GMKbd Help Index

Global

Capabilities

Invocation

Commands

File menu

Performance menu

Settings menu

Help menu

Customization

Initialization file


File Menu
File menu commands

The File menu offers the following commands:

Play MIDI File	Plays a selectable MIDI file.
Exit	Exits GMKbd.


Performance Menu
Performance menu commands

The Settings menu offers the following commands:

Map 0..9	Selects one of the possible performance maps


Settings Menu
Settings menu commands

The Settings menu offers the following commands:

Keyboard	Contains options for the simulated MIDI keyboard.
MIDI	Contains options for the MIDI devices.
Performance	Configures the 10 possible performance maps.
Always on Top	Toggles Always On Top setting
3D Controls	Toggles usage of 3D controls.
Toolbar	Toggles usage of the toolbar.
MIDI Keyboard	Toggles usage of the simulated MIDI keyboard.
Status Bar	Toggles usage of the status bar.


Keyboard Settings submenu

The Settings/Keyboard submenu offers the following commands:

Configure	Configures the simulated MIDI keyboard.
Default Keyboard	sets the keyboard to default size.
Lower Half	sets the keyboard to the lower 64 notes.
Upper Half	sets the keyboard to the higher 64 notes.
Big Keyboard	sets the keyboard to big size.
Full Keyboard	sets the keyboard to full size (all 128 possible MIDI keys).
All Notes Off	resets all pending notes.
Use PC Speaker	toggles usage of the PC speaker for MIDI output


MIDI Settings Submenu

The Settings/MIDI submenu offers the following commands:

Devices	configures the used MIDI devices.
Send	sends arbitrary MIDI data to the output device.


Help Menu
Help menu commands

The Help menu offers the following commands, which provide you assistance with this application:

Contents	Offers you an index to topics on which you can get help.
Context	Provides help for the next used command.
About GMKbd	Displays the version number of this application.


File Exit command
Exit command (File menu)

Use this command to end your GMKbd session. GMKbd prompts you to save files with unsaved changes.

Shortcuts

Mouse:	Double-click the application's Control menu button.

Keys:	ALT+F4


Index command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the opening screen of Help.  From the opening screen, you can jump to step-by-step instructions for using GMKbd and various types of reference information.

Once you open Help, you can click the Contents button whenever you want to return to the opening screen.


Using Help command (Help menu)

Use this command for instructions about using Help.


Help Using Help Command
Context Help command

Use the Context Help command to obtain help on some portion of GMKbd.  When you choose the Toolbar's Context Help button, the mouse pointer will change to an arrow and question mark.  Then click somewhere in the GMKbd window, such as another Toolbar button.  The Help topic will be shown for the item you clicked.

Shortcut

Keys:	SHIFT+F1


Title Bar

<< Show your application's title bar here. >>

The title bar is located along the top of a window.  It contains the name of the application and document.

To move the window, drag the title bar.  Note: You can also move dialog boxes by dragging their title bars.

A title bar may contain the following elements:

Application Control-menu button

Maximize button

Minimize button

Name of the application

Name of the document

Restore button


The Status Bar
Status Bar

This is the status for the application.

The status bar is divided into three regions.

The first region displays the name of currently selected performance map.

The second region displays the currently selected patch.

The third region displays the last played note. This region is not displayed until a note has been played or an incoming MIDI message has been processed.


Size command (System menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can size the active window with the arrow keys.

After the pointer changes to the four-headed arrow:

1.	Press one of the DIRECTION keys (left, right, up, or down arrow key) to move the pointer to the border you want to move.

2.	Press a DIRECTION key to move the border.

3.	Press ENTER when the window is the size you want.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Drag the size bars at the corners or edges of the window.


Move command (Control menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can move the active window or dialog box with the arrow keys.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+F7


System Minimize Command
Minimize command (application Control menu)

Use this command to reduce the GMKbd window to an icon.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Click the minimize icon [image] on the title bar.

Keys:	ALT+F9


Maximize command (System menu)

Use this command to enlarge the active window to fill the available space.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Click the maximize icon [image] on the title bar; or double-click the title bar.

Keys:	CTRL+F10 enlarges a document window.


Switch to command (application Control menu)

Use this command to display a list of all open applications.  Use this "Task List" to switch to or close an application on the list.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+ESC

Dialog Box Options

When you choose the Switch To command, you will be presented with a dialog box with the following options:

Task List

Select the application you want to switch to or close.

Switch To

Makes the selected application active.

End Task

Closes the selected application.

Cancel

Closes the Task List box.

Cascade

Arranges open applications so they overlap and you can see each title bar.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Tile

Arranges open applications into windows that do not overlap.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Arrange Icons

Arranges the icons of all minimized applications across the bottom of the screen.


Play MIDI File
Play MIDI Files

The Play MIDI File menu item is used to play an existing MIDI file. You can select one from a list of all MIDI files. After having selected one, the MIDI file starts playing and the following dialog appears:

Click the buttons to see their purpose...

This dialog allows you to control MIDI playback in a way similar to a very simple tape recorder. GMKbd was not intended to be a complete sequencer package; the ability to play back MIDI files has been implemented as an add-on only.

Note: to play back MIDI files, GMKbd uses the Windows MIDI sequencer, not the selected MIDI output device. If the MIDI Mapper is not configured to use the same output device as GMKbd, the MIDI file is played on a different device!


Rewind

The leftmost button (<<) acts as a rewind button; it resets the MIDI sequence to the start.


Stop

The Stop button stops playing the sequence and closes the dialog. This also happens when the sequence has been finished.


Play

The Play button (>) starts playing the sequence after a rewind or pause operation.


Pause

The Pause button (||) stops the sequence, but allows it to continue if you press the Pause button once again or the Play button.


Performance Maps

GMKbd allows the definition of up to 10 performance maps that can be selected with either the Performance menu or the performance buttons 0..9 on the toolbar.


Performance Map Definition

Here, you can define up to 10 performance maps.

Every performance map consists of

- a name

up to 4 keyboard zone definitions

The following settings can be adjusted for each keyboard zone:

Zone

This check box determines whether the zone is in use.

From, To

These combo boxes determine the keyboard range of the zone. If the key used as From value is higher than the key used as To value, the range is inverted (i.e., all keys except those between To and From belong to the zone).

Patch

Here, a patch can be selected. If any patch except Default is selected, this patch gets activated when the performance map is selected.

Chn

This knob determines the MIDI channel used for this keyboard zone.

Vol

Here, a total volume for the keyboard zone can be selected. -1 disables the volume selection.

To select the total volume, GMKbd sends a CC#7 message.

Note: If GMKbd is used to control a MIDI device that does not implement CC#7 as "Master Volume", set Vol to -1.

Pan

Here, the panorama position for the keyboard zone can be selected. -1 disables the panorama selection.

To select the panorama position, GMKbd sends a CC#10 message.

Note: If GMKbd is used to control a MIDI device that does not implement CC#10 as "Panorama", set Pan to -1.

Octave

This knob can be used to add/subtract up to 3 octaves to the notes played in this keyboard zone.

Wheels

This check box determines whether wheel information (pitch or modulation wheel) is sent for this zone.

Note: If no keyboard zone is activated, the settings defined in the Keyboard Configuration determine the keyboard output when this performance map is used.


MIDI Keyboard

You can play on the simulated MIDI keyboard with the mouse or the PC keyboard. Whenever the mouse cursor changes to a little hand ( [image]), you can play on the keyboard.

The Left Mouse Button acts like a finger; as long as you keep it pressed, the note is played.

The Right Mouse Button acts as a sticky finger; if you press it over a note, this note keeps on playing until you release it by pressing the right mouse button once again.

The keyboard is dynamic; the closer to the bottom you touch it with the mouse, the louder the note sounds.

The keyboard can have up to 3 wheels (see Keyboard Configure on how to activate them): a self-centering Pitch Wheel, a Modulation Wheel, and a Velocity Wheel, which is useful for temporarily changing the velocity of keys entered with the PC keyboard.

If the MIDI keyboard has the input focus (i.e., surrounded by a dotted rectangle), you can also use the PC keyboard to generate MIDI notes. The following keys can be used:

Below the keyboard, octave indicators can be displayed. They mark the currently active lower and upper keyboard octaves (i.e., the octaves that can be played on the PC keyboard). To use other octaves, you can drag the octave indicators to a new position.

The following function keys have been built in:

Left shift, Right shift	transposes the PC keyboard's range two octaves down/up
Ins, Del	increment/decrement pitch wheel data
Home, End	increment/decrement modulation wheel
PgUp, PgDn	increment/decrement key velocity
Left, Right	decrement/increment upper keyboard octave
Down, Up	decrement/increment lower keyboard octave

The default velocity of MIDI notes generated by the PC keyboard can be adjusted with the Velocity knob on the Keyboard Configure dialog.


About

Here, the copyright notice and version number of your copy of GMKbd are displayed.


MIDI Devices

Here, you can select a MIDI input device and a MIDI output device.

When the Midi Thru Enabled check box is checked, all MIDI data coming in from the MIDI input device are echoed to the MIDI output device.

GMKbd recognizes a number of special input devices with extended capabilities. When one of these devices is selected, the following special options appear:

Send To Input Device

When checked, this setting allows GMKbd to "poke" MIDI messages into the MIDI Input device so that other applications that connect to that device can receive them. This allows, for example, to use GMKbd as a sort of poor man's input device for a MIDI sequencer.

Local Echo

When checked, and Send To Input Device is checked, too, output goes to both the MIDI Input device and the MIDI Output device.

The following special device names are recognized by GMKbd:

GM Keyboard MIDI IN	GMKbd's own driver; specially crafted for this purpose
TTS Virtual Piano In	the driver for the TTS Virtual Piano coming with Cakewalk Professional V3.01 for Windows
Piano MIDI In Port	a driver for a "cardware" package called "MS Windows Piano V2.1", by Gregor Brecko (check for PIANO21.ZIP or so at your nearest musical BBS)
Multi-...	Drivers beginning with this code are assumed to be overlayed by MultiMID, a freeware Multisession Overlay driver for MIDI device drivers, by the author of GMKbd. Check for MULTIMID.ZIP at your nearest musical BBS. Note: if you got MIDI In devices with a name starting with Multi- that are NOT MultiMID devices, be SURE to uncheck the Send To Input Device check box!

Auto Focus

When checked, this setting allows GMKbd to automatically gain the input focus whenever another application that uses the same input device starts MIDI input.


Send MIDI Messages

Click the buttons to see their meaning.

Here, you can send MIDI messages of any kind. In the Send entry field, you can enter any MIDI message in hex; as a simple example, you could enter 90 40 7F to turn on a note. Spaces can be put between the hex values, but are not required. The letters A..F can be entered in upper or in lower case.

Any MIDI messages that are received from the defined MIDI input port are displayed in the Last Received MIDI Messages list box.


Press the Send button to send the completed MIDI message to the defined MIDI output device.


The Save button allows to save the current contents of the Received MIDI Messages list box to a file. The output file has the same format as the .SYX files saved by Cakewalk Professional for Windows.


Press the Cancel button to terminate the dialog.


Configure MIDI Keyboard

When selected, the following dialog is displayed:

Here, you can select the patch of the simulated MIDI keyboard.

The Channel knob lets you select the MIDI channel for the simulated MIDI keyboard.

Note: the above setting are overriden by performance map definitions.

The Velocity knob lets you select the velocity used whenever a key is pressed and the simulated MIDI keyboard has the input focus.

The Octave Indicators check box can be used to activate the octave indicators below the simulated MIDI keyboard (see Midi Keyboard on their usage).

The Key Labels check box can be used to display key labels on the white keys (cute for piano beginners).

The Monophonic Keyboard check box can be used to switch between polyphonic and monophonic keyboard mode.

In monophonic keyboard mode, every pressed key terminates the previous note. The radio buttons govern what happens when the current note is released, and there are still other notes held.

When Lowest is selected, the lowest currently pressed key determines the current note.

When Highest is selected, the highest currently pressed key determines the current note.

When Last is selected, the last note pressed before the terminated note determines the current note.

When None is selected, eventually still pressed keys are ignored.

The Wheels section allows to define the number and type of wheels that are added to the simulated MIDI keyboard. The following wheels can be defined:

Pitch Wheel

When selected, a self-centering pitch wheel is added to the simulated MIDI keyboard.

Modulation Wheel

When selected, a modulation wheel is added to the simulated MIDI keyboard. The combo box allows to define the type of controller that is sent when the modulation wheel is used. Normally, you will want to keep the default value of Modulation. The 14-bit check box defines whether the controller sends 7-bit or 14-bit messages. Normally, 7-bit is enough.


Keyboard Patch

Here, you can select the patch of the simulated MIDI keyboard. Whenever you configure the MIDI keyboard, the keyboard patch is adjusted to that preset.


Unregistered Version

This is an unregistered copy of GMKbd.

To get the registered version, fill out the ORDER.FRM that came with GMKbd and send it to the following address:

Hermann Seib

Am Tabor 12/1/24

A-1020 Vienna

Austria / Europe

Oh, yes... should the version you're using be a registered version, the file GMKBD.EXE is severely corrupted. In this case, please either reinstall your copy of the program, or contact the author under the above address to get an updated version.


Always On Top

When enabled, GMKbd stays on top of all other applications even if another application has the input focus.


3D Controls

This menu item toggles usage of the 3D controls provided by CTL3D.DLL. 3D controls provide a more modern look to the dialogs. GMKbd remembers the setting of this item.

Note: For this option to have any effect, you must have a version of CTL3D.DLL installed in your Windows system directory. Normally, you will; many programs rely on that DLL. GMKbd first looks for the newer version, CTL3DV2.DLL; if it can't find that, it tries the older version, CTL3D.DLL.


Toolbar

This menu item toggles the toolbar on and off. The purpose of the toolbar is to speed up mouse-oriented access to often used functions.

Select the buttons to see their purpose.

Note: on screens with a horizontal resolution of less than 1024 pixels, only a subset of the buttons is displayed.


Default Keyboard Size
Default Keyboard

This menu entry changes the keyboard layout to its default setting, in which it spans the keys from C2 to B4.

Note: this description assumes MIDI note 0 to sound the key C-2.


Lower Half Keyboard

This menu entry changes the keyboard layout to a setting in which it spans the keys from C-2 to D#3.

Note: this description assumes MIDI note 0 to sound the key C-2.


Upper Half Keyboard

This menu entry changes the keyboard layout to a setting in which it spans the keys from E3 to G8.

Note: this description assumes MIDI note 0 to sound the key C-2.


Big Keyboard

This menu entry changes the keyboard layout to a setting in which it spans the keys from E-1 to A#6.

Note: this description assumes MIDI note 0 to sound the key C-2.


Full Keyboard

This menu entry changes the keyboard layout to a setting in which it spans the keys from C-2 to G8, or the whole possible range.

Note: this description assumes MIDI note 0 to sound the key C-2.


All Notes Off

This menu entry turns off all notes currently playing.


Use PC Speaker

This menu entry toggles the use of the internal PC speaker for note output.

Note: this option should only be used if there is no sound card installed, as the PC speaker is a very limited output device; it can play only one note at a time with a fixed loudness.


WBMan Customization
GMKbd Customization

GMKbd is a rather simple program that does not need too much configuration; however, all necessary settings are stored in an initialization file, GMKBD.INI. This chapter describes the settings in this file.

Initialization File

The initialization file contains the following sections:

[Devices]

This section contains the settings for the MIDI Input and Output ports.

MidiInName

This setting contains the name of the configured MIDI Input device.

MidiOutName

This setting contains the name of the configured MIDI Output device.

[Files]

This section contains the current settings for the Sound Bank and Global Settings files:

Bank0, Bank1

This setting defines the .CBK file that GMKbd loads into this voice bank upon program start.

Global

This setting defines the .CGS file that GMKbd loads upon program start.

 [MIDIKeyboard]

This section contains the settings for the simulated MIDI keyboard.

Patch

This setting defines the program patch to use for notes played on the simulated MIDI keyboard (and on an external keyboard hooked to the defined MIDI Input device). Values can be in the range between 0 and 127.

Polyphonic

This setting defines whether the simulated MIDI keyboard acts as polyphonic keyboard (setting 1) or as a monophonic keyboard (setting 0).

Style

This setting defines the keyboard layout that GMKbd uses upon program invocation. The following values are defined:

Default	keyboard spans the keys from C2 to B4
Low	keyboard spans the keys from C-2 to D#3
High	keyboard spans the keys from E3 to G8
Big	keyboard spans the keys from E-1 to A#6
Full	keyboard spans the keys from C-2 to G8

[Settings]

This section contains all other settings.

UseTB

This setting defines whether GMKbd shows the toolbar. Values can be 0 or 1.

UseKB

This setting defines whether GMKbd shows the MIDI Keyboard. Values can be 0 or 1.

UseSB

This setting defines whether GMKbd shows the status bar. Values can be 0 or 1.

Use3D

This setting defines whether GMKbd uses the 3D controls provided by CTL3D.DLL. 3D controls provide a more modern look to the dialogs. Values can be 0 or 1.


Capabilities

GMKbd provides the following capabilities:

•	play back MIDI files

•	send any MIDI message to the associated instrument(s)

•	use an external keyboard hooked to the SB16s MIDI IN port to play notes while editing

•	use every available MIDI INPUT/OUTPUT device.


Invocation

Just double-click on the GMKbd icon to start it.

Invocation Syntax :

GMKBD [/N]

The /N parameter suppresses GMKbd's logo display upon program start.