@database 683f18a0-0 @master Drivel:Docs/BeatBox2.guide @$VER: Beatbox 2 Guide v1.0 @author "James L Boyd & Curt Esser" @(c) "1998" @help "Help" @index Main @remark Created with Heddley v1.1 (c) Edd Dumbill 1994 @node "Main" "BeatBox 2" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}BeatBox 2@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} - @{i}Music Doesn't Get Any Easier! @{ui} By @{b}James L Boyd@{ub} & @{b}Curt Esser@{ub} (c) 1998 @{" Introduction   " link "Introduction" 0} What is this? @{" Copyright, etc " link "Copyright" 0} Legal Drivel @{" Requirements   " link "Requirements" 0} What do I need? @{" Installation   " link "Installation" 0} How to install/configure BeatBox 2 @{" Usage          " link "Usage" 0} How to use BeatBox 2 @{" Shareware      " link "Shareware" 0} Cheap! Easy! Credit cards! @{" Credits        " link "Credits" 0} Whodunnit? @{" Problems/Notes " link "Notes" 0} "Special Features" and comments @{" Website/News   " link "WWW" 0} Visit us on the Internet! What's new? @endnode @node "Introduction" "Introduction" Welcome to @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}BeatBox 2@{ub}@{bg back} @{fg text}! This is an easy-to-use music program,allowing four tracks of samples to be used and everything controlled using buttons and menus (no nasty hex numbers here!). Note that it's never going to even approach OctaMED or Bars and Pipes for functionality (!) - it's mostly for people who want to make music and can't figure out/can't be bothered with complicated trackers :) The unregistered version is save-disabled,but it's very cheap,and easy to register! You can order by credit card if you wish. See the @{"Shareware" link "Shareware" 0} section for details. @{"Features" link "Features" 0} This section tells you what BeatBox 2 can do. @{"Getting Started" link "Start" 0} This is a short introduction to beginning writing your own music with BeatBox 2. @{"Comments,questions,etc" link "Comments" 0} Tell us what you think,after reading this! @{"History" link "History" 0} How it all started. @endnode @node "Copyright" "Copyright" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Copyright@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} @{b}BeatBox 2@{ub} © 1998 James L Boyd & Curt Esser This program is the copyright work of James L Boyd and Curt Esser. This shareware version may be freely distributed, but the registered keyfiles must not be copied for anyone other than the person who bought it. For registration details,see @{"Shareware" link "Shareware" 0}. @{b}@{fg shine}Disclaimer@{ub}@{fg text} @{i}This software will probably destroy your Amiga! @{ui} There,that should cover us ;) No responsibility accepted for damage to your equipment.Or you. We've tested it endlessly,and so have many others - so it should be OK! @endnode @node "Requirements" "Requirements" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Requirements@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} Now you're asking... Well,in theory you need: 1) An Amiga (no!) 2) Kickstart 2.0+ (hmm,it works on 3.0+,definitely ;) 3) At least 1 Mb RAM (make sure you have AT LEAST 200k of chip memory when you start,and even then,it's close!) 4) Reqtools.library (actually,I'm not sure if this is needed) 5) Er,some samples? Anyone with a reasonably up-to-date setup will be fine. NOTE - @{fg shine}if you want to start from a no startup-sequence@{fg text} boot-up to save chip memory,you have to @{fg shine}run setpatch first@{fg text},and Online Help won't work because Multiview needs its datatypes and stuff loaded! @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Recommended@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} Not really needed, but useful: 1) @{b}RexxMaster@{ub} up and running (if you want the online help). Note that the online help will still work without it, but you'll have to close the MultiView window yourself when the program ends. Also, it will be possible (by clicking Help or using the menu or hotkey) to wind up with 2 or more copies of MultiView running on the screen! (cuz without RexxMaster, we don't know how to tell if it's running or not). 2) @{b}MagicMenus@{ub} (maybe it's just me, but I think the standard menus are pretty bad, and the Blitz menus even worse!). 3) @{b}MagicTV@{ub} does a great job of reducing interlace flicker on screens with less than 16 colours,and I (james) use it to run BeatBox 2 comfortably on my TV in Hi-Res Laced mode.Great little program! 4) Although BeatBox 2 doesn't support powerpacked samples directly, you can get them to load by using @{b}MCP@{ub}'s crunch preferences,and I think it will work with stuff like PP (PowerpackerPatch) as well. With MCP,run the prefs program,double-click on CrunchPatch,click on "Add" and type the name "beatbox2" (without the quotes) into the string gadget at the bottom of the resulting window.Make sure that the PowerPacker checkbox is checked,and then Save your prefs.You should now be able to use your powerpacked samples! The other crunchers supported by MCP should work too,but this is untested (try it - BeatBox 2 will just complain if it doesn't like it!). MagicTV and MagicMenus are on Aminet,RexxMast is on the Workbench disks (usually Sys:System). We'd like to express our appreciation to the authors of these excellent programs.May you never be forced to buy a Windoze box :) @endnode @node "Installation" "Installation & Configuration" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Installation@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} Installation is easy! Just drag the "BeatBox2" drawer to any place on your hard drive. @{b}@{fg shine}NEW@{ub}@{fg text} - if you are not a native English speaker,you can now use @{b}Locale@{ub} to put BeatBox 2 into the language of your choice (French and English catalogs are provided,German is possibly on the way). Double-click the @{b}Install_Language@{ub} icon to choose your preferred language (your Workbench has to be set to this language for Locale support to work,but then,I guess it will be anyway...). No assigns are needed. BeatBox 2 may screw up if you remove files from the archive, so be careful! DO NOT rename or remove the BeatBox2 icon from the main drawer! Even if you run BeatBox2 from the cli, the icon is necessary - your prefs are stored on it, and the program won't run if it is missing! Also, DO NOT remove or rename the prefs program! It should NOT be put in SYS:prefs/ or anywhere except the BeatBox2 drawer. It is OK to remove its icon if you only want to use it when the program is running. It is safe to remove: The title pic from the main drawer (BB2.title) if you don't want to see it when the program starts, or if you have an ECS-only system. If you only need English support,you can delete the entire BeatBox2/catalogs drawer, as English is built-in (the catalog is still provided,as it is sometimes necessary,depending on how you have Locale set up on your system (eg,if you have more than one "Preferred Language" selected). You can remove any unused icons from the icons drawer - but DO NOT remove the drawer itself! NOTE: if you remove or rename the "Project" icon from the icons drawer, BeatBox2 can NOT save icons with your projects. You can safely remove the BeatBox.15 font from the fonts drawer if you don't want to use it. But DON'T remove the Iconfont or you won't get any icons for your samples! You can also move either (or both) of the fonts to your main FONTS: assign if you want to use them for other programs. But DON'T remove the fonts drawer, even if it is empty! @{b}@{fg shine}Configuration@{ub}@{fg text} When you first start BeatBox 2,you'll get a title screen,upon which the prefs window will appear (note to power-users : you're stuck with Topaz.font here!).You can select a screenmode (the defaults are PAL - Hi-Res Laced 640x512 8 colours and NTSC - Hi-Res Laced 640x400 8 colours),and a font,both via standard requesters. You can also select the GUI you prefer : BeatBox 2 has GUIs optimised for PAL or NTSC displays.Just try them out.Although the PAL GUI is too large for the default NTSC size,the screen will autoscroll anyway,so you'll get to use the full GUI. Click OK once you've selected your prefs,or if the defaults are fine by you. @{b}@{fg shine}Tooltypes@{ub}@{fg text} The prefs program actually just saves a list of tooltypes to the BeatBox2 program icon,so you can edit them if you're feeling brave. The ones marked "Don't touch!!!" are not recommended for messing around with! DISPLAYID - Don't touch!!! SCRHEIGHT - Don't touch!!! SCRWIDTH - Don't touch!!! SCRDEPTH - Don't touch!!! OVERSCAN - Don't touch!!! FONT - the chosen font eg. @{b}FONT=Times@{ub} SIZE - size of the chosen font eg. @{b}SIZE=15@{ub} GUI - GUI mode @{b}GUI=PAL / NTSC@{ub} GRAPHICS - graphics rendering mode @{b}GRAPHICS=AGA / RTG / ECS@{ub} FILTER - Filter state on startup @{b}FILTER=ON / OFF@{ub} SAMPLEDIR - default sample directory eg. @{b}SAMPLEDIR=Work:Samples@{ub} If you make a mess of these tooltypes,you can just delete them,and BeatBox 2 will just bring up the prefs next time you start. The rest of the tooltypes are NOT set in the prefs, so you will need to edit them yourself if you want to change them: SAVETOOLTYPES=YES (default) BeatBox saves the current prefs when the program ends. This saves your current sample directory path and filter state. If you don't want this to happen, change this to SAVETOOLTYPES=NO BLOCKLOOP=YES (default) When you click the "Play Block" button, the current block will keep playing till you click "Stop" If you want the block to play only once, the stop automatically set this to: BLOCKLOOP=NO ICONPOPUP=YES (default) Each time you load a new sample, BeatBox will open the icon selection window for you to select an icon for this sample. If you'd rather not have it do this, you can set this to: ICONPOPUP=NO MULTIVIEW_VERSION - Don't touch!!! Only to be set by BeatBox 2! DEFAULT_PROJECT - Insert the name of a project which you want to load automatically on startup.Handy for loading a pre-selected set of instruments every time! You should either give the full path,or the path from the BeatBox2 directory. eg. DEFAULT_PROJECT=Projects/Bad_Example And here are the menu shortcuts. Just type the letter of the key you want to use after the tooltype (remember the = sign) ,eg : MENU_PROJ_NEW=N If you don't want a shortcut for a particular menu item (for example, if you want to use that letter for another item) just delete it. Here's the list (with default shortcuts shown) : @{b}Project menu@{ub} MENU_PROJ_NEW New MENU_PROJ_OPEN Open Project... O MENU_PROJ_SAVE Save As... S MENU_PROJ_NAME Name Project... MENU_PROJ_PREFS Program Prefs P MENU_PROJ_ABOUT About BeatBox 2 A MENU_PROJ_QUIT Quit Q @{b}Sample menu@{ub} MENU_SAMP_KEYBOARD Keyboard Open/Close K MENU_SAMP_LOAD Load Sample... L MENU_SAMP_NAME Rename Sample... R MENU_SAMP_REMOVE Remove Sample Z @{b}Block menu@{ub} MENU_BLOCK_CUT Cut Block X MENU_BLOCK_COPY Copy Block C MENU_BLOCK_PASTE Paste Block V MENU_BLOCK_FILL Fill Block B MENU_BLOCK_NAME Name Block... N @{b}Track menu@{ub} MENU_TRACK_CUT Cut Track , MENU_TRACK_COPY Copy Track . MENU_TRACK_PASTE Paste Track / MENU_TRACK_FILL Fill Track T @{b}Misc menu@{ub} MENU_MISC_DEFPROJ Set Default Project D MENU_MISC_AUTOPLAY Autoplay on loading? U The program will spot any duplicated shortcuts,and remove them. @endnode @node "Usage" "Usage" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Usage@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} (Deep breath) To start with,you may like to try the @{"Getting Started" link "Start" 0} page, for a quick introduction. @{b}@{fg shine}Starting The Program@{ub}@{fg text} BeatBox 2 can be started by Workbench,CLI,or by clicking on a project icon (as long as they are in the Projects drawer, or you've set the project icon (BeatBox2/Icons/Project.info) with the path & "BeatBox2" as the default tool. From CLI,you can add the name of a (ie ONE!) project,eg : @{fg shine}>@{fg text} @{b}BeatBox2 Projects/NumberOneSong@{ub} If you have specified a default project to be automatically loaded on startup,this will be loaded,unless you've supplied a different filename,as detailed above. However,you can supply the keyword "-nofile" to avoid loading the default project.Type : @{fg shine}>@{fg text} @{b}BeatBox2 -nofile@{ub} @{i}Hint - don't call any of your projects "-nofile"@{ui} ;) @{b}@{fg shine}Menu Options@{ub}@{fg text} @{b}Project Menu@{ub} @{b}New@{ub} Will start a new project,after asking if you're sure. @{b}Open Project...@{ub} Clears current project after requesting confirmation,then loads a selected project. @{b}Save As...@{ub} Use this option to save a project.Won't save blank projects. This option is only available to registered users. @{b}Name Project...@{ub} Give your project a name.This name will be used as the default filename when you choose "Save As...",and all spaces will be converted to underscores(_) for the filename. @{b}Program Prefs@{ub} Loads the external prefs program and displays it on the BeatBox 2 screen.You can change all settings while BeatBox 2 is running. @{b}About BeatBox2@{ub} A requester with copyright details,and user details. @{b}Quit@{ub} A requester asking if you want to quit the program. @{b}Sample Menu@{ub} @{b}Keyboard Open/Close@{ub} Opens and closes the keyboard window. @{b}Load Sample...@{ub} Allows you to load any standard,non-packed Amiga sample, smaller than 128k.The program automatically finds a slot in which to place the loaded sample,and you can have up to 99 samples loaded,chip memory allowing. @{b}Rename Sample...@{ub} Allows you to give the sample a new name.Note that this doesn't change the actual filename of the sample,just the sample's name in the program. @{b}Remove Sample@{ub} Allows you to free a sample from memory if it's not in use.You'll get an error requester if the sample's in use in a block. @{b}Block Menu@{ub} @{b}Cut Block@{ub} Cut out the current block,and hold it in a buffer in memory. @{b}Copy Block@{ub} Copy the current block into a buffer in memory. @{b}Paste Block@{ub} Paste the block currently in the memory buffer (after Cutting or Copying a block). @{b}Fill Block@{ub} Fills the current block with the current sample. @{b}Name Block...@{ub} Gives the block a new name.This is recommended for ease of use in the sequencer.You type the name into the block name gadget (you'll see the cursor appear when you select this, though it's easier to just click in the gadget yourself!). @{b}Track Menu@{ub} @{b}Cut Track@{ub} Cut the currently selected track,and place it into a memory buffer. @{b}Copy Track@{ub} Copy the currently selected track into a memory buffer. @{b}Paste Track@{ub} Paste into the currently selected track,from the memory buffer (after using Cut or Copy Track). @{b}Fill Track@{ub} Fill the currently selected track with the current sample. @{b}Misc Menu@{ub} @{i}Stuff that's been "bolted-on" ;)@{ui} @{b}Set Default Project@{ub} Choose a project to be loaded automatically upon startup, using a standard file requester.Note that when starting from CLI you can avoid loading the default project by typing : @{b}"BeatBox2 -nofile"@{ub} (without the quotes!) @{b}Auto-play on loading?@{ub} If you choose this,then save your project,it will start playing immediately after it loads.You can use this menu option to disable auto-loading,too. @{b}@{fg shine}The Main Screen@{ub}@{fg text} @{b}The Block Editor@{ub} The block editor consists of four rows of sixteen @{"boxes" link "GuidePics/GridDetail/main" 0},each with a button underneath. The boxes are where you click to place the current sample directly (using the left mouse button),or hear the sample in that box (by pressing the right mouse button). The buttons are to allow you to either select a box,of most use to the @{"keyboard" link "GuidePics/KeyBoard/main" 0} window,which allows you to enter notes via an on-screen piano keyboard (this is done by the left button),or you can delete the contents of the box by clicking its button with the right mouse button. You can move around the boxes by pressing the cursor keys too. @{b}The Keyboard Window@{ub} This is a representation of a @{"piano keyboard" link "GuidePics/KeyBoard/main" 0},which allows you to enter notes into the current box. The left mouse button clicked on a key will play the note and place it into the current box,whereas the right button allows you to just play the note without entering it. There is also volume control via a slider,and crude fine tuning,using the - and + gadgets. The Play button will play the note in the currently selected box,and Default will set the note in the box to the default settings which the sample had on loading. The Cycle Gadget on the right selects the mode for the keyboard window.The choices are @{b}Enter@{ub} and @{b}Edit@{ub}. @{b}@{fg shine}Enter@{ub}@{fg text} uses the currently selected sample : when a "key" is left clicked, the note will be entered into the selected box, overwriting anything else that might be in the box.Also active in Enter mode only is the @{i}Advance @{ui}cycle gadget just to the left. The choices here are @{b}Hold-1-2-3-4@{ub}. If a number is chosen here (instead of "Hold") after each note is entered, the current selected box will be advanced by this amount, going into the next block if need be,so you can enter a whole series of notes without stopping to select the next box. @{b}@{fg shine}Edit@{ub}@{fg text} mode, rather, will always operate on the sample that is already in the box, modifying it to the note you play on the keyboard. If there is no note in the selected box, the volume and/or pitch of the last played note in the track will be modified rather than playing the note again. @{b}The Sample Control Panel@{ub} This is a group of buttons (@{"PAL" link "GuidePics/SamplePanel/main" 0}/@{"NTSC" link "GuidePics/SamplePanelNTSC/main" 0} which gives you control over the samples you have loaded. You have an icon to represent the sample and the sample name in a string gadget. If you want to change the icon,click on the icon to bring up the icon window. To change the sample name,either click in the box and edit using standard text editing methods,or choose Rename Sample from the Sample menu (a bit pointless really - it just sets the cursor in this box!). Note that you must press [RETURN] after changing the sample name to keep the new version - pressing any other gadget will cancel the edit. The Select Sample gadget only works if you have two or more sample loaded and is intended for easy access, via a listview,to all of the loaded samples. When the window appears,click @{i}once @{ui}on the sample you want to use. The Play gadget plays the sample at default pitch and volume,and the up and down gadgets select the next and previous samples respectively. @{b}The Block Control Panel@{ub} This group of buttons (@{"PAL" link "GuidePics/BlockPanel/main" 0}/@{"NTSC" link "GuidePics/BlockPanelNTSC/main" 0}) gives you control over the blocks in use in your project. The Block name can be edited as per the Sample name,the listview works in the same way,and so do the up and down gadgets. Note that the Block Panel in the NTSC GUI incorporates the Block Play gadgets too. @{b}The Tempo Control Panel@{ub} The Tempo panel (@{"PAL" link "GuidePics/TempoPanel/main" 0}/@{"NTSC" link "GuidePics/TempoPanelNTSC/main" 0}) only has two buttons - speed up and slow down.Tempo control is quite crude really, and the figure is pretty awkward to explain.It just acts as a kind of reference... (lame excuses over ;) @{b}The Play Control Panel@{ub} This is only in the @{"PAL" link "GuidePics/PlayPanel/main" 0} GUI (the play buttons are incorporated into the Block panel in the @{"NTSC" link "GuidePics/BlockPanelNTSC/main" 0} GUI). The Play Block button plays the current block,Stop will - @{i}no! @{ui}- stop playback (both in Block playing and Song playing),and Play All will play all of the blocks in order (ie not the song,just the raw blocks from first to last). @{b}The Sequencer Control Panel@{ub} Well,this is where you access the Sequencer from (@{"PAL" link "GuidePics/SeqPanel/main" 0}/ @{"NTSC" link "GuidePics/SeqPanelNTSC/main" 0}). You can also play the current sequence back without having to go into the Sequencer,and you can set the filter on and off here (the filter state when you quit will be saved into the tooltypes). @{b}Online Help@{ub} This (@{"PAL" link "GuidePics/HelpButton/main" 0}) will bring up this guide on the BeatBox 2 screen.If you have ARexx running,it'll resize the guide and close it on exiting the program if you don't do it.The NTSC help gadget is in @{"this" link "GuidePics/SeqPanelNTSC/main" 0} section. @{b}The Sequencer@{ub} The @{"Sequencer" link "GuidePics/SequencerPic/main" 0} is where you put all your blocks together to make a song. You'll get a list of the available blocks in the right-hand side list.A right mouse button click on one of these will play the block for you.A left click places this block into the left-hand side list. This is your song. A right click in the left-hand list will delete the block from the sequence,and a left click will move the highlight wherever you clicked.This is where any further blocks will appear. Play Sequence will - @{i}I don't believe it! @{ui}- play the sequence of blocks.Stop will - @{i}amazingly @{ui}- stop playback,and pause will - @{i}AAAAHHHH!!!! @{ui}- pause playback. @{i}Easy! @{ui} Finally,here's a list of @{"Keypresses" link "KeyPresses" 0}. @endnode @node "Shareware" "Shareware" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Shareware@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} To register @{b}BeatBox 2@{ub},you have 3 options : Direct from @{"James" link "James" 0} in the UK . Direct from @{"Curt" link "Curt" 0} in the USA . Order from @{"F1 Software" link "F1" 0} ,who can accept orders by @{b}credit card@{ub},as well as by cheque. @endnode @node "Credits" "Credits" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Credits@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} @{b}BeatBox 2@{ub} was written by James L Boyd and Curt Esser. You can contact us at : @{b}@{fg shine}Curt@{ub}@{fg text} : camge@ix.netcom.com @{b}@{fg shine}James@{ub}@{fg text} : ohmygolly@hotmail.com Note that emails to James will probably take quite a long time for a reply - it's a Hotmail account I can only access at the library,which I'll only be able to do once every 1-2 weeks :( Our addresses are in the @{"Shareware" link "Shareware" 0} section (hint hint)... James has gone and put the @{b}@{fg shine}Thanks@{ub}@{fg text} section at the bottom of the @{"Problems/Notes" link "Notes" 0} section for some weird reason... @endnode @node "Notes" "Notes" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Bugs...I mean,Special Features...@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} At the moment,the only bug report we have so far is this : GFX Card users: It has been reported that some mode-promoter software causes problems with BeatBox 2 - ie, you only get a black screen when starting! A mode-promoter shouldn't be necessary with BeatBox 2 - the screen requester should show all available screen modes on your system, including the ones for your graphics card. So, if possible, set your mode-promoter to not mode-promote BeatBox 2 (if this is possible). Then just select an appropriate screenmode from the prefs program. If you can't make your mode-promoter ignore BeatBox 2, you can try removing the title picture from the main drawer. It is named "BB2.title" @{b}@{fg shine}Some Random Notes@{ub}@{fg text} A,C,D#,Bm (oh,sorry,not @{i}those @{ui}kind of notes...) Well,we've finally finished it (no doubt some nice people will point out more of our "special undocumented features" though ;) It's been a long road,and along our way we've made many friends and we couldn't ( - oh,shaddup!) We'd like to thank the following for their undying support and wonderful comments in the past for BeatBox (the first one), which have given us no end of joy and happiness ( - rrrggghh!! I told you to stop that!). F1 Software - for the credit card registration service Jen Allen - for all the *&#@ing support down on the farm ;) Paul Burkey - endless coding advice,@{i}"Brass Eye" @{ui}quotes ;) Carl Read - advice,support,ShareWorld diskzine The Blitz Listers - advice,routines,general all-round coolness :) Ott M Aloe - for the font requester among other things Eric "Islabela" Sky - for the incomprehensible email (torrid guitar?) Sebastian Krawczuk - for comments Krister Simon Skrtic - for comments and the cool mock-up pic :) Johan Hoogeveen - for comments Wolfgang Mueller - for comments Fred Bo - for comments,and more ;) Ninjaw P.B. - for comments Jens Knutson - for comments,and an introduction to Scalos ;) David Liddle - for comments Roy Burki - for comments John White - for writing to me (James),plus the disks! Anyone I've missed! - er,sorry,you've disappeared from YAM! ;) Finally,James thanks Curt for doing all the hard stuff ;) Thanks to everyone who replied to us,and apologies for not having AHI,16-bit 64 tracks,etc as most people asked (hey,we'd like 'em too! ;) See ya :) @endnode @node "KeyPresses" "Key Presses" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Keypress Shortcuts@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} There are many useful shortcuts available to make things nice and quick in BeatBox 2! @{b}Samples@{ub} - Select Previous Sample = Select Next Sample [Space] Play Sample @{b}Blocks@{ub} [ Select Previous Block ] Select Next Block [Enter] Play/Stop Current Block @{b}Tempo@{ub} ; Tempo Down # Tempo Up @{b}Miscellaneous@{ub} [Help] Online Help Mode [Escape] Quit S Sequencer Window G Play Sequence (G for GO!) F Filter On/Off (Note : these 3 were lower-case before,but they're now upper-case to avoid conflicts with the menus) @{b}@{fg shine}Default Menu Shortcuts@{ub}@{fg text} @{b}Project@{ub} New Open Right Amiga + "O" Save As Right Amiga + "S" Name Project Prefs Right Amiga + "P" About Right Amiga + "A" Quit Right Amiga + "Q" @{b}Samples@{ub} Keyboard... Right Amiga + "K" Load Right Amiga + "L" Rename Right Amiga + "R" Remove Right Amiga + "Z" (Z for Zap!) @{b}Blocks@{ub} Cut Right Amiga + "X" Copy Right Amiga + "C" Paste Right Amiga + "V" Fill Right Amiga + "B" (B for Block) Name Right Amiga + "N" @{b}Tracks@{ub} Cut Right Amiga + "," Copy Right Amiga + "." Paste Right Amiga + "/" Fill Right Amiga +"T" (T for Track) @{b}Misc@{ub} Set Default Project Right Amiga + "D" (D for Default) Autoplay on loading? Right Amiga + "U" (U as in aUto!) We've tried to make them as logical as possible,and there are little hints given above for the weirder ones! If you want to redefine the shortcuts,you'll find the menu keys listed in the BeatBox2 program's @{"tooltypes" link "Installation" 0}. @endnode @node "Help" "Help" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Help@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} Oh,come on,surely you can use an Amigaguide?! Well,if not,use the mouse to point to an item which is @{"highlighted" link "HelpTest" 0} like this. Use the @{b}Retrace@{ub} button at the top to go back. If you get lost,click on @{b}Contents@{ub} to get to the start page! @endnode @node "HelpTest" "Help Tester!" Understand now? Click in @{b}Retrace@{ub} in the top bar to go back! @endnode @node "Features" "Features" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Features@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} BeatBox 2 features a user-friendly interface to make the creation of music as pain-free as possible. * Four channels of music * Uses standard Amiga "8SVX" IFF samples * The save format now includes the samples (unlike our last effort!) * Oh,and decent tempo control at last! * Uses simple block system (16 samples per block) * Easy-to-use block sequencer * System friendly,multitasking * Online help * Locale support,now with easy language installer * Default project loading * Projects can be set to play automatically on startup * Idiot-proof (almost!) * Font sensitive * GUIs optimised for PAL or NTSC * Works with graphics cards (er,sort of...) * Designed from the start to use as few resources as possible * Easy installation - needs no assigns or fonts installed * Choose your own screenmode * Er,that's it... @endnode @node "History" "History" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}History@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} (James "on the keys") Not much to tell... BeatBox started over a year ago (this is being written in May 1998), as a simple drum sequencer (because I couldn't get round a bug in Blitz Basic at the time,to change the pitch of samples!). The first,hopelessly bugged version appeared on an Amiga Format cover CD,winning a reader's award of £50.Only problem was,as I keep subtly (like,COUGH COUGH!!!) hinting,they never got round to paying up.No harm done,though,as I didn't expect anything in the first place. After it was released,I got a letter from Jen Allen,who said it was good,but had a few bugs which needed to be fixed (understate- ment of the year). So I got on the Blitz Basic mailing list,and put out a desperate call for help.Curt Esser replied,and within a couple of months, we'd got it sorted out (well,mostly). We put it on Aminet (and a little bird told me that Amiga Format had put it on their subscriber's disk!) and people generally seemed to like it.Although we couldn't get AHI and stuff done, since we're not clever enough (yet),we took note of all the comments and ideas sent to us. Then we started again from scratch,having learned loads of stuff in the months on the mailing list. This is the result... @endnode @node "Start" "Getting Started" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Getting Started@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} A quick tutorial (I'm not very good at this kind of thing)... First of all,double-click the BeatBox2 icon (no way!) to load the program. @{i}(The best way to use this introduction is by clicking on the "Online Help" button on the BeatBox 2 screen,then resizing the guide so that you can use the program at the same time...) @{ui} You may be asked to choose a screenmode,GUI,and a font to suit your preference,so do this,and then you're in the main program. Try loading the supplied project before you do anything : go to the Project/Open Project... menu,and choose the "Stupid_Pop" project.This project has been saved with the "autoplay" option, which means it'll start playing right away.Just click on "Stop" to,er,stop it. @{i}Right,what've we got? @{ui} There are four rows of sixteen @{"boxes" link "GuidePics/GridDetail/main" 0},going from left-to-right, each with a little button underneath. @{fg shine}Loading Samples@{fg text} Go to the Samples menu,and choose Load Sample,then choose a standard Amiga sample (the program won't let you load anything else). You'll now get a big window full of little instrument icons,from which you select an appropriate icon for the instrument you've loaded.If you want to change the icon later,click in the little square box next to the sample text display. If you want to free up the memory used by a sample which you don't need,choose Free Sample from the Samples menu. @{fg shine}Creating A Block@{fg text} OK,now start clicking with the left mouse button in the sample boxes in the grid.Once you've put a few in,click on Play Block (@{"PAL" link "GuidePics/PlayPanel/main" 0} GUI/@{"NTSC" link "GuidePics/BlockPanelNTSC/main" 0} GUI) to hear your effort. might want to load some more samples (the program will choose an appropriate "slot" for the sample),and put a few more instruments into the block. See the @{"Usage" link "Usage" 0} section for details on using the @{"keyboard window" link "GuidePics/KeyBoard/main" 0} to input notes (clicking straight in the boxes as above will just place the plain sample in there - the keyboard allows you to change the pitch and volume of the notes). To give the block a name (strongly recommended),either click in the block name box (@{"PAL" link "GuidePics/BlockPanel/main" 0}/@{"NTSC" link "GuidePics/BlockPanelNTSC/main" 0}),or go to the Block menu and choose Name Block. Once you're happy with it,you can click on the + button beneath the block name display to move onto another block,and when you've got two or more blocks,you can use the Select Block button to bring up a list of all your blocks,where you just click once on the block you want to edit. There are full Cut and Paste facilities available in the Block menu, as well as in the Track menu. @{fg shine}Sequencing Your Blocks@{fg text} OK,now that you've got a few blocks created,click on the @{"Sequencer" link "GuidePics/SequencerPic/main" 0} button. Here you see two listviews. The names of all your blocks are in the right-hand list. Left click on one, and the name will appear in the left-hand list. This is the sequence list,and you just keep adding blocks in the order you want them played. If you just want to hear a block, right click on it's name. If you want to insert a new block between two others in the sequence, just highlight the first of the two by clicking on it in the left list, then click on the block you want to insert. Delete a block from the sequence list by clicking it using the right mouse button. To leave the Sequencer, use the close gadget on the window. @{fg shine}Saving Your Project@{fg text} Once you've got something sequenced,go to the Project menu,and select Save As... You can now enter a name for your project (if you've already given your project a name by using the Project/Name Project menu option, this name will appear,with spaces converted to underscores,as the default filename).It's strongly recommended that you save projects into the Projects drawer,as you'll then be able to double-click project icons to start BeatBox 2 and load your chosen project on startup. @{fg shine}Quitting The Program@{fg text} Choose Quit from the Project menu,or press ESCAPE - you'll get a requester asking if you really want to quit. @endnode @node "Comments" "Comments,questions,bugs,requests" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Comments,etc.@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} Before you ask us to implement every sound feature you can think of, read this transcript from "Dilbert" : @{b}@{i}Dilbert @{ub}: Dave,tell me what Marketing wants the new product to do. @{b}Dave @{ub} : It needs to act as a communications satellite as well as a room freshener.HA HA!! And it has to be capable of time travel!! And have a telepathic user interface! @{b}Dilbert @{ub}: [ SLAP ] @{ui} We would've put 16-bit,AHI,64-channel mixing in if we knew how to do it,but we are just simple Blitz programmers,and we're not yet clever enough for all that stuff. Any comments are welcome though :) Contact us @{"here" link "Shareware" 0}. @endnode @node "James" "Ordering from James" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Registering with James (UK)@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} The price for @{b}BeatBox 2@{ub} is £7.00 (inc P&P) direct from James, and the equivalent of £12.00 for outside the UK,to cover the cost of converting currency and postage/packing.We recommend that overseas orders are made through @{"F1 Software" link "F1" 0},who have credit card facilities Contact @{fg shine}James@{fg text} at : 10a Thirlestane Place Dundee DD4 0TG Scotland email : @{b}ohmygolly@hotmail.com@{ub} (note that I will probably be very slow in replying,as I'll have to access this from the library - I'm going off the net from home - but I will try and reply). @endnode @node "Curt" "Ordering from Curt" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Registering with Curt (USA)@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} The price direct from Curt is $14.00 (inc. P&P),or the equivalent of $23.00 outside of the US,to cover the cost of converting currency and postage/packing.We recommend that overseas orders are made through @{"F1 Software" link "F1" 0},who have credit card facilities. Contact @{fg shine}Curt@{fg text} at : 113 Pauline Avenue Crystal Lake IL 60014 USA email : @{b}camge@ix.netcom.com@{ub} Website : http://members.xoom.com/Curt_Esser/ (you'll find the official BeatBox 2 page here also...) @endnode @node "F1" "Ordering from F1" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Ordering via F1 Software@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} You can order from @{b}F1 Software@{ub} if you wish.They can accept credit cards,and give you the peace of mind of a well-established company on the Amiga scene. The price from @{b}F1 Software@{ub} is £7.00 + postage and packing (contact them for details) : @{b}F1 SOFTWARE@{ub} 1 Lower Mill Close Goldthorpe Rotherham South Yorkshire S63 9BY England Sales 01709 888127 Enq/Fax 01709 888127 email sales@ware5d.demon.co.uk website http://www.ware5d.demon.co.uk @{fg shine}Visa@{fg text} - @{fg shine}Visa Delta@{fg text} - @{fg shine}Mastercard@{fg text} - @{fg shine}Eurocard@{fg text} @{i}Please have the following details ready when ordering @{ui}: Full name as shown on the card. Full address. Credit Card Number. Expiry Date. Card Type (Visa, Visa Delta, MasterCard, EuroCard). Software required. i.e. BeatBox 2. Thanks to Phil Wilkinson of @{b}F1 Software@{ub} for this service! @endnode @node "WWW" "WWW Home Page" @{b}@{fg shine}@{bg fill}Visit the BeatBox 2 Home Page!@{ub}@{fg text}@{bg back} We're at : @{b}http://members.xoom.com/Curt_Esser/bbox.htm@{ub} You'll find the latest version (before Aminet!),along with various previously created projects (we'll stick the best ones on there!), and samples to use as well. Make sure you go to Curt's main page,too,for plenty of interesting stuff! @{b}@{fg shine}What's New?@{ub}@{fg text} @{i}The latest main updates to BeatBox 2 : @{ui} @{b}* Locale support@{ub} - supplied with English and French catalogs,and Locale Installer @{b}* Proper tempo control!@{ub} - NOTE : you may have to modify the tempo of any old projects @{b}* Default project loading@{ub} - set the DEFAULT_PROJECT tooltype with the project path & filename @{b}* Autoplay option@{ub} - you can save a project with or without an "Autoplay" tag - that is,an autoplaying project will start playing as soon as it loads @endnode