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Preset Locations
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Introduction
VST 3 presets are located at predefined locations on the computer, depending on the operating system.
- 3 levels of preset scope are defined:
- User: available only for the current logged user
- Public: available for all users of the system
- Apps: available only inside a specific audio application
- 4 types of preset are defined:
- User: presets created by the user
- User_Factory: like User type, but more hidden
- Shared_Factory: factory presets installed by the plug-in installer
- App_Factory: presets installed by an audio application installer, only visible for this specific audio application
⚠️ Warning
$COMPANY and $PLUGIN-NAME folder names contain only allowed characters for file naming (replace characters "\*?/:<>|"by "_").
ⓘ Note
Each path defined below should be scanned in the given priority, presets extracted and added to the preset list.
For Mac platform
| Prio | Type | Scope | Write | Path | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | User | User | X | Users/$USERNAME/Library/Audio/Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | |
| 2 | Shared_Factory | Public | - | Library/Audio/Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | Computer shared FactoryROM |
| 3 | Shared_Factory | Public | - | Network/Library/Audio/Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | Network shared FactoryROM |
| 4 | App_Factory | Apps | - | [$APPFOLDER]/VST3 Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | Host Application (Cubase, ...) |
For Windows XP/2000 platform
| Prio | Type | Scope | Write | Path | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | User | User | X | [My Documents]/VST3 Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | csidl_personal |
| 2 | User_Factory | User | X | [Documents and Settings/$USERNAME/Application Data]/VST3 Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | csidl_appdata |
| 3 | Shared_Factory | Public | - | [Documents and Settings/$ALLUSERS/Application Data]/VST3 Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | csidl_common_appdata |
| 4 | App_Factory | Apps | - | [$APPFOLDER]/VST3 Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | Host Application (Cubase, ...) |
For Windows Vista/7/8/10
| Prio | Type | Scope | Write | Path | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | User | User | X | [Users/$USERNAME/Documents]/VST3 Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | FOLDERID_Documents |
| 2 | User_Factory | User | X | [Users/$USERNAME/AppData/Roaming]/VST3 Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | FOLDERID_RoamingAppData |
| 3 | Shared_Factory | Public | - | [ProgramData]/VST3 Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | FOLDERID_ProgramData |
| 4 | App_Factory | Apps | - | [$APPFOLDER]/VST3 Presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | Host Application (Cubase, ...) |
For Linux platform
| Prio | Type | Scope | Write | Path | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | User | User | X | $HOME/.vst3/presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | |
| 2 | Shared_Factory | Public | - | /usr/share/vst3/presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | |
| 3 | Shared_Factory | Public | - | /usr/local/share/vst3/presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | |
| 4 | App_Factory | Apps | - | [$APPFOLDER]/vst3/presets/$COMPANY/$PLUGIN-NAME/ | Host Application |