Getting Started

This guide walks you through installing aerial, activating your license, and loading your first samples into the scatter plot.

System Requirements

Installation

1. Download the installer from whiteroomaudio.com/downloads.
2. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
3. The plugin installs to standard system locations:
   • macOS AU — /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/
   • macOS VST3 — /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
   • macOS AAX — /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/
4. Restart your DAW to pick up the new plugin.

Activation

After purchasing aerial, you will receive a license key via email. To activate:

1. Open aerial in your DAW.
2. Enter your license key in the activation field.
3. Click Activate.

Free Trial

Want to try aerial before buying? A 14-day fully functional trial is available with no feature restrictions.

1. Open aerial in your DAW.
2. Click Start Trial.
3. Enter your email address.
4. Check your inbox and click the verification link.
5. aerial unlocks immediately with all features available for 14 days.

First Launch

Once aerial is activated (or running in trial mode), you are ready to start exploring your sample library:

1. Click the Add folder button in the folder browser to add a sample directory.
2. You'll be prompted to specify whether the folder contains one shots or multisamples. If you select multisamples an extra filter is applied to the scanning stage. This is so you can scan folders of multisampled instruments into aerial without all files being added.
3. aerial will scan the folder recursively for audio files and begin analyzing them in the background.
4. As analysis completes, samples appear as dots on the scatter plot.
5. Click any dot to audition the sample. Double-click to load it into the sampler.
6. Use the axis selectors to change which audio attributes are mapped to the X and Y axes.

From here, you can explore the Scatter Plot to visually browse your samples, or head to the Interface Overview to learn about the full layout.