Frequently Asked Questions – for Beginners

Questions are presented via a thematic and elementary index to get onto this documentation from a pragmatic – and also a beginner's – view.

• Accessing Boxes / Material

  Are menus the only access to classes and functions ?

  Where do I get programming tools ?

  Can programming material be accessed thematically ?

  Where can I access files at a session ?

• Alternatives

  How can I include alternative operations in a program ?

• Basics / Handover

  What are the basis to start using OM ?

  How do I manage a whole OM session ?

• Commands / Shortcuts

  How do I get an overview of the OM commands ?

• Compare

  How can I compare numbers ?

• Comments

  How do I add comments into a patch ?

• Conditions

  How can I define conditions in a program ?

• Control

  How can I control a function ?

  How can I put prerequisites before evaluating of a function ?

• Data / Values

  How do I add plain data / values / text to a box?

• Documentation / Information

  How do I get documentation about a box ?

  How do I get information about a box ?

• Environment

  What is the OM environment made of ?

  How can I personalize my working environment ?

• E rror / Crash

  What do I do if an error occurs ?

  How can I avoid error messages / crashes?

• Evaluation

  How do I evaluate a box or a program ?

• Factory box

  How can I know which type of values are accepted by a factory box ?

• Function box

  How can I know which arguments are accepted by a function ?

  How do I use function boxes?

  How do I control the evaluation of a function ?

  How can I control a function ?

• Global Variables

  How can I create a global variable ?

  How can I modify a global variable ?

  Are there default global variables ?

• Images – Icons / Pictures

  How do I assign an icon/picture to an object in a program ?

  How do I put a picture in a patch ?

  How do I assign an icon/picture to an object or background in a maquette ?

  How do I assign an icon/picture to an object or background in a patch ?

• Import / Export

  How do I import / Export files / objects ?

• Instance

  How can I save a musical object I have designed ?

  How can I modify an instance ?

  What do I get when I evaluate a box I took from a class ?

  How can I export an instance ?

  How can I save an instance ?

• Interaction

  Are there intuitive interaction items in OM ?

• Learn 

  Where do I find didactic material / tutorial patches?

  How do I use tutorial patches ?

• Listen

  How can I listen to musical objects ?

• Location

  Where are my programs located ?

• Maquette

  What is a maquette ?

  Can I design temporal programs ?

  How can I add an object into a maquette from a patch ?

• Microtones

  How can I listen to microtones ?

  How can I display microtones in a score ?

• Objects / Material

  What is the programming material available in OM ?

  What kind of musical objects can I manipulate ?

  What are objects created from ?

  What do I manipulate objects with ?

  What do I get when I manipulate an object ?

  How can I save an object and use it in another program ?

• Organizing Programs – Abstraction –

  How can I gain space in a program ?

  Can I embed programs into other programs?

  How can I build multiple layers programs ?

  Can I put a patch into another patch ?

• Programming / Programs

  How do I program with OM ?

  Where do I define programs ?

  How do I start building musical objects ?

  Where do I get the programming tools/material ?

  Can I use maquettes in patches?

  Can I synthesize a maquette into a program ?

• Protect

  How can I protect an object in a program ?

• Repeat

  How do I repeat a calculus / operation ?

• Results

  Where do I read results of computations ?

  How can I display the results of a computation in a patch ?

  How do I get results ?

• Rhythm

  Are there rhythmic objects in OM ?

  How can I write rhythms ?

• Scales

  Can I use specific melodic scales ?

• Score

  Can I use notes, chords, or melodic sequences ?

  How can I visualize musical objects ?

  How can I create and modify musical objects directly in a score ?

  How do I define the default appearance of scores ?

• Sequencer

  Is there something that resembles a sequencer in OM ?

• Session

  How do I manage a whole OM session ?

• Share / Store

  How can I use an object I have created in other patches ?

  Where can I store the instances / objects I want to use in other programs ?

• Start

  How do I start OM ?

• Text

  Can I manipulate text files ?

  Can I apply recursive programs to text files ?

• Tonality

  Can I use tonal scales ?

• Tutorial Patches

  How do I use tutorial patches ?

• Upgrade

  How do I upgrade works from earlier OM versions ?

• Workspace

  What is a workspace ?

  How do I create a workspace ?

  How do I manage workspaces ?

  How do I bring items into a workspace ?