Mac Quick Start Guide

You will need the following software packages to begin using the SPIN Framework with your Mac:

1. The SPIN Framework app bundles:
    http://spinframework.org/downloads

2. Pure Data Extended:
    http://sourceforge.net/projects/pure-data/files/pd-extended/

3. The [pdsheefa] package for Pd:
    http://code.sat.qc.ca/downloads/pdsheefa/osx/
 

To begin, download the most recent .dmg images for SPIN and Pd-extended, and copy the applications (.app files) to your Applications folder. Download pdsheefa and unpack this package to some other place on your hard drive, for example:

~/Library/Pd/pdsheefa

(This folder can be placed in any other location you like, however)

After that, open Pd-extended. From the dropdown menu at the top of the screen, select Pd-extended > Preferences > Path (pictured below).

 

Selecting the Paths menu in PD

 

A window will open which displays all of the locations that Pure Data looks to find the information it needs when it loads up. We need to add the pdsheefa tools to this list so that Pure Data can access them.

 

The List of Paths where PD draws its data from

 

Select New. In the file browser window that opens, select the location where you have placed pdsheefa. These tools are now available through your Pure Data interface.

 

Select pdsheefa's location to add to PD's path browser

 

Select OK to close the window.

Now we want to open up the two main SPIN framework applications themselves. One is a software server called spinserverUI, and the other is a graphical window called spinviewerUI. Open your Applications folder to find these programs and open them.

Open spinserverUI.

 

 

Open spinviewerUI.

 

Open the Spinviewer application. Check to be sure that Spinserver is communicating with it by checking for the message "Got new subscriber."

 

It is important here to verify that spinviewerUI and spinserverUI are communicating to each other. When you open spinviewerUI, you should see a message appear in your spinserverUI window that begins "Got new subscriber" and is followed with the name of your machine and its IP address.

Another test is to try to turn the grid on in the spin viewer. Click the button "Toggle Grid," which is the rightmost button in the list of buttons at the top left of your spin viewer window (see below).

 

Toggle on the grid in Spinviewer to be sure that everything is working properly. Spin is now ready.

 

Now, from within Pure Data, select File > Open from the dropdown menu at the top of the screen. Using the file browser that opens, find the pdsheefa folder where you have placed it on the hard drive, and find the examples subfolder.

 

The pdsheefa examples subfolder, where the SPIN tools are stored

 

The files that begin with the numbers 01-99 are SPIN tools that come with included explanations. Open the first one and begin learning SPIN!

 

The SPIN messaging tool from pdsheefa

 

Continue here with more written tutorials. (coming soon)

 

NOTE: If you want video texture support, you need to install ffmpeg via Macports.