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EDLP(TM) The Edit Decision List Processor for the Commodore Amiga(TM) from BCS Software INSTRUCTION MANUAL DEMO Version 0.05 Mar 87 Copyright 1987 by Mike Berro All Rights Reserved EDLP - Edit Decision List Processor Copyright 1987 by Mike Berro All Rights Reserved Written by Mike Berro BCS Software 13432 Lochrin Lane Sylmar, CA 91342 (818) 362-6031 CIS: [73267,3361] Published by Prism Computer Graphics Jeff Bruette 14755 Ventura Blvd. Suite #1-600 Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 (818) 906-9977 SOFTWARE LICENSE BCS Software grants to the customer a non-exclusive license to use on the customer's computer(s) the software received. Title to the disk on which the program is recorded is transferred to the customer, but not title to the software. The customer may make a reasonable number of backup copies of the software for the customer's own use only. LIMITED WARRANTY This software and manual are sold "as-is", without warranty as to their performance, saleability, or fitness for any particular purpose. BCS Software shall have no liability to the customer or to any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by computer software sold by BCS Software. EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Program Description................................... 2 2. Starting the Program.................................. 3 3. The EDLP Screen....................................... 4 4. Entering Data From the Keyboard....................... 5 5. Entering Time Code.................................... 7 6. The Menus............................................. 9 7. The Gadgets...........................................14 8. The Time Code Reader..................................15 9. Transferring Data Using the Serial Port...............16 10. Error Messages........................................17 11. Accessing an Edit List Using AmigaBasic...............19 Page 1 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 1. Program Description EDLP allows you to create and manage edit decision lists quickly and economically. It is very valuable as a teaching aid, and you can imagine how much time and money you can save by preparing your edit lists off-line or at home before an expensive edit session. The program works with either Drop or Non-drop frame time code, and also allows mixed-mode lists. With the BCS Time Code Reader Interface (TCRI), it can read SMPTE time code, and then you may select the Source In and Out points with the push of a button. EDLP allows you to transfer lists directly to other computers and editing devices using the RS-232 serial interface. In addition, the data is easily accessible to your own custom Basic programs if you so desire. EDLP is very easy to use. There is always a prompt telling you what the program wants you to do, and what it will allow you to do. Most commands can be initiated from the menu or the keyboard. Help is available on-screen for every menu selection. Error messages are given in English, and not some numerical code. EDLP is very fast. The entire list is recalculated ("rippled") every time you make any change to the list. Therefore the list is always accurate, and you don't have to wait to find out if an entry is correct. EDLP is versatile. You can enter events by specifying the Source In and Out times, the Record Out times, or the duration of each event. The column headings can be changed to any description. Lists can be appended together to form longer lists, and the printout can be customized to your own requirements. Page 2 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 2. Starting the Program Please make a copy of the EDLP disk before using it, and keep the original in a safe place. You will find EDLP very useful, and will probably come to depend on it. Since disks do occasionally fail, we strongly recommend that you do not use the original except to make copies. Before you begin editing a list, you may move EDLP to any disk, including a Workbench disk, although a WB disk won't leave you much room for data. However, EDLP should always be in a disk's main window, never inside a drawer. EDLP requires at least 160K of free memory. If it is not available, the program will not be able to open its screens. If this happens, clear the computer of other tasks and try again. You may start the program in one of three ways: You can select (double-click) the EDLP icon from Workbench, you can select any one of the data icons from Workbench, or you may run EDLP from CLI. If you select a data icon, then EDLP must reside in the main window of the same disk as the data icon. Of course, it is OK for the data icon to be inside a drawer. If you use several different formats constantly, you may want to save an empty list for each format. Then, when you want to use that format, just select the appropriate data icon, and EDLP will load the format for you. Page 3 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 3. The EDLP Screen Once you have started the program, the EDLP screen will appear. The EDLP screen allows up to sixteen colors for easier identification of the various screen areas. The top grey line is the warning line; red warning messages will appear there, accompanied by a beep if you have the audio output connected to a speaker. The second grey line is the prompt line; green prompting messages will appear there to tell you what the program is expecting. Unless it is obscured (as when files are displayed), you may always look here to find out what the program wants you to do. Below the prompt line is where the title will appear. It is blank when you first start the program or select New, because you have not yet entered a title. The title will appear in purple letters, and will always be centered. Just below the title area are the column headings; these are in yellow. The columns are described as follows, but note that the column headings are user-definable: > Event number. A three digit number from 0 to 999. > Reel Number. Up to six characters identifying the source reel. There is no restriction on which characters may be entered in this column > Trac. Specifies whether the event refers to video, audio channel 1, audio channel 2, or some combination of the three. This column is automatically formatted so that no matter in what order you enter the information, it will appear as V/An, where n is the audio track number if required. This column is also automatically always in upper case. You may also enter a "B" for both, this will be converted to "V/A". > Type. This refers to the type of edit; either Cut, Dissolve or Wipe. Only the first letter is required. If the event is a wipe, you may add three digits following the W to specify which wipe. > TR. This is the transition rate in frames for a dissolve or a wipe. > Source In. This is the time code that you enter for the start of the take. > Source Out. This is the time code that you enter for the end of the take. > Record In and Out are calculated by the program. You cannot move the cursor into these columns. The list itself appears in grey when you first start the program. This is because any event that has not been assigned a track appears in grey. Near the bottom of the screen is the grey track record line. The record in times for all three tracks for the current cursor position are always displayed there. This will come in very handy when you are doing split edits. Below the track record line the current contents of the "paste" buffer are displayed in dark red. Anytime you copy or delete an event, the event will appear here. The contents of the paste buffer may be inserted into the list as many times as needed. Page 4 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 4. Entering Data From the Keyboard There are three methods for entering data into EDLP: you can enter data from the keyboard, from the time code reader and from the RS-232 serial port. This section describes general procedures and techniques of entering data from the keyboard. A more specific description of entering time code is given in the next section. Entering data into EDLP from the keyboard is very much like using a full screen editor or word processor, except that there are certain places you cannot make the cursor go. In a standard event you cannot make it go between columns, instead, it just skips to the next column. You also cannot make the cursor stop on one of the separator (colons) in the time code columns, the cursor will skip to the next digit instead. It will not go into the Record In column under any circumstances, but you can make it go into the Record Out column if you so desire, although that is not normally required. When you are typing data onto the list, EDLP is always in "type-over" mode. This means that what you type will be placed "on top" of what was already there. This is not true of gadgets like the title gadget, the record start gadget, or the drawer and filename gadgets. In the gadgets, what you type is inserted into the text, and you must use DEL or BACKSPACE to erase existing text. As you type the cursor will move to the next character. When you get to the end of a column the cursor jumps to the next column. Often the column you just left will change, as EDLP formats or capitalizes it for you. The entire line may change color as you enter data into the Trac column. You can avoid quick changes of color by using "B" in the Trac column to stand for both. EDLP will convert it to "V/A" automatically. If you have repeated data (for example the same Reel # for every event), there are two techniques for duplicating information. The first is to GET the "prototype event", and then INSERT it as many times as needed. The second method uses CONTROL-P. Pressing CONTROL-P grabs the character from the same column in the previous event. CONTROL-P does not work in comments. The cursor will not automatically jump to the next line when you finish typing in the last column (Source Out). This is to give you a chance to see the effect of that last digit before you move on to the next event. If you are happy with the line, press TAB or RETURN to jump to the first column of the next line. If you don't like the line, you can either fix it, or just press ESC to restore the line to how it was before the cursor got to it. If you type an invalid character (like "Z" in the Trac column), EDLP will beep at you and display an error message at the top of the screen. The error message will go away as soon as you press another key or mouse button. Only the Reel # column allows any character to be entered. Page 5 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 4. Entering Data From the Keyboard (Cont'd) To jump immediately to the next column, you can press either TAB or RETURN. Pressing ENTER (on the numeric keypad) moves you to the first column in the next line. You can also move the cursor using the four arrow keys. Holding down the shift key and pressing the up or down arrow moves the cursor up or down one page (8 lines). Holding down the control key moves the cursor to the top or the bottom of the list. Another way is to use the mouse. Simply point where you want the cursor to go and press the left mouse button. If you use the arrow keys to move around on the screen, you will not be able to move the cursor into the No. (event number) or Record Out columns. Since both the event number and Record Out times are calculated automatically for you, you will rarely need to change these columns yourself. If you want to change either of these columns you can use the mouse to move the cursor there. Once inside the column the left and right arrow keys work normally. If you change an event number from the keyboard, no other event numbers are affected. In addition, as the event is renumbered (by insertions, deletions or the renumber command), the changed event number keeps the same numerical relation to the rest of the list. What that means is that if your list contains event number 15, 16, 16 and 17 (fairly common when using split edits), and an event is inserted at the top of the list, those events become 16, 17, 17 and 18. Use the renumber command when you want to renumber the entire list. See the next section about making changes to the Record Out column. Here is a summary of the data entry instructions: > Press RETURN or TAB to advance the cursor to the next column. Press ENTER on the numeric keypad to move the cursor to the first column on the next line. > Entering the last digit of the Source Out does not advance the cursor to the next column. This is so that the ripple can take place and any errors detected. After entering in the last character for the line just press RETURN, TAB or ENTER to advance to the next line. > The ALT and CTRL keys are treated like the SHIFT key, except for CTRL-P, which grabs the character just above it from the previous event and CTRL-O which moves the cursor to the Record Out column (except for comments). > The ESC key restores the current line to the condition it was in before the cursor moved onto it. > Use the arrow keys to move the cursor in the four directions. Use the left mouse button to move the cursor to where you are pointing. Use the scroll gadget on the right side of the screen to scroll rapidly through the list. Page 6 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 5. Entering Time Code Data Entering the Source In and Source Out time code numbers can be done in two ways. You can just type them in from the keyboard, or you can "grab" these numbers from the time code reader. To type the numbers in from the keyboard, simply move the cursor to the appropriate column and start typing. You will not be allowed to enter incorrect values, such as 70 minutes or 25 hours. If you are in drop frame mode, you will not be allowed to enter hh:mX:00:00 or hh:mX:00:01, where X is non-zero. If you attempt it, the program will beep and flash at you, and an error message will appear to tell you what the problem is. Entering the time code number from the time code reader is a much more rapid method of creating the list if you have SMPTE time code on one of the audio channels of your video tape. See section 8 for instructions on reading time code. As you build the list, you will most likely just enter the Source In and Out times. The Record In and Out times will then be calculated for you. The list is rippled after every keystroke, so you can immediately see the effect every change has on the entire list. The list never needs cleaning, it is always "clean". Rather than entering the Source Out time code directly, you may instead just specify the duration of the event. Press CTRL-D (hold down the CTRL key and press D once), and the last used duration will appear at the bottom of the screen. Type in the new duration and press RETURN to accept it. The Source Out time for that event will be calculated and the entire list rippled. Press ESC instead to abort the operation. A third method is to enter the Record Out instead of the Source Out. This is useful if you are building the list using EDLP as you are performing the edits. You cannot move the cursor into the Record Out column using the arrow keys, you must use the left mouse button or press CTRL-O (hold down the CTRL key and press O once). Once the cursor is in the Record Out column you can use the mouse or the left and right arrow keys to move the cursor. Pressing ESC returns the Record Out column (only) to its original value. Pressing RETURN or ENTER exits the column. You may also use the left mouse button to move the cursor out of the column. Note that the menus and the scroll gadget are disabled while the cursor is in the Record Out column. Every change you make in the Record Out column immediately affects the entire list. If you are working on a split edit you will not immediately be warned if the Record Out times do not match, otherwise you would get a beep on every keystroke until they do. Instead, you will get the warning only when you leave the Record Out column (if the error still exists). Page 7 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 5. Entering Time Code Data (Cont'd) You will not be allowed to enter a Record Out value less than the Record In value. You also cannot enter the Record Out column in the first place if the event does not already have a Record In and a Trac already assigned to it. In each of these cases you will be beeped at and told why it was not allowed. Once you have entered the Source In and Out time codes, you can modify these values using the Trim command. The trim command is in the Commands Menu. You must select which column you are going to trim. Once you have selected a column, the time code value is highlighted in green. Press the right arrow to increase the time by one frame, and the left arrow to decrease it by one frame. The up and down arrows increase and decrease it by ten frames. The entire list is rippled after every keypress. Press RETURN to accept the new value, or press ESC to restore the old one. Page 8 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 6. The Menus Most of the menu commands may be initiated from the keyboard, as indicated in the menus themselves. The menu commands are as follows: Project Menu > New. Clears the entire list, including the title. The time code modes and printer options are unchanged. > Load. Loads a list from the disk. Two white windows will appear. The right window will list all of the EDLP data files in the current drawer. The left window will display the current drawer gadget, the filename gadget, the LOAD gadget and the CANCEL gadget. The current drawer can be changed by selecting the current drawer gadget and typing in a new drawer name. Press the RETURN key when you are done, and the right window will display the contents of the new drawer. You will get a warning message if you have not entered a valid drawer name. The filename can be changed in the same way, but it is not recommended that you type the name in. Instead, just point at the file you want in the right window and press the left mouse button. The selected filename will then appear in the filename gadget. Select the LOAD gadget to load the list into EDLP. Note that all of your settings, including the Drop Frame mode, Skip Record mode, and printer options are loaded from the disk as well. If you do not wish to load a list, select the CANCEL gadget to return to the current list. > Append. Append works very much the same as Load, except that the retrieved list is appended to the end of the list already in memory, and is automatically renumbered. All of the options and time code modes are unchanged after the Append. > Save. Saves the list onto the disk. The file name is selected the same way as the Load command. A Workbench icon will be created for the data file. All of your settings, including Drop Frame mode, Skip Record mode, and printer options are saved in the file as well. > Print. Prints the list according to the settings in Printer Options (see below.) The program has widow/orphan control, so a comment will never be separated from its event. > Xfer. Allows you to transfer the list to and from an external device via the serial port. See section 9 about transferring data using the serial port. > Quit. Exit the program. You will be reminded if you have not saved the list you were working on. This is the same as selecting the close gadget in the upper left corner of the window. Page 9 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 6. The Menus (Cont'd) Options Menu > Non-Drop Frame, Drop Frame or Mixed Mode. These options affect the entire list. If you want the entire list to be either non-drop or drop frame, select the appropriate one. If you select drop frame, the entire list is tested for an invalid code. If one is found, you will be informed where, and the conversion will not take place. If there is no error, the entire list is reformatted. Drop frame time code is indicated by a period instead of a colon between the seconds and frames. If you select Mixed Mode, nothing happens to the list. Instead, you press funtion key F10 to change the mode of individual events. > Skip or Non-Skip Record. Selecting Skip causes the Record In of each event to be one frame later than the record out of the previous one. Selecting either mode reformats the entire list. > Auto or Manual Ripple. Auto ripple causes the entire list to be recalculated after any change is made. Manual ripple turns off the auto ripple. In manual mode, press F9 to ripple the list. Commands Menu > Insert Comment. Creates a comment line preceeded by an asterisk for the event under the cursor. If the event already has a comment you will get an error message. > Delete Comment. Deletes the comment for the event under the cursor (the "current event"). The cursor may be on the comment or the event itself. > Edit Event. This menu item allows you to delete, get and insert single events. A comment is always considered part of an event. Use Delete and Insert Comment to work with comments separately. Use Edit Block to manipulate many events at one time. > Delete Event. Deletes the current event and places it in the Get Buffer, which is displayed at the bottom of the screen. > Get Event. Gets a copy of the current event and places it in the Get Buffer, which is displayed at the bottom of the screen. > Insert Event. Inserts the contents of the Get Buffer into the list at the cursor location. The contents of the Get Buffer are unchanged. Page 10 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 6. The Menus (Cont'd) > Edit Block. This menu item allows you to delete, get and insert many events at one time. A comment is always considered part of an event. Use Delete and Insert Comment to work with comments separately. Use Edit Event to manipulate many events at one time. > Cut Block. When you select this command, the CUT cursor appears (a handsaw). Point to the first event to cut and press the left mouse button. While holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse up or down to highlight the events you want to cut. If you drag the pointer above or below the list, the list will scroll to allow you to highlight more events. When the correct events are highlighted, release the button. If you have made a mistake, you can still repeat the process, or press the ESC key to abort. To actually perform the cut, press the RETURN or ENTER key. The block will be saved in a RAM file, deleted from the list, and the list will be renumbered and rippled. Note that the RAM file will be deleted when you exit EDLP. > Copy Block. Selecting this command is the same as selecting Cut Block, except that a camera pointer appears, and the block is not deleted from the list. It is simply stored in a RAM file. > Paste Block. Selecting this command causes the paste pointer to appear. Simply point to the line where the block is to be pasted and press the left mouse button. Press the ESC key to abort the paste function. > Trim Event. Allows you to adjust the Source In or the Source Out of the current event in one frame or ten frame increments. You must first select the Source In or the Source Out from the Trim sub-menu. The appropriate time is then highlighted in green. You may then press the left or right arrow keys to trim up or down by one frame, or press the up and down arrow keys to trim in ten frame increments. The list is rippled after every keypress. Press any other key to exit the trim mode. > Renumber. This command changes the event number for the current event, as well as all subsequent events. If you select DOWN ONE from the sub-menu, one is subtracted from each event number. If you select UP ONE from the sub-menu, one is to each event number. The primary use for this command is to create events with duplicate event numbers, as might be desirable for split events, for example. Page 11 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 6. The Menus (Cont'd) Time Code Menu > Read Time Code. Switches to the time code screen. Time code can be read with the BCS Time Code Interface, and is displayed in large characters that may be superimposed over incoming video (with the genlock option). Press the left mouse button to return the edit list. The time code read at the moment of exiting will then be displayed in green near the bottom of the edit list screen. Please see section 8 for complete instructions on using the time code reader > Capture Source In. Takes the time code displayed in green near the bottom of the screen and inserts it into the source in column of the event under the cursor. > Capture Source Out. Takes the time code displayed in green near the bottom of the screen and inserts it into the source out column of the event under the cursor. > Move the Display. Switches to the time code screen, and allows you to move the large characters, as indicated by the "move" pointer. Position the pointer to where you want the upper left corner of the display to be, and press the right mouse button. Press the left button to exit this mode and return to the edit list. Customize Menu > Change Title. Selecting this will cause the title gadget to appear. Select the gadget with the left mouse button before typing or changing the title (WB version 1.1 only). Close the gadget by pressing RETURN, or by pressing the left mouse button with the pointer outside of the title gadget. > Change Headings. Selecting this will move the cursor onto the column headings (in yellow). You may then type over the old headings. Press RETURN or TAB to jump to the next column, or use the left and right arrow keys to move around. You may also use the left mouse button to move the cursor. Press ESC to restore the headings to the default names. Press the down-arrow key, or select the close gadget to exit this mode. Note that these new column headings will be saved onto the disk along with the list. > Change Record Start. This allows you to change the initial record start time. The default is 01:00:00:00. Selecting this command will cause the record start gadget to appear just under the Record In column heading. Select this gadget with the left mouse button before typing or changing the record start time. Use the DEL key to delete existing digits. Press RETURN to end. If the time code is not valid, you will get an error message and be asked to re-enter the data. Select the gadget again before doing so. Page 12 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 6. The Menus (Cont'd) > Change Print Options. Selecting this menu item displays a small white window containing the current printer settings. To change any setting simply point at it and press the left mouse button. When you are satisfied with the settings, just point to the OK gadget and press the left mouse button. The printer options will be saved onto the disk along with list when you use the Save command. Please note that some printers do not support all of these options. The options are: Draft: If selected, sets the printer to draft quality mode, otherwise sets the printer to Near Letter Quality (NLQ) mode. Page Numbers: If selected, page numbers are printed in the top right corner of the page. Date: If selected, the current date is printed in the top left corner of the page. Double-Spacing: If selected, each event is separated by a blank line. There is no space between an event and its comment, however. Horizontal Compression: If selected, sets the printer to Condensed Print mode. Vertical Compression: If selected, sets the printer to 8 lines per inch, otherwise to 6 line lines per inch. Extras Menu > Help. Selects the help mode as indicated by the help cursor. You may then select a menu item with the right button, or a gadget with the left, and that item will be explained at the bottom of the screen. You may continue to select items to be explained. To exit, simply press the left mouse button or any key. > Find String. Selecting this command displays the SEARCH WINDOW. You then select the search string gadget and enter the text to be searched for. You select SEARCH to perform the search, or CANCEL to abort. > Find Again. Selecting this command performs a search using the last entered search string, without displaying the SEARCH WINDOW. If you have not yet entered a search string, the SEARCH WINDOW will be displayed as if you had selected the Find String command. > Invert Screen. This command toggles between white letters on black and black letters on white. The other colors are also slightly modified for better readability. > Information. This menu selection displays the program serial number, version and copyright notice. Page 13 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 7. The Gadgets The scroll gadget on the right side of the screen shows where you are in the list. If the list is longer than can be displayed on one screen, you may slide the scroll gadget to move through the list. You may also "click" just above or below the scroll knob to move one page up or down. The front and back gadgets in the upper right corner of the window move the entire EDLP screen to the front or the back. Select the back gadget to move the EDLP screen to the back (usually exposing the Workbench screen). Use the Workbench's back gadget to return to EDLP. If you are running two EDLP screens simultaneously, you can use the back gadgets to flip through the various screens. You may also "grab" the title bar of the EDLP screen and "drag" the entire screen down to reveal the screen behind (usually the Workbench screen). To do this, point at the title bar with the pointer, hold down the left mouse button, and move the mouse toward you. Release the left mouse button when the screen is in the position you desire. Note that the EDLP screen must be "active" before you may use it. If you are re-arranging screens, the EDLP screen may become inactive, in which case the menus or the keyboard will have no effect. To make it active again, simply move the pointer onto the EDLP screen and press the left mouse button. Page 14 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 8. The Time Code Reader The time code reader is accessed from the the Time Code menu. You must have the BCS Time Code Reader Interface (TCRI) in order to read time code. Connect the TCRI to the second mouse port using the cable provided. This cable may be extended with a standard Commodore joystick extender cable. Connect the time code signal to the female three pin audio connector on the TCRI. The time code signal should be on pins two and three. It does not matter which pin is ground, because the TCRI time code input is balanced. The time code reader reads SMPTE longitudinal time code. It is frame accurate at forward play speed, but can also read time code from about one-third to three times play speed in either direction, depending on the quality of the audio source. You can tell at a glance whether the time code reader is frame accurate or not. If the colon between the hours and minutes is solid white, then it is frame accurate (play speed). If the colon is outlined in light green, it is not frame accurate (shuttle). If the colon is solid light green, then it is not reading at all; the tape is most likely running too fast or too slow. When reading time code, the multi-tasking capabilities of the Amiga are disabled. This means you cannot do anything else on the computer while reading time code. The background screen is set to color zero. This means that if you have an Amiga genlock, you can superimpose the time code characters over incoming video. This allows you to view one monitor for cueing the tape and creating the edit decision list. The time code reader can also be used to make "window dubs" (visible time code on tape), but you should use the TCWD (Time Code Window Display) program for that, as it is specifically designed for it. To exit the time code reader, press the left mouse button. No other action (other than rebooting) will stop the reader. When you exit, the last read time code will be placed into the time code buffer, which is displayed at the bottom of the EDLP screen. You can then insert this time code into the Source In or Out column of the edit list. You can build an edit list very quickly this way. Page 15 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 9. Transferring Data Using the Serial Port You can transfer edit lists to and from an external device using the serial port. EDLP uses the CMX 340 standard for transferring data, please contact BCS regarding other data standards. The serial port must be configured for your particular device. Consult the manufacturer's instructions to obtain the serial port baud rate. You must then use Preferences on your workbench disk to set the serial port to the same baud rate. Only 300 and 1200 baud are supported by EDLP; you will get an error message when you try to receive data if the baud rate is different. Connect the external device to the Amiga serial port using a serial cable. Please note that the Amiga supplies power on pins 14, 21 and 23, SOME EXTERNAL DEVICES MAY BE DAMAGED IF THESE PINS ARE CONNECTED. Use a serial cable that has these pins disconnected (a modem cable specifically designed for the Amiga should not have these pins connected). You are now ready to transfer data. If you are sending data to the external device, prepare the device to receive the data. When it is ready, select Send from the Xfer submenu (or press Right-Amiga-X). The sleepy z's will appear during the transfer, and each line of data will appear at the bottom of the EDLP screen as it is being sent. The normal pointer will re-appear when the transfer is complete. If you are receiving data from the external device, prepare the device for transmission, but do not start it yet. First select Receive from the Xfer submenu. You then have ten seconds to start the external device's transmission. The received data will appear at the bottom of the EDLP screen as each line is received. If there is no data received for a period of ten seconds, EDLP will assume the transmission is complete. You can also abort the receive function at any time by pressing any key or button. When you select Receive, you will be warned if you have not yet saved the list in memory. Once you initiate Receive, THE LIST IN MEMORY IS WIPED OUT. Save the list in memory before using the Receive function. Page 16 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 10. Error Messages Error messages appear in red letters in the error status line near the top of the screen. A beep will also sound if you have the Amiga audio connected to a suitable amplifier and speaker. The following error messages may appear: > Time Code is not valid for Drop Frame! Certain time code values are not valid in drop frame mode, and this message will appear if you try to enter a non-valid number. > Invalid Drop Frame time code at event #nnn! This message will appear if you change to the drop-frame mode, and one of the time code values in the list is not valid. If this happens the offending event will be displayed, and the cursor will be positioned at the start of the offending code. The Drop Frame Mode will not be affected until there are no more errors. > Hours value must not exceed 24! You will get this message if you try to enter a time code value greater than 23:59:59:29. > Not a valid character for this column! Only in the Reel # column can you enter any keyboard character. The other columns only allow certain characters, which are displayed in the prompt line. If you try to enter a non-valid character you will get this message. > This is the top of the list! You will get this message if you try to move the cursor above the first event. > The list ends here! You will get this message if you try to move the cursor below line number 999. > Only one comment per event! This message will appear if you try to insert a comment for an event that has one already. > This event has no comment! This message will appear if you try to delete a comment from an event that that does not have one. > Cannot open the PRT: file! This message will appear if the program is unable to print the list. > Unmatched split Record In times at event #nnn! This message will appear if the two or three tracks of the split edit are not the same length. For example, if the video track is one minute long, but the audio track is only 59 seconds long, then there'll be a one second "glitch" on the audio track. This error may occur as you enter the data, or if you change drop-frame or skip-record modes. > You cannot renumber this line! This message will appear if the cursor is not on a valid event when you select the Renumber command. Page 17 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 10. Error Messages (Cont'd) > Event number cannot be zero! This message will appear if you try to renumber down one on event number 001. > Specify the Trac column first! You cannot change the Record Out time of an event that does not have a valid Trac assignment. > Record Out must be greater than In! You cannot specify a Record Out time that is less than the Record In time. > String not found! This message will appear if the Find String function could not find the desired string. Remember that the find function searches down the list only, and starts it's search on the line immediately following the one that the cursor is on. > Cannot open the serial device! This message will appear if EDLP could not open the serial device. Under normal conditions this error should occur only if some other program is currently using the serial device exclusively. If this occurs terminate the other program before attempting to transfer data using the serial port. > Serial baud rate is not 300 or 1200! EDLP supports only these two baud rates. Use Preferences on your workbench disk to set the baud rate. > There is nothing to paste! You have selected the Paste command without having first Cut or Copied a block. > The list will be too large! You have attempted to Paste a block into a list that does not have room for it. You must create two lists if it exceeds 999 lines. > Demo version allows only 29 events! If you get this message when the cursor moves past event 29, then you must have the demo version. Call Prism Graphics and order the real thing! > Demo Reset! This message will appear after about 1000 keystrokes on the demo version. Page 18 EDLP INSTRUCTION MANUAL V0.05 11. Accessing an Edit List Using AmigaBasic This section is for those of you who wish to write your own AmigaBasic programs to access and manipulate an edit list. Included is a sample program that prints an edit list to the screen. The first 804 bytes in the data file contain all the information about the list, including the title, the initial record start, and all of the option settings. Bytes Length Offset in Bytes Description 32 4 Skip-Mode Flag: 0=non-skip, 1=skip 36 4 Drop-Frame Flag: 0=non-drop, 1=drop 44 4 Draft Mode: 0=draft, 1=NLQ 48 4 Date Flag: 0=no date, 1=print date 52 4 Page Flag: 0=no page, 1=print page numbers 56 4 Double Flag: 0=single-space, 1=double-space 60 4 Horiz Flag: 0=standard, 1=horizontal compression 64 4 Vert Flag: 0=standard, 1=vertical compression 80 78 The list title (ASCII) 160 11 The initial record start time (ASCII) 180 78 The list heading line (ASCII) The actual list data starts at the 804th byte. The list is stored in ASCII format. Each line of data is exactly 80 bytes long, and there is no line-feed at the end of the line. Only 77 characters maximum are used. A line with event number but nothing else is indicates the last event in the file. The following program is an example of accessing a list using AmigaBasic: Rem EDLP Access Program OPEN "EDLP_data" FOR INPUT AS 1 <use the appropriate filename. file_length = LOF(1) D$ = INPUT$(1,file_length) <D$ contains the entire file. CLOSE 1 skip_mode = ASC(MID$(D$,38,1)) <we only care about the drop_mode = ASC(MID$(D$,42,1)) last byte of each flag. title$ = MID$(D$,801,78) heading$ = MID$(D$,181,72) print title$:print print heading$:print i = 805 <file location pointer WHILE (i < (file_length - 80)) print MID$(D$,i,77) i = i + 80 WEND END Page 19