DP Tool Club 12/CD_ASCQ_12_0294.iso/vrac/tapemk18.zip/TAPEMKR.DOC

Text File | 1993-12-11 | 17KB | 387 lines

                        T A P E M A K E R   1 . 8
                           A Shareware Product

                 Copyright 1989-1993 by Robert E. Alexander
                             6 Robinson Drive
                            Bedford, MA  01730
        Compuserve: 71621,3073  Internet: [e-mail]


Introduction:
=============

TapeMaker is a unique program that helps you choose songs to record on
a tape.  Many other tape programs are little more than glorified
typewriters: you type in the song titles and the program prints out a
cassette insert for you.  TapeMaker's approach is that if you're going
to do all that typing, you should get some extra benefit from it.
TapeMaker lets you know how many songs can fit on the tape, finds the
best order to record them in so that you have the minimum amount of
blank tape left, and acts as a database for your album collection.

When you register TapeMaker, you will get a copy of the manual and the
latest version, TapeMaker 2.0.  This has many additional features which
are described later.

Using TapeMaker:
================

To run TapeMaker, enter the command:
    TAPEMKR
If you have a monochrome display which is driven by a CGA, EGA or VGA
card, or if you get blinking characters on the screen when you run
TapeMaker, use the command:
    TAPEMKR M

TapeMaker creates two files, TAPEMKR.CFG and TAPEMKR.MUS.  The first
file holds configuration information for TapeMaker, the second holds the
database of your album collection.  TAPEMKR.CFG is created in the
directory from which you run TapeMaker.  TAPEMKR.MUS is, by default,
created in the same directory.  However, you may change the directory or
file name of TAPEMKR.MUS.

Main Menu:
==========

The main menu screen is displayed when you start TapeMaker.  In the
lower right corner, TapeMaker displays the amount of free memory in
your system.  In the center is a menu showing the major functions of
TapeMaker.

You may select an item on the menu by using the arrow keys to move
the bar to the selection and hitting return, or by typing the highlighted
letter of the selection.  The selections are:

     Load Album Information
        This reads your album database into TapeMaker's memory.  In general,
        this should be the first thing you do when you run TapeMaker.

     Load Sample Database
        This reads the file SAMPLE.MUS.  You can experiment with this
        database and learn how to use TapeMaker.  If you save any changes,
        they will be saved in SAMPLE.MUS.

     Enter Album Information
        This function allows you to enter new songs and albums into your
        music database.

     Select Songs For A Tape
        This function allows you to browse through your database of songs
        and choose which ones you want to put on a tape.

     Arrange Songs On Tape
        This function allows you to find the best arrangement of the songs
        you have selected.  It also allows you to print out the cassette
        insert card with the list of songs.

     Configure
        This function lets you tell TapeMaker how many minutes long your
        blank tape is, how many seconds TapeMaker should allow between each
        song on the tape, and what control codes your printer requires for
        printing on the cassette insert.

     Register TapeMaker
        This function displays the registration form for TapeMaker and lets
        you print it out.

     Save Database To Disk
        This function saves your database to the disk so that you can load
        a different database into memory.

     Quit
        This function exits the TapeMaker program.  If you have added or
        deleted songs from your database or if you have customized your
        database, you will be asked whether you want to save the changes.


Entering Album Information:
===========================

Select "Enter Album Information" from the main menu.

The displayed form allows you to enter information about songs: what album
they're on, the artist, and how long they are.  There are fields for
the album title, the album artist, the album media, and 17 songs. For
each song, there is a field for the artist and the playing time.  You
can move from one field to another by pressing Enter, Tab, or the arrow
keys.

Text in the album, artist, and song fields can be changed by typing over it,
deleting characters with the backspace or Delete keys, inserting
characters by hitting the Insert key and typing the characters, or deleting
all text to the end of the line by hitting Ctrl-Delete.

If you are entering information about a cassette, LP, or CD, you should
enter the title in the ALBUM field.  If you are entering information about a
45 RPM single or a 3" CD, you may leave this field blank.

If the artist of all the songs is the same, put the artist's name in the
ARTIST field.  Most albums are by one artist, but some albums are
collections of songs from many different artists.  In that case, leave the
ARTIST field blank.

The MEDIA field gives you a choice of CD, LP, Cassette, DAT (digital audio
tape), 45, or 3" CD.  Use the arrow keys to select one and hit Enter.

For each song, enter the song title and the playing time.  If you left
the ARTIST field blank at the top of the form, you should enter the
artist's name for each song on the album.

You can cut and paste songs using the F5 (Cut) and F6 (Paste) keys.  You
can insert a blank line by moving to where you want the line and typing
the F7 key (Insert).

If there are blank items in the form that must be filled, an error message
will be displayed when you try to exit the form.  Hit any key, and the
message will disappear.  The cursor will be positioned in the field where
the error occurred.

When you are finished typing in data, hit Esc to save the album and return
to the previous display.  If you were entering a new album, rather than
editing an existing album, you can hit F2 to save the album and allow you
to type in another.

Viewing Your Database and Selecting Songs for a Cassette Insert:
================================================================

Select "Select Songs for a Tape" from the main menu.

You may scan through your music collection, by album title, by artist, or
by song title, and select the songs you want on your cassette.

There are four windows on the display.  The leftmost window shows your music
collection.  It lists your music by album, artist, or song.  You can switch
among these three lists by hitting the F2 key.

The two windows on the top right show information about the album, artist,
or song in the left window.  For example, if the left window has a list of
your albums, the right windows show the artist(s) on the album and the songs
on the album.

The lower right window shows the songs you have selected for your tape.  In
the lower right corner of the window, the total play time of the songs is
displayed.  Included in that time is the space allowed between the songs,
which is set in the Configuration frame.  If the playing time of any of the
songs is unknown, the total play time will be covered with question marks.
If this occurs, you should edit the album that the song is on and type in
the playing time.

The highlight bar may be moved within a window using the arrow, Page Up and
Page Down keys.  It may be moved from one window to another using the Tab
key.

In the first three windows, where your music collection is displayed, you
may type 'S' to select music to be put on a tape.  If the highlight bar is
on an album, all songs on that album will be selected.  If the bar is on an
artist, all songs by that artist will be selected.  If the bar is on a song,
only that song will be selected.

If the highlight bar is on an album title, you may type 'D' to delete
the album.

If the highlight bar is on an album or song title, you may also type
'E'.  This will allow you to edit the album (either the album you
selected, or the album that the song is on.)  You may then correct
spelling mistakes in the album or song information, add songs to the
album (if you didn't type all songs in previously), or change the
playing time of a song.  Before you edit an album, any songs from that
album that you have selected for your tape should be unselected.  If
you forget to do this, TapeMaker will do it automatically.  You will be
warned beforehand and given an opportunity to change your mind.

If the left window is displaying the song list, you may type 'T' to sort the
songs by time.  If, for example, you have selected 87 minutes of music for a
90 minute tape, and you want to know whether you have a song that can fill
the remaining 3 minutes, type F2 until the left window is displaying songs,
type 'T', and you will see the songs in order of playing time.  Any songs in
your collection shorter than three minutes would appear at the top of the
list.

In the bottom right window, you may type 'C' to clear all selected songs, or
'U' to unselect the song that the highlight bar is on.

Arranging and Printing a Cassette Insert:
=========================================

Select "Arrange Songs On Tape" from the main menu.

This is where you can determine the best order for your songs.  When you
first enter this frame, TapeMaker displays your songs in the order you
selected them, shows how many fit on each side, and the total playing time
on each side.  All the songs you selected must have known playing times.  If
one doesn't, return to the Select Songs screen, find the album the song is
on, and edit it to add the song's playing time.

To rearrange the songs in such a way that there is as little blank tape
left as possible, hit the F3 key.  The more music that you've selected, the
better.  For example, if you have a 90 minute tape, and you've selected 120
minutes of music, there's a good chance that TapeMaker will find some
combination of all those songs so that each side of the tape adds up to 45
minutes.  Of course, 30 minutes of the music you selected will be left off
the tape, but you will have a tape with no blank space on it.

There is often more than one way to arrange the songs and perfectly fill up
the tape.  If you don't like the optimum order that TapeMaker came up with,
hit the F2 key to randomize the song order, then hit F3 to optimize it
again.  You may get an order you like better.

Finally, when you are satisfied with the order of the songs, hit the F4 key
and a cassette insert card will be printed on your printer.

Configuration:
==============

Select "Configure" from the main menu.

You may configure your music database file, the length of the tape and
the time between songs, and the control codes that your printer accepts.
You may move between the fields using the arrow keys and the Tab key.

The default file name for your music database is TAPEMKR.MUS, in the
current working directory.  If you want a different path or file name,
perhaps because a friend is using TapeMaker on your computer and you want to
keep his database separate from yours, you may change it.

Set the tape length to the number of minutes on your tape.

When you are recording your music, it may be difficult to eliminate all
blank space between songs, so you may set the number of seconds that
TapeMaker allows between songs.

The printer control code field allow you to configure TapeMaker for
your printer.  TapeMaker knows the codes to use for certain popular
printers.  To select on of those printers, hit F2.  A menu will appear
with a choice of printers.  Most likely, you own one of those printers
or a printer that is compatible with one of them.

If you do not own one of the listed printers (or a compatible one),
you can manually enter the control sequences needed to generate normal,
compressed, and compressed bold print.  Also enter the number of
characters per inch that your printer prints in compressed mode.

Printer control codes often use unprintable characters such as Escape and
CTRL-P.  To enter these characters in the control code fields, type the
character's decimal ASCII value between angle brackets.  For example, Escape
would be entered as <27>.

Features in TapeMaker 2.0:
==========================

TapeMaker 2.0 has many exciting features that registered users have
requested.  These include:

   - user definable menu and character fields.  Menu fields are like the
     MEDIA menu, but you can define your own.  For example, you could create
     a menu with choices like Rock, Jazz, Classical, and Soundtrack, and
     the menu will appear every time you enter album information.

     A character field is like the title fields.  You could create a field
     for miscellaneous comments about each album.

   - printed reports of your music collection.  The reports can be sorted
     any way you want: by album, by artist, by media, by song, by playing
     time, or even by your user defined fields.  You also specify what
     information you want printed on the reports.

   - up to 60 songs per album

   - the ability to manually rearrange songs on the cassette insert,
     and type in your own comments.  In fact, you can use TapeMaker 2.0
     as a simple cassette insert program where you type in songs and
     print them out, without using any of the database features.

   - an option to print playing times and/or artists on the cassette
     insert

   - nicer looking cassette inserts.  TapeMaker 2.0 can use the line
     drawing characters on many printers, instead of just dashes.  The
     result is cleaner looking printout.

   - and much more!

PLUS, when you register, you will receive a coupon (*) for a 50% discount
on JCS Marketing's Shareware CD ROM.  This CD ROM is packed full of MS-DOS
and Windows shareware.

(*) Subject to availability.

Registering TapeMaker:
======================

TapeMaker is not in the public domain; it is not free.  TapeMaker is
shareware.  Shareware is a low-cost way of selling software.  Instead of
making fancy and expensive packaging, advertising in expensive magazines,
and selling through retail stores that add a markup, shareware is
distributed primarily on computer bulletin boards.  This provides important
advantages to you.

First, you are able to try out software before you buy it.  You needn't
worry about paying a hundred dollars for software that doesn't meet your
needs.  Second, since distribution is so inexpensive, you can get quality
software for much less money.

There is a problem, though.  Many people who use shareware never pay for it.
They violate the honor system by which this software is distributed.  In the
long run, they hurt everyone, because if too many people violate the honor
system, the honor system will collapse.  That means no more 'try before you
buy' software, and it means there will less software available and it will
cost more.

So if you find TapeMaker useful, please register it.  You will receive
a manual and an upgrade to version 2.0.  Also, please send me any ideas
you have for enhancements.

Feel free to give copies of TapeMaker to any friends who may find it useful.
Sharing quality software with others is an important part of making
Shareware work.

Thank you for registering and supporting the shareware concept.

To register TapeMaker 1.8, print this file, fill out the form (below),
and send U.S. $20 to:
      Robert E. Alexander
      6 Robinson Drive
      Bedford, MA  01730


Please print legibly:

Name: _______________________________________________________________

Street: _____________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ___________________________________________________

Type of floppy disk (circle one):  5 1/4 inch            3 1/2 inch

Where did you obtain TapeMaker? _____________________________________
1.8


Terms:
======

TapeMaker 1.8 is Copyright 1989 through 1993 by Robert E. Alexander.
Permission is granted to make copies of TapeMaker 1.8 and distribute
them to others so long as the files TAPEMKR.EXE, TAPEMKR.DOC,
SAMPLE.MUS and README.1st are distributed together and unmodified.  No
fee, other than a disk duplicating fee less than or equal to $7.00, may
be charged for TapeMaker 1.8.

TapeMaker is provided on an "as is" basis without warranty of any kind,
expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied
warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.  The
entire risk as to quality and performance of this program is with you.
In no event will Robert Alexander be liable to you for any damages,
including any lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental or
consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use this
program, even if Robert Alexander has been advised of the possibility of
such damages.  This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you
may have other rights which vary from state to state.  Some states do
not allow the exclusion of implied warranties or exclusion of liability
for incidental or consequential damages so the above may not apply to
you.