To search for Plug-Ins and insert them in the first available insert slot of the currently selected track, just press Command-P.

You can also press the Quick Key - which is the left or right 'Control' key by default - when the cursor is on an empty insert slot.

You can search by Plug-In name, manufacturer or type (category).

You can use a custom key command to search for Patches and Channel Strip Settings. This key command can be used anywhere in Logic Pro.

After selecting a Patch or Channel Strip Setting, PlugTools will create a new track with the selected Patch or Channel Strip Setting.

You can also replace the Patch or Channel Strip Setting of an existing track by pressing the Quick Key (Control) when the cursor is on the Setting slot of a track.

To search for a track in Logic Pro by its name, use the 'Search Tracks' custom key command.

You can also press its Quick Key when the cursor is in the empty area above the first track (between the track create buttons and the global tracks button).

Note that PlugTools can only search for tracks that are not hidden or in collapsed stacks.

In Logic Pro, I/O (input and output) labels are the names of inputs, outputs and busses, that appear in tracks.

You can open the I/O Labels window in Logic Pro to change these names. For instance, if you have a Neve preamp on Input 1 of your interface, you could set the name of Input 1 in Logic Pro to 'Neve 1'. Or if your project has a reverb on Bus 1, you could rename it to 'Reverb'. That way, this input and bus will have a meaningful name in the project.

The issue with I/O Labels is that they are stored on a global level, which means they are fixed for every Logic Pro project you open, of for every audio interface you connect to your system. So, while in one project you may have a reverb on Bus 1, in another project this might be a delay.

Or if you are on the road, Input 1 might be your macbook microphone instead of a Neve preamp.

So instead having one global set of I/O Labels, it would be much more convenient if you could switch between presets, and this exactly what you can do with the PlugTools I/O Labels Manager.

Start by opening the I/O Labels Manager window from the PlugTools drop down menu, or with the 'I/O Labels...' key command.

To create a new preset from the current I/O labels in Logic Pro, click the '+' button. PlugTools will now switch to Logic Pro, and scan all the I/O labels and create a new preset.

Whenever you modify the I/O labels in Logic Pro, you can now store them as a different preset with PlugTools.

To apply a preset, simply select it from the Presets list, and click 'Apply'. PlugTools will now apply the names of the I/O labels in the preset to the I/O labels in Logic Pro.

You can create as many presets as you like. Common situations would be I/O labels for different audio interfaces, or for Logic Pro project templates with custom routing or preloaded effect on busses.

The Project Scanner can scan your system for Logic Pro projects. For each project, it will list which Plug-Ins it contains. It will also indicate if project contain Plug-Ins that are not installed on your system.

To open the Project Scanner, select 'Project Scanner...' from the PlugTools drop-down menu, or use the 'Project Scanner...' key command.

To add a new folder, click the '+' button. Once added, PlugTools will scan the folder and all its subfolders for Logic Pro projects.

When it has finished, any found Logic Project is listed, together with the Plug-Ins it contains.

Plug-Ins that are not installed on your system are displayed in red.

Note that if the content of the folder changes after you scanned it, you need to manually rescan the folder.

If PlugTools can't find your Plug-Ins in its online database, it will not categorise them. The database is continuously updated, and PlugTools will automatically update the categorisation daily.

If you want to change or assign categories manually, open the Plug-Ins window of PlugTools. You can now select one or more Plug-Ins and change the categories in the right panel.

Favourite Plug-Ins, Patches or Track Icons can be managed inside the search window. Just click the star button to mark a Plug-In, Patch or Track Icon as favourite. It will then appear in the Favourites tab. Simply click the star button again to remove it from the Favourites.

Favourites can be reordered by dragging them to any favourite slot, or in between slots.

You can assign keyboard shortcuts to Plug-Ins to have them inserted in the first available insert slot in the Inspector instantly.

Open the Plug-Ins window from the drop down menu of PlugTools in the Finder task bar.

Select a Plug-In and press the 'Learn' button, and press a keyboard shortcut. The shortcut is now assigned to the Plug-In. If the shortcut was assigned to another Plug-In, it will be removed from that Plug-In.

Note: these shortcuts override any Logic Pro keyboard shortcuts, so make sure they don't overlap any Logic Pro shortcut you are using.

The shortcuts are stored in the preferences of PlugSearch. If you would like to transfer these to another system, copy this file:

~/Library/Preferences/com.speakerfood.PlugSearch

You can assign a single modifier key as the Quick Key for certain actions. Allowed modifier keys are Control or Command.

Instead of having to press a shortcut (modifier plus character), you only need to press the Quick Key when the cursor is on a specific area in Logic Pro, which can speed up your workflow even more.

For instance, you only need to press 'Control' when the cursor is at a Plug-In insert slot to trigger Plug-In search.

To have PlugTools automatically hide UAD Plug-Ins that are not licensed, follow these steps:

• Open the 'Plug-Ins' window from the PlugTools menu
• Click the action menu in the top right, and choose 'Set UAD Visibility'

You will now be guided through the steps, and PlugTools will hide UAD Plug-Ins that are not licensed.

You can use these key commands when any search window is open:

• Arrow keys: basic navigation
• Enter: select the item
• Control: navigate through the different views
• Option: toggle Auto or Manual mode
• Command: jump to the Favourites view
• Escape: close window

PlugTools runs as a background application in the Finder's task bar. You can find its icon in the top right. Click the icon and select 'Quit' from the drop-down menu.

Install PlugTools by unpacking the downloaded .zip file. Then double-click the installer and run it. PlugTools will be installed in your Apps folder.

To uninstall PlugTools, follow these steps:

• Delete PlugTools from the log-in items in the System Preferences
• Delete 'PlugTools' in the Apps folder
• Delete the folder
  ~/Library/Application Support/PlugTools
• Delete the preference file ~/Library/Preferences/com.speakerfood.PlugTools (if present)

Yes. When you install PlugTools, it will import the PlugSearch and GainControl preferences and remove them from the log-in items, but you can still run both.

Please note that running PlugSearch/GainControl and PlugTools as the same time will lead to unpredictable behaviour.

You can download the latest version from the downloads page.

First, do not Control-click or Command-click, just press Control or use the custom key command (Command-P by default).

If the PlugTools search window still does not appear when you press control or option on an empty insert slot, please follow these steps:

• Check if you have the latest version of PlugTools installed. Update notifications are automatically sent.
• Make sure your are running Logic Pro version 10.5 or up and it is installed in the Applications folder (not in any sub folder)
• Make sure PlugTools is running. It's icon should be visible in the top right of the system menu-bar. PlugTools is a standalone application, not a Plug-in.
• Check that PlugTools is not Paused
• Remove PlugTools from the Accessibility list in the System Preferences, restart your computer, and open PlugTools again.
• Control and Command don't work when you are working with Remote Desktop. You can use a custom key-command instead.

If PlugTools can't find a Plug-In in Logic Pro's Plug-In menu, check that:

• The Plug-In is available in the channel mode of the insert slot
• The Plug-In is deactivated in Logic's Plug-In Manager. If it is, you can open PlugTools Plug-Ins window and hide the Plug-In from the results
• The Plug-In is unavailable in Logic because it didn't pass Audio Unit validation. You can check this in Logic's Plug-In Manager

PlugTools scans available Plug-ins on your system when it opens. 

If you installed or removed Plug-ins, you can force a rescan in the Preferences of PlugTools, or from the rescan button in the PlugTools Plug-In search window.

Note that some Plug-Ins are only registered by MacOS after a restart, even if they are recognised by Logic Pro. So if you see the Plug-In in Logic Pro, but not in PlugTools, please perform a restart.

Note: if you moved or renamed the following folder: 

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components,

your system will not have a correct registry of your installed components. A restart will fix this.

PlugTools' automatic categorisation will not work for Plug-ins you categorised with Auganiser, as Auganiser changes the manufacturer name in the Plug-In component file on your system.

To have PlugTools respond to key commands triggered by MetaGrid, set the 'Target Application for Macros' to 'Desktop' in MetaGrid.

You can trigger Plug-Ins, Patches or PlugTools key commands using MIDI Continuous Control messages (CC) sent by any hardware or software MIDI application.

Plug-Ins will be inserted in the first available slot of the currently selected track in Logic Pro.

You map MIDI CC messages to Plug-Ins, Patches and PlugTools Action using Control Grids.

A MIDI CC message is defined by:

• CC Number (0-127)
• MIDI Channel (1-16)
• CC Value (0-127)
  

In PlugTools, you can create multiple Control Grids. Each Control Grids responds to a specific CC Number and MIDI Channel. By default, the first empty Control Grid responds to CC Number 110 on MIDI Channel 1.

Each Control Grid contains 127 cells, where each cell corresponds to a CC value.

So, cell 1 in the default Control Grid will respond to:

MIDI CC Number: 110
MIDI Channel: 1
CC Value: 1

And cell 2 responds to CC Value 2, cell 3 to CC Value 3, and so on.

To define your own Control Grids, follow these steps:

• Open the Control Grids window from the PlugTools drop down menu in the Finder task bar. You can also assign a key command for 'Open Control Grids Window'
• Select the MIDI input port in the MIDI input drop down menu. PlugTools will only listen on this port for compatible MIDI CC messages.
• Click the 'plus' button in the bottom left to create a new grid
• Name the Grid, and assign a MIDI CC Number and MIDI Channel
• You can now drag Plug-Ins, Patches and Key Commands from the right pane to the grid (you can drag multiple items at the same time)
• You can rearrange items in the Control Grid by dragging
• Delete an item by selecting it and pressing the delete key

When you enable the 'Trigger' button in the Control Grids window, clicking an item in the Control Grid will trigger the action as if it was triggered by MIDI.

You can export and import Control Grids if you want to use them on another system, or for backup purposes. Use the import and export buttons in the top right of the window.

You can add and delete Control Grids by using the plus and minus buttons at the bottom of the Control Grids table on the left in the window.