  _______________________________________________
 |Program:       DeskTracker                     |     /\
 |Type:          Program/Accessory               |    /\ \
 |Version:       1.30                            |   /__\ \
 |Distribution:  Shareware - registration œ5     | _/_  _\_\_
 |System:        STf/STfm/STe/MSTe/TT/Falcon;    |
 |               TOS/MiNT/MultiTOS*;             |
 |               any screen rez                  |
 |               1Mb+ recommended                |
 |Last update:   18th April 1994                 |
 |Written by:    David Oakley                    |
 |                                               |
 |Copyright (c)1992-1994 ASTRAsoft               |
 |                                               |
 |Purpose:       Play ProTracker modules in      |
 |               the background with animated    |
 |               graphic display of tune.        |
 |               Uses Yamaha, 8bit or 16bit DMA  |
 |               output as available.            |
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 * does not run in Protected mode.
 
 Originally based on a NoiseTracker routine written by Wizzcat in 1991, 
 the current version of DeskTracker is designed to play ProTracker MOD 
 files on any Atari machine with a PCM or Yamaha sound chip.
 
 Warning: ON SOME MACHINES AND SETUPS THE COMPLICATED NATURE OF 
 DeskTracker'S MODULE PLAYER MAY CAUSE A CRASH IF EXPOSED TO TOO HEAVY 
 WORKLOAD DURING HIGHSPEED PLAYBACK. EXPERIMENT FOR A WHILE BEFORE DOING 
 IMPORTANT THINGS WHILE RUNNING DeskTracker!!!!!
 
 ============================================================================
   ___________________
  / This program is  /
 /    SHAREWARE!    /
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 DeskTracker has taken a lot of work by an overstressed university student!
 This software is distributed free, but if you use DeskTracker for an
 extended period (for example over 1 month) it would be appreciated if you
 could send a donation of œ5 (pounds sterling) to the address below.
 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, 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 Devpac assembler programs.
 
     o        a demo copy of StormTracker, my MOD-Editor which will be 
              ready by June 1994. It will work in ST medium rez or any GEM 
              mode with at least a 640x400 pixel screen and will be fully 
              MultiTOS compatible with all the background playing features 
              you've seen in DeskTracker!

     o        Various little ASTRAsoft disk/stocking-fillers

     o        My gratitude!
 
 Please make all cheques payable to David Oakley and in sterling only. For 
 international registrations, you must send travellers cheques, sterling 
 cheques or cash, use registered post if you're worried by security.
 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.
 
 ============================================================================
  ________________
 / Compatibility /
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 DeskTracker will only run on any ST compatible that has either a Yamaha 
 soundchip or the PCM sound which was first introduced on the STe.
 Yamaha replay may be affected by some processor accelerators and fail to 
 work on these computers.

 DT has been tested on a 520STfm, 1040STe, Mega/ST, Mega/STe, TT and a 
 Falcon. We have tested it running MultiTOS without memory protection, 
 but it fails with memory protection on... When will HiSoft bring out a 
 MTOS-compatible debugger?

 DT works with all processor and screen accelerators that we've come 
 across so far, and indeed we do recommend that you use either the NVDI or 
 Warp 9 commercial screen accelerators to give a good performance from the 
 graphical windows. Quick ST is available from PD and is a good free 
 alternative.

 As I said in the introduction, there are a few machines where DT can 
 cause system crashes... I only know of one machine out of over a hundred 
 who've tested DT, and that's the one I'm using! Annoying, very annoying...

 ============================================================================
 
  ____________
 / 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.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' in the File menu. The DeskTracker 
 window will appear:
 
  ________________________________________
 |X|         DeskTracker 1.30           |O|
 |----------------------------------------|
 |_____________________________|OPTIONS|ii|
 | ____________________        ~~~~~~~~|~~|
 || /\ | [] | |> || 00 |    ASTRAsoft  |12|
 ||====|====|====||----| ______________|25|
 || << | || | >> ||<=> ||MEM |ADD |RAND|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. Also available on the Spectrum 
          ~~      Analyser and Oscilloscope windows
          ______
 Load    |  /\  | Load and start a new ProTracker MODule. If you press
 [L]     |  ==  | Cancel on the fileselector then the current tune is
          ~~~~~~  erased from memory and the memory is freed. See 
                  'Auto-Allocate' below for information about memory 
                  allocation on non-MTOS machines. Use the [Clr] key to 
                  simply eject a song.
          ______
 Clear   |  /\  | This button is activated by holding down the right mouse
 [Clr    |  ==  | button and clicking the left on Load. It stops playing
 Home]    ~~~~~~  and wipes the current song from memory.
         +RtMouse In memory mode, Clear ejects the current song and returns 
          Button  DT to normal mode.
          ______
 Stop    | i~~i | 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 stopped DeskTracker, this will restart
          ~~~~~~  the tune from where it was stopped. If a song isn't 
                  currently loaded into DT, a fileselector will appear 
                  allowing you to choose one.
         _______
 Pause  | i~i~i | 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. If you specify a file
                  with a .TXT extender, DT will use this as a list of
                  songs to add to the playlist. These names should include
                  the full path name
          ______
 Repeat  | +->+ | Toggles whether the MOD file will repeat once it
 [R]     | +<-+ | has reached the end. DT will even trap those songs
          ~~~~~~  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 and then toggles between
 [O]      ~~~    1/2 or 4 view oscilloscope.

          ___
 Spectrum|III|   Opens the spectrum analysis window and then toggles
 [A]      ~~~    between 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!!!
                 On the ST version, these buttons denote 8, 10 and 16KHz
                 playback, and 16 will lock an 8MHz computer.
 
  ______________
 / Memory Mode /
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 In memory mode, DeskTracker will automatically run through the list of
 songs you select either sequentially or randomly. On the STe version,
 it will pre-load the next song a couple of patterns before the end of
 the current one so you get (almost) seemless playback.

 One Falcon owner has experienced a problem where DT fails to load new 
 songs after a while. I've tried to fix it, but not having a Falcon 
 (sigh!) I don't know if it's worked.

 Once the ADD function has been used to move into Memory mode, several of 
 the buttons change function:
 
 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.
 
 ============================================================================
  ____________________________________
 / Spectrum and Oscilloscope Windows /
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Both these windows act in similar ways. They can be set to appear 
 automatically whenever the DT main window is opened. This option is 
 available from the Options dialog, below.

 Also available there is the size of each window which can be altered, 
 causing the windows to be resized on exiting the dialog. From version 
 1.22 the window size can also resized dynamically using the mouse.

 To resize either the Spectrum or Oscillo windows, click and hold down 
 the left mouse button inside the window. A rubber-band box will appear 
 which can then be resized in much the same way as a standard GEM window 
 can.

 ============================================================================
  _________________
 / Options Dialog /
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 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:
  ______
 | Auto |  ** registered version only **
  ~~~~~~
 When set DeskTracker will automatically open the Spectrum Analysis or 
 Oscilloscope window at the same time as the Control Panel.
 
  _____________
 |Size: 300x 50|
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 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.

  _____________
 | Update rate |
 |   _25 ms    |
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Sets the amount of time DeskTracker waits before each update of the 
 animation screens and control panel. Increasing this number makes the 
 spectrum and oscilloscope windows more jerky but releases more processor 
 time for other programs. Set this to zero for the smoothest animation.
 
 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.

  _______________
 | Auto Allocate |
 |     _200K     |
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When not running in MultiTOS, DeskTracker will still de-allocate and 
allocate memory when a new song is loaded. This is potentially dangerous, 
since memory allocated within a program belongs to the program, rather 
than DT itself. If the program is then exitted, DT will carry on playing, 
even though the memory the song is in has been freed when the program 
exitted.

To get around this, DT will automatically allocate memory on boot-up if 
the value here is greater then 0. All new songs will be loaded into this 
space which is never cleared, unless the new song won't fit into the 
space. If this is the case then DT will put up an Alert box and if you 
continue it will scrap the allocated memory and start again with a bigger 
block. This new block is subject to the problems above if it is allocated 
within a program.

  _________________________________
 | MOD Path: D:\AUDIO\MODS         |
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 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 |
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~
 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 Rept |  ** registered version only **
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 This sets whether DeskTracker should repeat a song or not when it is in 
 Normal mode. The option sets the default which takes effect as the song is 
 loaded, and this is subsequently changed using the Repeat [R] button on 
 the main control panel.
 
  _________
 | Colours |  ** registered version only **
  ~~~~~~~~~
 When set the NoiseTracker-style Spectrum Analyser has a red (grey in 
 monochrome) area for peak values. Note: if you have redefined colour 
 register 2 (usually red) then Spectrum will have a different peak 
 colour!

  ____________
 |Falcon Patch|
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~
 This option activates a fix to a problem which occurs in early Falcons. 
 In these machines the DMA sound is not turned on at boot-up, so DT will 
 switch it on for you.

  ____________
 | Fancy Load |
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~
 This option affects the display on the control panel while a song is 
 loading. When the option is on, a new song is loaded in parts, and the 
 control panel displays the name of the new song and the percentage 
 loaded after each block. With it off, DT loads the song in one block.

  __________
 | Allow 50 |
  ~~~~~~~~~~
 Using the '50' button on the DT Control Panel is usually fatal for non 
 accelerated ST or STe's, so when this option is off, the button is 
 disabled and 50KHz (16KHz for DT-ST) playback is not allowed.

  _________
 | Keys... |
  ~~~~~~~~~
 Brings up a help page which gives a list of all the shortcuts 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.
 
 ============================================================================
  ___________________________
 / Registered User Upgrades /
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 If you've sent me œ5 of your hard earned cash and suddenly realised that 
 the current shareware version is better than your registered copy, please 
 do one of the following:

        o       Email me, stating your registration number. If your email 
                account can survive 50K or UUEncoded DT and you have the 
                technology to decode it, then I can send you it that way 
                and it saves a lot of bother. Otherwise try and find a 
                friend with an account that can.

        o       Mail me. Send your original 720K disk to the usual address 
                stating which version it is, your name (obviously) and 
                registration number. I will return the disk to you 
                updated to the current version.


 ============================================================================
  _____________________________________
 / And the thanks and hellos go to... /
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  People who helped in the development of the DeskTracker project
  (whether they knew it or not...!), in approximate order of 
 participation...
 
              Wizzcat (original NoiseTracker player source)
              Graham Harrison (numerous ideas, comments, legal quotes)
              Simon Forey (many 68000 ideas and comments)
              Ian Rae (ideas, STe testing)
              Howard Tomlinson (STe testing, musical stuff)
              Christophe Boyanique (Falcon OS calls)
              Andrew Scott (ProTracker documentation)
              Dieter Fiebelkorn (MultiTOS Drag'n'drop)
              Jeroen Lambregts (bug pointing and ideas)
              Chickenpox (giving me time off work to finish v1.20)
              Mark Ashford (Position Jump Bug)

 And the hello list in diplomatically alphabetical order...
 
 Andrew Scott, Ant, Andy-O., Jeff Brubaker, Christophe Boyanique, Dan 
 Panke, Eric Smith, Fozz, Had, HiSoft, Ictari, Ian Rae, Jeroen Lambregts, 
 JS Slap, Kev, Mark Ashforth, Mike Goodman, Mrs Skidmore, Paul Steptoe, 
 RTD, Rob Perry, Shaunie Kylie, Stephe, Stevie, Stov, U4ia, 4-mat
 
 So many people have given opinions and ideas on the features in 
 DeskTracker that I couldn't possibly name them all... Thanks to you all!

 ============================================================================

  ______________________
 / 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 appreciate
 it even if you just send me a postcard! I'll try to reply to any mail I
 get.
 
 By Internet/Usenet email...
 
 Send email to me at            dxo@cs.bham.ac.uk

or send your email 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
 
 By phone...
 
 0782 720714     Evenings (1830 to 2100 GMT)
 
 Please ask for David Oakley and if I'm not in leave a telephone number 
 where I can contact you during office hours (0900 to 1630 GMT).
 
 For international calls, use your international dialing code and add 44 
 (code for UK) 782 (code for Stoke) in place of the 0782.

Note that after April 1st 1995, the code for Stoke is 01782 not 0782
 
 ============================================================================
   ________________
  / Warranty Free /
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Sorry, but this software comes with absolutely no warranty, other than 
 that enforced by law in your country. ASTRAsoft takes no responsibility 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 misuse 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. [18th April 1994]

