Third-Party Kontakt Libraries - Licensed vs. Unlicensed

This article explains the differences between licensed and unlicensed Kontakt Libraries and helps you with the installation.

1. Licensed Kontakt Libraries

The manufacturer's system requirements for a licensed Kontakt Library will state that you can use the Library in the free Kontakt Player.

After the purchase you will receive a serial number from the manufacturer. You add this serial number in Native Access and can then proceed with the installation. You will find detailed setup instructions for licensed Kontakt Libraries in this video.

Licensed Kontakt Libraries will show up in Kontakt's Library Tab:

In Kontakt 7 you can also find the Libraries in the new Library Browser. You can toggle the view with the Library Browser button:

2. Unlicensed Kontakt Libraries

The manufacturer's system requirements for an unlicensed Kontakt library will state that you need the full version of Kontakt to load the Library.

You will not receive a serial number for the Library, because unlicensed Kontakt Libraries cannot be installed or activated with Native Access. Instead, the manufacturer will provide a download for you.

There are several ways to open an unlicensed Library:

1. In all Kontakt versions you can load unlicensed libraries from the Files tab:
2. Another way to organize your unlicensed Libraries is to add them to Kontakt's Quick-Load Catalog. This video shows how to do it:
   
3. In Kontakt 7 you can add the Libraries to the Library Browser.