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SJGPLAY DOCUMENTATION Version: 1.10 (C)1995 Steve J. Gray ===================== Revised: Jul 1, 1995 ===================== Welcome to SJGPLAY: The Audio CD Player with Lyrics! SJGPLAY is FREEWARE, which means: You may use it without payment of any kind. However, I retain full copyrights to the program. You may not modify, sell, or use it for commercial purposes. You may include it in FREEWARE/SHAREWARE compilations provided all files and documentation are included and un-modified (I'd appreciate being informed if you plan to include SJGPLAY on a CD-ROM. I'd accept a free copy of any CD containing SJGPLAY too... Hey, it's worth a try :-) That said... If you use this program I'd like to hear your comments or suggestions (tell me your most and least favorite feature). I can be reached via e-mail at: sgray@acs.ryerson.ca Included in the archive is SAMPLES.ZIP which contains data files for most of my personal CD collection as well as over 90 songs. (Note: Maintenance releases may not include the SAMPLES.ZIP file). I hope you'll find some you can use.. It may save you some typing and let you see the lyrics features in action. Use the catalog (F7) feature to see which CD's are included in the sample data. Feel free to delete the CD's you don't need. If you find we have some CD's in common how 'bout typing and sync'ing the missing lyrics from the sample CD's. If you e-mail them to me or send them to me on disk I can include them in future revisions of the program. My snail-mail address is: Steve Gray 10 Crestview Ave., Brampton, Ontario Canada L6W-2R6 DISCLAIMER ========== Since I wrote SJGPLAY for my own pleasure, and I'm not asking for any money, please don't expect support of any kind. I will try to fix any bugs that pop up, but since I don't own every combination of CD-ROM drive and computer I may not be able to do anything if it doesn't work properly on your system. If you want to report a bug please try to include the following information when you e-mail me: * SJGPLAY version * CD-ROM drive and interface (Soundblaster, SCSI, EIDE, propietary, etc) * DOS and MSCDEX version * CPU type or any other hardware you think might be causing problems SJGPLAY works on my system and on several systems at work. All CD-ROM manipulation is handled by the shareware "Audio CD Toolkit V1.00" library by DSE SOFTWARE PUBLISHING and uses MSCDEX to interface to the CD-ROM unit. SJGPLAY is provided as is. The author shall not be liable for any damages resulting in use or misuse of this program including... Hey, I'm no lawyer, you know the routine... INTRODUCTION ============ You've probably heard this before but... I've tried several other cd audio player programs and none of them had all the features I wanted. I tried both DOS and WINDOWS programs but wasn't impressed. I figured I could do better, but until ACDKIT from DSE came along I couldn't do anything about it. Have you ever noticed that most shareware programs are ugly? The screens are all cluttered and confusing. They use weird background characters and fancy pop-up boxes with shading and the colors overwhelm you. Well, not SJGPLAY! It's uncluttered and clean. You can even remove most of the display information if you want to. You only see what you want to see and the controls are intuitive (usually the first letter of the function). There is a built-in help screen available any time if you need it, but once you're comfortable with the controls you'll never need it again. I believe in functionality not window-dressing... I've always favoured DOS more than WINDOWS. I think everybody should be able to use my program and DOS is the common denominator. Even older PC's should be able to run SJGPLAY without any problems. SJGPLAY will also run (as a DOS application) under WINDOWS. See your Windows manual for information on how to install DOS applications on your desktop (I like to run SJGPLAY in a window). FEATURES ======== SJGPLAY has most, if not all, of the features you will ever need in a CD audio player. I've tried to incorporate all the features I could think of, while keeping in mind the limitations of DOS text-mode. I'm open to suggestions if you can think of anything that could be added (see Ideas for future versions). I've tried to make it easy to use, so almost no documentation is required (but here it is anyway :-). Hope you like it! * Mouse control of most functions * Track controls - Play, Pause/Continue, Stop - Next Track/Previous Track (skip) - Play specified track (you must enter a two-digit track number) - Fastforward/Reverse search (plus 2 times and one-minute search) - Re-Start track - Jump to near end of track * Repeat Modes - Repeat One track - Repeat Entire CD - Single play tracks (stop after each track) - A/B segment repeat * Intro Mode - Play first few seconds (adjustable) of each track * Time Display - Elapsed/Remaining track time - Elapsed/Remaining CD time - Track frame#/Remaining frame# (used for lyric synchronization) * CD Cataloging - CD Name and Artist - Track names - Automatic recognition of CD - Catalog CD's and Lyrics * Delete, Edit, Sort, Print * Programming (playlist) - Up to 99 steps - Playlist saved for each individual CD - Insert/Delete steps - Clear All/Use All tracks - Edit playlist WHILE CD is being played - Randomize (shuffle) tracks - Select only tracks with lyrics - Program pauses - Fit to tape length (insert pauses at the appropriate spots) - Toggle programmed or standard play (track order) * Lyrics - Built-in editor for lyric entry (autosave) * Memorize/Recall/Paste/Restore/Erase line * Insert/Delete line * Block Define/Copy * Track control during editing (pause/reverse/fastforward/replay) - Easy synchronization process - Fine-tune synchronization - Synchronized playback of lyrics * Paged style * Karaoke-style (with next-line display) - Lyric "traffic light" (prepares you for the next line) - Lyrics stay synced during fastforward, reverse or pause - Import (extract)/Export lyrics from/to "Album files" - Rename lyric files (if an external editor was used) * Display - CD and Track Title - Status (playing/paused/open etc) - Large track number and time indicator - Total CD time, Drive unit, Volume - Intro, Program Mode, Step#, Repeat mode - Track percentage and total time - Elapsed "time-bar" and frame-blip (those green divider lines...) - Time of day clock - Full-screen mode - 25/43/50 line video modes * Large "Mode" Window - Track list or playlist - CD Information - Paged and Karaoke style Lyrics - Large display of track name or CD title - CD or Lyric Catalog - Configuration and Program Info * Printing - Print CD Info, Catalog of CD's or Lyrics * Device Control - Supports multiple CD-ROM drive units - Reset drive - Volume control via Soundblaster (CD input or master) - Eject/Close CD tray * Miscellaneous Stuff - Timed event based on time of day clock * Display a message, Play a track, Switch display modes * Configuration - Set initial display mode and full-screen mode - Auto edit new CD info - Auto playback - Stop or Eject on program exit - Define alternate video mode - Define fastforward/reverse and intro time - Define volume control device - Set initial repeat mode - Full control while configuration displayed - Configuration saved as a text file - Environment variable "SJGPLAY" to define data-file and config-file location (run SJGPLAY.EXE from anywhere if in PATH) * Command-line mode - Select an alternate config file - Check for presence of disc - Control playback of CD's through batch files * Play, Stop, Eject, Next/Previous track, Single play - Displays CD information: * Track List, CD title, track title, elapsed time - Conditional control of command-line arguments * Help - Built-in Help screen and Utility Help - Full control while help displayed - Intuitive controls * And the best feature... - It's free! No more guilty conscience for not sending in that shareware registration :-) RUNNING THE PROGRAM =================== The only file that is REQUIRED is SJGPLAY.EXE. If no configuration file is found, built-in defaults will be used. The program will search the current directory when looking for the configuration file (SJGPLAY.CFG), CD Info files (CD{idnum}.CD) and lyric files (CD{idnum}.{tracknum}) unless a path is set via the SJGPLAY environment variable (see below) or an alternate config file as specified by "CONFIG:" on the command line. If you want to place SJGPLAY.EXE in another location and still be able to find your lyrics and CD info files you must add the following line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET SJGPLAY={path} where {path} is the complete path to your files. For example: SET SJGPLAY=C:\UTILS\SJGPLAY\DATA To start the program simply type: SJGPLAY If you want to specifiy an alternate configuration, conditionally run the program, or control CD's via batch files see the section titled "Command-line arguments" DATA FILES ========== All data files are strictly text-based. Filenames are constructed using a number based on the total number of FRAMES on a CD. A frame is 1/75th of a second in length. Most CD's should have a unique number of frames which allows the program to automatically use the correct data files. We'll call this number {idnum} from now on. The largest this number can be is about 351,000 (78 minutes * 60 seconds/min * 75 frames/sec). The CD Title and Track titles are stored as plain text in a file with the format: CD{idnum}.CD (example: CD123456.CD). Lyrics and synchronization data are stored as plain text in a file with the format: CD{idnum}.{tracknum}, where {tracknum} is a three digit number corresponding to the specific track (example: CD123456.001). Why text files? --------------- Every time I tried a new CD player program I had to re-enter each CD since they all seemed to have their own format for storing their database info. I wanted my program to be able to read standard text files so that data can easily be shared with other programs. Textfiles are universal so CD info and lyrics can easily be sent electronically and people can share their stuff. There are sites on the internet that contain lyrics files, so you might be able to download (ftp) them instead of re-typing them. I'm hoping people will start to distribute synchronized lyrics. They don't add too much to the size of the file and the files are still readable for those who don't have a CD-ROM player. The only drawbacks to text files are that they take up a lot of harddrive space (especially drives with large sector sizes) and they tend to clutter up the directory (If this is a problem I may consider changing this). SCREEN LAYOUT ============= The screen is divided into three sections... The top section: Displays the CD title and Track title. On the right is the current time-of-day and status. The status displays whether the CD is paused or playing or if the CD tray is open. It will also indicate when you are in SYNCHRO mode, FINETUNE mode, or which line you are editing in EDIT mode. When full-screen mode is enabled the time-of-day will be replaced by a "H=Help" message. The top and middle sections are divided by a green line with a travelling "frame-blip" which zips across the line when the CD is being played. The middle section: This is where all the action is. It is used to display or edit various information as selected by the current mode. The current display mode name is displayed in the bottom section (if enabled) at the very bottom right of the screen. The bottom section: Displays all the track, time and mode information. Dividing the middle and bottom sections is the green time-bar indicator which shows elapsed track progress. Below is the track number and time indicator using large digits. To the right of the time display is the time mode indicator, indicating elapsed or remaining time for either the track or entire CD. If program mode is enabled the step# will be displayed to the right of the track number. On the right side of this section is the total CD time, current drive unit, elapsed track percentage, repeat mode and the current display mode. When full-screen mode is enabled the bottom section is not displayed. KEYBOARD CONTROLS ================= Selecting Display Modes: ------------------------ F1 to F6 ..... Jump to specific Mode (see display modes) F7 ............CD Catalog (\=type, INS=sort) F8 or U .......Utility Help screen F9 ............Configuration F10 ...........Program info, version number, and author info TAB or M ......Go to the next mode (F1 to F6 only) SHIFT-TAB .....Go to the previous mode H .............Display Help screen F .............Toggle Full-screen mode V .............Toggle alternate Video mode (VGA cards only) Selecting Other Modes: ---------------------- I .............Toggle Intro mode T .............Cycle time display: * Elapsed, Remaining, Elapsed CD, Remaining CD * Track Frame# E .............Edit information (depends on current mode) ? .............Print information (depends on current mode) DEL ...........Delete information (depends on current mode) Playing Tracks: --------------- P or ENTER ....Play current track 0 to 9 ........Play specified track number. Must be two digits! + or - ........Next Track or Previous track S or PERIOD ...Stop track (if stopped, jumps to start of playlist) SPACE .........Pause/Resume playback Track Shuttle: -------------- LEFT/RIGHT ....Reverse/Fastforward UP/DOWN .......Reverse/Fastforward times 2 PAGEUP/DOWN ...Reverse/Fastforward one minute HOME ..........Re-start track END ...........Jump to near end of track Special Track Shuttle: (while in edit, program or configuration mode) ---------------------- ALT-LEFT .........Reverse ALT-RIGHT ........Fast Forward ALT or CTRL-UP....Pause/Resume playback ALT or CTRL-DOWN..Re-start track Repeat Modes: ------------- R .............Cycle Repeat mode (or cancel A/B repeat) * One ......Repeat selected track * Single ...Stop after end of track (P to play next) * All ......Repeat entire CD A or B ........Set A or B repeat points Programming: ------------ G .............Toggle program mode CURSOR KEYS ...Move Marker DEL ...........Delete step under marker BACKSPACE .....Delete step to left of marker 0 to 9 ........Insert specified track number. Must be two digits! J .............Jumble Tracks (random shuffle) C .............Clear ALL tracks L .............Load playlist as saved with CD info file W .............Write (save) playlist to CD info file Utilities: ---------- U .............Display Utility Help screen ! .............Renames files with specified {name} to the proper {idnum} @ .............Renames files with {idnum} of 000000 to the proper {idnum} # .............Extract Lyrics for current track from an "Album" file $ .............Makes an "Album" file with track info and lyrics % .............Programs playlist for tape dub (insert pauses) ^ .............Programs playlist with only tracks with lyrics & .............Imports lyrics for current track from specified file * .............Exports lyrics for current track to specified file Z .............Set Event Device and Misc Controls: ------------------------- X .............Open (eject caddy)/Close CD tray [ and ] .......Adjust volume = .............Mute volume/Restore volume < and > .......Select CD-ROM drive unit ~ .............Reset CD-ROM and MSCDEX driver ESC or Q ......Quit program MOUSE CONTROL ============= You can use the mouse to control most functions. The right mouse button works just like the TAB or M keys to change the mode. The operation of the left mouse button changes depending on the position of the pointer. Top Section: Where clicked Key(s) Function ------------- ------ -------- Word "DISC" X Eject Disc or close tray CD Title E Edit CD Title Word "TRACK" + Next Track Track Title E Edit Track Title Time or Word "H=Help" Z/H Set Event or Help Status P/S Play or Stop Green divider - ends NONE Previous/Next Display mode (all modes) Green divider - middle SPACE Pause or Continue playback Middle Section: Mode Where clicked Key(s) Function ---- ------------- ------ -------- F1 - Track Box P Play Track Up/Down Arrow CURSOR Move marker (program mode) F2 - Number/Time P Play Track Track Title E Edit track title Up/Down Arrow NONE Scroll track list F6 - Anywhere F7 Goto Catalog F7 - Number/Filename INS Sort Catalog Title \ Toggle Catalog type Up/Down Arrow CURSOR Scroll list F9 - Config Line CURSOR Select Line "<" or ">" CURSOR Change Setting "W" W Write Config Bottom Section: Where clicked Key(s) Function ------------- ------ -------- Green Bar Middle NONE Track shuttle (jump to absolute position) Green Bar Ends -/+ Previous/Next track Word "Track" G Toggle playlist Red Track Number -/+ "-" on first digit, "+" on second digit Time indicator T Toggle time display Below time indicator I Toggle intro Big Track Time A/B/R first2="A", last2="B", middle="R" The "*" V Toggle alternate video mode Word "Volume" = Mute Volume() [/] first digit="[", second digit="]" Repeat() R Cycle repeat H=Help H Help M=Mode() TAB/M next display mode (modes 1 to 6) Elsewhere on last line F Toggle full screen (when off) Bottom right corner F Toggle full screen (when on) PROGRAM CONFIGURATION ===================== Press F9 to display the configuration screen. Use cursor UP and DOWN to select a configuration option then use LEFT or RIGHT to change the setting. To save the current settings press the W key. Settings are saved to the directory specified beside "Data Path =". The configuration file is a plain text file and contains lines in the form "xxxx = nn", where "xxxx" is the name of the configuration setting (as displayed under the NAME column) and "nn" is a value for that setting (0 being OFF, and 1 being ON). Valid values are displayed under the RANGE column. NAME DEF DESCRIPTION ----- --- ----------- MODE 1 Sets the initial startup display mode (see display modes) FULL 0 Enables fullscreen mode on startup PRG 1 Automatically use programmed playlist if saved with CD EDIT 0 Auto-edit new CD info when new (unknown) CD is inserted PLAY 0 Automatically plays new CD when inserted EXIT 0 CD action on Exit (0=none, 1=stop or 2=eject) VIDEO 0 Alternate video lines (0=25, 1=43, 2=50) INTRO 15 Sets the intro time (in seconds) FFREW 5 Sets the fastforward/Reverse time (in seconds) VDEV 0 Specifies how the volume is controlled (CD or Soundblaster) REPT 0 Sets the initial repeat mode (0=No,1=One,2=STP,3=All) (DEF = Built-in default) DISPLAY MODES ============= Rather than cluttering up the display with overwhelming information, the program lets you choose what you want to see. This is the display mode, and it occupies the entire middle of the screen, or all but the top three lines when in full-screen mode. Each mode gives you specific information as follows: KEY MODE DESCRIPTION --- ---- ----------- F1 Playlst List of tracks to play (Playlist) (.=Lyrics available) F2 CD Info Track number, Times, Flag and Titles (*=Lyrics available) F3 Lyrics Paged-style lyrics synchronized to playback F4 Karaoke Karaoke-style lyrics synchronized to playback F5 Track Track Title in large letters F6 CDTitle CD Title in large letters F7 Catalog Catalog for CD's or Lyrics F8 Utils Utilities Help Screen F9 Config Configuration Screen F10 About Program info, including version number F1 - Playlist: Track numbers displayed in the order they will be played. Normally all tracks on the CD will be shown in numerical order from 1 to the total number of tracks on the CD. Track numbers are displayed inside a box. The currently playing track (if any) will be displayed in red, all others will be blue. If a track has lyrics a period will be displayed after the track number. When program mode is enabled, only those tracks that are programmed will appear. A small yellow "marker" (or cursor) appears which can be moved about for program editing (adding or deleting tracks). F2 - CD Info: All tracks on the CD are listed in track-order. The track number, time, lyric flag and title are shown. Titles may be edited and saved so that next time the CD is inserted they will automatically appear. The track time displayed will change depending on the currently selected "time mode". This can be elapsed track or CD time, remaining track or CD time, or a frame number. The lyric flag indicates if there are lyrics available for the track. Tracks shown with "*" have lyrics available. Tracks shown with a "-" do not. The currently playing track is highlighted. If there are more tracks on the CD than can fit on the screen, the list will shift up or down so that the currently playing track is as close to the middle as possible. F3 - Lyrics Lyrics will be displayed in a paged format, synchronized to playback. Each line will be highlighted as it is sung. Just before the line is sung a small "traffic light" indicator will light red, yellow, then green indicating the time remaining until the line is sung: Red square - More than 1 second Yellow square - Less than 1 second..... Get ready! Green triangle - Less than 1/4 second... Sing it! (if you want to...) If no lyrics have been entered the message: "Lyrics not available" will be be displayed followed by the required filename. F4 - Karaoke Lyrics will be displayed in Karaoke format, synchronized to playback. Each line will be displayed in very large letters as it is sung. The next line to be sung will be displayed in small letters just below with the same "traffic light" indicator as above. If no lyrics have been entered, "Lyrics not available" will be displayed. The lyrics are displayed in a large font with 13 characters per line. The number of lines available depends on the screen mode and whether full-screen is enabled. Four lines are available in 25-line mode with full-screen on. If full-screen mode is off one less line will be visible (keep this in mind when typing lyrics)! F5 - Track Displays the current track title in large letters. F6 - CDTitle Displays the current CD title in large letters. F7 - CD Catalog Loads and displays a catalog of CD's or lyrics. You can delete or edit entries or sort the list by number, time (frames) or title F8 - Utility Help Displays description of available utilities. F9 - Config Displays a configuration screen where startup options and program options can be set. Options such as intro time and fast-forward time take effect immediately when changed. F10 - About Displays freeware message, program version number, and author info. PLAYING CD'S ============ There are two playback modes; standard or programmed. Standard mode consists of all tracks in numerical order. Programmed mode is a list of tracks in any order. In programmed mode you can select only those tracks that you want. You can even repeat tracks. You can have up to 99 programmed "steps". When program mode is enabled the step number will be displayed at the bottom left of the screen beside the track number. In either case (standard or programmed) the order of the tracks will be referred to as the "playlist". At the top right of the screen is the status indicator. It will indicate the status of the CD and drive. If no CD is inserted it will say "open". If a CD is inserted but not playing it will say "stopped". Use the "P" key or ENTER to play the currently selected track. If the CD is not playing, pressing "+" or "-" will select a track. When the CD is playing the status indicator will say "playing". To pause playback press SPACE. The status indicator will flash "paused". To resume playback press SPACE again. To stop playback press the "S" or "." keys. If you press "S" or "." when the cd is already stopped it will reset the playlist to the beginning (ie: press "SS" to go to step 1). The "+" and "-" keys will jump to the next or previous track. If you are at the beginning or end of the playlist it will wrap around. To jump to a specific track enter a two-digit track number (this only works if program mode is NOT enabled!). When you enter the first digit it will be displayed followed by a "?" flashing at the bottom left of the screen reminding you that another digit is needed. If you enter an invalid first digit or track number it will not be accepted and the flashing message will be cleared. To clear an incorrect first digit press the BACKSPACE key. To control playback of an individual track use the CURSOR KEYS. The cursor LEFT key or ALT-LEFT key will reverse (rewind). The cursor RIGHT key or ALT-RIGHT key will fastforward. The cursor UP and DOWN keys will reverse or fast forward by twice the time of the LEFT and RIGHT cursor keys. The fastforward and reverse times can be adjusted in the configuration screen. The HOME key will re-start playback from the beginning of the CURRENT track. The END key will jump to a point near the end of the current track. Repeat Modes: ------------- The "R" key cycles between the following REPEAT modes: OFF - No repetition. Displayed as (---) ONE - Repeats the currently selected track. STP - Single Track Play, stops playback after each track ends. You must press P to play the next track ALL - Repeats the entire CD Pressing "A" or "B" selects segment repeat mode, which repeats the selected section of the CD. Press "A" at the start of the segment. The repeat indicator will show (A- ). Press "B" at the end of the segment. The repeat indicator will show (A-B) and the segment will repeat over and over. While the segment is repeating you may press "B" to reduce the segment time even further. To cancel A-B repeat mode press "R". Intro Mode: ----------- Pressing "I" will enable INTRO mode. The word "INTRO" will flash just to the left of the time indicator. This will play the beginning of each track then jump to the next track. When intro mode is enabled repeat mode is set to "all". If intro mode is enabled after playback has passed the intro period, it will jump to the next track immediately. Pressing "I" again disables intro mode. The intro time is adjustable via the configuration screen. CHANGING THE DISPLAY ==================== Use the "TAB" or "M" keys to switch to the next display mode. Use SHIFT-TAB to switch to the previouse display mode. To jump to a specific display mode press the desired FUNCTION KEY (F1 to F10). Use the "F" key to toggle full-screen mode. When full-screen mode is on, the bottom section is removed and the selected display mode is extended to the bottom of the screen. If you have a VGA display you may use the "V" key to toggle the video mode between 25 lines or 43/50 lines as set in the configuration. Press the "H" key to display a help screen with a summary of the most common control keys. Also displayed on the help screen is the {idnum} for the current CD. Press "H" again to return to the previous display mode or choose a specific mode by pressing the proper function key. Press the "T" key to change the time display. The time display can show elapsed or remaining time for either the current track or the entire CD. It can also display the track FRAME number. The track frame number is used to synchronize the lyrics to playback. A frame is one seventy-fifth of a second, which gives very precise control over lyric timing. Depending on the speed of your computer and how your CD-ROM is connected (SCSI, IDE, parallel port etc) this number may change smoothly or jump many numbers at a time (on MY computer the last digit is just a blur :-) ) Note: Since only the last 5 digits of the track frame number are displayed, ~~~~~ after 22:16 the frame number will appear to reset to zero. Note2: Times are read directly from the disc and may not match those ~~~~~~ printed on the CD and/or jewel case. Most key commands will operate the same regardless of the DISPLAY mode. For example, you can press "+" to jump to the next track even when help is being displayed. The only exceptions to this are the NORMAL cursor control keys. The cursor keys usually control track shuttle, however when program mode is enabled they control the yellow marker, and when in the configuration screen the cursor keys select and change option settings. When in these modes you can use the CTRL-CURSOR keys for track shuttle control. When in EDIT mode the opposite is true. Obviously, typing a letter will insert it into the edit field, therefore you can't change modes or tracks, or change the time display while in edit mode. When in edit mode the only control of the CD you have is via the ALT or CTRL plus CURSOR keys to control playback of the CURRENT track. To exit EDIT mode press ENTER (if a single field) or ESC (with multiple fields). DEVICE CONTROL AND EXITING ========================== If you have more than one CD-ROM drive unit attached to your computer you may select which one you control by pressing the "<" and ">" keys. Switching to another unit switches control completely to the new unit. If the previous unit was playing it will continue to play, however, any and all control of that unit is lost (track order, repeat etc). Switching from one unit to another may cause the new unit to jump to another track if "use programmed playlist if available" is set to "yes" and the currently playing track is not in the playlist (this can also occur if SJGPLAY is exited then re-started while the CD is still playing). If "auto play" is enabled the CD will start to play automatically when the unit is switched. A list of available drive units is displayed on the help screen. To completely reset the current CD-ROM drive press the "~" key. This will stop playback and re-read the CD. To control the volume use the "[" and "]" keys to decrease or increase the level from 0 to 99. Use the "=" key to mute the volume. Pressing "=" again will restore volume to the previous level. Use the configuration screen to select which DEVICE is controlled by the volume keys. You can select the volume via the CD-ROM drive itself (if capable) or through a SoundBlaster (or compatible) card's CD input level or master output level. To eject the CD press "X". If your CD-ROM is a tray-type (as opposed to the caddy-type), pressing "X" again will close the tray door. If "auto play" is enabled the CD will start to play automatically when it is inserted. To exit the program press the "ESC" or "Q" key. You will be asked to confirm that you want to quit by pressing "Y" for yes or "N" for no. When the program exits the CD may stop or may be ejected depending on the settings in the configuration screen. PRINTING INFORMATION ==================== Pressing the "?" key prints information for the specific mode as follows: MODE PRINT WHAT? ---- ----------- F1/F2 Tracks CD Info (track titles and times) F3/F4 Lyrics Lyrics for CURRENT track F7 Catalog Currently displayed catalog (CD's or Lyrics, printed in the currently sorted order) You will be asked to confirm printing by pressing "Y" or "N". Make sure your printer is selected before pressing "Y"! DELETING INFORMATION ==================== Pressing the DEL key deletes information for the specific mode as follows: MODE DELETE WHAT? ---- ------------ F1 Tracks Programmed step at marker F2 CDInfo CD Info files and ALL lyric files for CURRENT CD F3/F4 Lyrics File for current lyrics F7 Catalog All files for selected CD or selected lyric file EDITING INFORMATION =================== Pressing "E" lets you edit information for the specific mode as follows: MODE EDIT WHAT? SEE ALSO (section) ---- ----------- ------------------ F1 Tracks None (Enables playlist) Programming F2 CDInfo CD title and ALL track names Editing Keys F3 Lyrics Lyrics Entering lyrics F4 Karaoke Synchronization or Finetuning Synchronizing lyrics F5 Track Current track name Editing Keys F6 Title CD Title Editing Keys F7 Catalog CD/Lyric file (Shell to DOS EDIT) [MS-DOS Manual for EDIT] F9 Config None (use "W" to save settings) Configuration EDITING KEYS ============ When you press "E" (while in modes F2, F3, F5 or F6) you enter EDIT mode where you may enter information into a field or fields. The background under the edit field will turn blue, and the following keys will be active: LEFT/RIGHT ......Move cursor Left/Right TAB .............Move cursor right 8 characters DEL .............Delete character at cursor BACKSPACE .......Delete character to left of cursor (if at the FIRST character it erases the ENTIRE field) INSERT ..........Toggle insert mode (thick cursor for insert or thin for typeover mode) ESC .............Save and Exit edit mode ENTER ...........Save and Exit OR go to next field in a group UP/DOWN .........Select field to edit in a group of fields HOME/END ........Move to First/Last field in a group of fields PAGE UP/DOWN ....Page Up/Down in a group of fields CTRL-PAGEUP .....Memorize entire field CTRL-PAGEDOWN ...Recall entire memorized field CTRL-HOME .......Erase entire field CTRL-END ........Restore original field contents CTRL-V ..........Insert memorized field at current cursor position ALT-U/L .........Convert entire field to Uppercase/Lowercase ALT-I/D .........Insert/Delete field (lower fields move up or down) ALT-T/B .........Mark Top/Bottom of block ALT-C ...........Copy marked block Special Track control keys while in edit mode: These keys allow you to control playback of the current track, since the normal cursor keys control cursor movement. These are handy when entering lyrics so you don't need to keep re-playing the track over and over... (These keys also work outside of edit mode). ALT or CTRL-UP .....Pause/Resume playback ALT or CTRL-DOWN ...Re-start track ALT-LEFT/RIGHT......Reverse/Fastforward search ENTERING LYRICS =============== You may enter lyrics using the built-in editor. This is a simple line-based editor with NO text wrapping ability. See the "Editing Keys" section for a detailed explanation of individual keys. This section covers the general process of entering lyrics. If you have used an external editor to type the lyrics see the "Utilities" section. Press the Lyrics key (F3) then press "E". This will edit lyrics for the CURRENTLY selected track. Editing the lyrics does not stop playback, however you may use the "ALT/CTRL-CURSOR" keys to control playback while editing. The CTRL-UP key is particularly handy as it allows you to listen to a line then pause playback while you type it in. When you're ready for the next line press CTRL-UP again. If you miss a line or need to re-play a line you can use ALT-LEFT to reverse a bit then ALT-RIGHT to catch up (or just let it play). Most songs have a chorus which is repeated one or more times during the song. You will need to copy these lines using the BLOCK keys. Move to the first line of the chorus and press ALT-T to mark the top, then move to the last line and press ALT-B to mark the bottom of the block. You can then move to the line where the chorus is repeated then press ALT-C to copy the marked lines. If a certain line or phrase is repeated often, use CTRL-PAGEUP to memorize that line then use CTRL-PAGEDOWN to recall it (entire line) or CTRL-V to insert it into the current line (at the cursor position). Feel free to leave some lines blank for clarity. After you have typed in a rough version of the lyrics you might want to use CTRL-DOWN to re-start playback from the beginning while following along with the lyrics using the cursor DOWN key. This will also let you get a "feel" for the timing which will come in handy when you synchronize the lyrics later on (see next section). Try to enter all the lyrics for a song BEFORE you synchronize them. When you insert lines (ALT-I) or copy lines (ALT-C) no synchronization data will be available for those lines. This will cause lyric playback to stop, and you will have to re-sync the entire track. Lines without sync information will have a "." displayed at the beginning of the line. To exit Lyrics entry press the ESC key. Lyrics will automatically be saved with the appropriate filename (CD{idnum}.{tracknum} format). And one last thing: Don't trust the lyrics that may be included with the CD... They're rarely correct! SYNCHRONIZING LYRICS ==================== Select Karaoke mode (F4) then press "E". Playback will be stopped. You will be presented with a summary of keys that control synchronization. Select "I" for an Initial synchronization, or "F" to finetune the synchronization. If you don't want to synchronize press the ESC key. You must have already entered some lyrics before you can synchronize them and you must already have synchronized the lyrics before you can finetune them (duh)! The initial synchronization process plays the track from start to end and you do the entire track in a linear manner. Finetuning will loop playback of the selected line so you can adjust when it starts. The current line is indicated by a triangular yellow marker. Note: When you press "I" or "F" playback will begin, so be ready! Initial Synchronization Keys: ---------------------------- SPACE ........Press SPACE at the moment the line is sung BACKSPACE ....Re-try the previous line. Playback will return to the line before the previous line to give you a chance to get ready for the line again ESC ..........Abort without saving Note: The timing information will automatically be saved when the last ~~~~~ line has been synchronized. Finetuning Keys: ---------------- UP/DOWN ......Select line to adjust PAGE UP/DOWN .Select Previous or Next Page LEFT .........Start line earlier (5/75ths of a second) CTRL-LEFT ....Start line earlier (half a second) RIGHT ........Start line later (5/75ths of a second) CTRL-RIGHT ...Start line later (half a second) + or - .......Increase/Decrease loop time (20/75ths of a second) * ............Set loop to repeat to the start of the next line / ............Reset loop time (half the fastforward/reverse time) END ..........Exit and Save ESC ..........Abort without saving TIP: for blank lines, if possible, try to start them just AFTER the ~~~~ previous line ends so that the line can remain on the screen when in Karaoke mode. If there is a long delay before the next line is sung wait on the blank line until just a few seconds before it starts. PROGRAMMING =========== Press the Playlist key (F1). To toggle program mode press "G". Use the CURSOR keys to move the yellow marker above the track numbers. The name of the track under the marker will be displayed at the bottom of the display window. You can press DEL or BACKSPACE to delete steps from the playlist. To add a track, enter a two-digit number such as "03" or "14". The track will be INSERTED at the marker position. Only valid track numbers and "00" will be accepted. Entering "00" will insert a pause in the playlist (you must press "P" to continue playback). IMPORTANT NOTE!: When program mode is ENABLED, entering a two-digit track ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ number inserts it into the program playlist regardless of the display mode! It does NOT play the track. The currently playing track will be highlighted in red. If you delete a track that is playing the next track (if any) will be played. To save programmed tracks press the "W" key. The program will be saved in the same file that is used for CD information "CD{idnum}.CD" so that each CD can have it's own favourite track programming. If you want to re-load the program saved in this file press "L". If you don't want programmed tracks for the current CD press "C" to clear the program then "W" to write it to the file. You can clear all tracks by pressing "C". Pressing it again will select all tracks in track-number order. Shuffle (jumble) all tracks with the "J" key. The "^" (shift 6) key will program only those tracks that have lyrics. If you want to dub the CD to tape use the "%" (shift 5) key. It will ask for the length (in minutes) of one side of the tape and insert pauses at the correct locations so that songs are not cut off and you can have time to flip the tape over or change tapes. You must press P to start playback after the CD pauses. When "use programmed playlist if available" is enabled the programmed tracks will automatically be loaded and enabled when the CD is next inserted. CATALOGING ========== Press F7 for the CD/Lyric Catalog. This will read each CD{idnum}.* file and extract the CD Title or Track name from the first line then display a list on the screen. To toggle between CD files and Lyrics files press the "\" key. Use the UP or DOWN keys to scroll through the list. Use the LEFT and RIGHT keys to page up or down the list. A yellow triangle at the top of the list shows the currently selected line. To delete the currently selected CD or track file press the DEL key. Press the INS key to sort the catalog by number (disk order), ID (time), or title. The yellow marker will point to the sorted column. To edit the file press the "E" key. This will shell to the DOS EDIT command (see your DOS manual. Press ALT-F then X to return to SJGPLAY). Notes: The DOS EDIT command must be in your path for the "E" command to ~~~~~~ work. When in the DOS editor all CD control is lost. Be careful when editing lyrics with syncronization numbers! You can not have both lyrics and catalog entries. Switching to either lyric (F3/F4) mode will clear the catalog. UTILITIES ========= Pressing the "U" or F8 keys will display the Utilities help screen. All utilities work at any time, not just when the utility screen is displayed. The utility screen is just a reference to help you remember the key commands. ## Key Description ------ ----------- 1. (!) Rename data files with specified {name} to the proper {idnum}" 2. (@) Rename data files with an {idnum} of 000000 to the proper {idnum}" 3. (#) Extract Lyrics for current track from 'Album' file" 4. ($) Export lyrics to 'Album' file" 5. (%) Program Playlist for Cassette Tape Dub" 6. (^) Program Playlist with only those tracks that have lyrics" 8. (*) Copy Lyric file for current track with specified name" Lyric and Information files --------------------------- The following functions are useful when you have used a text editor to edit the lyrics or have obtained a text file containing lyrics from another source. There are internet sites containing song lyrics. Some files may contain lyrics for many songs all in a single file (referred to as an "Album" file). Renaming: The "!" and "@" keys will rename all files to the proper format. If you're not running the program and don't know the {idnum} of a specific CD, you can substitute "CD000000" or a {name} of your own choosing while creating the files. When the CD is inserted and the proper {idnum} is known they can be renamed. Only the first part of the filename will be renamed! Files must still end in the proper format (.CD for information files or .001, .002 etc for lyric files) The "@" key will prompt you for the {name} of the files. So, for example, if you typed out the lyrics for tracks one and two from the CD "Ace of Base - The Sign" and called them "thesign.001" and "thesign.002" you would press "@" then enter "thesign" when prompted for the {name}. This would then rename the files to "CD206107.001" and "CD206107.002" since the {idnum} for that cd is 206107. The {idnum} for the current CD is displayed on the help screen if you want to know what it is. You can also type: SJGPLAY INFO on the command line. Album Files: (Extracting/Exporting) The "#" key will extract lyrics from an "Album" file containing many songs. Each song in the file must begin with the text "@SONG:" followed by the song name. The program will extract all lines after that line, up until another "@SONG" line is reached (or if all lines are filled). You will be prompted to enter the complete path of the "Album" file and the name of the song to extract. The name of the song must exactly BEGIN with what is entered, however it is not case-sensitive. If you enter an incomplete song name, the first song matching that will be extracted. For example, if you enter "do i" as the song name, it would extract "Do I Love You" or "Do I Know", whichever came first in the "Album" file. If the Song is not found, a list of song names will be displayed. This information is held temporarily as lyrics and will disappear if the display mode or track is changed. The "$" key will create an Album file for the current CD. You will be asked for a name for the album file and an optional comment. Deleting: The DEL key will delete the lyric file for the current track (If you've extracted the wrong file from an Album file for example). You will need to confirm the deletion by pressing "Y" or "N". Importing (copy): The "&" key will copy a lyric file into the data directory with the proper filename. If the file is not in the current directory you must enter the complete path along with the filename. It will be copied to the data directory with the proper CD{idnum}.{tracknum} filename. Copying (save as): The "*" key will save the current lyrics to a file with a name of your choice. You will be prompted to enter the filename. This is useful for songs that appear on more than one CD in your collection. Just give the file the appropriate file name (in the format CD{idnum}.{tracknum}) for the other CD. Or, you can give it any name (be sure to end the name with the proper track number ie: 002) then when you insert the other CD, go to the proper track and use the "@" key to rename it. Set Event: Press "Z" to set the Event. When the time of day reaches the specified time the event is performed. You can set any or all of the following: Message.......Display message in big letters (leave blank to skip) Play Track....Play track (1 to NumTracks, 0=No change, -1=Stop) Display Mode..Set display mode (0=No change) The time must be specified to the exact second. If a message is entered it will be displayed for 5 seconds. The event time is cleared after each event. ERROR CONDITIONS ================ If an error occurs in the program (if you enter an illegal character in a filename, or the printer is off, for example) the program will print an error message and, depending on the type of error, give you the opportunity to either: Retry, Cancel, or Abort the program. Choose "Retry" if the problem is something you can fix (ie: turning the printer online or feeding paper). Choose "Cancel" if it's something you can't fix (ie: don't have a printer) and the program will cancel the operation. Choose "Abort" if "retry" keeps giving you the same error and "Cancel" won't work either (probably my programming error...). COMMAND-LINE ARGUMENTS ====================== SJGPLAY can be controlled through command-line arguments. These may be used to modify how the program is run or can be used to control CD functions from the command line (or via a batch file) without actually interacting with the program. Program-mode options must appear on the command line by themselves. Control-mode options may be listed with spaces separating each one, and will be executed in the order they appear. Program-mode arguments: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHECK..........Checks if a CD is in the drive. If there is no CD in the drive the program will exit. If there is a CD in the drive the program will run normally. This can be used in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that you can play CD's when the computer boots up. CONFIG:file....Specifies an alternate configuration file. Settings in this file override those set in the default config file (which is still used first). NOTE: The following arguments can be shortened to the first 4 characters Control-mode arguments: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Device control: UNIT:xx....Select drive unit# xx (0=first drive, 1=second drive etc) EJECT......Eject any type of CD NODATA.....Eject CD-ROM's only NOAUDIO....Eject Audio CD's only Playback: PLAY:xx....Play track xx (plays current track if xx not specified) SINGLE:xx..Single-play track:xx (stops at end of track) NEXT.......Play next track PREVIOUS...Play previous track STOP.......Stop CD playback Information: INFO.......Display CD info including track titles and time, total time TRACK......Display track name and number TNUMBER....Display track number only ELAPSED....Display track elapsed time TITLE......Display CD title MONITOR....Continuous monitor of track, time and frame until key pressed Conditionals: The following arguments can be used to stop command line parsing if the specified condition is false, or continue if the condition is true: IFSTOPPED..If the CD is stopped then continue parsing CMDLIST IFPLAYING..If the CD is playing then continue parsing CMDLIST IFCD.......If a CD is inserted then continue parsing CMDLIST, If not, then exit with ERRORLEVEL=1 (useful in batch files) if the condition is false then the remaining arguments on the command-line are ignored. When in command-line mode, commands are executed in order and control is returned to the dos prompt (or calling program). Some examples: SJGPLAY CHECK ....................Run the program if a CD is in the drive SJGPLAY INFO .....................Display name, track titles of current CD SJGPLAY PLAY:1 ...................Play track 1 (put this in your AUTOEXEC!) SJGPLAY IFSTOPPED PLAY:5 .........Play track 5 if the CD is NOT playing SJGPLAY UNIT:0 STOP UNIT:1 PLAY ..Stop CD in unit 0 then start playing the current track of unit 1 SJGPLAY NOAUDIO ..................Eject the CD if it is an audio CD. (maybe your system gets confused if an audio disc is inserted?) REVISION CHANGES ================ 1.00 - Initial Public Release. 1.01 - Fixed large "[" and "y" characters, A/B repeat lyric scrolling. Fixed DEL key to delete program step (deleted twice). Fixed bug that caused repeat modes to fail with programmed tracks. Fixed INTRO when REPEAT enabled. 1.02 - Fixed Extract. Changed time display while in edit mode to update only once per second to speed up editing. Added save lyric message. 1.03 - Fixed playback stopping. Fixed command line "single" option. Allow track jumping even if Repeat set to "one". Added printing of CDInfo, Lyrics and Catalog. 1.04 - Added initial repeat mode to config. Added Reset CD-ROM ("~"). Added reset playlist ("S" when CD stopped). Added Import Lyric("&"). Changed disc-change-detection and volume routines. Improved error trapping (this added 14K to the program size...) 1.05 - Small speed improvements and code re-organization. Minor text and color changes. 1.06 - Well, seems that code re-org broke a few things... specifically the updating of track titles...fixed (sorry about that). If using Soundblaster, volume level defaults to current volume setting (rather than 99%). 1.10 - Added mouse control. Added SHIFT-TAB to goto previous mode. Added Remaining frame time mode. KNOWN BUGS AND MISSING FEATURES =============================== I've tried to test the program as thoroughly as possible, however bugs will still occur. As stated at the beginning, I can't test every possible combination of equipment, so your milage may vary... Anyway, here are a few of the bugs I haven't been able to squash (yet!): - Command-line option "NODATA" to eject cd-roms not working - all cd's appear to be audio to the DSE library's "IsData%" function. - volume control via CD-ROM not working (soundblaster works fine... this seems to be a missing feature in the library. I'm waiting for a response from DSE...) - the cursor sometimes jumps one character to the right when editing. IDEAS FOR FUTURE VERSIONS ========================= Some of the things I'm considering for future versions of the program (in no particular order): - ability to include comments with each CD or Lyric file - more cataloging information like music category (rock, pop, etc) - programming across multiple drive units. - searching (find song titles or lyrics) If you want to see any of these added, have ideas of your own, or have a comment, send me a message via e-mail. I can't promise you I'll add them but I will consider all reasonable requests. One thing *I* would like to add but don't know if it would be fast enough is some sort of real-time frequency display... If you have assembly source code which you'd like to donate that could be integrated (into Microsoft's Basic PDS 7.1) please e-mail me. Thank-you for using SJGPLAY! END.