The ModPlug Tracker Offline Help Manual Read-Me

The  ModPlug Tracker Offline Help Manual (OHM) is the long-awaited manual that describes the ins and outs of ModPlug Tracker, and should make it easier for new users to dive into using this music composition application. It's written from the viewpoint of a beginner who wishes to explore MPT along with a helpful guide, but it includes a Reference section for experienced users who need quick answers to uncertainties. Since MPT has never had any sort of Help file or manual, this makes it the "official" guide for MPT.

Here are some features to help you use the manual.

1. Complete pagination and chapterization, with chapters laid out from an easy follow-along perspective.
2. A complete Reference section with details on all elements of MPT, from the tabs to the dialog boxes to the contextual menus. The Reference also includes basic knowledge of audio production and MIDI usage from a composer's point-of-view.
3. Appendices that delineate the various commands that trackers use for manipulating sample, VST, and MIDI playback.
4. Descriptions of all the customization possibilities, from color schemes to various playback settings.
5. Cross-referenced hyperlinks that the user can access to read more on a particular subject relevant to the current subject.
6. Lots of graphics to make it clear what's being described.
7. A full index for quick lookup.

Since most users would not wish to print up the entire PDF (it's nearly 200 pages thick!), this table tells you which pages to print for often-needed information:

Channel FX (IT/MPTM)................147-153
Channel FX (MOD)....................136-138
Channel FX (S3M)....................143-146
Channel FX (XM).....................139-142
Clipboard (copy & paste), Reference 107-108
Compatibility Mode tables...........45-47	
Envelope Loop table.................23
General page, Reference.............60-64
Hexadecimal, interpreting...........1
Index...............................166-172
Instruments page, Reference.........74-78
Keyboard shortcuts, definitions.....157-165
Macros, Reference...................93-94
Macros, using.......................36-41
MIDI CC#s, standard.................155-156
MIDI Input, enabling................134
MIDI Output, enabling...............135
Note FX.............................154
Note Stop descriptions..............128
Note Stop table.....................31
Order List, using...................28-29
Pattern page, Reference.............65-69
Samples page, Reference.............70-73
Tempo Modes.........................11
Tunings, Reference..................95-96
Tunings, using......................55-57
VSTs (plugins)......................49-54

LICENSE
There is none. This manual is designed for use with ModPlug Tracker, which is open-source under the GNU license, but the archive (for the OHM) and its contents are free to the public for dissection and dispersion, as these are not officially part of MPT. Users of ModPlug Tracker, however, still have to abide by its license. Some images of various aspects of MPT, the example plugins, or the Windows interface may be restricted, and the user is responsible for determining their distributional restrictions.

DISCLAIMER
The author(s) of this manual, or any derivative of it, take no responsibility for the facts or assumptions therein, nor are we responsible for damages from the application of the manual's contents. However, every effort has been taken to validate the facts that have been described in the OHM. Corrections which should be made should be brought to the attention of the open-source developers by posting the error at LPChip.com/modplug.