There are two different ways to save beats in Life: on the shortlist, and as presets.
Save a beat to the shortlist
The ”Beat Shortlist” is a list of up to 6 beats based on the same source file that you can quickly switch between while working. You can use the shortlist to explore different variations of the same rhythm, or even different rhythms completely. Beats on the shortlist remember your changes automatically when you switch between them, so you can experiment freely.
- To add a beat to the shortlist, click the plus in one of the empty slots. This will duplicate your current beat into the empty slot and select it.
- To remove a beat from the shortlist, click the X button that appears when you hover over one of the beats in the shortlist. You can’t remove the last beat from the shortlist.
The shortlist only exists in that instance of Life running in your DAW, so if you remove the track or project, you lose the beats on the shortlist. And remember that the shortlist can only contain beats from the same source file, so if you switch source files, you also lose the beats on the shortlist.
Save a beat as a preset
For more permanent storage, you can save a beat as a preset. Presets are saved to disk and synced with XLN Cloud Sync, so you can load them in another instance of Life, and even on another computer.
- To save a beat as a preset, click ”Save Beat” next to the source file name in the top bar. Enter a name for the preset or press the dice icon to get a random combination of words as a name. Then press ”Save” to save it. The saved beat will show up under the source file in the source file browser.
- To load a beat saved as a preset, click the name of the source file in the top bar. Then select a saved beat on the same file in the source file browser, and click ”OK”. The saved beat will replace the current beat.