PT Keyboard Shortcuts

Improv · 7th March 2007

Never thought I'd moan about something I thought I loved so much. I use HD on OSX at work and it's a thing of beauty. I was hating using Sonar on my PC at home because it felt so relatively unintuitive (even after over 15 years Cakewalk usage and less than half that in PT). So I bought PTM-Powered for home use and what do you know?.... none of my keyboard shortcuts are the same!

Of course they're all there for the most part. But why couldn't Digi make the mapping a little more similar? i.e. the Ctrl key on a PC should do the same function as the Ctrl key on a Mac, right? It should be Mac->PC: Shift->Shift, Ctrl->Ctrl, Option->Start, Command->Alt so I don't have to access any more areas of my brain than I already do when chording shortcuts. "Don't think... feeeeew"

And to make it more maddening, Alt, for example, is mostly the PC version of Ctrl on a Mac.... but not always! ARGH!!

It's just one more thing to have to think about.... I'll never be as fluent at home as I am at work... and if I do get there, I'll probably lose efficency at work. So much for consistency....

Still a hell of a lot better than Sonar, though.

Improv · 7th March 2007

Ugh, and the GUI. I have no problems with the utliltarian nature of XP graphics, but not being able to float my mixer window without stretching the whole program across both monitors is a real drag! I can float plugins and popup faders and almost every window but mixer and edit? wtf???

**Geert van den Berg** · 8th March 2007

Maybe some PC app exists which can change the order of the keys so you can put the command in the order you're used to? Just thinking out loud...

drmmrboy · 8th March 2007

I feel your pain! Is there a way to assign key shortcuts? I used to do it in Nuendo, but I'm not sure about PT.

I learned PT on a pc, and I'm comfortable there. We got a new mac at the studio, and I feel so crippled. The other guys are used to macs and get around fine. So... I guess I'd change the assignments on my PC @ home.

Although it'd be fun to change them at the studio, and watch everyone fumble around... On second thought.. Ummm... Nahh...

Improv · 8th March 2007

Well it's growing on me. It appears that the ctrl/command -> alt/ctrl swap is consistent across all commands. Only one that seems inconsistent is disabling (greying-out) plugins. I can live with that All I have to do is reverse my baseball cap at home now and I'll be alright

A keyboard swap utility would be great as long as it only worked in PT...?

AlexLakis · 8th March 2007

Could you use some kind of keyboard macro program to accomplish this? Like "Quickeys?"

frank lyon · 9th March 2007

I would really like to find a way to drag the mix window to a secondary monitor, similar to plugs etc.

Improv · 10th March 2007

Well you can unmaximize the main PT window and stretch it across two screens (with my Matrox G450, you can set it up so ctrl-clicking the windows title bar achieves this automatically). Then you just have to size and position your edit/mix windows so they fill up each screen (and try to remember not to maximize those two subwindows... unless ya wanna).

Personally, it's not a huge deal to me. ctrl-equals works for me as I'm used to a single screen at work. Plus it allows me to fill up the other screen with shift-clicked plugin windows and such. Seems a silly limitation though.

7th March 2007	#1
Improv Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,365 Thread Starter	PT Keyboard Shortcuts Never thought I'd moan about something I thought I loved so much. I use HD on OSX at work and it's a thing of beauty. I was hating using Sonar on my PC at home because it felt so relatively unintuitive (even after over 15 years Cakewalk usage and less than half that in PT). So I bought PTM-Powered for home use and what do you know?.... none of my keyboard shortcuts are the same! Of course they're all there for the most part. But why couldn't Digi make the mapping a little more similar? i.e. the Ctrl key on a PC should do the same function as the Ctrl key on a Mac, right? It should be Mac->PC: Shift->Shift, Ctrl->Ctrl, Option->Start, Command->Alt so I don't have to access any more areas of my brain than I already do when chording shortcuts. "Don't think... feeeeew" And to make it more maddening, Alt, for example, is mostly the PC version of Ctrl on a Mac.... but not always! ARGH!! It's just one more thing to have to think about.... I'll never be as fluent at home as I am at work... and if I do get there, I'll probably lose efficency at work. So much for consistency.... Still a hell of a lot better than Sonar, though.

8th March 2007	#4
drmmrboy Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2004 Location: Philadelphia PA Posts: 2,780	I feel your pain! Is there a way to assign key shortcuts? I used to do it in Nuendo, but I'm not sure about PT. I learned PT on a pc, and I'm comfortable there. We got a new mac at the studio, and I feel so crippled. The other guys are used to macs and get around fine. So... I guess I'd change the assignments on my PC @ home. Although it'd be fun to change them at the studio, and watch everyone fumble around... On second thought.. Ummm... Nahh... __________________ Andrew "This game is really about being consistently "upper mediocre" on a regular basis. Brilliant on occasion and damn near never sucking" - Fletcher

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8th March 2007	#3
Geert van den Berg Mac Moderator Joined: May 2003 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 3,454	Maybe some PC app exists which can change the order of the keys so you can put the command in the order you're used to? Just thinking out loud...

8th March 2007	#6
AlexLakis Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2005 Location: Annapolis, MD/Los Angeles, CA Posts: 3,631	Could you use some kind of keyboard macro program to accomplish this? Like "Quickeys?"

10th March 2007	#8
Improv Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,365 Thread Starter	Well you can unmaximize the main PT window and stretch it across two screens (with my Matrox G450, you can set it up so ctrl-clicking the windows title bar achieves this automatically). Then you just have to size and position your edit/mix windows so they fill up each screen (and try to remember not to maximize those two subwindows... unless ya wanna). Personally, it's not a huge deal to me. ctrl-equals works for me as I'm used to a single screen at work. Plus it allows me to fill up the other screen with shift-clicked plugin windows and such. Seems a silly limitation though.