Robert the Inventor's Software

If you install a Midi Save key then remove the unlock key and the test drive key has expired, start test drive button shows up normally and when you click to start a new test drive, then nothing happens. Should get the message that the test drive has expired and that you need to ask for a new one.

Fixed.

If you open a project from another computer with current directory set, and set to a drive not existing on current machine, e.g. Drive A floppy, then on some computers you may get a "No Disk" error message repeated several times.

Fixed.

When playing chord progressions involving Wave Shape Player instruments, especially if you also edit the instruments, you may get a thread deadlock heirarchy reversal error message.

Fixed.

Minor update - Aug 4th 2008

Fixes some bugs for the windows used for editing the seed / arpeggio / scale
windows (windows 5 to 7).

Fixes a stack fault bug for the midi sync receive window (177).

Reduces memory requirements very slightly, may affect users on old Win 98 machines.

Fixes a resize bug for the music keyboard pictures - if you resize the window then the window no longer displays properly - clears up on close and reshow it - fixed.

Minor update - July 31st 2008

If you run FTS in windows 95/98 and show a tool tip in FTS before you show a tool tip in any other program, then exit FTS, then from then on at any point when a tool tip would normally be shown (e.g. hovering mouse over start button) then you get an access violation. This symptom only clears up on a reboot.

The symptoms are very similar to the ones described here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q255607/
The main difference is that for some reason it is happening in a release
build when it should only happen when the program is being debugged.

Perhaps it is to do with the Armadillo protection of Tune Smithy (to protect it from crackers). I know that Armadillo has special features to prevent other programs from debugging the release of FTS, and so it may very well use the problematic "thunk addresses" described in that q255607 which lead to the crashes.

Solution was to make a tiny unprotected program whose only function is to display a tool tip "Tune smithy starting up" which shows up briefly when FTS starts up. This makes sure that a tool tip is shown in an unprotected and not debugged program before it is ever shown in FTS which fixes the bug. This mimics in software the advice in the Microsoft article to duplicate the problematical action in anon debugged program.

Minor update - July 26th 2008

Seed bar chart is very slow to draw if you add grids for seeds with enormous numbers (in the tens of thousands) - fixed.

In New Seed window, alt + . (full stop) played the seed two octaves down and quarter speed - fixed. You can still play it quarter speed from PC keyboard using Alt + Caps Lock + .

When you play the first note of a seed in the Seed window after you click the Edit radio , often there is a long pause before the note gets recorded. This was caused by opening Midi Out. Fixed by opening Midi Out as soon as you click the Edit radio.

Other minor bugs in the New Seed window.

Minor update - July 22nd 2008

When you randomise the tune for the Player task you usually get just one long sustained note or chord. This is because the maximum tempo field for the randomised tune was getting set to 4 - fixed

Lambdoma Tasks, In As menu, option to treat as e.g. music keyboard playing consecutive white keys etc - your selection here gets forgotten when you close FTS and start it up again - fixed.

Minor bug fixes for the Lambdoma Task In As menu options.

Minor update - July 16th 2008

MAJOR BUG If you start a tsProj file by file association, e.g. by double clicking on the file in your file explorer - when you close FTS, then the project settings for the file get erased.

Sorry about that everyone!

Fixed.

It was part of some code to deal with changes you make after you start a project by file association, that should apply to the program as a whole (when started from the desktop shortcut) rather than for the individual project. But because of a bug the settings got saved to the project file instead of the file that applies to the program as a whole.

Minor bug. When composing for the Lambdoma, rows and columns swap depending on whether Caps lock key is on. Fixed by making the option to swap rows and columns depending on Caps lock an optional check box in the In As menu.

In As setting for Lambdoma task - your choice here gets reset when FTS starts up again - it doesn't remember what you selected here - fixed.

If you use Ctrl + numbers on the num pad area of your keyboard to show a window it doesn't work - only works for numbers across the top of your keyboard - fixed.

Other minor bug fixes.

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Minor update - July 1st 2008

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Tool tips not showing for the lists (such as parts list etc) if you have Custom List Boxes switched on from the Opts menu - fixed.

Also if you tab through the controls in a window you find that all the lists such as the list of parts, octave shifts etc come last after everything else in the tab order - and all the up / down controls get left out of the tab order altogether - fixed.

Renamed Voices to Instruments - seems to make it clearer what they do - response to e-mails from newbie users unsure how to change the instruments to play.

Fixed a bug in the option to play instruments in CSound-AV. Fixed a missing file in the help - the Scales.htm had been overwritten by Seeds.htm with the result that you found yourself going round in circles when you tried to access the section of the help dealing with scales.

Improvement in layout of the faq on how to use the PC keyboard player to play lattice scales and Janko keyboard layouts.

One or two of the old fractal tunes weren't playing correctly - they were ones that had Value for C for first note of melody set to a number other than 0 - this parameter wasn't getting read correctly. This only affects old tunes - a backwards compatibility issue.

Minor update - April 15th 2008

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Thread block hierarchy reversal warning message occasionally when you work with individual instruments for custom voices - fixed

Spin controls to adjust volume etc in Parts window not working - fixed.

When Ctrl + File | Reset Everything is used, two copies of FTS appear - fixed.

In | Options | Opts | Same name circle protection - the messages you get if you choose same named midi device for input and output were a little verbose and not as clear as they might have been about what it means and what you should do - fixed.

Error messages when attempting to save to waveform audio when you have the option to stop the recording at the end of the fractal tune selected - fixed.

In | Open Now - there's a bit added there saying "With In As | Parts by Input Channel" or some such - that's referring to the In As menu for the Lambdoma tasks, which you don't have in the other tasks. Should say "With In | Options | ..." - fixed.

Various other minor bugs.

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Minor update - February 17th 2008

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The Mouse & PC Keyboard music icon in the task window may start up the Player task instead of the intended one. To fix it, start Tune Smithy up from the icon, go to Tasks | More, change to the correct task, and use File | Reset Everything. It was caused by an incorrectly named file in the installer - fixed for future installs by renaming the file, also fixes it if you haven't used this task yet.

If you set the theremin controller to e.g. channel volume, then change to another one with the channel volume set to 0 (because you had the volume at 0 before the change) then you get no sound from the theremin. Fix was - on change theremin controller, the previously selected controller should automatically return to its preset value (e.g. max volume for the channel volume controller, middle of range for Pan etc). Fixed.

If you try to record to Ogg, or one of the other extra formats and don't have the extra encoders installed, you may get a confusing error message, then nothing happens. It was caused by an attempt to get your web browser to download the installer directly - which can save time if it works - but doesn't always work. Anyway a newbie user is likely to want to read about the download first, so the preset should be to show the download page..

Fixed by making the preset to go to the web page and so now it's Shift + Yes to download the installer directly using the browser, so if you just answer Yes then everything is fine whatever - fixed.

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Minor update - February 8th 2008

This is all for the Metronome and polyrhythms task

If tune is playing and you go to File | Save As and save it as a midi file straight away - tune stops playing as desired and it makes the midi file - but the midi file may be only partly saved (player will give error message probably that it is corrupt or that it can't play it). Fixed.

Play button not refreshing immediately if you click to start the tune from the Parts window - the button may show Stop when the tune is already stopped or Play when it is already playing - fixed

After you select a rhythm and start to play it - the main window rhythm drop list may instead of showing the rhythm show just a single number (e.g. 3). Rhythm plays okay but doesn't display correctly - fixed.

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Minor update - February 4th 2008

General - fractal tunes tasks - chord progression player - what's new

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General

After you start a test drive, you may get Thirty Days Test Drive shown as the author in the Tune Info (Ctrl + 59) window - fixed.

There obviously FTS can't put in your name if you haven't yet unlocked the program - but you edit that field yourself - freeware users can sign their saved files just like those who buy the program. So - it was just meant to be blank if the program isn't unlocked.

When you click to change the selection in the Parts window, you may get an access violation. This is rare - only one bug report of it happening, didn't happen during the release candidate testing. (Techy details - it was a thread synchronisation issue). Fixed - also fixed some other places in the code where the same thing could happen.

The preset url for the manual for the Csound Manual Look Up (Ctrl + 206) was still set to kevindumpscore.com which is no longer valid - updated it to csounds.com.

The example CSound csd file had a comment to say that you need to edit the zakinit instruction if present to make the two numbers the same - that's no longer true, you just need to include it if present - fixed.

In the Scales list (Ctrl + 110) window - if you edit the scale first then click back on the highlighted scale without changing the selection, you would expect the scale to reset back to the highlighted value in the list - but it didn't - fixed

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Fractal tunes tasks

Sometimes starts play again immediately when you press stop, or needs two clicks to play after it is stopped.
- fixed

The volume, bank, and octave shifts for the Parts window weren't updating when set from the script - fixed.

The spin control for the volume had no effect - fixed.

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Chord progression player

If you change the selection in the drop list, to select a saved chord progression,this should obviously change the name shown when you then go to Save As or Open - but it didn't - fixed

When you change to the Fractal Tunes task, if you take the option to do a reset for the fractal tunes, then return to the chord progression player, you find that your original chord progression has gone. This is relevant if for instance you want to use your chord progression in a fractal tune.

This was actually the intended behaviour, since it's the preset for the fractal tunes - so just added a message to alert the user to the effect of the reset if they go from the chord progression player to the fractal tunes task. Also added option to open and save chords in the fractal tunes task - this makes it easier to transfer chord progressions between the two tasks and from one fractal tune to another.

The Tempo field in the More version of the main Chord Progression Player window was towards the left of the window while for the Less version of the window it is towards the right - with no particular reason for it to be in a different place. Generally I try to keep consistency of placement of buttons between the More and Less versions of a window if possible - fixed.

For backwards compatibility, in case anyone made some chord progressions with the old C0 notation - if you did your chord progression will still sound as before and a check box will appear in the Notation window Treat C0 as C1 (bug) - fixed

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