About Sound Mapper

About Sound Mapper

Configuring a Driver

Getting More Information About a Driver

Changing the Priority of a Driver

Disabling a Driver

Choosing a Preferred Device


About Sound Mapper

Sound Mapper is an application that displays a list of installed drivers and identifies the current priority assigned to each one.

To start the Sound Mapper from the Control Panel, double-click its icon. Sound Mapper displays the Sound Mapper Configuration dialog box.

The Sound Mapper Configuration dialog box includes the following fields and controls:

Sound Mapper Drivers group. This list identifies the drivers that are currently installed. The drivers are sorted by priority. When an application needs to play or record audio data, the system uses the first driver it finds available that supports the audio data to be processed. Priority determines the order in which the system polls drivers to see if they are available.

Configure button. You can configure some drivers through the Sound Mapper Configuration dialog box. If the currently selected driver doesnt support configuration through the dialog box, the Configure button is grayed. If the Configure button is not gray, choosing it displays the Driver Configuration dialog box. The contents of the Driver Configuration dialog box varies depending on the selected driver.

About button. Choosing this button displays information about the currently selected driver, such as the version number of the driver.

Priority button. Choosing this button displays the Priority dialog box. From the Priority dialog box, you can change the priority of an installed driver, or you can disable the currently selected driver.

Sound Device Preferences group. The boxes in this group identify the default devices to be used for playing and recording sounds. Clicking the arrow in either box displays a list of available devices.

Use Preferred Devices Only checkbox. If you select this checkbox, the system will only use the devices indicated in the Playback and Recording boxes for playing and recording sounds. If the designated device is not available (for example, already in use) when an application needs it, you will receive an error.


Configuring a Driver

You can configure some drivers from the Sound Mapper Configuration property sheet. Not all drivers support this option. If the selected driver does not support this option, the Configure button is not available.

To configure a driver that supports this option:

1.	From the Sound Mapper Drivers list, select the driver.

2.	Choose the Configure button.

The settings in the Configure Driver dialog box will vary depending on the driver you choose. For more information, see the documentation that came with the driver.


Getting More Information About a Driver

The About dialog box tells you the full name of the driver and the version you have installed. In addition, the dialog box provides a brief description of what the driver does.

To get more information about a driver:

1.	In the Sound Mapper Drivers list, select the driver.

2.	Choose the About button.

3.	To return to the Sound Mapper Configuration property sheet, choose OK.


Changing the Priority of a Driver

When an application requests a sound driver, the system searches the available drivers and uses the first one it finds that meets the needs of the application. The priority of installed drivers indicates the order in which the system searches the available drivers. The system first determines the status of the priority 1 driver, then the priority 2 driver, and so on until an available driver is found.

To change the priority of a driver:

1.	From the Sound Mapper Drivers list, select the driver whose priority you want to change.

2.	Choose the Priority button. The Priority dialog box appears.

3.	From the Priority dialog box, choose the new priority you want to assign to the driver.

When you change the priority, Sound Mapper automatically renumbers the priorities of other drivers to avoid conflicts. For example, assume drivers A, B, C, and D have priorities 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. If you change the priority of driver D from 4 to 2, Sound Mapper changes the priorities of drivers B and C to 3 and 4.

4.	To return to the Sound Mapper Configuration property sheet, choose OK.


Disabling a Driver

Disabling a driver means Sound Mapper won't consider it when a driver is needed by an application. However, the driver is not removed from your hard disk.

To disable a driver:

1.	From the Sound Mapper Drivers list, select the driver you want to disable.

2.	Choose the Priority button. The Priority dialog box appears.

3.	From the Priority dialog box, select the Disable Converter check box.

4.	To return to the Sound Mapper Configuration property sheet, choose OK.

After you have disabled a driver, you must enable it before you can use it. To enable a driver, clear the Disable Converter check box in the Priority dialog box.


Choosing a Preferred Device

You can specify the device to use for playback or recording of sounds. The Sound Device Preferences section of the Sound Mapper Configuration property sheet shows the current selections.

To specify a preferred device:

1.	From the Sound Mapper Configuration property sheet, click the arrow next to Playback or Recording, depending on which preference you want to set. Sound Mapper displays a list of all available devices.

2.	From the list, choose the device you want to use as the preferred device.

3.	If you only want to use the preferred devices, select the Use Preferred Devices Only check box.

Note: If you select this check box, you will receive an error if the driver is not available (already in use, for example) when an application needs it.


Configuring a Driver

Getting More Information About a Driver

Changing the Priority of a Driver

Disabling a Driver

Choosing a Preferred Device


About Sound Mapper

Getting More Information About a Driver

Changing the Priority of a Driver

Disabling a Driver

Choosing a Preferred Device


About Sound Mapper

Configuring a Driver

Changing the Priority of a Driver

Disabling a Driver

Choosing a Preferred Device


About Sound Mapper

Configuring a Driver

Getting More Information About a Driver

Disabling a Driver

Choosing a Preferred Device


About Sound Mapper

Configuring a Driver

Getting More Information About a Driver

Changing the Priority of a Driver

Choosing a Preferred Device


About Sound Mapper

Configuring a Driver

Getting More Information About a Driver

Changing the Priority of a Driver

Disabling a Driver