What’s new in Pro Tools Sketch 2023.12

Pro Tools 2023.12 is our first release since the introduction of the Sketch Window and iPad app, and we wanted to share a few developments (pun). We’ve been thrilled with the response that Sketch has enjoyed so far but also listening to user feedback to help us deliver the right enhancements in the right order. We fixed a ton of bugs between releases, which is swell, but not very exciting; so, we focused on also including a couple little niceties that will improve the Sketch workflows—and we wanted to signal our ongoing development of Sketch is really going on!

SKETCH ON IPAD

Never lose an idea! Now on the iPad, we’ve integrated an auto-backup system in case you ever terminate the app without saving something you were working on—it will be restored on the subsequent launch.

To make working with the Scene Arranger smoother, we added a contextual menu option to the individual scenes in the Scene Arranger that allows you to start playback of the arrangement from the chosen scene.

We’ve got bunches of other new features under development for the iPad app that we will be released regularly.

SKETCH WINDOW

Over in Pro Tools Land, we have made a few cool improvements to the Sketch Window! An integral piece of the Sketch Window workflow is being easily able to move your work from the Sketch window into the Pro Tools timeline... and in some cases from Pro Tools into Sketch! So, we took a few more steps down the road toward the ‘blue horizon.’ When you drag a clip from an instrument track in the Sketch Window to an existing MIDI or instrument track in Pro Tools, we now bring the editable MIDI over so you can easily continue editing.

In the reverse direction, if you drag an audio clip from the Pro Tools timeline into a cell in the Sketch window, we now render the audio clips signal chain. This way if there are Clip Effects, Clip Gain, ARA edits, fades, or anything else you can apply, it will be applied when you hear it in Sketch.

We also moved the included Sketch window content to the ‘Sound Libraries’ folder. It will follow the system preferences if that directory is customized. This puts your sound content in a more accessible location to be used more freely. It also puts the included content in the same directory as Pro Tools | Sonic Drop and other content that is installed in the Sound Libraries location, making all your sound content readily available in the Sketch window.

And finally, we wanted to provide a way to archive, or embed, a Sketch Document along with a session. This way if a particular Sketch document is integral to the session or they need to be transported together, there is a way make this association. This can be accomplished by either proactively nesting the Sketch document at creation from the dashboard or checking a new box in the ‘Save Session Copy In…’ item under the file menu at any time. When a Sketch document is saved inside a Pro Tools session folder, it is automatically pinned so it will open when the session is opened.

We plan to continue to improve the interoperability between windows along with other enhancements that will make the Sketch window more at home in Pro Tools. You can look forward to more Sketch related development in subsequent releases!

AVAILABILITY

Pro Tools Sketch Window updates are now available as part of the Pro Tools 2023.12 software release for all Pro Tools customers on an active subscription or perpetual license with current Upgrade plan, as well as all Pro Tools Intro users. You can update through Avid Link or find it in your Avid Account. Pro Tools Sketch iPad app updates are free and you can download the Pro Tools Sketch iPad app at no cost here. If you need to upgrade your Pro Tools perpetual license to get the latest features, you can find options to do so here. And if you’re new to Pro Tools, you can try out the latest version with our free 30-day trial.

For more details about this release, please see the new documentation now available in your Avid Account.

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