Hello. I'm trying to create a sample-player that plays random files from within the folder of the patch.

Right now it's composed of a [random] object sending out values between, say, 0 and 10 to a [select] object that then routes the bang to a message containing the specific filename, which is sent to an [open $1.wav] message for [readsf~], which is then read. No problem, it works just fine.
But as the patch grows and the number of samples I want to use increases, I want to be able to swap out filenames faster and with more ease, and typing in the individual filenames of each file quickly becomes a hassle. A workaround I did was to simply re-name the local samples to the values 0 through 10, so that I could skip the use of the [select]-object altogether, but having to re-name samples every time I want to use it in the patch is likewise a hassle.

Is there a way to create an index of symbols (for filenames) that can be used in a similar fashion to [table] and [tabread]? Input a number, it spits out the information sitting in the relevant index. Would [list] be a way to achieve this? I haven't worked too much with the object, but from what I gathered, it didn't seem to be the best choice. But please do enlighten me if I'm wrong.

I'm using Pd-extended for what it's worth.

Thank you.
M.

Hi there,
if you're using pd extended then I think you could have a text file in the patch folder with the names of the samples on each line and then use [msgfile] to address the text file.

Hope this helps.

I got it to work with [msgfile] after some fiddling. I found the helpfile on the object a bit confusing. But was able to send the number to [msgfile] via a [goto $1] message, which - annoyingly - doesn't output anything by itself before a bang is received. A simple use of [trigger] to direct the flow of bangs sorted it out.

Using a simple textfile to address the filenames doesn't seem to get any more convenient. Thank you, weightless.

I got it to work like this:

Oh, the [this]-message outputs the symbol? That's great.

yes, the 'goto' message brings you to a specific line in the text file, then the 'this' message outputs the content of that line. You can do other operations on the text file with [msgfile], which is why I think when you go to a specific line, it doesn't output its content straight away because that mightn't be what you want to do all of the times.

Sure, that's understandable. Thank you very much, that's just what I needed.
M.

You're welcome, I'm glad to help out.