Feature Request: User folder path for presets

[stardustmedia]

Hi

I'd like to ask for a feature, or a couple of features:

- User can set another folder path for all presets. In my case I'd like to put them into my Dropbox, so I can easily sync two computers with the same presets.
- A function "Move presets to a new folder", similar as TAL has implemented it. But it should also move already existing user and 3rd party presets to the new folder.
- A function like "Restore factory presets and factory preset location", that recreates the factory presets and sets the factory folder path back again
- A button "Show presets folder". Since each developer has its own way and place to save presets, it's becoming pretty hard to remember which plugin saves where. This is a great help, also when a user wants to add 3rd party presets. In my opinion, this should be anyway available, regardless of my requests above
- It'd be nice to have this for all your plugins, of course

Thanks anyway for all your great hard work that delivers us amazing products

Regards,
Murat

[stardustmedia]

Of course I just found the function "Reveal in finder", so there goes one of my requests

[EvilDragon]

You can move the whole data folder wherever you want, then link to it...

[stardustmedia]

Link? ...

Do you mean symbolic link?

For me that's no feature. That'd be a work around. I once tried to create such and it didn't work.

Linplug also feature similar functions. Easy and fast.

[EvilDragon]

No, not a symbolic link. If you'll notice in your U-he plugin folder, there's a link created there (just a regular shortcut). If you change the destination of that shortcut, that's where the data folder is going to be expected.

[stardustmedia]

Ok... that sounds easier. Still I'd like a button that does that for me

[#rob]

There is a button for that, directly in the installer.

[stardustmedia]

There is a button for that, directly in the installer.

Missed that one. Thanks for the hint.

At that time I wouldn't have chosen it anyway. My feature request goes into the use case, where the user wants to change it after the installation. Where already 3rd party and user presets are added.

An easy and simple way for users. Click the button, folder path is changed. Like other developer feature it: FabFilter, TAL, Linplug, etc.

[HunterKiller]

Those are all great requests. Almost every commer plugin by every dev should have those. Total user control and customization.

[stardustmedia]

Ok, since it seems I'm the only one looking for a simple and easy solution in the GUI, I had a look into your replies... None of those "workarounds" worked on El Capitan. I had to install a new MacOS at home anyway, so I also had to reinstall all plugins.

No, not a symbolic link. If you'll notice in your U-he plugin folder, there's a link created there (just a regular shortcut). If you change the destination of that shortcut, that's where the data folder is going to be expected.

On my Mac, nope, there is no alias. At least not in the folder where the presets are stored. /library/audio/presets/u-he/diva/ ... Or are you talking another folder? Not sure what you mean with "plugin folder"? In the components folder, where the actual plugin sits, there is no alias to the presets.

There is a button for that, directly in the installer.

I thought I could re-install U-He plugins and use this function to place the presets in my Dropbox. But I haven't seen that button in the Mac installer. Where is it exactly? At which step should I be able to use it?

[Erkenfresh]

I tried this on Windows and it worked for me. I installed all my U-he synths with the default locations. So my directories were like this:

C:\VST\\Diva(x64).dll
C:\VST\\Diva.data\Presets\Diva\<Tons of presets>
C:\VST\Zebra2(x64).dll
C:\VST\\Zebra2.data\Presets\Diva\<Tons of presets>

I then moved Diva.data to my Dropbox directory. Then I created a "shortcut" as they call it in Windows. I named the shortcut Diva.data and pointed it to the directory I had moved into Dropbox. I loaded up Ableton and Diva was able to find the correct presets directory out on Dropbox. I saved a new patch, and it landed out on Dropbox.

I believe this is also possible on MacOS. I've not used it in a very long time, but I am pretty sure you could create shortcuts or aliases or whatever. It's still a manual process, but I think it should work.

Also, I found an occasional error with loading the config file each time I opened the synth in Ableton. I found that turning off Dropbox sync while Ableton was open would avoid these errors. So, sync up Dropbox before you start, then disable sync, then open Ableton and work your music magic, then close Ableton, then turn Dropbox sync back on.

[stardustmedia]

Alias is the same as a shortcut in Windows. I know both. I tried to move the presets and put there a alias, that points to the new location. It didn't work. Maybe I still did something wrong. Who knows...

I guess generally Mac and Win plugins don't work the same. On Mac the presets are NOT stored where the plugin sits. On Mac they're called .components for AU, as it is .dll for VST on Win. The presets are stored somewhere completely else.

You see. Too many reasons that such an inbuilt feature would be quite nice, for dumb users like me. That's why I asked for it. No guessing, no trial and error of loosing data. Hit that button and you're all set.

[aMUSEd]

Aliases don't work for this, but symlinks do. I use a symlink to the Zebra preset folder to make it so Zebra HZ can access Zebra 2's presets.

[stardustmedia]

Thought so. But as I said, I once tried to do this and it didn't work. It's too complicated for me. That's why I asked the developer to create an easy as pie-function for a DAU like me.

And I couldn't find the possibility to choose a specific folder during installation in the Mac-installer.

[#rob]

I couldn't find the possibility to choose a specific folder during installation in the Mac-installer.

That's true, because the resources are dealt with in different ways on the two operating systems. There are special folders for things like documentation files and patches and program-specific settings on OSX, so we use them. These types of locations don't exist on Windows, so we can't use them, that's why we aggregate everything into the .data folders and ask where to put everything.

As our patches and module presets are basically text files, even a huge collection of them will not take up more than a few Megabytes of space on the system drive. So it's usually not necessary to move them off the system drive like you would, understandably, do with a multi-Gigabyte sample library.

Also, keep in mind that file access times are higher on external drives than they are on internal drives, so that could have an effect on loading times when the patch folders are scanned and/or when presets are loaded.