Copyright: Copyright ¹ 1996, Michael K. Schumell
Citation: Copyright ¹ 1996, Michael K. Schumell


Table of Contents
SoundWorks

Table of Contents

Introduction

Driver Configuration

Lock Configuration

Module Configuration

Toolbar

Bugs & Limitations

License & No Warranty

Version History

Version 1.x Compatibility

Contacting the Author, Trademarks, Etc.


Introduction
SoundWorks

Introduction

Since IBM released OS/2 2.0, sound card owners have had to make the unfortunate choice between letting a single Windows session hog the sound card when running or disabling Windows sounds completely.

SoundWorks eliminates this choice by letting OS/2, Windows, and DOS share your sound card in the same manner they share your mouse, video display, or printer.

To run SoundWorks 2.0, you need:

OS/2 2.0 or later, and

Windows 3.1 or later, and

a Windows compatible sound card.

Windows and OS/2 should be functioning correctly (with sound) before SoundWorks is installed.

Note:  SoundWorks still retains its Version 1.x roots.  See the help topic for more details.


Configuration
SoundWorks

Driver Configuration

Quick Help

Click Suggest to auto-configure.

Sound Card Drivers

Drivers listed here will be shared among OS/2 and Windows sessions.  These drivers must only be the drivers which directly control your sound card, not drivers such as TIMER.DRV and MMSYSTEM.DRV, which perform other operations.

Remove

Clicking Remove will remove the selected drivers from the Sound Card Drivers listbox and place them in the Other Drivers listbox.

Suggest

Clicking Suggest lets SoundWorks determine which are your sound card drivers.

Other Drivers

This area shows you which drivers are currently loaded in memory.  Depending on your system configuration, this listbox may also contain video and other types of drivers.  If any of your sound card drivers appear in this area, select the driver and press Add.

Add

Clicking Add will add the selected drivers from the Installed Drivers listbox to the Sound Card Drivers listbox.

Example

Suppose you're using a Sound Blaster 2.0.  Your driver configuration might look something like this:

Sound Card Drivers

MSADLIB.DRV

SNDBLST2.DRV

Installed Drivers

IBMJOY.DRV

MIDIMAP.DRV

MMSYSTEM.DLL

TIMER.DRV

In this example, MSADLIB.DRV and SNDBLST2.DRV are the drivers which control the sound card and are thus in the Sound Card Drivers listbox.  IBMJOY.DRV (joystick driver), MIDIMAP.DRV, TIMER.DRV, and MMSYSTEM.DRV (other Windows drivers) are listed in the Installed Drivers listbox as they do not control the sound card.


Configuration
SoundWorks

Lock Configuration

Quick Help

Start Media Player and Sound Recorder.  Click Refresh.  Add these applications and Control Panel to the Locked Applications area.

What is a Lock?

Some Windows applications may need to be the exclusive owner of the sound card.  Examples of such applications are Media Player, Sound Recorder, and Control Panel.  These applications cannot have their access to the sound card taken away.  Thus, you can lock an application to tell SoundWorks to deny other sessions access while the application is running.

Locked Applications

Applications listed in this area are locked.  While these programs are running, no other OS/2, Windows, or DOS session is permitted access to the sound card.

Remove

Press Remove to remove the selected applications from the lock list.

Other Applications

The applications listed in this listbox are currently running.  Select one and press Add to lock this application.

Add

Press Add to lock the selected applications.

Refresh

The Other Applications listbox contains a list of all applications displaying a window in the current session.  If you have opened another application since this dialog first appeared, press Refresh to show the application in the listbox.


Configuration
SoundWorks

Module Configuration

Quick Help

Select each module in the Unknown Modules listbox and select Add so that all modules appear in the Known Modules listbox.  If you are running OS/2 Warp v3 for Windows place a check in the Play Exit Sound box.  If you are running OS/2 Warp v3 for Windows with no FixPaks installed, also place a check in the Restore Sound box.

What is a Module?

A module is an running application that, although it creates a window, does not display a window (the window is hidden).  Examples of modules are MMSYSTEM.DLL, an application which controls your sound card drivers, and WINSHELD.EXE, which provides OS/2 compatibility to Windows sessions.

Known Modules

Modules listed in this area are ignored when SoundWorks must decide whether or not to play the Windows Exit sound.

Remove

Press Remove to remove the selected modules from the Known Modules listbox.

Unknown Modules

Modules listed in this area are not recognized by SoundWorks.  In general, you should add any modules appearing in this area unless you have a specific reason not to do so.

Add

Press Add to inform SoundWorks of the selected modules.

Note:  The following options apply only for users of OS/2 Warp v3 for Windows.

Restore Sound

Restore Sound provides SoundWorks 1.x compatibility.  If your system sounds disappear shortly after you open a Windows session, check this box.

Play Exit Sound

Play Exit Sound provides SoundWorks 1.2 compatibility.  If your Windows Exit sound fails to play when you close a session, check this box.


Toolbar
SoundWorks

Toolbar

Quick Help

The SoundWorks toolbar allows you to override SoundWorks default behavior, such as toggling the sound card on or off or applying locks when necessary.

Many Windows games check for the existence of a sound card before they create their window.  Since the sound card can only be locked by SoundWorks once a program creates a window, you can use the toolbar to lock the sound card before you start the game.

Accessing the Toolbar

The toolbar is not normally displayed.  Press Alt+F12 to display it.  You may create a toolbar for each Windows session that is running.

Sound On, Sound Off

These two toolbar buttons allow you to turn the sound card on or off.

Locked, Unlocked

These two toolbar buttons allow you to lock or unlock the sound card for this session.


Bugs & Limitations
SoundWorks

Bugs & Limitations.

Listed below are some known bugs with SoundWorks.  This list is current as of August 1, 1995.

Problem:  Program reports it can't find an MCI waveaudio device.  Then it quits.

Solution: Add this program to the lock list.  If the problem persists, press Alt+F12 to display the SoundWorks toolbar immediately before you start the application.

Problem:  Sound dies and doesn't return.

Work-Around:  This is a problem with OS/2 Warp for Windows.  Your sound drivers are unloaded when the you close the application you used to open the session.  Leave the original application open until all programs are complete.


License & No Warranty
SoundWorks

License & No Warranty

License

No Inspiration grants you a royalty-free right to use and redistributed SoundWorks in its original, unaltered form.

No Warranty

The program is distributed "as-is", without warranty, express or implied, as to the merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.  In no event shall the author be liable for any damages, including, but not limited to, consequential and incidental damages, without limitation, arising from the use or inability to use the program, even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.  All warranties are hereby disclaimed.


History
SoundWorks

Version History

Version 2.0

New!  Introduced ability to "multitask" the sound card.

Version 1.2

New!  Added 'Exit sound only' option for FixPak users to avoid the overhead of other features.

New!  Added spiffy 3-d effects

Version 1.1

New!  Added user-controlled "window finder" to allow Windows sessions to close properly.

Fix.  Corrected potential for erroneous return code from message filters.

Version 1.0a

Fix.  Detect type of Windows session; unload driver on Windows-under-DOS.

Fix.  Add code to call previously installed message filters.  (Some CD-ROM and modem applications failed.)

Version 1.0

Introductory release.


Compatibility
SoundWorks

Version 1.x Compatibility

SoundWorks 1.x was released to cure a minor, but annoying, bug with OS/2 Warp v3 for Windows.  Windows system sounds would "die" shortly after the session had started.  Even after IBM released FixPak 10, Windows still had problems playing the "Windows Exit" sound.

If you are experiencing either of these problems, select the Modules... tab in SoundWorks Settings.

This applies only to OS/2 Warp v3 for Windows and not to any other version of the operating system.


Trademarks, Etc.
SoundWorks 2.0

Contacting the Author, Trademarks, Etc.

Contacting the Author

Have a suggestion or comment or found a bug?  You can e-mail the author, Michael K. Schumell, at:

schumm@rpi.edu

Trademarks

IBM, OS/2, and OS/2 Warp are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.

Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

No Inspiration and its associated logos are registered trademarks, and SoundWorks is a trademark of No Inspiration.

Etc.

Special thanks to Dave and Steve, test-dudes, who will probably never bother to read this.