MIDI Machine V1.10 (c) Excel Progs/TOW Development 1994

I.      Info about Excel Progs/TOW Development
II.     Introduction
III.    What You Need
IV.     Running MIDI Machine
V.      Configuring MIDI Machine
VI.     Extra Animations
VII.    Support Info.
VIII.   Registering
IX.     Revisions
X.      Warranty/Disclaimer/License/Thanks

I.      Info about Excel Progs/Tow Development

MIDI Machine V1.10 by Excel Progs/TOW Development

MIDI Machine was written by Andrew Malek of Excel Progs, and is
being distributed by Excel Progs and TOW Development.

For more information, contact Excel Progs at:

Excel Progs
c/o Andrew Malek
434 Gallaher View Road Apt 60
Knoxville, TN  37919

Or, contact either Excel Progs or TOW Development via The Other World
BBS of Knoxville, TN.

The Other World BBS:  (615)-577-9342, Games, No Ratio, More

II.     Introduction

Congratulations for choosing MIDI Machine as your MS-Windows(c) MIDI
player!  Midi Machine is the latest of Excel Progs line of excellent
products for the IBM(c)/clone computers, and like all EP products, it
is backed by full support.

Midi Machine allows you to play the .MID (MIDI) files that are seen
all throughout the world.  Midi Machine also allows you to play the
standard .WAV (WAVEAUDIO) files. MIDIs cover all genres of music,
including:

o       Big Band Jazz/Blues/Funk/New Age Jazz
o       Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
o       Pop Music/Rock 'N' Roll
o       Easy Listening/Soft Rock
o       Classical/Instrumental

and many more styles of music are represented by this music file
format.  

WAVs cover all types of sounds, including:

o       Instrument Demonstrations
o       Music Clippings
o       Voice-Mail Attachments
o       System Events

and many more types of sound files are represented by this audio
file format.

III.    What you Need

In order to play music with Midi Machine, you must have:

o       MS-Windows 3.1 or higher
o       A Midi-compatible sound card
	(GUS, SB, SBPro, SBAWE32, TB, SMWave, ..etc)
o       Installed MIDI drivers for Windows
o       VBRUN300.DLL (found at many fine BBS's and distribution networks)

If you wish to only play WAV files, the midi drivers and midi-
compliant sound card are not needed.  You will, however, need a sound
card that can play digital sound and appropriate drivers.

IV.     Running MIDI Machine

In order to run Midi Machine, you need to copy, unpack,..etc the files
you received.  Next, copy the MCI.VBX and ANIBUTON.VBX files to your main 
Windows System directory (C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM on most systems if Windows
is on drive C).  Get VBRUN300.DLL from your distribution site (or The
Other World BBS), and place it in your Windows directory (C:\WINDOWS
on most systems if Windows is on drive C).  Add the Midi Machine icon
to your program manager or equivalent (or just run it straight using
your pm's run command).

Midi Machine will execute and bring you up to the main status window.
This window is divided into several parts:

o       Status Bar

	This bar displays the name of the song being played, the mode
	of operation you are in, and other information (it CAN be
	turned off...see "Configuring MIDI Machine.")

o       Info Bar
		
	This bar will contain file INFO on sound files when you request
	it (see "Text Buttons")

o       Drive Selection Window

	This will allow you to choose which drive Midi Machine will
	pull the Sound files from.

o       Directory Selection Window

	This will allow you to choose which directory from which
	Midi Machine will pull the files or album files.

o       File Selection Window

	This will allow you to choose the individual sounds that you wish
	to add to your playing queue (see below).  Or, when loading
	albums, this is where you will select the album which contains
	files to place in your queue.

o       Animation Box

	This box is located under the INFO BAR, and defaults to blank.
	It will be replaced with an Icon-Animation when sounds are
	being played if so desired.

	When clicking on this box, you are able to customize the icons
	Midi Machine uses when playing .MID and .WAV files.  There are 9
	separate animations to choose from, as well as "none" for no
	animations to be seen and "Rand" for random viewing of animations.
	Choose the check box corresponding to the animation you wish to
	set (for .MID files, for .WAV files, or both) and click on the
	corresponding icon button.  Your selection will be automatically
	started and will be saved if you save the .INI file from SETUP
	(see "CONFIGURING MIDI MACHINE").

o       Sound Playing queue

	This will be a list of Sounds that you have selected to play,
	in order of selection (note that the order the Sound files are
	selected are NOT exactly the order in which that they will be
	played!  See below for more options).

o       Text Input Bar

	A text input region above the three file buttons (Rename, Delete,
	and Info) that is used when performing various extended
	functions (see "GRAPHIC BUTTONS").

o       Text Buttons

	Buttons are the method by which you can tell MIDI machine
	what to do.  The text buttons are as follows:

	(R)ename

	Allows you to rename or move a sound when you are out of
	playing mode.

	(D)elete

	Allows you to delete a sound when not in playing mode.

	(I)nfo

	Allows you to get information on a sound.  This information
	will be displayed in the INFO BAR which is the second text
	bar from the top.

	(A)dd

	Allows you to add a sound file from the file selection window
	to your Sound playing queue.

	Add A(l)l

	Allows you to add ALL sound files from the file selection
	window to your Sound playing queue.

	R(e)move

	Removes a sound or sounds from your playing queue.

	(C)lear

	Clears ALL sounds from the queue.

	A(b)out

	Information about Midi Machine, including the author, and
	the person to whom this version of MIDI Machine is registered
	to (if this is a registered version).

	E(x)it

	Exits Midi Machine or the current task if you are using one
	of the graphical buttons (see "GRAPHIC BUTTONS").

	Set(u)p

	Goes into MIDI Machine configuration mode, where you can change
	many options of the program's operation (see "CONFIGURING MIDI
	MACHINE").

	(H)elp

	Displays help about Midi Machine.

	(S)tart

	Start playing sounds!  You must have sounds already in your
	queue for this operation to work.

	(N)ext

	Skip to the next sound in your queue.

	S(T)OP!

	Abort all sounds.  Keeps any songs in the queue available for
	playing.

	(P)ause/(P)lay

	This button changes depending upon the state of the sound.
	You can temporarily pause the sound output and then resume
	later.

o       Graphic Buttons

	The graphic buttons are those to the top of the sound playing
	queue.  This allow you to perform advanced operations, and
	are only accessible when you are not playing any sounds.  Going
	from left to right, these are:

	Button 1 (Arrow pointing from disk to notes)

	Allows you to load an album to your queue.  Albums are a
	collection of sound and music files that you may wish to play
	at a later time.  They can be of rather large length (~32k),
	and can contain any combinations of sounds.  Select the directory
	of the album using the directory selection window and the album
	name by the file selection window or the text input bar.  You
	can only load ONE album at a time, and loading albums WILL ERASE
	your current queue!

	Button 2 (Arrow pointing from notes to disk)

	Allows you to save an album from your queue to disk.  Same
	rules apply as far as selecting the file name.  You will
	be warned if you wish to overwrite an existing album.

	Button 3 (Notes and a "1" in a diamond).
	
	Selects a "Header Midi."  A Header Midi is a midi that plays
	before each other midi is executed.  Useful if some midi songs
	do not return your card to its original state, and you have
	a midi that contains specific codes that do revert the card
	back to normal.  Also useful if there is a song that you enjoy
	quite a bit, or if you want a "fanfare" before songs.  This
	Header Midi will be saved to the INI file if you desire (see
	"CONFIGURING MIDI MACHINE").

o       Sound Playing Check boxes (to the right of Queued Sounds)

	These check boxes allow you to change the order in which
	Sounds are being played.  Simply click on the boxes to
	change the playing direction.

	S(h)uffle
	
	Plays the MIDIs in a format similar to a CD player's "Shuffle"
	mode.  This will play all your sound files randomly until every
	song has been played.  Then, the sounds will begin again with
	a new random combination.  For example, if you have in your
	queue the files SOUNDA, SOUNDB, SOUNDC, SOUNDD, the way the
	sounds will be played COULD be like this:
	
	1) SOUNDB       2) SOUNDC       3) SOUNDD       4) SOUNDA
	
	as all sounds have been played, the queue will start over with
	something randomly like:
	
	1) SOUNDD       2) SOUNDB       3) SOUNDA       4) SOUNDC       

	...this will continue until you stop the sound playing by
	pressing "STOP!" or exiting the program by pressing "EXIT."
	This button is only visible when you are in selection,
	not playback, mode.

	Ran(d)om

	Plays the sound files COMPLETELY randomly, meaning that if
	you are using CONTIN. (continuous) mode you may hear one sound
	twice before hearing all of the others.  Without CONTIN. mode,
	all sounds will play once and playing will stop.

	(B)kwrds

	Plays the sound files backwards.

	C(o)ntin.

	Plays the sounds continuously.  This button is only visible
	when you are in selection, not playback, mode.

o       Sound Selection Check Boxes

	(M)id

	Adds .MID (MIDI) sound files to the list of files that can
	be selected (ON as default).

	(W)av

	Adds .WAV (WAVE) sound files to the list of files that can
	be selected (ON as default).

o       Help Bar

	This bar displays a line of help on the button or window which
	your mouse pointer is currently over.  This is only applicable 
	on the main screen and not in the configuration area (it CAN be
	turned off...see "Configuring MIDI Machine.")

o       Down-Pointed Arrow (Upper right-hand corner)

	Most programs made for the Windows(c) operating system have the
	ability to be minimized.  Midi Machine takes this one step further,
	allowing you to have a "semi-minimized" mode.  This mode displays:

	.       The icon-animation (which you can click on to change the
				    animations, similar to maximized mode)
	.       The sound name
	.       The button labeled "N," which goes to the next sound
	.       The button labeled "S," which stops the sound playing
	.       The button labeled "E," which exits the program
	.       The arrow pointing up, which returns to the main sound  
		selection/playing screen
	.       The arrow pointing down, which minimizes the program
		completely.  Double-clicking on the minimized icon will
		bring you back to the "semi-minimized" mode.

o       Drag&Drop Operation

	Not something you can visibally see, but a function that allows you
	to drag sound files from File Manager (or any other program that
	supports external drag&drop operations) and place them DIRECTLY
	into the sound queue.  This ONLY WORKS when you are in sound
	playing/selection mode, and Midi Machine is maximized.  You can
	set the program up to auto-play the queue after a drag&drop
	operation (See Below).
	
V.      Configuring MIDI Machine

	Midi Machine can be setup in many ways, and even more ways
	to make MIDI MACHINE configurable are being planned for
	later versions.

o       Visible Configurations

	These are configuration items that can be changed without
	editing the MM100.INI file (see below).

	Show Help Bar

	Allows you to allow/disallow the help bar from being displayed.

	Show Status Bar

	Allows you to allow/disallow the status bar from being
	displayed.

	Show Soundname When Minimized

	When Midi Machine is minimized or in the "semi-minimized" mode,
	the animation will still play!  If this box is checked, the name of
	the sound currently playing will be displayed in the "semi-
	minimized" window along with the icon-animation, and in fully
	minimized mode, the sound name will be displayed under the icon-
	animation.

	Auto-Play on Drag&Drop

	Allows you to allow/disallow Midi Machine from playing the queue
	automatically after a drag&drop operation.  This only is in
	effect if sounds are not already playing.
		
	Save Ini

	Saves all information on the setup screen, the icon animations, AND
	the current Header Midi into the MM100.INI file.

	Revert Ini

	Reverts the current configuration to that of MM100.INI.

	Exit To Main

	Exits back to the main screen.

o       .INI Configurations
	
	Midi Machine has a corresponding .INI file, MM100.INI.  Various
	features of the program can be changed in this file with a
	simple TEXT editor (NOTEPAD will do fine).

	ShowStatusBar= X

	1 = Show Status Bar
	0 = Do Not Show Status Bar

	ShowHelpBar= X

	1 = Show Help Bar
	0 = Do Not Show Help Bar

	ShowSongWhenMinimized= X

	1 = Show Sound Name When Minimized
	0 = Do Not Show Sound Name When Minimized

	AutoPlayOnDrag = X

	1 = Auto-Start the Queue After Drag&Drop Operation
	0 = Do Not Auto-Start Queue.

	Anim_Mid= X

	Number of the MIDI to display when playing
	0   = None
	1-9 = Number of Picture (+1)
	10  = Randomize

	Anim_Wav= X

	Number of the WAV to display when playing
	0   = None
	1-9 = Number of Picture (+1)
	10  = Randomize

	Pic(0-8)= X

	Name of the animation to place in picture locations 0-8
	instead of the default animation.  The filenames used
	should be without the .CCC or .CCB extensions (see "EXTRA
	ANIMATIONS").  Leaving the space after the equal sign blank
	will stop Midi Machine from loading an external animation
	file.  The defaults hard-coded into the program are:

	0       =       Conductor
	1       =       Ear
	2       =       Excel Progs Logo
	3       =       Wave
	4       =       Oscilloscope
	5       =       Dancing Notes
	6       =       Dancing Disk Man
	7       =       Feel The Music
	8       =       Fractal 1

	[NOTE:  Midi Machine MAY have been distributed with extra
	icon sets, and the icons you get when first running this
	program MAY be different.  If that is the case, you may
	wish to examine the INI file.]

	HeaderMidi= X

	Name of the Header Midi (Midi to play before others).
	Leaving the space after the equal sign blank will stop
	Midi Machine from playing a header midi.

	[NOTE:  For compatibility reasons and since V1.10 only adds one
	 item to the .INI file, it was decided to keep the filename the
	 same since V1.00.]

VI.     Extra Animations

	Midi Machine support external animation files (.CCB extension).
	These animations currently support 4 icons (more will be
	supported in the future).  Each animation comes with a
	corresponding description file (.CCC extension), which is of
	this format (everything that is to be replaced by other text
	is in quotes).

~~~~~~This is the Beginning of the file~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"short icon description"

[Date]:"icon creation date"
[By]:"icon creator(s)"
[Included]:"zip file or icon pack where animation was found"
 
[Long Description]
 
"description of icon."
---------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~This is the End of the file~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	REGISTERED users may send in the above information and 4
	icons and shall receive an animated icon in return (note
	that if you do this via Internet I must have an e-mail
	address, and if you do this via mail I MUST have a disk
	and self-address stamped disk mailer!  I also need to know
	whether or not the animated icon can be distributed freely).

	REGISTERED users may do this only with public domain icons
	which do not represent a company, group,..etc.  The limit is
	15 icons per registration, but special considerations may
	apply for other cases (especially if you're letting the
	animations be distributed freely).  Contact me if you
	need information.

	For other cases (including making animations of business
	logos and having me draw you an animation)...leave me mail
	and we'll talk.

VII.    Support Info.

If you notice any errors, please let me know.  I can be contacted
by the following ways:

1)      SASE at the Excel Progs address.
2)      E-Mail on The Other World BBS as Jman.
3)      Internet E-Mail:  admalek@sacam.oren.ortn.edu

The only errors noticed (that haven't been corrected) is that the
program will hang on a .MID that your current drivers can't support.
If pressing the NEXT button does not work, pressing STOP and START
should re-start the playing.  Excel Progs is currently looking into
this.  There should be a new option whether to either display multimedia
errors or simply skip the offending file(s) within the next two releases.
 
If Midi Machine attempts to load a file in the queue that is not
present, or if it attempts to load a .WAV that isn't supported (ex. trying
to play a 16-bit wav on an 8-bit card), it will skip on to the next file.
An option to halt the sound playing with an error is considered for the
future.

VIII.   Registration

Registration is $15.00, which will give you the current release of Midi
Machine (up to version 1.5 - further versions MAY cost more) with your
name on the title bar and in the ABOUT box (nothing profane, please!) 
Company/government/group registrations are as follows:

1-10 licenses   / $14 @
11-25  "    "   / $13 @
26-49  "    "   / $12 @
50 & up         / $10 @

Mail the check or money order (NO CASH), your preferred disk format
(3.5 or 5.25 double density), and your name or company name TO Andrew
Malek.  The full address is:

Excel Progs
re:  Midi Machine Registration
c/o Andrew Malek
434 Gallaher View Rd Apt. 60
Knoxville, TN  37919

(Note: TN Residents include 8.25% sales tax).
(NOTE: MAKE SURE THE CHECK IS MADE OUT TO Andrew Malek AND NOT
       EXCEL PROGS).

IX.     Revisions

V0.7    First Beta Version (For TOW Development beta-testing)

V0.75   Misc. Features

	Added a minimum button.
	The text colors were changed from blue to yellow, letting
	  the text stand out more.
	Altered the text in the "About" box slightly.
	You can now rename one file at a time (fixed), and it
	  displays the name/size of the file in the box.
	Traps any errors in rename procedure.
	Ability to delete multiple files.
	Allows canceling of delete procedure.
	Traps any error in delete procedure.
	Able to play MIDIs in continuous mode.
	In the title bar, as well as when the icon is minimized,
	  the text is changed to the midi name when playing, or
	  "Paused..." when paused.

V0.78   Graphics/More

	Minor Bug Fixes
	Added Setup Screen
	Added moving picture ability when midis are being played
	Created "Conductor," "Music Notes," "Feel the Music"
	  animation sequences
	
V0.83   WAV Support, Graphics/More

	Minor Bug Fixes
	Stopped "flicker" when changing icons in setup mode when
	  playing midis.
	Added WAV support
	Added WAV icon support.
	Created "Ear," "Wave," "Oscil" animations.
	Added new feature of "Smart-Renaming"... wav files
	  will add .wav extension if left off, mid files will
	  add .mid extension if left off.

V0.86   New About Box/More

	Bug Fixes
	Renaming a file to itself will not display error
	New "About" box
	New "About" and "Setup" box formats...windows stay on screen until
	  you want them to be removed.  You can have all three windows
	  on at one time.

V0.88   Bug Fixes/Speed Improvements

	Bug Fixes
	Increased speed with animated icons.
	When Midi Machine is minimized, the graphics will not
	  move...speed increase.

V0.89   Big Fixes/First Official Beta Release

	Bug Fixes

V0.90   Sound Selection/Animation/Interim Release

	Added ability to select only .WAV / .MID files or both
	  when adding files to the queue.
	Animated picture shows even when program is minimized.

V1.00   Many Additions/First Official Standard Release

	Bug Fixes
	9 default animations are installed, and WAV and MID files
	  may use any/all of them.
	External animation support, with animation descriptions.
	Random animation play support.
	Shuffle play support.
	Load/Save Album support.
	Mouse-Pointer display help in Help Bar (configurable).
	Info Bar to display file information.
	.INI file support.
	Allows INFO button to be used during sound playing.
	Sound file information displayed in separate Info Bar.
	Added feature to turn-off display of sound name when
	  minimizing icon.
	"Header Midi" support.
	Many other function/cosmetic changes not mentioned here.

V1.05   "Semi-Minimize" Mode/Interim Release

	Added "semi-minimize" Mode.
	Placed Next, Stop, and Exit buttons on "semi-minimize" mode.

V1.10   Auto-Play Drag&Drop/More

	Added Drag&Drop ability when loading and playing sounds.
	Added "Auto-Play On Drag&Drop" configurability.
	Changed the method of configuring icon-animations.
	Sped up the "AddAll" button operation.
	Bug Fixes/Cosmetic Changes

X.      Warranty/Disclaimer/License/Thanks

EVERY EFFORT WAS MADE BY EXCEL PROGS/TOW DEVELOPMENT TO ENSURE THE
QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT AND EVERY ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO MAKE THE
PROGRAM AS ERROR-FREE AS POSSIBLE.  HOWEVER, NEITHER EXCEL PROGS, 
TOW DEVELOPMENT, ITS EMPLOYEES, SUPERVISORS,..ETC, TAKE ANY
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE OUTPUT OF THIS PROGRAM.  YOU, THE USER, TAKE
FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE USAGE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

Microsoft, Windows, are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.
All trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
Midi Machine (c) 1994 Excel Progs, All Right Reserved

REGISTERED/UNREGISTERED COPIES henceforth refer to this product,
Midi Machine.

You have the license to run UNREGISTERED COPIES on as many computers
as you wish for a trial period.  If you enjoy this program then you
need to register.  Only through registration can new versions be
created.  If you purchased a disk containing Midi Machine from a
shareware vendor, that money DOES NOT count toward registration.

You have the license to place UNREGISTERED COPIES on bulletin board
systems, information systems, shareware compilations, or on cd-rom
compilations, provided that you distribute the ENTIRE version with file
descriptions (FILE_ID.DIZ and DESC.SDI).  Although it is not required,
it is appreciated if you let me know that you are distributing Midi
Machine.

REGISTERED copy holders have the license to place the REGISTERED copy
on only one machine at a given time, and have the license to make
backup copies for their PERSONAL ARCHIVAL USAGE ONLY!  REGISTERED users
may still make any copies they wish of the UNREGISTERED version for
distribution.
 
Thanks to everyone on the newsgroup ALT.BINARIES.SOUND.MIDI and others
who have beta-tested this program, giving criticisms and ideas. I
definitely appreciate the time you took to examine the beta version
and give ideas for this full release.
