Renaming, editing and deleting .ksds

As there seems to be some confusion here, I thought I'd make this a sticky.

.ksds CANNOT be renamed, saved or deleted if they're in the factory content folder. This is done for database integrity reasons.

If you want to rename or edit a .ksd that's in the factory content, resave or move it to the user content folder (the folders are described in the readme in the documentation folder).

.ksds in the user folder CAN be deleted- right click on the sound's name in the browser; this will bring up a menu.

Also, the .ksds in the factory library will usually be reinstalled with an update, and there will also be factory content updates. Be aware that if you've moved the factory sounds to the user content folder, you stand a good chance of having duplicates somewhere along the line.

ew

 

I must be missing something. When I right-click on a patch name in the AB4 Browser, I get a context menu with exactly one item in it ("Add to 'My Favorites'"). Or "Remove..." if I right-click on a patch IN the favorites folder.

Maybe you're using the next version...?

ac

 

Well, on Mac that is not the case.

if we talk about factory being /Library/Application Support/NI/.... and user being all in User folder -> so /user/Library/Application Support/NI/... as it is common sense on Mac - then this is not the case

I cannot resave, rename, etc. patches in user/library/application support/ ... This is not really helpful to say the least.

What if I move all the factory presets to my user folder and delete it in the other place? can I manage them then? What will Absynth say?

Thanks for the info!

best

 

to all three helpful posters (EW, Ashtangakasha, and Steff3) so far
firstly thanks for inputting your experience and knowledge, its nice to know I am not alone. I am a pc user

1) I dont understand the bit in the documentation EW refers to, about - "(you can't save or overwrite files in this tree form the synths browser)"
It is obviously not what was meant. But what was meant?

2) If the factory content folder stuff cannot be altered for database integrity reasons (not sure what that means, unless its because later updates may overwrite?)
then what is the point (in the factory presets) of the star ratings system and the colour stuff, please?

3) When EW says .kdss can be deleted from the user folder (I assume in the Ab4 browser, not via Explorer) - I only get 1 option when I right click, namely add to favourites. As does
Ashtangakasha.

4) I copied/pasted via Explorer a factory sound to my user folder (where I already
have "saved as" via Ab4 another factory sound). The copy/paste one shows in "My Sounds" in Ab4 browser but is "inert" for lack of a better description. I cannot do anything with it. Which is perhaps reasonable, because anything not done via Ab4 is dangerous for database integrity etc, I guess.

5) A factory sound I decided to"save as", and then negotiated my way through lots of folders to the user content folder to save (with a slightly different name), I can amend the attributes of in Ab4(well at least the colour and star rating - I dare not try anything else yet)

6) when I used Ab4 in Sonar 6 today (along with Batt3 and FM8 which two seemed to work ok), it crashed S6 apparently when I tried to modify an attribute or something similar. [I say apparently, because it might have been something else - but there is an Ab4 thread elsewhere along these lines.]

7) I cannot comment much on steff3 as I am a pc user. But what he/she seems to be saying (apologies if I misunderstand) about the user path is not what the NI documentation says is the path. But perhaps you Steff3 are saying that the NI doc is wrong? After all it does refer to "my files" in the FM8 pdf when it turned out to mean "my docs".

8) And when EW says about moving factory sounds to the "My Sounds" folder (I assume this is the same as the user content folder) gives a chance of duplicates, I dont understand. Will I not get a warning.

I must admit that as yet I cannot get my head around the ksd concept yet, but suspect there is a
benefit somewhere in the future.
But the actual Ab4 sounds are great...

 

They mean that if you modify a patch from the factory library folders, and then click the save button, AB4 will force you to SAVE AS instead, and will direct you to your personal folders. This preserves the factory patches, and avoids losing your own patches should the factory folders get overwritten with an update.

These fields are used in Kore. However, you can use them yourself on non-factory patches. And yes, it does seem odd not to be able to rate the factory patches or otherwise (personally) classify them! I think these fields should be editable, but of course I also think they should be somehow preserved in the event of a future factory-lib update. I defer to the developers to figure out how to do that....

Yeah, that's a mystery to me, too. I think EW is looking at a slightly more recent build. Or using wishful thinking.

This is a puzzle. I just dragged "Accreted Spatial Vibrations" from...

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Native Instruments\Shared Content\Sounds\Absynth 4\Instruments

...to...

My Documents\Native Instruments\Shared Content\Sounds\Absynth 4\AC Patches

...and it works fine.

I assume you've noted that after messing with a patch folder through the OS you have to leave and return to that folder in the AB4 browser to "force a refresh."

Yup, it's "your patch" now and you can have your way with it.

That hasn't happened to me. If it recurs, you should probably start a separate thread on it in the tech problems section of the forum.

I don't know what's preventing him from modifying non-factory folders, but perhaps it's a mac issue. I can modify patches and save them from within AB4 anywhere I like, other than the factory folders.

Remember, you can use the "Explorer" virtual folder in the AB4 browser to go anywhere at all on your disk. But if you place folders in the right place in My Documents (see my example above), AB4 sees them and displays those folders in its browser.

I'd guess that EW was simply advising against MOVING factory patches to your personal folders, since updated patches of the same name would be confusingly similar. The OS won't let you have two files with the same name in the same folder, and it won't let AB4 do that either. He was no doubt referring to duplicates in the search view in the Browser. The factory patch I dragged into my folder shows up all by itself in my personal folder(s) in the Browser's tree view, but it shows up as a duplicate name alongside the factory version in the Browser's search view (attribute view).

Note the distinction between Browser Search view and Attributes view. They look very much alike, but they're quite different in important ways.

So you certainly can SAVE AS with the original factory name, but there's not much point in that since presumably you'll be modifying the patch in some way. Instead, do something like this:

Whenever I start working on a factory patch, I do a SAVE AS and add "AC" as a prefix to the patch name. That reminds me that it originated as a factory patch, but I've messed with it. When it gets too far from the original, I give it a whole new name.

A ksd is just a patch stored in a file.

Folders of ksd files are of three main types:

1. Factory folders - These are treated as READ-ONLY by AB4, although of course you can mess with them in the OS. But this is not recommended, as we've said. These are the only folders that are R-O.

2. My Sounds folders - These are created by AB4 on your behalf in My Documents, and show up automatically in the AB4 browser.

3. Other folders - All other folders are treated as fair game, and must be accessed through the Explorer node in the Browser tree.

The "My Favorites" folder is sort of special, in that it's automatically available as a destination in the right-click menu in the Browser. You can also make your own sub-favorites by creating folders inside the Favorites folder. It's in My Documents... and is therefore not at risk during a factory update, but it's separate from the My Sounds folders.

You can think of each folder as a kind of meta-bank, and view JUST the patches in the folder. Or, you can use the Browser's Search mode and see ALL patches in the standard locations (factory or My Documents... folders) in one humongous hyperbank. (To see them ALL, you must of course clear all the attributes in Search mode.)

You can say that again! This single expandable hoohah hyperbank of sounds is absolutely magnificent. It continually blows my mind, although that's not terribly hard to do...

And don't forget you can create "virtual banks" of 128 patches using the Programs section on the right side of the Browser window when it's in Search mode (i.e., when it's not in Tree mode). With such a vast and expanding collection of patches, this is a truly indispensible feature.

Hope this helps!

ac

 

Thanks Ashtangakasha. I am beginning to get the hang of it a bit. But lots to learn!

 

further to your reply just above, Ashtangakasha, I have noticed that the Favourites Folder (in the folder in My Docs in Explorer) only holds shortcuts, not the actual ksds.
So if NI scrapped a particular ksd on a future update then that favorite would be at risk of becoming useless.
Unless NI did something like checking out Favorite shortcuts and continuing to keep them in the C:drive factory folder. Which might make for complications...

 

You're right. The favorites are links to the originals.

The bad news, as you point out, is that if a factory patch collection were installed with some of your favorite patches deleted, the links would be broken.

The good news is that if a factory patch collection were updated with fixed, tweaked, or improved patches (of the same name), the links would point to the new versions.

I prefer this approach, provided the user is alerted to the idea that a FAVORITE is a pointer to an actual patch. It provides yet another way to quickly group faves into a predictable location. Of course you can also drag a patch into the "Programs" section (after opening it with the "Programs" button) and group faves that way as well. (And since that's a list, it's got the same pros and cons as the links.)

If you have a favorite that you want to preserve for posterity exactly as it is, then of course you need only SAVE AS into a (user) folder of your choice. And for your convenience, merely attempting to SAVE a factory patch automatically invokes the SAVE AS dialog into the My Sounds folders.

ac

 

Hey guys,
sorry for resurrecting an old thread here, but I'm a new user I'm I'm just not getting it...

I've been downloading (patches? banks? sounds? what's the correct term here?) from the user library and been having lots of fun with these, except I'd like to rename them to better fit my categorization methods.
I'm on a mac, so I save the sounds to Documents/Native Instruments/Shared Content/Absynth 5. Everything this is good, they show up in Absynth, Kore 2 and all that no problem. However if I rename the sounds they're greyed out and cannot be loaded in Absynth. I tried the Rebuild DB option in Absynth but the sound still has the original name and is greyed out.

Hope this isn't too confusing. I know some of my terminology is probably off.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

You need to use the save as and rename them that way. Then, delete the old ones.

ew

 

Oh! You mean from within Absynth?

Haha, gotcha. Thanks!

 

I am also a newbie.

1. How do you import User Library files (.glo) to Absynth 5 and get their correct attributes/author attached?
It seems they get attributes/author from another recent patch I used.

2. MAC OSX - Should I preferably put the files in the - "My documents - Shared Content - Absynth 5"?

 

If you want to rename or edit a .ksd that's in the factory content, resave or move it to the user content folder (the folders are described

 

+1

 

Native Instruments ABSYNTH 5 is renowned for its organic, evolving soundscapes that range from sublime pads to complex sonic textures.

 

plz read

ok im new to this website and i need someone just to explain some stuff to me
e.g. like how to get around, explain some things to me about what the different things are
p.s. im a very big fan of dubstep and want to make some so thats why im on this website

 

The problem we have is when you delete a user created patch the name still remains in the list. The patch is gone from the user folder but the "ghost" name still remains in the right side browser list and the drop down list. It won't load because it doesn't exist - but acts like a blockade preventing the next and previous arrows from working next to the current patch window.