Another little utility for you

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KPerry
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2015/05/13 09:39:01 (permalink)

Another little utility for you

Ever renamed your VST plugins, reinstalled SONAR and found your carefully chosen names changed?  Want to migrate to a new machine and you know you've got some custom VST settings set that you'll lose?  I have and it bugs me no end.
 
And I've come up with a little utility that backs up key VST settings to an XML file and then restores them.  There's also a single-click backup/rescan/restore option too.
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6o5h6jztammexw/VST%20Settings%20Manager.zip?dl=0
 
Notes:
 
1 - I've tested it on Windows 7 x64 with 32 and 64 bit installations of SONAR X3 and SONAR Platinum, but I obviously can't test on a huge variety of machines.
2 - It needs .NET 4.5 installed (Why .NET?  Because I use it in my real job so it's easy for me).
3 - The .config file lists all VST settings that are backed up; this matches a hard-coded list in the application ("Default settings") which I think are important; you can remove some of these or add more if new ones are important to you or are added by Cakewalk - the file format should be obvious.
4 - Extract, virus scan and double click.
5 - Use at your own peril as it can write to the registry (as I say, I've tested quite thoroughly but...); that said, it's useful just to dump out the key settings as a human readable record.
 
A quick copy and paste from the help screen from the latest version:
 
File
 Backup - Backs up all VST settings from all instances of SONAR to CupCake format XML file
 Restore - Restores VST settings stored in CupCake format XML file
 Export All As
  CSV - Saves all VST settings in a Comma Separated Value file for use in Excel
  Registry - Saves all VST settings in a Registry (.reg) file
Exit - Quits CupCake
 
SONAR
 Every instance of SONAR installed has an entry
  History
   Clean - Deletes invalid files from file history
   [1]...[9] - Removes this file from file history and reorders the list
  VSTs - Lists all VSTs installed in this instance
    Paths - Lists all VST scan paths (click to open in Windows Explorer)
      Clean - Removes repeated paths and path stems
  VST Tools
   Scan - Performs standard SONAR VST scan (no reset)
   Rescan - Performs standard SONAR VST scan with rescan
   Backup - Backs up this inventory to CupCake XML file
   Refresh - Backs up user-editable settings, rescans, restores user-editable settings
   Pro Channel, VST 2 and VST 3 submenus, split by plug-in/synth
    [VST] - Click to open editor in tab; control click to open read-only pop-up window
 
Options
 Hide Excluded - Hide excluded VSTs from menus
 Save Inventory On Exit - Stores current list of VSTs in registry for comparison purposes
 Monitor VST Folders - Monitors VST scan paths and shows changes in Path Monitor tab
 
Tools
 Clear Path Monitor Tab - Deletes all contents of Path Monitor tab
 
VST Tab
 Middle click tab or Ctrl-F4 closes window with prompt to save settings to registry
 Double click tab opens read-only pop-up window for comparison
 * indicates edit has been done
post edited by KPerry - 2015/07/14 06:21:20
#1

78 Replies Related Threads

    Doktor Avalanche
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 09:49:21 (permalink)
    Great and thankyou! Haven't checked yet...
    Here's an idea.. why not centralize all these utilities into one app and call them SonarToolbox or something? Cheers...
    #2
    DRanck
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 09:54:21 (permalink)
    I will dload this tonight
    Thanks for sharing with us. And hello to a fellow .netter!

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    #3
    Brando
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 10:44:24 (permalink)
    Many thanks for sharing this. Greatly appreciated

    Brando
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    #4
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 10:50:06 (permalink)
    6 - You can edit the saved XML file in Notepad or similar to change names and re-import all changes in one go (quicker than doing it one by one).
    7 - The default filename is vstsettings_ddmmyyyy.xml (although this may depend on regional language setings), so you can do some basic version control.
    #5
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 11:00:46 (permalink)
    8 - Importantly, it's a 64 bit application so won't run on 32 bit Windows, but does deal with 32 and 64 bit installs of SONAR.
    #6
    Doktor Avalanche
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 11:10:45 (permalink)
    KPerry
    8 - Importantly, it's a 64 bit application so won't run on 32 bit Windows,



    I regard this bit a great feature. Time 32 bit was dumped forever..
    #7
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 11:15:50 (permalink)
    Not for the DAW IMNSHO - too many plug-ins don't work in 64 bit (and never will).  Hence it supports 32 and 64 bit installs of SONAR.
    #8
    pharohoknaughty
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 11:51:29 (permalink)
    Wow!
     
    Can we start sending you feature requests?
     
     
     
     
    #9
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 12:05:21 (permalink)
    No :-)
     
    Well, yes, but no guarantees if/when they'll get done.
    #10
    Keni
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/13 12:15:30 (permalink)
    Thanks KPerry...

    I'm not sure I need this or what I will do with it, but I fully appreciate your work!

    Keni

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    #11
    mudgel
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/14 07:34:32 (permalink)
    Thanks Kerry,
     
    How about a utility with a simple GUI that accepts user input to complete enough info to create a registry
    post edited by mudgel - 2015/07/15 12:20:24

    Mike V. (MUDGEL)

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    #12
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/14 08:41:29 (permalink)
    Well, I've made two minor changes:
     
    1 - Renamed Backup/Restore to Save/Load.
    2 - Added a Backup option under File menu which exports the relevant VST registry keys in their entirety for absolute safety (not that I don't trust my own code, but I'm paranoid...and it also helps me when I'm coding as I can dump the keys out while I try something else out).
     
    Get the latest version here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6o5h6jztammexw/VST%20Settings%20Manager.zip?dl=0
    #13
    Doktor Avalanche
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/14 09:04:13 (permalink)
    Brilliant.
    I wish Sonar would have a full export/import facility for preferences and any other settings that aren't hardware specific which would write to a single file.

    This helps bridge that gap. Many thanks.
    #14
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/14 09:09:49 (permalink)
    What I can't work out how to do (and I'm being lazy, so using Windows applications like reg.exe rather than doing it all manually) is how to export multiple registry keys to a single file: exporting the whole Cakewalk key is easy, but that then includes lots of things, not just "preferences".
    #15
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/15 13:01:11 (permalink)
    The registry export is solved, so the latest version exports a single .reg file containing all the VST keys for all installed versions of SONAR:
     
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6o5h6jztammexw/VST%20Settings%20Manager.zip?dl=0
     
    Also more sensibly called Export in the menu!
    #16
    mudgel
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/16 00:39:16 (permalink)
    That's great. Thanks.

    Mike V. (MUDGEL)

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    #17
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/18 09:29:24 (permalink)
    The latest version is less tested, but I have added an in-line rename facility (seems to work on everything I've thrown at it so far) plus some extra checking to weed out some "dodgy" VST registry settings:
     
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6o5h6jztammexw/VST%20Settings%20Manager.zip?dl=0
     
    Note that this version doesn't backup and save internal (ie. Pro Channel) plug-ins, although it does displayed them (greyed out) in the VST menu list.  Renaming/editing those for another day...
    #18
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/18 15:29:38 (permalink)
    Last update of the day, just making the inline editing a bit smoother:
     
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6o5h6jztammexw/VST%20Settings%20Manager.zip?dl=0
     
    #19
    Elffin
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/18 15:46:38 (permalink)
    @Mudgel ..... does audacity work as linked wave editor for Sonar?
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    sylent
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/18 18:57:42 (permalink)
    That is awesome!
    Thanks a truckload!

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    AdamGrossmanLG
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/18 20:14:52 (permalink)
    Hello,
     
    I am a bit confused - i downloaded it, extracted it, double-clicked on "VAST Settings Manager" - and NOTHING happens.
     
    What am I supposed to do with this exactly?
     
    Thank You,
    Adam
    #22
    AdamGrossmanLG
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/18 20:26:30 (permalink)
    nevermind - it opened the utility but took about 90 seconds :)
     
    But now I just dont know what to do.  

    What is the difference between "SAVE" and "EXPORT"
     
    What does Options > "Default Settings" do?
     
     
    #23
    mudgel
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/18 23:12:38 (permalink)
    Elffin
    @Mudgel ..... does audacity work as linked wave editor for Sonar?


    I'm not sure. I've not tried it. The problem I see is that Audacity doesn't work on .wav files as it saves to its own proprietary format.

    The Tools Copy function relies on a .wav file being copied to the hard drive, opened by the external program and when editing is complete, that file is then saved and when you go to Sonar you are asked whether or not to accept the changes. This all happens in .wav files. When you save an audio file in Audacity it's the proprietary version that saved. To get a .wav file you have to export the audio from Audacity.

    Mike V. (MUDGEL)

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    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/19 02:21:48 (permalink)
    Export exports all the VST settings as a .reg file; open/save uses an XML file and just does the 'user-editable' settings (and is used by the rescan process to hold the settings during that process).

    It does take a while to open which is unexpected - it's building the editable menus that's slow, and I'll work on optimising that.
    #25
    AdamGrossmanLG
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/19 08:53:49 (permalink)
    ok so do i need to save the reg file and the xml file for a complete backup?
    #26
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/19 08:56:13 (permalink)
    I've updated the utility so the scan/menu build is a bit quicker, but .NET just seems slow to build menus programmatically (if I just extract VST data from the registry, it's fast, so it's definitely the menu building part of it).  To mitigate a little, I've added a progress bar so at least you know it's working!
     
    I've also made a couple of changes to the VST menu: internal/Pro Channel plug-ins are in italics and their names can be edited (yes, this does mean that the order of Pro Channel modules can be user-controlled through judicious application of knowledge of the alphabet) and plug-ins excluded via the Plug-In Manager are identified by having a strikethrough, so you can ignore them.  I should probably add an option to exclude visually too...next version maybe.
     
    Same URL as before.
    #27
    Brando
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/19 09:11:55 (permalink)
    Awesome work Kevin. Thank you!

    Brando
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    #28
    KPerry
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/19 09:53:25 (permalink)
    Reg file will save everything, including fields that aren't user-editable; it's perfect for a backup.  But if you want to edit "safe" fields such as names or transfer settings to another computer (or user), the XML is probably safer.
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    AdamGrossmanLG
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    Re: Another little utility for you 2015/05/19 10:13:15 (permalink)
    KPerry
    Reg file will save everything, including fields that aren't user-editable; it's perfect for a backup.  But if you want to edit "safe" fields such as names or transfer settings to another computer (or user), the XML is probably safer.




     
    can you do either or?  or do you need both for a safe backup?  Im sorry, I don't understand how to use the utility.  I saw the first steps, but it bypasses exactly how to do a backup/restore.   Thank you though for it, it seems like a great utility!
    #30
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