How to make custom categories in Browser's Drum Hits!!

[djlimbs]

Hey y'all,

So I was pretty bummed at how strict Push and Live's browser was for organizing drum hits in their library but just found out how easy it is to customize it however you want. All the info about Live's Drum Hits (and other categories it seems) is in the file VirtualFolders.cfg. On a Mac, to get to this file, just "Show Package Contents" then go to Contents\App-Resources\Core Library\Ableton Folder Info\ (Can someone chime in on how to do this on a PC)?

Once you open the file (in TextEdit or any text editor), you'll find a line that says <"VirtualFolderGroup GroupName="Drums"> with a bunch of other meta-data below that corresponds to the list of "Drum Hits" in Live's Browser. The pattern's pretty straightforward, the Folder Name is given, then search terms that are used to populate the folder. To make your own category, all you need to do is copy the format to a new line along with the others between the "<Folders>" and "</Folders>" lines. So for example, let's say I wanted to organize all my Maschine sounds into a category, I'd add the line "<VirtualFolderName="Maschine" Patterns="Maschine"/>. Then I'd need to make sure I have a folder called "Maschine" in my User Library (does not have to be in Places) and the sub category will pop up with all the samples in that folder. I tested it with Push and it works!!

This hack is really promising, and I'm excited to organize all my libraries this way. Unfortunately I don't think we can do sub-groups, but then again I plan to explore how complex we can get with this VirtualFolders.cfg file. Have fun, it'd be really cool if Ableton created a simple tool to make this easier!

[scientist]

effing awesome, thanks for finding this. now it's just a matter of them letting us browse actual samples and i think i can live with it.

i wonder if the change will survive through version updates or if we need to keep a backup on hand to swap in whenever we update. at the very least i'm switching off "get software updates" in prefs.

[lo.key]

oh fuck yes, good find. That solves a lot of things.

[Asymmetricalmusic]

Awesome I can't wait to see how this expands the Push's browser.

Big Thanks !!!!!

[scientist]

i've run into a bit of a hitch, or two.

1. folders in places are still not recognized. i have to have the folder inside of "places>user library" for it to be recognized.

2. still no .wav/.aif files. djlimbs, can you confirm that you're seeing sample files, and where are you browsing from to see them? i've tried browsing from an empty track, a drum rack pad, and empty simpler and i'm still not seeing actual samples. i've followed the FAQ instructions to the letter and it doesn't work...only sees .adgs.

is it just me or does it seem like the entire library functions via filename searches? no meta data, no aliases, just "does this file or preset have the word 'kick' in it?". seems really primitive.

[blinkeye]

I don't understand why they couldn't just have it all work out of the box with multiple levels of tags like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys8bsWEWt0A

[djlimbs]

i've run into a bit of a hitch, or two.

1. folders in places are still not recognized. i have to have the folder inside of "places>user library" for it to be recognized.

2. still no .wav/.aif files. djlimbs, can you confirm that you're seeing sample files, and where are you browsing from to see them? i've tried browsing from an empty track, a drum rack pad, and empty simpler and i'm still not seeing actual samples. i've followed the FAQ instructions to the letter and it doesn't work...only sees .adgs.

is it just me or does it seem like the entire library functions via filename searches? no meta data, no aliases, just "does this file or preset have the word 'kick' in it?". seems really primitive.

hey,

1 - good call about places>user library. I didn't think about that because I put all my samples in my User Library from the get go (so that Ableton doesn't do weird import stuff when I create racks and such). That said, the folder just needs to be in your User Library and doesn't have to exist in Places. I'll update the original post.
2 - yes I'm seeing .wav files no problem. I'm browsing from Categories->Drums->Drum Hits->Kicks-GB1 (Kick-GB1 being my custom folder for Goldbaby Vol 1 Kicks). I see them on Push and in Live's browser. On Push, I have to browse from an empty Drum Rack pad. To actually select the pad, I had to push the thin button underneath where it says "Empty Pad" on the LED. Sometimes when I'd just select a Pad, Push would have the Drum Rack selected, not the actual pad.

In my experience, the library works with Folder searches. I had a "Test" folder with a bunch of files named random numbers and they all showed up in a "Test" category under Drum Hits. I just had to have "Test" as part of the "Patterns" part in the .cfg file.

Hope this helps!

[scientist]

I don't understand why they couldn't just have it all work out of the box with multiple levels of tags like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys8bsWEWt0A

yeah. for anyone (like me) who uses the browsers in maschine, kontakt, omnisphere, et.al. on the regular, this just seems half-baked and shoddy. funniest thing to me is that i thought the previous browser sucked too, and that they put so much work into the new one and it turned out the way it did is just ridiculous. having your users hacking a config file in order to get some basic functionality out of your new flagship hardware is just embarrassing.

i've run into a bit of a hitch, or two.

1. folders in places are still not recognized. i have to have the folder inside of "places>user library" for it to be recognized.

2. still no .wav/.aif files. djlimbs, can you confirm that you're seeing sample files, and where are you browsing from to see them? i've tried browsing from an empty track, a drum rack pad, and empty simpler and i'm still not seeing actual samples. i've followed the FAQ instructions to the letter and it doesn't work...only sees .adgs.

is it just me or does it seem like the entire library functions via filename searches? no meta data, no aliases, just "does this file or preset have the word 'kick' in it?". seems really primitive.

hey,

1 - good call about places>user library. I didn't think about that because I put all my samples in my User Library from the get go (so that Ableton doesn't do weird import stuff when I create racks and such). That said, the folder just needs to be in your User Library and doesn't have to exist in Places. I'll update the original post.
2 - yes I'm seeing .wav files no problem. I'm browsing from Categories->Drums->Drum Hits->Kicks-GB1 (Kick-GB1 being my custom folder for Goldbaby Vol 1 Kicks). I see them on Push and in Live's browser. On Push, I have to browse from an empty Drum Rack pad. To actually select the pad, I had to push the thin button underneath where it says "Empty Pad" on the LED. Sometimes when I'd just select a Pad, Push would have the Drum Rack selected, not the actual pad.

In my experience, the library works with Folder searches. I had a "Test" folder with a bunch of files named random numbers and they all showed up in a "Test" category under Drum Hits. I just had to have "Test" as part of the "Patterns" part in the .cfg file.

Hope this helps!

it does, thanks again! so the FAQ is definitely wrong as it just says to hit a pad and you can then browse samples. as you state, i had to press the button under "EmptyPd" to get it to work. presto, actual samples.

if i have some spare time, i might throw myself under the bus and do some experimenting with the config file to see if i can prevent the core library stuff from showing up at all. a 100% user generated library will be a thing of beauty.

[Asymmetricalmusic]

I don't understand why they couldn't just have it all work out of the box with multiple levels of tags like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys8bsWEWt0A

I'm not into that workflow.........

I really cant understand why it doesn't follow the new Browser, in the order of the new "Categories" and "Places"

There should even be a mirror of the browser activity in L9 on your computer.

For example: cant we have the browser change focus when you press buttons on the push. "Folder into" button (Current Green Button) would choose the folder and the focus of the browser on the computer would show the same, you could make the button under the green "Select" button be a "Folder Back" button to take you back to the new "Categories" as the base of the browser.

There's even a Samples Folder in Categories. I seriously put my money on this being the way Push would work, very harsh reality to find it's not.

[djlimbs]

I don't understand why they couldn't just have it all work out of the box with multiple levels of tags like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys8bsWEWt0A

I'm not into that workflow.........

I really cant understand why it doesn't follow the new Browser, in the order of the new "Categories" and "Places"

There should even be a mirror of the browser activity in L9 on your computer.

For example: cant we have the browser change focus when you press buttons on the push. "Folder into" button (Current Green Button) would choose the folder and the focus of the browser on the computer would show the same, you could make the button under the green "Select" button be a "Folder Back" button to take you back to the new "Categories" as the base of the browser.

There's even a Samples Folder in Categories. I seriously put my money on this being the way Push would work, very harsh reality to find it's not.

Yea - it's weird because when I go into "Samples" on Push, it's able to display the folder the "One Shot" or "Samples" are in...I'll see sub-categories like "Conant Gardens" or "Dark Pressure" which I know I didn't create. So that means Ableton's able to directly access the filesystem on Push. Why not just keep it simple and have a "Browse disk" option?!

[yur2die4]

if i have some spare time, i might throw myself under the bus and do some experimenting with the config file to see if i can prevent the core library stuff from showing up at all. a 100% user generated library will be a thing of beauty.

Bingo. Sounds like what I want to do. Currently it is way too cluttered for my tastes, with not much for filtering options.

[BobTheDog]

Great tip, thanks very much for this.

[infernal.machine]

Thanks a lot for this!

[login]

IN the main music production forum there was a long post about the browser, how to use it and how to add categories.

[cyclicAMP]

_
Great find, djlimbs, thank you!

a 100% user generated library will be a thing of beauty.

Agreed! That would be my preferred way to roll.