[Feature Request] please correctly relocate sample location when samples are missing!

Software Instruments Pigments
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#1

Hello,

There is a very frustrating behavior in Pigments. And it’s been there for a long time. When you save a preset, it also saves the location of the samples, which is good.

When you move your samples and try to load a preset that uses these samples, it says that they are missing, which is logical. However, when you relocate the samples manually in order to make the preset usable, Pigments does not update the location of the samples! Instead of just knowing (and saving) the new location of the sample, it just copies the samples in the old location! It’s very uncommon and undesirable. Sometimes, it can make sense, to assume that you made a mistake moving the samples elsewhere. But most of the time, the user knows how he does, hence Pigments must update the new location instead of copying samples to the old location. It must be at least an option.

Thank you,

creal.

#2

Hi @creal and thanks for posting.
I’m not sure if this is a bug or ‘by design’.
It does sound a bit strange though so i’ll have to look into it for you.
I will mark as a feature request meanwhile.

As an afterthought, an interim measure might be to locate the missing sample and then save the preset under a slightly different name, i.e ‘preset’ would be saved as ‘preset-B’, or something along those lines.

#3

Thanks for your very quick reply. I really appreciate it.

I think it’s by design, but a wrong choice if I may say so.

You are right. The only workaround is to:

  1. Relocate samples when the pop-up appears, in order to know which one goes to each engine/slot. At this time, Pigments still refers to the old location (it just copies the files to the old location)
  2. Relocate all the samples again, manually, so that Pigments now refers to the new location
  3. Save your preset (I think that you can use the exact same name and overwrite the preset; it should work)

But it’s time-consuming and not logical at all compared to all other audio softwares that use samples.

#4

Hi,

When samples are missing, then you as far as i recall get two options. You can Reimport or Ignore. I would use Ignore, then select the sample from the new location in the Engine and save the preset. Does’nt that work?

That said, then i also think a third option to Relocate would be nice, so you can choose a new path for the missing sample fast and easy.
This option should give you the option to browse to the new sample location, and then save the preset with the new location/s added.

#5

Hi,

You can use “ignore” but in that case, you don’t know where samples are located (which slot? which engine?), unless you remember all of that correctly. Imagine you have 12 samples for that preset. It’s not the better solution in my opinion.

Instead of changing the current behavior (as I suggested), a third option would be a very nice idea (relocate, ignore, replace OR find). It’s very important and it should be implemented in every Arturia product that uses samples (Emu, CMI, etc.).

The word “relocate” is confusing because it suggests that you define a new location for your missing samples. But it’s maybe because English is not my native language.

#6

I used the word Relocate because you used it in your topics headline.
Perhaps something like NEW is a better word. That can both indicate a new sample and a new path.
Perhaps another word is even better.

In generel it’s a bad idea to change paths to samples unless it’s to a working location. But yes the easier it is to do this the better.

#7

Pigments already uses “reimport” in the missing samples scenario. So maybe “relocate” could work. But “new location” is also a good idea. Whatever the word, this feature would be nice to have because sometimes you need to re-organise your personal sample folders (even if it has to be avoided when possible), and this is the only sample software I know that does not provide that by default. It’s a little confusing.