Zebra 2.9 (and 2.8) and patches..imgration etc.

[golemus]

Hi. I've used Zebra 2.5 and 2.6 for years and finally are migrating to 2.9.x...

Noticed that the preset browser is completely renewed. I have done huge work with v 2.6. Did my own custom folder hierarchy under "MIDI Programs" folder and sorted all Zebra presets to them, including factory presets. And added a lot of 3rd party preset banks there as well.

It seems that v. 2.6 had metadata under Favourites.db.txt and 2.8/2.9 seems to have metadata saved differently.

Questions:

- what is the best way to migrate to 2.9 so that I get favourites from 2.6 with least effort?

- .h2p files of 2.5/2.6 have different "Date Modified" and "File Size" than .h2p files of 2.9. Is there something new in 2.9. factory patch .h2p files that are same that of 2.5/2.6 version?

- I put everything under MIDI Programs because once upon time I used preset change or bank change messages to avoid using mouse. Haven't done that for years. What in your opinion is currently the best way to organize presets under Zebra? I have not used "User" or "Bank" folders at all as they are new. I have everything (including own custom patches) now under Local/MIDI Programs as I just used old Zebra 2.6 Zebra.Data/Presets folder for 2.9 (dunno if it is a good idea).

- is there some advantage of moving .h2p files from "Presets" under "UserPresets"

- I want to keep the option open to help workflow in the future with systems like NI NKS or Komplete Control. How should I organize presets to keep that option open?

- what is the best alternative to choose in Patch Format dropdown menu? Native, h2p, h2p extended or nks? Native I will not use for sure. How about h2p extended vs h2p? I did not see any difference, manual talks about comment text but where is it?

- Is there some disadvantage saving h2p extended instead of h2p or which one would you choose of those two?

- how about nks. If you don't have near future plans of using nks is there any sense of using this patch format for saving?

Thanks =)

[tasmaniandevil]

what is the best way to migrate to 2.9 so that I get favourites from 2.6 with least effort?

The favourites are now stored in a preset database file.

When you install the update, make sure to really install everything into the already existing Zebra2.data folder.
This is the only way the plugin can correctly update everything.

The first time you load the plugin after the update, it will find the old favourites.db.txt file and will store all the favourites it finds in the new preset database, so you don't lose them, and they are automatically assigned to the presets.

Some additional details about the new favourites:
There are eight differently coloured favourites now, not just one. So you'll have some more choices when sorting favourites.

And there is a way to export and import favourites, so you can back those up, or transfer them to another installation easily. Just hold the Shift key pressed while dragging the favourites smart folder out of the plugin onto the desktop. This creates a file that contains all the details about preset names, their location on the hard disk, and their favourite assignments.

.h2p files of 2.5/2.6 have different "Date Modified" and "File Size" than .h2p files of 2.9. Is there something new in 2.9. factory patch .h2p files that are same that of 2.5/2.6 version?

A lot has happened since version 2.5. New modules have been added to Zebra2.
And presets can now have a lot more meta data, like tags and a bank name.
That's why the files are modified.

is there some advantage of moving .h2p files from "Presets" under "UserPresets"

The Presets folder (the one showing up as "Local" in the plugin) is used for factory presets.

The UserPresets folder (the one showing up as "User") is typically used to store all your own preset creations as well as third party soundsets you might have installed.

The main advantage is to have a better differentiation between factory presets and other presets.

I want to keep the option open to help workflow in the future with systems like NI NKS or Komplete Control. How should I organize presets to keep that option open?

I don't know what option you are refering to here.

what is the best alternative to choose in Patch Format dropdown menu? Native, h2p, h2p extended or nks? Native I will not use for sure. How about h2p extended vs h2p? I did not see any difference, manual talks about comment text but where is it?

Is there some disadvantage saving h2p extended instead of h2p or which one would you choose of those two?

Most of the time you can simply keep this set to h2p.
H2p extended simply adds some comments to the h2p file. That's helpful for users who want to dig into the h2p file and edit or disect a preset in a text editor.

how about nks. If you don't have near future plans of using nks is there any sense of using this patch format for saving?

This simply saves presets in NKS format, so they can be used with an NKS host and NKS controller.
If you are not using the NKS ecosystem, then there is absolutely no point in using the nks option.

I put everything under MIDI Programs because once upon time I used preset change or bank change messages to avoid using mouse. Haven't done that for years. What in your opinion is currently the best way to organize presets under Zebra? I have not used "User" or "Bank" folders at all as they are new. I have everything (including own custom patches) now under Local/MIDI Programs as I just used old Zebra 2.6 Zebra.Data/Presets folder for 2.9 (dunno if it is a good idea).

You say you don't use MIDI program changes anymore.
In this case it's not a good idea to keep everything inside the MIDI programs folder.

All the presets inside this folder will be stored in your computer's RAM memory at the moment you load the plugin. This means that after every edit you make to those presets, you first have to quit and reload your plugin host (DAW), before those edits become effective.

The best would be to keep factory presets in the Local folder, and place your own presets and your third party soundsets in the User location.

Please note that the favourite status of presets can only be retained if you rearrange the presets inside the preset browser by using drag and drop to move them around.
If you use your computer's file system to move presets, their favourite status will get lost, as the database references favourites by preset name and file location.

[golemus]

.

Could you also answer my other topic "Zebra preset browser and ZebraHZ vs legacy questions"? =)

[golemus]

And there is a way to export and import favourites, so you can back those up, or transfer them to another installation easily. Just hold the Shift key pressed while dragging the favourites smart folder out of the plugin onto the desktop. This creates a file that contains all the details about preset names, their location on the hard disk, and their favourite assignments.

Is this in the manual as I did not find it?

And how to import?

Can I export favs from Zebra and import to ZebraHZ? Or vice versa?

Is there any way to sync favourites of Zebra and ZebraHZ?

I am probably going to use ZebraHZ for new projects but old projects will open Zebra and if I change favorites there it seems that ZebraHZ is not updated.

[tasmaniandevil]

Is this in the manual as I did not find it?

Page 21 of the user guide, "Exporting favourite / Junk status".

And how to import?

You import them by simply dragging and dropping that file onto the favourites smart folder.

Can I export favs from Zebra and import to ZebraHZ? Or vice versa?
Is there any way to sync favourites of Zebra and ZebraHZ?
I am probably going to use ZebraHZ for new projects but old projects will open Zebra and if I change favorites there it seems that ZebraHZ is not updated.

Zebra2 and ZebraHZ are two different plugins, you cannot sync their preset databases.
If you change favourites in one plugin, they won't get updated in another plugin.

There is a way to transfer all your current Zebra2 favourites over to ZebraHZ, but it involves using text editors to manipulate and batch edit files, and the description would be way too long to post here. If you feel confident doing this, best to contact our support so we can send you the instructions.

[sl23]

I'm curious about why zebra2 is required if zebraHZ is a kind of upgraded version. Can you use z2 themes with zHZ?

[tasmaniandevil]

Zebra2 isn't required, as you can load all Zebra2 presets from inside ZebraHZ.

It's only required if you are using the NKS presets, as NKS doesn't allow you to load a preset created with one product in another product.

Zebra2 themes won't be able to display the added options ZebraHZ has, so it doesn't make sense to use a Zebra2 theme in ZebraHZ.

[sl23]

OK thanks for explaining