Hi, I just recently got into Kontakt, I got 611r4e and downloaded about 30 libraries. everything works well enough and I batch resave every library after it's loaded. Some libraries don't have pics nicnt I think they're called so I just load them in the browser window no problem. I would like to have pictures for all the libraries but it seems a little complicated, even when I search for the ones I need I dont really get how the whole thing works with the pics in the thread and it's not easy to search for them. The only time they work for me is if they come with the library from the start and even then sometimes they dont work, for example Native instruments symphony strings comes with a nict but it doesn't work even after updating data and using Add Library, the library tells me its been added and will show after restart but still no pic shows so I just load it in the browser and it works. So I was thinking of giving up on the whole pics thing and maybe just always load them from the browser window.

My question is, are the pics just for aesthetics? Is there any loss of functionality if I just always load from browser area?

Thanks in advance.

 

I'm a little confused as to what you are calling pictures. If you open a properly working library, on the left you have the wallpaper. On the right, you have the GUI. The wallpapers on the left are simply for aesthetics. I personally do not use them because I have my libraries grouped by categories. The GUI, on the other hand, is a must-have. That is where you will be tweaking your Kontakt instrument. Sometimes they need to be moved to the right location in order to show up.

 

Thank you Pirate, I was using the wrong terminology calling wallpapers "pictures" but you answered my question anyway, since everything works well I'm not going to waste time trying to get wallpapers for all the libraries I'll just hide the wallpaper area load it in the browser and keep it moving. While I'm here just want to give you a big thanks for everything you do. You guys made a lot of my software dreams come true.

 

Good idea about grouping them by categories too!

 

This is much too broad a subject to address in a single answer, and there are some great online resources to walk you through it, notably tutorials posted by Introninja, who has been very generous in sharing his deep understanding of everything Kontakt. There are a few things you should know from the start:

You need to distinguish between libs whose audio files are compiled in tomes (nkx) - thus copy-protected - and those whose audio files are stored individually as wav or ncw files - thus not protected. Protected libs can only be used by importing them into the libraries tab (the one with pictures). To appear there they must have a unique SNPID, the number Kontakt uses to manage libraries and other parts of its universe. For commercial (protected) libs, this number, along with its wallpaper image, is usually embedded in the tomes and other files that make up the lib, and these SNPIDs are always unique. But it's also possible make other libs appear in the libraries tab by adding a separate document, the nicnt file, which must be formatted in a very precise way in order to function properly, and contains, among other information, the SNPID. Some protected libs are packaged with separate nicnt files, and these too are always fine and have unique SNPIDs. But some users prefer to have their unprotected libs appear in the libraries tab as well, so many people have created nicnt and wallpaper files specific to these libraries. Many of these are fine to use, but it's critical to be careful: since these libs didn't ship with a SNPID, one is being assigned to them, and in some cases that SNPID has already been used by another lib. This will not cause problems until you attempt to load a second lib that uses the same SNPID, when it will refuse to load, and may disable or even corrupt the other lib. Repairing this damage often involves reloading libs from the original RAR files, only after purging any reference to the lib from the Service Centre, the global prefs and the user prefs. Ya, it's a pain in the ass.

I have arrived at the point where I use the libraries tab only for libs I can't use any other way, loading instruments from other libs through the file browser. This is both more stable and faster.

 

Do you mean you just drag and drop the *.nki file of your instrument directly in Kontakt ?

 

Once you have them grouped by category, all you need is the custom nicnt and wallpaper for that group. I am using the wallpapers that @NYCGRIFF made for another member. That helped me defined my own catgories and saved me from trying to find wallpapers for the custom nicnt groups. If you want I can send you the complete nicnt for each group. This is what they look like. On the image on the left, you have some of the groups. On the image on the right you have an example of all the libraries within one of those groups (Pianos).

 

Yes, either that or through Kontakt's Files tab or the Quick-Load function. Loaded instruments display the same regardless of how they're loaded, it's just the overall library wallpaper (in the Libraries tab) you don't see unless they're installed there.

 

ok Frubbs, thanks a lot for your help !

 

NP