Apple Logic Pro X - Manual (Page 178)

Chapter 7 Work with tracks 178
Protect tracks
You can protect a track to prevent accidental changes. While a track is protected, you can’t record
on the track, edit regions on the track, or create new regions on the track. If you want to edit the
track, you can unprotect it, make the changes, and then protect the track again.
Protect a track
1 Click the Protect button in the track header.
If the Protect button isn’t visible in the track header, you can display it using the Track Header
Configuration dialog.
The lock turns green to indicate that the track is protected.
2 To unprotect the track, click the Protect button again.
Protect all tracks
1 Command-click the Protect button in any track header.
The locks turn green to indicate that all tracks are protected.
To change the state of multiple tracks, click-hold the Protect button of one track, then drag the
pointer up or down. The Protect buttons of all swiped tracks switch to the same state.
2 To unprotect all tracks, Command-click the Protect button on any track header.
If you try to make changes to a protected track, a dialog tells you that the track is locked.
Freeze tracks
When Show Advanced Tools is selected in the Advanced preferences pane, you can freeze
a track, to reduce the processing power needed to play the track. Freezing a track reduces its
CPU usage to that of a high-resolution audio track with no effects plug-ins inserted, regardless
of the number or complexity of the plug-ins used on the track. Freezing is particularly useful
for software instrument tracks, and for audio tracks that use complex effects. Freezing is not
available for multi-output software instruments.
When you freeze a track, the track is bounced to an audio file. The freeze file includes the plug-
ins for the track, and any track automation. While a track is frozen, the freeze file plays back in
place of the original track. The original track and plug-ins are temporarily deactivated. Channel
strip controls (such as track mute and solo) are available, but no track content can be edited
(including region mute and solo, for example).
While a track is frozen, it cannot be edited. If you want to edit the track, you can unfreeze it, make
the changes, and then freeze the track again.
Freeze is designed to circumvent very CPU-intensive processes, such as software instruments
with a complex voice architecture, and complex plug-ins (such as reverbs, filter banks, or FFT-
based effects). If your computer can calculate all active processes in real time, freezing tracks
is unnecessary. Freezing tracks is recommended when tracks with CPU-intensive software
instrument or effects plug-ins are in a finalized state, or require no further changes.
By freezing tracks, you can:
•
Use extra effects plug-ins or software instruments in additional audio or software instrument
tracks, which would normally be impossible as it would exceed the CPU-processing limits of
your computer.
•
Play back projects created on computers with greater CPU power.