I have about 15 GB of presets for the Vital VST synth stored on a large secondary drive. Vital expects them to be in a specific folder on my C: drive, and I can't change that location in the program. My 256 GB C: drive is already crowded with Windows, applications, configuration files, drivers, and updates, so I'd rather keep the presets on the secondary drive without changing my system drive. Is there a way to make the expected folder on C: point to the actual folder on the other drive so Vital thinks the files are still in the usual location?
3 Answers
Before using links, check whether Vital supports changing its content path through an initialization file or registry setting. If it does, that would be cleaner. If the location is hardcoded, a junction or symbolic link is the appropriate workaround. A junction is generally intended for directories, while a symbolic link can also target individual files.
Use a symbolic link, or more specifically a directory junction if you’re linking an entire folder. Windows can make the folder on C: redirect to the matching folder on your other drive, so the program continues using its expected path while the files remain elsewhere.
For a folder, a junction is usually the straightforward option. Move the preset folder to the secondary drive, then create a junction at the original C: drive location pointing to the new folder. In an elevated Command Prompt, the command would look like: mklink /J "C:ExpectedPresetFolder" "D:StoredPresetFolder". Replace both paths with the actual locations. Make sure the original folder is moved or renamed first, and close Vital while making the change.
That sounds like exactly what I need. I’ll try setting it up when I’m back at my computer.