Thanks mnb I hadn't thought of that. I tried adding them to a [textfile] and then that to the [qlist] but that didn't work. Doing the 'add2' straight to a qlist does the trick!

I'm trying to implement a very simple sequencer/player in Objective C using libpd (in an iOS app). It seems to me like the easiest way to do what I want is using [qlist]. Then I can just construct the strings dynamically (timing and note value) in Objective C and pass them to the qlist. The problem is that the qlist needs to read from a text file and writing out to a text file only for it to be read right back in is going to be really hacky and could cause memory issues. Is there anyway to pass messages to a qlist without using a text file? Like the way you can add them to [textfile] without needing a text file? I really need the tempo/timing handling [qlist]. Is there something that gives similar functionality? Thanks!

So, it's loading the plugin, the plugin just isn't doing anything. So it's looking in the right place for it. I get the message:

'canvasgrey-plugin.tcl' already loaded, ignoring: '/Library/Pd/canvasgrey-plugin.tcl'

It's seeing the one in my home dir first.

@llorona Thanks! I had high hopes when seeing the info in those links, but unfortunately it doesn't work for me . I tried using the Tcl prompt and entered

set canvas_fill "grey"

That did nothing.

There was no ~/Library/Pd or /Library/Pd directories so I created them and added file 'canvasgrey-plugin.tcl" containing the line:

set ::canvas_fill "grey"

and that didn't work either.

I'm using OS X Mavericks. I'm also using Pd Vanilla, could that be the reason? According to the GUIPlugins link, these paths should be valid for Pd Vanilla 0.43, I'm running 0.44 so maybe they've changed? No ../Pd directories by default on my machine means no pd-gui.tcl either... Or does Pd keep it's stuff somewhere else on OS X Mavericks?

I should clarify... The way I'm doing it now is basically everytime I create a new Pd file I immedately create a 1000x1000 canvas of my chosen background colour and add it to the patch. If the patch grows/shrinks from that size, then I have to resize it, but 1000x1000 is usually ok. Then I have to do the same thing anytime I create a subpatch. I've tried with an abstraction to eliminate steps from the process, but the abstraction is only created in a new patch window when you click the object box in your main patch window.

Is there a way to change Pd's default background to something other than retina-burning white? My eyes can't take it anymore and I don't see any sort of preference or anything...

I know you can use a canvas, but is there an easy way to resize a canvas as your patch grows; apart from right-click-->Properties-->fiddling with numbers to get the right size. Ideally if there's no straightup preference, then something like an abstraction with a canvas in it that knows how to resize to the Pd window dimensions?

That book is a good place to start, and that's about it. It's almost completely outdated as a good 3rd of it is dedicated to RjDj so those pages can pretty much be torn out and thrown away . The book also actually contains the statement "...but having a Pd patch output MIDI events only makes sense if the patch is supposed to control external MIDI hardware, such as a synthesizer. That is a rare use case for mobile apps." which was sort of ridiculous in 2012 when the book was written (there were probably a dozen iOS MIDI interfaces then) and is completely ludicrous now, as there are probably over a hundred, not to mention Audiobus, which I think actually came out late 2012. The good news is that there's surprisingly little you need to do to interface between Pd and Obj C and if you build the "GuitarTuner" app in the book you'll have pretty much everything you need to know from an Obj C standpoint.

Is there anyone out there still using it (or know where to get a copy)? I'm talking about the "abandonware" version circa early '90s. I believe it would be something like version 2.x. I still run a 68k Mac and I would love to be able to do some dev on it. I've been trying to build Pd on it but have been unsuccessful so far. Thanks!

@EEight said:

@lagomorphonic said:

get a look that's something reasonable and not this graphics/format heavy look

There's only 4-5 themes in NodeBB currently. I might create a new theme if many people request it (also this theme is fully mobile compatible).

Understood. It's just that on the front page in particular, the information is obscured by the giant talk bubble graphics. The graphics are all the same, so it's not like they provide any additional information or for finding the forum you'd like to browse. They're just... "there".

Thanks!

Is there anyway to get a look that's something reasonable and not this graphics/format heavy look? For instance, is it really necessary to have a split screen right now to see my typing mirrored in? Also, on a practical note, search engine links to posts on the old site no longer link to their relevant pages, they all simply take you to the generic front page for this site.

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and relatively new to Pd, though I'm a long time programmer with a vfx development background (in addition to being a musician, of course). So this may be an incredibly stupid question but: How the hell do you "comment out"/deactivate/turn off parts of a patch short of deleting it? I've been driving myself crazy having to completely cut out pieces of graphs and set them aside, then reconnect the remaining portion, then disconnect it again and then reconnect the code I set aside or simply delete them altogether for debugging because there's no way to turn them "off". I've looked everywhere online, including the loadbang book, but I can't find anywhere that explains how to do it. Or maybe I'm doing it wrong and that is not the paradigm. Please point me to the Pd-idiomatic way of doing this if not. Thanks!

LucienR thanks for that example. For some reason I was not originally able to open it; it just opened a box with a number input and that was it... but I was just able to get it to work just now. This is really helpful. Very cool!

jancsika you're right I guess I didn't think of that! Since I'm new to Pd, I still see the remaining portions of the branch as "active" or "contributing" even though there's no data flowing through it once you've removed the input. LucienR I'm not quite sure if I follow you, could you send me that example? Thanks for the help guys!

Thanks Lucien. I would rather not post a patch because people are then going to give me a way to do it for that specific patch and that's not what I'm asking. By your comments, I'm guessing there's not a way to do what I'm asking. If we were programming in code we'd do something like this:

// program is throwing an error, I suspect the following block is the culprit,
// so I comment it out. I can simply remove the "//" when I'm done to return
// the program to where it was.

//if (self) {
// _sequence = [self.sequenceLookup objectForKey:[self signature]];
//}

In Pd what I'm asking is if you have a branch of processing "A" that follows a wire to another input to another branch of processing "B" which flows through another wire to a branch "C":

A-->B-->C

If I suspect B is problematic, or I simply want to see what the result of A sent to C will be without B's contribution, is there a way to keep the flow from A-->C intact, but functionally remove B without deleting the connections between A-->B and B-->C, then moving B aside, then connecting A-->C. And then, when I'm done, I will have to delete the connections from A-->C and connect A-->B then B-->C again. It's extremely tedious and time consuming to do this. It would be tantamount to cutting out my block of code in the programming example above, pasting it into a separate text file, running the program, then copying the code snippet from the external file back into the program when I'm done testing. [route] and [spigot] could be used in certain cases, but that would be more like "unit testing" than commenting as you'd have to plan out your scenario ahead of time.