sidplayer news file #6  march 1986

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this documentation file describes how to use the magic sid

machine, a utility for loading, playing, and cataloging

sidplayer songs.  msm will automatically load and play up to

144 songs, far more than you will probably be able to get on

a disk.  the program, and this documentation file, were

written by terry kryger.



the most recent version, msm 2.2, features an updated m/l

play routine provided by craig chamberlain.  among other

improvements, f-x defaults to 'on' for less background

noise.



when run, msm displays a menu of seven options:





  1. create or update a directory file



  2. choose songs from directory file



  3. choose songs (no directory file)



  4. play all songs in directory file



  5. play all songs on disk (no file)



  6. send directory file to printer



  7. end





create or update a directory file



the 'directory file' is not the same thing as the disk

directory. it is a special directory, originally created by

the msm program, of all the sidplayer songs on the disk.



when you select this option, the program will search for all

files on the disk having the '.mus' filename extension.  it

will ignore any files not having the extension, even if they

are sidplayer songs, so don't forget the '.mus' at the end

of the filename.  similarly, any non-sidplayer files (seq

files, for instance) that mistakenly have the .mus

extension, will be read into the directory but will not load

properly, causing the program to crash.



after all the sidplayer songs are found, you will have the

option to alphabetize the names for your song directory.  a

sequential file called 'sidcat' will then be written to the

disk.  having this directory file on the disk eliminates the

time-consuming process of checking the whole disk each time

you run the program.  use this option anytime you save

another song on the disk, to keep the file updated.









choose songs from directory file



when you select this option, the program will list all the

songs in the 'directory file' created with option 1.  if no

'sidcat' file exists, you will be reminded to create one.



the songs are displayed on screens of 26 songs each.  to

choose the songs, type in the letters corresponding to the

songs in the order you want to hear them.  the song names

will be highlighted as they are selected.  the same song can

also be selected to play more than once.



if more than 26 songs are on the disk, a reminder appears at

the bottom of the screen.  press the f7 function key to

bring up the next screen of titles.  the f7 key will cycle

through all the screens as many times as you wish, allowing

you to make selections each time.  when you return to a

screen, your previous choices will still be highlighted.



press the return key at any time to cancel your selections

and go back to the menu.  when you are finished choosing

songs, press the space bar to start playing.



you can stop any song while it is playing and go on to the


next selection by pressing the space bar.  pressing the

up-arrow key will cancel any remaining selections and return

you to the menu.



you may safely use this option after inserting a different

disk, as the current 'sidcat' directory file is loaded each

time the option is selected.







choose songs (no directory)



after searching the disk directory for .mus files, this

option works just like the above option.







play all songs in directory file



the songs will be played in alphabetical order if the song

directory was sorted.  otherwise they will be played in the

same sequence as they appear on the disk.







play all songs on disk (no file)



this option plays all the songs in same sequence as they

appear on the disk. the directory file is not used.









send directory file to printer



choose this option if you would like to print the names of

the songs in the song directory file.







end



when you are done playing songs, choose this option to exit

the program and return to basic.





if you are using the epyx fastload cartridge and find that

you are having trouble creating a directory file, unplug

(don't just disable) the cartridge for this operation.  it

will work fine for reading the files, but for some reason it


doesn't always like to write the sidcat file.  the mach 5

cartridge and (as far as i know) other fastloaders work

fine.



credit goes to dave schmoldt, who originally wrote the core

of this program for use with master composer files (magic

music machine).



undying thanks to craig chamberlain for his terrific book

"all about the commodore 64, volume two" published by

compute! books, which contains the sidplayer utilities.  i

particularly appreciate the support he continues to give by

way of new utilities, music, and advice.





terry kryger (terryk)





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