Is there a way to Export a preset bank without the samples ?

[spacef]

Hi,

I Have exported a preset bank, and it is 510 MB :-)

It contains not even 1/3 rd of the whole samples collection used to make the presets: the samples are 400 MB only.

So the exported preset bank contains much less samples but is much bigger, becauise some samples are used more than once and are saved individually each time (i suppose).


Is there a way to export presets without the samples? ie only reference to the users /Samples/Pigments/etc folders ?

[LBH]

FYI: You have posted this question as a feature request.

Unfortunately there are no export settings. That could be the feature request.
Is samples with the same name and location imported multiple times at all? I have not tested this, so i don't know, but i can imagine that the samples are not getting new names that's not an info in the imported preset, so a sample are not imported multiple times.

What i believe you also can do is to copy both the presets and the samples from one computer to another. Just place the samples on the same path on both computers, and the presets in Pigments preset folder.
On windows i'm talking about the files in the ProgramData folder.
On a Apple computer i think the files are located in the Library folder.
This method does'nt use the Export, and does'nt use import on the computers you copy to either.

[spacef]

yes it is feature request (if not there yet).

And yes samples are encoded into each presets individually when a bank is exported (as shown by the different file size of the presets).

I will try with the copy/paste of the non exported presets on another computer and see what happens. 

Thanks for the suggestion LBH

[LBH]

And yes samples are encoded into each presets individually when a bank is exported (as shown by the different file size of the presets).

I understand the samples are exported, but my question was, if they also are imported? How for a preset to find the sample, if the name and path for a sample is changed, and the information is'nt changed in the preset?

[spacef]

it is re-imported in the same location in the sample folders. Importing banks recreate the folder and files as they are on the disk of the creator of the bank. It only imports the samples / wavetables used in the presets obviously, and it does not create duplicates (or it writes/deletes them as the bank is imported). As the samples are always in the common folders (user/arturia/samples...) it will not change from a user to another. I do not know about mac/pc exhange though, but i assume that it is managed by the software too.
 
It  also means that, to optimize the file size of a bank (if size is an issue) then one should use 1 sample per preset, not use samples more than once in the whole bank. or find another way (did not have the time to test your trick yet).  It is ok for a bank of 128 presets, but it is a bit more difficult for a bank of 300 samples and 750 wavetables :-)

[spacef]

I have just tried and installing manually the presets on hand hand, and the samples on the other , then start Pigments, everything is as should be...

[LBH]

it does not create duplicates (or it writes/deletes them as the bank is imported).

That's what i imagined was the case. It's good there is no duplicates. This method work then - perhaps unless if there is a different sample with the same name on the same location on the destination computer.

A backside is the size of the exported file yes, but on the other hand things are saved automaticly so one does'nt forget anything.
I don't know if it's possible for the saveing procedure to automaticly detect if a sample is allready exported and included in the bank so it does'nt export it multiple times. But it could be great, if that was possible.

I have just tried and installing manually the presets on hand hand, and the samples on the other , then start Pigments, everything is as should be...

As exspected then. Great.

Thanks for testing.

[spacef]

I don't know if it's possible for the saveing procedure to automaticly detect if a sample is allready exported and included in the bank so it does'nt export it multiple times. But it could be great, if that was possible.

NI Maschine has a feature like this and it is awful. For example, you choose "export group with samples" and it would only export samples that are not already in the database, or that were modified in a destructive manner (truncate, nortmalize...) . So, most of the time, you want to export with samples, and find yourself with only half the samples, on the pretext that the non-exported samples already exist in Maschine's database. So after all, eventhough it take disk space, I think it is better that Pigments exports all samples with all presets.