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File Format
 


A fingering file is an ASCII text file. You can use a program such as Notepad to enter data into this type of file. Many more powerful programs exist, usually under the category "text editors" or "programming editors" - programs such as Vedit, UltraEdit, NoteTab, TextPad, etc. You can also use an HTML editor like Homesite or HTMLTool.

You can load a file into Recorder Digits even while it is being used by another program - this allows you to leave the file open in an editor while you load it into RD. All you need to do is Save it in the editor before you load it into RD. This makes it easy to make changes and test them.

Each line in a fingering file must end with an ENTER - i.e. if you are using Notepad, have Wrap turned off, and when you get to the end of a line, hit ENTER. In technical terms, this puts an invisible carriage-return / linefeed pair of characters (hex 0D0A) at the end of the line. If you are using a file created by dumping the builtin fingerings, each line is already like this. But if you add any, they must follow this rule.

A line is also referred to as a "record" in all my documentation.

Each line has 1 character at the beginning that designates what kind of a record it is. For example, the record type that allows you to specify a different default recorder type (alto, soprano, bass) starts with an R. This allows the program to determine what to do with the record. Similarly, the record that allows you to change the heading that usually says "Alternates" starts with an H.

The general format is a few records at the top to specify things like headings, recorder type, caption for the message line, etc. These are followed by the primary records - the fingering records.

Any record starting with * is considered a comment and is ignored by the program. This is also true of any record beginning with a space, or any completely blank record (with just ENTER).