DigiDesign Pro Tools Reference Manual page 98

Valid Paths and Requirements
While configuring the I/O Setup dialog, certain
rules apply for path definition and channel
mapping.
Though it is possible to set up invalid mappings
in the Channel Grid, Pro Tools will not accept
an I/O Setup configuration unless all paths meet
the path definition and channel mapping re-
quirements, as follows:
Minimum Path Definitions All paths must have a
name, be of a specific format, and have a valid
I/O mapping.
Overlapping Channels and Valid Paths Channel
mapping follows certain rules regarding over-
lapping paths.
• There can be no partial or complete over-
laps between any two main Output paths,
any two Insert paths, or any two main Bus
paths.
• A newly-created Output or Bus path must
either be completely independent of other
maps (not mapped to any other available
I/O interface/channels), or it must be a sub-
path completely contained within a larger
path (for example, an LCR sub-path within
a larger 5.1 path).
• Output and Insert paths can overlap in I/O
Setup, but only one or the other can be
used at any given time in a session. (Inputs,
however, can be routed to multiple tracks.)
Active and Inactive Paths
Pro Tools paths can be Active (on) or Inactive
(off, or unavailable). You can manually switch
paths between Active or Inactive on a track-by-
track or session-wide basis. In addition,
Pro Tools sets paths to Inactive automatically
when I/O is unavailable.
86 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Track Path Assignments Track input, output,
and bus path assignments can be switched to In-
active using the corresponding selector on the
track. This leaves track playlists intact, while dis-
connecting that particular track from the output
or bus path. Use this to remove a track from a
signal path.
Session-Wide Path Assignments Paths can be
globally activated or deactivated in the
I/O Setup dialog. Use this to turn off a signal
path on any and all tracks currently assigned to
it. Pro Tools also sets unavailable paths to inac-
tive. Paths can be unavailable when hardware or
other system resources are unavailable, such as
when opening a session saved on a different sys-
tem.
Track Path Assignments
(Mix and Edit Windows)
To toggle a track path assignment to be Active or
Inactive:
In the Mix or Edit window, Control-Start-click
■
(Windows) or Command-Control-click (Mac)
the track's Input, Output, Insert, or Send selec-
tor.
Inactive track path assignments are listed in ital-
ics and are unhighlighted.
Toggling All or All Selected
The Alt (Windows) and Option (Mac) modifiers
apply the path toggle to all tracks. The Alt+Shift
(Windows) and Option+Shift (Mac) modifiers
apply the path toggle to all selected tracks. How-
ever, Pro Tools will only apply the change to
identical path assignments, if any, in the cur-
rent track or tracks. Toggling multiple tracks
only affects tracks that have the same path as-
signment as the one you are explicitly toggling.