Just wanted to wish everyone a happy, productive and prosperous new year!

Until you spend hours debugging an inaudible filter node because Claude set the smoothing to 20 seconds instead of 20ms!

Anyone care to share their overall plans and goals for the coming year?

My main goal is to start releasing HISE plugins. I've been learning HISE for a while and it's time to start exporting my efforts!

1. A series of 4 free synth plugins, first one Sublime posted here for design feedback, and another 3, each based around one simple preset concept. Sublime is all about bass.

2. Then I have 2 collaborations I want to work on, both with UK house music producers. One is a multi-output drum plugin based on a series of expansions, the other is a chord synth with some interesting features.

3. I also have a lot of vintage reverb impulses recorded and processed, which I'd like to turn into a suite of free reverbs.

My user base is mostly house music producers & related genres - rave, techno, classic house, etc. I've built a decent brand and I think my customers will love the move from Maize-based ROMpler plugins to way more fully-featured HISE-based plugins.

What are your goals?

I like using overlay images to ensure my Figma design is translated properly to HISE. Currently, the only way I know to toggle the image visibility is to select/unselect the image, or quickly slide the alpha slider, which is difficult because of the 'invert' half of the slider.

This PR adds a toggle button between the image dropdown and the alpha slider. It uses an existing image icon for the button and respects the alpha slider value.

This allows me to toggle the image without taking my eyes off the interface, making it easier to spot changes.

PR here: https://github.com/christophhart/HISE/pull/825

@David-Healey I just had a go at fixing this. Is that what you mean?

HiseSnippet 1112.3ocsVs2aaaCDmJIJKwacqEne.H7e4roYH+pIcACMO8pwxCi4rhMDDTPKcxhKRjFRTMwXneH12z8MH6ndXKO6klZfI.av6Eue2wi2w9QRGHNVFQLpb0jw.w3qLGLQn7O1mwEjdmPL9ZyyYwJHhlw5nIiYwwfKwvX8eRyvX6MHoe+8aNhEvDNvLVDx6jbG3LdHWMia+C9YdPPWlKbEOrj1sOnmiTbrLPlf3YcSaxXlysrQvELsZqYRdKK1mX7sl1scX60zqSqVu9061wcH330.FtqCytCyqCC41l0tSi1DiMO0kqjQCTLEDia5QR2IC7k2Ixbv63w7gAflnAY.54L1ji84At8KRNwDhwF8mkpVOKU8Ryy4t7o7mkxddp.5LKJmzLV6wfTiOCHYTBRajAoWXNvIhOVMShFOeoYOAdB5wvylxPISWxZ+05lGKQMDp5gragtQHwTKp0z11hh+sy9UpfmOwJZ.yi9izBSbh.LRNS5vBNSJu8PgaW.BpoUGUrdDLhqqe5lHbTbonVU2H1c8kiSFeNHRNBOhGEISDtUsndE5LxhJG9G6T4OqPwuQ0iAUVcQsp12am+UEcQlXOrd5W.GUsqssrsz.F+cCJ9iOQTzSAg+29+CrHJCiXjUcFFs3dVvdLy8PjCJ7Z1012P+NZSKJ65FSW07F52SaqW0Jc0M6uPHo2Vd7a4i7CveJvk9FZln35ih.PP+gozCCRf4CacpCb0QOSLJ.pkiHK5d6TBmJ3dUAPy0HCt6YUDCHnmsNE1Md0LFstYIHu.U24yUyfEJuKVaTq5IfGKIPgI1FsqaOUtNyeHFpBv8JDVowuFeVSQoEsZ.3opVbBlU1crLbn7H48MJU7MRikvwRAnc3TMzVNkPCnEJOwhhc1u37lJEWHUvkhZ5i7sq7wJz+sHOukJSiiHYP.DsTw5FbQOlg0DIgCgHK7PRexVnHdgd9tDa9z5R3jkVJonTzSvUWNFxo6JCb0290qWrmBIOup6tjiPTUUZukmm2aoHuR3t5VKSSyjzPnbyexu16DlhUrY39h9ZLDo35Px3D3C3vgrFWaadBDeqRNF6yO8.kXrUlqeVQaMl.BR86VloqaPturCmTl.KICKFlr8lDxCOLO2lkYeG2U4OyZ9A9f9tXYNjR35KdhoDDclFMyPlowKwEgrTdqunO+8CzXCSLei4kBnxU2IqbkOd8GGXtPedbBizMIfoleridfbt.rJatd8594hXtZR4A1eFyhrezYQOUH9By9bki+xw3ZKAiXsy+GXLeB9yLO0yC6bNCfaX182V0w0eB2icpUbwnyYpHttF3hjvAXYnCfdWf0xw55h0z2Ayns0z5Lv.P3lR7.9kKrgl1HWXiBgX0kSj78NY2b0uQXqTNHlDougZa7wbHMcIWVCwmr7dGm42pELr4pZXqU0v1qpgcVUCe0pZ3tqpg68oMT+hxCSTxvrqMDx48OMs4pgwoBFVAlVsR9GztgJYG

Content.makeFrontInterface(200, 200);

const laf = Content.createLocalLookAndFeel();

laf.registerFunction("drawPopupMenuBackground", function(g, obj)
{
    g.setColour("0x00000000"); // any transparent colour
    g.fillRect([0,0,200,200]);
});

laf.registerFunction("drawPopupMenuItem", function(g, obj)
{
    var a = obj.area;

    var padArea = [a[0] + 2, a[1] + 2, a[2] - 4, a[3] - 4];
    g.setColour(obj.isHighlighted ? Colours.green : Colours.blue);
    g.fillRoundedRectangle(padArea, 8);

    var textArea = [padArea[0] + 8, padArea[1], padArea[2] - 16, padArea[3]];
    g.setColour(Colours.white);
    g.setFont("Default", 14.0);
    g.drawAlignedText(obj.text, textArea, "left");
});

const ComboBox1 = Content.getComponent("ComboBox1");
ComboBox1.setLocalLookAndFeel(laf);

The drawPopupMenuBackground object should probably include an area, and the popup menu items still have a subtle drop shadow. But they're both fixes for another day.

PR here, if it's useful: https://github.com/christophhart/HISE/pull/805

@bendurso Today I learned that right-clicking a module in edit mode shows a different context menu to right-clicking not in edit mode.

Posting this in case it helps anyone else. I just banged my head against a brick wall for too long before I realised how simple this was!

When using a Floating Tile with content type Waveform (to display the waveform of Sine Wave Generator or Waveform Generator, for example) the default waveform path is a filled shape.

You can override this with LAF function drawAnalyserPath and draw a line path instead of a filled path:

laf.registerFunction("drawAnalyserPath", function(g, obj)
{
	g.setColour(Colours.white);
	g.drawPath(obj.path, obj.area, 5);
});

However, this means that the path is clipped at the bounds of the floating tile, especially at wider line thicknesses:

To prevent the clipping, I fudged around with it for longer than I want to admit before I realised the answer is to simply reduce the area that the path is drawn in, by half the thickness of the path:

laf.registerFunction("drawAnalyserPath", function(g, obj)
{
	g.setColour(Colours.white);
	g.drawPath(obj.path, obj.area.reduced(2.5), 5);
});

Voila! No more clipped paths! Top row is using obj.area, bottom row is using area reduced by half line thickness:

You might want the left/right of the path to bleed out of bounds, in which case change the reduction from all-round to y-only:

obj.area.reduced(5) 👈 all-round
obj.area.reduced(0, 5) 👈 y-only

Note: you might need to compile with HISE_USE_SCRIPT_RECTANGLE_OBJECT=1 for the reduced and other Rectangle helper functions, as per the docs: https://docs.hise.dev/scripting/scripting-api/rectangle/index.html. Not sure if it's still the same, or if it's built-in to all new builds.

@Chazrox said in MEDIA BROWSER PLUGIN [NOT A HISE PLUGIN - but may be useful]:

The forum has definitely been less active since everyone has found their agentic work flows.

I noticed that too. Bit sad really. Maybe we should all start sharing more wins we have with AI?

I just went down the Windows installer and code signing rabbit hole for my synth plugin and came out the other side with a decision I didn't expect: no installer at all.

TLDR: if your plugin is one file going to one folder, a ZIP with clear instructions gives your users a smoother, less alarming experience than an unsigned installer, and costs you nothing.

Sharing the findings here in case it saves someone else a day of research.

My plugin is a single VST3 on Windows. Bundled presets/images/fonts/audio assets (for simple Audio Loop Players). That means one file, one destination folder. So the installer would exist mostly for polish, not necessity.

Here's why I dropped it.

The problem: an installer is an .exe, and an unsigned .exe looks scary

If you ship an unsigned installer, SmartScreen will greet your users with the "Windows protected your PC" screen, and they have to click "More info" then "Run anyway" to proceed. I'm sure most Windows users, especially music producers, are used to this, but for a paid product from a developer they've never heard of, that's bad optics. I'd argue worse than no installer at all.

Option 1: Azure Trusted Signing. Blocked for me.

This is the modern route everyone recommends, and it's cheap. But it's only available to individuals in the US and Canada. In the UK you need a registered (Limited) company. I'm still a sole trader with no Ltd, and I'm not registering a company and wading through Azure bureaucracy just to unblock a release. Registering is on the roadmap but not worth bumping it up for this.

Option 2: An individual code signing cert. Possible, but underwhelming.

There is a middle path: Individual Validation (IV) certs. SSL.com and Certum both sell these to individuals with no company required, verified via passport and a face scan, turnaround in days not weeks. Certum even has a "Cloud CODE Signing for Individual Developer" product that a company literally cannot buy.

But here's the catch that killed it for me: signing removes the "Unknown publisher" label, but SmartScreen reputation still builds up gradually per certificate. A fresh cert with no reputation can still trigger warnings. So you pay, you do the ID verification dance, and your users may still see scary screens for a while. And from March 2026 the CA/B Forum caps code signing cert validity at 458 days, so this becomes a recurring chore, not a one-off.

The realisation: no .exe, no problem

SmartScreen cares about executables. A ZIP containing a .vst3 and a text file doesn't trigger any of this.

So the Windows release is:

• MyPlugin.vst3
• INSTALL.txt ("Copy MyPlugin.vst3 to C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 and approve the admin prompt")
• LICENSE.txt

That's the whole install. VST3 has one canonical system folder, so there's no per-DAW path confusion like the old VST2 days. I shipped earlier plugins as VST2/VST3 and had some support tickets, but those were usually because of the VST2 confusion. Oh, and I'm clearly not doing AAX either - another axis of complexity avoided.

The installer isn't dead, just deferred

When I register as a company, I'll 100% ship an Azure cloud-signed installer. Shipping an unsigned one in the meantime would be a downgrade from the ZIP.

One extra risk: the ever-annoying Anti-Virus checks on Windows, and two practical mitigations. [1] Submit the ZIP and the .vst3 to Microsoft's file-submission portal once the release build is final (it whitelists the hash and hugely reduces the block-at-first-sight risk), and [2] run the final binary through VirusTotal before release so I know which of the ~70 engines flag it, if any. Both are free and take minutes.

Very open to having my mind changed here, but given the fact that I've been distributing my previous (non-HISE) plugins for 3 years on Windows via the ZIP > extract > copy to folder method, I think this is a no-brainer approach for my first couple of self-contained HISE plugins.

@David-Healey In a conversation with ChatGPT today, it said to me

Your mockup surprised me—I expected to dislike it. I don't.

AI is getting cheekier!

@gonzalo For standard automation, set these values on your knob:

isPluginParameter # set to true. This registers the knob as a host-automatable param
pluginParameterName # give it a unique name, it's the label the DAW shows in its automation lane

Curiously, neither of those settings are mentioned in the help docs website.

From the popup Help section (the ? at the top of the Component Properties panel):

@musicayciencia First thing you should do is build HISE form the source.

Ignore the Releases section on GitHub - 4.1.0 is far too old to spend any time debugging it.

Follow the "How to Compile HISE" details further down the repo page.

@David-Healey Yours always seems to be more generally useful than mine though

This one is pretty niche but I'll likely be using single column preset browsers in most of my plugins, so it's really useful for me.

I'm using a single-column preset browser in my plugin, but wanted a way to show folder breaks in the list. The interim was to write tiny folder name text at the top of the preset row that changes folder, but it's a hack and looks terrible anyway.

So I had Claude add a ShowFolderRows JSON param to the native preset browser:

# How to use it

const var data = {
    "Type": "PresetBrowser",
    "NumColumns": 1,
    "ShowFolderRows": true,
    ...
};

# And optionally in your LAF script:

laf.registerFunction("drawPresetBrowserFolderRow", function(g, obj)
  {
      g.setColour(Colours.withAlpha(obj.textColour, 0.5));
      g.setFont(obj.font, obj.fontSize - 2);
      g.drawAlignedText(obj.text, obj.area, "left");
  });

So now I have nice folder breaks in my single column preset list:

I know the general consensus is "if you don't like the native preset browser, build your own". But I didn't want to script my own preset browser just for this one extra feature, because the native preset browser is battle-tested and has really nice mechanics for free.

I also know this is highly unlikely to get accepted upstream but I made a PR that might help someone else who is looking for the same feature in the future:

https://github.com/christophhart/HISE/pull/1009

@Chazrox said in MEDIA BROWSER PLUGIN [NOT A HISE PLUGIN - but may be useful]:

The forum has definitely been less active since everyone has found their agentic work flows.

I noticed that too. Bit sad really. Maybe we should all start sharing more wins we have with AI?

I also added a LineSpacing and LetterSpacing to the Markdown renderer so I can style it to match my plugin.

https://github.com/christophhart/HISE/pull/1008

Sorry to necro this post but I wanted to update with how I ended up doing this.

After the Markdown text didn't work for me (links not clickable) and the WebView proved too fragile/unproven I decided to go with the classic hack of interspersing buttons in the credits text:

That worked great until the text rendering on Windows scared the bejesus out of me! Any deviation in text size or spacing causes the buttons to overlap the text and just generally look bad.

It's also a pain to align all the buttons and I ended up here with 4 lines of text, with a specific amount of spaces between certain words and 8 separate buttons. Not very nice to manage.

So I went back to the Markdown renderer and added link click handling instead. That means the credits text block can be one single text string with links formatted within the text.

I lose the 'external' icons after each link but the standard underlined/coloured text for links is completely fine, and universally understood. I actually prefer simple underlined links anyway.

So that's where I'm at right now. Here's the PR that adds link click handling to MD rendered text:

https://github.com/christophhart/HISE/pull/1007

@lalalandsynth Here's a PR, see if it fits your needs.

https://github.com/christophhart/HISE/pull/1006

Full disclosure: this is 100% Fable. I don't know a lot about text rendering in HISE, so take it with a grain of salt.

@lalalandsynth Is this what you're looking for?

@Orvillain I'll never support AAX. My audience simply doesn't live there. Thank goodness!

On Mac I'm building a pkg, and my post-install script runs a quarantine flag removal on the installed vst3 file. It seems to be working for some alpha testing.

If by alpha testing, you mean on your own machine and a few developer friends, then yes that'll work but it's unlikely to survive contact with the real world.

Fortunately the macOS side is the easiest to solve. Get a $99/year developer account, get your App and Installer signing certs and apply them during the export and packaging phase. Extremely easy.