home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Super Shareware Collection
/
Super Shareware Collection.iso
/
sound
/
dmpcc162.zip
/
DMPCC162.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-02-27
|
19KB
|
403 lines
Page 1
DMP Control Center v1.62 Documentation
──────────────────────────────────────
╔══════════╗
║ CONTENTS ║
╚══════════╝
I. Introduction
II. Disclaimer
III. Command-line Options
IV. In-program Keys
V. Configuration File
VI. Further Explanation Of Archive Support
VII. Other Notes
VIII. Bugs
IX. Where To Reach Me
X. Revisions
╔══════════════╗
║ INTRODUCTION ║
╚══════════════╝
I made this program because I love the Dual Module Player (DMP)
written by Otto Chrons and the Protected Module Player (PMP) written by Otto
Chrons and Jussi Lahdenniemi. They are the best .MOD players in existence.
They also play .669, .S3M, .AMF, .STM, .NST, and .MTM files, as well as some
other music formats. They support practically every sound card and have
incredible sound quality. The only main differences between the two are
that PMP uses XMS while DMP uses EMS, and DMP is updated more frequently,
so it has more features. Anyway, these programs are lacking in only one
item: there is no shell where you can select files. I have seen a couple
of other DMP-shell programs, and I wanted to improve on them, so I made my
own. This document will usually abbreviate the name DMP Control Center as
DMPCC. All the little symbols you see in this file that look like a circle
on top of a cross are just there to tell your printer to do a form-feed.
╔════════════╗
║ DISCLAIMER ║
╚════════════╝
I accept no responsibility for anything that happens to any person
or thing in any manner due to the use of this program. Use at your own risk.
╔══════════════════════╗
║ COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS ║
╚══════════════════════╝
■ Syntax: dmpcc </?> <directory to begin in>
■ No options are necessary. Don't type the < and the >.
■ /? gives a very small help screen. No more info than you see right here.
Page 2
╔═════════════════╗
║ IN-PROGRAM KEYS ║
╚═════════════════╝
■ H = Help.
■ P or ENTER = Play current file.
■ D = Delete current file or remove highlighted subdirectory if it is empty.
■ R = Rename current file or directory.
■ C = Copy current file.
■ M = Move current file.
■ L = Log onto new drive.
■ F = Change filespec mask.
■ S = Choose new sorting criteria (name, extension, size, date, none).
■ T = Toggle the time and date display at the top of the screen on and off.
If you are multitasking, then it is wise to toggle this off so that
the CPU is not hogged down by the constant time-checking. This can
be preset in the configuration file as well.
■ I = Invoke current file. DMPCC will execute the file which the highlight
bar is currently on. You will be prompted to enter any parameters
which you desire.
■ O = DOS shell. Type 'exit' from the DOS prompt to return to DMPCC.
■ ENTER = Change directory (if highlight bar is on a directory).
■ TAB = Toggle between INTERNAL and EXTERNAL decompression.
■ SPACE = Tag or untag current file and advance highlight bar.
■ ALT-T = Tag or untag all files.
■ ALT-D = Delete all tagged files.
■ ALT-C = Copy all tagged files.
■ ALT-M = Move all tagged files.
■ ALT-P = Play all tagged files normally (sends a listfile to the player).
■ CONTROL-P = Play all tagged files in 1 x 1 mode.
» I put this option in because occasionally, DMP and PMP will
» have problems if there are a lot of files in memory. 1 x 1
» mode will load the player program separately for each
» tagged file, so that there is never more than one file in
» memory.
■ ALT-X or ESCAPE = Quit DMPCC.
■ FUNCTION KEYS F1 - F10 = Choose 1 of the 10 possible configurations you
have stored in the DMPCC.CFG configuration file.
╔════════════════════╗
║ CONFIGURATION FILE ║
╚════════════════════╝
■ Capitalization never matters.
■ In the case of conflicting lines, the last line in question will be used.
■ The configuration file must be named DMPCC.CFG, and it must exist in the
same directory as the dmpcc.exe file.
■ It must contain at least one player configuration line.
'Player configuration' refers to a line which contains the full pathname
of an executable file followed by any necessary parameters.
■ DMPCC will use the first 10 player configuration lines in the configuration
file.
■ Lines which begin with a 'remark' indicator( ';' or '{' or SPACE) will be
ignored. Examples in this section are not placed at the beginning of the
line so that they are easier to read, but in the actual configuration file
there must be no 'white space' at the beginning of a line if you want that
line to be read.
Page 3
■ Examples of possible player configuration lines:
c:\pas16\dmp\dmp.exe -c4 -i5 -d5 -s44100
c:\pas16\pmp\pmp.exe -c4 -i5 -d5
dmp.bat
pmp.bat
■ All of the rest of the options which are described in this section,
'Configuration File,' are optional.
■ DMPCC's default filemask is *.*. You can change it with the parameter
DEFAULT_FILE_MASK=. Examples:
default_file_mask=*.mod
default_file_mask=song.*
default_file_mask=*.*
■ DMPCC will start up in the directory the user is currently in, by default.
You can either override this with the command-line or in the configuration
file. Example:
default_directory=c:\pas16\mod
■ If you want to be able to play any type of archived files, and your player
program cannot handle decompression of archived files, then you must tell
tell DMPCC where your archive programs are located. Throughout this
document, EXTERNAL DECOMPRESSION means that the external program which
DMPCC is calling, such as DMP, will be handling all archive decompression.
INTERNAL DECOMPRESSION means that DMPCC will handle all of the archive
decompression itself. If you want to use internal decompression, then you
must tell DMPCC, in the configuration file, the locations of your archive
program(s). For each archive program you want to use, you must include
a line in the configuration file which gives the full pathname of the
executable archive program. You only have to include lines for those
archive programs which you will be using. Only PKZIP, ARJ, and LHA are
supported. Examples:
zip=c:\util\pkzip\pkunzip.exe
arj=c:\util\arj\arj.exe
lha=c:\util\lha\lha.exe
DMPCC will decompress the archived files into a temporary directory. By
default, this directory will be created on the drive on which DMPCC is
executed from. You can choose an alternate drive, such as a RAM drive
(I highly recommend using a RAM drive for this). Example:
temp=d:
To specify how DMPCC will manage the decompression of archive files
when it first starts, add one of the following lines:
internal_decompression=true
internal_decompression=false
'True' specifies INTERNAL DECOMPRESSION. 'False' specifies EXTERNAL
DECOMPRESSION. You can change this value with the TAB key while in DMPCC.
Page 4
■ By default, DMPCC will display the time and date near the top of the
screen. If you are multitasking then this will hog CPU time, so it should
be turned off with the line:
clockon=false
You can toggle this option while in DMPCC by typing 'T'.
■ You might want a certain program to be executed every time a player
program is finished, such as a program which speeds your keyboard back up.
Example:
post_program=program.exe parameters
Of course, replace the 'program.exe' and 'parameters' with the necessary
correct values.
■ By default, DMPCC will sort files by extension. You can specify in the
configuration file an alternate sort criteria. The options are: NAME,
EXTENSION, SIZE, DATE, and NONE. If 'NONE' is chosen, DMPCC will spend
less time reading in a directory's files. Examples:
sort=name
sort=extension
sort=size
sort=date
sort=none
■ If you want to be able to edit files while in DMPCC, you must add a line
to the configuration file with the pathname of your editor program.
Example:
editor=c:\util\editor.exe
■ If you want to be able to view files while in DMPCC, you must add a line
to the configuration file with the pathname of your viewer program.
Example:
viewer=c:\util\viewer.exe
╔════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ FURTHER EXPLANATION OF ARCHIVE SUPPORT ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════╝
■ INTERNAL DECOMPRESSION means that DMPCC will handle all decompression of
archived files. EXTERNAL DECOMPRESSION means that the external, or
'player', program which DMPCC is calling, such as DMP, will handle all
of the decompression of archived files. By default, DMPCC will use
internal decompression. You can specify this in the configuration file,
and you may toggle it while in DMPCC by hitting the TAB key.
■ Only files which have been compressed with PKZIP, ARJ, or LHA will be
uncompressed if internal decompression is on.
■ With internal decompression, all of the files in an archive file which
match the pre-extension part of the archive filename will be played. This
means that if you try to play the file SONG.ZIP, then all of the files
inside SONG.ZIP which match the mask SONG.* will be played.
Page 5
■ With internal decompression, DMPCC will make a temporary directory to
uncompress files into. This directory may be specified in the configur-
ation file. If it is not preset in the configuration file, then the
temporary directory will be created on the drive of the startup directory.
If there is insufficient room on the drive of the temporary directory,
then only the files which were able to be extracted will be played. After
they are played, the extracted files will be deleted and the temporary
directory will be removed.
■ You must include the location of any archive programs you wish to use in
the configuration file.
■ Because most module players, such as PMP at the time of this writing,
cannot decompress archived files on their own, DMPCC will NOT play
archived files with the ALT-P mode unless EXTERNAL DECOMPRESSION is on.
This is because when you hit ALT-P, a listfile is sent to the player
program and if the listfile contains archived files, the player will
probably crash if it does not have archive capabilities. CONTROL-P and
'P' will still work all the time. If you hit ALT-P and any of the tagged
files have extensions which DMPCC recognizes as belonging to archived
files, then no files will be played and an error message will appear. If
external decompression is on, then no checking will be made for archived
files, and you can use ALT-P to play archived files
╔═════════════╗
║ OTHER NOTES ║
╚═════════════╝
You do not have to be in the directory of dmpcc.exe to run the program, as
long as it is in your path. The maximum number of files that DMPCC can read
in one directory is 1400. This is due to memory limitations. Any files
beyond this limit will be ignored. Dmpcc.exe is already compressed with
PKLITE, so do not try to compress it with any other run-time compression
programs, since that would destroy the overlay file. This program is free.
╔══════╗
║ BUGS ║
╚══════╝
I am not aware any bugs in DMP Control Center. If you find any, no matter
how small, I would really appreciate it if you left me a message at my
Internet email address (below).
╔═══════════════════╗
║ WHERE TO REACH ME ║
╚═══════════════════╝
PLEASE report ANY bugs, problems, suggestions, compliments, etc... to my
Internet email address: jklenk@mason1.gmu.edu
Page 6
╔═══════════╗
║ REVISIONS ║
╚═══════════╝
v1.62 02-26-94 : ■ You can now have a specific program (like a keyboard-speed
increaser) run after each file is played. See the above
section, 'Configuration File.' (Called the post_program.)
■ New Internet address: jklenk@mason1.gmu.edu
■ Fixed the bug where the error box was not cleared if an
attempt was made to move a single file to an invalid
directory.
■ Removed the command-line option '/NE', which forced DMPCC
to not use EMS memory. It was a waste of code.
■ You can choose the sorting criteria by typing 'S', or by
specifying this in the configuration file.
■ You can rename subdirectories now.
■ GREATLY sped up the routine for reading and sorting files.
■ Neatened up this .DOC file.
■ When you change to the parent directory, the highlight bar
will be placed on the previous directory.
■ Fixed the problem of not being able to recognize a
directory which had the attributes of hidden or system.
■ .BAT files now work to execute a player program or the
post_program or archive programs.
■ The file which the highlight bar is currently on can be
invoked (executed) by typing 'I'.
■ Fixed a bug which occurred when attempting to write to a
read-only drive, such as a floppy which was read-only.
■ By adding the line 'editor=<editor pathname>' to the
configuration file, you may now edit the current file by
typing 'E'.
■ By adding the line 'viewer=<viewer pathname>' to the
configuration file, you may now edit the current file by
typing 'V'.
■ Number of player configurations allowed increased to 10.
■ Made all the dialog boxes and error boxes more attractive.
■ Individual files can now be moved or copied with different
destination filenames.
■ You can shell to DOS by typing 'O'.
v1.61 01-29-94 : ■ Fixed a scrolling problem.
■ Added a display for the number of files and bytes tagged.
■ Clock/date display added. (Can be toggled by hitting 'T'
or by specifying it in the configuration file.)
■ Version format changed from x.x to x.xx.
■ You can now hit ESCAPE as well as ALT-X to quit.
■ Added detection of disk-write errors which could occur on
write-only devices such as CD-ROM drives.
v1.6 01-11-94 : ■ Fixed a bug with moving multiple read-only files when the
files were overwriting other read-only files.
■ Reduced the size of the DMPCC.EXE file by almost 10k.
■ Optimized the code, allowing the maximum number of files
which can be read in each directory back up to 1400.
Page 7
v1.5 12-07-93 : ■ Now the user can choose whether DMP Control Center should
handle file decompression, or whether the player program,
such as DMP, should handle the decompression. If you are
using a player program which can not handle archived files
then you will want DMP Control Center to handle the
decompression. This is called INTERNAL DECOMPRESSION, as
opposed to EXTERNAL DECOMPRESSION, which means that the
player, or 'external', program is going to handle all the
decompression of archived files. If you choose external
decompression, you can use ALT-P to play multiple archived
files, as opposed to only being able to use CTRL-P with
internal decompression.
v1.4 12-04-93 : ■ MANY improvements. Read on...
■ Interface redesigned, MUCH faster.
■ More bugs with scrolling files were fixed.
■ A bug was fixed in which if you tried to remove an empty
directory which was the current directory on it's drive,
the directory was not being removed.
■ A bug was fixed in which if the default directory
specified in the command-line or configuration file had
more than 12 characters, only the first 12 would be read.
■ Added archive support, so you can play PKZIP'd or ARJ'd
files even if your player program can't handle them.
There is only support for PKZIP, ARJ, and LHA, but why use
anything else? If you want me to add support for another
archive type just leave me mail at my Internet address.
■ The overlay file (dmpcc.ovr) is no longer included as a
separate file. It is now stored in the .EXE file, and
extracted at run-time, then deleted.
■ The ENTER key can now be used just like P to play a
single file.
■ Reduced the number of files which can be read in one
directory to 1200, down from 1400. This is due to memory
being reduced by some other features, and in a future
version I will raise the limit back up.
v1.3 10-07-93 : ■ Fixed a small bug with the scroll routine.
■ Fixed a very obscure bug in the procedure which reads the
command-line parameters, which would occur if 2 or more
'\' characters were placed together.
■ Sped up the screen-write routines.
v1.2 09-22-93 : ■ Increased maximum file limit from 450 to 1400.
■ Added the semicolon (;) as a 'remark' indicator in the
configuration file, in addition to the previously allowed
'{' or a blank space.
■ Fixed a bug with trying to copy or move a file to a drive
that had insufficient space.
v1.1 09-20-93 : ■ Fixed a bug in the move and copy procedures, where any
attempt to move or copy a file to the same directory would
cause the file to be reduced to 0 bytes.
v1.0 09-14-93 : ■ First public release.