There's an example in the doc files which shows two arrays being displayed in the same graph or canvass (see "16.more.arrays.pd" in "C:\Program Files\Pd\doc\2.control.examples", at least under Windows). I'd like to do something similar, but I can't figure out how to initially create the two arrays in one graph. It's probably very simple, but so far, it escapes me. Has anyone tried this?

Thanks.

@dfkettle it was mostly used for testing so I could keep the pd window from being filled with errors, mostly needed for the abstraction version since it will at times have no arrays to compare and would then throw errors. I will upload the abstraction later, it works better and makes it easy to have as many arrays as you want, it just has one bug which I have not gotten around too dealing with.

I decided to redesign the thing, taking a different approach. Rather than try to display two arrays in the same graph, I defined one array (named "$1-array"), the only one which actually gets displayed, using the Put menu. Then I defined two other arrays (named "$1-velocity" and "$1-duration") using [array define], and a horizontal radio button to allow the user to select which of the two arrays to display. When the user clicks on one of the radio button selections, it saves the current contents of $1-array and then copies the contents of the selected array into $1-array.

It works the first time I open the patch, but when I go to close it, PD asks me if I want to save my changes (even though I didn't make any changes, except to the data in the arrays. I don't have "Save contents" checked either. If I say "No", I can open the patch again and it still works. But if I say "Yes", it replaces the original name of the displayed array ("$1-array") with the actual number (for example, "1150-array", as in the screen print below) inside the patch. I'm not sure why it's doing this, or if it's expected behaviour. It doesn't over-write the names of the other two arrays ($1-velocity and $1-duration) inside the patch, though. Any ideas?

The whole thing is getting a little complicated, so I've uploaded the parent patch ("test-array-abs.pd") and the abstraction containing the arrays ("array-abs.pd"). This is the line in "array-abs.pd" that gets changed if I say "Yes". Of course, I could try to remember never to say "Yes", but that's a bit much to ask of the user, I think. And it's kind of annoying to have to answer in the first place.

Before:

#X array \$1-array 32 float 2;

After:

#X array 1161-array 32 float 2;

test-array-abs.pd
array-abs.pd

@dfkettle The arguments are replaced with it's actual value when the abstraction is created. This should answer your questions and provide solutions.
https://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/13539/dynamically-patched-vslider-with-local-send-symbol

Edit, forgot the save issue. the arraydialog message probably counts as an edit. You need a dirty 0.
https://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/12550/how-to-avoid-saving-request

@oid I didn't think I was doing any dynamic patching. All three arrays have already been created, $1-array was added using the "Put" menu and the other two, $1-velocity and $1-duration, using [array define]. I'm not creating any new objects while the patch is running, I'm just modifying the properties of an existing object.

Anyway, I added a [namecanvas] object to my abstraction and sent it a "dirty 0' message. That seems to do the trick, even if I deliberately save it anyway. The line declaring the array doesn't get changed from "$1-array" to "nnnn-array" in the patch file, even after a save. I don't understand why this works, but anyway, thanks.

@dfkettle You are not doing dynamic patching, but it is the same mechanism which causes the argument to be expanded, or so I thought. Not sure of what is happening here and why dirty 0 inhibits the expansion. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

@dfkettle Very nice with the [color $1( message. I once build a complicated object to modify the color of an array. https://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/11184/colarray-a-graphical-array-where-color-and-line-width-can-be-set Didn't know the message.

@ingox Do you know if the colour values are documented anywhere other than in the source code?

@dfkettle For the properties window it is the Tcl/Tk Palette..... in [pd_colors] ....
However looking at @ingox's patch the "Data struct" subpatch in [pd_colors] seems to be the one to use with integer values.......
I have included an rgb (text) table in the zip because colours can also be set by name if Tcl/Tk is involved behind the scenes........ and the table gives the rgb values.
colours-Pd.zip
David.
(P.S.) also added [tk_palette] but [sys-gui] is required to send messages to Tk. It opens the palette chooser which gives rgb, hue etc. for any colour available.

@whale-av The message to the array object just takes a single integer. rather than an RGB triplet. So I guess it depends on the context, or what kind of object is the target. I'll try the values in your patch.

Thanks.