ref: c06010daf3aaa2f04abce427097bcb9f6d8a2203
dir: /release/help.txt/
== Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ==
* How do I change the Multi channel ordering?
- When in idle mode (not edit/play etc), press ALT+1/2/3/4 to increase
the according multi slot. CTRL+M enables multi.
Multi
* Alt+F5/ALT+F5 (copy/paste) doesn't work!
- Windows: you need to make sure those keybinding are disabled in
'GeForce Experience' if you have that software installed.
- OS X/mac OS/Linux: You need to remove or re-bind ALT+F4/ALT+F5 to other keys
in your OS settings.
* Is there a way to make the window bigger?
- Set VIDEOSCALE to 2X, 3x or 4X in protracker.ini.
* Is there a way to run the program in fullscreen mode?
- Press F11.
* How do I change the stereo separation (panning)?
- Adjust the STEREOSEPARATION setting in protracker.ini. It's a percentage
value ranging from 0 to 100. 0 being mono and 100 being 100% separated like
the audio output from an Amiga.
Pressing SHIFT+F12 will toggle between STEREOSEPARATION and 100% (hard pan).
* Can this ProTracker clone load PT.Config files?
- Yes. Put one in the same directory as the executable program, and it will
load the first one it can find (PT.Config-00..99).
It will override some of the settings from protracker.ini.
* Will there ever be MIDI support?
- No, sorry. Try a modern module tracker instead, or ProTracker on the Amiga.
* Is there a quick way to save my module?
- Press CTRL+S. This hotkey is "split mode" in Amiga ProTracker, which is not
included in this PT clone.
* Can I revert a sample after I edited it?
- Press CTRL+Z while the sampler screen is open.
* [insert random question]
- Try to send an email to [email protected] or visit #protracker at IRCnet.
== Some misc. info ==
WARNING: Note B-3 (or pitches getting near; pitch slides, vibrato or arpeggio)
may not play correctly on a real Amiga. It might crackle/pop because of a
DMA underrun. Take extra care when doing high pitches!
== Missing things that will NOT be added in the future ==
* Split keys (kinda pointless without MIDI). ctrl+s is now used for MOD saving
* MIDI support
* Setup screen
== Some ProTracker keybindings are used by other things in OS X! ==
- In OS X, go to System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts and
disable keybindings that could interrupt with any PT keybindings.
== Non-ProTracker additions ==
* Toggle channels by right clicking on the scopes
* MOD2WAV button for rendering the current song to a .WAV file.
Read more about this function in the MAINSCREEN chapter.
* PAT2SMP button for rendering the current pattern (from current row)
to the current sample slot. Read more about this function in the
MAINSCREEN chapter.
* Sample draw tool
Use right mouse button to edit sample data in the sampler like in FT2
(hold SHIFT key to stop drawing in the y axis, for making steady lines)
* Sample "restore" keybinding (ctrl+z when sampler screen is open)
When a sample is loaded its attributes and datas are copied to a temp buffer.
If you press ctrl+z, the current sample's data+attributes will be restored.
Now you don't need to reload a sample when you make a change you regret!
* WAV sample loader.
Supports: 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit and 32-bit/64-bit floating point
The WAV samples are mixed to mono and quantized to 8-bit.
It also attempts to load the "SMPL" chunk to get loop points and
volume from sampler WAVs and Open ModPlug Tracker and the like.
* AIFF sample loader.
Supports: 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit
The AIFF samples are mixed to mono and quantized to 8-bit.
* PAGE UP/DOWN and HOME/END works in POS-ED, DISK OP. and the pattern editor
(and HOME/END works while editing strings)
* Low-pass and high-pass filters in the sampler editor
* Some more stuff added to make life easier, like mouse wheel support.
Now follows the main parts of this help file.
MAINSCREEN
----------
## PLAY ##
Will play the song from the current song position. The pointer turns yellow,
just to show you what's going on. If you hold right mouse button while
clicking, it will play from the current row. Useful for checking if parts
of the pattern sounds right, instead of playing from the beginning all
the time.
## PATTERN ##
Will play the current pattern which is shown at the bottom of the screen.
The pointer turns yellow here as well. If you hold right mouse button while
clicking, it will play from the current row. Useful for checking if parts
of the pattern sounds right, instead of playing from the beginning all
the time.
## EDIT ##
Will put you in edit mode. The pointer turns blue, and you can enter notes
and numbers from the keyboard. Use the arrow keys to move up/down and
left/right in the pattern. Entering a note or a number will cause the
pattern to jump one or more slots down, dependant on the EDITSKIP setting.
## RECORD ##
Will put you in edit mode, but also play the current pattern or song.
You can select this in the Edit Options menu. While the pattern or
song is playing, you can type in notes and numbers from the keyboard,
and they will appear in the pattern as it scrolls. The notes and numbers
will also be quantized to the nearest row, so that keeping a steady rhythm
is no problem (if you're good with realtime beats). The pointer will turn
blue here as well as in the the normal edit mode.
## STOP ##
Will stop playing of songs and patterns, recording, and will turn edit
mode off. Can also be used to stop all looping samples when you're jamming.
## CLEAR ##
Will first ask you what you want to clear. You can clear either all,
song or samples.
## EDIT OP. ##
Will exchange the spectrum analyzer or quadrascope with the edit menu(s).
Pressing more than one time will browse through the edit op. screens.
Click the "chord" button on screen 3 to get to the fourth screen.
## DISK OP. ##
Will go to the load/save dialog.
While in the DISK OP., you can press shift+character to jump
to the first filename entry starting with that character.
## MOD2WAV ##
Renders the current song to a 16-bit 44.1kHz stereo WAV file.
Amiga panning mode, channel solo/mute, BLEP and the HP/LP filters are
included in the rendering. What you hear in the tracker is what you get.
## PAT2SMP ##
Renders the current pattern (from current row) to the current sample slot.
This tool is handy for making drum loops.
- Quality mode: -
HI: 28836Hz - Play the new sample at note A-3 (finetune +5)
LO: 22168Hz - Play the new sample at note F-3 (finetune +1)
HI has the highest possible quality, but can only fit 2.27 seconds of audio.
LO is worse in quality, but can fit slightly more at 2.95 seconds.
You should use this feature in sequences to fit as much rows as you need.
F.ex. start from row 0 to row 23, then make another sample from row 24 to 47,
then 48 to 63. This should only give you an idea of how to use it, as you might
need to do it differently depending on the song BPM, HI/LO and rows needed.
If the BPM is high, you could possibly fit a whole pattern in HI mode in just
two samples.
The solo/mute buttons are functional and handled in the PAT2SMP mixing.
## POS ED. ##
This is the position editor screen found in ProTracker 2.2 or later.
You can give patterns a name for organizing, but they are not saved
in the module.
## SAMPLER ##
Will go to the sampler screen.
The small gadgets labeled
## 1, 2, 3 and 4 ##
Represents the audio channels of your Ami.. I mean, non-Amiga computer.
When lit, that channel is on. When not lit, the channel is muted and and
the notes in that channel will not be played.
If you hold the right mouse button while clicking, the channel will be solo'd.
You can also use ctrl-a to toggle an audio channel, and ctrl-q to unmute all
channels. ctrl+shift-a will solo the current channel.
## Tempo ##
The tempo gadget on the status bar is for setting the CIA speed, if CIA
timing is used. The gadget will be updated every time you set the speed
using the F command (if CIA that is). To toggle between VBLANK/CIA,
press ctrl+F12. This flag is not stored in the MOD file, so be careful.
CIA is the standard mode, use it all the time unless you know what
you're doing.
DISK OP.
--------
## Path ##
The paths for modules and samples. It can be up to ~260 characters
long, depending on the OS. Click on it to edit the path. Right click
while editing to zero out all the text - handy for changing the drive.
## Pack ## (NOT YET IMPLEMENTED)
When on, ProTracker will powerpack modules/samples before saving.
## Load module ##
Will set the DISK OP. to LOAD MODULE mode. It will only list loadable
files (MOD/STK/M15/PP extensions).
## Save module ##
Will save the module to the current disk op. path. The filename will be
<songname>.mod or mod.<songname> dependant on a protracker.ini setting.
## Load sample ##
Will set the DISK OP. to LOAD SAMPLE mode. It will list all files in a dir.
## Save Sample ##
Will save the current sample as WAV, IFF or RAW. Select this in the "SAVE"
gadget to the left. Sample loop points are stored to IFF files.
SAMPLER
-------
The new sampler/sample editor was included simply because we thought
the one in Noisetracker 2.0 was terrible, and we needed graphing of
samples and proper loop editing.
It's very fast, much faster than Audiomaster, and the editing is
much simpler.
We also included a resampling option which we hope you'll find useful.
Editing
-------
When editing a sample, use the mouse to set the cursor line and to mark
ranges.
## Waveform ##
Will play the full sample with loops.
## Display ##
Will play the part of the sample being shown on screen.
## Range ##
Will play the marked range.
## Stop ##
Will stop all playing of samples.
## Show range ##
Will magnify the current range and display it.
## Show all ##
Will display the whole sample.
## Beg ##
Will put the cursor line at the beginning of the sample.
Holding SHIFT while clicking will extend the marking to the beginning.
## End ##
Will put the cursor line at the end of the sample.
Holding SHIFT while clicking will extend the marking to the end.
## Center ##
Will put the cursor line at the center of the sample.
Holding SHIFT while clicking will extend the marking to the center.
## Zoom out ##
Will show double the range you are displaying.
## Range all ##
Will range the part of the sample being displayed on screen.
## Cut ## (or ctrl+X)
Will cut the part of the sample that's marked.
## Copy ## (or ctrl+C)
Will copy the marked range to the copy buffer.
## Paste ## (or ctrl+V)
Will paste the copy buffer into the current sample.
## Volume ""
Will take you to the volume tool box.
## Tunetone ##
Will create a tuned sinus sound, which you can tune your samples after.
## Fix DC ##
Will remove any eventual DC offset in the sample, which will make it centered.
This function might not always work as intended, especially not on basic
waveforms.
## Filters ##
Will take you to the filters tool box.
## Offs (offset) ##
This displays what 9xx command value to use to play the sample from where you're
pointing at in the sample data. This will display no value if the position is
equal to zero, since 900 means "use last 9xx value".
## Resample ##
Here's a step-by-step explanation:
1. Turn on the tuning tone.
2. Use the keyboard to find what note it is. Use finetune if needed.
3. Enter the note in the "Note:" box to the right.
4. Press resample!
## Note ##
This is what note to resample to.
## Disp (display) ##
This is the length of the part of the sample being shown on screen.
## Loop on/off ##
This is for turning sample loops on/off without having to fiddle with the
repeat and replen gadgets.
## Exit ##
Exits the sampler screen.
The volume tool box
--------------
Set the "from" and "to" volume percentages by using the sliders,
or just type in any number you please (from 0 to 200) in the
percentage boxes to the right.
## Normalize ##
Will find the highest volume settings possible (without clipping).
## Cancel�##
Will exit the volume box.
## \ ##
Will set the percentages 100%-0%
## / ##
Will set the percentages 0%-100%
## - ##
Will set the percentages 100%-100%
## Ramp ##
Will ramp (calculate) the volume!
The filters tool box
--------------
This tool box lets you low-pass or high-pass a sample.
Cool for vocals and drumloops, or for any filtering needs.
Keep in mind that this is a crude filter, the base frequency
is manually set to 16574Hz, so the cutoff values really depend
on the base frequency of the sample.
This means that for example a 100Hz low-pass is 100Hz only if
the base frequency of the sample is 16574Hz.
Just test your way to the audible cutoff you want, and press
UNDO if you didn't like it.
## Undo ##
Restores the sample data to the previous state. Used for when you
didn't like the new filtered value. Use CTRL+Z to completely
restore the sample to the state of when it was loaded.
## Exit ##
Will exit the volume box.
## Low-Pass ##
Will low-pass the sample with the given cutoff frequency.
## Low-Pass Frequency ##
Click on this to manually set a cutoff or use the up/down gadgets.
## High-Pass ##
Will high-pass the sample with the given cutoff frequency.
## High-Pass Frequency ##
Click on this to manually set a cutoff or use the up/down gadgets
## Normalize Sample ##
Will normalize the sample after it has been filtered, before
quantizing it to 8-bit. This will prevent clipping and also result
in higher quality if the filtered result was low on amplitude.
EDIT OP.
--------
The edit op. screens were just a handy way for us to implement all the new
functions we had thought of. There are four screens, and you can browse
through them by pressing the edit op. gadget more than once, or select one
by clicking on the numbers 1-3. Screen four is accessed by clicking the "chord"
button in edit op. screen 3.
To exit edit op., click on the gadget labeled "E" or press ESC.
Edit op. Screen 1:
## Transposing ##
What is transposing ?
Transposing lets you shift the pitch of the notes up or down.
E.g. Change a C-3 to a C#3.
In comparison to other trackers, ProTracker lets you transpose in just
about every way you can imagine. You can transpose either the current
sample or all the samples in a channel or pattern.
To the right of the title bar is a small box with the letter "S" or "A".
S - Only the current sample will be transposed.
A - All the samples from $00-$1F will be transposed.
To toggle between the two, click on the edit op. title bar.
If the config entry "TransDel" is enabled, all the notes transposed out of
range (C-1 to B-3) will be deleted. If not, they will not be transposed.
Edit op. screen 2: (Record)
## Record ##
Patt - Record current pattern only.
Song - When recording, PT will move through the patterns in the
song, just like normal play.
## Quantize ##
Will move the notes you record to every n'th row. Entering 00 will
turn off the quantizing, and the notes you play will always be
inserted at the row you are at. Entering 01 will quantize
the notes the the nearest row according to the speed. i.e. if you
play a note after the first half has been played, it will be quantized
to the row below. Entering a value like 8 will quantize to every 8th
row, and so on. Got that?
## Metro (metronome) ##
The first number is the speed of the metronome, and the second is the
channel to play it on. The sample used for metronomes is always sample
31/$1F. Load your own favourite metronome sample.
To turn off the metronome, just set the speed or channel to 00.
## Multi ##
When on, PT will jump to another channel after you play a note on the
keyboard. This makes it possible to play two or more notes at the same
time.
Edit Op. screen 2: (samples)
To the right of the title bar is a small box with the letter "T", "P"
or "S".
T - Copy & Exchange apply to current track (channel) only.
P - Copy & Exchange will affect the the whole pattern.
S - Copy & Exchange will apply to the real samples in memory.
To toggle between the two, click on the edit op. title bar.
## Delete ##
Will delete all notes with the current sample in current channel or whole
pattern.
## Kill ##
Will kill the current sample. That is, remove it from memory and reset
all sample settings.
## EXCHGE (exchange) ##
Will exchange the sample number shown in the "from" gadget with the sample
number in the "to" gadget and vice versa. "T" or "P" selects track (channel) or
pattern. "S" exchanges the samples.
## MOVE ##
Will move the sample number shown in the "from" gadget to the sample
number in the "to" gadget.
Edit Op. screen 3: (Sample Editor)
To the right of the title bar is a small box with the letter "H" or "C".
H - Will halve the volume on many sample altering effects to avoid clipping.
C - Will not halve the volume. The sample may be clipped.
To toggle between the two, click on the edit op. title bar.
## Mix ##
Will mix one sample with another. PT asks you which two samples to be
mixed, and where to put the result.
Holding the right button and pressing mix will mix the current sample with
itself. You can offset the sample by setting a position in the "pos" gadget.
If you set "mod" to a non-zero value, the sample will also be modulated.
## Echo ##
Will create a echo effect on the current sample. Use "pos" to set the
delay time of the echo. If you want more room to echo in, just turn up
the length of the sample.
## Boost (treble increase) ##
Will turn up the treble of the sample. Use this on hi-hats and snares!
## Filter (treble decrease) ##
Will Delta-filter the sample (treble decrease). Use this on noisy basses.
## X-Fade (crossfade) ##
Will crossfade the sample (mix with itself, backwards). Handy for looping
samples that are hard to loop.
## Backwd (backwards) ##
Will turn the sample backwards.
## Upsamp (upsample) ##
Will remove every second byte of the sample, halving the length and
shifting the pitch one octave up.
## Dnsamp (downsample) ##
Will double every byte of the sample, doubling the length, and shifting
the pitch one octave down. If you downsample samples longer than $7FFE,
you will lose the end of them.
## POS ##
This is just an offset in the sample, used for a lot of things.
## MOD (modulate) ##
This is used for modulation. Press "MOD" to modulate the current sample.
## CB (Cut Beginning) ##
Will chop the number of bytes set in the "pos" gadget off the beginning of
the sample.
## Chord ##
Will take you to the Sample Chord Editor screen.
## FU (Fade Up) ##
Will fade the volume from 0 to 100%. Use "Pos" to select where in the
sample to fade up to.
## FD (Fade Down) ##
Will fade the volume from 100 to 0%. Use "Pos" to select where in the
sample to fade down from.
## VOL ##
With this you can change the "real" volume of the sample. Just set a
percentage and press "VOL".
Edit Op.3 is now intended to be used with the new sample editor. If a
range is marked, some of the functions apply to the range only. If there's
no range marked, the functions will affect the whole sample. You may also
set "POS" by clicking on the sample and setting the cursor line.
Edit Op. screen 4: (Sample Chord Editor)
## Chord ##
Will make the chord, using the current sample and the notes chosen, and
the chord will be put in the current sample or a free sample slot, depending
on your choice (see below).
## Reset ##
Will reset the notes and the length.
## Undo ##
Will undo the last change (apart from multiple arrow up/down).
## Length ##
Will set the length to the maximum value, depending on the length of
the original sample and the notes you chose. This will of course set
the ':' after the 4 length digits (see below).
Holding the right mouse button will set the length to the minimum depending
on the notes chosen. '.' will be shown after the 4 digits. Mixing with the
minimum length will make the sample as long as the shortest sample of the
four resampled notes.
Looped samples will always be 65534 in length so that it's easier for you
to find good sample loop points.
## Major ##
Will set a major chord, depending on the basenote.
## Minor ##
Will set a minor chord, depending on the basenote.
## Sus-4 ##
Will set a suspended fourth chord, depending on the basenote.
## Major7 ##
Will set a major seventh chord, depending on the basenote.
## Minor7 ##
Will set a minor seventh chord, depending on the basenote.
## Major6 ##
Will set a major sixth chord, depending on the basenote.
## Minor6 ##
Will set a minor sixth chord, depending on the basenote.
## 4 notegadgets ##
The upper one is the basenote. If you press a gadget, PT will wait for you
to press a note. Holding the right mouse button will reset the note.
## 4 Up/Down gadgets ##
Will add/sub 1 halfnote from the current note. Holding right mouse button will
add/sub 1 octave. You can reset the note by adding past B-3.
## The 4 rightmost gadgets ##
Works just like the edit op gadgets.
1,2,3 takes you to the corresponding edit screen, and E exits.
## The status line ##
Pressing the upper line will toggle between New or Old sample: If N, then
PT will search for a free sample to put the result in. If O, then PT will
put the result in the current sample, overwriting it.
Note #1
-------
PT puts a '!' last in the sample name to show you that this is a chord
sample. The '!' is for you to see where the destination sample has gone,
it has nothing to do with the program. You can take the '!' away and
rename the sample to ...-major, ...-minor etc for instance.
Note #2
-------
The chosen option on the status line in edit op. 3, H(alve) or C(lip)
will NOT affect the chord mixing. The mixing is done in 16-bit, then
normalized and quantized to 8-bit using rounding.
GENERAL INFO.
-------------
Making Music
------------
Any piece of music written with ProTracker is built up from patterns.
Each pattern is built up from four channels, one for each of the Amiga's
audio channels.
A pattern is 64 lines long. The middle line is always the one you edit.
If you need shorter patterns, use the pattern break (Dxx) effect command.
A channel is built up like this:
32 C-3 01 C20
/ \_/ |/ \_/
/ / | \
Row Note Sample Effect/Command
The C-3 is the note being played at row 32. 01 is the sample number,
and the three last digits are the effect command, in this case, set
volume to $20 (C-Command, 20-Value).
ProTracker holds a table with info about the sequence in which the patterns
will be played. With the "Pos" gadget you determine your position in the table.
With "Pattern" you define what pattern to play at that position.
"Length" defines the total size of the table. The full sequence of patterns
is the song. A song is built up from up to 100 different patterns, each
being played at up to 128 different positions.
The small gadgets labeled "I" and "D" are Insert and Delete. With those you
can insert or delete a position from your song. The length of your song
will be adjusted automatically. Remember that the length of your song
must always be one more than the last position, since the first position
is 0.
Holding down the right mouse button when pressing the Pos, Pattern and Length
gadgets will speed them up a bit.
Finetune
--------
This is a goodie. Tune your untuned samples to match the others.
Holding right mouse button while clicking will set finetune to zero.
0 436.4 hz -1 432.1 hz
1 439.0 hz -2 429.6 hz
2 441.6 hz -3 426.3 hz
3 445.1 hz -4 423.1 hz
4 447.8 hz -5 419.9 hz
5 451.5 hz -6 416.7 hz
6 455.2 hz -7 414.4 hz
7 457.0 hz -8 412.0 hz
Sample
------
Clicking on the sample up/down gadgets will flicker through the
samples. You can use up to 31 (hex $1F) samples in a song.
Sample zero function
--------------------
Pressing both mouse buttons at the same time will set the sample number
to 'zero'. You can then record/edit the pattern with sample 0 to prevent
ProTracker from setting the volume each time you play a new note.
Length
------
The Length gadgets are simply used for setting the length of the sample.
A sample can be up to 64k, 65534/$fffe long.
Volume
------
Use this to set the volume the current sample will be played at.
Repeat (loop start)
------
Here you set the start of the sample loop.
Replen (loop length)
------
Here you set the length of the sample loop.
Pressing both the left and right button on the sample gadgets will
speed them up a bit.
The Pattern Number Gadget
-------------------------
To the middle left of the screen is a box with a number in it. The number
is the current pattern number.
The "Are you sure?" dialog
--------------------------
In addition to the gadgets, you can use "Y" or Return for Yes,
and "N" or ESC for No. Clicking the right mouse button also acts as No.
The Clear dialog
----------------
In addition to the gadgets you can use "A" for All, "O" for Song, "S" for
samples and "C" or ESC for Cancel. Clicking the right mouse button acts
as Cancel.
The Load (sample) gadget
------------------------
This gadget will set DISK OP. "load sample" mode and enter the DISK OP.
The text input routine
----------------------
Now this is really simple. Clicking on a text line will enable you to edit
it. Some text lines are longer than they seem, so use the arrow keys to
scroll back and forth in the text. You can also use HOME/END on your keyb.
The text input mode is just like an ordinary text editor. You can use
backspace, delete, space, numeric pad keys and such.
Pressing Return will exit text edit mode and save the changes.
Pressing the right mouse button will clear the text line and exit the editing.
Use ESC to just exit.
Tips 'n tricks
--------------
When inserting, pasting or join-pasting, hold down shift to keep the
cursor from jumping to the end of the block. e.g. shift+ctrl+p
Holding shift while pressing ctrl+k (kill to end of channel) will kill to
start of channel instead.
Use ESC or right mouse button to exit from a lot of things.
Effect tips
-----------
You can set the volume without playing a note. e.g. ---01000
This will set the volume for sample 1 without trigging the note.
Or try trigging the sample and sliding
the volume down. e.g. C-301A08
---01A08
---01A08
This will create a strange arpeggiato effect, like on "Cream of the earth"
by Romeo Knight / RSI.
Entering a new sample number without a note will swap to the new sample
after the previous one was done playing. This is useful for creating
a sweeping effect on chiptune styled songs, and so on.
Mouse Pointer Colors
--------------------
Gray - Nothing is happening.
Yellow - Playing song / pattern.
Green - Disk action.
Blue - Edit / record.
Magenta - Waiting for something (text, number or something else).
Red - Something went wrong.
Drumpad
-------
ProTracker features a drumpad as in Noisetracker 2.0 and 2.1.
Use '\' instead of period '.' to toggle modes. One or
more dots will appear to the right of the TUNE/TIMING display.
No dots: Normal keypad.
1 dot: Drumpad.
2 dots: Drumpad - Edit/Rec possible.
Use alt+keypadkey to set note.