Avid Pro Tools · VST3

Put a lyrics teleprompter on a second monitor in Pro Tools

Can I show the lyrics on a second screen in Pro Tools?

Yes. Undock the LyricsRunnerVST window and drag it onto a second monitor, a studio TV or a tablet used as a display. Pro Tools stores the window position inside the project, so the next time you open the session the prompter is back on the same screen.

The classic control-room setup is a laptop propped on a mic stand with a text document open. It works until someone bumps it, or until the screen sleeps mid-take. A plugin window you can throw onto any connected display is simply steadier.

Text rescales as the window grows, so a 55-inch TV at the far end of the live room is as readable as a 24-inch monitor beside the desk. Set the font size once for the room you are in and leave it.

If the booth has no display of its own, a cheap HDMI panel or an old tablet running as an extended screen is enough. The prompter does not care what the panel is, only that Pro Tools can see it as a display.

Step by step

  1. 1Connect the second display and confirm your operating system extends the desktop onto it.
  2. 2Open the LyricsRunnerVST editor in Pro Tools and undock or resize the window.
  3. 3Drag it onto the second display and stretch it to fill the screen.
  4. 4Raise the font size until the singer can read it comfortably from where they actually stand.
  5. 5Save the Pro Tools project — the window position and size are remembered.

Try it in Pro Tools tonight

14 days free, no card required. Install the VST3, paste a lyric sheet, and record one take start to finish before you decide.

Related questions

Does a second screen cost extra CPU in Pro Tools?

Nothing meaningful. The display work is a text draw, not audio processing, so the Pro Tools performance meter barely reacts.

Can I use an iPad as the prompter screen?

Yes, as long as the iPad is set up as an extended display for the computer. The plugin window is dragged onto it like any other screen.