# How do I use the X and Y values from an object from touches in P5js?
**URL:** https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-use-the-x-and-y-values-from-an-object-from-touches-in-p5js/31766
**Category:** Coding Questions
**Created:** [August 17, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-use-the-x-and-y-values-from-an-object-from-touches-in-p5js/31766 "2021-08-17T18:42:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@nothingness](https://discourse.processing.org/u/nothingness)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-use-the-x-and-y-values-from-an-object-from-touches-in-p5js/31766/1 "2021-08-17T18:42:51Z")
This is my first week playing with P5js and Processing so **be gentle.**
I’ve got the following P5js code where I’m looking at touch values. By pressing multi-points on a touch screen brings up more circles anchored to a central position.
What I’d like to know is how do I call the x value for object 1 that’s printed in the console? or y value for object 0? how would i state them in the code?
What I’d like to do is use these values to change the dimensions of a shape in the middle of the screen, like something in object 0 driving the height of the shape or object 1 on the the x or y values driving strokeWeight or colour . However I’m in my first week and completely lost to how to use these values in the code.
```auto
function setup() {
createCanvas(windowWidth, windowHeight);
background(200);
}
function draw() {
background(255);
fill(255, 0, 0);
strokeWeight(0)
for (var i = 0; i < touches.length; i++) {
fill(255);
strokeWeight(3)
ellipse(touches[i].x, touches[i].y, 50, 50);
line(touches[i].x, touches[i].y, windowWidth/2,windowHeight/2);
fill(255);
ellipse(windowWidth/2,windowHeight/2, 10, 10);
print (touches);
}
}
// do this prevent default touch interaction
function mousePressed() {
return false;
}
document.addEventListener('gesturestart', function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
});
```
[or Sketch file is here](https://editor.p5js.org/joshuaebutters/sketches/-b-tahz9r)]
**any help would be muchly muchly appreciated, i’m a newb trying to find my way**
---
### Author:  [@micuat](https://discourse.processing.org/u/micuat)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-use-the-x-and-y-values-from-an-object-from-touches-in-p5js/31766/2 "2021-08-17T18:52:34Z")
Hi! Welcome to the forum!
Don’t worry, people here are gentle 🙂 But I want to know if the code is something you wrote or you found somewhere. Because if you wrote it by yourself, perhaps you already know the answer 🙂
Basically, the 0th object is `touches[0]` and the 1st one is `touches[1]`. And `.x` and `.y` can access x and y values. It may be tricky that you need to make sure `touches` have at least 2 elements; otherwise you will get an error accessing an element.
If you feel lost - I suggest following [Dan’s tutorials](https://thecodingtrain.com/beginners/p5js/). I understand you want to achieve what you want, but there is no shortcut especially if you just started.
---
### Author:  [@nothingness](https://discourse.processing.org/u/nothingness)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-use-the-x-and-y-values-from-an-object-from-touches-in-p5js/31766/3 "2021-08-17T19:33:42Z")
Thankyou so much for the reply! It’s great to have another set of eyes on this…
Whenever i use `touch[1].x` for example to drive the size of the shape, it comes up with an error in the console saying ‘TypeError: Cannot read property of ‘x’ of undefined’. Any idea of why this happens?
Thankyou again for your time!
FYI - i’ve mixed projects together to form this so I haven’t directly wrtitten it but trying stuff out!
---
### Author:  [@KumuPaul](https://discourse.processing.org/u/KumuPaul)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2021, 12:05am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-use-the-x-and-y-values-from-an-object-from-touches-in-p5js/31766/4 "2021-08-18T00:05:39Z")
If you’re going to reference `touches[1]` you need to make sure that `touch.length` is greater than or equal to 2 before doing so, or that `touches[1]` is not `undefined`:
```auto
if (touches.length >= 2) {
print(touches[1].x);
}
```
Also if you’re going to cross post here and on [stack overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/68822093/how-do-i-use-the-x-and-y-values-from-an-object-from-touches-in-p5js) please mention that in both places.
---
### Author:  [@javagar](https://discourse.processing.org/u/javagar)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2021, 12:19am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-use-the-x-and-y-values-from-an-object-from-touches-in-p5js/31766/5 "2021-08-18T00:19:09Z")
> [@nothingness](#):
>
> Whenever i use `touch[1].x` for example to drive the size of the shape, it comes up with an error in the console saying ‘TypeError: Cannot read property of ‘x’ of undefined’.
Make sure to use `touches`, not `touch`.
Also note that, as @micuat and @KumuPaul suggested, you need to check `touches.length` to make sure its value is greater than `1` before you try to access `touches[1]`. Otherwise, you would be trying to access an element in `touches` that does not exist.
Are you familiar with the [`if-else`](https://p5js.org/reference/#/p5/if-else) topic in the [p5.js Reference](https://p5js.org/reference/)?
Check that out, then try this code as an example of using `touches` along with an `if` statement to draw a line, provided that there are at least two points:
```auto
function setup() {
createCanvas(windowWidth, windowHeight);
background(200);
}
function draw() {
background(255);
strokeWeight(4);
// check touches.length; draw line if there are at least 2 points
if (touches.length >= 2) {
line(touches[0].x, touches[0].y, touches[1].x, touches[1].y);
}
}
// do this to prevent default touch interaction
function mousePressed() {
return false;
}
document.addEventListener("gesturestart", function (e) {
e.preventDefault();
});
```
As it runs, touch the screen in two places to see a line connecting the two points.
Please ask questions if you do not fully understand the example. After that, you can try to write a script that uses the two points to draw a rectangle instead of a line. That is a little more challenging. The following, from the p5.js Reference, may help:
- [`rect()`](https://p5js.org/reference/#/p5/rect)
- [`min()`](https://p5js.org/reference/#/p5/min)
- [`max()`](https://p5js.org/reference/#/p5/max)
_EDITED on August 17, 2021 to simplify the example code._