FAQ's

Q.. What can I use Performa Pro for?

A.. You can use Performa Pro for playing your music collection, for Learning/Teaching Music, for Presentations, for a Jukebox, for displaying and turning Manuscript pages, for displaying your Picture collection in a Slideshow, for Stage Performance etc. etc.

Q.. Why should I use Performa Pro instead of Windows Media Player or other media players?

A.. Windows Media Player and other media players are designed to accomplish many tasks, one is that of gathering information from the internet. Performa Pro was designed to be a non-internet player and uses a different system of loading music into itself. Performa Pro loads and plays your songs in an instant. It also lets you synchronise Pictures or Words to your music. Performa Pro can be operated simply and quickly with either Keyboard strokes or Mouse clicks or via a Footswitch.

Q.. Why should I use Performa Pro instead of another Presentation program?

A.. If you tried to include music or vocals with your Presentations/Slideshows etc you will have found how difficult it is to synchronise your pictures/text etc to your chosen piece of audio. Well Performa Pro has come to the rescue. It is really easy and loads of fun to synchronise your visuals with Performa Pro. Give it a try and see for yourself.

Q.. I am a Stage Performer and need to be self-contained. ie. I provide my own music. Can I use Performa Pro for my stage act?

A.. Performa Pro was originally written for Stage Performance so yes you will find that it will easily replace your current system and will in fact become your prefered system once you try it. We practically guarantee that as it has been extensively tested by other Artistes who are in a similar position as yourself. It has a Song Search Facility so it is just perfect for your performance and if required has a Zoom Mode for increased Screen size.

Q.. Can I use a footswitch to operate Performa Pro?

A.. Yes you can. Performa Pro has been written with this in mind. To use a footswitch you need to emulate a mouse. The right button on your mouse acts like

1.. The Space Bar (this starts and pauses the music/performance)

2.. The Esc Key (this stops your current music/sound track/performance).

3.. The Down Arrow (This selects the song further down in your Song List)

The footswitch can only be used, though, if Performa Pro is maximised/as per the program startup on the screen. This is because mouse operations do various things within Windows and providing that the mouse is located within Performa Pro then all will be ok. If the mouse is outside Performa Pro then clicking the footswitch will act in a normal mouse fashion, ie it will be the same as clicking the right mouse button and this will bring up the right mouse menu. So as long as you do not reduce the size of Performa Pro in any way the footswitch will work as intended.

You can purchase a footswitch from the USA that emulates a right-click on your mouse for around £15 plus postage (Price as of Nov 2007) and needs to be of a USB type. One such company is

Delcom Engineering

200 William Street

Suite 302

Port Chester, NY 10573

(914)934-5170

(914)934-5171 Fax

www.delcom-eng.com

The mouse that you require from them is 803663 USB HID Mouse Button Right Foot Switch.

Alternatively, if you are able to use a soldering iron you could manufacture a simple and cheap version of your own. To do this you require a USB mouse. This could be a very cheap mouse of around £7 or less or any USB mouse up to even a wireless type. Once you have acquired your mouse you need to dismantle it and remove the circuit board, keeping the wiring intact. Next fit the circuit board into a box or into a footswitch and wire the switch (this needs to be a momentary type switch) to the same connections that the mouse right-click switch is connected to. Another option is to put the circuit board into a box and connect a jack socket to the mouse right-click switch. You could then plug your footswitch into the jack socket.

To use the footswitch you simply click once to start/pause/resume or double click to stop and change song. We suggest that if you do use a footswitch that you add a half-second of silence to the start of every piece of music. As a single click starts your music Performa Pro does not detect the second click until you actually click it a second time, so for a microsecond Performa Pro thinks you have single clicked and starts your music/presentation. Once it receives the second click it stops it.

Q.. How good is your Song Search?

A.. It's simple to use just like all the other features, but this is one of the best! You simply hit the F1 key, enter a letter or several letters, only one will work really well. Hit F12 and you have a list of all the songs that fit the criteria and all this is done in an instant, yes an INSTANT. In fact, it's so fast you have to stop blinking to see it show the list. Then you select the song using the arrow keys, hit F12 again and it is automatically inserted into the Cue List ready to be played as the next song if one is already playing or immediately if not. You can search during a performance or at anytime you wish. How's that for usability? For more info see the Manual that comes with the program.

Q.. What is the Zoom Mode?

A.. Zoom Mode is a simple One-key press (Z) or Left-Click the White Box down towards the right bottom of the screen that enlarges or reduces the Text/Picture part of the screen to Full Screen size or back to Normal size.

Q.. How do I Enlarge/Reduce the size of the Song List?

A.. You press the (S) key or Left-click the button above the Song List and the list is then displayed in the Text/Picture area. Perform the same operation again and it is reduced to Normal. This has been added by Customer Request to enhance the visibility of the Song List from a distance.

Q.. You say I have one or three Activation Keys available to me, why do I need them?

A.. When you purchase Performa Pro you will have access to one or three Activation Keys depending on your purchase. To receive these you need to email your Product Code to registration@kapsoftware.co.uk or see Registration.doc in the Performa Pro folder. We will then send you one Activation Key. Everytime that you install Performa Pro onto a computer you will need an Activation Key. Each of these computers will have a different Product Code so therefore require a different Activation Key. Having one Activation Key lets you install to only one computer but three Activation Keys lets you install Performa Pro on three different machines. You might install it on your main computer and again on your laptop for portability and use away from your main computer. The third Activation Key could be used, for instance, if you had to re-install Windows or say you reformatted your hard-drive. To receive each Activation Key you do need to email your Product Code each time.

Q.. Do I have to use a mouse?

A.. No you can use the Keyboard Shortcuts or a Footswitch. Performa Pro was written especially for keyboard/footswitch operation. If you run Performa Pro and look to the top right of the screen you will see the [H]help button. Either press [H] on the keyboard or click the button with your mouse to see the Keyboard Shortcuts. Once viewed press [H] or click the button again and it will disappear. On the screen of Performa Pro you will see most of the Keyboard Shortcuts shown but you should still familiarise yourself via the help screen as there are several other keys shown there that are not marked on the main Performa Pro screen. The Manual has in-depth explanations to all keyboard operations.

Q.. Are there any Keyboard Shortcuts for the setup part of Performa Pro?

A.. No the setup portion of Performa Pro is mouse only operated. This makes the process of setting up Performa Pro very simple.

Q.. How do I get pictures/text/manuscripts into Performa Pro?

A.. Although it is simple to do any of these we suggest you look at the Manual for all the answers to this type of question.

Q.. Is your Manual boring and difficult to understand like so many Manuals?

A.. No we have tried to make it interesting and fun to use. You just look for your subject in the index and click it, you are then Hyperlinked directly to that subject. A Picture speaks a thousand words so we have added pictures wherever we could. There are hyperlinks, tips and idea sections for you to enjoy. Using Performa Pro is not only a rewarding experience but it is really easy to use and best of all it's fun. Believe it or not setting up Performa Pro is just as much fun as using Performa Pro itself!

Q.. I am getting hum from my laptop how can I cure this?

A.. Don't worry as we can recommend 3 easy and fairly cheap ways of combating the problem.

1.. Replace your Laptop power adapter (common problem) with another that doesn't cause hum. Trial and error is required but will cure the problem once you find the correct adapter

2.. Use a Ground Loop Isolator

Ground Loop Isolators

Remove unwanted noise and hum from your audio system
Simple installation
Very effective
Will need some modification with the type shown above from Maplin, but others are available elsewhere that may not

3.. Use a DI Box. We recommend an Active DI Box as not only will it virtually cure your hum problem but it will also greatly enhance your sound output. Below are one or two links to these boxes (others are available) and as you'll see the price as of July 2007 is very reasonable and worth every penny in my mind. Once you have acquired a DI Box you simply connect it between your Laptop/PC and your Mixing Desk or Amplifier. Job Done! If you require more info on DI Boxes we suggest that you search the internet as we are limited for space here.

DI Boxes

Here are just 2 examples of Direct Injection Boxes. There are hundreds available at all different prices.

Here is a link to a few on the CPC (Farnell) web shop where comparisons can be made:

CPC DI Box general search

http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp?N=411+1003315&in_dim_search=true

Here are links to 2 (with pictures):

DI20 — BEHRINGER — DI BOX/SIGNAL SPLITTER, DI-20

£20.56 incl. VAT

http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=DP27887

http://www.behringer.com/DI20/index.cfm?lang=eng

ZB015 — BEHRINGER — DI BOX-ULTRA DI PRO DI100

£28.79 incl. VAT

http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=DP27413

http://www.behringer.com/DI100/index.cfm?lang=eng

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