Chip: Special Sound & MIDI

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Chip: Special Sound & MIDI / Chip-Special_Sound-und-Midi-auf-dem-PC.bin / dostools / kingmod / kingmod.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1993-03-09 | 64.4 KB | 1,459 lines

| / |\ /| | / | \ / | |/ | \/ | |\ | | | \ | | | \ | | KingMod Documentation _____________________ _________________ ____________ _______ ____ _ ver 1.1 Graphical Module Editor Copyright (C) 1993 Christopher E. Kingsbury Copyright and License Both this document and the KingMod application are copyrighted by Christopher E. Kingsbury. Neither the KingMod program or it's documentation may be altered in any manner. KingMod is completely a Public Domain program. This means that anyone may own this program free of charge. In fact, I encourage all of you to give of copy of this to your family, friends, and local computer billboards. There is no warranty of any kind, and the copyright owner is not liable for damages of any kind. By using this software, you agree to all the above terms. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Overview Chapter 3 Hardware Requirements Chapter 4 Music Theory Overview Chapter 5 Using the Graphical Interface Chapter 6 Construction of a Module Chapter 7 Composing Music Chapter 8 Menu Functions Chapter 9 Error Messages Chapter 10 Getting in Touch With The Author Chapter 11 Possible Improvements for Next Release Chapter One Introduction Thank you for giving KingMod a test drive. This program is the second release of hopefully what will be long line of graphical module editors for the IBM personal computer & compatible family. I originally started composing KingMod about 4 months ago, not knowing how large the program would become, or how many endless hours I would spend programming and debugging. However, I think the final product, which took about 1 1/2 months appears to be worth all the work. Today, you now possess Version 1.1. This version is an expansion of KingMod's original premise to create a graphical module editor, both simple in use, but extremely powerful. With the input of people like you, I was able to optimize the program towards a users standpoint, not the programmers. If you were to evaluate all of the other module editors available for the IBM PCs and compatibles you would probably find many similarities. Nonetheless, you would probably not find one module editor that supports Extended Memory, editing of modules over 2 Megs in size, playback over many devices, and with the hardware compatibility that KingMod can offer you. I would like to take this time to thank all of you out there that have notified me of bugs and recommend suggestions. Especially Vincent Giovannone for all the time he spend BETA testing and proving recommendations, and Arthur Bouvier for his BETA testing, recommendations, and mouse routines. Chapter Two Overview What is a Module? A Module is a music file that was originally designed for the Amiga. A tracker is a program used to play modules. Modules consist of digitized sound and sequencing information used to play music. Within a module, you can play up to four separate tracks simultaneously, with up to 31 different instruments (called samples). KingMod is both a module editor and tracker. It allows you to edit and create modules within the program, and play them back from within the editor. Unlike most module editors for the IBM family and compatibles, this program is graphically based, and for the most part musically correct. Although KingMod can read in a standard module file, it will save extra data pertinent to KingMod within the module. In order to accomplish this, KingMod requires the use of the 31 sample for it's own purposes. By using just the 31st sample, KingMod is able to save a music file in the standard module format, allowing compatibility with all other editors and players, while retaining other important data, including: key signature, sample colors, and the sharps and flats within the song. I feel that loosing one sample out of 31 is a very good compromise, considering the benefits that are gained. Note: To remove the KingMod Data Area, you will need to load the module into another module editor, and remove the 31 sample. However, if you are doing this to save space, it's not really necessary because it only takes 4134 bytes, and usually compress quite well. I would like to take this time to mention the excellent module playing routines that I used in KingMod. They were created by Mark J. Cox. The package that he has produced is called MODOBJ, and is very easy to integrate into Turbo Pascal programs. You can find this program as many FTP sites, including ftp.brad.ac.uk in the /misc/msdos/mp directory. Chapter Three Hardware Requirements - 268 Computer or higher - VGA Monitor - Microsoft compatible mouse - Hard Drive - At least 1 Meg of hard drive space The following hardware is recommend but not required, and can dramatically improve the performance of KingMod: - 386 Computer or higher - Sound Card - Extended Memory - Expanded Memory Hard disk memory requirements Because the playing routines used within this program require heavy use of the harddrive, some functions within the program are delayed by the harddrive. However, by using a disk caching program, such as smartdrive, supplied with most Microsoft products, the delays can almost be alleviated. To figure out how much hard disk memory you will need to use KingMod, use the following formula: 16384 + ModSize + LargestPresentSampleSize = mem required To see how much free hard disk space you have on your computer, type the following command at the DOS prompt: CHKDSK If you would like to dramatically improve the performance of KingMod, you can create a RAM drive with either your expanded or extended memory. KingMod will use the RAM drive as it's temporary swap disk, which are much faster than the fastest disk drives available. To create a swap disk, place the following line into your CONFIG.SYS file device=ramdrive.sys [bbbb] 128 64 [/E] [/A] - bbbb states the disk size, use the formula above to calculate this number. - /E tells the computer to create the disk in extended memory. If you use this switch, you cannot use the /A switch. - /A tells the computer to create the disk in expanded memory. If you use this switch, you cannot use the /E switch. Extended memory requirements KingMod has the ability to use extended memory, which will dramatically improve the performance of Kingmod, as long as you are using a memory manager. Upon boot up of the program, Kingmod will automatically detect whether or not your computer has extended memory. You will need approximately 400 kilobytes or more of free extended memory. To see how much extended memory your computer has, type the following command at the DOS prompt: MEM Expanded memory requirements Kingmod has the ability to use expanded memory, as long as you are using memory manager. However, the performance increase will not be nearly as great as that achieved through the use of extended memory. Kingmod will automatically detect whether or not you computer has expanded memory. You will need approximately 100 kilobytes or more of free expanded memory. To see how much expanded memory your computer has, type the following command at the DOS prompt: MEM Chapter Four Music Theory Overview Note: If you are already familiar with the basic concepts of music, then you can skip this chapter. First of all, I am not a music major and I do not claim that my music knowledge is anywhere near most musically talented people. If any of you think that you can write a better/more comprehendible section, I would be very happy if you were to compose and mail it to me, for use in the next manual, and I will give you full credit. Although this section is by noway complete, I feel that this section is needed for people who have not yet had experience with music and musical notation or would just like a review. Notes Notation is the representation of music on paper, or in this case, on the computer screen. The first and most basic element found in music is the note, a symbol representing both the length and pitch of a sound. The following chart illustrates all the note lengths and how they compare with each other. Whole X------------------------------- Half X---------------X--------------- Quarter X-------X-------X-------X------- Eighth X---X---X---X---X---X---X---X--- Sixteenth X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X- Thirty-Second XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Although the Thirty-Second note is not the last note length (there is actually no real note length in music), KingMod's shortest note value will be the thirty-second note. Within the program, a thirty-second note will receive one count, a sixteenth note will receive two counts, and a whole note will receive 32 counts. Notes are physically constructed of 3 parts, the head, stem and hook. The round part of the note is called the head. Attached to the head is a line called the stem. Finally, attached to the stem is a curved line called the stem. The following chart describes the physical construction of each of the notes. Whole Has no tail or hook, a non-filled circle Half Has no hook, it resembles a whole note with a stem Quarter Has no hook, Resembles a half note, circle is filled Eighth Resembles a Quarter note, with one hook Sixteenth Resembles an Eighth note, with two hooks Thirty-Second Resembles a Sixteenth note, with three hooks Rests The symbol which represents silent passages in music are called rests. The length of a rest is represented in the same format as that of the note values, however, rest take different physical shapes. The following chart describes the physical construction of the rests. Whole A rectangular box, hanging from top of a staff line Half A rectangular box, sitting on top of a staff line Quarter A vertical squiggly line (you have to see it) Eighth A small circle attached to a slanted line Sixteenth Two small circles attached to a slanted line Thirty-Second Three small circles attached to a slanted line Staff A staff is a collection of five parallel lines in which notes and rests are placed. Notes can be placed on both the lines and the spaces between the lines. The higher up on the staff the note is, the higher the pitch of the note. Likewise, the lower the note is on the staff, the lower the pitch of the note will be. Usually, 2 staffs will be placed together to allow for the greatest amount of range. The upper staff is called the treble clef while the lower staff is called the base clef. Each position within the staff is represented by a letter "A" .."G". The following chart displays both staffs, and their character names. G -----------F--------------------------------------------------- E -----------D--------------------------------------------------- C -----------B--------------------------------------------------- A -----------G--------------------------------------------------- F -----------E--------------------------------------------------- D C B -----------A--------------------------------------------------- G -----------F--------------------------------------------------- E -----------D--------------------------------------------------- C -----------B--------------------------------------------------- A -----------G---------------------------------------------------- F Although there are only twenty-three different note positions shown on the staff, It is still possible to display and play notes that are both lower and higher than the two staffs. Within Kingmod, notes lower than the bass clef are accompanied by a number. This number represents how many octaves lower the note really is. Notes that are higher than the treble clef are also accompanied by a number. This number represents how many octaves higher the note actually is. Sharps and Flats. Now to make things more complicated, I'll try and explain sharps and flats. These are halfsteps between 2 consecutive notes. Sharps and flats are called accidentals in the music field. A sharp note is a note that is played one halfstep higher than it's position on the staff. Sharp notes are regular notes with a pounds sign "#". A flat notes is a note that is played a halfstep lower than it's position on the staff. Flat notes are regular notes with a symbol that is similar to the letter "b". Notes that are neither flat not sharp are called natural. Only certain notes can be sharp nor flat. Notes that can be sharp are F, C, G, D, A. Notes that can be flat are B, E, A, D, G. When writing music, most composers will usually decide whether they will be using sharps or flats in there song, and which notes will be sharp or flat. This is what is known as the key signature, and usually holds true through the remainder of the song. However, the composer is not required to stick to this key signature. When choosing a key signature, you must abide by two rules. First you cannot have both flats and sharps in the same key signature. Second, you must choose them in the following consecutive order. Sharps: F C G D A Flats : B E A D G Thus, if you decide that your song will have three flats, then the key signature will be F, C, G. Note: Although I mentioned that you cannot sharp B and E or flat F and C, technically you can. B sharp is actually C, E sharp is actually F, F flat is actually E, and C flat is actually B. Now, through the combination of notes, rests and their lengths, music can be created. To put this into a little easier perspective, examine the following X,Y graph. | | | |X-----------------------------------------> Note | Pitches | | |___________________________________________ Note Length Putting it all Together Now that you have the basic idea of musical notation down, I will attempt to explain how you can put all of this together to create a song. Measures Most music is composed of measures, much like novels are composed of sentences. Measure provide a means in which to break down the music into more readable sections. For our purpose, each measure in KingMod will be capable of holding; 32 Thirty-Second notes, or 16 Sixteenth notes, or 8 Eighth notes, or 4 quarter notes, or 2 Half notes, or 1 Whole note. Each measure can have any combination of the prementioned notes. If the total value of all the notes in a measure exceeds 32, then you have what is called carrying. This means that the remainder (total of notes - 32) will be added to the beginning of the next measure. For example, if a measure has 1 half note and then 1 whole note, a carry of sixteen will be added to the beginning of the next measure. In KingMod, carries are represented by blank spaces at the beginning of a measure. Chapter Five Using the Graphical Interface This purpose of this chapter is to describe and explain all of the graphical interface tools in this program. The following tools will be included in the chapter: - Menu Bar - Status Window - Button - Icon - Pop Up Menu - Scroll Bar - Scroll List - Text Window - File/Directory Window Menu Bar A menu bar is a hierarchal graphic tool containing both headings and subheadings. KingMod contains one menu bar at the top of the screen. It contains the following headings; File, Edit, Play, Sample, and Music. Associated with each heading is a list of subheadings. To use the menu bar, just place the mouse anywhere over the menu bar then press and hold down the left mouse button. While are holding the left button down, you can move the mouse back and forth across the menu bar to view each of the subheading menus. To select one of the subheadings, first place the mouse over the heading you want to select and press the mouse button. The subheading bar will now appear. Move the mouse into this bar while your still holding the left mouse button down, and you will see a pink bar hilight the subheading that the mouse is currently over. If you wish to look under a different heading, just move the mouse over to the heading and it's corresponding subheading list will be displayed. If you want to select one of the subheadings, first make sure that the mouse is over the subheading and it is hilighted, then, release the left mouse buttons. If you do not wish to select anything in the menu bar after you have entered it, just make sure that the mouse is not over any of the subheading bars, and release the left mouse buttons. Status Window A status window is a window that displays pertinent information about the program to the user. They are completely controlled by the program, and require no interaction whatsoever by the user. Button A button is a button (what else can I say) with a short saying as to what will happen if you press the button. To use a button, first place the mouse over the button, then press the left mouse button. You will know that you have pressed the button, because the button will retract. To finish, make sure that the mouse is still over the button, and release the left mouse button. If you have pressed the button, then move the mouse away from the button, the button will expand, until you move the mouse back over the button. Icon An icon is a picture/image/representation of an action or object within KingMod. Within this program, icons are used to represent the different note and rest values. They are also used to simplify movement through the music. To use an icon, just move the mouse over the icon you wish to select, then press and release the left mouse button. Pop Up Menu Bar A pop up menu bar is similar to a menu bar, with the exception that there are no headings. They resemble a three dimensional box, protruding outward, with it's selected value in the center. Follow these instructions in order to use a pop up menu bar. First, move the mouse over the pop up menu bar you wish to select. Next, press the left mouse button, and hold it down. A new window will now appear containing all of the selectable values within the menu. To select one of the values, first make sure that you have not released the left mouse button. Second, move the mouse onto the value you desire, make sure that it is hilighted. You will know what value that you have selected, because it will be displayed as the new selected value in the pop up menu bar. If you have entered the sub heading menu but do not wish to select any of the items, just remove the mouse from the menu, and release the mouse button. The original selection will then be re- selected. Scroll Bar A scroll bar is similar to a slide rule. It is composed of a ruler with a central sliding piece. At each end of the ruler is an arrow. Associated with scroll bars are numeric values which correspond with the slides position within the ruler. To figure out the value of a scroll bar, first you must determine whether the bar is vertical or horizontal. If the bar is vertical and the slide is at the top, then the bar value is zero. If the bar is vertical and the slide is at the bottom, then it is set to the scroll bars highest value. If the bar is horizontal and the slide section is all the way to the right, then it is set to zero. If the bar is horizontal and the slide is all the way to the left, then it is set to the scroll bars highest value. There are three ways to move the slide along the ruler. First you can use the arrows. Just place the mouse over the arrow pointing in the direction you want to move, then press and release the left mouse button. The slide value will then be incremented or decremented by one. Second, you can grasp ahold of the slide, and drag it to the position you desire. To accomplish this, place the mouse over the slide, press and hold the left mouse button, move the slide to the position you desire, then release the mouse button. Third, you can increment the scroll bar value by 2 by placing the mouse either in front of or behind the slide, but along the ruler, and pressing and releasing the left mouse button. Scroll List A scroll list is basically a list of something, such as a list of files. Scroll lists are usually used to display multiple lines of text, or a scroll list can also contain items from which the user can select from. They are composed of one scroll bar, and a text list area. The list is composed of text, where each value is placed on a separate line. Moving about a list is quite easy. First you can use the scroll bar to scroll the text list up and down, until you find something from the list you would like to select. To select the item, just place the mouse over the item, and press and release the left mouse button. You will know that you selected it because the item will be hilighted. Another way to move through the list is to click the left mouse button in the list area. While holding down the left button, move the mouse either above or below the list. You will see the list scroll in the direction that your mouse is. Once the item you want to select has scrolled into reach, just move you mouse over the item while you are still holding down the left mouse button, and release the button. The item should know be selected. To quickly select an item within the scroll lists, you can double click on the item. Text Window A text window is an area in which you can write and edit text. A text window is composed of a rectangular box, in which text is displayed. To enter text into an empty text window, just place the mouse over the box, and press and release the left mouse button. A line called an I-Beam will appear. This I- Beam is the cursor, it tells you where you are about to enter or delete characters. Once the I-Beam appears, you can start entering text just like a word processor. The following keys are legal; Alphabetic; Numeric; Space; Left & Right arrow; Delete; Backspace; & Return. Do not worry about running out of room in the text box, because it the text will scroll. You will be limited to 256 characters. Once you have finished entering your text, either press return or move the mouse out of the box and press and release the left mouse button. To edit text, you can place the mouse in the box, press the left mouse button, and edit just as you have entered in the text. Or, you can place the mouse in the box, then press and hold the right mouse button. While holding the mouse button down, you can move the mouse back and forth, and hilight regions of text. To stop hilighting text, you must release the right mouse button. Now that the text is hilighted, you can use either the delete or backspace key to delete all the text that you have hilighted. Or, if you do not want to delete the hilighted text, just place the mouse over the text box, and press and release the left mouse button. File and Directory Window The file and directory window is a window containing most of the formentioned graphical interface tools, in which the user can select files. The window can be found in many areas of Kingmod, including reading and saving Module and Samples. The window contains a scrollable list on the left side, displaying all the files and directories in the current directory. There are two text boxes on the right. The top text box contains the current working directory. The bottom text box is used for manually typing in the filename. At the bottom right of the screen are two buttons. One say "Done" and the other says "Cancel", I think that these functions are self explanatory. To use the file and directory window, first make sure that you are in the correct directory. If you are not, then change the directory in the directory window. Then select the filename from the scrollable list and press the "Done" button. Another way to enter in a filename is to directly enter in the name in the filename text window. If you do not specify a directory when manually entering the filename in the filename textbox, the default directory will be used. If you have entered the file and directory window, and wish to get out without selecting a file, just press the cancel button. Chapter 6 Construction of a Module in the KingMod Format Basic Composition - Name - Samples - Music Name Each module contains a name that can be up to 20 characters long. Samples Modules can hold up to 30 different instruments called samples. Samples are digitally recorded pieces of music. These sample can range from recordings of musical instruments, noises, human voices, or whatever else you can think to record. Each sample can be up to 65,535 bytes in size. Associated with each sample are the following: - Name - Volume - Repeat Point - Repeat Length Sample Name The name is where you can store the name of the sample, up to 22 characters in length Sample Volume The volume is the default volume of the sample. The value must be in the range of 0 - 64, with 64 the loudest. This value is only the default, the volume of every note can be changed anytime from within the music. Sample Repeat Point and Repeat Length The repeat point and repeat length are two variables which allow you to make the sample play endlessly. The repeat point represents the starting point of the repeat, in bytes. The repeat length represent how many bytes should be played after the repeat point, in bytes. For example: If you had an sample that is 10,000 bytes in size, you could set the repeat point at 8,000 and the repeat length at 2,000. When the sample is played, it will first play through the whole thing completely. Once it reached the end, it will jump backwards to the repeat point, and play the number of bytes represented by the repeat length, then jump back to the repeat point. This will in a never-ending loop. Music Each module can contain a very large music section. Each module can contain up to 128 measures for each track (a track is a single line of music. Modules can play up to 4 tracks simultaneously.). Only one measure will be displayed on a page at any time. Each song starts at page 1 and ends at page 128. The combination of two pages is called a pattern. A module can contain up to 64 different patterns. Each pattern can contain up to 64 different notes, thus each track can contain up to 4096 different notes. Each note has an associated sample number and effect field. The sample number field represents the sample that will be used for this note. The effect field represents the effect that will be used when playing the note. Creating You Own Samples There are many ways in which you can create your own samples. Probably the easiest way is to get a copy of BLASTER Master (C) Gary Maddox. Within this excellent program you can record and manipulate your own sound files, including VOC and WAV. Then, if you would like to import them into KingMod as a sample, all you have to do is save the sound files in the .NTI format. There are other programs out there that will accomplish this, including SOX. However, this program is much more complicated than BLASTER Master. BLASTER Master can be found at just about any BBS you can find. SOX gets around, but is still hard to find. If you have Internet access, you can find both of these programs at WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU in the /mirrors/msdos/sound directory. NOTE: You cannot load VOC or WAV files directly into KingMod. They must be converted with one of the previously mentioned programs. Chapter 7 Composing Music Composing music within KingMod is quite easy. The editor is simple enough for the beginner, however is powerful enough for even the most proficient moduler (a person who composses modules). The following paragraph gives a brief description of the editor layout. _____________________________________________________ | Menu Bar | Status Window | |__________________________________|__________________| | | | Track 1 | | | | Track 2 | | | | Track 3 | | | | Track 4 | |_____________________________________________________| | Icons | Sample Effects | |__________________________________|__________________| Selecting Samples The first thing you need to do before you can start composing your music to is select an instrument. Choose "Load Sample" from the sample menu. The sample window should appear. This is a list containing all of the samples currently being used in your song. Hilight item #1, the first item. Now press the Done button. The File and Directory window should now appear, and you can select the sample you would like to load. For now on, that sample will be designated sample #1. You can load up to 30 samples in the same manner. Entering Notes In order to compose music, you must first select a note value. Press one of the note icons at the bottom. If you cannot tell which icons are the note icon, they are the white ones. They are displayed in this order: Whole, Half, Quarter, Eighth, Sixteenth, and Thirty-Second. Once you have selected the note length, move the mouse into the track and staff position (note value, for example "A", "B", "C") in which you would like to place the note. Then, just press left mouse button. As long as you hold down the left mouse button, you will be able to move the note around the tracks and the staffs. But, when you release the left mouse button, the note will permanently be placed at that position. No matter where you place the mouse on the staff, the note will move as far to the left as possible, in accordance with the note before it. To insert one note after the other, just move the mouse to the right of the last note in the track you wish to enter. You will notice by selecting different note values that a Thirty-Second note only takes one space, while a Eighth note takes up 4 spaces. This allows you to exactly know when each note will be played. Inserting Notes To insert a note, first make sure that you have selected the right note length from the icons. Then just place the mouse at the desired staff position and between the two notes you wish to insert this new note, and press and release the left mouse button. Or, you can insert the note anywhere on any staff, and while holding down the left mouse button, move the note to the position you would like it, and release the left mouse button. The note should now be inserted. Editing Notes To edit a note, select the arrow icon at the bottom left of the icon bar. Then, place the mouse over the note you would like to edit, and press and hold the left mouse button. You will then be able to move the note to any position in the screen you would like, similar to when you are entering notes. Entering Rest Entering a rest is done just like you enter notes, however, you do not have to designate any staff position. The rest will automatically be placed in the center of the top staff of the track you selected. Inserting a Rest Inserting a rest is exactly the same as inserting a note. Editing a Rest Editing a rest is exactly the same as editing a note. Entering Sharp and Flat Notes To enter a sharp or flat note, first select the desired offset from the bottom left pop up menu called the offset pop up menu. From now on, every note that you enter will have the offset that the offset pop up menu specifies. Setting the Notes Effect Every note and rest in a module can have an effect. The effect field can be used to set volumes, song speed, attack rates, slides, ect... Each effect and there values will be described below. To change the effect of notes to be entered, select the effect that you want from the large pop up menu at the bottom right of the screen. From now on, all notes that you enter will have that effect, until you change it. If a note has an effect, then its index character "A".."P" will be displayed along side of the note. The following explains how each of the effect work. For simplification, the first effect number will be designated as x, and the second effect number will be designated as y. If both x and y are together, then it means that x is then tens value, and y is the ones value. A - None / Arepeggiation This causes the note to flutter between the original note, and in halfstep increments of x + y. Note: if you specify zero for both the x and y values, then the note has no effect, and no effect letter will be displayed next to the note. B - Slide Up This causes the pitch to slide up at xy speed. C - Slide Down This causes the pitch to slide down at xy speed. D - Slide To Note This causes the pitch to slide towards the note as xy speed. E - Vibrato This causes the note to become vibrato, with x as the speed, and y is the vibrato depth. F - Slide to Note + Volume Slide Slides to a note, while the volume is also sliding. If X is specified, then x will be the speed that the volume will slide up. If Y is specified, then y will be the speed that the volume will slide down. G - Vibrato + Volume Slide This causes the note to have a vibrato effect while the volume is sliding. X is the speed to slide the volume up while y is the speed to slide the volume down. H - Tremolo This causes the volume of the note to tremor. X is the speed of the tremor, and y is it's depth. I - Not In Use J - Set Sample Offset This effect allows the user to play a sample from a specified byte in the sample length. To compute the byte to start at, multiply xy * 256. K - Volume Slide This causes the volume to slide up or down. X is the up speed, and y is the down speed. L - Position Jump This effect will make the song immediately jump to the pattern specified in xy (hexadecimal) M - Set Volume This cause the note to be played at the volume xy. N - Pattern Break This causes the current pattern to stop, and jumps to the next pattern in the module. O - Other Option P - Set Speed This effect will set the speed of the whole song using the xy value. The lower the number, the faster. Setting the Notes Effect Numbers Each effect has two numbers used to determine certain characteristics of that effect when it is played. The two small pop up menus at the bottom right of the screen are the effect numbers. The right menu is the ones field, while the left menu is the tens field. To change the effect numbers of notes to be entered, select the effect numbers that you want from the two effect number pop up menus. From now on, all notes that you enter will have that effect number, until you change it. Moving Through the Music To move through the music, you will use the 4 bottom left icons. The first icon, "BOF", stands for Beginning of File, which will bring you to first page in your music composition. The second icon is a left arrow, which will move you one page backwards. The third icon is a right arrow, which will move you one page forwards. The fourth icon, "EOF", stands for End Of File, and will move you to the last page that you have composed. When you use the right arrow icon to move to the next page, the program will automatically search the previous page and fill in rest where they are required, so you do not have to do it yourself, likewise with EOF. Setting the I-Beam To set the I-beam, just place the mouse button in the position and track that you wish to place the beam in. Now, press and release the right mouse button. An I-Beam should know appear in the position that you have selected. The following chapter explains how to use the I-beam. Hilighting Music To hilight music, place the mouse either to the left or right of the note or notes in the track that you would like to hilight, and press and hold the right mouse. Now move the mouse either left or right until all of the notes that you would like to hilight are hilighted. To unhilight a note or notes, just click, press, and release the right mouse button anywhere on any of the staffs. The following chapter explains how to use the hilight beam. Changing the Effect & Effect Numbers of a Note Already Entered. To change the effect & effect numbers of a note already entered, just hilight the note, or notes, and change the effect pop up menus to the desired effect and effect numbers. All of the hilighted notes will then be set to the new effect values. Once you unhilight the notes, the pop up menus will return back to their original state before the last operation occurred. Making a Note Already Entered Sharp, Flat, Or Natural To change the offset of a note that has already been entered, just hilight the note, or notes, and change the offset pop up menu to the desired offset. All of the hilighted notes will then be set to the new offset values. Once you unhilight the notes, the offset pop up menu will return back to it's original state before the last operation occurred. Changing the Sample Number of A Note Already Entered To change the sample number of a note that has already been entered, just hilight the note or notes, the do the following. Select "Set Current" from the Sample menu. Then select the new sample number from the sample list. All the notes that you have hilighted will then be set to the new sample that you have selected. Or, you can hilight the note or notes that you would like to change, and select the sample from the sample popupmenu at the bottom left of the screen. Chapter 8 Menu Functions File Load This function is used for loading modules into Kingmod. The function works for normal modules and KingMod format modules. Any module that is currently in memory will be deleted. New This function removes the current module, including the samples from memory, so you can start a new module. Save This function saves the current module that is in memory. It will only save the module in KingMod format. File Settings This function allows the user to configure how the non KingMod modules will be loaded into the KingMod editor. When selected, a window will pop up with two pop up menus and two buttons. The first pop up menu is used to determine whether notes will be read in as flats or sharps. When set to Sharps, all notes that are not natural will be read in a Sharps, and visa vera for flats. The second pop up menu is used to determine how to optimize the module as it reads it in. If it is set to 0, then every note will be read in as a thirty- second note. If it is set to 2, the KingMod will attempt to combine any thirty-second notes that are next to rest. When set to 1/32, then KingMod will fully optimize all modules that are read into the editor. I recommend that you leave this setting at 1/32. Both of these options have no effect on modules that are already in the KingMod format. Environment This function brings up a window with the following text windows; Swap Directory; Module Directory; Sample Directory; Module extension; and Sample Extension. These text boxes designate where all of the files will be stored, and what their extensions will be. The Swap Directory is where the program will place it's temporary swap files (if you make this directory a RAM Disk, then the performance of KingMod will increase dramatically). The module directory is where all of your modules are located. The sample directory is where all of your samples are located. The Module and Sample extensions are the DOS extensions that you normally associate with your modules and samples, for example *.mod & *.sam. There is a popupmenu in this window that allows you to specify whether or not the hotkeys can be activated while music is playing. I included this function, because sometimes you can get better sound quality when you turn of the hotkeys. This is especially noticeable when you are playing through the PC speaker. Mouse Environment This function brings up a window with the following 2 scroll bars. The first scroll bar controls the speed at which a double click is defined. The faster you set it, the faster you must double click the mouse button. The second scroll bar sets the mouse sensitivity. The faster you set this value, the more units the mouse pointer will move in accordance with your mouse. When your done, just press Done. If you do not want to save you changes, just press cancel. Environ Colors This function brings up a window with 1 scroll list, 2 buttons, and 16 different color palettes. The purpose of this window is to allow you to change the default colors of the KingMod editor. Select the graphical tool from the scroll list, then choose the place the mouse over the color you would like to select, and press the left mouse button. The Color you selected should then indent. When you are done, press the done button, and the screen should redraw in accordance with the new colors. Otherwise, select cancel. Note: When you change the hilight color, the different color palettes do not correspond to the color that will actually appear. You will have to do some experimentation, to figure out which color appeals to you the most. HotKeys This function brings up a window with a scroll list displaying all the different user defined hotkeys. Within the list are the different functions that you can select, and their associated keys. To change the hotkey of a certain function, hilight the function you would like to change, and press select. A small window will ask you to press a key. At this point press the key that you want associated with the function. When your done, just select the done button. The hotkeys will automatically be saved when you exit KingMod. Note: You can specify whether or not the hotkeys are functional when a module is playing through the environment function. About This function brings up the opening credit window, which displays the name, authors name, and author of module playing routines. Quit Quit leaves KingMod, and any module that is presently in memory is erased. Edit Cut This function copies any notes that are presently hilighted, and places them into the clipboard. Then, it deletes all the notes that are hilighted. Copy This function copies any notes that are presently hilighted, and places them into the clipboard. Paste This function places any notes that are in the clipboard at the position that the I Beam is located. Clear This function deletes all of the notes that are presently hilighted. Transpose This function brings up a window with two pop up windows, and two buttons. The first pop up window specifies how many octaves you want to transpose the hilighted notes. The second pop up menu specifies how may half-steps you want to transpose the hilighted notes. If you have entered this function, but do not want to transpose anything, just hit the cancel button, otherwise, hit the done button. Key Signature This function allows you to set the key signature for the song. When selected, a window will pop up with 2 pop up menu bars. The first menu specifies how many sharps the song will have. The second menu specifies how many flats the song will have. You cannot have both flats and sharps in the same key signature. Once you have set they key signature, from then on the computer will automatically sharpen or flatten all the notes in the keysignature that you enter that you enter. Goto Page This function allows you to specify a page to go to. When selected, a window will appear with a text box and two buttons. Enter the page number (must be greater than 0 and less than 129) then press Done. KingMod will automatically go to that page, or if the page doesn't exists, it will go to the end of the file. If you have entered this function but decide not to use it, just press cancel Sound Play Current Mod This function will play the mod that is currently in the editor. Play Disk Module This function will bring up the File and Directory menu, and allow you to select a module to play. Play Pattern This functions will play the current pattern of the current module in the editor. Play Track This function allows you to play a single track from the module. When selected, a window will pop up with five buttons. The buttons say Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, Track 4, and Cancel. Press the button that corresponds to the track that you would like to hear, otherwise press cancel to discontinue the process. Play HiLighted This function will play all of the notes that are presently hilighted. Playback Settings. This function allows you to configure the playback settings, including the sampling speed, output device, and track volume. When selected, a window will pop up with 3 pop up menus, 4 scroll bars, and 2 buttons. The first pop up menu is used to control the device speed. By changing the value, you can modify the sound quality through the output device. The larger the number, the greater the sound quality. When you are using a Sound Blaster card, you do not have to set the device speed to a very high value (usually between 10,000 and 15,000). When you are using the PC speaker as the output device, you should set the device speed as high a possible, without locking up the program (On my 15 Megahertz 286 I have set the speed to 20,000. On my 50 Megahertz 486, I have set the speed to 25,000). The higher the device speed, the slower KingMod will run while playing music. The second pop up menu is used to set the output device. It is quite simple. You just set it to the output device that you have on you computer. If you do not have a sound card, you can set it to output through your internal PC speaker. The third pop up menu is used to control the order in which the module will be played. If it is set to Continuous play, when KingMod has reached the end of the song, it will start playing the song from the beginning again. If it is set to Play Once, then KingMod will stop the module as soon as it has reached the modules end. The four scroll bars are used to set the volume of each track. You can change the volume of any track anytime, even as a module is playing. However, it will not take effect until you hit the done button. Stop Module This function will stop any module that is currently playing. If no module is currently playing, nothing will happen. Sample Set Current This function sets the default sample. The default sample is the sample that any notes entered into the module will be set to. Also, if any notes are hilighted, their associated sample will be set to the newly selected default sample. When selected, a window called the sample selection window will pop up. Just select the sample that you would like to be the default and press the done button, otherwise press cancel. Load Sample This function allows you to load a sample into the module. When selected, the sample selection window will appear. You must first choose a sample number that you want to load the sample into. If there is already a sample in the field you choose, that sample will be deleted first. Next, press the done button. The sample will then be loaded. It's name will be it's filename, it's volume will be set to 64, and both it's repeat point and repeat length will be set to zero. If you entered the load sample function, but did not wish to continue, just hit the cancel button. Save Sample This function allows you to save a sample that is in a module. When selected, the sample selection window will appear. First, you must choose the sample that you would like to save. The press the done button. The file and directory will then pop up, and you can then enter the filename of the sample you want to save. If at any time you want to cancel, just hit the cancel button. Edit Sample This function allows you to edit the attributes of a sample. When selected, the sample selection window will appear. You must first choose the sample that you wish to edit. Then hit the done button. A window will appear with the following information: Sample Name, Sample Length, Sample Volume, Repeat Point, Repeat Length, Tuning, Fine Tune, and color. The Tuning and Fine Tune fields are non functional at this point (I could not get the module player to respond to these fields). The sample name can be up to 22 characters. The sample volume must be in a range between 1 and 64. The repeat point should not be greater than the sample length. The repeat length + repeat point should not be greater than the sample length. To choose the color, just place the mouse over the color you want to select, and the color should appear in the color bar below. Remove Sample This function allows you to remove a sample that is currently in the module. When selected, the sample selection window will appear. You should then select the sample you would like to delete and press the done button. Otherwise, press the cancel button. Play Sample This function allows you to play a sample that is in the current module. When selected, the sample selection window will appear. First, you should select the sample that you would like to play. Next press the done button. You will hear the note played, and another window will pop up with the following four buttons: Higher, Lower, Done, and Play. If you would like to hear the note played again, press the play button. If you would like to hear the note played higher, press the higher button. If you want to hear the note played lower, press the lower button. Each time the note is incremented or decremented one half step. When you are done, just press the done button. Song Name This function allows you to change the name of the song. When selected a window will appear with a text box, and two buttons. Type in the name, up to 20 characters, and press done. Otherwise press cancel. Chapter Nine Error Messages This chapter is devoted to error messages. This chapter will included every error message that might appear on your screen. It shall explain what might have caused this error message to appear. And, it shall attempt to explain how to overcome or fix the problem. This first set of error message will appear from within the editor in the error message window. 'Not enough free XMS, you must use swap files' This error message appear when your system has extended memory, but not enough for KingMod to use. To fix this, you can either remove any other memory resident programs that might already be using the extended memory, or you can buy more memory (it's really cheap now). 'Out of memory' This error occurs when you run out of standard RAM. Try removing as many of the memory resident programs as possible, and also try loading DOS into High Memory. 'Not Enough Room To Insert That Note' This error message will appear if you have reached the maximum number of notes allowed in a certain track. The maximum number of notes in one track is 4096, but that is if every note is a thirty second note. To figure out how much room you have left, just go to the end of the file, and see how many pages are left. 'Out of Memory Reading Module, Mod is Probably Corrupt' This error message occurs when it is trying to read in a module. The module that you are reading in is not in the standard module format. To fix this, you will have to load the module into another module editor that can save modules into the standard format, then try to load it back into KingMod. 'Error Reading Module' This error occurs when trying to read in a module. Either the module is corrupt, or it is not in the standard module format. Follow the same instruction given in the previous error message for loading non-standard modules. 'Warning!!! Can Only Read In First 64 Patterns' This error occurs will occur within standard modules that make calls to more than 64 different patterns. Although this is legal within the standard module format, KingMod does not support it. If this error occurs, only the first 64 patterns will be read in. 'File Not Found' This error occurs when you have specified a file that KingMod cannot find. Make sure that you are specifying the correct drive and path when entering filenames. 'File does not exist' This error occurs when you have specified a file that KingMod cannot find. Make sure that you are specifying the correct drive and path when entering filenames. 'Not a mod' This error occurs when KingMod is reading in a module that does not appear to be a module. However, if the module is in a format not supported by KingMod, just load it into another module editor that supports that format, save it, then reload it into KingMod. 'Error Saving Module' This error occurs when trying to save a module to the disk. This usually occurs when the disk is full. Make sure that the disk has enough room to save the file before hand. 'Nothing to Copy!!!' This error occurs when you select copy from the edit menu, but have not hilighted anything yet. Make sure that you have hilighted something before you select this option. 'Nothing in the clipboard to paste' This error occurs when you select paste from the edit menu, but you have not placed anything into the clipboard yet. To place something into the clipboard you must either copy or cut. 'The cursor has not been set' This error occurs when you attempt to place something without placing the I Beam. First place the I Beam where you want to paste the text, then select paste. 'You have not hilighted anything' This error occurs when you attempt to cut or copy something, but you have not hilighting anything yet. Make sure that you are hilighting something before you attempt to cut or copy. 'New Swap Directory Will Not Take Place Until You Reload KingMod' This is really not an error, but just a warning message. This occurs when you change the swap directory. It just means that you will have to quit then reload before you can use the new swap directory. 'Missing the Configuration File.Creating new one.' This error occurs when KingMod cannot find your configuration file. When this happens, it has to create a new one. To prevent this from happening, make sure that you do not delete any files within the KingMod directory with the extension "cfg". 'You have enter an invalid number' This error occurs when you have entered a value within a text box that is not a number. Make sure that you enter numbers where specified. 'The Number must be greater than 0 and less than 31' This error occurs when you enter a number that does not fit within the specified range. Make sure to enter numbers that reside within the range. 'Number must be greater than 0, and less the number of pages' This error occurs when you are using the Goto Page command, and enter a number that is either less than 0 or greater than the number of pages. Make sure that you enter in a number that reside within the specified range. 'Already playing' This error message might appear if you try to play a module that is already in the process of being played. To play the module, first select Stop Module from the music menu, the try to play the module. 'You cannot have both flats and sharps in the key signature' This error occurs when you have tried to give a song both a sharp and flat key signature from within the key signature menu. Make sure that you only set one of the two key signatures. 'You are at the last sheet' This error occurs when you hit the right icon, and are already at the last page in the document. (page 128). 'You are at the first sheet' This error occurs when you hit the left icon, and are already at the first page in the document (page 1). This next section contains error messages that will appear if KingMod crashes on you, and drops back to DOS. These error messages will appear in the following format: "Run-time error nnn at xxxx:yyyy" The only part of the error message that you need to worry about is the nnn section. "Runtime Error 2" This error message will occur if KingMod cannot locate a file. If this error message occurs, please contact the author and explain what happened. "Runtime Error 3" This error message will occur if KingMod cannot locate a path. If this message occurs, please contact the author and explain what happened. "Runtime Error 4" This error message will occur if KingMod has attempted to open more files that you have set up your system to handle. Make sure that your config.sys allows up to 15 open files. (You must have a line in you config.sys that says "files=15". The number does not have to be 15, it can be greater.) "Runtime Error 5" This error will most likely occur if your computer runs out of hard-disk space. Make sure that you have enough free hard- disk space. If the error still occurs after making room on your hard-drive, please contact the author. "Runtime Error 100" Through "Runtime Error 214" Please contact the author if any of these error messages occurs, and explain what happened. Chapter Ten Getting In Touch With The Author KingMod is the first release of what I hope will become a line of many releases. However, I do not think that this can happen without input from all of the end-users. I happily welcome comments, questions, suggestions for improvements, and criticism. Well not happily for the last one, but everything needs a little. To contact me you can either send a letter to me in the United States at the following address: Christopher E. Kingsbury 9013 Penn Manor Ct. Springfield VA, 22153 U.S.A. Or you can mail me via E-Mail, I log onto my Internet address about once a day, and Prodigy about twice a week. Internet Address 6167AQ@GMUVAX.GMU.EDU Prodigy BKDP83A I read all of my mail, so go ahead and write me. I should hopefully have the Internet address until the end of August or beginning of September. If you cannot reach me at the above address, my new address might by CKINGS@GMUVAX.GMU.EDU . Nevertheless, sending me a letter through the mail is sure to make it to me. Chapter Eleven Possible Improvements for the Next Release In not to long from now, that is January 19, 1992, I would like to start working on the next release. Yet, I do not want to start working on it until I know what most of the bugs are, what should be improved, what should be removed, and what you would like added. Below is a small list of what I think will be included in the next minor release of KingMod: - Bugs Fixed - Optimize some of the functions - Module Player that does not require use of hard drive - Better error protection and more complete messages - Online Help - Better documentation - Real-Time music input - Printing of Modules into sheet music This next list contains some items and design implementations that I think could be added to the next major implementation of KingMod - Implementation under Microsoft Windows!!! - Making the editor look more like music!!! - Support for more module formats - Support for MIDI input/output - Support for more sound cards - New module format, that could hold more samples, patterns, and tracks. - UNIX compatible version, for X Windows. If have any other suggestions or ideas that you think belong on this list, I would like to hear from you.