Sounds, Patches and the Browser : Using the Browser

Using the Browser
The Browser when using the File|Open... command.
The Browser is used when you open songs or load patches, samples, audio files, MIDI files and REX files, from regular file folders or from a ReFill.
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The Browser can also be resized by dragging the edges of the browser list sideways, as shown in the picture above. Each column in the browse list can also be resized. You can also scroll horizontally and vertically (when applicable) using the scrollbars to the right and at the bottom of the browse list (yellow arrows in the picture above).
Besides standard file folder browsing, the Browser offers several useful functions:
For example, set browse focus from a Subtractor device by clicking its Browse Patch button. Instead of limiting the Browser to show only Subtractor patches, you can choose to browse for any type of instrument patch. If you select a patch with a different format than the device you are browsing from, the original device will be replaced by the new device. See “Cross-browsing patch files”.
See “Favorites Lists”.
See “Using Locations and Favorites”.
Opening the browser
Besides pressing [F3] you can use any of the following commands to open the Browser (what file types you can browse for depends on which method you used to open the Browser):
This opens the Browser where you can select to open a Song (.reason, .rsndemo, .ree, .reedemo, .rltd, .record, .recdemo, .rns, .rps and .rsb).
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This opens the Browser allowing you to browse for and load patches for the selected device, or use “cross-browsing” (see “Cross-browsing patch files”) to select patches for other device types.
This opens the Browser, where you can browse for and load Combinator Effect patches.
This opens the Browser, where you can browse for, preview and load samples in the supported audio formats.
This opens the Browser, allowing you to browse for, preview and load REX loops into the Dr. Octo Rex device.
This opens the Browser, allowing you to browse for Kong Drum Patches and supported audio files to load into a slot in the Kong Drum Designer device.
This opens the Browser, allowing you to browse for, preview and load files in the supported audio formats to an audio track in the sequencer. See “Importing audio to the sequencer”.
This opens the Browser, allowing you to browse for MIDI files to import to instrument tracks in the sequencer. See “Importing Standard MIDI Files”.
This allows you to browse for and load patches for any device. See “Create Instrument/Create Effect”.
Browser elements
The Browser when using the Browse Patch button/function on a Subtractor device.
Regardless of what command you used for opening the Browser (Open/Browse Patch/Import Audio etc.), the Browser basically contains the same main elements:
Browse focus field
This field shows the name of the currently selected device in the rack - or the currently selected sequencer track. The Browse Focus field is orange when a device or track has browse focus - and gray when no focus is set. See “Setting browse focus” and “Clearing browse focus” for more information.
Root Folder drop-down list
This field displays the name of the currently selected root folder.
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Search results and Favorites lists, however, are shown as “flat” lists - with no folder hierarchy.
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Back/Forward buttons
These arrow buttons allow you to move between the browser locations opened while browsing, much like pages in a web browser.
Locations and Favorites list
This list contains shortcuts to various locations. You can manually add any locations (on any local drive) to the bottom section of the list. The locations in the upper part of the list are default and cannot be changed. Selecting an item in the “Locations and Favorites” list will open the corresponding folder/ReFill as the root in the main files and folder list - see “Navigating in the Browser”.
In the “Locations and Favorites” list you could also create your own “Favorites Lists”. The “Favorite Lists” can contain shortcuts to your favorite patches, samples or song files - see “Favorites Lists”.
Search text field
Here you can enter a text string and click Search to search for Song files, patches, audio files and samples. The Search function is described in “Using the “Search” function”.
Browser list
This is the Browser list, showing the contents of a selected folder - see “Navigating in the Browser”.
Patch Load section
At the bottom of the Browser list are a buttons for selecting and loading patches:
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Alternatively, press the up/down arrow keys on the computer keyboard.
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See “The Revert function” for more details.
Info and Details
The info pertaining to a selected Song file.
The “Info” section at the bottom of the Browser can show Song/ReFill splash images and also information about the item currently selected in the “Files and Folders” list. Exactly what information is shown here depends on the selected file type. For example, samples or REX files contain information about the file format and length of the selected file, while a selected song file can display comments from the author (see “Including Song Information”) etc. If the selected file is part of a ReFill, this will be indicated regardless of the file type.
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Folding the Info and Details section automatically expands the Browse list/device palette downwards.
Audition section (for audio files, samples and REX files)
This section contains controls for auditioning audio files, samples and REX files - see “Selecting and auditioning samples and REX loops”. For other file types, the “Audition” section is not present.
Navigating in the Browser
The Browser with browse focus set to a Subtractor device, allowing you to browse for and load Subtractor patches.
When navigating in the Browser, items are shown as a hierarchical list in a selected root folder, just like in your computer’s file browser (Finder on Mac and Explorer on Windows).
All folders and sub-folders within a root folder are shown, but only files of the relevant type (i.e. songs/samples/patches etc.) can be viewed/selected in the Browser. For example, if you have selected to browse samples for a NN-XT device, only audio samples and REX files will be shown in the Browser.
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Click the same column again to toggle between ascending or descending display order.
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When you hide the Browser the “location list” is cleared.
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Only files will be stepped through, while folders are skipped.
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If you select and load a patch for another device type, the new device will replace the device that previously had Browse focus.
About hierarchic and flat lists
In certain circumstances the Browser will display a flat list without any folder hierarchy. In such cases there will be an extra “Parent” column displaying the parent folder location for all files. The “Root Folder” drop-down list will then also contain a shortcut to the selected file’s parent folder - the “Go To Parent Folder” item.
The Browser display for flat lists.
Flat lists are shown in the following cases:
Using Locations and Favorites
To help you to find your files quickly, you can add shortcuts to the folders where you store your samples and patch files etc. By default, the Locations list contains eight fixed locations; the Reason 10 Sounds location, the Reason Orkester Sounds location, the Reason Factory Sounds location, the Rack Extensions location, This PC folder, the Desktop folder, the Song Samples location and the Recent Patches location. You can easily add your own locations below this list if you like.
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Any new Locations will be added below the list of fixed locations. An insertion line is shown to indicate where in the list the new location will placed. Manually added locations can later be reordered by dragging and dropping.
Adding a new Location.
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The reason for this is that some ReFills (such as the Reason Electric Bass) consist of several ReFill files: one which contains patches and another that contains the samples. If you should add only the patch ReFill as a Location and not the samples ReFill, Reason won’t find the samples that correspond to the patches.
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Alternatively, select “Delete” from the context menu.
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Favorites Lists
“Favorites Lists” provide a way to group and order files that may be physically located at different places on your local drives. Any file that can be loaded in Reason (songs, patches, samples etc.) can be added to a “Favorites List”. Only shortcuts to the files are added - the original files aren’t moved. You can also add devices to the list.
This is particularly useful for handling patches. By adding the patches you need for a given situation to a Favorite List, you can determine exactly which patches will be selectable for a device, and in what order. You can then sequentially step through these patches using patch select buttons on your MIDI keyboard or control surface device. See “Using Favorites - a practical example”.
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The “Create New Favorites Lists” button
An empty “folder” is created, named “New Favorite List n”. Favorite Lists are always indicated by a star icon. The Browser list remains unchanged.
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Alternatively, select “Rename” from the context menu.
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You can also select multiple files using standard selection techniques - [Shift] and/or [Ctrl](Win) or [Command] (Mac) - and drag these into the folder in the same way.
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The Browser displays all files you have previously dragged to the Favorite List, regardless of file type:
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This removes the shortcut only - the original file isn’t affected.
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Using Favorites - a practical example
Here follows a practical example of how you can use Favorites for patch files:
You are preparing for a live gig as a keyboard player. You know the songs, and you have chosen suitable patches (in various device formats) for each song.
You want to use Reason, but you want to be able to switch to the correct patch for each song using your MIDI keyboard, and not have to worry about fiddling with the computer during your performance.
Here is how this can be done by using Favorites:
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It doesn’t matter which instrument device you choose at this point.
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A new folder appears in the list. Double-click it and type in an appropriate name (e.g. “The Band”).
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Now you can start locating the instrument patches you need by navigating in the Browser.
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If this was a patch in a different format than the instrument you created, a device of this type will replace the original device (see “Cross-browsing patch files”).
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All the patches you added are now listed in the Browser list.
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The the patch is loaded in the appropriate device.
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Many MIDI keyboards and control surfaces have buttons assigned to patch selection - check the Control Surface Details document for information about your controllers. Alternatively, you can manually assign buttons for selecting patches - see the “Remote - Playing and Controlling Devices” chapter.
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Selecting and auditioning samples and REX loops
For audio files, samples and REX loops you can use the Audition controls in the Browser to preview the audio. This is done in the following way:
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The file is played back. During playback, the Play button in the Audition section switches to a square “Stop” button - click this to stop playback.
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The selected file is automatically played back. Again, click the Stop button to stop playback.
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Selecting multiple files
It is possible to select multiple files in the Browser, by using standard [Shift] or [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) selection techniques. This, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that the selected files can be loaded. There are a number of instances where selecting several files in the Browser file list is relevant:
See the “Kong Drum Designer” chapter for details.
See “NN-19 Sampler”, “NN-XT Sampler” and “NN-Nano Sampler” for details.
See the “Dr. Octo Rex Loop Player” chapter for details.
See “Importing audio to the sequencer” for more info.
You can select several files to add them to a Favorites List in one go - see “Favorites Lists”. Note that this is only possible if a device does not have browse focus!
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Cross-browsing patch files
Cross-browsing patches is a powerful feature of the Browser. It allows you to browse for any type of instrument patches or effect patches, regardless of which instrument or effect device you opened the Browser from.
About instrument and effect patches
Patches are internally divided into two patch categories in the Browser; instrument patches and effect patches (the Browser “knows” what type of patch it is). This is because instrument patches and effect patches are fundamentally different - instruments are played, and effects are used to process sound - and you would logically browse for one or the other, but not both.
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Cross-browsing - an example:
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From here you can select instrument patches for any device. You decide to browse a folder containing Malström patches.
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The sequencer track which was previously assigned to the Subtractor is now assigned to a Malström with the selected patch loaded.
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Each time you load a patch that belongs to a different device, this device automatically replaces the previous device in the rack.
Special instances of cross-browsing
There are a few instances when replacing an existing device by loading other device patches might lead to lost cable connections in the rack:
An example is replacing an NN-XT, which can use up to 16 audio outputs, with a Subtractor which only has one audio output.
The only connections that are retained between device types are Sequencer Control CV/Gate in.
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Create Instrument/Create Effect
These functions allow you to browse for any kind of instrument or effect patches. This is essentially the same as cross-browsing, except that you do not start with an existing device. The “Create Instrument/Effect” functions are very useful if you’re looking for a specific type of sound or effect but don’t know, or don’t care, what devices are used. For example, you might be looking for a “pad” sound or a “delay effect”. Once you’ve found what you’re looking for, you can just load the sound or effect in the required device(s).
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The Browser opens. Depending on your selection, only Instrument Patches or Effect Patches are shown.
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If you load an instrument device patch, a corresponding sequencer track will also be automatically be created. If an “empty” Mix Channel device isn’t available in the rack, a new one will be automatically created - with its channel strip in the Main Mixer. The instrument device will be automatically connected to the Mix Channel device. Master Keyboard input will be set to the new track so that you can play the patch from your master keyboard. The sequencer track, Mix Channel and channel strip in the Main Mixer automatically gets the name of the loaded patch.
About patch formats and sampler devices
As both the NN-XT and NN19 sampler devices can load patches in the NN19 (.smp) and REX (.rx2/.rcy/.rex) formats, there must be certain rules regarding cross-browsing.
Thus, when the patch format is NN19 (.smp) or REX (.rx2/.rcy/.rex) and the NN19 device has browse focus, the patch will be loaded into this device.
Using the “Search” function
The Search function allows you to search for patches, songs, audio files etc. The Search field is always available at the top of the Browser.
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The Root folder popup above the Search field shows "Searching <location>" where location is the current search folder. The search looks for items (including folders and ReFills) with matching names. We don't show the contents of a folder with matching name - we show the folder itself.
The search result view in the Browser list
If there are no search hits, the Browser list is empty.
If you select a file in the Browser list, you can pull down the “Root Folder” drop-down list and select “Go to Parent folder” - this opens the parent folder for the selected file.
To go back to the search result Browser list, click the Back button:
Loading files
When you have navigated to the desired folder (on your hard disk or within a ReFill) and located the desired file, you load it by double clicking it in the Browser list, or by selecting it and clicking the Open/Load/Create/Import button. The name of the button differs depending on what command you used for locating the file.
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About browse lists
When you click the Open/Load/Create/Import button to open a file from the Browser, the file and folder list shown at that time is memorized for that device. This is called a “browse list”.
For patches (and to a certain extent samples) this list provides a specific functionality:
What can a browse list contain?
If you open the Browser (set Browse focus) again from the same device, the same file and folder structure is shown.
In these situations, the Browser will show the “Parent” column, listing the names of the source folders. The “Root Folder” drop-down list will also contain the item “Go to parent folder” for a selected file.
Favorites Lists provide a way of controlling/filtering which patches or samples will be available on a browse list for a device - see “Using Favorites - a practical example”!
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Note that if you opened a patch after having used cross-browsing (see “Cross-browsing patch files”) or used the Search function (see “Using the “Search” function”), the active browse list could contain patches of different formats, and loading patches from the device panel could change the device type.
Handling Missing Sounds
Sampler patches, drum machine patches, Dr. Octo Rex patches, and SoundFonts contain references to samples - files on your hard disk. The same is true for songs that contain samples (in sampler or drum machine devices) or REX files. If any of these files have been moved, renamed or removed when you try to open the patch or song, Reason will alert you that files are missing by showing the “Missing Sounds” window. The “Missing Sounds” window also appears if patches in the song are part of a ReFill which has been moved, removed or is not installed on your computer:
The “Missing Sounds” window.
The main display in the Missing Sounds window lists all missing files. The three columns show the following properties:
Below the main display are four buttons:
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If you want to abort the search, click the Cancel button in the “Searching...” window:
When you have found the sound you want to replace the missing sound with, double click it or select it and click the Replace button in the Browser:
Replacing a missing sound.
The selected missing sound in the Missing Sounds window now disappears from the window and you can select the a new missing sound to replace.
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If you like, you could replace missing sounds with new sounds - it doesn’t have to be the original ones. When you save the Patch or Song later on, the new sounds will permanently replace the previous (missing) sounds.
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The song or patch will still work, but with sounds missing. This means that sampler patches, drum machine patches and/or loop players will not play back correctly.
On the panels of the concerned devices, missing samples are indicated with an asterisk (*) before the file names:
A Redrum device with a missing sample in one of its slots.
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Reason file formats
The following table lists the file formats that you can browse and open using Reason’s browser:

Sounds, Patches and the Browser : Using the Browser