_______________________________________________ .___ . |Program: DeskTracker MultiTask | // //| |Type: Accessory | || || | |Version: 1.11 | || || /\_ |Distribution: SHAREWARE | _/|| ||\_ /| |System: STe/TT/Falcon; | |_/ |_| \_|/ | TOS/MiNT or MultiTOS; | | any screen rez | | 1Mb+ recommended | |Last update: 27th June 1993 | |Written by: David Oakley | | | |Copyright ½1992,1993 ASTRAsoft | | | |Purpose: Play ProTracker modules in | | the background with animated | | graphic display of tune. | ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Based on a NoiseTracker player routine written by Wizzcat in 1991, DeskTracker and the current version (DeskTracker MT) are designed to play MOD files on any machine with PCM sound chip. NOTE: ON SOME MACHINES AND SETUPS THE COMPLICATED NATURE OF DeskTracker'S MODULE PLAYER MAY CAUSE A CRASH IF EXPOSED TO TOO HEAVY WORKLOAD DURING HIGH-SPEED PLAYBACK. EXPERIMENT FOR A WHILE BEFORE DOING IMPORTANT THINGS WHILE RUNNING DeskTracker!!!!! ============================================================================ __________________________ / CHANGES TO LAST RELEASE / please read if you're upgrading... ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ o There is now no ATRAK.PRG/DTMTTRAK.PRG in the AUTO folder o DTMT.INF is now DESKTRAK.INF, different file format o DTMT.ACC is now DESKTRAK.ACC. o New version of RUN_MOD.PRG. ============================================================================ ___________________ / This program is / / SHAREWARE! / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ DeskTracker has taken a lot of work by an overstressed university student! If you like this program, please do send a donation. I will try to reply to all mail within a month, even if it's just a postcard to say I'm getting round to it. The address is... David Oakley 6 Watlands Road Bignall End Stoke On Trent ST7 8QQ England If you register for œ5 sterling, you get... o The current version of DeskTracker with all the trimmings left on o Versions of the Tracker-player used in DeskTracker which can be included as object files in your Lattice-C or GFABASIC-3 compiled programs or as a stand-alone program to provide the facilities to interpreted GFA-3 or other languages o Put on our mailing list ready for when I finish my MOD-Editor later this summer (1993). It will work in any GEM mode with at least a 640 pixel wide screen and will be fully MultiTOS compatible or runnable as an accessory with all the background playing features you've seen in DeskTracker! Please make all cheques payable to David Oakley and in sterling only. For international registrations, you must send travellers cheques, sterling cheques or cash, preferably by registered post. When registering please state which model of Atari you have and which monitor you use. Also mention which version of DeskTracker you are using at the moment. The MOD Editor mentioned above will be available from... Goodman Enterprises 16 Conrad Close Meir Hay Estate Longton Stoke On Trent ST3 1SW ENGLAND ============================================================================ ________________ / Compatibility / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ DeskTracker will only run on an ST compatible that supports Atari's PCM sound which was first introduced on the STe. We have | tested DtMt on an 1040STe, Mega/STe 4 and a Falcon. Falcon | compatability has just been added, though we haven't been able to | try it... Donations of one Atari Falcon would be appreciated! DeskTracker has been tested on a Mega/STe 4 running MultiTOS without memory protection, though I cannot garrantee that it will run on an 030 version of MiNT. ============================================================================ ____________ / The files / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ In this package (archive or folder) you should find the following files: | DESKTRAK.ACC Can also be run as a program. There is now no need | for an AUTO folder program, which was needed in | earlier versions. | DESKTRAK.INF Automatically created when using the Save button | the Options page. ** registered version only ** DESKTRAK.TXT This file | RUN_MOD.APP For MultiTOS only! Install this with application | type .MOD and then double-clicking MOD files will | automatically add them to DeskTracker's memory | list and begin playing. ============================================================================ __________________ / Getting started / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | Just copy DESKTRAK.ACC into the root of your boot drive (e.g. A:\ | or C:\). ============================================================================ ____________ / Operation / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ DeskTracker is designed to work just like a real CD player. Well, it works like mine does! It has two main modes of operation: normal and memory. When in Memory mode, several of the buttons have different meanings, usually when no MOD is being played. In the list below, shortcut keys are in square brackets (eg. [L] ). Click on the menu item 'DeskTracker MT' in the File menu. The DeskTracker window will appear: ________________________________________ |X| DeskTracker MT 1.1 |O| |----------------------------------------| |_____________________________|OPTIONS|ii| | ____________________ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ|~~| || /\ | [] | |> || 00 | ASTRAsoft | ||====|====|====||----| ______________|12| || << | || | >> ||<=> ||MEM |ADD |RAND|25| | ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ|50| ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ What the buttons do: Button Display Description Close If in Accessory mode, closes the window but keep playing. [Undo] If in Program mode, stops playing and quits the program. Full Iconises DeskTracker to a very small window. All keyboard shortcuts still work and operation continues as normal. Useful for MultiTOS. ______ Load | /\ | Load and start a new NoiseTracker MODule. If you press [L] | == | Cancel on the fileselector then the current tune is ÿÿÿÿÿÿ erased from memory and the memory is freed. Note that if you load a song within an application when not running MultiTOS you should NOT exit the program until you have ejected the song, due to memory allocation restrictions. Use the [Clr] key to simply eject a song. ______ Stop | |ÿÿ| | Stop the currently playing song, but don't erase it [S] | |__| | from memory. Reset pointers to start of song. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Play | |\ | Play the current song from the current position. If any [Spc] | |/ | other program has stoped DeskTracker, this will restart ÿÿÿÿÿÿ the tune from where it was stopped. _______ Pause | |ÿ|ÿ| | Stop the currently playing song, but remember where [P] | |_|_| | we were so play restarts from this point. ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Rewind | /|/| | Move the play position back by one section [->] | \|\| | ÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Fast | /|/| | Move the play position forward by one section Forward | \|\| | [<-] ÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Add to | ADD | Select a MOD file and add it to the end of the memory | | playlist. Alternatively you can specify a set of files, [+] ÿÿÿÿÿÿ using *.MOD, A*.MOD, *.* etc. ______ Repeat | +->+ | Toggles whether the MOD file will repeat once it [R] | +<-+ | has reached the end. DtMt will even trap those MOD ÿÿÿÿÿÿ files which will normally always loop! _______ Options|OPTIONS| Opens the Options screen, where you can change various [HELP] ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ options. See below... ___ Oscillo |\/\| Opens the oscilloscope window. [O] ÿÿÿ ___ Anim |III| Opens the animation window and then toggles between [A] ÿÿÿ the three representations. __ Frequency |12| These buttons select what the output frequency of the Selectors |25| player is through the STe's PCM sound generator. Higher [1..3] |50| Higher frequency means better quality but more processor ÿÿ time. 50 will lock an 8MHz computer!!! Clear [ClrHome] This button is only available as a keyboard shortcut. It stops playing and wipes the current song from memory, effectively like clicking Cancel on the Load fileselector. ______________ / Memory Mode / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Once the ADD function has been used to move into Memory mode, several of the buttons change: Button Display Description ______ Eject | /\ | Stops and unloads the current song, and resets to [L] | == | the start of the playlist. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Stop | |ÿÿ| | Stops and unloads the currently playing song. [S] | |__| | ÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Play | |\ | Plays the current song from the current position. [Spc] | |/ | Loads the current song if it is not in memory. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ _______ Pause | |ÿ|ÿ| | Stop the currently playing song, but remember where [P] | |_|_| | we were so play restarts from this point. ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Rewind | /|/| | Rewind through the current song if PLAYing [<-] | \|\| | or move to the previous song in the playlist. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Fast | /|/| | Speed forward through the current song if PLAYing Forward | \|\| | or move to the next song in the playlist. [<-] ÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Memory | MEM | Shown depressed when songs are in memory On | | Click to deselect and clear the memory [M] ÿÿÿÿÿÿ ______ Repeat | +->+ | Toggles whether the playlist will repeat once all [R] | +<-+ | songs have been played. Songs will never repeat when ÿÿÿÿÿÿ in Memory mode. ______ Random | RAND | Play items in the playlist in a random order. Currently play | | tracks may repeated before all tracks have played. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Effectively turns on Repeat mode. ============================================================================ _________________ / Options Dialog / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ This page allows various features of DeskTracker to be customised. If your version allows the setup to be saved, all of these parameters will be reloaded next time you run DeskTracker or boot the computer with it as an accessory. The buttons and fields are as follows: ______ | Show | ÿÿÿÿÿÿ This is an alternative way of starting the Spectrum and Oscilloscope windows. _____________ |Size: 300x 50| ** registered version only ** ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Sets the size of the windows. When the Options screen is exited, DeskTracker will try to convert them into reasonable sizes, so the real sizes of the windows will vary considerably compared to the value you give. ________________________________ |DeskTracker update rate: 25 ms | ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Sets the amount of time DeskTracker waits before each update of the animation screens and control panel. On standard STe's and when you're not doing much else you will probably want to keep this at 0 or below 50, but on accelerated computers (TT, Falcon, 030 accelerated STe's) it might be a good idea to raise this to over 50 otherwise the animation bars will go up and down too quickly!!! If you are using DeskTracker at the same time as another GEM program, you will notice a considerable increase in system performance if you have a value of 100 or more for the update rate. _________________________________ | MOD Path: D:\AUDIO\MODS | ** registered version only ** ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ This sets up the current path to load songs from. Note that you should only enter the pathname and not a wildcard specification... Entering D:\MODS\*.MOD would make DeskTracker try and look at a path such as D:\MODS\*.MOD\*.MOD which (probably!) wouldn't work... ____________ | ProTracker | ** registered version only ** ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ DeskTracker has the ability to play ProTracker songs, which have extra effects such as fine volume sliding and double beat notes. You may find however that some old NoiseTracker songs will sound wrong, and when this option is off it turns DeskTracker into a NoiseTracker compatible player. ________________ | Default Repeat | ** registered version only ** ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ This sets whether DeskTracker should repeat a song or not when it is in Normal mode. The option sets the default whichtakes effect as the song is loaded, and this is subsequently changed using the Repeat [R] button on the main control panel. _________ | Keys... | ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Brings up a help page which gives a list of all the short-cuts available from the control panel or either animation window. Learn these... They really do speed up operation a lot! ______ | Save | ** registered version only ** ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Saves all the options in the Options page for automatic loading when you next run DeskTracker. Also saves the current playback frequency as default. ________ ________ | Cancel | || OK || ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Reject or accept the changes you've made on this page. ============================================================================ _______________ / Packed songs / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Currently, DeskTracker only supports one type of packed MOD files, and that is Ice packed files created by JAM Packer 4.0. Note that files packed using ICE Packer itself won't work. To use JAM to pack a MOD file you will need to set ICE pack (of any pack rating, it doesn't matter), and then click on where it says Program in the 'File Packer' section to change it to Data. Then pack away! You can select any file extender for the resulting file, DeskTracker won't notice, but it's probably most sensible to put packed files in another folder and keeping the .MOD extender on so that you don't have to keep changing the FileSelector extension. MOD files do take _a_long_time_ to pack, even on a relatively powerful computer. With full compression on, expect a MOD file to still be at least 60% of its original size afterwards. ============================================================================ _____________________________________ / And the thanks and hellos go to... / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ People who helped in the development of the DeskTracker project (whether they knew it or not...!) Fozz, R.T.D., Had, Ian R., Wizzcat, 4-mat, Christophe B., Andrew Scott And the hello list in diplomatically alphabetical order... Ant, Andy-O., Christophe Boyanique, Eric Smith, Fez, Fozz, Had, Ictari, Ian Rae, Jase, Kev, Mike Goodman, Mrs Skidmore, Paul, RTD, Shaunie, Stephe, Stevie, Stov, U4ia, 4-mat several of whom own Amigas, though it's not really their fault. ============================================================================ ______________________ / Contact the author! / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ I'd like to hear from you whether you've found a bug, can suggest any improvements or just plain like the program. I'd especially apreciate it even if you just send me a postcard! I'll try to reply to any mail I get. By email... Send mail to me at D.Oakley-SE1@cs.bham.ac.uk or D.Oakley%uk.co.icl.wins.kid0111@pipex.co.uk or send your mail to Graham Harrision at: u2e32@keele.ac.uk if you're sending mail from abroad and this doesn't work, you may need to go via a gateway. Ask your system administrator for info. By post... or David Oakley Graham Harrison 6 Watlands Road 353 Heathcote Road Bignall End Halmerend Stoke On Trent ST7 8QQ Stoke On Trent ST7 8BH England England ============================================================================ ________________ / Warranty Free / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Sorry, but this software comes with absolutely no warranty, other than that enforced by law in your country. ASTRAsoft takes no responsability as to the suitability of use of this software on your system or in your particular circumstances. The author is not responsible for any damages that may occur as a result of use or missuse of this software, or inaccuracies in this manual. ============================================================================ _________________________ / A Note to Distributors / ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Please do not include this disk on any Public Domain/Shareware library disk without the explicit permission of ASTRAsoft. We like to ensure that libraries have the most up-to-date versions of our products and so if you let one of us know we'll send you the latest versions as they come out. Send a letter by post or email explaining who you are, what your address is and which products you have got at the moment. We will then send you a reply by either of these means... once that has happened you can put it on a disk! Formally, DeskTracker or any other ASTRAsoft SHAREWARE product may not be included on any PD/shareware library disk or magazine cover disk without the permission of the ASTRAsoft partnership. See ya! David. [26th June 1993]