Sound, Music & MIDI Collection 2

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Text File | 1993-01-06 | 15.2 KB | 338 lines

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WinDisc 3.20 (C) 1994 Greg Palmer / PDG Software ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ============================================================================ Installation: Note: Before you can run WinDisc, you _MUST_ have the MCI CD Audio driver installed. If you need to install it, or don't know if it's installed, go to the Control Panel, select drivers, and check the installed drivers list for MCI CDAudio. If it's not there, click the "add" button, and add it. If this driver is not installed, you'll get a "Can't Initalize CD-ROM device" error when trying to run WinDisc. For more information on this and other Drivers, consult your Microsoft Windows manual. Installing WinDisc is easy. Just stick the .EXE file in a directory, and put the file BWCC.DLL in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. In theory, everything should be ready to go! (Note: After running WinDisc, a couple of files will appear in the directory where you installed it. These files are: Windisc.ini: The WinDisc initialization file: this holds information on what icon to use, whether to stay the topmost window, and whether or not to animate the icon. CDIndex.DAT: CD title database (see next paragraph) If you are updating from version 1.xx: Be sure to run the included utility: updt_idx.exe. This is a dos-based program that will update your old CDINDEX.IDX file to the new file format. The new file also has a different name: CDINDEX.DAT - just in case you forget to run the update program, so WinDisc doesn't crash. ============================================================================ Features: WinDisc is a fairly straighforward, easy to use, powerful audio CD player for Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later. (Yes, it works with Windows NT, and OS/2 also) It allows normal (sequential), programmed, and shuffled play modes. WinDisc also has a CD recogintion feature, which allows you to enter the name of a disc, as well as song titles, and save them. Each time that disc is inserted, WinDisc will "remember" the CD, and show the title and track names. WinDisc also features a volume control (note: Not all systems will support this feature - I can't guarantee that it will work on your particular machine) Another feature or WinDisc is the ability to choose what the desktop icon looks like when the program is minimized. It even has the option to have animated icons! There are also numerous other features, but they are easy to spot while using the program, so I won't go ever every one of them here. Using WinDisc: As stated earlier, WinDisc is pretty straightforward. There are just a few instructions: When you first start WinDisc, the "About WinDisc" dialog will appear (in unregistered versions only) It will contain a button titled "Register Now", and if this file (readme.txt) is in the same directory, a button titled "View README.TXT". Clicking the register now dialog will bring up a dialog that asks for your first and last names, as well as your registration number. When you registrer, you will receive a code number that is entered here, along with your name, and will register your copy of WinDisc (Note: You only need to register once - all future versions of WinDisc will use your registration number) Clicking the "View README.TXT" button will bring up the NotePad application**, with the file you are reading right now. ** - If notepad.exe can't be found, nothing will happen, and you'll need to view this file with a different editor. Of course, if you are reading this now, you've already done that! Parameters: There are several parameters that can be passed to WinDisc on the command line. These include: windisc V : The "V" parameter is probably the most frequently needed parameter. By default, WinDisc searches your installed audio drivers to see if CD-ROM volume control is supported. If it is, everything's fine. If not, it will not let you use the volume control option. On some systems, however, just checking to see if it has the capability will cause a lockup. If this occurs, just use the "V" parameter, and everything should be fine. windisc W : The "W" parameter is probably the second most common parameter to be used. It causes WinDisc to wait 10 seconds before reading the information from a cd that has just been inserted. Some systems take a while for the cd-rom drive to re-initialize when a new cd is inserted, and aren't ready when WinDisc asks for information on the CD. If this happens, it may report No Disc, or it may crash. If this occurs, try the "W" parameter. windisc L : Some soundcards use the line-in for audio cd output (or input, depending on how you look at it) If the WinDisc's volume control comes up ok, but it controls something else, like your Midi volume, try this option. (Actually, this parameter may be removed in the next version - the reason I wrote it was that one certain sound card manufacturor screwed up in their Windows driver, and the line in volume controlled the CD volume. They have since released an update fixing this problem, but I'll keep this option in until I think their new driver has been spread around.) windisc D : Only for emergencies, when I've told you to run it and give me the results. This is for "debug" mode. It doesn't really do anything, except that you will be bombarded with message boxes giving information on the current status of the program. To access the "setup" dialog, click the left mouse button on WinDisc's system menu (the little box on the top left corner of the window's title bar) to bring up the system menu. Choose the "Setup" option, and the setup dialog will appear. The setup dialog contains several options: What the desktop icon will look like, whether or not to keep WinDisc as the topmost window, and whether or not to animate the icon while WinDisc is playing. Clicking on the "OK" button of this dialog will save your changes into a WINDISC.INI file, located in the same directory as WinDisc.exe. To play your cd in shuffled mode, simply click the "S" button on the button bar. To program in a series of tracks to play, press the "P" button on the button bar. A program dialog will then appear, listing the track names and titles, and will allow your to add, remove, or clear the playback queue. To end shuffle or programmed mode, simply click the "S" or "P" buttons again (if you're in shuffled mode, press "S", if programmed, "P"). When in normal (sequential) mode, double clicking the left** mouse button on the status area (the black box with status information) will bring up the "Jump To Track" dialog. This allows you to jump straight to any track on the CD. By double clicking the right** mouse button on the status area, you can bring up the volume control. As mentioned earlier, this is not supported on all machines. If not supported, nothing will happen - the dialog will not appear. Finally, by double clicking the middle** mouse button on the status area, you can bring up a dialog with information on the cd, including track titles, length of tracks, current track, play list, and more. ** - The button layout mentioned above is the default. In the "Setup" dialog, there is an option to modify what buttons control what activity. Users with 2 button mice may not be able to access the options brought up by the middle button - other will (Some drivers virtualize a third mouse button buy double clicking the left and right buttons at the same time) Clicking the CD: button, (the long one toward the upper left of the window) will bring up the CD Index dialog. This dialog allows you to enter information (title, and track names) of a CD, and have it recognized the next time the CD is inserted. To use this dialog, enter the title in the "disc title" field, then, use the tab key to go down to the "track titles" field. By default, the track titles field starts out with the title of the 1st track. Type in the title of track #1, then click the "Enter" button (That is the button on the screen that says "Enter" - not the "Enter key on your keyboard") The name in the listbox below will change (or not change, if you made no changes to the track name), and the track title field will then contain the name of the next track on the CD. When you are complete, click the "done" button, and you will be asked if you wish to update the cd database. If you want your information saved, select "Yes", if not, select "No". If you want to go back and continue editting, select "Cancel". WinDisc is a straightforward, easy to use, powerful audio cd player for Windows 3.1 or later. (There is a Windows NT version coming soon!) WinDisc allows normal, programmed, and shuffled play modes. It also has a cd recognition feature, which allows you to enter the name of the cd, as well as song titles, and have WinDisc "recognize" it the next time the disc is inserted. There are many other features, but you'll discover them while using the program. ============================================================================ About WinDisc / Contacting the author WinDisc was written mainly because the author (me) was too lazy (or cheap) to register any of the other audio cd players out there. Actually, that's not true. The only one I had thought of registering was waaay overpriced, so I said skip it. Most of the programs out there didn't have the options I wanted, so I decided to write my own. What an experience! In case you were wondering, WinDisc was written entirely in Borland Pascal, version 7.0 for Windows. As with any good product, this is not the final version of WinDisc. There are bound to be problems that turn up with it, so I will be releasing updates periodically. Look for them on a bbs near you! This leads me to the next point... If you have a problem, complaint, question, or comment about WinDisc, feel free to tell me! If you're contacting me about a problem, be sure to include your make & model of computer, cd-rom drive, sound card, operating system & version, as well as a complete description of what's wrong. Your phone number and return address would be helpful, too. I can be reached at the following e-mail addresses: America Online: PDG Soft Internet : pdgsoft@aol.com FidoNet : greg_palmer@f7956.n2210.z1.fidonet.org If you don't have access to internet, America Online, or Fidonet, just send me a letter (hopefully along with your registration!) to the following address: PDG Software 1261 Brook Hill Close Rockford, IL 61108 Either way, I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as humanly possible. ============================================================================ Registration: Well, sooner or later, you knew it would come to this, didn't you? Now's the time I beg for money, and tell you how I'm a poor college student, trying <sob> to pay <sob> tuition, etc... Enough of that! Here's the plan, plain and simple. If you register this program before August 1, 1994, it will cost you $15.00. Not a bad deal! After August 1, 1994, however, the price will be increased to $20.00. Still not too expensive, but it should be a good reason for you to go out and register as soon as possible. Please be advised that this version of WinDisc will become somewhat crippled as of August 1, 1994. I hate to have to do that (It bothers me when I download crippled programs), but I have to ensure that people will register, and not just keep using the program without paying for it. After this time, the cd recognition feature will become unusable, and WinDisc will only recognize the first 5 tracks of any CD. Never fear, though! You only need to register once. You will receive a key file in the mail (or some other way) which will unlock this and all future versions of WinDisc. Think about that-$15.00 for a lifetime of cool cd-players! Wow! What a bargain! All registrations should be done by money order or personal check. Make all checks payable to GREG PALMER. Please use the order form below when registering WinDisc. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - WinDisc Registration Name _______________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________ City _______________________________________________________ State _______________________ Zip __________________________ Phone ______________________________________________________ Current Version ____________________________________________ Where did you hear about WinDisc? __________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Have a comment? ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ How do you wish to receive your registration number? __ By mail (At the address above) add $1.50 for shipping __ By telephone (At the phone number above) __ By FAX (At the following number: ___________________________ ) __ By E-MAIL (At the following fidonet, CIS, AOL or Internet address: _______________________________________________________ ) < Did you enclose the check? Is it made out to Greg Palmer?> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mail your completed order form to the following address: PDG Software 1261 Brook Hill Close Rockford, IL 61108 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Legal Stuff: PDG Software makes no guarantees about this product. Try it at your own risk. Any damages caused by the use or misuse of this program are not the responsibility of PDG Software, nor any of its employees. Modification of WinDisc, including, but not limited to tampering with the executable file, and creation of registration keys is strictly forbidden. Basically, don't do anything stupid. Think before you act. If you get the urge to hack WinDisc, don't. Slap yourself if need be. (Or call us, we'll be happy to do it.) One last item - registered users can share their copies of WinDisc, so long as they don't give out their key-files. If somehow, we find that you have a key file not belonging to you, you, as well as the person it belongs to will be in really, really big trouble, and something really, really bad will happen to you. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!