There are two things you should note before using ExFiler:
1. The current version is beta. There is a known crashing bug that can occur when editing a patch. It should not cause any data loss beyond the edited patch -- the Manage window should still be working and available for saving. Watch Angry Red Planet for any updates.
2. ExFiler overwrites information in your Morpheus whenever a new patch is selected for editing. Make sure you've backed up your patches before experimenting.
ExFiler is a MIDI editor / librarian for the E-mu Morpheus. It allows preset, hyperpreset, and midimap information to be transfered between the Morpheus and your computer, and stored and graphically edited on your computer. To use it, you will need BeOS Release 5, an E-mu Morpheus, and at least one BeOS-compatible MIDI port.
The Studio Window
The Add Device Window
The Device Manage Window
The Patch Edit Window -- Preset Default
The Patch Edit Window -- Preset Layers
The Patch Edit Window -- Preset Modulation
The Patch Edit Window -- Hyperpreset Default
The Patch Edit Window -- Midimap Default
Unzip ExFiler.zip by double-clicking on it. The new directory, ExFiler, contains the ExFiler application, which can be placed anywhere on your hard drive. Common practice in the Be world is to place the ExFiler directory in the apps directory of your boot drive, then create a link to the ExFiler application in your Be -> Applications menu (which can be done by placing a link to the application in the folder home/config/be/Applications).
The first time ExFiler runs, it displays two windows: The Studio window and the Add Device window. The first thing you must do is tell ExFiler how to talk with your Morpheus.
From the Add Device window, select the MIDI in and MIDI out ports connected to your Morpheus, and the device ID of your Morpheus. Once these items have been selected, click the Add button. The Add Device window will disappear, and initialization information will be retrieved from the Morpheus.
The Studio window should now display a single item, labeled "E-mu Morpheus...". To begin managing the patch information in the Morpheus, select this item and choose Devices -> Manage from the main menu. A new Manage E-mu Morpheus window should open.
The Manage window allows patches to be transfered between the computer and the Morpheus, and simple reorganization of the patches. For more information, see section 7. The Device Manage Window. For now, select the bank Preset - RAM and choose MIDI -> Receive Bank Preset - RAM from the main menu. This begins a downloading session, and transfers all patches in this bank from the Morpheus to the computer. When the transfer has finished, select an item in the Patches list and choose Edit -> Patch from the main menu. A Patch Edit window should open. Feel free to explore the Patch Edit window, and turn to section 8. The Patch Edit Window to answer any questions.
This window displays a list of the MIDI devices in your studio. Currently, only the E-mu Morpheus is supported. This window allows you to perform basic management operations on the devices in your studio, like adding them, removing them, and opening them for editing. This window automatically opens if there are no devices in the studio when starting ExFiler. Alternatively, it can be opened by choosing Tools -> Open Studio from the main menu of a Manage window.
The Devices Menu
Devices -> Add opens the Add Device window for adding a new device to the studio.
Devices -> Remove removes the currently selected device from the studio.
Devices -> Manage opens a new Device Manage window on the selected device. See section 7., The Device Manage Window.
This window is used to a configure and add a new device to the studio. It presents a list of the available devices (currently only the E-mu Morpheus), and allows you to choose which MIDI in and out port the device is located on, as well as its device ID. This window is available from the Devices -> Add menu item in the Studio window.
The selected MIDI in and MIDI out ports should be connected to the MIDI in and MIDI out of your Morpheus, respectively. If you don't know the device ID, it's probably 0, but you can check by pressing the MASTER button on the Morpheus and turning to the MIDI MODE page -- underneath the label 'ID' is your device ID.
When the Add button is pressed, this window goes away and the configured device is added to the studio and initialized. The initialization process may take several moments, but it is only performed once, after which the data is stored in the file home/config/settings/AngryRedPlanet/MidiDevices/E-mu Morpheus.data.
This window is used to transfer information between the Morpheus and the computer, and to do simple restructuring of where patches are located.
The File Menu
File -> New is used to open a new, empty E-mu Morpheus Manage window.
File -> Open is used to open a set of patches from disk. ExFiler reads its own file format, as well as the SYX format (although note that currently only SYX files containing a single patch can be loaded; SYX files containing multiple patches are ignored).
File -> Save As... saves the current set of patches in the ExFiler format.
File -> Quit closes ExFiler. Upon closing, two files are saved in the directory home/config/settings/AngryRedPlanet/ExFiler: The file state records any open Manage windows. The file studio records the information in your studio.
The Edit Menu
Edit -> Copy copies all currently selected patches into the paste buffer.
Edit -> Paste pastes all patches in the paste buffer, starting at the currently selected patch and overwriting each successive patch until all items are pasted or the end of the bank is reached.
Edit -> Patch opens a new Patch Edit window on the currently selected patch.
The MIDI Menu
MIDI -> Send All sends every non-empty patch in the device window to the Morpheus.
MIDI -> Send... sends all currently selected patches to the Morpheus. If no patches are selected, it sends the currently selected bank. If no bank is selected, nothing is sent.
MIDI -> Receive All requests every preset, hyperpreset, and midimap in the Morpheus.
MIDI -> Receive... requests all currently selected patches from the Morpheus. If no patches are selected, it requests the currently selected bank. If no bank is selected, it requests nothing.
The Tools Menu
Tools -> Open Playback Controls opens the Playback Controls window, a window for setting a simple playback sequence while editing. See section 9., The Playback Controls.
Tools -> Open Studio opens the Studio window. See section 5., The Studio Window.
This window is used to edit a single patch. Its configuration varies whether you are editing a preset, hyperpreset, or midimap. This document will only describe how to operate ExFiler's controls. Consult your Morpheus manual for details about each piece of information.
The Patch Menu
Patch -> Save saves any changes made to this patch into its original position.
Patch -> Save As... allows you to select a position to place this patch. All subsequent uses of Save will save at the new position.
The MIDI Menu
MIDI -> Send 1 Patch sends this patch to the Morpheus, and makes it the currently active patch.
Editing -- The Structure
When the Patch Edit window first opens, it displays an outline of the patch structure. At the very top of the window is a text box for editing the name. Below this is a series of sections. Each section has a property field (a small button with a downward-pointing arrow) to the left of the section name, and may display zero or more nodes. Nodes define logical subgroups of parameters in a section, and are always named. Nodes have three states: Editing, when they are fully expanded and their parameters are available for manipulation; overview, when they are simply a name in a box; and hidden, when they are not visible in the window.
Sections come in two flavours: Signal flow and non-signal flow. Signal flow sections are those whose nodes are connected in some fashion -- typically, they represent the flow of the signal in the Morpheus for the parameters they contain. Overview nodes are only available in signal flow sections. Non-signal flow sections contain nodes that are logically grouped together, but aren't actually connected. Hidden nodes are only available in non-signal flow sections.
By default, signal flow sections display all of their nodes in overview state, and non-signal flow sections display all of their nodes in hidden state.
The property field operates on the nodes in a section. For signal flow sections, the property field is used to zoom in and out of all nodes in the section. Zooming in puts all nods in the editing state, allowing access to all parameters in the section. Zooming out puts all nodes in the overview state, providing an overview of the signal flow. Overview nodes can be clicked on to put them in the editing state, allowing only part of a signal flow section to be available for editing.
For sections that don't display signal flow, the property field allows you to toggle each node in the section between their hidden and editing states.
Editing -- The Controls
There are six basic controls available in editing nodes: The menu field, the check box, the knob, the number control, the envelope generator control, and the zoom control. Whenever a control is being manipulated, the sequence specified in the Playback Controls is continually played.
The Menu Field. A standard menu field.
The Check Box. A standard check box. Occassionally, turning a check box on or off will disable or enable other controls in the node.
The Knob. Change the knob value by clicking and dragging -- dragging left increases the value, dragging right decreases it.
The Number Control. These controls display a number value, and are typically associated with knobs, to provide more precise editing and keyboard control. Clicking and dragging left and/or down increases the value, dragging right and/or up decreases it. Typing keys 0 through 9 appends that value at the end of the number. Pressing the UP and DOWN arrow keys increment and decrement by 1. Pressing the RIGHT and LEFT arrow keys incremenet and decrement by 10. Pressing + (plus) forces the number to be positive, pressing - (minus) forces the number to be negative (or its smallest value, if negative is not allowed for the parameter).
The Envelope Generator (EG) Control. This control displays a graphic of an envelope and allows manipulation of the individual points. Points can be clicked on and dragged as appropriate, or they can be manipulated from the number controls beneath the envelope control. Most EG controls have a zoom control in their lower right corner.
The Zoom Control. This control is not actually used to change parameters, but simply performs standard zooming operations on an EG control. To operate, click in the zoom control and hold down, then drag right to zoom in on the x axis, left to zoom out, down to zoom in on the y axis and up to zoom out.
This window allows you to configure a simple sequence used during playback when controls are being manipulated. It can be accessed from a Manage window by choosing Tools -> Open Playback Controls in the main menu.
The tempo works like a number control in the Patch Edit window: click and drag left and/or down to increase the tempo, right and/or up to decrease it. The Play menu field allows you to select how many notes are in the sequence, as well as the starting and ending note value. The start velocity sets the velocity of the first note in the sequence, which is incremented or decremented on each note until it matches the end velocity selected for the last note in the sequence. The note duration can be set anywhere from a short blip to a quarter note.
1. The Morpheus is not being set to the patch I'm editing.
First, watch the MIDI light in the bottom-right corner of the Morpheus when you open a new Patch Edit window. If it's not lighting at all, then the Morpheus is not even receiving any information. Possible causes could be:
The Morpheus is not connected to the MIDI port out selected in the Add Device window;
The Morpheus device ID does not match the device ID in the Add Device window.
If the MIDI light is flashing, then it's receiving information, but not activating it for some reason. Possible causes could be:
The Morpheus was is in the wrong state. Make sure that none of the mode lights on the Morpheus (MASTER, PRESET, MIDIMAP, HYPER) is lit; if one is, turn it off by pressing it.
(C) 2000 Eric Hackborn
