The very top line of the screen is called the Status Bar and shows general information concerning the current state of the sequencer. The following describes each item on the Status Bar, from left to right.
If a mouse is installed, the Exit Button (a small square) is shown at the far left of the Status Bar. Click on this to abort a command during input or to exit from the program.
If a mouse is installed, the Help Button (a question-mark) is shown at the left of the Status Bar. Click on this to activate Help. When in the Help system, click with the left mouse button to jump to the Index and with the right mouse button to recall previous links.
The functions of the sequencer are presented on several MENUS. Each menu contains a set of functions relating to a different aspect of the sequencer. The menus are all grouped together into one top menu, shown as 'Menu'. This can be activated by typing ALT-M or by clicking on it with a mouse. Many menu options can be activated without opening the menus by using hotkeys. The menus can also be operated using a mouse.
This shows the filename of the currently loaded sequence. The default name for a new sequence is 'UNTITLED.BMS'. This can be changed by modifying the value of the 'NewFile' variable in the program initialization file. If the current sequence is modified in any way, one of the following three 'flag' characters is displayed just in front of the filename to indicate the type of modification made:
The next item on the status bar after the filename is the sequence timer. This indicates the current position of the cursor in time in relation to the start of the sequence. Time is measured by the sequencer in beats and ticks. The smallest unit of time used by the sequencer is called a tick. Each beat in a sequence consists of an equal number of ticks. The number of ticks in a beat is always the same, regardless of the actual tempo of a sequence (a change of tempo actually affects the duration of each tick), and is fixed at 192. This means that each beat is divided into 192 'time-slots', each of which can contain a number of MIDI events.
The format of the sequence timer depends on the current TRACK DISPLAY MODE.
The tempo of a sequence is given in beats per minute. It can be changed at any time using the Tempo option on the OPTIONS MENU. When the sequencer is not playing or recording, the initial sequence tempo is shown. If you begin playing or recording, the initial tempo value may be modified, either by the Tempo option or by tempo events within a track (see TEMPO VIEW). When the sequence is stopped, the original initial tempo value is restored.
This indicates the current operating mode of the sequencer which tells you what the sequencer is doing. The availability of certain functions depends on the current operating mode. There are three primary sequencer modes and the sequencer is always in one of these modes.
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PRIMARY SEQUENCER MODES
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Edit Play Rec
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Ready to edit, Indicates that a Indicates that a
play, or record sequence is playing track is recording
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When the sequencer is in FILE VIEW the sequencer mode changes to indicate the
current FILE VIEW MODE. This affects the way files are handled in FILE VIEW.While in the Help system, the sequencer mode is changed to 'Help'.
Next on the status bar is a group of seven flag characters which indicate the current status of certain program features. The settings for most of these features are controlled by items on the OPTIONS MENU. A small dot character indicates that the relevant feature is disabled. The characters shown for each feature when enabled are listed below (from left to right).
FLAG CHARACTER MEANING
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Block square Data copied from currently marked block
Metronome m PC speaker metronome enabled
M MIDI metronome enabled
Real-Time r Real-time slave mode
R Real-time master mode
MIDI-THRU T Re-transmit incoming MIDI data with track settings
A/B/C/D Re-transmit incoming MIDI data to specific port
Cycle @ Sequence/playlist cycle mode
Playlist P Playlist is playing
Keyboard 0..9 MIDI keyboard emulator using octave specified
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The last item on the Status Bar is the available memory indicator, which shows the number of bytes of RAM available for storing track data. Most MIDI events require four bytes (1 for a tick-value and 3 for the actual event) though some use more and some less. Each beat also requires two bytes for a 'beat-event' and the 'end-of-track' event uses a further two bytes.
While recording, the available memory indicator shows the number of bytes available for recording a track. In this freeware version of BeatMaster each track in a sequence can contain a maximum of 65516 bytes. As MIDI events are recorded the memory indicator counts down, showing the number of bytes left for the track. The memory indicator also flashes when an event is received.
If your computer has extended memory and an XMS driver installed, BeatMaster uses the extended memory for storing non-track data. This includes various things, such as data copied to the Track, Block and Undo buffers and data loaded from system exclusive event files. Using extended memory in this way leaves more conventional memory available for track data and helps to reduce memory leakage caused by fragmentation when tracks are edited.
This is the fixed line of words near the bottom of the screen just above the INPUT/OUTPUT LINE. These are abbreviations for the names of each of the main views in the sequencer. The name of the current view is always highlighted. To select a view you can press the highlighted letter in its name. Many of the main views consist of a number of sub-views. The name in top-left corner of each view indicates the actual title (or sub-title) of the current view.
If a mouse is installed, a view can be selected by clicking on its name in the VIEW TITLE LINE. Clicking on the name of the current view with the left mouse button has the same effect as pressing the TAB key. Clicking the current view name with the right mouse button has the same effect as pressing the ENTER key. These keys switch between the different modes of the current view.
The bottom line of the screen is used to report general information about the operations of the sequencer; actions performed, problems encountered and so on. It is also where you enter any input that may be requested.
If a mouse is installed, clicking on the I/O line starts and stops playing your sequence. You can also click the I/O line to accept default input. In the bottom left and right corners of the screen, below the I/O line, are two arrows. In VARIABLES VIEW you can click on these arrows to increment or decrement the current variable (if numeric). In GLOBAL VIEW and EVENT VIEWS, a click on these arrows with the left mouse button (button 1) has the same effect as pressing PAGE-UP and PAGE-DOWN and a click with the right button (button 2) has the same effect as pressing CTRL-HOME and CTRL-END.