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+
+ 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.
~mdw / mup / blobdiff