INDEX, HelpOnHelp=0

  The use of this help system is straightforward and requires only a
few keys:
  cursor keys   browse text
  [Tab]         select next topic
  [Shift][Tab]  select previous topic
  [Enter]       jump to selected topic
  [Esc]         close help
  [Alt][F1]     previous help

&BHow to:&N
        @MODDTS[MOD and DTS overview   ]
        @MODED[edit a song            ]
        @PLAYER[play the current song  ]
        @SAMPED[edit and play samples  ]
MODED, Song/module editor=2
  This is the place where you write and modify @SONGSTRUC[songs].

&BCursor movement:
        [Left]          previous field
        [Right]         next field
        [Up]            previous frame
        [Down]          next frame
        [Home]          jump to note field
        [End]           jump to last field

        [PgUp]          previous page
        [PgDn]          next page
        [^Left]         previous track
        [^Right]        next track
        [^PgUp]         first frame
        [^PgDn]         last frame
        [^Home]         top of screen
        [^End]          bottom of screen
        [-]             previous pattern
        [+]             next pattern
        [Alt][F1]..[F4] jump to frame 00..48

        [Tab]           jump to the @ORDERED[order editor]

&BInput and output, global commands:
        [Alt][C]        clear song (doesn't clear samples)
        [Alt][D]        display memory informations
        [Alt][E]        toggle 43/50 line mode (EVA/VGA only)
        [Alt][I]        edit instruments
        [Alt][L]        load module
        [Alt][M]        make SoundTracker compatible @MODDTS[module]
        [Alt][O]        OS shell
        [Alt][P]        @PLAYER[play] current pattern
        [Alt][R]        read pattern from disk
        [Alt][S]        save current song as @MODDTS[DTS]
        [Alt][V]        mixer control (SoundBlaster Pro only)
        [Alt][W]        write pattern to disk
        [Alt][X]        exit

&BSeealso:
        @BLOCKS[blocks          ]
        @AUTOJUMP[automatic jump  ]
        @PLAYER[playing songs   ]
        @MACROREC[macros          ]
SONGSTRUC, The structure of a module
  A module is made of patterns, which are similar to musical measures.
Each pattern contains 64 frames, and one frame groups up to four @NOTE[notes]
that are played at the same time.
  Let's see an example:

        D-3 01    C-2 02    D-2 02    F#2 02
        A-3 01    ... ..    ... ..    ... ..
        F#3 01    ... ..    ... ..    ... ..
        A-3 01    ... ..    ... ..    ... ..
        D-3 01    A#1 02    D-2 02    G-2 02
        A#3 01    ... ..    ... ..    ... ..
        G-3 01    ... ..    ... ..    ... ..
        A#3 01    ... ..    ... ..    ... ..
        and so on...

  The first frame,

        D-3 01    C-2 02    D-2 02    F#2 02

plays a D7 chord with the last three voices, and the first voice
starts playing the main theme with a different instrument.
  Next comes

        A-3 01    ... ..    ... ..    ... ..

which keeps playing on the first track. The blank fields in the last
three tracks mean that the sound must not be changed. The D7 chord is
played until the fifth frame, when it becomes a G- chord. You cannot
directly specify the duration of a note, it depends on the number of
blank notes that follow.
  When the last frame in a pattern has been played (or a "pattern
break" @MODCMDS[command] is encountered) the player jumps to the first frame
of the pattern that follows in the @ORDERED[order sequence].
MACROREC, Keyboard macros
  Macros are especially useful when you have to enter several times
the same sequence of keys.

  Up to 10 macros can be defined and assigned to a hotkey from
[Alt][0] to [Alt][9]. When macro recording in on, all key presses are
recorded into an internal buffer, you may then recall a sequence of
keys by simply pressing the corresponding hotkey.

  Note: macros cannot be nested and are disabled outside the song
editor.

&BCommands:
        [^R]            toggle macro recording on/off
ORDERED, Order editor
  Song patterns are not played in sequential order: to allow
repetitions and longer songs, the sequence in which patterns are
actually played is stored in a separate index array.

  Each index entry contains the number of the actual pattern to be
played in that position or zero, which stays for "end of list".

  For example, suppose that your order sequence looks like this:

        ����������ͻ
        � 00 �   3 �
        � 01 �   1 �
        � 02 � ..0 �
        � 03 � ..0 �
        :    �     :
        � 7D � ..0 �
        � 7E � ..0 �
        � 7F � ..0 �
        ����������ͼ

  That means: play pattern three first, then pattern one, then stop.
More precisely, sound is not stopped at the end of list, but rather
execution is restarted from the beginning (i.e. from pattern three).

  Of course you may specify the same pattern number more than once,
this saves space if a pattern is to be played several times because
you don't need to duplicate it in the song editor.

  To edit the index entry at cursor simply type in the pattern number
for that position.

  &BCommands:
        [Up]            previous entry
        [Down]          next entry
        [PgUp]          previous page
        [PgDn]          next page
        [Home]          search null pattern backward
        [End]           search null pattern forward
        [Del]           delete entry
        [Ins]           insert entry
        [^PgUp]         top of list
        [^PgDn]         end of list
        [^Home]         top of page
        [^End]          end of page

        [Tab]           song editor
        [Enter]         edit pattern at cursor
        [F5]..[F8]      toggle channels on/off
        [^F3]/[^F4]     decrement/increment song speed
        [F3]/[F4]       decrement/increment global volume
        [^A]            add a semitone to entire song
        [^S]            subtract a semitone from entire song

        [Alt][E]        switch to 43/50 lines mode (EGA/VGA only)
        [Alt][I]        @SAMPED[edit instruments]
        [Alt][L]        load module
        [Alt][O]        OS shell
        [Alt][P]        @PLAYER[play entire song from cursor]
        [Alt][V]        mixer control (SoundBlaster Pro only)
        [Alt][X]        exit
BLOCKS, Blocks
  Blocks are used to perform operations on a group of notes. You can
mark all from a single note to a track or pattern, the marked area is
called a "block". Blocks can be copied, moved, deleted and manipulated
in a number of ways, as shown below:
        [^B]            mark block begin/end
        [^T]            mark current track
        [^L]            mark line block begin/end
        [^P]            mark current pattern
        [^U]            unmark block
        [^C]            copy block (block is inserted at cursor)
        [^O]            copy block (block overwrites underlying notes)
        [^M]            move block
        [^D]            delete block

        [^A]            add a halftone to all marked notes
        [^S]            subtract a halftone from all marked notes
        [^V]            set marked notes to default sample
        [^W]            wipe all marked notes
AUTOJUMP, Automatic jump
  Usually song editing is track oriented and you want the cursor to
move vertically rather than horizontally. Also, you often need to
move the cursor down two or four steps, according to the duration of
the notes you are entering. The autojump feature gives you control
upon these parameters, making it easier and faster to enter notes.

        [^F5]..[^F8]    set autojump to 1,2,4,8
        [^J]            toggle autojump on/off
MODCMDS, SoundTracker commands
  The command field of a @NOTE[note] tells the player that a special action
is to be taken when that note is played.
  There are basically two sets of commands: local commands modify only
the note they refer to, global commands affect the entire song.
  Here is the list of commands supported by Dr. Track:
        @CMD0[Arpeggio       ]  (local)
        @CMD1[Portamento up  ]  (local)
        @CMD2[Portamento down]  (local)
        @CMD3[Tone portamento]  (local)
        @CMD4[Vibrato        ]  (local)
        @CMDA[Volume slide   ]  (local)
        @CMDB[Pattern jump   ]  (global)
        @CMDC[Volume change  ]  (global)
        @CMDD[Pattern break  ]  (global)
        @CMDF[Speed change   ]  (global)
CMD0, Arpeggio
  Syntax:       0       second note/third note
  Example:      C-2 01 047

  The current note is changed at very high speed according to the
parameter field. In the example above, the first note is C-2, the
second note is E-2 (4 semitones up from C-2, see below) and the third
is G-2 (7 halftones up from C-2). These three notes are played in
sequence, one every 1/50th of second, so that it's almost impossibile
to distinguish them. With this command effects like fast arpeggioes or
trills are easily achieved.

  + 0  + 1  + 2  + 3  + 4  + 5  + 6  + 7  + 8  + 9  + A  + B  + C ...
  C-2  C#2  D-2  D#2  E-2  F-2  F#2  G-2  G#2  A-2  A#2  B-2  C-3 ...

  If the parameter field contains no data (i.e. both auxiliary note
displacements are zero), the first note is not modified and the
command is displayed with a single dot.
CMD1, Portamento up
  Syntax:       1       speed
  Example:      C-2 01 103

  Increases the pitch of the current note.
CMD2, Portamento down
  Syntax:       2       speed
  Example:      C-2 01 203

  Decreases the pitch of the current note.
CMD3, Tone portamento
  Syntax:       destination note        [sample]        3       speed
  Example:      E-2 01 305

  The destination note is not played immediately, it is just used as
an argument for the command. It's the current note pitch that moves
towards the destination note, at the specified speed.
  Suppose to have a track like this:

        C-2 01 .00
        ... .. ...
        ... .. ...
        E-2 01 305
        ... .. 300
        ... .. 300

  When the player reads

        E-2 01 305

it doesn't play E-2. However, because the pitch of E-2 is higher than
that of the last played note (C-2), the current pitch is increased.
It's likely that the distination note is not reached within a single
frame, so you have to repeat the tone portamento command until E-2 is
actually played. Fortunately, you don't have to reenter the command in
it's complete form, because the player remembers both the destination
note and speed of the last command. Thus frames like

        ... .. 300

suffices to keep portamento going.
  Moreover, when E-2 is reached any portamento command which is not in
the complete form is ignored, so there's no need to know exactly how
many commands have to be used to reach the destination note.
CMD4, Vibrato
  Syntax:       4       speed/size
  Example:      F#3 04 462

  Periodically changes the pitch of the current note. To keep the
last vibrato effect use the command without parameters. For example:

        F#3 04 462
        ... .. 400
        ... .. 400
CMDA, Volume slide
  Syntax:       A       up speed/down speed
  Example:      C-2 01 A02
                ... .. A02

  Slowly changes the volume of the current note. The same command is
used to increase or decrease the volume: if you use the left digit of
the parameter field then volume will be increased, otherwise
decreased.
  When the volume reachs the minimum (maximum) any decrease (increase)
volume command is ignored.
CMDB, Pattern jump
  Syntax:       B       order entry to jump at
  Example:      ... .. B02

  Breaks the current pattern and jumps to the specified entry in the
order list.
  The jump command is executed only after the frame which contains it
has been played.
CMDC, Volume change
  Syntax:       C       volume
  Example:      C-2 01 C20

  Sets the volume of the current note (maximum value is 40h).
CMDD, Pattern break
  Syntax:       D
  Example:      ... .. D00

  Jumps out from the current pattern. Execution continues from the
next pattern in the order array.
CMDF, Speed change
  Syntax:       F       speed
  Example:      ... .. F05

  Sets the song speed. Valid values are 00h thru 0Fh.
NOTE, Note structure
  A single note consists of several fields, as shown below:

        �������� note
        � ������ octave
        � �  ��� @SAMPLENOTE[sample]
        � � ��
        C-2 06 047
               ���
               � � command parameters
               ��� @MODCMDS[command]

  Inside the song editor, notes are entered from keyboard, which is
arranged to emulate a piano keyboard (er, you may need a bit of
fantasy):

       1     2           5     6     7
    Q     W     E     R     T     Y     U     I

       S     D           G     H     J
    Z     X     C     V     B     N     M     ,

  Shift the first octave to access the third one.

  To edit other fields, move the cursor on them and type a legal
value.
SAMPLENOTE, Note: sample field
  The sample field of a @NOTE[note] contains the index of the instrument to
be used when that note is played. Legal values range from 0 to 31:
when the index is 0 the last specified sample is used, otherwise a new
sample is selected for the current track.
  Samples can be loaded and modified with the @SAMPED[sample editor].
SAMPED, Sample editor
  The sample editor is where you load and modify instruments. It's
divided in two windows: the selection window (lower) and the editing
window (upper).

  The selection window lists all instruments currently loaded in
memory. The number on the left of each sample is the index which
identifies that instrument in the song editor. You can use the cursor
keys to move the selection bar across the list and then press [Enter]
or [Tab] to edit the selected sample. Other keys are:
        [Alt-A] save all samples;
        [Alt-B] load a sample from a @LIBRARY[library];
        [Alt-C] remove all samples from memory;
        [Alt-E] toggle between 25 and 43/50 lines video modes;
        [Alt-L] load a sample from disk into the selected slot;
        [Alt-O] OS shell;
        [Alt-S] save the selected sample on disk.

  The editing window allows you to change the instrument parameters.
If you need help enter the editing window and press [F1] on the
desired item.
LIBRARY, Sample libraries
  Sample libraries are an easy yet powerful way to organize samples on
disk.
  On start Dr. Track looks for a file named "DRT.LIB", which is a
simple ASCII text file containing information about sample
directories. The structure of that file is straightforward, here is an
example:

   ;***
   ;*** DRT.LIB example
   ;***
   c:\drt\samples               Default sample directory
   c:\drt\samples\synth         Synth
   c:\samples\perco             Drums, percussions

  Lines starting with a ";" character are comments and are just
ignored, other lines contains two fields: the DOS directory name and
the corresponding library name.
  Using libraries you select directories by library names, not DOS
names. This simple approach has many advantages:
&B-&N library names are easier to remember and more "descriptive" than the
  corresponding DOS names;
&B-&N the directory name may have any length (if libraries are not used
  only the first 32 characters of a directory name are stored in
  sample files);
&B-&N directories may be moved or renamed, and only the DRT.LIB file has
  to be changed: this automatically updates all songs which refers
  to library names.

  The last point is very important: sample pathnames are stored in
song files (@MODDTS[DTS]), so if you rename a directory, some .DTS files may
still reference the old name. When loading such files Dr. Track
allows you to skip the misnamed sample and add it later, but it's much
better to use libraries and avoid the problem at all.

  When editing a sample directory name you may use library names,
adding the character "=" to the beginning (i.e. "=Synth", "=Drums",
etc.).
SAMPREPED, Sample repeat/start
  Samples can be played "one-shot" or "looped". A sample, i.e. a
digitized instrument, is played "one-shot" when it hasn't a repeat
part: this means that when the last byte in the sample has been
played, the sound stops.
  On the other side, when the last byte of a "looped" sample is
reached, the sample is played again starting at the offset specified
by the "repeat start" parameter: the repeat part is played until
another event cause the process to be interrupted (e.g. a new note, a
command, etc.).
  The repeat part contains "repeat length" bytes starting at "repeat
start". Note that for one-shot samples the repeat length is 0002h and
not 0000h (zero).

                    �������� &Brepeat length&N ������Ŀ
                    �                             �
  ssssssssssssssssssrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee
                    �
                    � &Brepeat start offset&N

  Because Dr. Track can play in the background dynamically adjusting
to new parameters, you can modify the "repeat" values on the fly and
hear how the sound changes. This special feature will help you much
when experimenting with looped samples.

&BCommands:
        [Left] or [-]   decrement value
        [Right] or [+]  increment value
        [^Left]         fast decrement
        [^Right]        fast increment
        [Home]          minimum value
        [End]           maximum value
SAMPVOLED, Sample volume
  This parameter controls the default volume of an instrument, i.e.
the volume used to play the instrument in a song when no other
commands are specified.

Commands:
        [Left] or [-]   decrement value
        [Right] or [+]  increment value
        [^Left]         fast decrement
        [^Right]        fast increment
        [Home]          minimum value
        [End]           maximum value
SAMPDIRED, Sample directory
  This is the directory in which this sample will be saved. If the
name is preceeded by the "=" character, then it's interpreted as
a @LIBRARY[library] name and the corresponding DOS directory is retrieved
from the library configuration file ("DRT.LIB"). You may also press
[Alt][B] and pick a library from the current list.
SAMPFILEED, Sample filename
  This is the file name used when samples are saved on disk.
SAMPNAMEED, Sample name
  This is the name of the sample. Because under DOS file names cannot
be longer than 12 characters, Dr. Track uses this field both for
compatibility with the Amiga format and to store sample descriptions.
It's this name that's stored in MOD files.
LINEED, Line editor
  The line editor is called whenever the user needs to input a string
of text.

  When you enter the line editor, the current string is highlited to
mean that it has not been modified yet. If you want to modify this
string then strike any non-character key (e.g. [End] or [Left]),
otherwise the old string will be automatically deleted when you start
typing a new one.

  &BCommands:
        [Esc]           discard changes and exit
        [Enter]         accept changes and exit
        [Left]          character left
        [Right]         character right
        [Home]          beginning of line
        [End]           end of line
        [^Left]         word left
        [^Right]        word right
        [^Home]         delete to the beginning of line
        [^End]          delete to the end of line
        [Del]           delete character
        [BackSpace]     delete character left
SONGIO, I/O commands
        [Alt][C]  clear song (doesn't clear samples)
        [Alt][D]  display memory informations
        [Alt][E]  toggle 43/50 line mode (EVA/VGA only)
        [Alt][I]  edit instruments
        [Alt][L]  load module
        [Alt][M]  make and save module (SoundTracker compatible)
        [Alt][O]  OS shell
        [Alt][R]  read pattern from disk
        [Alt][S]  save song (compressed module without samples)
        [Alt][V]  mixer control (SoundBlaster Pro only)
        [Alt][W]  write pattern to disk
        [Alt][X]  exit to DOS
PLAYER, MOD player
  Dr. Track's built-in player allows you to hear an entire song or
just the pattern you are composing.

  The player is activated with [Alt][P]. From the song editor only the
current pattern will be played, so that you can immediately listen to
your recent work. From the order editor the entire song is played,
starting at the current pattern position.

  While it's playing, Dr. Track displays complete information
about what's going on:
  - the status window is updated with the current pattern, speed
    and volume;
  - the pattern window shows the current pattern and frame;
  - the order window tracks the sequence of patterns played;
  - the power meters show which tracks are playing and on which
    channel;
  - on VGAs the current waveform is displayed in realtime (if the
    "graphics" option is enabled).

  &BSeealso:
        @PPRR[real time recording and testing]
        @PPOS[OS shell]
        @PPVC[volume control and fade out]

  Press [Esc] to stop music.
PPRR, Real-time recording and testing
  Pressing [Alt][F5] (or [Alt][F6], etc. for the other channels)
enters the "real-time recording" mode: when "rec" is active a message
highlights on the selected channel and the notes you enter from the
keyboard are placed right into the song data, at the current position.
  Pressing [Alt][F5] again enters the "real-time testing" mode, which
is the same as the "rec" mode except that notes are played but not
saved.
  Another [Alt][F5] disables both "rec" and "test" modes.

  Notes are played according to the current default sample, which may
be changed with the following keys:
  [^F1] or [F9]   decrement default sample;
  [^F2] or [F10]  increment default sample.
PPOS, DOS shell and playback
  Because Dr. Track is able to play in the background, you can shell
to DOS with [Alt][O] and let the music playing.
  The player doesn't need any of the standard interrupts and is very
fast, so it cannot interfere with the programs you run, however
remember that in most cases the amount of memory available to DOS is
limited. Please don't run any program which uses the SoundBlaster's
DAC, that will probably hang your system when you exit from shell (by
the way, it's all right with FM chips).
PPVC, Volume control and fade out
  You can control the output volume with [F3] (decrement) and [F4]
(increment). This are expecially useful when recording songs on
tape (if you use EMM386, QEMM or similar products you should disable
them before running DRT to get best sound quality).
  Press [Alt][F] to fade music out.
  Also, channel may be turned on and off pressing [F5], [F6], [F7] and
[F8] for channels #1, #2, #3 and #4 respectively.
SONGNAME, Song name
  It's the title of the current song or module and may be up to 22
characters long. This string is saved in @MODDTS[MOD] and @MODDTS[DTS] files.

&BSeealso:
        @LINEED[line editor    ]
        @SONGFILENAME[song filename  ]
SONGFILENAME, Song filename
  It's the DOS filename used to write a @MODDTS[MOD] file on disk after a
&Bmake module&N command ([Alt][M] from the @MODED[song editor]).
  When saving the file in @MODDTS[DTS] format, the extension is automatically
changed in &B.DTS&N.

&BSeealso:
        @LINEED[line editor    ]
        @SONGNAME[song name      ]
MODDTS, MOD and DTS file overview
  &BMOD&N files contain all that's needed to play and edit a song:
patterns and samples are merged in a single file which is then called
a "module". Dr. Track is binary compatible with Amiga MOD files
created with the SoundTracker and NoiseTracker programs.

  &BDTS&N files are unique to Dr. Track. They store only patterns and
some extra information in a mildly compressed format. Actual sample
data is not saved within DTS files: it contains only the names of
the samples used. When you read such a file these names are used to
retrieve sample data from disk, which saves a lot of space when you
have samples that are used in different songs. Sample names may refer
to DOS directories or, much better, to sample @LIBRARY[libraries].
