ProToolsText

Text parser and CSV converter for Avid Pro Tools text exports.

Of most interest at this time is the PText Converter.app utility program...

PText Converter.app

Quick Start

1. Download PText Converter.app from the Releases page.
2. Launch PText Converter.app.
3. From the "File" menu, select "Convert Text Export..." or type Command-O.
4. Select a text export from Pro Tools.
5. The app will present a save dialogue. Select a destination for the CSV file.
6. Click OK.

Theory of Operation

Avid Pro Tools exports a tab-delimited text file organized in multiple parts with an uneven syntax that usually can't "drop in" to other tools like Excel or Filemaker. This project implements a simple Mac OS X application that accepts a text export from Pro Tools and converts it into a CSV of the clips, unfolding track and session data in the process, and also parsing additional columns from the clip, track, and session name.

Importing a normal text export outputs a CSV with one row for each clip, like this:

PT.Session.Name	PT.Track.Name	PT.Clip.Number	PT.Clip.Name	PT.Clip.Start	PT.Clip.Finish	PT.Clip.Muted	...
Test Session	Track 1	1	Audio 1-01	01:00:00:05	01:01:00:12	Unmuted	...
Test Session	Track 1	2	Audio 1-02	01:01:00:12	01:01:00:20	Unmuted	...

etc... Each clip has a column for the track name of the clip in addition to the session name. A column for the track comments is also included. The first row of the output always contains column headings.

Fields in Clip Names

Track names, track comments, and clip names can also contain meta-tags, or "fields," to add additional columns to the CSV output. Thus, if a clip has the name:

Fireworks explosion {note=Replace for final} $V=1 [FX] [DESIGN]

The row output for this clip will contain columns for the values:

...	PT.Clip.Name	note	V	FX	DESIGN	...
...	Fireworks explosion	Replace for final	1	FX	DESIGN	...

These fields can be defined in the clip name in three ways:

• $NAME=VALUE creates a field named NAME with a one-word value VALUE.
• {NAME=VALUE} creates a field named NAME with the value VALUE. VALUE in this case may contain spaces or any chartacter up to the closing bracket.
• [NAME] creates a field named NAME with a value NAME. This can be used to create a boolean-valued field; in the CSV output, clips with the field will have it, and clips without will have the column with an empty value.

For example, if two clips are named:

"Squad fifty-one, what is your status?" [FUTZ] {Ch=Dispatcher} [ADR]

"We are ten-eight at Rampart Hospital." {Ch=Gage} [ADR]

The output will contain the range:

...	PT.Clip.Name	Ch	FUTZ	ADR	...
...	"Squad fifty-one, what is your status?"	Dispatcher	FUTZ	ADR	...
...	"We are ten-eight at Rampart Hospital."	Gage		ADR	...

Fields in Track Names and Markers

Fields set in track names, and in track comments, will be applied to each clip on that track. If a track comment contains the text {Dept=Foley} for example, every clip on that track will have a "Foley" value in a "Dept" column.

Likewise, fields set on the session name will apply to all clips in the session.

Fields set in markers, and in marker comments, will be applied to all clips whose finish is after that marker. Fields in markers are applied cumulatively from breakfast to dinner in the session. The latest marker applying to a clip has precedence, so if one marker comes after the other, but both define a field, the value in the later marker

An important note here is that, always, fields set on the clip name have the highest precedence. If a field is set in a clip name, the same field set on the track, the value set on the clip will prevail.

Using @ to Apply Fields to a Span of Clips

A clip name beginning with "@" will not be included in the CSV output, but its fields will be applied to clips within its time range on lower tracks.

If track 1 has a clip named @ {Sc=1- The House}, any clips beginning within that range on lower tracks will have a field Sc with that value.

Using [AP] to Combine Clips

A clip name setting the [AP] field will have its parsed clip name appended to the following cue, and the fields of following cues will be applied (earlier clips having precedence). The clips need not be touching, and the clips will be combined into a single row of the output. The start time of the first clip will become the start time of the row, and the finish time of the last clip will become the finish time of the row.

Important Notes

This is experimental software, it is provided AS IS with no warranty for any purpose.

At this time the application only accepts text exports in the UTF-8 format, and exports CSV encoded likewise.

The parser is naive about timecodes and time formats. Times are compared by lexicographic sorting, which works great for SMPTE timecodes, but may have unexpected results with anything else.