The Pro Tools Preferences are the way we set up our individual Pro Tools systems to our liking, our… well, Preference. Sounds straightforward enough. Maybe not? If you’ve ever noticed that some settings don’t seem to stick and you have to keep setting them for every session, then this article will clear that up.

Local Or Global Preferences

Some Preferences are Global (i.e. their settings persist from session to session). Others are Local (i.e. they apply only to the session in which they are applied). The aim of this article is to help visualise which are Global and which are Local.

Most Preferences are Global. Avid publish a list of preferences that are the exception to this, which they describe as Local in the Reference Guide. The problem with this is that the Preferences are taken out of their familiar context so it can be hard to reconcile what’s in the list in the Reference Guide with the options available in the tabs of the Preferences window.

Which Pro Tools Preferences Are Local?

In the slideshow below you will see the local preferences for Pro Tools Ultimate highlighted in yellow in each of the Pro Tools Preferences tabs, and for completeness, we have also included the list from the Reference Guide below that. Hopefully, you’ll find the information more digestible given in the context of the Preferences window. It helped me!

All preferences are global, except for the following, which are local:

Display Preferences

• Edit Window Default Length

• Always Display Marker Colors

• Default Track Color Coding options

• Default Clip Color Coding options

Operation Preferences

• Latch Forward/Rewind

• Custom Shuttle Lock Speed

• Custom FF/REW Speed

• Back/Forward Amount (Pro Tools Ultimate only)

• PEC/Direct Style Input Monitoring (Pro Tools Ultimate only)

• DestructivePunch File Length (Pro Tools Ultimate only)

• Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length (Pro Tools Ultimate only)

Editing Preferences

• None

Mixing Preferences

• Coalesce Trim Automation Options (Pro Tools Ultimate only)

• Delay Comp Time Mode

• Compensate side chains (HDX systems only)

Metering Preferences

• None

Processing Preferences

• Convert Imported “WAV” Files To AES31/BroadcastWave

MIDI Preferences

• Display Events as Modified by Real-Time Properties

• Automatically Create Click Track in New Sessions

• Default Thru Instrument

• Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Controller Data

• Delay for External Devices Options (Pro Tools Ultimate only)

Collaboration Preferences

• None

Synchronization Preferences

• None