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Data Types

Every Patchies handle has a type: video, audio, message, or analysis. Its color shows the type. Connect only compatible handle types.

Data Types

The handle colors show which connections are valid.

Handle Colors

Color Type Used for
Orange Video Visual frames between visual objects
Blue Audio Audio signals between ~ objects
Gray Message Numbers, strings, bangs, and custom data
Purple Analysis FFT frequency data from fft~

Basic Rules

  • Multiple connections — One outlet can feed many inlets. One inlet can receive from many outlets.
  • Video (orange) — Connect only to video inlets.
  • Audio (blue) — Connect to audio inlets and audio parameter inlets.
  • Message (gray) — Connect to message inlets and float-accepting signal inlets.
  • Analysis (purple) — Data from fft~ connects to message and video inlets.

Audio Parameter Modulation

Some audio object inlets are audio parameters, not raw signal inlets. For example, osc~ frequency and gain~ gain are audio parameters. They accept message and audio signals.

Use another oscillator to modulate an audio parameter:

[osc~ 2] ──► [osc~ 440].frequency   (2 Hz wobble on the pitch)

Tip: When you drag from a blue audio outlet, compatible audio parameter inlets change from gray to blue.

Float-to-Signal Inlets

Some signal inlets accept a float to set a constant value. This follows a Pure Data pattern. Arithmetic objects +~, *~, -~, and /~ support this. Comparison objects >~, <~, min~, and max~ also support it.

[msg 0.5] ──► [*~ ].inlet 1     (sets the multiplier to 0.5)

Connect a message outlet or an audio outlet to these inlets:

  • Sending a float sets the constant if no audio signal is connected.
  • You can also set the constant as a creation argument. *~ 0.5 multiplies by 0.5 from the start.

See Also