my name is mark, i am from germany, this is my first posting...

i would like to use pd extended but i am experiencing several issues...

in windows when i right click an object and open the help of that object the audio shortly interupts with a clicking noise. when i open the same help file several time it does not interupt anymore. however this is very anoying because you will always habe a look into the help at some time.

in linux i do not have this problem, but... in linux it is not so comfortable to connect the objects. in windows you do get this little circle wich kind of snaps wich makes connecting objects more easy and quick.

what kind of solution is possible? i know about latency and asio drivers, please do not answer that i need a new interface or what ever. i see that pd might be full of bugs? but also i think pd is quit good and uefull for me, so maybe there is a workaround. also, what is the point with 32 and 64 bit? The other thing.. pd does not close in linux, i alsways have to killall jackd and the gui does not look god in linux. in windows it kind of integrates better, but the interupting audio when oppening the help is a shame.

so what can i do now, dont use pd, because it is the bug. but all the books about sound design refer to pd.. why do they do that when pd is so buggy

Hi Mark and welcome to this forum,

Before trying to address your problems, I would like to very honestly suggest that you reconsider the way you are asking for help here. I understand you are frustrated with your problems, but it's really not very wise to bash Pd in your first post in this community and then expect tons of replies trying to help you. We are all volunteers and/or regular users here, and most of us will gladly try to find out what is going on on your side and how to improve it. Of course I understand that English is not your first language (nor it is mine) and that we can sound harsher than we think when speaking it, so please consider what I wrote above simply as friendly advice, okay?

so what can i do now, dont use pd, because it is the bug. but all the books about sound design refer to pd.. why do they do that when pd is so buggy

I honestly don't think Pure Data is particularly buggy, but of course you will find problems with it (although I can't think of a single piece of code that is completely bugless). I find it extremely reliable and I have made several concerts, performances and sound installations using it. To be honest, I never had a crash with Pd during these situations (can't say the same about Max MSP).

Also, if you are using pd-extended then you must keep in mind that it hasn't been updated in the past 3+ years, and inevitably it will show its age. For an up to date version of Pd, try Pd vanilla for all platforms or if you are on Linux try the amazing Pd-l2Ork (my personal choice, it has an amazing GUI).

in windows when i right click an object and open the help of that object the audio shortly interupts with a clicking noise. when i open the same help file several time it does not interupt anymore. however this is very anoying because you will always habe a look into the help at some time.

If you are not having problems on Linux but are having on Windows, then there must be something wrong with your configuration. I used Pd on Windows without a problem for years before moving to Linux. I was using it with a free audio driver called ASIO4ALL and it worked flawlessly as far as I remember. But maybe it would be better if a Windows user would reply about this.

in linux it is not so comfortable to connect the objects. in windows you do get this little circle wich kind of snaps wich makes connecting objects more easy and quick.

That is just because the cursors are different, I think, but the area in which you can click to create a patch cord is the same on any system and so that shouldn't pose a difficulty for you. Also, on my Linux Mint 17.1, the cursor does change when you are hovering above an outlet and a patch cord can be created (it's not a circle, but it's a different cursor and so it works the same way), so it's very easy to tell it apart.

what is the point with 32 and 64 bit?

See http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/32-bit-and-64-bit-explained.htm

The other thing.. pd does not close in linux, i alsways have to killall jackd

That really shouldn't be happening. Can you give us more information about this problem: which distro? Which version of pd? 32 or 64 bit? Does it happen all the time or only once in a while? etc.

the gui does not look god in linux. in windows it kind of integrates better

Can you post images here, please? The GUI of pd-extended should look identical on both systems as far as I know. Last time I checked both pd extended and vanilla on Windows and OS X, they look all the same to me.

Take care,
Gilberto

@v8tx7 Hello Mark...
I can only comment for windows (I am using windows7 ultimate). http://puredata.info/docs/manuals/pd/x2.htm chapter 2.52 is interesting reading (it is all interesting.. but around 2.52 is about audio.

The advice about audio from "native instruments" (google-able) is always useful as well. And you might have to play around with the [mediasettings/audiosettings] (in pd) that you can adjust for your soundcard. Increasing the Delay(msec) setting (media tab) will probably help with the "clicks".

However the starting point is not to change your sound card. A computer is not the ideal dsp engine. When you open the help file there is disc access (the first time!.... after that it is in ram until it is "page filed")....... and the screen is redrawn. In windows you should definitely disable "aero" for a start if you are serious about audio, check whether you are reading an audio file from the same disc as the help file, and check whether your disc is accessed through usb on the same bus as your soundcard. I have a MacBook pro that is a complete disaster for audio because it uses the usb buss for the trackpad and the keyboard, and the cd drive, and my soundcard is competing for access on the same bus!.

As Gilberto says, Asio4all (latest version) is great, and free. Make sure to tick the "callbacks" box in Pd media settings so that they "talk" well to each other.
And help files are there to help. So as you progress you will no longer need them...but I agree, that is not the answer.
Best wishes,
David.

i knew it...

don't get me wrong i really like pd, but why are 30.000 postings in technical issues but only 320 in tutorials. i think pd s success comes from the fact that it is graphical and therefore easier for most people to get in to it. And of course, when you are used to a tool and it is working, so why change it. so i don't blame you for using pd... but i prefer SuperCollider.

I am sory to say but always when i get in touch with pd extended i run soon or later into bugs. and i knew would try to tell me it a fault of my wrong latency / asio settings. so why does any other audio application i use run fine.

however i do not care anymore about pd and would like to stay with SuperCollider. At the end of the day it does not matter which environment you use, any programming language does the same. You withave to feel your self confident with it..

thanks anyway

i knew it...

So why bother posting then?

why are 30.000 postings in technical issues but only 320 in tutorials.

Because most people come to this forum in search of help, including yourself. On top of that, there are tons of materials out there to learn Pd. There is the fantastic Loadbang book, as well as a huge part of Designing Sound is dedicated to Pd. Miller's own book is also a fantastic source for advanced people. Then there are plenty of tutorials on youtube, we also have a manual at FLOSS manuals. We also have a mailing list and a repository page to post bug reports. And as if all that isn't enough, we have this forum with volunteers.

I am sory to say but always when i get in touch with pd extended i run soon or later into bugs

Well, I also had some troubles trying to run SuperCollider in one of my notebooks (the other works fine, and same OS on both of them), but I don't think that the program is overly buggy nor am I going to their forums trying to convince them of how rubbish that program is. You are experiencing problems and that's frustrating, but your attitude won't get you anywhere.

and i knew would try to tell me it a fault of my wrong latency / asio settings.

We are politely trying to troubleshoot a problem for which you gave very little information about. Sorry but nobody said "it's your own fault", we are simply trying to find a solution. Your lack of cooperation (and of politeness as well) make this process much more complicated.

however i do not care anymore about pd and would like to stay with SuperCollider.

Suit yourself.

At the end of the day it does not matter which environment you use, any programming language does the same

That's incorrect. Try doing complicated mathematic equations on Pure Data or audio work on Fortran and you'll see what I mean.

thanks anyway

You are welcome.

SO I HAVE THE CORRECT SOLUTION

PD does overwrite the buffer settings from your soundcard. you have to set the buffersize from within pd. I did not know that, but that was the solution...

my souncard was setup correct but the driver did not show that pd only uses 64 blocksize, it did still show 512, so i thought everything is fine and blame it on pd itself

all the stuff you where writing so much... was unnessacary, the solution is to set up the blocksize from within pd, where you choose the soundcard, you might will not pay attention to this smal box, but it is there...

Man, I rest my case. So first you blame Pd itself, then you get angry at us for suggesting that the problem may be with your configuration and then it turns out that the problem is indeed with your configuration, as both David and I pointed out in our first replies. Had you been more polite and cooperative this would have been discovered much earlier. I posed you a lot of questions in the first reply to try to troubleshoot your problem but you never even bothered answering them, so how do you expect that we knew exactly that your problem was caused by you not knowing how to set the blocksize?

all the stuff you where writing so much... was unnessacary

They were just a reply to your unnecessary comments in the first place. You are really extremely ungrateful and your attitude shocks me, as this is not typical on this forum at all -- this is one of the most peaceful forums I know, and this is my first ever confrontation here. I certainly hope you won't misconfugure anything else and come back here blaming it on Pd or on us as I don't have patience for this type of exchange, but if you do come back then I wish you good luck finding someone here to help you next time you run into problems.

peace? i guess you dont follow the news dont you...

blocksize to come or to go. i expect the audio driver to overide the software settings and not the other way around, maybe that was the reason why i did not pay attention to it in first place...

i dont know, maybe i am a little stressed out from reading tons of code and books... sometimes you are getting so deep into it that you dont see the simplest thing... what ever who cares as long as it is working in windows.. pd integrates perfectly into the windows enviroment, where as under linx the menubar and scrollbar look just ugly also the small circle that comes up when connecting two objects makes things much eisier... that was some of thereasons why i got pissed of... also i dont like that jackd stuff in linux

peace