Audio Ease - Snapper - view and edit audio files directly in the Mac Finder

Need more help?

Give us a call or send us an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

+31 30 244 6335

support@audioease.com

SUPPORT HOURS
MONDAY-FRIDAY 9AM-5PM CET

LOCAL TIME @AudioEase
TUESDAY 4:14 AM

Frequently asked questions

Installation

Installer damaged and can’t be opened

Here's what you can do when the newly downloaded installer fails to run because the macOS reports the downloaded installer failing verification (or reports it is damaged and cannot be opened).

Make sure you use the macOS default 'Archive Utility' to open the downloaded zip file (other utilities could corrupt the installer app while unpacking the zip file).
Please check if there is a security update available for your macOS and please install this.
Open Safari and check if you can visit https://www.audioease.com.
When you can visit the website in Safari, then please retry downloading the installer. If the download fails to run, you can try using a different browser. Any of the following: Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari, will do.

zip file unzipping fails on Mac

Perhaps the download is broken, in which case a new download with another browser may work. Otherwise the solution may be to use Terminal, a built-in program on the Mac.

Make sure you use the macOS default 'Archive Utility' to open the downloaded zip file (other utilities could corrupt the installer app while unpacking the zip file).
In case that does not solve it, open Terminal. You can use the Mac search at the top right and start typing Terminal. It will appear, click on it to open the program.
Type “unzip” and a space, then drag/drop the zip file into the Terminal window.
Press Enter and the zip file will be unzipped, storing all files on your computer.

License activation

If you have just purchased an Audio Ease product and received a serial number you can register this here:
www.audioease.com/ed

Why register?
When registered you can access the downloads and immediately get licenses to activate the software.

When you have purchased your software directly at audioease.com there is no serial number. In this situation you can get your licenses directly at:
www.audioease.com/authorization

Get iLok license

If you have just purchased at audioease.com or registered a serial number you can immediately get an iLok license for your product.

Simply go here: www.audioease.com/authorization
fill in your registered email address and proceed.

iLok key broken / lost / stolen

In case your iLok key is lost, stolen or broken we will help you out right away, even in case you have not invested in additional insurances or coverage at ilok.com.

Send a message to support@audioease.com and we will provide you with a 30 days expiring backup license so you can continue your work immediately. A spare iLok USB key is required for this, as the software (Altiverb, Speakerphone and Indoor) requires the ilok usb key. This means the software will not work without an ilok usb key with a license on it.

To resolve this situation permanently you may have to acquire another iLok USB key. We can help here too:
We can send you one at a not-for-our-profit-price, which will normally takes 2-6 weekdays in Europe (6-20 weekdays to the rest of the world), available at: audioease.com/store. Depending on your location purchasing locally might be quicker.

Transfer license to another user

Yes, you can sell / transfer your license to another user.

You can transfer a license from your ilok account to someone else's ilok account (the new owner) by using the iLok License Manager (choose Transfer License...).
Please note: while PACE/ iLok fees apply, there are no fees imposed by Audio Ease.

Do please send a message to support@audioease.com with the name, email address and ilok user account info of both you and the new owner.

We will then transfer the software registration at audioease.com to the new owner, so that they will be able to access all downloads and (future) upgrades.

More then one computer with a single license

You can use the software with a single license on more then one computer. Simply connect the ilok usb key with the license on it to a computer and you can install and use the software.

However you can use the software only at one computer at a time.

When you need to run the software in two locations (two rooms / two machines) at the same time this requires two licenses. This means purchasing two copies of the software. We do not offer any second license deals or discounts.

General troubleshooting

Native Apple silicon support

Altiverb 8, Speakerphone 3 & Indoor 2 are universal (native Apple silicon and Intel)

360pan suite 3 works fine using Rosetta 2 on the Apple silicon machines. The performance is great.

The latest BarbaBatch, Snapper and Make a Test Tone are all universal applications, supporting both Apple silicon & Intel.

Last update: Dec 6, 2024

iLok key broken / lost / stolen

In case your iLok key is lost, stolen or broken we will help you out right away, even in case you have not invested in additional insurances or coverage at ilok.com.

Send a message to support@audioease.com and we will provide you with a 30 days expiring backup license so you can continue your work immediately when you have a spare ilok key.

To resolve this situation permanently you may have to acquire another iLok key. We can help here too:
We can send you one at a not-for-our-profit-price, which will normally takes 2 to 5 shipping days in Europe (6-20 days to the rest of the world), available at: audioease.com/store. Depending on your location purchasing locally might be quicker.

Pro Tools error: not a valid 64 bits plug-in

Pro Tools states it is not a valid 64 bits plug-ins

Most likely the installer or the plug-in got corrupted in transit. Please download the latest updater installer on the computer you want to use it on. Then move the downloaded zip file on the desktop and there choose to extract it using the Mac OS X default Archive Utility app. Once you did this please run the updater installer from the desktop to install the correct aaxplugin and this should cure the problem.
The aax plug-in can get corrupted when transferred on some external (or network) drives. The plug-in won't validate properly then.

Authorization Wire Exception

"Speakerphone / Altiverb cannot run, because an error occurred. Encrypted Channel Bad Channel ID (or USB error or frame is an invalid size)"

Authorization Wire Exception invalid size

Errors like these can be solved by downloading and installing the latest ilok software from www.ilok.com. Altiverb, Speakerphone, Indoor and 360pan suite require this software.

Windows Authorization Error

Windows Authorization Error: Altiverb 7 Regular cannot run because it is corrupted please try reinstalling the product

This error means the graphics card driver on your system is not up to date. Even when Windows states this is up to date, Altiverb 7 can generate this error and you will find there is a newer driver available (and this will solve this error).

Please try to update your graphics card driver.

Find out what graphics card you have in your system (right click on your desktop, choose change screen resolution, hit advanced settings, that would show you the manufacturer"s name and the model).
Then please go to the manufacturer"s website, hit support/drivers and find the latest driver for your graphics card and download and install this.
Restart your computer.
The problem should be gone now.

Plug-in not found in Cubase / Nuendo

The plug-in is installed correctly (Altiverb / Speakerphone / Indoor / 360pan suite) and the ilok software is up to date and still the plug-in cannot be found in Cubase (or Nuendo).

Let's clear Clear the Cubase vst preferences to force a re-scan of all vst plug-ins (in case the plug-in is blacklisted)

Remove all plist/xml files with VST in the file name from the Cubase preferences folder, check this post where to find the preferences folder.
Then restart your computer.
After the restart run Cubase. Cubase will now re-scan all plug-ins and it should load the plug-in again.

360pan suite

Windows: Pro Tools 2023 & up not supported

Currently the 360pan suite cannot detect the video window in Pro Tools 2023 & up on Windows. Until this has been resolved in an update we advice to stay on Pro Tools 2022 for 360pan suite on Windows.

HDX hardware & 360reverb

When using HDX hardware the Hybrid Engine needs to be Enabled for the private (pre-fader) sends from the 360pan plug-in to the 360reverb to work.
When the Hybrid Engine is disabled the distance cannot be controlled for a panned source. The 360reverb does work as normal reverb insert/aux effect on HDX systems with disabled Hybrid Engine.

Essential Reaper preferences

When you use the VST3 360pan suite plug-ins in Reaper you will have to verify two settings in Reaper's preferences are properly set up, else the suite will not function properly.

In Reaper choose Preferences... from the bottom of the Options menu and then first go to:

Reaper preferences - turn off Anticipative FX Processing

1. Audio -> Buffering
and then TURN OFF the Anticipative FX Processing
2. Audio -> Buffering
and then TURN OFF the Live FX multiprocessing
these two options will ensure the 360reverb to function properly (else you will get sync problems)

Reaper preferences - VST-parameter-automation

3. Plug-Ins -> VST
Under VST Compatibility please set the Parameter automation notification to:
Process all notifications
this will ensure automation is written to track when you control the panner pucks from the video overlay (without the panner plug-ins being open).

Reaper preferences - automation-do-not-add-points.png

4. Editing Behavior -> Automation
When recording automation and stopped should be set to: Do not add additional points.
This to ensure you can nudge the time cursor and then drag pucks and write automation this way (like in the tutorial/example project).
5. Reverb last
When creating a bus for 360Reverb, make sure it is last, or right before the monitor.
6. Your Video window can not be Docked, and the video window can not be full screen.
These are not in the settings window. You right-click on your video to undock it if it is embedded in another window.

No (or not all) 360pan suite plug-ins Reaper ? Clear cache

It could be some or all 360pan suite plug-ins are missing the first time you run Reaper after installing the 360pan suite VST3 plug-in. Reaper then needs a gentle push to see all plug-ins in the suite.

Solution:In Reaper choose Preferences... from the bottom of the Options menu and then open the VST tab in Plug-Ins:

Hit the Re-scan... button
Choose (from the popup menu) Clear cache and re-scan VST paths for all plug-ins
Quit and restart the Reaper app

Reaper preferences - Clear Cache and rescan to make the plug-ins appear

Clearing the cache should solve warnings like this:

360monitor video preview: Allow Screen Recording for Pro Tools.app

The video preview in the 360monitor AAX plug-in only functions (on modern systems and recent Pro Tools versions) when the Pro Tools.app is allowed to record the computer screen in the macOS system preferences.
Make sure you set this option to fully benefit from the 360pan suite plug-ins options.

360pan suite example projects, tutorials

Quick start: download & check out the example project / session featuring a short 360 video of us running around at Audio Ease, mono panning audio, a true ambisonics (b-format) FX recording, binaural preview and export suggestions.

Open the practice project START and open the workflow video and practice along with the video.

Available for Pro Tools, Reaper and Nuendo at:
www.audioease.com/360/#example

360pan suite goodies, free productivity tools

Here we offer a bunch of free "spatial treats" that we use at Audio Ease ourselves on a daily basis. There are no warranties, and almost all of it builds upon either Google's Omnitone or Here we offer a bunch of free "spatial treats" that we use at Audio Ease ourselves on a daily basis. There are no warranties, and almost all of it builds upon either Google's Omnitone or FFMPEG:
www.audioease.com/360/#goodies

Stereo music (headlocked, fixed stereo) in ambisonics

True headlocked stereo is not possible in the ambisonics audio format.
Ambisonics audio is a 3D audio sphere and headlocked (fixed) stereo sound does not fit into this.
This is simply impossible.

Headlocked mono is possible, that is the top channel only.

360pan suite offer to mix to the top channel using the position blur control.
More position blur (more mix to top) is more mono, more inhead/headlocked.
When you pan your stereo source hard left and right (-90 and +90) in the ambisonics sphere and you set the position blur to half way (somewhere between 0.40-0.60) you will find there is stereo sensation while you cannot really identify things turning when you look around in the 3D sphere.
If you move the position blur control more towards 1 you will find it will rotate less, but it will also be more mono. That is the trade off.

Snapper does not appear when selecting audio files

Snapper could act weird on your macOS system. In these ways: Snapper does not (always) appear when selecting audio file or Snapper crashes on quitting the application or preferences are not recalled properly.
Some check box has to be checked in the Mac OS System Preferences to ensure Snapper works properly. Maybe this somehow did not work on your system.

Please try this:

first quit Snapper (make sure it is not running)
then delete the Snapper preferences file: com.audioease.snapper.plist. This file is the Preferences folder in the User Library. Open the Mac Finder, hit the GO menu, hold down the option (ALT) key and a link to the Library folder will appear. Go to the Preferences folder and delete the file.
then please restart your mac (important)
now run snapper
open the mac os system preferences
go to the security and privacy settings panel
then to the privacy tab
select the accessibility panel on the left
open the lock on the bottom left (and fill in your password) to make changes
if Snapper is listed here, please select it and hit the - (minus) button to remove it from the list
now quit and run snapper and it should be added to the list again
make sure the box for Snapper is ☑️ checked. If it IS already checked then please un-check and ☑️ re-check it
quit and start Snapper

snapper 2 vital macos system setting in security and privacy panel

Snapper & video file preview in the finder

Snapper opens when you select any file that contains audio, also video files.
This sometimes is a problem, when you want to use the space bar to quickly preview the video in the finder.
There is a simple hack for this:

Use: SHIFT + SPACE BAR to preview the video

This works, even when Snapper is showing you the audio waveform of your selected video in the finder.

Write permissions error

Snapper uses a temp folder to write the drag export files (selections) into when you drag (a selection) out of Snapper. Somehow on your system Snapper is unable to write in this folder.

By default the drag export folder is:
/Users/Shared/Snapper

You can check in the Snapper preferences what you currently use. Open Snapper, go to the preferences, open the export tab, then close to the bottom you should find:

Hit the Folder... button to change the location (we recommend this: /Users/Shared/Snapper)
When this is set, quit Snapper, then start Snapper and then check in the Snapper Preferences if this option is still set correctly.
If not, we have to reset some things, see below.**
If the folder is correctly set, then let's open the /Users/Shared folder in the Finder, select the Snapper folder, hit get info and under sharing & permissions ensure your user and the everyone group are set to Read & Write.
Hit the circle with the three dots and hit 'apply to enclosed items'.
Now dragging audio (selections) out of Snapper should work again.

** If the settings in the Snapper preferences do not stick, something's wrong.
This problem is most likely solved by removing the Snapper cache and preferences.

Open the Mac Finder, hit the GO menu, hold down the option (ALT) key and a link to the Library folder will appear. Open the Caches folder and delete these four folders: com.audioease.snapper com.audioease.snapper.filestate com.audioease.snapper.view com.audioease.snapper.waveform
Go to the Preferences folder and delete this file:
com.audioease.snapper.plist

Then restart the mac (this is important, as the macOS caches the prefs).

Retrieve Snapper activation info (key code)

You can request your Snapper activation code by clicking on the Lost / forgot key code link at:
https://www.audioease.com/snapper/#support
This can be handy when you lost or misplaced the key code to unlock the Snapper demo to the full version.

Audio Unit:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/`
MAS:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/MAS/`
VST:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/`
AAX:	`/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/`
RTAS:	`/Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-Ins/`

Audio Unit:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/`
MAS:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/MAS/`
VST:	`/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/`
AAX:	`/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/`
RTAS:	`/Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-Ins/`

€ 59.00

What's Snapper ?

Play

Drag, Drop and Convert

Which formats can it handle?

Finder

Pro Tools, Nuendo, Logic, Cubase, Live

Copy Protection

What does the demo do ?

Snapper ❤️ SoundFX

Video tutorials

Snapper plays

Snapper displays

Snapper converts

Download the Snapper demo

System requirements

Optional downloads

Snapper is here to stay

Connect with us to stay up to date

Need more help?

Frequently asked questions

Installation

License activation

General troubleshooting

360pan suite

Altiverb 8

Speakerphone

Altiverb 7

Snapper

Store / purchase / upgrade

AUDIO EASE B.V.