I. RE-INSTALLATION & UPGRADE NOTES
Reinstallations will prompt you to remove the older version of ddj Suite.
From your Control Panel you will want to select and uninstall "ddj". Please
read the following BACKUP paragraph before un-installing.
BACKUP (database "dj.mdb")
Your previous installation directory (i.e. c:\program files\DedicatedDJ\ddj\)
contains your database. It is named "dj.mdb" and is the most important file
you have for this music system. It contains all the hard work you have done
on your music library such as records of your music imports, custom
playlists, volume and rate settings, etc. If you have not already done so
please backup dj.mdb and/or the \ddj application directory before proceeding.
II. NEW USERS / NEW MUSIC
Your biggest challenge, in getting started, will be adding new music. For
your first music addition we recommend:
1. Make a \Music folder on any drive and add a subfolder of your choosing
(i.e. D:\Music\MyMusic_01)
2. Copy your music to your new folder
3. Start the "Music Organizer" application and select the MP3-> Import
MP3(music) option
4. Navigate to the folder containing your music. Your music will load
automatically.
5. Modify the genre, artist, comments, etc. if you desire.
6. Press the Add button and you will get a confirmation that your music has
been added.
7. Your imported music is now loaded in the 'Playlist' playlist of Dancing DJ
and is ready to play.
(New music is always loaded with a playorder (look at 'Ord' column) of 0. If
you don't see your music click on the 'Ord' column header to refresh.
Note - The load option, described above, works best when your music contains
ID3 tags and you are willing to put your music in the \Music\Folder
convention. This organization is recommended and has several advantages such
as making the backup of your music library very easy and a further advantage
in that you can easily move your entire music library to other storage drives
including flash drives and still have it found automatically by Dancing DJ.
If your music is scattered, or organized differently and you would prefer to
leave it that way you might want to load your database using the "Crawler"
application. You can download the "Crawler" from www.dedicateddj.com and it
will scan your entire computer and load your music and video. Simply replace
the new loaded database with the original database in your /ddj directory.
III. OPERATIONAL NOTES
1. Multi-monitor.
Dancing DJ is relatively incomplete without a
second monitor (TV or projector) as it is built from the ground up ready to
communicate visually with your party. From the 'Display Settings' of your
computer position
Monitor 2 to the
right
of
Monitor 1 for best
Dancing DJ operations. Your monitor,
TV screen or projector will be ready to go.
2. Protect your dj.mdb database. While it contains only pointers to your
music and not the music itself it encapsulates all your hard work (playlists,
volume, rate settings, etc).
3. Your music library can span multiple or networked drives and still be
easily located. Music stored in a \Music directory within a subdirectory
folder is searched across all mapped drives starting with C: and ending with
Z:. This flexibility allows you to move your music to other drives or play
from another computer using a memory stick.
4.
Dedicated DJ and
Teacher DJ share the same database. The
Music Organizer can convert any Dancing DJ playlist to a Teacher
playlist (TList).
5. The
Music Organizer has a powerful Export function which can be
used to synchronize your music on remote drives and backup your database in
one operation.
6. Player adjustments or text changes normally affect only the current
playlist and are automatically saved.. If, however, you wish to update the
Music master also you can do so by dbl_clicking the grid row.
7. Fonts - Please check and make sure your main Dancing DJ font matches the
header on this web page. This font is called Cantaneo BT (TT0962M_.TTF).
Check your licensing for the fonts you wish to use.
Fonts are easily installed, and
immediately available, by simply copying them to your windows\fonts
directory. There is little excuse for ugly or unreadable fonts.
8. Historically ID3 V1 tags were very well supported and widely used. Newer
V2 tags are more powerful and now becoming more universal. ID3 V1 tag Genres,
in particular, were limited to a short approved list. Your \ddj directory
contains both an ID3 V1 and an ID3 V2 tagger and these programs might be
useful if your genres are not being recognized or if the tags contain
different information. Note that It is also possible to update your
information in Dancing DJ and update your music master with a dbl_Click on
the row. Also, the Export function of the
Music Organizer offers to
write ID3 V1 tags to your music will makes importing a very simple step.
