chuckebaby

dantarbill

chuckebaby
what would you suggest ?
I mean is there something the plug in manager does not do right now ?
 

As I've mentioned before...there's no good way to see when new plugs aren't included in a custom plugin layout.
 
I suggest highlighting all the registered plugins that are in the currently open Plug-in Menu Layout at least once.  That way, anything you haven't dealt with will be (what...lowlighted?).

fair enough.
I don't use the plug in manager to create custom layouts.
I find the most productive way to keep your menus organized is to create nest folders within windows explorer.
when I install new plug ins, I create a folder called Example "Overloud"
now any new plug in I install I install it to the overloud folder in windows explorer
(this folder is in program files\cakewalk\vst plug ins.
 
even if you have nested folders in the cakewalk\vst plug ins folder they still get scanned.
every file, folder in that directory is scanned by default.
it takes about as much time as creating a custom plug in menu wouldn't you agree ?
 

I do the same nested folder thing that you do...but they all get scanned together in the same big heap.  The folder structure doesn't appear in the available plugin list.  Besides, you'll typically divy up plugin folders by vendor...but the most useful organization for fx plugs is by functional area.  Besides that, there are plugins that cover multiple functional areas...and thus it makes sense to be able to include them in multiple places in the same plugin layout.
 
And...I have some better ideas for showing new plugs.  It'd be nice to have a check box to only show available plugins that aren't yet included in the currently selected plugin layout.  Or...put a (new) bullet of some sort besides un-included plugs.  (That means that don't suddenly disappear from the list when you put them in the layout...in case you want to also put them in a different category.

dantarbill

chuckebaby

dantarbill

chuckebaby
what would you suggest ?
I mean is there something the plug in manager does not do right now ?
 

As I've mentioned before...there's no good way to see when new plugs aren't included in a custom plugin layout.
 
I suggest highlighting all the registered plugins that are in the currently open Plug-in Menu Layout at least once.  That way, anything you haven't dealt with will be (what...lowlighted?).

fair enough.
I don't use the plug in manager to create custom layouts.
I find the most productive way to keep your menus organized is to create nest folders within windows explorer.
when I install new plug ins, I create a folder called Example "Overloud"
now any new plug in I install I install it to the overloud folder in windows explorer
(this folder is in program files\cakewalk\vst plug ins.
 
even if you have nested folders in the cakewalk\vst plug ins folder they still get scanned.
every file, folder in that directory is scanned by default.
it takes about as much time as creating a custom plug in menu wouldn't you agree ?
 

I do the same nested folder thing that you do...but they all get scanned together in the same big heap. 

 
hmm, that's strange. mine show up nested. in different folders, different category's.
try using the default menu and see what happens.
 

chuckebaby

dantarbill

chuckebaby

dantarbill

chuckebaby
what would you suggest ?
I mean is there something the plug in manager does not do right now ?
 

As I've mentioned before...there's no good way to see when new plugs aren't included in a custom plugin layout.
 
I suggest highlighting all the registered plugins that are in the currently open Plug-in Menu Layout at least once.  That way, anything you haven't dealt with will be (what...lowlighted?).

fair enough.
I don't use the plug in manager to create custom layouts.
I find the most productive way to keep your menus organized is to create nest folders within windows explorer.
when I install new plug ins, I create a folder called Example "Overloud"
now any new plug in I install I install it to the overloud folder in windows explorer
(this folder is in program files\cakewalk\vst plug ins.
 
even if you have nested folders in the cakewalk\vst plug ins folder they still get scanned.
every file, folder in that directory is scanned by default.
it takes about as much time as creating a custom plug in menu wouldn't you agree ?

I do the same nested folder thing that you do...but they all get scanned together in the same big heap. 

hmm, that's strange. mine show up nested. in different folders, different category's.
try using the default menu and see what happens.

I think the "default layout" does a fairly (almost) useful job with VST3 plugins since they seem to have functional attributes defined (probably as part of the VST3 spec).  But even then...they are fairly "coarse" categories.  For instance, dynamics should break down further by single band, multiple band, limiter, etc.
 
For VST2...you're right...they seem to break down by subdirectory...but that's fairly useless when you have comps and EQ by 7 or more different vendors.  When you're looking for a different compressor...I'd rather not have to remember who all does compressors.
 
When it gets outside "meat and potatoes" categories, things get weirder.  There are some plugs so odd that I've put them in a category called "Mayhem" for things that rip apart your sound in ways that defy description.  The automated default will tend hide those in vendor categories that give no hint to what they do.
 
Oh...and on the "scanned together in the same big heap" thing.  I was talking about the presentation in the plugin manager itself...not in the default plugin layout.

Dan,
I can respect that.
it would be nice to have some upgrades to locating things faster.
I prefer a few upgrades in other areas but you know, everyone's needs are different, then there's the generalized needs. which I think your right PIM could use some work/an upgrade. I mean im okay with it, but im all for "better" in any areas of Sonar
you make some good points.

+1

John T
The other day, I installed a plug in and forgot to close Sonar first, which I always assumed I needed to do. But no, the little blue box popped up and it got scanned and all was fine. Which was cool. I think the scanning bit's great.
 
I think the UI of the Plug In Manager is hideous, but it's not a huge priority, I don't reckon. Showing new plug ins on custom menus, as previously mentioned, is the only really useful change I can think of.

+1

Sijel

John T
 
I think the UI of the Plug In Manager is hideous...

+1

This deep in the system's innerds...I don't mind a little "hideous" as long as it's functional and useful.

I think it would be an improvement if we could right click on that new plugin we now like in the fx bin or on the insert plugin list and "send to" the plugin layout and folder of our liking.

bitman
I think it would be an improvement if we could right click on that new plugin we now like in the fx bin or on the insert plugin list and "send to" the plugin layout and folder of our liking.

I agree. but even better would be a copy (of the name).
this way you wouldn't move something and forget where you put it.

Kylotan
The plugin manager does need some love - full drag and drop of plugins across the whole window would be helpful, and showing more details in the list rather than just a name would also be beneficial. But for me the main issue I have is that of tracking new plugins - I can't see at a glance which plugins aren't included in the current menu configuration, which means that when Sonar discovers new plugins (as it often seems to do these days after an update), I have no idea what they are or how to get them into my menus. FL Studio has/had a solution to the latter - after a scan finds new plugins, they show up as red in the list for the rest of that session, so you know they're new. But there are potential other alternatives - be able to list plugins by when they were first found, or last updated, have an 'all other plugins' option on a layout that shows any that aren't already in the layout, etc.

I agree with Ben; this would make identifying new plugs much easier.