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As I’ve mentioned previously the Treo can not use any Midi file that is larger than 64k in size. Even if you have it downloaded successfully on your Treo, you won’t be able to play it on the Treo. Try it and you’ll find that you can’t hear the file. You can also use wave (.wav) files as well as mp3 files as ringtones but normally, these files can be quite large in size even if it is only for a few seconds.

If you haven’t read my previous How To postings on transferring midi ringtones to your Treo, or finding midi ringtones for your Treo, you may want to check them out.

Since most ringtones will likely be stored in the ringtone database file called Midi Ringtones, meaning it’s stored in RAM, you may want to minimize its size. Obviously, the more files you have, the more RAM the Midi Ringtones database file will take up, leaving you with very little left for applications. Keep in mind that on the Treo or NVFS devices, if you get down to 6MB or less of RAM, you may experience problems running applications or the overall operation of Treo. Unlike the older non NVFS devices where you can still be fine with even 1MB of RAM, you will need close to at least 6MB (I usually try not to get below 10MB). NVFS. Grrr. Obviously, I do not like NVFS.

I personally prefer midi files as ringtones as a they offer great sounding polyphonic sounds at a relatively small file size. And if I try to cut and edit them, they can be even smaller. So, I can have a pretty decent collection of ringtones without compromising RAM storage. But, the choice is really up to you.

I will discuss various freeware programs that can help you edit the Midi files and even cut and truncate them into a smaller size that you can put on the Treo. There’s so many commercial programs out there (do a search in google and you’ll get tons) but I wanted to focus on the freeware programs that work just as well, and will suit most people’s needs. Why pay when there’s something else that works for free?

Depending on the file format (ie. mp3 or midi or wave), there are various different applications that can split the files for you. The most popular software program that seems to support all three file formats is the freeware Audacity but I since I just wanted a very simple to use without all that extra powerful features, it’s not one that I personally use. But many people love it.

Cutting or trimming mp3 files

The easiest way to cut an mp3 file is to install an application like miniTones. This Palm program makes it quite easy to import the midi or mp3 file into the Treo. There’s nothing else involved and it’s quite straightforward.

First of all, install this Palm program into your Palm. Launch and run the program. If you want to cut the mp3 file into a smaller size, there is that option. You can cut the file based on the file size, or on the time segment. You can specify where the cropping starts and ends so that you can start the cropped file from, for example, 30 seconds into the song and end 30 seconds later. That way, the song doesn’t start from the beginning with just the beginning music.

I will be focusing on discussing miniTones in a future posting. Stay tuned for that review.

If you prefer to do the cutting in Windows, use any Windows audio editing software that supports mp3 files. Here’s a simple program that is free and works fine Mp2DirectCut. Or, there’s also mptrim (also freeware). And, as I’ve mentioned already, there’s also the popular freeware Audacity but it can be quite overwhelming for those who simply want to cut a file as the program offers a lot of features.

Cutting or Trimming wave files

Again, Audacity supports wave files. You can also use any type of audio editing programs that support wave files. Here are a couple: WavePad, WAVster (ex-KISS Wave Editor).

I personally don’t use wave files since they are normally way too big in size and being someone who wants to optimize RAM usage, I don’t know how well they work as I’ve not tried them. But, I’ve read many recommendations on these programs in the forums so that’s why I’ve listed them.

Cutting or editing Midi files

Use any audio editor program that supports midi files. The only one that works for me (being simple to use) is Anvil Studio. It’s free. I have tried others but found most of them to be way too complicated to figure out. I have not been able to figure out how to use other midi editors (and I really haven’t spent too much time trying them out either) but for me, Anvil Studio works. I use Anvil Studio to trim all the midi files I have. I simply decide where I want to trim, play the resulting file and if I’m happy, save it and then load it into my Treo. The result midi file is much smaller in size and it sounds great! Best of all, it’s free.

Again, I believe Audacity also supports midi files as well.

So, hopefully I’ve provided a few programs that can help you trim your ringtone files to a smaller size so that you can put them into your Treo to use as a ringtone. Believe me, once you’ve figured out how to cut the ringtones down to a relatively small size, you’ll be very happy in having an extensive ringtone collection that can also work as an alarm with your clock and alarm apps. You’ll definitely appreciate all those extra sounds you now have at your fingertips.

If you know of any favorite freeware mp3, wave, midi or audio editor program that you use that you can recommend and help other Palm users, please let me know either by leaving a comment or contacting me via the Contact Form below and I’ll update this post. Thanks!

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