# Open a SET & Resources

The two buttons at the top that start everything: Open SET/KST to load a KORG SET or PA5X KST, and Resources — your personal library of SETs, KSTs, AKX sets, styles and Community downloads.

Web page: https://pasetexplorer.com/tutorials?c=open-and-resources

In this chapter:

- How to open a KORG .SET or PA5X .KST folder (three ways)
- What happens while a SET loads
- How to use the Resources library: Favorites, All, Community, Browse
- How to open a second SET or a Medeli AKX set next to the first (Import/Merge)

## Open SET/KST — load your SET

Everything starts by opening a SET. In PA SET Explorer you always open the **folder** of the SET (the folder whose name ends in `.SET` or `.KST`), not a single file inside it.

**Step 1 — Copy the SET from your USB stick to the PC**

On your keyboard, save your SET to a USB stick. Copy the whole folder — for example `MySET.SET` (PA300 – PA4X) or `MySET.KST` (PA5X) — to your computer, e.g. to the Desktop.

> **Tip:** Always keep an untouched copy of the original SET somewhere safe. It costs nothing and saves you from any surprise.

**Step 2 — Click Open SET/KST**

Press **Open SET/KST** at the top right. A folder window opens.

![The Open SET/KST button in the header.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/ui-tour.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. **Open SET/KST** — click it to choose a SET folder.

**Step 3 — Select the SET folder**

Go to the folder that ends in `.SET` or `.KST`, click it once, and confirm. Do **not** open it — just select it.

**Step 4 — Wait for the loading window**

A **Loading SET** window shows the progress, the file being read and a log. The first step is “Preparing the working copy”: the program copies your SET to a safe working area so that nothing you do touches the original until you press Save.

**Step 5 — Choose the keyboard model**

Pick the keyboard the SET is for (see [Getting started](https://pasetexplorer.com/tutorials?c=getting-started#first-launch)). A PA5X KST is recognised by itself and skips this step.

![Screenshot](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/select-model.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. All supported models with their sample memory.
2. Click your keyboard.
3. Or **Skip**.

> **Your SET is open:** The SET name appears under the program name, the memory bar shows how full the SET is, the sidebar shows how many sounds and PCM samples it has, and the status bar at the bottom gives a summary (sounds, PCM, styles, performances, pads). The SET is also added automatically to **Resources → All** so you can reopen it with a double-click next time.

### Three ways to open a SET

| Way | How |
| --- | --- |
| Button | **Open SET/KST** → select the `.SET` / `.KST` folder. |
| Drag & drop | Drag the SET folder from Windows Explorer and drop it **anywhere on the program window**. The window shows “Drop a KORG .SET / .KST folder to open it”. If a SET is already open, you are asked “Replace loaded SET?”. |
| Resources | Double-click the SET in Resources → All or Favorites. |

> **If you already have changes:** Opening another SET replaces SET A. If SET A has unsaved changes, the program first asks “Save the changes to SET A first?” with **Save**, **Don’t save** and **Cancel**. See [Saving & Undo](https://pasetexplorer.com/tutorials?c=saving).

**Tips:**

- A SET folder normally contains sub-folders such as `SOUND`, `STYLE`, `PCM`, `PAD`, `PERFORM`, `GLOBAL` and `MULTISMP`. If you see them, you are one level too deep — go back and select their parent folder.
- Dropping a single style file on the window does not open it: drop styles into **Resources** instead (the program reminds you with a message).
- Dropping a Medeli AKX/Zen folder on the window opens it in SetManager as an AKX set.

## Resources — your library

**Resources** opens your personal library: every SET, KST, AKX set and style you have opened or added, in one place. Only the **location** of each item is saved — nothing is copied or moved.

![Resources → All with KORG SETs, PA5X KSTs, an AKX set and KORG, Yamaha and Medeli styles.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/resources-all.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. **Favorites**, **All**, **Community** and **Browse** — with how many items each one has.
2. Every item is a card with its type (SET, KST, STY, SFF, MSF, STG, AKX) and its name.
3. The full type: Korg SET, Korg KST, Korg Style, Yamaha Style, Medeli Style, PA5X Style, Ketron Style or AKX/Zen Expansion.
4. **Star** — add to / remove from Favorites.
5. **✕** — remove from the library. The files on disk are **not** touched.
6. Reminder: double-click a SET/KST to open it, right-click an AKX/Zen folder to load it.
7. **Open Folder** — opens the Resources folder (your Community downloads) in Windows.

### What a double-click does

| Item | Double-click | Right-click |
| --- | --- | --- |
| KORG SET / KST | Opens it as SET A (you are asked first; the open SET is closed). | — |
| Any style (KORG, PA5X, Yamaha, Medeli, Ketron) | Opens it in the [Style Player](https://pasetexplorer.com/tutorials?c=style-players#universal-player). | ▶ Open in the Style Player · Open in SetManager (MIDI) for KORG .STY / .stg |
| AKX/Zen set | Loads it like **Load AKX/Zen Set**. | Load AKX/Zen Set |

![Right-click menu of a style in Resources.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/resources-context.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. A Yamaha style.
2. Right-click → **▶ Open in the Style Player**.

## Resources → Community: your downloads

Everything you download from the PA SET Explorer **Community** website (styles, samples and drum kits shared by other musicians) appears here, sorted by brand and type.

![Resources → Community with 40 downloads.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/resources-community.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. Show **All**, **Styles**, **Samples** or **Drumkits**.
2. Show only **KORG**, **Medeli** or **Yamaha** files.
3. Search by name.
4. Open the Community downloads folder.
5. A downloaded resource: name, brand and kind, file type and size.
6. **⇄ Open in the Converter** (styles) — convert it to another format.
7. **📂 Show in folder**.
8. A Medeli voice (.voi) downloaded from the Community.

Double-click a style to listen to it in the Style Player. Double-click a sample or a drum kit to open its folder. To put a Community style straight into a SET, use **Import Style → From Community** on an empty slot (see [Importing](https://pasetexplorer.com/tutorials?c=importing#import-styles)).

> **Getting Community resources:** Click **Community Resources** in the sidebar: the Community page opens in your browser. When you choose “Get it” on the website, the program asks for which instrument you want it (KORG PA300 – PA4X, KORG PA5X, Medeli AKX, Yamaha or Ketron) and saves the file — already converted — into this list.

## Resources → Browse: add things to the library

![Resources → Browse.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/resources-browse.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. **Drag & drop here** — KORG .SET/.KST folders, AKX/Zen folders (with a .GSTarget) and style files.
2. **Add Folder…** — pick a SET, KST or AKX folder.
3. **Add Style Files…** — pick one or more style files (.STY, .sty, .stg, .kst).
4. Items added here go to **All**. Items dropped on **Favorites** are marked as favorites.

**Tips:**

- Use Resources as your “style shelf”: add the styles you like from anywhere on your PC, then double-click to listen or import them into a SET with **Import Style → From Resources**.
- If a card says the item “no longer exists at its saved location”, you moved or deleted it in Windows. Remove the card with ✕ and add it again from its new place.
- Press `Esc` or click outside to close Resources.

## Two SETs at once: Import/Merge

To copy things **between** SETs you need two of them open. That is what **Import/Merge** in **SetManager** is for:

![Import / Merge — what do you want to import?](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/sm-import-merge.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. **KORG SET / KST** — load a second KORG SET or a PA5X KST as **SET B**, next to your SET A.
2. **Medeli AKX / Zen expansion** — open a Medeli AKX/Zen set next to your KORG SET (or next to another AKX set).

**SET A (left, cyan)**

- Your **main** SET — the one you edit and save.
- Everything you drag lands here.
- Has the working copy with Undo, Redo and Save.

**SET B (right, orange)**

- The **source** SET you take things from.
- Drag its styles, sounds and pads onto SET A.
- Loaded with Import/Merge.

The full story — drag & drop, groups, pages, banks, KST rules and Medeli AKX — is in [Combining SETs](https://pasetexplorer.com/tutorials?c=combining-sets).

> **Premium:** **Import/Merge** is a **Premium** feature.