Managing Factory Packs and ALP Files

[Clint Goss]

In a quandary about how to manage Ableton's Factory Packs ...

I've got 3 machines with Ableton 12 Suite (a Studio desktop, a Road Laptop, and a Road backup laptop) plus a Push 3. All need to be on the same version of Ableton, and all need to have the same version of all Factory Packs.

Because of this, I have chosen to download .ALP files for each factory pack and install each of them on each machine. The downloaded .ALP files are shared between hosts via Dropbox. However, my storage location for Factory Packs (Preferences => Library => Content Locations => Installation Folder for Packs) is local to each machine (i.e. not shared by Dropbox). As long as I install each new round of downloaded .ALP files the same way on each machine, all machines should be running identical versions. This also allows me to re-install a Factory pack from the original .ALP file, if needed.

Problem 1 is that I'm not getting the benefit of Live's "Update" process for Factory Packs - I have to manage versioning and updates myself.

Problem 2 is that, to upgrade my Factory Packs, I have to re-download all .ALP files - I can't easily tell what version they are ...

Problem 3 is that it's not clear when an update has been made. For example, I originally installed GrandPiano_r58430_v9.3.alp in Live 11 Suite, and the current version is GrandPiano_r60066_v9.3.alp - Same Version (v9.3) but different "R number" and different file size.

Immediate question: What are the "R numbers" and should I update this package?

More general question: Is there a better way of accomplishing what I need?

[Rivanni]

You can make your life much easier by using Live's install and update function.
At the bottom of the Packs section, you will find New packs and Updates when available. (If you don't see anything listed, you are up to date. When you delete a pack, it will appear as a new pack at the bottom.)
You can download and install the packs from there.

If you must install many packs, do the following:
Shift-select all packs and click one of the download buttons. All packs will be downloaded. 
After all packs are downloaded, Shift-select again, but now click one of the install buttons. 
All packs will be installed one after another without user interference.

Instead of repeating these steps on the other machine, you could also copy the contents of the Factory Packs folder to the Factory Packs folder on the other machine.


The R numbers are revision numbers, a kind of build numbers. The higher, the newer. But you won't see those anymore if you use the method above.


Edit: There is one exception. Free Ableton packs are not listed in Live's browser. So you need to install those using the downloaded .alp files.

[chapelier fou]

As always, really nice advice and knowledge @Rivanni !

[Clint Goss]

You can make your life much easier by using Live's install and update function. ...

Extremely helpful! Thanks so much (and I wish this forum had a [Thumbs Up] button).

So ... your description seems to imply that I could store Factory Packs in a folder that is shadowed by Dropbox ... Is that correct? A newly added or updated Factory Pack would simply appear in Ableton on my other machines?

There is one exception. Free Ableton packs are not listed in Live's browser. So you need to install those using the downloaded .alp files.

... and I am back to managing FAPs (Free Ableton Packs) by my "download ALPs, install, and occasionally check for updates" process that I am currently using for All Ableton Packs. Well, they are Free ... as in Freely of Charge and also "Free Of being Managed in an Orderly fashion" (FOMO).

[Rivanni]

You can make your life much easier by using Live's install and update function. ...

Extremely helpful! Thanks so much (and I wish this forum had a [Thumbs Up] button).

So ... your description seems to imply that I could store Factory Packs in a folder that is shadowed by Dropbox ... Is that correct? A newly added or updated Factory Pack would simply appear in Ableton on my other machines?

Yes.
I copy all Factory Packs from my Mac to my NAS. When I'm on my Windows machine, I synchronize the folder on my NAS with the one on my PC so that it is also up to date. This is a one-way sync.
I don't know if you can set up a one-way sync in Dropbox. If not, problems can arise when files are copied and deleted on both sides.

There is one exception. Free Ableton packs are not listed in Live's browser. So you need to install those using the downloaded .alp files.

... and I am back to managing FAPs (Free Ableton Packs) by my "download ALPs, install, and occasionally check for updates" process that I am currently using for All Ableton Packs. Well, they are Free ... as in Freely of Charge and also "Free Of being Managed in an Orderly fashion" (FOMO).

It's not that bad. Free packs hardly receive any updates.
I just checked, and of the 11 free packs I downloaded two years ago, only one received an update in the past two years. This is probably because it is a Max-heavy pack (StrayCats Collection by MaxforCats, and I see that the bugs I reported are still not fixed).
But yes, you have to check once in a while to know this. The same applies to third-party packs.
Luckily, the Ableton packs have these R numbers, so you can quickly check whether a pack is newer. Just keep a folder with the downloaded free packs to compare next year or so.

[Clint Goss]

A-Triple-Plus.
All is right with the world!

[102455]

All packs will be installed one after another without user interference

Now I didn't know that! I always thought it was a "one at a time" deal.

Can something similar be done on the Push standalone? I know people were moaning about installing there.

[Clint Goss]

There is one exception. Free Ableton packs are not listed in Live's browser. So you need to install those using the downloaded .alp files.

In the round of package I just completed, it seems that the Free Ableton Packs were included in the list of package updates I was offered ...

[Rivanni]

There is one exception. Free Ableton packs are not listed in Live's browser. So you need to install those using the downloaded .alp files.

In the round of package I just completed, it seems that the Free Ableton Packs were included in the list of package updates I was offered ...

Okay, that's strange.
Ableton told me free packs can't be installed this way, so I'm surprised it worked for you.

It doesn't happen here.
The one update that was available for me was not listed in the Packs section of the browser. I only found out after doing a manual check because of this topic.

When I delete a free pack from Live's browser, it is not available as a download. Deleted paid packs always immediately appear as a new pack.

[Clint Goss]

I'm on 12.0.2.

The mystery continues ...