
                 SOUND BLASTER PRO LATEST INFORMATION
                 ====================================

This file  contains  information  that is not  available  during the
printing  of  the  manual.  Please  read all the sections before you
proceed with any installation procedure .

This file contains the following sections:

   1. Removal of Microsoft Windows 3.0 support
   2. SBSIM support for MIDI
   3. New commands for MMPLAY
   4. MIDI files
   5. Upgrading of Sound Blaster Pro Mixer for DOS
   6. Expanding of files manually


1. REMOVAL OF MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3.0 SUPPORT

With  the release  of applications and drivers for  Microsoft Windows
3.1, we removed  the  Windows  3.0  software on the disk.  Therefore,
please  ignore  the chapter " Working with Windows ", which documents
Windows 3.0 software, in the Sound Blaster Pro User Reference Manual.
For details on updated programs, refer to the Windows  3.1  for Sound
Blaster Pro User's Guide.


2. SBSIM SUPPORT FOR MIDI

SBSIM  (SB  Simplified  Interface  Module)  has  now  been updated to
include  support  for the MIDI driver SBMIDI. To make use of the MIDI
support, include  a  new section  titled [MIDI] in your configuration
file.  The available keywords,  and  their  default  values,  are  as
follows:

    [Midi]
        BufferSize=32           ; Specifies the size of the buffer
                                ;   to allocate for MIDI files, in
                                ;   Kbytes
        MidiMap=0               ; Specifies the type of MIDI file
                                ;   to be played:
                                ;       0 = General MIDI files
                                ;       1 = Basic MIDI files
                                ;       2 = Extended MIDI files
                                ;   Note that types 1 and 2 are as
                                ;   defined in Multimedia Windows.

Note that you need to load SBMIDI (the Sound Blaster MIDI driver)
before you invoke SBSIM.


The  Music player program, MUSIC.EXE, has also been updated  to  play
MIDI  files.  The command set is the same, except that  the  commands
/REPEAT, /TEMPO, /TRANSPOSE and /WAIT are not available  when playing
MIDI  files. Also, a new command is implemented to allow switching of
MIDI modes.

The resulting command set of MUSIC.EXE is as follows:

    Usage:  MUSIC [ /Q ] option..
        where option is one of:
            /PLAY:filename          +
            /STOP                   +
            /PAUSE                  +
            /CONTINUE               +
            /WAIT:n                 #
            /TEMPO:percentage       #
            /TRANSPOSE:semitone     #
            /REPEAT:count           #
            /MIDIFMT:midiformat     *
                midiformat: GEN, BAS, EXT

      (+ = for CMF and MIDI files, # = for CMF files only,
       * = for MIDI files only)


 IMPORTANT :  USE EITHER SBMIDI OR SBFMDRV DRIVER ONLY (NOT BOTH).


3. NEW COMMANDS FOR MMPLAY

MMPLAY  (Multimedia  Presentation  Player) has now  been  extended to
include the following commands:

.REM

- Adding remarks to the program.  Lines  preceding  with this command
  will not be executed.
      

.PLAYMIDI <MIDI filename> [Extended] | [Basic] | [General <DrmChnl>]

- Playing  MIDI files with  the MIDI file type specified.  Default is
  type  Extended.  If  type  specified  is General, DrmChnl indicates
  the  drum  channel  used  ranging from 1  to  16.  Default is 10 if
  DrmChnl is not specified.


4. MIDI FILES

The  MIDI  files in the subdirectory \PLAYMIDI are created to support
the MIDI  MAPPER and  they  comply  fully to the Multimedia PC rules. 
When you use MMJBOX in WINDOWS 3.1 to play these  files, make sure  that
your MIDI MAPPER is set  to  either the SBP2 EXT FM or SBP2 BASIC  FM.   
Using it  with SBP2 ALL FM will cause the song to  sound "cluttered".

For  the  PLAYMIDI.EXE  program, you have to use the /FMT switch when
you play these MIDI files. For example:

       PLAYMIDI   Midifile  /FMT:Extended
   or  PLAYMIDI   Midifile  /FMT:Basic.


Refer to the manual for more information on MIDI file format and MIDI
Mapper.


5. UPGRADING OF SOUND BLASTER PRO MIXER FOR DOS

We  have  upgraded  the  mixer (SBP-MIX.EXE) described in the chapter
"Voice Utilities" of the Sound Blaster Pro User Reference Manual.


There are two changes in this version compared to the earlier version:

(a) The < Stereo on/off >  option  is  now removed.  This function is
    controlled directly by the software drivers.

(b) A new feature has been added:

      <Hidden mode on/off> : Default is ON.

      With the  Hidden mode set to ON, the user  can  control all the
      volumes from the keyboard in the background - without poping up
      to mixer screen.

      To control the volume, use the key combinations of

                   CTRL+ALT+u   - for volume increase
      and          CTRL+ALT+d   - for volume decrease

      To togle on/off the sound output use the key combinations of

                   CTRL+ALT+q

      To select the channel in-order to control its  volume, use  the
      key combinations of

                   CTRL+ALT+m   -  for Master
                   CTRL+ALT+l   -  for Line
                   CTRL+ALT+f   -  for FM
                   CTRL+ALT+c   -  for CD
                   CTRL+ALT+v   -  for VOC
                   CTRL+ALT+i   -  for Mic


   The pop up mode is still working in the same way as before.


6. EXPANDING OF FILES MANUALLY

To  expand  files  manually,  run  the   LHARC.EXE  program  ( found on
the "Sound Blaster Pro Disk #1" disk) on  any .LZH file.  For example, to
expand INST-DRV.EXE from the  PROGRAM.LZH  file on Drive A, type:

        LHARC x A:PROGRAM.LZH INST-DRV.EXE

This places INST-DRV.EXE onto the current drive or directory (assumes
LHARC.EXE is already in the current drive or directory).


   
( Note: LHARC.EXE is a File-Compression program copyrighted by
        Haruyasu Yoshizaki. )

                  *********  End of README  *********
