Power Tab File Header Info

Little Endian Byte Ordering

Data Types Used

DWORD - unsigned integer, 4 bytes

WORD - unsigned short, 2 bytes

BYTE - unsigned char, 1 byte

CString - Microsoft String - 1, 3 or 7 bytes = length of string, followed by the string itself

In order to optimize space, the length is stored using variable lengthed types. If the length of the string is < 255 (hex = 0xff), the length is stored as a BYTE. If the length is < 65535 (hex = 0xffff), the length is stored in a WORD that follows the first BYTE. Otherwise the length is stored as a DWORD that follows the first BYTE and WORD.

Sample Code:

UINT ReadStringLength()

{

// attempt BYTE length first

BYTE bLen;

ReadByte(bLen);

// If length is not 0xff (255), then we've got the length, otherwise keep reading

if (bLen < 0xff)

return bLen;

// attempt WORD length

WORD wLen;

ReadWord(wLen)

// If length is not 0xffff(65535), then we've got the length, otherwise keep reading

if (wLen < 0xffff)

return wLen;

// read DWORD of length

DWORD dwLen;

ReadDWord(dwLen);

return (UINT)dwLen;

}

Header Format: Read the header variables in the following order

Variable

Size

Description

Values

File Tag

DWORD

Tag that uniquely identifies a Power Tab file

should always be 1650553968

File Version

WORD

Version # for the file (the version of the program that saved the file; since every file format is different, it's also the version of the program needed to read the file)

0 - Unknown,

1 - v1.0

2 - v1.0.2

3 - v1.5

4 - v1.7

If File Version = v1.7

File Type	BYTE	The type of Power Tab file	0 - Song 1 - Lesson
If File Type = Song then
File Contents	BYTE	Type of score contents contained in the file	If bit 1 set, contains Guitar Score data. If bit 2 set, contains Bass Score data.
Song Title	CString	Title of the song
Artist	CString	Artist who performed song
Release Type	BYTE	Type of release for the song	0 - Public Audio 1 - Public Video 2 - Bootleg 3 - Not Released
If Release Type = Public Audio then
Album Type	BYTE	Type of album	0 - Single 1 - EP 2 - LP 3 - Double LP 4 - Triple LP 5 - Boxset
Album Title	CString	Title of the album
Year	WORD	Year album was released
Live	BYTE	Was the song live?	0 - No 1 - Yes
else if Release Type = Public Video
Video Title	CString	Title of the video
Live	BYTE	Was the song live?	0 - No 1 - Yes
else if Release Type = Bootleg
Bootleg Title	CString	Title of the bootleg
Month	WORD	Month bootleg was recorded
Day	WORD	Day bootleg was recorded
Year	WORD	Year bootleg was recored
endif Release Type
Author Type	BYTE	Type of author data	0 - Known Author(s) 1 - Unknown Author(s); Traditional
if Author Type = Known Author then
Music By	CString	Author of the music
Words By	CString	Author of the lyrics
endif Author Type
Arranged By	CString	Author who arranged this version of song
Transcribed By 1	CString	Person who transcribed Guitar Score
Transcribed By 2	CString	Person who transcribed Bass Score
Copyright	CString	Copyright info
Lyrics	CString	Lyrics
Perf. Notes 1	CString	Performance Notes for Guitar Score
Perf. Notes 2	CString	Performance Notes for Bass Score
*else if FileType = Lesson*
Title	CString	Title of the lesson
Subtitle	CString	Subtitle of the lesson
Style	WORD	Music Style for the lesson	0 - Acoustic 1 - Alternative 2 - Bluegrass 3 - Blues 4 - Christian 5 - Country 6 - Classical 7 - Exercise 8 - Experimental 9 - Fingerpick 10 - Flamenco 11 - Folk 12 - Funk 13 - Fusion 14 - General 15 - Jazz 16 - Metal 17 - Other 18 - Pop 19 - Progressive 20 - Punk 21 - Reggae 22 - Rock 23 - Swing 24 - Theory 25 - World
Level	BYTE	Playing Level for the lesson	0 - Beginner 1 - Intermediate 2 - Advanced
Author	CString	Author of the lesson
Notes	CString	Lesson notes
Copyright	CString	Copyright for the lesson
*endif FileType*

If File Version = v1.5

Song Title	CString	Title of the song
Artist	CString	Artist who performed song
Released On	BYTE	Type of release for the song	0 - Single 1 - EP 2 - LP 3 - Double LP 4 - Triple LP 5 - Boxset 6 - Bootleg 7 - Demo 8 - Soundtrack 9 - Video 10 - None
Release Title	CString	Title of the release
Live	BYTE	Was the song live?	0 - No 1 - Yes
Music By	CString	Author of the music
Words By	CString	Author of the lyrics
Arranged By	CString	Author who arranged this version of song
Year	WORD	Year album was released
Author Type	BYTE	Type of author data	0 - Known Author 1 - Traditional
Copyright	CString	Copyright info
Lyrics	CString	Lyrics

* Note - Transcriber and Perf. Notes were stored within the score portion of the file in this version, so they can't be accessed

If File Version = v1.0 OR v1.0.2

Song Title	CString	Title of the song
Artist	CString	Artist who performed song
Released On	BYTE	Type of release for the song	0 - Single 1 - EP 2 - LP 3 - Double LP 4 - Triple LP 5 - Boxset 6 - Bootleg 7 - Demo 8 - Soundtrack 9 - Video 10 - None
Release Title	CString	Title of the release
Live	BYTE	Was the song live?	0 - No 1 - Yes
Music By	CString	Author of the music
Words By	CString	Author of the lyrics
Arranged By	CString	Author who arranged this version of song
Transcribed By	CString	Person who transcribed song
Year	WORD	Year album was released
Author Type	BYTE	Type of author data	0 - Known Author 1 - Traditional
Copyright	CString	Copyright info
Lyrics	CString	Lyrics
Perf. Notes	CString	Performances notes for the song