The Setup Menu items provide access to various configuration and grouping parameters. This menu contains the following commands:
Assign ID Icons -- Shows and hides the Icon Palette panel, which contains images that can be used for panel ID Icons and Buttons panel buttons. This menu item performs the same function as the ID Icon on the Tool Bar. Roll across the Tool Bar eye icon for details.
Set Backdrop Color -- Opens a Color selection dialog box for setting the background color of the Main Panel (application) window. This color gets saved when you save a session.
Default Backdrop -- Restores the default background color to the Main Panel window, which varies depending on your Windows95 screen color scheme. This item is greyed out if you haven't changed the default color.
Set Backdrop Picture -- Opens a File selection dialog box so you can select a Windows Bmp graphics file for displaying as a backdrop picture on the Main Panel. Sorry, the picture will not be tiled or sized for you, so you should use a bitmap that is (at least) as big as your Main Panel window. The bitmap filename (not the graphic itself) will be stored when you save a session, and loaded for you when you load a session. You can also use bitmap images on individual panels. See the Panel Menu help topic for details.
Clear Backdrop Picture -- Clears any picture you have loaded as the Main Panel backdrop, restoring the backdrop color. This item is greyed out if you haven't loaded a backdrop picture.
Hide StatusBar -- Hides the Status Bar. This menu item then becomes 'Show StatusBar' so you can bring it back. The visible state of the Status Bar is saved during session saves.
Hide ToolBar -- Hides the Tool Bar. This menu item then becomes 'Show ToolBar ' so you can bring it back. The visible state of the Tool Bar is saved during session saves.
Move StatusBar -- Toggles the position of the Status Bar between the top and bottom of the Main Panel window. This gets saved during session saves.
Move ToolBar -- Toggles the position of the Tool Bar between the top and bottom of the Main Panel window. This gets saved during session saves.
Automatic Menus -- When this item is checked you can access the menu system by left-clicking on the Main Panel backdrop. The last accessed Menu will appear. You can scroll through the Menu types by clicking again on the Main Panel backdrop without making a menu selection. A right-click on the main panel backdrop (while a left-click menu is visible) will cause the next left-click to clear the current menu and reset to the Tools Menu. If this feature annoys you just click Automatic Menus so that it is unchecked. If you often re-access the same menu you might find this feature useful, though...
Note that right-click access to the menu system is not affected by the state of the Automatic Menus item. A right-mouse click on the Main Panel backdrop will pop up the Tools Menu. Shift-right-click will pop up the Setup Menu. Ctrl-right-click pops up the Windows Menu. Ctrl-Shift-right-click will pop up the File Menu.
Config MIDI Ports -- This will open the Configure MIDI Ports dialog box so you can select the MIDI ports you want to use with this program. By default, all MIDI input and output ports available on the system are enabled.
MIDI IN ports are only used by Patch Sub-Group Panels, see the PatchGroup help topic.
The MIDI OUT ports are used by all Panel types for sending MIDI controller data. Be aware that some MIDI drivers are brain damaged in that they will only accept input from one program at a time. Examples of this are the standard MPU-401 ports and the Microsoft MIDI mapper. Virtually all of the control panels on a MIDI Control Main Panel will act as a single program and can therefore share even a brain damaged port. The exception is the Play Sequence Panel, which is just an interface to the Microsoft Media Player. Since the Media Player is a separate program you cannot use a brain damaged port that is set as the default Windows MIDI device as an output port on any MIDI control panel.
Similar precautions must be taken when when running a (real) MIDI Sequencer program and the MIDI Control Panel at the same time. Also, when recording a MIDI instrument with a MIDI sequencer, don't use the MIDI In port you're recording on as the Audition In on any Patch Sub-Group.
In general, MIDI out ports that are not brain-damaged can be shared with other programs. Brain-damaged MIDI out ports can only be shared by normal control panels inside the MIDI Control Main Panel, not with the Play Sequence panel and not with other programs. MIDI in ports can never be shared (except by multiple instances of the MIDI Control Panel ;-)
Note that it is Ok for unsharable ports to be configured as usable in the MIDI Control Panel, you just can't have any panels open that actually use the port, when it is in use by another program.
The current MIDI config is saved when a session is saved, and loaded with each session load. If you have changed your MIDI hardware or are running a session from another machine the stored config may reference MIDI ports that don't exist. In this case the stored config is ignored, all ports are selected, and an error message is issued. Even if you don't get an error, you should always check the MIDI Config, and each panel's output port settings when using a session saved on another computer. For example, MIDI out port 1 refers to the MIDI header out on a Tahiti card, but port 1 is the Effects Port on a (Win95) Tropez plus card. The MIDI config may not generate an error since there is a port 1, but panels referring to port 1 aren't going to work.
The final two menu items allow you to customize (or translate ;-) the one-line help messages and dialog box messages that appear in the program. You don't need to ever use these unless you want to change the help text.
Dump Help Mesgs -- Saves all currently active Object Help and dialog box messages in a text file called 'MCPmesgs' in the current MIDI Control Panel Help directory (usually a directory called 'Help' in the MIDI Control Panel base directory). You can use any text editor (e.g. NotePad, WordPad in text mode) to change the text on a line. The name of this file, and the order and number of lines in it, are extremely important and cannot be changed. Note that long messages for dialog boxes contain embedded Carriage Return characters that appear as black boxes in NotePad. Do not delete these characters, just change the text on either side. There is no way to insert these characters from a text editor.
Load Help Mesgs -- When checked, this causes the text file called MCPmesgs in the current Help directory to be loaded and used for one-help and dialog box messages. When unchecked, the factory default help messages are loaded and used. The state (checked/unchecked) of this menu item is saved during session saves. There is no point in checking this item unless you have made changes to the default help messages.
Note that these last two menu items apply only to the one-line help messages that appear in the MCP status bar, or the occasional dialog box error/information messages that appear during normal operation. They have nothing to do with the text that appears in the Help Viewer Panel, which can also be edited. See the Help Viewer topic for details.
