Rasaving .nki's vs batch resave?

Hi everyone

I've only recently started playing with Kontakt, so this is a bit of a noob question - please be gentle!

I've got a load of sample packs which come in multi formats. To suit my file structure I've split their contents up, and then found of course that the Kontakt instruments complained of missing samples. No major problem - I figured what the issue was and just directed Kontakt to the 'missing samples'. But I'm wondering what the best way to fix the issue for good is.

I know that I can simply resave the instrument '.nki' after relocating the samples, and that will fix that instrument. But doing that on each is a bit laborious. So, I also looked into 'batch resave'. This seems on the surface to be the best way. But I saw a reference somewhere stating that 'batch resave' doesn't actually resave the .nki files, it just updates links in Kontakt's database.

Is this true, or is it misinformation? Is batch resave what I'm looking for?

 

It resaves NKI files, so it's the way to go.

 

Awesome, thanks EvilDragon.

 

Hi, I'm back again. I still can;t get this to work - can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong please?

Fundamentally, should 'Batch Resave' be used as a way of re-linking missing samples to .nki's?

Basically, I have all of my audio in one area, and all of my .nki's in another. Lots of these came from 3rd party sample packs. If I try to load a single .nki, then it tells me the sample(s) are missing and I then manually relocate them. I can of course then save that particular .nki if I want to. No problem.

Now, I intended to use 'batch resave' to perform this 're-linking' of the samples in bulk - e.g. a folder full of .nki's that all need to be re-linked to the samples sat in another folder with my all of my audio. However, 'Batch Resave' just does the following...

• I click Files > Batch Resave, then click past the warning. I choose my 'base folder' (the one full of .nki's)
• I click OK and Kontakt scans the folder. I see it working for about 2 or 3 seconds before it seems to complete.
• After this I can load the instruments without complaints about missing samples... but now there are NO samples attached to the instruments - no 'missing samples' complaints any longer, because the 'batch resave' seems to have removed any reference in the instruments to any samples at all. They've become silent instruments!

This is baffling me, since anything I've found so far has either been no help, or has backed up what I expected Batch Resave to do, including this video
.
I don't get the usual 'missing samples' window when I use 'batch resave' like he does in that video!

I'd really appreciate some help since it's driving me crazy. What am I doing wrong?!

 

If you don't get missing samples window when you do a batch resave, then that means that all NKIs have correctly linked samples and re-linking is not necessary for them.

It is however quite peculiar that batch resave removes zones from your NKIs... this doesn't happen unless you actually get the missing samples window and then click "Skip missing"...

Also, it is not advised to do bulk batch resaving for multiple sample libraries... it is definitely a lot safer to do it one by one library at a time. This prevents peculiar stuff from happening (like what you're experiencing, very likely), and more importantly - if there are duplicate sample names (but the sample in itself sounds differently) it prevents re-linking to wrong samples.

 

Ok, so now I'm just thinking something somewhere is really off... these are .nki's that report missing samples if I load them individually in Kontakt. The samples are definitely not where the .nki's would expect them to be, since I moved them to suit my own storage structure. Why would kontakt say samples are missing on idividually loaded.nki's, but not when I tell it to scan all of these .nki's in a folder? And why would the result (if no samples were missing) be silent instruments with no samples included in them?

Here's an example of my file/folder structure.

HDD
-> Audio
--> Sample pack 1 audio folder
--> Sample pack 2 audio folder
--> Sample pack 3 audio folder
-> Libraries
--> Kontakt
---> Sample pack 1 .nki's folder
---> Sample pack 2 .nki's folder
---> Sample pack 3 .nki's folder

The original structure of the sample packs typically had an audio folder and a patches folder next to each other, so 'missing samples' is what I expected to see after reorganising them. That's fine. What I'm looking for is a way to re-link them all back up in bulk, and 'batch resave' seemed to be it. But this is where I am now, having the problems described.

"It is however quite peculiar that batch resave removes zones from your NKIs... this doesn't happen unless you actually get the missing samples window and then click "Skip missing"..."
Yeah, this is what really flashed up to me, it just seemed odd. It's as though batch resave just cuts the samples out of the picture if it can't see them, rather than asking me where they are.

"Also, it is not advised to do bulk batch resaving for multiple sample libraries... it is definitely a lot safer to do it one by one library at a time. This prevents peculiar stuff from happening (like what you're experiencing, very likely), and more importantly - if there are duplicate sample names (but the sample in itself sounds differently) it prevents re-linking to wrong samples."
Yeah, I worked that part out, but thanks. All of the libraries concerned are in their own folders - like the diagram above.

Thanks for the help so far, I really want to get to the bottom of this!

 

By the way, an honest question here...

Kontakt Player libraries are organized like this:

<library root folder>
-->Documentation folder (PDF here)
-->Instruments folder (NKIs here)
-->Multis folder (NKMs here, if the library uses it)
-->Samples folder (NKX monoliths here, where the samples are)

Why not simply use this folder structure for all your 3rd party sample packs? I've used it since forever for all non-Kontakt Player libraries and never any issues. It just seems very weird to me that you'd want to split the NKIs from their samples that far apart (in totally different root folders). There's a reason NI is using the above folder structure (simplicity and everything in one place related to a particular library), so why not go along with it? It's not like you're going to gain any performance boost by doing what you want to do...

 

Hmm, yeah, maybe you're right. The reason I split my samples and patches like this is so that I can regard the audio as for use in anything I want to use it with - so I just have a big bank full of audio. Similarly, I have a folder for patches, which in turn has folders in it for Massive, FM8, etc. so it made sense to me to put the Kontakt patches here and then plan to relink the audio.

I'm a bit miffed about why I don't seem to get the same behaviour via batch resave as everything suggests. that's the annoying part really - I just want to know what I'm doing wrong! But I guess if I have to, then I can either put the audio and .nki's together again, or just resave them individually as I use them.

But man... I don't like to be beaten, I'm desperate to know what's happening (or not) and why! lol

 

Ok, well after a day of messing around I just wanted to update this here.

I've tried allsorts of things to get 'batch resave' to do what I want it to, but without luck. Having read parts of the manual detailing it and entries about missing files, I'm perplexed - when I try to carry out a 'batch resave' on a folder full of .nki's (which Kontakt complains individually are missing samples), then the batch resave simply doesn't ever point out the missing samples and offer me the chance to point it towards where the samples are located. It seems to successfully complete the process, but the instruments have no samples attached to them any longer. They're blank, and Kontakt is then quite happy to load these blank instruments without complaints about missing samples any more.

So, I'm lost. The only way I've found of making my instruments work is by storing them in the relative location to how they were in the original sample packs. I guess I'll have to live with that, but it's left me bemused over why I can't get batch resave to do the job every reference seems to state it should. Essentially I've got no choice but to stick with the pre-packaged file structure of my sample packs, for each and every one, which all indications seem to suggest shouldn't be the case. Very weird. Cheers for the help anyway.

 

It's for the best, anyways... Sometimes some libraries really depend on this relative structure and it isn't to be messed with unless you really know what you're doing (case in point - before Kontakt 4.2 if libraries wanted to have scripted IR selectors, this could have only worked by scripting in relative paths, and the script doesn't edit itself when you do a batch resave, so you would have broken the IR selectors when breaking up the relative paths of the library).

 

Yeah, I guess you're right There are notes in the sample packs that state as much about the file/folder structures. I just felt like there must be something I was misunderstanding about 'batch resave', since everything I read seemed to suggest it should allow me to organise files how I choose. I was frustrated more than anything at myself since I was convinced there was something I just wasn't getting!

But it's no bigged anyway - at least fundamentally everything works Thanks a lot for the help.

 

It's the same problem I've been having with batch re-save. Kontakt 5.3 will process the instruments without samples, ending in loaded instruments without Kontakt requesting where the samples are. The instruments that seem to work without issue are the ones that have resource files .nkr and .nkc. This is just speculation on my part since Native Instruments does not return emails or answer the phone. A lot of my libraries are older and came only with instruments and samples and maybe wallpaper. Even SampleLogic's Cinematic Guitars will not batch re-save in Kontakt without dumping the entire sample library. I have to then re-copy the instruments to the finder in order for Kontakt to ask for the samples again. Kontakt is the only software sample player I own that have these type issues with libraries. Like EXS24 if you move a library then it will follow with a click.

 

I'm not sure how you manage to get all that... I'm batch resaving ANY library without any issues in K5.3...

It would help if you could make a video about the way you do the batch resave process and its result.

 

While doing the quicktime movie, I realized that I don’t know what NI means by content or what it’s supposed to include. Previously thinking that it was just the samples, but now wondering if it’s the samples and the instruments along with the .nkx and .nkc and .nicnt files. I was installing the application like Kontakt 5 on the system drive than installing the instruments and samples to another drive but also then moving the samples(.wav) folder to yet another drive and then doing a batch re-save after that. I have a feeling that moving the samples alone are the problem. Can you clarify that? I’ve been researching this so much for the last two weeks that it’s caused total confusion even for the apparently simple things.

Thanks,
Joe

 

I just wanted to be clear about what Native Instruments was calling content. It appeared that there was a misunderstanding as it pertained to batch re-save. I have been in a conversation with customer support over the batch re-save issues. Native Instruments customer support is still by far the worst most uninformed, uneducated bunch of yahoos that I have almost ever had the displeasure of dealing with. I still cannot understand how a company can get so large while crapping on their customers at the same time. Over the course of the 5 years owning Komplete versions, when I needed an answer to a question, it took customer support an eternity to reply if ever and when they did the information was utterly useless. I can prove everything I just said, just like the Kontakt 5.1 crap. How many people waited for the fix when loading instruments. NI took 7 months to reply to one question. No courtesy reply like yes we are working on it... nothing.

 

Well, it's only been a couple weeks and the reply from NI was. Just give us a call and provided a number that doesn't work. No reply here either... there's a phrase _ _ _ _ _ _ _! too.

 

hi, please help me out of this. While loading some vsts, it takes forever. So I decided to batch resave them. Very few libraries happen to complete the batch resave without error. But most of them are showing the following error. I'll quote it in exact manner:

Error encountered during batch process :
The Maverick.nki could not be saved

and likewise for other libraries. For example, if I batch resave Cinematic Strings, it would say, cello nki could not be saved, viola nki could be saved and so on.

Please advise me what do I need to do. Thanks for your help and time.

 

Hello amitnj and welcome to the forum.

That's odd - I can only think of some sort of access protection / permission for the different folders. Could that be the case?

Just as an experiment, copy those two nki files into a completely new folder and try a Batch Resave for that folder (you will probably need to browse to the samples in the "Missing Samples" dialogue.)

 

so nice of you to say welcome. thanks.
I tried what you suggested. It did not work. It gets stuck on 'resaving patches' and then after two or three minute again says :

Error encountered during batch process :
The Maverick.nki could not be saved

Or any other nki, which I am trying to batch re-save.

Is there anything else that comes to you that I could try

 

'fraid not; please contact NI Technical Support for some one to one help. Please let us know the solution too.