Brand noob. Simple question

    GeoffMutton
    Aug 19 2010 | 4:24 pm
    Hello folks. I've been meaning to get my teeth into Max for ages and I've finally got around to starting the tutorials. Obviously, I'm blown away by the potential, but I've got a wee bit stuck.
    I'm trying to add a "+" object to my patch, to transpose some midi (just adding a number of semitones depending on the position of a slider). It's a dead simple patch and I've got it working without trouble by modifying the "simple math in max" tutorial patch.
    If I start fresh though, I have trouble creating the "+" object. I make the other objects by double clicking in the unlocked canvas and typing the first few letters of the object name then hitting return (with palette tab on "all"). If I press + on my keyboard though, I can't get any of the math function objects.
    I'm sure this is uber uber simple and that I've missed something here, but I figured I'll end up hanging around here a fair bit and asking a lot of questions, so what better way to dip my toe in the water?
    Thanks. GM
    • personal_username
      Aug 19 2010 | 4:31 pm
      shortcuts will save your life: it is very time consuming to find the object you are looking for by double clicking. instead press:
      "n" for an object (and then you place a "+" inside) "b" for a bang "m" for a message "c" for a comment
    • GeoffMutton
      Aug 19 2010 | 4:44 pm
      Superb. Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much.
    • seejayjames
      Aug 19 2010 | 5:31 pm
      Maybe it's just a personal preference, but I almost always make new objects by using alt-drag to duplicate, then adjust the text as needed. Not sure if it's faster, but for some things, probably.
      Be really really sure to read the intro docs where these and other shortcuts are explained, read it twice or more, lots and lots of time-savers in there. I found a couple of great tips after working in Max for a few months and smacked my forehead pretty hard when I did... lots of time wasted by not doing the reading... heh.
      anyway, welcome!
    • Noob4Life
      Aug 19 2010 | 5:48 pm
      Welcome my fellow Brand Noobian! Been a noob myself for 10+ years
      (i do the same thing seejayjames does, except i use ctrl/apple-d to duplicate... i've always thought this MUST be slower than using 'n' for newobject, etc. but after 10+ years, i can't get rid of the habit: you copy and paste so often in max... 'duplicate' feels naturally quick)
    • GeoffMutton
      Aug 19 2010 | 6:29 pm
      Wow, thanks for all the replies folks - certainly feels a lot more friendly and welcoming here than some other 'geek' boards I've spent time on! Anyone for a brew? Kettles boiled.... ;-)
    • connect_icut
      Aug 19 2010 | 6:37 pm
      I second that. I'm a pretty non-technical Max programmer - I only ever learn to do anything if I'm actually going to use it in a patch right away and I seldom do anything particularly advanced. Consequently, I often ask pretty basic/stupid questions in the forum. But no matter how dumb my questions have been, I've always got a polite and helpful response. Hurrah for the Max forum!
      For what it's worth, I also do a lot of copy/pasting to create new objects.