The Live 12 Browser

The Ableton Live 12 Browser provides access to your instruments, effects, samples, presets, Packs, and custom content. This guide explains the Browser's main sections and how to customize them. You can learn more about working with the Browser in the Ableton Reference Manual. For answers to frequently asked questions, visit the Browser and Tags in Live 12 FAQ.

Watch this video to learn about Live 12's Browser features:

To show or hide the Browser, unfold the browser icon at the top left of Live's window or use the key commands: [CMD/CTRL + ALT + B]. To extend the Browser panel, toggle Full-Height Browser in the drop-down menu next to the Show/Hide Browser icon, or in Live’s View menu.

Browser organization:

Collections
Library
Places

Using the Browser:

Filters 
Search
Browser Customization

Collections

Collections provide quick access to your favorite items within Live's Browser using up to seven color-coded, customizable categories. Learn more about Using Collections.

Library

The Library section is organized into labels like Sounds, Drums, Instruments, Plug-ins, and more, depending on your Live version, where you can access your devices, instruments, presets, and samples. Select a label to display its contents alphabetically.

As of Live 12, labels are found under Library	For Live 11, labels are found under Categories

 

Third-party plug-ins are accessed from the Plug-ins label. Make sure to install and configure plug-ins following the guide for your operating system: Using VST plug-ins on Windows / Using AU and VST plug-ins on macOS.

Places

The Places section displays Packs, files from Ableton Cloud and Push, the User Library, Current Project, and folders you've added manually. 

Packs

To access purchased and downloaded Packs, open the Packs label and unfold each Pack to select specific presets and sounds. 

Cloud and Push

You can enable the Cloud label to access cloud-synced Move and Note Sets. For how to enable Cloud, visit Setting Up Ableton Cloud.

From Push 3 (standalone), you can transfer files to Live via the Push label. Learn more about Connecting Push 3 to your Computer.

To show or hide Cloud and Push labels, go to Live’s Settings → Library → Browser Behavior.

User Library

User Library is where you can save and access your own custom presets, Grooves, Racks, and samples. 

Current Project

Access files contained within the Project Folder for the currently open Live Set, including presets, samples, and tracks from other Sets in the same Project. Learn more about Projects in Live. 

Custom folders in Places

To preview and load content from your computer in Live, you can add links to external folders under Places. To add a new folder to Places, click Add Folder or drag and drop a folder from your computer onto Places. Only Live-readable content such as audio files, Live Sets and Presets will be displayed. 

Note: Only add content to Places that's relevant to your current Project, organized in discrete folders. Adding entire hard drives, sample libraries, shared or synced cloud folders, or very large folders can cause slow indexing and impact Live's performance. Learn more about Managing content in Places. 

Search

Use the Search field at the top of Live's Browser to type in keywords and display results in alphabetical order. To narrow the results of a keyword search, you can use Filters and Labels. For example, here is a list of samples with the keyword “ambient” in their names:

Learn more about narrowing search results. 

Search History

Clicking on the arrows next to the search field shows Browser views you previously navigated through, including previous search results. 

Filters 

Live 12 offers Filters to focus the list of content displayed in the Browser. Use the toggle to the right of the search bar to show or hide the Filter View. To display devices from any label, select the All label, then choose the desired filters.

To show or hide Filter groups, click on the arrow to the right of the Filters toggle to show the Filter View Menu.

Learn more about using Filters in Live 12. 

Tags

In Live 12, Browser contents are pre-tagged for easy identification. To customize tags to suit your workflow, open the Tag Editor using the arrow at the top right of the filter pane.

Learn how to add, remove, and customize Tags in the Browser and Tags in Live 12 FAQ.

As of Live 12.2, Quick Tags lets you view any tags already assigned to a Browser item. Select Open Quick Tags in the Filter View Menu to display or hide the Quick Tags pane.


Click Add to find and apply an available tag, using keywords. Click x to remove a custom tag from a selected item. Factory tags cannot be removed or edited.

Learn more about Quick Tags in the Browser and Tags in Live 12 FAQ.

Browser Customization

You can reorder labels in the Browser’s Library section, except for the All label, by dragging each label to the desired position. As of Live 12.1, to restore labels to the default order, right-click on the Library section header and select Reset order to default.

Results view

As of Live 12.2, the Results view can be customized as follows:

• Click on the three dots to the right of the Results view to customize which content columns are displayed. 

• Drag the different content columns to reorder them. 

• Click on the column header to sort the content list.

• Show or hide Show File Extensions.

Custom Icons

As of Live 12.2, you can right-click on a label to select custom icons from for Browser items, or choose Default Icon to reset to the default icon.

Note: Icons for Packs, Cloud, Push, User Library, and Current Project can't be customized.