Latest Windows Versions and KeyKit

[Hamburg_DE]

Dear KeyKit-Group Menbers,
hello Tim,

I have been with KeyKit now for quite a long time - in 2001, I started with version 6.2, without multiport-support...
Today I still use a dedicated, but somewhat aged Windows XP Notebook with KK 7.3d for occasional musical experiments. In the near future I plan a migration to either Windows7 or Windows8 - without losing KeyKit’s well-proven functionality and stability, of course.

Tim,
as far as I remember you stated somewhere, that 32bit-Windows7 and KK work together with no complaints. Recently I found your following statement in a Group-talk about “What MIDI API to use for Windows 7 / Windows 8 ?”: 

[quote]

… “It still seems to work fine under Windows 8 (I just tried KeyKit and it works fine).   I've never regretted sticking with the original Windows MIDI support.  Microsoft understands the value of compatibility more than any company on the planet, and I'm still a loyal customer because of it.  If their moves with RT and the Modern UI affect their compatibility story, my loyalty will fade very quickly, though I will still be able to buy Windows 7 for many years, so there's no real rush for me.  I also love my iPad for the innovative UIs and software it has allowed other developers to create, so I don't exclude other things just because I currently prefer Windows as a development platform.”
(…)
    ...Tim... ”
[endquote] 

(Source: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/mididev/wsXqA_7xSNQ ) 

Amazing!

Could you please publish the exact Windows platforms (Win7, Win8, 32bit/64bit, Home- or Pro-Version, compatibility mode...?) you have been using to test and run Keykit successfully? Is there any recommendation or a special “How-To”? Would it even be possible to run KeyKit in a 64bit-environment? 

This Information would be a great help for me (and others, I’m sure).
It will significantly influence my decision for a future notebook- and Keykit-platform. 

Thank you very much in advance

Holger
------------------------------

[Tim Thompson]

Hi Holger, 

I have been with KeyKit now for quite a long time

I'm delighted to hear that it's been useful for you. 

Could you please publish the exact Windows platforms (Win7, Win8, 32bit/64bit, Home- or Pro-Version, compatibility mode...?) you have been using to test and run Keykit successfully?

The installer mechanism I was using no longer works, so the lastest version (7.7b) is just a .zip file that you unzip.  The 7.7b version was labelled on the download page as "bleeding edge", but I don't think that's justified anymore, so I've changed it to "stable, no installer".  Other than the installer issue, I haven't found a recent version of Windows (since XP) that it doesn't run on.  (In spite of its name, I don't consider Windows RT to be a "version of Windows".)   KeyKit runs fine on 64-bit Windows as a 32-bit application.  I've never compiled it for 64-bit, and haven't found any need to.

Is there any recommendation ...

I have one machine running Win8, so I know it works there, but I'm not rushing to convert my Win7 machines to Win8.  If I was ordering a non-touchscreen device today, I would definitely run Win7 on it.

    ...Tim...

[Hamburg_DE]

Hi Tim,

thank you very much for your quick reply -
obviously, there is no need to worry about KeyKit’s move from XP to Windows 7.

I will install the 64-bit version of Windows 7 and hope, that the installation of the ancient MIDI-USB-drivers available for my old Roland SC-8850 Sound Canvas won’t become stuck. Roland Corp. offers the download of a 64-bit-Vista-driver, which should be worth trying: 

SC-8850 Driver Ver.1.0.0 for Windows Vista 64-bit Edition, dated 2007-01-30
( http://www.roland.com/support/article/?q=downloads&p=SC-8850 ) 

I am not in a hurry and will report, when I’ve got things done.

Thanks again for your help
Holger
------------------------------

[Hamburg_DE]

Hello KeyKit-Groupmembers,

hi Tim,

 

well, KeyKit’s relocation from Windows XP to Windows7 was succesfully done. Here’s a brief report:

 

The target system I used is a Dell Latitude notebook with 64bit Windows7 “Enterprise”- edition (SP1) and typical office software installed. That notebook had never been in touch with MIDI before.

 

To make things as easy as possible I copied my KeyKit-environment’s complete directory tree to an external disk and pasted this set of folders and files “just as is” into the Win7 system. The transfer included an “application”-folder (with several sub-folders) as well as the “keykit_73d”-folder. All paths (starting from C:\...) remained unchanged.

 

Finally I copied the existing keylocal.k file, which defines a long “Keypath”, to the target system’s root C:\ . Within that file, I prefixed

 #-(comment)-characters to any existing line, that would open a MIDI input- or output-device like:

 

##inport ("EDIROL PCR-A MIDI IN")  # no PCR-A present!

 

##m = outport("1:Roland SC-8850 PART A") # new with v7.0

##mapport(0,m)

##outport("1:Roland SC-8850 PART B")

##outport("1:Roland SC-8850 PART C")

##outport("1:Roland SC-8850 PART D")

 

A doubleclick at key.exe and – taadaa – KeyKit opens the GUI and reports correctly, that no MidiIn is available. The Windows7 Task Manager labels the key.exe process with a *32-suffix. So far 32bit KeyKit is up and running...

 

When I started the Port-Enabler-Tool (Tools1-Menu), I was surprised, that - besides “MIDI_Mapper” - Microsoft still distributes a virtual MIDI-device with Windows7: A “GS Wavetable Synth” is still alive.

 

Installing Drivers

------------------

Next the installation of drivers should grant access to the outside world. As mentioned in my previous post, the only device driver available for my Roland Sound Canvas SC-8850 was made for the Windows Vista 64-bit Edition. After downloading and unpacking the distribution package, an attempt to start the installation generated the following message (re-translated from my Win7, which is localized in german language):

  “Unsupported Operating System”

 

Oops! - ... but a rightclick offered a promising menu-item:

  “Handling of compatibility problems”

Click. - A little questionaire appeared on the screen and I was asked, if the software I was attempting to install had been runnable with one of these former Windows versions:

 

   64bit Vista, 64bit Vista SP1, 64bit Vista SP2, XP 64bit.

 

I selected the first option and Windows7 reported, that appropriate adjustments were made in the driver-software to run with Windows7. “Does this solve your problem [Y/N]?”

Respect – I never saw such an automatism work successfully before, but this time it worked out fine.

 

A minor problem appeared, because MIDI-device names were slightly different from the names generated by the former Win-XP driver:

In keylocal.k

   outport("1:Roland SC-8850 PART A") had to be modified like

   outport("Roland SC-8850 PART A")  

 

After all KeyKit’s listports() function presents all expected MIDI-ins and –outs,
the Port-Enabler-Tool works and my own projects can receive an transmit MIDI-data to wherever I like.

 

Tim, thanks for your support and - of course -

for KeyKit, which still is a wonderful playground.

 

Holger

--------------------------

 

[Tony]

Keykit 7.7b also exists already, at least I have this on my computer.
For outport it is always enough to write the minimal distinguishing string
as far as I know. For example in my keylocal.k I have:
outport("Yoke: 1")
outport("Yoke: 4")
outport("Yoke: 7")
sca = outport("Yoke: 2")
mapport(0,sca) # default to output sca

All for Midi Yoke.

Best regards,
Tony

________________________________________
From: key...@googlegroups.com [mailto:key...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
Hamburg_DE
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2013 2:41 PM
To: key...@googlegroups.com
Cc: Hamburg_DE; m...@timthompson.com
Subject: Re: [keykit] Latest Windows Versions and KeyKit

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