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OS/2 Help File
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1999-11-21
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737KB
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389 lines
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Sidplay for OS/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Sidplay for OS/2 is an Interface GUI for OS/2 which allows you to play
Commodore 64 Sid Tunes on your IBM-PC Compatable.
Suggested requirements are:
- Pentuim Processor > 100 Mhz
- OS/2 compatable Sound Card(16 Bit Capable)
- 3 Meg Hard Drive space
In addition you will require:
- If Running Warp Version 3 or Connect the DART Dll's
- MMPM to be installed (Multimedia Support).
Sidplay for OS/2 by Peter Conklin (sidplayos2@yahoo.com)
Sidplay Emulator Engine by Michael Schwendt (sidplay@geocities.com)
High Voltage Sid Collection by the HV-Sids Crew (shark@dhp.com)
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Selecting Tunes and the IBM Extended Selection Style ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
You can select a group of tunes in a few ways.The easiest is to single click
the left mouse button on a tune.
To select a group of tunes, hold down the left mouse button and drag the
mouse.You can also do this by single clicking a tune with the left mouse
button, then moving the mouse to another tune and holding down the SHIFT key
while single clicking the left mouse button on the second tune.This will select
a range of tunes.
To select a range of tunes that are not necessarily next to each other, you
need to select each tune by single clicking the left mouse button while holding
down the CTRL key.This will select a range of tunes that can be disjointed from
each other.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Sidplay Interface ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The Sidplay Interface is the main window for the application. This is the
window that you use to interact with the Sid Tunes.
Along the top of the window you will see menus.These menus are discussed later
in this help.
The lines below display information about the current Sid Tune. If the tune is
not valid or not loaded , then these fields are Not Applicable.
Below this you will see a display with TRACK , DURATION and SPEED. These are
the current track playing of the Sid Tune , the time the track has been
playing, and the speed that the track is playing at.
To the Side you will see a button LOAD. This button will load a Sid Tune and is
the same as the File->Open selection from the Menu.See that section later in
this help file.
Below the display you will see buttons.As you place the cursor over the top of
each button, a small symbol will appear describing the purpose of that
button.From left to right the buttons are:
Stop Stops the current track
Play Starts the current track
Pause Pauses the current track
2x Speed Plays the current track at double speed
4x Speed Plays the current track at quadro speed
Previous Track Selects the previous track
Next Track Selects the next track
When you exit the program, any options will be saved in the SIDPLAY.INI file.
This file holds all options for all of the window positions and the dir based
settings.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This Menu contains the following:
Open
Dir Based I/O
PlayList
Save
Save As
Exit
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Open ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This option will display a file open dialog box through which you can traverse
to load a Sid Tune.If the selected file is not a valid Sid Tune you will be
shown an error message.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2. Dir Based I/O ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This option will open another child window which will display a directory
structure.You can traverse through this structure to load Sid Tunes.When you
want to load a Sid Tune just double click on it with the left mouse button. The
tune will automatically begin playing.If a tune is already playing then that
tune will be stopped and then the new tune loaded and played. The STIL
Information for the tune will be placed in the STIL View Window if the info is
available for that tune.
You can also use the pop-up menu to perform operations on the tunes.To access
the pop-up menu , single click the right mouse button.
Play Tune
This is the same as double clicking the left mouse button on a tune.
Add To PlayList
This will add the tune to the PlayList.The PlayList does not need to be
opened to do this.
Add Selected To PlayList
This will add all of the currently highlighted tunes to the PlayList .The
PlayList does not need to be opened to do this.
The advantage to this kind of arrangement is that you can leave the window
open at all times and just select the next tune you wish to play.This window
can also be resized to your personal preference.When you are done with the
window just close it.When the window is closed it will not stop the tune or
affect the main window in any way.
To the side of the window you will see two buttons
Set As Default
This option will set the current directory to be the default directory
each time you restart the program.This is saved when you exit the
program.
This means that when you restart the program , the first time you open
the Dir Based I/O window will start at the default directory. If you
change to a different directory , and then close the Dir Based I/O window
and open it again , it will start at where you left off , not the default
directory.
Close
This button will close the window and performs the same operation as the
close button on the title bar.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3. PlayList ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This option allows you to group all of your favourite tunes together without
having to traverse directory structures.You can also sort by a specific type.To
play a tune just double-click on it.
Most of the functions are accessed by the pop-up menu.You can access the menu
by single clicking on the right mouse button.The functions are outlined below.
Play Tune
This will play the tune that the mouse pointer was over.It is the same as
double clicking the tune.
Remove Tune
This will remove the tune that the mouse pointer was over from the
playlist.
Remove Selected
Removes all of the currently highlighted tunes from the play list.
Add Tune
Will show a dialog box in which you can select a tune to add to the
playlist.
Load PlayList
Shows a dialog box to select a playlist to load.This will clear any
entries that are currently in the playlist window.
Save PlayList
Saves all of the tunes in the playlist window to a file.
Append PlayList
This will prompt you for a file to Append to the end of the tunes in the
playlist window.This differs from the Load PlayList command since it does
not clear the entries in the playlist window.This is useful for merging
playlists which are saved in different files.
Clear Playlist
This will empty all of the tunes from the playlist window.This option
does not affect any playlist files.
Sort by
Here you can sort your playlist by Title,Filename,Author,Copyright or
None(No Sorting). When you load a playlist the sorting is defaulted to
NONE.This is because if you have your playlist arranged in an order other
than the sort options , then when it is loaded that order will not be
lost.
You can also Drag and Drop tunes within the playlist to make a custom
order.The IBM Extended selection style is available to allow you to drag many
tunes at once.When all of your tunes are selected , drag them by holding the
right mouse button.Drop them by releasing the right mouse button.See Selecting
Tunes and the IBM Extended Selection Style for more information.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4. Save ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Save is not implemented yet.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.5. Save as ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Save as is not implemented yet.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.6. Exit ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Selecting this will close the application.You can select this whether the
application is still playing a tune or not.
When you exit the program, any options will be saved in the SIDPLAY.INI file.
This file holds all options for all of the window positions and the dir based
settings.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Options ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This Menu contains the following:
Filter
Wave/Sid
Emulation
Mixer
STIL View
Show Tools
Hide Tools
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.1. Filter ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This dialog allows you to change the 3 user definable filter parameters.The 3
filter parameters are as follows:
FilterFS
FilterFM
FilterFT
You can also use the filter enabled check box to determine whether you want to
use the filter or not. The Default button will return the parameters back to
their default settings. All changes are made real time.
Pressing the OK Button will restart the tune with the new options. You can
cancel the changes by pressing the Frame Windows close button.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.2. Wave/Sid ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This dialog box allows you to control the way that the tunes are sampled.
These options are outlined below:
Frequency
This allows you to select the frequecy to listen to the samples at.You
may select one of the pre-defined sampling rates , or by selecting other
you can specify your own sampling rate. Valid range is 4000<freq<44100.
Bits Per Sample
Here you can select whether to have 8 or 16 bits per sample.
Channel
This is where you may choose either Mono or Stereo Mode.If you choose
Mono mode then the Balancers in the Mixer will have no effect. Picking
Stereo Mode will also depend on the Volume Mode currently selected.
Volume Mode
This selection is important in determining how the voices will interact
together.
- Volume Control
This option can only mix 2 logical channels to 1 physical
channel.For this reason, it is strongly suggested that you pan
position the voices as follows:
LEFT RIGHT
------- -------
Voice 1 Voice 2
Voice 3 Voice 4
- Full Panning
All logical voices can be mixed to 1 physical channel. Therefore you
can set the voices to any balance.
- Stereo Surround
All logical voices can be mixed to 1 physical channel. Therefore you
can set the voices to any balance.
Auto Panning Mode
This option determines if and how the emulator will automatically pan
position the voices for you.
- Off
No Auto Panning. Normal Sampling.
- Normal
Auto-panning starts each new note on the opposite pan-position and
then moves between the left and right volume level.
- Centered
Centered auto-panning starts in the middle, moves outwards and then
toggles between the two pan-positions like normal auto-panning.
Buffer Size
Sets the size of each sample buffer.This may be overridden for
performance considerations.
Buffers
Sets the number of sample buffers.This may be overridden for performance
considerations.
Pressing the OK Button will restart the tune with the new options. You can
cancel the changes by pressing the Frame Windows close button.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.3. Emulation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This dialog allows you to control how the emulator handles memory , and the
clocking for the engine.
These options are outlined below:
Memory Mode
This options selects the way that the emulator handles memory. It is like
setting $01 on the '64.
- Transparent
Provides partial bank switching.Should be good for MOST Tunes.
Needed for tunes that use Ram at I/O or Kernal. Also for tunes that
jump to Kernal routines.
- Bank Switching
Provides a fully bank switched environment , or at least one good
enough for tunes.
- Playsid
Provides support for playsid tunes. Some of these tunes would not
run on a real '64 because of assumptions made about the emulation.
Clock Speed
Can be used to select either PAL or NTSC clocking. Most european tunes
were PAL so any that need NTSC will probably be from USA.
Force Clock Speed
This is used to force the selected clocking speed to be used.Most of the
tunes will be defaulted to one clocking speed , however this can override
that.
Pressing the OK Button will restart the tune with the new options. You can
cancel the changes by pressing the Frame Windows close button.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.4. Mixer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This is a software mixer for Volume and Balance controls. Each voice's balance
and volume can be controlled individually , or as a whole with the master
controls.You can use the mute radio buttons to disable a certain voice or all
of them. Any changes are made real time.
Pressing the OK Button will restart the tune with the new options. You can
cancel the changes by pressing the Frame Windows close button.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.5. STIL View ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This option will display a window showing extended information about the
current tune.You can leave this window open and it will be updated when a new
tune is loaded.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.6. Tools ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
This is a floating tool bar which allows you to access some of the Sidplay
functions.You can either Hide or Show the tools from the options menu.
This is convenient because it allows you to have only the tools so that you
dont have to use the menus all of the time and keeps your desktop less
cluttered.
There is three buttons on the title bar , the system menu , move with main and
expand/collapse.
The system menu allows you to move and close the tools.
The Move with main button , which looks like a pin , toggles between moving the
tools with the Main window or leaving the tools where they are. You can think
of the pin as attatching the toolbar to the Main window , a bit like a paper
clip.
The expand/collapse button toggles the toolbar between showing the buttons or
just showing the title bar of the tools.
There is fly over text for each of the buttons which will show the purpose of
the button when the pointer is placed over top of it.