## Automation Window In ProTools, within the Window drop-down, there is a menu window called "Automation." ![[_attachments/image-1.png|132x359]] Within this window, you can enable or disable write automation for various parameter types. You can also globally suspend automation by checking the SUSPEND button, which is convenient if you want to A/B the difference between applying automation before and after. Write automation, as we will soon learn, is one method for issuing automation live. ![[_attachments/image-2.png|132x197]] ## Write Mode Write Mode is a form of live automation mode in which we issue the first pass of automation onto tracks. It allows us to move a virtual fader, knob, button, or physical ones that are software-mapped to issue automation in real time. This tactile approach is both fun and performance-based. Provided the parameter you are changing is automation-enabled and the global automation settings are configured to be write-enabled (as shown in the screenshot above), simply pressing play and moving a parameter will cause the movement of the parameter to be recorded. This can catch some people off guard because they might not realize they are recording something, but pressing play to record automation is all that is needed when a track's automation mode is in Write. Write mode records the first pass of automation. Notice how after the first pass, it switches immediately to latch. We are about to discuss those implications. ![[Live Automation - first pass.mp4]] ## Overdubbing Automation ### Latch Mode As soon as one finishes their first pass of automation using Write Mode, the automation mode switches to Latch for overdubbing automation. This is the default behavior, though one can change the automation mode to Touch as an alternative for overdubbing automation. If you want to completely overwrite what you have written, you can switch back to Write. To explain Latch, see the movie below. Notice how the prewritten automation from the first pass stays intact until a parameter is moved, at which point the automation shifts to what the user is overdubbing. Once the user lets go, the parameter remains at the same setting it was last left at, rather than returning to the first pass. This is the key difference between Latch and Touch. ![[Live Automation - latch mode.mp4]] ### Touch Mode Like Latch mode, Touch mode is also an overdubbing automation method. When the user takes over the parameter for overdub, the original automation begins to get overwritten. However, when the user lets go of the parameter, the original automation from the first write pass is restored. This is a great mode for "punching in" automation. ![[Live Automation - touch mode.mp4]]