Not a deal: but a cool thing you may already own in T-RackS 6 (Modules Manager)

[Starship Krupa]

You'll find Modules Manager in C:\Program Files\IK Multimedia\T-RackS 6. Run it and you'll likely be delighted to see what it does.

Background/tl/dr:

I had read the blurb about T-RackS 6 before I Bumble Hundled it that mentioned that they had added the ability to only install the modules you own (or wish to install). The spamming of unowned modules is a longtime complaint about T-RackS. By default, they dump every module in the line into your VST3 folder, which causes them to show up in your hosts' plug-in lists with no indication as to whether you own licenses for them or not. So two types of clutter, both hard drive and visual.

In the past I solved this by creating a "bullpen" folder where I would move unowned modules until such time as I acquired licenses for them.

I expected this ability to be part of the installer or built into IK Product Manager, but it's not. Weeks later I was doing some cleaning work on my C drive and poked around in IK Multimedia's programs folder. That's when I discovered Modules Manager.

Modules Manager allows you to see what licenses you own and choose to only install those modules.

IK seem to be still into the idea that you (or they) want to dump the unlicensed modules onto your system, and some of the design of this tool reflects that. So you need to be careful when using it.

When you first run it, select "Show All" in the left column. Then you can look over on the right and see the ones you own and the ones that are only available as trials. Toggle the button as appropriate for each one. Then click "Apply Changes" down at the bottom. This will remove unwanted modules.

What to watch out for is that the next time you run it you may get a message about how your installation doesn't match your preferences. Do NOT click yes to this dialog. If you do, it will reinstall all of the modules you previously excluded. It's a useful tool, you just have to keep an eye on it.

[Chaps]

Pretty cool. I have the T-RackS-6 Intro (free) version and ran the Modules Manager. When I opened Sonar the Plug-in Manager showed that 57 plugins were removed.

[Pat Osterday]

Yup! Ran Modules Manager the first thing after T-RackS 6 came out.  Now that I have MAX, doesn't matter as much, but nice to only enable the T-RackS plugins I actually still use!

[user905133]

Thanks for this tip. I have had one license for the Lurssen Mastering Console since 2020 and another since 2022. I made the erroneous assumption that my T-RackS 6 MAX (2025) included all of the T-RackS Modules I had licenses for.  But thanks to your tip, I saw I did not have the Lurssen Mastering EQ, I clicked some buttons in a few places, and now both the IK > User Area > My Products webpage and the Modules Manager show I have a license. 

I can't explain it; and TBH, when it comes to IK's MO, I have given up trying to understand what they do and why; just saying, "Thanks." 

Edited Tuesday at 04:45 AM by user905133
fixed typo

[MusicMan]

Great tip! Would've been handy for me prior to the last IK Group Buy!

[user905133]

7 hours ago, user905133 said:

I can't explain it; and TBH, when it comes to IK's MO, I have given up trying to understand what they do and why; just saying, "Thanks." 

• Clarifications:
  • According to the IK > T-Racks 6 > Versions comparison table, the Lurssen Mastering EQ is not included in T-Racks 6 MAX.
  • The Lurssen Mastering Console is a separate app / program.
  •  IK also lists
    • a Lurssen Mastering Suite (includes both the TR6 Mastering EQ and the Mastering Console) and
    • a Lurssen Mastering Suite MAX (includes the EQ, the Console, and T-Racks 6 MAX)

NOTE: I have no financial interests in IK products (other than having paid for various licenses) and I am neither recommending them nor denigrating them.  This is just a clarification related to my post thanking @Starship Krupa for his tip about IK's T-Racks 6 Modules Manager.

Edited Tuesday at 12:22 PM by user905133
edits

[Eusebio Rufian-Zilbermann]

Yay! The 4th iteration for managing IK product licenses, installations and purchases! Now, in addition to the website, we have

• Authorization Manager
• IK Product Manager
• Custom Shop
• Modules Manager

And they are all free! We want more!

Setting irony aside

a) Thank you Starship Krupa for mentioning about this.

b) For IK however... I'm split between being grateful for the new functionality (selectively disabling/enabling modules) and annoyed at what feels like multiple changes in direction. Is this a turf war between different developers that are spending time on shop apps instead of the actual instruments and effects? IK, please get your act together, pick a single winner and add/update functionality as needed, instead of letting different teams come up with their slightly different new version. Do we really need so many ways to manage IK products? It does make customer life more difficult (e.g., when I was evaluating the most recent GB, I couldn't understand easily which products I didn't yet have)

[Starship Krupa]

3 hours ago, Eusebio Rufian-Zilbermann said:

in addition to the website, we have

• Authorization Manager
• IK Product Manager
• Custom Shop
• Modules Manager

To paraphrase a great movie, "forget it, Eusebio, it's IK Multimedia."😁

Really, though, at least in the past year or so, Product Manager has come into its own as the unified solution it was originally intended to be. I haven't fired up Authorization Manager in a long time. I no longer have any Custom Shops installed.

So I have to hand it to them, they are cleaning up their act.

And yes, I had the same impression about there being competing interests within the company coming up with Modules Manager. The ones who pay attention to customer/forum gripes and the ones who think it's good marketing to keep cluttering your plug-in collection with unlicensed demo FX. The fact that I had to stumble across Modules Manager, that it's not even included in the IK Multimedia Start Menu folder, suggests that someone doesn't like it.

[ALC]

I think Authorization Manager and Custom Shop are only still around for older products that still have dependencies on them (AmpliTube, Miroslav?).

[Starship Krupa]

2 minutes ago, ALC said:

I think Authorization Manager and Custom Shop are only still around for older products that still have dependencies on them (AmpliTube, Miroslav?).

When I got SampleTank 4 MAX a year and change ago, Product Manager installed and authorized Miroslav Philharmonik 2 correctly. Also Syntronik 2 and SampleTron 2.

Product Manager isn't perfect, it still has a way to go, but it at least now does what it was created to do. I still ran into big problems when installing SampleTank 4 MAX. I wound up with multiple copies of some libraries and missed about 1/3 of the content I was entitled to. Part of it was that I didn't understand that so much of SampleTank 4 MAX v2 consisted of separate products and add-on content that were otherwise sold separately. I wound up writing a tutorial on installing SampleTank 4 MAX that helps ensure that all of the content was installed correctly with no duplication. When your end users have to write tutorials for each other on how to install your products, that seems like a sign that your install process needs work.

They seem to be listening regarding installation issues. Some of their moves may be baffling, but they're at least improving the installation and authorization process.