Max Greatest Annoyances #5: it is possible to save a patch using one of the ‘reserved’ names

MaxMSP
Valery_Kondakoff's icon

Valery_Kondakoff

If you save your patch using the name of one of the existing Max objects, this object can not be instantiated anymore. For example, if you save your patch as message.maxpat, you will lose messages functionality in all of your patches. I fully understand why this happens, but this happens again and again (ask the support guys!), because it is impossible to memorise all of the Max object names.
I think user-friendly environment should give user a warning in case if he is trying to save the patch using one of the reserved names.

vichug's icon

vichug

a warning (or a more explanatory error message, at the least) would be good and/or more newb friendly, indeed ! I see how putting a warning at time of save would be extremely difficult.

Miillkk's icon

Miillkk

I think this can just be chalked up to good house-keeping with files.

Just like it's good housekeeping to not use spaces in file names so that they can be called elsewhere, it's good house-keeping to have a specific file name format. I always put the current date at the beginning of my patches for example, or my initials as a "library name" in the beginning of my abstractions.

Max Gardener's icon

Max Gardener

Mr. Grossman has some good advice there, I think.

Bill 2's icon

Bill 2

A related annoyance is when C74 starts using a user's abstraction names without warning, something I grumbled about here: https://cycling74.com/forums/%22palblocks-mxo%22-mysterioiusly-appearing-instead-of-abstraction