DigiDesign Digidesign Pro Tools 8.0, Reference Manual

Page: 333 / 1112

Chapter 16: File and Session Management and Compatibility 315
File Name Extensions
For cross-platform compatibility, all files in a
session must have a 3-letter file extension added
to the file name. Pro Tools 5.1 to 6.9.x session
files have the extension “.pts,” and Pro Tools 5
sessions have the extension “.pt5.” Wave files
have the “.wav” file extension, and AIFF files
have the “.aif” file extension.
Incompatible ASCII Characters
Region names, track names, file names, and
plug-in settings cannot use ASCII characters that
are incompatible with either system.
When importing files into a session, incompati-
ble characters are converted to underscores (“_”)
and the renamed files are placed in the Renamed
Files folder.
The following characters cannot be used in Win-
dows sessions:
/ (Forward Slash)
\ (Backslash)
: (Colon)
* (Asterisk)
? (Question mark)
“ (Quotation marks)
< (Less-than symbol)
> (Greater-than symbol)
| (vertical line or pipe)
Any “high order” ASCII character (created
with a key combination)
Saving Cross-Platform Sessions
To save an existing session to Pro Tools 6.9.x or
lower and maintain Mac and Windows
compatibility:
1
Choose
File > Save Copy In
.
2
In the Save Session Copy dialog, choose a des-
tination and type a name for the new session
file.
3
Set the Audio File Type to AIFF or BWF (.WAV).
These file formats are compatible with either
platform.
4
Set the
Sample Rate
and
Bit Depth
for the ses-
sion.
5
Select
Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility
. This op-
tion must be selected to make the session cross-
platform compatible.
6
Select the Items to Copy options for the new
session.
7
Click
Save
.
If the session previously used SD II files, the files
are converted to the new audio file format.
Pro Tools can convert a file created on a
Mac and saved without the “Enforce
Mac/PC compatibility” option selected to a
Windows compatible file. For more infor-
mation, see “Sharing Sessions Created on
Different Computer Platforms” on
page 312.