Using a qlist text file, how can I send data to several inlets as one event. for example, by using one click of the 'next' function, how could send data to inlet1, inlet2, inlet3 ?

Give those lines a leading number of 0. Then use a [sel 0] from the left outlet of [qlist] to send the [next( message back to it. This should cause those messages to be sent immediately after each other as though they were one event. Just make sure the other messages have a different leading number .

well... that could work, but i'm trying to basically make a score in which i'll need to send ramping values to multiple sources in discrete stages. for example, in one "stage", i'll need to simultaneously need to tell

inlet1 ramp to 50 over 500ms
inlet2 ramp to 4000 over 5000 ms
inlet 3 ramp to 1.4 over 80 ms

there will be many 'stages' in which i need to send these multiple ramping values at once. can that be done?

Yeah, just have those lines in the text file contain ramp times for [line] or whatever you're using to ramp and send them there. You also might be able to simplify it by putting them all in one line and having all your "inlets" be the same. Then you can just take out what you need with pack or [$1( messages. For example, using the values you gave, you could have a line in the text file look like this:

ramps 50 500 4000 5000 1.4 80;

Then for each part you could have some thing like this:

[r ramps] <-- "inlet1"
|
[$1 $2(
|
[line]

[r ramps] <-- "inlet2"
|
[$3 $4(
|
[line]

[r ramps] <-- "inlet3"
|
[$5 $6(
|
[line]

Doing it that way will allow to progress through each stage by just sending the [next( message once.