# \[SOLVED\] Insert images for external instruments or gear? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cubase\ **Tags:** tips-and-tricks\ **Created:** [May 9, 2024, 8:59am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858 "2024-05-09T08:59:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SF\_Green](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/sf_green/32/735_2.png) [@SF\_Green](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/SF_Green)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 8:59am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/1 "2024-05-09T08:59:36Z")
I was wondering if it’s possible to apply a picture for external instruments you’ve setup. So if I want a picture to show for my SR-16 or Mutator in the right pane like for all my VST’s, where do you need to place the image file and then how do you assign it to the instrument? Is this possible, and if so what image format should be used and is there a size or resolution limitation? ---
**Author:** ![Martin.Jirsak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Martin.Jirsak](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Martin.Jirsak)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 9:22am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/2 "2024-05-09T09:22:41Z")
Hi, The images are stored in the **Documents/Steinberg/VST Thumbnails** folder. They are stored as \*.png and the resolution is 1092x996. But I don’t know, how to name the file. ---
**Author:** ![SF\_Green](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/sf_green/32/735_2.png) [@SF\_Green](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/SF_Green)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 11:59am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/3 "2024-05-09T11:59:28Z")
Hello Martin, Thanks for the reply. I took a look at the existing image files at that location and there’s no way to try to decode those file names! I try a few things but I don’t think this is going to work. Tried drag and drop of the png file onto the external instrument in the right pane with no success. What I think would be a good solution is putting a ‘Load Image’ icon and function on the instrument panel for the external instrument, similar to where the camera is to take images of third party plugins. ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/e/7/6/e766eb5bf56b476d1f8ba179ce727acd0e4b086a.png) ---
**Author:** ![rickpaul](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/rickpaul/32/6071_2.png) [@rickpaul](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/rickpaul)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 4:17pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/4 "2024-05-09T16:17:53Z")
For whatever it’s worth, I took a look at the directory and the names, and those names reminded me of common name formats in the Windows Registry, so I searched for the start string of one plugin I recognized in the registry, and, sure enough, I found a match. However, it was in an area of the registry associated with Cakewalk software, not Cubase. Also, even if it were a Steinberg/Cubase area, there would be the question as to whether there would be an equivalent entry for the external plugins that would allow finding the string in order to take out the dashes to create the correct PNG file name. In any case, here is what I’m talking about (specifically for the VST3 version of PSP B-Scanner in this case): ![capture](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/1/a/3/1a34f2f0ae5a031707a9fd8a401dd88ba929824f.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Martin.Jirsak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Martin.Jirsak](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Martin.Jirsak)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 4:57pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/5 "2024-05-09T16:57:17Z")
Hi, Great hint, @rickpaul ! It’s the UID of the plug-in. You can find it in the **VstPlugInfoV4.xml** file. In this list, I can also see my external instrument. So I suppose, this should work. ---
**Author:** ![SF\_Green](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/sf_green/32/735_2.png) [@SF\_Green](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/SF_Green)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/6 "2024-05-09T21:08:05Z")
Thanks @rickpaul and @Martin.Jirsak ! I’ll look into that later and let you know how it goes! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Moneto](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/johnny_moneto/32/329861_2.png) [@Johnny\_Moneto](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Johnny_Moneto)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 4:11am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/7 "2024-05-10T04:11:51Z")
Oh my, that actually works. ![grafik](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/2/8/6/286b4ed1837ca0ff73e60a58ba44f0b799f16c85.png) It seems the pixel size does not require a fixed value. But all files are 24bit PNG files. ---
**Author:** ![rickpaul](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/rickpaul/32/6071_2.png) [@rickpaul](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/rickpaul)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 5:11am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/8 "2024-05-10T05:11:18Z")
Cool. I have a feeling you could set the transparency color in the PNG file to avoid the white (in the case of the JV-2080) background. Guessing Cubase is probably doing something like that in its plugin photo cases since there are various shapes of the actual plugins, but they don’t usually have a fixed color background, just the menu background. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Moneto](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/johnny_moneto/32/329861_2.png) [@Johnny\_Moneto](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Johnny_Moneto)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 5:55am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/9 "2024-05-10T05:55:44Z")
I might not be a star in the music biz but my photoshop skills are even worse. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![SF\_Green](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/sf_green/32/735_2.png) [@SF\_Green](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/SF_Green)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 5:59am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/10 "2024-05-10T05:59:35Z")
Excellent! I’m off to setup my Mutator and SR-16 then. Thanks all! ---
**Author:** ![mlib](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/mlib/32/252796_2.png) [@mlib](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/mlib)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 6:42am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/11 "2024-05-10T06:42:30Z")
Excellent detective work everyone! 👏 ---
**Author:** ![SF\_Green](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/sf_green/32/735_2.png) [@SF\_Green](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/SF_Green)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 9:56am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/12 "2024-05-10T09:56:29Z")
OK, how did you get that to work? I opened the **VstPlugInfoV4.xml** file for Cubase 13, found my SR-16 and Mutator, copied their UID’s and searched the whole registry (one at a time) . Neither were found. Anyone have an idea where I went wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Martin.Jirsak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Martin.Jirsak](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Martin.Jirsak)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 10:26am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/13 "2024-05-10T10:26:20Z")
Hi, I understand it so, the registry comes from Cakewalk. Once you find the UID code, name the image (png) by using the UID. This is the link, hope Cubase assigns it to the plug-in. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Moneto](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/johnny_moneto/32/329861_2.png) [@Johnny\_Moneto](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Johnny_Moneto)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 10:34am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/14 "2024-05-10T10:34:27Z")
Sure, don’t go to the registry at all. Copy the UID from **VstPlugInfoV4.xml** and make it the filename of your .png file. So the name format is {UID}.png ---
**Author:** ![SF\_Green](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/sf_green/32/735_2.png) [@SF\_Green](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/SF_Green)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 11:24am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/15 "2024-05-10T11:24:35Z")
AH, that makes sense actually. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![capchino007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@capchino007](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/capchino007)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/16 "2025-06-15T23:50:53Z")
> [@Martin.Jirsak](#): > > **VstPlugInfoV4.xml** I cannot find **VstPlugInfoV4.xml** for the life of me. I have Cubase 14 Pro on MacOS Sequoia 15.5 . What is the common path to **VstPlugInfoV4.xml**? ---
**Author:** ![Flaming\_War\_Pig](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/flaming_war_pig/32/399299_2.png) [@Flaming\_War\_Pig](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Flaming_War_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/17 "2025-06-16T00:29:39Z")
It’s located here: /Users/Username/Library/Preferences/Cubase 14/VstPlugInfoV4.xml EDIT: Just an FYI, for this function and for general “snapshots” taken of the VSTi within Cubase to create the thumbnail, be aware that those images sourced from a Retina display can be very large (several meg in some cases). When you run Cubendo, these thumbnails take up active RAM in your system. The thumbnail only need be something quite small like a scale to 480. I strongly suggest (even for the Windows folks) that you are at least conscious of this and potentially take steps to minimize your RAM use for these files by using an Automator workflow on your Mac to automatically scale “selected” images as you continue to update your thumbnails. By way of example, I just recreated and updated my external ARP2600 thumbnail (which is what this thread is about) and grabbed another big(ger) one: ![VST_Thumbnails](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/6/b/c/6bc578123fa4295ebd9240162cc73fba0e6a7949.png) In Automator, just do something like this - I choose 480 as my scale root: ![Cursor_and_ScaleImages_workflow](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/e/9/f/e9f4e6d59a36cebd2f8645aa36ca40b1f4455621.jpeg) With those images selected, I just run my Automator job and bingo-bango, the images are automatically rescaled: ![VST_Thumbnails](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/original/4X/1/8/b/18be72cc4ce4988057159290507cb4ef05d531d2.png) I recommend copying your ~/Users/Username/Documents/Steinberg/VST Thumbnails folder first in case you make a mistake, or just add a Copy Items workflow to Automator first. I saved over 2gig of RAM this way after my first Snapshot Spree where I went nuts creating snapshots for all my VSTs. That’s a lot of wasted RAM for some systems. Anyway, thought I’d mention that. ---
**Author:** ![Robin\_S](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/robin_s/32/181147_2.png) [@Robin\_S](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Robin_S)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/18 "2026-08-07T19:09:36Z")
Does anyone have the location pathway of the VstPlugInfoV4.xml on a windows machine? Struggling to find it!🤪 ---
**Author:** ![H20nly](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/h20nly/32/262580_2.png) [@H20nly](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/H20nly)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/19 "2026-08-07T22:08:23Z")
I use a Mac for Cubase myself, but I would suspect in Windows it would be in the ‘AppData’ folder, which is hidden by default. You can type appdata in a Run command to get to it though. Or, go to C:\Users\username\appdata Then, search for the filename from there… It’s probably in the ‘Local’ folder ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Moneto](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/steinberg/user_avatar/forums.steinberg.net/johnny_moneto/32/329861_2.png) [@Johnny\_Moneto](https://forums.steinberg.net/u/Johnny_Moneto)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858/20 "2026-08-07T22:10:04Z")
This is the path for Cubase Pro 15: `C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Roaming\Steinberg\Cubase 15_64` [Next page](https://forums.steinberg.net/t/solved-insert-images-for-external-instruments-or-gear/912858.md?page=2)