"Not a good idea" and "doesnt work" are 2 different schools of thought.MichaelAbletonForum wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 7:57 amMoving VST2 manually, is not a good idea. I’ve developed hundreds of software Installers and the concept of manually moving files by the user was never part of that. But if the operation manual allows this, ok why not. With all the upcoming it problems… ohhh no!
With VST2 it’s a Common Concept to have different Folders since years. Only Ableton Live has problems with that and a weak implementation (only 2 Folders) the rest of the DAW world can handle that.
And I don‘t know any Installer that allows to set a custom VST3 Folder, that’s the way to go!
I'm a big boy and can accept the choices I make, I will move something if I feel it needs to be moved (and have the experience to know if it will have an issue). A VST plugin is rarely ever affected by installation location. Only when they have other integrations like Native Instruments with libraries and other dependencies such as NKS files etc.
Almost all pro users will suggest to try and manage your VST plugins in a single location if possible and this is why almost all installers allow you to install to a custom location.With VST2 it’s a Common Concept to have different Folders since years.
It was only set as a custom path for users because there was no real agreement of dedicating a location and back in the 90s when VSTs were first a thing, it was probably never even imagined people would have such a large amount of them. VST3 has the set path because of the complications users create for themselves.