Max installation differences when using M4L without standalone Max?
I'm hoping someone can help me ensure installation is easy for people who only own Max for Live and have a couple of questions:
How do users set their Max file preferences? (the search path is important for Scheme for Max). Do they need to open a max for live device in edit mode to get access to this?
How do they install an Extension? S4M 0.4 will be an extension instead of an external as it adds some new objects. Do they just need to find the Max paths as we do in normal Max? And if so, can anyone tell me where they would look for these?
thanks!
Yes, you access Max from the devices. You can also open Max only (without Ableton Live) by opening a maxpat file directly for example, but Max will be in Runtime mode. The Max folder is in your user library /application support /cycling74, same as standalone Max (on Mac). I hope this answers your questions, I'm only discovering Max for Live since a few months and didn't install extensions or packages.
Thanks Georges, very helpful! Do you also have a Max 8 folder in your user Documents folder? (I do from standalone Max install).
Yes there is a folder in the user Documents as well. I find the default locations a bit confusing because there is a "Max for Live Devices" folder in the Max folder in Documents but also a "Max for Live" folder under "User Library" in the Ableton default folder which is in the user Music folder. Max saves the devices (.amxd) inside this folder in the Ableton folder in Music by default.
EDIT: Sorry, I find this so confusing I always forget where things go. Max actually saves the devices by default in three folders corresponding to the three types of devices inside the Presets folder in the Ableton User Library folder...
Max standalone and Max for Live share the same installation if I understand correctly. It's the same application, you just access it differently. If you already have Max standalone installed Ableton Live will just add the Max for Live stuff (opening a device patcher at launch). If you only have Max for Live as I do at the moment everything is the same except you must go through Ableton Live and some things like gen~ are runtime only, you need to buy a licence to fully activate them. There is also some limitations, but I'm not sure about them.
Thanks Georges. Have you tried installing any externals? I'm hoping to find someone who can verify how to install my package (Scheme for Max) for people like you. It sounds so far to me like they should be able to put it in ~/Documents/Max 8/Packages just like a "regular Max user", and then will need to open Max through Live to edit the file path preferences.
I appreciate you taking the time to answer these!
I'm pretty sure this is how it goes, yes. I'd gladly test your package but I don't have much time right now. Can you attach the package and instructions here?
Hi Georges, thanks for the offer. I will post a link here when the next build is ready. I will make a simple test device too that does a couple of things for people to use to test an installation.
thanks!