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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Registration
Q. Why do I have to register the program?
Q. My header keeps saying it is an unregistered version. Can you send me a key, and will it self destruct in 60 days if you don't?

Installation
Q. How do I get DanceMaster set up on my laptop?

Sound Files
Q. How much disk space does each song take?
Q. How should I name sound files?
Q. Where should I put sound files?

Printing
Q. How can I print from DanceMaster?

Error Messages
Q.
(To be added)


Registration
Q. Why do I have to register the program?
A.
The idea with registration is that people are supposed to try the program for a while and decide if they like it. If they do, then they are encouraged to register it by sending a donation to the cause in an amount proportionate to what they feel the program is worth to them. (The $10 is just to cover the cost of making and mailing the CD.)

Registration is primarily an incentive to encourage people to make a donation to support the further development of the program. After you have used DanceMaster for a while, send me your full name and some money (whatever you feel it is worth) and I will send you a registration key. I will also put you on the notification list for updates. Any contributions will be credited toward the purchase of the Advanced Edition, if you choose to upgrade when it is available.

Q. My header keeps saying it is an unregistered version. Can you send me a key, and will it self destruct in 60 days if you don't?
A. The program won't self-destruct at all - the Basic Edition will work fine indefinitely without being registered. The Advanced Edition will revert to Basic functionality and continue to work in Basic mode.

Installation
Q. How do I get DanceMaster set up on my laptop?
A. The easiest way to get all the pieces into the proper places is to use the CD-ROM. It has a program that checks for all the required pieces, and installs them if necessary (I couldn't put that program on the website - it only runs from a CD).

Once DanceMaster is set up, you will still have to select, download and install other software to record the music on your computer, and you will have to physically connect your computer to your audio equipment.

Sound Files
Q. How much disk space does each song take?
A. t depends on how much you choose to compress them - more compressed gets you smaller files, of course, but also lower fidelity. You can squeeze them down to less than 100K, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

I started out using 64K bits / second, which results in files of about 1.5Mb. Using our original rig (Hilton 75 and Director speaker) nobody could tell the difference between that and the original record.

Lately we have been using a pair of very small Bose powered speakers instead of the Hilton and Director, and those sound so much better that I can now hear a difference, so I've switched to 96K Bits/second, which sounds better and yields files of about 2 - 2.5Mb per song.

That is still over 300 songs per gigabyte of disk space, so I'm not worried.

Q. How should I name sound files?
A. Personally, I think it is best to name the sound file with the name of the dance. (I.e.: "Maria Elana Bolero.mp3". You would then call the voice cues file "Maria Elana Bolero Cues.mp3".

Q. Where should I put sound files?

A. In C:\DanceMaster\Music Files. DanceMaster looks for sound files in the folder you have designated as the "Sound File Folder" on the "File Locations" screen. If you need to put them somewhare else for some reason, that would be the place to go to do that. (But I'd really rather you didn't.) When DM is first installed, the sound file folder is set to DanceMaster\Samples\Sample Sounds, so you will need to change that when you record your own music. (Clicking the "Switch from Sample Database" button on the Main Menu will do that automatically.)

On the Main Menu, select "Change File Locations". The File Locations screen will show you the current locations of the database, cues and sound folders. Click "Change Sound File Folder" and navigate to C:\DanceMaster\Music Files. Then double-click on that folder to tell DM to look there for sound files.

I know, that last part doesn't make much sense, but that is the way it has to work.

Printing
Q. How can I print from DanceMaster Player?
A. Most printing is done from Librarian, but you can print your playlist (Tonight's Program) from the Player (Advanced Edition). Just click the purple "Print this program" button on the bottom of the Playlist screen.

Error Messages
TBD