Waves Central
User Guide
Waves Central is an application used to install, manage, and update your Waves software products and licenses.
You can install new products, move and deactivate licenses, install legacy software, and install to offline devices.
The first part of this guide tells you how to use each page. The second part tells you how to perform specific tasks.
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Contents
General Page Layout ................................................................................................................................ 3
Install Products ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Manage Licenses ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Create / Run an Offline Installer ............................................................................................................... 6
Settings ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Support ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Waves Central, Step-by-Step ................................................................................................................... 9
Installing Products .................................................................................................................................. 9
Basic Software Installation and License Activation (New Products and Updates) ............................................................................ 9
Updates ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Legacy Products .................................................................................................................................. 11
Installing Legacy Products ................................................................................................................................................................ 12
Using a Waves Offline Installer for Legacy Software (Connected to the Internet) .......................................................................... 12
Installing Software Products on Devices Not Connected to the Internet ......................................................................................... 13
Using the Licenses Page ..................................................................................................................... 15
Activate a License From Your Account ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Deactivate a License / Send a License Back to Your License Cloud .................................................................................................. 15
Move a License From a Device to a USB Flash Drive ........................................................................................................................ 16
Using a License on Another Account ................................................................................................................................................ 17
Recover a License ............................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Refresh Waves Central ........................................................................................................................ 18
Waves Central can be downloaded here.
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General Page Layout
Whether you are installing plugins or managing licenses, the process is always the same: select one or more
products from the list in the center section and carry out the action in the right panel.
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Ins tall Products
Use the Install Products page to install Waves produc ts—including demos—and activate their licenses.
Waves software products consist of two elements: the software and the license. Software is installed to your computer’s main drive.
Licenses can be activated to your computer or to an external USB flash drive. You can install software even if you don’t have an
available license on your Cloud.
Select A View
If you own different versions of Waves plugins
(e.g., v10, v11, V12) or if you own plugins and
Waves applications, such as eMotion LV1 or
SuperRack, you can use the View drop-down
menu to see only specific versions. Only version
types that you own are displayed in the My
Products tab. The buttons latch so that you can
combine views.
Install Products
• Select products from My Products or All
Products, or both. You can search for products by
clicking on the search icon at the top of the page.
• Your selections will appear in the Summary list on
the right. Review and edit the list of products you
wish to install.
• If there are licenses to activate, choose the device
where you want to send them (your HD or a USB flash
drive).
• Click Install to install the selected products. If
there are licenses to be activated, you will see
Install and Activate.
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Manage Licenses
Use the Licenses page to activate, move, deactivate, or recover a license.
Click the down arrow to expand the list.
My License Cloud
Activate licenses from your cloud
• Select your products.
• Click
Activate
The selected license is activated to your main HD and
is ready to use if the corresponding software is
installed. When a license has been activated on a
device, it will no longer appear in your cloud.
(default).
Connected Devices
Move licenses
• Select your products
• Select
license and returns it to your cloud. You can also
activate the license to another device.
• Click
Target Device
Activate/Deactivate
. “Send to Cloud” deactivates
.
Disconnected Devices
Recover licenses
• Select products.
• Click
Recover
The selected license is sent back to your cloud or to
another connected device.
(default).
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Create / R un an Offline Installer
There are times when you mus t insta ll soft ware and activat e lice nses to a comput er that is not co nnected t o the
internet, such as at live v enues. This req uires th at you cre ate an of fline insta ller on a n internet -connected computer,
and then install to the oth er devic e. Th is is done with t he Offl ine Inst aller pa ge. An o ffline instal ler is als o helpf ul
when you want to install legacy versio ns or install the same soft ware to s evera l comput ers.
Create an Offline Installer
• Click Create.
• Select the products for your offline
installer.
• Choose where you want to place
the installer (usually a USB flash
drive).
• Set platform (Mac or Windows).
• Click Create.
Once completed, your offline
installer is ready to use.
Install from an Offline Installer
• Click Browse.
• Select the offline installer
• Click Install.
Once completed, your products are
installed on your main HD (product
licenses are not activated).
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*The first time you launch a new version of Waves Central, it will automatically repair permissions and ownerships in order to
Settings
The Settings page is used to set default file locations and to clean up your Waves files.
ensure a clean installation. If you later encounter installation problems, you can run “Fix permissions and Ownership” manually.
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Support
The Support page provides i nstant help li nks that addres s quest ions ab out insta lling, manag ing, an d updati ng your
Waves products. This is al so where y ou fi nd system requir emen ts and qu ick acces s to prod uct reg istrat ion and a link
to your Waves Update Plan.
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Waves software products are made up of two parts: the audio processing software and the licens es that allow the
software, and you don’t wish to update now, refer to the Legacy Products page to learn about your options.
W aves Central, Step-by-Step
Installing Products
software to operate. The Install Products page installs the latest software version to the main drive of y our c omputer
and activates your license to your computer or to a USB flash drive. If you do not have a license for V10 and/or V11
Basic Software Installation and License Activation (New Products and Updates)
A product must be register ed befor e its l icense c an be act ivated in Waves Centra l. Produc ts pur chased d irectly f rom
Waves are registered autom atic ally to your Waves account. I f the soft ware was purch ased el sewhere, you ’ll need to
register it yourself by ent ering th e seri al number o n your My Ac count
appear in your account/licen se cloud. You can get the serial number from your W aves de aler.
1. Go to the Install Produ cts page. This displays a list of your purchased plugins, both V11 and V10, and their
install status.
• To view only the products for whic h you ho ld a lice nse, s elect the My Products tab.
• Select the All Products tab to view all Waves produ cts in the versions avail able for online i nstall ation. Th is
enables you to install any produc t, even if y ou don’t hold a license f or it. T hese pr oducts will no t be
available to the host unt il you con nect a USB flash drive w ith th e releva nt licen ses or activat e a valid
license on the host computer or USB drive.1
page at Waves.com. The pro duct will then
2. Select the products y ou wish t o insta ll from either list. Re view th e select ions in the Summary section on the right.
3. Use the Tar get Devic e for Li censes panel to select where you want to send t he lice nse. You c an also c hoose
not to activate the license by deselect ing all target dev ices.
4. Click the Install button. If you’re activating licenses, the butt on wil l read Inst all an d Activate.
Your products are now read y to use.
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This is useful when, for example, a studio prepares for a tracking or mixing session for an engineer who uses different Waves
products than the studio has. The studio installs all the plugins that the engineer needs. When the engineer arrives, connect the
USB flash drive and run the Version Organizer. There’s immediate access to the desired products—no need to install software at
the last minute.
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The Install Produ cts page updates software within its current version (i.e., V10, V 11), but the lic ense is
Updates
If the Updates Available button appears at the t op of the screen, then free software
updates are available for your existing software versions.
1. Click the Updates Available button. All products for which updates are availa ble will be sel ected and shown
in the list on the right. If you don’t want to c ontinue with the upda te, hover o ver “Waves Updates” and click on
the X.
2. When you’re ready, click Update. All Waves products that are alrea dy on your comp uter wi ll be in stalle d. An
update does not affect yo ur lice nse, only t he soft ware.
If any of your products have V9 or older lic enses, pl ease rea d the importa nt inform ation b elow bef ore you click
Update.
not affected. You can continue to use the existing, u pdated pr oduct s with the ir lice nses. If, ho wever, you
install a new version, with out get ting a cor respo nding l icense, the prod ucts wil l not ru n.
If you are using older vers ion lic enses t hat are covered by the Waves Update Plan, you can update them
to the latest license version in your W aves account.
If you are using older vers ion lic ense(s) that are not covered by the Waves Update Plan, you ca n renew
your coverage in your Waves account. This provides up-to-date licenses, as well as other b enefi ts. For
more information visit: https://www.waves.com/support/update-to-latest-version.
To continue using earlier v ersions, pleas e read th e next s ection , “Legac y Produ cts.”
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Whereas it is t echn ically po ssibl e to use a mix of pro ducts w ith diff erent s oftware v ersions (e.g. , V9, V10,
separate folder. This does not aff ect your licens e and yo u can cont inue to use each versio n.
Legacy Products
If you don’t want to use the Wav es Updat e Pla n to updat e your Waves license t o the lates t soft ware ver sion, yo u can
manage your older product s wit h the “Leg acy Pro ducts” pa nel at t he bottom of the screen. This panel is shown only
when V9 products are prese nt.
Manage V9 licenses takes you to the Licenses page. Only your V9 licenses will be displayed.
Update licenses to the latest version takes you to a Waves Support article about how to update your license to the
newest version.
Click “More…” to use an offline installer to install V9 and earlier software.
Legacy software and only be installed using Offline Installers takes you to your offline installer p age.
From there you can open an offline installer that you created or downloaded from the waves.com.
Download any legacy version takes you to a Waves download page from which you can download offline
installers of Waves legacy software products.
V11), we recommend that al l of your product s are the same vers ion. Thi s prov ides a mor e stabl e
environment and makes it easier to diagn ose conf licts between plugin s and host s.
If you have installed sever al vers ions an d are ex perie ncing iss ues aft er ins tallati on or act ivati on (e.g., host
not loading plugins or run ning th e wrong v ersion) , run t he Versi on Orga nizer in Settin gs>Ma intenanc e >
Version Organizer. This w ill al ign the p lugin ver sions with the licens es and move unus ed plugins to a
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Installing Legacy Products
Use an offline installer to insta ll legacy softwar e, inst all soft ware to device s that ar e not connect ed to the i ntern et,
and easily install Waves o n seve ral computers.
Using a Waves Offline Installer for Legacy Software (Connected to the Internet)
1. Quit all host applications.
2. Download the Offline Insta ller f or your legacy version at the Waves downloads page.
Mac or PC. This offline inst aller i nclude s all Wav es soft ware prod ucts, n ot just t he prod ucts for which yo u hol d
a license.
3. Unzip the folder to your d esktop .
4. Launch Waves Central. If you don’t h ave the W aves Ce ntral ap plicat ion, go t o the fo lder wh ere you un zipp ed
the offline installer an d run Wav es Central. app (M ac) or Waves Central.exe (PC).
5. Select Offline Installer on th e left side bar.
6. Under “Install From an Offline Installer,” click Browse.
7. Navigate to the offline i nstall er and cli ck Open.
8. Check that the produ cts you wish to install ar e select ed.
9. Click Install.
Select the installer type:
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Installing Software Products on Devices Not Connected to the Internet
There are two common reaso ns for cr eatin g and ins talling f rom a n offline insta ller wit hout do wnlo ading eac h time.
1. You want to quickly inst all one or more softwar e product s to s everal devices.
2. You want to install so ftware to a computer that is not con necte d to the i nternet , such a s at live v enues.
Part 1: Create an offline installer from Waves Central
Creating an offline installer requires a computer that’s con nect ed to the internet .
1. In the Offline Installer pa ge, clic k Create.
2. Select the software product s that you wish include in the offline installer packa ge.
3. Define the Offline Instal ler prop erties: targ et folder and fi le name . Default file locations:
PC: Desktop
Mac: /Users/us er name/Public/Waves Offline Installers/
4. By default, an offline i nstaller will be f ormatt ed in t he same op eratin g as the com puter on which it is cr eated.
You can change the operatin g system of the offlin e insta ller (M ac or PC) .
5. Click Create an Installer.
6. When finished, copy the ne w instal ler from your de sktop to a USB flas h driv e in ord er to mov e it to an offlin e
computer
Part 2: Install from an Offline Installer
Before you begin an offlin e instal lation, make sur e you have ac tivated l icense s for th e product s you are in stalling. A
license is not part of an offline installer —y our acti vated l icense will usu ally be o n a USB f lash dr ive. You m ay cho ose
to activate the license on t he sam e flash d rive as t he offl ine inst aller. U nlicens ed pr oducts w ill be i nstall ed, but you
won’t be able to run them wit hout the ir lice nses.
Begin by connecting the off line i nstaller USB fl ash dri ve to the t arget c omputer .
Option 1: Waves Central is n ot insta lled o n the targ et comp uter
1. Open the folder where the offline installer is located.
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2. Unzip the file called Waves Central. Copy t his file to your hard drive and launch. This opens the same version of
Central that was used to create the offline installer.
3. Follow the steps below.
Option 2: Waves Central is ins talled and r unning o n the target comput er.
1. Click Browse.
2. Browse to the desired offline installer.
3. Load the installer.
4. Select the products you wish to install.
5. Click Install.
You can, alternatively, drag the offline installer icon onto the Waves Central interfac e (Mac only).
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more than one device. Activate to a USB flash drive to conveniently move a license between hosts.
Using the Licenses Page
This is where you manage you r licens es. You d o not ne ed to u se this pa ge to perform a basic installation in the
Install Products page, s ince lic enses ar e activ ated w hen the so ftwar e is inst alled.
Use the Licenses page to:
• Activate and move licenses fr om and t o the Li cense Cloud
• Move or activate a license to a USB devi ce or an other com puter .
• Recover a license, typically fr om a devi ce that h as bee n broke n, lost, or stolen.
Activate a License From Your Account
This procedure moves a licens e from yo ur licens e cloud t o your computer or an e xterna l drive.
1. Select the Licenses p age.
2. Select My Lic ense Cloud at the top of the page. Use the arrow on the r ight to e xpand t he list.
3. Choose the licenses you wis h to act ivate. Selecte d license s will appear i n the li st on the r ight.
4. Choose the target de vice for t he acti vated l icense.
5. Click the Activate button.
The license is activated on the se lected d evice a nd no lo nger ap pears o n your c loud.
Deactivate a License / Send a License Back to Your License Cloud
You can deactivate a lice nse and s end it y our lice nse cl oud.
1. Select the Licenses tab.
2. Select Connect ed Devices. U se the arrow at th e right to expa nd the list.
3. Choose the license you wa nt to de activat e.
4. Select Send to My License Cloud.
5. Click the Deactivate button.
A deactivated license can r emain i n your license cl oud ind efinite ly. Dow nload it to a dev ice whenev er you want to
reactivate it.
You can install Waves software on several devices, but you cannot use a single license simultaneously on
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Move a License From a Device to a USB Flash Drive
This procedure moves lic enses fr om one dev ice to an other us ing a USB flash drive as the go-between. First, move
selected licenses on the s ource device to a USB flas h driv e.
1. Connect a USB flash drive to t he com puter that’s ru nning W aves C entral.
2. Select the Licenses tab.
3. Select Connect ed Devices and expand the license list. This is a list of the licen ses locat ed on this device .
4. Choose the licenses you w ant to m ove.
5. Select the USB flash drive as the tar get dri ve.
6. Click Activate.
If you connect this USB flas h driv e to another system that has other v ersions insta lled, yo u may enc ounter problems
between the host and the pl ugins (e.g., host not recognizing th e plug ins, re cognizin g the wr ong v ersion, b ecomi ng
unstable). This is likel y the res ult of ther e being differ ent vers ions of the same plugins in the pl ugins fo lder. Use the
Version Organizer in Settings>Maintenance > Versio n Organ izer. Thi s searc hes for duplicat e plugi ns, place s the
redundant ones in an Unused Plugins fo lder, and pres ents the host wit h the m ost cur rent lice nsed ver sion of each
plugin. Repeat this procedur e each t ime y ou take your USB flash licenses to a diffe rent stud io.
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Using a License on Another Account
If at times work in another st udio t hat alre ady has l icens ed Waves plugi ns insta lled, except for few that you’ll need
for your session. Central let s you a dd your li censed plugin s to the e xisting inventor y on the studio’ s comput er.
1. Insert your USB flash drive in the com pute r at the st udio wh ere you will be wor king.
2. Log in to your Central accou nt and go t o the A ll Produ cts tab of the In stall Product s page.
3. Select your licensed plugi ns tha t you want to use i n addit ion to the st udio’ s inve ntory an d instal l them in the
studio computer. Do not act ivate a ny lice nses, if given t he opti on, sinc e they alr eady exist on y our US B drive.
4. When the install is finishe d, Cent ral will automat ically r un the Ve rsion Org anizer to rul e out dup licate copie s of
the same plugin. This is not destr uctive.
5. Launch your session. The s tudi o’s plug ins, al ong wit h yours, will loa d. You ca n use the st udio’ s plug ins, but
you can’t manage them in Cent ral since y ou don’t own them. They ar e grayed out in the Connected Dev ices
tab, as shown below.
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Note that each license can b e reco vered o nly onc e per year . If you later f ind or ret rieve a devic e for wh ich
revocation of license reco very pr ivile ges for the assoc iated ac count .
Recover a License
If your computer fails, tak ing your licens es with it, or if you lose the USB f lash dr ive, you can us e the Dis conne cted
Devices page to reco ver them .
1. Select the Licenses tab.
2. Select Disconn ected D evices. Use the arrow on t he rig ht to ex pand the list.
3. Choose the license you wa nt to rec over. Select license destinat ion. The default is your License Cloud.
4. Read the notice on the right and select I Understand.
5. Click Recover button. The default destination is y our l icense c loud.
a license has been recovere d, con nect it to your com puter a nd log o n to Waves Centra l, the license
recovery period (1 year) will aut omatic ally reset . In the event that a replaced lic ense i s found, transf er of
ownership or sale of the fou nd lic ense is s trictly pr ohibit ed. Vio lation of thi s policy w ill res ult in t he
Second License
For your convenience, you can activate a license to two devices (e.g., two computers, a computer and a USB thum b
drive). If you attempt to activate two identical licenses to one device, you will receive a notice asking if t his is, indeed
what you want to do. There is no risk in activating the second license to the same device—you can always move one or
both of them to your License Cloud—but you aren’t taking advantage of having two licenses.
Refresh Waves Central
If you don’t see a newly added product or license, click on the Refresh button next to the a ccount name in the
upper-right corner .
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