Presets

An INTERSECT preset is a complete kit saved as a single .intersectpreset file. It holds the loaded samples, every slice, and all parameters, which is everything your DAW project would restore. Presets are separate from your DAW’s own plugin presets: you save, browse and load them inside INTERSECT, so they work the same in every host and in the standalone app.

A preset does not change your personal preferences. UI scale, theme, NRPN settings and the stem-separation device stay as they are when you load someone else’s preset.

Where presets live

OS Presets folder
Windows %APPDATA%\Roaming\INTERSECT\presets\
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/INTERSECT/presets/
Linux ~/.config/INTERSECT/presets/

The folder sits next to themes/ and is created the first time you open it or save into it. To install a preset someone sent you, drop the file into this folder (or any folder you browse to). SET → Presets → Open Presets Folder opens it in your file manager, which is handy because it’s a hidden folder on macOS and Linux.

You can also add a custom presets folder, for example one inside a synced drive, from SET → Presets → Choose Custom Folder…. It works alongside the default folder: both appear in the browser. Clear Custom Folder removes it from INTERSECT without touching the files, and Open Custom Presets Folder shows it in your file manager.

Saving

Click SAVE in the header, next to FILES. It works from the editor or the browser:

  1. The kit is saved straight into your preset library, named after its first sample (amen-break, then amen-break 2, and so on).
  2. The browser opens on the library with the new preset selected and its name highlighted.
  3. Type a name and press Return, or click away, to keep it. Esc keeps the suggested name.

Library presets record where each sample lives on disk, so they stay small.

To file a preset into a subfolder, browse into that folder of your presets folder (or your custom presets folder) first; SAVE puts the new preset where you are. Everywhere else, SAVE uses the default presets folder.

To rename a preset later, right-click it and choose Rename, or select it and press F2. A name that’s already taken is refused.

Exporting and sharing

Right-click a preset in the browser:

  • Export… saves a copy anywhere you like, exactly as it is.
  • Export with Samples… saves a copy with the audio inside the preset, so the single file carries the whole kit. Use this when sending a kit to someone else. If a sample can’t be found, the header tells you and that sample is left out.

You can also copy preset files straight out of the presets folder (SET → Presets → Open Presets Folder).

Loading

In the browser, presets show a kit icon and their sample count. Selecting one lists its samples in the preview pane. Any of these loads it:

  • Double-click it, or select it and press Return.
  • Click LOAD PRESET in the preview pane, or right-click it and choose Load Preset.
  • Drag it onto the sample lane, or drag it onto the waveform from your file manager.
  • Pick it with the folder button’s Open Files… in the browser.

Loading replaces the current kit; it never appends. Press UNDO to get the previous kit back. Search in the browser finds presets as well as audio.

You can’t load a preset while stem separation is running. Finish or cancel it first.

How samples are found

When you load a preset, INTERSECT looks for each sample in this order:

  1. The original location it was saved from.
  2. The same place relative to the preset file. A preset kept next to its samples folder still works after you move both together.
  3. A file with the same name next to the preset.
  4. The copy embedded in the preset, if it was exported with samples.

For presets that embed samples, a file found in steps 1–3 is only used if its size matches the embedded copy. Otherwise the embedded copy wins, so you always hear the kit as it was saved.

If a sample can’t be found anywhere, the header warns you and the usual MISSING SAMPLE, RELINK REQUIRED flow lets you point INTERSECT at it.

The embedded-sample cache

Embedded samples are unpacked to preset-samples/ next to the presets folder, in one subfolder per file named after its content hash. Loading the same preset again, or another preset that contains the same sample, reuses the existing copy.

Your DAW project then refers to these cached files. If you delete the cache, projects that used embedded presets will ask you to relink; loading the preset again restores the files.

Compatibility

  • Presets from an older INTERSECT version load in newer versions.
  • A preset saved by a newer version than yours shows a “needs a newer version of INTERSECT” message instead of loading.
  • A damaged or unrelated file shows an error and leaves your current kit untouched.
  • Presets can embed at most 2 GB of audio.