Getting Started with HzWeb

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flag Let's get started with Hz, web edition!

Prerequisites

A desktop computer that:

has an internet connection and a mainstream WWW browser like Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge.
is capable of making sounds of reasonably high quality.
has a keyboard, mouse and optional audio-in and MIDI device connections.

First Steps

Our first goal is just to get some sound out and the best way to do this is by running one of the built-in examples.

To do this, find the Workspace Panel and invoke Import examples in the panel menu here:

Now use the workspace panel to find: HzWeb/examples_.../songs.hz/in-c.

info > HzWeb can be clicked to reveal the contents of the workspace folder.

Our next task is to select in-c.hz by clicking on it in the workspace view. This causes the file contents to be displayed in the Code Editor. Below you can see what that looks like. For now we're not concerned about the contents of the file but rather the context menu that is available there.

By right-clicking your mouse in this area you should see this menu:

Here, we select Simple Hz Runner.

And Presto! You should now be hearing a multitude of evolving sounds. If you don't hear any sound, make sure that your system volume is turned up, the speakers aren't muted, your selected sound-device is the expected one, etc. If you can hear youtube or soundcloud via your browser, HzWeb should make sounds too. If any of these steps produced a surprising or disappointing result, perhaps our Discussions Board will you help resolve your issues.

You can monitor the activity of the performance in two ways.

visit the Sandbox Window (by default, below this Documentation tab). You should see this:

For more blinking lights you can revisit in-c.hz where its context menu includes Toggle Preview that reveals something like this:

You can pan and zoom this preview. Notice that notes (small rectangles) turn red when played. Also notice that the preview auto-scrolls to keep activity on screen.

Next Steps

After poking around this example you should now be equipped with sufficient poking powers to explore the multitude of examples found here.

Next we recommend browsing the Known Issues, Interface and Topics sections to familarize yourself with the vocabulary and machinery of Hz.

Happy Hz-ing!