Is there any way to view . Kst files?

[Smoothiemusic]

Not had my Pa5X very long, but after completing my regular back up of the keyboard to a USB, I wondered if there was any way of looking at what is in the backup on a pc?

I use Windows 10

Thanks for any advice.

[duby2]

Yes it's just a file nothing special about it.
You can open it up with windows notepad.
Click on the file right click in windows it should say open with or give you an option to pick what program you wanna open it in I just pick notepad in a few seconds later it opens up and you can look inside. If you have a backup of the file easier than play around with it but I always have a backup.
Now the next problem is what you're looking at you won't be able to understand what it says or what it means almost always you'll just be able to pick out a few words which probably mean not much to anybody.
I would compare the PA 4 style I guess the PA3 or the PA 5 which looks different again it's tough to decipher what it is since you don't know how the file is made.

If you wanna have fun make yourself an empty file with nothing in it weather in BA program style a sample and save a fresh new foul. Then take that same foul and add one thing to it or edit it by one letter or number then resave it then open both files up and compare what they look like to see what the difference were.
I noticed when I did that what the PA3 compared to the PA 4 I noticed the headers at the beginning were different they're usually made to tell you where to jump to the next location but then again it's something that you have to know a little bit about.
So have fun but remember make sure you have a backup.

[Smoothiemusic]

Thanks for this Duby
I'm still new to the Korg filing and storage systems, so just wanted to know more about it, as far as basically deleting files that are of no use to me.
Once I've got the hang of it, I'm sure I'll understand.
I'll have a play with this.

Appreciated.

[chelsea4023]

Hi,
I'm not sure this would be any use, but you can download a free 14 day trial version of Korg PA Manager for Windows 10 and that might allow you to look inside the USB backup.

https://korgpamanager.com/

I do have a full version of P.A.Manager 5.1 for PA5X that I purchased several years ago (and keep updating). I'm not 'tech-savvy' but would be happy to check anything out for you (under instruction).
They also have an online chat feature in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. They are very knowledgeable on matters like this.
Chris

[Smoothiemusic]

Thanks for this Chris

As I explained, I primarily want to see what I have in the files with a view to not carrying styles etc that I have no use for.
I come from Yamaha, so although I understand the Yamaha systems very well, learning the Korg filing system has been quite challenging.... But I'm getting there.

I'll take a look at that Korg Pa Manager, and thanks for your kind offer.
If it's not silly expensive I might invest in it, as it's doubtful I could return to Yamaha after experiencing the sheer quality of the Pa5X.

Thanks again.

[Aripearlmusic]

The PA Manager has many more features than just viewing files including editing, even sampling, and many crucial organizational tools

[Smoothiemusic]

The PA Manager has many more features than just viewing files including editing, even sampling, and many crucial organizational tools

Thank you for this.
I'm going to evaluate the Trial version and go from there.

[rikkisbears]

Hi, my styles, (just the styles themselves ) I used to just organise in my pc.
Just open up the folder till you get to the .kst’s. They can be moved around and organised.
I did recently upgrade my Korg PA manager ( hadn’t used it in years) it is a brilliant program. Going to take a while to work out everything it can do. So much more than I’ll possibly ever need.

[Smoothiemusic]

Thanks Rikki

That is helpful, and I'm going to check it out.

Keith (ex-psr forum)

[rikkisbears]

Hi Keith,
the styles system on PA5x is very similar to my sx900.
I actually organise my user styles for PA5x as I do for my sx900

I keep all my user styles ( my database) on usb stick.
I have folders for all the categories. 01.Pop, 02.Ballad , 03.Ballroom,etc
Inside each of the folders I have a folder for PA4x styles, a folder for pa3x, a folder for pa800 etc
Basically there’s a lot of double ups thru the various model keyboards, same as there was for Yamaha series. ( I went thru approx 5000 Yamaha factory styles and ended up with just over 1,000 ( I think , that weren’t duplicates of what I had on my sx900, can’t quite remember as I can’t get access to psr style site anymore and I can’t be bothered counting them)
Anyway reason for keeping them in model categories, a Pa4x style is going to sound better than an identical pa1x or pa800 style. Not only that , but pa800 only have 2 fills not the 4.
I keep a full set of the styles on my pc for backup, just in case I accidentally delete something.
As for organising, I move them round, delete them, copy them etc on pc.
I then audition them on PA5x and delete the ones that are duplicated or ones that I don’t want.

The handy part of PA manager, it puts together printable lists and identifies the keyboard the style came from.

I don’t know if I would have bought it ( in Aust. Dollars it’s pretty expensive) a lot of the functions I may never use, but I initially bought it years ago for my pa3x, lost it when I upgraded pc’s, and forgot all about it, till I came across an old email receipt. Decided to see if it would let me upgrade, (some 10 years later) it did, so thought why not.
It will help sorting thru styles a lot easier, I’m going thru process of rechecking.

[Smoothiemusic]

Hi Rikki

Thanks for this extra information.
I'm going to fire up my pc over the weekend, and have a good look at what it offers.
I've already put all the Yamaha styles I am ever likely to need into my deep backup hard drive which I keep separate from the pc.
After experiencing the sheer build quality of my Pa5X I think it's highly unlikely I will buy Yamaha again, but who knows.

Thanks again
Keith

[JagiChan]

I did view a KST with the "Notepad++" software on a PC; and to me it looked like a bunch of crazy, unprintable characters at first, but later in the file I saw some kind of XML encoding schema which had various sections that were pointing in some direction in the main file. Maybe the XML file contains the paths to the various elements used in the styles, sounds etc., That's all I could make out.

You can download the Notepad++ which is free software from the link https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/. It can handle all kinds of files of varying sizes and it also comes with various useful plugins.