WinWav Help

What is WinWav?

WinWav Setup...

Hints and Troubleshooting


General
General Information

WinWav is an application that allows you to associate and attach sounds to applications and events in Microsoft Windows.  Any application can be specified by module, such as WINFILE.EXE, or by the title that the main window of the application is created with, as in "File Manager".  WinWav will allow you to attach any valid .WAV sound to various events that occur for an application.  These events include application start and exit, and general window manipulation events including moving, sizing, minimizing, maximizing and restoring the application's window(s).

WinWav will also let you attach sounds to your PC's system Clock.  Sounds may be attached to (played at) each hour of the day as well as each quarter hour.  The standard Windows System events can also be set up from WinWav.

WinWav can also be configured to choose sounds for you at random.  There are four different Random Modes that can be applied to events.


WinWav Setup

Click on a control below for help on that control.


Hints and Troubleshooting

When WinWav is loaded, it looks for its configuration information in its .INI file (WINWAV.INI placed in the Windows directory by default).  If it does not find the ini file, the WinWav Setup... dialog box is automatically brought up to allow you to configure sounds.  When you click on the OK button in the setup dialog, all configured information is saved to the .INI file.  You can specify a path and .INI filename other than the default on the command line when you load WinWav.  (For example: c:\winwav\winwav.exe c:\winwav\mywinwav.ini)

The key to how and when WinWav determines that an application has begun is centered around the application's window.  Some applications create their windows with empty titles, and then set them before they appear on the display.  Likewise, some applications have their windows created by a module or DLL other than the module you select to execute.  This can cause WinWav to 'miss' an application that you have specified during Setup and attach the default sounds to it instead.  Other applications do not exit windows in a clean fashion which may cause WinWav to 'miss' and application's termination and fail to play the exit sound.

Some applications start server applications or create hidden windows before creating their main window, which WinWav may interpret as a default application starting.  This may cause WinWav to play a portion (or all) of the default application's start sound, followed by the application's specified start sound.  There are a couple of methods to avoid this problem.  You can leave the default start sound specification empty, or If you have a relatively fast machine, you can choose a default start sound that has a small amount of silence at the start.  This will give the application time to create its main window, and WinWav will then recognize it as a specified application.

At any time, you can cause WinWav to 'Re-Initialize' itself with all currently executing applications simply by bringing up the Setup... dialog box and pressing the OK button.  WinWav will then attach sounds based on the current window titles and modules that are running at that time.  Note that this may cause a conflict for DOS applications that have been specified by title.  Remember that a DOS application will be created with the window title specified in the application's .PIF file, which may be different than the title of the window when it is displayed on the screen.  If you have any active DOS applications whose .PIF titles differ from the title shown on the icon in the Program Manager, WinWav may 'miss' the currently running DOS app.  The best way to ensure stability is to specify the same window title in the application's .PIF file as is specified in the icon shown in the Program Manager.

If you have an application that you wish to have NO sounds attached to, simply add the application to the Application Modules list, and leave all of its events blank.

You can stop any sound that WinWav is playing simply by clicking in the upper left corner of the Desktop.

WinWav was designed mainly for PC's that are able to play asynchronous sounds.  Although it will work with PC's that do not have asynchronous sound capability, you may notice some sound duplications during certain events.


Directory (Application Modules)

This is the current drive and path reflected by the Application Modules Files, Directories, and Drives list boxes.


Application Modules
Application Modules Drop Down List box

This drop down list box (or combo box) contains the list of applications to which WinWav will attach sounds.  The first three entries, System, Clock and default, are always present in this list.  They can not be removed.  All other applications that you add to WinWav via Add Module or Specify Title will be listed below these two.  When you change selection in this list box, the Event Sound File edit box will update to reflect the sound to be played for the application event currently selected in the Event Listbox.  The Event Listbox list box will also update to reflect the list of events available and the Random Modes applied to each event.

System

This item lets you modify the Windows System event sounds.  The sound events listed in the Event Sound File edit box are the same events that appear in the Sound dialog of the Control Panel.

Clock

This item does not represent the CLOCK.EXE application, but instead allows you to play sounds at certain times based on the system clock.  You will notice that the Event list box changes its contents when this item is selected to reflect the clock events that you may attach sounds to.  The first four events, Hourly, 15 Min. past the hour, 30 Min. past the hour, and 45 Min. past the hour, will work exactly like quarterly chimes.  The rest of the events reflect each hour of the day.  For example, at 1:15, 2:15, 3:15, etc., the sound specified in the Event Sound File edit box for 15 Min. past the hour will be played.  At 4:00 pm, the Hourly sound will be played, followed by the 4 pm sound.

default

This item represents any application that is not specified in the applications drop down list box.  For example, if you do not have NOTEPAD.EXE specified in the applications drop down list box, the sounds specified for the default application events will be played when NOTEPAD.EXE is executed.  Note that the default start sound may be played inadvertently by applications whose launching sequence involves starting other applications or creating title-less windows before creating its main window.  See the Hints and Troubleshooting section for more information on this.


Remove

This button will remove the application currently shown in the Application Modules drop down list box.  Note that System, Clock and default can not be removed.


Add Module

This button will add the currently selected application module in the Files (Application Modules) list box to the Application Modules drop down list box.


Specify Title

This button allows you to specify an application to attach sounds to based on the title of the main window created by that application when it is launched.  When you press this button, a small dialog box appears that allows you to type in a string (up to 31 characters) to be searched for in the window title.  The string is case sensitive, but does not have to include the full title.  For example, the string "Manager" will match both "File Manager" and "Print Manager".  If you specify two strings that appear in the same window title, the string nearest the end of the list (the most recently added string) will match.  For example, if you specify "File Manager" and then specify "File", the sounds attached to "File" will be played when the File Manager is executed.

For DOS applications, this method of specifying applications is very useful.  Simply specify the title that appears in the "Window Title" section of the DOS programs .PIF file.  Note that this title can be different than the title that appears on the icon for the application in the Program Manager, which is also the title used for the window when the window appears.  To work properly, you must use the title that is specified in the .PIF file.  If you want different sounds for different instances of the same DOS program, simply copy its .PIF file, change the title in the .PIF file, and add it to one of your Program Manager groups.  Then specify the new title in WinWav, attach your desired sounds, and you're all set.


Files (Application Modules)

This list box lists ALL files in the current Application Modules drive and directory.  You can add an application module to the Application Modules drop down list box either by selecting a file in this list box and pressing the Enter key or the Add Module button, or simply by double-clicking on the filename in this list box.

Note That this list box shows all files, not just .EXE files.  This is because some applications have their main window created by a module other than a .EXE file, such as the Windows Screen Savers (SSFLYWIN.SCR, SSMARQUE.SCR, etc.)


Directories (Application Modules)

This list box lists any directories found in the current Application Modules drive and directory.  You can change the current directory by selecting the desired directory and pressing the Enter key or simply by double-clicking on the directory name.


Drives (Application Modules)

This drop down list box contains the list of drives available on your PC.  The selected drive reflects the current Application Modules drive.  You can change the current drive simply by selecting a different drive from this list box.


Directory (Sound)

This is the current drive and path reflected by the Sound Files, Directories, and Drives list boxes.


Event Sound File Edit Box

This edit box specifies the sound that will be played upon the currently selected event in the Event Listbox below for the currently selected application (or Clock) in the Application Modules drop down list box.  If the Random Mode for the currently selected event is Event Occurrence or Application Start, this edit box will be disabled.


Play (Sound File Edit Box)

This button will play the sound specified in the Event Sound File edit box.  If the Random Mode for the currently selected event is Event Occurrence or Application Start, the sound that was last chosen for the None or WinWav Start random modes will be played.


Event List box

This list box contains events to which WinWav will attach and play sounds for.  When System is selected in the Application Modules list box, the event list box will contain the standard Windows System events.  When Clock is selected in the Application Modules list box, the event list box will contain event names for quarter-hour sounds and for each hour of the day.  For applications (including default), the list box contains events that let you play sounds when the application starts, exits, is minimized, restored, maximized, moved, and sized.

System	Clock	Application

As you change selection in the list box, you will notice that the Event Sound File edit box changes to reflect the sound to be played for that event.

Each event can have a Random Mode applied to it.  The random modes are color coded and an event's random mode can be identified by matching the color of the event name to the color of the random mode name in the random mode drop down list.  (Note that certain random modes can not be applied to certain events.)  You can change the random mode of an event by selecting the event and then selecting a new random mode from the random mode drop down list.  You can also double-click on the event to cycle through the allowed random modes for the selected event.  If you want a particular random mode to be set for all events in the selected application, click the Apply To All Events button.

How do I attach a sound to an event?

You can attach a sound to an event by first selecting the event in the Event List box and then selecting the sound in the Files (Sound) list box and clicking the Assign button or by simply double-clicking on the sound filename in the Files (Sound) list box.  You can also place the cursor (click) in the Event Sound File edit box and type in the sound filename, including the full path name, as long as the current random mode is not Event Occurrence or Application Start.  If the current random mode is Event Occurrence or Application Start and you assign a sound to the event with the Assign button or by double-clicking in the Files list box, the random mode will be set to None.


Assign

This button assigns (or attaches) the currently selected sound in the Files (Sound) list box to the currently selected event in the Event Listbox.


Files (Sound)

This list box lists .WAV files in the current Application Modules drive and directory.  You can add a sound filename (including path) to the Event Sound File Edit Box by selecting a file in this list box and pressing the Enter key or the Assign button, or simply by double-clicking on the filename.


Play (Sound File list box)

This button will play the sound specified in the Files (Sound) list box.


Directories (Sound)

This list box lists any directories found in the current Sound drive and directory.  You can change the current directory by selecting the desired directory and pressing the Enter key or simply by double-clicking on the directory name.


Drives (Sound)

This drop down list box contains the list of drives available on your PC.  The selected drive reflects the current Sound drive.  You can change the current drive simply by selecting a different drive from this list box.


Random Mode

This drop down list box contains the list of Random Sound selection modes available for the currently selected application.  The currently selected random mode is applied to the currently selected event in the Event Listbox. There are four different Random Modes that may be applied to events.  Each different mode is color coded to help identity which mode is applied to each different event.

The first Random Mode, None, means that the sound chosen for the event will not be random.  You must select a sound for the event (if one is desired), and the selected sound will always be played when the event occurs.  This mode is the default and can be applied to all events.

The second Random Mode, WinWav Start, means that WinWav will select a random sound for the event when WinWav starts.  The selected sound will then be played when the event occurs and will not change as long as WinWav is running.  To select new random sounds for events that have this mode, simply close WinWav and then restart it.  This mode can be applied to all events.

The third Random Mode, Event Occurrence, means that a random sound will be played each time the event occurs.  This mode can not be applied to Windows System events, since WinWav is not responsible for playing the System Sounds.

The fourth Random Mode, Application Start, means that a random sound will be chosen for the event when the selected application starts.  This mode is similar to Event Occurrence with the exception that the Minimize, Restore, Maximize, Move, and Size Window sounds will not change for an application once the application has started.  For example, if an application has the Application Start random mode applied to Minimize Window, a random sound will be chosen for Minimize Window when the application starts, and the sound chosen will be played each time the window is minimized, as long as that particular instance of the application is running.  If you close the application and restart it or if you start a second instance of the same application, a new random sound will be chosen for Minimize Window for only the new instance.  Note that applying this mode to Application Start and Application Exit have the same effect as applying Event Occurrence, since those events only happen once for an application.  This mode cannot be applied to Clock or System Sound events since they are not applications.

Random sounds are chosen from a list of Random Sound Directories.  You can configure the Random Sound Directories via the Random Setup dialog box.


Apply To All Events

This button applies the currently selected Random Mode to all events for the currently selected application.


Random Setup Button

This button brings up the Random Setup dialog box.


OK

This button closes the WinWav Setup dialog box and saves all changes made.  It also 'Re-Initializes' WinWav with all currently running applications.


Cancel

This button closes the WinWav Setup dialog box and discards any changes made.  No 'Re-Initialization' is done.


Help

This button loads WINWAV.HLP into WINHELP.EXE.


Random Setup

Click on a control below for help on that control.


Directory (Random Setup)

This is the current drive and path reflected by the Random Setup Directories and Drives list boxes.  Note that the path includes the currently selected directory in the Random Setup Directories list box (unless the selected directory is "[..]").


Waveform Directories List

This list box contains the list of directories WinWav will scan for .WAV sound files for random sound selection.  Each time you click OK on the WinWav Setup... dialog box, WinWav will compile a list of .WAV files it finds by scanning each of the directories listed in this list box.  This list of files is then used when random sounds are selected.  (WinWav will not recursively search subdirectories for .WAV files.)

To add a directory to this list, simply select the directory in using Random Setup Directories list box and Random Setup Drives drop down list, and click on the Add button.  If the directory already exists in Waveform Directories List, it will be scrolled into view (if necessary) and selected.

To Remove a directory from this list, simply select the directory in the Waveform Directories List and click on the Remove button.


Remove (Random Setup)

This button will remove the currently selected Random Sound Directory from the Waveform Directories List list box.


Add (Random Setup)

This button will add the directory shown by the Directory: item to the Waveform Directories List list box.


Directories (Random Setup)

This list box lists any directories found in the current Random Setup Drives drop down list.  The Directory: item will update to reflect the currently selected directory in this list box when you change the selection (unless the selection is "[..]").  You can change to the selected directory by selecting the desired directory and pressing the Enter key or simply by double-clicking on the directory name.


Drives (Random Setup)

This drop down list box contains the list of drives available on your PC.  The selected drive reflects the current Random Setup drive.  You can change the current drive simply by selecting a different drive from this list box.