v0.0.7 Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use the VST, VST3 or Audio Unit ?

I highly recommend the use of VST that is supported by the most of DAWs. Furthermore, it seems that VST3 and Audio Unit does not support very well the change of parameters (you won't be able to see the name and the label of the parameters in the interface of the DAW).

Can I use third-party objects ?

No, a least not for the moment. This is due to the internal mechanism of plugins. This restriction can be avoid but the necessary modifications make more complex the code. Thus, this feature won't be available before that Camomile has been well tried and tested.

Can I use abstractions ?

Yes but the Pure Data's search paths are no more valid inside Camomile. So you should always put the abstractions in the same directory as the main patch. Furthermore, you should always prefer to use sub-patches when this is possible. That will simplify the sharing of Camomile patches.

Why should I use $0 for the symbols of send and receive ?

All the Camomile instances share the same Pure Data mechanism. Each plugin acts like a top-level patch. So if you use the same symbol in two different instances of the plugin, both the instances will receive the messages attached to this symbol. The symbol $0 is linked to an internal mechanism in Pure Data that generates a unique id and allows to limit the scope of the symbols to a patch.

Can I send MIDI events ?

Yes, with the version 0.0.7.

What is the order of reception of the messages and MIDI events ?

The plugin sends first the playhead informations (state, time in seconds, beats per minute, time signature, pulses per quarter note, pulses per quarter note of the last bar) to the $0-playhead symbol. Thereafter, the plugin sends the values to the parameters. Finally, the plugin sends the MIDI events.

Do the patch receive messages and MIDI events at each DSP tick ?

The plugin sends these messages before each DSP tick of the DAW. So, it depends on the block size of your DAW. The block size in Pure Data is 64 samples for all the top-level patches. If the block size is the same in your DAW, the patch receives the messages at each DSP tick. Otherwise, if the block size of the DAW is different, you can compute how many DSP ticks are necessary to receive the messages by dividing the block size of your DAW by 64.

When does the plugin receives the MIDI events ?

The plugin catches the MIDI events directly when they are sent. So this will be during the messages execution or between two DSP ticks of Pure Data if you use a metro or a delay. Nevertheless, the MIDI events can only be sent back to the DAW only after the DSP tick of the plugin, it depends on the block size of your DAW.

I receive messages even if the value of a parameter has not changed, why ?

Because, all the messages are sent even if there is no modification of the parameters and no automation. I can't know if you want or if you don't want to receive these messages. So the best way to avoid unnecessary computations and to limit the reception is to use the change object to filter the messages.

The numboxes don't change the values !

You sometimes need to resend the value several time with a numbox due to a wrong synchronization between the GUI and the parameters. This is a bug that should be fixed in the version 0.0.8.

Sometimes the GUIs reset to a wrong value when clicking on it !

When you click on a GUI that is an alias of a parameter, sometimes the displayed value suddenly changes. This is because the minimum and maximum values of the parameter and the alias are different. For example, camo.flanger~ in the version 0.0.7 has this bug for the parameters "feedback" and "spread". The maximum value of the sliders is 100 but the maximum values of the numboxes is 10. So when the parameter value is 50 (1/2 of 100) and you click on the numbox, the value suddenly changes to 5 (1/2 of 10). You just need to set the same maximum and minimum value for the parameters and the aliases, that's logic.

The loadbang worked the first time that I opened the patch but it no longer works, why ?

In fact the loadbang still work but you don't see it because the parameters are initialized by the DAW just after. When you saved your session in your DAW, you also saved the states of the parameters (like for any other plugin). So when you reopen your session, the plugin loads the patch, calls the loadbang but receives the informations to initialize the parameters to the last saved state. Furthermore, the 0.0.7 version didn't initalized the parameters with the right values, the problem is solved for the next release. Perhaps later I will put a default preset that resends the loadbang, you can create an issue to notify me that you really need it.

The plugin has a really strange way to send the message !

Sometimes, users don't understand how Camomile works and think that there is a bug. You must read carefully the section [Create patches](How to create patches for the plugin) ! You can also have a look on this issue Parameter controls in visible area do not work when patched.

How can I do to submit issues or requests ?

I know that most of the users are not programmers but the very best way to do this is on GitHub in the issues section. It helps me to keep track, the questions on facebook can be easily lost.

Why the name of the plugin is Camomile ?

Because I didn't find a better name to express the fact that Pure Data is embedded in a plugin. Except perhaps Rhododendron but I wanted to keep this one for a library that predicts the urge of caffeine of the musicians (I think it is much more adapted).