Is it possible to edit, change or even create new .prog files outside of Sonar?
 
Thanks,
Steve

The .prog files are a closed binary file format and are specific to a particular instrument--for example, .prog files created in Rapture are no good in Dimension Pro.

Further, only the particular instrument is available as an editor for its .prog files--for example, only Rapture can be used to edit .prog files for Rapture.

As far as I know there is no 3rd party nor Cakewalk software available that can edit .prog files outside of the instrument.  Someone might be able to spend enough time to successfully reverse engineer the format and make a program capable of editing the files, but since it is a closed format it could easily be changed by Cakewalk and then unauthorized 3rd party applications that were created through reverse engineering would break.

  It would be wonderful if Cakewalk or a Cakewalk-authorized developer would produce a librarian software application that could be used to manage all aspects of all sound library components for all of Cakewalk's instruments. 

Thanks. I figured as much.

YUP.  I just did it.  You can just use notepad.  Its not easy at all.  For example, I have Cakewalk Studio and it comes with Studio Instruments Drummer.  They have a bunch of kits and there is not a kit that has the collection of bass, snare and other things i want.  A kit for the drums really is a PROG file.  The prog file is a collection of SFZ files.  Its a weird format, but it is possible to change it.  I found the text where it points to the Kit 1 Kick drum.sfz.  I went into notepad, changed it to Kit 2 Kick drum.sfz and it worked.  Now that PROG points to a different SFZ file.  So, its possible.  I have not tried to make a bigger change than this yet.  There may be issues with spaces and file lengths. 
 
The way the Studio Instruments Drummer is set up in the prog file, it has 8 groups of sounds.  The kick drum sounds is an sfz that has more than one sound in there since there are two midi notes that trigger the two sounds.  So its a structure that you cant mess with much, but if all you want to do is use one sfz over another, it looks like its possible to slave over the text file and get it to make a kit that it never had.
 
I am still amazed that these software makers dont do the simplest thing you would want, which is to simply pick what sound each note triggers.  For drums, you are going to want to pick each sound.  You are not going to want to be limited to the kits they set up.  You have to go up to the next level Session Drummer 3 in the Producer edition to do that.  Basically, to change a text file, you need to get to a different level.  Its like they dont even want you to use the sounds they gave you.  Nutty.  Who comes up with this stuff. 
 
I can just see the developers saying - lets make a drum machine and we tell them how to assemble their kits...when they get it, they will be switching back and forth forever listening to all the junk in each kit and be forced to pick from whatever we assembled across all the kits....they wont be able to pick each instrument and get what they want...its genious.... what bs.  How hard would it be to pick a different sfz and save it, come on.
 
 

That's cool but I'm refering to Dimension & Rapture type PROG files. When you open those in Notepad all you get is 鱸��䱿疔쀜꿱휀崲酳賢᜴ᇒ콰㽳䩰鉪獳䱍.

Scstudios, that is exactly what the sfz format is for.  Well, more than that, but the top function is to point the synth to the samples to be used and how to distribute the samples across the keyboard.
 
You can then save a program w/ that uses the sfz file.

soens, as far as programming outside of SOnar, you can use any daw or micro host.  Rapt and DimPro both come as stand alone programs, too.

And I too have thought that a graphical interface that uses SFZ would be great.  It wouldn't have to include every aspect of control, but having drag and drop for basic stuff with text for the next level would have given SFZ greater acceptablity. 

@

AT problem being with SFZ is now there is 2 formats.. 1 being cakes and another derived from it which has a different syntax.

I ues Extreme sample Converter to make other none SFZ things usable in say Dim Pro.
the chicken system 1 does the other format.

soens / sc .. 

the way to think about it is SFZ has all the mapping data (and editable as text) for where the keys for the samples are / loop points.. 

the prog has the elements for the interface and the values for the dials etc.

Fog,

funny.  I thought René was the code meister for SFZ.  That kinda screws the universal nature of SFZ, I guess.  I really havent' kept up with SFZ permutations for a while.  Nice to know, anyway.

@

only reason I know was because of a sample pack I have that was "SFZ" format.. and when I chucked em into DP it chucked a wobbly with the syntax and couldn't parse it.

Fog
only reason I know was because of a sample pack I have that was "SFZ" format.. and when I chucked em into DP it chucked a wobbly with the syntax and couldn't parse it.

sfz's versioned but cakewalk wouldn't say which version they'd made compatible