The purple strip at the top is the same* in all of the Rackmode plug-ins. It's where you’ll load, save, and create presets. It also contains utility functions such as undo/redo, UI zoom and Focus controls, under-the-hood settings, and more.
*Almost the same - both the instrument and FX versions of the Vocoder add a few icons and functions. We'll address these differences in the Vocoder section.
Getting back to things, let's go over the top menu strip:
New- Opens a new blank preset. If an unsaved preset is currently open or you’ve modified an existing saved preset, a dialog asks if you’d like to save the preset in its current state. This greatly reduces the possibility of losing an edited unsaved preset.
Save- Use this to save presets. There are a couple of levels of hierarchy:
Collection- This is the top level of organization, and contains entire “sets” of presets. We also include a User Presets Collection for storing your own presets, but you’re free to create your own collections. To create a new collections, click in the Collection text field (where it says User Presets above) and type a name. User-created presets can be freely saved to any collection; we like to keep ‘em separated for organizational purposes.
Categories- Within each Collection are a number of preset categories. As with collections, you’re free to create as many categories as you like. To create a category, click in the Category text field of the Save dialog window and type a new category name.
Preset- To save a preset, simply type the name in the Name field and click Save.
Keywords- You can add descriptive words such as “vocal,” “alt” etc., to presets to make them appear when terms are typed in the Search field. Use commas to separate multiple keywords entries.
Browsing Presets- Presets can be browsed by clicking the <Select Preset> field. To select a preset collection, click in the area that says <All Collections> or on the downward-facing arrow next to it.
Clicking on the left-side categories narrows down which presets are displayed.
<All Presets> will show presets from all collections and categories.
<Recent> displays recently used presets.
Refresh- This is the circular arrow button to the right of the downward arrow; clicking this checks the Cherry Audio server for new or updated presets.
Pin- Clicking the push-pin icon locks the preset selection list open, allowing fast and easy browsing and auditioning of prests. Click the icon again to disable pin mode. when in pin mode, the up and down arrow keys can be used to select presets.
Preset- Step Back/Forward Arrows- These step to the previous or next preset. macOS [⌘+left/right arrow key] or Windows [CTRL+left/right arrow key] will navigate through presets back and forth in the currently selected collection/category.
Undo/Redo- These circular arrows will undo or redo the last action. It remembers many steps, so if you really loused something up, keep on clickin'...
Settings- This is where user preferences for user interface, audio interfaces, user account, and more are configured. See the Settings section for full information.
Importing Presets with drag-and-drop
Presets can be imported singly or en masse (as a single compressed ZIP file) simply by dragging and dropping from the desktop anywhere on the user interface.
If a single .*preset file is dragged and dropped, the sound is immediately loaded and the standard Save Preset dialog appears; this lets you save the sound to the instrument's preset browser. Note that you don't have to save the sound to preset browser; if you just want to hear and play the sound, click the Cancel button in the Save Preset dialog - the sound will still be loaded.
Compressed zip files containing multiple sounds can also be drag and dropped onto the UI. This works the same as with single sounds, but instead of the Save Preset dialog, you'll see the Import Preset Collection dialog. The presets will be added as a new collection and available in the categories for which they were tagged.
Zoom Magnifying Glass- Click to resize UI interface. Selecting 100% returns the user interface to native size. You can also grab and drag the diagonal "grab" lines in the lower-right corner of the user interfaces.
MIDI Tab- Opens the MIDI controllers tab for configuring internal and hardware MIDI controls. See the MIDI Controllers Setup and MIDI Tab section for full information.
Help- Clicking this launches your web browser and opens the help document you’re currently reading (but I'm already reading this... circular logic, man).
Cherry Audio logos - Clicking these displays “about” information, and shows the version number and current registered user ID.
Preset List Right-Click Functions
Show File- This displays the selected preset in the Mac or Windows folder containing it. This is useful for backing up or sending a preset file to another user.
Show In Original Category- Selects the preset within its category, i.e. the category will highlight in the left preset menu. The Show In Original Category command only displays if the preset was selected within the <All Presets>, <Favorites>, or <Recent> categories.
Favorites- Favorited presets will show in when the <Favorites> category is selected. A star will display next to the preset name. Right-click on the preset and reselect Favorite to un-favorite it. (Or say something nasty about its mother.)
Delete- Deletes the selected preset.
Restore Factory Preset- If one of the factory (i.e. not user) presets is edited and saved, selecting this command restores the patch to its unaltered "factory" setting. This menu will be grayed-out for user bank patches.
Restore All Factory Presets From '<Plugin Name Name> Presets'- If any presets from the "factory" bank for each plugin are edited and saved, selecting this command restores all of them to their unaltered "factory" setting.
Restore All From Factory- If any presets from the "factory" banks are edited and saved, selecting this command restores all of them to their unaltered "factory" setting.