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The PeekTree

To the far left of the screen is a sidebar we called the Left Hand Bar and it displays the PeekTree and UCS Category Browser

The PeekTree is a tree control that now has 10 different nodes in it.
This is like the command station inside BaseHead that truly shows what sets it apart from the others!

You can Show/Hide it by pressing [E] and show the settings for this sidebar by clicking the blue gear looking icon and can pin it to always stay open or not so can then press (E) whenever you want to just PEEK to look at it and it will hide again once you click an item. That is how it got its name….8).

There is a lot of flexibility in how you can use some of the node features of BaseHead depending on how you like to work and there are no hard rules.

The PeekTree nodes are….

 

Collections

(Ultra only)
(Formerly known as “Libraries”)

The Collections feature is a flexible way to manage favorite sound effects or “collections” of sounds such as a favorite collection you are using in a project that you need quick access to.

 

A few things to note about collections:

  • Collections are persistent across databases so this is a convenient way to manage files across multiple databases.
  • Collections are “Virtual Folders” which store just the shortcut to files on your computer
  • You can store files that do not exist in your database by simply dragging any file from your computer into a collection folder. Perfect for using temporary recordings or edits that you do not want in your database.
  • You can create a folder structure quickly for a collection using a structure from your computer by selecting the gear (options) for a collection and selecting to “Import Folder Structure”.
  • You can import/export a collection structure to be easily reused or recalled. This is especially useful if you use collections as a temporary project bucket while working on different projects to store your files while you work.
  • You can export a collection to create a library or even generate a new database.

Create a new collection folder using the [+] button.

Add nested folders by hovering over the new collection and using the Folder button. You can also add folders within folders.

You can drag a collection into another collection to make it a sub-folder. Right-click and choose “Make Root Collection” to move it from a sub-folder to a main collection group.

Hover over a folder to see the Options button for import/export and clean-up options for a folder:

When a Collection has been exported and transferred all the files are dimmed inside marking they have already have been transferred. You can mark them ‘Un-Transferred by right clicking the files or folder inside the Collection.

NOTE: Collections, unlike the below ‘Groups’ and ‘Imports’ are NOT attached to the database by Design so you can create them and switch between databases and they will still be visible and available to use.

Imports

(Non-Lite versions)

Imports are the libraries you create from your content. To get files into BaseHead so you can then use the database you need to create an Import Library

We suggest sub-dividing your Database into applicable libraries to give you more control for adding and removing chunks of your library like in the picture I have my 400,000+ database divided into 6 ‘Imports’ for easier maintenance.

Things you can do with Imports….

  • Click the left purple eye icon to hide them from searches
  • Single CLICK them to show ALL inside the ‘Import’ in the Results List and browse them
  • Ctrl/Cmd+CLICK to focus on selected libraries for searches. When force focusing this will only display results from the selected libraries
  • Press the Green Rescan icon to check for newly added or removed files and update them in the Database.
  • Press the Blue Delete icon to Remove them from the Database or Delete them off the hard drive
    (All the above functions can be found a right click menu also)

As of BaseHead v2020.9.84 the “Focused Selection” (Ctrl/Cmd + Click) will now “live update” the filtered search results.
This allows you to perform a search then use the focus library selection to filter based on selected libraries without having to perform another search to refresh the list.

 

Groups

(Non-Lite versions)

 

Groups can be created from the PeekTree OR also on the Import Window.
They can have one of 16 customization colors added to them that will show in the Details Panel and also the Results List.

You can colorize Groups and import into them OR drag files into them OR change Groups of selected records from the Details panel

Some things you can do with Groups…

  • Click the purple left eye icon to hide them from searches.
  • Single CLICK them to show ALL inside and browse the Group.
  • Ctrl/Cmd+CLICK them to highlight them yellow and do a focused search inside them only and ignore the rest of the database.
  • You can color code them with the color combobox and the color will display in the Details Panel on the right and Results Page.
  • Remove them from the Database or Delete them off the hard drive.
  • You can also Ctrl/Option +DRAG items from the Results list to the ‘Groups’ node to add them to the Group.

How will your use them? It’s all up to your imagination….8)

Pro-Tip: Another quick way to create new ‘Groups’ super fast is from the Details Panel by right clicking a [field] and choose “Create ‘Group’ from XXX”

CloudPacks

CloudPacks are an online resource of streamable commercial SFX packs you can browse, preview, purchase and import directly into your project without having to leave the BaseHead wokflow.

CloudPack Libraries can be browsed, searched and used in your projects in the same way as your personal localised sound libraries and any CloudPacks you have on your account can be easily added to the BaseHead PeekTree using the CloudPack Manager.

Press the CPM button or F12 to open the CloudPack Manager

For more information on the CloudPack Libraries and Manager see the CloudPack section

 

Favorite / Recent Searches

(Non-Lite versions)

Recent Searches lists a history of previous searches that you can reload the results by simply clicking. Each query stores all the search box parameters that were set for the search when pressing Enter.

Favorite Searches is a place to put the searches you use all the time.
You can add them to this node by pressing the green plus icon from the Recent Searches node.

History

(formerly known as “Playlist”) 

Shows a history of files recently auditioned so you can go back easily to the ones you heard and liked quick. Use the (-) button to remove the file from the history list

 

Paths

 

If you are using a supported DAW application and use transfer paths for the audio content for your DAW this node shows all recent transfer paths so you can quickly hot swap between them.

(UPDATE:  The below feature has been removed in newer versions)
If you click the hooked blue icon you can add multiple paths of recently opened sessions of the current selected target application.

Xfers

Shows all files that have been transferred lately….(both source and destination.) This is handy if your DAW crashed before saving to help you see all your recent files you recently sent to it to help get you back to square one quickly.

Select a result in this node to select/play the original source file from your BaseHead database

Press the Orange Target Icon to select/play the target sound file that was transferred out of BaseHead

Wwise

in 5.1 or higher we added hardwired integration for Audioknetic’s Wwise allowing you to toss files back and forth while retaining full parameters from

Make sure to turn on the node in the PeekTree Options

Check out the Wwise Integration Help Page for more info.

PeekTree Settings

 

You can Auto-Hide the Left Side Bar using the Pin Icon which will give more screen space for results and hide the LSB when not in use. Use the arrow in the top left to open the LSB again (can also force hide when pinned)

The Gear Icon allows you to set which nodes you want to show/hide in the PeekTree as well as the number of results you want listed under each node. You can also choose to clear results from each node.

[Video] PeekTree Overview

Check out the following video to discover all the features of the PeekTree

UCS Category Browser

 

For users who use the Universal Category System you can switch between the PeekTree and the UCS Category Browser using these buttons found at the top of the Left Side Bar

The UCS category list is an auto-populated list of categories and subcategories using the UCS metadata formatted onto the front of filenames. Any files that have a matching UCS category code will have an automatic Category/Sub Category assigned on import (if enabled in options) and will  automatically be populated into this category browser. Additionally, any existing files that have category/subcategory labels that match a UCS label will also be included automatically.

The search field at the top of the list can be used to locate a specific tag and extra filtering options can be enabled to allow “Strict” UCS filtering (only strictly UCS labelled files are included) or filter all non-UCS files to find the files you need to tag and update to UCS.

Use keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD + C to open the UCS browser and focus the cursor to the category search box

Tagging Files with UCS

You can apply UCS based tagging easly by simply selecting files in the Result List and dragging them into a category/sub category.

To assist with category assignments, hover the mouse over a sub category to see the explination and synonyms

Dragging files directly onto a main category will assign only the Category. Dragging to a sub category assigns both the Category and Subcategory. 

A confirmation dialog is shown to prevent accidentally assigning the wrong categories but you can hold ALT/CMD while dragging to override this dialog and instantly tag files.

The gear icon at the top of the UCS list sets the tagging options:

Add CatID to [filename]
Set this option ON to have the UCS CatID code added onto the front of the filename (renames file). This will also update the database details automatically to reference the new filename.

Burn into Metadata also
Set this option ON to write the new UCS category data into the iXML chunk within the file. If this option is OFF the data is only written to the BaseHead database and not saved in the file 

Strict UCS Searching
With this option ON UCS category results will only show exact matching UCS category/sub category files. With this option OFF, any record that has a match within the category/sub category (even partial) will be listed in the UCS browser

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Display UCS Records
This will cause the UCS browser to only display UCS compliant files in the browser. Only files that contain a UCS valid CatID tag at the start of the filename will appear in the UCS browser. This filter only affects the current view and resets when selecting a new category or doing a search.

Display Non-UCS Records
This will display files that do NOT have a valid UCS CatID on the front of the filename making it easier to filter for files that need to be updated to UCS. This filter only affects the current view and resets when selecting a new category or doing a search.

NOTE: Category/Sub Category field updates depend on the option set in the Metadata Chunk Import dialog [F4] which sets if these fields are overwritten or only updated if blank. See the Metadata and the Details Panel section for more information

 

[Video] Managing UCS METADATA & Files

Video demonstrating how to import UCS tagged files, auto populate category information and even retag your existing files with UCS metadata quickly and easily.