Lost all IRs & snapshot settings updating to 2.01

[guitarboyrocks]

What Happened?

I backed up all saved setlists

How do I avoid this with future updates?

What are the global settings to enable snapshots?
 

Thanks in advance

Baker

[phil_m]

Well, if you backed your setlists up, you should be able to reload them using the "import" function on the editor.

 

As far as enabling snapshots, there's nothing really to enable... There are different settings for configuring how they show up. I'm not exactly sure what you're asking.

[guitarboyrocks]

Thank you

The snapshots appear on the editor, but not on the helix footswitchs

[silverhead]

You may need to change the global Display (or Footswitches?) settings to have the snapshot names appear with the footswitches.

 

It's normal to have to reload IRs after a firmware update.

[guitarboyrocks]

Thank you.

 I need help on the global settings please.

[silverhead]

It's well documented in the manual, more thoroughly and clearly than I could do here.

[phil_m]

If you're scribble strips are completely blank, it sounds like you're in Stomp Mode in a patch in which you haven't assigned anything to any footswitches. To get to snapshot mode, press the bank up and down switches at the same time. There are also options to display snapshots in preset mode.

 

Honestly, I don't mean this as a slam, but these are all things that are covered in the manual. You would probably find the answers you're looking for much faster by taking a quick look at it...

[guitarboyrocks]

ok I figured it out. I had to change the Global Setting/Footswitches/Banks/Snapshots

 

Thanks

[guitarboyrocks]

Any suggestions on a faster way to reload IRs after an update?  70 IRs @ 9clicks each = lots of downtime?

Do we have to reset the Global Setting back to Snapshots after each update?

[phil_m]

Any suggestions on a faster way to reload IRs after an update?  70 IRs @ 9clicks each = lots of downtime?

Do we have to reset the Global Setting back to Snapshots after each update?

 

Wow, 9 clicks? Are you going through the folder tree each time?

 

You can drag and drop the IR files directly into the IR panel in the editor. If you want to do it really fast, you can rename your IRs with a prefix - 001..., 002..., 003, etc. and you can select them all at the same time and drag and drop them into that panel, and they'll all be in order. The trick is just numbering them per the slot you want them in.

[guitarboyrocks]

Awesome!! thank you

[guitarboyrocks]

ok I figured it out. I had to change the Global Setting/Footswitches/Banks/Snapshots

 

Thanks

 with your help siverhead ;-)

 

You may need to change the global Display (or Footswitches?) settings to have the snapshot names appear with the footswitches.

 

It's normal to have to reload IRs after a firmware update.

 

ha ha thank you 

[jbutler]

I have a similar problem, after 2.01 update all my IRs are gone.

Of course I still have them in a few folders on my desktop, but a big mess and in the wrong order.

I had assumed that saving a bundle before the update would also save my IRs, or at least the ones that were actively being used in my presets, since I did not lose them when I upgraded to 2.0.

But all my restored presets are back with blank IRs.

Any suggestions to getting them back, or at least how to save the IRs properly for my next FW update?

So saving bundles only saves presets, not IRs, correct?

thx in advance

[HonestOpinion]

I have a similar problem, after 2.01 update all my IRs are gone.

Of course I still have them in a few folders on my desktop, but a big mess and in the wrong order.

I had assumed that saving a bundle before the update would also save my IRs, or at least the ones that were actively being used in my presets, since I did not lose them when I upgraded to 2.0.

But all my restored presets are back with blank IRs.

Any suggestions to getting them back, or at least how to save the IRs properly for my next FW update?

So saving bundles only saves presets, not IRs, correct?

thx in advance

 

The best method at the moment for importing IRs to the Helix is to prefix each IR with ascending numbers (01, 02, 03, etc.). This will ensure you can always restore them to the same IR slot so your presets will always point to the correct IR. There are several freeware programs that can number them for you and they are listed in another topic on the forum.  Next time you upgrade your Helix make sure you first export your IRs separately from the presets and then restore the IRs to the corresponding slots. Once they are numbered properly you can import/restore them all at one time.

 

Link to topic containing freeware numbering apps and utilities:

http://line6.com/support/topic/19864-numbered-prefix-script-and-utilities-to-help-with-ir-backups/?hl=numbering&do=findComment&comment=149767

[zooey]

The best method at the moment for importing IRs to the Helix is to prefix each IR with ascending numbers (01, 02, 03, etc.). This will ensure you can always restore them to the same IR slot so your presets will always point to the correct IR.

I've done this, and unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. Helix ignores the file system filename in some situations. I wish I could be more positive as to exactly when and more importantly, how to work around it, but no yet. I know that happens for instance with all of roscoe5's (great) IRs that I've tried.

 

My best guess at this point is that if it's ever been imported into Helix, named there, then exported, the name is embedded in the file content, and the file system name gets ignored. It's a shame, quite inconvenient, means you have to do the numbering in Helix itself, which has no bulk renaming tools.

 

So try a renaming tool for sure, but make sure to check what actually happened on import -- whether your IRs are in the same order in Helix that they were in the file system, and if they still have their numbered prefixes. If not, only solution I know of is to reorder them lke you want in Helix, number them manually  there, then export them. The export files should have the names you gave them in Helix.

 

I hope all of this improves with future updates. Not sure if it's an editor thing,the firmware itself. or maybe both, but we need a better way to manage this.

[HonestOpinion]

I've done this, and unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. Helix ignores the file system filename in some situations. I wish I could be more positive as to exactly when and more importantly, how to work around it, but no yet. I know that happens for instance with all of roscoe5's (great) IRs that I've tried.

 

...

 

Helix ALWAYS ignores the IRs filename during the import process. You are not relying on Helix to match up the IR slot and the filename. You are simply relying on it to load the IRs in the order they appear in your computer's directory. If the IR names are prefixed numerically from say, 1 to 100, then you can sort them that way on the computer and bulk load them into the Helix, starting at IR slot 1. They will successively load in whatever order they appear in your computer's directory.

 

As long as your numbering scheme matches your slot numbers, the order is easy to check after loading.  I find prefixing the IRs numerically works perfectly. Just make sure you sort the IRs by number in the file directory on your PC before the import and when you are finished importing check that for instance "01_Marshall4x12Green" matches IR slot 1, "02_VoxBlue" matches IR slot 2 and so on. You can visually inspect your IRs to make sure their prefix numbers match their slot numbers after the import. I have never had an issue doing it this way and have always been able to bulk import them after numbering in the correct order.

 

Until L6 delivers a superior method to manage large numbers of IRs the only dependable method I know of to ensure your IRs go back to the same slots when being restored is to prefix their names numerically on your computer, sort them accordingly and then load them to the corresponding IR slots on the Helix.

[duncann]

If you have a limited amount of IRs you use, the current system is fine and not really a big deal.

 

But it does become a problem with larger amounts. I would recommend completely bypassing the system currently in place because it does seem unpredictable sometimes (maybe they have since fixed the unpredictability since I noticed it a long time ago). Instead, rely on the original IR files and an external file manager; one that would allow tagging each file with something, for example a simple number. Now just sort based on this tag. Highlight the starting location in the Helix app and use the import function. In the dialog that pops up select the first in your sorted list you just made, and then shift-click the last. That's it.

[HonestOpinion]

If you have a limited amount of IRs you use, the current system is fine and not really a big deal.

 

But it does become a problem with larger amounts. I would recommend completely bypassing the system currently in place because it does seem unpredictable sometimes (maybe they have since fixed the unpredictability since I noticed it a long time ago). Instead, rely on the original IR files and an external file manager; one that would allow tagging each file with something, for example a simple number. Now just sort based on this tag. Highlight the starting location in the Helix app and use the import function. In the dialog that pops up select the first in your sorted list you just made, and then shift-click the last. That's it.

 

Exactly! Just make sure to order the IRs by filename on the computer first so that they go in sequence from say 1 to 100.  Remember, whatever order they are in the computer's directory is the order they will bulk import into Helix. If you have gaps in your numbering sequence you will have to do multiple loads. The Helix does not care what number you used as a prefix, it is just loading the presets one after the other in contiguous IR slots, if there is a gap in your numbering, Helix will simply load that IR in the next available slot, not a slot that necessarily matches the IR name's prefix number.

[zooey]

Helix ALWAYS ignores the IRs filename during the import process.

Hmmm, not my experience. In the file system in my computer, I bulk prefixed the filenames of all the IRs I wanted to load, which came from several different sources, and the only ones that DIDN'T have the prefix when they landed in Helix were roscoe5's. All the others did.

 

Not sure if this behavior has changed historically or what.

[HonestOpinion]

Hmmm, not my experience. In the file system in my computer, I bulk prefixed the filenames of all the IRs I wanted to load, which came from several different sources, and the only ones that DIDN'T have the prefix when they landed in Helix were roscoe5's. All the others did.

 

Not sure if this behavior has changed historically or what.

 

Sounds like perhaps the prefixing on the computer did not take for Roscoe5's filenames. When you looked at his IRs on your computer did they have a numerical prefix? Without that there is no way to reliably bulk load them in the same order every time. If necessary I would just manually prefix them. The reply to Duncann above describes the IR bulk load behavior on the Helix and as far as I know it has been the same since the Helix was first released.

 

http://line6.com/support/topic/21950-lost-all-irs-snapshot-settings-updating-to-201/?p=167449

[duncann]

I should clarify my above procedure a bit when using a third party file manager. Once you have the IRs sorted in the order you want them based on a tag or other sorting criteria, you'll have to then bulk rename them based on this criteria so that that order can be maintained in the OS's native file manager because when using the Helix app's import function the dialog that pops up uses the OS's native file management, and it's much easier to just sort by name when importing. Be aware though that when using a number prefix, when importing, the Helix app discards this prefix from the name, or it's supposed to. But it doesn't for all them. The order will be correct though. It seems nonsensical.

 

Alternately, you could manually select the order by using the Helix app's import function and then ctrl-click each IR file in the oder you want them.

 

Dragging and dropping a block of IRs from the OS's (Windows 10) native file manager and at least one third-party manager (xyplorer), screws up the order.

 

Bottom line, the only way I have found to have a predictable order is using the Helix app's import function and using shift- or ctrl-click.

[BigRalphN]

I do need to improve my IR process. I didn't worry for a long time. I just had a few presets I made that used a few. I am starting to get more that I use though and I will get Glenn Delaunes new Artist stuff the day they come out so I need to fix it up. It is starting to be a pain . Drag and drop was something I hadn't tried.

[HonestOpinion]

.... Be aware though that when using a number prefix, when importing, the Helix app discards this prefix from the name, or it's supposed to. But it doesn't for all them. The order will be correct though. It seems nonsensical.

 

...

 

I have never seen the Helix "discard the prefix from the name" on any IR. My IRs always maintain their numerical prefix no matter how many times I import or export them. Numerical prefixes work fine, at least on my Helix. This is the first I have heard of someone reporting the prefix being stripped from the filename. The names do get shortened at the tail end if they are too long. What makes you think the Helix "is supposed" to discard the prefix number? Is that documented somewhere?

 

Now that I think about it, is this the same behavior zooey saw with Roscoe's IRs?  If so I wonder if there is some character in the filename or something peculiar about certain IRs that causes the Helix to strip the prefix upon import. I have never witnessed this with any of the presets I have used and they have come from a multitude of sources.

[zooey]

I should clarify my above procedure a bit when using a third party file manager. Once you have the IRs sorted in the order you want them based on a tag or other sorting criteria, you'll have to then bulk rename them based on this criteria so that that order can be maintained in the OS's native file manager because when using the Helix app's import function the dialog that pops up uses the OS's native file management, and it's much easier to just sort by name when importing. Be aware though that when using a number prefix, when importing, the Helix app discards this prefix from the name, or it's supposed to. But it doesn't for all them. The order will be correct though. It seems nonsensical.

 

Alternately, you could manually select the order by using the Helix app's import function and then ctrl-click each IR file in the oder you want them.

 

Dragging and dropping a block of IRs from the OS's (Windows 10) native file manager and at least one third-party manager (xyplorer), screws up the order.

 

Bottom line, the only way I have found to have a predictable order is using the Helix app's import function and using shift- or ctrl-click.

I've always applied the prefix in the file system, sorted by name, then dragged the IRs I wanted from the file system into the editor, starting at the desired location. I haven't had problems with the actual order in Helix, as I recall, but we're saying the same thing about the name prefix getting discarded.

 

Don't know where the idea that "it's supposed to" came from. More directly, I don't know if Line 6 considers that a bug or a feature, but it makes absolutely no sense to me. I need the prefixes in Helix, so they're there when I export them and want to import them again, and so it's easy to see what's on my computer vs what's in Helix.

 

I don't use IRs that often, yet, but it's clearly a huge extension point for Helix, and there are a lot of them out there that people like, so I'm trying to have a handle on how to manage them. This behavior sure doesn't help, and I hope it gets revisited soon.

 

There's an Ideascale item suggesting automatic numbering, but it doesn't seem complete to me, unless I misunderstood. Take a look, vote and/or suggest there. Really hope something like that happens, or at least stop stripping an existing filename prefix.

[duncann]

I don't think the Helix app discarding a numbered prefix is documented anywhere. I just kind of inferred it was intentional behavior because it does happen sometimes. It wouldn't decide to do that all on it's own initiative. It could be something to do with CC128 (page 58 of the manual)! :lol:

 

I'm no programmer, but it almost seems like Helix is internally keeping track of IR names somehow, or cached, and when importing a new one, the cache, or other means of tracking, isn't cleared first. I know that Helix has a clear function, even for multiple IRs at a time, and it does indeed clear what's displayed in the interface, but even that function does not seem to clear what's going on in the background. Just a thought.

[HonestOpinion]

... It could be something to do with CC128 (page 58 of the manual)! :lol:

 

...

 

LOL, assume you are referring to the quote below in the newer versions of the manual, even funnier for people who have the older manual as there is no page 58 in the old manual (Rev. C), it ends at page # 56, same quote in the new manual though  :D

 

"128 0-63: Oh;        64-127: Nooo Helix achieves self-awareness and starts poking fun of that face you make during the solo"