue that caused Min:Sec value in the main counter to change to 0.00 when the counter is selected and Hide Ticks & Milliseconds is enabled (PT-222070)
• Fixed an issue using the main counter to locate to a bar|beat value where ticks were not overwritten to 000 if the Big Counter is hidden and Hide Ticks & Milliseconds is enabled (PT-221716, PT-216803)
• Fixed a graphical issue in the counters that prevented the Sub Counter from updating if some part of the field was selected and the counter type was changed (PT-226531)
• Fixed an issue where Mix only and Edit only groups appear inactive after creation when viewed in their "opposite" window (PT-228454)
• Fixed an issue that prevented the Default Format and Path Order settings from being saved (PT-211137)
• Fixed an issue preventing backward cycling in the New Tracks dialog accessed from a path selector (PT-227651)

Editing

• Holding shift while using the trim tool no longer fails to affect all selected clips (PT-225643)
• Fixed an issue where warp marker edits on underlapping clips could clear the overlapping clip unexpectedly (PT-220927)
• Fixed an issue that caused "Cut" and "Cut Special > All Automation" to perform very slowly (PT-221292)
• Fixed some cases where fade preservation was still occurring when editing with "Preserve Fades When Editing" disabled (PT-221429)
• Fixed a case where "Preserve Fades When Editing" failed to preserve fades for edits made with the Object Grabber tool (PT-222323)
• Fixed selection errors that could occur when using the Hide Ticks and Milliseconds preference (PT-222887)
• Duplication of tracks with Alt Playlists with a mix of names no longer bases all of the playlists in the new track off of the original Active Playlist (PT-228804)
• Fixed an assertion error that could occur when moving a clip with automation from a tick-based Audio Track to a sample-based Audio Track (PT-220137)
• Fixed an error preventing clip gain changes on mono clips from playing back correctly after those clips were combined into a multi-channel clip on a track of greater width (PT-225417)
• When 200 or more clips are object selected, the yellow outline indicating the affected events fails to appear while using the Object Grabber (PT-219795)
• Fixed a case where new tracks would fail to be created when Importing Audio in Spot mode while a Clip Search was active (PT-215097)
• Fixed an error in Commit that failed to remove the created file when undoing the Commit operation (PT-215663)
• Fixed an error in Commit that could cause incorrect names from source tracks to be applied when committing an Aux track (PT-224763)
• Timestamp values for committed clips are no longer incorrect when Session Start Time is not 00:00:00;00 (PT-209146)
• Edit Selections across track groups that are not involved in a trim clip command are no longer lost following the trim operation (PT-224405)
• Fixed an error that caused Copy and Move to New Playlist commands to fail if less than an entire clip was selected (PT-224698)
• Extra mouse clicks are no longer required to make multi-selections of clip groups on different tracks (PT-223246)
• Fixed a case with Layered Editing enabled that caused an underlapping clip to re-appear unexpectedly after trim operations on overlapped clips (PT-225891)
• Fixed an issue where fades of different lengths on individual clips that were combined into a single clip on a multi-channel track failed to fade correctly (PT-225369)
• Fixed an issue where clip groups would not retain their original color when overlapping another clip group (PT-215584)
• Fixed an issue that caused clips to be placed on the timeline with an unexpected offset when dragging from the workspace while Conform to Session Tempo is enabled and the Song Start Marker is not at the first sample of the session (PT-218065)
• Fixed a case where a clip could be unexpectedly sent to a new playlist when an abutted clip was nudged back and forth (PT-223972)
• The blue visual indication the destination playlist of an overlapped clip no longer fails to appear when trimming one clip to overlap another (PT-222827)
• The blue visual indicating the destination playlist of an overlapped clip no longer incorrectly appears in the playlist gutter when overlapping a stereo clip (PT-225692)
• A "Basic_string" error no longer occurs when using the mouse to drag up and down the Bars|Beats value in the Big Counter window while Hide Ticks and Milliseconds is enabled (PT-226069)
• Nudging underlying MIDI clips on a Frozen track is no longer possible with the Ctrl +/- key command (PT-225275)
• Fixed a graphical issue with waveforms in underlapping clips when slipping the overlapping clip above it (PT-211060)
• Fixed a graphical error that caused window title bars on Windows to flicker while adjusting volume or pan in the Edit Window (PT-226666)

Video

• Fixed a large subset of cases where the video engine would encounter an unrecoverable error when opening a session or importing a video. (UME-1273)
• Fixed an issue where video would freeze and stutter 7-10 minutes into playback when using Avid Mojo DX and playing video files longer than 20 minutes (UME-1335)
• The Avid Video Engine now uses less memory while running in Pro Tools (UME-1243, PT-224336)
• Fixed a conflict between AVE and Disk Cache that prevented larger disk cache settings from being used on macOS Sierra (PT-227230)
• Fixed a cause of unexpected codec errors and video engine timeouts on Windows operating systems (UME-1339)
• Fixed an issue that prevented right clicking on the video window (UME-1351)
• Fixed an issue that could cause memory usage to be reported inaccurately in the System Usage window (PT-223161)

Control Surfaces

• Fixed an issue affecting all EUCON control surfaces that caused Option/Alt + touching a knob or fader to set send value to -Inf instead of 0dBFS while the "Sends Default to -Inf" preference is enabled (PT-217113)
• Fixed an issue preventing the "Restore Previously Shown Tracks" command from working on Artist Transport (PT-229014)
• S6: Fixed in issue in Pro Tools preventing the Shelf in/out state on the Sel switch on Frequency knob from updating (PT-224711)
• All EuControl surfaces: Pressing the knob top on a send to view or change the current assignment no longer defaults the send level (PT-229375)
• Fixed an issue that prevented disabling Eucon in the Peripherals dialog (PT-225192)   

Import Session Data

• Fixed an error in Import Session Data that caused Send Output Assignments to fail to import unless Volume Automation is also checked (PT-226705)
• Fixed an error in Import Session Data that caused an assertion when importing a Frozen track with the Consolidate From Source Media option selected (PT-224735)
• Fixed an error in Import Session Data that caused an assertion when importing over a Frozen track using the Match Tracks option (PT-219845)
• Fixed an issue with Import Session Data that caused the Main Counter selection to change when importing tracks (PT-213370)

AAF/OMF

• Fixed an issue that caused AAFs created by Pro Tools on Windows from displaying an "illegal characters" error when opened on Pro Tools on macOS when no illegal characters were used (PT-221932)
• Fixed an issue that caused OMF relinking to fail for audio files were in folders other than the session Audio Files folder (PT-202637)
• Fixed an issue in Import Session Data of OMF files created by 3rd party applications that could cause the import to fail (PT-223480)
• Fixed an issue in Import Session Data for Embedded AAFs that could prevent importing of only a single track (PT-227143)
• Fixed an issue in Import Session Data for AAFs containing mixed sample rate media when that could prevent import into a 48kHZ session (PT-227458)

Soundbase and Workspace and File Management

• Fixed an assertion in Workspace when auditioning a multi-mono Field Recorder file (PT-223684)
• Fixed a slow down to Pro Tools caused by sorting the Clip List by "File Modification Date" (PT-214664)
• Fixed a case where Select and then Clear Unused caused some clips to stop appearing in the Clips List even though they weren't selected or removed from the session (PT-214081)
• Fixed an issue that could prevent auditioning audio in the workspace after dragging audio into the Edit Window (PT-228822)
• Fixed an issue in Workspace that caused Original Time Stamp value and Sound Roll TC values to change depending on the sample rate of the open session (PT-223124)
• Fixed an issue in Workspace that allowed overwriting an existing file without warning by using its exact name when renaming another file (PT-223821)
• Fixed an assertion error when closing Pro Tools if an Advanced Search was open while closing Pro Tools (PT-224240)
• Double clicking a file in Workspace no longer duplicates it (PT-226115)
• Fixed an issue with "Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo" setting that prevented recalling the setting as expected (PT-227806)
• Stereo WAV files with an iXML chunk without Tempo Definition no longer import as Mono when dragged and dropped from Workspace (PT-227372)
• Fixed a case where Key and Time signature metadata may only be stored in the database and not written to files when expected (PT-223944)
• Advanced Search is no longer disabled unexpectedly on the next launch of Pro Tools (PT-224581)
• Fixed an issue in Workspace that caused the Time Signature to change from any non 4|4 value after clearing the database file (PT-226651)
• Fixed an issue in Soundbase that caused Tag popularity to be sorted from the entire library, not from the popularity in the currently selected directory (PT-226220)
• Opening the Tags popover no longer causes the file to appear unselected (PT-224801)
• Fixed an issue in Workspace that returned incorrect search results for "None" in Key Signature and Time Signature field (PT-224577)
• Fixed an issue in Workspace where a Copy and Relink command could cause certain menu items to be greyed out when right clicking a file (PT-227012)
• Fixed a graphical error that could occur when dragging a clip from the workspace browser when automation lanes are visible in the Edit Window (PT-224693)
• Entering search criteria in Soundbase no longer fails to close the Tags popover, if open (PT-225887)
• Several Keys that were represented as sharp keys are now represented as flat keys instead, according to standard (PT-218215)

Clip Effects, Elastic Audio, Plug-Ins

• Fixed an issue affecting clips on multichannel audio tracks with Elastic Audio and Clip Effects applied, where processing could be incorrectly switched to multi-mono when removing Elastic Audio (PT-226155)
• Fixed an issue that prevented Elastic Audio from being used in Rendered Mode after using AudioSuite in Overwrite Files with Entire Selection mode on a multichannel track (PT-224215)
• Fixed an audio quality issue when using the Time Compressing or Expanding looped clips with active Clip Effects (PT-217623)
• Fixed an issue with Clip Effects where audio could playback momentarily in its unprocessed form when changing parameters during playback. (PT-215573)
• Fixed an issue with Clip Effects that required a "mouse up" to trigger initial processing of a clip. Following the first mouse up, clip effects changes would be heard live during any changes. This initial "mouse up" is no longer required and changes will be heard live (PT-216960)
• Displaying the Clip Effects while uploading clips breaks the Edit window's UI (PT-220220),
• Fixed an issue preventing the BPM display in the Click II Plug-In from displaying tempo values (PT-228096)

Plug-ins

• Fixed an issue where users could not insert plug-ins when the User Library is set to a location on a mounted UNC Path for network based storage (PT-211435)
• Fixed an issue in Vari-Fi that caused Speed-Up to fail to process audio as expected (PT-216936)
• Fixed a memory leak that could occur when deactivating and reactivating tracks with Native plug-ins (PT-210890)
• Fixed a UI issue with the automation mode selector showing the wrong state after matching out from Write to Selection with Multi-Mono Plug-ins (PT-224404)

Projects and Cloud Collaboration

• Tracks with plug-in automation written no longer incorrectly indicate having track changes to upload after moving the cursor on the timeline (PT-221813, PT-228185)
• Tracks shared with a plug-in preset are no longer automatically flagged for upload when the track is downloaded and the preset recalled (PT-215152)
• Track uploads are no longer triggered after downloading parameter value changes of some plug-ins (PT-221818)
• Fixed an issue that caused track volume levels to be shared at the wrong level in some cases (PT-225263)
• Writing automation to a track while uploads are set to Automatic no longer causes ownership to become stuck for the track (PT-227632)
• "Abandon Changes" no longer clears clip effects on clips on the track (PT-219861)
• Fixed an issue that could prevent successful posting of tracks shared using "Shared as Frozen" (PT-227433)
• Fixed an issue with Projects where certain projects failed to download with a "Failed: CopyBundle" of "Failed: Asset upload failed" error (PT-226170)
• Projects containing "corrupted" audio files (files without a Unique ID assigned by being opened in Pro Tools) may appear offline and be irretrievable after clearing local cache and re-downloading the Project (PT-227006)
• Fixed a set of asset errors that could occur when downloading individual revisions after removing the Local Cache (PT-227569)
• Fixed an issue that could prevent immediate download of individual revisions when choosing Restore Revision after removing the local cache (PT-225345, PT-224658)
• Fixed an issue in the Revision Notes field that prevented selection viea key commands or mouse drag from scrolling the notes window (PT-207128)
• Fixed a graphical issue causing Japanese text and accent marks to appear incorrectly in the Project Notes field for Project Revision History (PT-223851)
• Fixed an issue that would cause user cloud storage tooltips to appear in the dashboard after signing out (PT-227345)

Crashes and Errors

• Fixed an issue that could prevent some sessions from opening, requiring Import Session Data instead, with an assertion error (PT-226898, PT-224665)
• Fixed a crash that could occur revealing files in Workspace (PT-223260)
• Fixed an indefinite hang that could occur when making grabber selections in large sessions (PT-227082)
• Fixed a crash that could occur when dragging the Song Start marker to the beginning of the timeline (PT-208456)
• Fixed a crash that could occur every second Bounce to Disk operation in some sessions using Elastic Audio (PT-223711)
• Fixed a crash that could occur when using "Trim Clip to Selection" if a mono file was placed onto a stereo track (PT-223249)
• Fixed a crash that occurred pasting Clip Gain after trimming a clip (PT-215307)
• Fixed a crash that could occur trying to open old versions in a Project's Revision History (PT-226841)
• Fixed a crash that could occur when trashing I/O settings (PT-226370)
• Fixed an indefinite hang that could occur removing clips from the timeline during record (PT-225725)
• Fixed a crash auditioning audio in workspace while opening a modal dialog over the workspace (PT-229291, PT-226767)
• Fixed a crash that could occur on quit after using certain third party virtual instrument plug-ins (PT-220462, PT-222422, PT-216945)
• Fixed a crash that could occur when closing all workspace windows (PT-225682)
• Fixed a crash that would occur when double clicking the empty space at the bottom of the edit window when the maximum number of Audio tracks had already been created (PT-212431)
• Fixed a crash that could occur trimming a tick based audio clip by trimming the left edge of a cross fade or fade out (PT-222790)
• Fixed a crash that could occur when overlapping a clip by TCE'ing another clip entirely over with with the "Send Overlapped Clips..." preference enabled (PT-225630)
• Fixed a crash that could occur by using certain keyboard shortcuts while Pro Tools was launching (PT-222450)
• Fixed a crash that could occur looping a timeline selection that contained a clip where not all channels of the clip were the same length and the clip contained a fade (PT-225715)
• Fixed an Access Violation error that occurred undoing a Timebase change on a track created by a Commit operation (PT-219833)
• Fixed a crash that could occur when closing Pro Tools while certain sessions were open (PT-215778)
• [Win] PT First freezes after changing sample rate in playback engine 44.1k to 48k and 88.2k to 96kHz (FOCR-6)
• Fixed an error 6117 that could occur when using a Focusrite audio interface (FOCR-20)
• Clarified an error message when using 3rd party audio interfaces that could recommend using buffer sizes that are not available (PT-228826)