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Text File | 1992-05-25 | 46KB | 961 lines

╒════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │ CD-Box v2.01 - Jeffrey Belt, 1992 │ ╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ Quick start: 0. You must have a VGA display (color), a mouse, and an Adlib or SoundBlaster card - a hard disk is also highly recommended. 1. Create a directory in which you put CD-BOX.EXE, CD-BOX.RSR, this file, and every music file (.CMF, .MOD, .MUS, .ROL and .VOC) you can find, either in expanded format or stored in .ZIP files. Also make sure SBFMDRV.COM, SOUND.COM, PLAY.EXE, SPUTROL.COM, MP.COM, VPLAY.EXE and PKUNZIP.EXE (if you don't have them all, do the best you can) are on the PATH (or the SOUND environment variable) somewhere. 2. Type CD-BOX and press Enter (the first time CD-Box is run, the directory scan may take a looooong time, especially if you have many songs - be patient, it will go much faster the second time). 3. Fool around and see what CD-Box can do. IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE, before you conclude that CD-Box is useless, see part III, troubleshooting. If you like and use CD-Box, see part VI (at the end). If you want more details: * Type CD-BOX/? at the DOS prompt * Read the rest of this document! ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Acknowledgments AdLib Music Synthetizer Card is a registered trademark of AdLib, Inc. SoundBlaster is a registered trademark of Creative Labs, Inc. PKUNZIP is from PKWARE, Inc. Useful (if not completely necessary) third party programs SBFMDRV.COM and VPLAY.EXE from Creative Labs, Inc. They come with the SoundBlaster. SOUND.COM from Adlib, Inc. It comes with the AdLib Music Synthetizer Card (which I bought before switching to a SoundBlaster, but I have no regrets...). I have heard of a .ROL driver from Creative Labs named SB-SOUND.COM, Inc., but have never come across one. If you have it, try renaming it to SOUND.COM, and see what happens... SPUTROL.COM from the Sputter package, available from VersaWare (Adrienne Cousins) (that one is Shareware). PLAY.EXE from who? I have no idea. I got mine from archives containing .MUS files (I think it was ADLIBMUS.ZIP on Trickle). In any case, it seems to be pretty widespread. MP.COM from the ModPlay package from Mark J. Cox; one of the most sophisticated and compact .MOD player programs on the market, and it's freeware, too! Great work, Mark! Exactly which program does what in detailed at the beginning of part II. I also have some thanks for Anthony Rumble... see part IV. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ TABLE OF CONTENTS ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Part I: How to use CD-Box Part II: General questions & answers about CD-Box Part III: Trouble-shooting Part IV: Version history, how you can help, and thanks Part V: License & absence of warranty Part VI: How to show your appreciation for CD-Box ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ NEW FEATURES IN CD-BOX v2.00 AND ABOVE: - internal support for .CMF files (Stop/Skip/Pause/real-time clock) - support for .MOD files - automatic lookup & extraction from .ZIP files - right-clicking on song name plays the song immediately - extra animations - .XXX pilot lights & percent bar - "filespec" parameter added to scan only certain files (or .ZIP files) - automatic search in PATH & SOUND environnment variables - improved graphics! 2.01: Esc interrupts Random selection ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ PART I: CD-BOX ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** What does CD-Box do? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CD-Box is, stated simply, a program which plays back music files on the AdLib Music Synthetizer Card and the SoundBlaster card. However, it is also very pretty and fun to use - it runs in 256 colors and uses the mouse (not the keyboard). CD-Box's main features: - A pretty interface and fun animation - CDs pop up and down and start and stop spinning, pages scroll... including random events I'll let you discover! - Support for .CMF, .MOD, .MUS, .ROL and .VOC music/sound files (.CMF, .MOD and .VOC files work with SoundBlaster only). These files can also be stored in .ZIP files to save disk space - CD-Box will find them and play them from the archive. - CD-Box allows you to easily program a selection of songs; it waits for you to select ALL the songs before starting to play the first one. - Instead of selecting songs, you can tell CD-Box how long you want the playback to last, and CD-Box will automatically select songs for you. You can even do that from the DOS command line (or a batch file), and CD-Box will play the songs, then exit right back to DOS. - No data file to keep to date; bank filenames and song titles can be modified directly from CD-Box, which will save your changes to disk. CD-Box also knows the titles and lengths of numerous songs, and when it encounters unknown songs, can sometimes (it depends on the format) extract data from the files on disk. - CD-Box is able to examine the SOUND environnment variable and of loading drivers and player programs from there if necessary (as any good SoundBlaster software should do). ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── And now, the fun part: how CD-Box works You run it by typing CD-BOX at the DOS prompt. Obvious, really. You are then in... ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** SELECT MODE: how to select and play songs ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── - Move between the pages by clicking on the "Rewind" and "Forward" buttons. Pressing the RIGHT mouse button on "Rewind" and "Forward" brings you to the first and last page, respectively. - Select one or more songs to play by clicking on the small button next to the songs' names; they will be played back in the order you selected them. The digital display changes color and displays the total length time of your selection. - Click on "Loop" if you want your selection to be played over and over again. - Click on "Play" to play the songs - you'll be in Play mode (see below). - Clicking on "Random" brings you into Random mode. You can then select the total playing time you wish, by clicking on the "Rewind" and "Forward" buttons; pressing the RIGHT mouse button brings up the minimum and maximum playing time, respectively. Once the desired time is displayed on the digital display, click on "Play". CD-Box will randomly select additional songs until the desired time is reached, then play the songs. ****************************************************************************** NOTE: Certain songs may be of unknown length (they were not known to CD-Box and they have never been played yet). When such a song is selected, CD-Box supposes the length is zero. Therefore, if you use the "Random" button and suchs songs are chosen, the actual playing time may be far longer than the playing time you entered; so try not to use "Random" before you have played all the songs (if you do, Esc still works). Of course a way to play all the songs is to use Random mode and choose the maximum playing time. ****************************************************************************** - Clicking on "Random" while in Random mode, exits Random mode. - Clicking on the wide "Unselect" button will unselect ALL the songs. - Finally, click on "Eject" to quit. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** PLAY MODE: while songs are being played back ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── - Each song is played in turn, and then de-selected, unless "Loop" is in the down position, in which case they are reselected to be played again later. - Pressing Esc while a song is playing interrupts the current song, and CD-Box starts looking for the next one. If you press Esc between songs, playback stops entirely (songs not yet played remain selected). You've got to press Esc twice quite fast to stop the playback in fast mode. If the cursor is a yellow arrow, you also have access to the real-time clock and the following functions (.CMF files only (for now!)): - Stop: stops playback entirely (same as pressing Esc between songs). - Skip: interrupts the current song (same as pressing Esc while playing). - Pause/Resume: toggle it once to pause the music, and toggle it again to have it pick up where it left off. - Rem.: if pressed, the digital display shows the time left until the song or the total selection ends (see next button), as far as CD-Box can tell; if not, the digital display shows the time elapsed since the beginning of the song or the total selection. - Total: if pressed, the digital display shows the time elapsed or left (see previous button) for the current song; if not, it shows the time elapsed or left for the whole selection. Got it? Play mode switches back to Select mode when playback ends (whether you interrupted it or not). ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** MODIFY MODE: used to modify bank files and song titles ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Click on the wide "Modify" button to enter Modify mode. All the songs will be unselected, and the row of buttons will flip and reveal another set of buttons. "Rewind" and "Forward" work the same. - You can display the song titles, bank files or filename by clicking on one of the three buttons at the right. - If you click on a small button next to a song, a dot cursor will appear and you will be able to modify whatever is displayed, using the keyboard (Backspace, Enter and Escape do the ovious things). Any changes you type in will be automatically saved to disk once you exit CD-Box. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** GOTO MODE: used to quickly jump to a specific title ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Click on "Goto", and an alphabetic set of buttons will appear. From there, simply choose a letter, and CD-Box will "Rewind" or "Forward" directly to the page containing the first song starting by the letter you selected, and flash that song briefly. If no such song exists, CD-Box tries with the next letter, and the next, and may finally give up by giving an error message. When you exit Goto mode, either automatically, or by clicking on Goto a second time, you will be brought back to the same mode you were in before entering Goto mode. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ PART II: GENERAL QUESTIONS ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** Exactly what programs do I need for each song format? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── In addition to CD-BOX.EXE (the program) and CD-BOX.RSR (the resource file), you need songs to play, and a player program in most cases. The music playback programs supported by CD-Box and the corresponding song formats are: ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ Creative Music Files (.CMF) │ SoundBlaster only └─────────────────────────────┘ You need the sound driver SBFMDRV.COM from Creative Labs, Inc, and it has to be loaded in memory before CD-Box is run. (You can remove it by typing SBFMDRV /U once you exit CD-Box). No other program is necessary, .CMF routines are programmed directly into CD-Box. ┌────────────────────┐ │ Music files (.MUS) │ Adlib & SoundBlaster └────────────────────┘ You need PLAY.EXE. Each .MUS file also needs a .SND bank file, so be sure to put them in the directory too. (ex: AGNES.MUS and AGNES.SND, MULL.MUS and MULL.SND...) ┌────────────────────────┐ │ Amiga MOD files (.MOD) │ SoundBlaster only └────────────────────────┘ You need MP.COM and a LOT of free memory. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ ROLand files (.ROL) │ Adlib & SoundBlaster └─────────────────────┘ You need SPUTROL.COM and the sound driver SOUND.COM from AdLib, Inc; but you don't have to load it before running CD-Box. SPUTROL will itself load it if necessary, and unload it when done. .ROL files also need at least one .BNK bank file, which usually is STANDARD.BNK. ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │ SoundBlaster VOiCe files (.VOC) │ SoundBlaster only └─────────────────────────────────┘ You need VPLAY.EXE. These are digitized sound files and not real music files, so the space taken up on disk can be HUGE. ┌────────────┐ │ .ZIP files │ All formats └────────────┘ You need PKUNZIP.EXE (see section on .ZIP files below). All the song files have to reside in CD-Box's directory; the program files do not have to, but make sure CD-Box has access to them (through a PATH statement for instance). CD-Box also examines the SOUND environnment variable and is able to load drivers and players from there if necessary. To see if CD-Box detects properly your drivers and player programs, type CD-BOX/D at the DOS prompt. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** How do I add or remove songs to CD-Box? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The song titles displayed in CD-Box depend entirely on the music files in the current directory (either in .ZIP archives or not). If you want to add songs to CD-Box, simply put them in the current directory. To remove them, delete the files. In other words, CD-Box always reflects the current directory - only the file names are replaced by song titles. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** What's all this about .ZIP files? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CD-Box is able to look into .ZIP files to see if there are any songs there; if it finds any, the corresponding title will appear on the main screen, and the song will be treated just as any other song. This means your songs can be packed in .ZIP files in CD-Box's directory to save space; CD-Box will find them anyway. *** When does CD-Box uncompress the songs stored in .ZIP files? Unpacking occurs in two cases only: - at startup, if a song found in a .ZIP archive is not known to CD-Box, it will exploded using PKUNZIP.EXE so that it can be analyzed. The program will try to extract the most information from the file (title and length in particular); the "Analyzing song" indicator is lit up. When done, CD-Box will remove the unpacked file from the directory. - just before playing a song stored in a .ZIP archive, the ".ZIP" indicator lights up and CD-Box invokes PKUNZIP.EXE to explode the song file, and the bank file if necessary. When done playing, the unpacked files are removed also. *** What program is necessary to take full advantage of this feature? PKUNZIP.EXE from PKWare, Inc. If you don't have it, or if it is not reachable through a PATH statement, and if you have .ZIP files in CD-Box's directory, the message "Unable to explode song" will appear. CD-Box may also crash at startup. The bottom line: using .ZIP files with CD-Box is pretty easy and straightforward. In the case of .MUS and .ROL music files, it also saves an average of 80% of disk space!!! Believe me, IT'S WORTH IT! ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** Is there any way I can skip the animation? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Indeed there is. Type CD-BOX/F at the DOS prompt. You can also skip the title screen, but still have the animation, by pressing a key while CD-Box is loading (before it switches to graphics mode). ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** Are there any shortcuts to make things happen more quickly? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Try clicking the RIGHT mouse button. For instance, clicking the right mouse button on a song button plays the song immediately, or clicking the right mouse button on the "Rewind" and "Forward" buttons go to the beginning and end of the song index, respectively. But if that's still too slow for you, the /F parameter is even faster, but then you'll skip ALL the animations. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** What does that "XXX duplicate!" message at startup mean? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── This can only happen if you use .ZIP files; it means you have two or more files which have exactly the same filename in the CD-Box directory. CD-Box ignores all duplicate filenames and remembers only the first one found. It's not an error, it's a warning, but it can be annoying. You have the same file twice in the directory (one in a .ZIP file, another in a .ZIP file or simply in the directory). So delete one or rename the other. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** How does CD-Box remember the title and length of songs? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Files found in the current directory are the ones loaded, and the bank file and title given depend on the following criteria: - If there is a SONGS.DAT file in the directory, and if it contains that song, CD-Box loads the data from it (SONGS.DAT is an external database CD-Box uses to remember songs). - Otherwise, if CD-Box knows that song intrisically (there is another database directly programmed into CD-BOX.RSR), the data is read from there. - If all this fails, then CD-Box tries to make the best possible guesses: + bank file: usually STANDARD.BNK, or filename.SND, or none + song title: extracted from disk (.CMF and .MOD), otherwise same as filename. + length: 0 (unknown), except for .ROL files, where the length is computed directly from the file on disk. All this is recorded in CD-Box's external database (SONGS.DAT); if the database doesn't exist, it is created. Any changes you make, and of course the changes in length as computed when playing the song, take over the default values, and are recorded as well. All changes are actually written to disk when you quit CD-Box (Eject). At the time of this writing, CD-Box intrinsically knows about 150 songs, but this number keeps changing. Type CD-BOX/I at the DOS prompt to know exactly how many. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** What are the command line parameters? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CD-BOX/? gives you a quick summary. Otherwise, here are the details: * filespec: instead of scanning the entire directory, CD-Box will scan only the files matching your file specification. For instance, if you want CD-Box to load the .ROL files only, type CD-BOX *.ROL; or if you just got a brand new archive containing new songs called ALLNEW.ZIP, and you want CD-Box to scan only that archive, type CD-BOX ALLNEW.ZIP. The default for filespec is, of course, *.*. * /F: All non-essential animation is skipped, including the title screen, CDs popping up and down, buttons flipping over... Use this parameter if CD-Box runs too slowly on your computer, or if you're a little short on memory (you get thrown back to DOS with messages like "Not enough memory to load..." or "VGA Sprite Manager has run out of memory!"). If you don't specify the /F parameter, you can still skip the title screen by pressing a key while CD-Box is loading (before it switches to graphics mode). * /I: Displays how much memory CD-Box detects and reserves for animation purposes, and also how many songs are in the internal and external databases. * /P: Loads CD-Box, plays n minutes of music by switching to Random mode, and then exits back to DOS upon completion of the last song. If Esc is pressed between songs, playback interrupts just as usual, and normal operation is resumed: you can then use the mouse to choose songs, change titles... * /V: Displays the contents (filename, bank filename, title and length) of the external database (SONGS.DAT) on the screen, pausing when the screen is full. Blank entries in the Bank column indicate the file does not need any bank file (.CMF and .VOC), and blank entries in the Length column indicate the length of the song is not known (0). If you want to save this listing to a file, specify a filename, like this: CD-BOX /V=filename Output will be saved to the file filename.TXT. * /D: This is a debugging tool which displays the name of each file as it is read and analyzed from the directory when CD-Box starts up. I left it because CD-Box does not verify whether a music file is valid or not before analyzing it. So, if you try to run CD-Box and you get a "Runtime error", try using /D, and chances are you'll spot the file which is invalid. REMOVE THIS FILE FROM THE DIRECTORY! I am currently adding checking routines to prevent this, however, so you might get an "Invalid .ROL file" message or equivalent. In that case, remove the file too. /D also displays the complete paths to all of the drivers and player programs it needs, and reports if any given song is a duplicate. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** I have an AdLib card, is there a way I can play .CMF/.MOD/.VOC files? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If you try to play a .CMF, .MOD or .VOC file with an AdLib card, I don't know what it will do, but 1) it won't work, and 2) you may have ugly DOS messages messing up CD-Box's screen, and the system may crash. I warned you! ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** How come the About button says I have only (around) 100 KB free memory? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── It's not a bug, but it isn't what you would expect either. That 100 KB is memory CD-Box keeps for animation purposes, it is NOT the memory left for player programs. CD-Box uses about 300 KB, so if you started with 550 KB, there'll be about 200-250 KB left for player programs. This "free memory" message will be removed in later versions as it is likely to create confusion, and isn't very helpful either. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** Is there anything else I should know about CD-Box? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Well... there is. There are random animations happening at irregular intervals. If you don't use the /F parameter and are patient, you should see some from time to time. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ PART III: TROUBLE-SHOOTING ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** CD-Box displays a "Player program not found" message! ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── You have tried playing a song, and the associated player program was not found. Make note of the format causing problems, then run CD-Box with the /D parameter. If the corresponding program is displayed as "not found.", then you can't play these songs, unless you get the program and put it in CD-Box's directory, the directory from the SOUND environnment variable, or somewhere on your PATH. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** How come CD-Box displays twice the same song? ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── This means you have two DIFFERENT songs who happen to have exactly the same title - you can check that by looking at the song filename in Modify mode. So either delete one of the songs, change its title, or simply leave it as is (CD-Box can handle duplicate titles). ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** I get a "Runtime error" message while CD-Box analyzes a song ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Two possibilities: You have a song with an invalid format somewhere in your directory, and CD-Box crashes when trying to extract meaningful values. Try the /D parameter (see part I). You have a song in a .ZIP archive that CD-Box tried to explode, but couldn't because PKUNZIP.EXE was not found. CD-Box can read .ZIP files by itself, but cannot extract files. So either make PKUNZIP.EXE available through the path, or delete the .ZIP archive. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** CD-Box doesn't play the song, and there is no error message! ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If CD-Box acts as if it will play a song, but in fact doesn't play it at all, and no error is generated, it may be because the song needs to much memory to play - often the case with .MOD files above 200 KB. I'm working on ways to decrease the (huge) memory requirements of CD-Box. Another possibility is that the player got an error (usually out of memory, but it could be corrupted bank file or something else), but reported none. CD-Box is then fooled into thinking everything was okay. Try playing the song by hand under DOS, and see what happens. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** CD-Box displays "Unable to explode song"! ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CD-Box can't find PKUNZIP.EXE. Either make it available to CD-Box, or else remove any .ZIP files containing songs you may have in CD-Box's directory. .MUS and .ROL only: there is a second possibility: CD-Box has not found the bank file. Try changing the name of the bank file associated to the song, or if the name is okay, check that it is in the same .ZIP archive than the song. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** The length displayed for certain .MOD files is wrong! ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Yeah, I know; there's something weird going on with the system clock when certain effects in .MOD files are used. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** I get a "VGA Sprite Manager has run out of memory" message! ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The VGA Sprite Manager is the routine responsible for animating sprites on the VGA screen, not messing up the background, being able to superpose different sprites on different planes, and preventing flicker. However, it also needs a LOT of memory; 64 KB + the sprites to move, so it usually amounts to about 80 - 90 KB. So either free more memory before running CD-Box, or use the /F parameter. The animations will be skipped, and the Sprite Manager will not be invoked. But chances are you're too short on memory to play songs anyway. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** CD-Box returns suddenly to DOS and I get a "Runtime error" message! ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Well, you stumbled on a bug. I left all the checking routines on in CD-Box's code, so that instead of hanging up and forcing you to reboot, it exits to DOS (in most cases). Restart CD-Box and try not to do it again - if you use CD-Box normally, you shouldn't get any bug. It's when you try to insist (for example, a .MOD song might not play because of insufficient memory, so don't try clicking on the song button 10 times to try to play it anyway), that CD-Box crashes. I, of course, am trying to get the number of bugs to an absolute minimum (very close to zero). ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** I get "Not enough memory to..." messages and CD-Box returns to DOS! ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── You have a fatal memory overflow. One way to make it work is to free more memory. You can also try typing CD-BOX /F at the DOS prompt, and if you can get to the main screen, you're safe in most cases. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** I have trouble with my mouse ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Have you tried cheddar cheese? Just kidding. CD-Box assumes the mouse is 100% Microsoft compatible (200% compatibility or more preferred). Some people have trouble with their mice (garbage on screen, focus offset); try using the .SYS or .COM or your mouse driver or even another driver. I know that some mice don't run well under CD-Box, even though they're 100% compatible, and they run fine under all other software. Sometimes changing the driver has worked, sometimes not. I have no perfect solution (yet). ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ *** That darn program doesn't work AT ALL! ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Read the license (part V) if you haven't already done so. I CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT CD-BOX WILL RUN ON YOUR PARTICULAR COMPUTER. Let's be reasonable: I cannot guarantee that this program will work for you. You MUST have a VGA display, a Microsoft compatible mouse, and a lot of free RAM (at least 500 KB; if you don't have 640K conventional memory, forget it - but then who doesn't these days?). This is the very minimum configuration under which CD-Box will run. If you want to hear the songs, you need an AdLib Music Synthetizer Card or a SoundBlaster card (CD-Box does run, but is of absolutely no use without a music card). And if you have a lot of songs, you need (a little) more memory, too, of course. I have only tested in on 286s so far, but I see no reason why it shouldn't run on a 8086 or a 80836 - although a 8086 might be slow. If you have a 8086, you should try the /F parameter. As far as I know, this program is free of bugs (except for those mentioned above). If you find any, TELL ME in detail! There's no chance of the bug being corrected if I don't know about it! ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ PART IV: EPILOGUE ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Version history ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * 1.00: CD-Box is born * 1.10: Packing/unpacking routines shrinking the resource file * 1.11: Right mouse button support, /? and /F command-line switches. * 1.20: Increased animation (5 digit display, CD spins) * 1.50: (Major rewrite) Introduction of the expert database (no data file needed), new button set to make changes within CD-Box, scrolling display, /I command line parameter added. * 1.51: Internal programming upgraded with objects! * 1.60: CD-Box keeps growing: - Support for .CMF and .VOC files; increased support for .ROL files, by being able to compute the playing time from the file on disk. - /V parameter added, so you can look into SONGS.DAT, and /P parameter added. At the same time, the internal database has been updated and expanded to 98 songs. - Addition of "Goto" mode, and "cleaning up" of the various buttons, dividing them into three distinct modes with different color themes. - The scrolling display scrolls up instead of left, and the messages stay a while on-screen - makes it much easier to read messages, which is all that display was about in the first place! * 1.61: "Bug" fix: - CD-Box starts checking for some cases of invalid .ROL formats, which made the program crash at startup while analyzing the file. Also, the /D has been added, so you can see which file causes the error, and remove it. - A most subtle bug causing black lines to sometimes appear on the song buttons has been tracked down and DESTROYED. - CD-Box's capacity extended to about 300 songs (I haven't tried more). * 2.00: CD-Box gets better, thanks to the network! (see thanks below) - Support for .MOD files, thanks to Mark J Cox's "quiet" player MODPLAY. The drawback: I had to reorganize CD-Box's allocation routines so that they leave enough memory for MODPLAY to load large songs (if you have about 570 KB free before you run CD-Box, a 210 KB .MOD file is about the maximum CD-Box can load) - so now CD-Box is again split in two files, CD-BOX.EXE and CD-BOX.RSR. It's no big deal, but... - INTERNAL SUPPORT for .CMF files has been added; now the digits display a real-time clock (time elapsed & time left & total time elapsed & left), and you can PAUSE and RESUME the song any time. - A percentage bar displaying time played/time left (which are recomputed at the end of each song if the length of the song just played proved to be longer than CD-Box thought it was) is added. - Some people felt frustrated not being able to move the mouse all over the screen. Okay! In this version, you are able to! - Still more songs added to CD-Box's internal database. - VGA screens updated and much prettier (thanks to advice on subtle light reflections), and random animations added!!! * 2.01: some little glitches fixed, others optimized (duplicates with same names but different extensions are now accepted as two distinct songs). * 2.02: (nearing completion but I don't want to release it until I'm positive it's bug-free): - About 30 or 40 KB more free for those huge .MOD files. - The pilot lights across the top (.CMF .MOD etc) will be completely turned off if the corresponding format cannot be played (missing driver or player), so you'll know whether this format works without having to try and play a song file. - A little less runtime errors, and a little more explicit messages. - Some new animations... - YOUR REMARKS, if I can get them early enough (before the end of June 92) and have the time and opportunity to work them in. * Maybe sometime in the far future: - Keeping the "Forward" and "Rewind" buttons pressed down will quickly go through the pages, without having to release and press it each time. I have to find a way to make this work. - MORE INTERNAL SUPPORT for the music files, without having to shell to external programs. .ROL and .MUS seem to be a good bet; .MOD will rely for a long time on MODPLAY. - Support for any viable format I'll come across (all I need is a quiet player, freeware if possible (otherwise CD-Box itself might become shareware))... - Maybe a "bug report" that will report, as you quit CD-Box, all the errors that occured during the session (bank file not found, etc...), and save it to CD-BOX.RPT or something. - Any more (viable) suggestions? ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ How you can help with CD-Box ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If you have a sound player that you'd like CD-Box to support, e-mail me BEFORE THE END OF JULY 1992 - else send me a letter (better yet, a disk with the player, PROVIDED IT IS LEGAL TO DO SO (i.e. freeware, public domain, you wrote it yourself, complete shareware archive, etc; if it's a commercial program I don't want it)). Whether it supports a format already supported by CD-Box or a new format doesn't matter; there's nothing against CD-Box supporting multiple players for one format (it allows the user more freedom). The restrictions: * It MUST be possible to run the player in "quiet" mode, i.e., no output of ANY kind, and NO SWITCHING TO TEXT MODE when it is run. Some players do that even when they don't output anything. * The less memory it takes, the better (of course I'm aware that I'm the one at fault, CD-Box gobbles so much memory that the player programs HAVE to be tiny). I'm also greatly interested in sources, since they allow the mouse to stay in control, the animation to continue, and the timer and percent bar are then displayed as real-time. I may be short on time, but it's worth a try. If you have Pascal sources or Turbo C .OBJ files that you're willing to share (same restriction as above, I don't want commercial stuff), then e-mail be about them BEFORE THE END OF JULY 1992, else write me. If I ever work them in, I'll acknowledge that in the documentation AND in CD-Box itself (the About button). I hope I'll be able to support CD-Box some time, but the odds are against me (I'll be leaving for military service (obligatory in France) in August 92, so I have no idea whether I'll still be able to work on this). Anyway, this version is stable and not likely to be bugged. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Thanks to... ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CD-Box would not be the program it is without the help from the following people - thanks to the network! - Anthony Rumble, for his sources in Pascal of .CMF & .VOC routines (distributed as SBUTIL11.EXE). I have made my own librairies for .CMF now, but the critical routines were all supplied by Anthony (his .VOC player only works for files smaller than 64K, so I couldn't use it, but it's a good start!). My deepest thanks. Now all I need are .ROL routines that work... - Mark J. Cox, for supplying a (long awaiten) quiet .MOD player, giving CD-Box the opportunity to play great sounding Amiga soundtracks. ModPlay is an excellent program which I highly recommend. If you don't have it, go GET IT! - Dave Komatsu, editor of the Sound Newsletter, and Keith Petersen, maintainer of the MSDOS, MISC and CP/M archives at SIMTEL, for having accepted my submission! - Bruno Deltour for aesthetic remarks; Alain Rousseau for providing me files from the net when I didn't have access to it; Jean-Francois Moufle for drawing the car (now much reduced) driving across the bottom of the screen at odd times; and various friends and relations for their stumbling on (rare) bugs, helpful comments and encouragement. I hope you enjoy the song New Entertainer in the CDBOX201.ZIP archive - I programmed it myself! It is based, of course, on Scott Joplin's remarkable Entertainer, so the credit is his. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ PART V: LICENSE & ABSENCE OF WARRANTY ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ The word "software" below refers to the three files CD-BOX.EXE, CD-BOX.RSR and CD-BOX.DOC. You may use this software, copy it as many times as you like, give it to anyone, and distribute it via electronic means. This software may also be distributed in shareware and/or public domain libraries that charge for copying and distributing disks, NOT for the software itself. You may NOT charge or request a donation for a copy of this software, however made; and you may NOT distribute this program and/or documentation with commercial products without handwritten permission from the author. THIS SOFTWARE MAY NOT BE GIVEN AWAY OR DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT ITS DOCUMENTATION; AND NEITHER PROGRAM NOR DOCUMENTATION MAY BE ALTERED IN ANY WAY. CD-Box is delivered "AS IS" with no promise to its performance or fitness for a particular purpose. CD-BOX COMES WITH NO GUARANTEE OF ANY KIND, NOR IS THE AUTHOR LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND. The person using this software assumes all the risks. Do NOT use CD-Box if you do not agree to this license. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ The bottom line ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CD-BOX IS FREEWARE. CD-BOX COMES WITH NO WARRANTY. CD-BOX CANNOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL GAIN. CD-BOX SHOULD ONLY BE GIVEN AWAY AS CDBOX201.ZIP. The above is simply to make sure that: * You can copy and give CD-Box to anyone, and use it without any qualms. * Distributing CD-Box won't make me any trouble - hey, I'm giving it away for free! * This documentation stays with CD-Box. It contains acknowledgements and thanks to people who deserve it. Intellectual property is something many people don't seem to understand. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ PART VI: HOW YOU CAN SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION FOR CD-BOX ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ I have put an incredibly huge amount of time in this program, but I don't ask for any money for my work, only fame and recognition, as they say in the movies. However, one thing I DO ask for is user feedback. What do you like or don't like in CD-Box? If you REALLY like CD-Box, and feel overly generous, a gift is always appreciated... :-) I can be reached via e-mail until the end of July 92 (and NO LATER) at belt@aar.alcatel-alsthom.fr (disclaimer: Alcatel Alsthom has nothing to do with CD-Box, I only have an account there for the moment). After that, normal mail only, until further notice! Hey, and remember: HAVE FUN WITH YOUR MUSIC CARD! ****************************************************************************** *** *** *** I really insist on user feedback. I'm curious whether CD-Box will be *** *** successful on the network, and the only way I can know is if each *** *** user (including YOU) sends me a note. A simple postcard will do. *** *** Really! I'd be extremely grateful. And if you wish to write me for *** *** comments or suggestions, you are most WELCOME! *** *** *** *** Jeffrey Belt *** *** 7, rue de la Garenne *** *** 77240 - CESSON *** *** FRANCE *** *** *** ******************************************************************************