Better sorting in Add FX

[djdanlib]

The layout of an artist's palette aids/hinders creativity, doesn't it?

I spend a lot of time browsing through FX when I'm doing creative work, like if I feel like jamming with a VSTi, or looking at my palette of FX in some category or other to see if I feel inspired by any of my choices. The current sorting (some non-alphabetical type first, name second sorting) makes that kind of a chore and I'm sure to miss options in my palette unless I know exactly what I want.

I'd like to have the option to sort by brand then alphabetically then by VST/VST3/JS/DX/AU, which is pretty much the opposite order of the current state of affairs. Renaming a plugin still leaves it segregated by plugin technology. I'd also like to have my Quick Add/Replace menus follow that option. I really don't care what type a plugin is, as long as it does its job - you know how track media items are file type agnostic ("create a track and it just works"), would be nice if track FX sorting could also be type agnostic too. Let's have those underrated JS plugins intermingle with the VST and VST3 plugins so they get more of a chance to be used too.

Many VST plugins expose a "Category" info field, which is used by other DAWs. Perhaps Reaper could take advantage of that and have auto-generated auto-populated folders? Everything from ACID Pro to Pro Tools does it, why not Reaper?

Drag-and-drop FX folder reorganization would be a really nice thing while we're giving the FX listing GUI some love. Move Up/Down/First/Last is ok until you have a dozen folders, then it's really not ok anymore because you basically have to manually bubble sort the whole thing every time you add a folder. (I have 29 folders.) It would be good to have native UI to drag and drop this stuff.

This is probably a perennial feature request, but it's still important to me.

Pictures of current state attached - surely we could have a better experience someday??

[Lokasenna]

Originally Posted by djdanlib

Many VST plugins expose a "Category" info field, which is used by other DAWs. Perhaps Reaper could take advantage of that and have auto-generated auto-populated folders? Everything from ACID Pro to Pro Tools does it, why not Reaper?

I've always wondered why everyone else gets this but we don't.

[occultron]

I've solved this issue simply by replacing the Quick Add FX menu item completely by the Add FX Chain menu and created an FX Chain preset of each and every plugin's default state I have, and then arranged those presets in the folder structure and naming of my choosing.

That way you can just name every EQ plugin preset starting with "EQ" and you'll have all your EQ's in one place or however you like. Super orderly.

[EvilDragon]

You don't even need to create FX chains. You can just add a plugin to user folder, or several of them, and have them sorted that way.

[djdanlib]

Check out my screenshots. See all those folders...? It's super clunky, in a UI paradigm straight out of the early 1990s. No folder drag & drop, manual bubble sort to move folders, etc. Then observe that within the folders, the plugins are sorted by plugin architecture first, and then name. I'm asking for a user experience to be implemented that works to the user's benefit because this one is all sorts of backwards and in the way of getting stuff done, which is very un-Reaper-y.

I have a lot of plugins and less time to sort them by hand than I'd like. Moving from one installation to the next on different machines (I use Reaper in different places with different owners and therefore sets of purchased plugins), I would then have to re-setup everything or carry folders of FX chains with me and install them on every machine I touch. Not great. That's a pretty hard pitch to sell someone else on using Reaper. A DAW should at least handle basic sorting of plugins and help the user find them. All of the other DAWs I own do this, so why doesn't Reaper?

[ivansc]

He has a point if most other DAWs do already do this.

It is kinda messy if you have more than a score or so plugins.

[kokotron]

I agree with this feature request, I use a lot of free plugins so I have, well, a lot of them and I keep trying new things, it's very hard to find them most of the time. Apart from the sorting mentioned above, I'd love to see an "oldest <-> newest" kind of sorting method as well.

But let's be honest, the plugin interface could use a proper modern redesign. Managing multiple plugins is very counter-intuitive and kills creativity. I'd love to be able to see thumbnails of the plugins as well because I'm not very good with names.

But hey enough dreaming, sorting the plugin list somehow would absolutely work great for me and many more people! +++++1

[ivansc]

One aspect of this IS solvable but only if the plugin manufacturers involved are amenable.
I got fed up with seeing all the (x86) plugs still showing up for Waves and for UAD so I decided to get rid of them.
100% success with UAD - I now only see the plugins I actually own rather than everything they make.
Waves I have yet to find a way to do this.

BUT between that and critically evaluating some of my less-used plugs, I now have much less crap to wade through.

[Ulf3000]

Originally Posted by EvilDragon

You don't even need to create FX chains. You can just add a plugin to user folder, or several of them, and have them sorted that way.

this !

userfolders are your friend and also help you streamline your workflow