Plugin Menu Editor Thread

[Electronic1982]

Plugin Menu Editor Thread

At present, the plugin market is both large and competing for the attention of many thousands of people in the music industry and in post production, with hundreds and hundreds (may be thousands) of plugin offerings.
Today, we work with exceptionally large number of plugins when compared to the early 2000 or 1990’s where, in the past, there were far fewer plugins available.

So collectively, we can conclude, the market has changed, and we have changed. Today systems are even more individualised so one size does not fit all.
Just as one builds their own personal studio, also one today, builds their own personal plugin menu to match. Just as the UI Customization has been a success, the Plugin Menu Editor will also be a success and would likely be welcomed by many in the userbase.

It has become essential, to personalise the plugin menu.

Below is a list of ideas and links related to personalising the plugin menu:


1.
With every Tech Cycle, new plugins and new workflows are likely to appear, this means the plugin menu will also likely need a personal update by the user in order to suit the new workflow or the new plugins purchased.

2.
The plugin menu can be misleading based on the individual’s perspective and workflow, due to the classic problem of plugins being in the wrong place. This can now be solved. The user may want to change where a plugin has been placed and can correct the placement to match their personal workflow.

3.
The plugin menu can be swamped, indicating a need for personal re-organization to match workflows.

4.
A personalised plugin menu will show where you lack capabilities or options in comparison to each plugin type when you group together plugins based on your personal workflow.

5.
It helps the plugin market and the plugin developers because the user can now grow their own Plugin Menu without being forced into a swamp of plugins which currently makes purchasing a large number of plugins difficult to navigate through. All new plugin purchases can be personally put into place and be made easier to find regardless of how many plugins a user has, thus encouraging the healthy purchase of plugins for a full personal menu to match the current workflow.

6.
People become more invested in the DAW when they design their own personal menus for it.

7.
It will be easier to match any new workflow and potential upgrades to the studio as you advance.

8.
The Plugin Menu can be made to be inspiring due its personalised design as the user navigates through options.

9.
Every year (or every Tech Cycle), we can look forward to new capabilities added by Avid/STG to the Plugin Menu Editor, adding value to new Pro Tools updates.

10.
When it comes to potential new users joining Pro Tools, they will most likely look for the basic features first before the complex features, and without a Plugin Menu Editor, Pro Tools could fall short of early user expectation. The other DAWs often compete with Pro Tools on basic features, Pro Tools can exceed other DAWs with first impressions offering an impressive approach to basic features first before getting to the complex features – Other DAWs can just organise their plugin menus, but with Pro Tools you can do that and also create an entire navigation or selection system, indicating you can do more with Pro Tools, even on a basic level. This leaves a great first impression.

11.
It’s great for brining in New Users. Pro Tools can make an early example of comparison to other DAWs by having a Navigation System for plugins, and not just re-naming of folders/shortcuts like other DAWs.

12.
It’s easier for new users who are looking for a DAW to use Pro Tools as a comparison, because it’s easy to ‘edit the plugin menu’ because everybody can do it. This will add more good first impressions to win them over.

13.
A plugin menu editor is one of the most requested features, even today in the feature requests the Editing/ Customising the Plugin Menu has the most thumbs up. The previous Pro Tools Idea Scale also had a Plugin Menu Editor request with huge numbers of people giving it a thumbs-up.

14.
How would you implement this on a Control Surface?.
Allow an Exclusive Plugin Menu Editor for Avid's own Control Surfaces that is only compatible with Pro Tools, this would be a nice selling point over other DAW/ Control Surface setups.
And alternatively, a touch screen could do the job of selecting the plugin, and each plugin can have a Control Surface name added via a Tag system, where the Control Surface name would appear in the Control Surface

15.
Engineers who deal with multiple forms of music/ post production projects would be able to design a single menu which can cater to each form of music/post production as needed.

16.
A personal user experience is a better user experience.

17.
You can better maximize and optimize your workflow to match your personal understanding of the mix process with a personal plugin menu.

18.
The user can have a section related to Writing and a section related to Mixing.

19.
The user may need to adjust the name of the plugin in better identify it, or for it to sit better visually in the menu. The Plugin Menu Editor will solve this.

20.
At present, the plugin menu is even more swamped by duplicates due to mono/stereo versions being left to developers to enable/disable, this approach has not worked due to the fact not all developers are up-to-date. An ability to hide/show plugin can be added where duplicate versions can be hidden/ shown for each plugin individually. It would also be great to hide/show other version of plugins that don’t need to be there depending on your personal workflow.

21.
All the other main competitors to Pro Tools are able to personalise the Plugin Menu. Pro Tools should not fall behind in this area because the option to personalise the plugin menu is a universal user expectation.

22.
Below is a list of threads/ links related to personalising or attempts to edit the plugin menu:


Pro Tools “Plugin Browser” and “ Custom Categories” ???
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=429395

What features would you like to see in a plugin-manager?
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

Can't use waves plugins as favourites
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=428944

Preferences Option to Hide all "mono/stereo" version of plugins for the plugin Menu
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=430091

mono/stereo formats in a sub-menu
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=429951

Specialty Plugin Folders in Favorites Drop Down Menu
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

How to set Plugins Menu to open Side-by-Side, instead of a Drop-down menu
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

The Plugin Menus are a mess
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

How are you utilizing Protools search?
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

Create custom plugin folder
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

cant find the pro tools tuner!
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

You Know You Own Too Many Plugins When.... (indirectly related)
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

Folders inside the plugin folder
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

Plugin menu favorites
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

moved unwanted plugin to UNUSED plugins folder (indirectly related)
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

Plugin selection menu changes (cannot search for plugins) (indirectly related)
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

Create custom plugin folder
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=423667

Plugin Favorites Disappearing? (Indirectly related)
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

Organizing Plugin Dropdown List
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

plugin Menu organization is worse than...
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

How to remove plugins from the PT list (indirectly related)
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

Feature Request: Plugin Organization
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

It's 2017 and there's STILL no Plugin Manager in PT
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?...ht=plugin+menu

Pro Tools Expert – Pro Tools Plug-in Menu – Feature Request
https://www.production-expert.com/ho...ing-folde.html

Pro Tools Expert (Auganizer)
https://www.production-expert.com/ho...ing-folde.html


I hope this shows the need for a Plugin Menu Editor.

My bests.

[Electronic1982]

Bumping this after an update
@Avid/STG, it's time we really look into a Plugin Menu Editor for Pro Tools

[albee1952]

Or adjust your workflow to use the Search function and the favorites function(Ctrl-click on a plugin you use a lot to put it right at the top of the Plugins menu). Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of being able to do what you describe. It just doesn't affect my day to day use of Pro Tools and is not a consideration for why I choose Pro Tools. A few other things to consider:
1-do most of us really need 2000 plugins?(probably not)
2-Maybe more plugins could be written to work more like Slate's VMR, where a single plugin from the menu can actually do dozens of different functions?

Just food for thought

[Electronic1982]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Or adjust your workflow to use the Search function and the favorites function(Ctrl-click on a plugin you use a lot to put it right at the top of the Plugins menu). Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of being able to do what you describe. It just doesn't affect my day to day use of Pro Tools and is not a consideration for why I choose Pro Tools. A few other things to consider:
1-do most of us really need 2000 plugins?(probably not)
2-Maybe more plugins could be written to work more like Slate's VMR, where a single plugin from the menu can actually do dozens of different functions?

Just food for thought

It's true that probably all of us like the idea of Plugin Menu Editor.
It's been requested for between 10-20 Years, so considering the time-scale of things, I've been asked many times, so what's so different this time?
STG/Avid together, this is what I think is the difference, they can make it happen

[massivekerry]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Or adjust your workflow to use the Search function and the favorites function(Ctrl-click on a plugin you use a lot to put it right at the top of the Plugins menu). Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of being able to do what you describe. It just doesn't affect my day to day use of Pro Tools and is not a consideration for why I choose Pro Tools. A few other things to consider:
1-do most of us really need 2000 plugins?(probably not)
2-Maybe more plugins could be written to work more like Slate's VMR, where a single plugin from the menu can actually do dozens of different functions?

Just food for thought

I use the Search function a lot, and I have loads of Inactive Tracks with Inactive plugins on it, so that I can remember what I have. I still want a plugin manager.

It comes down to that I write, and self-engineer, and self-mix for a TON of different styles, but not all of them every month. There are regularly times when I think "Shoot. What was the name of that plugin that was added to one of my bundles that had the really crazy stutter feature? or that one that I flagged as being perfect for a 30s swing band on vinyl sound? ...etc".

I would find it really helpful if I could make sets of my own folders, just to organize things in the way that I would (or might) use them. Great Example - right now, my Pro Tools "Harmonic" category has... Tape sims, Guitar Amp sims, Bass Amp sims, Console/Preamp emulations, Distortion processors, Bit-Crushers, "Color Boxes", "Lo-Fi" processors, Clippers, Aural Exciters, Sub Enhancers, Compressors, Channel Strips, IR Loaders, FilterFreak, a Talkbox, and partridge in a f*****' pear tree. I'd love to be able to break that into some categories that -I- personally find descriptive and useful, instead of just having 2-1/2 screenfuls (at 1800 pixels) of scroll.

[Electronic1982]

Originally Posted by massivekerry

I would find it really helpful if I could make sets of my own folders, just to organize things in the way that I would (or might) use them. Great Example - right now, my Pro Tools "Harmonic" category has... Tape sims, Guitar Amp sims, Bass Amp sims, Console/Preamp emulations, Distortion processors, Bit-Crushers, "Color Boxes", "Lo-Fi" processors, Clippers, Aural Exciters, Sub Enhancers, Compressors, Channel Strips, IR Loaders, FilterFreak, a Talkbox, and partridge in a f*****' pear tree. I'd love to be able to break that into some categories that -I- personally find descriptive and useful, instead of just having 2-1/2 screenfuls (at 1800 pixels) of scroll.

+1000

[massivekerry]

For another example that's bothering me today:

I've been using Ozone since v5. For the last several versions, I've used the "Advanced" package, which allows you to use the individual modules as standalone plugins.

When I open old sessions, they often used an older version of Ozone than I'm currently using. So, I have to keep those versions in my plug-in folder so that I can open and use these sessions (my biz a lot of re-using tracks and editing them to video. I don't always like working from stems).

Problem is, those older versions of the plugin(s) still show up in the plugin list. I would prefer to set my default plugin list views so that I NEVER see them again. I am fine with keeping them in the folder, because I do want those older sessions to find and use the needed version, but I don't need to see Ozone 7, 8, 9,or 10 (or any of their component plugins) in my pull-down lists when I'm working in new/current sessions.

[smurfyou]

Originally Posted by massivekerry

Problem is, those older versions of the plugin(s) still show up in the plugin list. I would prefer to set my default plugin list views so that I NEVER see them again. I am fine with keeping them in the folder, because I do want those older sessions to find and use the needed version, but I don't need to see Ozone 7, 8, 9,or 10 (or any of their component plugins) in my pull-down lists when I'm working in new/current sessions.

That's one of my requests too from an older thread. We need to be able to hide and IMO DISABLE plugins without manually moving them to the Unused folder. So I can work in peace with a minimized plugin list but if I get an outside session with plugins I own but are disabled, I can re-enable and get to work. Now that they have a plugin scanner to detect new plugins without restarting it should be trivial.

[Electronic1982]

The outdated business model of relying on developers to place the plugins does not work in the current era.
Plugins are often not in the correct place and the menu can be misleading.
We need to personalise the plugin menu to match our unique workflows.

[Electronic1982]

Originally Posted by smurfyou

That's one of my requests too from an older thread. We need to be able to hide and IMO DISABLE plugins without manually moving them to the Unused folder. So I can work in peace with a minimized plugin list but if I get an outside session with plugins I own but are disabled, I can re-enable and get to work. Now that they have a plugin scanner to detect new plugins without restarting it should be trivial.

May be the plugins can be displayed inside Pro Tools in the way they are organised in the AAX Plugin Folder?
It would be a good start.
Especially if we could rename the plugin as well as the folders they should be in.