Plugins: your plugin list

Shadow Rack never scans your whole plugin folder by itself and never loads anything you didn't ask for. You pick the plugins you want once, here, and only those show up when you add a plugin to a channel. Open it with Setup > Plugins, Plugin > My plugins... (⌘⇧P) or MANAGE PLUGINS in the plugin list.

The first time Shadow Rack starts with Rack FX and an empty list, it opens on this page, so it's clear where plugins come from.

12345678

1. 1Search: filters both lists by name, maker, category or file
2. 2Sharp plugins on monitors without Retina (on by default)
3. 3INSTALLED ON THIS MAC: every VST3 file found on the Mac
4. 4MY PLUGINS: the ones offered when you add a plugin
5. 5ADD SELECTED (or double-click, or Enter)
6. 6SHOW REAL NAMES: look inside every file, in the background
7. 7REFRESH: look for newly installed plugins
8. 8REMOVE SELECTED and REMOVE ALL

Installed on this Mac#

The left list shows every VST3 file in the Mac's standard plugin folders (/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 and the same folder in your user Library). Finding them loads nothing – the files are only listed:

• A file nobody has looked inside yet shows its file name and VST3 FILE.
• A checked file shows the real plugin name and MAKER / CATEGORY, for example FABFILTER / DYNAMICS.
• Tags on the right: ADDED (already in your list), CHECKING, FAILED (Could not be loaded).

SHOW REAL NAMES looks inside every unchecked file, in the background, so the list shows proper names (Checking 12 files in the background). REFRESH looks for plugins installed since you opened the page.

Instruments are hidden; tick Show instruments to see them. Audio Units are not offered here – almost every plugin also exists as VST3.

Adding plugins#

Select one or more on the left (Cmd-click and Shift-click work) and press ADD SELECTED, double-click, or press Enter.

Each file you add that hasn't been checked yet is first opened in a separate helper process. If the plugin crashes or hangs there, only the helper goes down – Shadow Rack doesn't notice. You see:

• Checking 3 plugins - they'll appear in My plugins in a moment, and a line at the bottom: Checking 1 / 3 ...
• When it's done, the plugin appears in My plugins. A file that crashed, hung or holds nothing this Mac can run is marked FAILED: ... could not be loaded (it crashed, hung, or holds no plugin this Mac can run) - it's marked FAILED.

Up to four files are checked at once. A file gets 90 seconds, a Waves WaveShell ten minutes.

Already-checked plugins go into the list at once (Added 2 plugins).

My plugins#

The right list is what the plugin list offers when you add a plugin to a channel (adding plugins). Each row shows the name, MAKER / CATEGORY and its format tag.

• REMOVE SELECTED (or Delete) takes plugins off your list: Removed 2 from your list.
• REMOVE ALL asks first: Remove all plugins from your list? – They stay installed on the Mac and in your sessions - they just won't be offered when adding plugins.

Removing never uninstalls anything and never touches a session: channels that use the plugin keep it.

When a plugin is updated (Waves puts new shells next to the old ones), Shadow Rack opens it from the newest file that has it, and My plugins remembers the new place.

Sharp plugins on monitors without Retina#

Many plugins (Waves especially) have a fixed size and are zoomed by Shadow Rack to fit the panel. With this switch on, they draw with their high-resolution graphics, so they stay sharp when zoomed and on a non-Retina monitor. It's on by default and takes effect when Shadow Rack starts again (Takes effect when Shadow Rack starts again). Switch it off only if a plugin draws wrongly with it.

Good to know#

• Nothing here loads a plugin into the rack. Plugins only run once you put them on a channel.
• A FAILED file is not checked again by SHOW REAL NAMES. Updated the plugin? Select the file and press ADD SELECTED: it's checked again, and if it opens now, it goes in.
• The list, the favourites and what's been checked live in Shadow Rack's settings file (where files live).