Can someone clarify where any of the patches you create in H7 are physically saved to on a Mac?
Are these vstsound files or some other file type?
I use a separate vstsound library (not directly on the Mac) and it still seems some vstsound files cannot be moved or managed by the Steinberg library app. (they don’t seem to get detected so they can be moved via the app). These files reside on my main System library / Application Support / Steinberg / Content / Halion / VST Sound folder.
The libraries have supposed to have been registered by the Library app but if you search all the Halion Libraries shown in the app manually by looking at the details tab, none of the file names for those with SP or MP in the name seem to appear.
You’re right… I wonder what those MP files are… It’s got a higher SMT_xxx code, so are actually newer than the original Eagle items, despite the date showing otherwise.
I’m sure those libraries got updated with H7, so perhaps this is some kind of additional update to the Macro Page perhaps?
If you raw edit the _MP file there’s some text related to Syncrosoft in the header, so that makes me wonder if it’s some kind of license file to validate the move from eLicenser to the new Steinberg licensing perhaps? That would explain why they don’t show in the library details.
But then i’m sure these libraries all had small updates after H7 was released, so it could also be that.
I wonder if SP is Sonic Page then, as I think there’s a size limit on Sonic instruments so maybe it’s a way of having two different Macro pages, i.e. interfaces.
Thanks for those observations, some areas to explore to see if the answer can be found.
If I compare the files the library app make visible via its details tab to my vstsound library I appear to have a few files which don’t show and may be redundant, there’s simply no easy way to correlate the vstsound files with their listed presets without resorting to writing my own compare macros to extract the data to compare. Not sure I have the determination to do that lol.
Steinberg developers should know but there appears a reluctance to be transparent, perhaps we are being sold old sounds under new names?
I really don’t know… I’m now wondering why you’re showing items like “FCP_SMT_769_Triebwerk_SP.vstsound” and I haven’t got it though - I just have SMT_109 and SMT_110, I must’ve missed something along the way!
My problem is I don’t use the Halion stuff enough to even understand what something like the Macro Page does lol.
I wondered if SP had anything to do with Sequel as I did once have a play with that, whilst the app is long gone its legacy sound files may still remain.
I just redownloaded Triebwerk and I still get no _SP file for it, so yes you could be right. And these files could always have been around but I’ve never noticed them.
I know one thing is that you have to be really careful on Mac if you move .vstsound files to a new location as the library manager will create shortcut links within the original folder pointing to the new locations - which can lead to confusion.
Probably wouldn’t take all that long to assemble a wiki page on here listing all the library files and what they relate to and their default install locations. My internet isn’t the quickest so I do like to download on one machine and then copy to the other - so manual copying is something that I like to be knowledgable about.
Yes Mac alias files for shortcuts can be both a blessing and a curse in this situation.
I don’t think the short cuts however are auto created in this instance. I did try using them for a diagnostic check here but as you say it got a little confusing as other addressing files are created elsewhere.
I tested a download for Trieberk and as you say the SP file did not appear but as I recall having seen the image above perhaps that’s the Image file Halion displayed and maybe that’s all the file does. I’ll have to try your
delete test but now is probably not a sensible time.
Many thanks for your thoughts you’ve given me a direct to explore to see if I can get rid of these files.
Yes did download that content, but these files pre date that action so probably linked to an older Halion install. I think I’ve had nearly every version installed at some point.
A little observation snippet in case you have’t already spotted. When I downloaded Trieberk for my test ,I moved the vstsound files downloaded to a separate sub folder within my vstsound library. Halion still found the files to report as unlicensed content.
So assists a little with file management diagnostics.
I checked mine last night after I got home and I’ve got em too… That folder is also full of aliases to the rest of the content.
If you look at the file dates, some of them are from 2018, so Im guessing those all came with the Halion 6 library? I never installed 6 when I got Cubase as Im a hardware guy primarily and have samplers, but I bought 7 this week and all of those came from a fresh install of the H7 content.
I think sub presets are when you create presets that aren’t activated when the main preset loads, but can be activated via a script. i.e. if you enable a control on the instruments macro/interface that adds a new layer.
This would explain why libraries such as Hot Brass has it.
I wonder how you get the Triebwerk SP files though, as they don’t seem to be in the default install for Triebwerk. It must be from some other collection or expansion maybe?!
Or is it an SE thing where there’s a version of Triebwerk which is limited and they use sub-programs to restrict the content…(?). In truth, haven’t a clue - but it’s fun guessing lol.
I see you guys are having fun exploring .
Let me confirm:
MP is “Macro Page”, it contains all the graphics for the Macropage Designer and are required by any instrument based on those MP elements.
SP is “Sub Presets”. All kinds really. FX, midi stuff… etc etc.
Regarding all those shortcuts discovered by @Monotremata :
Steinberg Library Manager does no dark magic. It is essentially a shortcut maintainer with beautiful graphics and some mechanics to determine the VSTSOUND container version. We made the system as simple as possible that way. If you like, you could even maintain the shortcuts by hand. It is important though to keep files/shortcuts in the system specific “Steinberg/Content/” locations to be found by the Media Bay.
So, do you know why do some people have SP files for libraries like Triebwerk, while others don’t? It’s not in the standard install Triebwerk content download, for example.
(FCP_SMT_769_Triebwerk_SP.vstsound)
.