User Manual

9.10
This guide uses the terms VST instrument, VSTi, and Library synonymously to refer to third-party VST-based software that
generates instrument sounds as a plug-in to audio applications such as Notion. To have these Libraries directly respond
from your written notation, a set of rules (or preset) needs to be created. This preset maps out each notated element in
the score to the corresponding sound in the Library.
Each VST works dierently - there are no standards in command sets so the commands used in one will not work for
another. And there are a lot of libraries out there. But we have some solutions...
1. Notion Built-in Presets
To save you signicant time and trouble, we provide a selection of VST Instrument presets for the industry’s most popular
sound libraries, including Vienna Symphonic Library, Garritan Personal Orchestra and others. With any of our presets, you
can very quickly assign a VST Instrument to a sta and write for it immediately as if it were one of Notion’s own built-in
instruments. No programming involved. Presets take care of converting common articulation and performance
techniques into commands the dierent VSTis use. And you can copy and paste notation or SequencerStaff information
across instrument families – even across dierent Libraries.
You must enable the VST’s plug-in in the Plug-in Manager for the library to appear as an option in Score Setup.
2. Make your own presets
You can use Notion’s Rules Editor to quickly build up a preset for a library you own - see 9.13 for more info. Or, if you’re
happy writing directly to XML, you can do so, without needing the Rules Editor interface.
3. Share with Community Presets!
We’ve created a space on GitHub here: https://github.com/notionmusic/presets
Here you can log in, and:
• Upload and share presets you have created
• Search and download any presets you need
• Collaborate on xes and improvements to your presets
• Maintain / adapt Notion’s built-in presets
Further documentation on the Community Presets, and custom Preset Expressions can be found in Github here
What is GitHub?
GitHub is open-source version control system: “open-source” in that it is free to use and develop; “version control”
meaning any changes are documented so anyone can see what was changed and when. If you follow the link above, you
will nd our repository (or repo) - a repository is just a collection of folders and les that constitutes a project.
Anyone can log-in and make changes and work as a mini-community (hence “hub”) - but you don’t need to be a
computer whizz! You can just have a search for the library you want a preset for, and simply download if any are available.
More info here
What is a preset, where do I put it and how do I use it?
A preset is a folder with these items:
• A le named Preset.xml
• A folder named Instruments
• [Optional] In the Instruments folder, one level of sub-folder for Instrument families. e.g. Brass / Woodwind / Strings
• Within the Instruments folder (or sub-folders), a Notion le for each instrument with an attached rule.
On macOS, Notion will look for presets here:
/Users/<user>/Documents/Notion/Presets (you need to create this folder if it does not already exist)
/Library/Application Support/Notion Music/Notion 6/Presets
On Windows, Notion looks here:
C:\Users\<users>\Documents\Notion\Presets (you need to create this folder if it does not already exist)
C:\Program Files\Notion 6\Presets (or where you have installed Notion)
The location of the second of each locations above will change with the app’s major version, so Notion 7 will have presets in its
own folder.
On launching, Notion will check the two preset locations above, and add any Presets it nds to Score Setup.
Look under VST Presets>Your Preset Name in Score Setup. Add the instrument to your score and o you go!
VST Instruments and Presets