Overview
Quick Actions is a floating command palette you can summon from anywhere on your computer — even while you’re inside your DAW. Press a single keyboard shortcut and a compact window appears, letting you instantly search your sample library, jump into a conversation with the AI Assistant, or open your results in the Sample Browser without having to change and manage windows.Opening Quick Actions
Press Ctrl/Command+Shift+Space (the default shortcut) at any time, even when Sample Vault is not the active window. The palette appears centered on your screen, always on top of other windows. To close it, press Escape or click anywhere outside the palette.Searching for Samples
Typing in the palette immediately searches your local sample library and shows live results. The first result plays automatically so you can audition sounds without clicking anything.Sample Result Controls
Each result in the Samples section shows a compact player with:- Play/pause button — toggle playback for that specific sample
- Copy button — copy the file to your clipboard, ready to paste into your DAW
- Filename — with key, BPM, and loop/one-shot badges on the right
- Drag handle — drag a sample directly into your DAW timeline; the palette hides itself automatically when a drag begins
- Playback progress bar — a subtle background fill that tracks playback position
Navigating Results
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| ↑ / ↓ arrow keys | Move between results; the highlighted sample plays automatically |
| Enter | Copy the selected sample to clipboard |
| Ctrl+Enter | Shuffle — jumps to a random result and plays it |
| Escape | Clear the search text (press again to close the palette) |
| Mouse hover | Switch back to pointer navigation |
Filter Syntax
The Quick Actions search bar uses the same token grammar as the Sample Browser —#120 for tempo, @Cmin for key, !loop for type, %dark for tags, $techno for genre, &adam for creator, +cymatics for sample pack, * for favorites, plus 16 sound-profile ranges like atk:30-80. Recognised tokens are highlighted with color-coded badges inside the input field.
See Search Syntax for the full token reference and dropdown navigation.
Actions
Below the sample results you’ll always see an Actions section. Actions let you route your current input to other features in Sample Vault.Ask Assistant
Appears when you have typed somethingOpens a new AI Assistant conversation with your current input pre-filled as the first message. Use this when you want to have a full conversation — for example, asking for creative suggestions, requesting samples with a detailed description, or getting music theory advice. Example: Type
suggest chord progressions for a dark trap beat and select Ask Assistant to jump straight into the chat.
Open in Sample Browser
Always visibleOpens the Sample Browser with any filter tokens you typed already applied as filters. The plain text portion drives the search there — matching by name and by how samples sound. Use this to move from Quick Actions into the full browsing experience without losing your filters. Example: Type
#128 @A !loop $house and select Open in Sample Browser to see all matching samples in the browser with those filters active.
Audio Controls
At the bottom of the palette, a slim status bar shows the same audio controls available in the main app:- Ableton Link — shows connected peers and lets you start/stop Link sync (desktop only)
- Transpose — toggle key transpose and adjust semitone offset
- BPM Sync — toggle tempo locking and edit the target BPM
Configuring the Shortcut
If the shortcut does not respond, check that no other application has claimed
the same key combination. Use at least two modifier keys (e.g. Ctrl+Shift+…)
to reduce the chance of conflicts.