I'm sorry that I can't help now - I use the other distribution, and as I
still have a slow connection (and now not so much free time), I can't
download the other installation and try it myself. Maybe it would help to
see where you got this version and ask the e-mail contact that might be
there directly (that doesn't seem to be the original Puckette build), or
check Help->about pd and say to the list exactly which version you have
(until now I thought we were speaking about the same thing).
can you open the .exe from the command window with the flags you need? (I
don't know this distribution, but that would make sense)
if you had the time, you could try to install the "official" version
(which you can get in http://crca.ucsd.edu/~msp/software.html), and then
the externals individually. it isn't that hard, and when you do it once
you do it thousands of times - but if you have already too much on your
mind, then leave it for later.
- Midi In doesn't work. And the Midi Setup will NOT let me fix it!
It "sees" the devices but it refuses to enable them. It says PD needs a
flag on startup, which I can't supply because my PD does not start the
normal way (as I'm trying to explain).
- The cheatsheet doesn't exist in my PD.
that I find strange, and doesn't make that much sense - maybe it was
forgotten somewhere. Anyway, I can send you my copy. As I said before, put
it in [pd]/doc/5.reference and it should open automatically - if not, open
it yourself with your text editor.
Specific to my copy is that I added all the externals that I have
installed. the objects are originally divided into categories, and
somewhen comes the ";" symbol - after that are externals (which you should
also have, if your version comes with everything).
I'm using Reaktor for now, I wanted to do open source but I see that PD
is just not developed enough yet for the "average" user. It's a shame
though, as some operations I can do better with PD objects (though I
wish PD had the granular samplers and oscillators of Reaktor as built-in
abstractions or externals). I'm a composer though, not a programmer,
and I have an August 11 performance I have to be ready for. I can't
afford waste time trying to fix broken things in a program, when I can
be making tools instead. And honestly, right now Reaktor adapts to "my"
ideas that I imagine in my head much better than PD. PD has the
potential but I think needs to be developed farther and with more
attention for the "average" user needs.
well, the most important of all is that each one can go further with their
work, no matter if he uses pd, reaktor or excel.
I don't know Reaktor (but have always heard good about it), but the main
advantage of pd is also it's biggest frustration: to work with it you must
really know what's going on in all levels. it's good because you get the
knowledge which will later allow you to make your own personal ideas come
true, but it'll take you some time before you can get there and really do
something which sounds nice. I'm also a composer and not a programmer
(never had a programming class or read a computer manual). and with this
kind of practice you'll also learn a lot about acoustics, electronic
music, etc. if you have some free weeks in the summer you can download
Puckette's book (don't have the link now, try the above mentioned site)
and read through it and try out the examples in pd - that is, if pd is for
you. if not, then better use what it suits you best.
when you reply, you should use the "reply to all" button. one specificity
of this list is that if you do only "reply", you reply only to the guy who
wrote the previous mail (that I find not so efficient, but they're used to
it).
good luck,
João
Lugostr. 14 79100 Freiburg i. Br. Deutschland +49 (0)761 7074997 jmmmp@arcor.de