Creative GarageBand
Learn how to keep accidental edits at bay with a look at how locking tracks keeps projects safe
Hopefully we all keep project file backups to revert back to, but in GarageBand there are extra ways to stop accidental or impetuous changes before they occur. Track locking does exactly what it says on the tin; it locks down your project tracks. Ok, but why does this help? Well, not only does it prevent any further edits on a selected track until unlocked, but it also helps to finalise the project.
So while you end up with much bigger project file sizes on disk, it helps optimise playback and song exports. Quite simply, track locking is important practice and in this guide we’ll explain the technique.
Step-by-step How to lock project tracks
We’ll start with an open project containing multiple tracks. It’s at a point where we want to crystallise progress so far and protect the tracks from further changes.
By default, track lock buttons are not shown. Navigate up to Track>Configure Track Header and use the popup menu to toggle on visibility for the Track Lock button.
With track lock buttons showing, simply click to toggle on for any desired track. The little padlock icon turns green and closed to denote any further edits are disabled.
When you next press Play (spacebar), the project renders first. GarageBand freezes all locked tracks, showing a progress bar as the playhead scans the timeline.
If you now try to change a locked track, you’ll be warned it must be unlocked first – ideal for stopping unintended, accidental edits while working on other tracks.
Locking is totally reversible and nondestructive. It does no harm to your project and can be reverted by clicking a track’s lock button off to accept changes on it again.
Locking down
A look at how track locks restrict how the project workspace behaves during editing
