Import upstream version 5.3.

[mup] / mup / docs / faq.txt

                   Mup Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

       1.  Frequent questions for those who have not yet used Mup

       1.1  Q: What makes Mup unique? Why should I consider using
            Mup?

         1.  Mup provides high quality music output at very low
             cost. You can download Mup and try it out for
             yourself.

         2.  Mup is available ready-to-run for several computer
             operating systems, and is also available in source
             form, so that it can be run on almost any kind of
             computers, including Windows, Apple, Linux or Unix.

         3.  If you prefer a command line interface, Mup provides
             that, and doesn't require using a mouse or learning a
             new editor; you can just create a Mup input file using
             any text editor of your choice.  However, if you
             prefer an interface with menus and integrated editor,
             the companion Mupmate program provides that.

         4.  Mup input can be easily generated or manipulated by
             another program.  Input files are typically small, so
             it doesn't take a long time to create them. Since they
             are ordinary text they can easily be moved to other
             systems, even if the other system uses a different
             operating system. For example, it would be easy to
             email a song in Mup format to a friend, and if they
             had Mup, they could then print it out or play it via
             MIDI.  Since Mup output is standard PostScript or
             standard MIDI, output files are also portable to
             almost any operating system.

         5.  Mup handles page layout details, but provides ways to
             alter the layout if you wish. It has the power to
             handle complicated scores, and can produce
             professional-quality output quickly.

         6.  Mup's ability to produce MIDI output can be very
             helpful for "proof listening" to your music, which is
             usually a very effective way to spot errors that you
             might miss by just looking at the score,

       1.2  Q: Will Mup run on my computer?

       We currently provide Mup in ready-to-run form for Windows
       and Linux x86 systems. A port of Mup for the Macintosh is
       available from
       http://www.uni-paderborn.de/cs/Michael.Thies.html and a
       version for OS/2 is available from http://homepages.tu-
       darmstadt.de/~st002279/os2/html/mup.html

       If you use a different operating system, Mup source code is
       also available, so if you have a C compiler, you can
       probably compile and run Mup. It has been run using several
       versions of UNIX on x86, Sun, Digital, Silicon Graphics, and
       other systems.  It has also been run under OS/2, as well as
       on an Amiga.  An ANSI-C compiler is recommended, but not
       required.  Under MS-DOS, you will need a memory extender,
       and at least a 32-bit compiler is strongly recommended.  Mup
       will run on a 386, but at least a 486 is recommended for
       best performance.  If you try to compile Mup and have
       problems, please let us know at support@arkkra.com We'd like
       to make it portable to as many computer system types as
       possible.  The companion Mupmate program requires a C++
       compiler and the FLTK toolkit.

       1.3  Q: How long will it take to learn how to use Mup?

       This will vary from person to person. A person who has
       experience with computer languages will probably pick up Mup
       more quickly, but such knowledge is not necessary.  Mup has
       a broad array of features, so if you want to learn how to
       use every feature that Mup has to offer, this may take
       several days. (The Mup User's Guide, which explains all the
       features, and includes many examples, is about 150 pages
       long.) However, once you get Mup installed, you can start
       experimenting with Mup after reading the first few pages of
       the User's Guide, and it should take no more than a few
       hours to feel comfortable with the basics, enough to enter
       simple songs and get professional-looking output.  The
       User's Guide includes many examples, and is provided both as
       a PostScript file that you can print out on paper, and as
       HTML files with hundreds of hypertext links, that you can
       view with your Web browser.  The Mup installation package
       contains several sample files and a template file to help
       you get started.  You can also download sample songs from
       ftp://ftp.arkkra.com/pub/music

       1.4  Q: How long will it take to enter music?

       This will vary greatly, depending on a number of factors,
       such as how complicated the music is, how much experience
       you have had with using Mup, how fast you type, etc. An
       experienced Mup user can typically enter simple music in
       less than 15 minutes per page, but very complex music can
       often take over an hour, especially if you like to make a
       lot of adjustments to make things look just exactly the way
       you want.

       1.5  Q: How did Mup and Arkkra Enterprises come about?

       We are musicians and computer programmers who wanted a music
       publication program that would produce very high-quality
       output with a minimum amount of fuss. We wrote the Mup
       program for our own use, and continue to use it for all our
       own compositions. When other people expressed an interest in
       getting a copy of Mup, we formed Arkkra Enterprises to set
       up a Web site to make Mup available as shareware to anyone
       who wants it.  We rely on the shareware registration fee
       that you pay to cover the cost of maintaining a Web site and
       providing support to answer questions. We add new features
       based on user suggestions, and once you register, we will
       notify you of any future free upgrades.

       1.6  Q: How do I pay for Mup?

       Fill out the registration form and send the form and (US)
       $29 in cash, check, or money order to the address given on
       the form.  If you are writing a check from a bank outside
       the United States, please make it out in the bank's local
       currency in an amount equivalent to 29 U.S. dollars; our
       bank will not accept US-dollar-denominated checks from non-
       US banks.  If you wish to pay via credit card, we have an
       arrangement with setSystems to handle paying for Mup with a
       credit card.  They are able to handle transactions in many
       different currencies.  setSystems is part of Digital River,
       a well-known e-commerce company.  As soon as we receive your
       payment, we will email the registration information to you.
       Once you register, we will notify you via email of future
       Mup versions, and you can upgrade to any future versions of
       Mup for free.  Once you have registered, you also can join
       the Mup users mailing list if you wish, at no additional
       charge.  We only use your address to send you information
       about Mup; it is our policy to not give out names, email, or
       street addresses to anyone else.

       --------------------------------------------------

       2.  Frequent questions from Mup users

       2.1  Q. Is there a mailing list for Mup users?

       Yes. There is a "majordomo" mailing list available
       exclusively to registered Mup users.  It provides a forum
       where you can ask or answer questions, get tips on how other
       people are using Mup, etc.

       2.2  Q. Can I put Mup output into some other document?

       There is a tool that comes with Ghostscript, called
       "ps2epsi" that converts a PostScript file to an Encapsulated
       PostScript file, which can then be imported into other
       documents.

       2.3  Q: Can Mup produce PDF files?

       Not directly, but since Mup produces PostScript output, you
       can easily convert the output to PDF format using the ps2pdf
       utility that comes with Ghostscript.

       2.4  Q. Why is the first score indented differently than the
            others?

       The first score of a piece of music is traditionally
       indented somewhat more than subsequent scores, so that's
       what Mup does by default.  It does that by setting the
       default label parameter to a few spaces, whereas it sets the
       default for the label2 parameter to an empty string.  If you
       don't want the indentation, you can set
            label=""

       2.5  Q: Is is possible to specify a pickup measure?

       Yes. You use "space" on all voices. For example,
          1: 2.s; 4e;
          2: 2.s; 4c;
       will produce a pickup measure with just a quarter note in
       it.

       2.6  Q: Is it possible to display a tempo marking of the
            form '(N = 120)' where N is a note symbol, like a
            quarter note?

       Yes. Try something like
          rom above all: 1 "( \(sm4n) = 120 )";

       2.7  Q: Can Mup take a MIDI file as input?

       No. However, it is possible to write a program that reads a
       MIDI file and outputs a file that can be input to Mup. Two
       programs that do this, called "mtm" and "midi2mup" have been
       donated by Mup users.  They are limited, and not supported
       by Arkkra Enterprises, but may be useful for some people.
       Check out the programs donated by Mup users.

       2.8  Q: What are some of the shorthands that can be used to
            reduce typing?

       There are many shorthands available. Some of the most useful
       are:

          - When the time value of a chord is the same as that of
            the previous chord in the measure, it can be omitted.
            If all pitch values of a chord are the same as the
            previous chord, they can be omitted. For example:
               1: 4c; 4c; 4ceg; 4ceg;
            is the same as
               1: 4c; ; ceg; ;

          - If several voices have the same music data, they can be
            given on a single line.
               1-3 1-2: mr;
            is equivalent to
               1 1: mr;
               1 2: mr;
               2 1: mr;
               2 2: mr;
               3 1: mr;
               3 2: mr;
            A similar shorthand works for text and music symbols:
               rom above 1-4: 3 "mf";   // staffs 1 through 4
               < below 2-3: 4 til 3m+2; // staffs 2 and 3
               mussym 1-5: 1 "ferm";   // staffs 1 through 5

          - If several chords in a row have the same items in
            square brackets before the chords, only the first must
            have everything included. By giving an ellipsis after
            the ] the items in brackets will be repeated for the
            rest of the measure or until cancelled.  Thus the
            following lines are equivalent:
               1: [with .] c; [with .] d; [with .] e;
               1: [with .]... c; d; e;

       2.9  Q: The Mupprnt command doesn't seem to work right. What
            do I do?

       You may need to edit the mupprnt file to make sure the
       variables and paths are set to match where things are
       installed on your system.  In particular,

          - GS_DIR needs to be set to the directory which contains
            the Ghostscript font files (*.gsf) and the other
            Ghostscript setup files (gs_*.ps).

          - GS_DEVICE needs to be set to the proper type to match
            your printer type.

          - The path to Mup must be correct

          - The path to Ghostscript (gs or gs386 on MS-DOS/Windows
            system) must be correct.

          - On MS-DOS/Windows systems, dos4gw.exe must be in your
            PATH.
       If you are using a viewer such as GSview or gv, you may want
       to use its print feature rather than using mupprnt.

       2.10  Q: On MS-DOS, the Mupdisp command comes back with
             ghostscript error 1. What do I do?

       Check your config.sys file. You need to have a line like
          files=10
       where the number after the equals sign is greater than or
       equal to 9.

       Also, make sure gs386.exe exists and is in your PATH. If you
       are running Mup from MS-DOS directly or from a DOS prompt
       under Windows, make sure you installed the DOS version of
       Ghostscript, not the Windows version.  If you are using
       Mupmate, or Winmup, make sure you installed the Windows
       version of Ghostscript, not the MS-DOS version.

       2.11  Q: If I use Mup for a language other than English,
             will it handle the letters that are not used in
             English?

       Mup handles most common non-ASCII characters.  If your
       keyboard does not allow you to enter them directly, you can
       enter them by name, such as \(a:) for an 'a' with 2 dots
       over it. The User's Guide section on text strings gives a
       complete list of supported non-ASCII characters.

       2.12  Q: Under Linux, Mupdisp says it can't open
             /dev/console. What do I do?

       The svga library used by Mupdisp in non-X-windows mode
       requires write permission to the console. To allow this:

          - Make Mupdisp setuid to root:
               chown root mupdisp
               chmod 4755 mupdisp

       2.13  Q: What if I have more questions about Mup?

       Send us email at support@arkkra.com We welcome any comments
       and questions about Mup. Normally, you should have no
       problem contacting us this way. In the unlikely event you
       get a "rejected" reply when sending email, this is because
       excessive "spam" (junk mail) has been received from your
       domain at some time in the past, and our Internet service
       provider has installed a "spam blocker."  In this case, you
       will have to send email from another address or send paper
       mail.