FX Browser really needs sub-folders and overall TLC

[thevisi0nary]

Accumulating more plugins means more plugin folders to browse through, more plugins to organize. Having a ton of categories on the left is a vertical strain and a huge waste of space for anyone who likes to specify plugins for a specific use. It would be really really nice to have sub-folders so we can customize and organize any way we want without needing to add another main folder to look through.

This is just an example. There are some EQ's that only get used for the high end, like Kush Clariphonic. I don't need to see it every time I open the EQ folder and it's a waste of space to add "EQ High End" as a folder, because this gets extrapolated to any plugin with a specific use (Drum Compressor, Vocal Reverb, Etc). Having a sub-folder inside the EQ folder would make this so much more clean.

The FX Browser is the only part of Reaper that feels like an eye sore for me and this is a big part of it.

[Phazma]

You use so many different plugins of the same category that you need subfolders? I almost can’t justify even having an EQ folder itself for the 2 EQs I use 😅

[bFooz]

You can do this at the moment not by using internal Reaper's folders but by organizing you plugin on the disk and use "FX Browser - Options - Show in left pane - VST folders".

[vicnest]

For some developers starts with "de" (Denise Audio, Devious Machine)when you type in "de" for quick search in FX browser, "Developer" which shows all plug-in blocks the quick search. Not ideal.

[thevisi0nary]

Originally Posted by Phazma

You use so many different plugins of the same category that you need subfolders? I almost can’t justify even having an EQ folder itself for the 2 EQs I use 😅

Think about the amount of plugins that come with Reaper alone! Eq is a bad example but I do have lots of FX plugins. A different side folder for chorus, flanger, phaser, delay, special delay, modulator, rotary is annoying.

[thevisi0nary]

Originally Posted by bFooz

You can do this at the moment not by using internal Reaper's folders but by organizing you plugin on the disk and use "FX Browser - Options - Show in left pane - VST folders".

That is interesting I never heard of that. How does the FX browser recognize folders within a folder?

[bFooz]

Originally Posted by thevisi0nary

That is interesting I never heard of that. How does the FX browser recognize folders within a folder?

It shows the tree as a normal OS browser.

If you have some parent folder with chil folders and you have plugin in both the parent and the children, you can specify what plugins are shown when you select the parent. Rightclick on "VST folders" and "Include plugin in subfolders". If it is off, the children effects will no be shown.

[thevisi0nary]

Originally Posted by bFooz

It shows the tree as a normal OS browser.

If you have some parent folder with chil folders and you have plugin in both the parent and the children, you can specify what plugins are shown when you select the parent. Rightclick on "VST folders" and "Include plugin in subfolders". If it is off, the children effects will no be shown.

That is awesome thank you. Why would this be so hard to implement for normal folder behavior?

[asiullopes]

i don't even have anything to add i just really find necessary a proper and easier way of having subfolders without having to mess with the actual disk.

i do have a lot of plugins, a bunch of different types of the same effect for experimenting, a bunch of different instruments and synths that i'd like to categorize between emulations, modular, etc.

someone pointed out something like "wow how many plugins do you have to need this" and yes some may be unecessary but, respectfully, that's not the point and none of anyone's business.

anyway, subfolders are a great feature idea and i stand by its necessity. i really hope it can be implemented in a near future

[Fredy Akira]

Originally Posted by asiullopes

i really hope it can be implemented in a near future

Indeed. We need it. Asap.

[thevisi0nary]

Wanted to bump this with some other impressions, as I've spent some time physically relocating my plugin locations to try organizing a subfolder system with the VST Folder option by category rather than by developer.

This is better than having no subfolders at all, but this is really still a pain to use, as are elements of the FX Browser in general.

None of these subfolders close when the top folder is closed, so each time I open the FX browser after working for awhile, it is the same vertically elongated and cluttered mess I tried to avoid by doing this in the first place, with a whole bunch of empty horizontal space unused on the right. Really the best solution to this would be for subfolders to be visible and managed within the right pane of the FX Browser.

The other issue the inability to order the folders or have Reaper follow the Windows Explorer folder sorting. I like to have my folders in a certain order, obviously others do as well because the option is provided with the custom folders. Since you can't customize the order of VST folders I tried numbering them by name just to discover that it only sorts by the very first character. So if you have 11 numbered folders, the 11th folder will be sorted after the 1st folder. I can just put a 0 in there, but having to write "00. EQ" "01. Compressor" is just really janky and annoying instead of writing "Eq" and "Compressor".

[Daodan]

Yes. +1

[Kr3eM]

+1

[kindafishy]

Another bump. I would really love to have the ability to create subfolders under my folders that I have created.

Please, please, please Cockos? High value, low effort request here I would think (making assumptions about the code of course). Should just be able to have your keys support referencing another section in the ini file and then embedding that into the UI folder structure, yeah?

[aklab]

Just found this thread today while I was desperately searching for some FX browser customization options!

I've gotten a little extra functionality by creating additional categories in the categories list. But this is limited by only being able to put plugins in one category at a time. I'd love a tagging-based system allowing plugins to be in multiple "categories". There are a bunch of plugins that do more than one thing, but I also use categories for my own subjective uses. Like, for my rock-oriented stuff I have different reverbs and compressors I prefer, compared to my electronic projects. So it would be really cool if I could have a "Shoegaze" folder for the plugins I always use in that genre, without having to also remove those plugins from the "Reverb" folder or whatever. I can kind of do that by adding new folders down at the "Folders" list, but then THAT'S limited by the inability to make subfolders there.

Anyway, long story short, the FX browser is just conspicuously lacking in the type of customization options that are so great everywhere else in Reaper.

[Daodan]

Originally Posted by aklab

I've gotten a little extra functionality by creating additional categories in the categories list. But this is limited by only being able to put plugins in one category at a time.

Nope. You can if you drag effect not from specific category but from Categories or All Plugins.

Originally Posted by aklab

I can kind of do that by adding new folders down at the "Folders" list, but then THAT'S limited by the inability to make subfolders there.

I don't understand. Both Categories and Folders limited by the inability to make subfolders isn't it?

[aklab]

Originally Posted by Daodan

Nope. You can if you drag effect not from specific category but from Categories or All Plugins.

Oh nice, I didn't realize! Thanks for the tip.

I don't understand. Both Categories and Folders limited by the inability to make subfolders isn't it?

Yeah, in the "Folders" category at the bottom, you can make your own folders for FX, but can't nest folders within folders, i.e. parent-child folders or what I'm calling subfolders. You can have this kind of nested folder if you choose to organize the FX browser by the VST folders on disk (as discussed and pictured upthread); I'd just like to be able to have that option in the category-based view as well. So basically what thevisi0nary was saying on the 10/27/2021 post, if I'm understanding right.

[Elle]

+1 I would also really love subfolders in the FX Browser.

[GrizzlyAK]

Originally Posted by bFooz

You can do this at the moment not by using internal Reaper's folders but by organizing you plugin on the disk and use "FX Browser - Options - Show in left pane - VST folders".

Yeah, try that with Waves plugins. Other plugins stop working if you move them from where they were installed. This approach only works with very simple plugins that are just single .vst or .dll files. Plus, you'd have to account for the associated presets, gui, and other files, associated with some older plugins.

This feature is long overdue and would benefit us all. +1

[D-Reaper]

+1
I totally subscribe this petition.

In the meantime, I have found it very practical just to have a few toolbars for the most frequently used plugins (same problem, though).

[kindafishy]

Please add your +1 if you would find it useful to have subfolders for better organizing your plugins. I quite desperately want this personally. It would make life so much easier.

[Starfirex]

+1

Long overdue feature - To be able to right-click and navigate folders like you can with FX chains as opposed to having a huge list to scroll would be a great feature.

I tried organising VSTfolders but mainly use VST3 these days and some of them freak out if they are not in the default location (I'm looking at you XLN Audio) or have accompanying files and folders (Acustica) so it just became a mess.

Having to go through saving every single plugin as an FXChain as a work around for something like plugin subfolders in a DAW that utilises them everywhere else en masse is a bit frustrating and has been since I first picked up v4. Since then many new and complex features have been introduced, yet I'm still having to spend significant time turning plugins into FXChains to be able to customise an essential area �� - even just a "save all plugins as FXChains" button would be nice.

[rafa1981]

This one can be somehow workarounded. I also wanted this feature at some point, but the solution below and behaving less as a collector helped.

Do not try to organize plugins on the hard disk, for every plugin edit the name and ad some tags standardized for you. E.g. for a plugin doing reverb and delays you edit the name to "pluginFoo REV DLY".

Then you create smart folders that filter on the " REV" string for reverbs, etc. Go as fine grained as you wish with the tagging, so you get a manageable amount of results.

This of course only works for new installs and keeping some install discipline. If your folder has thousands of plugins already it might be probably too late.

[kindafishy]

Is it proper etiquette to bump a feature to get the devs to notice it? I won't bump again if not.

I check the pre releases every couple days to see if there is a mention of sub folder support in the 'Folders' area of the fx browser.

I love a lot of the advanced stuff that has been added over the last couple years, but personally, this very simple feature is the only thing I can think of that I want from REAPER .

Devs owe nothing and there is no entitlement here. Just wishful thinking for a simple feature that would be very welcome (here and I am sure by many others).

Please Justin or Schwa, can one of you guys kindly slip this in at some point soon maybe? At least for me, this would make a big difference in workflow. I spend a lot of time hunting for plugins (which maybe also says I have too many plugins - a common 'problem') so this would actually really improve efficiency and workflow here.

Cheers guys and thanks for everything.

[Fredrik Häthén]

I'm adding my +1 to this as well. As much as I love Reaper - and I really do - the FX Browser is... honestly just atrocious. It hasn't changed at all in so, so long, and it desperately needs some TLC. Options for custom nested folders, options to have a notes column where you can write your own notes about the plugin, a visual FX browser, a way to tag each FX with different keywords to easily find what you're looking for... if anything, I want the devs to focus super hard on this now. It's the one thing that consistently irks me, every time I use this DAW.

We're getting closer and closer to Reaper 7, and if the FX browser hasn't received basically a complete overhaul by then...

[ramses]

I want this as well. Tired of starting at my long list of 25+ compressor plugins, trying to look for an 1176 or whatever. The developers names are often not self-evident as well, which contributes to my confusion. It would be incredibly convenient to be able to sort them into sub-folders. Or use tags, perhaps, but that's a bit too modern for my tastes.

+1

[Reflected]

another day of messy routings and tons of tracks without items just for using as fx chains.

[Jessy]

Originally Posted by ramses

I want this as well. Tired of starting at my long list of 25+ compressor plugins, trying to look for an 1176 or whatever. The developers names are often not self-evident as well, which contributes to my confusion. It would be incredibly convenient to be able to sort them into sub-folders. Or use tags, perhaps, but that's a bit too modern for my tastes.

+1

Ahhh, 21st Centry, 1st world problems... imagine if that was hardware. I don't think most people ever had even a 10th of 1000+ hardware inserts.

That said, directories would be welcome. Personally, I type the name (or just part of it, clicking and scrolling is too slow).

May I suggest some workarounds?
1. Templates: project/track/chains.
2. There are probably empty toolbars, maybe even 10 or more. So let's say we just have 50+ compressors, which we use a lot and we can put them like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um5FnzC_iUc
Do the same for reverb and guitar amps. Maybe some VST instruments.
But things like flangers etc, we don't use much so it's no big deal to search for them occasionally, is what I think.
3. Custom Folders can be named:
"Reverb - special"
"Reverb - for hi pay clients"
"Reverb - when I am lazy"
Then just do that for the most used.

Hope this is useful

[Chvad SB]

another +1

[kindafishy]

Hello grease? Squeaky wheel here!

This is pretty much the only thing I want to see in REAPER 7 .

[Tron]

another plus one, please

[creal]

I highly support that basic feature request too.

[kknabenshue]

+1

[justcosmic1]

Originally Posted by aklab

Just found this thread today while I was desperately searching for some FX browser customization options!

I'd love a tagging-based system allowing plugins to be in multiple "categories". ...

Anyway, long story short, the FX browser is just conspicuously lacking in the type of customization options that are so great everywhere else in Reaper.

I have started a feature request thread for tags for plugins, presets and FX Chains:
https://forum.cockos.com/showthread....to_threadtools

If you think it's a good FR, then please do add a comment or +1 on that thread.

Also due to the obvious shortcomings of the FX browser, there have been various add ons developed to try to fill this space, such as Fast FX Finder, Quick Adder 2, and Reaper Command Palette. The problem is that these rely on 3rd party developers keeping up with Reaper updates and so on.
In the case of QA2, which was looking really promising, the developer hasn't responded in about a year now.

Clearly the FX Browser and also Reapers menu's are the weak points of Reaper.
If you look at Bitwig - they have an excellent context aware tagging/search system and menus have little visual cues/icons as well as being much more intuitively laid out.

For now I just wish I could move all the folders I don't want to see in the FX Browser, to the bottom and have my "virtual folders" and FX Chains at the top.
FYI The virtual folders (i.e. the ones you can create from the FX browser) can function similar to tags, plugins and fx chains can exist in more than one folder at the same time.
Being able to nest all/any folders would make it a lot more workable though.

[justcosmic1]

Originally Posted by Fredrik Häthén

I'm adding my +1 to this as well. As much as I love Reaper - and I really do - the FX Browser is... honestly just atrocious. It hasn't changed at all in so, so long, and it desperately needs some TLC. Options for custom nested folders, options to have a notes column where you can write your own notes about the plugin, a visual FX browser, a way to tag each FX with different keywords to easily find what you're looking for... if anything, I want the devs to focus super hard on this now. It's the one thing that consistently irks me, every time I use this DAW.

We're getting closer and closer to Reaper 7, and if the FX browser hasn't received basically a complete overhaul by then...

As per my post above...
I have started a feature request thread for tags for plugins, presets and FX Chains:
https://forum.cockos.com/showthread....to_threadtools

If you want Tags - please +1 in that thread too.

I think you have summerized what is needed really well.

In addition, I think some of the approaches of the 3rd party script developers as mentioned above, could also be useful. In particular; not being tied to a particular track; being able to drag and drop FX to tracks or items, and having the option to search and execute actions right from the same place.
It's almost as if this weakness in the core program has given rise to ideas that go way beyond just solving the initial problem.
Would love to see some of that implemented by Cockos.

[PitchSlap]

Subfolders would be really helpful.
Using the plugin folder file structure isn't ideal since developers have different default locations, dependency folders etc. Moving the files after installation could cause issues, mess with uninstallers, and unlike browser folders, plugins can't be in multiple locations simultaneously. It might be possible to recreate the desired plugin folder structure from scratch using symlinks, but it would be a total pain and not something the average user is familiar with.

As for other improvements, sortable columns for developer, date installed, VST3 category would help when searching, as would an option to automatically search all folders if there are no results in the current one.

I'd also like an auto-populated category for most frequently used, as well as more control over "recently installed" (i.e. show x most recently installed, or installed over x days with the ability to sort by install date, not just alphabetically.)

[juan_r]

Date installed is a sortable field I'm really missing.

[Loulou92]

+1

[Wills01]

FX brother could be simplified If we may use "imapges" as in Cubase... A long list is too boring and it is difficult to remind where the plug-in we need is... With a pic, it is easier to see it !

[foxAsteria]

Too many pluuuuuug-ins...
Too many p-p-p-p-p-p-plug-ins!