Steinberg VST Sampler HALion 3 Operation Manual

HALionThe Browser page view 10 – 161
Browsing sample discs
When you click on the “Disc” button, HALion automatically searches for 
compatible discs in all installed or connected drive locations. This is 
particularly important for storage media using a generic sampler file for-
mat (as opposed to standard audio file formats such as .wav or .aif). All 
compatible sample CDs/DVDs found will be opened in the Browser.
The CD/DVD contents in the Browser (in this case two Akai compatible CDs have 
been...

HALion10 – 162 The Browser page view
Import
You select what to import using the Browser. This can be anything 
from a single sample to a complete partition containing any number of 
volumes. Make your selection and simply click the Import button.
•When you click Import, a file dialog opens where you can designate a 
target directory.
This folder is where the imported data will be copied to on your hard drive. Choose a 
directory, and click OK. 
The Import dialog appears, containing the following...

HALionThe Browser page view 10 – 163
When you select Import, the selected Programs/samples will be cop-
ied to disk, and a progress meter is shown. 
Let’s say that you have decided to import one single partition from a 
CD, using the options exactly as set in the figure above. This would 
end up looking something like this in the Program List:
The designated Program folder with the border is at the top. Below it, the imported 
partition folder is shown. It is open to display all volumes belonging to the...

HALion10 – 164 The Browser page view
HALion content handling
HALion uses the .hsb (“HALion Sound Bank”) format to provide an ar-
chiving format that includes both Program files (.fxp) and the sample 
files the Programs reference. The HALion content files supplied on 
the program DVD are archived using this format.
To be able to use the content, this has to be copied to your hard disk. 
This can be done automatically during the installation of HALion or 
manually at a later point in time.
To locate and...

HALionThe Browser page view 10 – 165
Archiving
You can use HALion to produce your own Programs or HALion con-
tent files. In the Global Commands context-menu (which is opened by 
right-clicking (Win)/[Ctrl]-clicking (Mac) on the background of any of 
the HALion page views) you find a number of options for saving Pro-
grams or HALion content files. 
To save one or more Programs and the samples referenced by these 
Programs as a .hsb file, proceed as follows:
1.Select the desired Program(s) in the Program...

HALion10 – 166 The Browser page view
Assigning Program Categories
You can assign Program files (.fxp) and folders containing Programs 
and/or samples to an instrument category and a sub-category. This 
makes finding instruments and related samples a much more immedi-
ate and intuitive process, as it allows you to filter the contents of the 
Browser to display only the items that match certain criteria.
Here’s how it works:
1.Select a Program file or a folder containing Programs in the Browser 
page...

HALionThe Browser page view 10 – 167
•You can also assign Categories from the other page views (except the 
Macro page view) by using the two pop-up menus located in the top 
left corner (next to the Program pop-up).
Click the top arrow to select a category and use the lower pop-up to assign a sub-
category.
4.When you have assigned a category, save the Program.
Category assignments are stored in the .fxp file.
Filtering in the Browser page view
The Browser allows you to filter the contents of a selected...

HALion10 – 168 The Browser page view
About the separate Browser window
If you click the magnifying glass icon next to the Import button, the 
HALion File Browser window opens.
Click here…
…to open the HALion File Browser window.
You can also open the HALion File Browser window from any page 
view by [Ctrl]-clicking (Win)/[Command]-clicking (Mac) the Browser 
page view button.   

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Apart from the Import button and the Auditioning section, the HALion 
File Browser window contains the same settings as the Browser page 
view, and all Category or Browser Favorites settings are mirrored in 
the HALion File Browser window. The file format button settings are 
however separate from the settings in the Browser page view.
The big advantage of having a separate Browser window is that you 
can have Browser access from all page views. This is especially...

HALion10 – 170 The Browser page view