The Game Master (3rd Edition)/The Game Master 3rd edition.iso/files/musieech/accumusc/musicsys.hlp

Text File | 1992-12-01 | 22KB | 547 lines

MENUID=1
Main Menu Help
MENUOPT=1
.FUNCTION
Set Music Song/File
This option is used to select a song file (a file ending in extension .SNG)
or music file (a file ending in extension .ACC).

A song file (.SNG) is a file which contains multiple voices (or parts)
of music.  These multiple parts are contained in files with the same base
file name, but with the extension '.V??' (where the '??' are replaced with
the voice number).

You can select a file which is already on the disk or create a new one by
selecting 'Enter New Filename' (it will specify whether you are creating
a .SNG file or a .ACC file).
MENUOPT=2
.FUNCTION
Enter Music
This option allows you to enter and edit your music.  If you are working
on a .SNG file, you work on the different voices in your music.
You will be given a graphics screen with the music at the top and a text
editor on the bottom.  You type in the music commands in the text editor.
See the documentation for information on the music commands and how to
fully use the editor.
MENUOPT=3
.FUNCTION
Print Music
This option allows you to print out the music in the currently selected
.SNG file or .ACC file.  If you have a multiple-voice song (.SNG), you
will be able to select which voice to print out.
MENUOPT=4
.FUNCTION
Transpose Music
This option is used to transpose music.  It can be used to change the key
of a song or raise/lower the music by half-steps.
MENUOPT=5
.FUNCTION
Convert Music
This option will give you a menu with several conversion options.  You
can convert your music to the .ROL song format, convert .ROL songs to
the ACCU Music System format, and change a single voice .ACC file into
a multiple-voice .SNG file.
MENUOPT=6
.FUNCTION
Play Music
This option will play the current song on the defined music output device.
If you have multiple voices in your song, you can select which voices to
play.  If you are using the PC speaker for sound output, you will only
be able to play one voice at a time.
MENUOPT=7
.FUNCTION
Configure System
This option will bring up the configuration menu.  The configuration
menu includes options such as:

Printer configuration - Selecting a printer driver and creating your own
Sound output          - Selecting how to output the sound when playing
                        music
Set Sound Volumes *   - Set sound volumes
Mouse status          - Turn on or off the mouse
Path to songs         - Set the path to your .ACC and .SNG file directory
Program options       - Set various program options
Shell to DOS          - Go to DOS temporarily
Set colors            - Set the color scheme


* This option only appears when using Adlib/Soundblaster .ROL sound output
MENUOPT=8
.FUNCTION
Shell to DOS
This option will allow you to shell to DOS temporarily.  Type EXIT
at the DOS command line to return.
MENUOPT=20
.FUNCTION
Quit program
This option will quit the program and return to DOS.
MENUID=2
Music Printing Menu
MENUOPT=1
.FUNCTION
Select voice
This option will allow you to select which voice of a .SNG file to print
out.  If you are working with a single-voice .SNG file or a .ACC file,
this option will not appear since it will automatically select that one
voice for printout.
MENUOPT=2
.FUNCTION
Set Clef
This option is for selecting the clef of your music.  If you have CLEF=
statements in your music, you DO NOT need to select this option.  This
is only for songs where you did not specify the clef in the music.
Any CLEF= statements in the music files will override this option.

Valid clefs are:  Treble clef, bass clef, soprano clef, tenor clef, and
alto clef.
MENUOPT=3
.FUNCTION
Set Key
This option is for selecting the key of your music.  If you have KEY=
statements in your music, you DO NOT need to select this option.  This
is only for songs where you did not specify any key signature(s) in the
music.  Any KEY= statements in the music files will override this option.

You can have up to seven flats or seven sharps specified by this key
signature.  If you want no flats or sharps, select either sharps or
flats and then select 0 for the number of flats or sharps.
The number of flats or sharps you enter with this option affects your
entire printout.

If you want multiple key signature changes in your music file, use the
KEY= statement in your music files.
MENUOPT=4
.FUNCTION
Set Time Signature
This option is for selecting the time signature of your music.  If you
have TIME= statements in your music, you DO NOT need to select this
option.  This is only for songs where you did not specify any time
signature(s) in the music.  Any TIME= statements in the music files will
override this option.

When prompted for a time signature, you can enter it in two formats.
You can enter with the top number, a slash, and the bottom number.  This
would look like:  4/4, 12/8, or 2/2

In order to be compatible with previous versions of the program, you can
also enter it with just the top number followed by the bottom number.
This would look like:  44, 22, or 24
The only problem with this method is that both the top number and bottom
number must be only 1 digit.  As a result, you can't enter time signatures
such as 12/8.  I recommend using the first method to keep from running
into this shortcoming.

This time signature entered here will affect your entire printout.

If you want multiple time signature changes in your music file, use the
TIME= statement in your music files.
MENUOPT=5
.FUNCTION
Set Options
This option allows you to set the left and right margins for your
printout.  You should specify the distances in inches.  You can enter
decimal numbers, so margins such as .25, 1.3, or 2 are valid.
MENUOPT=6
.FUNCTION
Set Print Quality
This options will let you specify the print quality of the printout.
Generally there are three print qualities:  Draft, Medium, and High
Depending on your printer driver, you may not see all 3 of these
qualities.  If you do not see one of these, it is either because the
printer or the printer driver don't support it.  The included laser
printer driver only supports High quality mode for example.

NOTE:  At the lower qualities (Draft and Medium), the quality of the
printout may not be what you expect.  Generally medium is of decent
quality.  Draft will have portions of the music missing (typically
the vertical lines).  Each quality level uses a different resolution
on the printer and thus varies in terms of both quality and speed.
MENUOPT=7
.FUNCTION
Begin Printing
This option will start the printing.  You will need to have specified
a print quality and picked a voice (if using a multiple voice .SNG
file) before picking this option.
MENUOPT=20
.FUNCTION
Quit to main menu
This option will quit to the main menu.
MENUID=3
Configuration Menu
MENUOPT=1
.FUNCTION
Printer Configuration
This option will take you to the Printer Definition menu.  The
printer definition menu will allow you to select a printer driver
and to create your own printer drivers.
MENUOPT=3
.FUNCTION
Sound output
This will allow you to select how the music will be output when you
select the Play option.  You will first need to select the sound
device for outputing the sound.

Currently available devices are:
Internal Speaker, Adlib driver, Soundblaster driver

Next you will need to select how you want to output the sound.  You
will get different options depending on the device you selected.  If
you are using either the Adlib driver or Soundblaster driver, you
can only play your music using a .ROL song file player.  You will need
to obtain a separate program to play these songs.  See the documentation
for how to obtain one.

For the .ROL song file player, you will need to specify the command
line to execute with a song.  Enter the full path and filename to the
player.  In the same line, specify where the filename of the .ROL file
should be placed by putting the string !-! there.  If your player
could be called like:  C:\SOUND\PLAYER\PLAY.EXE /s TESTSONG.ROL
then you would type in:  C:\SOUND\PLAYER\PLAY.EXE /s !-!
MENUOPT=4
.FUNCTION
Set sound volumes
This option will only appear if you have the sound device set as Adlib
or Soundblaster and the output method as .ROL file player.

It will allow you to select the output volumes of the different music
dynamics.  These range from pppp to ffff.

It will show you the current values and you can enter new ones or just
press ENTER to keep the old ones.

Volumes range from 0 - 100, with 100 being the loudest.
MENUOPT=5
.FUNCTION
Mouse status
This option will allow you to turn the mouse on or off.
MENUOPT=6
.FUNCTION
Path to songs
This option will allow you to specify the path to your .ACC and .SNG
file directory.  If you do not enter a path, it will default to
the current directory.

This command is useful to keep your music organized in one directory
or to put music on a different drive.  If you use the .ROL file player,
all .ROL songs created will be in this directory as well.
MENUOPT=7
.FUNCTION
Program options
This will allow you to set miscellaneous program options.  These options
include:

File date/time checking:

If this option is Yes, then it will first compare the date and time of
the existing .ROL file with the dates and times of the .V?? files or
the .ACC file.  If the .ROL file is newer than its supporting files,
it will not re-compile the song before playing.  If the supporting
files are newer, it will re-compile.  This is mainly a time-saving option.

NOTE:  If you have file date/time checking turned on and you play
different voices of the song without re-editing the song, it will not
re-compile it and thus will not play the correct voices.  Thus, if you
usually try playing different voices repeatedly, do not turn on this
option.  If you always play all voices, leave it on.

Show song titles with filenames:

This will display the titles of the .SNG files next to each filename.
This makes it easier to recognize songs, but may be slow on some computers.

High speed graphics note drawing:

Turning this on will cause the notes to be drawn quicker when
scrolling in the graphics-based editor.  It uses a different
method of moving the graphics on the screen which is less
accurate, but much quicker.  The only visible difference you will
see on the screen is that with this on, portions of notes may
appear on the edges of the screen.  This does not occur when this
option is turned off.  This partial notes does not present a
problem, since the note will be re-drawn when you cursor over to
it.  This option is turned on by default and it is recommended
that you don't turn it off unless you have a high-speed computer.

Play notes as entered:

This option will cause the notes you enter in the editor (either
graphics-based or text-based) to be played on the PC speaker as
you enter them.  This can be useful to check mistakes.  This is
not affected in any way by the sound output device set up in the
Configure System menu.

NOTE:  Due to the way the current version of ACCU Music System is
written, it will not play all notes correctly while in the
editor.  The following is a brief explanation of where it will
have problems:

If you are using an * for the accidental and there is a KEY=
statement affecting that note (i.e. somewhere above it) or you
are using an * for the accidental and there is the same note
previously (in the same measure only) which has an accidental,
then it will not remember the previous accidental when playing
the note.

For example:
     KEY=7F
     B*4Q      ; This note would be played as a natural and not flatted

     or

     KEY=0F
     BF4Q
     B*4H      ; This note would be played as a natural and not flatted

NOTE:  This problem ONLY affects the notes being played as you
enter them in the editor.  This problem DOES NOT occur when using
the Play command from the main menu.  This problem WILL be fixed
in a future release.

Notes played as entered all have equal length:

When having the notes played with the previously mentioned option
(in the editor), the notes play with preset lengths corresponding
to the note length.  What this means is that a whole note is
twice as long as a half note, a half note twice as long as a
quarter note, etc.  Since it uses preset lengths, the notes that
are played in the editor are not affected by TEMPO= statements.
Because you must wait to start typing until after each note has
finished playing, it may become tedious when entering long notes
(such as whole notes).  By turning this option on, all notes will
be played with a short length (about the normal eighth note
length) so that you won't have to wait long to start typing, but
will still be able to hear the note.  Again, NOTE that this
option only affects notes played in the editor.

Use Text Editor rather than Graphics Editor:

This option will allow you to use the text-based editor rather
than the graphics-based editor when this option is turned on.
The graphics-based editor is the default, but you can switch to
the text-based one whenever you wish.  It works identical to the
graphics-based editor except for the fact that it doesn't draw
the musical staff on the screen.  It is recommended that you use
the text-based editor if you don't have a CGA-compatible graphics
card or if you're computer is too slow when scrolling the music
with the graphics-based editor.
MENUOPT=8
.FUNCTION
Set colors
This option will allow you to change the colors for the different parts
of the screen.  It will show you the current values as well.  Just press
ENTER on a value without typing anything to leave the current value.
MENUOPT=9
.FUNCTION
Set Registration Code
This option will allow you to set the registration code.  If you
register the program, you will receive a registration name and a
registration code.  Enter these with this option exactly as they
were given to you.  They will disable any shareware messages or delays.
MENUOPT=20
.FUNCTION
Quit to main menu
This option will quit to the main menu.
MENUID=4
Printer Definition Menu
MENUOPT=6
.FUNCTION
Select Printer Driver
This will bring up a list of the printer drivers in the current
directory and allow you to select one to use.  Use the Unlisted Printer
option if you do not see your printer.  You can then create your own (see
the documentation on how to).
MENUOPT=1
.FUNCTION
Define Printer Name
This allows you to set the printer name for your printer driver.
MENUOPT=2
.FUNCTION
Set up printer strings
This option allows you to set up all of the printer strings.  It is
best to get out your printer manual and the documentation for an
explanation on how to do this.
MENUOPT=3
.FUNCTION
Save printer driver
This will save the printer driver that you have created.  It will
automatically append a .PRT extension if you do not have one.
MENUOPT=4
.FUNCTION
Load printer driver
This will load a printer driver from the disk.  A printer driver ends
in a .PRT extension.
MENUOPT=5
.FUNCTION
Clear printer driver
This will clear the printer driver that you have been defining.  It
does not affect which printer driver you have selected using the
'Select Printer Driver' command.
MENUOPT=20
.FUNCTION
Quit printer configuration
This will quit the printer definition and take you back to the
configuration menu.
MENUOPT=7
.FUNCTION
Set Printer Port
This option will allow you to set the printer port for printing.  It
defaults to LPT1:.
MENUOPT=8
.FUNCTION
Set Default Print Quality
This option will allow you to set the default print quality.
MENUID=5
Conversion Menu
MENUOPT=1
.FUNCTION
Convert to .ROL song file
This option will convert an ACCU Music System .ACC file or .SNG file
to the .ROL format.  If you are using a .ROL song file player for your
music output, that will do the same thing.  This option just does the
conversion without playing it.

.ROL files are typically multiple-voice songs for Adlib compatible sound
cards.
MENUOPT=2
.FUNCTION
Convert from .ROL song file
This option will convert a .ROL song file to the ACCU Music System file
format.  It will create a .SNG file regardless of how many voices it
has.  This option is useful if you have .ROL songs that you want to
edit or print out.
MENUOPT=3
.FUNCTION
Convert .ACC file to .SNG file
This option will change a single-voice .ACC file to a multiple voice
.SNG file.  This is useful if you originally intended on having one voice
but changed your mind.  You can also change an .ACC file to a .SNG file
by using the add voice option in the graphics-based editor.  It is
found under the Window command.
MENUOPT=20
.FUNCTION
Quit to main menu
This option will quit to the main menu.
MENUID=6
Transpose Menu
MENUOPT=1
.FUNCTION
Transpose amount in half steps
This option is for specifying how many half steps you want to transpose
your music or song file (the voices you selected in the song file).  It
defaults to no transposition or 0 half steps.  Enter a positive number
to raise by that many half steps or a negative number to lower by that
many half steps.

If you just want to change the key signature of the song, you do not
need to set an amount for the number of half steps.  You can leave it
at 0 if you want.
MENUOPT=2
.FUNCTION
Original key signature in file(s)
This option is for specifying the original key signature in the file(s)
you have selected to transpose.  If you have used KEY= statements in these
files, you do NOT need to do this.  Please note that this original key
signature pertains to all of the files you selected to transpose.  In
other words, if you select 5 voices and 2 of them have a key of 3 flats
and the other 3 have a key of 2 sharps (and you didn't specify their
key signatures with KEY= in the files) then you would have to do
separate transpositions for these two groups since you can only specify
one key signature as the original key signature.  It is recommended
that you use KEY= statements in your music/song files to make things
easy to remember.
MENUOPT=3
.FUNCTION
Resulting key signature
This is for selecting the key signature that you want the voices you
selected to transpose to have.  This applies to all of the voices you
selected.  You can enter flats, sharps, or neither.  You can specify
the number of flats or sharps, or have the computer determine an
optimum number.

This option is typically used for changing a song's key signature to
a more desired one.  If you would rather work with flats than sharps in
your song, for example, then you can change that via this option.
MENUOPT=4
.FUNCTION
Output song/music file
This option is for specifying the output song or music file.  By default,
the transposer will replace the current music or song file with the
transposed version (it will change the voices that you selected to
transpose).

Sometimes you may want to create a new copy of a music or song file
which has a different key signature, is raised by a few half steps,
etc.  Use this option to specify a new music or song file to put
the result of the transposition.  Enter the filename with no path and
no .ACC or .SNG extension.  It will put the resulting music or song file
in the same directory as the original.

Note that if you only select a few of the voices to be transposed, the
new song file will contain all of the original voices, with just the
ones you selected being transposed (i.e. it won't just make copies
of only the voices you selected).
MENUOPT=5
.FUNCTION
Begin transposition
This will begin the transposition with the options you have selected.
MENUOPT=20
.FUNCTION
Quit to main menu
This will quit to the main menu.
MENUID=7
Editor Help
MENUOPT=1
Menu Commands

ALT-S - Save current editor window
ALT-C - Clear current editor window
ALT-O - Options menu (set Title, set Author, set Voice description,
                      see Instrument listing)
ALT-W - Switch windows (voices), also allows addition of voices
ALT-Q - Quit editor
ALT-# - Press ALT and window number to switch to that window (ex. ALT-1)

Getting Around in the Editor

Arrow Keys - Move cursor
PGUP, PGDN - Go up a page, go down a page
CTRL-PGUP  - Go to beginning of file
CTRL-PGDN  - Go to end of file
CTRL-Y     - Delete line



Music Commands (very brief list)
                                           |Both Optional|
[Note letter][Accidental][Octave][Duration][Tie][Dynamic]

Examples:  CF4Q, R**H, DS5H., etc.

Note letter is one of:  C, D, E, F, G, A, B, or R (for rest)
Accidental is one of:   F - Flat, S - Sharp, N - Natural, * - no accidental
Octave is a number from 0 through 7.
Duration is one of:  W, H, Q, E, or S;  with optional . (dot)
Tie is letter T if you want note tied (optional)
Dynamic is pppp, ppp, ..., fff, ffff (optional)

Advanced Music Commands

CLEF=n   ; where n is B]ass, T]reble, S]oprano, A]lto, or TeN]or
TIME=n/m ; where n is the top half of the time signature and m is the bottom
KEY=nm   ; where n is the number of flats or sharps (0 through 7) and
           m is either F for flats or S for sharps
TEMPO=n  ; where n is the Beats Per Minute of the song (can only appear in
           voice 1 of a .SNG file)
INSTRUMENT=string  ; where string is the instrument name
TITLE=string       ; where string is the title of the piece (command can
                     only be used in .ACC music files, see O]ptions menu
                     for .SNG files)
AUTHOR=string      ; where string is the author of the piece (command can
                     only be used in .ACC music files, see O]ptions menu
                     for .SNG files)
PERCUSSION=string  ; where string is either ON or OFF
END