Dynamic Transport mode in Pro Tools® 7.3 and higher software allows you to create and edit regions without ever stopping playback. It’s one more element of Pro Tools that contributes to better, uninterrupted workflows, allowing you to preview more things on the fly and focus in on the parts of your track that might need work. It’s also a great way to work on sections of a song and then see how well they all transition together. Here’s how.

First, select a region you’d like to work on in the Pro Tools Edit window, and engage Dynamic Transport mode by choosing "Dynamic Transport" from the Options menu. You can also toggle Dynamic Transport mode on or off by pressing Control-Command-P on a Mac or Control-Alt-P in Windows. In Dynamic Transport mode, Pro Tools will continuously loop the region you selected once you start playback, allowing you to edit away and hear your changes update in real time. The blue bar spanning your looping region at the top of the Bars and Beats timeline is the "Timeline selection,” which allows you to select which part of the Timeline to loop. You can move the selection by dragging the bar, or use the Timeline Selection Start and End Markers (arrows) to extend or shorten its range. Once you’ve finished editing your region, you can move the Timeline selection to another region — without stopping playback — and Pro Tools will start looping your new selection. The blue triangle below the Timeline Selection Start Marker (left arrow) is the Play Start Marker, which can be moved independently to start playback anywhere on the Timeline. Once you’ve edited a few sections, hear how things flow together by moving the Timeline selection to an edited section and moving the Play Start Marker a couple bars before it; Pro Tools will immediately start playback at your start point before it begins to loop your Timeline selection.

This is just one way of working with Dynamic Transport — try it out and soon you’ll be editing like crazy without any interruption to your creative workflow!