File path settings for recorded Session clips in Max4Live

erik.spangler · Post by **erik.spangler** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 4:32 pm

I have the Ms Pinky M4L patch working great with files I'm loading from my samples library or from my own songs folder within iTunes. However, even after specifying the file path for my Live Sets folder in Max/MSP, I cannot seem to have Ms Pinky access to session clips that I record directly in my Live set. Any ideas why this might be? Suggestions for file paths?

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:19 pm

Are you on Windoze or OSX? If on Windoom, there are issues that prevent a recorded file (with write permissions) to be opened simultaneously by two different programs. Did you try completely closing the file (removing it from your session) after recording to see if then it can be opened by Ms Pinky?

erik.spangler · Post by **erik.spangler** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:47 pm

I'm using a MacBook Pro with OSX 10.6.3

The folder where I keep my Ableton Live sets is the 5th path that I have specified in the MaxMSP file preferences. Is that too many paths for it to keep track of for loading audio files?

JuanSOLO · Post by **JuanSOLO** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:09 pm

Ableton is adding numbers to my recorded tracks, prepending the tracks name I see in session view.

For example if I record a loop in session view and it is automatically named "1 Loops 1" in the "recorded" folder of the project the name is "001 1 Loops 1"

So Ms Pinky wont load the track using highlighted clip, because the names are different???

Anyone know how to fix this?

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:24 am

I've never seen that problem. Perhaps there's some little-known Ableton setting somewhere that determines this? Maybe ask on the ableton.com forums...

Question: Are you on Mac or Windoze?

JuanSOLO · Post by **JuanSOLO** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 2:13 pm

I'm on a MAC.

JuanSOLO · Post by **JuanSOLO** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 3:27 pm

So, I get word at the Ableton forums, this has always been the way Live names recorded clips?

Is there something I am missing??? The Ms Pinky M4L device will not load recorded clips in Session View.

I have my file paths set correctly, and the js. object has the script in it.

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:00 am

OK. One quick solution would be to add a switch in the patch such that when enabled, the characters "000" (or whatever they happen to be) are prepended to each file name prior to having max find it within its search path. In the example patch, go to the far lower righthand corner of the patch and find the "route is_audio_clip name" object. The middle outlet from that object is the file name. Insert a "prepend 000" at that point, with a switch so that you can disable it when you don't want to load a recorded clip with the "000" at the beginning of its name.

JuanSOLO · Post by **JuanSOLO** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 10:49 pm

Thats the first thing I thought of, and tried, however you cannot use multiple zeros in Max for some reason, it usually truncates it to a single zero.

Are your recorded clips named the same way? with 000 stuff added before them?

JuanSOLO · Post by **JuanSOLO** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:43 pm

If on a Mac you can use Automator and a renaming script for a Folder Action that will strip the zeros. This works for now, HOWEVER I would really like an instantaneous possibility.......see thread, and discuss PLEASE

http://www.mspinky.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1103

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 3:49 am

Oh, my bad. Don't use prepend. Use "sprintf 000%s" to do the prepending of the "000".

kanystr · Post by **kanystr** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:43 am

I am newbie in max, have same problem, but solution "sprintf 000%s" makes my ableton crash if i put it in front object named "prepend fix_name". If replacing it not working.
if I delete 000 everything working.
Am I doing something wrong?

Mac 10.5.8
Ableton 8.2.7
m4l 5.1.9

JuanSOLO · Post by **JuanSOLO** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:15 pm

I am not getting crashes, but somewhere along the way the Pinky Patch stopped picking up recorded clips as is once did. I have never found out how to fix it, but I figured out some other stuff yet I still need help streamlining it.

http://vimeo.com/35278018

maybe you can help.

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:18 am

Pure DOPE! That's awesome. But we have to figure out why it no longer finds your recorded clips. Are you sure the folder where your recorded clips are stored is still within Max's search path? Check the "max" window to see if Ms Pinky is spitting out any error messages....

JuanSOLO · Post by **JuanSOLO** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:30 am

My file paths are set right. the problem is the prepending zeros on the files.

I didn't pay enough attention to this stuff before, like right when this patch came out, but I remember this DID work. I quit using Pinky for a while and when I came back to her, I realized this was no longer working. I also realized that inside the device It was trying to gather the name of the "highlighted" clip. The highlighted clips name would be something like

"1 Audio 01", but the file would really be named "001 1 Audio 01"

I had tried the sprintf% trick you recommended but that didn't work, it's hard to remember, but I thought I remembered that the prepending 00# was somewhat randomly generated by Live. So in session view the clip might be named one thing, but the actual files prepending numbers were kind of random, so stripping them would not always load the correct file. Like I said I kind of forgot what the trouble was with all of that. It would be great to see that functioning again.

Does it work for you?