Pulling thing out of lists

[docprosper]

Say I have a list: 11 12 13 14
I want an object that will take an input, like "get 3" or something similar and spit out that item in the list, in this case 13. Does such a thing exist? Coll seems built for matrices, and unpack is too messy. I have a funny feeling this is really easy but am stuck. Help a noob.

[pid]

<pre><code>
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irij.7cyQrKjQ+WGYWrM7KP6NNZo
-----------end_max5_patcher-----------
</code></pre>

[docprosper]

awesome pid, works a charm and looks like a powerful little object.
for those that want to skip the code pid posted, "zl nth 3" does the trick. Thanks again!!
cheers,
Hamish

[chapelier fou]

Yeah, you should definitely have a look to all the abilities of the zl object !

[docprosper]

No wonder I couldn't remember/find this object, "zl" is a pretty random name, as opposed to "unpack", etc. IMO, it should be in the "see also" list for "pack" and "unpack", as it allows for other, more detailed ways to manipulate list components. Anyway, just glad to have found it.
-Hamish

[olivierseb]

No wonder I couldn't remember/find this object, "zl" is a pretty random name, as opposed to "unpack", etc. IMO, it should be in the "see also" list for "pack" and "unpack", as it allows for other, more detailed ways to manipulate list components. Anyway, just glad to have found it.
-Hamish

You are right Hamish, could be nice.
I guess the new Max 6 research system will fill this gap.

for the record, if you create a new object then click the " = " sign, choose "list" in the menu you can see zl among pacl and unpack

olivier

[docprosper]

No wonder I couldn't remember/find this object, "zl" is a pretty random name, as opposed to "unpack", etc.

Well, not remembering is one thing but there's no excuse for not finding it. Just RTFM

Seriously though; the Object functional listing is excellent for those kinds of situations. In this case you're doing list processing and see which objects reside under the "lists" header?

And of course this is also included in the installed Max documentation.


PS: Just checked out of curiosity but you do realize that zl is mentioned in the "See also" section of the Pack reference page?

You got me there Peter. In my defense, I have gone through most of the tuts; my problem is that I have bursts of creative Max time followed by long dead zones in which I tend to forget the nomenclature. Totally forgot about the functional list, that would have solved my problem quickly.

I have been thinking about buying a Max textbook just to have a good desk reference to keep my confusion to a minimum; I tend to get too distracted looking for solutions on the interwebs.

Cheers for all the help from everyone for this & all my other Max questions; this is IMO the friendliest of the Ableton forums.
Hamish

[pid]

well, i agree with shel and doc.

sometimes it is a real pain just remembering where to look... i personally have got used to this but i see many new users who still find it hard.

i think Max6 is going to seriously improve all these reference issues.

the other issue here is that, not just for new users, the zl helpfile is a complete pain. i mean i use zl all the time but i can never quite recall exact names of the modes, so i am always looking in the helpfile, which has that strange subpatchers way of documenting things.

luckily, being max, everything is cutomisable! pro user 'jvkr' made a fantastic alternative helpfile for zl which i bastardised slightly. you can get it from this thread if you scroll down to the very bottom:

http://cycling74.com/forums/topic.php?id=28407

i keep it in my 'extras' menu.

hth,
pid