Toggle the cursor up and down between tracks. This is a great navigational shortcut that I use if I’m happy with where the playhead resides, but I want the cursor to be placed on a different track. This one is very helpful for copying and pasting automation (more on that later).

To use thread taps, affix them to either tap wrenches or to power tools such as drill presses or hand drills. Then, turn them into a drilled hole at the appropriate feed rate for your application.

Somewhat similar to duplication, clips, automation, and other items can  be copied and pasted using Cmd/Ctrl + C followed by Cmd/Ctrl + V. Another hugely helpful Pro Tools shortcut I use often when arranging and mixing.

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Cycles through slip, grid, shuffle, spot modes. The 4 different modes in Pro Tools each have their own strengths, and I navigate between each of them often using the tilde (~) key rather than using the mouse. Here’s a quick breakdown of each of them:

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However, if there is enough material thickness for a non-threaded hole portion below blind threads, a taper tap alone can suffice if that non-threaded zone is longer than the tap’s sloped section.

Duplicate. Creates a copy of the selected clip(s) or items. Helpful for repeating elements in your composition. This applies to automation information as well. I’ll use this when manually gating out the bleed on kick and/or snare mics. If the performance was done to a click, go into grid mode, select the automation that you want to duplicate, and have at it!

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Since completing threaded holes often requires multiple taper styles, investing in a threading tap set will keep these options close at hand.

Along with the diameter and thread type (BSP, UNC, metric, etc.) of the holes you need to produce, you must also determine the best end point, taper, and flutings for your thread taps based on your application.

Slip Mode: Allows free movement of audio clips. Great for precise editing and nudging of clips on the timeline without being beholden to the grid. Speaking of…

When you need thread-cutting tools to connect bolts and screws to your equipment, RS carries threading taps of all standard thread types and sizes for a range of materials and thicknesses.

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Want to know your spiral point tap from your taper? Thread taps are incredibly useful tools for making fixing points for bolts and can be found across all levels of industry. If you need a custom thread or bolt size after stripping the thread on an existing bolt hole, a thread tap is what you’ll need.

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Plug tap slopes are shorter - just the first 3 to 5 threads. These let you finish blind holes’ threads started with taper taps. Use plug taps for tap repair or re-cutting threads since they don’t have to cut fresh threads, as with taper taps.

The automation can be copied and pasted to other parts of the arrangement using Cmd + C, Cmd + V (Mac) / Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V (Windows)

Starts and stops playback. Provides a quick way to audition your work without navigating to the transport controls with the mouse.

Taper taps can be used for through-holes, though, since you can push the tap all the way through and apply threads throughout (provided the tap is longer than the material’s thickness). Blind holes, however, will need to be finished with plug taps or bottoming taps after the taper tap cuts the thread’s first pass.

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Keyboard focus mode is a powerful but sometimes overlooked feature that lets you access editing and playback commands using single key presses, significantly speeding up your workflow. Click to enable and utilize many key commands for various editing and playback tasks like cutting, fading, selecting clips, navigation, and more. Many of the beneath mentioned Pro Tools shortcuts require Keyboard Focus Mode to be enabled before they can be used, so be aware.

Shuffle Mode: Automatically closes gaps when moving or trimming clips. Helpful for removing unwanted space between lines of dialog.

Cutting taps, on the other hand, weaken the material grains to an extent, leaving the threads at more risk of failure - thread stripping. That is something dreaded and avoided by anyone who’s worked with threaded fasteners.

Spiral flute taps have helical flutings, like standard drill bits. As with drill bits, these flutings allow chips to travel up and out of the hole. Chips can only travel upwards in blind holes, making spiral flute taps ideal for tapping their threads.

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Threading tap sets are kits of all the thread-cutting tools you need for tapping holes, as well as making threads for bolts and screws.

Tap and die sets also come with the necessary tap and die wrenches for gripping and turning the taps and dies. To use a threading tap, affix it to one of these tap wrenches or to a power tool such as a drill press. Using cutting oil with a thread tap is a best practice to keep the materials cool and allow the tap to cut threads cleanly.

Each kit provides thread taps for a range of hole sizes. This can include taper, plug, and bottoming taps to allow you to produce complete, useable threaded holes and to perform whatever tap repair a threaded hole may need.

Creates a new track. Streamlines the process of adding a new Audio, Folder, Aux, VCA, Instrument or MIDI track to your project. Utilize the command + left or right arrow to change the number of channels (mono, stereo, surround) and use command + up or down arrows to change the track type.

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These Pro Tools shortcuts provide a foundation for efficient navigation and basic editing in the industry standard DAW. As you become more familiar with the software, you can explore additional shortcuts to enhance your workflow further. Now that you’ve completed this article, go ahead and test your comprehension with our quiz on Pro Tools Shortcuts.

Undo. Reverts the last action. Handy for correcting mistakes or trying different edits. If only life had a command + Z button sometimes. ?

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The first shortcut here enables the “tab to transient” function which then allows the user to press Tab to move the cursor to the next transient found on the playhead. Option + Tab to go to the previous transient. This is incredibly useful for a variety of tasks including editing drum performances and aligning samples. Admittedly, this function isn’t perfect and sometimes places the cursor a bit before I’d like it to.

Thread taps produce holes for threaded fasteners such as bolts and screws. Just as spinning drill bits cut holes into the material, turning thread taps creates threads in pre-drilled holes. Tapping threads can be done by hand, unlike most drilling.

Saves your current session. It’s crucial to save your work regularly to avoid losing progress. For additional peace of mind, make sure that Pro Tools is saving session file backups, which will appear in their own folder. I can’t tell you how many times I neglected to hit Save while working for hours, only to have a session freeze up. Thankfully, the backups saved me. Regardless, use this Pro Tools shortcut and save your work often.

Flutings are the void sections cut out of tap threads. Choose a fluting style based on the types of chips your workpiece’s material will form as it’s cut. Straight flute taps are meant for more brittle material, which forms fine chips, while spiral flute taps can handle the stringy chips that softer material forms.

Opens a new session. Upon launch, Cmd + N is the first Pro Tools shortcut I utilize. Useful for starting a new project or session. This will open the Dashboard which can then be navigated to create a new session to your desired specifications, open a recent session, access collaborative projects in the cloud, or access the helpful “GETTING STARTED” Tab which contains resources for learning Pro Tools and a variety of session Templates.

Closes session without quitting Pro Tools. Quitting Pro Tools, only to reopen the software just to open a different session is a mistake I see many beginners make. It’s not uncommon to work on multiple sessions in a day, and this Pro Tools shortcut will prevent you from having to sit through the software loading as you move from one session to another.

While thread taps create the threads for the female portion of the threaded connection, such as on a nut or a hole in a workpiece, thread dies create the threads for the male portion, as with bolts or screws.

Edit. Separates a clip into two at the cursor point. Useful for precise editing and arrangement adjustments. This can also be accomplished simply by pressing B.

The tap’s end point can be formed with a short twist in the threads, as seen on high-performing spiral point taps. The thread tap’s taper is the slope at its cutting end. Taps with the longest tapers are taper taps. Plug taps have shorter tapers and bottoming taps have none. A given tapped hole will often require using more than 1 of these to fully complete its threads.

Given this, spiral flute taps are suitable for softer materials, like ductile steel, that form ‘strings’ of material as they’re cut. The taps themselves can be less durable, though, due to the significant material removed to create the flutings.

Forming threads requires more energy than cutting threads, and this means higher costs, but the threads produced are generally stronger than cut threads. This is because the forming process compresses the material into the base of each thread, making those thin spots denser and stronger.

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These are typically used to start threads off, but not finish them. The long taper will leave the bottom portion of a hole unthreaded, requiring other taps, like plug taps, to complete the threads.

Taps can also create threads by cutting material away or compressing and deforming material without cutting chips. This latter process involves forming taps.

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Pro Tools shortcuts are essential for operating the industry-standard Digital Audio Workstation to its fullest potential. In this article, I’ll cover some of my most used time-saving shortcuts and explain how I use them while working. Be sure to take the Basic Pro Tools Shortcuts Quiz upon completion.

Straight flute taps, however, have straight flutings along the full working length of the tap, giving the tap a more even cross-section and a sturdier structure. These taps are commonly designed for materials that are cut into tiny chips, like cast iron.

Turn off/on groups. Returns tracks to individual control. Let’s say I was working with groups enabled to edit the drums all together, but for whatever reason, I need to shift my focus to the snare drum only. I’ll use this shortcut to turn off the groups, accomplish my task at the individual track level, and then turn them on again. Truthfully, this is one of my most used Pro Tools shortcuts and I utilize it on virtually every session.

The cutting taps discussed so far cut material away. Forming taps deform threads into material. This is best suited to soft materials like aluminium or soft steel. Since there are no chips to remove, there are no flutings.

Group. Groups selected tracks together. Useful for editing or moving multiple tracks simultaneously. Whether you’re working in music, post production, or something else entirely, grouping tracks should a part of your organization system. Depending on how your groups are setup, you can solo, mute, and apply many other commands simultaneously to tracks that are grouped.

This is essential for when you want to get up close and personal with audio clips and perform surgical edits. Zoom in with T to get as close as you need, and then zoom out with R when the task is complete to see the broad overview of your session. I remember these shortcuts with the mnemonic device “T is for Telescope, R is for Retract”