I want to go from points to Bezier curve, and viceversa, using some message, or technique. (I mean, changing an array's style without using the Properties dialog).

As far as I know, there isn't a message for doing such a thing, but maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe there's some viable alternative technique.

(Note: my project is going in a vanilla-friendly direction).

Thanks for your kindness!
Landon

@LandonPD said: Ah I should've clarified: I meant for arrays. Remember? http://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/8932/unable-to-hide-object-name-arguments-on-arrays-in-os-x-10-9/9

This isn't the answer you're looking for, Landon, but it might take you some of the way.

Curve types are stored in the .pd file in the following manner:

• point-type array: #X array array1 100 float 3;

• polygon-type array: #X array array1 100 float 1;

• bezier-type array: #X array array1 100 float 5;

It is the "float x" part that determines the curve type. Goodness knows why is it called "float" (when this word means something else) and what "float 2" and "float 4" do.

Using [textfile], it would be possible to find the appropriate field in the .pd file and change it automatically. However, the change wouldn't come into effect until you close the file and re-open it again, and I assume that this isn't what you're looking for.

@rjp9 Oh, I see. Yes, I remember perfectly about that. Miraculously, I've just posted a new post there explaining that you can (partially!) solve that using a non-breaking space. Go there and have a look. It's not exactly what you wanted but at least it might have its uses.

@LiamG Thanks a lot Liam! I'll take a look at those lines.

Interestingly, I have already looked at those lines but I've only seen 2 and 4, not 1, 2, or 3. So I have to go back to see what I missed. (And yes, you're right, I'm looking for a realtime thing).

Anyway, I've been thinking things like this: one array on top of another array, one of them has points style, and the other Bezier curve. So I'll only have to send info either to one or the other. (In fact, I could have three arrays on top of each other, one for each style).

This should work but I have to consider various little things that could go wrong, as always. For example, the frozen array will have to be cleared somehow so that it doesn't block the visualization of the other, i.e. visual garbage.

I'll have a look at those 1, 3, 5 that I didn't see.

Thanks for taking some time thinking about this, I really appreciate it Liam.

Where there's a will, there's a way! Anything is possible in PD.

@LandonPD - as far as arrays problem goes, i think only way it could be done is by dynamic patching (deleting old array and recreating it with all settings, only with the display type changed). But I don't know if it is really worth it. I remember some time ago I wanted to dynamically create array and abandoned whole idea...

OT:
@LandonPD said about nop~:

...Hopefully, somebody reading this thread will remind us about its authorship.

It was me . I'm glad somebody found some use of it, in fact I never did...

@LiamG said:

Where there's a will, there's a way! Anything is possible in PD.

I agree with the first statement, fully. The second statement...is just biased.

@xbarbie Oh, I imagined you were the author, but I was not sure! The thing is that there is, at least, one similar thing somewhere in Pd extended, sthg that is grabbing a bunch of cords...I don't know where. But your objects are great, and come in both control and audio flavours. You posted both here, I remember well: http://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/8827/how-to-bend-a-cable-in-pure-data/7

Thanks again, and I hope to be sharing with all of you some preliminary vanilla-friendly humble results in a few weeks.

End of transmission.

I finally figured this out! To change the array settings, send the following message to the array name (ie. [s array1]:

arraydialog array1 100 $1 0

where array1 is the array name, 100 is the size, and $1 is:

• 0 = points, don't save contents
• 1 = points, save contents
• 2 = polygon, don't save contents
• 3 = polygon, save.contents
• 4 = curve, don't save contents
• 5 = curve, save contents

You can also use this to rename and resize an array, but we have tools for this already. I don't know what the last 0 is, but it has to be there and it seems to break the array if it's any other value.

It's that simple! I hope that @LandonPD sees this--he hasn't visited this forum in a long time...

You can do it, but it requires some severe hacks, and it will apply to all garrays in the running instance:

1. Open the hidden canvas that contains the struct for float arrays (use the "vis 1" message to display it)
2. Use "mouse", "mouseup", and "key" messages to select the [plot] object from that canvas and delete it.
3. Use dynamic patching to make a new [plot] object. Use the same arguments as the one you deleted, except for the last argument. Change that one to a constant-- 0, 1, or 2 (can't remember which one maps to which trace style
4. Rinse and repeat

Deleting the [plot] will redraw all garrays, and creating the new one will redraw all garrays again.

The name for the hidden canvas is something like "_float-array" (or maybe "_float_array".

Edit: I forgot about "arraydialog" mentioned above. That's obviously preferable.

I'm dealing with a similar problem as the OP -- except in my case I'm not using the put menu arrays but instead a bank of individually named instances of the newer [array define] object. Currently, [array define] arrays will not launch a GUI pref panel and can only be setup/modified with a limited set of creation arguments or externally received messages.

The display parameters in my use case are static, so if it's doable I can either edit the text file and leave it, or use a "loadbanged" message box connected to the inputs of all the [array define] objects in the bank. The problem I have with editing the text file is that the syntax for [array define] does not appear to be the same as the standard array syntax given above. The message box method has a similar issue in that I can't seem to find a proper syntax to get it to work.

I have not yet tried the arraydialog method, but if it works this would require sequentially sending the arraydialog command to all the individually named array objects at every startup -- a bit of a pain to implement and in this use case not really worth the trouble. That's assuming it will even work with [array define] as so far I have found no method to change the display style with this object.