home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- MuziTrak System - Version 1.206
- Copyright (c)1992 Blam Entertainment Group, All Rights Reserved
- What's New!
-
-
- Due to the dynamic nature of this program, changes are always in
- the works. Here are the changes, version by version.
-
-
- Version 1.206
-
- * When adding a Compact Disc, the Time Calculate routine will
- now run regardless of the setting in the configuration menu.
- The switch is only valid when editing an existing record.
- This was actually supposed to work back in 1.203 but somehow
- got through the cracks. Sorry.
-
-
- Version 1.205
-
- * Program crashes while writing new records into the database
- have been corrected.
-
- * The program, when running for the first time, would create 4
- bogus databases. This has been corrected.
-
- * The data compression module has been upgraded.
-
-
- Version 1.204
-
- * A problem with tracking for Dolby Surround Sound encoded CD's
- has been corrected.
-
- * The Scan Records routine, while searching for Songs could miss
- valid matches. A valid match would be skipped only if there
- were a large number of titles on that particular record. A
- recode of the data decompression routines has cleared the
- problem.
-
- * The Windows icon included with all prevous versions of 1.20x
- tended to be rather bland and has been redrawn. I hope you
- like it.
-
- * Pressing ESC at any question would put a null value in for the
- answer to the current question. Now if the ESC key is
- pressed, the value active at the beginning of the question is
- maintained.
-
- * The PAGE UP key has been enhanced. On screens with multiple
- questions, pressing PAGE UP will now go backward one question.
-
- * Pressing ESC while answering questions will skip all remaining
- questions for that section and proceed to the next screen. If
- adding a record, ESC will proceed to the next question only.
-
- * Some minor documentation changes have been made.
-
-
- Version 1.203
-
- * When adding a Compact Disc, the Time Calculate routine will
- now run regardless of the setting in the configuration menu.
- The switch is only valid when editing an existing record.
-
- * In the CONFIGURATION MENU, the three toggle switches now show
- the current state of the option. In previous versions, the
- menu indicated the state which would be active if the item was
- selected. This seemed a bit cryptic and this change brings us
- in line with the rest of our program.
-
-
- Version 1.202
-
- * The database creation routine for new users was creating the
- master database incorrectly. This was limiting the entry of
- songs to only 99 per record. This has been corrected. If
- upgrading from previous versions, this problem was not
- experienced.
-
- * Internal modifications to the Configuration Switches.
-
- * A routine to total up the running times of each track has been
- added. This routine can be disabled through a switch in the
- Configuration Menu. Though this does not belong in a bug fix
- load, it's been included anyway.
-
-
- Version 1.201
-
- * Match Menu was not clearing properly during the Match Report
- creation. This has been corrected.
-
- * The default choice in Match Menu was set at QUIT. This has
- been changed to be VIEW.
-
-
- Version 1.20
-
- * Blam Entertainment Group has moved again, although this time
- we stayed in the same country. The program and docs have been
- updated with the new address and phone number.
-
- * Doubles Verification has been moved. Doubles are now checked
- between the Main screen and the Tracks screen. This is to
- compensate for possible errors in existing doubles.
-
- * New data compression routines have been implemented.
- Additional storage space may be deleted when editing existing
- records as the data is formatted into the new matrix.
-
- * The questions asking if you would like to edit information
- have been changed. The question used to pop up, and if adding
- a record, would force you to answer YES. Now, the questions
- are not even asked if you're adding a record. While editing,
- there are no changes to these questions.
-
- * As the world Compact Disc market continues to grow, It has
- become necessary to modify things slightly. We are now
- capable of tracking up to 999 titles per disc entry. I
- realize that there is no such thing as a 999 track CD, but 8
- disc box sets do exist.
-
- * With the added ability to track so many chapter indexes,
- episodes and track titles, it was necessary to install an exit
- key to keep from having to step through all track titles if
- not necessary. Pressing the "ESC" key will skip the remaining
- tracks and proceed to the next step of the program in the EDIT
- and VIEW screens.
-
- NOTE: If editing a screen of 10 titles, and the "ESC" key is
- pressed, any changes made to that screen of 10 will not be
- saved. Any previous screens which were changed and any
- subsequent screens which were not changed will be stored
- correctly.
-
- * With the ability to track increased numbers of song titles, it
- was also necessary to install a backup key. Pressing "PAGE
- UP" will reverse the screen by one in the Song Titles screen
- ONLY. Any changes made to the current screen prior to
- pressing either the "PAGE UP" or "PAGE DOWN" keys will be
- saved.
-
- * The Scan Records routine has a brand new look once the scan
- has been completed. A new menu is presented which looks much
- like the edit menu screen which allows you to step forward and
- backward through all found matches. This menu also adds the
- ability to generate a report based on all the matches. The
- report can be created at any point in the menu. Reports will
- be grouped by catalog number, as this is how the matches
- sorted. This menu is active until Quit is selected
-
- * The Edit Menu is now active until QUIT MENU is selected.
- After a VIEW, PRINT, EDIT or whatever, the EDIT MENU will
- return, displaying the current record.
-
- * When editing a record, you will now be asked if you want to
- edit the track information. This question is skipped if you
- are adding a record. This will keep you from having to step
- through all the songs unnecessarily.
-
- * The "MORE" message between screens has been moved to the top
- of the screen. To make it's presence felt, it will also flash
- annoyingly.
-
- * Serial numbers have been expanded. Well, sorta. We've always
- used 8 digit serial numbers to be installed into the program,
- but only used 6 of those digits. To avoid some amount of
- confusion which has been created, we are restoring all serial
- numbers to their full 8 digits and will now be reported in the
- Program information screen. In addition, the Automatic
- Registration Transfer Process will restore your 6 digit serial
- number to it's original 8 digits.
-
- * Serial numbers are now tested upon program loading to detect
- any possible tampering. If tampering is detected, the program
- will abort. Contact Blam Entertainment Group for help should
- this occur.
-
- * The UTILITIES MENU has had the following modifications.
- . Program Information screen access is now through this menu.
- . Dos Shell access has been moved to this menu.
-
- * The REPORT MENU has been altered slightly to clean up the use
- of the progression bar during scanning.
-
- * The DiscTrak Conversion routine command line has been changed.
- The routine is now accessed with MT DTCONV <ENTER> rather than
- MT DTCON <ENTER> as with previous versions.
-
- * Back in version 1.11 when the Catalog Number report was added
- in the REPORT MENU, the Category option was changed to
- Type/category. This has been changed back as the Type option.
- This is to correct a conflict in the MuziTrak sister program
- DiscTrak.
-
- * Catalog Number grouping in the REPORT MENU has been changed to
- NUMBERED CATALOG. A bit cryptic, but unavoidable. This is to
- correct for the operational goof made during the coding of
- MuziTrak's sister program DiscTrak, when introducing this
- report grouping in version 1.11.
-
- * While I try to keep up to date on all aspects of the markets
- which this program covers, I have neglected the occurrences of
- Dolby Surround Sound on Compact Discs. The program has been
- enhanced to account for this.
-
- * If upgrading from a past version, the last active record will
- not be remembered, for the first running of this version.
- This is due to new data storage routines.
-
- * The indicator bar at the top of the screen which displays INS
- when in the insert mode is now turned on any time extended
- keyboard input is required.
-
- * ARJ archive program has been added to the list of supported
- archive programs.
-
- * All configuration switches and options have been moved to the
- CONFIGURATION MENU off the main menu. As a result, the
- following changes have been made:
- . SELECT ARCHIVE allows for ARJ as well as PKZip and LHA.
- . PRINTER CODES has been renamed INCLUDE CODES.
- . SETUP PRINTER MENU has been renamed PRINTER SETUP MENU.
-
- * The number of spaces allowed for the individual song titles
- has been increased to 60. This should clear up those really
- long title messes.
-
- * The option for 156 character Reports and 132 Character reports
- has been removed. Instead, the system will now allow you to
- pick between three reports under the REPORT FORMAT MENU which
- is under the CONFIGURATION MENU. The three choices are: Small
- (the old 132 character report), Landscape (the old 156
- character report) and Portrait. The Portrait report is
- exactly the same information as the Landscape report, but
- allows you to put in a different printer command line to
- squeeze the report into roughly 20 characters per inch.
- Reports will be 62 lines per page on the Portrait and Small
- selection and 47 lines per page on the Landscape selection.
-
- * The PRINTER SETUP MENU has been given two additional sections
- to allow for the new Portrait report.
-
- * Under the REPORTS MENU, the line telling which report format
- is being used (156 column or 132 column) has been changed to
- state the new report names; Portrait, Landscape or Small.
-
- * When selecting the REPORTS MENU, you were presented with "All
- Records" and "Quit Menu" in the first menu. I felt this was
- a pointless menu, so we now skip directly to the grouping
- menu.
-
- * The order of the fields being presented has been changed to
- allow for more logical program flow.
-
- * The EDIT and VIEW screens have been reformatted. This is to
- make more efficient use of screen space. The most notable
- change is the moving of CATALOG NUMBER to the middle box.
-
- * The ARCHIVE DATA routine now includes the MT.CFG file into the
- archive.
-
- * The ARCHIVE DATA routine now runs maintenance before archiving
- the databases to insure that no deleted records are stored.
-
- * Record locking in the FILE MAINTENANCE routine has been
- revamped slightly.
-
- * The update routine will delete all indexes and rebuild them
- when upgrading to a new version. This is to correct problems
- when upgrading from specific versions to find slave
- information missing. The information wasn't actually missing,
- the slave simply had a corrupt index file.
-
- * The .CFG file from version 1.10 could not be read correctly by
- version 1.11. This version will configure the .CFG file from
- version 1.10 properly.
-
- * After using the SONG SEARCH routines and viewing the default
- record in the EDIT MENU, the slave data from the last view in
- the SCAN routine was being displayed. This has been
- corrected.
-
- * There was a problem with program crashes during the printing
- of reports directly from inside MuziTrak. This was due to
- memory restrictions on some computers. The routine has been
- altered to correct this trouble. The program will drop to DOS
- momentarily and initiate the printout.
-
- * Some printers would eject 2 pages after the completion of a
- printed report rather than just one. This was because I was
- putting the final Form Feed after the clear down string rather
- than before. This has been corrected.
-
- * The 156 character report (LANDSCAPE) has been changed to write
- only 47 lines per page rather than 48. This was to prevent
- problems with blank pages being included between the pages of
- the report.
-
- * An unnecessary delay in the Automatic Registration Transfer
- has been removed.
-
- * If for some reason an entire group of five songs and their run
- times were left blank (songs 1-5, 6-10, etc.) MuziTrak would
- cleverly decide that YOU goofed and left those five titles
- blank by mistake. In reality, MuziTrak was goofing. This
- situation has been corrected. If you feel the need to have
- the first 15 songs blank for some reason, we'll maintain the
- integrity. NOTE: If the data was written incorrectly, this
- fix will not correct it automatically. You must edit the
- record again to correct the problem.
-
- * If lower case letters were used to change a catalog number
- while in the Catalog Duplication Check, it was possible to
- assign two different entries with the same catalog number.
- This has been corrected.
-
- * In some very rare circumstances, it was possible for empty
- slaves to get saved. This has been corrected.
-
- * When a report was run, the top letter of the word FILE was
- missing in the report header. This has been corrected.
-
- * While viewing a record, the character of key pressed to step
- to the next screen was being displayed on the bottom line next
- to the words "MuziTrak System". This has been corrected.
-
- * If in the GROUPING MENU and the QUIT option was selected
- rather than running a report, the last record would be
- remembered incorrectly. This has been corrected.
-
- * When the loader file was changed from a .COM file to a .EXE
- file back in version 1.11, the program still requested the
- .COM file if trying to run MuziTrak without typing MT <ENTER>.
- This was a simple typographical error in the code, and has
- been corrected.
-
- * Complete code rewrite to bring in modifications utilized with
- DiscTrak System.
-
-
- Version 1.11
-
- * The loader program has been changed from a .COM file to an
- .EXE file.
-
- * Version checks are modified to stop the use of older version
- .EXE files on newer version database.
-
- * Blam Entertainment Group has moved to Canada. The program and
- docs have been updated with the new address.
-
- * Screen colors have been properly reset upon program exit.
-
- * The placing of the words GROUPING MENU in the report writer
- have been centered properly.
-
- * Due to new compression procedures, the AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION
- TRANSFERAL and SERIAL NUMBER routines required extensive
- modifications.
-
- * The placing of the words GROUPING MENU in the report writer
- have been centered properly.
-
- * In the UTILITIES MENU, the option CHARACTERS has been renamed
- EXTEND CHR to allow for the new CODES flag. It is now
- accessed through "E".
-
- * The Printer Setup has been rewritten. Now the PRINTER MENU
- allows you to select and modify the codes one at a time. In
- addition we now allow for all control codes under ASCII 27.
- This is to accommodate some of the older printer which
- actually use control codes instead of escape sequences.
-
- * The environment variable CLIPPER was being set at the program
- onset then removed after exiting. However, if you have
- CLIPPER in your environment, it was removed completely. We
- now modify any existing CLIPPER variable upon execution of
- MT.EXE and restore it to it's original value upon program
- completion.
-
- * The Utilities Menu has got a new option CODES. With this
- option set to on (Default) the printer codes you specify in
- the PRINTER MENU will be added to the printed reports. If you
- turn CODES off, they will be omitted from the reports.
-
- * Under the REPORT GROUPING MENU there is a new option to group
- the report based on the Catalog Number.
-
- * In the REPORT MENU under GROUPING, the Category option has
- been changed to TYPE/Category to accommodate the new Catalog
- Number option.
-
- * Report file names have been modified to allow for all the new
- report options. Refer to the MT-USER.DOC file for the full
- description of this change.
-
- * At the end of a report, the wrong report clear string was
- being added. This has been corrected.
-
- * The extended characters were getting turned off incorrectly.
- This has been fixed.
-
- * If you saved a disc with no chapters (like Whoopi Goldberg's
- FONTAINE, WHY AM I STRAIGHT?) an empty record was being
- created in the song database. This has been corrected. If
- you have any such CD's, reedit the title and clear the
- database of the unused record.
-
- * An additional problem with leaving empty slave records has
- been corrected.
-
- * MT-USER.DOC has been reworked to correct some minor troubles.
-
- * Version numbers were being remembered wrong in specific cases.
- Not very serious, but potentially troublesome.
-
-
- Version 1.101
-
- * Changes to the various documentation files as shipped. The
- Installation program has also modified.
-
- * If the program were to end unnaturally, but without any
- errors, the temporary control file wasn't being deleted. This
- has been corrected.
-
-
- Version 1.10
-
- * Membership in the Association of Shareware Professionals has
- been approved. Their logo is under the Program Information
- Screen.
-
- * The 35 song title per record limit has been altered. The new
- limit is 99 titles per record.
-
- * When editing an existing record the song titles are not
- displayed until the program reads the number of tracks
- entered. This is to prevent problems recording information in
- titles 6-10 if they don't already exist.
-
- * The Automatic Registration Transferal process required some
- minor modifications.
-
- * The loader file has been changed from a batch file to a .COM
- file. MuziTrak System will not create the file if it is
- missing and the program will not load without it.
-
- * Due the very nature of the UTILITIES MENU, instead of taking
- you back to the main menu after selecting an operation, the
- utilities menu stays present, allowing you to select another
- option automatically.
-
- * In a brain damaged effort to reduce code, on the VIEW RECORD
- option of the EDIT MENU when the Extended Characters set to
- OFF, the view displayed the wrong character set. The extended
- characters only affect the printed data, not the screen data.
- This has been corrected.
-
- * MuziTrak now writes MT.CFG which holds important information
- regarding program operation. Don't delete it.
-
- * The exit routine has been sped up if there is no maintenance
- to be done.
-
- * Due to overwhelming demands, MuziTrak now writes two different
- length reports. The UTILITIES MENU has an option for 132
- Character Reports as well as 156 Character reports.
-
- * Report names have been modified to show the format of the
- report and extended character setting. The program
- documentation gives full details regarding the names of the
- reports themselves. Look at the example name below.
-
- C:\MUZITRAK\MT-CRTEL.TXT
- \-/||||| \-/
- | ||||| \-- Standard Extension
- | ||||\----- Report Format
- | |||\------ Character Setting
- | ||\------- Report Grouping
- | |\-------- Report Category
- | \--------- System Mode
- \----------- Standard Header
-
- * MuziTrak now supports printing a report direct from within the
- program. After a report is run, you will be asked if you wish
- to print the report. If yes, the program will tell you how to
- set your printer before the printing begins. PRINT.COM must
- be resident for this functionality.
-
- * The 156 column report has been altered. The positions of the
- Year and Category columns have been reversed.
-
- * The environment variable set by MT.COM is now cleared from
- memory when program run is terminated.
-
- * We now allow you to send printer codes directly to the printer
- during the report writing routine. You specify the codes to
- send in the UTILITIES MENU.
-
- * There was some trouble with program lockups while indexing
- during the report writer. We've restructured the index
- routine to correct this trouble. This has even picked up some
- speed in the report writer.
-
- * The index generation routine has been completely rewritten.
-
- * MuziTrak will not load if the .COM cannot set an environment
- variable. If you get an OUT OF ENVIRONMENT message, you may
- need to increase your environment size. Check with your DOS
- manuals to find out how to do this.
-
- * There have been some instances where the Dos Shell
- environmental space, currently at 400 bytes, wasn't enough.
- This could cause characters in the SHELL PROMPT to get cut
- off. For this release, the environmental space has been
- increased to 1k.
-
- * The light bar menus now wrap. If the bar is on the first
- option and you select the up arrow, the bar will move to the
- last option on the list. This is also true in the reverse.
-
- * We now have the ability to track individual song title length
- in terms of minutes and seconds. Enter the data, if you care.
-
- * A huge chunk of old and useless DiscTrak code was removed from
- the Report writer.
-
- * In the UTILITY MENU, there has been an addition for the other
- file compression standard. LHA (formerly LHARC) is now
- supported in addition to PKZip. This setting works the same
- as the Character On/Off switch. The option shown shows what
- will be active if selected.
-
- * In the UTILITY MENU, the ZIP database option has been renamed
- ARCHIVE DATA to allow for the new LHA support.
-
- * There have been troubles with every 5th song title getting cut
- off. This has been cleared. In an attempt to minimize the
- space this program takes up on a disk drive, songs were stored
- in groups of 5. Therefore, a series of very long titles tend
- to take up quite a bit of room and the storage database runs
- out of space for that group of 5 titles. The storage capacity
- of the database itself has been increased by 10 bytes, but the
- entire storage routine has been revamped to cram as much data
- as possible into the database. Shockingly enough, the whole
- thing takes up less room than before. You can now track all
- 40 characters in ALL 99 song titles without losing a single
- character. **NOTE** If you edit an existing title, MuziTrak
- will reformat the song titles into the new routine. This
- routine will take up less space than before and old, excess
- storage will be deleted. This is normal. Trust me.
-
- * MuziTrak now tracks for the run times of each individual song.
-
- * Troubles with song titles going all over the screen due to
- extremely long title names has been corrected.
-
- * A closing message has been added when the program exits for
- any reason.
-
- * Some versions of DOS, when calculating the number of seconds
- elapsed since midnight, begin their count from "0" rather than
- "00000". If your printer is unavailable, MuziTrak writes the
- printout to a filename using this number. In cases where less
- than 10000 seconds have passed, the name will be displayed in
- the wrong location on the screen . With this release, we will
- always calculate a 5 digit number for the report name.
-
- * If you enter the EDIT MENU and the database is empty, the
- "DATABASE EMPTY" prompt still is displayed, but the options
- have been changed. You can pick any of the displayed options
- you wish, but the ADD RECORD option is the only one which will
- execute. An "Invalid Selection" prompt will be displayed on
- any of the other options.
-
- * When MuziTrak calculates the default catalog number in all
- modes, it always generated the same number. To prevent
- troubles, the default for all catalog numbers is random, based
- on the current number of records the program is tracking. For
- the sake of further troubles with Slave/Master linking, try
- not to use the default catalog number and use what is
- suggested in the MT-USER.DOC file.
-
- * The FIND option under the EDIT MENU has been modified. If an
- exact match is not found, the system will look for a close
- possible match the same way it looks for matches in the SCAN
- Records routine.
-
- * The SCAN RECORDS prompt has been changed to Song Search, since
- that's what it really does.
-
- * In the printed reports, the program copyright line directly
- above the "All Rights Reserved" statement was missing. This
- has been corrected.
-
- * In the reports menu, the QUIT MENU option did not work from
- the GROUPING screen. This has been corrected.
-
- * MuziTrak only calculates the report header once per report
- rather than at every page break as with version 1.00.
-
- * Not that you'll ever need it, but we've added a crash recovery
- file so that if the program should crash for some reason, the
- databases might not know who they are when you try to run the
- program again. The crash recovery file will allow you access
- to the database again upon the next running of MuziTrak
- without having to test for updates.
-
- * You'd think that after all this code clean up, I'd have
- cleared it all out, but no. When you dink with this code as
- long as I have, you find better ways of doing the same thing.
- This is what has happened here. Still more code clean up in
- this release.
-
-
- Version 1.001
-
- * Program failure during database creation has been corrected.
-
-
- Version 1.00
-
- * Initial release