I see how that works on certain attributes (channel selection, pan, etc). However I want to copy the effect plugin chain that's on the entire track.

for example, track 6 has a noise gate, high pass filter, some compression, then reverb. I want to copy that exact plug in chain (and all the plugin settings) from track 6 to track 8. Is there a way to copy the plugin chains? Right now I have to go in and either set up all the parameters the same way, or save presets and reload presets for every plugin if I want to duplicate them.

thank you.
Sean

You don't have to save the presets for each plugin and reload them individually, you can save the whole chain and just load the chain.

Click the plugin button in the track header of the track you have set the way you want, click the add plugin button in the Audio Track FX window, when the Plug-in Chooser pops up you will see a Save As button to save the entire chain.

Another way is to R-click the track header you have set up > Duplicate Track, delete the duplicated audio event/s then add the audio you want.

MJ

MJ is perfectly correct.

However once you have created your saved "chain" as a Filter Package and you can see and identify this from within Plug-in Manager, you can not just drag and drop this onto the track header - as you would an FX.

You could, for example Drag 'n Drop directly from the Video FX tab, say, Median, and this will show and display itself as a FX. Good! But how do you now Drag 'n Drop your "freshly" made, home-grown saved chain that resides in something called "Plug-in Manager" ( Oh yes! when does an FX become a Plug-in? Debate! ) directly onto the Track Header? Well, you can't. It may appear within Plug-in Manager as a sub folder of FX, hence my confusion about Filter Packages being a subset of FX, but you can not Drag 'n Drop these home-grown onto the Track Header. BUT, you can Drag 'n Drop the same home-grown directly onto an Event. Another confusion for me, because you can Copy and Paste attributes between Events AND this works for home-grown.

So in summary:

1/- Home-grown Chains can not be Drag 'n Dropped to newly created, non-FXed track Headers

2/- FXs can be Drag 'n Dropped to track Headers

3/- Home-grown Chains can be Copy 'n Paste Attributed between Events

4/- FXs can be Copy 'n Paste Attributed between Events

. . . . . see where this is going?

Now, to get your home growns to be made to drag 'n drop to track headers you need to:

A: Drag 'n Drop any old Sony FX to the track header in question

B: Click on the Track Header to "display" the Video Track FX Menu/Pane

C: Go to your Plug-in Manager and select your home-grown

. .and finally ..

D: Drag 'n Drop this onto the NOW displayed Video Track FX Menu/Pane of "B" above.

As you hover over the existing "chain" info you will instantly, firstly notice a "dark" phantom large thin rectangular outline depicting your attempt to apply this home-grown. Once you notice, this release the mouse button and hey presto! And, at last, your Home-grown "chain", not FX, will supplant the existing FX Chain.

So, this has been my experience and now I know this, it is second nature to me to doing things this way. The MASSIVE advantage, Sean, is that as you suggested, once you have spent not a little time in designing and testing a Plug-in Chain you want/wanted a simple method to Copy and Paste this to a Track Header. Well, and in my experience I can't! You wanting to do this, I can completely understand! However, I hope my method gets you to where you want AND once you've done it, you will see how truly straightforward it can be.

I have to say, it was the "logic" of the naming of these functions that had me confused - FXs<>Plug-ins<>Chains - and seeing how these are organised within the Folder structure. Added to which the ways one can and can't utilize the procedures in A thru' D above.

I'm giving myself the same "hard-time" with ACID Pros new powerful Media Manager .. but that is another story . ..

Sean, I really hope this helps.

Best regards,

Grazie