Cycling 74 » Topic: Software for creating signal path / schematic / routing diagrams.

Software for creating signal path / schematic / routing diagrams.

sidechained — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:28:42 +0000

This might be slightly off-topic for the list, but I figure some of you will have wanted to do the same thing at some point, so here goes…

I’m working on producing a diagram showing the signal flow of a Max patch, for a presentation. Is anyone aware of any suitable software for creating routing diagrams or schematics? I’m not necessarily looking for something that makes super-technical diagrams such as you’d find in a mixer manual (its more a flow chart type thing) but would be interested to know what kind of packages are available.

Some more general advice about generic software that is capable of this kind of thing would also be useful (e.g. word/open office/DTP software etc). I could use photoshop but don’t want to spend a whole day on it (everything done in photoshop seems to suck time!)

Regards,

Graham.

Re: Software for creating signal path / schematic / routing diagrams.

jko — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:48:12 +0000

I do it like that and then make a screencopy I paste in whatever I need it in. Easy and looks good.

– Pasted Max Patch, click to expand. –

Re: Software for creating signal path / schematic / routing diagrams.

David Beaudry — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:54:44 +0000

I always use Omnigraffle! Fantastic app, very easy to use, and quite useful in many different applications.

HTH,
David

Re: Software for creating signal path / schematic / routing diagrams.

seejayjames — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:45:40 +0000

sidechained wrote on Sat, 28 February 2009 10:28

I’m working on producing a diagram showing the signal flow of a Max patch, for a presentation. Is anyone aware of any suitable software for creating routing diagrams or schematics?

….. max?

I would think the best way to show the signal flow of a Max patch would be to use that same Max patch… especially as it’s already built… and you can add all kinds of niceties including animation of the signal flow, so you could “step through” the chain of logic by changing coloration of your objects, patch cords, etc. If you only want a diagram then it’s just a screen shot, but if you’ve got Max on your presentation machine, then why not spice it up with some animation, since signal flow is what Max is all about?

Most colors etc. can be changed with direct messages to the objects, and look into [thispatcher] for even more options including cord color-changing which could show where the “signal” currently is. It would be straightforward to have a step-through presentation of what’s going on in the patch, which you could control with the space bar or mouse, or have it timed-prerecorded using [mtr]. You could also have all the steps in a hidden [coll] which sends commands to a hidden [thispatcher] or routes them to the appropriate objects.

Re: Software for creating signal path / schematic / routing diagrams.

sidechained — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:12:20 +0000

Hi all,

Thanks for the positive input. I did consider using Max itself, and may still go down that route.

Not sure if I can use the existing patch itself – it’s quite complex. Maybe if my programming was more organised itself the signal path would be clearer!

I like the idea of using [thispatcher] for a step-through approach, but I’m reluctant to spend time programming yet another patch when I still have plenty of Max work to do in other areas. Still, it might not take so much time…

As a quick to use alternative Omnigraffle looks great, time to download the trial version and have a play.

Regards,

Graham.