Andrew May

Abstractions in the same directory as main patch, in .mxt format. Opening main patch in Max4, Max5, or Max6.0.5: no problem. Opening in Max6.0.8: error "newobj: [abstraction]: No such object. Opening abstraction independently: no problem. Experienced this problem on two different MacBookPro machines so far, one running OS 10.6, one running 10.7. Tested with multiple patches; a small test patch is attached.

max6-0-8-mxt-abstractions-not-loading-reliably

Also happening on 10.8 in case it matters.

change the name of your abstraction and it will work.

Well yes that was the first idea to remedy but if you're dealing with software environments that have been working since olden days of Max use and have been distributed to people with an assumption of compatibility then this becomes an issue. Hopefully it's only a bug but if it is a concious change in Max's architecture then it seems odd since it's always appeared that a goal of C74 is to maintain a maximum level of compatibility with patches made in previous generations.

if you are on mac, dont use filename extensions at all.

removing it now will not effect backwards compatibilty.

Thanks for the replies (and for stringtapper's verification of this in 10.8). To clarify, this was a bug report. With pieces going back to 1995, I am personally hoping not to have to change several hundred file names, retest a dozen or so pieces, and send out new versions to many dozens of performers and other colleagues. There are quite a few folks using old "text format" files out there, so I have every confidence this will be remedied soon.

We are aware of this problem and are working on it.

I apologise for the inconvenience - the problem is not present in Max 605

Max6.0.8: mxt abstractions not loading reliably