
                                 TAB MASTER
                                Version  1.0
                                  26/5/1994

        
        Contents:
                
                1. Declaration
                
                2. General notes and description
                
                3. TAB MASTER Package
                
                4. Requirements and installation
                
                5. TAB MASTER tutorial
                5.1. What, why and how
                5.2. Getting to know TAB MASTER
                5.2.1. Starting TAB MASTER 
                5.2.2. Simple editing procedure
                5.2.3. Loading and saving files
                5.2.4. Scrolling over the edited transcription
                5.2.5. Creating a TAB file
                5.2.6. Inserting and removing parts of the transcription
                5.3. Advanced usage of TAB MASTER
                5.3.1. The Fast Numbers Mode
                5.3.2. The Auto Space and Add Space options
                5.3.3. Using standard Ascii TAB notations
                5.3.4. Staff Breaks and Bar Breaks
                5.3.5. The Create menu options
                5.3.6. Editing a new tab transcription
                5.3.7. Aborting a transcription that wasn't saved
                5.3.8. Saving TAB MASTER settings

                6. After TAB MASTER works...
                6.1. Editing the output ".TAB" file
                6.2. What should be imroved
                6.3. Paying for TM?

                7. Command summary

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1. Declaration:

        The author of TAB MASTER is not to be held responsible for any damage
        caused by using TAB MASTER, any of its components or the files
        produced with it. Use this program at your own risk.
        The author of TAB MASTER takes no responsibility for any possible
        break of copyrights law done by users of this program.

        TAB MASTER is a freeware and may be used and distributed freely
        without any fee charged for it or for using it. Files created by this
        program may only be given freely and may not be sold. TAB MASTER may
        not be used for any commercial usage.

2. General notes and description:

        TAB MASTER (TM for short, not for Trade Mark), is my utility for
        creating tab files for guitar, bass, and any other string-driven
        musical instrument.

        Many people transcribe musical pieces into text files, and share them
        with other world-net users. If you want to know more about TAB
        standards, usage and purposes, please read "Standard ASCII Guitar
        Music Notation" by Rob Craig, available on ftp.nevada.edu FTP site.

        My intention is to make TAB creating much easier. Most people use word
        processors or text editors to create their tab files, but I find this
        very uncomfortable. This program is meant to give answers to the
        disadvantages of text editors: It is designed to be a powerful utility
        for creating TAB files, and yet to be easy to use and to master.
        I hope this program will enable you to create more TAB transcription
        and share them with other users on the net.

3. TAB MASTER Package

        TM package includes the following files:
                TABLAT.EXE   - The program itself
                TABLAT.DOC   - This documentation file
                TABLAT.CFG   - Configuration file
                MOONCHLD.TMS - Demo file for testing the program
                FILEID.DIZ   - Description file for BBS/FTP/FSP users

        Although TM is a freeware program, it may only be distributed with
        ALL the files of the original package.

4. Requirements and installation

        TAB MASTER should work with any PC machine. Please install it in a
        specific directory (for example: C:\TABLAT), in which all the other
        files that TM creates will be stored. Make sure all the files from
        the TM package will be available on the TM directory.

        Due to the usage of direct memory addresses, this program currently
        doesn't work with MONOCHROM video cards. Therefore, it won't work on
        Hercules or VGA MONO video cards. It does work on any color card: CGA,
        EGA, VGA or SVGA. If you run into problems with these video types,
        please let me know!

        TM requires about 230K to run with all it's features. Features like
        creating TAB files or viewing TAB may not work properly with lack of
        enough memory.

        TM can work under Windows (tm) as a DOS application.

5. TAB MASTER tutorial

5.1. What, why and how?

        The basic proglem of creating TAB files with a standard text editor is
        that guitar transcriptions are designed using six rows of text (which
        I will refer to as a Staff), presenting the six strings of a guitar.
        When editing these six lines, normal text editors tend to push or pull
        the lines back and forth, and at times break one line into two,
        causing a great mess. It gets worse when one wants to add a new part
        into the existing transcription and push the rest of the staff
        forward. The same goes for deleting irrelevant part of the
        transcription that is in the middle of the line.

        The whole grasp of TM is that guitar transcriptions should be edited
        horizontally: The editing should be done by scrolling horizontally
        over a continuous set of six lines. By editing horizontally, one may
        add parts to the transcription, by pushing the existing tab forward
        and typing the new part in the new space that was created. Deleting
        parts is of course, as easy as that.

        TAB MASTER is, therefore, a horizontal editor: It scrolls to the left
        and the right, and enables the user to edit 16 lines of 3000
        characters each. Unfortunately, Printers and video displays don't tend
        to have such width, and therefore TAB MASTER breaks the edited file
        into staves. The staves width can be modified in order to fit the
        desired page/screen width.

        TAB MASTER saves its data in ".TMS" files. These files can only be
        read and edited using TM, and should not be sent to other users,
        because they cannot be viewed or printed by users who do not have TM.
        Therefore, after the tab creation is complete, TM produces a ".TAB"
        file. In the process, the program breaks the long horizontal
        transcription into shorter staves, and saves them as a standard TAB
        ASCII format.

        In order to make tabbing easier, TM was designed to be as easy to use
        as possible. I adopted the pop-up menus method. TM functions can be
        accessed by holding down ALT key and pressing the first letter of the
        desired menu. A menu will pop up, and a cursor will indicate the
        desired command from the menu.

        Through the menus, the user may load, save or exit the program, start
        a new transcription, create a ".TAB" file from the edited tab, and
        change the TM editor settings.

5.2. Getting to know TAB MASTER

5.2.1. Starting TAB MASTER

        To run TM, simply type: "TABLAT" at the DOS prompt. TM screen will
        appear for a short while, as TM resets its parameters. After that,
        the editor screen will appear.

        The Pop-Up menus will appear on the top line of the screen.
        The name of the file that is currently being edited is displayed on
        the top-right corner of the screen.
        The three bottom lines of the screen display some short-cut keys for
        the advanced user of TM.
        Above the bottom three lines, there's a scroll bar, which indicate
        the location of the current visible part in the whole transcription.
        Above the scroll bar is the info line, indicating the location of the
        cursor, the editing mode, and other information.
        The transcription itself is seen in the middle of the screen. The
        line that is currently being edited is coloured in red, and the
        location of the cursor is marked with a green square, indicated with
        a "V" sign on the upper line of the editor.

        As you may see, some lines are marked with "---------". This is the
        staff, and the dash symbol presents the string. Other lines have
        empty spaces. These lines can be filled with normal text, such as the
        song's lyrics, or special remarks for the player. It can also include
        chord names, or meter signs for playing the tab.

5.2.2. Simple editing procedure

        Try moving the cursor using the cursor keys, try typing letters and
        numbers on the diffent lines.
        When pressing a number on the staff lines, the number will appear,
        and the cursor will jump a few spaces forward. This is an automatic
        space, meant to make TAB files look more readable. This feature of
        TM, along with the rest of its special features, can be switched on
        or off, as we will observe later.

        Note that when you type letters, and not numbers, on the staff, the
        automatic spaces will not be activated. Try typing numbers and letters
        on the blank lines: The spacing in these lines will be normal, because
        they sould provide standard text editing.

        Pressing Space Bar will create an empty space on the empty lines, just
        like in any editor, but it will make a dash symbol when the cursor is
        on the staff lines. The same goes with the BackSpace key, which erases
        one character to the left of the cursor, leaving an empty space or a
        dash respectively. Note that BackSpace does not pull the rest of the
        line backwards: It merely erases one character and moves the cursor to
        the left.

        Try typing in the following transcription:

                              Em7                     G
        e:--------------------3-----3-----------------3-----3----
        B:--------------------3-----3-----------------0-----0----
        G:--------------------0-----0-------0---------0-----0----
        D:------------0--2----2-----2----------2--0---0-----0----
        A:------0--2----------------------------------2-----2----
        E:---3----------------------------------------3-----3----

5.2.3. Loading and saving files

        Access the File menu, by holding down the Alt key and pressing the
        first word of the menu item. In this case, Alt+F. The File pop-up menu
        will appear. Using the cursor keys, select the Save option, and press
        Enter. A small window will appear, in which you should type the
        desired file name (without the extention). Press Enter when finished,
        and the edited file will be saved.

        Once you make a change to your edited transcription an asterisk will
        appear on beside the file name on the upper right corner. When you
        save it, the asterisk will dissappear until the next change occures.
        This certifies that you will not lose data: TM will ask you before it
        leaves a changed file that was not saved.

        Try saving the file again, and you will notice that this time TM will
        not ask for a file name. It will save the edited transcription to the
        last file name used.

        If you want to save the edited transcription to another file (with a
        different name) select the Save As option.

        Try loading the example file: In the File menu select Load command.
        Type in the file name "MOONCHLD" and press enter. This will open the
        file "MOONCHLD.TMS" and enable you to edit it.

5.2.4. Scrolling over the edited transcription

        Using the cursor keys try scrolling left and right over the edited
        file. Move the curser to the leftmost or rightmost side of the screen
        and keep pressing the cursor keys. You will notice that the screen
        scrolls in the desired direction.

        You may hold down Ctrl key while pressing the cursor keys. This will
        cause the cursor to jump three characters to the left or the right,
        thus making you scroll faster.

        You can press PgUp or PgDn keys, to move the cursor twenty characters
        to the left or the right respectively. This will also make the screen
        scroll if the cursor should move 'beyond' the screen limits.

        Try pressing Home and End keys. They will move the cursor to the
        beginning of the transcription or to the end of the transcription
        resoectively.

        Although TM can edit a transcription with maximum length of 3000
        characters, the end of the transcription is defined by the location of
        the last letter or number that was printed in the file. So if you will
        move the cursor several screens to the right from the end of the tab,
        pressing End key will bring you back to the end of the tab. But if you
        will type anything on a location to the right of the end, the end of
        the tab will be re-located according to the new position.

5.2.5. Creating a TAB file

        Re-load "MOONCHLD" file, without saving the changes you might have
        done to it. Then open the Create menu by pressing Alt+C.
        Select Create option from the Create menu, and press Enter. A small
        notice will appear as TM creates the output TAB file. This process
        takes a very short while when creating a relatively small
        transcription such as the "MOONCHLD" file, but it may take a bit more
        time when you create bigger files.

        Now you can exit TM, by selecting Exit command from the File menu,
        or holding down Alt+X. Take a look at the TM directory: A new file was
        created, called "MOONCHLD.TAB".
        "MOONCHLD.TMS" is a file used by TM, and it is written in a format
        that cannot be comprehended by other programs. ".TMS" files are the
        only files the TM can load or save.
        "MOONCHLD.TAB" is a TM output file. It was created by TM from the
        original ".TMS" file. This file can be sent through e-mail or news
        servers and be read by other users. It can also be printed or read
        with any editor. Unfortunately, this file cannot be loaded to TM, so
        remember not to erase your original ".TMS" files if you think you'd
        like to edit them in the future.

        Run TM again, and load "MOONCHLD" again. This time, instead of
        creating a ".TAB" file, you may select the View command from the
        Create menu. This will let you see the output ".TAB" without really
        creating it. It will save you time, so you won't have to leave TM when
        you want to check your tab file was created correctly.

        Another option in the Create menu is Print. If you have a printed
        installed on your PC's lpt port, it will print the transcription on
        the printer.

        Both View and Print commands do not create a ".TAB" file. Remember you
        should run the Create command if you want a ".TAB" file created.

5.2.6. Inserting and removing parts of the transcription

        Locate the cursor on column from which you want to push the tab
        forward. Now press Ins (insert) key. The tab will be pushed forward.
        You can do the oposite: If you made some transcription you find worth
        removing, press the Del key, and the transcription to the right of the
        cursor will be pulled back to the cursor and erased.

        Note that this option removes or pushes the entire column on which the
        cursor is located. Make sure you don't mistakingly erase text above or
        under the staff lines.

5.3 Advanced usage of TAB MASTER

5.3.1. The Fast Numbers mode

        You have probably noticed that one you press a number key when the
        cursor is on a staff line, it will jump two letters forward, thus
        the final transctription more easy to read. This process may cause
        troubles when you try to transcribe the upper frets, 10 and above.

        Try holding down Shift while pressing the number. The numbers should
        be pressed on the key pad, not on the numeric pad. If you type in the
        "!" symbol, the letters "11" will appear on the screen. Typing in
        shifted numbers (symbols ")", "!", "@", "#", "$", "%", "^", "&", "*",
        "(") will cause TM to type in values 10 to 19 respectively.

        If you want to type in values from 20 and above, hold Alt key along
        with the number: Alt+0 will type in "20", Alt+1 will type "21", etc.

        This option makes transcribing with TM much faster. It is called Fast
        Numbers Mode. You can turn it on or off, by entering the Options menu
        (Alt+O) and pressing Enter on the desired option. Pressing Enter
        toggles the option on and off.

        Since working with TM often requires toggling the Fast Numbers mode, a
        function key was assigned: Press Ctrl+F while the cursor is on the
        staff lines to toggle the Fast Numbers mode. A little note on the line
        above the scroll bar will indicate if the Fast Numbers mode is turned
        on or off. It also presents the current location of the cursor.

5.3.2. The Auto Space and Add Space options

        Auto Space option causes TM to add some spaces on the staff lines,
        after a number is pressed. This option makes things much faster when
        transcribing guitar solos, but it may become annoying when
        transcribing chords. Generally, you can press Ctrl+CursorRight when
        you want to go back to the previous cursor position, when AutoSpace is
        activated, but you can also turn this option off in the Options menu.

        Auto Space creates a proportional spacing between two notes. It will
        add two spaces after a single-letter note (0,1,2,...,9), and one space
        after a two-letters note (10,11,...,29).

        You may, instead, turn on the Add Space option. This option will add a
        standard space after each number pressed. You can combine both Auto
        Space and Add Space by turning them both on, which will cause a
        proportional spacing of 3 characters.

        Since turning off the Auto Space mode is often required, you can press
        Ctrl+A to temporarily switch it off. The Info line will change,
        informing you that no spaces are added. To stop this mode, like
        stopping any other editing mode, press Esc key.

5.3.3. Using standard TAB notations

        Transcribing Tab involves using special ASCII characters. When Fast
        Numbers mode or Auto Space are turned on, making these standard
        notations may become difficult. You may turn off the Auto Space and
        Fast Numbers mode when you edit special symbols, but TM can also
        supports them:

        In order to create a "slide" note:
                     e:--------
                     B:-2/3----
                     G:--------
                     D:--------
                     A:--------
                     E:--------
        Hold Down Ctrl and press S key. Note that the information line is
        changed, and that now your are editing a Slide. Type the first note.
        If you want to slide from 2 to 3, you should first type in 2. Consider
        using Alt or Ctrl combined with numbers to reach higher numbers.
        The number 2 will appear, followed with with a slash "/" representing
        "slide up". Right after pressing key 2, press key 3. This result with
        "2/3--" - TM will make the slide notation, and continue adding spaces
        as usual. The Slide mode will end and you will be in normal Insert
        mode once again.

        To slide down like this:
                     e:----------
                     B:--12\10---
                     G:----------
                     D:----------
                     A:----------
                     E:----------
        do the following: Press Ctrl+G to indicate Slide Down. The info line
        will change respectively. Now, type in "@" (shift+2), followed by ")"
        (shift+0).

        All these special functions of TM are usable when you are in Fast
        Numbers mode and Auto Space is on. A list of these fast notations is
        available on the bottom three lines of the screen. Each function works
        a little bit different, depending on the number of notes it includes,
        but the idea is the same:

                     e:--------------
                     B:--r(2)--l(5)--
                     G:--------------
                     D:--------------
                     A:--------------
                     E:--------------
        Left hand muting is produced by pressing Ctrl+L and then the note
        number. Right hand muting is activated by Ctrl+R and works the same.

                     e:-----------------------------
                     B:--{2}--3~--!12!-'7'--p(2/5)--
                     G:-----------------------------
                     D:-----------------------------
                     A:-----------------------------
                     E:-----------------------------

        Tremolo signs "{2}" are produced by pressing Ctrl+T and then a number.
        Vibrato sign "3~" is produced by pressing Ctrl+V and a number.
        Harmonic note "!12!" or semi harmonic "'7'" are produced by Ctrl+N or
        Ctrl+O.
        A pick slide "p(2/5)" notation is produced by pressing Ctrl+K followed
        by to numbers.

                     e:--------------------------------
                     B:------------b(14)12-------------
                     G:--11b(13)-------------12w(14)---
                     D:--------------------------------
                     A:--------------------------------
                     E:--------------------------------
        Bend notation is created by first pressign Ctrl+E, and then typing in
        two numbers. The same goes for UnBend (Ctrl+U) and Wammy Bar bend
        (Ctrl+W).

        When editing the special notation is done TM will return to normal
        insert mode.
        Special Tab Notation options can always be aborted by pressing Esc.

        A special request was sent for me concerning the following option of
        repetitive notation. If press again the key combination which starts
        the notation mode, it will start a repeated mode:

        Press Ctrl+L, and TM will switch into Left-hand-mute mode. Press
        Ctrl+L again and TM will start a Repeated Left-hand-mute mode. In this
        mode TM will enable the user to type in a series of special tab
        notation. So if you want to transcribe mad Al Di Meola, "simply" start
        the repeated mode:
                 e:--------------------------------------------------------
                 B:--------------------------------l(3)--------l(3)--l(5)--
                 G:--l(2)--l(4)--l(5)--l(4)--l(5)--------l(5)--------------
                 D:--------------------------------------------------------
                 A:--------------------------------------------------------
                 E:--------------------------------------------------------

        It would make Steve Hacket's Horizons very easy to tab:
                 e:---------------------------------------------
                 B:------------------!12!-----------------------
                 G:-------------!12!-----------!12!------!12!---
                 D:--------!12!---------------------!12!--------
                 A:-----------------------!7!-------------------
                 E:---!7!---------------------------------------

        And if you feel a bit like Gilmour today and want to bend a lot:
                 e:---------------------
                 B:--2b(4)--b(5)--b(7)--
                 G:---------------------
                 D:---------------------
                 A:---------------------
                 E:---------------------

                 e:---------------------------------
                 B:-------2w(4)--w(3)--w(5)--w(4)---
                 G:---------------------------------
                 D:---------------------------------
                 A:---------------------------------
                 E:---------------------------------

        These special notation modes support repetitions:
                Vibrato, Tremolo, Slide Up, Slide Down, Harmonic,
                Semi-Harmonic, Left Hand Muting, Right Hand Muting, Bend,
                Release Bend (UnBend), Wammy Bar Bend.

        The Auto Brackets option on the Option menu tells TM whether or not to
        close brackets opened by the special notations keys. This option
        should normally be set on. If you set it off, it will make TM behave a
        little different if you run a special notation key while not in Fast
        Numbers Mode. When not in Fast Numbers Mode, TM will not continue
        making the special notation, and it will wait for you to finish typing
        all the numbers of each note. Then, you can press Enter, and TM will
        wait for the second number (if the specific notation requires another
        number) or simply close the brackets. If Auto Brackets is turned off,
        it will not close the brackets. Using Special Notations while not
        using Fast Numbers and Auto Space is not recommended, and I therefore
        do not extend about the subject. Try for yourself.


5.3.4. Staff Breaks and Bar Breaks

        As you can see in the "MOONCHLD.TMS" demo file, vertical lines can be
        used to indicate end of bars, and serve as indication for the meter
        and tempo of the song. In my own tab transcriptions, I tend to divide
        the bar into equal parts, to give the reader an idea about the length
        of each note:

                   1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a  1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a  1 a 2 a 3 a 4 a
                   Am                           G    F
                 E:----------------|----------------|----------------|
                 B:----------------|----------------|----------------|
                 G:7-----7/9---5---|----------------|4-5-------------|
                 D:----------------|----------------|----7---7-------|
                 A:----------------|----------------|----------------|
                 E:----------------|----------------|----------------|

        Pressing Ctrl+B will result in a vertical line of PipeLine symbol. The
        PipeLine symbol will appear on every staff line where the cursor is
        located. It will also push forward (as in Insert) the text on the
        location of the cursor.

        Pressing Ctrl+P will result in a vertical solid line. This line tells
        TM to break the staff lines at that point and start a new staff. This
        option was used when I made this document: I made a long file of
        examples, and then pressed Ctrl+P between each example. The ".TAB"
        file created by TM consisted of many short staves that I inserted in
        the right places for examples.

5.3.5. The Create Options

        Create menu includes some options and values you may change:

        Line Width: Select this option and press Enter. A window will pop up
                and you may write a new desired width. TM refers to this
                variable to know where to break staves. Legal values for Line
                Width are 10-255. Note that some screens and printers do
                not exceed 78 characters per line.

        Page Length: According to Page Length, TM will calculate when to add
                Page Breaks symbols, if the Page Breaks parameter is turned
                on. Legal values for Page Length are 20-255.
                Many laser printers are set to print 64 lines per page.

        Staff Space: This parameter tells TM how many empty lines to put
                between staves. When creating a ".TAB" file, all the edited
                lines are broken in order to fit with the Line Width
                parameter. As you can see, there are some empty lines (for
                text) above and below the staff lines. This parameter sets
                the amount of lines in addition to those lines that sets the
                distance between each staff in the output file. Legal values
                for Staff Space is 0-9. Recommended: 1.

        Break on Bar: If this parameter is set on, TM will break the staff, if
                possible, at the location of a bar. This will create a nice
                looking output file, especially if you consider it when
                creating the transcription. Try to see how it changes the
                output file of the demo file "MOONCHLD.TMS".

        End with Bar: If this parameter is set on, TM will force every end of
                staff to end with PipeLine symbols, indicating the left margin
                of the tab. This is very useful if you use Staff Break and Bar
                Break simultaneuosly in your tab file, and it makes the ".TAB"
                files look good.

        Page Breaks: If this parameter is set on, TM will add a Form Feed
                signal at the end of a page. Form Feed is symbolised by ASCII
                character 12. Note that these symbols may get lost when you
                mail or ftp the output file, and also some people may dislike
                these forced Form Feed - though I personally find them very
                convenient.

5.3.6. Editing a new tab transcription

        File menu features a New command. This command open a new window, in 
        which you specify which type of transcription you want to edit. Each
        selection makes a different tab type:
                Guitar - features 3 empty lines, then six staff lines, and one
                        additional empty line.
                Two Guitars - Features 3 empty lines, six staff lines for 
                        first guitar, one empty line, and six staff lines for
                        the second guitar.
                Bass - Features 3 empty lines, four bass staff lines and two
                        additional empty lines.
                Guitar & Bass - Features 3 empty lines, six staff lines for
                        guitar, one empty line, 4 bass staff lines and two
                        empty lines.
                5 fret Bass - Features 3 empty lines, five bass staff lines,
                        and two empty lines.
        The last option on the New menu, is Custom Made... This is partly a               
        joke, but it is really a very powerful option. Selecting Custom Made
        will open another window. In this window you may customize the 16 
        lines of the TM editor in any way you want, to fit with your request.
        You may put 5 different items in the 16 lines of the editor. Move the
        cursor to select the desired item, and press "+" or "-" keys to change
        every item setting. 
        The possible settings are:
                - 1 empty line
                - 2 empty lines
                - 3 empty lines
                - 4 empty lines
                - 4 Bass lines
                - 5 Bass lines
                - 6 Bass lines
                - 6 Guitar lines
                - 7 Guitar lines
                - None
        Change the setting of each item the way you want your tab 
        transcription to look. Note that TM automatically calculates the sum
        of the lines and doesn't let it exceed 16. If you set more than 16 
        lines it will automatically set the overflowing items to None.

        Custom Made option makes TM a very powerful editor: When you edit a
        transcription that features 2 or more staves, Ctrl+P or Ctrl+B will
        be activated on ALL the staves on the location of the cursor.

        "MOONCHLD.TMS" file features a two guitar setting. You may consider
        editing complicated transcriptions, featuring guitar and bass. as you
        can see, TM supports various types of guitars and basses.

        Note that selecting the amount of staves and empty spaces should be 
        the first step you do when transcribing tab on TM. Once you select it,
        you cannot change an existing transcription to feature other staves
        or other empty lines.

5.3.7. Aborting a transcription that wasn't saved

        TM will request for the user's approval before aborting an edited 
        transcription which was not saved.

        When trying to load a new file or quiting the program when the edited
        file is not saved, TM will notify the user. Select Yes or No in the
        interactive window.

        You may exit TM when editing without selecting Exit on the File menu,
        simply by pressing Ctrl+X.

5.3.8. Saving TAB MASTER settings

        All the TM setting can be saved from the Options menu, in the Save
        Setting command. TM will save the values of the different parameters
        and switches, and it will also save the staves and empty lines you
        currently use. Next time TM will run, it will start using these
        settings.

        The TM configuration file is "TABLAT.CFG". DO NOT TRY TO MANUALLY 
        CHANGE IT IN ANY WAY! If the configuration file become corrupt, TM may
        not work at all. In that case, erase the configuration file, and TM
        will start working again using the original (default) setting. Now 
        you can operate Save Settings and a new TABLAT.CFG file will be 
        created.

6. After TM works...

6.1. Editing the output ".TAB" file

        You can edit the ".TAB" file created in TM after you finished
        transcribing it with TM. When editing the output file later, you can
        add your remarks about it, put some more text lines between the staves
        etc.

        If your transcription exceeds 3000 characters, you cannot edit it all
        with TM. Anyway, I'm sure none of the users of TM will ever transcribe
        such a big piece, but if you do run into this program, consider 
        splitting the transcription into several files, create a ".TAB" file
        from each of them, and then merge them using a normal text editor.

        Note that one of TM options creates ".TAB" files with form feed 
        symbols. When editing a ".TAB" file created by TM using this option,
        make sure you don't exceed the number of lines per page.

        You may also remove the little TM banner on the top of the output
        file.

6.2. What should be improved

        I know TABLAT is not complete. Future version will include mouse 
        support, and hopefully will work on MONOCHROME screens.
        Another feature is strings tuning - I wanted to make it available on
        this release, but I ran out of time.
        Block operations - Copy, Cut, Paste are also considered. I hope I'll
        make them available on future versions. 
        Another thing is the Load Menu - I know it should include a file 
        selection window, but I don't have the patience for doing that - 
        sorry.

        Please report bugs to my e-mail address. If you've got an idea you 
        think I should add to TM - please tell me about it. Enjoyed the 
        program? - consider letting me know about it! It encourages me to work
        further on TM and improve it. You may want to drop a note on your 
        final tab transcription, saying it was created by TAB MASTER.

6.3. Paying for TAB MASTER?

        TM should be distributed freely, with no fee charged for it. BUT, if
        you enjoyed using it, if you find it useful, if you find it makes 
        transcribing tab easier.... If you think my project improves and adds
        to the world-wide guitar tab collection... If you appreciate my 110K 
        of source code and 40K of documentation... Please consider sending me
        a small fee!

7. Command summary

        Special Editing Keys:
                CTRL + Left Arrow / Right Arrow - Jumps 3 characters left or 
                        right
                PgUp / PgDn - Advances 20 characters left or right
                BackSpace - Move the cursor one character to the left
                Del - Delete one column on the location of the cursor
                Ins - Insert one column on the location of the cursor
                Home / End - Advance cursor to the end or the beginning of 
                the document.

        Special Editing Modes:
                On Fast Numbers:
                        Shift + Number  -  numbers 10-19
                        Alt + Number    -  numbers 20-29
                
                CTRL+V    - Vibrato Sign:         ---6~----
                CTRL+S    - Slide Up:             ---5/7---
                CTRL+G    - Slide Down:           ---7\5---
                CTRL+N    - Harmonic sign:        ---!12!--
                CTRL+O    - Semi Harmonic sign:   ---'5'---
                CTRL+L    - Left Hand Muting:     ---l(5)--
                CTRL+R    - Right Hand Muting:    ---r(5)--
                CTRL+T    - Tremolo:              ---{5}---
                CTRL+K    - Pick Slide:           --p(5/7)-
                CTRL+E    - Bend String:          --5b(7)--
                CTRL+U    - Release from Bending: --(7)b5--
                CTRL+W    - Wammy Bar Bend        --5w(7)--

                CTRL+F    - For convenience, toggles Fast Numbers Mode
                CTRL+A    - Temporarily, disables Auto Space and Add Space

        Bar Breaks
                CTRL + B  - Bar Break sign (|)
                CTRL + P  - Staff Break sign ()



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Enjoy!!!


        
        Ofir Zwebner                                      26/5/1994

        e-mail: ofirz@geocities.com   (update 29/3/1995)
        snail-mail: Shlonski 41, Tel Aviv, 69410, Israel

