Copyright: (C)opyright 1995 Advanced Gravis


Contents
WinDecks Help

Contents

System Requirements

Component Selector Bar

Standard Control Buttons

The Playlist

The WAV Player

The MIDI Player

The CD Audio Player

The Mixer


Configuration_Options
Configuration Options Window

This window allows you to define Default Directories to make it easier and faster to find your WAV, MIDI, and Playlist files. Type the complete path to the directory where you keep most of your files of each type. For instance, you might type C:\ULTRAPNP\MIDI for your MIDI file Default Directory.

The Component Order section allows you to define the order that the WinDecks components will appear in the on-screen rack when you start the program. Press the down arrow and select from the drop-down listbox to select components 1 (top component) through 4 (bottom component).

Select the Stop CD on exit checkbox to stop CD playback when you quit the WinDecks program. If you leave this checkbox deselected, the CD will continue to play until it ends or, if you have selected the Repeat option, until you exit Windows.


Component_Selector_Bar

Click on the component buttons (WAVE, MIDI, CD) to display or hide each rack component.

Press the Power button to shut down the program.

Press Min to minimize the program to a small icon at the bottom of your Windows screen.

Press the Help button to view the WinDecks Help file.

Press Setup to open the Configuration Options window.

Press the Playlist button to turn the Playlist off and on.

When the Playlist is selected (with the button’s green LED lit up), the controls on each of the components (Play, Stop, Next Track, etc.) actually control the Playlist, even if the file or track currently playing is using a different component. So pressing Play on the CD Player will start the Playlist, even if the first entry in the Playlist is a WAV file.

The Selector Bar also displays the current time, based on the time set in your Windows Date/Time Control Panel.


Playlist_Files
Playlist Files

Playlist files are WinDecks playlists (lists of WAV and MIDI files and CD tracks) that you can save to play back later.


Pause_Button
Pause Button

Pauses playback at the current position in the file or track.


Forward_Button
Forward Button

Speeds up playback. If you press Forward while a file or track is playing, you will hear the file play rapidly; if you press Pause first, then Forward, you will hear nothing as you move forward through the file or track.


Skip_to_End_Button

Skips to the end of the active file or track or, if the Playlist is active, skips to the next track.


Skip_to_Beginning_Button
Skip to Beginning/Previous Track Button

Skips to the beginning of the active file or track or, if the Playlist is active, skips to the previous track.


Rewind_Button

"Rewinds" or goes backwards through the file or track. If you press Rewind while a file or track is playing, you will hear the file play backwards while it rewinds; if you press Pause first, then Rewind, it will rewind in silence.


Stop_Button
Stop Button

Stops playback and returns to the beginning of the current file or track.


Play_Button
Play Button

Clicking this button starts playback from the current position in the file or track (the beginning if you just loaded the file or track).

If the Playlist button is active, and you have programmed files or tracks into the Playlist, the Play button will start from the current position in the Playlist, even if the file uses a different rack component. For instance, if you press Play on the CD player, and the current position in the Playlist is the beginning of a WAV file, the WAV file will begin playing.


Preset_Buttons
Preset Buttons

You can save the current Mixer settings to one of the Mixer component’s three "Preset" buttons, much like the preset tuning buttons on a car stereo.

To set Mixer settings to one of the Preset buttons:

Click	on one of the Preset buttons.

Adjust	the Mixer settings to your preference.

Click	on the Set button.

To use the preset Mixer settings:

Click the appropriate Preset button.


Mixer
The Mixer

The features of the audio mixer depend on the capabilities of your sound card. If you are not using an UltraSound card (or if you are using an UltraSound version older than 3.4), some of these features may not be available to you.

The Audio Mixer allows you to adjust volume levels and panning for MIDI, CD, and WAVE playback, Line-in and Mic-in, and recording gain. The Mixer also allows you to mute inputs and outputs to keep noise to a minimum. You can save as many as three Mixer "presets" to restore the Mixer controls to specific settings with the press of one button.

Adjust levels for each input and output using the level sliders.

Adjust left and right channels separately by dragging the two sliders independently, or click the Lock button to adjust left and right channels together.

 Click the Mute button beneath an input or output’s level slider to mute it, or click the Master Mute button to mute all inputs and outputs.

Preset Buttons


CD_Player
The CD Audio Player

The CD player allows you to play CD audio disks in your CD-ROM drive. Use the Playlist (by pressing Program on any of the components) to enter and edit the CD’s title, artist, and names of tracks.

The CD player’s display shows the Time Elapsed and Time Remaining in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.

 Play

 Stop

 Rewind

 Previous Track

 Next Track

 Forward

 Pause

 Program

 Remote

 Random

 Repeat

 Display


MIDI_Player
The MIDI Player

The MIDI component allows you to load and play MIDI music files.

The MIDI component’s display shows the current track, and time elapsed or remaining.

 The Tempo slider allows you to increase or decrease the MIDI file’s playback speed by as much as 50%.

The display shows the Time Elapsed and Time Remaining in hours, minutes, seconds, and hundredths of seconds.

Note: When the Playlist button is active (with its green LED lit), the buttons on the MIDI Player control the Playlist, even if the current selection in the Playlist uses the CD or .WAV Player. When the Playlist button is inactive, these buttons control the MIDI Player itself.

 Play

 Stop

 Rewind

 Skip to Beginning

 Skip To End

 Forward

 Pause

 Program

 Remote

 Random

 Repeat

 Display


WAV_Player
The WAV Player

The WAV Player allows you to load and play WAV files.

The display on the WAV component shows current track and, while the track is playing, shows the time elapsed and time remaining in hours, minutes, seconds, and tenths of a second.

Note: When the Playlist button is active (with its green LED lit), the buttons on the .WAV Player control the Playlist, even if the current selection in the Playlist uses the CD or MIDI Player. When the Playlist button is inactive, these buttons control the .WAV Player itself.

 Play

 Stop

 Rewind

 Skip to Beginning/Previous Track

 Skip To End/Next Track

 Forward

 Pause

 Program

 Remote

 Random

 Repeat

 Display


Playlist_Eject_CD
Ejecting the CD

Click Eject CD in the Playlist screen to eject the CD from your CD-ROM drive.


Playlist_Editing_CD_Data
Editing CD Data

If you have a CD loaded in your CD-ROM drive, you can enter and edit information about the CD in the Playlist. Once you’ve entered this data once, WinDecks "remembers" it. It recognizes the CD the next time you play it, and automatically displays the title, artist, and track information.


Playlist_Saving Files
Saving Playlist Files

To save a Playlist file to use again later, click Save Playlist. A standard Save dialog opens, using the Default directory you chose in the Setup/Configuration Options window.


Playlist_Adding Files
Adding Files to the Playlist

Click	the Program button on one of the components to open the Playlist.

Choose	the file type you wish to display from the File Types listbox.

Choose	a directory, select a file or files, and click Add Selected Files to Playlist (or double-click on files to add them to the Playlist). Or select a track or tracks from the CD Tracks listbox, if a CD is currently loaded.

Continue	loading as many files and tracks as you like. Files are always added to the end of the Playlist.

When	you are finished, click OK.

To delete files in the Playlist, select them and press Delete or double-click them. To clear the entire Playlist and start over, click Clear Playlist.


Playlist_Opening_Files
Opening Playlist Files

Press the Program button on one of the components to open the Playlist.

Choose Playlist files (.pls) from the File Types listbox.

Choose the directory where your Playlist files are stored, then double-click the file to open it.

The standard file dialog allows you to select .WAV,.MID, and Playlist files from any directory. By default, WinDecks displays the directories specified in the Setup/Configuration Options window.


Playlist
The Playlist

Pressing the Program button on any of the components opens the Playlist Editor. A single Playlist controls all the components.

The Playlist is a list of files or CD tracks that you want to play, in order or randomly, on one or all of your WinDecks components. You can create and save as many Playlist files as you like. The Playlist also allows you to enter and save information about your audio CDs: CD title, artist, and the names of all tracks.

Opening Playlist Files

Adding Files to the Playlist

Saving Playlist Files

Editing CD Data

Ejecting the CD


Display_Button
Display Button

The Display button toggles through several display options. By default, the display shows the current track and total number of tracks and shows the time remaining in the Playlist.

Each press of the button will change the display: view the time remaining or elapsed in the current track or in the component’s files or tracks in the Playlist.


Repeat_Button
Repeat Button

If you press the Repeat button while a Playlist is active, it will repeat the entire Playlist over and over until you press Repeat a second time.

If you press Repeat while a single file or track is playing, it will repeat the file or track over and over until you press Repeat a second time.


Random_Button
Random Button

Press the Random button to play files and tracks from the Playlist in random order.


Remote_Button
Remote Button

Removes the component from the rack and displays its small Remote controller. The Remote controllers are equipped with the main controls for the component, and they are small enough that you should be able to keep them on screen to control audio playback while you work in other applications.


Program_Button

On the MIDI, WAV, and CD components only. Opens the Playlist, where you can use standard file dialogs to load a single file into the component or to create a play list of files.


Standard_Control_Buttons
Standard Control Buttons

 Play

 Stop

 Rewind

 Skip to Beginning/Previous Track

 Skip To End/Next Track

 Forward

 Pause

 Program

 Remote

 Random

 Repeat

 Display


System_Requirements

·  IBM PC or compatible 386 or better

·  Windows 3.1 or higher in Enhanced mode or Windows 95

·  VGA, minimum resolution 640x480x16

Gravis UltraSound, UltraSound MAX, UltraSound ACE, UltraSound Plug & Play or any standard PC sound card