How do you overwrite the contents of a [symbol] object (not the GUI -- the storage object) with an empty string, and get an empty string out upon "bang"?

hjh

Bumping the thread... now I need to clear the display of a symbol box.

Sending "symbol" (as with [symbol]) displays "symbol." Also:

I don't want to use a list box because, in context, it really needs to be a symbol.

Sometimes I think dataflow environments have not done a good job with "nil" (Max has the same problem).

hjh

@ddw_music Banging a [symbol] object that was never set to anything produces an output that will clear a symbol box.

@jameslo said:

@ddw_music Banging a [symbol] object that was never set to anything produces an output that will clear a symbol box.

OK, will try later, thanks.

hjh

@ddw_music As does a [symbol( message.

@ingox Oh! I misunderstood...I thought @ddw_music was saying that it caused a symbol box to display "symbol", but it doesn't and maybe they wasn't.

@ingox said:

As does a [symbol( message.

Hm, I should have been more specific -- in this case I need to 'set' without triggering output. (Using a clip from the help patch may have been misleading.)

'set' with no argument doesn't change the display.

'set symbol' changes the display to 'symbol'.

'symbol' clears the display and outputs 'symbol' (the latter of which I need not to happen).

hjh

@ddw_music OK, try [set \(
(I have no idea why that works...)

Edit: wha? [\(

@jameslo This works but unfortunately does not stay after saving and reopening the patch.

This seems to work: set_symbol.pd

@ingox Ah right, I should've seen that coming. OK here's another solution along those same lines:

Edit: also works with [115 101 116 32 0(