Getting Started Basic Operation: Converting a MIDI File to RMF |

The second most frequent use of the Beatnik Editor is to convert a Standard MIDI File into the RMF format. This is similar to converting an audio sample file to RMF, but even simpler. The basic steps remain the same: Import your MIDI file into a Beatnik Editor Session file, then type in any desired copyright and credit information, and finally export as an RMF file.
Here's how, in five easy steps:
Launch the Beatnik Editor. Double-click the Beatnik Editor program icon on the desktop. The program will launch, display the splash screen, and create a new Untitled Session window. You'll use this Session document to hold MIDI content for your RMF file, then Export as RMF. Import your MIDI file into the Session. Drag your MIDI file from the desktop into the Songs tab of the Untitled Session window. (You could also select the Import command from the File menu, or drag it in from another Session document.) The import produces a new Song in the Untitled Session document, with the same name as your file. Play your newly imported Song, as a check. In the Songs tab of the Untitled Session window, select your new Song, then go to the Player window and click the Play button. You should hear your imported file playing - if not, see the Troubleshooting section. To stop before the Song plays all the way to the end, click the Stop button. Add your copyright notice and other text information. Every Song can include a copyright notice and other `meta-data' describing the Song. This information is encrypted into RMF files that include the Song, and can be displayed when the Song is played on the Web in the Beatnik Player. To enter this data for your RMF file, go to the Songs tab of the Untitled Session window, select the newly imported Song, and then select the Song Info... command from the Song menu. The Song Info dialog box will appear, with fields where you can enter a copyright notice and other text information for the RMF file: Fill in the info for your Song, and then click the OK button. Note: If you want to change the Song's title, or set playback volume or tempo, or set a reverb type, a second Song Settings dialog box is also available from the Song menu. Export the Song as an RMF file. Go back to the Songs tab of the Untitled Session window, make sure the new Song is still selected, and then select the Export RMF... command from the File menu. The Export RMF File dialog box will appear, asking which Instruments to include in the RMF file. Click the Custom button, and then click the OK button. When the Save RMF File dialog box appears, set your desired name and location for the exported RMF file, and then click Save: When you Save, the Beatnik Editor produces your RMF file: That's It - You're Done!
You've just successfully created an RMF version of your MIDI file. You can play your new RMF file with any Beatnik Platform player - including the Beatnik Player for Web browsers, the Beatnik Xtra for Shockwave and Director, BeOS, and JavaSound for Java2 - with the same high-quality sound on every platform.
Remember, though: RMF files are encrypted, so after creating one you can't open it later for further editing. To `change' an RMF file, you'll have to go back to its Session document, make your changes to the individual Songs, Instruments, or Samples, and then Export RMF... again - replacing the previous RMF version.
You may want to spend a little time getting familiar with generating RMF files - feel free to experiment with importing different kinds of MIDI files. When you're finished, exit the Beatnik Editor.

Getting Started / Basic Operation: Converting a MIDI File to RMF top |