FL Studio 12 Released!

[ENV1]

you mean it's able to tell a generator from an effect, without opening it? I can't imagine any way to do that, except by using a self-updating and well maintained online database. Does it?

No, no online DB. When VSTHost fast-scans it simply does some form of quick-check on the files to see whats a VST DLL, whats a non-VST DLL, whats an Instrument, and whats an Effect. (MIDI too.) The detected plugins are then saved into an .ini file (Plugins.ini) containing a header, the path to the plugin and an identifier. (0=Inst, 1=FX, 2=MIDI.) The plugins are then displayed in the menu, which reflects the structure of the plugins dir. How exactly VSTHost is doing this i cant tell you, but im sure Hermann would be glad to give you the details in case youd like to hear more about it. (Ive dealt with him, hes a very nice and helpful person.)

It's listing twice the same plugins while you only have 1 copy of the DLLs?

Yes.

(It began after starting and canceling a deep scan, if i remember correctly.)

[T-CM11]

i dont know what youre on about...i have never EVER needed to do a deep scan before and its always worked how im describing. scans before took max 20 seconds....as opposed to the 40 minutes its been scanning right now.

Nope, in all FL Studio versions before, a plugin was never recognised as either generator or effect without a deep scan. Try it for yourself.

[tony tony chopper]

you mean it's able to tell a generator from an effect, without opening it? I can't imagine any way to do that, except by using a self-updating and well maintained online database. Does it?

No, no online DB. When VSTHost fast-scans it simply does some form of quick-check on the files to see whats a VST DLL, whats a non-VST DLL, whats an Instrument, and whats an Effect. (MIDI too.) The detected plugins are then saved into an .ini file (Plugins.ini) containing a header, the path to the plugin and an identifier. (0=Inst, 1=FX, 2=MIDI.)

I'd like to know how that works
in theory that's not possible, as (to my knowledge) it's something that the plugin answers by code

It's listing twice the same plugins while you only have 1 copy of the DLLs?

Yes.

(It began after starting and canceling a deep scan, if i remember correctly.)

I'll tell Fred about that

[elassi]

You'll be rewarded with better organisation.

Must add one point: It let's me store a program of Kontakt as a certain instrument. Say you have a fav piano in Kontakt... just add it to the database (it'd be smart to create a subdir called "Piano" first) and it will load every time you select it from there. That's cool!

In Reaper, which has a nice database too, you can't do that. You always have to load Kontakt first and then select the sample-lib in question. Maaaaany clicks, man.

[tony tony chopper]

Btw, the database is a list of files, so when you're using the picker or browser, they can be anything, including samples or whatever.
You can also add an audio preview that will play when hovering the plugin - probably won't be used, but it's possible my messing with the nfo file.

[elassi]

While we're at it: there's something that could be improved...

This is the situation after storing the mentioned Kontakt-piano in the database:



Then I renamed the entry to distinguish it from other programs. Observation: the image disappears:



Not a biggy though...

[chaosWyrM]

i dont know what youre on about...i have never EVER needed to do a deep scan before and its always worked how im describing.

I think I know how FL works - there is just NO WAY FL wasn't listing generators & effects in the same lists, without a deep scan.

as for the whole right click add to plugin database thing....thats EXACTLY the problem...why would i want to go through an ass load of plugins individually right clicking each one and assigning it to something??

So, can we sum the problem up to adding a plugin now requiring 2 clicks instead of one?
And you don't find it silly to whine about that? What happened to "it was easy in FL11 and now it takes endless hours"?

yes im aware you know how it works...and i think maybe thats making you a tad defensive. if you go back over my new vs old way...you will see that what i was saying was that it created the lists in a far more efficient manner.

i went through the same list clicking boxes. i went through the list once clicking only synth boxes...then again clicking only effects = 2 separate lists only 1 click per plugin

and to be accurate its not just requiring 2 clicks instead of 1, its requiring 2 clicks instead of one, and moving the mouse around all over the place....and then its not putting things where they go anyway.

it keeps putting effects in the synths list and synths in the effect list, it wrongly assigns almost every automapped dll as a synth whether its an effect or not...none of this would happen if i could just make the lists separate in the first place instead of going through the whole thing three times.

if you think its so silly...maybe you want to come by my place and see how fun it is to click away at it...ill give you all the beer you can drink. it was easy in fl11...all i had to do was machine gun tick a line of boxes. it was still annoying, but it was easy...and most of all IT WORKED.

but seriously...you cant put a "check all" option on there?

i just want to make some music...i dont want to have to babysit this thing because someone decided to over think the plugin handling.

the ultimate bottom line is that it worked fine before...and now it doesnt. all because someone wanted to add a bunch of needless bells and whistles.

[ENV1]

I'd like to know how that works
in theory that's not possible, as (to my knowledge) it's something that the plugin answers by code

Yes, im sure VSTHost is at least asking 'what are you'.

(And come to think of it, it might actually also be that VSTHosts fast scan merely means that it doesnt 'ask' the plugins that are already in the list again. In this case a fast scan would really be just a regular scan which skips the already registered files. Not sure if this is so, but i think its definitely possible.)

[highkoo]

While we're at it: there's something that could be improved...

This is the situation after storing the mentioned Kontakt-piano in the database:



Then I renamed the entry to distinguish it from other programs. Observation: the image disappears:



Not a biggy though...

(In v11, at least,)

I wont spell it out, but you can go into the db directories and copy/rename/edit the .fst, .nfo, and .bmp files to show what you like accordingly.
(You must enable 'show system files', or whatever it is called, in Windows in order to see the nfo files.)

Reaktor has the same problem and it is a pain the ass.
I doubt there is a way for the host to accommodate...

Please, do not tell me this no longer works in v12.

[elassi]

Now that's interesting, highkoo. Seems I've overlooked some features even in v11.

[chaosWyrM]

i dont know what youre on about...i have never EVER needed to do a deep scan before and its always worked how im describing. scans before took max 20 seconds....as opposed to the 40 minutes its been scanning right now.

Nope, in all FL Studio versions before, a plugin was never recognised as either generator or effect without a deep scan. Try it for yourself.

omg...i never said it was.

for the third time...one master list...2 passes clicking boxes for either synths or effects = 2 lists in fl11 (and every previous version).

seems people dont understand what im saying.

all i want is to have the list of all available plugins in the add channel/effect and replace/insert drop down menus.

to do this you used to have to go through the master list twice and check the boxes...going through once for the synths and once for the effects...seems annoying (and it was a little), but it was dead easy and fast because you could just machine gun tick the boxes.

now you have to right click move the pointer and click add to plug ins database. and you still have to go through the list twice.

i understand that reading it, it seems like it would be no big deal...but as it turns out...if one has a large list to do this with...double the amount of clicking combined with having to make the extra selection (the add to plugin database mouse movement back and forth) adds up to a lot of time. a lot of frustrating, repetitive motion, tiny font reading time.

[highkoo]

Btw, the database is a list of files, so when you're using the picker or browser, they can be anything, including samples or whatever.
You can also add an audio preview that will play when hovering the plugin - probably won't be used, but it's possible my messing with the nfo file.

Ha, cool!

So, I have a behemoth db that I have been migrating through the last n versions of FL. Am I still able to just copy that over to the install of v12 and it will be ok?
Edit, clarification;
Assuming that I do whatever kind of scan business I need to do, so FL sees the plugins, can I then copy over the db's whole Windows directory structure over to v12, and have it work?

Also, a question I have atm, but have done literally nothing to try and determine myself, ;
The 'drop down' add lists now show a copy of the db after the favorites list. Can we turn that bit off somehow, so that menu only shows the favorited stuff, without the whole db?
Recently I have found it handy to keep a very very short list of very very often used effects in that favorites list, but if it has to show the db it will be too big.

[CC4]

The plugin scanning certainly needs work in FL12. A fast scan doesn't correctly handle any of the 64-bit plugins. Only deep scan picks them up.

So I tried installing a few new free plugins to see how Fl would handle that. A deep scan didn't pick the new ones up at all. After unchecking the "Rescan previously scanned plugins," I also had to uncheck the "Verify plugins" setting for FL to find them.

[Tjivory]

I already have all my plugs organized into specific folders for each type. Is there a way fl studio can read them at a folder level to display.

[CC4]

I freakin' wish. I like the new category view, but you have to spend time organizing it the way you want in the browser.