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Setting up

You can find the Plugin SDK inside the Videosync folder in the User Library:

User Library

Before jumping into developing plugins, we need to make sure Max can find the dependencies that are in the SDK. Here is how:

  1. From the Examples folder, drag any plugin, for example Lines.amxd, into Live. You should see the following message appear in the user interface:
Instructions
  1. Open the plugin by pressing the Edit button.
Edit button
  1. After Max has launched, open the Max Console (from the menu, choose Window > Max Console or press Cmd + M).
  2. The Max Console will say that a component, videoDevice.maxpat, is missing. Max can't find this file yet.
videoDevice not found
  1. From the menu bar, choose Options > File Preferences. You will see the list of paths where Max looks for files when opening a patch.
  2. Add the Plugin SDK folder (not just the Examples folder!) and make sure the Subfolders toggle is on.
File Preferences File Preferences
info

If you edited Videosync plugins before, make sure there are no older copies of the SDK or residues of unfrozen Videosync plugins in the Max search path. The easiest way is to search for videoDevice.maxpat on your disks and making sure that the only one found is in the Plugin SDK folder you are currently working from.

  1. You can now close Max and restart Live.

You are ready to build your first plugin! To start the action, read on!