In left inlet: Changes the effect program of the currently loaded plug-in. The first program is number 1.

In left inlet: Floating point values are converted to int values and used to change the effect program of the currently loaded plug-in. The first program is number 1.

In left inlet: Changes a parameter value in the currently loaded plug-in. The first list element is the parameter number (starting at 1) and the second element is the parameter value. The second number should be a float between 0 and 1, where 0 is the minimum value of the parameter and 1 is the maximum.

A symbol that names a plug-in parameter followed by a float between 0 and 1 set the value of the parameter.

When a plug-in file is dragged from the file browser to a vst~ object, the plug-in will be loaded.

Double-clicking on a vst~ object opens the plug-in's edit window.

The word disable, followed by a non-zero argument, stops any further processing by the currently loaded plug-in and outputs a zero signal. disable 0 enables processing for the plug-in.

The word get, followed by a number or symbol argument, reports parameter values and plug-in information. This is output from the fifth-from-right outlet of vst~ as a list with the query index (or plug-in info index) as the first element and the desired information as the second element.

If a symbol argument is provided, and the symbol corresponds to the name of a parameter, the get message outputs the current parameter value (a float between 0 and 1) of the named parameter. Otherwise, nothing is output.

If a number argument is provided, and the number argument is between 1 and the number of parameters of the currently loaded plug-in (inclusive), the get message outputs the current parameter value (a float between 0 and 1) of the numbered parameter. If the argument is 0 nothing is output.

If a negative number argument is provided, the get message outputs a list with the first element specifying the number argument and the remaining elements specifying the following information:

get -1 the plug-in's number of inputs
get -2 the plug-in's number of outputs
get -3 the plug-in's number of programs (VST) or factory presets (Audio Unit)
get -4 the plug-in's number of parameters
get -5 whether the plug-in's canMono flag is set. This indicates that the plug-in can be used in either a stereo or mono context
get -6 1 if the plug-in has its own edit window, 0 if it doesn't
get -7 1 if the plug-in is a synth plug-in, 0 if it isn't
get -8 the unique ID of the plug-in as an integer value
get -9 four integer values representing the left, top, right, and bottom coordinates of the desired rectangle of the plug-in UI edit window
get -10 an integer value representing the initial delay of the plug-in in samples to allow you to automatically compensate for the plugin's latency in your patch
get -11 the plug-in's number of user preset files (Audio Unit only)

In left inlet: When using the vst~ object to host a VST shell plug-in (e.g., WaveShell) that is not instantiated with a specific plug-in name, the word getsubnames causes a list of sub plug-in names to be sent out the second-from-right outlet of the vst~ object.

The word midievent, followed by two to four numbers, sends a MIDI event to the plug-in. The first three number arguments are the bytes of the MIDI message. The fourth, optional, argument is a detune parameter used for MIDI note messages. The value ranges from -63 to 64 cents, with 0 being the default.

Send MPE messages to the hosted VST, VST3, or Audio Unit plug-in.

The word open with no arguments opens the plug-in's edit window. If the window was previously opened then the edit window location will persist. The word open followed by two integer values specifying the left and top window coordinates respectively will open or move the plug-in's edit window to the given coordinates.

The word params causes a list of the plug-in's parameters to be sent out the sixth-from-right outlet.

The word pgmnames causes a list of the plug-in's current program names to be sent out the right outlet.

In left inlet: The word plug with no arguments opens a standard open file dialog allowing you to choose a new VST or Audio Unit plug-in to host. The word plug followed by a symbol argument searches for plug-in with the specified name in the Max search path. If a new plug-in is opened and found, the old plug-in (if any) is discarded and the new one loaded. An optional second argument to the plug message can be used to specify a plug-in name within a shell plug-in (e.g., WaveShell). This can either be a symbolic plug-in name or an associated ID value as displayed by the printids message).

For mc.vst~, if the attribute @mcisolate is set to 1, sending a plug message will allow the user to load a VST for each instance individually. When @mcisolate is set to 0, any plug message received loads that plug-in to all instances.

When the Max application starts up, the system VST folder will be added to the max search path. On the Macintosh this is generally /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST/ and on windows this is the folder specified in the VSTPluginsPath string value under the registry key HKLM\Software\VST. On Mac OS, Audio Unit plug-ins will be scanned and .auinfo files for Apple built-in and user-installed plug-ins will be added to the search path.

Attempt to load an AudioUnit plug-in by name. Equivalent to plug C74_AU:/<plug-in name>.

Attempt to load a VST plug-in by name. Equivalent to plug C74_VST:/<plug-in name>.

Attempt to load a VST3 plug-in by name. Equivalent to plug C74_VST3:/<plug-in name>.

For Audio Unit plug-ins only, the word presetnames causes a list of the plug-in's user preset filenames to be sent out the right outlet.

In left inlet: When using the vst~ object to host a VST shell plug-in (e.g., WaveShell) that is not instantiated with a specific plug-in name, the word printids causes a list of sub plug-in IDs to be displayed in the Max Console.

With no arguments, read opens a standard open file dialog prompting for a file of effect programs, either in bank or individual program format. read accepts an optional symbol argument where it looks for a VST plug-in bank or effect program file in the Max search path.

Re-scan the system VST folders for new plug-ins. On the Macintosh this is generally /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST/ and on windows this is the folder specified in the VSTPluginsPath string value under the registry key HKLM\Software\VST. On Mac OS, Audio Unit plug-ins will be scanned and .auinfo files for Apple built-in and user-installed plug-ins will be added to the search path. The optional arguments 0, 1, 2, or 3, set the scan type to 0=default, 1=partial, 2=full, and 3=reset.

In left inlet: The word set, followed by a symbol, changes the name of the current effect program to the symbol.

Input to be processed by the plug-in. If the plug-in is an instrument plug-in, the input will be ignored.

In left inlet: The word subname, followed by a plug-in name or plug-in ID, will cause a shell VST plug-in (e.g., WaveShell) to be re-instantiated with the specified name/ID.

Closes the plug-in's edit window.

For VST plug-ins, with no arguments, write opens a standard Save As dialog box prompting you to choose the name and type of the effect program file (single program or bank). write accepts an optional symbol argument that specifies a full or partial destination pathname. An individual program file is written in this case. For Audio Unit plug-ins, the filename argument is required, and specifies the name of a user preset that will be written to a standard plug-in user preset location.

With no arguments, writebank opens a standard Save As dialog box prompting you to choose the name of the effect program bank file. writebank accepts an optional symbol argument that specifies a full or partial destination pathname. For Audio Unit plug-ins, the writebank message is the same as write and saves only the current settings to a named file.

With no arguments, writepgm opens a standard Save As dialog box prompting you to choose the name of the individual effect program file. writepgm accepts an optional symbol argument that specifies a full or partial destination pathname. For Audio Unit plug-ins, the writepgm message is the same as write and saves the current settings to a named file.