Very minor bug, after you buy FTS, if you type in the unlock key with spaces between some of the characters, your unlock key won't be recognised - fixed.

A rare bug - you may find that when you show seed / scale etc. window, the dots and keyboard displays are displaced from where they should be in the window.
- fixed

In the drone window if you enter the interval for the drone as a cents value rather than a ratio, i.e. with the SCALA convention that decimal point indicates cents - it isn't recognised as cents.
- fixed.

Minor update - 24th September 2011

If you enter a scale value as hertz, as text, then in some rarely encountered situations, FTS doesn't recognise it as a frequency. Details - if you do it all as one word e.g. 256HZ, and do it with the Z capitalised - that's when it doesn't recognise your input as a frequency (but is okay in all other situations e.g. with the 'z' lowercase 256Hz or with the HZ as a separate word 256 HZ)

Fixed

In some situations the list of folders in the main window will lose the links to the various types of tune such as sloth canons, fibonacci rhythms etc.

Fixed

Last update for 14th September was missing lots of the tool tips - sorry about that

Fixed

Other very minor bug fixes

Minor update -14th September 2011

Fixes a bug which may prevent an unlock key from unlocking the software.

Minor update -14th June 2011

Fixed some important bugs in the Just Iintonation Tuning with Pitch Shifts (Ctrl + 152) window which meant that some of the options in that window weren't working.

Also drop list of presets in the Midi Relaying window wasn't working unless you used the Open button to open a preset.

Some other minor bug fixes.

Minor update -August 27th 2010

Fixes a bug - if you make fractal tunes using an arpeggio that ascends and descends in different ways like melodic minor then plays just a repeated note. Was result of recent update which increased the number of layers available for fractal tunes - but had this as unintended side effect. Simple bug, just because somewhere in the code I used an 8 bit variable to store a number that needed more bits when you have a larger number of layers.
- fixed.

Minor update -June 1st, 2010

Just added some extra code to help with bug tracing

Minor update - May 19th, 2010

If you enter a scale with 0.1 cents steps in the main window and then play it from the PC keyboard, you may find that the notes below the 1/1 start at a tone or so above the 1/1 and go down in pitch from there instead of going down from the 1/1. It's because the scale got auto expanded to 2400 notes for use with the PC keyboard player which means it goes up to about 2.4 semitones then cycles around instead of just going up and down by 0.1 cents
- fixed.

If you show a New Scale window and then - same situation as before - set the scale to 0.1 cents and then expand it - the text area for the scale goes blank.

This bug has been left as it is as hardly anyone will be affected it and for techy reasons it is very tricky to do anything about it.

As well as going blank, it also expands to only 2.4 semitones instead of entire octave - but that's intentional - the expanded scale has a maximum of 2400 entries at present - enough for a scale of 1 cent steps for an entire octave. That maximum could be increased if anyone needs scales of more than 2400 entries in the New Scale window.

Details for the unfixed bug:

UNFIXED BUG - for Vista or later

This next bug unfortunately is an unfixed bug and with no plans to fix it. Fixing it will be tricky, and I'll probably give that a miss for now since hardly anyone will be affected by it.

Symptoms:

In Vista, if you put more than about 5460 characters (depends on the font and the character) into a single line drop list or edit text window then the text goes blank. No solution to this, just have to work around it and make sure any text areas that need large amounts of text normally are multi-line and set to word break (text vanishes if multiline without word wrap).

It's rare to need to do this though. Situation where I found it happening - if you show a New Scale window (Ctrl + 5, e.g. for the Fractal Tune Metronome) - then set the scale to 0.1 cents - then click Expand - then the text will go blank because it needs about 15 K characters, each quite a few pixels wide for the standard gui font, which takes you well over the 32K pixel limit.

DETAILS about why it happens

Same thing happens with other programs - either goes blank - or else the program auto truncates (e.g. to 256 characters). E.g. happens with drop lists in Internet Explorer - though FireFox seems to be okay presumably has its own custom control which doesn't use this method.

It is due to a 32K pixel limit on pre-composed glyphs - all text areas in Windows Vista displayed using the standard text controls for Vista go blank if the text to be displayed needs a display area wider than 32K pixels before scrolling - see SetLimitText() in a CEdit in Vista does not work (I'm not actually using a CEdit here, but same principle applies). Doesn't happen in XP because it doesn't do pre-composed glyphs.

"The primary difference between the Edit control on Vista and on XP is that the Edit control on Vista pre-composes its glyphs for better international support (internally, it ends up calling ExtTextOut with ETO_GLYPH_INDEX and an array of glyphs rather than a string of characters. This ends up saving the glyph indices into a metafile and so runs into the 32k pixel limit. When too many characters are provided, ExtTextOut fails and draws nothing. The Edit control on XP doesn't precompose the glyphs and so doesn't have this problem, but won't handle international characters as well.

"The edit control on XP will clip at 32k, but since that is offscreen it isn't obvious. When scrolling to the right, it starts with the first visible character so the visible part of the control is always earlier than 32k pixels."

See the post to find out more.

Is this an issue with XP as well?

From this quote, it seems XP still has a 32 K pixels limit on the width of the text but it only applies to the text that fits into the display area not the entire line - so not an issue with XP unless you use an ultra high resolution display. Ordinary home displays are nowhere near this resolution at present but some high end displays do approach or exceed it.

The highest display resolutions available today can go over this limit e.g. 35,640 by 8,000 pixels for the may be the Hiperspace Wall at NASA for instance is more than 32K (32,768) pixels using OptiPortal. (list of other high resolution multiple tile displays here).

Website about Hiperwall here

In principle you might also be able to go as wide as you like with the Mersive technology which lets you merge together any number of projectors to make truly huge display areas. Screen shot here

So maybe some time in the future we will see displays as high resolution as this at home. Anyway, it seems if you used a display like that then a text area which spread right across the wall from left to right and full of text all the way along, it would go blank even in XP with standard controls because it would be too wide for the standard edit control to paint.

But currently it is really only an issue for Vista or later on typical display resolutions.

Minor update - Wednesday May 15th, 2010

Very minor bug fix update. Adds some extra code to help with bug diagnostics. When you first install the program the drop list of folders for the fractal tunes shows blank as the selection, instead of "Sloth Canons" - fixed.

Minor update - November 17th 2008

When you change a preset for the Music Keyboard Retuning task or from In | Midi In Options (Ctrl + 25) | Presets - the displayed scale and arpeggio descriptions don't update immediately in e.g. the Scales Drop List window (Ct

rl + 109)

- fixed .

The presets that play different accidentals depending on whether or not you hold down the sustain pedal weren't working - fixed.

If you edit the variable comma meantone scale as e.g. @mt 1/3 @min 1/5 @max 1/3 s then it no longer shows a meantone scale - fixed.

Some heirarchy reversals when you edit the Wave shape player instruments - and when you change some of the settings, the display of the wave shape in the Oscillosope window doesn't update immediately - fixed.

Other minor bugs.

Minor update - November 14th 2008

Notes played from Midi In weren't displayed in the Tune as Score window (Ctrl + 4) - fixed

If you switch on Bypass FTS in More Midi In Options - For rarer occasions (Ctrl + 92) then no notes sound - fixed

If you click stop button for seed arpeggio and scale in middle of a long note, doesn't stop until the note ends - should break off the note and stop immediately
- fixed

Minor update - November 10th 2008

Various bug fixes for chord progression player for the Options for Chord Progression Play Button (Ctrl + 28) and fractal tunes.

When you open a fractal tune by file association, doesn't add the tune smithy file to history or show the folder listing for it, or fractal tunes list.
- fixed

Minor update - November 1st 2008

Separate tool tips needed for the tempo field for different tasks depending on what it does - fixed

Sometimes a button is disabled when it should be enabled - e.g. for the Analyse Midi Instrument task, the Spectrum button should be enabled immediately when you find the spectrum (could possibly affect some windows that should be shown when previously hidden, as well) - fixed.

Minor update - Oct 30th 2008

Some minor bugs in the Chord Progression player task .

Minor update - Oct 27th 2008

Some bugs in the File types window (Ctrl + 183).

New versions of one or two tunes, e.g. Pachelbel canon chords2 was rather quiet originally when it started (due to number of layers for the volumes by position in seed option).

When the web page of tunes or midi files save is interrupted, should offer to delete any half completed file - fixed.

Could stop responding during task changes on the older operating systems - an old bug which recurred, should be fixed again now.

Some bugs in Make web page of tune midi or audio clips (Ctrl + 49).

Some other minor bugs.

Minor update - Oct 19th 2008

Some minor bugs in the Tune as Score window. One of them affected playback of the tune - if you set it to look ahead, then with some tunes the volumes of the notes played change (get out of sync with the original volumes without look ahead) - fixed.

Minor update - Oct 17th 2008

Fixed so

me bugs in the overview windows (Ctrl + 99 to Ctrl + 102)

Chord progression player - the ? for 31-et notation wasn't working - fixed.

Fixed some synchronisation bugs that might cause thread block in rare situations.

Some bugs in the Make web page of tune midi or audio clips (Ctrl + 49).

Minor bugs to do with the Midi file Save Options (Ctrl + 12) window in the fractal tunes tasks.

In Mouse & PC Keyboard music, or chord player and non fractal tune tasks - f you show a New Scale or New Arpeggio etc window, then the PC keyboard player always shows only that chord or scale, doesn't change to show the main window scale, arpeggio or chord when you set the focus back to the main window - fixed

Minor update - Oct 14th 2008

Fixed some bugs and some options that weren't working as expected to do with the Rhythm player task, the Tune window, and also, the Seeds for Layers window in the Fractal Tune tasks, also some bugs in the Skins window.

Minor update - Oct 13th 2008

In the Metronome and Polyrhythms Task - if you choose an additive rhythm like 3 1 1 + 2 1 and then change to one of the fractal tune tasks, then you can no longer vary the tempo of the rhythm using the main tempo field. This is because the preset is for variable script speed to be switched off for the fractal tune tasks. Added a message alerting the user and asking if you want to switch it on, recommended to switch it on.

Not auto scripting properly when you change beat timings in the Set Beat Volumes window (Ctrl + 31) window 0 fixed.

Other minor scripting bugs - fixed.

Seed not autoscripting properly - fixed.

The WAVEPERC.TXT option - fixed bugs, and added to non melod. perc. menu with comment that it is still experimental

The Keep option wasn't working when you change to a task that hasn't been used yet - fixed

The keep option was buggy when you choose to keep settings for one of the windows - fixed.

Do auto script properly for seed bar chart when set to play seeds for layers. Maybe use alternative to "seeds for layers" for script id for polyrh. metr.
- done

If you highlight the option to keep the fractal tune settings e.g. for task change from Polyrh. metronome to player - highlight gets forgotten after change - fixed

Minor bugs in the user interface.

Minor update - Oct 7th 2008

Folder button in Organise Windows window wasn't working as expected - fixed, also added a folder history >> button you can use to quickly swap between recently used folders to save the settings for the currently selected window.

Some bugs that could cause thread hierarchy reversal error messages in rare situations. Others that might possibly access violations in rare situations.

- fixed

Option to save all the settings for a window - saves many things not in that window.
- fixed

When you play a tune with wave player instruments, then change to midi instruments, often Midi Out is not opened - fixed

If you play a very fast tune using the wave shape player instruments, you may find that whenever you click to stop the tune, it immediately starts up - so the only way to stop it is to use the F11 or F12 "panic" shortcuts or to close the program. This is due to delays in processing the button click when the CPU load is high.

- fixed.

On select from drop list in Organise Windows - always looks in the install folder instead of the folder for the drop list files listing - Open button works fine.
- fixed

Every time you do Save AS midi file, saves as fractal tune + .mid even if you changed it to something else. It's the auto set check box - fixed by putting a copy of that check box into the Midi File Options (CTrl + 12) window.
- fixed

After save as fractal tune, doesn't refresh the tune in separated
tunes and folders drop list
- fixed

Save as midi file - not showing the file size in the main window. or record to file window either, after File | Save AS Midi File.
- fixed

After midi save finishes, main window title still shows "Saving midi file".
- fixed

Soundcard wizard for non melod. perc. channel. was playing the bongos twice instead of two different non melodic percussion instruments - fixed

Arpeggio lists - Japanese koto scale lists had some "nonsense" entries - was getting confused by the # in the description which can also be used to start the description in the lmd file - fixed.

File | More | Start with Windows was always starting up the Fractal Player task - should start up which ever task you have showing when you make the link - fixed.

Arpeggios list can show up blank on start up - fixed.

If you change the number of parts in play while the tune is in progress using the up / down arrow instead of the text box, you continue to hear the old number of instruments in the tune until you stop and restart the tune
- fixed

A new click on currently highlighted arpeggio entry doesn't refresh an edited entry description in drop list of arpeggios window.
- fixed

Golden ratio cello tune isn't pentatonic - arpeggio description incorrect - fixed

Minor update - Sept 23rd 2008

Fixes bugs mainly affecting the tune randomiser for the fractal player task

Minor update - Sept 23rd 2008

Fixes various bugs in:

Search and sort scales lists
Making the drop list of all the SCALA scales from the SCALA scales archive.

Fixed.

Minor update - Sept 20th 2008

Fixes various bugs in:

Task folder integration
Making the Tune Smithy cmd file for SCALA.
Resets for the drop lists of scales.
Editing drop list of scales
Option Shift + retune to retune all the midi files in a folder for the retuning midi player

Mostly minor, some more significant, too many to list individually. Fixed.

Minor update - Sept 8th 2008

If you change the tempo for the polyrhythm while using the example script that speeds up the tempo and slows it down again, the tempo speed up is for a shorter time than the slow down. This is to do with the way timing was handled for relative tempi - would have affected any speed up or slow down of scripts involving relative tempi.

Fixed.

Minor update - Aug 19th 2008

Access violation on select part in parts window, affects some computers only.

Fixed.

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.

back to What's new

Minor update - July 1st 2008

back to What's new

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

back to What's new

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.

back to What's new

Minor update - February 17th 2008

back to What's new

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.

back to What's new

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.

back to What's new

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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