  Kaboom! Help Index

How To ...

Use the control panel

Use the Keystroke Setup window

Use the Sound setup window

Use the Add Sound window

Use the Add Application window


Using the control panel

The control panel allows you to attach sound files to various system events.  It also allows you to temporarily turn off Kaboom! and set various options.

For more information, select the section name.:

Applications	Using the "Applications" drop down and controls
Editing Sounds	Using the "Edit...." button
Events	Using the "Events" list box  and controls
Canceling a sound	Using the Sound Cancel key
Master Switch	Using the "Kaboom! On" checkbox
Save Settings	Using the save options
Sound Files	Sound files overview


Sound Files

To add sound files to Kaboom!, click on the "Add..." button in the Sounds section of the control panel and select the file you wish to add. Kaboom! supports standard Windows wave (.wav) files.  Note that you can select more than one sound at a time when adding sounds. When a sound is added to the list, its description will be the name (INAM) if there is an information (INFO) list in the sound file. Otherwise, the filename will be used.

Once a sound has been added to the list, you can attach it to an event as follows:

Select an event (such as "Window Move") in the Events section of the control panel.

Place a check mark next to the sound in the Sounds section.

You can attach multiple sounds to a single event. The sounds will play in alphabetic order or, if the "Randomize" checkbox is selected, in random order from among the checked sounds.

To edit a sound file, click on the file and select "Edit...". This will run the Kaboom! Factory application and open the sound for editing.

To change the description of a sound, select the sound and then "Setup...". The setup dialog allows you to give a sound a longer name than the 8 character DOS filename.

To find the next selected sound for an event, click the mouse over the check mark button above the sound list. You can also use the ALT+C keyboard combination to push the check mark. If you are working in the sounds list, the CTRL+Up Arrow and CTRL+Down Arrow combinations will also move the selection to the previous or next selected sound


Applications

Kaboom! can be configured to behave differently depending on what application you are using. For example, the system beep sound in WordPerfect can be different than the system beep in Lotus 123.

To add an application to the application list, select the "Add App..." button.  When this application is the currently selected one, all event settings will apply only to this one application.  When <Windows> is the current application, the event settings will apply to all applications except those with their own superseding settings.

To disable Kaboom! for a single application:

Add the application to the list using the "Add App..." button

Select the "Disabled" checkbox


Events

Kaboom! can play sound files in response to various actions or events. You can configure Kaboom! to:

Play a sound from a selected group whenever an event occurs

Play a sound from a selected group when an event occurs within a specified application only

Never play sounds within a particular application

(and many other combinations!)

Note: If you want a sound to play for all applications, be sure that "<Windows>" is the selected app.

Sounds play at the following events:

Windows Startup

A sound will play when the Kaboom! Control Panel is opened. Note that this will be at Windows Startup only when Kaboom! is present in your Startup Group.

Windows Exit

A sound will play when the Kaboom! Control Panel is closed. This will be when Microsoft Windows is closed unless you close Kaboom! by hand earlier.

Application Startup

A sound will play whenever a Windows application is started. You can choose specific sounds for different applications by adding applications to the Kaboom! list using the "Add App..." button.

Application Exit

A sound will play when a Windows application is exited.

Window Move

A sound will play when you move a window.

Window Moving

A sound will play while you are moving a window (try a short sound).

Window Size

A sound will play when you re-size a window.

Window Sizing

A sound will play while you are re-sizing a window (try a short sound).

Window Minimize/Maximize

A sound will play when you minimize or maximize an application (using the icons at the top-right corner of a window).

Window Restore

A sound will play whenever you restore an application from the iconized state.

Critical Stop, Question, Exclamation, Asterisk

These correspond to the same sounds as in Window's Sound Control Panel. Certain applications use these sounds when an error or notification occurs, or when opening standard dialogs.

Chime

A sound will play at :00, :15, :30, and :45 minutes past each hour.

Hourly Chime Count

The selected sound will play once for each hour, at the top of the hour (like a grandfather clock).

Keystrokes

You can configure up to 5 special keystrokes that cause sounds to play. For example, you can set a sound to play whenever Shift-F1 is hit. To change a keystroke, select the keystroke event and then click on "Keystroke Setup...". Note that certain keystrokes (such as F1) are reserved by Windows, and cannot be used to trigger a sound.


 Using the Keystroke Setup window

The Keystroke Setup Window allows you to define a keystroke or keystroke combination to play a set of sounds or to cancel a sound that is playing

Pushing the Define Keystroke button, and the next key (or shift/alt/ctrl combination + key) you type will be recorded and displayed.

Pushing the Clear Keystroke button will cause no key to be assigned to the selected event..

To keep any changes, press OK. Otherwise, press Cancel.


Using the Sound Setup Window

Type a new description for the sound in the "Description" field and select "OK". This option is used to give a more appropriate name to a sound than possible with an 8 character filename. Note that any name change will be lost if the sound is removed from the list.


Using the Add Sounds window

The Add Sound window allows you to browse a disk for sound files, listen to those files, and optionally add those files to Kaboom!'s sound list.

To change directories, click on the folder icon (for example, "C:\" or "Kaboom")

To change drives, click on the "Drive" popup menu.

"Add" adds the selected file(s) to Kaboom!'s sound list.

"Play" can be used for previewing a sound before adding it to Kaboom!'s list.

Kaboom! supports standard Windows wave (.wav) files. It does not currently support MIDI files.

To add multiple files:

Drag the mouse or use the shift key to select a range of files

Use the Control (Ctrl) key to select multiple, discontinuous, files.


Using the Add Application window

The Add Application window allows you to browse a disk for application files and add those files to Kaboom!'s application list.  This allows you to customize Kaboom! for specific applications.

To change directories, click on the folder icon (for example, "C:\" or "Kaboom")

To change drives, click on the "Drive" popup menu.

"Add" adds the selected file to Kaboom!'s application list and makes it the current application.


Canceling a sound

You can set any key as the "Sound Cancel" key. Pressing this key while a sound is playing will immediately stop the sound.


Editing Sounds

To edit a sound file, click on the file and select "Edit...". This will run the Kaboom! Factory application and open the sound for editing.


Master Switch

The Master Switch is an easy way to temporarily turn Kaboom! off. You might want to do this when the your boss is in the room, for example.


Save Settings

Normally, Kaboom! automatically saves all setting changes. If you want to experiment with a new setup but don't want your changes to be saved, de-select the "Auto Save" checkbox. You can then save the changes manually using the "Save" button.  If you turn "Auto Save" off, don't forget to save your settings before closing Kaboom! or exiting Windows.