Choosing a different location for the "MIDI PROGRAMS" folder (Example: In a Cloud)

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Hi guys,

I'm looking for a way to have all my MIDI Programs in one single location that I can access from different computers.

(For reference I work with Ableton Live and my Ableton Project is stored in a Cloud.)

I have all my Presets and Folders regarding presets saved in the same Cloud, but I'm struggling to access the MIDI PROGRAMS from the Cloud.

How can I do this? Does the "MIDI PROGRAMS" folder only works if it is on the default location? Isn't there a way for choosing the "MIDI PROGRAMS" folder from the Cloud instead of the Local one, for example creating an aliases?

Really need some insight here guys... at this moment each time I add a new preset on let's say computer A, I then have to copy the new preset to the cloud so that when I get onto computer B I can copy it into it's "MIDI PROGRAMS" local folder. So yeah... It takes a long of time and organisation to have all computers match the same Programs and Banks...

IF the "MIDI PROGRAM" folder can be set to a specific location, instead of the local one, it would significantly make my life a lot lot easier when working with program/bank changes across all u-He plugs.

Any tips?
thanks! :)
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We generally don't advise users to use cloud folders for preset storage, because you can never be sure if it works reliably. E.g. if the connection is lost during the moment the presets are being scanned, the cloud presets might not show up in plugin. Or the Cloud folder might perform syncing operations, not letting the plugin access the location at the moment you try to save a new preset in the Cloud folder, leading to the preset not being saved. And so on.

But it's possible to have the MIDI programs folder in such a location, you just need to use a symbolic link, a simple alias won't be sufficient.

Creating symlinks is pretty easy on Mac, if you know how to open a Terminal. :)
Here is an example what it would look like to create a symlink for Hive's MIDI Program folder. You create the "MIDI programs" folder in your Cloud folder, and then type this line in the Terminal (adjusting the paths according to your actual paths):

Code: Select all

ln -s "yourDropboxFolder/Hive/MIDI Programs" /Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Hive
That QA guy from planet u-he.
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I must be doing something wrong.

The location of the folder is:
"Macintosh HD/MEOCloud/WORMWHOLE/Presets/U-He/Zebra2/MIDI Programs"

When I write the following code on Terminal it says "File Exists" but when I load Zebra2 I don't see the MIDI PROGRAMS folder:
ln -s "Macintosh HD/MEOCloud/WORMWHOLE/Presets/U-He/Zebra2/MIDI Programs" /Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Zebra2


The first time I entered the code in Terminal I didn't wrote "Macintosh HD" at the beginning so it didn't work, I then tried adding it but I now get a message saying "File Exists".

Don't know if this is because I previously added it without "Macintosh HD" and now when trying with it, it is telling me that it already exists.

Do I need to remove the previously generated symlink and then try again with the new code? If so how do I do this?
Many thanks for your help :)
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Ok I've deleted the file that had been previously created in the original location of Zebra2, named "MIDI Programs".
I then added the new code but still is isn't showing up in Zebra2.

ln -s "Macintosh HD/MEOCloud/WORMWHOLE/Presets/U-He/Zebra2/MIDI Programs" /Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Zebra2
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When it said "File exists", this was because you still had the original MIDI programs folder in the Zebra folder.
If a folder already exists, a symlink with the same name cannot be created in the same location.
Should probably have mentioned that.

When you tried it again after deleting the real MIDI Programs folder, and didn't get an error message from the Terminal, it should have worked.

You could check the /Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Zebra2 location in the Mac Finder, if there is a new MIDI Programs folder, which leads to your Cloud location if you open it in the Finder.

If it is there, but doesn't show up in Zebra2, try doing a database refresh in the plugin, by right-clicking in the preset browser's directory tree, and choosing "refresh".
That QA guy from planet u-he.
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Sorry... I must be doing something wrong here.

I see the newly created shortcut in the default Zebra2 Preset folder, but when I click on it to see if the link is right I get an error saying:
"The operation can't be completed because the original item for "MIDI Programs" can't be found"

So I guess that the problem is with the link pointing to the "MIDI Programs" folder I have in the Cloud location.

Here's an image of how it looks:
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UPDATE: Ok found the problem! The code order was wrong, first should be the Original and then the Place where the link should be created.
Also because "MIDI Programs" has a space in-between, when you try to type it, it will not work.

So after some googling around I found a video showing how to make sure the link will be created successfully. So the trick is to drag and drop both folders into terminal so that both links (original and new link) are correct.

For reference to anyone who wants to know here's a link showing how it's done:


Anyway tasmaniandevil thank you for your help it did point me out in the right path :)
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Yes, on Mac, always put the link to the original folder first, then the link to the destination.
I thought this was clear by the example link I had posted in my first reply.
I guess I should be more specific when describing such things. :)
And always put spaces around the link, if it contains empty spaces.

But glad you figured it out. :tu:

Fun fact: On Windows, it's the other way round when creating symbolic links.
There, the link to the destination comes before the link to the source/original.
That QA guy from planet u-he.
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tasmaniandevil wrote: Wed Feb 06, 2019 5:30 pm Yes, on Mac, always put the link to the original folder first, then the link to the destination.
I thought this was clear by the example link I had posted in my first reply.
I guess I should be more specific when describing such things. :)
And always put spaces around the link, if it contains empty spaces.

But glad you figured it out. :tu:

Fun fact: On Windows, it's the other way round when creating symbolic links.
There, the link to the destination comes before the link to the source/original.
Oh thanks that's great info! I'll be doing that when I get home because there I have a PC. But right now I've already made the Symbolic Links both in my macbook and macpro at the studio and it's rocking :D So happy. This was one of the things that was kind of frustrating for me because I work essentially with u-He plugs so I would have to do this for every plug and on 3 different computers which took me a lot of time. Now it's done. yey!
I hope the same applies to the PC world.

Thanks again tasmaniandevil :)
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Andregmendes wrote: Wed Feb 06, 2019 6:48 pm Oh thanks that's great info! I'll be doing that when I get home because there I have a PC
Make sure to do a quick google search for symlinks on Windows before you try it.
I remember there are some more differences to how it works on Mac.
First, the command you need is a different one, and I think I remember one also has to include the actual name of the newly created symbolic link in the destination path (which you didn't need to do on Mac).
That QA guy from planet u-he.
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Already did it yesterday! Just downloaded an app that made it even easier on Win10. Thank you so much man... the info you gave me really helped me a lot :)
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Yep, LinkShellExtension is great :)
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