Search

Sidebar Search

The search system in Max 8 combines information from the internal database with online sources to provide useful integrated results. By combining help and reference information with options from examples, packages, and even the Max forum, the search system offers a deeper view into the tools available to solve problems.

  • Click on the Show Search Sidebar icon on the right patcher window toolbar.
  • Enter an object name, function or other search text into the entry box; the results will be shown in the sidebar.
  • Click the Search icon again (or click the Close button) to close the Search pane.
  • Results are grouped by the content type; the list includes information from the application and the cycling74.com website.
  • If there is more information available for any content type, a ‘Show more results’ link will allow this content to be loaded. When this link is selected, the pane will show only content of that type, and will display as many results as possible.
  • You can see more information about any entity in the Details Pane at the bottom of the Search Pane.
  • Toggle the Details Pane using the button at the bottom-left of the Search Pane.

Using Search Content

  • Drag an object from the search pane to instantiate it in your patcher.
  • Double-click on a documentation entry to reveal it in the documentation browser.
  • Drag a patcher or snippet into your patcher to create a subpatcher with that content. Dragging and dropping while holding down the option key expands options.
  • Drag an audio file onto your patcher to create a playlist~ object containing that file. Dragging and dropping while holding down the option key expands options.
  • Drag an image onto your patcher to create an fpic object containing that image. Dragging and dropping while holding down the option key expands options.
  • Drag a movie file onto your patcher to create a jit.playlist object containing that movie. Dragging and dropping while holding down the option key expands options.
  • Drag a plug-in file onto your patcher to instantiate a vst~ or amxd~ object with the selected plug-in.
  • Double-click on a forum post or website article to open it in a web browser.

Where does search look?

Search text is gathered from the following locations:

  • Files in the Max Search Path,
  • Files active in the Max Package Manager,
  • The Cycling ‘74 Website (articles and forum posts)

Text is retrieved from the following content:

  • Object textual information and reference files,
  • In-app documentation, including guides, topics and tutorials,
  • Gen objects and textual information,
  • Patches, clippings, projects and snippets,
  • VST, AudioUnit and AMXD plug-ins,
  • Scripts (javascript and lua), program, data and media files,
  • Available packages (from the Package Manager Server),
  • The cycling74.com forum and articles

See Also

Name Description
How to Use the Documentation How to Use the Documentation