 _______________________________________________      .___ .
|Program:       DeskTracker MultiTask           |    //  //|
|Type:          Accessory                       |    || || |
|Version:       1.1                             |    || || /\_
|Distribution:  SHAREWARE                       |  _/|| ||\_ /|
|System:        STe/TT/Falcon;                  | |_/ |_| \_|/
|               TOS/MiNT or MultiTOS;           |
|               any screen rez                  |
|               1Mb+ recommended                |
|Last update:   27th June 1993                  |
|Written by:    David Oakley                    |
|                                               |
|Copyright 1992,1993 ASTRAsoft                 |
|                                               |
|Purpose:       Play ProTracker modules in      |
|               the background with animated    |
|               graphic display of tune.        |
 
Based on a NoiseTracker player routine written by Wizzcat in 1991, 
DeskTracker and the current version (DeskTracker MT) are designed to play 
MOD files on any machine with PCM sound chip.

NOTE: ON SOME MACHINES AND SETUPS THE COMPLICATED NATURE OF DeskTracker'S 
MODULE PLAYER MAY CAUSE A CRASH IF EXPOSED TO TOO HEAVY WORKLOAD DURING 
HIGH-SPEED PLAYBACK. EXPERIMENT FOR A WHILE BEFORE DOING IMPORTANT THINGS 
WHILE RUNNING DeskTracker!!!!!

============================================================================
 __________________________
/ CHANGES TO LAST RELEASE / please read if you're upgrading...

    o   There is now no ATRAK.PRG/DTMTTRAK.PRG in the AUTO folder
    o   DTMT.INF is now DESKTRAK.INF, different file format
    o   DTMT.ACC is now DESKTRAK.ACC.
    o   New version of RUN_MOD.PRG.

============================================================================

  ___________________
 / This program is  /
/    SHAREWARE!    /

DeskTracker has taken a lot of work by an overstressed university student!
If you like this program, please do send a donation. I will try to reply 
to all mail within a month, even if it's just a postcard to say I'm 
getting round to it. The address is...

        David Oakley
        6 Watlands Road
        Bignall End
        Stoke On Trent ST7 8QQ
        England

If you register for 5 sterling, you get...

    o   The current version of DeskTracker with all the trimmings left on

    o   Versions of the Tracker-player used in DeskTracker which can be 
        included as object files in your Lattice-C or GFABASIC-3 
        compiled programs or as a stand-alone program to provide the 
        facilities to interpreted GFA-3 or other languages

    o   Put on our mailing list ready for when I finish my MOD-Editor 
        later this summer (1993). It will work in any GEM mode with at 
        least a 640 pixel wide screen and will be fully MultiTOS 
        compatible or runnable as an accessory with all the background 
        playing features you've seen in DeskTracker!

Please make all cheques payable to David Oakley and in sterling only. 
For international registrations, you must send travellers cheques, 
sterling cheques or cash, preferably by registered post. When registering 
please state which model of Atari you have and which monitor you use. Also 
mention which version of DeskTracker you are using at the moment.

The MOD Editor mentioned above will be available from...

        Goodman Enterprises
        16 Conrad Close
        Meir Hay Estate
        Longton
        Stoke On Trent ST3 1SW
        ENGLAND

============================================================================
 ________________
/ Compatibility /

        DeskTracker will only run on an ST compatible that supports 
        Atari's PCM sound which was first introduced on the STe. We have 
|       tested DtMt on an 1040STe, Mega/STe 4 and a Falcon. Falcon 
|       compatability has just been added, though we haven't been able to 
|       try it... Donations of one Atari Falcon would be appreciated! 
        DeskTracker has been tested on a Mega/STe 4 running MultiTOS 
        without memory protection, though I cannot garrantee that it will 
        run on an 030 version of MiNT.

============================================================================

 ____________
/ The files /

In this package (archive or folder) you should find the following files:

|       DESKTRAK.ACC    Can also be run as a program. There is now no need 
|                       for an AUTO folder program, which was needed in 
|                       earlier versions.

|       DESKTRAK.INF    Automatically created when using the Save button
|                       the Options page.  ** registered version only **

        DESKTRAK.TXT    This file

|       RUN_MOD.APP     For MultiTOS only! Install this with application 
|                       type .MOD and then double-clicking MOD files will 
|                       automatically add them to DeskTracker's memory 
|                       list and begin playing.

============================================================================
 __________________
/ Getting started /

|       Just copy DESKTRAK.ACC into the root of your boot drive (e.g. A:\ 
|       or C:\).

============================================================================
 ____________
/ Operation /

DeskTracker is designed to work just like a real CD player. Well, it works
like mine does! It has two main modes of operation: normal and memory.
When in Memory mode, several of the buttons have different meanings, usually
when no MOD is being played.

In the list below, shortcut keys are in square brackets (eg. [L] ).

Click on the menu item 'DeskTracker MT' in the File menu. The DeskTracker 
window will appear:

 ________________________________________
|X|       DeskTracker MT 1.1           |O|
|----------------------------------------|
|_____________________________|OPTIONS|ii|
| ____ ____ ____  ____        |~~|
|| /\ | [] | |> || 00 |    ASTRAsoft   --|
||====|====|====||----| ____ ____ ____|12|
|| << | || | >> ||<=> ||MEM |ADD |RAND|25|
|         |50|
 


What the buttons do:

Button  Display  Description

Close            If in Accessory mode, closes the window but keep playing.
[Undo]           If in Program mode, stops playing and quits the program.

Full             Iconises DeskTracker to a very small window. All keyboard
                 shortcuts still work and operation continues as normal.
                 Useful for MultiTOS.
         ______
Load    |  /\  | Load and start a new NoiseTracker MODule. If you press
[L]     |  ==  | Cancel on the fileselector then the current tune is
           erased from memory and the memory is freed. Note that if 
                 you load a song within an application when not running 
                 MultiTOS you should NOT exit the program until you have 
                 ejected the song, due to memory allocation restrictions. 
                 Use the [Clr] key to simply eject a song.
         ______
Stop    | || | Stop the currently playing song, but don't erase it
[S]     | |__| | from memory. Reset pointers to start of song.
         
         ______
Play    |  |\  | Play the current song from the current position. If any
[Spc]   |  |/  | other program has stoped DeskTracker, this will restart
           the tune from where it was stopped.
        _______
Pause  | ||| | Stop the currently playing song, but remember where
[P]    | |_|_| | we were so play restarts from this point.
        
         ______
Rewind  | /|/| | Move the play position back by one section
[->]    | \|\| |
         
         ______
Fast    | /|/| | Move the play position forward by one section
Forward | \|\| |
[<-]     
         ______
Add to  | ADD  | Select a MOD file and add it to the end of the
memory  |      | playlist. Alternatively you can specify a set of files,
[+]        using *.MOD, A*.MOD, *.* etc.
         ______
Repeat  | +->+ | Toggles whether the MOD file will repeat once it
[R]     | +<-+ | has reached the end. DtMt will even trap those MOD
           files which will normally always loop!
        _______
Options|OPTIONS| Opens the Options screen, where you can change various
[HELP]    options. See below...
         ___
Oscillo |\/\|   Opens the oscilloscope window.
[O]      

         ___
Anim    |III|   Opens the animation window and then toggles between
[A]          the three representations.
           __
Frequency |12|  These buttons select what the output frequency of the
Selectors |25|  player is through the STe's PCM sound generator. Higher
[1..3]    |50|  Higher frequency means better quality but more processor
              time. 50 will lock an 8MHz computer!!!


Clear [ClrHome] This button is only available as a keyboard shortcut.
                It stops playing and wipes the current song from memory, 
                effectively like clicking Cancel on the Load fileselector.

 ______________
/ Memory Mode /

Once the ADD function has been used to move into Memory mode, several of 
the buttons change:

Button  Display  Description
         ______
Eject   |  /\  | Stops and unloads the current song, and resets to
[L]     |  ==  | the start of the playlist.
           
         ______
Stop    | || | Stops and unloads the currently playing song.
[S]     | |__| | 
         
         ______
Play    |  |\  | Plays the current song from the current position.
[Spc]   |  |/  | Loads the current song if it is not in memory.
           
        _______
Pause  | ||| | Stop the currently playing song, but remember where
[P]    | |_|_| | we were so play restarts from this point.
        
         ______
Rewind  | /|/| | Rewind through the current song if PLAYing
[<-]    | \|\| | or move to the previous song in the playlist.
         
         ______
Fast    | /|/| | Speed forward through the current song if PLAYing
Forward | \|\| | or move to the next song in the playlist.
[<-]     
         ______
Memory  | MEM  | Shown depressed when songs are in memory
On      |      | Click to deselect and clear the memory 
[M]      

         ______
Repeat  | +->+ | Toggles whether the playlist will repeat once all
[R]     | +<-+ | songs have been played. Songs will never repeat when
           in Memory mode.
         ______
Random  | RAND | Play items in the playlist in a random order. Currently
play    |      | tracks may repeated before all tracks have played.
           Effectively turns on Repeat mode.

============================================================================
 _________________
/ Options Dialog / Added v1.1

This page allows various features of DeskTracker to be customised. If 
your version allows the setup to be saved, all of these parameters will 
be reloaded next time you run DeskTracker or boot the computer with it as 
an accessory.

The buttons and fields are as follows:
 ______
| Show |
 
This is an alternative way of starting the Spectrum and Oscilloscope 
windows.

 _____________
|Size: 300x 50|  ** registered version only **
 
Sets the size of the windows. When the Options screen is exited, 
DeskTracker will try to convert them into reasonable sizes, so the real 
sizes of the windows will vary considerably compared to the value you give.

 ________________________________
|DeskTracker update rate:  25 ms |
 
Sets the amount of time DeskTracker waits before each update of the 
animation screens and control panel. On standard STe's and when you're 
not doing much else you will probably want to keep this at 0 or below 50, 
but on accelerated computers (TT, Falcon, 030 accelerated STe's) it might 
be a good idea to raise this to over 50 otherwise the animation bars will 
go up and down too quickly!!!
If you are using DeskTracker at the same time as another GEM program, you 
will notice a considerable increase in system performance if you have a 
value of 100 or more for the update rate.

 _________________________________
| MOD Path: D:\AUDIO\MODS         |  ** registered version only **
 
This sets up the current path to load songs from. Note that you should 
only enter the pathname and not a wildcard specification... Entering 
D:\MODS\*.MOD would make DeskTracker try and look at a path such as 
D:\MODS\*.MOD\*.MOD which (probably!) wouldn't work...


 ____________
| ProTracker |  ** registered version only **
 
DeskTracker has the ability to play ProTracker songs, which have extra 
effects such as fine volume sliding and double beat notes. You may find 
however that some old NoiseTracker songs will sound wrong, and when this 
option is off it turns DeskTracker into a NoiseTracker compatible player.

 ________________
| Default Repeat |  ** registered version only **
 
This sets whether DeskTracker should repeat a song or not when it is in 
Normal mode. The option sets the default whichtakes effect as the song is 
loaded, and this is subsequently changed using the Repeat [R] button on 
the main control panel.

 _________
| Keys... |
 
Brings up a help page which gives a list of all the short-cuts available 
from the control panel or either animation window. Learn these... They 
really do speed up operation a lot!

 ______
| Save |  ** registered version only **
 
Saves all the options in the Options page for automatic loading when you 
next run DeskTracker. Also saves the current playback frequency as default.

 ________   ________
| Cancel | ||  OK  ||
    
Reject or accept the changes you've made on this page.


============================================================================
 _______________
/ Packed songs /

Currently, DeskTracker only supports one type of packed MOD files, and 
that is Ice packed files created by JAM Packer 4.0. Note that files 
packed using ICE Packer itself won't work.

To use JAM to pack a MOD file you will need to set ICE pack (of any pack 
rating, it doesn't matter), and then click on where it says Program in 
the 'File Packer' section to change it to Data. Then pack away! You can 
select any file extender for the resulting file, DeskTracker won't 
notice, but it's probably most sensible to put packed files in another 
folder and keeping the .MOD extender on so that you don't have to keep 
changing the FileSelector extension.


MOD files do take _a_long_time_ to pack, even on a relatively powerful 
computer. With full compression on, expect a MOD file to still be at 
least 60% of its original size afterwards.

============================================================================
 _____________________________________
/ And the thanks and hellos go to... /

 People who helped in the development of the DeskTracker project
 (whether they knew it or not...!)
 
 Fozz, R.T.D., Had, Ian R., Wizzcat, 4-mat, Christophe B., Andrew Scott

And the hello list in diplomatically alphabetical order...
 
 Ant, Andy-O., Christophe Boyanique, Eric Smith, Fez, Fozz, Had, Ictari, 
Ian Rae, Jase, Kev, Mike Goodman, Mrs Skidmore, Paul, RTD, Shaunie, 
Stephe, Stevie, Stov, U4ia, 4-mat

several of whom own Amigas, though it's not really their fault.

============================================================================

 ______________________
/ Contact the author! /

I'd like to hear from you whether you've found a bug, can suggest any
improvements or just plain like the program. I'd especially apreciate
it even if you just send me a postcard! I'll try to reply to any mail I
get.

By email...

Send mail to me at             dxo@cs.bham.ac.uk
or after 12 July 93            D.Oakley@kid0112.wins.icl.co.uk

or send your mail to Graham Harrision at:
                               u2e32@keele.ac.uk

if you're sending mail from abroad and this doesn't work, you may need to 
go via a gateway. Ask your system administrator for info.


By post...                      or

David Oakley                    Graham Harrison
6 Watlands Road                 353 Heathcote Road
Bignall End                     Halmerend
Stoke On Trent ST7 8QQ          Stoke On Trent ST7 8BH
England                         England

============================================================================
  ________________
 / Warranty Free /
 
Sorry, but this software comes with absolutely no warranty, other than 
that enforced by law in your country. ASTRAsoft takes no responsability 
as to the suitability of use of this software on your system or in your 
particular circumstances.

The author is not responsible for any damages that may occur as a result 
of use or missuse of this software, or inaccuracies in this manual.

============================================================================

  _________________________
 / A Note to Distributors /
 
Please do not include this disk on any Public Domain/Shareware library 
disk without the explicit permission of ASTRAsoft. We like to ensure that 
libraries have the most up-to-date versions of our products and so if you 
let one of us know we'll send you the latest versions as they come out. 
Send a letter by post or email explaining who you are, what your address 
is and which products you have got at the moment. We will then send you a 
reply by either of these means... once that has happened you can put it 
on a disk!

Formally, DeskTracker or any other ASTRAsoft SHAREWARE product may not be 
included on any PD/shareware library disk or magazine cover disk without 
the permission of the ASTRAsoft partnership.


See ya!

David. [26th June 1993]

