Plug-in Administration in FL Studio 20 (Windows)

On Windows, Native Instruments software can be inserted via the VST plug-in interface. This article explains how to let FL Studio scan the folder where your NI VST plug-ins are installed. You will then be able to use your NI plug-ins within FL Studio. You can find instructions for Mac in this article.

Note: Watch this video for more information about managing VST plug-ins on Windows computers.

Installing the NI VST Plug-ins

On a Windows computer, the VST versions of the software can be installed to any location on your hard drive. Read this article to learn how to define the plug-in install locations for your product in Native Access.

Defining a Plug-In Location in FL Studio

No matter where you installed your VST plug-ins, you need to define the correct VST folder in FL Studio to make sure that this location is scanned by FL Studio at startup. It is important to keep in mind that if you use the 64-bit version of FL Studio, you must add the folder where you have installed the 64-bit versions of your NI plug-ins and, respectively, if you use the 32-bit version of FL Studio, you must add the folder where you have installed the 32-bit versions of your NI plug-ins. Follow the steps below to add your NI VST folder to FL Studio:

  1. Open FL Studio.
  2. In the menu bar, click on Options and select Manage Plugins.
    KB964_FlStudioOptions.png
  3. The FL Studio Plugin Manager appears. Click on the folder symbol (+) to add a Plugin search path.
    KB964_PluginManagerWindowAddPath.png
  4. Navigate to the folder containing your Native Instruments plug-ins and press OK. KB964_BrowseForFolder.png
  5. The folder containing your NI Plug-ins is now listed under the Plugin search paths. Press the Find plugins button on the upper left side of the FL Studio Plugin Manager window to scan the content of your NI Plug-ins folder.
    KB964_NIPluginPathNowPresent.png

Now your VST plug-ins will show up in FL Studio. Instruments like REAKTOR, KONTAKT or MASCHINE will be listed in the Plugin Database Browser under Installed > Generators. Effects like GUITAR RIG, DRIVER, etc. will be listed under  Installed > Effects.
KB964_FlStudio_PluginBroswer.png

Note: Read this article to learn how to insert Native Instruments plug-ins in FL Studio 20.