Copyright: Copyright (c) BFM Software 1992, 1993


Help Index
WinCD Professional

Using WinCD Professional

Main Display

Programming a CD

MusicFile System Database

Configuring WinCD Professional

Reference

Definitions

Mouse Controls

Keyboard Controls

Menu Commands

Setting Up Your CD-ROM

Technical Support

Error Messages


Main Display

This is the Main Display of WinCD Professional.

As you can see, WinCD Professional closely resembles a stand alone CD Player.  Its basic operation is indeed the same, as all of the buttons operate much as you would expect.  As with many graphics in the WinCD Professional help system, you can click on an area in the graphic for additional information on that item.

Click on an item for more information.


File Menu

The File Menu provides quick menu access to all of the basic functions of WinCD Professional.

Command	Hot-Key	Function
Play	Ctrl+P	Start the CD Playing from current time.
Stop	Ctrl+S	Stops the CD, and returns to the beginning of the current track.
Scan	Ctrl+C	Plays the first 4 sec. of each track in the playlist until another command is pressed.
Pause	Ctrl+A	Pauses the disc at the current location until another command is pressed.
Skip Reverse	Ctrl+R	Jumps to the beginning of the previous track in the playlist.
Skip Forward	Ctrl+F	Jumps to the beginning of the next track in the playlist.
Eject	Ctrl+E	Ejects the CD (only on drives with computer-controlled eject).
Program	Ctrl+O	Brings up the Programming dialog.
Recall	Ctrl+L	Brings up the MusicFile database search dialog.
Volume Down	Ctrl+D	Decreases the volume of the CD Player.
Volume Up	Ctrl+U	Increases the volume of the CD Player.
Exit	<none>	Exits WinCD Professional.  If Autostop is off in the Configuration Dialog and there is a disc playing it will continue to play until the end of the disc.  If it is in Random or Program mode, it will continue to play as if in Normal play mode.  If Autostop is on, then the current disc will stop.


Options Menu

The Options Menu allows you to set the various modes of operation of WinCD Professional, as well as access the configuration dialog box.

Command	Function
Time Mode >	This is a hierarchical menu command.  It provides access to the next four menu items.
Time Mode > Elapsed Track	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current track has been playing.
Time Mode > Elapsed Disc	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current disc has been playing.
Time Mode > Remaining Track	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current track has left to play.
Time Mode > Remaining Disc	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current disc has left to play.
Repeat Mode >	This is a hierarchical menu command.  It provides access to the next three menu items.
Repeat Mode > No Repeat	This turns off all repeat options.
Repeat Mode > Repeat Track	Sets the program to repeat the playing of the current track.
Repeat Mode > Repeat Disc	Sets the program to repeat the playing of the current playlist of the disc.
Configure	Allows you to set many user configurable options of WinCD Professional.


Playlist Menu

This menu lists all of the tracks in the playlist of the CD currently in the CD-ROM drive.  This menu also reflects the current playing mode of the disc as set on the programming dialog.  These modes are:

Normal	The tracks on the disc in standard track order.
Random	All of the tracks on the disc in a random order.
Program	An order you determine through programming.
When there are more than 15 selections in the current playlist, the menu option More... appears.  Selecting More... brings up a dialog box which allows you to select any track available in the playlist.


More...

When there are two many tracks to be shown in the Playlist Menu, then the option More... appears at the bottom of the menu.  Selecting this option brings up the following dialog box with both information on the current disc as well as a complete listing of all of the tracks on the disc.

Click on an item for more information.


Power Button

This button powers WinCD Professional off/on.  It acts as a toggle switch.  When the player is off, pressing this button will turn it on.  When the player is on, pressing this button will turn it off.  The red light above the button is brightly lit when the player is on, and dark when off.

When WinCD Professional is off, all of the options, with the exception of Recall are grayed out and not accessible.


Play Button

This button starts the currently loaded CD playing.  If the disc had been previously paused, then the CD will continue to play from the point at which it was paused.  Otherwise it will always play from the beginning of the current track.


Stop Button

This button stops the current action of WinCD Professional and resets the player to the beginning of the first track in the current playlist.


Scan Button

The Scan Button is very useful in determining which of the tracks on the current disc you wish to listen to.  When you press scan, WinCD Professional plays the first four seconds of each track in the current playlist.  When you find a track you wish to play, simply press Play, and WinCD Professional will begin to play from that track.


Pause Button

The Pause Button stops the playing of the current track, at the current position within the track.  Pressing Pause or Play will start the track playing again from that point.


Reverse Button

The Reverse Button allows you to rewind through a track in 15 second increments.  The Reverse is an audible reverse which presents you with a few seconds of audio in between each increment.

You must be currently playing a track in order to use the Reverse Button.

Using this function you can easily locate a section of music within a track which you wish to play.


Skip Reverse Button

The Skip Reverse Button allows you to skip to the previous track in the current playlist and begin playing that track from the beginning of the track.


Skip Forward Button

The Skip Forward Button allows you to skip to the next track in the current playlist and begin playing that track from the beginning of the track.


Fast Forward Button

The Fast Forward Button allows you to fast forward through a track in 15 second increments.  The Fast Forward is an audible fast forward which presents you with a few seconds of audio in between each increment.

You must be currently playing a track in order to use the Fast Forward Button.

Using this function you can easily locate a section of music within a track which you wish to play.


Eject Button

On CD-ROM drives with computer-controllable eject mechanisms, this button will eject the disc from the player.

If your CD-ROM drive has a manual eject, the eject button will have no effect.  However, you can still manually eject the disc and WinCD Professional will reflect the change.


Volume Down Button

This button decreases the volume of the CD Player.

It does not change the volume of the other devices in your system.

Volume control requires that you have a Windows-compatible sound card with Mixer control software.


Volume Up Button

This button increases the volume of the CD Player.

It does not change the volume of the other devices in your system.

Volume control requires that you have a Windows-compatible sound card with Mixer control software.


Volume Display

This gauge shows the current volume of the CD Player.

You can change the volume using the Volume Down/Up buttons.

Volume control requires that you have a Windows-compatible sound card with Mixer control software.


Program Button

The Program Button takes you to the programming dialog.  From here you can choose the playing mode for the current disc.  These are:

Normal	The tracks on the disc in standard track order.
Random	All of the tracks on the disc in a random order.
Program	An order you determine through programming.
Using Enhanced Favorite Track Selection (EFTS) you can also store up to five favorite programs for each disc in your MusicFile database.


Recall Button

The Recall Button allows you to access your MusicFile Database and search for various discs in your database.


Disc Name

This is the name of the CD which is currently loaded into your CD-ROM drive.

The name appears exactly as you have entered it into your MusicFile database.


Track Name

This is the name of the current track, or the track you wish to search for if you are in the Recall mode.

The name appears exactly as you have entered it into your MusicFile database.


Track Number

This is the number of the current track.

This is the actual track number as derived from the CD.


Track Time

This is the current time of the track playing.  The time shown is dependent upon the Time Mode set.  There are four time modes:

Track Elapsed	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current track has been playing.
Disc Elapsed	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current disc has been playing.
Track Remaining	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current track has left to play.
Disc Remaining	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current disc has left to play.
This is the actual track time as derived from the CD


Tracks Display

This display shows all of the track numbers for the tracks which are still to be played in the current playlist.  The currently playing track is highlighted.


Time Mode Display

This display shows the current time mode.  There are four time modes:

Track Elapsed	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current track has been playing.
Disc Elapsed	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current disc has been playing.
Track Remaining	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current track has left to play.
Disc Remaining	Sets the main display to show the amount of time the current disc has left to play.


Repeat Mode Display

This display shows the current repeat mode.  There are three repeat modes:

No Repeat (not shown)	This turns off all repeat options.
Repeat Track	Sets the program to repeat the playing of the current track.
Repeat Disc	Sets the program to repeat the playing of the current playlist of the disc.


Elapsed Track Display

This graph shows the percentage of the current track which has been played.


Status Mode Display

This symbol represents the current mode of operation of WinCD Professional.  The symbol is the same symbol which is shown on the corresponding button.


Compact Disc Logo

This logo indicates that this system is fully compatible with the CD Audio Red Book standard for Digital Audio Compact Discs.


Programming a CD

WinCD Professional is a very powerful CD player application.  While there are many options and ways to program your CD collection, great pains have been made to ensure that it is also the simplest system to use.

Your programming selections are saved along with your disc information in the MusicFile database so that when you next retrieve your disc, all of your selections are restored.  Using the MusicFile system, you can even program a disc which is not currently in your system, thus making it even easier to maintain your CD collection.

For more information on Programming a CD using WinCD Professional, please select a topic from the list below:

Programming Dialog

Programming a Disc

Track Playing Mode

Fit To:

Modify Disc Info

Delete Disc Info


Programming Dialog

This is the main Programming Dialog for WinCD Professional.  From here you can set the play mode for a CD as well as develop your own custom programmed playlists for a disc.  Using EFTS (Enhanced Favorite Track Selection) you can store up to five different programs for a single CD.

Click on an item for more information.


Disc Information

This is the MusicFile database information for the current disc.

Listed here are:

Disc Name

Artist

Category

Label

Date

Disc Length

and Comments


Disc Tracks

These are the tracks from the current disc.  They are presented in their default order along with their running times.  The names of the tracks are entered using the MusicFile System, while the running times for each track are determined from the disc itself.

Any programs you wish to create are selected from this list.


Play Sample(s)

The MusicFile System allows you to record a four-second sample of every track in your CD collection.  If there is a Compressed Wave file for the current disc, then the Play Sample(s) button will be highlighted and selectable.

Once you have chosen a track, selecting Play Sample(s) will play a low-resolution sample of the first four seconds of that track.  This is a good way to audition a selection before deciding to place it in your programmed playlist.


Program Tracks
Program Track(s) ->

Once you have chosen a selection of tracks to place in your programmed playlist (and assuming you are Program Mode), you can add your selection to the program by pressing Program Track(s) ->.

You can also add a selection to the program by Double-Clicking on the selection, or by using Drag and Drop.


Modify Disc Information
Modify Disc Info...

You can, at any time, modify your entries for the current disc.  If you notice a mistake in your entry, or would simply like to change your comments, select Modify Disc Info... from the Programming Dialog and you can change any of the information.

You can also resample a disc without changing any other information.


Delete Disc Information
Delete Disc Info

You can delete an entire disc from your database quite easily.  If you wish to delete all of the information on the current disc from your database, selecting Delete Disc Info will delete the information and remove the corresponding sample file (assuming of course there is one) from your MuscFile database.

You will be prompted for a confirmation before any information is erased.


Track Playing Mode

There are three different playing modes for a CD in WinCD Professional.

They are:

Normal	The tracks on the disc in standard track order.
Random	All of the tracks on the disc in a random order.
Program	An order you determine through programming.

Next to the Program button, there is also a menu which will allow you to store up to five selected programs.  These are saved as Selections I - V.


Current Program

This area in the Programming Dialog holds the Current Program.  There can be as many as five programs (labeled Selection I - V) stored for each disc in your collection.  The Current Program is the one which will become the current playlist when the Program button is selected.


Length

This is the Total Length of the current program.


Fit To
Fit To:

The Fit To: button allows you to quickly and easily create a program of a desired length.  When a time value (in minutes) is entered into the field, WinCD Professional will attempt a best-fit to allocate the tracks into the specified amount of time.

WinCD Professional does a best-fit choosing those tracks which, when combined, will match the target time as closely as possible.


Clear All

The Clear All button deletes the entire program selection.  There is no confirmation for this deletion, however, if you wish to recover a deleted program, you can simply press Cancel in the dialog and your program will not be deleted.


Delete

You can Delete a selection from a program by either selecting the Delete button, or by dragging it into the trash.


Programming a Disc

WinCD Professional features one of the most powerful programming interfaces ever created for a CD Audio Player.  Using standard Windows controls you can create up to five custom playlists and save them along with the other information about your CD.

Before you can create a playlist, you need to select the tracks you wish to include from the list of Disc Tracks which is presented in the Programming Dialog.

For more information on Programming a Disc, please select one of the options below:

Selecting Tracks

Programming Tracks

Enhanced Favorite Track Selection (EFTS)

Removing Tracks from a Programmed Playlist


Selecting Tracks

You select the tracks which make up your programmed playlists from the Disc Tracks list box on the left side of the Programming Dialog.  This list shows all of the tracks available on the current CD in their default order.

You can select tracks to be programmed by:

Clicking	Click on a single track to select it for programming.
Ctrl-Click	Press the Ctrl key and click on each track you wish to program.
Shift-Click	Click on the first track and then hold the Shift key and click on the last track you wish to program.  All of the in-between tracks will be selected.
Double-Click	Double-Clicking on a track will add it to the end of the currently programmed playlist.
Once you have selected the tracks you wish, you are ready to begin Programming Tracks for your Playlist.

NOTE: Track One from a Mixed-Mode CD (a disc with computer data in track one) can not be included in your playlist..


Programming Tracks

Once you have selected the tracks you wish to add to your programmed playlists, you must move them to the Current Program list box on the right side of the Programming Dialog.  Once they are added to the playlist, you can save them as part of the disc information in the MusicFile Database.

Select from the list below to learn more about adding tracks to the Current Program list box.

Program Track(s) -> Button

Double-Clicking

Drag and Drop


Double Clicking
Double-Clicking

Once you have chosen a selection of tracks to place in your programmed playlists (and assuming you are in Program Mode), you can add your selection to the program by simply Double-Clicking anywhere within the selection.

You can also add a selection to the program by using the Program Track(s) Button, or by using Drag and Drop.


Drag and Drop

Once you have chosen a selection of tracks to place in your programmed playlists (and assuming you are in Program Mode), you can add your selection to the program by simply Dragging and Dropping the selection from the Disc Tracks list box to the Current Program list box.

For additional information on Drag and Drop programming, choose one of the selections below:

Drag and Drop Illustration

Drag and Drop Cursors


Drag and Drop Illustration

This illustration graphically shows the execution of Dragging and Dropping a selected track from the Disc Tracks list box to the Current Program list box.


Drag and Drop Cursors

When you are using Drag and Drop to program your playlist, the cursor will change to reflect the state of the operation.  Each cursor has a special meaning as defined below.

	Moving a single track.			Deleting a single track.  Dropping in the trash.
	Moving multiple tracks.			Deleting multiple tracks.  Dropping in the trash.
	Inserting track(s) between already programmed tracks.			Can not drop tracks.


Enhanced Favorite Track Selection (EFTS)

WinCD Professional features Enhanced Favorite Track Selection (or EFTS).  If you are familiar with Favorite Track Selection (FTS), which allows you to save a desired program for a specific CD, then the concept of EFTS will be quite simple.

Using EFTS, WinCD Professional can save up to FIVE completely different programs for each CD in your collection.

This is done using the Drop Down Menu to the right of the Program button in the Track Playing Mode section of the Programming Dialog.  This drop down menu offers five menu items, Selection I - V.  Setting the menu to one of these selections allows you to save a different programmed playlist under each menu item.


Removing Tracks from a Programmed Playlist

Once you have constructed a playlists, you may want to go back through it and remove a few (or all) of the tracks in order to create your final track order.  There are three different ways to remove a track from a playlist once it has been created.

Clear All	Clicking on Clear All deletes every track from the current playlist.
Delete	Clicking on Delete causes only the currently selected tracks in the playlist to be deleted.
Trashcan	You can also use Drag and Dropto drag the currently selected tracks in the playlist to the trashcan, where they are deleted from the list.  Note that the Drag and Drop Cursor changes to reflect this action.


MusicFile System Database

At the heart of WinCD Professional is the MusicFile System Database.  Using this system, WinCD Professional is able to keep track of up to 500 CDs and allow you to recall that information at any time.  You can even audition the introduction to every track in your database - without having the CD in your drive!

This is accomplished through track sampling.  Using the power of your multimedia-capable PC, WinCD Professional actually records a Digital Sample of the first four seconds of each track of your CD and stores it as part of your database.  The samples for each CD are stored in a Compressed Wave File (*.CWV) in your WinCD Professional directory.

For more information on creating and maintaining your MusicFile Database, choose from the subject headings below:

Entering a New Disc

Track Sampling

Recall


Entering a New Disc

Whenever a new CD is inserted in the CD-ROM drive (while WinCD Professional is running), it must first be logged into the MusicFile Database.  This is accomplished through the following dialog box:

Click on an item for more information.

NOTE:

If you would like to play a disc without entering additional information in the MusicFile database, you may press Cancel on this dialog box.  The disc will be named Untitled, and you can then access the features of WinCD Professional.


Disc Name

This field holds the name of the CD as you wish it to appear in the MusicFile database and on the main display.  It can be up to 30 characters in length.


Artist

This field holds the name of the recording artist as you wish it to appear in the MusicFile database.  The Artist field is also a Drop Down Menu which allows you to choose the name of an Artist which is already in your MusicFile database.  This not only makes data entry simpler, it also decreases the chance for duplicate, misspelled entries.


Category

This field holds the name of the music category as you wish it to appear in the MusicFile database.  The Category field is also a Drop Down Menu which allows you to choose the name of an artist which is already in your MusicFile database.  This not only makes data entry simpler, it also decreases the chance for duplicate, misspelled entries.

In addition, the Category field is special in that we have already provided the most common category definitions for you to use.

You can, of course, customize this list and add your own categories to it as well.


Label

This field holds the name of the recording label as you wish it to appear in the MusicFile database.  The Label field is also a Drop Down Menu which allows you to choose the name of a Label which is already in your MusicFile database.  This not only makes data entry simpler, it also decreases the chance for duplicate, misspelled entries.


Release Date

This field holds the Release Date of the CD.  You can enter the date directly, or you can use the Up and Down Arrow keys to change the default date for you.


Length

This field is not one which you can not modify.  This is the total length of the CD, and is determined by the actual CD itself.


Comments

This is a special field into which you can enter any comments you wish to store in the MusicFile database along with the other information on your CD.  You can enter any comment you wish as long as it fits within the 45 character limit.


Sample Tracks

This button allows you to record a Digital Sample of each of the tracks on your CD..

This is accomplished through track sampling.  Using the power of your multimedia-capable PC, WinCD Professional actually records a digital sample of the first four seconds of each track of your CD and stores it as part of your MusicFile database.  The samples for each CD are stored in a Compressed Wave File (*.CWV) in your WinCD Professional directory.

This option is only available if you have a Windows-compatible sound card with recording capability.

Mixed-Mode CDs (discs with both computer data and audio tracks) can not be sampled.


Tracks

It is in this section of the dialog into which the names of each track on your CD is entered.  In order to enter a track name, you simply use the TAB key to move down the list as you fill-in the names.  If you wish to back up through the list, you can press SHIFT-TAB.

This is what a completely filled-in record should look like.


Track Sampling

Using the power of your multimedia-capable PC, WinCD Professional actually records a Digital Sample of the first four seconds of each track of your CD and stores it as part of your MusicFile database.  The samples for each CD are stored in a Compressed Wave File (*.CWV) in your WinCD Professional directory.  This is called Track Sampling.

In order to create the samples for your CD, you simply need to select the Sample Tracks button on the Enter Disc Information dialog box.

Additionally, you will need to interface with the Multimedia Mixer Application which should have been supplied along with your digital audio card.

For further information on sampling your CD, please choose from one of the topics below.

Working with the Multimedia Mixer

Sampling Tracks in Progress

Track Samplling is only available if you have a Windows-compatible sound card with recording capability.


Working with the Multimedia Mixer

Once you have chosen to sample the tracks on your CD and add them to the MusicFile database, you will be presented with the following dialog box:

This dialog box allows you to launch your Multimedia Mixer Application which should have been supplied along with your digital audio card, and set it for CD Recording.  You can start your mixer application by clicking on the Mixer... button.  If you have not yet configured WinCD Professional for your mixer application, you can do so from this dialog by selecting Browse... and telling WinCD Professional where your mixer is located on your system.

Once configured, the filename of your mixer application will appear under the general mixer icon on this dialog box.

After you have set your mixer to record from the CD, press OK on this screen to begin sampling.  You will then see the status screen for Sampling Tracks in Progress, which will update you as to the status of your track sampling.

Note: You may want to try recording at various volume levels in order to determine the best record volume for your system.


Sampling Tracks in Progress

While your CD is being sampled, you will see the following status display:

This display informs you of the progress of the track sampling.  When your CD is finished being sampled, a message box will appear informing you that you may wish to reset your mixer before continuing.  It is a good idea to reset your Mixer Application before continuing to ensure proper volume settings for playback.


Recall

When you select Recall from the Main Display, you will be presented with the following dialog box:

Click on an item for more information.

For additional information on the Recall function of the MusicFile System Database, please select one of the topics below:

Entering Your Search Criteria

The Results of a Search

Playing Samples from a Search

Disc Information

Disc Database


Search Results

This area of the Recall dialog shows the results of any search you may perform.  When you first bring up the Recall dialog, this area contains the name of every CD in your MusicFile Database, alphabetically sorted.

After you have entered your search criteria and performed a search, you will notice that the Search Results are sorted in a hierarchy.  The name of the CD is always shown, with the other search results appearing sorted and indented underneath as shown in this example where we searched on the word HEART in the Track Name.


Search Button

Pressing this button initiates a search based upon the criteria you have entered into the Recall dialog.


Play Samples

Once you have selected an item in the Search Results list box, you may choose to play the sample associated with that selection.  If you choose the name of a track, only the sample for that track will play.  If you choose the name of a disc, or any other information associated with a single CD, pressing Play Sample will either play the sample for the first track on that disc, or only the sample for the selected track.

When a sample is being played, the cursor changes to indicate the playing of a sample.

This button is only active if there is a selected item for which a sample has been stored in the MusicFile database.


Disc Information

If there is a disc or track selected in the Recall Results list box, then you can press the Disc Information button.  Making this choice, you will be presented with the Programming dialog for this disc.  From here, you can view and/or change any of the information for the disc, including any programmed playlists you may have created.


Disc Database

The Disc Database button brings up a dialog which will provide you with useful information regarding the attributes and size of your MusicFile database.  This is what it looks like:


Entering Your Search Criteria

Before conducting a search in your MusicFile Database, you must first enter your search criteria.  WinCD Professional will search for any word, phrase or part of a word that is entered into the Search Criteria Fields.

If you enter information into multiple fields, these are treated as an AND condition, and only results which match all of the criteria will be displayed.

eg.  {Artist: = Sting} and {Track Name: = Heart}

This will find all of the tracks in your database recorded by Sting with the word Heart in the title.

Additionally, WinCD Professional supports the wildcard ?.  You can use the ? character to replace any character in a word.  This causes WinCD Professional to find any result which would match regardless of the ? character.

eg.  {St???} entered in the Artist Field

This would not only find STING, but also STORY and any other artist with a five letter name beginning with ST.

Once you have entered all of your search criteria, you perform the search by pressing the Search Button.  The results of your search will then appear in the Search Results list box.


Configuring WinCD Professional

This is the Configuration Dialog for WinCD Professional.  It is accessed through the Options menu.  From here you can set all of the default options for WinCD Professional.

Click on an item for more information.


Minimize Options - ICONIC

Selecting this option sets the display mode to an ICON Display when WinCD Professional is minimized.

Click on an item for more information.

Checking Always on Top, ensures that the Icon will remain visible, even when other applications are running.

Additionally, when in ICON Mode, clicking on the icon with the RIGHT Mouse button toggles the playing mode between Play and Pause.


Minimize Options - STATUS BAR

Selecting this option sets the display mode to a Status Bar Display when WinCD Professional is minimized.

Click on an item for more information.

Checking Always on Top, ensures that the Status Bar will remain visible, even when other applications are running.


Always on Top

Checking the Always on Top option, ensures that either the Iconic or Status Bar display will remain visible, even when other applications are running.


Select CD-ROM Drive

WinCD Professional allows you to choose which CD-ROM drive you wish to use on systems which support multiple CD-ROM Drives.  Each CD-ROM Drive will have its own special Windows CD-ROM driver, and the name of each drive will appear in the Drop Down Menu.

In order to select a CD-ROM Drive, simply select the name of the corresponding driver from the menu.


Autostart Playing

This configuration option allows you to set WinCD Professional to begin playing automatically when an audio CD is first placed into the drive or whenever the current program is saved from the programming dialog.  The CD must first have been added to the MusicFile Database.

Suggestion:

Using this option, you can have WinCD Professional automatically play your CD whenever you start Windows.  To do this, turn-on Autostart Playing and set the Minimize Option to ICONIC.  Place WinCD Professional in the StartUp Group in the Program Manager and set it to Run Minimized.  The next time before you start Windows, place an audio CD in your CD-ROM Drive. When Windows starts, WinCD Professional will be minimized on screen and playing the CD in the drive.


Autostop Playing

This configuration option allows you to determine if WinCD Professional will continue to play a CD even after you exit the program.

If Autostop Playing is ON, then WinCD Professional will stop the current CD when you exit the program.

If Autostop Playing is OFF, then WinCD Professional will continue to play the current CD to the end of the disc, before stopping.  If you are in Random or Programmed Play, the CD will be switched into Normal Play upon exit.


Compatible Mode

Compatible Mode allows WinCD Professional to adapt to the various CD-ROM driver configurations which are available to the CD-ROM user.  Some CD-ROM systems require greater support from WinCD Professional in order to operate properly when playing audio CDs under Windows.  If you experience any problem running WinCD Professional, it is recommended that you check this option ON in the Configuration dialog box.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF SYSTEMS WILL RUN PROPERLY WITH THIS OPTION OFF.

COMPATIBLE MODE USES MORE SYSTEM OVERHEAD, AND IS NOT RECOMMENDED UNLESS REQUIRED FOR PROPER OPERATION.


CD-ROM Input

The audio from your CD-ROM drive can be routed into your audio card and computer in one of two ways.  WinCD Professional is configurable to account for both of these options.

CD Audio Port		Many audio cards allow you to route the audio from the CD-ROM drive directly into the audio card.  Select this option if your system is configured this way.
Line-In Jack		Other systems have the audio routed out of the CD-ROM drive and into the Line-In Jack at the back of the audio card.  Select this option if your system is configured this way.


Display Color

You can customize the color of the WinCD Professional main display, as well as the color of the Icon and Status Bar displays.

Options are:	Green  Yellow  Blue  Red


Mouse Controls

The mouse in WinCD Professional works just as it does in any Windows applications.  However, there are a few special mouse actions which you should be aware.

Drag and Drop	This special mouse action allows you to program your playlist by dragging tracks from the Disc Tracks list box to the Current Program list box.
Double-Clicking	You can also double-click on a track in the Disc Tracks list box to move it to the Current Program list box to program it.

Additionally, when in Icon Mode, clicking on the icon with the RIGHT Mouse button toggles the playing mode between Play and Pause.


Keyboard Controls

The keyboard in WinCD Professional works just as it does in any Windows applications.  However, there are a few special action keys which allow you to access many of the functions of WinCD Professional directly from the keyboard.  These keyboard equivalents are listed below.

Command	Hot-Key	Function
Play	Ctrl+P	Start the CD Playing from current time.
Stop	Ctrl+S	Stops the CD, and returns to the beginning of the current track.
Scan	Ctrl+C	Plays the first 4 sec. of each track in the playlist until another command is pressed.
Pause	Ctrl+A	Pauses the disc at the current location until another command is pressed.
Skip Reverse	Ctrl+R	Jumps to the beginning of the previous track in the playlist.
Skip Forward	Ctrl+F	Jumps to the beginning of the next track in the playlist.
Eject	Ctrl+E	Ejects the CD (only on drives with computer-controlled eject).
Program	Ctrl+O	Brings up the Programming dialog.
Recall	Ctrl+L	Brings up the MusicFile database search dialog.
Volume Down	Ctrl+D	Decreases the volume of the CD Player.
Volume Up	Ctrl+U	Increases the volume of the CD Player.


Menu Commands

This is an interactive discussion of the Menu Commands available in WinCD Professional.  To examine a menu, simply click on it in the graphic below:

Click on an item for more information.


Setting Up Your CD-ROM

Before WinCD Professional will operate properly, you must set up and install your CD-ROM system and software properly for use with Windows.  We assume that you have installed your CD-ROM drive according to the manufacturers instructions.  This document discusses setting up the driver software and audio cables to ensure WinCD Professionals proper operation.

CD Audio Drivers

CD Audio support in Windows is accomplished through the interaction of three drivers:

Your CD-ROM device driver (which came with your CD-ROM drive)

MSCDEX.EXE (Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions)

MCICDA.DRV (Windows CD Audio support driver)

All three drivers must be installed and configured correctly to play Audio CDs.  When Windows Setup is run, it checks for the presence of MSCDEX.EXE.  If it is found, it creates an entry for MCICDA.DRV in your SYSTEM INI file.

However, it DOES NOT install the driver!

This must be done by the user after the installation is completed.  Here are the steps to add each of the required drivers to your system:

A)	Add your CD-ROM device driver (which came with your CD-ROM drive) to your CONFIG.SYS file on your start-up drive.
B)	Add MSCDEX.EXE (Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions)* to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your start-up drive.
C)	Configure the above drivers according to the supplied documentation for each driver.
D)	Start the Windows Control Panel and choose the Drivers Icon.
E)	Press the ADD button in the Drivers section of the Control Panel.
F)	Select the "[MCI] CD Audio" entry and press the OK button.
G)	If prompted, insert the appropriate Windows disk requested and follow the instructions.
H)	Restart windows.  You should now be able to run WinCD Professional** to play your Audio CDs.

If after the above steps you are still not getting the Windows driver to run, follow these steps:

A)	Using the Notepad application, load the SYSTEM.INI file.
B)	Locate the [MCI] section.
C)	There should be an entry: "CDAudio=mcicda.drv".  If there is not, add it.
D)	Save the SYSTEM.INI file and exit Notepad.
E)	Confirm that the file MCICDA.DRV is in your Windows/System directory.
F)	Restart Windows.

In addition:

One problem that can occur with CD-ROM drives is that the lens pickup system can easily get dirty.  This can cause the CD-ROM drive to act erratically.  It can cause the CD to skip while playing songs, reset the drive, or not play a disk at all.  In order to clean a CD-ROM drive, a CD cleaning disk can be purchased at most audio stores.  Follow the instructions which come with the cleaning disc.  This should solve the problem.  You should clean your drive at least every 60 days.

*	As supplied by either your CD-ROM drive manufacturer or Microsoft Corp.
**	Some drives may incorrectly produce an error message stating that the device driver is not loaded when there is no CD in the drive.  Simply insert a CD and restart WinCD Professional.


Technical Support

You can contact Apriori Softwares technical support department between the hours of 9 am - 5 pm Central Time Monday through Friday.

You can also contact us through the CompuServe Information Service at ID# [71333,273].

NOTE:

Many CD-ROM manufacturers are continuously updating the drivers for their drives.  If you are receiving error messages or experiencing any problems with WinCD Professional, please contact the manufacturer of your drive and acquire the latest version of the CD-ROM driver software from them prior to contacting us for technical support.  This will allow us to better assist you with any problems.


Definitions

Always on Top

Autostart Playing

CD Audio Port

CD-ROM

Compressed Wave File

Drag and Drop

Drop Down Menu

Eject

Icon Mode

Line-In Jack

MCICDA.DRV

Mixed Mode CD

Mixer (Multimedia Application)

MSCDEX.EXE

MusicFile Database

Pause

Play

Playlist

Program

Recall

Red Book Audio

Repeat Mode

Sampling

Scan

Skip Forward

Skip Reverse

Status Bar

Stop

Time Mode

Volume Down

Volume Up

Wildcard


Always on Top

This is an option in Configure which allows you to set the minimized version of WinCD Professional to always appear on top of the active application.

Using this feature, you can always have immediate access to WinCD Professional, even while other applications are running.


Autostart Playing

This is an option in Configure which allows you to set WinCD Professional to automatically play a CD from the MusicFile Database as soon as that disc is placed in the CD-ROM drive, or when WinCD Professional is started (if there is an audio CD already in the drive).


CD Audio Port

This is a port selection option in Configure which allows you to set the location of the incoming audio source from the CD-ROM drive to your audio card.  Many audio cards support a separate input on the card for an internal connection to the audio out capabilities of a CD-ROM drive.  Check with your manufacturer for further information.


CD-ROM

CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc Read Only Memory.  This is a digital media which uses the same basic physical media and format as the standard audio Compact Disc which uses the Red Book Audio standard.


Compressed Wave File

The MusicFile Database in WinCD Professional stores the sampled introductions to the tracks on your CDs in a special Compressed Wave File (*.CWV) and stores these files in the same directory along with the WinCD Professional application.  Through compression, WinCD Professional is able to store digital audio in a greatly reduced amount of space more suitable for information storage.  There is a loss of signal quality, however, the stored samples are easily recognizable.


Drag and Drop

Drag and Drop is a new feature of Windows 3.1.  WinCD Professional uses this feature to help you in programming your playlists.  Drag and Drop allows you to actually use the mouse to pick up an item from one part of the screen, and while holding down the mouse button, drag it, and by releasing the mouse, drop it into another.


Drop Down Menu

A Drop Down Menu in Windows has a down arrow button to the right of the menu and contains various options from which a choice can be made.  Drop Down Menus come in two types, ones into which you can type additional information which is then added into the menu (as in the Entry Dialog) or the other which contains a fixed list of options (as in the Selection Drop Down Menu).


Line In Jack

This is a port selection option in Configure which allows you to set the location of the incoming audio source from the CD-ROM drive to your audio card.  Almost all audio cards have an external connector on the back of the card labeled Line In.  This connector allows you to take line level signals from an external device into your audio card.  If this is how your CD-ROM sends its audio signals to your audio card, then you want to be sure to select this option.  Check with your manufacturer for further information.


MCICDA.DRV

This is the Windows driver which allows WinCD Professional to communicate with your CD-ROM drive.  For more information on the MCICDA.DRV driver see the Setting Up Your CD-ROM section of this help file and your Windows documentation.


Mixed Mode CD

There are special CDs which are called Mixed Mode CDs.  These discs contain both computer data (CD-ROM) and audio data (CD Audio).  A mixed mode CD always has track one containing the CD-ROM data, while the remaining tracks are audio tracks.

WinCD Professional can indeed play the audio tracks from these discs, but can not create a digital sample for the tracks.


Mixer (Multimedia Application)

If you have a system which conforms to the MPC (Multimedia Personal Computer) specification, then you should also have a Mixer application which should have come with the system.  Many audio cards also come with a Mixer application as well.

The Mixer application allows you to combine together audio from any of the many sources which your system supports.  It also lets you set which of these sources you can record from.  WinCD Professional requires that you set your Mixer for your CD in order to sampled the tracks and store them as part of the MusicFile Database.


MSCDEX.EXE

This is the DOS-level driver which allows WinCD Professional to communicate with your CD-ROM drive.  For more information on the MSCDEX.EXE driver see the Setting Up Your CD-ROM section of this help file and your Windows documentation.


Playlist

The Playlist is the sequential list of tracks which WinCD Professional will play.  This can be the default playlist which comes with the CD, a Random list created by WinCD Professional, or one which you create by Programming it yourself.  You can access the tracks in the current playlist from the Playlist Menu.


Red Book Audio

The Red Book Audio specification was developed by NV Philips and Sony and is the standard which defines all audio Compact Discs.  All CD-ROM drives are capable of playing CDs which conform to this standard.


Sample

A Sample is a digital recording, by your audio card, into the computers memory and/or hard disk.  A sample can be quite large.  A five-second digital recording made at the same quality as a standard compact disc would take more than 800k of memory to store.  Using WinCD Professionals Compressed Wave format, we can store approximately the same amount of music in only 20k, thus making digital sampling more reasonable for information storage.


Wildcard

A Wildcard is a character which is used in place of another in a string of characters.  It is used when performing matches on the string, indicating that any character can be substituted when looking for a match.  WinCD Professional uses Wildcards when Entering Search Criteria for the MusicFile Database.


Error Messages

WinCD Professional will report any error in simple to understand English.

However, if the error is generated by one of the many drivers required to operate a CD Audio system with Windows, WinCD Professional will simply pass along the error code information as it was received from the driver.  The dialog box which reports these errors is shown below.

If you receive an error while running WinCD Professional, you should set the Compatible Mode option to ON in the Configuration dialog box.  If the problem persists, write down the Error Code and contact your CD-ROM drive manufacturer.  If after turning Compatible Mode ON, you are still receiving an error of this type, it generally indicates that there is a later version of your CD-ROM device driver.

If the problem persists, please contact our technical support department for further assistance.