ReadMe File for MIDI Genie 1.06 Shareware release
Copyright (c) 1997 by Jonathan Hsiao-Liang Yen
An EarsNest Soft Production


Purpose of MIDI Genie
=====================
MIDI Genie 1.06 is a program for playing mid, rmi, avi and wav files on Windows 95 and
Windows NT 4.0 environment. Its purpose is to replace the plain multimedia file player
in Windows system with advanced features and easier controls.


What's new in v1.06?
====================
New Feature:
 Drag and drop files from Windows Explorer and Find dialog box
 Check the existence of all files when opening a play list file


Bug Fix:
 Fixed a bug when adding file under root directory to play list (ver1.00 and before)
 Save options when user shut down Windows instead of closing MIDI Genie first 
 Show the error-opened file name correctly after opening a file that can not be played
 No longer attempt to auto load a play list file that does not exist any more


Features of MIDI Genie
======================
 CD player like control playing buttons and digital counter
 A Track Bar to adjust the playing position accurately
 Drag and drop files to compose and rearrange play lists
 Auto, Loop, Repeat and Random playing modes 
 Shuffle playing mode to play files randomly but never repeat
 Save play list to file (.mpl) for retrieveal thereafter
 Load the recent 15 play lists with two clicks
 Rename and Delete files, save play list file automatically after the changes
 Move files and create new directory without opening Explorer
 Register up to 5 types of files to play files by double click on file icons 
 Show Main Panel fully or partly, or stay on top of other windows 
 Shrink main panel to a small Tray Icon 
 Width-adjustable file box and horizontal scroll bar in play list box
 Adjustable Waiting Time and Skipping Time 
 Auto Load the latest list and playing the last file 
 Automatic MIDI reset in GM, GS or XG mode, plus Manual MIDI reset 
 Full help file is now available 


System Requirement
==================
Windows 95 or Window NT 4.0 (Service Pack 3 recommended)
A Pentium equivalent or better CPU
A soundcard (Wavetable card recommended)


List of Files
=============
These files are in the pack of MIDIG106.zip

MIDI_Genie.exe	The main executable program file of MIDI Genie 1.0
setup.exe	The setup - installation and uninstallation program
Mgenie.hlp	The on-line help file for MIDI Genie 1.0
ReaMe.txt	This readme document file
File_id.diz	The description file for MIDI Genie 1.0
Gm_reset.mid	MIDI reset file for GM compatible device
Gs_reset.mid	MIDI reset file for GS compatible device
Xg_reset.mid	MIDI reset file for XG compatible device

There are two more Sample MIDI files, "A_Walk_to_Seashore.mid" and 
"The Waiter and The Reaper.mid", composer Jonathan H.L. Yen, all rights reserved

Under the condition of not to modify or remove any file in the pack, you may distribute 
MIDI Genie freely.  However, you are not allowed to charge any amount of money to 
others for distributing this program.

Installation
============
Unzip 'MIDIG106.zip', then run 'setup.exe'. After installation, don't delete the zip file
yet, at least keep 'setup.exe' so you may remove MIDI Genie from your system if you wish. 

Before the installation of ver1.06, users of version of MIDI Genie before 1.0 should use
the uninstalled method in older vsion to remove previous version of MIDI Genie from
their computer systems.


Expiration
==========
Certain features of MIDI Genie will expire after 30 days.  The program will still be useable
at that time, but the user shouldn't violate the law by using it without registration.

Features will be expired after 30 days are:

MIDI Reset
Move Files
Play Control
External Drag-and-drop
Shrink to tray icon
Instant load of recent 15 play lists


Registration
============
Run MIDI Genie Help File to see details of sharware license, benefit of registration and
other information.


Contact Information
===================

Email Address:  jyen@tig.com.au

MIDI Genie Home Page and EarsNest on WEB

http://members.tripod.com/~EarsNest/
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~jyen/

Postal address  

Jonathan Hsiao-Liang Yen
EarsNest Soft
PO Box 230 Kensington
NSW 2033
Australia


Help
====
A help file is now available. You can press F1 at any time to trigger this help file
when you run MIDI Genie. You can also run it independently from MIDI Genie program group.

Hint:
* You may keep the mouse pointer over the same position for a while, then
  you'll see some hint text.

* Double click on any part of the digital counter now will switch the counter     
  mode from one to another. 

* Try to drag file from file box to play list box. You can drag multiple files
  if you shift-click or Ctrl-click some files before you drag.

* Try to drag file in the play list box to change their orders. 

* Drag a file from play list to directory box make the file move to the dropping
  directory.

* You can remove items in the play list box very quickly by pressing 'delete'
  key on the keyboard.  If you feel confused about this with the 'Kill this
  file!!!' command, don't worry, whenever it's really deleting a file forever,
  there will always be a warning message for the protection of your files.


Disclaimer
==========
This program is provided as it is without any warranty. 
The author and EarsNest Soft is not responsible for any degree of damage
to any life forms or objects caused by any version of MIDI Genie.
If you do not agree with this statement, please remove MIDI Genie from your computer. 

All trademarks, brand names and product names mentioned in this ReadMe file and help
file of MIDI Genie belong to their respective owners and manufacturers.


Acknowledgement
===============
Thanks to all the people on Borland C++ Builder Newsgroup.
Thanks to Alan Garny for his Threaded Timer component.
E-mail address of Alan Garny is at <alan.garny@physiol.ox.ac.uk>. He has many coof stuff
for programming.  
Thanks to Ylian Saint-Hilaire for his free sharing of Digitbox component.
Thanks to Rauf Gereyhanov for his free sharing of Taskicon component.
Thanks to Chris Monson for his free sharing of Splitter Wand component.
Thanks to the beta testers: Ian Campbell, Alan Guo and Steven Hu.
Also many thanks to all the people who have given feedback and encouraged me in developing
this program.
