<!DOCTYPE html>
<HTML lang="en">
<HEAD>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<TITLE>Pd Manual - Chapter 3: Installing and configuring Pd</TITLE>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="pdmanual.css" media="screen">
<link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico">
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<div class="nav nav-top">
<div class="nav-back"><A href="chapter2.htm">< Chapter 2: Theory of operation</A></div>
<div class="nav-home"><A href="../index.htm#s3">Table of contents</A></div>
<div class="nav-forward"><A href="chapter4.htm">Chapter 4: Externals ></A></div>
</div>
<div id="corpus">
<IMG id="logo" src="icon.png" ALT="pd icon">
<H2>Chapter 3: Installing and configuring Pd</H2>
<P> The following are instructions on how to get Pd installed, configured
and running on your machine.
<P>Pd runs under Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS. How to get Pd up and running
depends on your operating system, but the overall strategy is the same. You must
first get and install it, and then untangle whatever problems arise in handling
audio and MIDI input and output, and finally get Pd to meet its real-time obligations
reliably.
<H3> <A href="#s3.1" id="s3.1"> 3.1. Installing Pd </A> </H3>
<P> Most commonly, you want to install Pd as a 64 bit application, which is available
for download, but a 32 bit versions is also available for older OSes. The download
page for Pd is <A href="https://msp.ucsd.edu/software.html">
https://msp.ucsd.edu/software.html</A>. Binaries are provided for Windows and macOS,
while Linux users can get Pd from package managers. The source code is also available
in this link for you to build Pd yourself.
<P> Note that Miller's website only offers Pd compiled for single precision, but Pd
can also be compiled and run in double precision. An alternative to Miller's website
we have <A href="https://puredata.info/downloads/pure-data">
https://puredata.info/downloads/pure-data</A> with Pure Data downloads. Note that
besides the official single precision application, this link also offers an experimental
download for double precision. Note that the double precision application needs externals
compiled speacially for it.
<P> Installation instructions are platform-specific and described in each case in this
section, but Instructions on how to build Pd yourself for all supported OSes in both single
or double precision is provided in <a href="chapter6.htm">Chapter 6: Building Pd from source</a>.
<P> Note that you can have different versions of Pd and also Pd compiled for different
architectures and float precision in the same machine/OS. The Pd application is named in
a way that it distinguishes itslf from other versions in each case. The "regular" Pd is
for 64-bit application and single precision. The double precision Pd application is named
"Pd64", which can be confusing, meaning that it is for 64-bit architecture, but it means
it uses double precision really (whose float size is "64").
<P> If you run into any installation trouble you can also consult the Pd mailing list
archive on <A href="https://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list">
https://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list</A>, which often has late-breaking
news about configuration problems and solutions.
<H4> <A href="#s3.1.1" id="s3.1.1"> 3.1.1. macOS</A> </H4>
<P>Pd supports macOS from 10.7 and up. There is a version for 10.7 to 10.9 provided,
but the main download binary for more modern OS versions supports 10.10 or newer and
is the form of a .dmg file. This is a universal binary, for both intel or apple silicon
chips. Just double click on this disk image so it opens and you can then drag the Pd app
where you want (most likely in the Applications folder). An old 32-bit version is also
provided for 10.7 up to 10.14, which is suited if you need to run some old external.
<P>You might get various warnings about Pd trying to open an internet port.
This is normal although some system administrators will prevent you from
doing this (in which case you can't run Pd on that machine).
<H4> <A href="#s3.1.2" id="s3.1.2">3.1.2 Microsoft Windows </A> </H4>
<P> For Windows, you can download a .zip package for manual install or an executable
installer (a ".exe" file). Run the installer if you are not sure how to install
manually and select a destination directory when prompted, such as <b>\pd</b> or
<b>Program Files\pd</b>. The 64-bit executable works for Windows Vista or newer.
An old 32-bit version is also provided and works for XP or later (this is suited
if you need to run some old external or use a 32-bit machine).
<P> If for example you install Pd in <b>C:Program Files\pd</b>, the executable
program will be <b>C:Program Files\pd\bin\pd/</b>. You can simply adjust your path
to include <b>C:\pd\bin</b> and then invoke "pd" in a command prompt window. You can
also make a shortcut to the executable program (left-click on it and drag to the
desktop, for example).
<P> Pd requires "TCP/IP networking" to be turned on. This doesn't mean you
have to be on a real network, but simply that Pd actually consists of two
programs that make a "network link" (locally) to intercommunicate. The first
time you run Pd the "Windows Firewall" will ask your permission to allow this
intercommunication.
<H4> <A href="#s3.1.3" id="s3.1.3">3.1.3. Linux </A> </H4>
<P> Pd is available via the package systems for some Linux distributions,
but not always in the most recent version possible. In case you don't find
it or want the very latest recent version, you need to compile Pd, which is
described in <a href="chapter6.htm#s6.3">6.3. Building Pd for Linux</a>.
<H3> <A href="#s3.2" id="s3.2"> 3.2. Running Pd via the command line </A> </H3>
<P>Besides opening Pd by clicking on a user friendly icon as usual, you may
open and run Pd as a "command line" program from your "terminal emulator",
"shell", or "MS-DOS prompt". In Windows, if Pd is started using a "shortcut"
it is also run from a command line which you can edit using the "properties"
dialog for the shortcut. In any operating system, Pd can be called from a
script (called a <I> batch file </I> on Windows or a <I> shell script </I>
on macOS or Unix). The command line is just a line of text, which should be
of the form:
<PRE>
pd [startup flags] [patches to open]
</PRE>
<P> Although you may have to specify a path (such as "~/pd/bin/pd" or
"C:\program files\pd\bin\pd") so your command interpreter can find
Pd.
<P> The <A href=#s3.4.1>3.4.1. Startup flags</a> subsection describes
all options.
<H3> <A href="#s3.3" id="s3.3"> 3.3. Testing and configuring Audio and MIDI </A> </H3>
<P> To test audio and MIDI, start Pd and select "Test Audio and MIDI..."
from the <b>Media menu</b>. You should see a window like this:
<figure>
<IMG src="3.3.1.png" ALT="test audio and midi patch">
<figcaption><u>Fig. 3.3.1</u> Test Audio and MIDI patch</figcaption>
</figure>
<P> First, try to get Pd to play a sine wave over your speakers. The
"OUTPUT MONITOR" section to the left allows you to set an output gain and
a test sound (either noise or a sinusoid). By default, the first eight output
channels are turned on so that when you should get output on them when you
turn the test sound on. If you have fewer than eight output channels open,
the extra channels aren't played; and if you have more, you need to use the
radio button to test them. Note that the "AUDIO OUTPUT" toggles must be on
(which they are by default) for you to hear anything.
<P> If there's anything wrong, the most likely outcome is that you will hear
nothing at all. This could be for any of at least three reasons: Pd might
have failed to open the audio device; the audio card's output volume might
be set to zero; or your audio system might not be set to amplify the computer
output.
<P> The "INPUT MONITOR" provides VU Meters and number boxes to indicated the
levels of incoming audio, in dB, with 100 being maximum. Incoming signals may
clip at RMS levels below 100 (for instance, a sinusoid clips at about 97 dB).
Any DC present in the input (such as you get with cheap audio hardware)
will show up as level unless you turn on the "input highpass" toggle
at right; then the DC component is filtered out before metering. In order
to hear and monitor the input you need to set the dB level in the "Input
Monitor" number box. Whatch out for feedbacks if you have microphone inputs.
<P> It is easy to get two copies of Pd running by accident; on most machines
only one at a time may be inputting and outputting sound. (Some copy of Pd
might have audio or MIDI devices open and prevent the copy you're trying to use
from getting access to them). Having extra copies of Pd around will also eat
CPU cycles uselessly.
<P> You may be interested in getting only audio output or audio input, or
you may need both to run simultaneously. By default, Pd will try to run
both, but if you don't need either input or output, you may find that Pd
runs more reliably, or at least more efficiently, with the unused direction
turned off. This may be specified using the <a href="chapter3.htm#s3.3.1">Audio
Settings</a> dialog panel or <a href="chapter3.htm#s3.4.1">Startup flags</a>.
<P> Depending on your application you will have a more or less stringent latency
requirement. Ideally, when any input (audio, MIDI, keyboard, network) is
available, the outputs (in particular the audio output) should react instantly.
In real life, it is necessary to buffer the audio inputs and outputs, trying
always to keep some number of milliseconds ahead of real time to prepare for the
inevitable occasions where the CPU runs off to service some different task
from Pd. How small this latency can be chosen depends on your OS and your
audio driver.
<P> TIP: If Pd starts up but you get distortion or glitches in the audio
output, this could be either because the "audio I/O buffer" isn't big enough,
or else because the CPU load of the patch you're running is too great for the
machine you have, or else because the ADC and DAC are out of sync or even at
different sample rates. To test for the first possibility, try increasing the
delay in "Audio Settings" dialog. For the second, start up your favorite
performance monitor program; and for the third, try starting Pd up with ADCs
disabled.
<P> In addition to the "Test Audio and MIDI" patch, the <b>Media menu</b>
contains items for controlling audio and MIDI settings. The first two
items, "Audio on" and "Audio off", open or close the audio devices and
start or stop Pd's audio computation.
<P> If there is a choice of audio API to make, the <b>Media menu</b> will display
them. On Linux, they are OSS, ALSA, Portaudio and JACK; on Windows, you get
Portaudio and an 'old MMIO system'. In Windows, Portaudio offers ASIO and Windows
WASAPI. On macOS the default one is Portaudio and you can also use JACK if you
have it installed. The <b>Media menu</b> also displays choices for MIDI API.
On Linux, they are OSS-MIDI and ALSA-MIDI.
<figure>
<IMG src="3.3.2.png" ALT="API choices in Windows">
<figcaption><u>Fig. 3.3.2</u> API choices in Windows</figcaption>
</figure>
<!--- comment out
<H3> Testing audio and MIDI in LINUX. </H3>
<P> We want to know whether audio input and output works, separately and simultaneously.
First run "aumix" (or any newer audio mixer app) to check audio input and output gains
and learn which input (mic; line; etc.) is "recording". Then test audio output by
running
<PRE>
pd -noadc
</PRE>
<P>Selecting "Test Audio and MIDI" from the <b>Media menu</b> to test then quit Pd and
test audio input via
<PRE>
pd -nodac
</PRE>
<P> Now see if your audio driver can do full duplex by typing "pd" with no
flags. If you see error messages involving /dev/dsp or /dev/dsp2, you're
probably not able to run audio in and out at the same time. If on the other
hand there's no complaint, and if the audio test patch does what you want, you
might wish to experiment with the "-audiobuffer" flag to see what values of
audio latency your audio system can handle.
<H3> Audio hardware in Linux </H3>
<P> Installing and testing audio and MIDI drivers in Linux can take
days or weeks. There appears to be no single place where you can get detailed
information on Linux audio.
<P> There are two widely-used driver sets, called "OSS" and "ALSA". ALSA is
included in the standard Linux kernel since 2.4 or so. However, for some
audio cards you can find newer versions than are included in the kernel
releases. You can get ALSA from <a href="http://www.alsa-project.org/">
http://www.alsa-project.org/</A>.
<P> ALSA is able to emulate OSS, so that you can usually run Pd using the
"OSS" driver settings even if it's actually ALSA that's running.
<P> By default, Pd uses ALSA. You can ask Pd to use ALSA's OSS emulation by
adding the "-oss" flag to the command line or fooling with the "media" menu
items.
<P> You can add ALSA devices by name on the Pd command line:
<PRE>
pd -alsaadd loupgarou
</PRE>
<p>This instructs Pd to offer the 'loupgarou' audio device in the Audio Settings panel.
<H3> Experiences with particular soudcards </H3>
<P> Here are some of my own experiences with sound cards so far. See
also the Pd mailing list archives.
<H6> RME 9652 (Hammerfall) </H6>
<P> This is the best PCI sound card out there; it costs around $500 and has 3 ADAT
I/O ports and one SPDIF. There is a "baby hammerfall" also, which I think is
the "9632". DO NOT CONFUSE THE 9652/9632 WITH OTHER RME BOARDS WHICH MIGHT
NOT WORK WITH PD.
<P> The easiest way to use
Hammerfall boards in Pd is via ALSA and jack; but you can use ALSA alone:
<PRE>
pd -alsa -channels 26
</PRE>
<p>works for me.
<H6> MIDIMAN </H6>
<P>Midiman sells PCI devices (delta 44, 66, 1010, and 1010LT)
with between 4 and 10 channels in and out, for
which there are ALSA drivers. These are also very good, and they are a
bit cheaper than Hammerfalls. The driver name is "ice1712".
<H6> USB sound devices</H6>
<P> Ed Kelly reports success with the Lexicon series of USB 1.0 devices (e.g.,
the Omega Studio; apparently 4 channels in and 4 out). Also known to work well
is the Edirol box (2 channels in and out).
<P> As of Sept. 2011, the only multi-channel USB device I've been able to use
with Pd is the Native Instruments Traktor Audio series. (I have the Audio
Traktor 10 which does indeed get 10 discrete channels in and out; the box is
designed for turntables and the I/O is all RCA. I haven't yet tested whether
the inputs are RIAA equalized or flat. To run this device you'll need to
compile and install an ALSA snapshot from at least September 2011. This won't
start showing up in Linux distros for at least some months.
<P> The Alsa developer list is reporting progress on the M-audio Ultra series,
which goes up to 6 in and out (analog) with 2 more as SP/DIF. Things work
OK for input or output separately but "full duplex" (in and out simultaneously)
has sync problems.
/// end comment out -->
<H4> <A href="#s3.3.1" id="s3.3.1">3.3.1. Audio settings </A> </H4>
<P> The <b>Media menu</b> also calls the Audio or MIDI settings for the selected
API. Clicking on the API to change it also opens the settings window for the
newly selected API. If you click on the already selected API, you also open the
settings window.
<figure>
<IMG src="3.3.3.png" ALT="old MMIO API">
<figcaption><u>Fig. 3.3.3</u> Audio Settings from the Media menu ('old MMIO system' API on Windows)</figcaption>
</figure>
<P> The exact choices you get depend on the operating system and API.
The screenshot above is for when you select 'old MMIO system' in Windows.
While the screenshot below is for 'portaudio' on macOS.
<figure>
<IMG src="3.3.4.png" ALT="audio settings dialog">
<figcaption><u>Fig. 3.3.4</u> Audio Settings from the Media menu (portaudio API on macOS)</figcaption>
</figure>
<P> The sample rate controls both audio output and input. The "delay"
is the nominal amount of time, in milliseconds, that a sound coming into
the audio input will be delayed if it is copied through Pd straight to the
output. Naturally you would like this to be as small as possible, but,
depending on OS, API, and even the specific choice of audio hardware,
there will be a limit to how small you can make this.
<p> Next you get a choice of input and output device. If you don't
need either the input or output device you can uncheck the toggle box
to the left (which is on by default). Number of input and output
channels is 2 channels by default, but you may specify just one if
that's all you need or more if your hardware supports it.
<figure>
<IMG src="3.3.5.png" ALT="audio settings dialog">
<figcaption><u>Fig. 3.3.5</u> The Audio Settings dialog as called from the Media menu on Linux</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Linux you're allowed up to 4 input and 4 output devices (note the
"Use Multiple Devices" button on the picture above). On Windows you
can also do that but you need to be using the 'old MMIO system' API
(shown above). On macOS, if you want more than a single device, there's
a workaround by creating an aggregate device (via the system's "Audio
MIDI Setup") and set it in Pd's Audio settings.
<H4> <A href="#s3.3.2" id="s3.3.2">3.3.2. MIDI settings </A> </H4>
<p> There's also a MIDI settings dialog for you to configure one or more MIDI
input and output devices. If more than one device is chosen for either input and
output, they are registered in different MIDI ports. The "channel message" midi
objects in Pd (such as <b>[notein]</b> or
<b>[pgmout]</b>) will take channels 1-16. Note, however, that the MIDI
port is encoded in the channel number, where channels 1-16 mean the first open MIDI port,
17-32 the second one, and so on. The <b>[midiin]</b>,
<b>[midirealtimein]</b> and <b>[sysexin]</b>
objects output the port number in their right outlet and <b>[midiout]</b>
has a separate inlet to specify which MIDI port you want.
<figure>
<IMG src="3.3.6.png" ALT="MIDI settings">
<figcaption><u>Fig. 3.3.6</u> The MIDI Settings dialog as called from the Media menu on macOS</figcaption>
</figure>
<P> System exclusive MIDI message input and output are theoretically supported
but does not work uniformly across all operating systems..
<H3> <A href="#s3.4" id="s3.4"> 3.4. Path and startup</A> </H3>
<P> In addition to the Audio and MIDI settings shown above, you can customize
Pd to instruct it where to find files, what font size to use, and much more.
Pd has a main "Preferences" window, which you can select from the <b>Pd
menu</b> in macOS or the <b>File menu</b> otherwise. The "Preferences" entry
opens a submenu with "Edit Preferences..." and more. By selecting this entry,
you open the main preferences dialog with different tabs for: "Path", "Startup",
"Audio", "MIDI" and "misc". The Audio and MIDI tabs are actually the same settings
windows that you can open via the <b>Media menu</b>, so there's nothing really new
but the fact they are also found here. There's one difference though, which is
that you can get choices for API this way.
<figure>
<IMG src="3.4.1.png" ALT="preferences dialog">
<figcaption><u>Fig. 3.4.1</u> The Audio Settings tab in tabbed Preferences on Windows</figcaption>
</figure>
<P> The above picture shows Audio Settings on Windows when you select it from
the tabbed Preferences. The difference here is that you have a new wntry to
select and change API (where 'old MMIO system' is selected.)
<figure>
<IMG src="3.4.2.png" ALT="preferences dialog">
<figcaption><u>Fig. 3.4.2</u> The Path dialog in the tabbed Preferences</figcaption>
</figure>
<P>The first preference in the tabbed Preferences is the "Path" dialogs.
This tab configures search paths that Pd will use to load externals
and abstractions (spaces in the path are allowed by the way). This also used
for files in objects that load them like <b>[soundfiler]</b>, <b>[text]</b> and
even arrays (aka tables). The path must be correctly set before you load a patch
or it may fail to find anything. Filenames in Pd are always separated byc(Unix-style)
forward slashes, even if you're on Windows (which uses backslashes). Also, note
that objects that can load files do expand "~" to your home directory.
<P> In a nutshell, Pd searches for files and externals relative to the patch
directory and, if it fails, it searches next in the paths that are set in this
tab. Note you can use things like "../samples" to point to folders and subfolders
that are relative to the patch directory and other search paths. Note you can also
use <b>[declare]</b> to add paths for particular patches - this and other details about
path management is also covered in depth in <a href="chapter4.htm">Chapter 4: Externals</a>,
and summarized in <a href="chapter4.htm#s4.6">4.6. Search order in Pd for objects and files</a>.
<figure>
<IMG src="3.4.3.png" ALT="startup dialog">
<figcaption><u>Fig. 3.4.3</u> The startup dialog</figcaption>
</figure>
<P> The "Startup" tab has configurations for initializing Pd and an entry for
Startup flags. Most of the configurations in Pd may be changed using the
various dialogs you can open from Pd's menus. For instance, you can use the
Font entry from the <b>Edit menu</b> to set what font size size Pd will use
for its main window (this is described in <a href="chapter2.htm#s2.1.1">subsection 2.1.1.</a>,
by the way). Nevertheless, this and every other configuration in Pd (from
Audio and MIDI settings and whatnot) can also be configurable via startup
flags. Other than that, some configurations are too cranky to put in a GUI
dialog and must be only set via startup flags.
<P> Startup flags initialize Pd in many ways, but many configurations can
be changed while Pd is running. Some configurations, on the other hand,
requires Pd to restart, such as setting which external binaries to load
(more about external management in <a href="chapter4.htm">Chapter 4</a>.
<P> The "defeat real-time scheduling" control, if enabled, makes Pd run
without its usual effort to become a real-time process (whatever this means
in the operating system you are using.) In Unix, Pd must usually be setuid
to allow real-time scheduling at all.
<P> All of Pd's settings may be saved automatically between Pd sessions.
Note the "Save All Preferences" entry in the submenu from "Preferences".
It is also possible to save preferences to a file, load from one or forget
it all.
<P> Besides being able to set startup flags in "Preferences -> Startup",
you can also invoke Pd via the command line using the same startup flags
as arguments. Command line settings, if given, override the corresponding
settings that were saved from Pd.
<H4> <A href="#s3.4.1" id="s3.4.1">3.4.1. Startup flags </A> </H4>
<P> Here's a list of all startup flags that you can use in the "Startup" tab under
"Preferences" or by running Pd from the command line.
<PRE>
audio configuration flags:
-r <n> -- specify sample rate
-audioindev ... -- sound in device list; e.g., "2,1" for second and first
-audiooutdev ... -- sound out device list, same as above
-audiodev ... -- specify both -audioindev and -audiooutdev together
-audioaddindev -- add an audio input device by name
-audioaddoutdev -- add an audio output device by name
-audioadddev -- add an audio input and output device by name
-inchannels ... -- number of audio in channels (by device, like "2" or "16,8")
-outchannels ... -- number of audio out channels (by device)
-channels ... -- specify both input and output channels
-audiobuf <n> -- specify size of audio I/O buffer in msec
-blocksize <n> -- specify audio I/O block size in sample frames
-sleepgrain <n> -- specify number of milliseconds to sleep when idle
-nodac -- suppress audio output
-noadc -- suppress audio input
-noaudio -- suppress audio input and output (-nosound is synonym)
-callback -- use callbacks if possible
-nocallback -- use polling-mode (true by default)
-listdev -- list audio and MIDI devices
(Linux specific audio:)
-oss -- use ALSA audio drivers
-alsa -- use ALSA audio drivers
-pa -- use portaudio (experimental version 19)
-alsadev <n> -- obsolete: use -audiodev
-32bit -- (probably obsolete) -- use 32 bit OSS extension
-alsaadd <name> -- add a device to the ALSA device list
(Windows specific audio:)
-mmio -- use MMIO drivers and API
-asio -- use ASIO drivers and API
-pa -- synonym for -asio
(Using the JACK API:)
-jack -- use JACK audio API
-jackname <name> -- a name for your JACK client
-nojackconnect -- do not automatically connect pd to the JACK graph
-jackconnect -- automatically connect pd to the JACK graph [default]
MIDI configuration flags:
-midiindev ... -- midi in device list; e.g., "1,3" for first and third
-midioutdev ... -- midi out device list, same format
-mididev ... -- specify -midioutdev and -midiindev together
-midiaddindev -- add a MIDI input device by name
-midiaddoutdev -- add a MIDI output device by name
-midiadddev -- add a MIDI input and output device by name
-nomidiin -- suppress MIDI input
-nomidiout -- suppress MIDI output
-nomidi -- suppress MIDI input and output
-ossmidi -- use OSS midi API (Linux only)
-alsamidi -- use ALSA midi API (Linux only)
general flags:
-path <path> -- add to file search path
-nostdpath -- don't search standard ("extra") directory
-stdpath -- search standard directory (true by default)
-helppath <path> -- add to help file search path
-open <file> -- open file(s) on startup
-lib <file> -- load object library(s) (omit file extensions)
-font-size <n> -- specify default font size in points
-font-face <name> -- specify default font
-font-weight <name> -- specify default font weight (normal or bold)
-verbose -- extra printout on startup and when searching for files
-noverbose -- no extra printout
-version -- don't run Pd; just print out which version it is
-d <n> -- specify debug level
-loadbang -- do not suppress all loadbangs (true by default)
-noloadbang -- suppress all loadbangs
-stderr -- send printout to standard error instead of GUI
-nostderr -- send printout to GUI (true by default)
-gui -- start GUI (true by default)
-nogui -- suppress starting the GUI
-guiport <n> -- connect to pre-existing GUI over port <n>
-guicmd "cmd..." -- start alternative GUI program (e.g., remote via ssh)
-send "msg..." -- send a message at startup, after patches are loaded
-prefs -- load preferences on startup (true by default)
-noprefs -- suppress loading preferences on startup
-prefsfile <file> -- load preferences from a file
-rt or -realtime -- use real-time priority
-nrt -- don't use real-time priority
-sleep -- sleep when idle, don't spin (true by default)
-nosleep -- spin, don't sleep (may lower latency on multi-CPUs)
-schedlib <file> -- plug in external scheduler (omit file extensions)
-extraflags <s> -- string argument to send schedlib
-batch -- run off-line as a batch process
-nobatch -- run interactively (true by default)
-autopatch -- enable auto-patching to new objects (true by default)
-noautopatch -- defeat auto-patching
-compatibility <f> -- set back-compatibility to version <f>
</PRE>
<P>See next details on a few of the group of flag items.
<H5> <A href="#s3.4.1.1" id="s3.4.1.1"> 3.4.1.1. Font flags</A> </H5>
<P> The flags offer more font configurations than just "size". Note that macOS has,
by default, a "normal" font weight, while in Linux and Windows you have "<b>bold</b>"
by default. Use "-font-weight" to change that if you don't like your default setting.
<H5> <A href="#s3.4.1.2" id="s3.4.1.2"> 3.4.1.2. Path flag</A> </H5>
<P> Paths may contain any number of entries if separated by colons in Unix or
semicolons in Windows. Filenames in Pd are always separated by (Unix-style)
forward slashes, even if you're on Windows (which uses backslashes). This is
so that patches can be ported more easily between operating systems. On the
other hand, if you specify a filename on the command line (as in "pd -path
c:\pdlib") the file separator should agree with the operating system.
<H5> <A href="#s3.4.1.3" id="s3.4.1.3"> 3.4.1.3. Flags for Audio and MIDI multiple devices and sleepgrain</A> </H5>
<P> You can specify multiple MIDI input and output devices via flags. For example,
"pd -midiindev 3 -midioutdev 4,2" asks for the third MIDI input device and the
second and fourth MIDI output device.
<P> In Linux, if you ask for "pd -midioutdev 1" for instance, you get /dev/midi0
or /dev/midi00 (or even /dev/midi). "-midioutdev 45" would be /dev/midi44. In
Windows, device number 0 is the "MIDI mapper", which is the default MIDI device
you selected from the control panel; counting from one, the device numbers are
card numbers as listed by "pd -listdev".
<P> The "sleepgrain" controls how long (in milliseconds) Pd sleeps between
periods of computation. This is normally the audio buffer divided by 4, but
no less than 0.1 and no more than 5. On most OSes, ingoing and outgoing MIDI
is quantized to this value, so if you care about MIDI timing, reduce this to 1
or less.
<P> Multiple audio device selection is similar, except that you can also specify
channels by device: "-audioindev 1,3 -inchannels 2,8" will try to open device 1
(2 channels) and device 3 (8 channels). Note that multiple audio device selection
is only possible for Linux and Windows, as noted earlier.
<H5> <A href="#s3.4.1.4" id="s3.4.1.4"> 3.4.1.4. Sample rate flag</A> </H5>
<P>The sample rate controls Pd's logical sample rate which need not be that of
the audio input and output devices. If Pd's sample rate is wrong, time will
flow at the wrong rate and synthetic sounds will be transposed. If the output
and input devices are running at different rates, Pd will constantly drop frames
to re-sync them, which will sound bad. You can disable input or output if this
is a problem.
<H5> <A href="#s3.4.1.5" id="s3.4.1.5"> 3.4.1.5. Audio buffer size and block size flags</A> </H5>
<P>You can specify an audio buffer size in milliseconds, typically between 10 and
300, depending on how responsive your OS and drivers are. If this is set too
low there will be audio I/O errors ("data late"). The higher the value is,
on the other hand, the more throughput delay you will hear from the audio
and/or control inputs (MIDI, GUI) and the audio coming out.
<P> You can also specify the audio block size in sample frames. This is 64 by
default (except for MMIO for which it's 256), and may be 64, 128, or 256.
</div>
<div class="nav nav-bottom">
<div class="nav-back"><A href="chapter2.htm">< Chapter 2: Theory of operation</A></div>
<div class="nav-home"><A href="../index.htm#s3">Table of contents</A></div>
<div class="nav-forward"><A href="chapter4.htm">Chapter 4: Externals ></A></div>
</div>
</BODY>
</HTML>
<!--- comment out
<P> In windows, you can Invoke Pd with flags to specify which one to use; either
"pd -asio" or "pd -mmio". See details on how to use command line flags in
<A href=#s4> Preferences and startup options </A>. Other setting canYou can also specify
If
needed, also specify "-audiodev" and other flags to specify which device. You can
also set a "-blocksize" different from the default (256 samples) and "-audiobuf" in
milliseconds. Pd will round this down to a power of two buffers, each of "-blocksize"
in sample frames.
<P> TIP: You can use your built-in sound-card with the Universal ASIO Driver For
WDM <a href="http://www.asio4all.org/"> http://www.asio4all.org/</a>
/// end comment out -->
Codebase Browser
pure-data