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Main window ACE is really simple to use; it just acts like a real CPC. Anyway, some tips are good to know. Gadgets: On the top and the bottom of the CPC screen display lie two groups of gadgets. The ones on the top let you handle disc and cartridge images using the different tabs, and loading/saving snapshot files using the buttons on the right. Some of the tabs might be disabled depending on the CPC configuration (single floppy disc drive, old generation CPC...). Moreover, some LED and icons let you know about the disc drives activity and configuration (forced side B, fast drives mode...). At the bottom the gadgets let you set the state of the CPC. On the first row you will find: - The volume setting. - The choice of the screen model. - The choice of the Amstrad CPC type (it will automatically select the proper CRTC and Gate Array). - The choice of the CRTC type. - The choice of the Gate Array version. - The different buttons to control the emulator (speed, play/pause, reset). Keyboard: The host's keyboard mainly matches the CPC's keyboard. To improve the comfort, I advise you to use the firmware ROM which matches your keyboard (that should be the default because ACE chooses the firmware ROM according to your system's locale configuration): - Firmware_fx.ROM : French version, good to use with azerty keyboards, preferably Amiga, Mac or PC Belgium version (azerty PC French versions unfortunately differs from all others azerty keyboards). - Firmware_vx.ROM : English version, good to used with qwerty keyboards, preferably UK. - Firmware_sx.ROM : Spanish version. - Firmware_dx.ROM : Danish version. In addition to the "f0-f9", "." and "ENTER" keys (which are available from the numeric pad), some other keys have a specific mapping: - DEL is on "<-" ("backspace"). - CLR is on "delete". - COPY is on "left-alt". - ESC is on the key just above the "tab" key ("->|"). Moreover, some keyboards cannot handle a large number of keys pressed at the same time. It can be a problem in some particular cases; eg. to activate the cheat-codes (for example, in Batman The Movie, you must press the keys "E", "D", "2", "0" and "9" simultaneously to jump to the next level). That's when the "right-alt" key comes into play. As long as you keep it pressed, all the other keys you might press (and release) will be kept pressed in the emulated CPC. To use the previous example, if your keyboard doesn't allow you to press five keys simultaneously, just keep the "right-alt" pressed and then press the keys "E", "D", "2", "0" and "9" one by one, et voila! All the keys will of course be released when the "right-alt" key is released. In addition to this, some other keys can be used: - Home has same effect than "control" + "left" (start of line on CPC). - End has same effect than "control" + "right" (end of line on CPC). - Page up has same effect than "control" + "up" (start of a BASIC line, page up under Protext, ...). - Page down same effect than "control" + "down" (end of a BASIC line, page down under Protext, ...). - - from numpad pause the emulator. - + from numpad restart the emulator. - * from numpad mask/unmask the controls. - / from numpad activate/disable the full screen mode. - F1 let you insert a disc image in the drive A. - F2 let you insert a disc image in the drive B. - Shift + F1 eject the disc image from the drive A. - Shift + F2 eject the disc image from the drive A. - F5 let you load a snapshot file. - F6 let you save a snapshot file. - F9 insert a cartridge (Amstrad Plus only). - F10 eject the cartridge (Amstrad Plus only). - F12 has same effect than "enter" from the numpad (just in case of this key would be missing; like on PowerBook G4 keyboards). The other keyboard shortcuts are just the ones from the Intuition menu. Joysticks: Both joysticks are emulated, including the three buttons (yes, there are really three wired fire buttons on CPC!). The CPC joystick 0 is controlled by the one plugged into the port 1 (joy port) on the host, while the CPC joystick 1 is controlled by the one plugged into the port 0 (mouse port). When activating the option "Joystick 0 on keyboard" (or the tool type KEYJOY) the keys "up", "down", "left", "right", "control" (fire 2), "left-alt" (fire 1), and "left-shift" (fire 3) are used to simulate the joystick. Mouse: The middle mouse button allows you to mask/unmask the controls and a double-click on the display area switches from windowed to full screen and vice versa. More over, if the light gun emulation is activated, the mouse pointer is replaced by a cross in order to be used as a target, and the click is the fire button. Also, note the the mouse pointer will be automatically hidden when not moving in full screen.