Release Notes

Audio Compositor 3.0 beta

These notes are intendend primarily for experienced users of Audio Compositor,
who will find the patch-editing environment much changed.  The biggest difference
is that layers are no longer filed separately from your .PAT files, and in fact
there is no layer editor at all any more; layers are incorporated into the patch
editor, and each patch has its own unique layers.  This means that when you edit
a layer, you're no longer editing every patch that includes it-and while this may
be a disadvantage in some cases, you will probably find it compensated for by the
ease with which it's now possible to copy and paste layers using the normal Windows
drag/drop and copy/paste operations.

When you open an older .PAT file, Audio Compositor converts it to 3.0 format,
copying layers as necessary from your old layer file into the .PAT.  A real danger
in the conversion process is that you might have layers that are not referenced by
any patch; these will be lost at conversion time because no copy will be made-that
is, they'll be left behind in the layer file and will never be visible in future
versions of Audio Compositor.  To avoid this problem, make certain that all your 
important layers are included in at least one patch before upgrading to Audio
Compositor 3.0.  (If necessary, make up a useless patch just to hold the unreferenced
layers.  After the conversion, you can drag them into "real" patches as you need them.)

One function of the old layer editor remains essential-there is still a master
list of samples and their associated .wav files.  This function has been transferred
to the so-called "Sample Library".  Behind the scenes, it still lives in the file
called ac.lay, but in the context of the program it is no longer treated as a file
that you can open and save via the File menu.  When you shut down AC, however,
you'll be prompted to save the Sample Library if changes have been made.

As for the new patch editor itself, it is hoped that most of it is self-explanatory.
It makes heavy use of the right mouse button, which can be used to discover what
operations are possible by clicking on almost any object.  Documentation on the
new features is sparse, but then Audio Compositor users are a hardy lot.
Bon voyage.

